 Using Shortcut Wizard

A shortcut is an iconic roadmap to an application or document file. You can double-click a shortcut icon in one location on your desktop to open the original file that it points to, which is most likely in another location. You can use shortcuts to have convenient access to files that are stored in less convenient places, such as inside a folder that is inside a folder that is inside a folder...

When you or an application create a shortcut, Windows 95 makes a direct link in the shortcut to the original file. This link includes the file's path and creation date and time (precise to less than a second). It saves this information to help it find a shortcut's original file when you double-click the shortcut. There are some cases when Windows 95 cannot find a shortcut's original file, which makes the shortcut an orphan (and no longer useful):

If you delete the original file.

If you move the original file to a different volume or drive (say you move the file from drive C to drive D).

If the original file is stored on a drive whose drive letter changes (such as a mapped network drive).

The filenames and icons for shortcut icons need not be the same as the original file they point to. Windows 95 lets you change them.

Windows 95 searches for a shortcut's original file if the location has changed. If you move the original file to a different folder on the same drive, Windows 95 can find it based on the creation date and time (which is unlikely to be identical to another file because the time is recorded to fractions of a second). It also gives you the chance to Browse and locate the original file yourself. If Windows 95 cannot find the original file, it displays a Problem With Shortcut message listing any nearest matching file it finds. You can update the shortcut to point to this nearest matching file.

Over time as you work with files, your system may accumulate orphaned shortcuts that point to files you've moved or deleted entirely. These invalid shortcuts take up extra storage space and clutter your desktop. Nuts & Bolts' Shortcut Wizard lets you fix or delete these orphaned shortcuts quickly and easily. It can locate any orphaned shortcuts on your PC. Once you have a list of them, you can decide to:

Repair orphaned shortcuts automatically

Repair orphaned shortcuts manually

Delete orphaned shortcuts

Related Topics

Nuts & Bolts Contents


Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Automatically

After Shortcut Wizard produces a list of all the invalid, or orphaned, shortcuts on your PC, you can let Shortcut Wizard automatically repair any orphaned shortcuts possible.

To repair orphaned shortcuts automatically:

1.	Start Shortcut Wizard by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button and choose the Program > Nuts & Bolts > Shortcut Wizard command in Windows 95.

Open the Nuts & Bolts folder and double-click the Shortcut Wizard icon from the Windows 95 Explorer or My Computer window.

The Shortcut Wizard dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Next > button.

Shortcut Wizard scans the drives on your PC to locate all the invalid shortcuts that point to files that are no longer in the same location.

The Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box appears.

Tip	If some of the original files may be located on remote drives (such as on a shared server drive) click the Options button and select the Search Remote Drives check box. Then click OK. When Shortcut Wizard scans drives to find the relocated original files, it will also search on any remote network drives.

3.	Click the Repair All button.

The Repair Report dialog box appears with a list of all the orphaned shortcuts that Shortcut Wizard can repair.

4.	Examine the list of orphaned shortcuts that can be repaired.

5.	Keep the orphaned shortcuts selected that you want to fix or not fix as a group.

You can also click the Deselect All button to deselect all the shortcuts quickly. Then select only the ones you want to fix or not fix. If you deselect all the orphaned shortcuts, you can instantly select them again by clicking the Select All button.

5.	Do one of the following:

Click the Fix button to let Shortcut Wizard repair all the selected orphaned shortcuts.

Click the Don't Fix button to if you don't want Shortcut Wizard to repair the selected orphaned shortcuts, but prefer fixing them or deleting them yourself.

The Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box reappears listing any orphans that you didn't fix automatically in the Repair Report dialog box.

You can manually fix any remaining orphaned shortcuts or delete them. See Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Manually or Deleting Orphaned Shortcuts.

6.	Click Finish when you are done repairing or deleting orphaned shortcuts.

Shortcut Wizard closes and the desktop reappears.


Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Manually

Shortcut Wizard lets you select an orphaned shortcut entry and repair it manually by entering a new path to the original file, or by browsing to locate the original file.

To repair an orphaned shortcut manually:

1.	Start Shortcut Wizard by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button and choose the Program > Nuts & Bolts > Shortcut Wizard command in Windows 95.

Open the Nuts & Bolts folder and double-click the Shortcut Wizard icon from the Windows 95 Explorer or My Computer window.

The Shortcut Wizard dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Next > button.

Shortcut Wizard scans the drives on your PC to locate all the invalid shortcuts that point to files that are no longer in the same location.

The Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box appears.

Tip	You may want to let Shortcut Wizard search for the original files first and let it repair them automatically before beginning to repair them yourself manually. See Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Automatically.

3.	Select an orphaned shortcut entry and click the Repair button.

The Repair Entry dialog box appears.

4.	Do one of the following:

Enter the path to the shortcut's original file in the New Path text box.

Click Browse and select the original file in the standard Windows Open dialog box that appears. Click Open and Shortcut Wizard enters the path to the selected file in the New Path text box for you.

5.	Click Save to update the new path to the original file with the shortcut.

6.	Repeat steps 3 through 5 to continue repairing orphaned shortcuts manually.

You can also delete any shortcuts that point to files that have been deleted from your PC or remote drives. See Deleting Orphaned Shortcuts.

7.	Click Finish when you are done repairing or deleting orphaned shortcuts.

Shortcut Wizard closes and the desktop reappears.


Deleting Orphaned Shortcuts

If an orphaned shortcut points to a file or folder that has been deleted from your PC (or from remote drives), you can delete it since it no longer serves any useful purpose.

To delete orphaned shortcuts:

1.	Start Shortcut Wizard by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button and choose the Program > Nuts & Bolts > Shortcut Wizard command in Windows 95.

Open the Nuts & Bolts folder and double-click the Shortcut Wizard icon from the Windows 95 Explorer or My Computer window.

The Shortcut Wizard dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Next > button.

Shortcut Wizard scans the drives on your PC to locate all the invalid shortcuts that point to files that are no longer in the same location.

The Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box appears.

Tip	You may want to let Shortcut Wizard search for the original files first and let it repair them automatically before beginning to repair them yourself manually. See Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Automatically.

3.	Select one or more orphaned shortcut entries and click the Delete button.

Shortcut Wizard deletes the orphaned shortcut. The shortcut will no longer appear in Windows Explorer or My Computer.

4.	You can repeat step 3 to delete additional orphaned shortcuts.

You can also click the Repair All button to let Shortcut Wizard repair any remaining orphaned shortcuts that it can automatically. See Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Automatically.

Or you can select an orphaned shortcut and click Repair to update the path to the shortcut's original file manually. See Repairing Orphaned Shortcuts Manually.

5.	Click Finish when you are done repairing or deleting orphaned shortcuts.

Shortcut Wizard closes and the desktop reappears.


Shortcut Wizard Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Next >

Click the Next > button to let Shortcut Wizard search your PC's drives for invalid, or orphaned, shortcuts. After it searches your drives, it displays the Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box.

Cancel

Click the Cancel button to close Shortcut Wizard and return to the desktop.


Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Orphaned Shortcut List

Select a shortcut entry in the Orphaned Shortcuts list that you want to repair manually or delete, then click the Repair button to repair it or the Delete button to delete it from your PC.

Tip	You can resize the columns in this list by pointing to the vertical bar between the Shortcut and Invalid Path column titles (the pointer changes to a double-tipped Arrow pointer), and dragging the vertical bar left or right. Release the mouse button when the columns are the width you want.

Repair All

Tip	If some of the original files that orphaned shortcuts point to may be located on remote drives (such as shared network drives) click the Option button, select the Search Remote Drives check box and click OK before clicking the Repair All button. This makes Shortcut Wizard search for the new location of orphaned shortcuts' original files non any remote drives.

Click the Repair All button if you want to let Shortcut Wizard repair all the invalid shortcuts that it can automatically. Shortcut Wizard searches for the relocated original files that the orphaned shortcuts point to and then it displays the Repair Report dialog box.

Repair

Select an orphaned shortcut entry in the list and click the Repair button to repair the path that points to this shortcut's original file manually. The Repair Entry dialog box appears.

Delete Item

Select an orphaned shortcut entry in the list and click the Delete button to delete this shortcut from your PC.

Option

If some of the original files that orphaned shortcuts point to may be located on remote drives (such as shared network drives) click the Option button. The Shortcut Option dialog box appears. Select the Search Remote Drives check box and click OK before you click the Repair All button. This makes Shortcut Wizard search on any remote drives.

Finish

Click Finish when you are finished repairing or deleting orphaned shortcuts with Shortcut Wizard. It closes and returns you to the desktop.


Repair Report Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following information and options:

Repair Orphaned Shortcuts List

This list displays all the orphaned shortcuts whose original files Shortcut Wizard was able to locate. You can examine the new paths (shown at the start of each entry) if you like to decide whether you want to fix or not fix the orphaned shortcuts as described.

In this list, you can select all, deselect all, or make multiple selections (hold down the Shift key to select multiple contiguous entries or hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple discontiguous entries).

After you select a group of files that you either want to fix or not fix, click the Fix button or the Don't Fix button, respectively, to perform that task upon the currently selected shortcuts.

Deselect All

Click the Deselect All button to deselect all the orphaned shortcut entries in the list.

Select All

Click the Select All button to select all the orphaned shortcut entries in the list.

Fix

Click the Fix button to fix all the selected orphaned shortcuts in the list. Shortcut Wizard redisplays the Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcut List) dialog box.

Don't Fix

Click the Don't Fix button to keep all the selected orphaned shortcuts in the list unchanged. Shortcut Wizard redisplays the Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcut List) dialog box.


Repair Entry Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following information and options:

Shortcut

This text box displays the path and filename of the orphaned shortcut file.

Invalid Path

This text box displays the invalid path and filename of the original file that the orphaned shortcut currently points to. The original file is no longer stored in this location.

New Path

Enter the new path and filename of the original file that the orphaned shortcut should point to. You can also click the Browse button to locate the original file instead of typing its path.

Browse

Click the Browse button if you want to locate the shortcut's original file by browsing rather than entering the path yourself. A standard Windows Open dialog box appears where you can locate and select the original file. Then click Open and Shortcut Wizard enters the path to the file you selected in the New Path text box.

Save

Click Save to save the new path specified for the orphaned shortcut. The Repair Entry dialog box closes and the Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box reappears.

Cancel

Click Cancel to close the Repair Entry dialog box without saving a new path to the shortcut's original file.


Shortcut Option Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Search Remote Drives

Select the Search Remote Drives check box if any of the original files that the orphaned shortcuts point to have been moved, or are located, on a remote drive, such as a shared network drive.

Deselect this check box and Shortcut Wizard only searches for the original files on your PC's local drives (drives connected directly to your computer).

OK

Click OK to accept any change you've made in the Shortcut Option dialog box and close it. The Shortcut Wizard (Orphaned Shortcuts List) dialog box reappears.


Address Space

The sum total of all possible memory addresses available at a given time. This is 4 GB (gigabytes) on a 386 or later PC in protected mode.


Launch Pad

The Launch Pad is a window where you can place application and document icons so you can conveniently access them.


Benchmarks

A benchmark is a standardized task that tests various devices for measurements, such as speed.


BIOS

The BIOS (or Basic Input/Output System) contains buffers for sending information from an application to the hardware device, such as a printer, where the information should go.


Buffers

A buffer is a temporary storage location for information being sent or received.


Bytes

A byte is eight bits of information composed of zeros and ones, one of which may be a parity bit. Most character sets, such as ASCII, use one byte to represent each character (letter, number, or special symbol).


Cache

A cache is part of the computers memory used to temporarily store recently accessed information. A cache is designed on the premise that recently used information may be needed again soon. Keeping information available in cache reduces the time it takes for an application to obtain the information again.


Cluster

A cluster is a unit of storage allocation usually consisting of four or more 512-byte sectors.


Conventional Memory

Conventional memory is the first 640 K (kilobytes) of RAM (random access memory).


CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The brain of your computer. This is main computer chip that controls all activity that takes place on a computer.


Diagnostics

Diagnostics are tests run to detect faults in a computer system. Diagnostics tests are run to detect faults before they become serious problems so the faults can be corrected.


Directories

Directories are locations within a volume on a drive where you can store files or subdirectories. In Windows 95, directories are equivalent to folders that appear on the desktop in a drive window.


Discardable Memory

Discardable memory is memory used by an application that it has marked as discardable. Windows can reallocate the discardable memory to a different application if it needs to.


DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries)

A DLL is an executable code module that can be loaded on demand and linked at run time. DLLs can be shared among multiple applications and independently updated, transparent to the applications. DLLs can also be unloaded when they are no longer needed.


DMA (Direct Memory Access)

DMA is a fast method of moving information from a storage device or LAN interface card directly to RAM which speeds processing time. DMA is direct memory access by a peripheral device that by-passes the CPU to save time.


Expanded Memory

DOS running on the Intel 80286, 80386, or 80486 family of computers can only address one megabyte of memory at one time. Expanded memory is the memory located between the base memory (either 512 K or 640 K) and one megabyte. Expanded memory is reserved by DOS for housekeeping tasks, such as managing information that appears on the screen.


Extended Memory

Memory above one megabyte in 80286 and higher PCs. Extended memory can be used for RAM disks, disk caches, or Windows, but it requires the CPU to run in a special mode (protected mode or virtual real mode).


FAT (File Allocation Table)

The FAT is a roadmap, or index, that points to the location where all the information in files is stored on a floppy disk or hard drive. The FAT is extremely important because the system uses it to store and retrieve files containing information.

When you save a file in Windows, it is stored in multiple pieces (in clusters made up of multiple sectors) on the disk. Windows also saves the roadmap, or index, that points to these clusters in two copies of the FAT (File Allocation Table). The FAT contains the directions to all the pieces of your files, so that applications can find them again later.


GDT (General Description Table)

The GDT is a table that is basic to the operation of protected mode. This table contains data structures (descriptors) that describe various regions of memory and how they may be accessed. Windows uses the GDT for system devices. See LDT.


Global Heap

The Global Heap is the general pool of memory available to Windows applications.


GPF (General Protection Fault)

An error condition caused by an application when it attempts to perform an operation not allowed by the operating system. Windows uses GPFs to determine and control the state of the currently executing application. GPFs that are unexpected by Windows cause a system error message to appear.


HMA (High Memory Area)

The HMA is the first 64 K of extended memory. If you use DOS 5.0, you can save memory by loading DOS into the HMA. Do this by adding the DOS=HIGH setting to your CONFIG.SYS file and restarting your PC.


Interrupt

A temporary suspension of a process caused by an event outside that process. More specifically, an interrupt is a signal or call to a specific routine. Interrupts allow peripheral devices, such as printers or modems, to send a call to the CPU requesting attention.


I/O (Input/Output) Device

An I/O device is any piece of computer hardware that can exchange information with the CPU. Examples of I/O devices include network cards, printers, speakers or other sound devices, or devices connected to the serial or parallel ports of your PC such as external modems.


Kernel

The Kernel is the part of a computer operating system that performs basic functions such as switching between tasks.


LDT (Local Descriptor Table)

The LDT is a secondary data structure table that contains additional information about various regions of memory and how they can be accessed. Windows uses the LDT for programs.


Linear Memory

Linear memory is the currently defined address space of the system that Windows uses to allocate memory to Windows applications.


Local Heap

The Local Heap is a region of memory allocated for local use by an application.


Locked Memory

Locked memory is memory used by an application that cannot be relocated or discarded by Windows.


Mapping

Mapping is the process of assigning physical memory (RAM) to a particular linear address range.


Mode Switch

A mode switch is a transition made by the CPU when changing from one mode of operation to another. For example, switching from real or protected mode, or a transition between different levels of protection. See Ring 0, 1, 2, 3.


Modules

A module is a device driver loaded by Windows.


Paging

The process of saving information stored in RAM to the swap file on the system hard drive so Windows can make the RAM available at a different linear address.


Parallel Port

The parallel port is a connector on the back of your PC and on some peripheral devices. With the appropriate driver software installed and a parallel cable connected to the parallel ports on your PC and a peripheral device, the two can communicate with each other. Parallel transmissions have no EIA standard, but most equipment follows a quasi-standard called the Centronics Parallel Standard.


PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Bus

The PCI Bus is a local motherboard specification (that provides connector slots on the motherboard for installing peripheral cards). The PCI Bus, designed by Intel, offers a high performance, peripheral component level interface to the CPU bus.


Physical Memory

Physical memory is the RAM (Random Access Memory) installed in your PC. See Random Access Memory (RAM).


Protected Mode

A mode of operation of 80286 or later CPUs which allows access to more than 1 MB of memory.


RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM (Random Access Memory) is also called physical memory. It is installed in your PC on SIMMs (Single Inline Memory Modules) or DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Modules). RAM is volatile, extremely high-speed storage used by your computer for processing information.


Real Mode

A mode of 80286 or later CPUs, where the CPU operates substantially like an older 8086 CPU and can address directly only 1 MB of memory.


Resources

Resources are objects that Windows and its applications can use, such as the buttons on the screen that you can click.


Ring 0, 1, 2, 3

Different levels of protection in protected mode, where programs having varying degrees of freedom of operation. Ring 0 (zero) is least protected and has direct access to all hardware in the system.


Sector

A sector is a pie-shaped portion of a hard disk. A disk is divided into tracks and sectors. Tracks are complete circuits and are divided into sectors. Under DOS, a sector is 512 bytes.


Serial Port

A serial port is an input/output port (connector) that allows the transmission of information out at one bit at a time, as opposed to parallel which transmits eight bits, or one byte at a time.


Swap File

The swap file is created by Windows on the system hard disk. It uses the swap file to copy information stored in part of the linear address space so it can reallocate the RAM used at that location to another linear address space.


Swapping

Swapping is the process of saving to disk or restoring from disk the contents of RAM so that the RAM can be used elsewhere in linear memory.


System Resources

System resources are a series of data structures kept by Windows. System resources are managed by the Windows User and GDI programs and maintain information about objects that appear on your screen. For instance, for each button on your screen the User program has to know where it is supposed to be located, what program owns it, and which part of the program needs to be notified when you click the button. GDI must maintain information about pens used to draw lines on screen, fonts used to draw characters, and so on.

The information about the various objects managed by the User and GDI programs is kept in six 64K regions of memory known as resource heaps. These regions are actually 64K local heaps. These regions are 64K because 64K is the maximum size a 16-bit program can deal with efficiently. User and GDI are 16-bit programs because Windows was originally designed to run on the Intel 8088 and 80286, 16-bit processors.

The User Resource Heaps are divided into:

The Window Heap, which contains information on windows and controls

The Menu Heap, which contains information on drop-down menus

The Menu String Heap, which contains the text messages that appear in the menus

The User Atom Heap, which contains mostly Window titles

The GDI Resource Heaps are:

The main GDI Resource Heap, which contains pens, brushes, fonts and various other information related to displaying Graphics

The GDI Atom Heap, which contains some font related information including font names.

The GDI and User Atom Heaps are usually discounted because the information in them is subsidiary to the other Local Resource Heaps. So, the other Heaps would always fill up before the Atom Heaps. The same is still true if Hurricane's Heap Expander (another Helix Software product) is loaded, although all the Heaps have been greatly expanded (now you understand the "Heap Expander" name too).


32BDA (32-Bit Disk Access)

32BDA is a process in Windows where the device driver that accesses the disk runs entirely as a 32-bit program at Ring 0 (zero).


32BFA (32-Bit File Access)

32BFA is a process in Windows where the DOS file operations are controlled by a program, or set of devices, that operate entirely as 32-bit programs at Ring 0 (zero).


Unlocked Memory

Unlocked memory is physical memory that Windows can copy to the swap file on disk, and whose linear address can be changed whenever Windows chooses.


UMB (Upper Memory Block)

The UMB is the area in memory between 640 K and 1 MB that have RAM mapped into them by memory managers, such as Helixs Netroom or MemMaker. See Expanded memory.


V86 Mode (Virtual 8086 Mode)

V86 mode is a mode of operation of 80386 or later CPUs where programs, originally designed to run in real mode, can run as sub-programs to a protected mode control program or operating system.


Video Memory

Video memory, called VRAM, is physical memory installed on your PCs video card that is used for displaying information on the screen.


Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is the amount of memory that exists either as physical memory (RAM) or on the hard drive (in the swap file). When a part of memory that is located in the swap file is accessed by an application, Windows reads the information into RAM.


VMs (Virtual Machines)

Virtual machines (also called Virtual DOS machines or VDMs) are created in Windows 95 when you open a MS-DOS Prompt window. The VDM is a software emulation of a separate computer, offering all the services that the DOS application expects of a PC.


VxDs (Virtual Device Drivers)

VxDs are used in Windows 95 to communicate with all physical hardware in the system. This prevents any application from having direct access to a piece of hardware. Instead, it communicates only through the VxD for that hardware.


Windows 95 Registry

The Windows 95 Registry file contains user, application, and computer-specific configuration information in a central location that was kept in various .INI files in Windows 3.1. The Registry contains settings that determine how your computer runs.


Hidden Files

A hidden file is any file that does not show up in a regular directory listing. Typically, hidden files have one of the following file extensions:

DLL-(Dynamic Link Library)

SYS-System file

VXD-Virtual Device Driver

386-Virtual Device Driver

DRV-Device Driver

In Windows, a programmer can set any file with the hidden file attribute.

Tip	In Windows Explorer or My Computer, you can select to show or hide hidden files. To do this, choose the Options command from the View menu, click the View tab, select the Show or the Hide radio button, and click OK.


System Files

A system file is a file used exclusively by the operating system, or Windows.