Windows 3.x

General:

Double click to max
Double click on any open window´s title bar to maximize the window.

Tile treatment
Press Ctrl+Esc to bring up the Task list, which does everything you have running.

Open-and-shut case
Press Shift while you double-click on a program´s icon to start the program and minimize it at the same time.

Enduring Desktop
To save your Windows 3.1 Desktop arrangement, press Shift and choose Exit from the File menu. Now choose Exit to leave Windows.

All for one
To select everything in a File Manager directory, press Ctrl + / .

Prompt printing
To print a document fast, double-click on Control Panel´s Printers icon and make sure Use Print Manager is checked. Switch to program Manager and hold down the Shift key while double-clicking on Print Manager icon to run it minimized. Drag the document´s icon from File Manager  and drop it on Print Manager icon.

Fire up with FileMan
If you want to bypass the Program Manager and use the File Manager to access all your files and programs, add the line WIN WINFILE as the last line in your Autoexec.bat file. If there is a WIN line there already, add WINFILE to the end of that line. After you save the file and restart your computer, you will go straight to File Manager.

Boot Log
Windows can help you find trouble if you use it to document your setup before you start making changes to drivers or system components. First, open Windows with the command line WIN /B. That causes Windows to write a file named BOOT-LOG.txt. It also causes Windows to skip its opening screen; you will see the C: prompt until Program Manager appears. As Windows concludes each step of startup procedure, it writes a line in this file that tell you the step was completed. Rename the file to something easy to remenber, like BOOTLOG.BAK.

Multiplying icons
You can make copies of an icon within its group by Ctrl-dragging it inside the group. This is a neat method if you are planning to set up several program icons to run in different ways by using the Properties command.

Skip startup screen
To start Windows without seeing the startup screen, enter WIN: and press Enter at DOS prompt.

Look through many windows
Shift-double-click to open a new window in the Windows File Manager. Now you can press Shift+F4 to look into all windows at once.

Alter icon labels
Change the icon-label fonts in Program Manager by editing the (Desktop) section if WIN.INI. Edit or add lines with the neme of the desired font and its size. For instance, if you want to use 10 point Century Schoolbook, edit the (Desktop) section with these lines:
     IconTitleFaceName=Century Schoolbook IconTitleSize=10.

Working without warning
Windows will warn you on startup if it cannot connect to the network you have in setup. To disable this warning, add the following line to (Windows) section of WIN.INI : NetWarn=0.

No-mouse Maximizing
Instead of clicking with the mouse, press Alt-Spacebar and type X or N to maximize or minimize a window.

Drag and duplicate
If you want to copy files onto the same disk by dragging and dropping them in the File Manager, press Ctrl while you are selecting them. Otherwise, dragging will move the files from one directory to another.

More Ports
You can edit SYSTEM.INI to have more than four ports. In the [386Enh] section,find the setting that reads MaxCOMPort=4 and change the 4 to the number you have.

Sizing Up Help
To change the default size of the WinHelp window,edit the following line in [Windows Help] section of WIN.INI : M_W i n d o w Position= [0,0,640,480,0].

Hard Drive

1) Delete any files that remain in TEMP directory.

2) Delete any files that start with the characters WOA. This are swap files.

3) Delete any files that start with GRB.

4) Delete backup files you no longer need, especially if they are applications that generate these files automatically.

5) Delete files you no longer use, such as accessories, help files, games and wallpaper.

Memory Management

MemMaker + Super VGA = More Memory
If you have a Super VGA display and use MemMaker, you can frre-up conventional memory using the MONOUMB.386 file. Open SYSTEM.INI, add device=c:\dos\monoumb.386 to the [386Ehn] section and save the file. Restart your computer and run MemMaker by typing MemMaker at DOS prompt. Choose Custom Setup; on the Advanced Options screen, answer Yes to "Use monochrome region (B000-B7FF) for running programs?" Then follow instructions.

Free Memory

If you have EMM386 4.45, it can scan and free up additional memory regions if they have been duplicated elsewhere. To enable this feature,edit your CONFIG.SYS file and add high scan switch to the device= line that loads EMM386.EXE.

Jog the System´s Memory
If you want more informations when refining your computer´s memory usage, hold down the Alt key during reboot to initiate a display of start-up information.

Do not SHARE
If you work only in Windows, not DOS, you can save a lot of memory by not loading SHARE; it is seldom needed, and Windows uses a program called VSHARE to do the same job. If there is a line that loads SHARE in your CONFIG.SYS, delete it.