Right-Clicking in Save File dialog boxes: Try it! If you are saving a file, and right-click in the dialog box, you can change your view, arrange the icons, or create new folders prior to saving the file. This is great if you suddenly decide while saving that you want to save the file in a folder that doesn't currently exist.
Expanding all Subfolders in Explorer: To quickly expand the Explorer tree view to show all subfolders for a highlighted drive or folder, simply press the asterisk (*) key on the numeric keypad
Quickly Closing Windows under My Computer: If you've opened many windows under My Computer (control panel, and windows under that), you can quickly close them all by holding the Shift key while clicking the close window box.
Quickly Seeing Properties: To quickly access the Properties information for any object, hold the ALT key while double-clicking it.
MKCOMPAT Program: In the /windows/system directory is a program called MKCOMPAT.EXE. This program lets you change settings to try to make a poorly-behaved Win 3.1 program compatible with Windows 95.
Restarting Windows 95 without a Warm Boot: Select Shut down, and click the Restart Computer option. Then, while holding down the Shift key, click YES. Windows 95 will now restart without executing a complete warm boot.
Opening an associated file with a different program: Hold the SHIFT key while right-clicking on the file in Explorer. The Open With can now be selected, and you can choose a different application to open the file with.
Changing the Windows Shut Down Screens: These screens are standard bitmaps that can be edited with many different programs, including PAINT. Logow.sys and Logos.sys are the "wait" and "it is now safe to shutdown" screens, respectively.
What .DLL's are being used in a .EXE?: Right-click on the application's name, and select Quick View.
Real Delete instead of Recycle Bin: To immediately delete a file rather than send it to the Recycle Bin, hold down the Shift key when you delete it.
AutoPlay Disable: To disable Autoplay from automatically playing a music cd, hold the SHIFT key for a few seconds after you close the CD-ROM drive door.
Soundcard Volume: Single click on the speaker icon in the tray to bring up the master volume control. Double-click that icon to bring up the full mixer controls.
Dial-Up Networking Auto Redial: Bring up the Dial-Up Networking Folder, highlight the connection, then select Connections from the menu, then settings.
Desktop Properties: A shortcut is to right-click anywhere on the desktop, then select properties.
Windows 95 Backup: The backup program included apparently runs 15-25% faster if you keep it minimized during the backup.
MSInfo Program: Windows 95 comes with a little-known program that shows a lot of system info, called MSINFO. It can be found in the windows/msapps/msinfo folder, and shows information on DLL's, and much more.
Clock/Calendar: Double-click the time in the taskbar tray to see a calendar, and to change the system date/time.
It's not showing all the files in a folder/directory. Select View/Options. The first tab ,View, has an option for 'show all files.' Change to this option and all files will be displayed from then on.
There is a known bug where the icon in the Control Panel for Display, which normally looks like a monitor, suddenly changes to be something else (usually a joystick icon). Just ignore this - Microsoft claims it will be corrected in the final shipped version. This affects other icons in Control Panel as well, but most usually the Display icon. It's also been reported to me that the icon for Explorer sometimes changes on its own, too.
As you know, you can close an opened application by pressing Alt+F4. Actually, there is another method, by pressing Alt+spacebar then followed by C.
As you know, if you press the SHIFT key on the Windows 98 booting process, then no applications in the StartUp folder will be activated. Unfortunately, if you perform this process too fast then Windows 98 will be executed on the Safe mode. The better method is holding the CTRL key when the hourglass pointer appears on the screen.
If you open too many applications on your computer, sometimes one of those applications will make your computer stop responding. To get around this problem, press Ctrl+Alt+Del. The Close Program dialog box will appear on the screen. Select the not responding application and then click End Task.
As an alternative to activate a Windows 98 application, you can create hot keys. To create a hot key, right-click an application shortcut, choose Properties, click Shortcut tab, and then type a letter in the Shortcut key box (for example W for Word). Automatically, Windows 98 will use the CTRL+ALT+W keys as the hot keys.
To get information about the current time, you only need to see the clock at the right corner of Taskbar. Then, how to see today date? Move your mouse pointer to the clock and wait a moment. Date, month, and year will appear for several seconds and then disappear.
If you have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or a backup data card, then change your computer performance profile to a network server. This profile is buffering aggressively the memory data, so reducing disk operation time. To change the profile, right-click My Computer, select Properties, and then click the Performance tab. Click the File System button, and then change the Typical role of this machine setting option to Network Server.
Several files probably very secret so you do not want to keep them in the Recycle Bin. To do so, press the Shift key while you press the Del key or click the Delete menu.
Shorten the time to configure your printer by installing the same printer in the same port twice. For example, add a new printer to print black and white documents then add another printer to print color documents. Or, add a new printer to print in the envelope size then add another printer to print in the A4 paper. Don't forget to use the printer names that show the configuration. From now on, if you need different configurations just select the appropriate printer without reconfiguring your printers.
To get faster new documents, right-click an empty space on the Windows 98 desktop. From the pop-up menu choose New, and then from the list select the type of your new document. On the desktop will appear a shortcut icon. Rename this shortcut if it is necessary, and then double-click on it to start creating the new document.
Drag any folder or any item from the desktop (e.g. My Computer, Recycle Bin, Network Neighborhood, Control Panel icon, etc.) to the edge of the screen and release. You will get a Single Click Quick Launch Toolbar with all the icons inside it.
If you are placing too many targets in the C:\Windows\SendTo folder, then the Send To list will be too long to access. Therefore, try to organize the Send To folder by creating several folders inside it. For example, you can create Drive sub folder, which is filled with shortcut to A: (floppy drive), C: (hard disk) C:, D: (hard disk), etc. You can also put shortcuts to a printer or a fax to get faster printing and faxing process.
From My Computer or Windows Explorer, select the documents you want to print. Drag and drop the document icon into the Printer icon on the Windows Explorer left-pane. Alternatively, select your file using Find File or Folder facility and then drag and drop its icon into the Printer shortcut.
If you want to enter the DOS mode on Windows 98 Startup, usually you have to press F8 key when "Starting Windows 98" message appears on the screen. From this menu then you choose "Command prompt only" option. To get faster process, try to press Alt+F5 when the "Starting Windows 98" message appears on the screen.
There is an easy way to switch to another tab when you work inside a dialog box. Just press Ctrl+Tab keys to switch to the right tabs or press Ctrl+Shift+Tab keys to move to the left tab.
Normally, if you choose Restart on the Shut Down menu, your computer will do the warm boot process. To save the booting time, hold down Shift key while clicking the Yes option.
When you install Windows 98 for the first time, the Welcome dialog box that appear on the screen offers you to read the tips and Windows 98 tour. If you uncheck the "Show this Welcome Screen next time you start Windows" check box, then this dialog box will never shows up anymore. From now on, if you want to show the Welcome screen just click the Start-Run menus, type welcome, and then click OK.
Use the Send To feature to quickly copy and move files. First, create a shortcut to a drive or a folder using the previous tips. To move an object, you can use the Send To feature by right-clicking the object, click the Send To menu and then click the new location. Meanwhile, to copy an object you must press Ctrl key while activating the Send To feature.
If your computer used by many people with different kinds of need, you can use the User Profiles facility. To activate this facility, double-click the Password icon on the Control Panel. Alternatively, try to modify the Programs folder. Right-click on the Start button, click Explore, and then double-click Programs folder. Start creating a private folder for every user.
To get easy access to all drives, just open My Computer, and then click and drag all icon drives inside it into the Start button. Shortcuts to all of your drives will appear in the Start menu. This method is effective when your desktop is closed by the running applications.
If you have installed Internet Explorer 5.0, now you can open every folder inside the Start Menu Programs branch. For example, click on the Start button, and point to Programs-Accessories. Double click on Accessories folder will open that folder in a window.
Add & character right before the name of an application on the Start menu (C:\Windows\Start Menu), for example Microsoft &Excel. From now on, you can activate Microsoft Excel by pressing Ctrl+Esc, P, and then E.
Save one mouse click when you activate an application using the Start button. Hold down the mouse button while clicking the Start button and then drag the mouse pointer to the application you want to activate.
Click on the Start button and point to Settings. While holding down the CTRL key, click on the Taskbar & Start menu option. The Taskbar Properties dialog box will appear on the screen. Watch there is a new tab called DeskBar Options, but you cannot change anything on this tab.
Open any folder, and from the View menu select Options. Select the File Types tab and scroll down the list of Registered File Types to the Folder item. Select the Folder item, click Edit, and then click the Change Icon button. Select a new icon (.dll, .exe or .ico format). Save your changes. All your folders will display the newly changed icon from now on.
Do you want to create your own transparent icon? The secret is selecting a color to paint the top left corner pixel of your icon. Use the same color to paint another part of your icon, which you want to become a transparent.
It is easy to create your own icon, just pick a bitmap (.bmp) file and change its extension to .ico. To do so, open the Windows Explorer, click on the View, Folder Options menu, click View tab, remove the check on the "Hide file extensions for known files types" option, and then click OK. Select a bitmap file from your drive, press F2 key, and then change its extension to .ico.
Wherever you are while you open a subfolder, inside the Explorer, My Computer, Open or Save box dialog from an application, or Registry Editor, you can close it by pressing Backspace (ΒΌ). Press it as many times as levels of subfolder that you want to close.
If you want to find several files with different types, you only need to use a space to separate its extensions, for examples *.doc *.xls *.txt. The same method can be used to find files in several drives at a time. For example, if you want to find files in drive C:, D:, and E: then type C: D: E: in the Look In box.
Right click on desktop, and then click on New, Shortcut. The image displayed on the left side still says "Windows 95" !!
Want the fastest way to create a new folder? Press the Alt + FNF key inside My Computer, Network Neighborhood, or Explorer windows. The new folder will appear immediately.
After finding all the files that match specific criteria (by clicking the Start-Find-Files or Folder menu), you can save the result by clicking the File-Save Search menu. In the Windows 98 desktop will appear a shortcut to the result. Therefore, on the future when you need to find all those files, you do not have to manually open the Find dialog box again.
If you open too many applications, most of your application names are hidden or cannot be recognized. To solve this problem, try pressing Alt key followed by Tab key. On your Windows 98 desktop will appear a new window, which contains a list of all open files and folders. To switch from one object to another object, press the Tab key again.
One of IE4's most powerful hidden gems is a universal command line, where you can launch programs, open folders, go to Web sites and more. Right-click on the taskbar and select Toolbars/Address. When the Address box shows up on your toolbar, click and hold on the word "Address" and drag it to the top of your desktop. Right-click on it and select Always on Top. Now, when you maximize applications, they'll expand between your Address bar at the top and your taskbar at the bottom.
You can change the program icons in the Quick Launch bar by right clicking on them, opening the Shortcut tab, and clicking on the Change Icon button. You can pick one of the displayed icons or browse for more choices.
Want to activate your applications faster? Start with putting the application shortcuts in the desktop. Double-click the My Computer icon, and then go to the C:\Windows\Desktop folder. Double-click the Desktop folder to open its window, close all previous windows including My Computer. This Desktop window can be moved to any place, or minimized to the taskbar. From now on, if you want to activate your applications, just press the Alt+Tab key, use the arrow keys to select its icon, and then press Enter.
Double-click on the Display icon at Control Panel, click on the Screen Saver tab, and then choose Flying Windows screen saver. Click on the Settings button, drag the Warp Speed slider to the Fast section, and then type 75 in the Density box. Click on the OK button twice times. On a Pentium 233 MHz PC and 4MB-video memory, the animation from the Flying Windows screen saver will make your head really "fly".
You can open a menu on a cluttered taskbar by moving the mouse pointer to the edge of Taskbar, and then click the right mouse button.
Most people leave the taskbar at the bottom of the screen; others like it at the top. IE 4.0 lets you put it on both the top and the bottom. Simply drag and drop the individual toolbars you want to the top, and leave minimized applications at the bottom. Right-click on the items you have at the top, select Properties and check Always on Top so maximized windows don't cover it. You can also check the Auto Hide option.
All Windows 98 icons come from SHELL32.DLL file that can be found in Windows\Systems folder. There are some other files inside this folder; they are PIFMGR.DLL, SYNCUI.DLL, SYSTRAY.EXE, and AWFEX32.EXE. You can use any of those files to create an icon for a new shortcut or for replacing an old unattractive icon. Additionally, the Windows folder contains the PROGMAN.EXE and MORICONS.DLL file, which are full of Windows 3.x icons.
Click once on any TXT file, then hold down the Shift key and right-click on the file. Choose Open With from the pop-up menu, scroll through the list of programs and choose WordPad. Check the box labeled "Always use this program to open this type of file" before you click on OK.
Notepad can create automatic time and date. To activate this feature, type ".LOG" (without quotation mark) at the first row of your document and then save using Save option on menu bar. Every time you open that file, you will see a note that shows the current date and time.
If you have no more idea how to finish FreeCell game, you can hold down CRTL+SHIFT+F10 keys. A message will appear on the screen. Choose Abort, and then drag a card to the top. Computer will finish the game for you.
Start a game. If you've moved the wrong card in FreeCell, quickly press F10 before clicking on another card. It's the Undo button. And finally, let it be known that after you have won 65,535 games, FreeCell resets your winning streak back to zero.
Start a game. Click the right mouse buttons & the left mouse button together. While clicking both buttons press Escape. The timer has stopped. Play as slow as you want.
Start a game. Choose Game, Options from the menu bar, and then click Draw three. You can also put the scoring and status on. Type in "xyzzy" (without the quotes). Hold down the CTRL + ALT + SHIFT & click on the deck of cards.
Choose Game, Deck from menu bar and then choose one of card designs. The last design is a magician's hand holding three Aces. The fourth Ace sometimes mysteriously peeks out of the hand's sleeve. Meanwhile, the cocoa tree design has a sun that sometimes wears sunglasses and sticks out its tongue.
If you create a new file in WordPad or Notepad and save it, these applications add a TXT extension regardless of whether you add an extension by yourself. You can end up with filenames like DOCUMENTS.TXT.TXT. To prevent them from adding the extension, put quotation marks around your filename ("DOCUMENTS.TXT") in the SaveAs dialog box.
If you use Notepad, Wordpad, or Paint, probably you create and save a file using a numbered name like pic01.pcx, pic02.pcx, and pic03.pcx. If so, make sure that you have inserted enough leading zeros in each name. Without leading zeros, you can end up with disordered file name list, for example pic11.pcx appearing before pic2.pcx.
Before lend your PC or Notebook to a friend, you can type a message inside it, just to remind him or her. Type this message on WordPad, use big size font, and then save it. Open Windows Explorer, and then move the message to Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp folder. Now, every time your friends use your computer, the message will appear on the Windows 98 desktop.
Actually, every Control Panel file can be activated by typing: Control name.cpl command. "Name" means name of file that you want to activate. For example, you can directly activate the Main.cpl, Mmsys.cpl, Desk.cpl, Intl.cpl, Joy.cpl files, etc. Use this method to get faster access to configure the Control Panel items, via the Run box or MS-DOS prompt window.
When you are bored with all of Windows 98 shortcut icons, perhaps it's the time for you to take benefit from the Control Panel icons (*.CPL extension). All those files are located in the Windows\System folder, such as Main.cpl, Mmsys.cpl, Desk.cpl, Intl.cpl, Joy.cpl, etc. The Control Panel only uses the first icon of the available application icons, the rest are yours.
If you want to show the zero number on the clock (for example, 9:00 appear as 09:00), try to change the time style to HH:mm:ss ttt. The "H" is a code for 24-hours system that used on some countries in the world. Meanwhile, if you want to use AM/PM (Ante/Post Meridian) system, you need to enter "h" or "hh" code.
Probably you want to show an extension for a specific type of file. To do so, click on the View-Options menu, click on File Types tab, and choose a type of file. Click Edit, check the Always show extension option, and then click OK.
On a regular operation, you can change the Explorer fields width (Name, Size, Type, Modified, etc) by clicking and dragging a thin border between the fields. Actually, there is an easier way by pressing Ctrl and + combinations key.
Probably you have a special folder for saving the most important documents, for example C:\Documents. If you want it to appear at the top of the folder list, you can rename it by inserting a _ character, so the new name will be C:\_Documents.
The fastest way to sort the file lists on the Windows Explorer is by clicking the Name, Size, Type, or Modified button on the Windows Explorer right-pane. For example, if you click on the Name button all the listed files and folders will be sorted by name (in alphabetical orders). Or, if you click on the Modified button, all the listed files and folders will be sorted by the last modified date.
Anytime you open an MS-DOS window under Windows, a DOS icon appears in the upper-left corner of the window. Click the icon, and a menu of commands appears. Did you know that all these commands are accessible from the Taskbar as well? Right-click the MS-DOS item there, and the same menu appears.
VER /R VER is an internal (built-in) MS-DOS command (an actual file does not exist). VER /R displays extended DOS info: the DOS revision and the memory location of the DOS module, in addition to using the plain VER command.
The easiest way to adjust your sound card volume is by clicking and dragging its icon from taskbar to any place in the desktop. A dialog box will appears on the screen, and then you can use it to adjust your sound card volume. To make this dialog box smaller, press CTRL+S. Press this combination key once again to return it to the normal size.
Use any headphone as a microphone to record your voice into the computer. Just plug in the headphone to the mic-in socket of your sound card.
Click File, Open on the menu bar and then double-click a multimedia file you want to play. Double-click the title bar to simplify the Media Player controls that show up on the screen. To see all Media Player controls you can double-click on the title bar again.
There is an easy way to copy your favorite Web address, which is saved in the Internet Explorer, to another computer. Just copy the C:\Windows\Favorites folder to a diskette, and then copy the diskette content to the same location in another computer.
To get DUN to remember your dial-up password, you'll need to install the client for Microsoft Networks. Open the Control Panel, double-click on Network, and then highlights Client for Microsoft Networks. Select Add, Client and Add again, then click on all of the OK buttons.
If you are using Internet Explorer 5.0, you can simply paste or type a URL in the address bar and then click on "Go" button. You don't need to press the Enter key anymore.
Minimize Microsoft Backup when you are doing backup, restore, or compare files. The process will run faster 15-25%.
Tasks is another hidden application in the Windows 98 folder, which has no icon in the Programs menu. You can activate this application by typing "taskman" in the Run dialog box. This application has similar function to the Taskbar. You can create a shortcut to open this application if necessary, or create a hot key to get quicker access.
The egg is in the Deluxe CD Player. Go to the edit playlist dialog for any song. Type "Microsoft Plus!98 Product Team" in for the artist. Type "Credits" in for the title. Hold down the ctrl key and click cancel. You will get a new root level item in the tree view of the album. You can expand it to explore the team names.
Use shortcuts not just to activate an application, you can also use it to activate Screen Saver quickly. Windows 98/95 has several default screen savers in c:\Windows folder, that can be recognized by its extensions (*.SCR)
Tracking the startup process is useful to find out why the Windows 95 startup failed. To do so, use WordPad applications to open the BOOTLOG.TXT file in c:\. Click Edit, Find menu to open the Find dialog box. Type "fail" (without quotation mark) in the appropriate box and then click Find Next button. If the Find process stops on a sentence that has the word "fail", you have found the problem that caused Windows 98 startup process failure.
Double-click on the clock (System Tray). Hold Control key [Ctrl] and drag from Memphis (Egypt) to Memphis (USA). Hold Control Key [Ctrl] drag from Memphis (USA) to Redmond WA.
