5th November 2001

You're probably still exploring Windows XP. And even if you don't have Microsoft's new operating system, these feature-specific tips might open your eyes to something you didn't know about before. Keep that in mind before you tune 'em out entirely. You can enable the thumbnail view in many versions of Windows; this allows you to preview documents and images instantly. In XP, you can also preview a folder's contents without opening it first! By default, Explorer places up to four images from the folder onto its thumbnailed icon. You can change these graphics at any time. One way of doing it: finding a representative image, renaming it FOLDER.JPG, and placing it inside the folder in question. If you're already in the folder, you could also right-click the upper-left corner icon (in the window's title bar), select Properties, flip to the Customize tab, and press the "Choose Picture" button. Either way, you'll end up with the same results. The coolest thing about this tweak? Whenever you load music files from that folder, the Windows Media Player will use that folder's (designated) image as the Album Art. How's that for "too cool?"