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Jan 1996 Win Tips

Win95 Tips of the Month

Click Here to see a 24.9KB bitmap image of artwork which goes with this article, entitled:
Space: The Final Frontier

Eject! Eject!

Right-click on the CD-ROM icon in My Computer and select Eject from the Context menu to eject the CD from the drive.

Write Makes Right

The Win95 installation wipes out Windows Write and associates your .WRI files with the new WordPad. If you want to keep Write, copy WRITE.EXE and WRITE.HLP to a diskette before you install Win95.

Switch to Setup Switches

By adding switches to the Setup command, you can control what the Win95 Setup utility does. To find out what those switches are, just type SETUP /? at the command prompt.

When "Up" Brings You Down

If you navigate the Start menu with arrow keys, you know that items on the top of cascading menus are selected until you press the down arrow to select items below. To get to the bottom of a long menu, press the up arrow key. When the top menu item is selected, pressing the up arrow key brings you to the bottom.

No More Longing for Long Filenames

Get in the habit of using long filenames! Suggestion: Flag files you

don't use but don't want to delete either. If you're going to make a backup file, remember that you can add a "second extension." For example, instead of renaming the AUTOEXEC.BAT file AUTOEXEC.BAK, rename it "AUTOEXEC.BAT.backup created on January 13 1996."

Bill Davis
via CompuServe

Disable AutoRun

AutoRun plays CDs as soon as you put them in the drive. If you don't like this feature, you can turn it off. Right-click on My Computer and select the Device Manager tab. Find your CD-ROM drive on the list, then double-click on it. Select the Settings tab and deselect Auto Insert Notification.

Tell DOS Who's Boss

Batch files in Win95 leave a telltale DOS residue--the open MS-DOS Prompt window. To close it, create a shortcut to the batch file, right-click on the shortcut to bring up the Properties dialog, select the Program tab and click on the Close on Exit item at the bottom.

DriveSpace Isn't Just for Hard Disks

Use DriveSpace for diskettes! Just remember that if you need to format them in the future, you must do so from the DriveSpace utility.

Launch Folders At Startup

You already know you can put programs and documents in your StartUp folder to launch things at Win95 startup, but you can also put folders in there. Just follow the normal procedure: Right-click on the Start button and select Open, double-click on the Programs folder, then the StartUp folder. Now drag the folder of your choice into the StartUp window.

The End Is Near

If you've got a folder window open and want to get to the bottom of it, don't use the scroll bar. Just press Ctrl+End.

A Smart Restart

Sometimes you need to restart Windows to make a settings change take effect. But there's a faster way. Select Shut Down from the Start menu, then press and hold the Shift key when you click on Restart the Computer, then (still holding down the Shift key) click OK. When the screen prompt reads, "Windows is now restarting," you can let go of the Shift key. Performing this action bypasses the boot sequence.

It's a Cool Feature, Period!

You DOS veterans know that typing two periods after the Change Directory command (CD ..) brings you to the parent directory of the current directory. The Win95 MS-DOS prompt improves on this by the use of three periods and four periods to bring you to the parent directories once and twice removed, respectively.

Got a hot tip? Send it to melgan@cmp.com or Mike Elgan, WINDOWS Magazine, One Jericho Plaza, Jericho, NY 11753.


Copyright ⌐ 1996 CMP Media Inc.