Windows 98 Tips #37



*1. Track Install Changes

Find out exactly what a program does when you install it by 
using the System File Checker's log feature. After installing a
program, open the log by launching the System Information utility 
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information), 
choosing System File Checker from the Tools menu, clicking on the
Settings button and then on the View Log button. The log will tell 
you exactly which files were added to your computer and which were 
updated with a newer version.


*2. DISPLAY WINDOWS 98 STARTUP MENU         
     
Back in Windows 95, you saw a "Starting Windows 95" message during the 
boot process, at which point you could press F8 to display the startup 
menu. Well, watch your Windows 98 system's boot as closely as you 
want--you won't see any such message. 

So how do you get to the startup menu? After turning on your Windows 
98 system, press and hold the Ctrl key (or F8). Eventually, the 
startup menu appears. 

In our next tip, we'll show you how to start up with the Startup Menu 
every time.


*3. DISPLAY STARTUP MENU AT STARTUP         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to access the Windows 98 startup 
menu during the boot process: After turning on your Windows 98 system, 
press and hold the Ctrl key (or F8). If you find yourself pressing 
Ctrl more often than not, make the startup menu appear automatically 
every time you start your system. 

Select Start, Run, type 

msconfig 

and press Enter to open the System Configuration Editor. On the 
General tab, click the Advanced button, select Enable Startup Menu, 
then click OK twice. Click Yes to restart your system.


*4. GLOBAL FOLDER VIEWING OPTIONS         
     
Do you have a favorite way of viewing a folder's contents--for 
example, always as a Web page and always the Large Icon view? Rather 
than set these options every time you open a new window, set them once 
and be done with it. Windows 98 will apply your view options globally 
(unlike Windows 95, where you had to reset these options constantly). 

Open any Explorer window and select View, Folder Options. Select the 
View tab, click the Like Current Folder button, then click Yes to 
confirm. Every window you open from that point forward will look the 
way you want it to.


*5. DRAG AND DROP START MENU ITEM ON DESKTOP         
     
Do you find your desktop handier than the Start menu? Then create 
shortcuts to your oft-used Start menu items on the desktop. Whereas in 
Windows 95, this operation required you to right-click Start, select 
Open, and so on, now you can copy a shortcut using a simple 
click-and-drag operation. 

With all windows minimized, click Start and navigate your way to a 
favorite shortcut, such as Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint. Click 
the item you want to turn into a shortcut (here, Paint), and without 
releasing the mouse button, drag it out to the desktop. Release the 
mouse button, and there's your shortcut.


*6. LINKS TOOLBAR         
     
Have you ever noticed the word "Links" on the far-right side of an 
Explorer window's Address bar? Double-click it (or the word 
"Address"), and you've got another whole toolbar! The Links bar 
provides you with--what else?--links to Web sites. 

Of course, you'll want to customize the links to suit your own needs. 
To delete a link, right-click it and select Delete. To add a link, 
point the current window at that Web page (type its URL on the Address 
bar and press Enter), then drag that Web page's icon from the Address 
bar directly over the Links bar and release the mouse button. 

Want your Address bar back? Double-click Address or Links. 

(Note: If you're missing the Address bar or the Links bar from your 
folder window, select one or the other, or both, from the View, 
Toolbars window.)


*7. CHANGE ICONS ON LINKS TOOLBAR         
     
In our last tip, we introduced the Links toolbar--a bar of Web-site 
links that hides out to the right of any Explorer window's Address 
bar. To display this toolbar, just double-click the word "Links" on 
the right side of the Address bar. (To view your Address bar again, 
just double-click Address.) Tired of having to choose between the 
Address bar and the Links bar? This default arrangement of sharing a 
bar isn't written in stone. If you prefer, you can give each bar its 
very own row. 

Hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at the left end of the 
Links toolbar. When it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and 
drag the bar downward, then release the mouse button. Instantly, the 
bar expands to fill the row just below the Address bar. 

(Tip: If you'd rather have the Address bar on the bottom, after 
following the steps above, use the vertical bar on the Address bar to 
drag it down below the Links bar, then release the mouse button.)


*8. Launch Apps from Your Browser

Presumably, you've got your favorite applications on the
Start menu, so they're just two clicks away. Here's how to
make them only one click away: Right-click on the Start button
and select Open from the Context menu. Select all the shortcuts
you want, and drag and drop all of them onto the Links toolbar.


*9. USE SHIFT-DELETE TO BYPASS RECYCLE BIN         
     
More than once, the Recycle Bin will save your life, and you'll kiss 
the desktop it sits on. However, deleting everything twice can be a 
real bother, especially things you know you'll never need again in a 
million years. 

If you're sure you want to ditch something the first time around, skip 
right over the Recycle Bin. Just highlight whatever it is you want to 
get rid of, hit Shift-Delete, and kiss it goodbye. It's not as 
dangerous as it sounds, because you'll still get one of those polite 
messages asking if you're sure. (The danger is in getting so 
comfortable that you delete this way all the time and get hasty 
and...D'oh!)


*10. FORCE FILE TO OPEN IN DESIRED PROGRAM         
     
Don't want to open a file in the application with which it's 
associated (the one that appears if you double-click the file)? As 
long as you know how to invoke the Open With command, you can open 
that file in any application you want. 

Highlight the file you're about to open, then hold down the Shift key 
as you right-click it. In the resulting menu, select Open With. Select 
an application, make sure Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of 
File is deselected (unless that's what you want), then click OK.
