Who Knew Windows Could Do That?

Scott Dunn
From the August 2001 issue of PC World magazine

"I sure wish Windows could..."

Sound familiar? Well, guess what? Windows probably can. Over more than a decade of writing PC World's Windows Tips column, I've discovered hundreds of functions that lurk below the surface of Microsoft's now-venerable operating system. With the right shortcuts and speed tricks, you can cut much of the time you spend on many chores and eliminate others entirely--all without editing the Registry, reformatting your hard drive, or taking an advanced course in Windowsology.

Some of my Windows tricks require nothing more than changing a few simple settings, while others take only a keystroke combination. So, off we go into the Windows of your wildest dreams.

Think of all the time you spend just getting from place to place on your PC: opening this folder, switching to that drive, connecting to the other network server--and where is that file, anyway? Here are some ways I've found to add supersonic speed to your desktop maneuvers.

All Versions When you drill down through several nested folders, you open a window for each. You can close all or most of them with a single click by holding down the Shift key as you click the Close box in the upper-right corner of the folder window. Doing so closes the current folder and any open folders above it in the folder hierarchy.

All Versions The fastest way to navigate to a file or folder is via a shortcut icon. To create such an icon, select the target file or folder and choose File, Create Shortcut (or right-click and choose Create Shortcut). If you've already opened the folder you want to make a shortcut to, just drag the folder's icon from the top-left corner, the address bar, or anywhere else, and drop it onto the desktop or whatever folder the shortcut will reside in (see Figure 1). For another shortcut option, see " Copy, Move, or Shortcut?" Note: For Windows 95, this tip requires Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update.

All Versions Want to make a shortcut to the file you're currently editing so that you can quickly reopen it later? First, save the file, then choose File, Save As. The document's icon should be visible in the dialog box. Use the right mouse button to drag the icon out of the dialog box and drop it onto the desktop or into any folder--just as you would from Explorer. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. This tip works only with applications that use Windows' common file dialog boxes. Unfortunately, Microsoft's own Word and Excel do not.

All Versions Shortcuts can do more than merely link to files, folders, or programs. If you're using Word, Excel, or another application that supports Object Linking and Embedding, you can make a shortcut that will take you to a specific place in a file--a boon if you work with long documents.

The precise method varies by application, but one of these techniques should work: First, open your document and highlight the passage or cell(s) you want to bookmark with a shortcut. Right-click and drag the selection to the desktop or to the folder you desire, then choose Create Document Shortcut Here. If that doesn't work, highlight the selection and choose Edit, Copy. Right-click an empty area on the desktop or in a folder and select Paste Shortcut. Some applications also require you to return to the original document and choose File, Save. The next time you need to consult the desired passage, just launch the document shortcut (see Figure 2).

All Versions Shortcut icons are handy because they can open files, folders, or applications in far-flung locations on a local or network drive. But what if you need to know where the actual folder, program file, or document resides? Searching an entire network may not be an option. Fortunately, you don't have to. Just right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. Make sure the Shortcut tab is in front and click Find Target to instantly open the folder containing the item that the shortcut points to. Note: This trick doesn't work for Internet shortcuts.

All Versions Are you unsure where a folder shortcut will take you when you double-click it? If you have Windows 2000 or Windows Me, you can find out before you launch it. Click an empty space in the shortcut's container (either the desktop, a folder, or an Explorer view). Instead of selecting the shortcut, just hold the pointer over it for a couple of seconds. An 'info tip' will appear that shows you the path to the target location (see Figure 3). To change the tip's contents, see " Create Your Own Shortcut Info Tips."

All Versions Did you double-click one too many times? Maybe you really wanted to see the contents of the folder containing the current folder. If the Address bar is visible (click View, Toolbars, Address Bar if it isn't), press F4 to display the drop-down list, then climb back up the folder hierarchy. Or click the Up button on the Standard Buttons toolbar if you see it. But the fastest way to go up one level in the folder hierarchy is to press the Backspace key.

All Versions Sometimes the last folder you opened before the current folder wasn't the current folder's parent, or any other relation; it may even have been on a different hard disk or computer. If you want to return to the previous folder (not necessarily the parent), click the Back button on the toolbar or press Alt-Left Arrow. Change your mind again? Click the Forward button on the toolbar or press Alt-Right Arrow. Note: For Windows 95, this tip requires Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update.

All Versions Do your folders open in a new window or the existing one? If you'd like to change this setting, choose View, Options or View, Folder Options in Windows 9x, or Tools, Folder Options in Windows 2000 and Me. Make sure the Folder tab (Windows 95) or General tab (all other versions) is selected. If you're using Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update feature, or Windows 98 or 98 SE, click the Settings button. Now make your choice under 'Browsing options', 'Browse folders as follows', or 'Browse Folders', depending on your version of Windows. Click OK.

You would never take the wheel of a new car without adjusting the seat, mirrors, and radio presets to your liking. So why should your computer be any different? A few quick tweaks here and there in Windows can greatly increase your comfort zone.

All Versions Your Explorer and folder windows can quickly become top-heavy with buttons, menus, and other controls if you turn on all the possible toolbars. It's easy to hide some of them by using the View, Toolbars menu. If you find these toolbars useful, however, you can quickly compact or expand them by positioning your pointer along the bottom edge of the bottom toolbar and dragging it up or down.

This is handy if you're only cleaning things up on the fly, but if you're looking for a more permanent solution, drag the handle on the left edge of each toolbar and position it wherever you want to put it. By placing some toolbars side by side, you can save vertical space and still have access to the controls you want. Note: For Windows 95, this tip requires Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update.

Windows 98, 98 SE, 2000, Me If your desktop is cluttered with icons, you could spend hours getting more organized, or you could take the easy way out: Hide all your desktop icons and open a folder window that shows your desktop items. Doing so makes them much easier to sort.

Hiding icons requires the Active Desktop feature (the mode for showing Web content on the desktop): In Windows 98, right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Click the Effects tab and check Hide icons when the desktop is viewed as a Web page. In Windows 2000 and Me, right-click the desktop and choose Active Desktop, Show Web Content. Now you can toggle your icons on and off by simply right-clicking the desktop and choosing Active Desktop, View As Web Page (in Windows 98) or Active Desktop, Show Desktop Icons (in Windows 2000 and Me).

All Versions If you've hidden your desktop icons using the previous tip, or just want another way to get to the desktop, try these tricks:

• Launch Windows Explorer and use the tree pane or Address bar drop-down list to scroll up to the top (Desktop) level. Or click in the Address bar field of any folder window, type desktop, and press Enter.
  
  
• Create a shortcut to the Desktop folder: Right-click in a folder or on the desktop and choose New, Shortcut. Type Explorer /root, (including the comma at the end). This method works in Windows 95 and 98, but not in Windows 2000 or Windows Me.
  
  
• For Windows 2000 and Me, make a shortcut to the Desktop folder (choose Start, Search, For Files or Folders to locate the right Desktop folder for your user profile). The window it opens won't include the built-in system icons (like My Computer and Recycle Bin), but you'll have access to everything else.
  
  
• Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and choose Toolbars, Desktop. You can keep this toolbar docked within the taskbar, let it float on the screen, or dock it against an edge of the screen (see Figure 4). Customize the toolbar by right-clicking an empty area of the toolbar and choosing Show Text or Show Title to toggle between these items. Choose an icon size from the View menu, and then choose Always on Top if the toolbar is not in the taskbar and you don't want any windows to cover it. Even if you decide to hide the icons' text labels, you can still see what each icon is by positioning the pointer over it (don't click) to see its info tip. (See " Look Before You Double-Click.")
  
  

All Versions To get the most spacious, capacious view of your folder or Explorer window, press F11 to enter kiosk mode. This view makes the file pane fill the whole screen. It hides all toolbars next to the menu bar (see "Clean Up Toolbars Fast" above), and makes the file pane even bigger than maximized size (see Figure 5). Even Windows' taskbar is covered by this mode. To pop it back into view, move your pointer to the taskbar's last location.

To make your screen even bigger, right-click a toolbar at the top and choose Auto-Hide. This slides the toolbar out of sight when not in use, but it pops back when you move your pointer to the top of the screen. If you have an Explorer bar showing on the left, you can hide it by clicking the Auto-hide pushpin button at the top of that panel (in some Windows 9x systems you have to slide the pointer away from the Explorer bar). The bar pops back when you move the pointer to the left side of the screen. Click the Auto-Hide button again to make that panel stay in place. To exit kiosk mode, hit F11 again. Note: For Windows 95, this tip requires Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update.

Windows 9x Windows 2000's Web View lets you preview Web video and sound formats as well as images. Windows 98, 98 SE, and 95 with Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update already have this feature, but you need to turn it on first. In a folder window, choose View, Customize this Folder. Make sure 'Create or edit an HTML document' is selected and click Next twice. In Notepad, search for 'var wantMedia' and change '=false' to =true. Save the file, exit Notepad, and click Finish in the Customize this Folder wizard. You should now be able to select .wav, .avi, .mov, and .mpg files in the folder and use the controls in the left panel to see them in miniature or hear them.

Managing files is the key to organizing all your work and play materials--but such chores can be a pain. Here are some easy ways to make your Windows file-management housekeeping simpler and faster.

All Versions Wondering how big a file or group of files is? Or how many items are in a folder? The secret is in the status bar, which usually runs along the bottom of your screen (if you don't see it in your Explorer or folder windows, choose View, Status Bar). Click inside an empty area of the folder to make sure nothing is selected. The status bar shows the total number of objects in the folder and the amount of space they use (minus the contents of any subfolders). Select one or more items in a folder to have the status bar provide information just on those items (again, the size and number of items in subfolders isn't included).

All Versions The Explorer status bar won't tell you the number of files in one or more selected folders, or tally the disk space those folders consume, but that information is still close at hand. Select one or more folders or files and press Alt-Enter, or right-click the selection and choose Properties. Look on the General tab of the Properties sheet. If you have only a single item selected, Alt-double-click it to display the Properties sheet.

All Versions To see how much space remains on your hard drive, double-click My Computer. Make sure the folder is using Web View and then select a drive icon (see Figure 6). In Windows 2000 and Me, you see the same information if the folder window is showing the root of a drive, and no items in the folder are selected (click inside an empty area to deselect everything).

The diagram showing your disk space and capacity rounds figures to the nearest tenth of a megabyte. If you want to know the truth down to the last byte, employ the techniques used in the previous tip to open the Properties sheet for any drive. This is the only method that works in Windows 95.

All Versions Copying, moving, renaming, deleting, and other file operations can be undone. You can often use the Edit, Undo command in Windows Explorer to reverse file operations performed by other apps. How do you know what choosing Undo will do? Check the status bar (if it isn't visible, choose View, Status Bar). Move your pointer over the Edit, Undo command, the Edit, Undo Copy command, Edit, Undo Delete, or another undo command, but don't click; the status bar will show what file or files will be affected (see Figure 7).

All Versions Windows lacks a quick-and-easy way to make a new folder (see " An Open Letter to Mr. Gates"). But you still have these folder-making tools at your disposal:

• Windows doesn't have a keyboard shortcut for making a folder, but pressing Alt-F-N-F is the next best thing. This only works in Explorer or a folder window with nothing selected--not on the desktop.
  
  
• On the desktop or in any folder, right-click and choose New, Folder.
  
  
• Or use Shift-F10-N-F; that'll work in a folder, in Explorer, or on the desktop.
  
  
• Many file dialog boxes (such as Open and Save As) have a little button at the top that will make a new folder within the current folder. Just click it.
  
  

All Versions When you drag a file to another location, Windows sometimes moves the file and other times copies it. And when you drag an application, Windows only makes a shortcut. Why? There's a method in this madness. Dragging moves a file if it's dropped to a point within a single disk, but copies if it's dragged to a different disk. Dragging an application usually creates a shortcut, because moving an application out of its installed folder may cause it not to function.

If you need to move an app, hold down Shift as you drag to force a move, and hold down Ctrl to force a copy. You can press these keys anytime during the drag as long as you haven't released the mouse button. It may be simpler just to get in the habit of dragging with the right mouse button. When you drop the file, you'll see a pop-up menu that lets you choose to copy, move, or make a shortcut.

All Versions Windows 2000 and Me let you display the contents of any folder as thumbnails--miniature representations of common graphics and Web formats. (For all other file types, you see a large icon in a box.) Just open a folder and select View, Thumbnails (the command doesn't appear for certain system folders, such as My Computer and My Network Places). This feature is also found in Windows 95, 98, and 98 SE, but it's hidden.

To enable thumbnail view, right-click a folder icon and choose Properties. Select the General tab, check Enable thumbnail view, and click OK. Now double-click the folder to open it. You should see a Thumbnails command on the View menu where none existed before. Note: For Windows 95, this tip requires Internet Explorer 4's Desktop Update.

Now that you've set up your document system, you'll also want to make it easier to work with your applications. Getting a program up and running, for example, should be no more trouble than grabbing a pencil (with only occasional sharpening required). Here are some ways to make such tasks as launching your programs just that simple.

All Versions Double-clicking a file opens it in the application associated with its file type. But what if you don't always open a file in the same application? To customize the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click a file so that it includes multiple applications for each file type, open Explorer, and choose either View, Options or View, Folder Options in Windows 9x, or Tools, Folder Options in Windows 2000 and Me. Click the File Types tab and select your file type from the list. Click Edit (Windows 9x) or Advanced (Windows 2000 and Me). Select the New button below the Actions list and type a name for your new menu item, such as 'Open with Foobar.'

In the next box, type the path to your application; or click Browse, navigate to the folder where you installed the alternate application, select its program file, and click Open. Click OK and close the remaining dialog boxes. The next time you right-click that type of file, you can choose Open to get the default application, or use your new custom command to open the file in another program.

Windows 2000, Me The tip above works fine in Windows 2000 and Me, but these versions of Windows also offer an easier way to add a choice of applications to a file type's shortcut menu. You only need to right-click a file and choose Open With. Select an application from the list, or click Other to browse for the right application. Then click OK. Now the file will open in the designated program, but the next time you do this and choose a different program, both programs will appear on a submenu of the context (right-click) menu. Right-click a document, select Open With, and choose one of your applications from the menu--or click Choose Program to add yet another app to this submenu (see Figure 8).

All Versions If all you want to do is change the application that opens when you double-click a document icon, just hold down Shift as you right-click the document and then choose Open With (in Windows 95, 98, and 98 SE). In Windows 2000, you may need to choose Open With, Choose Program (see the previous tip). Then you either select an application from the list, or click Other to browse for the right one. Now click Open. In the Open With dialog box, be sure to check Always use this program to open this type of file and click OK.

All Versions If you have applications, files, or folders that you open and close frequently, make life easier by creating keyboard shortcuts for each. First, check " The Windows Key: A Fast Worker" to see if the keyboard shortcut you want already exists. If it doesn't, right-click the Start button and choose Open. Now open the Programs folder and click File, New, Folder. Name the new folder Keyboard Shortcuts. You don't have to put all the shortcut icons that have keyboard shortcuts in one place, but doing so makes it easier to change or delete them later. You can also make the keystrokes part of the shortcut name to serve as a reminder (see Figure 9).

In any case, you must put these shortcuts either on the desktop or in a folder within the Start Menu folder hierarchy. Drag the desired apps, files, or folders to the selected folder one at a time using the right mouse button, then choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-click a shortcut icon and choose Properties. Choose the Shortcut tab and click inside the 'Shortcut key' box. Press your desired key combo, and click OK.

All Versions If you tried the previous tip, you may have discovered that Windows forces you to employ at least two modifier keys ( Ctrl, Alt, Shift) for many key combinations. To save on keystrokes, use a function key--one of the keys in the top row of your keyboard, numbered F1 through F12. You can use a function key alone or in combination with one or more modifier keys. Any combination you create will launch your shortcut and nothing else--even if another application tries to use those keys. You can also use the keys on your numeric keypad.

Your application is running, your documents are open, but your work area still could use a little sprucing up. Windows can help simplify the daily chores of dealing with multiple applications, and saving and printing files. Here are some of the operating system's less-than-obvious tricks.

All Versions If you occasionally print files without reading them or making changes, you can save a few steps. Choose Start, Settings, Printers. Use the right mouse button to drag your default printer to your desktop and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Now the next time you need to print a document, just drag the document icon from its folder and drop it onto the printer icon. In most cases, the associated application will open, print the document, and exit.

All Versions You can usually exit a running application by closing its main window or by right-clicking its taskbar button or icon in the system tray (the taskbar area with the clock), then choosing Close or Exit. Sometimes, though, applications may be running invisibly. How can you find out? And how can you shut them down? Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete (just once!) to see a list of running applications (see Figure 10). (After doing this in Windows 2000, you must also click the Task Manager button in the Windows Security dialog box.) Select an application you want to exit and click End Task.

Note: The Close Program dialog box doesn't show all hidden running programs or tasks; see System Configuration Utility in " Closet Applications." Some background programs must run continually and should not be shut down.

All Versions When you save a file in an application, the application automatically adds its own unique extension (.doc, .txt, .gif, and so on) to the end of the file name. You usually don't see it because, by default, Windows hides these extensions. You may not want the application to use the normal extension, however. For example, you may want to use Notepad to save a file with a .bat, .htm, or other extension. Type the file name in quotation marks in the Save As dialog box, as in "MyPage.html". The quotation marks force your application to accept the extension you type without adding one of its own.

All Versions To see the contents of two application windows at once, don't waste time dragging the edge of each window until they're side by side. Just right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Tile Windows Horizontally to make your open windows appear in rows on your screen, or Tile Windows Vertically to make them appear in columns. Choose Cascade Windows to create a stack of windows with their edges offset to facilitate navigating between them with a mouse. These commands don't affect minimized windows.

If you change your mind, right-click the taskbar again and choose Undo Tile or Undo Cascade. Note: Some utilities (especially those in the system tray) temporarily disable these functions.

Windows comes with several handy tricks and utilities to help you keep your computer in shape and to perform certain routine tasks. Here are undocumented power tricks for Windows' Disk Cleanup and System Tools, plus a way to customize your shortcut info tips.

Windows 98, 2000, and Me Windows' Disk Cleanup utility can delete unneeded files on a disk (select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks, launch Disk Cleanup, and then choose the right drive). But it's faster to Alt-double-click a drive icon in My Computer or Explorer (use the right pane, not the folder tree), or right-click the drive icon and choose Properties. Then click the Disk Cleanup button on the General tab.

All Versions Windows comes with a number of system tools for maintaining your computer. Windows 98 and later versions let you use the Maintenance Wizard to automate these tasks. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Maintenance Wizard to deselect apps that start automatically when you start Windows and to set the schedule for Disk Defragmenter, ScanDisk, and Disk Cleanup.

You can also schedule any installed program to run (Backup, for example): Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks to open the Scheduled Tasks folder, launch the Add Scheduled Task icon, and follow the instructions in the Scheduled Task Wizard. Note that the Scheduled Tasks folder shows when tasks are scheduled and when they last ran, and that you can run any of them on the fly by right-clicking the task and selecting Run.

Windows also keeps track of when you scan your disk for errors, make a backup, and defragment your hard disk in another place: Double-click My Computer, right-click a hard disk, and choose Properties to access this information. Click the Tools tab to see how long it's been since you used ScanDisk, Backup (if installed), or Disk Defragmenter (see Figure 11). If it has been a while since you've used these tools, just click one of the buttons to do the chore on the spot. This is also a handy way to start these accessories without digging through the Start menu. Note: Windows 2000 doesn't track when you last used these utilities, but you can still launch them from this dialog box.

Windows 2000 and Me Icon info tips are helpful, but you don't need to settle for the info tips that Windows gives you. If you have Windows 2000 or Me, you can make the info tip for a shortcut say anything you want. To do this, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Select the Shortcut tab and type any descriptive text that you wish in the Comment box. The text in the box scrolls, allowing you to add as much as a small paragraph of information. When you have finished adding your text, click OK.

If you didn't install Windows yourself, or if you used a standard install option such as Typical or Compact, chances are you're missing out on some free software that's sitting idle on your Windows CD-ROM or in .cab files on your hard disk. Here are some of the Windows utilities I consider most useful. Note: The Windows 2000 Control Panel doesn't let you add or remove the components mentioned here, but the best ones are installed by default anyway.

Microsoft Backup: Though features vary from version to version, this is still a handy tool for making backup copies of all or part of your system. In most Windows versions, select Start, Settings, Control Panel and open Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, scroll down the Components list, and double-click System Tools. In the System Tools dialog box that appears, check Backup, click OK as many times as needed, and follow the prompts on screen.

Unfortunately, Windows Me doesn't even list this utility as a setup option. If you installed Windows Me over a previous version, Backup may already be on your computer--just search for msbackup.exe or backup.exe and make a shortcut to it. Otherwise, pop in your Windows Me CD-ROM, browse to add-ons\MSBackup, and run msbexp.exe to install.

Character Map: If you've ever wondered how to enter a trademark or copyright symbol, find the right Wingding, or learn the keyboard shortcut for an em dash, this accessory is for you. You'll find Character Map in the System Tools section (to install it, follow the same instructions above for installing Microsoft Backup).

Magnifier: If you need to see details on your screen, you'll find Magnifier a boon. Follow the installation instructions for Character Map above, but double-click Accessibility instead of System Tools. Check Accessibility Tools, click OK as many times as needed, and follow the remaining prompts on screen.

System Configuration Utility: This valuable diagnostic tool lets advanced users isolate software that may be causing system problems, and it provides a one-stop checklist of all the applications Windows is launching at start-up. It's installed by default, but it doesn't appear as an individual icon, only as an item on the Tools menu in System Information. Find msconfig.exe in your Windows\System folder and make a shortcut to it. System Configuration Utility is available only for Windows 98, 98 SE, and me.

TweakUI: A lucky few Microsoft customers got this useful customizing Control Panel accessory on their Windows 98 CD-ROMs. Search for tweakui.inf, right-click it, and choose Install. If it's not there, get a free copy at our Downloads library.

Compressed Folders: If you have Windows Me, you don't have to acquire the acclaimed shareware WinZip. Instead, install this feature for making zip-compatible archives as easily as you would make and use folders. See the installation instructions above for Character Map--it too is in System Tools.

Dear Bill,

Even with all its wonderful hidden tools, it seems every release of Windows lacks features that should have been part of the original. And things don't appear to be getting better. Exhibit A: Windows Me's bizarrely bloated Media Player (no "skin" in the world can make this monstrosity attractive, although Ctrl-2 helps). Exhibit B: its lame attempt at video editing. Here's my wish list of tools Windows has needed from Day One.

Renaming: What could be more basic for an operating system than to provide a way to globally rename large numbers of files and folders without having to use shareware or a DOS command line? Those of us who upgraded from older versions of Windows had all our old eight-letter file and folder names converted to ALL CAPS. A Microsoft rep told me this wasn't a problem because I can just rename each one. Oh, sure, rename each of my 20,000 files and folders one at a time. Right.

Folder creation: Every version of Windows since 95 has gone out of its way to provide context-driven shortcut menus and buttons for letting users map network drives--as if this is something we all do 20 times a day. We need an easier way to create new folders. Windows 2000 and Me finally let us customize the Explorer toolbar, but--incredibly--they don't provide a button for folder creation. Hello? Bill?

More keyboard shortcuts: In recent versions of Windows, you can add an 'Explorer Bar' panel that includes Search, Favorites, History, or a folder tree to the left side of a folder window. Most of these panels can be toggled with keyboard shortcuts. In fact, the Search panel actually has two: Ctrl-F and Ctrl-E. Yet the most useful panel of all--Folders--has no keyboard shortcut. It's time to fix this.

And while you're at it, how about keystrokes for minimizing and maximizing the current window? Windows 2 had these, but they seem to have gotten lost in the upgrade shuffle. Bring them back! Finally, probably no keyboard shortcut would be used more often than a simple way to mute the system's sound. Every remote control in my house has a mute key--why not my computer? And I should be able to get this function without having to buy a keyboard with built-in multimedia controls.

Better management of start-up applications: The Start, Programs, Startup menu deceptively lulls users into thinking that as long as they remove icons from the Startup folder, they can keep applications from launching when Windows starts. In reality, Windows must have a half-dozen places in which apps can hide their start-up commands, including multiple Registry locations and even win.ini. The System Configuration Utility in Win 98, 98 SE, and Me is a good start for tracking down and dealing with these settings, but it's intended only for short-term diagnostic purposes and isn't available in Windows 2000.

More automation: Finally, a personal request. Not everyone likes macros. I know I'm a geek that way, but I loved the way Windows 3.x's Recorder utility let me record a series of repetitive behaviors and reduce them to a single keystroke--without having to learn Visual Basic or purchase its associated software. Today's shareware far surpasses Recorder (my favorite is Macro Magic from Iolo Technologies), and Windows' Scheduled Task Wizard provides some automation. But with all of Windows' utilities, why can't macro recording be one of them?

Sincerely,

Scott Dunn

All Versions You can often get from place to place in Windows faster by using key combinations and mouse moves that aren't apparent from looking at the screen. For a basic list of these techniques, choose Start, Help, click the Index tab, and browse the topics listed under 'keyboard shortcuts'. For even more power, try these often-overlooked tricks.

• Prevent a CD from starting: Hold down Shift while you insert the CD
  
  
• Enlarge/shrink the font size in Internet Explorer, Windows Help, Word, and Excel: Hold down Ctrl as you spin the mouse wheel (requires a wheel mouse)
  
  
• Maximize/restore a window: Double-click the window's title bar
  
  
• Close an active Internet Explorer, Explorer, or folder window, or Excel or Word document: Ctrl-W
  
  
• In an Explorer or folder window, get the optimum column width for Details view: Ctrl-NumPad + (Note: File pane must be active)
  
  
• Select (highlight) the Address bar entry in Windows Explorer: Alt-D
  
  

All Versions Most keyboards made in the last several years come with a Windows key, and sometimes also with an Application key. Try these keyboard shortcuts for extra speed and productivity. Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that these keystrokes may be habit forming.

• Display the Start menu: Windows
  
  
• Open the Run dialog box: Windows-R
  
  
• Minimize all: Windows-M
  
  
• Undo minimize all, tile horizontally, tile vertically, or cascade: Shift-Windows-M
  
  
• Open Help: Windows-F1
  
  
• Open Windows Explorer: Windows-E
  
  
• Open Find/Search Files or Folders: Windows-F
  
  
• Minimize all and undo minimize all: Windows-D
  
  
• Open Find/Search Computer: Ctrl-Windows-F
  
  
• Cycle through taskbar buttons: Windows-Tab ( Enter opens task; Tab moves focus to system tray, desktop, Start button, and Quick Launch and other toolbars)
  
  
• Open System Properties sheet: Windows-Break
  
  
• Display the shortcut menu for selected item: Application