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SOME HIDDEN SECRETS IN OUR COMMON SOFTWARES

MS InternetExplorer 5/6 HIDDEN SECRET


Suggested by Dave (dave68@telusplanet.net).

The Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5/5.5 SP1/5.5 SP2/6.0/6.0 SP1 HIDDEN SECRETs are located on the MS IE web site:

Therefore you must be connected to the internet for this to work:
  1. Open an Internet Explorer window.
  2. Click on Help -> About (Internet Explorer) to display the popup dialog box.
  3. Left-click your mouse on the Acknowledgements link at the bottom.
  4. Ta-dah! You'll be directed to the MS IE "Thank You" web page, and then a new browser popup window will open "showing off" a Macromedia Flash animation: with the:
    • MS IE 6.xx new Windows XP "style" blue logo, filled with the scrolling lists of MS IE developer team names in alphabetical order.
    • MS IE 5.xx "classic" logo inside a blue thick bordered box, followed by the credits screen listing the MS IE developer team names in alphabetical order.

NOTES:

  • These Eggs use a combination of JavaScript 1.1, Java Applets, ActiveX and Macromedia Shockwave Flash. Therefore you need to have the MS IE Shockwave Flash plug-in installed, and ActiveX, JavaScript + Java enabled in your browser for this to work.
  • These Eggs work ONLY with MS IE 5.xx/6.xx and newer for Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP. ANY other older IE browsers will be redirected to the MS IE startup page, but can be also viewed [with the credits screens improperly displayed, because Netscape/Mozilla browsers do not support ActiveX :(] using Netscape Navigator/Communicator/Mozilla 3.0x/4.xx/6.xx/7.xx or newer.


EXCEL 2000 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 2


This works ONLY with Microsoft Excel 2000 for Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP.
Follow these steps to play the racing game:

 

  1. Run Excel 2000.
  2. Select "Save as Web Page" from the File menu.
  3. Select "Save: Selection: Sheet".
  4. Check the "Publish Sheet" and "Add interactivity" boxes and click Save.
  5. Exit Excel 2000.
  6. Load the saved HTML page in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5/6 web browser.
  7. Scroll down to row 2000, column WC.
  8. Select row 2000 (highlight the entire line) and then press Tab until WC is selected again.
  9. Hold down Shift + Ctrl + Alt and left-click once the MS Office logo in the upper left corner of the Excel 2000 logo.
Ta-dah! Watch the street painted with Excel 2000 team credits fly by, in this Microsoft's clone of Spy Hunter driving game!
Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to accelerate/decelerate, Right/Left Arrow keys to steer the car, Space to fire the machine guns, O (the letter "ou") to drop Oil slicks, H to turn on the Headlights in the dark and Esc to exit the game.

NOTES:

  • This egg works ONLY WITHOUT ANY MS Office 2000 Service Packs installed: SP-1 or SP-2!
  • You MUST have MS Office 2000 Web Components installed for this egg to work!
  • You MUST have MS DirectX 7/8/9 APIs installed to start the game with ALL developers names displayed!


EXCEL 2000 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 1


Uncovered courtesy of Beth (eaherman@att.net). This HIDDEN SECRET works with Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP.

 

  1. "Run Excel and Open a New spreadsheet.
  2. Press F5 to access the Go to function.
  3. Type X2000:L2000 in the Reference box and click OK.
  4. Press Tab. You should now be at cell M2000.
  5. Hold down Ctrl + Shift at the same time and left-click your mouse on the Chart Wizard.
  6. Hit Esc to exit.
Voila... the Excel 2000 Credits!"


WIN98 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 4


Sent courtesy of Piotr (polpio@polbox.com).

"When copying file xxx.HTM (in the timedemo!) to eg. %windir%\temp, open the file as text, and search for this line:

  

<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="welcome.wav">

Add the full path to the WAV file, eg:

  

<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="C:\Windows\Aplication Data\Microsoft\Welcome\welcom98.wav">

Save the file (preserve its name!) in %windir%\Aplication Data.
Now (double)-click on it in Windows Explorer. The "Team 98" Eater Egg is fully accessed!"

WIN98 SE HIDDEN SECRET



To activate the "classic" Win98 HIDDEN SECRET on Win98 SE(U) systems, follow these steps exactly:

 

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Open the Regional Settings applet.
  3. Hold down the Ctrl key and left-click once on the African continent near Cairo, Egypt, left of the most inner point of river Nile.
  4. With Ctrl pressed, drag your mouse cursor near Memphis, Tennessee on the Northern American continent, left of half the way between the Great Lakes and Florida.
  5. Keep holding Ctrl but release the mouse button.
  6. Left-click and drag from Memphis, Tennessee to Redmond, Washington.
  7. Release both the Ctrl key and the mouse button.
  8. The "classic" Win98 credits slide show should start if everything was done right. All mouse clicks require accurate precision on the map! Start over if not successful. :(
  9. Have fun. :)

See this screen shot for details.

NOTES:

  • You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work!
  • To activate this HIDDEN SECRET on Win98 (retail) see "WIN98 "MEMPHIS" HIDDEN SECRET", also in EGGS.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x CLIPBOARD HIDDEN SECRET



This Egg applies to ALL Windows 3.1x and Windows for WorkGroups 3.1x Clipboard (Clipbrd.exe) releases.
Follow these steps to activate the Egg:

 

  1. Double-click the Clipboard icon from the Program Manager Accessories group, or CLIPBRD.EXE in C:\WINDOWS from File Manager.
  2. Click on Help from the Contents menu.
  3. Select the letter i from the last line of Topics.
  4. Click on the different flags that appear to view the developer credits.

 

WORD 2000 HIDDEN SECRET



This "fresh" Microsoft Word 2000 "hatch" was brought to light thanks to The Captain.

 

  1. "Create a new document.
  2. Click Help -> About.
  3. Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT.
  4. Click the bottom line.
  5. It will display the splash screen normally shown when Word 2000 is first opened."

 

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR/COMMUNICATOR HIDDEN SECRETS - Part DEUX



Some of these HIDDEN SECRETs apply ONLY to Netscape Navigator/Communicator v3.0x and/or v4.xx web browsers.

 

  1. Things you can do with the built-in "about:" command [command name is case insensitive, but ALL characters after the colon (:) MUST be typed in lower case]:

 

    • about: = Netscape and built-in components + supported standards version info
    • about:authors = Netscape developers list [Netscape 1.0x ONLY]
    • about:cache = disk cache info [Netscape 2.0x and above ONLY]
    • about:document = current web page info
    • about:global = global history entries list [Netscape 2.0x and above ONLY]
    • about:globalhistory = global history entries list [Netscape 2.0x and above ONLY]
    • about:image-cache = memory cached images info
    • about:license = license agreement text
    • about:logo = Netscape Navigator logo
    • about:namelogo = Netscape and built-in component/supported standard logo. Substitute name (followed by logo without commas or spaces) with one of the following: fc, hs, inso, java, mm, mc, ncc, odi, qt, rsa, sym, td, visi
    • about:memory-cache = memory cache info
    • about:mozilla = see the "NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR/COMMUNICATOR HIDDEN SECRET - Part 1" topic below
    • about:name = Netscape developer home page. Substitute name (without commas or spaces) with one of the following: ari, atotic, blythe, chouck, dmose, dp, ebina, hagan, jeff, jg, jsw, jwz, karlton, kipp, marca, mlm, montulli, mtoy, paquin, robm, sharoni, terry, timm
    • about:plugins = installed plug-ins info
    • about:url = url information. Substitute url (without commas or spaces) with a valid internet address or IP number. Url prefix (http://, ftp://, news:// etc) required.

 

  1. The following Netscape 3.0x/4.xx built-in commands that can be typed in the URL Location box REQUIRE to have Java™ and JavaScript™ ENABLED [command name is case insensitive, but ALL characters after the colon (:) MUST be typed in lower case]:

 

    • Javascript: = JavaScript interpreter input form
    • Javascript:eval(x+y) = simple math calculator. Substitute x and y with positive integer or fractional (x.y) decimal (real) numbers. Multiple digits are accepted. Substitute + (add) with the - (subtract), * (multiply) or / (divide) symbols to perform one of the 4 basic arithmetical operations.
      NOTE: The JavaScript calculator works also with ALL Microsoft Internet Explorer releases.
    • Livescript: = LiveScript interpreter input form
    • Mocha: = Mocha interpreter input form.

 

  1. More "about:" Netscape HIDDEN SECRETs.

 

  1. Netscape built-in "hot key combos":

 

    • Ctrl + Alt + F = The Amazing Fish Cam
    • Ctrl + Alt + S = toggle bottom status bar on/off
    • Ctrl + Alt + T = active connection(s), socket(s) and URL(s) info.

 

  1. View ALL Netscape browsers 3/4 for MS Windows command line parameters.

 

  1. Visit Mozilla related web sites:

 

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR/COMMUNICATOR HIDDEN SECRET - Part 1



This is the most well known Netscape HIDDEN SECRET. Works with ALL Navigator and Communicator browser releases (ANY platform):

 

  1. Open a Netscape browser window.
  2. Type this command in the URL Location box [command name is case insensitive, but ALL characters after the colon (:) MUST be typed in lower case]:
    about:mozilla
  3. Press Enter.
  4. This white text on a dark red screen will pop up:

"And the beast shall come forth surrounded by a roiling cloud of vengeance. The house of the unbelievers shall be razed and they shall be scorched to the earth. Their tags shall blink until the end of days.

from The Book of Mozilla, 12:10"

No MS IE "blinking tags" allowed here... :)

ANOTHER MS InternetExplorer HIDDEN SECRET



Another Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0x/5.xx/6.xx HIDDEN SECRET:

 

  1. Open an Internet Explorer window.
  2. Type this command in the URL Address box [command name is case insensitive, but ALL characters after the colon (:) MUST be typed in lower case]:
    about:mozilla
  3. Click the Go button (ONLY IF you have MS IE 5.xx/6.xx) or press Enter.
  4. An empty blue screen will pop up.

No Netscape "beast" allowed here... :)

 

OUTLOOK EXPRESS HIDDEN SECRET



Kindly sent in by Ari (ari.lintula@dlc.fi).

 

  1. "Click the Compose Message toolbar button.
  2. Select Format -> Rich Text (HTML) from the menu.
  3. Click on the body of the message.
  4. Select the font box and type "athena" (without quotation marks).
  5. Press Enter.
  6. Close the Compose Message window.
  7. Go back to the main Outlook Express window.
  8. Select the Outlook Express icon above Inbox, on the left hand side.
  9. Click on an empty space between, for example, Read Mail and Read News.
  10. Type about to launch the HIDDEN SECRET."

 

WIN98 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 3



This is an easier way of getting the Win98 HIDDEN SECRET on your Desktop:

 

  1. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop.
  2. Select New -> Shortcut.
  3. Browse to the folder C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Welcome.
  4. Double-click on Weldata.exe to select it as your shortcut's command line.
  5. Click Finish to save your shortcut.
  6. Right-click on your newly created shortcut and select Properties.
  7. Click the Shortcut tab, and add this string (EXACTLY as shown here):
    You_are_a_real_rascal
    after typing a space at the end of Weldata.exe, in the Target area.
  8. In the Run area, select Minimized.
  9. Click OK/Apply to save your changes.
  10. (Double)-click your new shortcut to enjoy the show!

 

FRONTPAGE HIDDEN SECRET



This HIDDEN SECRET can be activated using ANY 32-bit release of Microsoft FrontPage or FrontPage Express. Just follow the steps below:

 

  1. Start the FrontPage Explorer.
  2. Hold down the Shift key.
  3. Click Help and then click About.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Keep holding down the Shift key, click again on Help and click About for the second time.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Keep holding down the Shift key, click again on Help and click About for the third time.

Now you should see the credits screen and hear a song playing.

 

MS OFFICE 95 HIDDEN SECRET



The MS Office 95 HIDDEN SECRET can be activated from any Office application: Access, Word, PowerPoint or Excel. Word (Winword.exe) was used here to demonstrate the necessary steps:

 

  1. Start the Word Answer Wizard.
  2. In the Answer Wizard screen, type these words:
    Computer smile
  3. Select "How Do I... Make my computer smile".
  4. Look at the answer, and then press Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow to see a "Cast of Characters" (bitmaps) of the 49 people who created Winword Help.

NOTE: You need to activate the Windows HELP Topic Keys in order for this HELP based HIDDEN SECRET to work properly (i.e. Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow combo). See "HELP!", also in TIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for details.

 

WIN98 HIDDEN SECRET - Part DEUX



This cool Win98 HIDDEN SECRET tip add-on appears courtesy of The Captain. Thanks a lot Cap'!

"When you run the Win98 HIDDEN SECRET, a temporary HTML file is placed in the same folder as Weldata.exe: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\WELCOME. If you open this folder before running the HIDDEN SECRET, and then run the HIDDEN SECRET, the HTML file will be visible for a short time. Now rapidly copy this file to another folder (since it will be deleted very soon). Then go back and place WELCOME.WAV in the same folder as the HTML file. This way you can run the HIDDEN SECRET HTML file anytime."

NOTE: You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work!

 

PLUS! 98 HIDDEN SECRET



This Microsoft Plus! Pack add-on for Windows 98 Egg was sent in by The Captain.

"You must have Deluxe CD Player installed. Open it.
Go to the Edit Playlist dialog for any song.
Type in "Microsoft Plus! 98 Product Team" for the artist (no quotes).
Type in Credits for the title.
Hold down the CTRL key and click Cancel.
You will see a new root level item in the tree view of the album database called "Microsoft Plus! 98 Product Team". Expand it to see the team names."

 

WORD 97 HIDDEN SECRET



Sent in courtesy of The Captain (cptsiskox@flashmail.com).

"Run MS Word 97:

 

  1. Open a New document.
  2. Type Blue.
  3. Select Word.
  4. Go to Format, then Font.
  5. Choose Font Style: Bold, Color: Blue.
  6. Type a space after the word Blue.
  7. Go to Help, then About Microsoft Word.
  8. Ctrl + Shift + left-click on the Word icon.
  9. Use Z for left flipper, M for right flipper, and Escape to exit.

Note that you MUST have installed MS Office 97 Service Release 2 (SR2) to activate this HIDDEN SECRET!"

 

WIN98 "MEMPHIS" HIDDEN SECRET



The Windows 98 HIDDEN SECRET has been "unleashed" by The Captain.

"To do this, follow these steps exactly: left-click and drag from CAIRO, EGYPT to MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, and then to REDMOND, WASHINGTON, without releasing the mouse button.
This is done on the time zone map when you open the Date/Time applet from Control Panel.
There is a "Thank you" to all Win98 beta testers at the end.
See this picture for details."

NOTES:

  • You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work!
  • To activate this HIDDEN SECRET on Win98 SE(U) see "WIN98 SE HIDDEN SECRET", also in EGGS.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

 

EXCEL 97 HIDDEN SECRET



Appears courtesy of David (dacon@unixg.ubc.ca), and works ONLY with Microsoft Excel 97.

 

  1. "Run Excel 97 and open a new spreadsheet.
  2. Press F5 (goto command function).
  3. Type X97:L97 in the reference box. Click OK.
  4. Then press Tab. (You should now be at cell M97).
  5. Hold Ctrl + Shift down while left-clicking the Chart Wizard icon on the toolbar.

Hey a flying game! Find the Monolith with the programmers messages.
Move the mouse to manoeuvre, the right button to accelerate and the left button to decelerate. Exit by hitting Escape."

 

WIN95 HOOPS GAME HIDDEN SECRET



This Egg works ONLY with the original (retail) release of Windows 95, WITHOUT MS Internet Explorer 3/4/5/6 installed!

 

  1. Left-click the Start button.
  2. Left-click Help.
  3. Select the Index tab.
  4. In the text box, type "hoops please" (no quotes).
  5. Press Enter or click OK.
  6. Press and hold simultaneusly Ctrl + Alt + Del.
  7. Click the Yes/OK button or press Enter to shut down Windows 95.
  8. Sit back and enjoy the hoops game!

 

SOLITAIRE HIDDEN SECRET


This Egg works with all Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP/3.xx releases of Solitaire (%windir%\Sol.exe).

 

  1. Run Sol.exe.
  2. Click Game -> Options -> Draw 3 (cards).
  3. Click Game -> Deal.
  4. Hold down Shift + Ctrl + Alt together and left-click once on the card deck to draw only 1 card at a time (instead of 3).
  5. (Double)-click the close/exit button or hit simultaneously Alt + F4 to exit Solitaire.


MINESWEEPER HIDDEN SECRET


This Egg works with the MineSweeper (%windir%\Winmine.exe) releases bundled with Windows/WfWG 3.1x, 95/OSR1 (WITHOUT MS IE 4/5/6 installed!) and with NT4/2000/XP. It does NOT work with Windows 95 B/C OSR2, 98, 98 SP1, 98 SE, ME or MS IE 4/5/6 or newer.
NOTE: You MUST disable ALL animated cursors FIRST!

 

  1. Run Winmine.exe.
  2. Hold down the left Shift (or press Shift + Enter together) and type:
    xyzzy
    These characters are case insensitive.
  3. Release Shift and then hold it down again (or left-click once on the happy yellow face).

Now whenever your mouse cursor is over one of the mines, you'll see a tiny little pixel at the end of your cursor's arrow (or a black dot in the upper left hand corner of your screen). The pixel (dot) disappears if your mouse is not over a mine spot.

UPDATES:

 

  • "Start a game. Click and hold BOTH right AND left mouse buttons the same time and press Escape. The Timer has stopped."
    [Thank you Ari (ari.lintula@dlc.fi)!]

     

  • To add your name to the MineSweeper list of players without playing, edit Winmine.ini (using Notepad), a text file located in your Windows folder:

     

    • add/change the "Time1=xxx" value to match Beginner level;
    • add/change the "Time2=xxx" value to match Intermediate level;
    • add/change the "Time3=xxx" value to match Expert level;
    • add/change the "Name1=xxxxxxxx" value to match Beginner level;
    • add/change the "Name2=xxxxxxxx" value to match Intermediate level;
    • add/change the "Name3=xxxxxxxx" value to match Expert level.

    Save your work (don't type the quotes!) and close Notepad.
    To become unbeatable add these 2 new lines (replace "MyName" with your real name):

    Time4=0
    Name4=MyName

    and then change Winmine.ini file attributes to read-only and hidden [:)]:

    ATTRIB %windir%\WINMINE.INI +R +H

     

  • "Typing xyzzy allows also for 10x10 grids with 81 mines, and you can cheat by clicking on boxes with an 8 below them. Your friends will not see you cheat, even if you tell them you are doing so. :)"
    [Thank you David (talkingtoes@msn.com)!]

     

  • "The Minesweeper egg DOES work with Windows XP. However, the pixel in the upper left corner of the screen is white when you are NOT over a mine and is normal when you are."
    [Thank you J.Z. (jz4208@hotmail.com)!]


HEARTS HIDDEN SECRET


This Egg works with all Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP/3.xx releases of Microsoft Hearts (%windir%\Mshearts.exe).

 

  1. Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP users: run Regedit.exe (Windows Registry Editor, located in your main Windows folder) and go to:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts

    In the right hand pane: create a new String value, name it ZB (case insensitive) and give it a Data value of 42. Close Regedit when done.

  2. Windows/WfWG 3.xx users [Thank you Roger (keskonrix@yknet.yk.ca)!]: open your WIN.INI file (located in your main Windows directory) in Notepad, scroll down to the [HEARTS] section (or create it if not present), and add this new line underneath it (case insensitive):

    ZB=42

    Save your file and exit Notepad.

  3. Now run Mshearts.exe, play at least one hand, and then during gameplay press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 at the same time to activate the cheat. :)
  4. Have fun!


POWERPOINT 95/97 HIDDEN SECRET


Many thanks Antonio (antoniogiordano@hotmail.com) for this cool HIDDEN SECRET:

"For those who have Powerpoint 95 or 97, when you go to Help then About Microsoft Powerpoint, click on the Powerpoint logo and a little fireworks display will appear with a list of programmers. I don't know if this works with previous Powerpoint versions."


3D TEXT HIDDEN SECRETS


These Windows 95 B/C OSR2.x, NT 3.5x/4.0, 98/98 SE + ME HIDDEN SECRETs are hidden into the 3D Text (OpenGL) Screen Saver, bundled with all these Operating Systems. The file SSTEXT3D.SCR is located in %windir%\System (usually C:\Windows\System) on Win9x/ME systems and in %systemroot%\System32 (usually C:\Winnt\System32) on WinNT systems.
To activate them, follow these steps EXACTLY:

 

  1. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Select the Screen Saver tab.
  4. Select "3D Text (OpenGL)" from the Screen Saver list.
  5. Click the Settings button.
  6. In the Display area check the Text box.
  7. In the Text box type the following words (case insensitive), depending on the MS OS you are using:

     

    1. Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.0 - 2.5, 98/98 SE + ME: Type "volcano" (no quotes) and select OK. Click the Preview button. The screen saver text will cycle through a list of famous United States volcanoes.

       

    2. Windows NT 4.0: Type "not evil" (no quotes) and click OK. Select the Preview button. The screen saver text will cycle through a list of WinNT 4.0 programmers.

       

    3. Windows NT 3.5x:
      1. Type "I love NT" (no quotes) and click OK. Select the Preview button. The screen saver text will say "good?" and cycle through a list of WinNT 3.5x programmers.
      2. Type "beer" (no quotes) and click OK. Select the Preview button. The screen saver text will cycle through a list of famous beer brands.
      3. Type "rock" (no quotes) and click OK. Select the Preview button. The screen saver text will cycle through a list of famous rock bands.


FREECELL HIDDEN SECRET


This Egg works with all FreeCell (%windir%\Freecell.exe) releases bundled with Win32s 32-bit Add-on Extensions for Windows/WfWG 3.1x, with Windows 95/98/ME and NT/2000/XP.

NOTE: MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x users need to install Microsoft Win32s 32-bit Extensions v1.30c Add-on [2.4 MB, free] for this Egg to work, because Freecell.exe is a Win32 (32-bit) application, and it is included ONLY with MS Win32s.

Run the Freecell shortcut/icon from:

  • Windows/WfWG 3.1x: Program Manager -> Win32s Applications -> Games -> Freecell, or open File Manager and search for FREECELL.EXE usually located in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WIN32S;
  • Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP: Start button -> Programs -> Accessories -> Games -> Freecell, or open the Run box -> type FREECELL -> click OK or hit Enter.
Now follow these steps EXACTLY to activate the Egg while playing a Freecell game:

 

  1. Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 together.
  2. A dialog box shows up with 4 choices: Abort, Win, Retry or Cancel.
  3. Click Abort and move (drag) any card to the top to win the game.

UPDATES:

 

  1. Check this other FreeCell cheat, courtesy of Ari (ari.lintula@dlc.fi):
    "Start a game. If you have moved a wrong card, quickly press F10 before clicking another card. It's the Undo button."
  2. To sort all cards by color and in:
    • ascending order: click Game -> click Select Game (hit F3) -> click Yes to cancel game in progress -> type -1 -> click OK.
    • descending order: click Game -> click Select Game (hit F3) -> click Yes to cancel game in progress -> type -2 -> click OK.


WORD VIEWER HIDDEN SECRET


This Egg works with all Microsoft Word Viewer 97/2000 releases for Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP.
MS Office + MS Word users do NOT need to install MS Word Viewer!
Courtesy of Antonio (antoniogiordano@hotmail.com).

"Run MS Word Viewer (WORDVIEW.EXE = located by default in C:\Program Files\WordView) -> go to Help -> click About Word Viewer -> hold down SHIFT + CTRL + ALT at the next screen -> click on the glasses: a new screen with the Word Viewer programmers will pop up."


IE 4.0X HIDDEN SECRET


The MS IE 4.0x HIDDEN SECRET was kindly sent in by The Captain.

"There is a new HIDDEN SECRET in all final release versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0x. To find it, open the MS IE4 browser and choose "About Internet Explorer" from the help menu. The "About" dialog box appears. Hold down the Ctrl key and click the IE logo in the upper right corner of the dialog box. With the Ctrl key down, you can drag it around the dialog box.
Then move the IE logo over the globe and then to the right, so that it hits the "Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0" text. If you do this correctly, the text will move off the right side of the dialog, revealing a button named "Unlock". Drop the logo that you have been dragging around and click the "Unlock" button. The globe will start a shaking motion. Pick up the logo again (Ctrl-click) and drag it onto the globe. A new dialog box opens and a scrolling list of credits appears. Enjoy!"

UPDATE:

Other cool ways to activate the IE4 HIDDEN SECRET:

 

  1. Turn off the graphics in the Advanced options, then click Help -> About.
  2. Type this in IE4's address bar:
    JavaScript:window.name="TheWCEE";
    Press Enter. Then type this:
    res://shdocvw.dll/wcee.htm
    Press Enter again.

JavaScript needs to be enabled for this to work, but the IE4 HIDDEN SECRET uses JavaScript anyway.
Then if you have a Win95 keyboard, press the Menu key and then V (view source) to display the HTML code.
Note that this Egg keeps track of mouse clicks, so you can't right-click to pop up the menu.


WIN95 HIDDEN SECRET FOLDER


To get the Windows 95 hidden HIDDEN SECRET on your Desktop, create a new folder with this EXACT name (cut & paste the line below):

The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team!.{869DADA0-42A0-1069-A2E7-08002B30309D}

UPDATES:

 

  1. Thank you suffia@pl.jaring.my for the necessary corrections to make the Win95 HIDDEN SECRETs work properly on ALL Windows 95 retail and 95a OSR1 systems.

     

  2. "This Win95 Egg might NOT work on some Win95 systems with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5 with the Active Desktop enabled, or/and if you use Win95 B/C OSR 2.x!"
    This update courtesy of Jason (jbrunett@tcbi.com).

     

  3. "The bonus sound and scrolling authors HIDDEN SECRET can be done in one step on any Win95 version regardless of desktop components. I have ActiveX Desktop and Internet Explorer 4.01 installed and it loads up fine. Can even go full screen with it. You can also create this folder on the Desktop."
    This update courtesy of Bill "DrDeath" (Bil@connection.com).

     

  4. "This Win95 Egg does NOT work in Windows 98. Calling the folder "... Windows 98 ..." doesn't help.
    In non-US versions of Windows 95 (at least in the German version) you must first rename the folder to "New Folder", and then to "and now, ...".
    This Win95 Egg will leave its sound track in the file Clouds.mid in the \Windows\Media subdirectory. I suppose this is a sound resource of Explorer.exe, Shell32.dll or whatever, which can be extracted directly, but I couldn't find out how."
    This update courtesy of Christoph (langec@gmx.de).

NOTE: You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work with ALL Windows 95/OSR2 releases!


WIN95 HIDDEN SECRET - Part DEUX


Another interesting Win95 "HIDDEN SECRET" procedure. Follow these steps EXACTLY:

 

  1. Press F1 (the main Help screen opens).
  2. Click Search from the button bar.
  3. Click the Find tab (the Help Wizard will open).
  4. Click Options in the Find dialog box.
  5. Select "All the words you typed in any order" from the top bordered menu.
  6. Select "begin with the characters you type" OR "contain the characters you type" from the second bordered menu from the top.
  7. Click OK (to return to the main dialog box).
  8. In the top box (at the cursor), enter EXACTLY these words:
    Who knows who built this tool?
  9. Hold down Shift-Ctrl and click the Clear button.
  10. Click Options again.
  11. In the top bordered menu select "At least one of the words you type".
  12. Click OK (to return to the main dialog box).
  13. In the top box (at the cursor), enter EXACTLY these words:
    The Shadow knows!
  14. Hold down Shift-Ctrl and click the Clear button.

If you followed these instructions EXACTLY, you should see the scrolling animation of the names of the Microsoft staff who contributed to the making of Windows 95.

NOTE: You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work with ALL Windows 95/OSR2 releases!


WIN95 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 1


To see the undocumented Windows 95 HIDDEN SECRET, create a new folder on the Desktop and name it EXACTLY like this:
and now, the moment you've all been waiting for
Then rename it to:
we proudly present for your viewing pleasure
Rename this folder again to:
The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team!
Double-click the new folder and enjoy the show!

UPDATES:

 

  1. Thank you suffia@pl.jaring.my for the necessary corrections to make the Win95 HIDDEN SECRETs work properly on ALL Windows 95 retail and 95a OSR1 systems.

     

  2. "This Win95 Egg might NOT work on some Win95 systems with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5 with the Active Desktop enabled, or/and if you use Win95 B/C OSR 2.x!"
    This update courtesy of Jason (jbrunett@tcbi.com).

     

  3. "The bonus sound and scrolling authors HIDDEN SECRET can be done in one step on any Win95 version regardless of desktop components. I have ActiveX Desktop and Internet Explorer 4.01 installed and it loads up fine. Can even go full screen with it. You can also create this folder on the Desktop."
    This update courtesy of Bill "DrDeath" (Bil@connection.com).

     

  4. "This Win95 Egg does NOT work in Windows 98. Calling the folder "... Windows 98 ..." doesn't help.
    In non-US versions of Windows 95 (at least in the German version) you must first rename the folder to "New Folder", and then to "and now, ...".
    This Win95 Egg will leave its sound track in the file Clouds.mid in the \Windows\Media subdirectory. I suppose this is a sound resource of Explorer.exe, Shell32.dll or whatever, which can be extracted directly, but I couldn't find out how."
    This update courtesy of Christoph (langec@gmx.de).

NOTE: You NEED to have kept Welcome.exe (or reinstall it using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet) and all its files/libraries for this HIDDEN SECRET to work with ALL Windows 95/OSR2 releases!

A) Requires: ACDSee 4 & FotoCanvas

 HIDDEN SECRET: 1. Open FotoCanvas
2. Go to Help -> About FotoCanvas Lite
3. Click on the ACD Systems logo
Watch at the little windows that will pop up!
 

B) Requires: devc++

HIDDEN SECRET: 1. Open the "about" window
2. Drag the Dev-C++ icon (on the upper-left corner) to the "Authors..." button. The icon on the button should change to an HIDDEN SECRET.
3. Right click on the same button and let the egg begin...
 

C) Requires: Borland C++ V3.1 working...

HIDDEN SECRET: Run Borland C++ V3.1
Go to "Help" menu.
Open the "About" Dialog.
Now Press "Ctrl + I".
Hurrah! Credits will scroll in the dialog...
Note: If mouse is present then it will refresh at a high rate! Press "Esc" to close the credits.
 

D) Requires: Windows 98 setup files, any text editor (like Notepad)

 HIDDEN SECRET: In the actual Windows 98 setup files, there is a file called "DOSSETUP.BIN". If you look at the contents of this file with Notepad, Wordpad, DOS's EDIT, or any other text editor, you will find the following phrase near the end of the file:
 
Wassily Kandinsky was the great Russian painter who participated in the Expressionist movement in Germany, taught at the Bauhaus, and edited the Blue Rider Almanac.
 
(?!?!?!?!?!) My personal opinion about this is entirely expressed, in the same file, some lines below that phrase:
 
hahahahahahaha
 

E) Requires: Windows 98 Second Edition

HIDDEN SECRET: 1. Click Start, Run, and type WELCOME.EXE to load the Welcome to Windows program.
2. Click REGISTER NOW.
3. When the first screen of the WINDOWS 98 REGISTRATION WIZARD comes up, hold down CTRL-SHIFT and right click on the image to the left.
4. Voila.. hidden credits from the program's creators.
 

F) Requires: MicroSoft Visual Basic v6.0

HIDDEN SECRET: 1. From VB's View Menu, select toolbar, then customize......
2. In the resulting dialog, click on the command tab.
3. In the Categories List, select Help.
4. Select "About Microsoft Visual Basic" in the Command List, and drag it to any menu or the toolbar.
5. Right-click on the item you just dragged and rename it to "Show VB Credits" (without quotes). 6. Then close the "Customize" dialog and click on the "Show VB Credits" item.
 

G) Requires: Windows 2000 with 3D Text Screen Saver.

HIDDEN SECRET: Open Registry Editor (File, Run, regedit).
 
Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Control Panel, Screen Saver.3DText. Click Edit, New, String Value.
Call it "Magic" (case sensitive), and enter "C:\3dtext.txt" as the value. Exit Registry Editor.
 
Create New Text File, in C:\, called "3dtext." In it, first put a dash, and then a word (no space). That word is important, so remember it. On a new line, put Words that you want to fade out and in:
i.e.
 
-Cool
I am Cool
Amin't I?
Goto Screen Saver Properties (Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Screen Saver). In the dialog for text, enter the word after the dash in the text file.
Create as many as these as you want, by creating another word with dash:
i.e.------
-Cool
I am Cool
Amin't I?
-So Cool
I am so Cool
I are too!
When the text for the screensaver is "Cool," I am cool, and Amin't I will be displayed.
 
  • X-SETUP HIDDEN SECRET - Part 3


    This works with all Xteq X-Setup 6.2x and future releases (freeware for personal use), the BEST and most comprehensive Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003 system power tweaker and Registry "hacker" ever created.
    To activate the egg: run X-Setup either from the Start Menu -> Programs -> Xteq Systems -> X-Setup, or from the Control Panel Xteq X-Setup icon -> click Help -> click About -> right-click on the blue vertical bar at the left with the Xteq logo at the top stating "Do More Faster" at the bottom, while holding down the Ctrl key -> voila!
    The About dialog box will start a frantic "dancing" rhythm around your screen, and the credits window will fill up at the same time with the "All Your Base Are Belong To Us!" message scrolling down.
    You can "freeze" the movement temporarily by clicking and holding down your left mouse button inside the credits window.
    The only way you can stop the "show" is to left-click the Close button, or hit Alt + F4 simultaneously. :)


    X-SETUP HIDDEN SECRET - Part 2


    This works with all Xteq X-Setup 5.xx/6.1x releases (freeware for personal use), the BEST and most comprehensive Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP/2003 system power tweaker and Registry "hacker" ever created.
    Run X-Setup either from the Start Menu -> Programs -> Xteq Systems -> X-Setup, or from the Control Panel Xteq X-Setup icon -> click Help -> click About.
    The blue box in the lower right corner displays scrolling text with the names of the Xteq Systems team members and other credits.
    But if you double-click on the blue vertical bar at the left with the Xteq logo at the top stating "Do More Faster" at the bottom, this will change to a small flying helicopter scrolling from left to right in the animation window, while your default web browser will open at the Xteq Systems home page.


    SKIFREE HIDDEN SECRET


    Courtesy of Harry.

    "The old Windows 16-bit SkiFree game (Ski.exe) from the original Microsoft Entertainment Pack, which used to be bundled with some OEM/VAR MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x computers [way back :)], has an HIDDEN SECRET:

     

    1. Play the game: ski down the hill.
    2. Go past the Finish line and keep on skiing.
    3. At some point, an ugly gray monster will jump out onto the hill and will eat the skier [you :)]. After that the monster starts jumping up and down, rubbing his belly. This also happens if you ski left, right, or even up the hill. The monster will disappear when you click your mouse on the game screen, and you will be automatically "teleported" back to the Start line, where you can begin a new game.
      Maybe the monster appears after a certain amount of time has passed since the race started. When you ski uphill this happens sooner. :)"



    JAVASCRIPT BROWSER RESIZER HIDDEN SECRET


    To enable the undocumented Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.xx/6.xx and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0x/5.xx/6.xx JavaScript 1.1 browser window resizer, open your favorite Internet browser, and type one of these strings EXACTLY as they appear here (case sensitive), in the Address/Location URL box (screen width/height measured in pixels):

    javascript:resizeTo(640,480);
    javascript:resizeTo(800,600);
    javascript:resizeTo(1024,768);
    javascript:resizeTo(1152,874);
    javascript:resizeTo(1200,1024);
    javascript:resizeTo(1600,1200);
    javascript:resizeTo(1792,1344);
    javascript:resizeTo(1800,1400);
    javascript:resizeTo(1972,1600);

    Then just hit Enter to see the effect.
    Of course, you can only use the screen resolutions supported by both your video controller AND monitor. :)

    NOTE: This trick does NOT work with ANY of these browser releases older than 4.00, because those do NOT support JavaScript 1.1 standard.


    OSR2/NT/2000/ME/XP OPENGL HIDDEN SECRET


    This Windows 95 B/C OSR2.x, 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 3.5x/4.0, 2000 + XP HIDDEN SECRET is hidden into the 3D Pipes (OpenGL) Screen Saver, bundled with all these Operating Systems.
    The file SSPIPES.SCR is located in %windir%\System (Win9x/ME) or in %systemroot%\System32 (WinNT/2000/XP).
    To activate the Egg, follow these steps EXACTLY:

     

    1. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop.
    2. Select Properties.
    3. Select the Screen Saver tab.
    4. Select "3D Pipes (OpenGL)" from the Screen Saver list.
    5. Click the Settings button.
    6. Select Multiple for Pipes.
    7. Select Traditional for Pipe Style.
    8. Select Mixed for Joint Type.
    9. Select Solid for Surface Style.
    10. Click OK.

    Start/Preview the screen saver: some of the joints are now "teapot" shaped.

    UPDATE: "Select Textured for Surface Style, but do NOT click Choose Texture (all other steps are identical), to get a candy cane effect on the pipes."
    [Thank you Bear (bearsfangs@rockford.com)!]

    MSD HIDDEN SECRETS


    MicroSoft Diagnostics (MSD.EXE) utility for DOS "shows off" 2 HIDDEN SECRETs:

     

    1. MSD v2.00 bundled with MS Windows 3.10 (located in your Windows directory), and probably other earlier releases, pops up a "funny" message when you:

       

      1. Press and hold Alt and H or click Help.
      2. Hit Enter (or A) or click About.
      3. Punch F1:

        "No Help Available.
        (so leave me alone)        "

      Microsoft removed this "joke" from all newer MSD releases beginning with v2.01, included with MS Windows 3.11 and MS-DOS 6.00.

    2. MSD v2.13 bundled with MS Windows 95 retail, 95a OSR1, 95B OSR 2.0, 95B OSR 2.1 and 95C OSR 2.5 displays the wrong version: identifies itself as v2.11 when you:

       

      1. Press and hold Alt and H or click Help.
      2. Hit Enter (or A) or click About:

        "Microsoft (R) Diagnostics
                 Version 2.11        "

        The correct version (2.13) shows up ONLY on the red intro screen when MSD first starts:

        "Microsoft (R) Diagnostics
                 Version 2.13        "

      but ONLY IF MSD is run from native MS-DOS mode (when you boot with the "Command prompt only" option from the Windows 95/98 Start Menu), NOT from a DOS box/session within Windows GUI.

      MSD.EXE is NOT installed by Windows 9x on your hard drive. :( But you can find it on your Win95/98 Setup CD-ROM in the \OTHER\MSD folder.
      If you don't have Windows 95 you can get MSD v2.13 from MS Software Library FTP [176 KB, free].



    X-SETUP 4.0/5.0 HIDDEN SECRET - Part 1


    Enjoy this "hot" egg, sent by The Captain.

    "To see the Xteq X-Setup 4.0/5.0 HIDDEN SECRET press F3 to bring up an undocumented menu. The OK button doesn't work, so just click the X in the upper right corner to close it. :)
    The F3 menu has been removed from newer versions of X-Setup. :("

    FYI: Xteq X-Setup for Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP is THE best power user system tweaking tool on the planet (freeware for personal use). Tweaks over 1200 hidden GUI, System, Boot, Security, Network, Internet, DOS, MS IE, MS OE etc... settings for MAXimum performance. [TweakUI on steroids! :)] And did I mention it's also free? ;)


    HOTDOG PROFESSIONAL 5.5 HIDDEN SECRET


    This cool Egg appears courtesy of Robert (pensoft@yahoo.com).

    "Take for granted, just about every program has an HIDDEN SECRET hidden somewhere. HotDog Professional 5.5 just so happens to be one of them. The HTML tag "PIRATE" gives access to the Egg. Go to the "HTML Tags" listing, and bring up the Properties for the "PIRATE" tag. That is only the 1st part of this HIDDEN SECRET.
    The 2nd part lies in the HTML Help within the "HTML Property Sheet". Go to:

    HotDog5_Install_Directory\HTMLHelp\pirate.html

    to activate the 2nd half.

    NOTE: HotDog Professional is an excellent 32-bit HTML editing tool [shareware, 30 days free trial] for Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP."

     

    WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x HIDDEN SECRET


    This Egg applies to ALL Windows 3.1x and Windows for WorkGroups 3.1x releases, but ONLY to the programs installed by Windows/WfWG Setup.

     

    1. Open Program Manager, File Manager or any other standard program bundled with Windows/WfWG.
    2. Hold down Ctrl + Shift together throughout this entire Egg.
    3. Click Help -> click About.
    4. Double-click the Windows logo in the upper left corner of the dialog box.
    5. Click OK.
    6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 to see the logo waving like a flag and this message:

      "Dedicated to all the hard-working people on the Microsoft Windows 3.10 Team!"

       

    7. Repeat steps 3 to 5 a third time to see a cartoon character pointing to a list with the names and cartoons of Windows/WfWG developers.
    8. Repeat steps 3 to 5 again (for a total of 4 times) to see the names and cartoons of these MS VIPs:

       

      • Bill Gates (MS CEO, guy with glasses)
      • Steve Ballmer (MS Executive VP, bald guy)
      • Brad Silverberg (MS Personal Systems VP, guy with beard)
      • T-Bear (Teddy Bear, Windows 3.10 team mascot).
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