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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Bring the Recycle Bin icon to the taskbar and keep it visible there(Windows 7)

              The Recycle Bin is mostly hidden somewhere on the Desktop and is thus only rarely used. Pinning it to the taskbar makes it directly accessible always. However, Windows refuses this.
              The simple pinning of the recycle bin on the taskbar has many practical uses. It can be reached through the Explorer jump list, but that takes just as long as opening it from the desktop. To use the Recycle Bin as a real life waste bin in which you can drag and drop objects with the mouse, it should be available directly, for example, in the taskbar.
               Since Windows does not directly support the pinning, you have to create a new link for it which you can then pin. For this, right click on the empty space on the desktop and select ‘New | Shortcut’. Enter ‘%systemroot%\explorer. exe shell:RecycleBinFolder’ as the target and click on ‘Next’. Change the name and confirm the dialogue with ‘Finish’. Now you can even replace the standard icon given by the Explorer. For this, click with the right mouse button on this shortcut and select ‘Properties’. In the register ‘Shortcut’ click on ‘Change icon’. The program ‘explorer.exe’ already contains some icons, from which you can sensibly select the waste basket and confirm with ‘OK’. However, you can also use an icon from another source, like for example the file ‘shell32.dll’. In the following dialogue, click on ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’. Finally, the finished shortcut can be attached to the taskbar by dragging and dropping it and pinning it there on the taskbar itself.

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Export contacts / data easily and quickly(Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010)

              You want to export your contacts from Outlook to Excel or to another program for editing.

              Outlook allows you to export your data that includes contacts, data, calendar etc. For this, click on “File” command and then select the “Import and Export”. In the “Import and Export” wizard you will find the “Export in file” option. Select that and click on “Next”. Now select the data format, e.g. “Microsoft Excel 97-2003” or “Commaseparated values (Windows)”. After clicking “Next”, select the Outlook folder to be exported, e.g. “Contacts” and again click “Next”. Now determine the target file. Then start the action by clicking “Next” and “Finish”. Your data will be successfully exported.

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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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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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See icons in DLL files and extract them(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

                While searching for other program and desktop icons, you should comb through the available DLL files in the system. However, the icons in them cannot be copied easily.
                There are innumerable DLL files in the Windows system folders which contain diverse icons in addition to procedures as libraries that are already used by the system. In order to use such icons yourself, you either have to extract them from the DLL file and save as a separate ICO files, or at least know the serial number of the icon within the library. Both these tasks are easily and quickly done with the help of the NirSoft tool IconsExtract (www.nirsoft.net/utils/iconsext.html). After a short installation or unpacking from the ZIP archive, you can start the tool immediately.
                 The dialogue box ‘Search For Icons’ will appear automatically at the start. Activate the option ‘Scan icons in files’ and enter the complete path to the appropriate file containing the icons under it. Basically, you can also search through folders with subfolders or drives for this. However, it is not recommended for ‘C:’, as this can take a long time. With ‘More Options’ the selection can be limited to certain characteristics. With a click on ‘Search For Icons’, the main window shows all the matches found. They are the assigned the file name of the origin and the index numbers within this file in brackets. You will need this value, for example, to refer in the registry to a certain icon from a file. The index number cannot be determined in other dialogues by counting. All icons can also be exported individually to ICO files. For this, mark one or more, if necessary with the pressed [Ctrl] key. Then open the command ‘File | Save Selected Icons’, change the target folder and the process by clicking on ‘Save Icons’. All icons will then be in individual files which still contain the original file names and the index numbers.

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Call up user account control dialogs without interrupting Windows(Windows Vista, 7)

                When the user account control dialog pops up, the screen automatically darkens and Windows deactivates the currently running process. You would like to turn off this irritating behavior.

                In order to change the system behaviour when the user account control is called up, an entry in the registry is necessary. For this, open the registration editor with the key combination [Win]+[R], followed by the command ‘regedit’ in the dialogue ‘Run’. Then, navigate to the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system’. Now, in the right side of the window, open the entry ‘PromptOnSecureDesktop’ for editing.
               Set the value from ‘1’ to ‘0’ and confirm this with ‘OK’. The change is effective immediately without having to restart the system. You can try it out by starting the Registry editor again because the user accounts manager kicks in every time with this. To activate the standard settings again later, just change the value from ‘0’ to ‘1’.

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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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View hidden files in FTP client(FileZilla)

            An FTP client normally hides files whose names begin with a dot. You want to still access such files.
            If you use FileZilla as FTP client, open the “Server | Force showing hidden files” command. Confirm with “OK”. Some servers do not accept this option and show an incorrect file list or no file list at all. In such a case, deactivate the option.

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Automatically convert e-mails as schedules or tasks(Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010)

                You receive orders or arrange schedules via e-mail. Then you transfer this information manually to the calendar or define a task for the same. This can be done in a simpler way. The transfer is possible in Outlook via Drag&Drop from e-mails to Calendar. Select the relevant e-mail from the list, then right click and drag it to ‘Calendar’ or ‘Task’ option on the left hand side navigation area. Then release the right key. Outlook will show you a context menu. Here select the desired action. For instance if you select the option ‘Copy here as Appointment with Attachment’ then while your e-mail will remain unchanged in the inbox, you will get all the contents including attachment in a newly created schedule. Here you can edit, make changes before saving it.

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Sort files automatically by type(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

                When downloading photos, music and programs, you collect all data in a common download folder, and then you normally sort them manually depending on the file type.

                Collecting all files in one common download folder is a good start. You can then easily automate the next step of sorting with the free tool Download Mover. A download of the somewhat old but user friendly tool is available at www.ntworks.net/download-mover. html. Unzip the downloaded file in a new folder. Further installation is not required.
                After starting it, configure the desired rules. Near the combination field ‘watched directories’, click ‘new’, and then navigate to the download folder and activate it with ‘OK’. Basically, any number of folders can be considered. Then click ‘new’ in ‘files to move’. Specify a type e.g. ‘zip’ or ‘jpg’ and click ‘next’. Now navigate to the target folder that must have been already created. Confirm the selection with ‘OK’. In the same way, define the rules for the other data types. This also works when sorting the available folders.
Note: The functionality cannot be integrated into the system. But you can establish a link in the auto-start folder and thus automate the process.

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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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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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Send mails with an expiry date(Outlook 2007, 2010)

               You send emails with a deadline such as invitations, etc. In such cases, you want the recipient to immediately see that the deadline has been overshot if he reads the email late.

               You can assign a validity date to your emails in Outlook. However this works only if the recipient is also using Outlook. For instance, this setting would be of no use if the recipient is using Thunderbird.
              In order to send emails with a validity date, compose a new message in Outlook. Then go to the "Options” tab. In the taskbar in the “Advanced Options” field, click the small arrow icon to open the “Properties” tab. Here activate the “Message valid up to” or the “Expires After” option under Delivery Options. You can set thedate and the time in the adjacent combination fields. Then “Close” the dialog box. You can now send the email as usual.
Note: The expiry date is valid in the overview of the sent items as well. Contrary to popular belief, the content and the access to the content remain valid even after the expiry date. Only the email is shown in gray and is struck out in Outlook. You can thus see at a glance that it is no longer valid.

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