

 The GUN (Grown Up Notepad) can be run from any folder
 you wish!  The best location would be a directory in
 your PATH such as the WINDOWS folder.  Placing a link
 to it in your 'Send To' folder is a good idea as well.

 The rest of this file explains in detail (sorry if it
 bores you!) how to replace programs that are executed
 by countless others; including the operating system,
 with another program of your choice.  Although this
 was written for the replacement of NOTEPAD by TheGUN,
 the same steps would apply to Calculator, Paint or
 any other accessory program you might wish to replace
 in WINDOWS.

   Personally, for myself, I decided to use a slightly
 different approach rather than full replacement:
   I changed the Notepad program itself, so it would
 automatically call The GUN to open any files over its
 size limit (about 64kb in Win 95/98 -- Win NT doesn't
 have this problem!); I still use The GUN on small
 files whenever I wish to by having a link to it in my
 'Send To' folder.  IF this route appeals to you, then
 surf over to:

 < http://www.geocities.com/thestarman3/hack/notepad.htm >


  The Correct Procedure for Replacing
 =====================================
  WINDOWS Notepad with The GUN
 ==============================

 (NOTE: If you ever want to save a program file for
        future reference before replacing it,
  _NEVER_ begin by renaming the original program to
  a different name!  The WINDOWS OS might change any
  file associations in the REGISTRY for this program
  to match the new filename you just gave it! That's
  _NOT_ what you want!  If you make this mistake, it
  requires searching your entire REGISTRY for all of
  the occurances to correct it!  Something that many
  people wouldn't even be able to do! )

   
 HOW TO DO IT
 ============

 MAKING a Copy of the Original Notepad.exe first:
 -----------------------------------------------

 1) Open either "My Computer" or the "Windows
    Explorer" and locate the program NOTEPAD.EXE
    in your Windows directory (usually it's the
    folder C:\WINDOWS ).

 2) Right-click on the filename and choose the
    item 'Copy' from the menu (or use the toolbar
    to copy the file).

 3) UN-highlight all filenames by left-clicking in
    an empty area of the file pane (If any file is
    highlighted the next step won't work!)

 4) Finally, use the PASTE button on the toolbar,
    or right-click in an empty area of file pane
    and choose 'Paste' from the menu.  You should
    see a new file called 'Copy of Notepad' at the
    bottom of the list.

    You can now rename this copy to something like
   'Notepad.sav' or 'Notepad.org' anything that re-
    minds you it's an exact copy of your original. 


 Actually REPLACING Notepad with TheGUN.exe :
 ------------------------------------------

 1) You MUST first close all instances of any open
    text file in NOTEPAD; if you're using NOTEPAD
    to read this page, you'll have to close it too!
    (Hint: You can use WordPad or the "Internal
    ASCII Viewer" of WinZip(tm) or any other text
    editor to view this file; or just memorize the
    rest...  Heehee :-) ).
    
 2) Extract Thegun.exe to any folder _EXCEPT_ your
    WINDOWS directory! (A TEMP folder is just fine.)
    Re-name Thegun.exe in that folder to:

       NOTEPAD.EXE

   ( You _MUST_ have 'Windows Explorer' set to VIEW
    FILE EXTENSIONS... See the note* below for a link
    if you don't know how to do that.  And you _MUST_
    use all capital letters to make sure it becomes a
    valid 8.3 DOS name just like NOTEPAD.EXE in the
    WINDOWS folder! )

 3) Either use the COPY and PASTE buttons from the
    Toolbar or the Copy and Paste items from the
    right-click menu of the mouse to paste a copy of
    the renamed GUN program (Notepad.exe) into your
    WINDOWS folder, _or_ click on the renamed file,
    hold down one of your SHIFT keys and "drag" the
    file to your WINDOWS directory... This MOVEs the
    file rather than just copying it.

 4) " Confirm File Reaplace " Window
    --------------------------------
    When it asks if you want to REPLACE Notepad.exe,
    click "YES" -- you're done.

------------------
 * For help on changing how you view files in Windows
   Explorer or My Computer, surf over to:

 < http://www.geocities.com/thestarman3/tool/ViewOptions.htm >
------------------

	Although I have replaced programs by first
 DELETING the original and then renaming the substitute
 program with the original's filename, I believe the
 procedure listed above is the best route for most people
 since it includes some built-in safety measures.


 Instructions by: The Starman (The Starman's Realm)
 < http://www.geocities.com/thestarman3/tool/FreeTools.html >

