Windows 98 Tips #44


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TipWorld - http://www.tipworld.com
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Proudly presents:
The Windows 98 Tip of the Day

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*1. GRAYED-OUT COMMANDS IN START CONTEXT MENU         
     
We can't tell you how many people have written asking what to do if 
they right-click the Start button and the resulting Open and Explore 
options are inactive (grayed out). It seems this problem arises if you 
use the Tweak UI PowerToy to hide one or more drives on your system. 
To resolve this problem, Microsoft suggests that you unhide any 
drives. 

Open Tweak UI, click the My Computer tab, select any unselected check 
boxes, then click OK. Restart Windows 98, right-click Start, and those 
Open and Explore commands should be back in business. 

(Quick review: The Tweak UI PowerToy is on your Windows 98 
installation CD, in the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, 
right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, 
double-click its icon inside the Control Panel.)


*2. CREATE A POP-OUT CONTROL PANEL FOLDER IN THE START MENU         
     
Want quick access to all the items in your Control Panel? Add a 
pop-out Control Panel folder to your Start menu. 

Right-click the Start button, select Open, and in the resulting Start 
Menu window, select File, New, Folder. To name the folder, type 
exactly 

Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} 

and then press Enter. (Note that there's no space between the period 
and the opening bracket.) Click Start, select the new folder, and 
you'll see a menu of all Control Panel items. 

In our next tip, we'll show you how to create Printers and Dial-Up 
Networking folders using a similar technique.


*3. CREATE MORE POP-OUT FOLDERS IN THE START MENU         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to create a pop-out Control Panel 
folder in your Start menu: Right-click the Start button, select Open, 
and in the resulting Start Menu window, select File, New, Folder. To 
name the folder, type exactly 

Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} 

and then press Enter. (Note that there's no space between the period 
and the opening bracket.) 

To create a Printers folder, follow the same steps, but name the 
folder 

Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} 

To create a Dial-Up Networking folder, name the folder 

DUN.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48} 

(Note: The end result is an empty folder. You'll need to add items to 
it manually by dragging them from the original folder and dropping 
them inside the new one on the Start menu.)


*4. KEEP MODEM SPEAKER QUIET         
     
Tired of hearing all that racket as your modem connects to your ISP? 
Windows 98 includes a setting designed to silence your modem. (It 
doesn't work for all modems; you'll have to try it on yours and see.) 

Open the Control Panel and double-click Modems. On the General tab, 
select your modem, click the Properties button, and move the lever 
under Speaker Volume all the way left, to Off. Click OK and then 
Close. From now on, that modem will connect in silence.


*5. THE SHOW FILES WARNING MESSAGE         
     
If you're viewing the contents of your hard drive as a Web page, and 
you double-click the Windows folder (or the Windows\System folder), 
you'll see this warning message: "To view the contents of this folder, 
click Show Files." (Thanks, but if I didn't want to view the files 
inside, I wouldn't have opened the folder.) Want an easy way to bypass 
this warning? Don't view your folders as Web pages. 

In any folder, deselect View, As Web Page. Then, to apply the setting 
globally, select View, Folder Options. Click the View tab and then 
click the Like Current Folder button. Click Yes to confirm, then click 
OK. Not good enough? In our next tip, we'll show you how to remove 
these warnings while still viewing your folders as Web pages.


*6. REMOVE SHOW FILES WARNING FROM WINDOWS FOLDER         
     
In our last tip, we pointed out that if you're viewing the contents of 
your hard drive as a Web page, and you double-click the Windows folder 
(or the Windows\System folder), you'll see this warning message: "To 
view the contents of this folder, click Show Files." You can avoid 
these warnings by opting not to view your folders as Web pages. 

Not good enough? You can remove those warnings and still view your 
folders as Web pages. The warning messages are part of the 
customization for the Windows and Windows\System folders. Remove the 
customization and you remove the messages. 

Open the Windows folder, locate the folder.htt and desktop.ini files, 
and create copies of these files in the same folder. (Name them 
anything you want, such as folder1.htt and desktop1.ini, or just leave 
them as "Copy Of folder.htt" and "Copy Of desktop.ini.") Still in the 
Windows folder, select View, Customize This Folder and select Remove 
Customization. Click Next twice, then click Finish. Repeat these steps 
for the Windows\System folder, and those warning messages are history.


*7. INSTALLING MICROSOFT FAX IN WIN 98         
     
We frequently receive requests asking how to install the old Windows 
95 fax capability on a Windows 98 system. Actually, Microsoft Fax is 
on the Windows 98 installation CD. 

Pop the CD into your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, and navigate 
your way to the Tools/OldWin95/Message/Us folder. To install Microsoft 
Fax, run awfax.exe. 

(Note: According to Microsoft, this utility "requires a Full MAPI 
Client in order to function, such as: Microsoft Exchange, Windows 
Messaging, Microsoft Exchange Server Client or Outlook [the full 
version, not Express].")


*8. TASKBAR'S AUTO-HIDE OPTION         
     
Do you find that no matter where you place your Taskbar (on any side 
of the screen), it's in the way? If desktop real estate is at a 
premium, keep this bar out of sight entirely until you need it. 

Select Start, Settings, Taskbar & Start Menu. Right-click a blank area 
of the Taskbar and select Properties. On the Taskbar Options tab, 
select Auto-hide, then click OK. Click anywhere on your desktop and 
watch as the Taskbar shrinks from view. If and when you need the 
Taskbar, hold your mouse pointer over the side of the screen where 
it's hiding (you'll be able to see its edge), and the Taskbar rises to 
the occasion.


*9. SHOW FILE ATTRIBUTES IN DETAIL VIEW         
     
Want to see file attributes right next to each file, as you could back 
in the days of Windows 3.x? You can, as long as you have the window in 
which you're viewing the files set to Detail view. 

Open any Explorer window and select View, Folder Options. Click the 
View tab, and in the list under Advanced Settings, select Show File 
Attributes In Detail View. Click OK. 

The next time you open a folder in Detail view, you'll see a brand new 
Attributes column on the far right. (You may need to widen the window 
to see it.) What's more, if you're viewing the folder as a Web page 
(select View, As Web Page), you'll see the attributes for any selected 
file on the left side of the window.


*10. MICROSOFT'S LIST OF KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS         
     
We often receive requests for a listing of all keyboard commands for 
Windows 98. Microsoft has compiled a fairly extensive list inside its 
Knowledge Base. Check it out at 

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/4/49.asp
