Set up the start menu in such a way that you have everything at hand (Tips for WINDOWS WINDOWS XP,VISTA,7)

The shareware tool Start Menu 7 offers a good alternative to the standard start menu; this can be downloaded from startmenu7.com. 

                  According to the developers, Start Menu 7 runs on both XP and Vista in addition to Windows 7 as its name suggests. For installation, double-click on the downloaded file in Windows Explorer and follow the instructions given by the setup wizard. You have to have a user account with administrator rights during the process as the setup routine involves accessing important system files. Once the installation is complete start the Program using the command ‘Start I All programs I Start Menu 7 Start Menu 7’.

                Now, when you click on ‘Start’ you will not see the usual start menu provided by Windows, but instead, a

menu that has an extensive collection of links: It has a different visual effect and enables direct access to all the programs and files on your system in an alphabetically sorted sub-menu format, for instance ‘Programs’, ‘My Documents’ or ‘Computer’. In addition to this, the various entries use additional sorting and display tools. Thus, for instance ‘Program’ offers the structure known as ‘All programs’ as seen in the usual Windows Start menu and on the other hand, the ‘Program’ links can be found under headings such as ‘Quick start’ and ‘Autorun’. You can add your own menus and commands using the option ‘Add entries to the menu’.

              Click on ‘Options’ and ‘Configuration’ so as to complete the experience as per your own taste. Use the option ‘System integration’ and remove the tick in front of ‘Start the Start Menu 7 with Windows’ if you do not wish to activate the tool automatically at every system start. You can add more power management buttons in Start Menu 7 using the option ‘Buttons’; this is done to turn off the computer, to restart it, or to enable the use of power management commands in a time-controlled fashion. For this, click on the corresponding button in the Start menu, select the desired function in a menu, for instance ‘Turn off the computer’, and define the period for action in a simple and an intuitive dialog. Finally, click the ‘Start’ button to save the settings.

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Display DLL files with separate icon(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

               As a standard, all DLLs are given a single icon by the system. You would rather like to use a unique icon contained within each DLL file for display in the Explorer.
              With a small change in the registry, you can change the appearance of the standard icons. In order to change the DLL icons, type ‘regedit’ in the search field of the start menu or in the ‘Run’ dialogue and if necessary confirm the query of the user accounts manager with ‘Yes’ or ‘Continue’. Then, navigate to the key ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\defaulticon’. On the right, the character string ‘Standard’ is defined which symbol is used by the Windows system for display. For editing this, double click on this entry. Change ‘Value’ to ‘%1’ and confirm with ‘OK’. Through this parameter, the particular file will itself be referred to for the icon. Then, close the registry and open Windows Explorer.
               In the future, you will immediately recognize in the Explorer if a certain DLL contains any icons at all. All other DLL files will only get an standard empty icon.

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Accentuate active folder in Explorer/Registry structure(Windows Vista, 7)

              For better orientation in the Explorer or in the registry keys, you would like the currently open elements to appear differently since there is hardly any difference in the icons in the standard setting.
              In the system, there is no direct setting for the used folder. But since Windows differentiates between the states, different icons can at least be assigned for this through the registry.
              Type ‘regedit’ in the search field of the Start menu and press enter. Confirm the query of the user accounts manager with ‘Yes’ or ‘Continue’. Then, navigate to the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer’.
              There, search for the sub-key ‘Shell Icons’ or create the same with the command ‘Edit | New | Key’. Now, open this and in there add the value ‘4’ with the command ‘Edit | New | Character string’. That is the internal key for the system icon of an open folder. Double click on this new entry for editing.
               As ‘Value’, you can assign any icon you wish. For example, use ‘shell32.dll,-46’ here. This entry points to a folder symbol within the library with an additional green arrow. You can add an even more conspicuous symbol like ‘shell32.dll,-290’ or any other. But remember to always put a minus sign in front of the index number of the symbol. For searching for an appropriate symbol, you can use a tool like IconsExtract. Confirm the entry with ‘OK’ and close the registry. When you start Windows Explorer or the Registry editor the next time, the change will become effective.

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Keep jump lists at all times in spite of the active clean up tool(Windows 7)

              In Windows 7, you lose some of the jump lists in the taskbar from time to time. But you would like to work with them always and are therefore searching for the cause as well as solution of the problem.
              The reason behind the deleted jump lists are tools like CCleaner. However, you can change the settings so that the jump lists of Windows 7 are not removed. For this, start CCleaner and select the category ‘Cleaner’ on the left. In the section ‘Windows’, search for ‘Windows Explorer’. Deactivate the option ‘Taskbar Jump Lists’ under this.

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Sort last used documents chronologically(Windows Vista, 7)

              In the Start menu, the entry ‘Recent items’ makes quick access to recently used documents and files easy. However, Windows does not sort the entries in chronological order.
              The sequence of the icons shown in the Start menu cannot be changed. However, a small detour through the Windows Explorer can help you in your search for particular files, for example, in order of last modified. For this, right click on ‘Start | Last used’ and select the context command ‘Open’. The folder ‘Recent’ appears in Windows Explorer and there you can see last used files and folders like normal links. ‘Recent’ is the memory location for the menu ‘Last used’.
               Click on ‘Change view’ and select ‘Details’. Then, click on ‘Date modified’ in the sub-menu in order to sort the entries chronologically according to when they were last changed. After this, you will find the last edited Excel tables or the last written Word file higher in the list.
               By the way: You can determine the number of files shown in the Start menu in the registry with the DWORD value ‘MaxRecentDocs’ in the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ExplorerAeroSnap’.

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Apply paths and file names in the command line(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

               While navigating in the command line, you have to work your way along the paths or manually enter the complete target path. You would like to simplify this difficult and error-prone work.
               The correct way of applying path and file names in the command line depends on the respective Windows version and other parameters. In Vista and Windows 7, it is recommended, for example, to first navigate in Windows Explorer and then open the command line in the correct folder with the command ‘Open command prompt here’.
                For flexible application of paths and file names for use in the command line, it is already possible in XP to drag and drop the elements from the Windows Explorer to the command line. While Vista does not allow it, this method is again available in Windows7, provided that the command line has not been started with administrator rights. Thus, for example, you can type ‘Type’ and then drag a file from Explorer. Its name will be added correctly and if needed with the quotation marks so that the command can be completed. In Vista, the only way is the more difficult method of copying and pasting. For this, in the Windows Explorer click on the concerned element while keeping the [Shift] key pressed and select ‘Copy as path’. Now, change to the command line and similarly click there with the right mouse button in the window. The context command ‘Add’ will now apply the data.

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Add elastic shadows for the taskbar(Windows 7)

              While windows in the Aero theme are provided with surrounding shadows, this is missing for the taskbar as a standard. You would like to add this design element. The small free tool ‘Taskbar Shadow’ adds this design element. You can download it for free under tinyurl.com/6e8r983.

               After unpacking the ZIP archive, start ‘Shadow.exe’. With right click on the displayed shadow you can control the darkness of the shadow with the command ‘Opacity’ and confirm with ‘OK’. The command ‘Exit’ or a double click on the shadows ends the small game. If you want the shadows to be visible always without having to do it every time, you can place a link for it in the autorun folder.

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Now use mouse gestures in Windows Explorer(Windows Vista, 7)

                You love the useful mouse gestures in your Web browser and now you want them for working in Windows Explorer also. You would like to know if that can be done.

                Operating Windows Explorer can be improved with mouse gestures. For this, you will need, for example, the free tool Gest (www.bambi4.co.uk/programs/gest/gest.php). For installation, start ‘Gest.exe’. After a short while, the tool will be available in the notification area. After the automatic program start, confirm the question with ‘Yes’. You will then go to the configuration dialogue. Even if no changes are required, take some time to get to know the predefined gestures in the secton ‘Gestures’ for controlling by mouse movements. The alphabets stand for the sequence of the movements, whereby ‘L’ is for left, ‘R’ for right and ‘U’ for up and ‘D’ for down. The ‘O’ means a circle. However, you should avoid this, since a circular mouse movement is mostly interpreted as a result of individual movements. All the entries can be changed. Several possible gestures for the same action are separated by commas. Besides ‘New Window’, click on ‘Select folder’ and decide in which folder the Explorer windows thus started will be opened, if the standard view of the Libraries is not wanted. Besides special folders like ‘My Computer’ or ‘Control Panel’, you can also define another folder through ‘Other Folder’. Finally, apply the changes with ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’. You can again open the configuration dialogue if needed with the key combination [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[F2] or with the mouse gesture ‘DUD’, i.e. a movement ‘down-up-down’. For running a mouse gesture, keep the right mouse button pressed and execute the desired movement. A blue mouse trace illustrates the sequence. In addition, the ‘Gesture
Box’ in the upper left corner shows the recognized movements. In case the result has not yet been defined as a
gesture, you can do it in the dialogue box presented. Besides, mouse gestures also function in windows similar to Explorer, including the Control Panel.

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Center the icons of running applications in the task bar(Windows Vista, 7)

               Windows places the icons of started applications in the task bar just to the right of the ‘Start’ button. You would like to place the shortcuts in the middle for quicker access.
               Windows cannot really display the icons of applications in the center of the taskbar. However, if you tweak it a little bit, you will get what you want through another way. You will need a new folder which you can place anywhere on your hard drive using Windows Explorer. For this, click with the right mouse button in any empty space on the right side of your screen and select ‘New | Folder’. Overwrite the name suggested by Windows with a suitable name like ‘Task bar icons’. In this folder, save links to all the programs which you want to access through the taskbar in the future. Then, click with the right mouse button on a free space on the taskbar and deactivate the option ‘Lock taskbar’ if necessary. After this, again open the context menu of the task bar. However, this time select the menu command ‘Toolbars | New toolbar’, new toolbar with the links you had saved in the folder earlier. Take the mouse pointer to the left edge of the toolbar. As soon as it changes shape, press the mouse button and keep it pressed. Drag the toolbar toward the left until it shows the icons in the center. Release the left mouse button.
                If you find the title and the description in the new toolbar to be irritating, you can remove it by clicking on empty space in the toolbar and in the context menu remove the ticks before the options ‘Show title’ and ‘Show text’. Finally, activate the option ‘Lock taskbar’ that you had deactivated earlier by ticking the corresponding entry in the context menu. The icons centered in this manner work like regular links. If you click with the right mouse button in Windows 7, you will see just the normal context menu and not a jump list.

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Underline key combinations and shortcuts for direct access(Windows Vista, 7)

                While operating menus throughout Windows, you are used to seeing the respective shortcut letters that are characterized by underlines, which help you learn how to quickly use keyboard shortcuts.

                Since Vista, the underlining of shortcut keys in menus for better readability is turned off as a standard setting. This practical and unobtrusive help function can be quickly activated again in the ‘Ease of Access Center’.
                For this, click in the Control Panel on ‘Ease of Access’ and then on ‘Ease of Access Center’. There, follow the link ‘Make the keyboard easier to use’. Activate the option ‘Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys’. Confirm the dialogue with ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ one after the other (or ‘Save’ in Vista). The change is active without a restart. However, these underline hints are not present everywhere; they are mainly there in the classic menus and, for example, not in the Windows Explorer toolbar.

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Access file properties without context menu(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

              In order to see the properties of a folder or a file, you have to first rightclick with the mouse on the symbol and open the context command ‘Properties’. You want to see the information in a quicker way.
              How to get the information you want faster: Select the entry or the icon of the desired file or folder. Then, press the key combination [Alt]+[Enter]. Thereafter, Windows opens the dialogue ‘Properties’, without you having to go through the context menu of the file. If you prefer to work with the mouse, you can still avoid using the context menu by keeping the [Alt] key pressed while you double click on the icon of a file or folder.

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Stop auto suggestions in Word(Word XP, 2003)

             As soon as you type the current year, Word replaces it with the current date. However, you do not want to accept this suggestion.

             In order to change, open the menu command "Tools | AutoCorrect Options". Click on the tab “Auto text” and deactivate the option “Show AutoComplete Suggestions” and confirm with “OK”.

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Include ‘Run’ in the Windows Start menu(Windows Vista, 7)

           The Start menu earlier had the command ‘Run’. You can start programs via ‘Programs/Search files’ or ‘Start search’, but you also want to execute commands directly.

           Right click ‘Start’ and select the ‘Properties’ command in the next context menu. Then click the ‘Modify’ button in the ‘Start menu’ tab in the ‘Properties of taskbar and start menu’ dialog. Then check the box against ‘Command: Run’ in the list from the ‘Customize’ dialog. Confirm this action with ‘OK’ and exit all dialog boxes with ‘OK’. Now you will again have the ‘Run’ command that you have come to like for direct access in the start menu.

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Make drives invisible in Windows Explorer(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

             You save private data on an extra drive that is supposed to be kept away from nosy people. The optional password protection that you can install is however not sufficient as a security measure. You can make certain drives invisible. This will still allow you to access them, but these volumes are absolutely not visible in Explorer. This can be done via Windows tools via a registry entry.

              For that, enter ‘regedit’ in the search field of the Start menu and press the [Enter] key. Confirm the user account control question with ‘Yes’ or ‘Next’. Navigate to the key ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer’. Then click in the right part of the dialog and generate the entry ‘NoDrives’ with the command ‘Edit | New | DWORD-value’. Then open this entry for editing by double clicking.
               The value required now depends on which drive or drives you want to hide. This basically functions as per a bit pattern, wherein every bit stands for a drive starting with ‘A:’. To hide a specific drive, first determine which letter of the alphabet the drive name is. For the ‘H:’ drive, it is the eighth letter. As the value, you will now require the eighth bit, which decimally corresponds to the value 2(8-1) = 128. You can thus determine a corresponding value for every drive. To hide multiple drives, add all individual values. For example, if you want to hide the B, H and J drives, you will need the following values: 2(2-1)=2, 2(8-1)=128 and 2(10-1)=512. These add up to 642. For that, activate the ‘Decimal’ option in the dialog for ‘Base’ and then enter the calculated value. Confirm your entries with ‘OK’ and close the registry. The drives will no longer be visible when you start Windows Explorer next.
Note: Hiding the drives does not have any effect on the ability of programs to access them. Moreover, it will still be possible to access the hidden drives by directly entering the relevant drive letter in the address bar in Windows Explorer.

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Divide your Windows desktop into functional areas(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

              You are using up more and more of your time to delete unwanted desktop icons, to group the rest and to move them together in a specific area of your screen.

              For Windows XP, Vista and 7, the program Fences supports you in dividing your desktop into areas and grouping the various icons. Download the tool on your system directly from www.stardock.com. Start the installation by double clicking the file in Windows Explorer and then follow the instructions of the setup wizard. For that, you will definitely require administrator rights. However, if the user account control does not open automatically, right click the file and select the context command ‘Run as administrator’. After the installation, click ‘Start using Fences’. This option will help you in the configuration of the tool. Experienced users can also select ‘I want to create my own Fences’ and configure without help.
               In the next step, Fences offers two choices. ‘Create different Fences’ generates two empty fields on your desktop. The icons will initially be located near the area on the desktop before they can be individually placed in them via drag and drop. For that, the ‘Sort out my icons’ option arranges your icons in the new generated fields. Then give the application the final touch via ‘Open Fences settings’. You can also access this dialog later by right clicking the desktop and via ‘Configure Fences’ context command.
                You can move the icons from the desktop to a field or between two fields via Drag&Drop. You can generate a new field by right clicking on the desktop, keeping the key pressed and dragging the space. Then select the ‘Create new Fence here’ command in the next context menu and give it a name. You can change the position and size of the fields as in Windows dialogs. If you want a different name for a field, right click in the desired area of the desktop and select the ‘Rename Fence’ context command.
                Double clicking any empty area on the desktop will now hide all Fences, and double clicking again will reveal them.

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Integrate weather-related info into the Windows taskbar(Windows 7)

            You always want to be up to date about the latest weather developments. The gadget you have been using is usually hidden, so you have to keep bringing it to the foreground.

            If you aren’t content with the partly hidden weather gadget in the Windows sidebar, you can try out the free tool WeatherBar that integrates quick information on weather in the taskbar. The tool is available from the website weatherbar.codeplex.com.
             To configure it, click below on the gear icon. Then change the ‘Update interval’ to the minimum, e.g. to ‘10’ minutes and change the format to ‘Metric’ to view the temperature values in degrees Celsius. Confirm with ‘OK’. Click the pen icon near ‘Location’. There, enter the name of your city and again confirm with ‘OK’. If you can’t find your city in the list, select the nearest big city. You will now see all weather data and forecasts.
              To avoid manual start-up each time, you can attach the WeatherBar to the taskbar for permanent availability. But that causes an error: only the storm icon appears continuously. To avoid the error, execute the program via the autorun (Startup) folder.

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Open context menus instead of jump lists(Windows 7)

              The new jump lists with frequently used commands and recently opened files appears on right-clicking icons in the taskbar or the superbar.
              To open the traditional context menu, keep the [Shift] key pressed and right click. The familiar context menu will then appear with the ‘Restore’, ‘Move’, ‘Change size’, ‘Minimize’, ‘Maximize’ and ‘Close’ commands, instead of the new jump lists.
              Without using the [Shift] key, open the jump lists as usual and you will see the frequently used commands and last opened files.

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Superimpose Outlook data directly on the desktop(Windows Vista, 7)

               You use Windows’ desktop gadgets to always have important information like time or climate in view. Now, you also want to view the latest information from your Outlook mailbox.
              The free gadget Outlook Info gives you the most important information from Outlook in a very compact manner directly on your desktop. You thus stay informed without having to switch to the program; the installation file is available from gallery.live.com. Open the file by double clicking it. Confirm the opening of ‘Outlook.gadget’ via ‘Windows-Miniapplications’.
              Now start Outlook. The gadget should display the information shortly. To adjust its settings, hover the mouse pointer over it and click the superimposed setting icon. Even the number of displayed items for every field can be changed there. Besides, you can adjust the structure and the Outlook folders used. As the gadget requires a working copy of Outlook, you can let it start automatically via the option ‘Outlook startup’ using the ‘Start Outlook program’ option. For flawless operation, Outlook from version 2007 onwards is required. Version 2003 functions with a few restrictions. Clicking the icons to the right will take you directly to the relevant field in Outlook.

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Block unmanageable Windows updates temporarily(Windows Vista, 7)

               It sometimes so happens that an update is not installed properly, which delays the system startup. This problem often occurs at the time of a restart. You want to work faster again.
              Totally deactivating automatic updates is the wrong method, since you will then be taking unnecessary security risks. Instead, you can find out in the settings for updates as to which individual element causes problems and leads to delays when you try to install something. This update can then be blocked specifically.      

For that, click in the Control Panel on ‘System and security’, on ‘Security’ and then ‘Windows Update’.
               Follow the link ‘View update history’. In the ‘Status’ column, check which updates have ‘Failed’ and then check whether the relevant update with the same name (KN number) has been reported further up in the list as ‘Successful’. If an update has failed several times and if it is also the latest entry, there is clearly a problem, and you can block this update.
               For that, again switch to the ‘Windows Update’ page. Click the links ‘optional updates are available’ and then ‘important updates are available’. In the lists displayed there, search for the entry of the problematic update. As soon as you find it, right click it and select the context command ‘Deactivate update’. In future, Windows will not try to install this update automatically. If you however want to access it later, click the link ‘Show deactivated updates’. Then activate the desired entries clicking the link on the relevant checkbox followed by a click on the ‘Restore’ button. You will then have to confirm the User Account prompts.

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Upgrade Media Player with useful additional functions(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

              You use Media Player 11 to play your music files, but you still miss some functions, like the option to edit tags of the individual files comfortably.
              Despite its varied menus and functions, Windows Media Player does lack some useful features. These can be obtained with the free Media Player Plus plug-in. It is available for free download from www.softonic.com.

              To install it, close the Media Player and then start the program file ‘WMPPlus- 2.1.exe’ by double clicking its entry in Explorer. Follow the instructions of the setup wizard and then start Windows Media Player. You will immediately reach the settings of the new plug-in, some of which are already activated by default. In the ‘Library’ category, you will find the activated option ‘Enable find as you type’, with which you can directly type a search query like modern browsers. Besides, activate ‘Disable group headers in the Library Pane’ to view a continuous ungrouped list as in Media Player 10. In the ‘User Interface’ category, the display of the current title is already activated in the title bar, and can be individually configured here via variables. In the ‘Context menus’ field, all elements should be activated. With that, you will have access to an extensive ‘Tag Editor Plus’ in the Media Library in the future via a context menu.
              Furthermore, you can activate the ‘Restore last active playlist’ option in the ‘Restore Media at Startup’ category. The program properties can then be controlled more precisely with the other activated options. With that, the Media Player continues playing the files at exactly that location or a few seconds before the last ending point, when you start it next. This is mainly useful in case of videos and films, but can somewhat delay the start time. ‘Party Shuffle’ finally delivers a party mode with selectable random playing of files. Confirm the configuration with ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.

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