MS Windows NT Tips

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TIP #2: SPACED-OUT ICONS

When you use the Auto Arrange or Line Up Icons option on the desktop or in an open window, you'll notice that WindowsNT/ 95 lines up all the icons in neat little rows, the same distance from one another. If you'd rather they line up closer together, or further apart, change your icon spacing.

• Right-mouse click the desktop
• Select Properties
• Click the Appearance Tab.
• Under Item, select Icon Spacing (Horizontal) or Icon Spacing(Vertical) and type a new number next to Size. (The default for horizontal is 60, for vertical 43.) 
• Click Apply or OK to make your new settings stick.

TIP #3: TRASH COME BACK

If you've sent an item to the Recycle Bin that you suddenly decide you need back. Well, you're in luck-as long as you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin since you deleted that item. Double-click the Recycle Bin desktop icon to display its contents.  When you find the item you'd like back, right-mouse click it and choose Restore. Windows NT/95 returns the item to its original location.

TIP #4: INSTANT WALLPAPER

To make a prettier desktop, you can simply convert a picture into a .bmp file and use it as wallpaper.  Use a utility specially designed to convert any graphics file to BMP format. 

To use the picture as wallpaper

• Select Start/Settings/Control Panel
• Double-click the Display icon
• Click on the the Background Tab 
• To find your picture, click the Browse Button. 
• Double-click the file name, 
• Select the Tile or Center button the 
• Click OK.

If you find an image while surfing the Internet with Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can change your wallpaper instantly without first saving the file.  With the image displayed in your browser, right-click the image and choose Set As Wallpaper.  The new wallpaper will be either centered or tiled, depending on this setting in the Control Panel's Display Properties sheet.

TIP #5: BIGGER BUTTONS

See those three buttons at the top right of every Windows NT window that allow you to minimize, restore (up or down), or close a window?  If you find them a little too small to grab onto, you can change their size.

Right-mouse click the desktop and select Properties to open the Display Properties dialog box.  Click the Appearance Tab, and in the Item list, select Caption Buttons (or click any caption button in the preview). Adjust its Size, and watch the preview to see the resulting buttons. When you like what you see, click Apply or OK. (Note: Changes affect the Taskbar, too.)

TIP #6: WHAT, ME RECYCLE? (Version 4.0)

Deleting files sends them by default to the Recycle Bin, where you can still get them back if need be (that is, until you do a FILE/Empty Recycle Bin which empties the trash).

If you change you mind, and you DO want the file that you placed in the Recycle Bin, you can simply open up the Recycle Bin icon and either drag the file out of the Recycle Bin, or, with the file highlighted select FILE/Restore - the file will be placed in the original place from where it was deleted.

If you want to trash a file without sending it to the Recycle Bin at all, knowing that you'll never want to see it again, select it, hold down Shift and press Delete. 

Reminder:  You'll want to delete files in your Recycle Bin on a regular basis by opening up the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and selecting FILE/Empty Recycle Bin from the menu - this deletes the files permanently!!

TIP #7: FINDERS KEEPERS

If you've just completed a Find that you know you'll need again, keep it around for future use. It's a lot quicker than having to type in all those conditions again.

Once you've completed your search, pull down the FILE menu and chooseSave Search. Doing so places an icon that represents that find on the desktop. (Of course, you can move it wherever you want, such as into a folder you've set up just for finds.)

To conduct the same search in the future, double-click the shortcut. Find will open with all the conditions set--all you have to do is click Find Now.

TIP #8: FREE UP HARD DISK SPACE

We receive a lot of requests for tips on freeing up hard disk space. One suggestion is to search your system for *.ZIP and *.AVI files (and other types of video files you might have), and delete the ones you don't need. 

ZIP files are typically left over from Internet downloads.  Once an application is installed, you probably don't need the ZIP file it was packaged in (unless it's something you know you'll need to reinstall). 

Video files (*.AVI) also take up quite a bit of space.  For example, you can free up 7 MB of hard disk space by deleting the *.AVI files from your c:\Windows\System folder.

TIP #9: HANDY NOTEPADS (Version 4.0)

NotePad is a handy text editor.  It's so handy that you might like to keep it readily available. Perhaps you'd like to place a shortcut to it on your desktop. 

If so, open Windows NT Explorer and locate the Winnt folder.  In the right pane of Explorer, locate the Notepad.EXE icon and use the rightmouse button to drag it to the desktop. When you release the mouse button, NT will open a menu.   Choose Create Shortcut(s)Here.   Now NotePad will always be readily accessible.

TIP #10: ROUND, ROUND, I GET AROUND (Version 4.0)

The usual way of getting around in a window is to use the mouse, but it isn't the only way.  Let's say you're in the Drive C window and the first folder is selected.  If you want to move to the second folder, you can use the mouse to click open a folder, you can double-click it.  If the folder is already selected, you can open it by simply pressing Enter.

TIP #11: PULL UP A WEB SITE FROM THE START BUTTON

Want a quick way to pull up your favorite URL? Try the Run command line.

Here's how:

• Click the START button
• Select RUN
• Type in the URL you want to go to on the command line, and click OK.

 <your browser opens and takes you directly to that site>

(Note: If you've installed Internet Explorer 4.0, selecting an item in the Start Menu's Favorites folder is even faster.)

TIP #12 - SOME NT POINTERS (Version 4.0)

If you'd like to try some different mouse pointers, click 

• Start/Settings/Control Panel
• Doubleclick the Mouse Icon. 
• Click the Pointers Tab to see what pointers are currently in effect.

Let's say you want to change the Normal Select pointer. You can choose one of the pointers in the list, or you can choose a third-party cursor (provided you have some on your hard disk). To look for a pointer, click Browse, then locate and select an appropriate cursor (a *.CUR file). 

After you make a selection click 

• Click OPEN
• Click OK.

TIP #13 - YOUR TYPING TEACHER WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU

In an open Explorer or My Computer window, you can jump to your file or folder of choice by typing its first few letters. The trick is not to type too slowly. If you do, you'll end up at the first file or folder that starts with the first letter you type, then the first file or folder that starts with the second letter you type, and so on. But if you type fast, Windows NT reads the whole combination of letters together.

TIP #14 - SOME WILD CHARACTERS

An asterisk (*) tells the system to look for any  characters regardless of what and how many. 

A question mark (?) tells  the system to look for a single character regardless of what. 

So if you  enter at*.* in a search, you'll get all files that begin with the  letters "at." 

If you enter at?.txt, you get all the files that consist  of three letters, begin with "at," and have the .txt extension.

TIP #15 - WHAT DAY IS IT?

Working too hard?  Lose track of time ? 

Whatever your excuse, if you have Windows NT/95 on hand, you'll always know what day it is. 

To see the date, all you have to do is hold the mouse pointer over the clock on the right end of the Taskbar. 

In a second or so, Windows flashes a little box showing the day's date, no matter what day you thought it actually was. 

TIP #16 - ALT+TAB, WITH A DIFFERENCE

You can use ALT + TAB to quickly switch to ANY open application or window on your desktop: 

1. Hold down the ALT key. 
2. Press TAB.   A box appears showing icons for each of your open windows and a description of which icon is selected. 
3. Press TAB until the window you want is selected. 
4. Release the ALT key. You're switched immediately to the new application window. 

TIP # 17 - GETTING RID OF LAST USED FILES

NT/Win2000 [Get rid of Last Used Files Reference Listing on START menu from Taskbar Properties]

Windows remembers the most recently used documents, Web pages, and other programs that you've accessed.  This is a useful feature, but the storage of these extra files can take up extra space. 
To get rid of these references, you can do this quickly and easily from the Taskbar:

• Right-click on the Taskbar
•  Select 'Properties'
• Click the 'Advanced' tab and click on the [Clear] button.

TIP # 18 - MINIMIZE ALL OPEN WINDOWS

SHORTCUT - Minimize ALL your open windows 

There are many times when you want to get to your DESKTOP when you have windows open and can’t see the desktop - you’d need to minimize or close the windows with your mouse.

Here’s a shortcut that will minimize ALL your open windows and takes you to the DESKTOP in one quick step.

  WINDOW/m

ALL your open windows are automatically minimized!!

•  hold the WINDOW key down while touching the m key on the keyboard]

[The ‘WINDOW’ key is the key between the CTRL key and the ALT key on your keyboard]

TIP #19 - FILE EXTENSIONS

FILE-NAME EXTENSIONS – What are they?

Did you ever get a file with a filename extension that you don’t know?  You can get information about the file extension by visiting the following Website and click on the first letter of the file extension (e.g., click on E if the file extension is .exe – it will give you a list of all the filename extensions that begin with ‘e’!!

http://webopedia.internet.com/quick_ref/fileextensions.html