Copyright: This file is Copyright by Eneuman / Hanar SoftWare
Citation: This file is Copyright by Eneuman / Hanar SoftWare. Printing or publishing of this file MUST be authorized.


Contents Screen
Tips & Tricks

For

Windows 95©

______________________________Version 4.7______________________________

Last Updated Decembar 1996

Windows 95 Tips, Tricks and Undocumented Features

Here it is . . . The BEST Win95 Tips & Trick help file on the scene . . .

If you have a tip or a trick for Windows 95 that is not included in this help file, please send it to eneuman@cd.chalmers.se.  You will be added to our mailing list and receive an update of this file as soon as it is available.

We regret that, for practical reasons, only those who contribute a new tip can be added to the mailing list.

….Please read this….

This document is Copyright Eneuman / Hanar SoftWare.

Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Do you need help with HTML programming ?

Take a look at our cheap prices on our homepage!

ENEUMAN / HANAR SOFTWARE DOES NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT THESE TIPS & TRICKS MIGHT

(OR MIGHT NOT DO) TO YOUR COMPUTER.

Click here  INDEX  to begin


INDEX A

Automatically clear the document file.

Autorun your hard drive.

Advance Power saving function.

Always find your shortcuts.

Automatically clear the document file.

Turn off AutoLoad

Hide commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT

Avoiding Logo at StartUp

Viewing Win95 animated cursors

AutoPlay Disable

Add file types to the New submenu on the mouse menu

Automatically clear the document file


INDEX B

Briefcase tip.

Bitmap as Icon

Start the browser when installing

Booting old DOS


INDEX C

Close the Start Button.

Change the icon on Harddrive.

Changing the start menu icon.

Change Start Menu Icons.

CompuServe Mail.

Create icons without having an icon utility?

Set your Cache size

Change Exit Screens

Change Name/Location of Files/Folders

Change the Size and Spacing of Desktop Icons

Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin Icon

Changing StartUp logo

Changing Taskbar location

Changing the Sort order in Explorer

Check out the file “TIPS.TXT

Clean your StartUp files

Close the Start Button

Clean up your root

Clean Install of Win95 Preview

Clock / Calendar

Using the Command Prompt

Command Line Multi-tasking

Control the directory or drive where Explorer opens

Control your fonts in Internet Explorer

Convert old .GRP files

Copying Graphics

Creating a Scraps folder

Creating static links

Customize your DOS


INDEX D

Disable Norton Smartcan.

Diamond Stealth 64 PCI Display driver

Completely defragment your Harddrive

Increase performance in DOS

Delete files immediately

Dialup scripting without Plus!

Desktop Properties

Turn off Desktop Icons

Dialup Scripting with the PLUS! Pack

Different actions on documents

Freeing diskspace

Dual Boot Setup for Win95 / Win 3.1-WFWG


INDEX E

Easy access to your drives.

Escaping from a hang

Expand your Taskbar

Expanding all Subfolders

Explorer tips


INDEX F

Find StartUp errors in Win95.

Freeing disk space.

Fast Control Panel

Folder-Shortcut-tip

Fast name change

Find your computer FAST


INDEX G

Getting rid of the Flashing Modem in the Tray

Getting rid of the little yellow Speaker in the Tray


INDEX H

Hardware profiles.

How to create your own Desktop Theme.

WinHelp 4.0

Install hot keys

How to install a PC Speaker with Win95


INDEX I

Increase performance in DOS.

Increase modem speed.

Information about the Registry

Change the icon on Harddrive

Internet Explorer tip

Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where can I change them?

Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where is a list of my settings?


INDEX J

LOGO.SYS scrolling bar.


INDEX K


INDEX L

LOGO.SYS scrolling bar


INDEX M

Multi-boot.

Change your MTU settings for Win95 SLIP

Make an “Open New Folder context entry

Make Win95 Truncate filenames better

Increase modem speed

Free up some more memory

Options in MSDOS.SYS

Maximum DOS memory

Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Windows 95

Make Win 3.x programs compatible

Logitech Mouse tip

MSINFO Program

Music CDs and AutoPlay

Hidden classical music on Win95 CD


INDEX N

Numlock fix

New XCOPY Switches


INDEX O

Change your 3D-objects

Opening an associated file with a different program


INDEX P

Play single tracks on your CD

Modifying Win95 TCP/IP Packet Size

Remove Win95 logon password

Printing to a File

Print Screen


INDEX Q

Quickly Seeing Properties


INDEX R

Upgrading from 4Mb to 8Mb RAM

A Good registry hack

Speedup Win95 Refresh rate

Getting Rid of the Shortcut Arrows

Removing the “Shortcut to text

Create a new registry from scratch

Real short filenames

Reduce the Start/Run Drop Down list

Setting “refresh rate for console windows

Refresh the Desktop without restarting Windows

Renaming the Recycle Bin

Remove the tildes in short filenames

Restoring Corrupted Icons

Mouse right click

Restrictions in Multi-user-systems

Change Sound Directory


INDEX S

Save “Connect to “ password.

Start many program at once.

Speedup Internet Win95 for PPP.

Saving/Printing Folder Contents.

Saving/Printing Search Results.

Support Company logo.

Saving files

The “Send to folder

All Shortcuts there is

Create your own StartUp Tips

The SUBST.EXE program

Share swapfile between Win95 & Win 3.1x

Hide your StartUp folder

Small FAST tips

Soundcard Volume

Remove the old swap file

Screen saver corners

Speedup Win95

Speedup Program Tree

Speedup your old CD-ROM

Speedup Win95 by using fast keys

Spell Checking in Exchange


INDEX T

Task Manager

Taskbar Properties

Tips to use with Scheduler

Trace Internet Routes

Turn Off the CD-ROM Autorun

Turn off Document menu

Turning off the Exploding Windows Animation


INDEX U

Useful programs on the Win95 CD-ROM

Uninstalling Windows 95

Update the Register without rebooting

Use Quick View with Any File


INDEX V

Videocard refresh rate


INDEX W

Win95 crash tip.

Windows quick restart.

Want to Explore a folder instead of its icon view?

What .DLLs are being used in a .EXE?

Works 4.0 & Exchange

What to do if You Hate Explorer!

Where is the Windows 95 equivalent of the StartUp folder?

Windows 95 Backup

Windows Setup Switches

Windows 95 with SyQuest Drivers

WordMail


INDEX X


INDEX Y


INDEX Z


INDEX for Tips & Tricks

Total Index

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M

N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	X	Y	Z

Windows 95 Product Team

Choose a Letter or use the search function to find your tip

And if YOU have any tips that are not in this file, please send them to

eneuman@cd.chalmers.se

The latest version of “Tips & Tricks for Windows95© is always available at

 My Homepage

News in Tips & Tricks version 4.7

This Program was Created by Eneuman / Hanar Software

Do you want to help us enhance this help file?


Tips & Tricks for Windows 95 Sponsors
News in this Version !

Tips & Tricks for Windows 95 is now used by 2 million users all over the world !

If your company would like to sponsor us, your logo will be placed here . . .

We are sorry for the delay; we have been trying to get our own WWW server but failed to do so.

Credits for this release go to:

Mark Winthrop (for the grammatical corrections and spell checking),

Al Hubs (for spell checking and layout) and to all those that submitted a tip:  THANKS!

Automatically clear the document file.

Useful programs on the Win95 CD-ROM.

Close the Start Button.

Increase performance in DOS.

Increase modem speed.

LOGO.SYS scrolling bar.

Viewing Win95 animated cursors.

Change the icon on Harddrive.

NumLock fix.

The SUBST.EXE program.

How to create your own Desktop Theme.

Save “Connect to “ password.

Changing the start menu icon.

CompuServe Mail.

Start many program at once.

Win95 crash tip.

Support Company logo.

Find StartUp errors in Win95.

Always find you shortcuts.

Change Start Menu Icons.

Multi-boot.

Freeing disk space.

Disable Norton Smartcan.

Autorun your hard drive.

Advance Power saving function.

Hardware profiles.

Speedup Internet Win95 for PPP.

Saving/Printing Folder Contents.

Saving/Printing Search Results.

Briefcase tip.

Windows quick restart.

Easy access to your drives.

Create icons without having an icon utility?


Homepage
Tips & Tricks Homepage

On the “Tips & Tricks for Windows 95© Homepage you will find:

•	The latest version of “Tips & Tricks for Windows 95©.

•	The NEW on-line “Tips & Tricks WWW pages (Thanks Nathan Morton/PMG).

•	Lots of information about “Tips & Tricks for Windows 95.

Why not check it out?? . . .

Location:

Sweden - 	www.gote.se/TTricks

USA - 	www.pmgi.com/TTricks

Brazil - 	www.dglnet.com.br/TTricks

Check out our new company site at http://www.americatoday.com/hanar/

On this site you will find other Windows 95 Tips & Tricks programs that we have created.

EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS, COMMANDS, AND KEYSTROKES GUIDELINE WHICH IS USED HEREIN

NOTE:  Any Tip or Trick can be properly executed if you adhere to a few simple rules and regulations.  Youre probably saying to yourself, “Not more rules!  But rules are needed in virtually every aspect of lifefor without rules, CHAOS would surely ensue.

Syntax

In order to prevent any incorrect characters from becoming confused with the characters that actually have to be entered, we have arrived at the following conclusions:

•	All text that has to be typed by the user will reside within quotes (the “ & ) which will be spaced one away from the text.  For example, when told to type:

“ FOLDER

it means to just type the word FOLDER.  However, if instructed to type:

“ “FOLDER

then the correct text to enter would be “FOLDER.  Therefore, when asked to enter:

“ FOLDER_HKEY

it means to type in just FOLDER_HKEY.

•	We have designated the vertical bar key as our menu selection separator.  For instance, in most applications, if you wanted to save the file you would first click on File on the menu bar, and then select Save.  Well, to make this easier and more compact for all of us, it will be displayed in the forthcoming entries as File | Save - meaning you should “click on File in the menu bar and then select Save from the ensuing drop-down menu.

•	To ease the pain of reading the hierarchy of folders, we are using (not surprisingly) the backslash character ( \ ), and, as with the vertical bracket character, there are spaces to the left and right of itthis will allow the hyphenation of any long folder commands etc. to be somewhat broken down, hopefully to be easier to view and digest.  An example?  Why, sure . . .

If you have to excess a directory named Shell Folders which is in the directory explorer which is in CurrentVersion which is in Windows which is in Microsoft that is inside SOFTWARE which is inside of HKEY_CURRENT_USER, it would be written somewhat similar to the following:

Open \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Folders \.  Keep in mind that, should a directory or subdirectory actually contain any spaces, there will still be our designated space.  Putting this as an exampleto access the directory entitled CurrentVersion  (notice the space) that resides within the folder named Windows, it would be viewed as:

\ Windows \ CurrentVersion  \ (TWO spaces).

TIP:  If your word processor has the capability of displaying all spaces, carriage returns, etc., my advice is to enable it to ensure that the proper number of spaces are seen and noted.

Keys / Key Combinations

When asked to use certain keys and/or combinations of keys, the keys in question will be those that reside within a set of brackets ([ & ]).

•	For instance, with single key commands, if asked to press the A key, it will be displayed as [A].  If asked to press the Tab key, you will see it as [Tab].

•	Combination keys will have the PLUS sign (+) between the two, with spaces on both sides of it.  For example, to get the user to hold down both the Shift key and Ctrl key simultaneously while pressing the A key, it will be written as [Shift] + [Ctrl] + [A].

NOTE:  Because of the fact that many software programs do not use the same syntax or rules that govern the way commands are to be entered, we hope that some day there will be a universal set of instructions.  In doing so it surely will prevent needless errors - such as those produced merely because you are accustomed to another program that uses a different set of guidelines.


Total Index

Automatically clear the document file.

Autorun your hard drive.

Advance Power saving function.

Always find you shortcuts.

Turn off AutoLoad

Avoiding Logo at StartUp

Hide commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT

AutoPlay Disable

Add file types to the New submenu on the mouse menu

Start the browser when installing

Briefcase tip.

Bitmap as Icon

Booting old DOS

Close the Start Button.

Change the icon on Harddrive.

Changing the start menu icon.

Change Start Menu Icons.

CompuServe Mail.

Create icons without having an icon utility?

Set your Cache size

Change Exit Screens

Change Name/Location of Files/Folders

Change the Size and Spacing of Desktop Icons

Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin Icon

Changing StartUp logo

Changing Taskbar location

Changing the Sort order in Explorer

Check out the file “TIPS.TXT

Clean your StartUp files

Clean up your root

Clean Install of Win95 Preview

Clock / Calendar

Using the Command Prompt

Command Line Multi-tasking

Control the directory or drive where Explorer opens

Change Sound Directory

Control your fonts in Internet Explorer

Convert old .GRP files

Copying Graphics

Creating a Scraps folder

Creating static links

Customize your DOS

Disable Norton Smartcan.

Delete files immediately

Completely defragment your Harddrive

Dialup scripting without Plus!

Desktop Properties

Diamond Stealth 64 PCI Display driver

Turn off Desktop Icons

Dialup Scripting with the PLUS! Pack

Different actions on documents

Freeing diskspace

Dual Boot Setup for Win95 /Win 3.1-WFWG

Easy access to your drives.

Escaping from a hang

Expand your Taskbar

Expanding all Subfolders

Explorer tips

Find StartUp errors in Win95.

Freeing disk space.

Fast Control Panel

Folder-Shortcut-tip

Fast name change

Find your computer FAST

Getting rid of the Flashing Modem in the Tray

Getting rid of the little yellow Speaker in the Tray

Hardware profiles.

How to create your own Desktop Theme.

WinHelp 4.0

Install hot keys

How to install a PC Speaker with Win95

Information about the Registry

Increase performance in DOS.

Increase modem speed.

Internet Explorer tip

Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where can I change them?

Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where is a list of my settings?

Change your MTU settings for Win95 SLIP

Multi-boot.

Make an “Open New Folder context entry

Make Win95 Truncate filenames better

Free up some more memory

Maximum DOS memory

Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Windows 95

Make Win 3.x programs compatible

Logitech Mouse tip

Options in MSDOS.SYS

MSINFO Program

Music CDs and AutoPlay

Hidden classical music on Win95 CD

New XCOPY Switches

Change your 3D-objects

Opening an associated file with a different program

Play single tracks on your CD

Modifying Win95 TCP/IP Packet Size

Remove Win95 logon password

Printing to a File

Print Screen

Quickly Seeing Properties

Useful programs on then Win95 CD-ROM

Upgrading from 4Mb to 8Mb RAM

Speedup Win95 Refresh rate

Getting Rid of the Shortcut Arrows

Removing the “Shortcut to text

Setting “refresh rate for console windows

Screen saver corners

Share swapfile between Win95 & Win 3.1x

Real short filenames

Create a new registry from scratch

Reduce the Start/Run Drop Down list

Refresh the Desktop without restarting Windows

Renaming the Recycle Bin

Remove the tildes in short filenames

Restoring Corrupted Icons

A Good registry hack

The SUBST.EXE program

Numlock fix

Change the icon on Harddrive

Viewing Win95 animated cursors

LOGO.SYS scrolling bar

Increase modem speed

Increase performance in DOS

Close the Start Button

Mouse right click

Restrictions in Multi-user-systems

All Shortcuts there is

Soundcard Volume

Create your own StartUp Tips

Speedup Win95

Remove old swap file

Speedup Program Tree

Hide your StartUp folder

Save “Connect to “ password.

Start many program at once.

Speedup Internet Win95 for PPP.

Saving/Printing Folder Contents.

Saving/Printing Search Results.

Support Company logo.

Speedup your old CD-ROM

Speedup Win95 by using fast keys

Spell Checking in Exchange

Task Manager

Taskbar Properties

Tips to use with Scheduler

Trace Internet Routes

Turn Off the CD-ROM Autorun

Turn off Document menu

Turning off the Exploding Windows Animation

Uninstalling Windows 95

Update the Register without rebooting

Use Quick View with Any File

Videocard refresh rate

Want to Explore a folder instead of its icon view?

Works 4.0 & Exchange

What .DLLs are being used in a .EXE?

What to do if You Hate Explorer!

Where is the Windows 95 equivalent of the StartUp folder?

Windows 95 Backup

Windows Setup Switches

Windows 95 with SyQuest Drivers

Win95 crash tip.

Windows quick restart.

WordMail


Escaping from a hang

If you get hung up in Win95 and the usual [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del] does not respond, press

[Ctrl] + [Esc].  This may bring up the START menu from which you can shut down the system.


Hanar
Information About Hanar SoftWare

Hanar SoftWare was established in 1992.

If you want to contact us, we are often in IRC as Eneuman, or you can just E-Mail us at eneuman@cd.chalmers.se

We hope you will find this help file useful . . . and that you will visit our website again soon!


Shortcuts

      Start Menu Shortcuts

      Taskbar Shortcuts

      General Shortcuts

      Recycle Bin Shortcuts

      Explorer Shortcuts

      Managing Folders Shortcuts

      Fonts Folder Shortcuts

      Printers Folder Shortcuts


Start Menu Shortcuts

Shortcuts are dependent upon the language version being used. The shortcuts below are applicable to the English version. The function keys are the same in other language versions, but the applicable letters will be different (note which letters are underlined).

Activate Start menu	[Ctrl][Esc]

Activate Start menu from Desktop	[Ctrl][Esc]

Activate Start menu from Desktop	[Alt][S]

Add item to Start menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [A], [Alt][B]

Remove items from Start menu	[MOUSE R] on Start button, O, P,[Enter]

Reduce size of icons in Start menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R], [S]

Clear contents of Documents menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [C]

Bring up Find utility	[MOUSE R] on Start button,[F]


Taskbar Shortcuts

Shortcuts are dependent upon the language version being used. The shortcuts below are applicable to the English version. The function keys are the same in other language versions, but the applicable letters will be different (note which letters are underlined).

Hide Taskbar	[MOUSE R], [R], [U]

Restore hidden Taskbar	[MOUSE R], [R], [U]

Remove clock from Tray	[MOUSE R], [R], [C]

Cascade all windows	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [C]

Tile all windows horizontally	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [H]

Tile all windows vertically	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [V]

Undo last Desktop command	[MOUSE R], [U]

Reduce size of icons in Start menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R], [S]

Clear contents of Documents menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [C]

Add item to Start menu	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [A], [Alt][B]


General Shortcuts

Shortcuts are dependent upon the language version being used. The shortcuts below are applicable to the English version. The function keys are the same in other language versions, but the applicable letters will be different (note which letters are underlined).

Close a window	[Ctrl][F4]

Close current menu selection	[Esc]

Cycle through open applications	[Alt][Tab], [Alt][Tab]

Display Start menu	[Ctrl][Esc]

Get specific help on selected item	[F1]

Move through menus	[UP ARROW],[DOWN ARROW]

Move to menu where X is underlined	[Alt][X]

Open a menu	[DOWN ARROW]

Quit a program	[Alt][F4]

View the Shortcut menu for selected item	[Shift][F10]

Switch to last window used	[Alt][Tab]

Bypass CD or CD-ROM AutoPlay	[Shift] while inserting the disc

Select first item on menu bar	[F10]

Move through menu headings	[LEFT ARROW],[RIGHT ARROW]

Cancel current selection on menu bar	[Alt] or [F10]

Open applications Control menu	[Alt][SpaceBar]

Open documents Control menu	[Alt][-]

Close current document window	[Ctrl][F4]

Switch to the next document window	[Ctrl][F6]

Toggle maximized and windowed displays	[MOUSE R],[MOUSE R] on title bar

Copy a file	[MOUSE R] drag the file, [C]

Create a Shortcut	[Ctrl][Shift] drag the file

Create a Shortcut	[MOUSE R] drag an item, [S]

Delete an item	Drag to Recycle Bin

Delete an item to Recycle Bin	[Del]

Undo delete	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [U]

Delete an item with no undelete	[Shift][Del]

Delete an item with no undelete	[Shift][MOUSE R], [D]

Delete an item with no undelete	[Shift]drag item to Recycle Bin

Select first menu on menu bar	[Alt]

Add Toolbar to any Windows folder	[Alt][V], [T]

Move forward through dialog box options	[Tab]

Move backward through dialog box options	[Shift][Tab]

Move between tabs	[Ctrl][Tab]

Open a list box	[Alt][DOWN ARROW]

Go to the top of a list box	[Home]

Go to the bottom of a list box	[End]

Move to item in list box starting with X	[X]

Select or deselect items in a check box	[SpaceBar]

Select or deselect one item at a time in a list	[Shift][UP ARROW]

Select or deselect one item at a time in a list	[Shift][DOWN ARROW]

Make noncontiguous selections from list	[Ctrl][LEFT ARROW], [MOUSE L]

Open Look In list (Open dialog)	[F4]

Open Save In list (Save as dialog)	[F4]

Open folder a level up from current folder	[BACKSPACE]

Create a new folder	[MOUSE R], [W], [F]

Jump to a desktop item	Type initial characters

Rename an item	[F2]

Find a file or folder	[F3]

Cut selected item	[Ctrl][X]

Copy selected item	[Ctrl][C]

Paste copied or cut item	[Ctrl][V]

View an items Properties	[Alt][Enter]

View an items Properties	[Alt][MOUSE R][MOUSE R]

Create a Shortcut	[MOUSE R]drag the file, [S]

Close parent folders	[Shift] click on the Close button

Line up icons	[MOUSE R], [E]

Turn on (or turn off) icons autoarrange	[MOUSE R], [I], [A]

Minimize all windows	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [M]

Cascade all windows	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [C]

Tile all windows horizontally	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [H]

Tile all windows vertically	[MOUSE R] on Taskbar, [V]

Undo last Desktop command	[MOUSE R], [U]

Change the Desktops properties	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R]

Change background pattern	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R],select option, [Alt][A]

Change wallpaper	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R], [Alt][W],select option, [Alt][A]

Tile wallpaper	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R], [Alt][T],[Alt][A]

Center wallpaper	[MOUSE R]  on desktop, [R], [Alt][C],[Alt][A]

Change screen saver	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [Alt][S]

Password-protect screen saver	[MOUSE R] on desktop,[R],[Ctrl][Tab], [Alt][P]

Change password	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [Alt][C]

Preview screen saver	[MOUSE R] on desktop, [R],[Ctrl][Tab], [Alt][V]


Recycle Bin Shortcuts

Shortcuts are dependent upon the language version being used. The shortcuts below are applicable to the English version. The function keys are the same in other language versions, but the applicable letters will be different (note which letters are underlined).

Empty Recycle Bin	[MOUSE R], [B]

Cancel delete confirmation dialog box	[MOUSE R], [R], [D]

Reinstate delete confirmation dialog box	[MOUSE R], [R], [D]

Cancel undelete option for every deletion	[MOUSE R], [R], [R]


Explorer Shortcuts

Shortcuts are dependent upon the language version being used. The shortcuts below are applicable to the English version. The function keys are the same in other language versions, but the applicable letters will be different (note which letters are underlined).

Open Explorer	[MOUSE R] on Start button, [E]

Refresh a window	[F5]

Go to a named folder	[Ctrl][G], enter name

Jump to a folder	Type its initial character(s)

Undo	[Ctrl][Z]

Select all	[Ctrl][A]

Move one level up	[BackSpace]

Close selected folder and its parents	[Shift][L] on  Close button

Rename an item	[F2]

Find a file or folder	[F3]

Cut selected item	[Ctrl][X]

Copy selected item	[Ctrl][C]

Paste copied or cut item	[Ctrl][V]

Delete an item to Recycle Bin	[Del]

Delete an item to Recycle Bin	[MOUSE R], [D]

Delete an item with no undelete	[Shift][Del] or [Shift][MOUSE R], [D]

View an items Properties	[Alt][Enter]

View an items Properties	[Alt][MOUSE R],[MOUSE R]

Copy a file	[Ctrl] drag the file

Create a Shortcut	[Ctrl][Shift] drag the file

Switch between left and right panes	[F6]

Expand current folders Subfolders	[*] on numeric keypad

Expand the selected folder	[+] on numeric keypad

Collapse the selected folder	[-] on numeric keypad

Expand current selection	[RIGHT ARROW]

Select first subfolder (if expanded)	[RIGHT ARROW]

Collapse current selection	[LEFT ARROW]

Select parent folder (if collapsed)	[LEFT ARROW]

Change icon size too small	[Alt][V], [M]

Change icon size too small	[MOUSE R], [V], [M]

Change icon size too large	[Alt][V], [G]

Change icon size too large	[MOUSE R], [V], [G]

Change icon view to a list	[Alt][V], [L]

Change icon view to a list	[MOUSE R], [V], [L]

Change icon view to a detailed list	[Alt][V], [D]

Change icon view to a detailed list	[MOUSE R], [V], [D]

Arrange icons in alphabetical order	[Alt][V], [I], [N]

Arrange icons in alphabetical order	[MOUSE R], [I], [N]

Arrange icons by size	[Alt][V], [I], [S]

Arrange icons by size	[MOUSE R], [I], [S]

Arrange icons by type	[Alt][V], [I], [T]

Arrange icons by type	[MOUSE R], [I], [T]

Arrange icons by modification date	[Alt][V], [I], [D]

Arrange icons by modification date	[MOUSE R], [I], [D]

Line up icons	[Alt][V], [I], [E]

Line up icons	[MOUSE R], [I], [E]

Add Toolbar to any Windows applet or folder	[Alt][V], [T]

Activate the Toolbars List box	[Tab]

Activate the Toolbars List box	[F4]


Do you want to help us?
Do you want to help us enhance this help file?

We are currently looking for a beta tester and someone to create graphics and screenshots for this help file. If you think you are the one, please contact us at eneuman@cd.chalmers.se.

If we think you are the right one for the job, we will contact you.

What should a beta tester do ?

1) Test all tips and tricks in the file.

2) If a tip or trick does not work tell us and we will remove it.

3) If a tip or tricks is hard to understand, rewrite it and send the updated version to us.

You will of course receive credits in this help file for your work!


Folder Shortcuts

Find a file or folder	[F3]

Cut selected item	[Ctrl][X]

Copy selected item	[Ctrl][C]

Paste copied or cut item	[Ctrl][V]

Delete an item to Recycle Bin	[Del]

Delete an item to Recycle Bin	[MOUSE R], [D]

Undo delete	[MOUSE R] on desktop,[U]

Delete an item with no undelete	[Shift][Del]

View an items Properties	[Alt][Enter]

Copy a file	[Ctrl] drag the file

Create a Shortcut	[Ctrl][Shift] drag the file


Font Shortcuts

Install a new font	[Alt][F], [I]

Hide font variations (bold, italic, etc.)	[Alt][V], [H]

List fonts by similarity	[Alt][V], [S]


Font Shortcuts
Printer Shortcuts

Pause print job on selected printer	[Alt][F], [A]

Pause print job on selected printer	[MOUSE R], [A]

Purge print job on selected printer	[Alt][F], [U]

Purge print job on selected printer	[MOUSE R], [U]

Set default printer	[Alt][F], [F]

Set default printer	[MOUSE R], [F]


Upgrading From 4Mb To 8Mb Ram

If you install Windows 95 on a machine  with 4 megabytes RAM and then upgrade your PC to 8 megabytes RAM (or more),to gain more benefit of the Win95 operating system, you will have to re-install Win 95.  The reason for this is that the installation program installs one set of files for a machine with 4 megabytes RAM, but a different set of files for a  machine with more than 4 megabytes.


Hidden Classical Music

There are some classical music files on the Installation CD.  Listed with a .RMI extension, they reside in the WIN95_13.CAB file (which is in the Win95 directory).  The titles are:

Bach

Beethoven

Canyon

Passport

and can be played through the supplied media player.


Diamond Stealth 64 PCI Display Driver

If you have a Stealth 64 PCI graphic card and you let Windows set up a driver, it will probably set up something like S3 or, if you are lucky, Stealth etc.

As you know, the refresh rates are all wrong.  However, if you have Win95 on CD you can change the driver:

Right-click on the desktop.

Properties | Settings | Change (Adapter Type) | Have disk.

and enter “ n:\drivers\display\diamond  (where n: is your CD drive letter).

This should bring up Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM (or VRAM) PCI.

If you select this driver you will then have a perfect Hi-Resolution picture without Real Mode driver support.


Task Manager

If you press [Ctrl] + [Esc] when Windows is loading, i.e. when it actually starts loading Windows (after the Microsoft splash logo has finished), it will also bring up task manager . . . as well as the task bar.


Saving Files

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 just before saving that you want to save the file in a folder that does not currently exist.

This function is not available in all programs.


Change Sound Record Directory
Changing Sound Record Directory

Many people get annoyed when every time they use a program that came with Win95 to record sound, it would set the default directory at C:\ Windows \ Media \.  And when they change the sounds in their control panel it would start there.  Well, here is a way to change it:

1.	Run REGEDIT

2.	Open the folders \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \, then select (but do not open) the CurrentVersion key.

3.	There should be a string called MediaPath.  Reset the value to the directory you want.

In this registry you can also change the registered owner (RegisteredOwner), registered organization (RegisteredOrganization), and default program directory (ProgramFilesDir).


Restrictions in Multiuser-systems
Restrictions In Multi-User Systems

To get restrictions on your computer:

1.	open the Registry Editor and expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\-Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\.

The following keys are ready to be changed:

Editlevel

NoClose (You cannot exit Windows 95)

NoDriveTypeAutoRun

NoFileMenu

NoRun (You cannot use the Run command from the Start menu)

NoSaveSettings

Restrictions are most needed in a multi-user-system.  If you are using such a system, change HKEY_CURRENT_USER to HKEY_USER.  Now you will have to expand the \ HKEY_USER \ %USER% \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \, where %USER% is the name of the user.


Print Screen
Print Screen With Win95

If you are used to using Print Screen (or whatever your keyboard calls it) to print what you see, and you try to do this with Windows 95, do not expect much.  In fact, do not expect anything - it just will not work.

Now for the good news.  There is still a way to print what you see - its just not as direct.  When you hit Print Screen, Windows 95 copies the screen to your clipboard.  From there you can paste the screen into Paint and print from there.

After you hit the Print Screen key, open Paint (Start | Programs | Accessories | Paint), and choose Edit | Paste.  See your screen?  File | Print it!

MINI-TIP:  If you only want to print an open window, and not the whole screen, hit [Alt] + [Print Screen].


Freeing Disk Space

If you want to free up some disk space, you can delete all .AVI files in the windows/help dir.  Those files only show you some very basic things like how to move a window, how to use the start menu etc.

There is another way, for some users, to make more room on the Hard drive.  If you upgraded from 3.x to 95, the files W95UNDO.DAT and W95UNDO.INI are  created to easily uninstall Win95.  If you are satisfied with Windows 95, and have no plans to uninstall it, you *can delete these files.  (You can free up to 11MB!!)


Expanding All Subfolders

To quickly expand the Explorer viewing tree to show all Subfolders for a highlighted drive or folder, simply press the asterisk [*] key on the numeric keypad.


Quickly Seeing Properties

To quickly access the Properties information for any object, hold the [Alt] key while double-clicking it.


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.


Avoiding Logo At Startup

Either press [Esc] during bootup, or edit MSDOS.SYS (remember to change properties before and after doing this) and add the line LOGO=0 to the Options section.


What .DLLs are being used in a .EXE?
What .DLLs Are Being Used In An .EXE?

Right-click on the applications name, and select Quick View.


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-clicking the same icon will bring up the full mixer controls.


Desktop Properties

A Shortcut is to right-click anywhere on the desktop, then select Properties.


Windows 95 Backup

The Win95 backup program will run 15-25% faster when kept minimized during the backup procedure.


MSINFO Program

Windows 95 comes with a little-known program that can reveal a lot of system information.  It is called MSINFO, and can be found in the \ windows \ msapps \ msinfo \ folder.  It shows information on DLLs and much more.


Clock/Calendar

Double-click the time in the Taskbar tray to see a calendar; you can also alter the system date/time from here. Remember (if relevant in your country) to enable automatic change to Daylight Savings Time (Summer).


Taskbar Properties

Right-click on an empty part of the Taskbar and select Properties for a list of options including Auto-Hide, Always On Top, and a host of others.


Changing Taskbar Location

You can change the location of the Taskbar to be on the bottom, top, or either side of your screen by simply dragging it to where you want it.


Maximum DOS Memory

For maximum DOS memory in an MS-DOS session, add the line LocalLoadHigh=1 to the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI.


Explorer Tips

To get Explorer to show a two-directory view similar to File Manager:  open two instances of the Explorer, right-click on the Task bar, and select “Tile Vertically.  Win95 will retain both if you leave them running when you shut down so that they are instantly available the next time you boot up.


Bitmap as Icon

This is how to make individual icons for bitmaps look like a miniature of the bitmap . . .

To make the change:

1.	Start REGEDIT.EXE

2.	Locate \ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ .BMP and find the value of the “default key (usually “Paint.Picture)

3.	Locate \ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \“the value you found, such as \ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \Paint.Picture

4.	Open or create the key “ DefaultIcon  from this point; modify or create the string value “Default from this key to equal “%1 (without quotes)

NOTE:  This looks best in 16-bit color or higher.


Speed Up Program Tree

To speed up the Program tree accessed from the START button:  open the Registry Editor, expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then Control panel.  Inside of Control Panel you will find Desktop - highlight it w/o expanding it.

In the right pane make a right-click and choose New-String value.

The name of the string is “ MenuShowDelay ; give it a value of 10 or less.  This value is the time in milliseconds that the popup will wait before showing.

When you restart WIN95 you will see that the Start menu opens its popups almost instantaneously.


Expanding all Subfolders
Delete Immediately

If you hold down [Shift] while dragging items into the Recycle Bin they will be DELETED immediately rather than being placed in the bin.  Just be careful not to accidentally multi-select more files than you wanted!  Incidentally, pressing [Shift] + [Del] gives you the same effect.


Convert Old .GRP Files

First of all, the GRPCONV command runs automatically after Setup has copied most of the files needed for a complete installation and has restarted the computer.  It searches through all .GRP files listed in the PROGMAN.INI file and then creates shortcuts for those entries in the Applications folder.  It also searches the SETUP.INI file and creates shortcuts in the Programs folder for all the items currently specified on the Windows Setup tab in Add/Remove programs.

**You can also run GRPCONV manually to RECREATE DEFAULT FOLDERS, or to CONVERT OTHER WINDOWS 3.X PROGRAM GROUPS.

To recreate the default folders provided with Windows 95:

1)	In the Windows directory, change the filename of SETUP.OLD to SETUP.INI.

2)	From the Start button, click Run and then type “ grpconv /s  - this command rebuilds the default Windows 95 folders.

To manually convert existing Windows groups to Windows 95 format:

1)	From the Start button, click Run and then type “ grpconv /m .

2)	Click the group you want to convert, then do one of the following:

a.	click Open, then click Yes in the Program Manager Group Converter dialog box; or

b.	convert the group by double-clicking the group name.


Video Card Refresh Rate

Even if Win95 recognizes your video card it often requires an entry in AUTOEXEC.BAT to set the correct refresh rates.

Read the information in your manual for the refresh rate settings for your video card.

For instance a Stealth 64 card requires a ref. to S64MODE in AUTOEXEC.BAT. (We have heard that a new driver is available from Diamond, that reads the rate from the monitor setting.  Stealth 64.)


The “SEND TO folder
folder The “SEND TO folder

The “Send To quick menu (right mouse button on file) shows only the floppy drives as a destination.  You can add any other drive or folder as a destination by adding Shortcuts to the “Send To folder in your Windows directory.  You must add a Shortcut or a “.LNK file to that folder, or just drag the destination folder to the directory “c:\ windows \ send to while depressing the right mouse-button.  Then choose “create Shortcut here after you have dropped it.

You can even create Shortcuts to your Printer which will make it easier to print any documents.  Incidentally, network drives/folders can also be added to the “Send to folder.

Alternatively, any other directory such as a temp directory.

Here is a bonus:  If you have different locations to send a file to, but theyre related such as:

“Customers

Customer1

Customer2       etc. . . .

you can place - in the Send To folder - an additional “folder (not a short cut) called “Customers.  You then open that folder and place short cuts to all of your customers individual folders and you name them appropriately.  Then, when right-clicking a file icon, your “Send To quick menu will show the new “Customers “Sub menu and then move to it and youll see a submenu of all your customers short cuts.


Different Actions On Documents

In Explorer you can set up different actions to be performed on a document in addition to just the standard open command that is available to you when you right-click on your icon.  Go to an Explorer window and choose View | Options and then the tab File Types.  In the list displayed, find the association for the file type you want to add an action to, e.g. BMP.  Double-click on it to bring up the edit window.

You should see that there is already at least one action here, probably Open, maybe Print, etc.  Click on the New . . . button and type in a new command, like Edit or View or whatever you want.  Then select the application you want to use to Edit your Bitmap (as opposed to just viewing it).  Now when you right-click on a BMP file you will see your new command there, and you can easily choose to View, Edit, Open, Print . . . whatever you want with whatever app you want to do it with.


The MKCOMPAT.EXE program

Theres a magical little program that is automatically installed by Win95 that you can use to make Win 3.x programs more compatible under 95.  It is called MKCOMPAT.EXE and is in the \ Windows \ System \ directory.

Just run MKCOMPAT.EXE, select File | Open, and open the EXE file that you are having problems with.  Start highlighting things that seem like they may make a difference (select File | Advanced for more control options), then select File | Save to save the new configuration.  There is no on-line help, so some trial and error is in order until you find the optimal settings.


Turn Off AutoLoad

To turn off the Auto Load feature of Windows 95, put the following in your CONFIG.SYS -or- MSDOS.SYS . . .

[options]

BootGUI=0


Booting Old DOS

To have the option of booting your old DOS every time you boot up, put this in your MSDOS.SYS .

[options]

BootMenu=1


Tips To Use With Scheduler

It is easy to forget the PIN code to your creditcards etc.  Use Schedule+ from Office for Windows 95, where you can put them in as a “TO DO that never will be checked.  Then they - or it - will automatically be transferred to a Timex DATA LINK Watch for Windows when you daily update your calendar. That means, when you have your Timex DATA LINK watch and your creditcards, you can always use the cash dispensers if needed. You can put in the digits in reverse order, or scramble them in another way.  Simple - but very useful   :-)


Expand your Taskbar

Ever have too many programs open, and the Taskbar has a bunch of “icons that you cant read the title in?  Make it bigger!

This should have been obvious, but we just came across it one day.  Just move your mouse cursor to the top of the task bar (if its on the bottom) and drag it up to expand it to the necessary size.  Win95 remembers position as well.


Fast Name Change

Heres a simple trick that saves a bit of time.  When you want to rename a file, folder or desktop item do you find it a hassle to right-click the item, choose Rename etc., etc. before you can type in the new name?  Well, try this . . .

1)	LEFT-click on the file, folder, or desktop item as you normally would to select it.

2)	Wait a moment, long enough for Windows to know that you are not  double clicking it, and LEFT click again.

3)	The file, folder or desktop item is now ready for a name change.

Or the fastest way . . .

Choose the file you want to change the name on, and press F2.


Creating Static Links

You can drag icons into your documents . . . this will create a static link to that icon; just drag the icon from a program - for instance Paint - onto a new WORDPAD DOC, and double-click to see!


Check Out The File TIPS.TXT

We just stumbled onto this one on a hard drive.  With release 490, there is a wonderful file called TIPS.TXT in the Windows/ directory!  If you are running release  490 (or above) and installed Win95 on your C drive, read the file.


Speed up your old CD ROM
Speed Up Your Old CD-ROM

Want to make your single or double speed drive perform like a quad+ speed drive in Win 95 ?  Its easy . . .

1.	Go to My Computer | Properties | Performance | File System | CD-ROM.

2.	Set the access pattern to Quad speed or higher.

3.   You can also experiment with the supplemental cache speed  - setting it to its maximum may or may be a good idea with your particular computer. The CD speed increase won by this measure can be offset by a loss in the system speed - particularly on a computer with small resources. Its a question of trial and error to find the correct adjustment for your computer.


Spell Checking In Exchange

If you cannot understand why there is no spell check in MS Exchange then read on.  It is because MS Exchange requires a 32bit Spell Checker.  MS Words 16bit spell checker will not cut it with MS Exchange.  This is what you do to get a 32bit Spell Checker, call MS and ask for MS Office NT sidegrade.  (Assuming you already have MS Office).  The CD-ROM sidegrade will cost about 15 bucks.  This will allow you to sidegrade your current MS Office to NT MS Office (Which is 32bit).  Not only will your spell checking now work in Exchange, but Word will now support long file names....all for 15 bucks!  If you do not want to install the whole sidegrade and are just interested in the spell checking....just install Word and select spell check as the only option to install.  This will only add Spell Check to your system rather than the whole Word package.


Play Single Tracks On Your CD

Windows 95 allows you to do some strange things with audio CDs.  Try some of the following:

1)	Go into Explorer and click on your CD drive with an audio CD in it.

2)	In the right panel you will see Track01.cda through Track??.cda.

3)	If you right-click on a track, you can play it automatically by choosing Play from the Quick Menu.

4)	If you double-click on a track, it will play automatically.

5)	Try dragging a track onto your desktop (you can copy it or create a Shortcut, it doesnt matter).  Rename the tracks copy/Shortcut to the songs real name.  Whenever you have the CD in the drive, you can now double-click on it on the desktop to play it.

6)	You can also drag tracks to your hard drive and put them in your Start Menu, or create a directory with CD tracks in it.


Internet Explorer Tip

Try this tip if you are using The Internet Explorer that comes with Plus! . . .

The Explorer has its favorites (bookmarks) menu.  Click on Open Favorites and a window will appear with all your favorites within.

Right-click, then select New then Folder - now you can create several folders and name them accordingly to your links!  This is one easy way of categorizing your links into several groups or folders.

When you click on Favorites the folders will appear in the menu, and all your links within them..


Find Your Computer FAST

If you hate going through the NetHood to find a computer, or hate searching through My Computer or Explorer when you know right where you want to go, here is a solution:

Click on Start . . . Run . . . and then type in your path i.e.:

Start . . . Run . . . C:\Win95 > will open a window of the Win95 directory.  This works great with UNCs.  Like Start . . . Run . . . \\<server name>\<share name> or you can just use the server name by itself.  If you are looking for a computer, this is a lot faster.


A real Time Saver
A Real Time-Saver

We use this one all the time.  A real saver . . .

Right-click in a Win95 applications file open box for New, Copy, Delete, Arrange, etc. - most of Explorers functions, except half the toolbar and no pull down menus.  Try it.


Real Short Filename

We wanted to have a directory named “New Downloads in Win95, but have the short filename be just “DOWNLOAD instead of “NEWDOW~1 (which is less than helpful).

The only time short filenames are relevant is in a mixed computing environment, when you are planning to share files with other users whose systems do not support LFNs.  In that case, why not try two things:

1)	Train users to start LFNs with the short version they plan to use.  In your case, that would mean naming the folder DOWNLOADS-NEW, which would resolve to Downlo~1.

2)	You can get rid of the tildes with a simple registry hack.  Add the value NameNumericTail = 0 in the following Registry key:

\ Hkey_Local_Machine \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ FileSystem \

and the above example (assuming there was not already a DOWNLOAD directory) would resolve to the correct eight-character name.


Windows 95 With SyQuest Drivers

More and more people are asking about using SyQuest IDE drives under Win95.  The following information may be helpful.

The support for SyQuest IDE drives as removable drives started with build 431.  In order to enable the support, one has to put:

RemovableIDE=True

in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file.  If this line is not there, then Win95s protected mode IDE driver will not load.

In addition, one may find an entry in the IOS.LOG file in the Win95 subdirectory in which there will be messages such as:

“ESDI punting due to removable hard disk.  Unit number xx going through real mode drivers.

When the line mentioned above is added to the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI, the IOS.LOG file will disappear and the Win95 file system will be 32-bit.

The other requirements for this support are that the SyQuest drive MUST have a formatted cartridge inserted when Win95 starts, and there must not be another 32-bit module loaded in SYSTEM.INI (such as the one provided by DTC for their IDE boards).

There is another setting called “Virtual Memory in Win95.  This will be in “MS-DOS compatibility mode if C: drive is a removable drive (SCSI or IDE).


Dual Boot Setup
Dual Boot Setup For Win95/Win 3.1-WFWG

A text file describing a step-by-step procedure we developed to install a dual-boot menu function for a DOS 6/Win 3.11 and Win95 system.  This way, we can choose which system we want to use at boot-up.  Doublespace and Drivespace drives can also be handled with this configuration.  Use this method to continue running your critical programs under your old DOS/Win system while you are testing Win95.

We wanted to install a dual boot with Win95 & WFWG 3.11 so we could try out Win95 without sacrificing the old system setup.  Here are the steps you can take to duplicate our dual boot installation:

1)	Copy (duplicate) the whole Windows directory and all its sub directories to another directory, like \ WIN31 \.  Copy the \ DOS \ directory to another one as well, like \ DOS6 \.

2)	Edit all the .INI files in the WIN31 directory and change all references from \ WINDOWS \ to \ WIN31 \ (the find and replace command in most word processors makes this easier, but be sure you save them as text files).

3)	Boot up your PC and install Win95 SETUP through Windows program manager “FILE-RUN.  As you install WIN95 it will rename your CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT files to CONFIG.DOS and AUTOEXEC.DOS.  (When you dual boot it renames them back to CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT . . . and then backups the WIN95 versions as .W40.)

4)	After Win95 finishes installing and you are on the desktop, use notepad with “select all files *.*  to edit the CONFIG.DOS and AUTOEXEC.DOS files and change all \ WINDOWS \ references in them to \ WIN31 \, and all \DOS \ references to \ DOS6 \.

5)	In order for the dual boot menu to work, the following lines must appear in the [Options] section of your MSDOS.SYS file (if you use Doublespace or Drivespace disk compression you must change both MSDOS.SYS files - one on the boot drive and one in the compressed drive):

[Options]

BootGUI=1

Network=0

BootMulti=1

BootMenu=1

BootMenuDefault=7  (original DOS as default.  Use 1 for Win95 default)

BootMenuDelay=5    (number of seconds to select something else)

;

To add these lines, first, open “My Computer and use the menu bar to VIEW | OPTIONS | VIEW | Show All Files, and also unclick hide MS-DOS file extensions.  Then double-click on the MSDOS.SYS icon and look.  If it does not have all the above lines, you will need to edit this file and put them in.

Since the MSDOS.SYS file is “read-only-hidden you will need to first change the file attributes and then use the notebook editor to insert the new line(s).  Then you will have to change the attributes back to their original states when done to protect the file.

6)	To change the attributes, click on the MSDOS.SYS icon using your RIGHT mouse button.  Select Properties and uncheck the attribute blocks.  Exit and make your text changes, then save the file.  Then put the attribute check marks back where they were.

7)	Now, exit Win95 and re-boot.  You should now see the boot menu and be able to select which mode you want to boot into.

Remember, any programs you install after this will only appear in the system you were running at install time.   For example, if you install MS Word under Win95 you will have to install it again under old DOS/Windows if you want to run it both ways.  You can install the program to the same directory both times and youll simply overwrite the files and avoid having two sets of the new program on your hard drive.


How to Install a PC Speaker driver with Win95
How To Install PC Speaker With Win95

Go to Control Panel, then “Add New Hardware, then “Sound, Video, Game Controller.  Do not let Win95 search for new hardware.  Select “Have Disk.  Browse to where you have your PC Speaker .DRV file.  Install !!!  Presto...your mute PC will now have sound.

To modify the settings for PC Speaker, go to Control Panel | Multimedia | Advanced Tab.  In Audio devices you will see PC Speaker.


Changing startup logo
Changing The Startup Logo

If you want to have a different “Start-Logo, place a file named LOGO.SYS in your root directory.  NOTE:  LOGO.SYS must have the same format as the LOGOW.SYS and LOGOS.SYS (320 x 400,256) bitmap.


Nice Mouse Tip

Do you have a Logitech mouse?  This hack will let you use the middle mouse button as a double-click!  Save this as “midclick.reg and double-click it!

**start of midclick.reg**

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Logitech\MouseWare\CurrentVersion\SerialV\0000]

“DoubleClick=“001

**end of midclick.reg**


Fast Control Panel

Create a new folder on your desktop . . . rename it, calling it “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now it should look like the normal Control Panel icon you see in My Computer (and not a Shortcut).  Next do a right-click on Start (Taskbar), and click on open.  Move the new folder we just created to the start menu folder.  Close the start menu folder.  Now when you click on start, you should see Control Panel on it.  Click on it and it will expand and show all the items!

You can do the same with the printers folder and dial-up networking.  Here are the names that you need to properly name your folders . . .

Dial Up Network

Dial Up Net.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}

Printers

Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

If you are browsing through folder windows, its usually nicest to have Windows 95 set so that it uses a single window that changes when you open a new folder.  However, if you want to copy or move files around, its nice to be able to quickly open a separate window for a folder.

This can be done by holding [Ctrl] as you double-click, but wouldnt it be grand to have this option on the right-click menu, next to Open and Explore?

Well, to add this to the menu you need to change the registry a bit.  Run the Registry Editor and find the entry for Directory under the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT branch.

Under Directory you will find Default Icon, shell, and shellex.  The one we want is shell.

Under shell, add a new key called opennew.  Modify its (Default) value to say “Open New &Window.  Then, add another key under opennew.  Call this one “command, and set its (Default) value to “explorer %1.

And that should do it.  One side effect is that Open New Window now also appears when you right-click on the Start Button, which is completely pointless because it does that anyway.  Oh, well.


Speedup Win95 with Fast Keys
Speed Up Win95 By Using FastKeys

Object dragging with [Shift] and [Ctrl]:  Hold down the following keys for different actions:

NO [Shift], NO [Ctrl]

Same Drive:	Move

Different Drive:	Copy

Unless the objects selected are *ALL* .COMs or .EXEs in which case:

Same Drive:	Create Link

Different Drive (Non-Removable Storage):	Create Link

Different Drive (Removable Storage):	Copy

[Shift], NO [Ctrl]:	Always Moves

NO [Shift], [Ctrl]:	Always Copies

[Shift] + [Ctrl]:	Always Creates Link

Certain folders do not allow objects to be dropped (i.e. Control Panel and Printers); others always Move To regardless of SHIFT/CTRL status (i.e. Recycle Bin.)


Exploring a Folder
Explore A Folder Instead Of Its Icon View

Instead of opening Explorer, clicking here, clicking there, to finally get where you want to go you can do something much easier:  Hold down the [Shift] key and double-click on a folder/drive folder on the desktop.  An Explorer window of that particular folder will appear.


Add filetypes to New Sub Menu
Add file types to the New submenu on the mouse menu.

To add file types to the New menu item on the mouse menu, you must edit the Registry.

First find the extension of the data file for the program in question (i.e. .DOC for Word) under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.  Below the files extension you need to add a new key with the value ShellNew.

Once that key is in place you have two options:  One is to start with a null file (one with no preset styles, etc.), the other is to start from a template file.  For a null file, in the ShellNew key insert a new string value named NullFile and leave the value blank.  To use a template file, insert a new string value named filename and set the value equal to the path of the template document.  The default is in the hidden ShellNew directory beneath your Windows directory.

When you use the New feature of the button menu, Win95 either copies the template file or creates a null file.


Control the directory or drive were explorer opens
Control The Directory Or Drive Where Explorer Opens

Create a Shortcut to the Explorer, with the following command line, to open it at the root of C:\

c:\ windows \ explorer.exe /e,root,c:\

where the syntax is: explorer [/e][,root,<object>]


Change exit screen
Change Exit Screens

You can change those lovely screens you see as you exit Windows95!  Simply start up paintbrush and load up the files LOGOS.SYS and LOGOW.SYS.  Change them to whatever you want - theyre just bitmaps with a different extension!

For a very quick exit - convert the file to Black and White and make the entire picture black.


Create a Scrap Folder
Creating A Scraps Folder (Yellow Stickies)

You can drag scraps from your documents to the desktop or to folders and create Document Scraps.  With these Scraps, you can archive bits and pieces of your documents to use later or to share with another person.

To try it:

1.	Open WORDPAD

2.	Type some text

3.	Select the text

4.	Put the cursor over the highlighted text and drag to the desktop; this creates a scrap with some of the actual text in the name of the scrap.

NOTE:  Taking advantage this feature is similar to using those yellow stickies that always seem to come in so handy.  And just think - no more fumbling around for paper and something to write with when you need to quickly jot a note!


Win95 Setup Switches
Windows Setup Switches

UNDOCUMENTED SETUP.EXE SWITCHES

(NOTE:  some may only work with the Win95 upgrade version, some may only work with the Win95 full pack . . . )

/D	disables search for Windows; just use minimal Windows.

/IG	ignores an error produced on older Gateway 2000 with BIOSs that are incompatible with large (>500 MB) hard drives.

/IH	runs Scandisk in the foreground instead of in a VM.

/IX	disables character-set mismatch check.

/IZ	disables the protection of extended registers from real mode code, such as mouse drivers, using SAVE32.COM.

/IS	Ignores the check of your system check

/ID	Ignores the check for whether there is enough disk space

/IQ	Ignores the test for cross-linked files and file directory integrity

/IN	Runs setup without the Network Setup Module

/NOSTART	just sets up minimal Windows and nothing else.

/P B	prompts to load each detection module.

/P I	disables plug and play BIOS detection (the space is intentional).

/P J	forces plug and play BIOS detection (the space is intentional).

/IW	no end user license screen.  (you know the nag screen!)

You can also specify a filename (.INF) with setup, that contains information on exactly what to set up.


Printing To A File

Its easy to set up a special printer to print documents to a simple text file:

1)	Open the Printers folder in Control Panel

2)	Double-click on Add Printer

3)	Select Local Printer and click on Next

4)	Select Generic from the manufacturer list, and Generic/Text Only from the printer list, then click on Next.

5)	Select File from the available ports list and click Next a couple times to add the printer.

6)	Highlight the new icon, right-click it and select Properties, then the Paper tab, and change the paper setting to continuous, no page-breaks.

You can now select this printer from any Windows application, sending the output in text format to a file.  Youll be prompted for the filename when you print.


Microsoft Natural keyboard
Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Windows 95

Windows 95 has built-in support for the Microsoft Natural Keyboard, using the special keys as follows:

•	WIN + R	Display the Run dialog box.

•	WIN + M	Minimize all windows currently open.

•	WIN + F1	Start Help

•	WIN + E	Start Explorer

•	WIN + F	Start Find Files/Folders dialog box.

•	CTRL + WIN + F	Start Find Computer dialog box.

•	WIN + TAB	Cycle through Taskbar buttons.

•	WIN + BREAK	Display Systems Properties panel.


Command prompt only does not work
"Command Prompt Only" during bootup doesn't work

After a failed bootup attempt, or if you hit F8 while Win95 is starting up, youll get a menu of bootup options.  One of the options is Command Prompt Only.

If you select this option, but find that your system still boots into Windows, check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and make sure you dont have a command in it that starts Windows.  Many people do (We did!).  When you select Command Prompt Only, Win95 still executes your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS, but skips the automatic load of Win95 afterward.  However, if you have a command in AUTOEXEC.BAT that starts Windows, it will execute it!


Contents Screen
Where is the Windows 95 equivalent of the 'STARTUP' folder?

If you click the START button, then Settings/Taskbar, you will see the panel to modify the Taskbar.  Select the other tab option at the top, then click on advanced.  A mini-version of the Explorer will pop up, showing the hierarchy of your START menu.  One of the items listed is startup.  This is the equivalent of your Windows 3.1 startup folder.  If you click on that, in the right side of the panel youll see all the things that are automatically run at startup.  Right-click on each item and select delete, or drag it to somewhere other than the startup area if you want to remove any of these items.


The startup Folder
Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where is a list of my settings?

Control Panel | System | Devices:  in this area there is an option to print a detailed or summary report.  The detail report is huge - 18 pages on my system!  The summary report is two pages, and contains a list of all the interrupts currently assigned in the system as well as what they are assigned for.  This report also lists DMA channel assignments and port addresses.

Another method is to simply right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties.  This will bring up the System control panel.  Select the Device Manager tab and double-click on “Computer within the scrollable window.  From here you can view IRQs, DMA channel usage, I/O assignments, and Memory settings.


Change IRQ settings
Interrupt settings (IRQs) - where can I change them?

Windows 95 assigns IRQs automatically, but if you need to change them to a specific value you can.  Select Control Panel | System | Devices, then find and double-click on the device you want to change the IRQ for, or highlight it and select properties.  A panel for that device will appear.  If you select the Resources tab, a Resources window will pop up.  One of the choices in the window is Interrupt Request with the current value listed.  If you click on that to highlight it, the change setting button will become usable.  If you click on that button you will get the Edit Interrupt Request panel which will allow you to change the interrupt, and will immediately tell you if your new choice conflicts with other equipment.


Autoplay
Music CDs and AutoPlay

By default, Windows 95 is set up to automatically start the CD Player applet and begin playing a music CD as soon as it is inserted into the CD-ROM drive.  This is set up in Windows 95 much like a file extension association.  To change this, start Explorer and select View | Options | File Type.  Scroll through the list until you find a listing for Audio CDs.  Highlight it, then select the Edit button.  You will see a panel showing the option play.  Select that, then click on the Edit button on this panel.  You will see the command that is invoked for that option.  It is by default set to execute CDPLAYER.EXE with a command parameter of /play.  If you delete the entire line, afterwards, when an audio CD is inserted, nothing will happen.  If you delete just the /play parameter, when an audio CD is inserted the CD Player applet is started, but it does NOT immediately begin playing the CD.


Uninstalling Win95
Uninstalling Windows 95

What?  Are you crazy???  But if you really find you need to uninstall, here are some steps that Ive heard works:

1)	Boot with DOS boot floppy that has the DOS system files on it.

2)	Execute a sys c: command.

3)	Delete the Windows directory and all its subdirectories (deltree works great for this if you have it on the boot floppy).

4)	Delete all the hidden files in the root directory that dont match the files from the floppy

5)	Reboot, and you should be back to a DOS system.

6)	Check the root directory for hidden files with names that do not match those on the bootable floppy.  These files should be deleted.

Microsoft reports that a full Uninstall utility will be included in the production package when it ships.


Clear Install of Win95 Preview
Clean Install of Win95 Preview

Boot from a floppy, then run the SETUP program from diskette #1 or from the CD-ROM (you will need your CD-ROM drivers on your floppy to do this).  The Preview is actually an upgrade, and will search for an existing copy of Windows.  If it does not find one, you will have to tell it to look on drive a:, and insert diskette #1 from some previous version of Windows.


Turn off Win95 Animations
Turning off the Exploding Windows Animation

Dont like how Windows seem to grow out of the Taskbar, then shrink down to it?  You can turn this animation off through a Registry setting.

Follow these instructions:

•	Start REGEDIT by clicking Start/Run, and entering REGEDIT

•	Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER

•	Expand Control Panel under HKEY_CURRENT_USER

•	Expand Desktop under Control Panel

•	Double-click on the WindowMetrics folder under Desktop

•	Choose “string value from the Edit/New menu, and create a new string called MinAnimate

•	Double-click the new entry, and enter “0 for the value.

•	Exit REGEDIT, and reboot.

Thats it!  The window animation should be gone from now on.


Controlling font in Internet Explorer
Control your fonts in Internet Explorer

If you ever wanted control over the fonts used by Microsofts Internet Explorer, heres how:

1)	Start the Registry editor

2)	Go to \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Styles \.

a.	A list of all the possible combinations will come up.

b.	On the right panel is the Style Name on the left, followed by its value on the right.

c.	Double-click on a Style Name and change its font, size, or weight.

d.	Repeat this for all the fonts available for the style you would like.

e.	There are 13 settings to change which only takes a few minutes.

3)	In the above example, ArialSmall (on the left) was changed to use the Arial font (on the right).  The default setting was the Times New Roman font.

4)	Go to \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Styles \.

a.	Change the Default_Style_Sheet to be the one you just edited.

b.	In the example, it was changed from SerifMedium to ArialSmall

5)	Restart the Internet Explorer to see your changes.

6)	This allows you far greater flexibility in assigning fonts than any other browser that we am aware of.  You can have one font for Heading 1 and another totally different one for Heading 2.

7)	If you look around the registry, you will find other settings that can be changed.

NOTE:  You do not need to exit REGEDIT for the changes to take effect.


Changing Sort order in Explorer
Changing the Sort order in Explorer

To change the sort order of the right window of MS Explorer, simply double-click on the Name button underneath the toolbar to change the sort order from ascending to descending; a single click after that will toggle.  The same works for Size, Type and Date Modified.


Restore corrupt icons
Restoring Corrupted Icons

If you use a graphics Card and you change the resolution, the icons will sometimes go bad.  End Windows 95 and restart.  When you see the starting message press [F8], then type standard.  After this start of Win95 leave Win95 and restart.  Change back to your Resolution and restart.  There are no longer bad icons.


Dialup script with Win95
Dial-Up Scripting with the Plus! Pack

The Internet Jumpstart Kit that comes with the Plus! Pack allows you to script your Dial-Up Connections

1)	Open up Programs / Accessories / Dial-Up Scripting Tool.

2)	Select the provider (if you have more than one).

3)	Type in the name of the script (end with .SCP).

4)	Click on the Edit Button.  This will bring up Notepad.

5)	Type in your script.  A sample one follows:

proc main

waitfor “login:

transmit “your_login_name^M

waitfor “password:

transmit “your_password^M

waitfor “TERM = (vt100)

transmit “^M

waitfor “your_logon_prompt

transmit “ppp^M            ; My provider requires “ppp to be typed in.

endproc

•	Remember to turn off Bring up terminal window after dialing.

•	You can initially have Step through script turned on for debugging.

•	When it is correct, check Start terminal screen minimized.

•	For a complete listing of all the scripting options, read SCRIPT.DOC in the \ Programs \ Plus! \ directory.


Turning off Desktop Icons

If you want to turn off all the icons on your desktop

  1. Start the Policy Editor

  2. Select Local User / Shell / Restrictions

  3. Select Hide all items on Desktop

All Icons will now be hidden.

Note: One side effect is the your CD will no longer automatically play when it is inserted.


Renaming Recycle Bin
Renaming the Recycle Bin

   * Start the Registry Editor

   * Search for Recycle Bin

   * Double click on the Recycle Bin in the right pane

   * Type in the new name under Value Data

   * Restart Win95


Copying Graphics

You can copy graphics from a DOS box as well as you can text.  For example, while running a graphics game, you can press:

1)	[Alt] + [Enter] to make a DOS window

2)	Click on the upper left hand corner

3)	Select Edit/Mark

4)	Select a region with the mouse

5)	Select Edit | Copy or press the [Enter] key

6)	You can then paste it into another program

We tried it on DOOM 2.  Everything worked fine


Xcopy32 Switches
New XCOPY Switches

There are quite a few new switches to the XCOPY command.

To get a full listing, type “ XCOPY /? .

Below are some of the additions over DOS 6.X.

•	/C - Continues copying even if errors occur

•	/I - If destination does not exist and copying more than one file, assumes that destination must be a directory

•	/Q - Does not display file names while copying

•	/F - Displays full source and destination file names while copying

•	/L - Displays files that would be copied

•	/H -Copies hidden and system files also

•	/R - Overwrites read-only files

•	/T - Creates directory structure, but does not copy files. Does not include empty directories or subdirectories.  /T /E includes empty directories and subdirectories

•	/U - Updates the files that already exist in destination

•	/K - Copies attributes.  Normal XCOPY will reset read-only attributes

•	/Y - Overwrites existing files without prompting

•	/-Y - Prompts you before overwriting existing files

•	/N - Copy using the generated short names


Changing Icons on My Computer and Recycle Bin
Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin icon

1)	Open REGEDIT

2)	Find My Computer or Recycle Bin

3)	Tab to the left panel

4)	Double-click on the highlighted line

5)	Double-click on DefaultIcon in the left panel

6)	Double-click on DefaultIcon right panel

7)	Type in the value for the new icon

NOTE:  DLL files can be used.  Specify the location of the new icon with the filename,#


Removing tildes in short filenames
Remove the tildes in short filenames

1)	Open REGEDIT

2)	Go to \ Hkey_Local_Machine \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ FileSystem \

3)	Add the value NameNumericTail= 0

Getting Rid of the Inbox Icon

In build 347, one could simply drag the Inbox icon into the Recycle Bin and be done with it.  But with build 490 this doesnt work, and Microsoft says there is no way to get rid of it without removing Microsoft Exchange from the system entirely.  However, the following procedure (submitted by a reader) does the trick:

Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).

Open \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace \.

Look for the key 00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046, that has a default value of Inbox.

Delete the entire key (not just the default value), and close the Registry Editor.

Click on the desktop, and press F5 to refresh it so that this change will take effect.  (Click here for more information.)


Turn off Document menu
Turn Off the Documents Menu

The Documents Menu is a clever idea - it displays a list of the last dozen-or-so programs and files opened from the Explorer.  You can clear the menu temporarily; the only problem is that theres no way to turn it off permanently.  This can be seen as a lapse in security, and the lack of a way to turn it off is confusing.  Microsoft calls this a “feature and claims that there is no way to disable it - but we have come up with a way around it:

To clear the menu temporarily, follow the following directions:

1.	Right-click on an empty portion of the Taskbar.

2.	Select Properties from the menu that appears, and click on the Start Menu Programs tab.

3.	Click Clear to clean out the menu.

Note that this is only temporary until you launch another file.

To make the documents menu always empty, follow the following directions:

1.	Right-click on the Recycle Bin on the Desktop

2.	Select Properties from the menu.  Under the Global Tab, select Use one setting for all drives.

3.	Turn on the option labeled Do not move files to the recycle bin.

4.	Next, run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).

5.	Open \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Folders \.

6.	At the right side of the window, there should be a list containing one or more of your “special folders.  If an entry named Recent doesnt already exist, select New from the Edit menu, and then select String Value.  Rename the new item to “Recent.

7.	Next, double-click on Recent, and under Value Data, type c:\recycled.  Press OK and then close the Registry Editor.

8.	Click on the desktop, and press [F5] to refresh the desktop so that this change will take effect.  (Click here for more information.)

NOTE:  In order for this to work, you must set the Recycle Bin so it deletes files instantly, or youll have a bunch of old files in your Documents menu.


Turn Off the CD-ROM Autorun

When a Windows95-aware CD-ROM is inserted into the CD-ROM drive, Windows95 automatically launches the program contained on the disk, whether you want it to or not.  Similarly the audio CD player pops up whenever you insert an audio CD and starts playing it immediately.

This is cute the first or second time, but soon gets annoying. This is especially irritating on slower computers, where you have to wait for what seems like an eternity for it to load some ridiculous welcome screen. However, if you hold down the [Shift] key when inserting the CD, this does not happen.  To turn this “feature off so you dont have to press keys while youre putting disks in your computer, follow the ensuing instructions (strangely enough, the folks at Microsoft had no idea how to do this):

1.	Right-click on the My Computer icon (or whatever youve renamed it - hopefully something less cute and more meaningful than “my computer, such as “Bart), and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

2.	Choose the Device Manager tab.

3.	Open the CD-ROM branch and select the entry for your CD-ROM drive.

4.	Click Properties, and then choose the Settings tab.

5.	Turn off the Auto insert notification option.

6.	Click OK, and then OK again.

If you dont want Windows to run the Autorun.Inf files anymore, you have to edit the registry manually.

The patch works instantly!  Heres what to do:

Run Regedit.Exe and OPEN \ hkey_current_user \ software \ microsoft \ windows \ currentversion \ politics \ explorer

Edit/Change the value of the var NoDriveTypeAutoRun as follows:

95 00 00 00 (default)

BD 00 00 00 (new)

After this change Autorun.Inf no longer runs ;-) BUT AUDIO CDS still do!!


Turn off speaker in tray
Getting Rid of the Little Yellow Speaker in the Tray

The little yellow speaker in the lower-right of the screen, next to the clock (which you can remove by right-clicking on the Taskbar, by the way) lets you display the volume control by clicking on it.  For those of us who have volume controls elsewhere, or simply do not need to repeatedly change the volume, there is a way to remove the icon.

1.	Open Control Panel by selecting Settings from the Start menu.

2.	Double-click on the Multimedia icon.

3.	Under the Audio tab, in the Playback section, turn off the volume control on the Taskbar option.


Turn off modem in tray
Getting Rid of the Little Flashing Modem in the Tray

If you have configured Windows95s built-in dial-up networking, you have probably noticed the tiny modem icon that appears in the tray whenever you make a connection.  To remove this icon, follow these instructions:

1.	Open up Dial-Up Networking - its somewhere in the Start menu.  (For some unknown reason, this setting cannot be found in the Modem settings in Control Panel.)

2.	Right-click on the connection you wish to change.  If you have more than one, you guessed it - repeat these steps for all of them.

3.	In the Connect using section, click on Configure . . .  (This displays a box similar, but not identical to, the modem settings in Control Panel.)

4.	Click on the Options tab, and turn off Display modem status in the Status control section.

5.	Click OK, then click OK again.


Rename the Recycle Bin

To rename the Recycle Bin to something more interesting, such as Garbage, Trash, Disposal, or Hazardous Materials Dump Site, follow the following directions:

1.	Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).

2.	Open \ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ CLSID.

3.	Select Find from the Edit menu, and search for “Recycle Bin.

4.	Double-click (Default), and type the new name.

5.	Press OK and then close the Registry Editor.

6.

Click on the desktop, and press [F5] to refresh the desktop so that this change will take effect.


Turn on Quick view with any file
Use Quick View with Any File

A handy tool that comes with Windows95 is the Quick View application.  By right-clicking on some files, youll see an option called “Quick View which will allow you to view the contents of a file without actually opening the application.  The problem is that this doesnt work with just any file.  To get your favorite files to work with the Quick Viewer, follow these steps:

Solution #1:

1.	Double-click on the My Computer icon, and choose Options . . . from the View menu.

2.	Click on the File Types, then choose a file type or extension from the list.

3.	Click Edit . . . , turn on the “Enable Quick View: option, and press OK.

4.

If the file you want to add to Quick View is not listed, press New Type . . . to add the extension of the desired file to the list.

Youll have to do this for every file you want to use with Quick View.  Note that Quick View may not have a filter for every file you view, but sometimes viewing the raw data is better than nothing at all.

Solution #2:

Add a Shortcut to QUIKVIEW.EXE (in your \ WINDOWS \ SYSTEM \ folder) to your \ WINDOWS \ SENDTO \ folder.

This way, Quick Viewer will be accessible from the Send To submenu when you right click on any file.


Refreshing Desktop
Refresh the Desktop without Restarting Windows

The results of some of the procedures explained here will not take effect until you either restart Windows, or refresh the desktop.  These include any changes to the system registry or any system folders.  To refresh the desktop without restarting Windows, follow these directions:

Click on any open area of your Desktop (or any icon on your desktop) with the left mouse button, then press [F5] to refresh the desktop.


Changing Size and spacing of Desktop Icons
Change the Size and Spacing of Desktop Icons

Although Windows doesnt let you easily change the size or spacing of the icons on the desktop, it can be done.  Here are two Alternatives:

The easy way . . .

You can simply adjust it in  the Control Panel under | Display | Appearance | Item |.

And now, the hard way . . .

1.	Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).

2.	Open \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control panel \ desktop \ WindowMetrics.

3.	Double-click on any of the following values to change them:

a)	IconSpacing:  horizontal space between desktop icons, in twips (there are between 12 and 15 twips per pixel, depending on your video driver).

b)	IconVerticalSpacing: vertical space between desktop icons, in twips.

c)	Shell Icon Size:  horizontal and vertical size of desktop icons, in pixels.

After youve entered a new value, press OK and then close the Registry Editor.  Youll have to restart Windows for this change to take effect.

Note that most of the other entries here can be adjusted through the Control Panel.


How To See The Windows 95 Credit Screen

Create a folder on the desktop named “ and now, the moment you have all been waiting for  (no Quotes).

Rename this folder to “ we proudly present for your viewing pleasure

Rename this folder to “The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team!

Double-click on the folder when you are in the little MS credit screen; alternatively you can create a folder called “The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team!.{869DADA0-42A0-1069-A2E7-08002B30309D}.

NOTE:  This does not have to be on your desktop.


Information on registry
Information about the Registry

The Registry:  What is it?

The Registry is a hierarchical database within Windows 95 where all the system settings are stored.  It has replaced all of the ..INI files that were present in Windows 3.x.  The data from SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, and CONTROL.INI are all contained within it now, along with hundreds of other system settings.  Additionally, all Windows 95 specific programs are now to store their initialization data within the Registry instead of in ..INI files in your Windows folder.

REGEDIT - The Registry Editor

The Registry cannot be viewed or edited with a normal editor - you must use a program included with Windows 95 called REGEDIT (Registry editor).  This program isnt listed on your START menu - you either need to add it or just click on Start/Run, then type “REGEDIT in the input field.  The Registry Editor will then start.

!WARNING!  Be extremely careful while you are running REGEDIT.  You can easily render your machine unbootable if you play with settings you arent familiar with!  You may want to immediately back up your Registry before doing any editing by using the command line switches.

REGEDIT Command Line Switches:

REGEDIT, the Registry Editing tool included with Windows 95, has a few command line switches for importing and exporting the Registry data:

•	/e  This specifies that the complete registry should be exported (copied) to a file named FILE.REG.  This is a good way to back up the registry.

•	/c  This specifies the .REG file to use to overlay the entire registry.  This is a VERY dangerous thing to do!  Make sure you know you have the right file before replacing your entire registry in this manner!

Contents of the Registry

When you first start REGEDIT, youll see the following subtrees under the My Computer header:

•	\ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \:  Contains software settings about drag-and-drop operations; also handles Shortcut information as well as other user interface information.  (Note that there will be a subkey for every file association you have defined.)

•	\ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \:  Information regarding the current logged-on user (see HKEY_USERS below).

•	AppEvents:  contains the settings for which sounds to play for system sound events

♦	Control Panel:  Control Panel settings are stored here, similar to SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI in Win 3.x.

♦	InstallLocationsMRU:  appears to contain paths for Startup folder programs

♦	keyboard layout:  specifies current keyboard layout

♦	Network:  Network connection information

♦	RemoteAccess:  Contains information about the current log-on location if using Dial-Up Networking

♦	Software:  Software configuration settings for the currently logged-on user.

•	\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \:  Contains information about the hardware and software settings that are generic to all users of this computer.  Subkeys include:

♦	Config:  Configuration information

♦	Enum:  Hardware device information such as monitor settings

♦	Hardware:  Serial communication port information and settings.

♦	Network:  information about networks the user is currently logged onto.

♦	Security:  network security settings.

♦	Software:  Software-specific information and settings

♦	System:  System startup and device driver information, and operating system settings.

•	\ HKEY_USERS \:  Information about desktop and user settings for each user that logs onto this computer.  Each user will have a subkey under this heading.  If there is only one user, the subkey will be “.default

•	\ HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG \:  Contains information about the current hardware configuration, pointing to \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \.

•	\ HKEY_DYN_DATA \:  This key contains dynamic information about plug-n-play devices.  The data here changes if devices are added or removed on-the-fly (i.e., hot-docking).


WordMail

If you are using Microsoft Exchange for your E-Mail and also have Microsoft Word 95, you can use a new feature called WordMail.

WordMail allows you to replace the default editor in Exchange with Microsoft Word.  All the features from Word then become available when you are writing - or even reading - your E-Mail!

Advantages of WordMail:

•	Can use all of Words editing features and options

•	Can use AutoText in Word to set up a Signature File for your E-Mail!

•	Spell-checking is available!

Disadvantages of WordMail:

•	Takes slightly longer to load Word vs. the default Exchange editor.

Installing WordMail

WordMail is easy to install (but first make sure you have Exchange installed and working).  After that, run the Word 95 (or Office 95) install program.  Navigate to the Word 95 install options and click the checkbox for WordMail.  WordMail will then be installed, and automatically set up as the editor when you use Exchange.  If you find you dont like it for some reason, you can shut it off simply by selecting Compose/WordMail Options within Exchange, and unchecking the “Enable Word as E-Mail Editor checkbox.

Heres what a reply to an E-Mail looks like using WordMail.  Note the Rich Text Format of the E-Mail (the fonts, shading and colors), and the Word toolbar buttons.


Show all files
Explorer isn't showing all files!

Its 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.


Win DOS RuLeZ ….
What to do if You Hate Explorer!

Explorer is an improvement over the old File Manager-but not by much-and the cute little yellow folders everywhere just remind us why we didnt buy a Macintosh.  Heres what every red-blooded Windows power-user should be using:

XTree for DOS (yeah, you heard me - DOS)!  The newest version is available from Symantec.  They also have a Windows version (v4.0), but Symantec really screwed it up.  If you still want a Windows version, the older v1.5 for Windows is pretty good.

NOTE:  Admittedly, this is intended for more experienced users only.  Although long filenames arent supported in the DOS version, such features like searching for files and built-in ZIP support are quite appealing.  This is Symantecs chance to come out with a really good Windows 95 version, if they dont blow it.


Small Fast Tips

1) 	Opening My Computer and selecting all your unit drives at the same time allows you to see their properties (and hence disk statistics) in one single dialog box.

2) 	If youre fed up with your icons, have a look to the PIFMGR.DLL in windows\system\*.*  Try also in COOL.DLL, if you have the Plus! installed.

3) 	If you havent got a free zone in the Taskbar to right-click it in order to access its properties (or to minimize all windows), you can use the zone around the clock to do the same.

4) 	To close all the parent windows:  Hold down SHIFT when clicking close button (e.g. to close all directory windows opened from My Computer).

5) 	You already know you are starting Windows 95?  Dont want to be constantly reminded of that fact?  Hit ESC during the boot process or, more skillful, add the statement logo=0 under Options-Section of Your MSDOS.SYS.

6) 	Using .BMP files as Icons:  You can rename any .BMP file to .ICO, and then use it as an icon!  Windows 95 resizes it to icon size and changes it to 16 colors, but otherwise it works just fine.

7) 	Opening Folders Nicely:  If you want to open a sub-folder and have the parent folder automatically close, hold the CTRL key down as you double-click to open the new folder.

8) 	Need to “explore from the command prompt?  Type start.\ and Explorer will open the actual directory.

9) 	For FTPing a lot of stuff:  The FTP client that comes with Windows 95 allows for a text file of listed commands - which you designate - to be run:

a.	Create a text file with a list of commands that you would like to be run

b.	Type FTP -s:mytextfile

This tip helps speed up those tedious file transfers.

For the Multi-boot Users

Tired of hitting “F8 every time you boot to change your settings?  Edit your MSDOS.SYS file like so:  In the “Options section add the line “BootMenu=1


Set your Cache size
Virtual memory and disk caching

Windows 95 handles disk caching and virtual memory much differently than previous versions of Windows.  In both cases, if left at default, Windows 95 dynamically sizes the disk caching size and virtual memory according to how it sees the system needs it.  We think that it sucks up too much RAM from the disk caching, and that means too little is left for applications.  Then you have some excessive disk activity occurring due to applications being swapped out to virtual memory too soon and too often.  And, to top it all off, there is the extra activity of the virtual memory resizing itself.

Some users have made a VERY noticeable improvement on their 8 MB systems by fixing the virtual memory at 20 MB, and - more importantly - limiting the size of the disk cache to a maximum of 2 MB.  To control the size of disk caching - despite the implication by Microsoft that you cant - you add these two lines in the SYSTEM.INI file (within your Windows 95 directory, in the [vcache] section):

MinFileCache=0

MaxFileCache=x

Where x= the max size of disk caching in KB

We suggest: x=2048

We think that if those users with 8 MB systems (and maybe even higher) who are having excessive disk activity make changes like these, you will be in for a pleasant surprise.  Prior to doing this there were times when they were getting disk swapping when they were merely accessing the Start menu!  Not so after the changes.  We suspect some of the people who are not having this problem somehow got some kind of migration of vcache settings from the existing Windows setup they had in their old SYSTEM.INI.  To fine tune the settings, you can use the System monitor that comes with Windows 95.


Speedup Win95
Tricks To Speed Up Win95

1)	Dont use wallpaper.  Just as in Win 3.x, fancy wallpaper can slow down the system.  This probably has more to do with what kind of video card is installed as opposed to how much RAM you have.

2)	Dont use more colors than you really need.  We have personally found 256 colors on most systems are adequate to meet most users needs.  Some people need more colors than this; on the other hand there are those that can make-do with just 16 colors.  Again, this probably has more to do with your video card than how much RAM you have.

3)	Dont use animated cursors.  We doubt this has as much impact as does wallpaper, but it still can effect overall system performance.

4)	Set up your CD-ROM settings according to your needs.  If you dont access your CD-ROM heavily, dont go overboard on the caching or the optimization pattern (for 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.).

5)	Avoid using the Sound schemes that came with Win95, as well as any system themes from the Plus! Pack or third party contributors.

6)	Take advantage of the well-documented registry hack that speeds up the response of your Start menu.  To do this, open the system registry using REGEDIT and open

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Pane

Highlight Desktop.  Right-click on the right-hand window pane and chose New - String Value.  Give the new string value a label of MenuShowDelay.  Now double-click on the new string and enter a value from 1 to 10.

7)	Closely scrutinize your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI files.  Determine what, if any, entries are no longer necessary in these files and delete them.  Look especially for the loading of 16 bit real mode drivers that are no longer required.


Make Win95 truncate better

How to make Windows truncate long filenames better:

Under \ HKEY_LOCAN_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ control \ FileSystem \, create a binary value named “ NameNumericTail  and set it to 0 (zero).

The tildes and numbers of long filenames are no longer displayed.  It will only start adding numbers if you have more than one short name with the same result.


Update the registry without Rebooting
Update the registry without Rebooting:

Press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del], select Explorer, and click End Task.  When Windows asks if you wish to Shut Down, click No, then click End Task at the next prompt.


Change Name / Location of Folders

To change the name or location of some essential folders go to \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Shell Folders in registry and edit the data of your choice.


Clean your root

Perhaps you detected “SETUP blowing up the root of your boot Hard drive.  Most of these files are no longer necessary.  As we know only AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS are needed.


Clean your Startup files

Check your startup files:  Some existing entries in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS may be superfluous, especially when having WIN95s Setup install over an old system.  The following commands are now executed by IO.SYS by default:

•	HIMEM.SYS

•	IFSHELP.SYS

•	SETVER.EXE

•	dos=high,umb,auto

•	fileshigh=60

•	buffershigh=30

•	fcbshigh=4

•	lastdrivehigh=z

•	stackshigh=9,256

•	shell=COMMAND.COM /p

These settings will be overwritten by the entries of the startup files.


Customize your DOS

If you need the mouse driver after restarting in MS-DOS Mode (and did not pre-load it in AUTOEXEC.BAT for resource aspects):

Create/Modify a file named DOSSTART.BAT located in your Windir containing the command to load MOUSE.COM.


Change your 3D-objects

Highlight and shadow of 3-D objects are set by default in dependence of the button face.  Go to /HKEY_CURRENT_USER /Control Panel /Colors and edit the corresponding Names by changing RGB Data.  Perhaps you want to swap highlight and shadow for “negative buttons - who knows?


Getting Rid of the Shortcut Arrows

Many people seem to be annoyed by the little arrows that Windows 95 puts in the lower-left corner of icons that represent Shortcuts.  Well, now you can get rid of them!  To do this, use the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) to search for these keys:

•	\ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ lnkfile

•	\ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ piffile

Within these keys are strings named “IsShortcut.  If you remove (or more safely, rename) these to something else, then once you restart Windows 95, the arrows will be gone!  To restore them, go back into REGEDIT.EXE and rename the strings back to their previous values.


Change your MTU settings for Win95 slip

To set the MTU use the following method:

\ hkey_local_machine \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Class \ NetTrans \ 000n and add the value “ MaxMTU=16-bit integer .

This 16-bit integer specifies the maximum size datagram IP that can pass to a media driver.  SNAP and source routing headers (if used on the media) are not included in this value.  For example, on an Ethernet network, MaxMTU will default to 1500.  The actual value used will be the minimum of the value specified with this parameter and the size reported by the media driver.  The default is the size reported by the media driver.


Removing the "Shortcut to" Text

Apparently Windows 95 is smart enough to learn that you dont like these Shortcuts being named like that.  Create a Shortcut to your desktop, then immediately edit the name and only remove the Shortcut To text.  Repeat this over and over, and by the 8th Shortcut, Windows will have stopped adding this text to the name!


Modifying Windows 95's TCP/IP Packet Size

Try editing the Registry, specifically this key:

\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ MSTCP \.  Create edit the key “DefaultRcvWindow with a string value set to the packet size, e.g. “8192.


Using the Command Prompt

Here are some tips for people who dont want to leave behind their command prompts . . .

In addition to the MS-DOS standards . and .., there are two new directory symbols:

•	... is the parent directory, once removed

•	.... is the parent directory, twice removed

You can drag and drop files to the Command Prompt.  The file name appears in the keyboard buffer.

To have a batch file run each time you enter the Command Prompt, click properties for the Command Prompt and enter its name under program/batch file.  Then put your favorite utilities - for example DOSKEY - into the batch file.

You can run Windows programs from the Command Prompt.  You can also open folders by typing “start . or “start .. at the prompt.  The start command can even run programs or documents.

del **         deletes *.* without asking

dir *asdf*   works the way you would expect it to.


Speed up the Windows Refresh rate

Every time a new folder is added or something is deleted from a window, it is neccesary to hit [F5] (“Refresh) to see the result.  This can become quite an annoyance.  Here is a little tip to refresh the screen automatically . . .

1)	Start REGEDIT.EXE.

2)	Go to the \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Update \ folder.

3)	Go to the right window and right-click with your mouse on Update.

4)	Select Modify, and change the value from 01 to 00.

5)	Click on OK.

The changes will take place next time Windows 95 is started.


Reduce the Start/Run Drop Down List

Heres how to reduce the Run Drop Down list.

1)	From the Start button choose Run and type REGEDIT.

2)	Click on the + to HKEY_CURRENT_USER

3)	Click on the + to Software

4)	Click on the + to Microsoft

5)	Click on the + to Windows

6)	Click on the + to CurrentVersion

7)	Click on the + to Explorer

8)	Click on the RunMRU

*On the right hand side youll see a list of the names being used by the Run command.

9)	Click on the name you want to erase and press the DEL key.  (Be sure NOT to delete the first or last entries.)

10)	Exit the Registry Editor and restart Windows to make your changes take affect.


Command Line Multi-tasking

Sometimes many users resort to the command line to do things quickly and “the old way.  Its really handy to be able to multitask on the command line, and for that we have written this small batch file.

-- listing for bg.bat ---

start /m command /c %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9

--- end listing ----

By putting this batch file on the path, you can run any DOS (or Windows) command or program in the background.  For example, bg pkunzip data.zip c:\datadir -d will unzip my data in the background.  Its very handy.  Anybody that uses UNIX or OS/2 will recognize this feature.


Make an Open New Folder Context Entry

Open your notepad and copy this into it exactly as shown:

---

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew]

@=“Open New &Window

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew\command]

@=“explorer %1

---

Do not copy the ---, just the text between them.  Now save the document as “ Open New Folder.reg .

You can call it anything you want-just be sure to put the .REG extension after it.  We usually allow it to save on the desktop to find it quickly.  Now double-click on the new icon that has appeared.  The registry hack will update automatically.  Now right-click on a folder and you will see a new option called Open New Window.


Trace Internet Routes

Included with Windows 95 is a program called “Trace Route.  Open a DOS window and type “ tracer location name .  The location name can be any IP address or number; for example www.hanar.com.  The program will then trace the route from your Internet provider to that location, and show you every computer system along the way.  Watch as you jump from coast-to-coast, over oceans via satellites, and high speed connections instantly.  Also very useful for those times when you cant connect to a site - it will show you if something is down along the way.


Contributing to Tips & Tricks…
Important…

Tips & Tricks for Windows 95© is from this version CONTRIBUTION WARE. This does not mean that you have to pay to use this product. What it means is that if you LIKE this product and can spare some dollars, yen, pounds or what ever currency you are using, please send some our way. We have been working a lot of late nights just to get this version out.

Now to the funny part..

This is what we can offer those who contribute to us:

1) 	Hanar Software does NOT do support, however we will help you with your questions to our best ability (hopefully within 48 hours).

2) 	You will be on our mailing list. (You dont have to add a new tip).

3) 	You will receive the latest version of this program by E-mail as soon as there is one.

4) 	You will receive the new version about 1 week before it gets available to the public.

NOTE: This deal is NOT for companies. If  your company want support, this can be arranged. Please contact Hanar Software.

If you want to contribute to Tips & Tricks for Windows 95© please snail mail your contribution to:

Hanar Software

Kullagårdsvägen 11

43363 Partille

Sweden

Please include your name and your email in the letter.

We will contact you as soon as we get your letter.


Remove old swap file
Have you removed the old swap file?

When you install Win95, the setup program does not remove your old swap file (called 386SPART.PAR).  Some people have it set to 20mb +!

You can safely delete it but must first take the attributes off it, and also change your “SYSTEM.INI in the [386Enh] section by deleting the lines:

PagingFile=

PagingFileSize=

After the equal sign is usually the 386SPART.PAR file name.

WIN95 uses another swap file called “WIN386.SWP


Have you forgot your Logon Password?
Have you forgotten your Logon Password?

If you ever forget your Windows Logon Password, simply hit cancel at the logon screen.  This will open the default desktop.  Now open Explorer and, under the Windows directory, find the PWL file with your logon name.  For example, if your logon name is Bill, then there will be a file called BILL.PWL.  Delete this file.  Go to Shut Down, and click on “close all programs and log on as another user.  Then when the logon screen comes up, use the same logon name, put in a password, and Windows will ask you to retype the password for verification.  You are back in!!

Also handy if you want to get to someone elses desktop!!!


Getting IBM-graphics-characters within console windows

1)	Extract file DOSAPP.FON from WIN95_02.CAB:

cd c:\windows\fonts

extract /a d:\Win95\Win95_02.cab dosapp.fon

Dont forget to replace “c:\windows\fonts with your own windows-fonts-directory (the directory where all TTF- and FON-files are located) and “d:\Win95\ with your own setup-directory (e.g. if you are using floppy disk version, insert disk #3 and use “extract /a a:\Win95_02.cab . . .

2)	Change the key “woafont in section [386Enh] of file SYSTEM.INI:

woafont=dosapp.fon

3)	Reboot your system


Setting "refresh rate" for console windows

1)	Add key “ WindowsUpdateTime  in section [386Enh] of file SYSTEM.INI:

WindowsUpdateTime=10

The value is the refresh rate in ms. E.g. 10 means: update contents of console windows every 10ms.

NOTE:  Using values less than 15-20ms requires a fast machine and a fast video card!  Otherwise your system will really become v-e-r-y slow when a DOS-Box or Win32-Console-Application is running.

2)	Reboot your system


Folder-Shortcut-tip

Creating folder Shortcuts on a desktop - that will be opened with Explorer - view automatically:

 --------------------------------------------------------------

1)	Create a new Shortcut for the folder on the desktop (e.g. drag&drop the folder with the right mouse button onto the desktop)

2)	Change properties for target - e.g.:

The default target was “c:\user

Change it to “c:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,c:\user

Now the folder will be opened in explorer view when double-clicking the icon.  If you want to use the folder as root - add the option “/root:

E.g.: “c:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,c:\user

Just try it; see also Windows 95 Resource Kit - Command line parameters for EXPLORER


WinHelp 4.0

1)	Did you know that you can use [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [J] to access any topic of an HELP-file?  Just try it!

2)	You can use [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [<-] and [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [->] to browse any HELP-file, even if there is no browsing sequence defined or there are no browse buttons available.

Just add the following lines to WIN.INI:

 [Windows Help]

SEQTOPICKEYS=1

And reboot your system.

3)	Did you ever examine the CNT-files?  These are just ASCII files, which can be edited with Notepad or any other text editor.  Just add a CNT-file to your own HELP-files to get a “Table Of Contents dialog box when opening the file.


Create your own startup Tips

Do you need or do you want to show your own tips on the Win95 Welcome screen?

If you would like to change the list of tips, select the Run command from the Taskbars Start menu and type REGEDIT | press [Ctrl] + [F] and search for Tips | press F3 for the second occurrence until the right-hand half of the window displays a long list of tips.

Select Export Registry File from the menu and export this to a file called OLDTIPS.REG.  Dont ever change the first three lines of this file since they describe what the other lines are all about.  Note the format in which the tip lines are configured, and edit your own tips to replace those existing for a more useful tip-base of your own.  Use a text editor without line-wrapping.  Keep the number in sequential order, and once you are finished run the Registration Editor again.  Select Import Registry File and import this file.


Start the browser when installing

If you try to install something like Win95 SETUP software, you will be asked for a Directory; however, you can only write the complete Directory or get DETAILS of the file which is needed.

The technique is to press [Alt] + [B] (English/US Version) or [Alt] + [D] (German Version) to get a Browser, and then everything is quite easy!


How to set up hot keys to load your favorite programs

For Windows applications, if you do not have a Shortcut to the program, you must create one.  For DOS programs, you can use a Shortcut but it isnt necessary.  Select the Shortcut or DOS program and choose Properties.  In a Shortcut to a Windows program, click the Shortcut tab.  In a DOS Shortcut or program, click the Program tab.

Click in the field named “Shortcut key to place the cursor within this field.  Press the key combination you wish to use to open the program.  Click Apply, then OK.

Restrictions:  The key combination must be in the form of [Ctrl] + [some key] or [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [some key].

You cannot use [Esc], [Tab], [SpaceBar], [Enter], [Print Screen], or [BackSpace] in the key combination.

You cannot use a key combination already reserved for Windows or another program.  These restrictions can also be seen by right-clicking in the “Shortcut key field and choosing “Whats This?

To remove a Shortcut key, press just [Ctrl] when in the “Shortcut key field.  The field entry should change to “None.  Click Apply, then OK.

To remove the hot key from a DOS program or Shortcut, change the value of the “Shortcut key field to none.  You then must COMPLETELY shut down Windows 95, wait a bit, then restart your computer.  Turning your computer completely off works best; just pressing the reset button wont work sometimes if its done too quickly.  Just restarting Windows 95 doesnt work at all.


Share swapfile between Win95 & Win 3.1x

We have been able to share the Windows permanent swap file between 95 and 3.1x on a dual-boot system by setting MinPagingFileSize in the [386Enh] section of the Win95 SYSTEM.INI greater than or equal to the physical size (in Kbytes) of the swap file.  Take the size in bytes of the 386SPART.PAR file (usually found in the root of drive C:) and divide by 1024.  (One way to get the true size is by typing “dir c:\*.par /a:s at a DOS prompt.)

Win95 - SYSTEM.INI:

[386Enh]

PagingFile=C:\386SPART.PAR

MinPagingFileSize=8196;True size (in bytes) of 386SPART.PAR divided by 1024


Options in MSDOS.SYS

In order to activate these options, ATTRIB your MSDOS.SYS file in your directory and use a text editor to add any of these lines under the OPTIONS heading.  NOTE:  These commands are case sensitive.

We have found that these work on the full Windows 95 installation, but we havent tried it on the upgrade (installing over your old Windows 3.1 or WFW 3.11)

BootWin=0

This command will boot into your OLD DOS without loading Windows 95.

BootGUI=0

Boots DOS 7.0 instead of Windows 95.

BootMenu=1

Displays the Windows 95 Start Up Menu WITHOUT having to hit the [F4] and [F8] keys.

BootDelay=n (number value in seconds)

Just like the old multi-boot, this sets the value in seconds for how long you want the scroll bar to wait until it processes the menu.

BootMenuDefault=n

Just like the old multi-boot, this allows you to place the scroll bar on the menu item of your choice as a default.

BootMulti=1

This will put the line “Previous Version of DOS at the bottom of the menu options.

LOGO=0

Disables the Windows 95 logo on Windows boot-up.


Hide your Startup folder

You can hide your startup folder so it does not show up on your start menu (but it still runs the programs in it at startup):

1.	right click on the start button and select Open

2.	open Programs

3.	right click on StartUp and select Properties

4.	check the Hidden box

5.	click OK

Now the startup folder will not show up when you click start/programs.  The only disadvantage is you need to view hidden files in order to access it from Explorer.


Screen saver corners

Screen Saver Corners - if you dont want to do all that registry stuff to have screen saver corners, even with a 16-bit screen saver, heres what you do:

1.	Go to the Display control panel, select Screen Saver panel.

2.	Choose a screen saver that COMES WITH WINDOWS95.

3.	Select Settings . . . and set the corners.

Now, re-select your old screen saver (can be anything).  Make sure you have System Agent running (not sure why).


Completely defragment your Harddrive

How to completely defragment the hard drive that Win95 is installed on, and clean out Win95 file droppings:

1.	Disable Virtual Memory under Win95.

2.	Reboot; when rebooting press [Shift] + [F5] to go to DOS.

3.	type “ attrib -r -s -h -a /s , to strip off all attributes from all files.  (While youre at it, you might want to clean all that previously hidden crap that Win95 put in your Root, as well as delete all those .GID files strewn about your drive.)

4.	Flush your TMP and TEMP directories by doing a DEL. in it.

5.	Reboot into Win95.


How to get the Works 4.0 Spell Checker to work under Microsoft Exchange

\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Shared Tools \ Proofing   Tools \ Custom

Dictionaries \1={path}\custom.dic

Try the following method to redirect Exchange to look at the Works Custom dictionary:

1.	Click the Start button and then click Run.

2.	Type “ REGEDIT  and click OK.

3.	On the Registry menu, click Export Registry file, select All, type in a Name and choose Save to backup the registry (a safety precaution).

4.	On the Edit menu, click Find.

5.	Type “ CUSTOM.DIC  and click Find Next.  This should take you to the My Computer \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Shared Tools \ Proofing Tools \ Custom Dictionaries \ key.  (Look at the status bar at the bottom of the Registry Editor window to know for sure.)  If not, Click Edit, Find Next.

6.	In this Custom Dictionaries Key, there should be an item with a name of “1 (without the quotes) that has the path to the custom dictionary.  If not, choose Edit, New, String Value, and insert a string with a Name of 1.

7.	Then, double-click the 1 and then type the correct path in the Value data box.  Normally, the correct path to the Works 4.0 custom dictionary is:

c:\ program files \ common files \ Microsoft Shared \ proof \ custom.dic \


Hide commands in AUTOEXEC

If you want the Windows bootup screen to stick above your AUTOEXEC.BAT driver /TSR notices, add “>nul (without quotation marks) at the end of the necessary lines and you wont see them during bootup again!


A Good registry hack

REGEDIT4

; Add the Open DOS Box option, for folders and files

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ Folder \ Shell \ Open_DOS_Box \]

@=3DOpen DOS &Box

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ Folder \ Shell \ Open_DOS_Box \ command]

@=3DCOMMAND.COM /K CD %1

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ * \ Shell \ Open_DOS_Box \]

@=3DOpen DOS &Box

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ * \ Shell \ Open_DOS_Box \ command]

@=3DCOMMAND.COM

; Add the Edit with Notepad option for files

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ * \ Shell \ Edit_with_Notepad \]

@=3DEdit &with Notepad

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ * \ Shell \ Edit_with_Notepad \ command]

@=3Dnotepad.exe %1

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ * \ Shell \]

@=3DEdit_with_Notepad

-----

This adds one command to the Shortcut menu when clicking folders (or folder Shortcuts!)

•	Open DOS Box	... opens an MS-DOS box, set to the directory/folder you clicked on!

And it adds two commands to the Shortcut menu when clicking files:

•	Edit with Notepad	does as it says

•	Open DOS Box	opens an MS-DOS box set to the directory the file is in

Edit with Notepad is also set to the default option for unknown extensions.  So if you have a file like “blah.rmn you can double-click it and it will open in notepad for examination.

We have found these to be real handy extensions to Windows 95, and initiating them only requires a double-click of the REG file.


Create a new registry from scratch

If you want to create a new registry without a total reinstall, type “ setup /Pf  at the C: prompt.  This will create a new registry from scratch.  Please note the case of the letters, capitol P, and small case f.

NOTE  The Setup program might not be on your hard disk.

Restore The Registry

If your registry becomes corrupted, you can restore it by using the following procedure:

1.	Start (or restart) your computer.  After your computer has booted, Windows displays the text “Starting Windows 95.

2.	When the text is displayed on your screen, press and release the F8 key.  A menu appears.

3.	Choose the command prompt option.

4.	At the command prompt, change to your windows directory (usually Windows).

5.	Type the following commands, pressing [Enter] after each one:

6.	“ attrib -h -r -s system.dat

7.	“ attrib -h -r -s system.da0

8.	“ attrib -h -r -s user.dat

9.	“ attrib -h -r -s user.da0

10.	If you want to contact Product Support, type the following to create files you can refer to:

11.	“ copy system.dat system.bak

12.	“ copy user.dat user.bak

13.	Then type:

14.	“ copy system.da0 system.dat

15.	“ copy user.da0 user.dat

16.	and restart your computer.


Dialup Scripting Without Plus!

You dont need Plus! for Dialup Scripting.  If you have the Windows95 CD-ROM, you have the ability to use Dialup Scripting just as those with MS Plus!  First, to prove this, insert your Win95 CD into your drive.  At the next screen (if Auto Play is on) choose “Browse This CD.  Next select the folder named \Admin then \Apptools and finally \Dscript.  The next step to installing Dialup Scripting involves going to your Control Panel and clicking “Add/Remove Software.  Point/click the “Install/Remove tab, then select the Install button.  Have your Win95 disk in your drive or place it in when prompted for (“Have Disk).  Next choose Browse and follow the same steps as above, but at the bottom of the window choose “All Files, then select DSCRIPT.INF.

Dialup Scripting will now install and be ready to use.

** dialup.txt **

SLIP and Scripting support for use with DialUp Networking

Use this software to add SLIP support so that Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking clients can connect to any remote access server that uses the SLIP standard, and to add Scripting support so that you can automate the process of connecting to an Internet access provider, on-line service, or remote computer.

To install SLIP and Scripting support on a local computer, use the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel, select the Windows Setup tab, click the Have Disk button, and install from the ADMIN\APPTOOLS\DSCRIPT directory.

To install SLIP and Scripting support using setup scripts, first use INF Installer in the ADMIN\NETTOOLS\NETSETUP folder to install the SLIP and scripting files with the Windows 95 source files on the network.

For more information about SLIP and Dial-Up Networking, see those topics in the Windows 95 Resource Kit (WIN95RK.HLP).

For more information about Scripting support and Dial-Up Networking, install the software as described above, then start the Dial-Up Scripting Tool (from the Accessories folder under Programs on the Start menu), and click Help.


Free up some more memory
Free up some more memory.

We have noticed in the Control Panel -> System Icon, “Performance Section -> “File System, under the CD-ROM Tab is a setting for “Supplemental Cache, which on a machine was defaulted to 1 MB!  That is a lot of memory to use up when you rarely use the CD-ROM.

If this setting is lowered Windows may use less memory at StartUp or during operation (though we have not had time to test this theory yet).


We are looking for a sponsor
Do you want to advertise in this file?

Companies are welcome to advertise in this product.

The Tips & Tricks for Windows 95 product is used by several thousand people all over the world.  In addition we have received E-mail from Microsoft Support stating that they use our file in their support service.  We have also received E-mail from lots of different companies, telling us that they loved our help file and that it has really aided them when they were confronted with obstacles while integrating Windows 95.

The file has also been published by several computer magazines all over the world.

Computer magazines are free to publish this file, with out any changes or reductions.

If your company is interested please contact us.

E-mail : eneuman@cd.chalmers.se

Snail Mail :

Hanar Software

Kullagårdsvägen 11

43363 Partille

Sweden


We are looking for a sponsor
Do you want to sponsor us ?

Does your company want lots of free advertising to be seen by many people all over the world??

Maybe we can help each other out.  Our current WWW administrator has been complaining that “Tips & Tricks for Windows 95“ Homepage has too many visitors,  and that this slows down the system.

Since we are providing FREEWARE/CONTRIBUTIONWARE, we cannot afford our own WWW server.

We are looking for a sponsor who will provide us with our own WWW server.  Our company is called Hanar SoftWare, so we would appreciate having the domain called www.hanar.<something>.  We also need this sponsor to provide the domain name registration fee (100 $US).

What we can offer the sponsor is a lot of free advertising - not only within the www.hanar.<???> domain, but also generously distributed within the “Tips & Tricks for Windows95“ product.

The Tips & Tricks for Windows 95 product is used by several thousand people all over the world.  In addition we have received E-mail from Microsoft Support stating that they use our file in their support service.  We have also received E-Mail from lots of different companies, telling us that they loved our help file and that it has really aided them when they were confronted with obstacles while integrating Windows 95.

We have tried (and so far succeeded) in releasing a new version every other month, from the day Windows 95 was released up to the present.

If your company is interested in providing sponsorship for the “Tips & Tricks for Windows 95“ product, please send E-Mail to

eneuman@cd.chalmers.se

Please check out our current Homepage at www.gote.se/TTricks (We hope it is still there!)

Some technical information you might want to know :

Hits per day:  Approximately 1000 new hits every day.

Hits after a new release:  28,800 hits / Weekend

Download of .hlp file after new release:  4500 / Weekend


Automatically clear the document file.

You just need to write the following batch file in DOS (We called it “CLEAR.BAT):

move c:\windows\recent\*.* c:\recycled

This can be used in two ways:

1.	If you add “ clear.bat  to the first line of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, it will clean up your documents at StartUp

2.	Secondly, if you create a Shortcut to it you can clear the documents at anytime.  This way you dont have to set the recycled bin to auto-delete as your other tip recommended.  Also, for some unknown reason, files moved this way dont show up in the “Recycle Bin.


Useful programs on then Win95 CD-ROM
Useful programs on the Win95 CD-ROM

On my Win95 OEM CD-ROM, there are several useful programs, located in . . .

folder	program

\ admin \ reskit \ helpfile \	Resource Kit for Win95

\ admin \ apptools \ poledit \	Policies Editor

\ admin \ apptools \ pwledit \	Password List Editor

\ admin \ nettools \	some network tools

\ other \ wordview \	WordView 7

\ other \ misc \ epts \	Enhanced Printer TroubleShooter

\ other \ misc \ eru \	Emergency Recovery Utility

\ other \ misc \ logview \	LogViewer


Close the Start Button

1.	Highlight the start-button, press [Alt] + “ [-] .

2.	You may now CLOSE the start-button (only Start-button will be closed!).

Now Win95 has to be restarted to make the start-button functional again.


Increase performance in DOS

The number of colors for display will affect the performance of DOS mode(not full screen)!

Notice!!  The best selection is not 256 color but HiColor!!

Notice again!!  Choosing 256 colors is the worst thing for DOS mode!


Increase modem speed

To increase modem performance when connecting to the Internet with Win95 . . .

1.	Disable compression on your modem

2.	Under the 386Enh section put:

COMxBuffer=1024

(where x is the Comport #); you can disable error correction by un-checking that box under the modem settings and adding the string:

“AT%C0

to the extra settings area in the modem settings.

We have been able to boost a 28.8k connection to an average of 3.3k a second on most URLs.

In Windows 95, the speed of your modem may seem not to work, but the true fact is the baud rate for you COM Port doesnt allow you to reach top-speed.

To improve your ports speed, go to “ Control Panel | System | Communication Ports , then double-click the port your modems in, then click the Properties tab and set the Port Speed to 921600 BPS; that way you wont have a sort of filter on the Port.


LOGO.SYS scrolling bar.

If you still have the original Microsoft LOGO.SYS file in your root directory, you will notice that a blue bar across the bottom scrolls to indicate the various stages of Windows StartUp.  But if you put your own LOGO.SYS file in the root directory this feature will not occur.  You can, however, create your own effects in the StartUp screen . . .

To create your own StartUp screen, first produce a 320x400 256-color bitmap file using your favorite graphics program.  Copy this file over the current LOGO.SYS file in the root directory (it is a good idea to back this file up first).

Next use a hex editor ( We prefer to use Nortons Disk Editor) and change the 32nd byte of the file.  Windows uses this byte to work out how many colors to cycle.  If you make this value 80 hex (128 decimal) then Windows will cycle the last 128 colors in your picture.

NOTE:  To best take advantage of this feature, it is a good idea to have a decent drawing program that allows you to set the exact color palette (such as Corel Draw 6).


Viewing Win95 animated cursors.

Win95 provides animated cursors.  However, its kind of difficult to see what they are like since they are just icons in the Explorer.  When you open the properties of an animated cursor you can see what its like.

Just single-click on the cursorfile and press [Alt] + [Enter].


Change the icon on hard-drive.
Change the icon on Harddrive.

Here is a very simple way to change the icon assigned to each hard drive:

1.	Create an AUTORUN.INF file in the root of the HD you want to customize, perhaps one per hard drive/partition.

2.	Add in this file the following text (or something equivalent):

3.	[autorun]

4.	ICON=C:\ WINDOWS \ SYSTEM \ SHELL32.DLL,5

5.	In this example Windows will use the 5th icon in SHELL32.DLL

6.	Save the file

7.	Double-click on My Computer (update with [F5] if not already done).


NumLock fix.

We searched all over for a solution to a problem with NumLock turning off when Win95 started.  It turned out to be a conflict with the new Win95 Mouse software.  Here is the fix we stumbled upon (using REGEDIT):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Control Panel

MS Input Devices

Microsoft Input Devices

If Keyboard is missing (here) then highlight (Microsoft Input Devices) Edit - New - Key and type “ Keyboard  (new folder created).  Double-click.

In addition to the default add (highlight) “Edit - New - String Value and type  “ NumLock .  Double-click; type “ ON .

You can also try adding the following line to config.sys:

“ numlock=on

(without the quotes, of course . . .) but it might not work on every computer.


The subst program.
The SUBST.EXE program.

During the “bad old days (in DOS environments only) there was a very useful program called “SUBST.EXE.

This program enabled you to treat a directory as though it were a drive.  Thus a very long directory name could be renamed back to a drive letter.

Thus subst q:  c:\textdata\1996\april\letters

So instead of writing wordproc.exe c:\ texdata \ 1996 \ april \ letters \ letter.doc, you could just use “ wordproc.exe q:\letter.doc .

Subst q: /d deleted the SUBSTitution.

This would not work safely under win 3.x

Needless to say SUBST.EXE is now back in Win95 in ~\ windows \ commands.  It works just as well as ever and is as useful as ever.  The only caveat is that it can end up producing its own recycle bin.

SUBST can be run in AUTOEXEC.BAT; it can also be run from the command prompt.


How to create your own Desktop Theme

First, gather together all the sounds (.WAV), icons (.ICO), cursors (.CUR or .ANI), desktop picture (.BMP or .JPG), and screensaver (.SCR) files that you intend to use and place them into your \ Program Files \ Plus! \ Themes \ directory.

You may wish to rename or copy them to the name of your theme.  NOTE:  Your screensaver should be in the \ Windows \ System \ directory.  The path specification should be:

%WinDir%\System\.

Second, copy the template file we have enclosed, THEMSRC.TXT,  to the name of your theme with the “ .THEME  extension.  Put it in your themes directory.

Third, edit your theme.  Where there is a file specification plug in the respective file you wish to use.

The theme format lists what you may need to enter and how it is to be used.

If your theme does not have a particular entry, just be sure to leave the area after the equals sign blank.

We recommend strongly that the path specification be %ThemeDir%.

Finally, in the Control Panel/Colors section, replace the number with the color numbers of your color scheme ( We do not know what each color value represents, but if you figure it out let us know).

THEMSRC.TXT

[CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme My Computer.ico

[CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme Network Neighborhood.ico

[CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]

full=%ThemeDir%My Theme Recycle Full.ico,0

empty=%ThemeDir%My Theme Recycle Empty.ico,0

[Control Panel\Colors]

ActiveTitle=224 0 0

Background=0 0 0

Hilight=248 255 160

HilightText=0 0 0

TitleText=255 255 255

Window=255 255 255

WindowText=0 0 0

Scrollbar=216 224 216

InactiveTitle=96 168 128

Menu=168 200 168

WindowFrame=0 0 0

MenuText=0 0 0

ActiveBorder=168 200 168

InactiveBorder=168 200 168

AppWorkspace=80 143 108

ButtonFace=168 200 168

ButtonShadow=96 152 96

GrayText=96 152 96

ButtonText=0 0 0

InactiveTitleText=216 224 216

ButtonHilight=216 224 216

ButtonDkShadow=0 0 0

ButtonLight=168 200 168

InfoText=0 72 72

InfoWindow=255 239 210

[Control Panel\Cursors]

Arrow=%ThemeDir%My Theme arrow.cur

Help=%ThemeDir%My Theme help.cur

AppStarting=%ThemeDir%My Theme wait.ani

Wait=%ThemeDir%My Theme busy.ani

NWPen=%ThemeDir%My Theme pen.cur

No=%ThemeDir%My Theme no.cur

SizeNS=%ThemeDir%My Theme Size NS.cur

SizeWE=%ThemeDir%My Theme Size WE.cur

Crosshair=%ThemeDir%My Theme cross.cur

IBeam=%ThemeDir%My Theme beam.cur

SizeNWSE=%ThemeDir%My Theme Size NWSE.cur

SizeNESW=%ThemeDir%My Theme Size NESW.cur

SizeAll=%ThemeDir%My Theme move.cur

UpArrow=%ThemeDir%My Theme up.cur

DefaultValue=Windows default

[Control Panel\Desktop]

Wallpaper=%ThemeDir%My Theme wallpaper.jpg

TileWallpaper=0

Pattern=(None)

ScreenSaveActive=1

[Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics]

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\.Default\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme default sound.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\AppGPFault\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme program error.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\Maximize\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme maximize.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\MenuCommand\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme menu command.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\MenuPopup\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme menu popup.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\Minimize\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme minimize.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\Open\.Current]

DefaultValue=

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\Close\.Current]

DefaultValue=

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\RestoreDown\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme Restore Down.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\RestoreUp\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme Restore Up.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\RingIn\.Current]

DefaultValue=

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\Ringout\.Current]

DefaultValue=

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemAsterisk\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme asterisk.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemDefault\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme beep.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemExclamation\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme exclamation.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemExit\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme exit windows.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemHand\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme critical stop.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemQuestion\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme question.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemStart\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme startup.wav

[AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\EmptyRecycleBin\.Current]

DefaultValue=%ThemeDir%My Theme empty recycle bin.wav

;Leave the metrics section alone.

[Metrics]

IconMetrics=76 0 0 0 96 0 0 0 83 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 241 255 255 255 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 144 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98 97 100 105 32 77 84 32

67 111 110 100 101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103 104 116 0 119 97 118 0

98 105 110

NonclientMetrics=84 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 20 0 0 0

240 255 255 255 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 188 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98

97 100 105 32 77 84 32 67 111 110 100 101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103

104 116 0 112 82 129 124 76 11 193 17 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 243 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 188 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98 97 100 105 32 77 84

32 67 111 110 100 101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103 104 116 0 112 82 129

124 76 11 193 19 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 241 255 255 255 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

144 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98 97 100 105 32 77 84 32 67 111 110 100

101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103 104 116 0 112 82 129 124 76 11 193 241

255 255 255 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 144 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98 97

100 105 32 77 84 32 67 111 110 100 101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103 104

116 0 112 82 129 124 76 11 193 244 255 255 255 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

144 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 98 97 100 105 32 77 84 32 67 111 110 100

101 110 115 101 100 32 76 105 103 104 116 0 112 82 129 124 76 11 193

[boot]

SCRNSAVE.EXE=%WinDir%\System\My Theme.SCR

[MasterThemeSelector]

MTSM=DABJDKT

ThemeColorBPP=8

Stretch=1


Save Connect to  password

To save the password in the Connect to dialogue box you have to have a file called ????????.PWL in C:\ Windows \.  This is created when you set a Windows password.  If you dont use a Windows password you can change it to a null string afterwards from Control Panel, Passwords.


Changing the start menu icon

Normally, the little icon on the Start button is the little Windows flag.  If youd like to change it, copy the file:

C:\ WINDOWS \ SYSTEM \ USER.EXE

to a temporary file and then simply use your favorite icon librarian program to open the new temp file.  Inside you will see icons used throughout Win95, including the START button icon (youll have to set your librarian to show you only the 14x14 icons in the file, however; the Windows flag should be the only one you see under 14x14).

The reason you copied USER.EXE to a temp file and worked on the latter, is that Windows 95 uses USER.EXE while Win95 is running, SO, when youve saved your change into USERX.EXE, youll have to restart in DOS mode to copy temp file to USER.EXE and then restart Windows to see the change.

***BE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP of the original USER.EXE, should you ever want to undo the change!


CompuServe Mail

On the Win95 CD, in the folder X:\ DRIVERS \ OTHER \ EXCHANGE \ COMPUSRV \ is a Program called CompuServe Mail for MS Exchange.

It can send and receive messages through CompuServe Mail (as well as Internet E-mails).

The latest version of CompuServe Mail for Exchange will always be available for download on CompuServe (GO CISSOFT).


Start many program at once

To open many programs, folders, and documents etc. at once, you can use the START command at the DOS prompt.  What you have to do is write a batch file containing all the stuff you want to execute at once.  For example, if you want to open Word and Excel at the same time, youd type:

START C:\ MsOffice \ WinWord \ Winword.exe

START C:\ MsOffice \ Excel \ Excel.exe

You can also use switches to help you.  You can run programs minimized (/m), maximized (/max) or restore them to a normal window (/r, the default setting).

Save the icon wherever you want, right-click on it to get its properties, then select CLOSE ON EXIT.


Win95 crash tip

Occasionally, programs do crash.  Win95 is pretty good at not letting that take down the entire system.  But when the program that crashes is Explorer, the little icons in the system tray (most of which were probably put there by programs in your StartUp folder) disappear - no more virus guard, no more Quickres, no more volume control . . .

The following short, simple batch file will scan the StartUp folder for programs, links and PIF files and run everything in it that is even vaguely executable:

@echo off

c:

cd \ windows \ startm~1 \ programs \ StartUp

for %%1 in (*.*) do start %%1

exit

This should work with 99% of all installations, but you may need to edit the path in line 3 if you havent installed Win95 in the standard directories.  Put the batch file somewhere like C:\ DOS \ or C:\ WINDOWS \ COMMAND \ and make a shortcut to it somewhere in the start menu structure.


Support Company logo

Create a logo bitmap for your company that is 160 x 120 pixels.  Save it as:

c:\ windows \ system \ oemlogo.bmp

Create a text file in the following format:

[general]

Manufacturer=My Company

Model=My Version & Model

[Support Information]

Line1=For Technical Support call 1-888-888-8888

Line2=

Line3=Technical Support hours:

Line4=Monday-Friday 7am to 7pm

Line5=Saturday 8am to 5pm

Line6=

Save it as:

c:\windows\system\oeminfo.ini

Now double-click the System applet in Control Panel.  The logo appears in the first panel and the information under [General] appears to the right of the logo.  The information under [Support Information] appears when you press the Support Information button.


Find StartUp errors in Win95

When ERROR.BAT is run it notifies the user by means of a screen print dump as to what went wrong in the loading of Win95.

All those that want to use the Batch file need only block and copy the lines between the row of asterisks (****s), paste into NotePad, then save as:

c:\error.bat

OK, OK, !!  Heres the listing for ERROR.BAT . . .

*******************************************************************

@echo off

echo “Entries found in Setuplog.txt > log.txt

find /i /n “installtype setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “installdir setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “detection setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “runningapp setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “rootfilesrenamed setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “error setuplog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “failed setuplog.txt >> log.txt

echo “Entries found in Bootlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “fail bootlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “error bootlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “dynamic load success bootlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “initcomplete success bootlog.txt >> log.txt

echo “Entries found in Detlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “avoidmem detlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “detected detlog.txt >> log.txt

find /i /n “error detlog.txt >> log.txt

cls

type log.txt |more

*******************************************************************


Always find you shortcuts

Create a directory in your Windows directory called “ shortcuts .  Example:

c:\ windows \ shortcuts \

Place shortcuts to all your desktop items in this folder.  Then place a shortcut to this path (c:\ windows \ shortcuts \) on your desktop.  Right-click on it, select Properties and then assign a hotkey to it - for example, [F8].

From this point on, whenever you cant get to your desktop, just press [F8].  It will bring up this window with all your desktop shortcuts in it.


Change Start Menu Icons

You can change the Start Menu icons and My Computer root icons via the Registry (We are not sure if Plus! has to be installed, but it works on all the machines we have tried).

These settings are in effect for all users if user profiles are in effect. .The below text can be copied into a *.reg file and it will function as normal, even with the comments.

To change the icon of an object, change the pathname to the *.dll, *.exe or *.ico file that the icon is stored in.  These are the default settings.  You then must restart to get these settings to go into effect.

We can send you a sample of these also.  NOTE:  We never tried to find out what 1, 2, 7, 12, 14, 18, 30, 39 do.

REGEDIT4

[\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons \]

“0=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,37	;?

“3=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,11	;ClosedFolderLeftExplorerPane

“4=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,18	;OpenedFolderLeftExplorerPane

“5=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,9	;Drive-5.25

“6=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,8	;Drive-3.5

“8=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,0	;Drive-HDD

“9=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,1	;NetworkDrive

“10=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,29	;NetDriveUnavailable

“11=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,10	;Drive-CD-ROM

“13=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,13	;Entire Network

“15=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,28	;?

“16=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,22	;Printer

“17=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,17	;NetHood

“19=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,4	;Start:Programs

“20=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,2	;Start:Documents

“21=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,6	;Start:Settings

“22=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,3	;Start:Find

“23=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,15	;Start:Help

“24=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,5	;Start:Run

“25=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,33	;Start:Sleep/Suspend

“26=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,32	;Start:Dock/Undock

“27=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,7	;Start:ShutDown

“28=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,34	;SharedIconOverlay

“29=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\shell32.dll,30	;ShortcutIconOverlay

“31=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,20	;RecycledEmpty

“32=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,21	;RecycledFull

“33=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,27	;Dial-UpNetworkingFolder

“35=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,12	;Control PanelFolder

“36=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,24	;StartMenuProgramGroup

“37=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,19	;PrintersFolder

“38=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,14	;FontsFolder

“40=“C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\cool.dll,26	;AudioCD

Hope this trick helps and can keep people from reinstalling anything just to get rid of a malfunctioning icon.


Multi-boot

You can create your own multiboot-menu when working with Win95 - this way you can boot Windows 95, Windows 3.1x and MS-DOS 7, and in any configuration that you want.  Please note that if you want to boot Windows 3.1x you will have to install Windows 3.1x first.

In the file MSDOS.SYS you have to add the line

BOOTGUI=0

Then you can define your own bootmenu, just like in MSDOS 6.X

Here is an example:

** it is important that the path of your Windows 3.1x directory is not ** defined in your path variable.

------ config.sys -------

[MENU]

MENUITEM=WIN95, LOAD WINDOWS 95 !

MENUITEM=WIN31, LOAD WINDOWS 3.1 !

MENUITEM=DOS, LOAD MS-DOS !

MENUCOLOR=7,1

MENUDEFAULT=WIN95,10

[WIN95]

[WIN31]

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS HIGHSCAN

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE

[DOS]

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS HIGHSCAN

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE

[COMMON]

SWITCHES /F/N

----- end config.sys -----

----- autoexec.bat -----

@ECHO OFF

IF %CONFIG% == WIN95 GOTO WIN95

IF %CONFIG% == WIN31 GOTO WIN31

SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\DOS;C:\;

SET TEMP=C:\TEMP

PROMPT $p$g

C:\windows\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM /L=GB

GOTO END

:WIN31

SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\DOS;C:\;

SET TEMP=C:\TEMP

PROMPT $p$g

CD \WIN31      **** the directory where you have installed Windows 3.1x ****

WIN

GOTO END

:WIN95

WIN

GOTO END

:END

----- end autoexec.bat -----


Freeing disk space

Windows95 stores data on disk in blocks called allocation units.  Every file takes at least one block, no matter how little data it has in it.  The larger the disk, the bigger the blocks - 8KB for disks between 256 and 512 MB, 16KB for disks up to 1024 MB, and 32KB for larger disks.  (Check the block size on your disk by running CHKDSK, or DIR /V at a DOS prompt.)

This means that on typical large disks, each and every file has a minimum size of at least 16 KB, no matter how little data it has in it.  If you have lots of small files, this can mean a lot of wasted space.

Things you can do about it:

•	Check to see if you have a lot of small files on your disk.  Use the Find command to look for *.*, and use the Advanced option to find files < 8KB.  This may lead you to directories containing lots of small files that arent very useful, and each may take 16KB or 32KB.  WWW caches are common offenders, as are directories of clip art and Windows95 shortcuts.

•	If you identify directories with lots of small files that you want to keep for occasional use, packing them into a single, larger file (with tools such as zip or tar) will save you a lot of space.

•	More drastically, you can partition your disk with FDISK.  An 800 MB disk can be split into two 400 MB logical drives, with 8KB blocks.  But dont start messing around with FDISK unless youve backed up your disk and know what youre doing.  It really is a very quick way to loose a lot of data.

We found that on a 800 MB disk there were 6,000 files of less than 8 KB.  We therefore took the third option and split the disk into 500 MB and 300 MB partitions.  This has released nearly 50 MB of space - 6,000 files now take 8KB each rather than 16 KB - and we definitely believe this is worthwhile.


Disable Norton Smartcan

Start Regedit.Exe and go to \ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Symantec \ Norton Utilties \ SmartCan \ Drive C: \ Switches \ and change the value on Enabled to 00.


Autorun your hard drive

Make an ASCII text file with contents resembling this:

[autorun]

open = filename.ext	;file you want to open/run when drive is started
icon = filename.ext	;file containing the icon you want the drive to have.  Can be a DLL (%WINDIR%\SYSTEM\shell32.dll,5 for example)
shell\refname = &Menuname	;refname is the name that is referenced in lines below ;& comes before hotkey; Menuname is the name that ;appears on Right-Click Menu (shell\fileman = &File Manager)
shell\refname\command = filename.ext	;refname should match lines above; filename.ext is the ;name of the file/program to open when &Menuname ;option is chosen (\ shell \ fileman \ command %WINDIR% \ winfile.exe)

You can use as many shell\refname calls as you want as long as the refnames are different for each set of shell\refnames and shell\refname\commands.


Advance Power saving function

You can make appear, above the shutdown command from the start menu, a new power saving function (not present by default).  You can make this appear on every computer that has a built-in power saving feature.  It puts the whole computer in the idle state (suspend or standby) depending on your system and BIOS settings.  This can be useful if you know youre going to leave your computer ON and unattended for a certain amount of time, but you want it in an idle state WHEN you leave and not after the standby activation time.

If the icon “battery doesnt appear in the control panel you can make it appear by first going into the system properties (WIN+Break), then “Device Manager, and then the last one which is about Advanced Power Management.

In the properties of this item you should activate the APM feature to make the battery or energy icon appear in the control panel (even if you have a station and not a notebook).

Once the battery icon is in the control panel, activate it and then check for Advanced in power management and check the always button.

When its done there will be a new command in the start menu.


Hardware profiles

Windows95 has some nice features for notebook computer users, including automatic recognition of different configurations (e.g. in a docking station or mobile).  However, one thing thats missing is an obvious way of running different StartUp commands for the different configurations.

The way to do this is to edit CONFIG.SYS and put in a StartUp menu of the sort that you may have used for DOS6.

If you make the names of the different options exactly the same as your Windows95 Hardware Profiles, then Windows95 will automatically choose the right option without stopping - but beware, the match has to be exact - you cant add a comment after a comma.

If you do this, the name of the configuration then gets written into an environment variable called CONFIG, which you can examine in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, and hence modify the contents of your StartUp directory to match the configuration.

There really ought to be a more elegant way of doing this, but this method is quite simple and it does the job.


Speedup Internet Win95 for PPP.

Ive tried these settings for 2 months now; a friend of mine also works with these settings and has encountered no problems.

registry:

\ HKEY_LOCALMACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ MSTCP \

DefaultRcvWindow -> 64000 instead of 4*(MTU+4) - this is my setting but you can try what ever you want to.

\ HKEY_LOCALMACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ NWLink \ Ndi \ params \ maxsockets \

max -> 1020 instead of 255

TCP/IP settings (if you didnt get a secondary DNS from your provider):

secondary DNS = primary DNS +1

Use IP header compression with it if you use a PPP-server.


Saving/Printing Folder Contents

This little Registry Patch allows you to save or print a list of the contents of a folder.  When you right click on a folder icon and select “Contents, a NotePad window opens and displays a list of the files contained in that folder.

The user can then save this to disk for future reference or print a hard copy for later use.

This is very easy to accomplish . . .

1.	Open the Registry Editor

2.	Move down to My Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell

3.	Add a key called “contents into shell and give it a default value of “&Contents

4.	Add a key called “command into contents, and give it a default value of “c:\windows\contents.bat %1

5.	Write a batch file called “ contents.bat  to the Windows directory with the lines:

@echo off

dir %1%  /o > c:\windows\contents.txt

notepad c:\windows\contents.txt


Saving/Printing Search Results

This little batch file provides a method of saving/printing the results of a search for a specified criteria (e.g. *.txt).  Unfortunately, at the moment it must be run from the DOS command line as we do not know how to pass the parameters to a batch file.

Ideally we would like to be able to right-click on a drive icon to initiate the search.  If you can modify this to work, please feel free to do so!

rem Format should be:          SEARCH *.* /s

@echo off

cd \

if %2%==/s goto SAVE

if %2%==/S goto SAVE

if %2%==/p goto PRINT

if %2%==/P goto PRINT

goto HELP

:SAVE

        echo Now searching for matching files...

        dir %1% /s /b > c:\windows\command\search.txt

        notepad c:\windows\command\search.txt

        exit

        goto END

:PRINT

        dir %1% /s /b > prn

        goto END

:HELP

        echo Search Utility

        echo.

        echo /s - Save search results as SEARCH.TXT

        echo /p - Print search results to LPT1:

        echo.

:END


Briefcase tip

The briefcase is a very handy feature; however, when you need to create new files that you wish to use with the briefcase, it can become a hassle.  If you create the new file on the source area where your briefcase files reside, it will not replicate until you create a sync copy in your briefcase, if you create the file in your briefcase, it will be marked as a orphan until you move it to the source, and sync copy it back to the briefcase.  Putting all files in the briefcase within folders solves this problem.

If you create a sync copy of a folder in briefcase, any files created in the folder on either the source or the briefcase copy (sync copy) are created in the other location next time you replicated with the Update All command.

If you do not use folders, you will always have to create a sync copy in the briefcase (if you create the new copy on the source), or copy the file to the original source and re-create a sync copy in the briefcase (if you create the file in the briefcase).  For me this makes all the difference in making briefcase a useful tool.

Sometimes you want to use briefcase to synchronize files on your hard drive with another location no matter where on your local drive they reside.  Many times the purpose of this might be for backing up key files such as mail messages, configuration, or data files - files which cannot be moved to the briefcase and still function as intended.

To do this follow this procedure.

Create a briefcase on the target share (the place you want briefcase to copy to) from the machine that will be backing up (source machine) its files.  Create a shortcut to that briefcase on the source machine.  Create Sync copies of the files from your C: drive into the briefcase on the target share.

The briefcase belongs to your machine, but is not located on your machine.  When you trigger a synchronization through the shortcut your files will be copied from any location on your harddrive onto the target share!


Windows restart
Windows quick restart

If you only want to restart windows and not the hole computer, hold down the [Shift] key while pressing Restart the computer.


Easy access to your drives
Easy access to your drives.

To access all your drives easier instead of going through My Computer, you can go into My Computer and drag the Icons for each of your drives to the Start button.  From then on youll have all your drives on the start button menu.  This especially comes in handy when you have lots of windows up and dont want to close them all just to get to the desktop.  Simple but effective.


Create icons without having an icon utility?

You just have to enter the “Paint Utility in Win95 (in the accessories folder), and create a picture that has the shape of a square (32x32).

When you have created your Icon, just save it as an *.ico file.  The first background is in Win95, as an icon, invisible.