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[ Go to April 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinTips
Find Files Faster Use Win95's Find utility to search for several files at once. Type in as many filenames as you like in Find's Named box, each separated by a space. Neither Rain Nor Sleet ... If you find yourself checking often for new messages in Exchange, put a button on your toolbar that sends and receives mail when clicked. Double-click on the toolbar to bring up the Customize Toolbar dialog. Scroll down in the left window until you find the Tools - Deliver Now button and double-click on it to move it to the right window, which indicates it's been included on the toolbar. Now double-click on the button in the right window and use Move Up or Move Down to place the new button where you want it on your toolbar. When you're done, click on Close. Edit Docs Menu The items on your Documents menu (Start/Documents) are really just shortcuts in your C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder. You can selectively delete items there by opening the folder and deleting the shortcuts you don't want. Fast Access to Favorite Files Here's a great way to get at your most important documents fast: Move them into your C:\WINDOWS\START MENU folder. If you have dozens or even hundreds of documents, keep them in separate subfolders to categorize them. Best of all, the menu changes as the folder's contents change. Mark Murphy Tell Docs Where to Go A well-behaved Windows 95 application lets you pick the folder your documents are dumped into by default. You can do the same thing for all other documents as well. Just give each application a shortcut, right-click on the shortcut and select Properties from the context menu. Select the Shortcut tab and type in the path to the folder of your choice in the Start In box. Take Inventory Chances are, you have useful programs on your computer you didn't even know were there. And just as likely, you have programs you don't want that are eating up valuable hard disk real estate. The solution? Take an inventory! It's easy. Just create a folder on your desktop called PROGRAM SHORTCUTS, launch the Win95 Find utility (Start/Find/Files or Folders), type *.EXE *.COM in the Named box, then click on the Find Now button. After Find is finished with the search, choose Select All from the Edit menu and drag and drop all the files in the Find window into your new desktop folder. Now you have a folder with shortcuts to every program on your Windows PC. (Before proceeding, make sure you have a good backup.) Now, one at a time, double-click on each shortcut to find out what it is. Once it's identified, you can find and delete the program if you don't want it or move the shortcut to another folder if you do. Remember, if you're not absolutely sure, don't delete it. Open Dialog Right-click on the command line of any dialog box and you'll get a handy context menu with options to Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete and Select All. Best Tip Tip For the biggest and best collection of Windows tips ever assembled, check out our massive database now available on the WinMag Web site: http://www.winmag.com/. April Fools' Tip Download Glitch from our Web site (http://www.winmag.com/win95/software.htm) and install it on the machine of an unsuspecting victim. Glitch displays realistic but hilarious error messages that will drive victims crazy. (Warning: Installing this on the wrong machine can be hazardous to your career!) Faster Keyboard You can determine how fast your keyboard repeats characters and moves the cursor in a document by launching the Keyboard item in Control Panel, then experimenting with the speed settings on the Speed tab. Got a hot tip? Send it to melgan@cmp.com or Mike Elgan, Windows Magazine, One Jericho Plaza, Jericho, NY 11753.
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