Windows 9x and NT 4.0 allow you to create shortcuts to frequently used folders and open each folder in a window of its own. Windows 3.x doesn't provide this amenity, but with a little ingenuity you can create "shortcuts" to frequently used directory windows and launch each on command.

In File Manager, select winfile.exe in the Windows directory and choose File-Copy. Type winfil2.exe (or any other name you want that has seven characters plus the .exe extension) and click OK. Now launch Windows Write and open the copy of the .exe file you just created. When prompted, click No Conversion. The application file will appear in the Write window displaying many illegible symbols.

When editing an .exe file like this one, be aware that you must not change the size of the file by even a single byte; any words you change must be replaced by an equal number of characters.

With that in mind, choose Find-Replace. Enter winfile in the Find What box and winfil2 in the Replace With box. Click Replace All, but don't close the dialogue box just yet. If you want to be able to use online help with your new version of File Manager, enter winfil2.hlp in the Find What box and winfile.hlp in the Replace With box and then click Replace All. Again, don't close the dialogue box yet. To make sure you have a unique name for your application, type Manager in the Find What box and a new term of equal size, such as Folders, in the Replace With box. Click Replace All and click Close. This last change ensures that when you press <Alt>-<Tab> to switch between applications, you'll see a unique name ù in this case "File Folders" ù in the task-switching window; having unduplicated names will help you tell the old and new File Managers apart if you happen to have them running simultaneously.

Caption: Create multiple versions of File Manager so you can
open each directory you need with its own keyboard shortcut

Do not perform global search-and-replace operations on terms containing spaces, like "File Manager". Doing so could replace line breaks and change the size of the file. Also, beware of global changes to words like "File," or you could inadvertently change the names of menus on the menu bar.

Now choose File-Save and exit Write. To be safe, take a look in File Manager and make sure your new application, winfil2.exe, is exactly the same size as winfile.exe. If the size is different, delete the copy and try again.

Once you've successfully made a copy of File Manager, drag the new .exe file to an appropriate window in Program Manager to create an icon for this program. For keyboard access to this version of File Manager, select the icon in Program Manager and choose File-Properties. Click in the Shortcut Key box, press your preferred keyboard shortcut and click OK. Now launch your new version of File Manager and customise it as you please. Since the whole point is to get quick access to an oft-used directory, open a window for that directory. If you frequently drag files from this directory to specific destinations, open windows for each of those directories and then minimise them in the File Manager window. Finally, choose a tile command from the Window menu so your main work area fills the File Folders window with the minimised drag-and-drop targets underneath.

You can repeat this tip to create as many versions of File Manager as you need, one for each directory you use often. Although you can run these additional File Managers concurrently, you can't drag and drop between them. Nevertheless, these custom File Managers do give you quick access to specific directories and File Manager configurations and they let you launch each version with its own keyboard shortcut.