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1993-02-17
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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
(508) 346-9401 (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.