Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/private/mpc93mar.zip/FILGRP-1.DAT

Text File | 1993-02-17 | 6KB | 112 lines

     Files Are a Piece of Cake
     By David Field - Boston Computer Society
     From PC Report Vol. 12 No. 1 p.10

     Forget what they told you about Windows files being difficult. Forget
     about double-clicking on the application icon, then selecting "Open"
     from the File menu, and scrolling through a list of DOS conventions
     for naming files - a maximum of eight characters which cannot include
     spaces.

     You don't need to care about that any more.

     There's a utility that lets you have file icons on the Windows desktop,
     with  file descriptions of up to 40 characters, using any characters
     on the keyboard. Just double-clicking on the icon launches the
     application and opens the file. What's the name of this wonderful
     program? Windows 3.1. Yes, you can do all of this in Windows Program
     Manager. Here's how:

     1. Create a new group for files, using File,New, Program Group (we'll
     call this the files group.

     2. Highlight the icon of the application for which you want to create
     file icons. Copy this icon into the file group by Ctrl -dragging it
     repeatedly into the Files Group, one for each file you want on your
     Desktop.

     3. Highlight one icon in the Files Group. Go to Files Properties.

     4. In the box marked Command Line, you'll see the path to the
     application. Add one space after this, then type the DOS name of your
     file, including the period and extension. This line should now read
     C:\WINWORD.EXE MYLETTER.DOC, or C:\123W.EXE MYSPREAD.WK3, for example.
     If the data file is not in the same directory as the .exe file, type
     the complete path; this might give you an entry like
     C:\123W.EXE D:\EXPENSES\MARCH\PHONE.WK3. Just don't forget to put in
     the space between the .exe file and your data file.

     5. Now go to the box above Command Line, marked Description. Highlight
     any text in here, and replace it with up to 40 characters.

     6. Select OK to go back to Program Manager. Your icon now has the
     file description you gave it.

     7. Repeat steps 3-6 for the other icons. Add other file groups as
     necessary.

     If you now double-click on a file icon, Windows launches the
     application and automatically opens the file within the application.

     You can mix any selection of file icons in a file group, and you can
     have different applications in the file group. File icons can be moved
     or copied into any existing program group on your desktop. You can
     have multiple icons of the same file across different groups. If the
     file icon is moved or copied into the StartUp Group, the program will
     launch and open the file on Windows start-up. If your descriptions
     don't wrap into several lines, open Windows Control Panel, Desktop,
     and check Wrap Title in the Icon section.

     Deleting the icon will not delete the file. You can only delete files
     in File Manager or DOS. To remove the icon from your desktop, use
     Program Manager's File Delete.

     If you don't mind going to a little more trouble, there's a way to
     bypass steps 2-5. Open File Manager and display the directory
     containing the files you want to make into icons. Reduce the File
     Manager window so that your Files Group is showing in the Program
     Manager below. Now drag (not Ctrl -drag) the relevant icons from the
     File Manager directory into your Files Group. They'll display the
     DOS file name, but it's a simple matter to alter this in the
     Properties Description box. The file path is already entered in
     Command Line.

     It's even possible to use file icons with any DOS applications you
     have. In the Command Line box you'll see a PIF file - something like
     WP.PIF. Just leave a space, then put in the name of the DOS file.

     You can change the icon - this won't affect the way things work. Go to
     Properties in Program Manager's File menu. Select Change Icon, Browse,
     then choose MORICONS.DDL from the Windows directory. This gives you a
     selection of icons from which to choose, or you can design your own
     with third-party utilities.

     You can even start your programs and files by using a keyboard
     shortcut. You'll have to assign a combination of the Ctrl ,Alt , and
     Shift , keys with a keyboard character.

     There's a great temptation to put every file on the desktop, but
     you'll probably find that most of them never get used again. Try to
     construct your file groups logically, remembering that Windows allows
     you up to forty files in a group. You can make a group for all your
     Excel files, for instance, but because the Icon is the same, it's
     probably not worth it. Try making groups for departments, projects,
     or clients. It's a good idea to make a group for "Current Work" and
     have it show when you start up Windows. If one file spans groups, put
     its icon into each.

     I'm currently writing a book on Windows productivity, called Warp
     Speed Windows, if you know of any ways of speeding up Windows, or
     using it more efficiently, contact me at:

                              75 Bear Hill Road
                              Merrimac, MA 01860
                              [phone] (voice and fax)

     Sorry, I'm not yet on-line. If you're the source of my tip, I'll give
     you a mention and send you a copy of the book when it's published.