Jan 1996 Features

You've read interviews, experimented with previews and seen a million overviews. Now you're ready to use Windows 95 in the real world. And we're here to help you. This month's package of Win95 stories takes a look at the worst and best of your new operating system.

Start with the interface in "Eight Ways to Work in Windows 95," where you'll learn about eight typical work patterns of Windows 95 users and how to adapt them to your own style. "Lock Your Windows" shows you how to plug several major security flaws in Win95. We've also compiled a Top 10 list of the best the OS has to offer, along with a Bottom 10 list of features that could use a little help--which we provide in the form of tips you can try right away. And finally, we'll take a look at the ultimate tweaking machine, Win 95's PowerToys.

by: Mike Elgan, Executive Editor

Some say the best thing about Windows 95 is its 32-bit architecture. Others claim Plug and Play is the operating system's hottest feature. But it's the Win95 user interface that beats them all. There are so many different ways to launch programs and load applications--and switch from one to another--that you can easily customize Win95 to suit your personal work style. We did some field research to identify the myriad ways users work with the new interface. We surveyed readers and staffers, and secretly observed the habits of random Win95 point-and-clickers, peering through office windows and over the shoulders of every user we could find. Our findings helped us identify eight Win95 computing personalities. Each has a scientific name: Keyboard Quickie, Mouse Maniac, Command Line Commander, Shortcut Showoff, Start Menu Maven, Folder Fanatic, The Explorer and last (and definitely least) The Minimalist.But you probably know them as Carl, Mary, Colin--you may even recognize yourself among our personalities. To give you a firsthand look at how each works, we'll let the experts speak for themselves. Then think about how you can adapt their on-the-job routines to your own work style.

Take it away, Carl.

We spend fortunes on Windows PCs that are so fast users can't keep up with them. That's why the best way to work is the fastest way to work, and the fastest way--hands down--is with a keyboard. Nothing beats ripping through applications with eyes on the monitor and hands on the keys. No fumbling for the mouse. Less chance of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The downside, of course, is that we have to learn the keystrokes. But this is easy, thanks to my one-step program: Unplug your mouse for a month. At the end of that time, you'll know Win95's keystrokes like the back of your CTS-free hand. (If you don't want to go cold turkey, unplug the mouse from your laptop only.)

Here's the scoop on how to be a Win95 Keyboard Quickie.

Coolswitching in Windows 3.x was great, but in Win95 it's even better. You probably already know how to coolswitch (hold down the Alt key, then repeatedly press the Tab key).Win95 shows you all the running icons as you coolswitch through them. Because you can see your target application coming, you can get it on the screen faster.

Here are a couple of neat coolswitching tricks you can try: Press Alt+Shift+Tab to go backward (you can also do this in the middle of a normal coolswitch). Or press Esc in the middle of a coolswitch to bail out.

Here's a bonus tip for you Keyboard Quickies who want the fastest possible task-switching. When you coolswitch, the first application or folder selected is the last one you had open. If that's the one you want, just press Alt+Tab and let go immediately. The icons won't even come up--you'll instantly switch to the app or folder you had open.

Then there's the Win95 power-user's coolswitch: Alt+Esc. This keystroke instantly takes you from one open application or folder to the next. Try it!

There are several other new or essential keystrokes in Win95. Any Keyboard Quickie worth his or her salt should know the important ones:

F2: Rename

F3: Launch Find

F4: Drop down the "Go to a different folder" menu on the folder toolbar

F5: Refresh

Alt+F4: Close current application (if the desktop is the current app, Win95 shuts down)

Ctrl+F4: Close current document but leave the application open

Alt+Enter: Bring up Properties dialog

Another great new Win95 keyboard enhancement is the application of the Cut, Copy and Paste metaphors to files and folders. You already know that in a word processor or other text-based application, pressing Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V cuts, copies and pastes, respectively. In Win95, these techniques can also be applied to files and folders.

Ha! Get with it, Carl. This is 1996. Graphical computing isn't about arcane keystrokes or commands that change with each application. Haven't you heard? DOS is dead! Graphical computing is about intuitively navigating the interface by pointing and clicking. Using Windows without a mouse is like eating without utensils. It's out of date and just isn't done in polite company.

Win95 is a Mouse Maniac's dream system. Unlike Windows 3.x and previous versions, which used just one of your mouse buttons (might as well use a Mac), Win95 makes good use of both mouse buttons.

Every object on the desktop sports a Context menu that includes, among other things, the all-important Properties dialog. You can bring up the Context menu of any item by right-clicking on it. Right-click on the Recycle Bin to empty it. Right-click on the taskbar to configure it or minimize all open applications. Right-click on the desktop or inside open folders to arrange or view icons differently. Right-click on files to print them, create shortcuts to them and mail them using the Send To command. Right-click on everything.

When you drag and drop files or folders, get in the habit of using the right mouse button. It'll give you the option to move, copy or create a shortcut.

Win95 sports some drag-and-drop enhancements that all Mouse Maniacs should know about. For example, if you're in the middle of a drag and change your mind, just press the Esc key.

Mousing in Win95 is enhanced not only by the right mouse button, but also by keystroke/mouse combinations. When you hold down the Shift key while dumping something into the Recycle Bin, Win95 deletes it. When you hold down the Ctrl key while double-clicking on a folder icon, Windows temporarily reverses your settings for how folders should open. For instance, you can set Win95 to open a new, separate folder each time you double-click on a folder (select View/Options from the folder menu, then click on the Browsing Option of your choice). If you hold down the Ctrl key, you'll open the folder in the same window.

You can also use keyboard/mouse combinations to enhance your ability to select files and folders. In Explorer, you can select all items from the top of a list down to your target folder by holding down the Shift key, then clicking on the file or folder at the bottom of the batch you want selected. Or click on any file or folder, hold the Shift key and click on another file or folder to select both items and everything between them. To select any combination of items, hold down the Ctrl key, then click on the files and folders you want.

Once you've made your selections, you can right-click on any of them and choose an action from the Context menu that will affect them all.

If you want to launch an application that needs switches or other command-line parameters, you can use drag-and-drop to get Win95 to type the path and filename for you. Click on the Start button and select Run. Then drag the application and drop it onto the Run command line. You can do the same thing with the MS-DOS Prompt. Once the path and filename are there, all you have to do is type in the parameters.

Been there. Done that. All that stuff is old. The taskbar, along with its Start button and menus, is the only real interface innovation in Win95. It's also the best. You just need to know how to use it.

The default size of Start menu items is too large, and you can't fit enough stuff in there. We'll fix that. Just right-click on the taskbar and choose Properties. Then select the Show Small Icons box and click on OK.

It's important to understand the Start menu and how it works. Items on the Start menu are just shortcuts in a folder: the Start Menu folder within the Windows folder. Removing and adding Start menu items is as simple as removing and adding files in a folder.

A great way to give yourself quick access to your most-used apps, documents and folders is simply to drag them from wherever they are and drop them onto the Start button. Doing this will place them on the first level of the Start menu.

When you installed Win95, it made all your program groups cascading menus under the Programs item. When you install new Windows programs, they'll likely add things to your Start menu. Make sure you remove all unwanted items to make room for those you do want.

The Start menu itself is a cascading menu, meaning it opens up into a hierarchy of menu items. Some pundits say that to create a cascading Start menu item, you need to enter a bizarre and complicated series of letters and numbers. But it ain't so! It's the easiest thing in the world.

For example, here's how to create a cascading Control Panel item. Right-click on the Start button and select Open. Now open My Computer, double-click on the Control Panel item and put the Start menu folder and Control Panel folders side-by-side. Right-click on the white part of the Start menu and select New/Folder. Name it Control Panel. Now select all the Control Panel items and drag and drop them onto the new Control Panel folder. (You might want to open the new folder and get rid of all the "Shortcut to" text that Win95 puts in front of all your new shortcuts.) That's all there is to it. You can create as many custom cascading Start menu items as you want.

Keystrokes can launch Start menu items as well. In fact, you can navigate to any Start menu item using just the keyboard. Ctrl+Esc brings up the Start menu. Pressing an underscored letter (such as "D" for Documents) brings you to that item. Navigate the cascading menus with the arrow keys (note that if you're at the top of a menu, pressing the up arrow brings you to the bottom, and vice versa). And here's a secret technique my friend Carl taught me: You know those most-used items you placed on the first level of the Start menu? Right-click on the Start button, select Open, select each item in turn and give it a unique number from 1 to 10 (for example, change "WordPerfect" to "1 WordPerfect"). By pressing Ctrl+Esc and then a number, you can quickly open the item associated with that number.

Sure, keystrokes are fast, mice are intuitive, shortcuts are cool and the Start menu is innovative. But the important thing is how you organize and think about your work. The Win95 interface lets us think about our work by projects--it's all based on nested folders. Combine that with shortcuts, and we're no longer limited by the old DOS directory structure.

Here's what I mean. I mentally divide my work into three major categories: projects I'm working on; management responsibilities; and regular tasks like meetings, business trips and budget management that aren't really projects and aren't really about people management. Win95 folders let me organize my computer to mirror the organized way I think about my work. As you've probably already guessed, I have three folders. One is called "Projects," the second is called "People" and the last is called "Other Stuff I Gotta Do" (what the heck, it's my desktop).

In my Projects folder, I've got a folder for each project I'm working on. Each has e-mail messages about the project (just drag and drop from Exchange), links to budget information, links to documents listing my goals, lists of people involved and a shortcut to my contact manager.

In my People folder, I've got one folder for each person who reports to me. In each of those folders, I've placed key e-mail I want to keep, confidential information on each person, links to the projects we're collaborating on and more links to my contact manager. Some of the people on my staff have staffs of their own. In their folders, I have one folder for each person who reports to that manager.

My third folder contains everything else.

That's how I've arranged my system. But you might want to set yours up differently. For example, you could create a folder called Backup, where you place all your documents and other things you'd like to back up. In fact, you can put entire folders there. When you want to back up your system (highly recommended, by the way), you just have to back up that folder and everything in it.

I like to give my folders unique icons. The way to do this is to create a folder called, er, Folders anywhere on the C: drive. Put all the folders for which you want unique icons inside this folder. Create shortcuts to the folders and place the shortcuts wherever you want them. Then, using the instructions above, give each shortcut a unique icon.

I'm also using a fake Recycle Bin. That's where I put items I think I want to throw away. The fake Bin sits on my desktop in the lower right-hand corner next to my real Recycle Bin. When I'm sure I want to dump something, I put it into the genuine Recycle Bin; when I'm not sure, I put it into the fake one. Once every couple of months, I open the fake Bin and trash or save the items in it.

by: Fred Langa, Editorial Director

If you're like me, the most important parts of your computing life hinge on Windows. At work, there's Windows-based e-mail, general communications and information sharing via Windows, and Windows word processing, database activity and spreadsheets.

At home, Windows probably handles your tax information, family budget and home-office data. In fact, all my critical computer-based information depends on Windows--and I'll bet yours does, too. Unfortunately, with the exception of NT (which does have good safeguards), Windows' overall security has not kept up with the increasing value of the data we entrust to it. All the other versions of Windows, including Win95, have one or more gaping security flaws that can put your data at risk from both intentional snooping and accidental access. Nothing can completely secure anyone's data against a determined attack by skilled computer criminals. But there are steps you can take to provide reasonable basic protection against some of the most notorious security flaws in Windows and in key Windows apps:

1. The Boot Bypass. Even if you know only a little about computers, you can make a boot floppy disk and use it to get your system running. If your computer security depends on safeguards that load and run after the initial boot (such as a password-protected screen saver), you're vulnerable. Solution: Prevent unauthorized physical access to your machine (lock the room it's in); use the keyboard lock and remove the key; use the BIOS settings on newer machines to prevent booting from a floppy or to enable a power-on password.

2. The Password Is 'Cancel.' Most people don't realize this, but by default Win95's log-on password offers absolutely no security. (If you have a log-on password, try pressing Cancel or Escape the next time you start Windows--the password dialog will close, and you'll be placed on the default desktop just as if you'd typed the correct, secret password you set up.) Solution: In Control Panel's Passwords applet, click on the User Profiles tab, and then click on the "Users can customize their preferences" item. This will allow you to give your log-on settings and access privileges that are different from those of the default Win95 log-on. Next, use Win95's Policy Editor to define what each user of your system can and cannot do. Each log-on can have its own set of privileges, access to different files and so on. You can severely limit what a default log-on can do. You'll find the Policy Editor and the complete Win95 Resource Kit (which can answer almost any security-related question) on the CD version of Win95 in the ADMIN/APPTOOL/POLEDIT directory, or you can download the files from Microsoft's World Wide Web site at http: //www.windows.microsoft.com/windows/software.htm. You can also find more complete instructions for enabling the log-on password in my December editorial (Start, December 1995).

3. Private E-Mails Are Really Open Letters. In Windows 95, by default, anyone can walk up to your system, use his or her own log-on and potentially gain full access to all your supposedly private e-mail stored in Exchange, the "universal inbox" that comes with Win95. (It looks like the programming team that wrote Exchange expected Win95 to provide basic security, while the Win95 team expected Exchange to provide security for itself.) Even if you entered a password to convert your old e-mail to Exchange, you're still vulnerable. Solution: Enable Win95's base security as described in item 2. Then go to Exchange's Tools/Services menu, select the Personal Folder file (or whatever it's named on your system) and click on Properties. Then click on Change Password and enter a password different from your system password. Now both your e-mail and your basic desktop are safe from at least casual snooping.

4. Take My Files, Please. When you installed Windows 95, you may have enabled the "I want to be able to give others access to my files" option, as well as the TCP/IP networking protocol to access the Internet. If you did, you may inadvertently be sharing your files with people all over the world. (To Microsoft's credit, its own Internet Explorer Web browser looks for this condition when you install it, and offers to turn off Print and File Sharing for the TCP/IP protocol.) Solution: Examine the TCP/IP properties via Control Panel's Network applet, and make sure Print and File Sharing is unchecked in the Bindings tab dialog. In Explorer, right-click on each drive and use the Sharing menu to set up passwords for each.

5. While You're At It, Take a Few More Files. There's a flaw in Win95's Print and File Sharing software that, in relatively limited circumstances, also can result in a wider sharing of files than you intended. (The lengthy full details are available on the Web at http: //www.microsoft.com/windows/software/w95fpup.htm.) Solution: Download the free, updated version of Print and File Sharing services from Microsoft's Web site at http: //www.microsoft.com/windows/download/vservupd.exe.

6. Word's Extra Baggage. Starting with Word 6.0 for Windows, Microsoft set Word's default Save behavior to "Allow Fast Saves." This saves some time because only the changes from one version of a document get written to disk. But it also means some or all of your original drafts ride along with the final version. Anyone viewing the final .DOC file with a plain-vanilla file viewer--Notepad, for instance--can see this original draft material in all its glory. At the least, it's embarrassing. At worst, if your early drafts contained intemperate, sensitive or confidential information you didn't want in the final draft, it could be disastrous. Relatedly, by default, Word chooses the first few words of your first draft as the description on each document's Properties Sheet. Solution: In the Tools/Options menu, turn off Allow Fast Saves and turn on Prompt for Document Properties.

7. "OLE" or "Oh, No"? A flaw in Microsoft's OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology can result in similar behavior to item 6, but for a completely different reason: Parts of files you thought were deleted can reappear in later document files, where they can be viewed via programs like Notepad. Solution: Watch for bug-fix updates, which should be available when you read this.

by: Mike Elgan, Executive Editor

10. Right-mouse-button support. Finally, we get to use that right mouse button. Right-click on any item to bring up a Context menu, where you'll find the all-important Properties item. Empty the Recycle Bin in a flash by right-clicking and selecting Empty Recycle Bin. And to open a document in an app other than the one it's associated with, press Shift+Right-click to add the Open With command to your Context menu.

9. Folders. Win95 transformed Windows from the least flexible OS to the most. Folders are a great example. You can set up deeply nested folders and make Windows look like a Mac, or you can imitate Program Manager by creating a few folders on your desktop and putting shortcuts in them. Other operating systems have had nested folders for years. Now Win95 has 'em!

8. The MS-DOS Prompt. Some say DOS is dead, but what they mean is that many of the annoying qualities of DOS are extinct. The Win95 implementation of DOS is actually pretty cool. Win95 runs DOS apps natively, rather than in emulation, which maximizes performance. Win95's DOS sports new features (such as the ability to launch Windows apps) without losing any of the old ones. And unlike the DOS of yore, PIFs have been killed. Good riddance to them!

7. The Find utility. Here's a quiet little gem. If you know how to use it, the Find utility can retrieve files across your network and the Microsoft Network, even if you don't know the filename or location. Bring up Find by pressing F3 or by selecting Find/File or Folders from the Start menu. The Win95 Find utility supports wild-card capabilities beyond the standard asterisk. For example, a question mark before a character or string finds the character or string anywhere in the filename (except at the beginning). Find will also search for folders and files that contain characters in the order you typed them. Find's most powerful features are in the Advanced tab. Here you can type in a text string that you know is in the file, select the type of file you're looking for and narrow your search by file size.

6. Drag-and-drop support. Drag and drop in Windows 3.x was pretty good, but it's even better in Win95. If you have an application or folder minimized or hidden behind other windows, for example, you can drag a file over the button on the taskbar, hold it there for a second, and the app opens on top, allowing you to drop the file there. Create shortcuts on your desktop to your floppy drive, printers and folders on the network so you can easily drag and drop files to any of these. In addition, you can drag and drop pieces of documents, known as scraps, as well as entire files.

5. The taskbar. The taskbar is deceptively simple. This thin gray rectangle lets you open and configure the Start menu, view everything that's running, see and change the time and date, switch between applications and folders, adjust the volume of your sound, and minimize, restore, tile or cascade open apps and folders. You can drag and drop the taskbar anywhere on your screen, keep it visible at all times or hide it automatically.

4. Disk compression. Out-of-the-box disk compression in Win95 is stable, safe and useful. But take our advice and buy Microsoft Plus for Windows 95--if for nothing else than the Compression Agent and DriveSpace 3. You'll be able to UltraPack files you rarely use, HiPack those you use occasionally and leave files you don't want to squeeze alone.

3. The System Agent. Here's another must-have Microsoft Plus item. The System Agent lurks silently in memory, waiting to do your bidding. Tell it to perform hard-disk maintenance, alert you with pop-up reminders, run batch files at scheduled times, or do backups in the background. The kicker is that this utility is super-easy to use; you can set up a custom scheduled event in less than a minute.

2. The Send To menu. With a click of your mouse, the Send To command lets you blast any file to any location on your system or on the network--or to any application. Right-click on any file, select Send To and the location, and the file is as good as there.

1. Explorer. And the number-one Win95 feature ... Explorer! Actually, Explorer is a mixed bag (it's also on the Bottom 10 list). But its good features are really good. It shows your computing universe in the left pane, and the currently selected folder in the right. Slice and dice the view to sort by size or date last modified, and use the toolbar to map network drives.

by: Jim Boyce

10. Technical support. Windows 95 technical support is geared primarily toward hand-holding to help users overcome setup problems and difficulties with various features. If you're a power user with a tough technical question, you'll sometimes have trouble just explaining the problem to the technician on the other end of the line. Solution: There are alternatives to telephone support. Explore the wide variety of online forums devoted to the subject, starting with Microsoft's Win95 World Wide Web site at http: //www.microsoft.com. In addition, all the major online services have Windows areas where other users have most likely posted similar questions that were answered by people in the know. You should also get and use the Win95 Resource Kit. It's available free on the CD version of Win95 in the ADMIN/APPTOOL/POLEDIT directory, or you can download the files from Microsoft's Web site at http: //www.windows.microsoft.com/windows/software.htm. If you're completely on your own for tech support, or if others rely on you for guidance, consider a subscription to Microsoft's CD-based TechNet service (800-344-2121), which contains most of the same information available to Microsoft's own support technicians.

9. The Recycle Bin. Recycle Bin is a safety net you could drive a truck through. If you delete a file from an application or the command line, it's gone. The Recycle Bin also needs better overflow support. You can specify the amount of disk space to allocate for the Recycle Bin on each drive, but when that limit is reached, those deleted files go to binary heaven with no warning. And if you push the Recycle Bin capacity slider to zero by accident, everything in the Bin is history. Solution: You can partially overcome these shortcomings with a third-party product like Norton Utilities, which adds extra goodies such as chronological emptying of the wastebasket. But even with these add-ons, your best line of defense is abundant backups and careful work.

by: Fred Langa