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Windows 95 Customization Tips
Display Originality
You can customize several settings such as your desktop background, screen saver and video driver by right-clicking anywhere on an open area of your desktop and selecting "Properties." You can also get to this screen by double-clicking on Display in the Control Panel folder. You can add your own background pattern or pictures, add a screen saver, change your video settings or create a new color scheme for Windows.
Easy Rename
Reformed Mac users can skip this tip; however, Windows 3.*x* users may not immediately pick up on the new way to rename files. Left-click on the file icon, then left-click again on the name listed beside or below the icon (make sure these are two separate clicks, rather than a double-click). A cursor will appear, letting you type in the name directly. All normal editing functions, including selection, cutting and pasting, also work in the filename field. But before you decide to give all your files original, long-winded names, keep in mind that you can always create a shortcut to that file, named anything you want, without modifying the original file.
Take More Shortcuts
Remember that shortcuts don't have to point only to files--they can point to nearly any object, and function just like that object. For example, if you use Dial-up Networking frequently, you can create shortcuts to your most common dial-up connections and place them in the Start Menu or on the desktop. You can then simply double-click on these shortcuts to establish a network connection.
Choose Your Send To Destinations
One of the nice new features of Windows is the Send To menu. It appears in the menu that pops up whenever you right-click on a file or folder, and gives you a number of locations you can "send" the item you've selected. If the destination is a folder on the same hard drive, it performs a move command; if the destination is on another volume, it performs a file copy. You can add your favorite folders or network drives to the Send To menu by opening up the SendTo folder located in the Windows directory, or by typing "Sendto" on the Run command line on the Start menu. Anything that you put in the SendTo folder will then appear on the Send To menu. Just make sure you only create shortcuts to folders and applications, rather than moving the originals, in the SendTo folder; the shortcuts will behave just like the original items.
Dig into Your Desktop
Your Desktop is completely covered up by open windows, and you need to get at the My Computer icon. Sound familiar? While you can minimize all windows by right-clicking on the taskbar, it's easier to just keep a shortcut to the My Computer icon on the Start menu. Then you can get at your files without disrupting your work in progress. If you need access to other files on the desktop, you can create a shortcut to the Desktop folder itself. It's located in your Windows directory.
Send to send to send to...
If you find yourself placing a large number of folders in the Send To folder, try creating a shortcut inside it that points to the Send To folder itself. You can then add your favorite folders to the menu on the fly.
Focus Your Explorations
You can create a shortcut to any folder that opens up a "rooted Explorer"--an Explorer view with the target as the topmost level of the tree. Start by creating an ordinary shortcut to the folder, then bring up its Properties page. In the Target field, add "Explorer /e, /root," (include the final comma) to the beginning of the command line. By double-clicking on the new shortcut, you'll get an uncluttered window, with the folder you selected at the top.
Plan Your Own Menu
If you've used Windows 95 for a while, you've probably grown to rely on those context-sensitive menus that pop up with a right-click. Ever wondered where the actions in those menus come from? You can access them, and even edit them to create your own context-sensitive commands. Open the View/Options menu in any folder or Explorer window, click on the File Types tab, select any type of file and click on the Edit button. You'll see a dialog box with a list of Actions showing the commands that appear in the menu for that file type. Click on the New button to create your own command. In the Action field, type the name for your command. In the "Application used to perform action" field, type the command line to the application you want to launch or click Browse to locate it. Generally, you'll need to use applications that accept command-line arguments.
Place Utilities a Click Away
Since disk drives are considered a File Type, you can create your own set of disk commands that pop up when you right-click on a drive icon. For example, to create a defragment command, edit the registered file type Drive, create a new action, name it Defragment and type
C:\WINDOWS\Defrag.exe
in the Action field.
Explore Everywhere
Open folders with the Explorer by default. Go to the View/Options menu in any folder or Explorer window, and select the File Types tab. Double-click on Folder in the list of registered file types. Select Explore from the list of actions, and click the Set Default button. Explore will then appear bold and Open will appear in a lighter typeface.
Right Way To The Root
If you'd like to create rooted Explorer views on the fly, you can also add them to the right-click menu for folders. Edit the Action list for the Folder file type as in the previous tips, and create a new action called "Explore from Here." For the application path, type
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.exe /e,/root,%1
Both Of You Can Be Productive
Do you do the work of two people? If so, you may find the Windows 95 desktop and Start menu configuration that works best for one job is less than ideal for another. Windows 95 provides an easy way to store and access different configurations, so you can always have the configuration that's best for the job. To enable multiple personalities, open the Control Panel folder and run the Passwords applet. Select the User Profiles tab. Check the option "Users can customize their preferences and desktop settings" and the appropriate User Profile Settings checkboxes, and you're ready to go. To switch between personalities select "Close all programs and log on as a different user" from the Start menu's Shut Down dialog. The user name you enter when you log on determines the personality Windows 95 will assume. To create a new personality, specify a new user name during the next login.
Quick, View!
Quick View is an application that ships with Windows 95 and lets you view certain text and graphics files without launching a full application. It is not installed in the Typical installation of Windows 95. If you have it, it will be located in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VIEWERS directory under the name QUIKVIEW.EXE. Unfortunately, Quick View only pops up as an option for certain types of files, so if you have a text-only document with an unusual file extension, Quick View will not appear in the right-click menu for that file. You can enable QuickView for any file type you want by going to the View/Options menu in any folder window and selecting File Types. Select the file type you want to change and click on the Edit button. Now check the box in the lower-left corner marked "Enable Quick View." You can also put Quick View in the Send To folder to view any compatible document on the fly.
Quick Reference
If there's one particular document that you frequently refer to, and it's compatible with Quick View, you can create a shortcut that opens the document directly with Quick View, rather than the default application. First create a shortcut to the document, preferably in the Start menu. Then bring up the properties window for the shortcut and click on the Shortcut Tab. In the Target field, add
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VIEWERS\QUIKVIEW.EXE
to the front of the path.
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