The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998

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---------- WININI.TXT ---------- NOTE: This is the first of two files that contain information about WIN.INI. The second file, named WININI2.TXT, is a continuation of the information presented here. INTRODUCTION ------------ WIN.INI is one of two Windows initialization files that are included with Windows. Windows initialization files contain information that defines your Windows environment. Windows and Windows applications can use the information stored in these files to configure themselves to meet your needs and preferences. There are two standard Windows initialization files: * WIN.INI, which primarily contains settings that allow you to alter your Windows environment according to your preferences. * SYSTEM.INI, which primarily contains settings that allow you to customize Windows to meet your system's hardware needs. This document describes the contents of the WIN.INI file and explains how to change settings in the file. For information on the SYSTEM.INI file, see the SYSINI.TXT file. CAUTION: Changing settings can lead to undesirable results when you run Windows. Before changing any setting, read "Changing Settings" later in this document. FORMAT ------ Windows initialization files have the following format: [section name] keyname=value In this example, [section name] is the name of a section. Sections are used to break settings into logical groups. The enclosing brackets ([]) are required, and the left bracket must be in the leftmost column on the screen. The keyname=value statement defines the value of each setting. A keyname is the name of a setting. It can consist of any combination of letters and digits, and must be followed immediately by an equal sign (=). The value can be an integer, a string, or a quoted string, depending on the setting. You can include comments in initialization files. You must begin each line of comments with a semicolon (;). HOW TO READ LISTINGS IN THIS DOCUMENT ------------------------------------- In this document, WIN.INI settings are listed alphabetically within the sections that contain them. These sections appear in WIN.INI and in this document in the following order (however, the order of these sections is not important): [windows] [desktop] [extensions] [intl] [ports] [fonts] [PrinterPorts] [devices] [colors] In addition, some Windows applications may add or insert other sections. The settings do not appear alphabetically in WIN.INI. If you want to change a setting, you will have to search for it within the appropriate section. The syntax, purpose, and recommended method for changing each setting appear in the following format: ------------------------------------------------------------ SettingName=<value-type> Default: This is Windows' built-in value for this setting. Purpose: This paragraph briefly describes the function of the setting and its default value (if applicable). To change: This sentence states the recommended method for changing the value of this setting. ------------------------------------------------------------ The <value-type> indicates whether the value should be a number, a letter, a range of numbers, or something else. A setting that is listed in this document but that does not appear in your WIN.INI file has the default value. CHANGING SETTINGS ----------------- Windows created the WIN.INI file when you installed Windows. All of the settings contained in this file were set to default values defined by Windows. You might want to change one or more of these values in order to change the appearance or performance of Windows to suit your needs. There are two ways to change WIN.INI settings: * You can use Control Panel to change most settings. * Use a text editor such as Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file directly. (Don't use a formatting editor; it can corrupt your WIN.INI file.) You can change most settings in WIN.INI by using Control Panel. By doing so, you avoid opening WIN.INI as a text file, where it is easier to make mistakes. For more information on Control Panel, see Chapter 5, "Control Panel," in the User's Guide. For the settings you cannot change by using Control Panel, you must open the WIN.INI file, edit it using a text editor such as Notepad, and then restart Windows. For more information on how to use Notepad, see Chapter 10, "Additional Accessories," in the User's Guide. CAUTION: You should use care when making changes to your WIN.INI file using a text editor. Incorrect changes to WIN.INI can lead to unexpected results when you run Windows. In addition, some editors can damage certain characters (those with ANSI values of greater than 127). It is recommended that you use Notepad as a text editor. The listings in this document indicate which settings you can change using Control Panel. Use Control Panel whenever possible. Always back up your WIN.INI file before you open it. UPDATING WIN.INI FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF WINDOWS -------------------------------------------------- If you update your system to Windows version 3.0 from Windows version 2.x, Setup will automatically update your WIN.INI file by making the following changes: In the [windows] section, Setup will add one setting: Documents= and will clear the old values from another setting: Device= In the [extensions] section, Setup will add two settings: pcx=pbrush.exe ^.pcx rec=recorder.exe ^.rec In the [devices] section, Setup will remove all entries. The previous drivers, fonts, and other resources will remain in your system. Setup will ask you whether you want to upgrade to the new driver or stay with the previous one. Setup leaves all other sections unchanged. If you are updating to Windows version 3.0 from Windows version 1.x, Setup will not preserve any values from your old WIN.INI file. WHAT IS IN WIN.INI? ------------------- The settings in the WIN.INI file allow you to personalize your Windows environment. WIN.INI contains several sections, each of which consists of a group of related settings. Your WIN.INI file might not have all of these sections, or it might have additional sections, depending on your system's hardware and software requirements. The following sections can appear in WIN.INI: This section Does this ------------ --------- [windows] Affects an assortment of elements in your Windows environment. [desktop] Controls the appearance of the screen background (desktop) and the positioning of windows and icons. [extensions] Associates specified types of files with corresponding applications. [intl] Describes how to display items for countries other than the United States. [ports] Lists all available output ports. These settings are listed in the WININI2.TXT file. [fonts] Describes the screen font files that are loaded by Windows. (These settings are listed in the WININI2.TXT file.) [PrinterPorts] Lists active and inactive output devices that can be accessed by Windows. (These settings are listed in the WININI2.TXT file.) [devices] Lists active output devices that provide compatibility with Windows 2.x applications. (These settings are listed in the WININI2.TXT file.) [colors] Defines colors for parts of the Windows display. (These settings are listed in the WININI2.TXT file.) Additional sections might be inserted by other applications. Consult the application's documentation for information on those sections. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ [WINDOWS] SECTION The [windows] section contains settings that affect the following parts of your Windows environment: * Applications that start when you start Windows * Warning beep * Printing * Window border width * Keyboard speed * Mouse settings * Definition of files as documents or programs The [windows] section can contain the following settings: ------------------------------------------------------------ Beep=<yes-or-no> Default: yes Purpose: If this setting is enabled, Windows sounds a warning beep when you attempt to do something that is not allowed. To change: Choose the Sound icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ BorderWidth=<number> Default: 3 Purpose: Sets the width of the borders around all the windows on your desktop except those (such as Control Panel) that have a fixed size. The allowed range is 1 (narrowest) to 49 (widest). To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ CursorBlinkRate=<milliseconds> Default: 530 Purpose: Indicates how many milliseconds elapse between each blink of the selection cursor. To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ Device=<output-device-name>, <device-driver>, <port-connection> Default: none Purpose: Defines the default printer. The <output-device-name> value can be any device name given in the [devices] section. An explicit port and driver must be assigned to the device. The <device-driver> value is the filename (without the extension) of the device-driver file. The <port-connection> value is any portname given in the [ports] section. To change: Choose the Printers icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ DeviceNotSelectedTimeout=<seconds> Default: 15 Purpose: Specifies the default number of seconds for Windows to wait for a device to be switched on. A value is saved for each printer listed in the [PrinterPorts] section. If the device is not switched on during this time, Windows won't print to the device. Note that for some devices, Windows immediately posts an error message if the device is not already switched on. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. This setting serves only as the system default value. To change the value for a particular printer, choose the Printers icon from the Control Panel window. Using Control Panel changes the corresponding value only in the [PrinterPorts] section. ------------------------------------------------------------ Documents=<extensions> Default: none Purpose: Defines files that are to be considered "documents" by Windows. Files with the extensions listed in the [extensions] section of WIN.INI are automatically considered documents. Use this setting to define only document file extensions that are not in the [extensions] section. The extensions listed here are not associated with any application. Separate extension names with a space, and do not include the preceding periods. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ DoubleClickSpeed=<milliseconds> Default: 452 Purpose: Establishes the maximum amount of time between clicks of the mouse button that the system will permit for one double-click. The lower the value, the less time you have to click twice in order to effect a double-click. To change: Choose the Mouse icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ KeyboardSpeed=<milliseconds> Default: 31 Purpose: Establishes how much time elapses between repetitions of a character on the display when you hold down a keyboard key. This setting does not work for all keyboards. If you delete this setting from WIN.INI, Windows Setup will not set this speed, but the speed will still be set if you choose the Keyboard icon in Control Panel (even if you cancel out of it). To change: Choose the Keyboard icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ Load=<filename(s)> Default: none Purpose: Specifies one or more applications that are to be run as icons when Windows is started. This value is a list of one or more filenames of applications, or documents that are associated with an application, each separated by a space. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ MouseSpeed=<0-or-1-or-2> Default: 1 Purpose: Establishes the relationship between mouse movement and cursor movement when the value of either MouseThreshold1 or MouseThreshold2 is exceeded. When this occurs, Windows causes cursor movement to accelerate according to the value of MouseSpeed. If it is 0, there is no acceleration. If it is 1, the cursor is moved twice the normal speed when mouse movement exceeds the value of MouseThreshold1. If it is 2, the cursor is moved twice the normal speed when mouse movement exceeds the value of MouseThreshold1 or four times the normal speed if mouse movement exceeds MouseThreshold2. To change: Choose the Mouse icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ MouseThreshold1=<pixels> Default: 5 Purpose: Establishes the maximum number of pixels that the mouse can move between mouse interrupts before Windows alters the relationship between mouse movement and cursor movement. If the mouse movement exceeds this threshold and MouseSpeed is greater than zero, Windows moves the cursor at twice the normal speed. To change: Choose the Mouse icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ MouseThreshold2=<pixels> Default: 10 Purpose: Establishes the maximum number of pixels that the mouse can move between mouse interrupts before Windows alters the relationship between mouse movement and cursor movement. If the mouse movement exceeds this threshold and MouseSpeed is equal to 2, Windows moves the cursor at four times the normal speed. To change: Choose the Mouse icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ NetWarn=<0-or-1> Default: 1 Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should display a warning message if your system is configured to run a network and the network is not running or the wrong network is running. All Windows network-related options will be disabled if the network is disabled or incorrect. Setting this value to 0 will disable the warning message. To change: Choose the Network icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ NullPort=<string> Default: "None" Purpose: Specifies the name used for a null port. This name appears in the Printers-Configure dialog box in Control Panel when a device is installed (that is, the device driver is present) but is not connected to any port. This value also appears for such a device in the [devices] section of WIN.INI. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ Programs=<extensions> Default: com exe bat pif Purpose: Defines which files Windows regards as applications. Extension names are separated by a space and do not include the preceding periods. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ Run=<filename(s)> Default: none Purpose: Tells Windows to run one or more specified applications when Windows is started. The value is a list of one or more filenames of applications, or documents associated with applications, each separated by a space. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ Spooler=<yes-or-no> Default: yes Purpose: Specifies whether output to the printer is to be sent through Print Manager. Changing this value to no disables Print Manager. To change: Choose the Printers icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ TransmissionRetryTimeout=<seconds> Default: 45 Purpose: Specifies the default amount of time to give Windows for attempted transmission retries. A value is saved for each printer in the [PrinterPorts] section. If a successful transmission does not occur during this time, Windows posts a message box stating that the printer is not receiving characters. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. This setting serves only as the system default value. To change the value for a particular printer, choose the Printers icon from the Control Panel window. Using Control Panel changes the corresponding value only in the [PrinterPorts] section. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ [DESKTOP] SECTION The [desktop] section contains optional settings that control the appearance of the screen background (desktop) and the positioning of windows and icons on the screen. The [desktop] section can contain the following settings: ------------------------------------------------------------ GridGranularity=<number> Default: 0 Purpose: Specifies the size (in units of eight pixels) of the grid that Windows uses to position windows on the screen. The allowed range is 0 through 49. To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ IconSpacing=<pixels> Default: 77 Purpose: Specifies the number of pixels that will appear between icons. Increasing this number increases the amount of space between icons. To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ Pattern=<b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8> Default: "(None)" (This string appears when no pattern is specified) Purpose: Specifies a pattern that is used to paint the screen background. The eight numeric values define a bitmap eight pixels wide and eight pixels high. Each decimal value represents a byte, and each byte represents a row of eight pixels. The following shows the effect of setting a bit: Setting Effect ------- ------ 0 Sets the corresponding pixel to the background color (specified by the Background setting in the [colors] section). 1 Sets the corresponding pixel to the foreground color (specified by the WindowText setting in the [colors] section). For example, if you set the <b1> value to the decimal value 175, the top row of pixels in the bitmap will appear as the binary equivalent (10101111) according to the preceding table. To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ TileWallpaper=<0-or-1> Default: 0 Purpose: Specifies whether to tile the desktop wallpaper across the screen (set this value to 0) or to center it (set this value to 1). To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ Wallpaper=<bitmap-filename> Default: "(None)" (This string appears when no pattern is specified) Purpose: Supplies the name of a bitmap file. This bitmap appears on the screen background. You need to include the full pathname of the file if it is not in the Windows or system directory. To change: Choose the Desktop icon from the Control Panel window. ------------------------------------------------------------ WallpaperOriginX=<x-coordinate> Default: 0 Purpose: Adjusts the initial offset of a tiled wallpaper. The x-origin (default value) is the left side of the screen. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ WallpaperOriginY=<y-coordinate> Default: 0 Purpose: Adjusts the initial offset of a tiled wallpaper. The y-origin (default value) is the top of the screen. To change: Use Notepad to edit the WIN.INI file. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ [EXTENSIONS] SECTION The [extensions] section contains settings that link groups of document files with an application so that opening one of the document files automatically starts the application. The [extensions] section can contain settings of the following type: ------------------------------------------------------------ <extension>=<command-line> Purpose: Contains a list of filename extensions that identify documents, and corresponding command lines that are invoked when you choose a file that has the associated extensions. The <extension> keyname is an extension of one to three characters. The <command-line> value is an ordinary DOS command line. The command line always begins with an application filename (with the .EXE extension). This can be followed by any command parameters the application needs, usually including the document filename. The caret (^) character can be used when the original document filename is needed in the command line; the caret is replaced by the document filename without any extension. The most typical <extension> entries simply list the application name and the document name; for example: CAL=CALENDAR.EXE ^.CAL If you run a file called MYFILE.CAL after this association has been made, the Calendar progam will start and automatically open the file named MYFILE. To change: Choose Associate from the File menu in File Manager. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: See the WININI2.TXT file for the [intl], [ports], [fonts], [PrinterPorts], [devices], and [colors] section listings.