Neat Net Tricks Issue #55
June 1, 1999
Sender: owner-neatnettricks@neatnettricks.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  Directory printing simplified
02.  Resume text select
03.  What's that file for?
04.  Tweak your system
05.  Generic document to file
06.  More on clipboard
07.  Surf behind closed doors
08.  Quick Windows restart
09.  An old favorite with a new look
10.  Netscape's Feedback Agent Revisited
11.  Impressive sites
12.  The teacher
13.  Ear candy

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01.  DIRECTORY PRINTING SIMPLIFIED.  One of the downsides of 
Windows, unlike good old DOS, is that its not an easy task to 
print the directory of your folders, subfolders, files and such.
Give PrintFolder 1.1 a try at 
http://no-nonsense-software.com/freeware/ where, for free, you 
can download a 512 kb file that does a super but unobtrusive 
job. With this little bit of software installed, whenever 
youre in Windows Explorer and want a printed copy of any 
directory, just right click on it and select PrintFolder in the 
drop-down menu.  Dont expect a lot of bells and whistles, 
just a nice plain result.

02.  RESUME TEXT SELECT.  There's an easy solution to when our 
finger slips off the mouse midway in selecting (highlighting) 
large amounts of text for copying, cutting, pasting, or 
whatever.  No need to start over, just press the Shift key, 
place the cursor at the end of the selected text where you left 
off, click and hold your left mouse key, release the Shift key, 
and continue selecting.

03.  WHAT'S THAT FILE FOR?  If you've ever asked this question 
in Windows 95, go to http://web2.airmail.net/darylc1/windows.htm
and print out that very comprehensive collection of files and 
their functions.

04.  TWEAK YOUR SYSTEM.  From time to time, Neat Net Tricks has 
made mention of a great little utility known as Tweak UI, 
something that allows you to customize Windows without manually 
going into the registry and possibly mucking things up.  Tweak 
UI is part of the Power Toys Set on the Microsoft site at http://www.microsoft.com/Windows95/downloads/contents/WUToys/
W95PwrToysSet/Default.asp and you can read about all the stuff 
it does at that site.  Note that this is ONLY for Windows 95, 
and Windows 98 users have it even easier by downloading and 
installing directly from the Win 98 CD in the 
tools\reskit\powertoy path.  With Tweak UI in place, you can 
better control your mouse, gain one-site control over windows 
animations and scrolling, customize your desktop by removing 
unwanted icons, clean out files that are no longer used but 
wont seem to go away, set your history files for automatic 
deleting on rebooting, and a number of other neat things.  Be 
forewarned, as we have cautioned you in the past, the Power 
Toys set is provided by Microsoft, but no support is furnished, 
so use these at your own risk.

05.  GENERIC DOCUMENT TO FILE.  Denny Hill in Richland, 
Michigan, suggests a way to share a document with someone who 
doesnt have the application in which the document was created.
He suggests adding a Generic/Text Only printer to the Printers 
folder to save the file as ASCII text with only basic printer 
commands such as carriage returns. This will allow the 
recipient to read the document from any text editor such as 
Notepad or WordPad.  Open the Printers folder in My Computer, 
double click on the Add Printer icon, click on Next in the Add 
Printer Wizard, choose Local Printer, click Next.  Then, choose 
Generic from the Manufacturers window, click Next.  Choose File 
from the Available Ports window, select NO when asked if the 
printer is to be set as default, and select No again when asked 
to print a test page.  Click Finish and, if asked to insert the 
Windows 95 disk or CD to install the correct drivers, do so.

06.  MORE ON CLIPBOARD.  Several wrote in responding to Item 
10, Neat Net Tricks Issue #52 which suggested that the 
Clipboard may be hogging your memory. One reader suggested a 
free little utility called ClipClear at 
http://www.moonsoftware.com which will reside in your tray and 
clear your Clipboard with a click, proving once again there are 
many ways to skin the .. (oh, lets dont start the CAT 
discussion again!)

07.  SURF BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.  If privacy is an issue, you 
share your computer with others, and you'd like to keep those 
favorite bookmarks to yourself, your secret is safe with 
Private Bookmarks at http://www.webroot.com/pbmarks.htm .  It 
works with Windows 95/98/NT and with Internet Explorer, 
Netscape, and AOL to hide your favorite links until you call it 
up with a key combination and password.  Free for 30 days, then 
buy for $29.95 if you want to keep your secrets.

08.  QUICK WINDOWS RESTART.  If you need a handy way to restart 
Windows with just one click rather than going to Start|Shut Down
|Restart Computer|OK, place an icon on your desktop this way:  
Open a text editor such as Notepad or WordPad, enter @exit 
(without the quotes) and save this to your hard drive anywhere, 
with any title and .BAT extension. With your right mouse 
button, drag this new file to your desktop and click on Create 
Shortcut(s) Here.  Now, right click on the shortcut, click on 
Properties, Program tab, and select Close on Exit.  Click on 
Advanced, select MS-DOS mode and uncheck the Warn Before 
Entering MS-DOS Mode option.  Click on the OK button and, if 
you wish,  rename the shortcut and even select a different icon 
more to your taste. Henceforth, one click does it to 
restart Windows.

09.  AN OLD FAVORITE WITH A NEW LOOK.  If you've ever set up a 
web site, you are familiar with File Transfer Protocol (FTP) as 
the way you get the pages to your server or wherever else your 
site will be docked. Even if you don't have a web site, FTP 
offers an oft-preferred way to rapidly download software 
updates without going through a graphics-clogged browser.  
We've talked about this stuff before and won't repeat it here.  
But what do you use for FTP?  Well, my favorite, and I suspect 
the favorite of the majority, is WS_FTP by Ipswitch at 
http://www.ipswitch.com .  Now, Ipswitch has unveiled the 
WS_FTP Pro 6.0 and boasts a new "Explorer" interface as well as 
the old familiar "classic" look.  Space won't permit a 
discussion of all the features and what you can do with this 
software to manage your web site, download graphics and games, 
and efficiently transfer files.  See for yourself with a 30-day 
try before you buy, but it's my bet you'll go for the gusto 
with the $37.50 purchase price.

10.  NETSCAPE'S FEEDBACK AGENT REVISITED.  Item 15, Neat Net 
Tricks Issue #52, told of how to disable the nagging Netscape 
Quality Feedback Agent.  I was quickly reminded of a better way 
in Communicator 4.5: Start|Programs|Netscape Communicator
|Utilities| Netscape Quality Feedback Agent.  Open it, select 
settings and turn it off.

11.  IMPRESSIVE SITES.  I usually reserve nice sites for the 
Neat Net Nifty Award and the one at http://www.eye4u.com would 
certainly get it were it not for the criteria that a site be 
noncommercial.  This one by a web design firm in Germany is one 
we would all love to be capable of doing.  It requires 
Shockwave and some nice speakers to get the full impact.  Trust 
me, you'll come away from there with a "Wow!" And if you still 
want another fine example of this technology, try 
http://www.aqa-d.se/

12.  THE TEACHER.  Billed as "The Complete HTML Teacher," a 
rather sizable volume awaits you at 
http://users.skynet.be/sky88639/software.htm .  It contains 
tips on HTML design, Web publishing, Web posting, Web site 
promotion, and maintenance.

13.  EAR CANDY.  That's how I would describe the background 
sounds emanating from EarSaver, a neat little program that 
works invisibly in the background to produce hours of soothing 
"Ambionic soundscapes" as you go about your normal computer 
routine.  What are "ambionics?"  I'll let these folks explain 
it best:  "Ambionics are a unique tapesty of natural sounds and 
ambient musical textures woven together to create a relaxing 
audio backdrop for your daily life.... a kind of 'sonic 
wallpaper'..." in CD quality to relieve "...the stress, sonic 
assault and frenetic pace that have become part of the modern 
work and home environments."  If this intrigues you, try a free 
sample at http://www.earsaver.com/ or the whole package, with 
four hours of CD-quality soundscapes that's upgradeable with 
new "albums" as they come available, for $19.95.

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Copyright 1999 by Jack Teems.  All rights reserved.
