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Plus lets you change the icons assigned to the desktop objects My Computer, Network Neighborhood and Recycle Bin. Right-click on the desktop, select Properties from the pop-up menu then click on the Plus tab in the Display Properties dialog. Highlight the icon that you want to change and click on Change Icon. In the Change Icon dialog box, pick a replacement icon from those found in your .EXE, .DLL or .ICO files. You can also create your own icons with Windows Paint. In Paint, create a .BMP graphic of the appropriate size (usually 32x32 pixels, but Windows 95 allows other sizes, too). Then use the same icon-changing procedure, but in the Change Icon dialog click on Browse. Change the file type to All Files, select your custom .BMP icon and click on OK.
Leonardo Da Vinci might have been the archetypal Renaissance man, but all the items in his Desktop Theme look alike. You can flaunt your flair for creativity with your own custom themes. Run Control Panel's Desktop Themes applet, and in the dialog box, select a theme that comes closest to the one you want to create. Click on Save As and give your new theme a name--just make sure you save your file in the same directory as your other themes and use the standard .THEME filename extension. With a text editor like Notepad, edit the file you created. Leave the section names (in brackets) alone, but you can edit other entries indicated by identifiers such as Arrow= and a value like %ThemeDir%Leonardo da Vinci arrow.cur. To the right of the equal sign you can type the name of your desired cursor, sound or screensaver file. For the path, you can use the shorthand %ThemeDir% to indicate the standard themes directory (\Program Files\Plus\Themes).
Dress up your desktop with a new animated cursor. In addition to those found in the \Program Files\Plus\Themes directory, you can choose from the standard Windows 95 collection in the \Windows\Cursors directory. Plus beefs up that collection with nifty additions like APPLE.ANI, BANANA.ANI, COIN.ANI, DINOSAUR.ANI, FILLITUP.ANI, HAND.ANI, HORSE.ANI, PIANO.ANI, COFFEE.ANI, TV.ANI and WINFLAG.ANI.
Plus includes a cool icon collection in the file COOL.DLL, found in your \Windows\System directory. The icons it contains can be assigned to any shortcut. Right-click on a shortcut's current icon and select Properties from the pop-up menu. Click on the Shortcut tab and then on the Change Icon button. Type \Windows\System\Cool.DLL (or the name of any other .DLL, .EXE or .ICO file) in the File Name field and select an icon from the displayed list.
Windows 95's DriveSpace feature compresses data to save disk space, but compressing and decompressing data takes time, slowing disk reads and writes. Compressing large files you seldom use is a great idea, but it's not such a great idea to compress small files or files that must be accessed quickly. DriveSpace 3 lets you make compression decisions on individual files. Each of DriveSpace 3's four compression choices can be applied to an entire drive, a directory or a single file:
No Compression: Your data is read and written at full speed, but you don't save any disk space.
Standard Compression: This default provides reasonable disk space savings with minimal effect on access speed.
HiPack Compression: This saves more disk space than Standard, but slows disk access.
UltraPack Compression: This method squeezes files as much as possible and can yield dramatic space savings--with an equally profound effect on access speed. Microsoft suggests using UltraPack only on files that aren't read or written often and on PCs with fast--Pentium or better--CPUs.
To set compression, click on the Start button and select Programs/Accessories/System Tools/DriveSpace. Select a drive and choose the Advance/Settings menu item.
Compressed hard disks and diskettes must be mounted before they can be accessed. Hard disks mount automatically when Windows 95 boots, and compressed diskettes are mounted as soon as Windows 95 detects them. But if you aren't running Windows, compressed diskettes aren't automatically mounted. To mount a compressed diskette, use the ScanDisk utility with the parameter /MOUNT followed by the diskette's drive letter. The DOS command looks like this:
SCANDISK /MOUNT A:
The fancy graphics that dress up Web sites make net cruising scenic, but they can slow your browsing to a crawl. You can speed things up by telling the Internet Explorer to skip the scenery and display only the text that accompanies the pictures. Select View/Options and then click on the Appearance tab. Remove the check from the box labeled Show Pictures, and you're on your way.
When you come across a Web page that's a real keeper, you can save a copy on your disk to view later or send to someone else. After getting to that special page using the Internet Explorer, select File/Save As, type a file name and indicate where to save it. Click on OK and the page is yours. To view it later, select File/Open from Internet Explorer's menu bar.
If you're tired of seeing the same old home page whenever you launch Internet Explorer, it's time to relocate. First, display the page you want for your new home. You can either navigate to this page, or load a saved page from your disk. Select View/Options, and in the Options dialog, click on the Start Page tab and then click on the Use Current button.
You can make copies of hypertext links (the underlined words and phrases that whisk you from one Web page to another). Right-click on a link and drag it onto an exposed portion of your desktop, and you'll create a Windows 95 shortcut that works just like the original link. Double-click it and the Internet Explorer will automatically navigate to the linked page. If the Internet Explorer isn't running, the shortcut will start it up. Shortcuts can be moved to any folder, or even embedded in a document or e-mail message.
The Web is subject to frustrating delays and connection failures, but Windows 95 provides a tool to help diagnose net woes. A DOS program called TRACERT.EXE traces the connection between your computer and any other computer on the Internet. It tells you if each leg of the journey connected successfully and how long it took. You can see how many hops you must make before arriving at your ultimate destination. To run TRACERT.EXE, open a DOS box and type TRACERT.EXE followed by the name of the site to be traced. For example, to trace your route to the http://www.winmag.com/welcome/ page, you would type:
TRACERT.EXE www.winmag.com
It's not a map of the world, but it'll tell you what all those rollovers, bumpers, flags, kickouts, chutes, targets, lanes and wormholes are called--in living color, too. Check out the file TABLE.BMP, found in the \Program Files\Plus\Pinball directory. It identifies 55 different game elements.
A map isn't much help if you don't know where you're going. Take a look at PINBALL.DOC, in the \Program Files\Plus\Pinball directory. It's chock full of useful Space Cadet info, sure to boost your score. The file's in Word 6.0 format, so you can open it with WordPad or any other program that supports that format.
When playing Space Cadet, look for blue arrows on the playing surface. They point to objects that will produce the highest score if hit next. Also, watch the panel that appears in the lower-right corner of the game's window for important information and tips. Follow these road signs and you'll be a Space Admiral in no time.
You have to master the plunger and flippers, but a deft touch at bumping the box is what separates the average players from the pinball wizards. Space Cadet Pinball assigns three keystrokes to this important function. By default (and contrary to the Help file's information about using your keyboard to play), the X key simulates a bump applied to the left side of the table. Pressing the period key (.) simulates a gentle tap on the right side of the table's case. To nudge the table forward, press the Up arrow key. You can change these keystroke assignments, and the others used by the pinball game, by selecting Player Controls from the Options menu.
Running ScanDisk every day is a great way to nip disk problems in the bud. That's why System Agent's default list of daily tasks includes it. But if ScanDisk doesn't find any errors, it will still interrupt your work with a status display--which won't go away until you click on OK. However, you can tell ScanDisk to keep quiet unless it actually finds a problem. Run System Agent by double-clicking on the System Agent icon in the taskbar or by clicking on the taskbar Start button and selecting Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Agent. Double-click on the entry for ScanDisk in the list of scheduled programs and then click on Settings in the ScanDisk for Windows window. In the Scheduled Settings for ScanDisk window, click on Advanced and then click on the button labeled Only If Errors Found.
System Agent is preconfigured with several useful utilities, but you can also use it to run any Windows or DOS program, or batch file. Start System Agent from the taskbar or by clicking on the Start button. Then select Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Agent. Select Program/Schedule a New Program and fill in the blanks. Some programs will appear in the drop-down list, but you can type in the name of another program or use the Browse button to find one. Click on When To Run and specify the day, time of day and if your computer must be idle when the program runs. Click on OK, and your program is on System Agent's new schedule.
Normally, Windows only displays 16-color icons, but with Plus the sky's the limit. You can now see icons with the 256 colors, 65,536 colors--and even 16.8 million colors--found in some programs. Right-click on any open spot on your desktop, then select Properties from the pop-up menu. In the Display Properties dialog, click on the Plus tab and then place a checkmark in the box labeled Show Icons Using All Possible Colors."
Plus can improve the appearance of your on-screen fonts, especially characters displayed at large point sizes. Click on the Plus tab in the Display Properties dialog and place a checkmark in the box labeled Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts. This option requires that pixels are displayed along the edges of characters in shades of gray instead of black or white, so you must be using a video mode that supports 256 or more colors.
If you've got a fast computer and speedy video adapter, you can set Windows to continuously update a window's appearance while it's being dragged or resized. Instead of seeing dull, fuzzy outlines, your windows come alive while you change their size or location. Right-click on the desktop and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu. In the Display Properties dialog, click on the Plus tab and check the box labeled "Show Window Contents While Dragging.
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