Tips - Tips - Tips


Page 3


You are listening to With
or Without You, U2.





21 - Open RTF files in same Word window

In any Windows 95 window, choose Options under the View menu and select the File types tab. Select Rich Text Format in the Registered file types list, click the Edit button, select Open under Actions, and click Edit again. In the resulting dialog box, select Use DDE, then type the following on the DDE Message line:

[FileOpen("%1")]
Click OK, click Close twice, and from now on, those RTF files will open in a single (or already-open) Word window.




22 - Change hard drive icon

Want to change the icon that Windows 95 uses to represent your hard drive? Create an INF file that points to the icon you have in mind.
Open Notepad, and type the following:

[autorun]
icon=PATH,#

where PATH is the path of the icon you want to use and # is its number in the file.

Let's back up a sec: In any icon file, such as SHELL32.DLL in the Windows\System folder, the icons are numbered from zero to whatever. To view the icons in these files, right-mouse click a folder shortcut, choose Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. The Change Icon dialog box displays all the icons in the SHELL32 file.
Click the Browse button and navigate your way to any other icon file, such as C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Pifmgr.dll, if you have it, to reveal its contents in the Change Icon dialog box.
So, if you wanted to use the fourteenth icon, the globe, in the c:\Windows\System\SHELL32.DLL file, the line in the Notepad file would read:

icon=c:\windows\system\shell32.dll,13

It's fourteenth in the list, but remember, you have to start with zero.

Once you've named your icon, choose Save As under Notepad's File menu, name the file AUTORUN.INF, and save the file on the root of your hard drive. (This is a must.) Close Notepad. To see the real-life version, open a My Computer window, click the old icon once, then hit F5 on your keyboard. If you aren't happy with your choice, simply change the icon reference in the AUTORUN.INF file.

Note: If you have multiple drives on your system, you can change the icon for each of them. Just follow the steps above, creating an AUTORUN.INF file on the root directory of each drive.)




23 - Assign sounds to application events - Part 1

Windows 95 lets you attach sounds to the events of any application on your system. Just add the applications and their events to the Sounds dialog box first, using the Registry.
Open the Registry Editor (after backing it up) and navigate your way to HKEY-CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. There, you'll see a list of all the applications whose events are currently listed in the Sounds dialog box. (.Default is Windows.)
Let's say you want to associate sounds with Microsoft Word events. Right-mouse click the Apps key, choose New, and then select Key. Rename the new key using the name of the program's EXE file (WINWORD.EXE, for Microsoft Word), without the extension or path. With the new key selected, right-mouse click (Default) in the right pane, choose Modify, and on the Value data line, type the application name. Click OK.
Now to add specific events. Click the new application key with the right mouse button, choose New and then Key, and rename the key with the name of an event (for a list of possible event names, double-click the .Default key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps). Hit Enter and repeat these steps for each event with which you'd like to associate a sound. Close the Registry Editor when you're done.




24 - Assign sounds to application events - Part 2

Once you've used the Registry to add all the applications and events you want to be able to access from the Sounds dialog box, head on over there and associate your sounds. Open the Control Panel and double-click Sounds. Select an event, then click the down arrow next to Name and take your pick of sounds. (If the sound you'd like to use isn't in the list, click Browse, navigate your way to the file you want to use, select it, and click OK.) Repeat these steps for every event with which you'd like to associate a sound, and when you're done click OK.




25 - Registry backups - Part 1

Lots of these tips involve editing the Registry. To be on the safe side, I recommend backing up the Registry before making any changes to it, just in case something goes wrong. Here's a quick review on making *full* Registry backups, so you'll have no excuse not to protect yourself:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Pull down the Registry menu and choose Export Registry File.
3. Navigate to where you'd like to store the backup file, type in a name for the file, select All under Export range, and click Save.

When you back up the Registry, the result is a REG file. There are two ways to restore this information to the Registry:

1. Double-click the REG file.
2. Choose Import Registry File under Registry, navigate your way to the REG file, and click Open.




26 - Registry backups - Part 2

To be on the safe side, I recommend backing up the Registry before making any changes to it, just in case something goes wrong. Here's a quick review on making *partial* Registry backups, so you'll have no excuse not to protect yourself:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate your way to the branch you'd like to back up.
3. Choose Export Registry File under Registry. (Selected Branch will be selected under Export range.)
4. Navigate to where you'd like to store the backup file, type in a name for the file, and click Save.

When you do a partial backup, the result is a REG file. There are two ways to restore this information to the Registry:

1. Double-click the REG file.
2. Choose Import Registry File under Registry, navigate your way to the REG file, and click Open.




27 - Title Bar to Shrink or Expand Window

The title bar of an open window does more than just tell you the name of the open file/application/window. It acts just like the button to the left of the 'X' in its upper right corner.
If a window is currently maximized, double-click its title bar to size it down. Double-click the title bar of a sized-down window to restore it to full-screen.




28 - Caps Lock/Num Lock Warning

Don't you hate it when you hit the Caps Lock or Num Lock key by mistake? Windows 95's Accessibility options can keep them from sneaking up on you.
Open the Control Panel, choose Accessibility Options and select Use Toggle Keys. Click OK, and now if you hit Caps Lock or Num Lock, you'll hear a warning tone.




29 - ClipBook Storage

There's some amazing, little-known stuff on the Windows 95 CD-ROM--for instance, a better version of Clipboard. When you copy or cut something to the usual Clipboard, you lose the last thing that was there. Few people know it, but Windows 95 also has a ClipBook where you can save clippings and reuse them. To install it, insert the Windows 95 CD-ROM, and in the resulting window select Add/Remove Software. Go to the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk, click Browse, and navigate your way to d:\Other\Clipbook (where d is your CD-ROM drive letter). With the clipbook.inf file the only thing in the file name box, click OK twice. Check ClipBook Viewer, then click Install. You'll now be able to open the program by selecting Start*Programs*Accessories*ClipBook Viewer.




30 - Back Up Your Registry

All sorts of installation programs mess with the Windows Registry, so it's a good idea to make regular backup copies of the two files, user.dat and system.dat. Unfortunately, you can't use Explorer or DOS to copy these files. Buried on the Windows 95 installation CD-ROM is a program that lets you make up to nine backups of your Registry. Just copy Cfgback.exe from the CD-ROM's \Other\Misc\Cfgback folder to c:\windows, and then copy the Cfgback.hlp file to c:\windows\help. To make a backup, double-click Cfgback.exe and follow the detailed instructions.







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