Some Tricks 2

Easy Access to Folders from the Toolbar

You can quickly access commonly used folders from your Toolbar
Right click on an open area of the Toolbar
Select Toolbars / New Toolbar
Browse to the directory you want to add
Now on the toolbar you will see the name of that folder displayed.
Click on the >> to open any sub-folders as well.

Organizing the Start / Programs Listing

As you add more and more programs, the listing of them in Start / Programs can get fairly long.One solution is to categorize your programs into several groups, create a folder for those groups, and move the shortcuts to those folders.
For example:
Start the Explorer
Go to Windows / Start Menu / Programs
Create new folders with the categories you want (e.g. Graphics, Utilities, Internet etc.)
Now move the shortcuts to those programs in Windows / Start Menu / Programs to whichever category you decide.
This can greatly reduce clutter and make it a lot easier to find your programs.
Note: Windows2000 and WindowsXP Users will need to go to the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs directory


Restoring a Lost Desktop

If you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button, you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
Click Start
Click Run
Type a period " . "
Then press Enter
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Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut

To create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
Right click on an open area of the desktop
Select New / Shortcut
For the Command Line, enter mailto:
For the title enter something like New E-Mail
When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.


Creating 3D Window Effect

You can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
Make sure the following setting are there:
ButtonHilight=128 128 128
ButtonShadow=255 255 255


Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons

To create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindowsexec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0


Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically


If your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
Under here is are Favorites and Start Menu folders
In each there is a value called Order
Simply delete (or rename this) and restart Winodws
Your Favorites or Start Menus should now sort alphabetically

Increasing the Icon Cache

Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\explorer
Create a new string called Max Cached Icons
Give it a value of 10000
This will increase response time in windows and give the Shellicon cache file more elbow room.

Make Icons 256 Color 16-Bit

Open the Registry
Hit Ctrl+F
Type Shell Icon BPP
When found, right click the Shell Icon BPP icon
Click Modify
Change the value from 4 to 16
Click Ok
Close the registry
Restart your computer

Removing Shortcut Arrows

An easy way to remove those irritating arrows from your desktop shortcut icons and not change their properties
Right click the Desktop / Properties / Appearance tab
Select Item
Scroll for Icon
The default size is 32
Change this to 30
Clicking Apply

Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu

Open up the Explorer
Go to \WINDOWS\Start Menu
Right click in the right-hand panel
Add a new folder
Name it Control Panel.{21ec2020-3aea-1069-a2dd-08002b30309d}
This makes getting to the Control Panel items a little easier

Making Desktop Changes Permanent

To make changes to the Desktop like window size, positon after rebooting:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a New Binary Value
Name it NoSaveSettings
Give it a value of 01 00 00 00

Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop

Here is an easy way to put shortcuts on the Desktop where they can easily be moved to other group icons.
Using the Explorer, create a SHORTCUT to the \Windows\Desktop directory in your \Windows\SEND TO directory.
Now whenever you want to make a shortcut and move it to the desktop:
Just make the shortcut you want using Explorer
Right click on that shortcut
In the pop up menu select the Send To and Desktop shortcut