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Below is a listing of various tips that can be used
with most Microsoft Windows. Some of the below tips may list a
date next to them for the month and year that they were
featured in our monthly tip
section.
Windows command prompt (2/2008)
Windows selective startup (1/2008)
Save Windows searches (12/2007)
Display hibernate option in XPs Turn off computer
box
Quickly move files or other objects to the Desktop
(10/2007)
Quickly get to the Windows Desktop (9/2007)
Run a web page
Quickly find icon and/or file (6/2007)
Windows XP mouse Snap To (1/2007)
Windows 2000 & XP Task Manager (10/2006)
Delete files without getting a prompt (9/2006)
Windows XP Explorer multiple renames(5/2006)
Keep a log with Microsoft Notepad (3/2006)
MS-DOS autocomplete in Microsoft Windows 2000 and above
(6/2005)
Prevent automatic restart in Windows XP (12/2004)
Microsoft Windows search using Google (11/2004)
Quickly open system properties window.
Enable the Windows single-click option (6/2004)
Quickly see all file associations. (1/2004)
Improve the overall appearance of fonts. (12/2003)
Access and control other computers. (4/2003)
Alphabetize icons in your start menu. (2/2003)
Selectively print sections of a document. (8/2002)
Quickly get to the root directory of a drive. (10/2001)
Easy undo. (9/2001)
Quickly open system properties. (8/2001)
Create an accessible bar. (2/2001)
Open programs in the background of explorer. (10/2000)
Quickly change the association of a file. (09/2000)
Quickly maximize a window. (05/2000)
Close multiple programs in one click. (04/2000)
Manage start menu icons from the start menu. (02/2000)
Quickly access Windows Help
Add shortcuts to the desktop
Quickly add shortcuts to the start menu.
Create a send to shortcut.
Copy / Move / Delete multiple files.
Make files not go to the recycle bin
Other Windows 98 tips and tricks
Microsoft Windows shortcuts
Back to tips main page
Windows command prompt
The Microsoft Windows command prompt is an invaluable tool
that can be used in conjunction with Windows. Below are some
helpful shortcuts and tips that can be used to improve your
abilities while in the command prompt. Users not familiar with
how to enter the command prompt can find additional information
about this in
document
CHDOS.
- Press the up arrow key
to scroll through all previously typed commands at the prompt.
This is helpful for when you need to type long commands in more
than once. Note. If
- Pres the tab key to
auto-complete the names of directories or files. For example, at
C:\ type: "cd wi", press tab and the command prompt should
complete WINDOWS as the name of the directory.
- Familiarize yourself with the
top MS-DOS
commands and each of their available switches.
Windows Selective Startup
Improve overall system performance and boot time and get rid of
programs you don't want running in the background by choosing to do
a Selective Startup in msconfig.
- Click Start, Run and type: msconfig and press enter.
- In the System Configuration Utility click the Startup tab.
- Uncheck programs you do not wish to load each time your
computer starts. Once done click ok and restart the computer.
After the computer boots back into Windows you will receive a
prompt about Windows being in a selective startup. Check the box
to not receive the prompt and click ok.
Saving Windows XP and later searches
Save your frequent Windows XP and later version
searches for future use by following the below steps.
- Open the search and enter the search queries you wish to
save. For example, you could save a search to find any remix mp3
files by entering: *remix*.mp3 in the all or part of name box.
- Once the values have been entered test the search and allow
you to save the search.
- In the Search Results window click File and then Save
Search.
- Finally, browse to the location you wish for this file to be
saved and name the file with a .fnd extension.
After completing these steps you'll be able to
quickly perform a search by simply double-clicking the file.
Display hibernate option in XPs
Turn off computer box
When shutting down or turning off the computer you'll
get three options: Standby, Turn Off, and Restart. For users who
wish to hibernate their
computer you can easily display this option by holding down the
Shift key on the keyboard.
Quickly move files or other objects
to the Desktop
Quickly drag one or more files to the Windows
Desktop
with other open windows by dragging and holding the files over an
empty portion of the Windows
Taskbar.
If done properly all open windows should minimize and allow you to
place the files or other objects on the Desktop.
Quickly get to the Windows Desktop
Quickly get to the Microsoft Windows Desktop by
pressing the
Windows
key and D at the same time on the keyboard.
Run a web page
Get to a web page quickly in Windows when no browser
window is open by typing the web address in the run line. For
example, click Start, Run and in the Run Open box type:
http://www.computerhope.com and press enter to quickly get to the
Computer Hope web page.
Quickly find icon and/or file
Quickly find an icon in a group of icons or a
specific item in an alphabetic list of items by highlighting one of
the icons or list items and pressing the beginning letter of the
item you're looking for. Below are some examples of how this could
be used.
Windows desktop icons - If you have a lot of
icons on your desktop or in another folder highlight one of the
icons and press the first letter. For example if you were looking
for an icon named "test" highlight any icon and then press the "t"
key. Note: you can also press the "t" key multiple times to
individually highlight each icon that starts with "t".
Internet drop down list - Instead of scrolling
through a list of options in an Internet drop down list press the
first letter of the option you're looking for. For example, if you
were looking through a list of states and you wanted "Utah" press U
to automatically scroll down to it.
Windows XP mouse Snap To
Enable the Microsoft Window XP
mouse
Snap To feature to automatically focus on
dialog box buttons. Enabling this feature will automatically
move your mouse
cursor
to the default button on any dialog box that appears on Windows.
This is a great way to save a little time and not have to move
you mouse cursor to the "Ok" button each time a dialog box
appears. To enable this feature follow the below steps.
-
Click Start, Settings,
Control Panel.
-
Double-click the Mouse icon
-
In the Mouse Properties window click the
Pointer Options tab and check the "Automatically move
pointer to the default button in a dialog box" option.
Windows 2000 & XP Task
Manager
Quickly access the Microsoft
Windows
Task Manager to view running applications, process information and
performance information by pressing
Ctrl +
Shift
+ Esc keys
all at the same time.
Delete files without
getting a prompt
Delete files faster by removing the "Are
you sure you want to delete" Microsoft Windows
confirmation box by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon
on the desktop, click Properties and uncheck "Display
delete confirmation dialog".
Windows explorer
multiple renames
Quickly and easily rename multiple files
in Microsoft Windows XP
Explorer by following the below steps.
1. Open Explorer.
2. In Explorer select all the files you wish to rename.
Additional information about how to select multiple
files can also be found on
document CH000771.
3. Once the files have been selected press F2 and type
the new name for the files. For example, typing "test"
will rename the files to test, test(1), test(2), test(3)
etc. If you have
file
extensions shown make sure to also type the name of
the file extension you're renaming.
Keep a log with Microsoft Notepad
Keep a log easily using Microsoft Notepad by
opening a new text file in Microsoft Notepad or an existing text
file in Notepad and adding ".LOG" (without the quotes) at the
beginning of the file. Now each time the file is opened in Notepad
a time and date stamp will be automatically added.
MS-DOS
autocomplete in Microsoft Windows 2000 and above
- Open the Microsoft Windows registry editor by clicking Start /
Run / type Regedit and click ok.
- In the Microsoft Windows registry editor open the below folders.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Microsoft
Command Processor
- In the command processor open the below two registry keys and
change their value to 9.
CompletionChar
PathCompleteChar
- Once the above steps have been completed close out of the
registry editor and open the command window by typing cmd
in the Start / Run window. To use the auto complete feature press
the tab key any type you wish to complete a directory. For
example, if the directory you are currently in contains the
"Program files" directory you could type "cd
pr" and press tab, to have the auto completion option
automatically type "cd "program files"".
Prevent automatic
restart in Windows XP
Make your computer not automatically
restart or reboot each time an error occurs by following the Windows
XP step in document CH000605.
Microsoft Windows search
using Google
Get a much more efficient search on
text files, Microsoft Outlook & Outlook Express files, AOL
Instant Messenger chat logs, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
Microsoft PowerPoint, and Internet cache by using the
Google
Desktop Search.
Enable the Windows
single-click option
Users who have a hard time double-clicking or may be used to
single-clicking an item to open it may wish the eliminate the
double-click option in Windows. Open My Computer, Click Tools, Click
Folder Options, in the General tab select the single-click to open an
item option.
Quickly open system
properties window
Quickly open the system properties window
by holding down the ALT key and
double-clicking My Computer.
Quickly see all file
associations
Quickly and easily view computer file associations by using the
MS-DOS
assoc command.
Improve the overall appearance of fonts
Improve the overall appearance
and look of your computer fonts in all programs by
enabling Windows smooth fonts. Additional information
about how to do this can be found on
document CH000557.
Windows XP Users (5/1/2004):
Get better font resolution and clarity by enabling Window's XP
ClearType. See our ClearType
dictionary definition for additional information.
Access and control other
computers
Easily and freely
control multiple computers running any number of operating systems
from one computer using VNC.
The latest version of
VNC can be downloaded directly from their website
here.
Alphabetize icons in your
start menu
Quickly and easily alphabetize
the icons in programs on your start menu by right-clicking
within programs on the start menu and clicking on
"Sort by Name".
Selectively print sections of a document
Save on your printer ink by selectively printing in Windows programs
such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, WordPad, Outlook, etc. To do
this highlight
portions of text you wish to print and click print. In the printer
dialog window under Page Range choose the option Selection. It is
important to realize that not all programs or printer drivers support
this feature.
Quickly
get to the root directory of a drive
Quickly display your root directory or network home
directory in Windows XP by clicking Start / Run and in the open
field type two periods ( ..) and press enter or click ok.
In Microsoft Windows 2000 this will open your
"Document and Settings" directory.
Easy undo
Quickly undo mistakes in the
majority of most PC Windows program by pressing CTRL + Z.
Quickly
open system properties
Quickly open the System
Properties by pressing the Windows key and the Pause key at
the same time. This is a great thing to remember if you find
yourself needing to get into the Device Manager frequently.
Create an
accessible bar
Create an accessible bar by following the below
steps:
- From the Windows Desktop create a folder.
- Highlight the folder and drag it to one of the edges of
your screen.
- Once the folder is at the edge of the desktop let the mouse
button go.
This should create a bar, with the contents of the folder
used. Once created set the bar to auto hide and be always on
top by right-clicking the bar.
Open programs in the
background of explorer
Open and run programs in the
background of Explorer by holding the Shift key
in Windows Explorer double-click an icon. Once the program
has been executed it will be open in the background of
the explorer window.
Quickly change the
association of a file
Quickly change the association
of a file by holding down the Shift key, right-clicking a file
and choosing open with.
Quickly maximize a window
Quickly maximize a window by double-clicking on the top
title bar of the
window.
Close
multiple programs in one click
To close all open application in one click hold down the
Ctrl key and individually click each of the open programs on
the task bar once all buttons are selected click on one of the
selected buttons with the right mouse button and click close.
Manage
start menu icons from the start menu
Windows 98 and above users are
now able to manage their start menu icons by right-clicking the
start menu and/or the icons.
Quickly
access Windows Help
Quickly access the Windows Help by
pressing the F1 key from the Windows desktop.
Add
shortcuts to the desktop
Easily create shortcuts on your
desktop by clicking the program you wish to create a short of and
right-clicking and dragging that icon to the desktop. When letting
go of the mouse button you should have an option to create a
shortcut here.
Quickly
add shortcuts to the start menu
Users can quickly add icons to their
start menu by dragging icons to the start button.
Create
a send to shortcut
Send to is a feature that enables
users to send programs to an alternate location or a location where
you store all your files. An example of the send to feature is right-clicking a file and clicking send to and then the floppy disk drive.
Users can create their own send to destinations by following the
below steps.
Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME
users
Create a shortcut in the windows\sendto
directory
Other Windows users
Create a shortcut in the documents
and settings\<user name>\sendto directory.
Note: <user name> is the
name of the user logging into the computer. In addition it is
possible that the sendto directory is hidden.
Copy / Move / Delete multiple
files
When selecting files you can highlight
the first file then hold down your shift key and
highlight the last file and this will highlight all files
in between. To select individual files you can highlight
a file hold down your Ctrl key and highlight other files
you wish to select.
Make
files not go to the recycle bin
When pressing or choosing delete
to remove a program you can hold your shift key and it
will not send it to the recycle bin.
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