1
Edit essential folders
2
Quickly clearing the Recent Documents Menu
3
What are the Windows 95 Tune Ups?
4
My Two Favorite Features . . .
To change the name and/or location of some of the essential system folders (such as: Desktop, Fonts, Programs, Send To, Start Menu, etc.) open up the Registry Editor, and go to the following SubKey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurtrentVersion/ Explorer/ShellFolders
Simply edit the data of your choice!
The DOCUMENTS cascading menu off of the Start Menu is always filling itself up, and is usually twenty miles long. Then, if you want to empty it, you have to play click-click-click with the Start Menu.
Wouldn't it be easier if you had an icon right on the Desktop that did this?
Well, pull up a chair. And listen carefully . . . .
1. Create a batch file with the following line:
echo y| del \windows\recent\*.*
2. Save file in a convenient directory, such as Windows\Command
3. Create a shortcut to that batch file right on the Desktop
4. Right-Click on the shortcut, and 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 dialog.
Now, to empty the Most Recently Used Documents Folder, all you have to do is double-click on the shortcut you just created.
This is a really cool undocumented feature, try it!
As we all have come to realize; there hasn't been, and probably never will be, an Operating System upgrade that doesn't contain at least a few bugs. With over 70,000 individual software developers writing Windows-based applications, there simply is too much out there for every single application to run perfectly. It just isn't going to happen in our lifetimes.
Windows 95 is no different. When Windows 95 went "GOLD" on July 14, 1995, Microsoft's engineers still hadn't completed their bug-stomping. But, committed to an August 24th roll out, it had to be sent to manufacturing to meet that deadline. The Microsoft solution to this will be something called the Windows 95 Tune Up packs.
They will be FREE add-on bug patches that will be released on a regular periodic basis, and are rumored to be available ONLY on the Microsoft Network.
NOTE: As of the August issue of Windows magazine, these Tune-Up Packs are now rumored to be available as a quarterly subscription . . . for a price yet to be determined! STAY TUNED!
I'd like to consider myself to be a Windows 95 Power User. I have put in about ten to twelve hours each and every day since I received my copy of the Preview Program CD-ROM back on April 14, 1995. So, in just four short months, I have personally logged nearly two-thousand hours of Windows 95 usage.
During this time, I have learned quite a lot, grown to like some things about Windows 95 that aren't so great, and have come to love some features that are truly amazing, at least in my book.
There have been several published reports describing the "TOP 35" features in Windows 95. And it is amazing to me that my two personal favorite features were completely passed by. They are called Open With and Send To, and I think they are probably two of the top FIVE most useful features in the entire Operating System.
Allow me to tell you how you can make these two features work for you. They can do more than you might at first realize . . .
Both of the Send To and Open With features enable the user to bypass file extensions and allow you to open a document in the application of your choice. But, that's just for starters. The real benefit occurs when you actually try them!
Double-Click on a file that has no associated extension, and up pops the Open With dialog, which is a menu of programs and their defined associations. To get this same menu with an associated file, simply press SHIFT while Right-Clicking on the file icon, then choose Open With from the Context Menu. Checking the box "Always use this program to open this file" will change the association for all files with the same extension.
Although it is very useful, Open With is restricted only to use with applications. Send To on the other hand, will work with practically everything on your system; applications, folders, disk drives, hard drives, printers, and FAX modems.
The Send To fly-out menu, which appears on almost all of the system's Context menus, is actually the contents of the Send To folder, which is a subfolder of the Windows 95 folder. This means that the menu is totally customizable. To add something to it, just create a shortcut and drop it into the Send To folder.
A Look Into My Send To Folder
I have customized my Send To menu so that the things that I do the most are right there for me, in that handy, Right-Click context menu. I am merely describing my set-up so that you can get some ideas of your own into the potential of this extremely powerful feature of Windows 95.
I have added my 3 and 5 inch floppy drives, the Desktop, PC Tools File Viewer (which is better IMHO than Windows 95's own QuickView), Media Player, MS-DOS Editor, Notepad, Paint, Printers, Recycle Bin, WinZip 95, Word 6.0a, and WordPad.
In addition, I have one further item; Any Folder . . ., which was installed from the Microsoft Windows 95 PowerToys freeware add-on. With Any Folder, I can send a file to any destination I wish. PowerToys is a must-have Windows 95 utility, and I tell you what it is and where to get it in section [12-3] of this very FAQ!
You of course, can customize your own Sent To folder anyway you wish as well. With my set-up as it is, with just a single mouse click, I can view any file format I can create on my system without launching the associated application with my File Viewer. I don't use QuickView because it won't let me cut and paste to the clipboard, export, or print right from the viewer, while the Viewer from PC Tools will let me do all of those things, plus many others.
I can send a file almost anywhere; from a floppy, to another directory, to the Recycle Bin, to the Desktop. I can also add to or create a new .ZIP file, or preview any multimedia file on the Media Player.
With my Printers, I have four choices to pick from. I have my LaserJet and my 24-pin Panasonic dot matrix. In addition, I have created a custom "Print To File" driver, and my WinFax Pro print driver is here also. This way, if I wish to send a fax, all I have to do is drag the file to the Fax print in Send To, and I bypass opening up the program, loading the Send Log, and activating the Manual Send command. It is that easy!
Adding the Desktop to the Send To folder requires a little trick to get it right. That's because the Create Shortcut command DOES NOT appear on the Desktop's context menu. To compensate, you will have to create a shortcut to the Desktop folder, which is hidden by default.
To locate the Send To folder, first select the Windows 95 folder, press F3 to start a search, and type desktop and press ENTER. When the Desktop folder appears in the Search Results window, right-click on it, choose Create Shortcut and click Yes to put it on the Desktop. Drag the new shortcut into the Send To folder. That's all there is to it!!
I hope that showing you these examples leads you to a few ideas for your own Send To configuration.
This article and web site listing is provided without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, the author, faq maintainers and contributors assume no responsibility for errors or ommissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information herin. This document respects all owners of their repected trademarks and or copyrights, Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT are the sole copyright of Microsoft Corporation and thus belongs to Bill.
Windows95 (Win95-L) FAQ COPYRIGHT © 1996 by Hans Klarenbeek
Permission is granted freely to distribute this article in electronic form as long as it is posted in its entirety including this copyright statement. This article may not be distributed for financial gain. This article may not be included in any commerical collections or compilations without the express permision of the author, Hans Klarenbeek(hansie@wantree.com.au)