Copyright: Version 2.0 Copyright © 1997 - Creative Formats


Introduction

Thank you for downloading the Many Tips Help File. All of the information contained in this help file pertains to the Windows 95 operating system. Applying this information to Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, or Windows NT is not recommended. When using the information with Windows 95, just read carefully and take your time. Remember that your PC is there to serve you as a tool.

You can access four Win95 programs directly from this help file: The Win95 Registry Editor, System File Editor, Explorer, and DOS. Just click on the buttons underneath the menu bar, or right click to access the Floating Menu. If you want to find a specific subject or task, click on the Index button underneath the menu bar. Be sure to read the Disclaimer before you edit any of your important registry or system files. Also check out the Shareware and Freeware section to read more about downloading Microsoft PowerToys. The Tweak UI utility in the free PowerToys collection can automatically perform many of the Registry-related tasks listed in this help file.

The Tweak icon  [image]  appearing next to a tip indicates that the tip can also be performed automatically by downloading and using Tweak UI in the PowerToys collection.

There are also many links in this help file that will open your default web browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer), and take you to a certain web site. Remember that you must have either Netscape or Internet Explorer installed on your PC, and you must be signed on to the Internet in order for the links to access the Web.

  Good luck and enjoy!


Important Disclaimer

All of the information contained in this help file has been tested on Windows 95, and no problems were found. However, this information is being offered free to the public, and Creative Formats claims no responsibility regarding any activities concerning the information in this file. You should use the information in this help file at your own discretion. Creative Formats is not responsible for any errors or any damage that may result from the misuse of this information.

Microsoft Corporation is not supporting the Registry as part of their Windows 95 end-user technical support. You should backup any files and information before you edit, change, or alter it.

Windows 95, Win95, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Microsoft Plus, and Internet Explorer are internationally registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. America Online and AOL are registered trademarks of America Online Inc. Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. All other copyright acknowledgments are listed in this help file.

You may Freely Distribute this help file on any online service, BBS, or CD-ROM, but only after you have received written permission directly from Creative Formats. If you have questions or comments about the information in this help file please email us now:

cf1997@aol.com


About the Win95 Registry
The Win95 Registry

About the Win95 Registry

The Win95 Registry is made up of groups of files that let your system know how Windows 95 should be configured. Think of the Registry as the master brain files of Windows 95. Please remember that you should not try to edit or change anything in your Win95 Registry unless you feel comfortable doing so. Windows 95 can experience many problems if you improperly edit the Registry. Also remember that Microsoft offers no technical support with regards to the Registry. Keep in mind though that changing settings in the Registry is not that difficult, as long as you know exactly what should be altered.

1.	To edit the Registry, go to the Windows folder and double click on the Regedit.exe file.

2.	You can create a Shortcut for the file on your Desktop by dragging the file from Explorer with the right mouse button, then dropping it on the Desktop.

3.	Or you can open the Registry Editor from this help file by clicking on the Regedit button.


Backing Up the Registry Files
The Win95 Registry

Backing Up the Registry Files

Before you change any of your Registry files or System files, be sure to back them up onto three (3) floppy disks. Open Explorer and copy the following files onto three (3) blank formatted floppy disks:

Disk #1:

System.dat (located in Windows folder)

User.dat (located in Windows folder)

Disk #2:

System.da0 (located in Windows folder)

User.da0 (located in Windows folder)

Disk #3:

Msdos.sys (located in C:\ folder)

Autoexec.bat (located in C:\ folder)

Config.sys (located in C:\ folder)

System.ini (located in Windows folder)

Win.ini (located in Windows folder)

If you ever need to, you can copy any of these files back to their respective folders and overwrite the current files. Then reboot your PC for any changes to take effect.


Rebooting or Restarting the Computer
The Win95 Registry

Rebooting or Restarting the Computer

Reboot means to restart or reload Windows 95. Before you exit, it is always a good idea to save and then close any applications or files that are currently open.

1.	Exit by clicking on the Start button, then click Shut Down the computer. If you want to exit and then reload Win95, click on Restart the computer. Before you turn off your PC, wait for the "safe" screen to appear ("It is now safe for you to turn off your PC").

2.	When you're at the safe screen and you want to restart Win95, press Ctrl Alt Delete on your keyboard. The easiest way to do it is to press down the right-side Ctrl with your right thumb, then press down the Alt with your left thumb, and the Delete key with your right index finger. Remember that the Delete key may appear as Del on some keyboards. In help files or in other manuals, you may see Ctrl written out in its long form Control, and Alt may appear in its long form Alternative.


Restoring the Win95 Registry
The Win95 Registry

Restoring the Win95 Registry

If you ever want to restore your Registry back to the way it was before you started making changes to it, you can use the following procedure:

1.	Click the Start button, and then click Shut Down.

2.	Click Restart The Computer In MS-DOS Mode, then click Yes.

3.	After you have exited to the DOS prompt, change to the Windows directory (if it is not already there). If your Windows directory is C:\Windows, you would type: cd C:\Windows

4.	Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each one. (Note that system.da0 and user.da0 contain the number zero, not the letter O).

attrib -h -r -s system.dat

attrib -h -r -s system.da0

copy system.da0 system.dat

attrib -h -r -s user.dat

attrib -h -r -s user.da0

copy user.da0 user.dat

5.	Reboot your PC


Accessing the Start Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

Accessing the Start Menu

You can either click the Start button with your mouse pointer, or press Ctrl Esc (Escape) on your keyboard.


Removing The Start Button
The Start Menu / Start Button

Removing The Start Button

If you want to make a little more room on the Taskbar, you can get rid of the Start button temporarily.

1.	Highlight the Start button by clicking on it.

2.	When the menu appears, click it a second time.

3.	Now press Alt and the - (minus) button on your keyboard. The Start button will appear again when you reboot your PC.


Emptying the Documents Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

Emptying the Documents Menu

There are two ways for you to clear the Documents menu:

1.	Click on the Start button. Select Settings, then Taskbar.

2.	Click on the Start Menu Programs tab. Under the Document Menu section, click on the Clear button.

OR

1.	Right click on the Taskbar. Select Properties.

2.	Click on the Start Menu Programs tab. Under the Document Menu section, click on the Clear button.


Quickly Clearing the Documents Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

Quickly Clearing the Documents Menu

You can create a shortcut on your Desktop that you can use to instantly empty the Documents Menu.

1.	Open Notepad, and type this command on the first line (or copy and paste the command listed below):

echo y| del \windows\recent\*.*

2.	Save the file to your Windows\Command folder. You can name the file anything you like, such as Clear. Be sure to save the file as a batch file, and not as a text file. Instead of .txt, type in this extension: .bat

Example: Clear.bat

3.	Create a shortcut for that file on your Desktop. Copy the file in Explorer, then right click on the Desktop and choose Paste Shortcut from the popup menu.

4.	Right click on the shortcut, then choose Properties.

5.	Select the Program tab.

6.	Under Run, choose Minimized.

7.	Check the Close on Exit checkbox underneath the Run box.

8.	Click on OK, and close the Properties dialog box.

Whenever you want to clear the Documents menu, just double click on the shortcut icon on the Desktop. You can also use the same kind of batch file to quickly clear the contents of any folder, including your Netscape Cache folder. See The Web and The Internet for more info.


Speeding Up the Start Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

  Speeding Up the Start Menu

You can speed up the response time of the Start menu (and all the other menus) by modifying the string value in the Registry.

1.	To open your Registry Editor, go to the Windows folder and double click on the Regedit.exe file. You can create a Shortcut for the file on your Desktop by dragging the file from Explorer with the right mouse button, then dropping it on the Desktop. Or you can open the Registry Editor from this help file by clicking on the Regedit button.

2.	Double click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER, double click on Control Panel, double click on Desktop. If there is no MenuShowDelay entry, you can create the entry yourself.

3.	Highlight Desktop, then right click on it. Select New, then click Key. Type in the name for the new key as MenuShowDelay.

4.	In the right pane of the editor, right click on (Default), then click Modify.

5.	Under Value Data, type in a number from 1 to 10. 1 is the fastest menu speed, and 10 is the slowest.

6.	Click OK, then close the Registry Editor.


Adding to the Start Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

Adding to the Start Menu

You can add to or take away any of the files and folders that you currently have in your Start Menu. To quickly add a file or folder, just drag and drop the file onto the Start button. The Shortcut for the file will be automatically created. You can have all of your most frequently used files and applications accessible from the Start button.

1.	To remove a file or folder from the Start Menu, right click on the Start button, then click Open.

2.	Right click on any of the Shortcuts or folders and then select Delete. If you delete a Shortcut or folder that you want to keep, you can retrieve it from your Recycle Bin.


Quick Screen Saver in Start Menu
The Start Menu / Start Button

Quick Screen Saver in Start Menu

If you ever have a need to activate your screen saver quickly, you can either add the shortcut to your Desktop, or to the Start Menu.

1.	Open Explorer and go to the Windows\System folder. The screen savers will usually have the .scr file extension.

2.	Highlight the screen saver of your choice, and drag and drop it with the right mouse button to either the Desktop, or to the Start button.


Creating Cascading Folders
The Start Menu / Start Button

  Creating Cascading Folders

Click on the Start button and you can see that some folders have a right arrow next to the folder name. When you move the mouse to the right, you see other files, and in some cases, more folders with right arrows. You can create your own Cascading Folders for any file or folder of your choice.

1.	Right click on the Start button, then click Open. This is your Windows\Start folder.

2.	Right click on an empty area of the window.

3.	Select New, then click Folder.

4.	Type in a name for the new folder, then click once on the folder.

5.	Double click on the new folder to open it. Now you can drag and drop Shortcuts into the folder. For example, you can call the new folder Apps, then drag and drop Shortcuts into the folder for all of your favorite applications.

6.	Close the new folder, then close the Windows\Start Menu window.

7.	Click on the Start button and you’ll see the name of the folder you just created, with the right arrow. Move your mouse to the right and you’ll see the Cascading Menu for all of the Shortcuts you added.

To add another Cascading Menu (a folder in a folder), just create a New folder inside the folder that you’ve already created.


Adding Control Panel
The Start Menu / Start Button

Adding Control Panel

You can easily add access to any or all of your Control Panel files from the Start Menu.

1.	Left click on the Start button, go down to Settings, then click Control Panel.

2.	Now right click on the Start button, then click Open.

3.	In the Windows\Start Menu, right click on an empty area of the window.

4.	Select New, then click Folder.

5.	Type in a name for the new folder, such as Control Panel, then click once on the folder.

6.	Double click on the new folder to open it. Now drag and drop files from the Control Panel window to the new Control Panel folder. Remember that you only have to include the Control Panel files of your choice.

7.	Close the Control Panel window, then close all the other folders and windows.

Click on the Start button and see the new Cascading Menu for your Control Panel files.


The Order of Start Menu Selections
The Start Menu / Start Button

The Order of Start Menu Selections

By default, the Start Menu sorts all of the files alphabetically. But you may want the files sorted in a different way. You can rename the files and folders with a number before each of the names.

Just highlight the file or folder name, wait, then click on the name again to rename it. You can number or letter the files and folders by order of preference.


Accessing Shortcuts and Folders
The Win95 Desktop

Accessing Shortcuts and Folders

The simplest way to access your Desktop folders and files is by highlighting and double clicking with the mouse pointer. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to quickly move through each Shortcut. If you click once on your Desktop, you can type in a letter, and the first file or folder name with that letter will be highlighted. For example, by clicking the letter A repeatedly, all the files or folders that begin with the letter A will be highlighted one at a time. If you get tired of double clicking, you can use the Enter key to open a file, folder, or to start an application.

If you have opened a root folder, and a few sub folders, you don’t have to close them all one at a time. Just hold the Shift key while closing the sub folder that is on top, and all of the folders will close.

1.	If you want to open two or more files at the same time, right click near the group of icons, then drag the mouse. You’ll see a thin line forming a box around the icons.

2.	When all the icons are highlighted, a popup menu will appear. Click Open to open them, or press the Enter key. If you left click with the mouse, you can still highlight and open files. But you won’t see the popup menu, and you have to press Enter to open the files.

Use caution when using this method of opening simultaneous files. Although Windows 95 is a strong operating system, there are limits to how many open files it can deal with at the same time. For example, don’t try to open all of your Shortcuts and folders on the Desktop at one time.


Desktop Properties
The Win95 Desktop

Desktop Properties

When you right click on the Desktop, you can click Properties on the popup menu and access settings for changing the look and behavior of Windows 95.

Background Tab: Adjust Desktop Pattern and choose Wallpaper. The Wallpaper can be either tiled (repeated over and over) or centered in the middle of the screen. You can click the Browse button and select a bitmap image from a different folder other than the Windows folder. However, the bitmaps that are kept in the Windows folder will always be listed in the Wallpaper selection box, whereas a bitmap filename in another folder will only appear when it is selected.

Screen Saver Tab: Choose a Screen Saver and adjust its behavior.

Appearance Tab: Choose the look of objects, fonts, and Windows. You can either use the predefined Schemes, or create some of your own. You can also download The Creative Formats Appearance Scheme Collection from our web site: http://members.aol.com/cf1997/index.html

Most of the changes can be seen within the preview area, but some of the changes can only be seen by looking elsewhere. Click the Apply button to see your changes take effect. Remember to click the Save As button whenever you want to save a Scheme Setting.

Changes of Scheme Items Seen Within the Preview Area:

3D Objects, Active Title Bar (affects font size and style for both the Active Title Bar, the Taskbar, and the minimized buttons on the Taskbar), Active Window Border, Caption Buttons, Desktop, Inactive Title Bar, Inactive Window Border, Menu, Message Box (affects Message Box text color and Windows font color), Scrollbar, Selected Items (affects highlighting on the Menu bar and highlighting of text in most applications), Window.

Changes of Scheme Items Not Seen Within the Preview Area:

Application Background - To see how the application background color will look, you can open America Online, Cardfile.exe, or if you have it installed, Paint Shop Pro. Some applications use a background color, while others use the chosen Window color.

Icon - Look at the icons on your Desktop to see the changes. When you change the size and style of fonts for the icons, you simultaneously change the size and style of fonts used by Explorer.

Icon Spacing (Horizontal) - Look at the space on the left and right of each icon on the Desktop.

Icon Spacing (Vertical) - Look at the space above and below each icon on the Desktop.

Palette Title - Don’t feel bad if you can’t figure this setting out. According to Microsoft Technical Support, this Scheme setting does not affect anything. To their knowledge, it is a Scheme setting that was originally created and then later abandoned by the Win95 Design Team. At present there is no word of when or if this Scheme setting will ever be put into use.

ToolTip - Open Explorer and hold the mouse pointer over any of the buttons on the toolbar to see the color changes. If you cannot see the toolbar, click View on the Menu bar, then click Toolbar.

Plus! Tab: (This tab is only visible if you have installed the commercial product Microsoft Plus onto your PC). Allows changes to many icons, as well as the behavior of open windows. For more information, you can right click on the choices on the Plus! Tab, or you can read the documentation that came with Microsoft Plus.

Settings Tab: Allows adjustments to Color palette, Desktop area (monitor) resolution, overall font size, and monitor type.


Adding New File Types to Popup Menu
The Win95 Desktop

   Adding New File Types to Popup Menu

Right click on the Desktop and highlight New. If there is nothing under the Folder and Shortcut entries, you can add new files types to the popup menu. You can add a blank, non-formatted file, or you can add a pre-formatted template file.

Blank File - Let’s say you want to open a blank Notepad text file. Right click on the Desktop, highlight New, then click on Text Document. The icon for Notepad will appear on your Desktop, and you can name the file right there on the spot. Then you can create (type) the text document, and move it to another folder if you like. Or you can drag the file to Internet Email, or upload it to AOL Email, right from the Desktop.

Another example: Right click on the Desktop, highlight New, then click WinZip File from the popup menu (if you have WinZip installed on your computer). After the WinZip icon appears, you can name the file, then create the zip file the same way that you normally would. Now you can drop it onto Internet Email, or upload it to AOL Email, directly from the Desktop.

To create a new blank file type on the popup menu:

1.	Open the Registry Editor, double click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Scroll down to the file extension that you want to use. In this example we’ll use .txt.

2.	Right click on the .txt file extension, highlight New, then click Key.

3.	In the place of New Key #1, type in ShellNew, then click once in an empty area to save the new name.

4.	Right click on ShellNew, highlight New, then click String Value.

5.	In the place of New Value #1, type in NullFile, then click once in an empty area to save the new name.

6.	Close the Registry Editor, then go to the Desktop, right click on it, and highlight New. Now you should see a new entry called Text, or Text Document. Click on the new entry and see the new text icon being created. If you have WinZip installed, try this procedure with the .zip file extension.

Template File - Let’s say that you have a form letter that you created with Notepad, you have saved the file to your Windows folder as Names.txt, and it is one that you use on a regular basis. The form letter contains all the basic information, and now you want to add to it. Example:

Name:___________________________________________

Address:_________________________________________

City:__________________   State:___________   Zip Code:______________

When you create a new template file for the popup menu, you can open this same file, type in new information, then save the file as a different filename. The original text file template will still be the same.

To create a new template file type on the popup menu:

1.	For this example, open Notepad, then copy and paste the three lines of text above into Notepad.

2.	Save the file as Names.txt to your Windows folder.

3.	Now open the Registry Editor, double click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Scroll down to the .txt file extension.

4.	Right click on the ShellNew entry if you performed the example “To create a new blank file type” above, then click delete.

5.	When the confirm dialog box comes up, click Yes.

6.	Now right click on the .txt file extension, highlight New, then click Key.

7.	In the place of New Key #1, type in ShellNew, then click once in an empty area to save the new name.

8.	In the place of New Value #1, type in FileName, then click once in an empty area to save the new name.

9.	Right click on FileName, then click Modify. On the Value Data line type: C:\Windows\Names.txt, then click OK and close the Registry Editor.

10.	Go to the Desktop, right click on it, and highlight New. Now you should see an entry called Text, or Text Document. Click on the new entry and see the new text icon being created. Name the text document if you like, then double click on it to open it. You should see the same text that is in the Names.txt file that you created before. Now you can fill in the form letter, save it to the folder of your choice, or to your Desktop. Right click on the Desktop, highlight New, click Text Document, and you have another Names.txt file all ready to go.


Removing Network Neighborhood Icon
The Win95 Desktop

Removing Network Neighborhood Icon

You can also remove the other pre-installed icons on your Desktop by editing the Registry.

1.	Open the Registry Editor and double click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

2.	Then double click on Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, explorer, Desktop, and finally NameSpace.

3.	Click once on all of the long numeric names to see which icons you would like to delete. Then right click on a long numeric name and click Delete to remove the icon from the Desktop. After you reboot, the icons will be gone.


Renaming Recycle Bin
The Win95 Desktop

Renaming Recycle Bin

1.	Open up Registry Edit and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.

2.	Scroll all the way down and double click on CLSID, then scroll down and highlight the numeric name 645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E.

3.	Right click on (Default), then click Modify. Type in a new name for Recycle Bin under Value Data.


Renaming My Computer
The Win95 Desktop

Renaming My Computer

A lot of people don’t realize that they can rename the My Computer icon simply by clicking on the name once. You can even have a long filename with spaces. This new name will also appear in Explorer. If you’re in Explorer, scroll up to My Computer, right click on it, then select Rename.


Removing Shortcut Arrows
The Win95 Desktop

Removing Shortcut Arrows

1.	To remove the tiny arrows that appear on all Desktop Shortcuts, open up Registry Editor and double click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.

2.	Scroll down to .lnk and double click on it. Delete the IsShortcut key.

3.	Scroll down to .pif, double click on it, then delete the IsShortcut key.

4.	Reboot your PC and the arrows will be gone. Whenever you boot up from now on, you may still see the arrows for a few seconds, but then they’ll disappear.


Creating Drive and Printer Shortcuts
The Win95 Desktop

Creating Drive and Printer Shortcuts

Double click on the My Computer icon. With the right mouse button, drag the C:\ drive icon and drop it on the desktop, then select Create Shortcut. Now you can have instant access to all of your files on your hard drive.

If you want a quicker way to move files to and from your floppy drive, you can drag and drop the Floppy Drive icon to the Desktop from the My Computer window. Place a floppy disk into the floppy drive, then double click on the new Floppy Drive Shortcut. You can move or copy files quickly to and from a floppy disk, without having to go into Explorer. If you want to format a floppy disk, just place the floppy into the floppy drive, then right click on the Floppy Drive Shortcut and select Format from the popup menu.

Double click on the Printers folder in the My Computer window. Then drag and drop the printer icon of your choice and create a Shortcut for it on the Desktop. Now you can drag and drop text files from any Explorer window or folder to the Printer Shortcut, and it will be printed.


Refreshing the Desktop
The Win95 Desktop

Refresh the Desktop without Restarting Windows

Some changes to the Registry or system folders take place only after you restart your computer. To refresh the desktop without restarting Windows, click the left mouse button once on any open area of your Desktop or on any icon on your desktop, then press F5. Don’t hold down the mouse button while you press F5.


The Fastest Way to Restart Win95
The Win95 Desktop

The Fastest Way to Restart Win95

You can create a Shortcut on your Desktop that when double clicked on, will reboot your PC for you.

1.	Open Notepad, type @exit on the top line. Then save the file as Reboot.bat. You can call the file anything you like. Just make sure it has a .bat file extension. You can save your file to the C:\ folder for convenience sake.

2.	Using the right mouse button, create a Shortcut for the file by dragging and dropping it to your Desktop from Explorer.

3.	Right click on the Shortcut and select Properties. Click on the Program tab and select the Close on Exit box.

4.	Now click on the Advanced button, make sure MS-DOS mode is selected, and Warn before entering MS-DOS mode is not selected.

5.	Now click the OK button.

If you like you can change the icon for the Shortcut by clicking on the Change Icon button. A good choice is the Thunder and Lightning Bolt icon. After you have highlighted this icon, click OK. Then click OK again to close the dialog box. Now whenever you double click on this Shortcut, your system will exit to DOS, then reboot the PC.


Add Your Own Tips at Startup
The Win95 Desktop

Add Your Own Tips at Startup

Open Explorer and open Welcome.exe in the Windows folder. Or you can click this button to access it:  This is the Windows 95 Welcome screen. Click on the Next Tip button to see more tips. You can choose to have it appear every time you enter Windows 95. You can even add your own tips, or any other written material. You can include Win95 tips, famous quotations, reminders, jokes, whatever you like.

1.	Close the Welcome screen, then open the Registry Editor. Double click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then double click on Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, explorer, Tips.

2.	Scroll down to the end of the Tips list. Win95 contains 48 tips (0-47). To add a new tip (or new text of any kind), right click at the end of the list, highlight New, then click String Value. Type in the next highest number 48, then press the Enter key on your keyboard.

3.	Right click on 48 and click Modify. In the Value Data space enter your text. Then click OK.

4.	Close Registry Editor.

Now open up the file Welcome.exe, or click here:  Click on the Next Tip button and you should see your text after the tip “You can customize Windows 95 in many ways. . .” If you like you can go back and reedit the Registry so there is a blank space, or text that states “My Own Text” right after the last Win95 tip. This way you know when your text is coming up when you click on the Next Tip button.


Refreshing Explorer
Explorer

Refreshing Explorer

Many times when you change a file or install a new program, Explorer doesn’t recognize it right away. Press F5 on your keyboard to refresh, or update Explorer. An alternative is to click View on the Menu bar, then click Refresh.


Selecting / Deleting Files
Explorer

Selecting / Deleting Files

To select all the files in a folder, highlight one file in the folder, click Edit on the Menu bar, then click Select All. To quickly purge your Cache folder (delete all the files from either the AOL web Cache or the Netscape Cache folder), you can select all the files in the folder, then press the Delete (Del) key on your keyboard.

If you want to delete all but one file in a folder, highlight the file that you want to save, click Edit, then click Invert Selection. Now all the files except the one you originally highlighted will be highlighted. Press the Delete key, or click on the Delete button X on the Explorer Toolbar.

If you want to pick and choose which files you want to delete (or Copy or Move), press the Control key on your keyboard. Then click on each file with the mouse pointer. To deselect a file, just click on it again.

Right click on a file or folder and you’ll see a popup menu. You can Delete, Copy, Cut, Paste, and in many cases Print.

To select a sequential column of files, click the first file in the column, then press and hold the Shift key. Click the last file in the column, and all the files will be highlighted.

To open more than one file at the same time, highlight two or three files, then press Enter. Use caution when using this method of opening simultaneous files. Although Windows 95 is a strong operating system, there are limits to how many open files it can deal with at the same time. For example, don’t try to open 45 Gif files all at one time.


New Files or Folders
Explorer

New Files or Folders

There are two ways for you to create a new folder in Explorer:

1.	Highlight the Drive or Folder, then click File on the Menu bar, highlight New, then click Folder.

OR

2.	Right click on the Drive or Folder, then click Open on the popup menu. Now right click on an empty area of the open window. The popup menu here is the same as in the example above, and is essentially the same popup menu that you see by right clicking on your Desktop. You can create new folders, or create new Text Documents or Zip Files.


Available Disk Space / Renaming Your Hard Drive
Explorer

Available Disk Space / Renaming Your Hard Drive

Open Explorer and scroll up to My Computer. Highlight it by clicking on it once. Now right click on the name of your Hard Drive on the right pane of Explorer, then click Properties. Here you can see a Pie Chart that shows you how much Used Space and Free Space you have on your Hard Drive (In Explorer, there is also a listing of Disk Free Space down at the bottom of the window. If you don’t see it, click View on the Menu bar, then click Status Bar).

After the word Label, you can rename your hard drive to almost anything you like. Acceptable names are Hard Drive, your name, or pretty much any name you can think of. Just don’t try to name it C: or C:\ or you’ll get an error message. You should also try to think of a different name if you renamed your My Computer icon.


Finding Files in a Large Folder
Explorer

Finding Files in a Large Folder

If you are trying to find files in your Windows folder (or any folder with a lot of files in it), you can highlight any file in the folder, then use a letter on your keyboard. Example: Go to your Windows folder and highlight a file. Then type the letter W. The first file that starts with a W in the folder will now be highlighted. You can even type the first few letters and you will be taken to those letters in the folder.

Click View on the Menu bar, then click Details. Click Name on the right side of the Explorer pane, and you’ll see all the files and folders listed backwards alphabetically. This can give you quick access to files near the bottom of the list. Click the Name button again to return to the original view. Now click the Size button, and all of the files will be listed by file size. You can click the Type button to have the files arranged by what kind of files they are, or click on the Modified button to list the files according to the dates they were created or last modified.


Choosing a Different Application to Open a File
Explorer

Choosing a Different Application to Open a File

Let’s say that you would like to open a Bitmap image with Paint Shop Pro rather than with Windows Paint. If Paint is the default program that will open a Bitmap image, you can change this temporarily or permanently.

1.	Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, then right click on the file that you would like to open.

2.	Click Open With from the popup menu.

3.	Scroll down the list and highlight the application that you want to use to open the file. If you want to permanently use a certain application to open that type of file, check the box Always use this program to open this type of file.


Expanding All Sub Folders
Explorer

Expand All Sub Folders

Highlight any folder in Explorer and press the * (asterisk) key on the numeric keypad on your keyboard. This will quickly expand all of the folders and sub folders so you can see them all at once.


Opening Explorer to any Drive or Folder
Explorer

Opening Explorer to any Drive or Folder

Open Explorer now and you’ll see that your Hard drive is listed at the very top (depending on how large your font size is set to). You can change Explorer so it will open to another folder or drive simply by customizing the Explorer switches.

1.	Just to practice, make a Shortcut to your original Explorer folder, and place it on your Desktop.

2.	Now right click on the Shortcut, and select Properties.

3.	Then click on the Shortcut tab.

On the Target space, you can see the syntax that tells Explorer where to open. Here are some other Explorer Switches that you can practice with. After you get a feel for the proper syntax, you can customize them to your liking. Just copy and paste these lines one at a time to the Target space in the Explorer Shortcut.

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e,C:\

The default syntax. This is probably the way the command line is now.

Explorer C:\Program Files

Opens Explorer to the Program Files folder, displaying all the folders and files.

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /select, C:\Windows\Calc.exe

Opens Explorer to the Windows folder, then Calculator.exe is highlighted. Try this syntax on your own with different files and folders on your own system.

Explorer /e, C:\Program Files

Opens Explorer to the Program Files folder. You’ll notice that by inserting the e/ switch, it results in an Explorer view of the folders, as opposed to a plain window view. Try the same command line without the e/ switch to see the difference.

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /select, C:\Windows\System\arialn.ttf

Opens Explorer to the Windows\System folder and highlights the file Arial Narrow.ttf.

The main thing in being able to do this is to give yourself more flexibility when opening Explorer. You can create a new folder and place several Shortcuts to Explorer in it. One Explorer can open to your Windows folder, another to your Temp folder (so you can easily delete temp files when you first boot up), etc. If there are files or folders that you use a lot of the time, you can make Shortcuts to Explorer that will go to those files and folders quickly.


Moving / Sizing the Taskbar
The Taskbar

Moving / Sizing the Taskbar

You can move the Taskbar to any of the four sides of your screen. Just left click on the Taskbar and drag it. You can also place your mouse pointer on the edge of the Taskbar and size it.


Clock and Calendar
The Taskbar

Clock and Calendar

When you double click on the clock on the right side of the Taskbar, you can bring up a handy calendar. You can also reset the clock if you need to.


Taskbar Options
The Taskbar

Taskbar Options

Right click on the Taskbar and you’ll see a popup menu. Here you can adjust the size and behavior of open windows, and you can minimize all of the open windows at one time. Click on Properties and you can adjust how the Taskbar will behave with other windows.


Left Dragging
Dragging and Dropping

Left Dragging

Moving - When you drag and drop a file using the left mouse button, it will move the file. An exception to this is when you left drag a file from one drive to another drive. This will result in a copied file.

Copying - If you want to copy by dragging the left mouse button, hold down the Control key. A small symbol will appear as you are dragging a file. A plus sign will indicate that the file will be copied, a hooked arrow means a Shortcut will be created, and no symbol means the file will be moved. As you are dragging a file, you can press the Escape key to cancel the operation.


Right Dragging
Dragging and Dropping

Right Dragging

Whenever you right click on a file and then drag it, you will see a popup menu right after you drop the file. Move Here will move a file, Copy Here will copy, Create Shortcut(s) Here will create a Shortcut to the original file, and Cancel will cancel the operation. You can also cancel by simply clicking on an empty area in Explorer or on the Desktop.

In Explorer, you can move and copy files to and from folders quickly by right clicking on a file (or groups of files), then selecting a choice from the popup menu. For example, you can highlight a file, select Cut from the popup menu, scroll up to another folder, then Paste the file into the folder. Or you can paste a Shortcut of the file into the folder.


Dragging Shortcuts to the Desktop
Dragging and Dropping

Dragging Shortcuts to the Desktop

You can drag and drop practically any file, folder, or object onto the Desktop. The easiest way to keep objects on the Desktop is by creating a Shortcut to the object. Or you can save actual files and folders on the Desktop. Any file, folder, drive, or printer that you can access in Explorer can be made into a Shortcut on your Desktop. One example: If you do a lot of downloading from AOL, you can create a Shortcut to your AOL\DOWNLOAD folder. This way you won’t have to open Explorer every time you want to access your downloaded files.


Dragging to Covered or Minimized Windows
Dragging and Dropping

Dragging to Covered or Minimized Windows

Use the minimized icons on the Taskbar to access a folder or window that is blocked by another window, or that is minimized. Example: You are dragging a file from your desktop to a folder, but the folder is blocked by an open Word document. Just drag the file up to the minimized icon for the folder, and the folder will display itself. Keep in mind that a window or application that is made to be “on top” of all other applications will not allow other windows to cover it. For example, if you have specified a help file to stay on top of everything else, nothing can cover it up on the Desktop.


Dragging Shortcuts from Documents
Dragging and Dropping

Dragging Shortcuts from Documents

Highlight some text in MS Word, then right click and copy the text out of the document (to highlight a large block of text quickly in any Word or text document, click once at the beginning of the text, click Shift, then click the end of the text). Go to the Desktop, right click, and Paste a Shortcut onto the Desktop. Save the Word document again, and close MS Word. Now when you double click on the Shortcut icon, MS Word will open and take you to the exact text that you copied.


Creating Document Scraps
Dragging and Dropping

Creating Document Scraps

Highlight some text in MS Word, then right click and copy the text out of the document. Close the document and go to the Desktop. Right click, and instead of Paste Shortcut, select Paste. Now you have a document scrap on the Desktop. When you double click on the icon, Word will open, and you will only see whatever it is that you highlighted and copied.


The File Open / Save / Find Dialog Boxes
Dragging and Dropping

The File Open / Save / Find Dialog Boxes

You can also drag and drop files and folders to and from the File Open, Save, Save As, and Find dialog boxes. Click on the Start button, highlight Find, then click Files or Folders. In the Named space type the name of the file or folder that you’re looking for, then click the Find Now button. The files that are listed can be changed, moved, copied, or deleted. You can also drag and drop any file into any folder.


Left Clicking
Left Clicking and Right Clicking

Left Clicking

The left click of the mouse button is generally for opening and closing files, folders, and applications (double clicking). Dragging and dropping with the left mouse button will usually result in a move of the file or folder.


The Save and Save As Dialog Boxes
Left Clicking and Right Clicking

The Save and Save As Dialog Boxes

Right click on any Save and Save As dialog box and you’ll see the same popup menu that you find in Explorer and on the Desktop. You can create a new folder, or create a new text document (whatever you have on the popup menu). You can also delete files or folders.


Right Click for Help
Left Clicking and Right Clicking

Right Click for Help

On many applications, you can right click to see the What’s This? box. Left click on this and a popup box will appear, explaining the particular feature to you.


Right Click in a Help File
Left Clicking and Right Clicking

Right Click in a Help File

Right clicking in a help file will bring up a Floating Menu, or popup menu, allowing you to choose all of the important options that are accessible from the help file Menu bar. Sometimes the help file author has also included additional choices to the Floating Menu. Right click in this help file to see a customized Floating Menu.


Miscellaneous Right Clicking
Left Clicking and Right Clicking

Miscellaneous Right Clicking

To close, restore, or maximize a minimized window, just right click on its minimized button on the Taskbar.

To minimize, maximize, or close a window, right click on its Title Bar.

Right click on the Recycle Bin and you can open it to see its contents, or empty it.

To format a floppy disk, right click on the floppy drive icon and select Format from the popup menu.


Properties
Information About Files

Properties

Right click on any file or folder, click Properties, and you can view details about the file or folder. You can also hold down the Alt key while you double click on a file or folder to view the Properties Box.


Quickview
Information About Files

Quick View

The Windows 95 Quickview feature allows you to view most documents and programs from one text-based document. You can view text, Word documents, executable files, and even Bitmap images without having to start the file in the program that you would normally start it in (Word, Paint, Paint Shop Pro, etc). Right click on a file and click Quick View. Many times a registered file will not display Quick View on the popup menu.


My Computer
Information About Files

My Computer

Right click on the My Computer icon, select Properties. Here you can find lots of information on your system: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, and Performance. On the General Tab you will find your Registration number, used whenever you call Microsoft Technical Support.


Recycle Bin
Information About Files

Recycle Bin

Right click on the Recycle Bin icon, select Properties, and you can set many preferences on how Recycle Bin will deal with files. You can choose to have files deleted immediately, instead of going to the Recycle Bin first, and you can do away with the Confirm delete dialog box that comes up when you delete files (the confirm dialog box will still appear when you empty the Recycle Bin).


File Names and Extensions
Changing Files and Folders

File Names and Extensions

Unlike Windows 3.1, you can use long filenames in Windows 95. Your filename does not have to be 8 spaces long, with a 3 space file extension. Let’s say that you want to keep text file records of all your purchases for one year. You decide to keep one text file for each month, 12 text files total. You also decide to use the words YearlyPurchases as the file extension.

1.	Open Explorer and click View on the Menu bar, then click Options. Select the File Types tab, then click the New button.

2.	Type Yearly Purchases in the Description of Type space, and type YearlyPurchases in the Associated Extension space (file extensions must be all one word).

3.	Select the Enable Quickview box and the Always Show Extension box.

4.	Click the New button, and under Action type Open. Under Application used to perform action type C:\WINDOWS\Notepad.exe. Click OK, and then Close. Let the system refresh itself, then click Close.

5.	Now open a Notepad document and type in all your purchases for the month of January. Name the file January.YearlyPurchases, and save it to the folder of your choice.

Open Explorer and double click on the file. You’ll see that you can open the text document in Notepad, but with your own custom file extension, as opposed to the .txt extension. You can use anything for a file extension, such as your name (.JenniferTurner), or your company’s name (.ComputerAssociates).


Long and Short Filenames
Changing Files and Folders

Long and Short Filenames

You may have noticed that all of your old Windows 3.1 filenames do not translate well to the new long filename system of Windows 95. You can make the older filenames a bit easier to understand by editing your Registry.

1.	Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the Regedit, then go to System, CurrentControlSet, Control, then FileSystem.

2.	Right click on the right side of the Regedit window, select New, then type in NameNumericTail, then click on an empty area to save the name.

3.	Double click on the entry and type in 0 (zero) as the binary value. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, then reboot your PC. Now all of your old Windows filenames should appear less cryptic.


File Attributes
Changing Files and Folders

File Attributes

Right click on any file and choose Properties. Down at the bottom of the Properties box you can select the attributes for the file.

Read Only - Check this option, and that file can never be overwritten or deleted. For example, if you write text in Notepad or MS Word, then save the file, it can never be changed until you uncheck the Read Only box. You can save Read Only files with a different filename.

Hidden - If you want to keep a file or folder hidden, check this box.

Archive - Shows whether this file should be archived. Some programs use this option to control which files are backed up. Click this box to turn the Archive attribute on or off. If multiple files are selected, a check mark means that all the files have the Archive attribute set. A filled box means that some files have the attribute set and some don't.


Changing a Folder's Behavior
Changing Files and Folders

Changing a Folder’s Behavior

1.	If you want to see an Explorer view of an open folder, rather than just the open window’s contents, open Explorer and click View, then Options.

2.	Click on the File Types tab and scroll down to the Folder entry.

3.	Click Edit, then highlight explore. Click the Set as Default button, then OK, and OK again.


The Send To Folder Explained
The Send To Folder

The Send To Folder Explained

When you right click on any file or folder, one of the selections on the popup menu is called Send To. To customize your Send To menu, simply add folder Shortcuts to the Windows\Send To sub folder. Example: Create a Shortcut to the Windows folder. When you want to move Bitmap files from your AOL\Download folder to the Windows folder, just highlight the files in the Download directory, right click, select Send To, then Windows. All of the Bitmaps will then be moved to the Windows folder.


Using The Send To Folder
The Send To Folder

Using The Send To Folder

Open Explorer and go to the Windows folder, then to the Send To sub folder. You can drag and drop folders into the Send To sub folder, creating a Shortcut for each one. You can even create a temporary Shortcut for the Send To sub folder on your Desktop, for easier dragging and dropping.


Customizing The Send To Folder
The Send To Folder

Customizing The Send To Folder

You can add your Desktop to the Send To menu by creating a Shortcut for the Windows\Desktop sub folder. Other things you can add to the Send To menu: Shortcuts for your floppy drive, the C:\ drive, printer, and your Download folder.

You can also create Shortcuts to applications, such as Notepad, Wordpad, MS Word, and Paint Shop Pro. Example: If you want to use MS Word as your main document and text viewer, just create a Shortcut to MS Word in the Send To sub folder. When you want to view any text document, right click on its filename, click Send To, then Word.


Window View and Full View
DOS

Window View and Full View

There are two ways to access DOS. You can click the Start button, click Shut Down, then select Restart the Computer in MS DOS Mode. Or you can shell to the DOS prompt directly from Windows 95. Just click the Start button, highlight Programs, then select MS DOS Prompt. Or double click on the Dosprmpt file in the C:\Windows folder. When you access the DOS prompt while still in Windows 95, you can have it displayed in a window, or full screen.

To turn off the full screen view, press Alt Enter. If you don’t see a toolbar when you have DOS in the window view, right click on the Title bar, then click Toolbar. You can adjust other setting by clicking Properties. To return to full screen view press Alt Enter.


Path Explained
DOS

Path Explained

Many times a software author will instruct you to place a certain file into your “Path”. This means that you should place the file into a folder that your system can “recognize”. You can find out which folders are in your path by opening the DOS prompt. At the C prompt, or at the Windows folder in the DOS prompt, type:

path

then press Enter. This will display a series of folders, any one of which is in your system’s “path”. Generally, your C:\ folder, DOS folder, and your Windows folder are the three main folders in your path. When you type path, this is an example of what you will see:

PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\DOS;C:\

Your path is also listed in your Autoexec.bat file. Open the Sysedit.exe file in your Windows\System folder to see it, or use the Sysedit button in this help file.

Path can also refer to the path to a certain file.

Example: C:\Windows\System\Sysedit.exe

This is the path on your hard drive to the System File Editor.


Customizing the Look of DOS
DOS

Customizing the Look of DOS

You can change the text and background colors in DOS, and also the look of the C prompt.

1.	First, make sure that the file Ansi.sys is in your Windows\Command folder.

2.	Next, open the Sysedit.exe file, either from the Windows\System folder, or from within this help file. Go to the Config.sys text file and add this line to the bottom of the last command:

DEVICEHIGH=ANSI.SYS

Now you can change the look of DOS by adding certain lines to your Autoexec.bat file (also located in the Sysedit files). Make sure that there is no WINPRMPT line in your Autoexec.bat file. If there is, just highlight it and delete it, and save the changes before you close the Sysedit files. If there is a PROMPT line and a WINPRMPT line at the same time in your Autoexec.bat file, the Ansi.sys file will not work properly. If you don't plan to use the Ansi.sys file, then save the WINPRMPT line.

The sample syntax for the Prompt command line is:

PROMPT $e[X;Y;Zm

PROMPT   - is required for all command lines.

$e[   - is required for all command lines.

X   - is the first parameter in the string, which resets parameters.

Y   - is the second parameter, an Ansi.sys text color number which sets foreground color.

Z   - is the third parameter, an Ansi.sys text color number which sets the background color.

;    - separates the parameters.

  m  - sets the graphics rendition.

For example, when you put this command line in place of your current Prompt command in your Autoexec.bat file, your DOS screen will have a black background and yellow text:

PROMPT $e[1;33;40m

You can also add other parameters to the command. Inserting $p right before $e will set the DOS prompt to the current directory of the default drive (C:\ or C:\Windows). Example:

PROMPT $p$e[1;33;40m

Here are the Ansi.sys color codes for changing the foreground and background colors of DOS:

X   Attributes (first parameter):

0 - all attributes off

1 - bold

5 - blink on

Y   Foreground Color (second parameter):

30 - black

31 - red

32 - green

33 - yellow

34 - blue

35 - magenta

36 - cyan

37 - white

Z   Background Color (third parameter):

40 - black

41 - red

42 - green

43 - yellow

  44 - blue

45 - magenta

46 - cyan

47 - white

Here are a few examples of strings to put in place of your current Prompt command. Always reboot your PC for any changes to take effect:

PROMPT $p$e[1;37;40m   (white text on black background)

PROMPT $p$e[1;30;47m   (black text on white background)

You can also add other elements to the string that give you the time, date, and anything else you want the text to say after the prompt.

$p    Current drive and path

  $g    > (greater-than sign)

$v    DOS Version number

$n    Default drive letter

$b    : (colon)

$q    = (equal sign)

$t     Current time

$d    Current date

$b    | (pipe)

$_    Displays text on the next line

You can type any text after the end of the string (after the m). Example: You can have the prompt look like this:

C:\>Morning Julie!

if you type this into the Prompt string::

PROMPT $p$g$e[1;33;40mMorning Julie!

You can have a prompt that looks like this…

Fri 11-01-1996

C:\WINDOWS

Hi there!

by using this command string:

PROMPT $e[1;33;40m$d$_$p$_Hi there!

Experiment with different strings to see which one you like the best. Just make sure to use the proper syntax, keep it all in the right order, and reboot your PC before seeing the new changes.


Copying and Pasting in DOS
DOS

Copying and Pasting in DOS

Open the DOS window in Windows 95. On the toolbar click the Mark button. Now you can highlight text or graphics, use the Copy button, and Paste into any text or graphics editor. Or you can copy text from a Windows application and Paste it into the DOS screen. To start using DOS again click on the Mark button.


Capturing a DOS Screen
DOS

Capturing a DOS Screen

You can use the Print Screen key on your keyboard the same way that you do in a Windows application. If you have DOS in the full screen mode, press Alt Enter to make it a DOS window. If you want to save the image of the entire desktop, including the DOS window and the other Windows areas, press the Print Screen key once. If you just want to capture the DOS window, press Alt Print Screen. Either way, the image will be saved to your Clipboard. You can then Paste it into any graphics editor, such as Paint Shop Pro.


Making DOS Understand Long Filenames
DOS

Making DOS Understand Long Filenames

DOS only understands filenames that are eight letters long and extensions that are three letters long, such as myplan.txt. It does not understand spaces between words. If you want to use long filenames and extensions in DOS, put quotes around the long filename when you type it into DOS , like this:

“My Plan.txt”


Dragging and Dropping into DOS
DOS

Dragging and Dropping into DOS

Drag and drop a file, folder, or Shortcut into the DOS window and the path of what you drop will be typed out onto the command line.


File and Folder Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts

File and Folder Shortcuts

1.	Right click on any Shortcut and then click Properties.

2.	Click on the Shortcut tab, and you’ll see that you can enter a Shortcut key combination to launch that Shortcut.

3.	Place the mouse cursor onto the space after Shortcut key and the word None.

4.	Type in any letter, number, or symbol. Control and Alt will be selected automatically. Example: To create a Shortcut key for the Notepad Shortcut, enter N. To open Notepad, just press Control Alt N.


Keyboard Shortcut List
Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Here is a list of Shortcut keys for using Windows 95 without a mouse:

Activate Start menu - Control Escape

Close a window or quit an application - Alt F4

Close current menu selection  - Escape

Cycle through open applications - Alt Tab

Open menu on menu bar - Alt, underlined letter (Example: Alt F to open File Menu)

Moving through menus - Up and Down arrows

Closing menu - Escape

View right click menu for selected item - Shift F10

Bypass CD or CD-ROM AutoPlay - SHIFT while inserting the disc

Select first item on menu bar - F10

Move through menu headings - Left arrow, Right arrow

Open application's Control menu  (uppermost left corner)  - Alt Spacebar

Delete an item to Recycle Bin - Delete

Delete an item, bypassing Recycle Bin - Shift Delete

Move forward through dialog box options - Tab

Move backward through dialog box options - Shift Tab

Open a list box - Alt Down arrow

Go to the top of a list box - Home

Go to the bottom of a list box - End

Select or deselect items in a check box - Spacebar

Select or deselect one item at a time in a list - Shift Up arrow

Open folder a level up from current folder - Backspace

Rename a highlighted item - F2

Activate the Find dialog box - F3

Cut selected item - Control X

Copy selected item - Control C

Paste copied or cut item - Control V

Undo - Control Z

Select all - Control A

View an item's Properties - Alt Enter

Expand current folder's Subfolders  * on numeric keypad

Expand the selected folder  + on numeric keypad

Collapse the selected folder  - on numeric keypad

Get specific help on selected item - F1


Help File Colors
Miscellaneous Tips

JumpColor  -  You have changed the JumpColor to the color that you see now.

PopupColor  - You have changed the PopupColor to the color that you see now.

Help File Colors

If a Windows Help File hypertext was created with default green Jump Links and Popup Links, you can change the colors of those links by adding two lines to your Win.ini file, located in your Windows folder (or you can open Sysedit in this help file). You can use any of the links in this help file to see your changes, and you can come back to this page and look at the sample link and popup link colors above.

After you have opened the Win.ini file, add these two lines to the bottom of the [Windows Help] section. If there is no [Windows Help] section, create one of your own.

JumpColor=(255,0,0)

PopupColor=(0,0,255)

The three numbers in the parenthesis represent a color value of Red, Green, and Blue (RGB). The first is Red, then Green, then Blue. The values can be any number between 0 and 255 (making a total of 256 colors to choose from).

The example above will give you a Jump text color of red and a Popup text color of blue. Remember to save the change in the Win.ini file before you close it. If you do a lot of browsing on the World Wide Web, you can create hypertext colors that you are most familiar with when using Web pages. If you like a slightly darker color of red and blue, try:

JumpColor=(180,0,0)

PopupColor=(0,0,180).

After you make changes to the Win.ini file, save the changes, close the Win.ini file, then come back to this section and look at the colors you have selected.


ScanDisk and Defrag
Miscellaneous Tips

ScanDisk and Defrag

If your system seems to run a bit slow from time to time, you may want to use the ScanDisk and Defrag utilities of Windows 95. ScanDisk does a check of your hard drive to find errors and correct problems. You should run ScanDisk at least once a month minimum.

Many times when you open and close files, parts of the files end up on many areas of the hard drive. When you go to open a certain file again, all the pieces of the file will have to be gathered together before the file can open. This is known as fragmented files. Defrag takes all the loose file pieces on your hard drive and places them where they should be, thus speeding up your system. You should run Defrag at least once a month minimum. Be sure to run ScanDisk before you run Defrag.

Click on the Start button, select Programs, Accessories, then System Tools. Or you can create Shortcuts and place ScanDisk and Defrag in a more convenient place.


Bypassing the Recycle Bin
Miscellaneous Tips

Bypassing the Recycle Bin

If you want to permanently delete a file, without it having to go to the Recycle Bin first, just highlight the file, hold down the Shift button, then delete it. You should keep the Recycle Bin active, since you never know if you will want to recover a file or not. If you do want to deactivate Recycle Bin, right click on the Recycle Bin icon, then choose Properties. Check the box Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately on delete.


Launching Files and Folders at Startup
Miscellaneous Tips

Launching Files and Folders at Startup

If you have a file or an application that you use all the time, you can place a Shortcut for the file into your Startup folder. Example: Place a Shortcut for America Online into the Startup folder, and every time you load or reboot Windows 95, AOL will be automatically launched.

You can also place a Shortcut for a folder into the Startup folder. Right click the Start button, then click Open. Double click on the Programs folder, then double click on the Startup folder. Drag and drop the folder into the Startup folder and create a Shortcut. Then close all the open windows. Reboot your PC and the folder Shortcut will open when Windows 95 starts.


Bypassing the Startup Logo
Miscellaneous Tips

Bypassing the Startup Logo

If you ever need to see the startup configuration (BIOS, Basic In-Out System), you can bypass the Win95 startup logo. When you see the words Starting Windows 95… on the screen, press the Esc (Escape) button. If you miss the starting point, and the BIOS is already running, the Startup logo will be displayed two times. Just press Esc each time you see the Startup logo to get rid of it.


Turning Off the Startup Logo
Miscellaneous Tips

Turning Off the Startup Logo

1.	To turn off the startup logo, open Explorer and go to the C:\ folder.

2.	Right click on the Msdos.sys file, then click Properties. Uncheck the Read-only box (if it's checked). Click OK.

3.	Now hold down the Shift key and right click on the file.

4.	Select Open With. Then scroll down and highlight Notepad. Click OK.

5.	Under the [Options] section type in the line:

Logo=0

6.	Close the file and then click Save.

7.	When the file is closed, right click on it again and choose Properties. Check Read-only and then click OK. Now reboot and the BIOS will be seen instead of the Startup Logo.


Turning Off Win95 Animation
Miscellaneous Tips

Turning Off Win95 Animation

If you want to turn off the dazzling way that Windows 95 displays opening and closing windows (and other things), open the Registry Editor.

1.	Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then Control Panel, Desktop, WindowMetrics.

2.	Right click on an empty area in the right pane. Select New, then String Value.

3.	Name the new value MinAnimate. Double click on MinAnimate and click on Modify.

4.	Enter 0 for off or 1 for on and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and reboot.


Deleting All Traces of a File
Miscellaneous Tips

Deleting All Traces of a File

Even when you use the Windows 95 Add/Remove uninstall utility from Control Panel, some parts of a file may still be present.

Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Uninstall. There you can delete any parts of a program that are still listed.

If you still cannot get rid of a file or part of a file, use the Find feature in the Registry Editor.

1.	Click Edit on the Registry Editor menu bar, then click Find.

2.	Type in a filename or word, such as the name of the application. Example: Paint Shop Pro.

3.	When the Registry locates the entry, right click on it and click on Delete. To find other entries, press F3, or click on Edit, then Find Next.


Print Screen
Miscellaneous Tips

Print Screen

To save a capture image of the entire desktop to the Windows Clipboard, click once on the Print Screen key. If you just want to capture the current window that is on top, press Alt and the Print Screen key.


MSInfo File
Miscellaneous Tips

MSInfo File

You can look up information about your system by opening the Msinfo.exe file in the C:\Windows\Msapps\Msinfo sub folder.


Windows 3.1 File Manager
Miscellaneous Tips

Windows 3.1 File Manager

If you miss some of the features in your old Windows File Manager (such as the Select Files feature), you can find it in your Windows folder as Winfile.exe. It won't be there unless you upgraded to Windows 95 from a previous version of Windows.

Remember that when you delete a file in Windows 3.11 File Manager, it will not go to the Recycle Bin.


Dragging CD Tracks to the Desktop
Miscellaneous Tips

Dragging CD Tracks to the Desktop

Try dragging a track from the CD Player onto your Desktop (you can copy it or create a Shortcut). Rename the track's Shortcut to the song's real name. Whenever you have that CD in the drive, you can double click on its Desktop Shortcut to play it. You can also drag tracks to your hard drive and put them in your Start Menu, or create a folder with all your favorite CD tracks in it.


Tips Text File
Miscellaneous Tips

  Tips.txt

You can find many Win95 tips in the file Tips.txt, located in the Windows folder.


The Web and the Internet

The Internet
The Internet is a world-wide network of computers. There is no specific place or area called The Internet or “The Information Super Highway”. It is the proper syntax and protocol that connects computers together all over the world.

The Web
The Web is one aspect of The Internet. It allows users to display and view information, graphics, sound, and video images. Again, by using the proper syntax, people can access The Web no matter what kind of computer or operating system they have. The syntax that is used on The Internet and on The Web is not unlike any other computer language. It has evolved through the years just like a language, and at present, it does not have the appealing simplicity of a street address or a telephone number.

http://   -   HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Your computer interprets this to mean “a web page”.

ftp://   -   FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Whenever you download or upload a file, it is either coming from or going to an FTP site.

Web sites and pages, as well as files, can be accessed by using one of the above examples. When you click on a link, or when you type in a web address in your web browser, you are accessing a person’s FTP site on their computer (or on the server of their Internet service provider). All web pages and files are stored in a FTP site, or space. All web pages are accessed by using the HTTP syntax. If you click on an FTP link, a file will be downloaded to your computer.

.htm  .html   -   HTM is the three-letter abbreviation for Hypertext Markup. HTML is used when the operating system does not have the three-letter file extension limit (as with Windows 95). It stands for Hypertext Markup Language. This is the computer language and syntax that allows web pages to be created.

There are also different styles of syntax for an email address (cf1997@aol.com) and a newsgroup (news://alt.movies.kubrick).

Pronunciation and Meaning

.  (dot)  -  A period is known as a “dot”. Example: http://members.aol.com/cf1997/index.html.

To pronounce this out load, you would say:

HTTP  colon  front slash  front slash  members  dot  aol  dot  com  front slash   cf1997  front slash  index  dot  html.

The front slash is accepted as the proper syntax for a web address, as opposed to the back slash \. You can also say “slash” instead of “front slash”.

Generally, a person or a company has their own Domain Name, such as www.microsoft.com, or simply microsoft.com.

http://members.aol.com   -   This is the Internet service provider.
cf1997   -   This is the person or company’s user name, and their FTP site name.
index.html   -   This is the web page that you are accessing.

@   -   This is the at symbol. In an email address, the user name is listed, then the at symbol, then the Internet service provider. Example: cf1997@aol.com

Bookmark   -   When you visit a web page or web site that you want to see some other time, you can save its address in your browser. For Netscape, go to the web page that you want to access again, then click on Bookmarks, then Add Bookmark. To edit the Bookmarks, click on Go to Bookmarks. For Internet Explorer, click Favorites, then Add to Favorites. To edit, click Organize Favorites.

Cache Folder   -   With Netscape, every graphic and web page that you access is saved in the Cache folder (pronounced “cash”). After much web surfing, your Cache folder can become very full. This will take away some of your hard drive space, and you may not even be aware of it. From time to time, you should delete all the files in your Cache folder. You can save graphics files and html pages that you frequently visit by moving them out of the Cache folder, then placing them back after you have deleted the other files.

To do this, you may have to look at each file to see what it is, since Netscape Cache files have very strange names. See the Shareware and Freeware section for more information about UnMozify. Also see the information below about Quickly Clearing your Cache folder.

With Internet Explorer, there are two folders that save web page information and files. The History sub folder is located in you Windows folder, and the Temporary Internet Files sub folder is also in the Windows folder. You should check these two sub folders from time to time, just to see if there’s anything that can be deleted. Unlike Netscape, you can see the proper names of files and addresses of the web pages that you have accessed.

URL   -   URL stands for Universal Resource Locator. This can be any web site address or FTP site. If a person asks for the URL, they are asking for the address where they can locate the web site or file.

Quickly Accessing a Web Site with Netscape

Let’s say you want to go to the Netscape home page. The address is:

http://www.netscape.com

Instead of typing out the entire address, just type netscape into the browser address area. The browser will know that netscape goes in between the  www.  and the  .com. This will work with any web address that uses the www. and .com. Just type in everything that is in between. Remember that this does not work with Internet Explorer.

Quickly Clearing the Cache Folder

You can use a simple batch file to delete the contents of any folder, including your Netscape Cache folder, your Temp folder, and your Windows Temp folder. You can also create a batch file that deletes the contents of the Internet Explorer History and Temporary Internet Files sub folders. Type the following syntax into Notepad:

echo y| del \"program files"\netscape\"navigator"\cache\*.*

If your Netscape cache folder is in a different location, be sure to type in the correct path. Just look in Explorer to note all the different sub folders. Notice that you can use spaces within the syntax, and file names longer than eight letters, as long as they are enclosed in quotes. Even though there are uppercase letters in long filenames, be sure to type out the syntax in lowercase letters.

1.	Open Notepad, and type the proper batch file command on the first line.

2.	Save the file to your Windows\Command folder. You can name the file anything you like. Just be sure to save the file as a batch file, and not as a text file. Instead of .txt, type in this extension: .bat

Example: Cache.bat

3.	Create a shortcut for that file on your Desktop. Copy the file in Explorer, then right click on the Desktop and choose Paste Shortcut from the popup menu.

4.	Right click on the shortcut, then choose Properties.

5.	Select the Program tab.

6.	Under Run, choose Minimized.

7.	Check the Close on Exit checkbox underneath the Run box.

8.	Click on OK, and close the Properties dialog box.

When you want to delete the contents of a folder or sub folder, just double click on the batch file icon. If you don’t want all kinds of file shortcuts on your desktop, you can create a cascading folder for them on your Start Menu .

The *.* at the end of the syntax is usually known as "star dot star", meaning all the files (all filenames and all file extensions). If you were to use *.bmp or *.jpg at the end of the syntax, the batch file would delete only those files with a .bmp and .jpg extension. You can also use the batch file to delete specific filenames and extensions, such as money.txt or family.jpg.

It is important to note that files deleted with this batch file will not go directly to the Recycle Bin. They will be deleted from your system completely. Just make sure you get the syntax right, and don't delete any files that you know you're going to need, such as important system files from your Windows or Windows\System folder.


Shareware and Freeware

Shareware and Freeware

Shareware is a piece of software that you can download and try for a period of time (usually 30 days). After the trial period, you must pay for the software by registering it with the author or company who makes it. Usually shareware is designed to physically stop running after the trial period has ended. Freeware is a piece of software that you can download and use for an unlimited time without having to pay for it. Many Shareware applications will include many more features with the registered version.

Here is a listing of some of the most popular and efficient programs that you can use with Windows 95. Whenever there is a choice between the 16-bit or 32-bit (Win95) versions of software, always choose the 32-bit version.

WinZip  -  Nico Mak  -  http://www.winzip.com

The 32-bit version of WinZip is the most widely-used decompression utility for Windows 95 users. Shareware.

Paint Shop Pro  -  JASC, Inc.  -  http://www.jasc.com

The Windows 95 version of Paint Shop Pro is a very versatile and powerful graphics and titling application. It is especially good for creating web page graphics and titling that include drop shadows. Shareware.

PowerToys  -  Microsoft  -  http://www.microsoft.com

This free utility includes many utilities created by the Microsoft team that were left out of the final versions of Windows 95. You can read about installing and using the utilities at the Microsoft web site. Just go to the home page and use the search button to find the current PowerToys download and info page. Freeware.

Netscape  -  Netscape Communications Corporation  -  http://www.netscape.com

Many people use the Netscape Browser, while others prefer using Internet Explorer. Each browser has its pluses and its minuses. You should use the web browser that you feel the most comfortable with. Freeware and Registered versions.

Netscape Gold and Communicator  -  Netscape Communications Corporation  - http://www.netscape.com

If you want to create web pages of your own, try using either Netscape Gold or Netscape Communicator. These are browsers that also allow you to edit a web page, without having to learn and know Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Web pages are created in a WYSIWYG interface. WYSIWYG (commonly pronounced “Wissywig”) stands for What You See Is What You Get. If you use either of these applications, load each page you create in the Internet Explorer browser as well. Many times the formatting of text and tables will appear different in another brand of browser. Freeware and Registered versions.

Internet Explorer  -  Microsoft  -  http://www.microsoft.com

Many people use the Netscape Browser, while others prefer using Internet Explorer. Each browser has its pluses and its minuses. You should use the web browser that you feel the most comfortable with. Internet Explorer does integrate fairly well into the Windows 95 operating system. Freeware and Registered versions.

Frontpage  -  Microsoft  -  http://www.microsoft.com

Frontpage is a versatile WYSIWYG web page editor from Microsoft. It includes many features that Netscape left out, including the ability to make web page frames. Freeware and Commercial versions.

Virus Scan for Win95  -  McAfee  - http://www.mcafee.com/main.asp

Files that you download from The Internet should always be checked for viruses. You should also run a virus check on your PC at least once a month, whether or not you download from The Internet. McAfee Virus Scan is an excellent choice for Windows 95 users. (Although McAfee Virus Scan is free to use, and does not stop running after a trial period, you can also buy the commercial version from McAfee. You should also download update files for Virus Scan from Windows95.com , since new viruses are found all the time). Freeware and Commercial versions.

Microsoft GIF Animator  -  Microsoft  - http://www.microsoft.com

This is a very nice gif animator for web page gif animations. Freeware.

PowerTools, PowerMail  -  BPS Software  -  http://www.bpssoft.com

If you’re an AOL member, try using PowerTools and PowerMail for Windows 95. These two applications bring you a lot of functionality and automation that AOL left out of their software. PowerBrowse is a new addition to the BPS line of products. It gives you a little more freedom when using the Internet Explorer browser. On AOL, use keyword BPS. Shareware.

UnMozify for Netscape and Internet Explorer

http://www.nearsite.com/unmozify/intro.html

UnMozify allows you to keep and store web sites on your hard drive. It rebuilds pages and inserts graphics so you can see a web page even when you’re not signed on to the Internet. There is a separate UnMozify for Netscape and Internet Explorer. Shareware.


Index

A

About the Win95 Registry

Accessing Shortcuts and Folders

Accessing the Start Menu

Add Your Own Tips at Startup

Adding Control Panel

Adding New File Types to Popup Menu

Adding to the Start Menu

Appearance Schemes

Available Disk Space / Renaming Your Hard Drive

B

Backing Up the Registry Files

Bypassing the Recycle Bin

Bypassing the Startup Logo

C

Capturing a DOS Screen

Changing a Folder’s Behavior

Choosing a Different Application to Open a File

Clock and Calendar

Copying and Pasting in DOS

Creating Cascading Folders

Creating Document Scraps

Creating Drive and Printer Shortcuts

Creating Shortcuts on Desktop

Ctrl Alt Delete

Customizing The Look of DOS

Customizing The Send To Folder

D

Deleting Files

Deleting All Traces of a File

Desktop Properties

DOS – Changing Colors

Dragging and Dropping into DOS

Dragging CD Tracks to the Desktop

Dragging Shortcuts from Documents

Dragging Shortcuts to the Desktop

Dragging to Covered or Minimized Windows

Drive and Printer Shortcuts

E

Emptying the Documents Menu

Expand All Sub Folders

F

Fastest Way to Restart Win95

File Attributes

File and Folder Shortcuts

File Names and Extensions

File Open / Save / Find Dialog Boxes

Finding Files in a Large Folder

H

Hard Drive Space

Help File Colors

I

Important Disclaimer

Introduction

  K

Keyboard Shortcut List

L

Launching Files and Folders at Startup

Left Clicking

Left Dragging

Long and Short Filenames

M

Making DOS Understand Long Filenames

Miscellaneous Right Clicking

Moving / Sizing the Taskbar

MSInfo File

My Computer

N

Network Neighborhood Icon

New Files or Folders

O

Opening Explorer to any Drive or Folder

Order of Start Menu Selections

P

Path Explained

Print Screen

Properties

Q

Quick Screen Saver in Start Menu

Quickly Clearing the Cache Folder

Quickly Clearing the Documents Menu

Quickview

R

Rebooting or Restarting the Computer

Recycle Bin

Refresh the Desktop without Restarting Windows

Refreshing Explorer

  Removing Network Neighborhood Icon

Removing Shortcut Arrows

Removing The Start Button

Renaming My Computer

Renaming Recycle Bin

Renaming Your Hard Drive

Restoring the Win95 Registry

Right Click for Help

Right Click in a Help File

Right Dragging

S

Save and Save As Dialog Boxes

ScanDisk and Defrag

Selecting / Deleting Files

Send To Folder Explained

Shareware and Freeware

  Sizing the Taskbar

Speeding Up the Start Menu

T

Taskbar Options

Tips.txt

Turning Off the Startup Logo

Turning Off Win95 Animation

Tweak Icon

U

Using The Send To Folder

W

Wallpaper

Web and the Internet

Welcome Screen

Window View and Full View

Windows 3.1 File Manager


Sample Pop Up Box

This is a sample pop up box.