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In these days of gargantuan hard drives and labyrinthine networks, it's easy to lose your place in a complex hierarchy of folders. This is especially true if some of the folders you use have similar-sounding names or contain like contents ù for example, backup folders that contain replicas of files you normally work with. If you get confused while disk-housekeeping, you may accidentally delete the wrong file. To prevent such problems and to remind yourself of where you are in any given folder, try using some of the following "bread crumbs" to mark folder locations and make each folder stand out on your screen (and in your mind). Parade the path. The easiest way to keep track of a folder is to display its complete path in the title bar. That way, when you're working with files in the Backup folder, a quick glance will tell you whether it's the backup folder on your local disk or on the network disk, for example. To do this, open any Explorer window or folder and choose View-Options (Windows 95) or View-Folder Options (Windows 98 or Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4.x's Desktop Update installed). Make sure the View tab is in front, then check the box next to Display the Full MS-DOS path in the title bar (Win 95) or Display the full path in title bar (Win 98, IE 4.x). Click OK. Brighten the background. Give each folder you regularly use (especially those with similar names or content) a unique background (IE 4.x and Win 98 only). Right-click in a folder or Explorer window and choose Customize this Folder. Select Choose a background picture and click Next. Select one of the available images, or click Browse and use the 'Files of Type' list box to find a .bmp, .jpg, or .gif graphic elsewhere on your system. Choose a background that's both distinctive and simple enough for easy reading. Depending on the image, you may also want to click the 'Text color' box in the 'Customize this Folder' dialogue box and choose a contrasting colour for the text label of each icon in the folder. If the text proves hard to read, return to this dialogue box, click the Background check box, click its colour box, and choose a background colour for the text labels. For best results, choose a background colour that goes well with your background picture. When you've made your choices, click Next and then Finish. 
Caption: Make folders instantly identifiable by adding background images Sound it out. If you're more attuned to sound than to sight, you may prefer an auditory reminder of a folder's identity each time you open it (IE 4.x and Win 98 only). This tip, submitted by reader Ismail Mohammad, involves adding a bit of HTML code to a folder. First, make sure you have a sound file in .wav format stored on your hard disk. You can employ music or a sound effect as a subtle reminder, or use Sound Recorder (choose Start-Programs-Accessories-Multimedia-Sound Recorder) and a microphone to create something more elaborate. Once you've got the sound you want, right-click in the folder window you wish to customise and choose Customize this Folder. Make sure Create or edit an HTML document is selected and click Next twice. The HTML file for your folder will open in Notepad. Beneath the line that reads æ<HTML>Æ, add the following text on a new line: <bgsound src="c:\windows\media\sound.wav">, replacing the path (in quotation marks) with one for the .wav file you want to use. Choose File-Exit in Notepad and click Yes when prompted about saving changes. In the 'Customize this Folder' dialogue box, click Finish. Your folder will be displayed in Web view and will look as it did before. But the next time you open the folder, the .wav file you selected will play automatically. If you want to temporarily disable the sound, choose View-as Web Page to uncheck this command. The folder will remain silent until you restore Web view again by choosing this command. If you subsequently decide to remove the picture background or sound effects permanently, right-click in a folder and choose Customize this Folder. Then select Remove customization, click Next, and follow the on-screen prompts. - Scott Dunn /I> |
Category:win95 Issue: October 1999 |
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Customize folders to find them fast