Windows XP & Vista Tips n Tricks

View all files in Windows Explorer

By default, Windows Explorer hides a lot of files from the user. It's easy enough to turn them back on, and if you want to poke around your system it's the only way to fly.

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Go to the Tools menu, and select Folder Options....
3. Select the View tab, and under Hidden Files and Folders, select Show hidden files and folders.
4. Beneath this, deselect Hide extensions for known file types. This means you should now be able to see whether a file is a .JPG or a .PNG for example.
5. You can optionally deselect Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) under this, however most people won't need this, and unless you really want to see a Desktop.ini file in every folder, it's best to just leave it off.

Make sure you can see all your files, not just the ones Microsoft wants you to see.
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Turn on the Quick Launch bar

So many don't even know it exists! The Quick Launch bar is a handy little toolbar into which you can drag application shortcuts that you regularly use. This way you can click once to launch them, rather than having to go through the Start menu.

• Right click on an empty spot on the taskbar, and mouse over Toolbars. Click Quick Launch.
• If the little handle doesn't appear for you to resize the Quick Launch bar (in case you need more room for your shortcuts), right click on an empty spot on the taskbar and make sure Lock the taskbar is unticked. If it's not, simply click on it to unlock the taskbar. You may choose to relock it once you're done resizing.
• You can delete icons from here by right clicking on them and choosing Delete; can reorder them by clicking on them and holding down the left mouse button, then dragging; or add new icons simply by dragging them from elsewhere in Windows. You can also drag icons from the Start menu — but make sure to hold down CTRL at the same time so it copies the shortcut rather than moves it.

The Quick Launch bar gives you quick access to your applications. The vertical line the two arrows are pointing to is the handle, which by left clicking on and dragging you can adjust the size of the bar.
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Keep your desktop icons in order

Simple one this — right click on the desktop in an empty spot. In Windows XP, mouse overArrange Icons By, and make sure Auto Arrange and Align to Grid are selected. By deault this orders all icons on the left hand side in alphabetic order, although you can also choose from Size, Type and Modified order. Or for the ultimate clean desktop, simply deselect Show Desktop Icons.

In Windows Vista, it's a little different. Right click on the desktop in an empty space, and mouse over View. Here you have the same Auto Arrange, Align to Grid and Show Desktop Iconsoptions, however gone are the arrange options, instead giving access to Large Icons, Medium Icons and Classic Icons. You can find the extra order options under the Sort By menu, belowView.

Get those desktop icons to do what you want.
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Turn on QuickEdit mode in Command Prompt

If you use the Command Prompt a bit, this little tip can be invaluable, allowing you to select text by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button, copy it by right clicking when text is selected, and pasting using the right mouse button when nothing else is selected.

1. Open Command Prompt (usually found in Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt)
2. Click on the icon in the top left, and click Properties
3. Check the box that says QuickEdit Mode, click OK
4. A pop up will appear. Select Modify shortcut that started this window

QuickEdit in action.
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Auto-tile applications vertically or horizontally

If you want to easily set up windows so they tile vertically or horizontally, hold down the CTRL key, click on the applications you want to tile in the task bar, and right click. If you're in Windows XP, you can choose Tile Horizontally or Tile Vertically, in Vista it's known as Show Windows Stacked and Show Windows Side By Side. You can also Cascade selected applications in both, however you're not likely to find this useful.

Sometimes you just need to show three things at once on screen.
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Stop that annoying click sound

Windows by default plays a "click" sound every time you click on a folder in Windows Explorer, or a link in Internet Explorer. It's superfluous and annoying, given the mouse already clicks for you. To turn it off in Windows XP:

1. Click on the Start button
2. Mouse over Settings and select Control Panel, then open Sounds and Audio Devices
3. Click on the Sounds tab
4. Under Program events, scroll down to Start Navigation
5. Under Sounds at the bottom of the dialog, change the drop down box to (None).
6. Click OK

To turn it off in Vista:

1. Click the Windows button, and click Control Panel
2. • If you're using the default view, click the green Hardware and Sound link, then under theSound category, click the Change system sounds link.
   • If you're using Classic View, just double click the Sounds icon.
3. Click the Sounds tab
4. Under Program, scroll down to Start Navigation
5. Under Sounds at the bottom of the dialog, change the drop down box to (None)
6. Click OK

For the love of all things silence — stop clicking!
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Maximise/restore window quickly

To maximise or restore a window quickly, simply double click on the title bar.

Expanded context menu

To get extra options when right clicking on a file, hold down SHIFT first.

Reduce crash recovery time

If you're not a sysadmin, there's a good chance you're not going to use logging or even understand a kernel dump. With that in mind, we can turn both features off when a blue-screen or crash happens, so you can restart things quicker.

1. In the Control Panel, open System. If you're using Vista, you have one more step: on the left hand side of the pane that opens, click the Advanced system settings link.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Startup and Recovery section click the Settings button.
3. Deselect Write an event to the system log, Automatically restart and set Write debugging information to (None)
4. Click OK, then OK again.

Keeping crash time to a minimum.
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Turn off security warning when running files

Needless to say you do this one at your own risk. If you download an executable or file that's seen as a security risk, Internet Explorer tags it so the operating system asks for your confirmation before running. The behaviour also extends to running files off a network, and we've seen cases where it can continue asking this even after you've told it not to.

Here's how to limit how much this not so lovely feature annoys:

1. Click the Start button, then click Run — if you're using Vista, just click the Windows button
2. Type gpedit.msc and hit enter
3. The Group Policy editor has now loaded. On the left, expand User Configuration
4. Expand Administrative Templates
5. Expand Windows Components
6. Click on Attachment Manager
7. Double click Inclusion list for low file types, and set the radio button to Enabled. In the field that appears below, enter the filetypes causing you issues, separated by semicolons. For example: .exe;.doc;.ppt;.xls. Click OK when you're done
8. Restart your machine for it to take effect

If you'd prefer to leave the feature on, but just unblock one file:

1. Right click the file and click on Properties
2. Click on the Unblock button and click OK

Yes. We're sure we want to run it. That's why we clicked on it, right?
(Credit: CNET.com.au)