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Windows 98 Tips and Tricks #2 |
Modifying single-click mode for a cleaner look.
If you've enabled Windows 98's Active Desktop feature, chances are that single-click mode is configured such that the items on your desktop and in your file management tools are always underlined. While the single-click mode is a nice feature, always having items underlined can be distracting. Fortunately, you can easily disable this. To do so, open My Computer, pull down the View menu and select the Folder Options... command. When the Folder Options properties sheet appears, select the Custom, Based On Settings You Choose option (if it isn't already selected by default). Then, click the Settings... button. Once you do, you'll see the Custom Settings dialog box. Now, select the Underline Icon Titles Only When I Point At Them option in the Click Items As Follows panel. When you do, your icons retain their original appearance until you position your mouse pointer over them.
Wondering what that Channel Bar is doing on your desktop (assuming you have the Active Desktop turned on)? This bar, a component of Internet Explorer, allows you to jump directly to one of its "channels" by simply clicking that item in the bar, or by selecting a channel category--the items with the blue circle on the right side--and clicking a channel inside. (For a description of a channel, hold your mouse pointer over it and a box of text appears.)
At first glance, channels appear to be nothing more than links to Web sites. But there's more to them than meets the eye. Channels are "designed to deliver content from the Internet to your computer." In other words, assuming you subscribe to the channel, the most recent information from that site will be delivered to your system at the intervals you specify. (Even if you don't subscribe to a channel, you can view its content any time by clicking it in the Channel Bar). Or if you prefer, you can choose simply to be notified of channel updates.
When you a channel you'd like to preview, click it (or select a category, then select a channel inside), then click the Add Active Channel link. If you aren't already online, you'll need to complete steps now to do so. Once you're online, you'll see a dialog box asking if you'd like to subscribe to the channel. For now, select No, just keep it in the Channel Bar; then click OK.
To open a channel--a Web site "designed to deliver content from the Internet to your computer"--select it in the Channel Bar, or select a category, then select a channel inside. In the resulting window, click the Add Active Channel link, and you'll see a dialog box asking if you'd like to subscribe to the channel. In our last tip, we suggested you click No, but now let's assume you want to subscribe to this channel. (Tip: You can also access this dialog box by right-mouse-clicking the channel on the Channel Bar and selecting Subscribe.)
If you simply want to be notified when a channel is updated, select the second option in the Modify Channel Usage dialog box: Yes, But Only Tell Me When Updates Occur. Click the Customize button, indicate whether you'd like to be notified of updates via e-mail or not, then click Finish. Click OK, and the subscription's a done deal. (To confirm that you've actually subscribed to this channel, select Favorites, Manage Subscriptions, and you'll see the channel in the resulting window.)
From now on, Internet Explorer will check the channel for you (according to the specified schedule) and let you know when updates have occurred. Then, you can refresh the channel with the updated information by right-mouse-clicking the channel in the Channel Bar and selecting Refresh.
To view a channel--a Web site "designed to deliver content from the Internet to your computer"--select it in the Channel Bar, or select a category, then select a channel inside. In the resulting window, click the Add Active Channel link, and you'll see a dialog box asking if you'd like to subscribe to the channel. (Tip: You can also access this dialog box by right-mouse-clicking the channel on the Channel Bar and selecting Subscribe.)
If you'd like Internet Explorer to notify you of channel updates AND download channel content on a regular basis (so you can view it offline), select the third option: Yes, Notify Me Of Updates And Download the Channel for Offline Viewing. Click the Customize button, complete the options in the resulting dialog boxes--how much of the channel you'd like to download, whether you want to be notified of updates via e-mail, and the subscription update schedule--clicking Next after each; then click Finish. Click OK, and your subscription is a done deal.
Just subscribe to a channel on your Active Desktop's Channel Bar (right-mouse-click the channel, select Subscribe, choose a subscription option, and click OK), but now you're having second thoughts? Don't worry--you can delete any subscription with the click of a button.
In any open Explorer window, select Favorites, Manage Subscriptions. In the Subscriptions window, right-mouse-click the subscription you want to delete and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and that subscription is history.
Global Viewing
Would you like to use the same View options, such as Details and Arrange Icons by Date, for all open folder windows? The inability to set these options globally was one of the shortcomings of Windows 95; but in Windows 98, you can set your system's default viewing options from any open folder window.
Open any folder window (such as My Computer) and use the View menu to set the viewing options you'd like for every folder. (Note: Toolbar settings don't apply.) Next, select View, Folder Options, and in the resulting dialog box, click the View tab. Click the Like Current Folder button, click Yes to confirm, then click OK. From now on, every folder window will open with these same View options already set. Just subscribe to a channel on your Active Desktop's Channel Bar (right-mouse-click the channel, select Subscribe, choose a subscription option, and click OK), but now you're having second thoughts? Don't worry--you can delete any subscription with the click of a button.
In any open Explorer window, select Favorites, Manage Subscriptions. In the Subscriptions window, right-mouse-click the subscription you want to delete and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and that subscription is history.
Get Rid of Old Channels and make New Ones
Are there channels on your Active Desktop's Channel Bar (the bar on your desktop that provides access to '"channels" of Web content) that you have absolutely no interest in, and never will? Then ditch them. It's as easy as deleting shortcuts from your desktop. Just right-mouse-click the channel you want to remove, select Delete, and click Yes to confirm (if the Confirm Folder Delete dialog box appears). You can also remove a channel that's hiding inside a channel category. Select the category; in the resulting window, right-mouse-click the channel you want to delete; then select Delete. Now you have room for channels that you may actually use someday!
Ok, you've cleaned up your Active Desktop's Channel Bar by deleting all those channels you'll never use. (Right-mouse-click a channel and select Delete, or select a Channel category, then right-mouse-click a channel inside and select Delete.) Now you have room to add some more interesting channels.
To add a channel to the Channel Bar, select its top item, Channel Guide (or click the Channel button in an Explorer toolbar, or click the View Channels item on the Quick Launch toolbar). When Microsoft's Active Channel guide appears, select one of the five headings to view the channels in that category. (And by the way, these go way beyond the channels you get when you select a category on your Channel Bar. For example, the Lifestyle & Travel heading alone offers 184 different channels!) Select a channel to see a preview and, assuming you want to add the channel to your Channel Bar, click the Add Active Channel link. Select a subscription option, click OK, and that channel now officially makes the list.
Did you know you can rearrange all the channels on your Active Desktop's Channel bar?
For example, you might like to file some of the visible channels away inside one of the channel categories listed at the top of the bar. Or perhaps you'd like to rearrange the channels on the "main" bar in a different order.
To move a channel up or down the bar, hold your mouse pointer over the channel, then click and drag it up or down the list to the space just above the channel you'd like it to precede. (A vertical line appears between channels to let you know it's an acceptable place to drop the channel.) Let go and the channel falls into place, while the rest scoot up or down to make room.
To move a channel into a channel category, such as News & Technology, select that category to open its window, then move your mouse pointer to the left edge of your screen to make the Channel bar appear (if it isn't there already). Click and drag a channel from the Channel bar into the blank space in the open window, let go, and that channel joins the ranks of the others in that category. (Just the opposite, you can move a channel from an open category to the "main" Channel bar. If necessary, before you attempt a click and drag, click the pushpin button at the top of the Channel bar to keep it from sliding back into the left edge of your screen.)
When you open a channel, its preview or contents appear in a larger-than-life, screen-sized window that makes you feel very much cut off from the rest of your Windows 98 world. To put things back in perspective--that channel is only a Web page (okay, a CHANNEL) in an open window, after all--switch the view. Click the Fullscreen button in the toolbar (it looks like a box inside a box), and the current screen shrinks down to a humble window.
Changing Channels
The Active Desktop's Channel Bar was designed to hold links to channels of Web contents, but if you prefer, you can add plain old shortcuts to this bar: Simply click and drag an icon or an existing shortcut to a location between two channels on the bar (a gray line will appear to let you know where it's about to be inserted) and let go.
For light security measures, move programs from the Start menu or the desktop to the Channel Bar. Then, if you don't want people to access these items while you're away, hide the bar from view: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Web tab, deselect Internet Explorer Channel Bar, and click OK.
(Note: The items on the Channel Bar are stored in X:\Windows\Favorites\Channels, where "X" is the drive on which Windows 98 is installed.)
Wanna get Channels Off you Desktop " Don't feel alone".
Get that damned thing off your desktop altogether? Right-mouse-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the resulting Display Properties dialog box, click the Web tab. With View My Active Desktop as a Web Page checked, deselect Internet Explorer Channel Bar, click OK and, like magic, the bar vanishes. (Don't worry--you can always access the bar inside any Explorer window by selecting View, Explorer Bar, Channels.)
The My Documents Folder
You can remove the My Documents folder from your desktop (right-mouse-click it and select Remove from Desktop), move it to any location on your system, and rename it. Also selecting Start, Documents, My Documents opens the contents of this My Documents folder--regardless of its new name or where it's located on your system. Here's some My Documents oddities.
Assuming you've moved the My Documents folder off the desktop, right-mouse-click the desktop, select New, and then select My Documents Folder on Desktop. Presto--a new My Documents folder appears. But don't be fooled; this isn't a NEW folder at all. Double-click it (or select Start, Documents, My Documents--you'll notice this command now points to the folder you just created), and the contents of the folder appear in an open window. Look at them closely, and you'll see that they mirror those of your original My Documents folder (the one you moved and renamed)! Add items to, or delete them from, this folder or the original My Documents folder, and the changes take place in the "other" My Documents folder, too. They're exact copies (well, almost--the desktop.ini file appears in the original folder only).
Want to move the relocated My Documents folder back to the desktop? You can't. Try to click and drag it onto the desktop, and you'll get a message telling you it can't be done, but that you can create a new item that points to your documents folder. Click Yes to create this new item and a My Documents folder appears on the desktop. NOW can you delete the original folder? (There is another one to take its place, after all.) Nope. Right-mouse-click it, select Delete, and another "can't-do-that" message appears.
Disable Start menu's Documents
Unlike Windows 95, Windows 98 does provide an option for disabling this feature, although it's not an easy one. You'll need to edit the Registry to do it. (As always, back up your Registry files--User.dat and System.dat--before making any changes to the Registry.)
First, open the Registry Editor: Select Start, Run, type "regedit",
no qoutes.
Then click OK. Next, navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. In the right pane, right-mouse-click
a blank area, select New, then select Binary Value. Type
NoRecentDocsHistory
(to name the new value), then press Enter. Right-mouse-click the new value and select Modify. In the Value data box, type exactly
01 00 00 00
(You'll see four zeros there already. Just type the above eight numbers, and the spaces will be inserted automatically.) Click OK.
Now repeat these steps to add a NoRecentDocsMenu value: Right-mouse-click a blank area in the right pane; select New, Binary Value; name the value NoRecentDocsMenu; right-mouse-click the new value and select Modify; in the Value data box, type the above numbers; then click OK.
Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 98, click Start, and that Documents list is nowhere in sight (and neither is the Windows\Recent folder that used to hold the contents of the Documents menu)!
Is there a folder window you open frequently, such as the one in which
you store all your important documents? Getting tired of staring at its
boring, straight-laced-icons-on-white look? Then change its appearance.
Just as you can spiff up your desktop with colors and images, you can turn
any folder window into a work of art. In the next few tips, we'll show
you some folder decorating options.
How about using a picture for the folder window's background.
Open the folder you'd like to redecorate and select View, Customize This Folder. Select Choose a Background Picture and click Next. Select a background picture for the folder from the list, or click the Browse button, navigate your way to the picture you'd like to use, and click Open. Click Next, click Finish, and enjoy the folder's new view.
Just as you can spiff up your desktop with colors and images, you can
turn any folder window into a work of art.
How to change the color of the text used to label your icons,
as well as the color of the box that surrounds this text.
Open the folder in which you'd like to change the icon captions and select View, Customize This Folder. Select Choose a Background Picture and click Next. Under Icon caption colors, click the black box next to Text, select a new color for your icon captions, and click OK. Back in the Customize this Folder dialog box, click the check box next to Background, then click the white box to its right. Select a color for the box that surrounds icon captions and click OK. Click Next, click Finish, and those icon captions will be wearing their brand-new look!
If you Change your mind and want that folder window back the way it started? Not a problem--all it takes is one quick setting change.
Open the folder and select View, Customize This Folder. Select Remove Customization, click Next twice, click Finish, and you've got your old window back.
Activate Desktop
Would you like to be able to activate desktop and window icons by clicking them once, similar to selecting a link in a browser window? Windows 98 provides a couple of ways to turn this option on (or off, if you're trying to get back to a double click).
In any open folder window, select View, Folder Options. On the General tab of the Folder Options dialog box, select Web Style if you want to activate icons with a single click. (Or choose Classic Style to switch to a double click.) Click OK.
(Note: There are two more ways to access the Folder Options dialog box. Select Start, Settings, Folder Options; or, if you just happen to be in the Display Properties dialog box, select the Web tab, click the Folder Options button, then click Yes.)
In any open folder window, select View, Folder Options (or select Start,
Settings, Folder Options), and on the General tab, select Web Style for
single-click icons or Classic Style for double-click icons. If you want
more flexibility in determining your desktop settings:
For example, perhaps you'd like to choose whether or not Web-style
icons have underlined captions. Select the third option on the General
tab--Custom, based on the settings you choose--then click the Settings
button.
In the resulting Custom Settings dialog box, select the Single-click option under Click Items as Follows (or select the Double-click option to go back to a classic double click). Below the Single-click option, you'll notice two Underline options. Choose the first if you want all icon titles underlined (assuming you haven't changed this option in your browser settings); choose the second if you want to see icon captions underlined only when you hold your mouse pointer over them. Select any other settings in the Custom Settings dialog box that suit your fancy, click OK, then click Close.
No Active Desktop Consequences
If you wanted to reorganizing your Start menu's Programs list "if you have IE 4.0 installed" by simply clicking and dragging an item to a new location, or by right-mouse-clicking an item and selecting Delete; This method will not work unless you have IE 4.0's Active Desktop installed as well.
So if, despite having IE 4.0 installed, you right-mouse-click a Start menu item and nothing happens, now you know why. Assuming this Start menu functionality is worth the reasons you didn't install Active Desktop in the first place (probably not), now may be a good time to consider installing it (or upgrading to Windows 98).
Use you Properties.
Trying to determine the size of all the files in your Windows\Temporary Internet Files folder? In most cases, you can open a folder inside Windows Explorer, then look to the status bar for the number of files inside, as well as their total size. Not so with the Temporary Internet Files folder. Open it up and that status bar just stares at you blankly. To determine the stats for this folder, you'll need to right-mouse-click it, select Properties, and then wait as Windows adds up all the contents for you.
Have you ever tried to open the Windows folder, only to see a message at the right side of the window warning you not to mess with its contents? And that to see the files inside you'll need to click where it says Show Files? Talk about aggravating! If you didn't want to see the files, you wouldn't have tried to open the folder!
You'll see this warning if View as Web Page is selected for the open window. To avoid this security feature, view the Windows folder (and other folders to which this warning applies, such as Windows\System) in a window in which the View as Web Page option is NOT selected.
Where's The Details?
Remember back in the days of Windows 3.x when you could view the attributes of every file in a particular directory right in the File Manager window? (They had their very own column on the far right side of the Directory pane.) Well, Windows 98 has brought this feature back. You can opt to display file attributes whenever a window--single- or double-paned--is in Details view.
In any open window, select View, Folder Options, then click the View tab. In the Advanced Settings box, select Show File Attributes in Detail View, then click OK. To test this new setting, select a drive or folder that contains files to which attributes are attached (such as the root of your hard drive), switch to Details view, and check out the new Attributes column. (Note: If you have View as Web Page selected, the attributes for a selected file also appear on the left side of the window.)
Getting Interrupted
Need to copy or move a random group of files to a new location? Hold down Ctrl as you painstakingly hold your mouse pointer over each file to select it, and . . . someone just interrupted you in the middle of your file selection, don't panic. Windows 98 will remember the selection for you, even if you need to do something in another window in the meantime.
Minimize the window in which you made the selection, or switch to another window. (Just don't click inside the window you were working in.) When you're ready to get back to work, restore or switch back to that window, hold your mouse pointer over one of the previously selected items, and the entire selection reappears.
(Note: This tip only works if you can select a file by holding your mouse pointer over it--in other words, if you have your desktop set to act like the Web.)
Move your Taskbar
By default, the Windows 98 Taskbar chooses to sit along the bottom of your screen. However, if you feel like doing a little desktop reorganization, feel free to stir things up a bit and move it to your side of choice.
Click a blank area of the Taskbar (a good spot is right on top of the clock) and drag toward the side you have in mind. When that mouse pointer gets close enough, a fuzzy gray line will appear along that side to let you know where the Taskbar will end up when you let go. Let go of the mouse, and the Taskbar falls right into place.
OR; Click a blank area of the Taskbar, drag it over to any side of the screen, and let go. However, no matter where you move the Taskbar, it still occupies valuable desktop real estate. For maximum viewing space, keep this bar out of sight until you need it.
Right-mouse-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Properties. On the Taskbar Options tab, select Auto Hide, then click OK. From now on, the Taskbar will shrink off the screen when you aren't using it (click anywhere on the screen and watch it disappear). When you need the Taskbar, hold your mouse pointer over its visible edge, and it pops right back into view.
Press Ctrl-Esc to display the Taskbar without using the mouse.
Windows 98's System Information Tool
If you've used Microsoft Office 97, you may be familiar with the Microsoft System Information tool and wondered why such a tool didn't come with the operating system. This terrific utility is designed to help you provide pertinent information to technical support people when you're having problems with your system. Fortunately, Microsoft enhanced this utility and included it in Windows 98. The new version includes many helpful system tools, such as the System File Checker, which checks your system files to make sure that they're all correct, the Registry Checker, which scans Windows 98's Registry for errors and then makes a backup, The System Configuration Utility, which is an update of the old Windows 3.x SysEdit utility, and many other useful tools. You'll find the Microsoft System Information tool on the Programs/Accessories/System Tools menu.
Need to adjust your system time Or the date?
You could open the Control Panel and select the Date/Time item, but there's a much easier way to get to these settings. Just right-mouse-click the time on your Taskbar and select Adjust Date/Time in the pop-up menu. In the resulting dialog box, select the portion of the time you need to adjust and type your changes. To change the date, adjust the year using the up or down arrows, select a month in the drop-down list, and then click a date on the calendar. Click OK to save your changes.
That Yellow Speaker
Did the big boss just come into your office for a visit? Unless you
work behind soundproof walls, it may be a good idea to silence your system
for a bit (especially if you've got one of those crazy sound schemes selected).
Click the little yellow speaker on your Taskbar, and in the Volume box
that pops up, click the box next to Mute. When the coast is clear, just
click the speaker again and deselect this option.
Click it once, then select the Mute option in the box that pops up.
Of course, if you never use this button, you'd probably prefer to get it
off your Taskbar altogether, to make space for the icons you actually use.
(You'll find that as you install certain software programs, this area quickly
becomes cluttered with icons.)
To ditch that speaker, right-mouse-click it and select Adjust Audio Properties. (You could also open the Control Panel, select Multimedia, and click the Audio tab.) Deselect Show Volume Control on the Taskbar, click OK, and the speaker disappears. (Tip: To get it back, go back to the Audio tab of the Multimedia Properties dialog box and reselect this option.)
Hidden Files?
If you can't seem to find certain files on your system, chances are good they're hidden files (good examples are your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat). In order to see them, ask Windows 98 to "Show All Files."
In any Explorer window, pull down the View menu and select Folder Options. Click the View tab, and under Advanced Settings, be sure that Show All Files is selected under Hidden Files. Click OK and rest assured, Windows 98 isn't hiding anything from you now!
The Default Icon-arranging Setting for the Windows 98 Desktop.
Try to move any icon to a new location, and it jumps back into formation on the left side of the screen. Depending on your current desktop resolution, a certain number of icons fit in each row (for example, seven fit in a row with the resolution set to 800 by 600). But if you prefer, you can adjust this icon spacing to fit as many or as few icons as you wish.
Right-mouse-click the desktop and select Properties. In the resulting Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Click the down arrow under Item and select Icon Spacing (Vertical). Adjust the Size down or up, depending on whether you want the icons closer together or farther apart, respectively, then click Apply to see the result on-screen. Keep adjusting the size until you're happy with the results, then repeat these steps to adjust the Icon Spacing (Horizontal) item, if you wish. Click OK to keep your changes. (Tip: By adjusting the vertical spacing from 43 to 30, we were able to fit nine icons in each row comfortably.)
One more thing. If you want these changes to stick around, save them as part of a color scheme. Before clicking OK to close the Display Properties dialog box, click Save As, name the scheme (or type the name of the current scheme), then click OK.
Floppy Disk Viewing
Tired of opening an Explorer or My Computer window every time you want to see the contents of a floppy disk? For instant floppy viewing, add a floppy drive shortcut to your desktop.
Double-click My Computer, then right-mouse-click and drag your floppy drive icon to the desktop. Let go, select Create Shortcut(s) Here, and there's your shortcut. The next time you pop a floppy into the drive, just select this icon to view its contents in one quick step. No Explorer windows necessary!
Control Panel Shortcut
What's the most frequently accessed window on your system? More often than not, it's the Control Panel. This window provides one-stop shopping for all of your system settings (not including the Registry Editor, of course). Windows 98 provides easy access to this oft-used window in the Start, Settings menu, but for even quicker access, place a shortcut within arm's reach--either on the desktop or in the Quick Launch toolbar.
To add a Control Panel shortcut to the desktop, double-click My Computer, then right-mouse-click and drag the Control Panel icon out to the desktop. Let go and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. If you'd prefer to have Control Panel access from the Taskbar, follow these same steps but this time drop the icon on the Quick Launch toolbar. (Tip: Don't let go of the icon until you see a black line to indicate where it will end up.)
But if you're a keyboard person, you'll be glad to know there's yet another way to access these settings. Set up a hot-key combination to any Control Panel shortcut and you can open this window with a quick keyboard combo from anywhere on your system.
Assuming you've already placed a shortcut to the Control Panel on your desktop (or on the Quick Launch toolbar), right-mouse-click it and select Properties. Select the Shortcut tab, click once inside the Shortcut key field to place the cursor there, then type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to open the Control Panel. (How about C?) Click OK, press Ctrl-Alt-C, and there's the Control Panel!
How many Windows? You have a Choice
As you double-click a folder, inside a folder, inside a folder, do you find that the contents of each folder open inside a separate window? How annoying. Then you have to close each and every window when you're finished. (Stay tuned for our next tip for more help on this.) In Windows 95, you could change this setting (to open all subsequent folders in the same window) on the Browse tab of the View, Options dialog box of any Explorer window. Windows 98 makes you do a bit more digging to undo this annoyance.
Open any Explorer window and select View, Folder Options. On the General tab, select Custom, based on settings you choose, then click the Settings button. Under Browse folders as follows, select the first option, then click OK, Close.
You can override this setting on a one-time basis by holding down Ctrl as you select any folder. For example, if you've set this option to open subsequent folders in the same window, holding down Ctrl as you select a folder will open its contents in a new window.
Suppose you've opened a number of related windows (a folder inside a folder, and so on). Now you want to close them all. Instead of taking the time to click that little "x" in the top-right corner of each window, try this trick: Hold down the Shift key as you click the "x" in the last window you opened, and all the "parents" of that window will close, too.
Two-paned View
By default, when you double-click a folder icon, the result is a single-paned window displaying its contents. Wish you could open a folder directly to a two-paned view, Explorer-style? Right-mouse-click that folder, select Explore, and Windows Explorer jumps into action.
Did you already open a folder in a single-paned window, and now you'd like to change to two? Don't waste time closing the window and then reopening it. You can make the switch from within the window. Right-mouse-click the icon at the far left edge of its title bar and select Explore. Windows Explorer appears on-screen with a two-paned view of the folder's contents!
If you find yourself opting for this Explorer-style view all the time, now may be a good time to change the default action of your folders, so that folders open to this view automatically.
In any folder window, select View, Folder Options. Click the File Types tab, then scroll down and select Folder in the list of registered file types. Click Edit, and in the white box under Actions, select Explore. Click Set Default. ("Explore" will now appear in bold to indicate that it's the default action.) Click Close twice to make the change stick.
From now on, double-clicking a folder opens it in a two-paned view. (Tip: You can still open a folder in a single-paned window. Just right-mouse-click it and select Open.)
What's that little-white-box-with-a-calendar-and-red-clock symbol is doing on your Taskbar?
This icon belongs to the Task Scheduler. Similar to the old System Agent (part of Plus! for Windows 95), this utility will run the programs you want, whenever you want. For example, you might ask it to run the Disk Defragmenter on the last Friday of every month.
To open the Task Scheduler and view the programs it's currently scheduled to run, double-click the icon or right-mouse-click it and select Open. The resulting dialog box displays a list of all scheduled tasks.
If you don't see the Task Scheduler icon in the tray of your Taskbar, that means this utility is not currently active. You can open the Scheduled Tasks window by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. To activate this utility so that it runs whenever you start Windows 98 (and displays an icon on your Taskbar), select Advanced, Start Using Scheduled Tasks.
To open this utility, double-click the Task Scheduler icon in the tray of your Taskbar. (If you don't see an icon there, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. Then select Advanced, Start Using Scheduled Tasks to activate this utility and place its icon on your Taskbar.)
If there's a task in the list that you prefer to run manually (or not at all), delete it from the list. Right-mouse-click the task, select Delete, and it's gone for good.
Just as easily, you can add a new chore to the Task Scheduler's list. Click the Add Scheduled Task item, click Next, and wait as the wizard searches out the programs on your system. When it finishes, select an application in the list, click Next again, and follow along to set up a schedule for the task. Click Finish, and the new task appears in the Scheduled Tasks window.
The schedule of any chore that appears in the Scheduled Tasks window can be modified according to your own work habits. For example, suppose you've set the Disk Defragmenter to run at 12:30 p.m. (during lunch) on the last Friday of every month. But occasionally, you take a late lunch on Fridays. To be sure Defrag doesn't attempt to kick in right in the middle of your work, change its settings.
In the Scheduled Tasks window, right-mouse-click the task you'd like to modify--here, the Disk Defragmenter--and select Properties. Click the Settings tab and under Idle Time, make sure both options are selected. Under Only Start the Scheduled Task, set the number of minutes you'd like your system to be idle before Defrag kicks in. For example, if you frequently work away from your system for five to ten minutes at a time, set this time to at least 15 minutes. Then, set the number of minutes below If the Computer Is Not Idle to the length of time you want Defrag to keep trying to do its thing. For example, if you never leave for lunch past 2:00 p.m., set this time to 90 minutes. Click OK, and you can be sure that the Task Scheduler will obey all your rules.
You can disable any scheduled task, or you can disable the Task Scheduler entirely. To disable a single task, right-mouse-click it inside the Scheduled Tasks window and select Properties. Deselect Enabled at the bottom of the Task tab, click OK, and the Scheduled Tasks list will indicate that the task has been disabled. (To turn it back on, go back and select the Enabled option.)
To disable every scheduled task, simply pause the Task Scheduler. Right-mouse-click its icon in the tray of your Taskbar and select Pause Task Scheduler. Or, inside the Scheduled Tasks window, select Advanced, Pause Task Scheduler. To turn it back on, follow one of these two steps, but select Continue Task Scheduler.
To turn the Task Scheduler off completely so that it doesn't run in the background at startup, open the Scheduled Tasks window; select Advanced, Stop Using Task Scheduler; and close the window.
It's not always obvious whether a certain task, such as defragmenting your hard drive, has been completed or not. Fortunately, the Task Scheduler provides a log so you can see what it's been up to lately. To view it, open the Scheduled Tasks window and select Advanced, View Log.
If you wish to be notified whenever Scheduled Tasks is unable to complete a task, select Advanced, Notify Me of Missed Tasks.
If you liked Windows 95's accessibility options, Then you'll love Windows 98's.
Not only do they include a new option, Microsoft Magnifier, but they now offer a wizard to help you select which options are right for you. In today's tip, we'll show you how to install these new options (assuming you haven't installed them already--they aren't part of the default installation).
Open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs and click the Windows Setup tab. When Windows 98 finishes checking your system for installed components, select Accessibility in the list of components, and click the Details button. Select Accessibility Tools, click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked. Click OK again, and wait until Windows 98 finishes copying the files it needs.
Don't want to go searching through all the accessibility options to find out which ones are right for you? Let the wizard do it for you.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Accessibility Wizard. In the dialog box that appears, click the text you find most comfortable to read. (Funny, the instructions are in the smallest text!) Click Next twice (unless you want to change one of the selected options), then check any of the four statements that apply to you. Click Next, and follow along as the wizard asks you some questions, based on the statements you selected. For example, if you indicated that you have a hard time seeing things on-screen, you'll have the option to set a new scrollbar size, icon size, and color scheme. When you reach the end of the wizard, click Finish to keep the settings you've selected.
Take a closer look at Microsoft Magnifier, a very neat tool for the visually impaired (or for those of us who need to give our eyes a break once in a while).
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Magnifier. (Tip: If you use this tool a lot, you'll definitely want to place a shortcut to it somewhere handy, such as the desktop or your Quick Launch Toolbar.) Everything on your screen will jump down a bit to make room for a magnified area of the screen. By default, what you see in that area depends on the location of your mouse. (Move your mouse pointer to something on-screen and you'll see it magnified.)
Click OK to minimize the Microsoft Magnifier dialog box and get back to work. It's a little dizzying at first, but it sure beats holding a real magnifying glass up to the screen! (To turn off the magnifier, restore the Microsoft Magnifier dialog box, if it isn't already, then click Exit; or, right-mouse-click its Taskbar item and select Close.)
Don't like the Magnifier's behavior? Feel free to change its defaults using the Microsoft Magnifier dialog box. For example, if you find it dizzying to see an exact duplicate of what you're working on at the top of the screen, try inverting the colors. Select Invert colors, and assuming you're working on a document, you'll now see white text on a black background.
Or, to really zoom in on something, increase the magnification level. You can always change it back to the default 2. Play around with the different options, and when you finish making changes, click OK to minimize the window.
Note that you can also increase the size of the Magnifier pane to as much as half of your screen by holding your cursor over the bottom edge of the Magnifier until it turns into a double arrow, then dragging the edge down.