Windows 98 Tips #29




*1. RIGHT-CLICK TO FIND         
     
In our last tip, we told you that you can press F3 from the
 desktop or any Explorer window to open Find (focused on that
 folder). If you're more of a mouse person, another way to
 open Find is to right-click the folder or drive you want to
 search and select Find. Again, Find will open with the focus
 on that folder.


*2. An Ounce of Prevention

Maintain your hard drive by performing these steps at least 
 monthly, in this order: 

1.) Delete all files and folders with dates older than one 
 week from C:\WINDOWS\TEMP. 

2.) Purge your browser's history and Internet cache files.

3.) Run ScanDisk. Select the Standard radio button and enable 
 Automatically Fix Errors. Click on Advanced and, under Log File, 
 pick Replace Log; for Cross-Linked Files, select Delete; click 
 Free under Lost File Fragments; under Check Files For, check
 "Invalid dates and times;" and disable "Check host drive first,
 " unless you've compressed your hard drive. 

4.) Empty the Recycle Bin.


*3. HOW TO OPEN THE SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY         
     
Reader M. Fasano writes, "I once read that there is a Win 98
 utility  accessible via the Run command that shows you what
 programs are  running, and gives you the ability to enable or
 disable them. I tried  it once and it worked great. Do you
 know the command to punch into the  Run dialog box?" 

We suspect that you're referring to the System Configuration
 Utility.  To open it, select Start, Run, type 

msconfig 

and click OK. From there, you can select the Startup tab and
 disable  or enable any programs that start when Windows
 98 starts.


*4. Faster Start-Up

You can speed up your boot process by telling Windows not 
 to search for your floppy drive. (You'll still be able to 
 use the drive, but Win98 will search for it only when you 
 click on its icon in My Computer.) Go to My Computer
 File/Properties/Performance. Click on File System and the 
 Floppy Disk tab. Deselect "Search for new floppy disk drives 
 each time your computer starts."


*5. New Route to DOS Boot

Win98 changes the way you boot to a DOS prompt. Hold down 
 the Ctrl key while your PC is booting. This takes you 
 directly to the Boot Menu, including Safe Mode and "Boot to 
 command prompt only."


*6. FLOPPY SHORTCUTS FOR EVERYONE         
     
When you pop a floppy in your floppy drive, how do you access its 
 contents--by using (A) a My Computer window, or (B) an Explorer 
 window? How about C, none of the above. The easiest way to view
 the contents of a floppy is by double-clicking the floppy drive
 shortcut you should place on your desktop--that is, if you like
 to do things the short way. 

Open a My Computer or Explorer window, click and drag your floppy 
 drive icon out to the desktop, and release the mouse button.
 Click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut, and
 you're done. The next time you want to view the contents of a
 floppy, just double-click your new shortcut, and you're in.


*7. AUTO ARRANGE OPTION         
     
We can't tell you how many people ask how to keep their desktop
 icons from jumping back into neat little rows every time they
 try to move them into a unique formation. Annoying, isn't it?
 By default, Microsoft made the Auto Arrange option the default.
 If you want free-flowing icons, you'll need to turn this
 option off. 

Right-click the desktop and select Arrange Icons. In the
 resulting menu, you'll see a check mark next to Auto Arrange.
 Select this option (to deselect it). Back on the desktop, try to
 relocate an icon. Much better.


*8. LINE UP YOUR ICONS         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to turn off the Auto Arrange 
 feature so you can relocate desktop icons without them jumping
 back to the left side of the screen: Right-click the desktop
 and select Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange. Of course, placing your
 icons in a unique formation doesn't mean you want to be messy
 about it. Once you've moved them to their approximate locations,
 right-click the desktop and select Line Up Icons.
 Presto--they'll all fall into neat little rows
 (right where they are).


*9. Meter Made to Keep Eye on

To keep an eye on Win98 system resources, make sure the System 
 Resource Meter is installed. Run Add/Remove Programs from 
 Control Panel, and select the Windows Setup tab. Click on 
 System Tools and then Details; check the box for the System 
 Resource Meter and click on OK twice to install it. When you 
 run the program, a resource usage gauge will appear in 
 the System Tray.


*10. CREATE WORDPAD TEMPLATE         
     
If you frequently use WordPad to do your word processing, you're 
 probably getting tired of formatting every document (changing
 the font, typing the same heading, and so on). Does this thing
 come with templates or what? The answer is no, but that doesn't
 mean you can't make one. Just take a few minutes to do the
 formatting once, and you'll have an instant time-saver. 

Open WordPad and make all the formatting changes you'd like to
 include in your template--for example, you might change the font
 and point size of the text. (Tip: Type at least one character
 and then assign these settings to it.) When you're finished,
 save the file in a convenient location using a name such as
 "template.tpl." 

Now instruct Windows to open any file with a .tpl extension in 
 WordPad. Open any Explorer window and select View, Folder
 Options. On the File Types tab, click the New Type button. Next
 to Description Of Type, enter a description, such as "WordPad
 Template." Next to Associated Extension, type 

tpl 

Click New, and in the Action box of the New Action dialog
 box, type 

Open 

Under Application Used To Perform Action, type WordPad's
 path, such as 

C:\Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe 

Finally, click OK three times to close all open dialog boxes. 

Ready to try it out? Double-click template.tpl and it opens in 
 WordPad, complete with all your formatting. (Tip: Be sure to
 save it under a new name before creating a new document from
 the template.)
