Desktop Tips By Mohammad
agha (all free)
Restoring a Lost Desktop - Added 3/15/00
Making Desktop Changes Permanent - Added 10/16/98
Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop - Submitted 8/14/98
Unable to Create Shortcuts on the Desktop - Added 1/3/98
Repositioning a Background Bitmap - Added 4/6/97
Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text - Submitted 1/24/97
Removing Items from NEW on the Desktop - Added 7/28/96
Adding the Device Manager to your Desktop - Added 5/27/96
Changing Desktop Folders - With No Registry Changes - Submitted 12/14/95
Updating the Desktop - 11/28/95
Minimizing all windows - 9/24/95/95
Turning on AutoArrange - 9/13/95
Quick access to your Desktop - 9/3/95
Turning off Desktop Icons
Removing the Network Neighborhood icon
Changing the Startup and Logoff Bitmap screens
Icons
Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons - Added 1/8/00
Increasing the Icon Cache - Submitted 10/30/99
Make Icons 256 Color 16-Bit - Submitted 7/19/99
Removing Shortcut Arrows - Submitted 3/28/99
Changing a Folder's Icon - Submitted 8/14/98
Fixing Corrupted Desktop Icons - Updated 5/25/98
Removing the InBox from the Desktop - Submitted 12/29/97
Customizing Individual Folder Icons - Submitted 11/22/97
Removing the Recycle Bin - Submitted 11/16/97
Having Icons with No Name - Updated 9/28/97
Changing Drive Icons - Added 4/6/97
Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop - Added 9/8/96
Modifying Default Desktop Icons - Added 7/27/96
More Removing Shortcut Arrows - Submitted 3/12/96
Changing Application Icons - Submitted 1/21/96
Removing the shortcut arrows (potential problem) - 11/5/95
Removing the shortcut icon arrows - 9/18/95
Restoring corrupted icons
Renaming the Recycle Bin
Start Menu
Organizing the Start / Programs Listing - Added 5/29/01
Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically - Added 11/9/99
Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu - Added 10/17/98
Moving the Start Button - Submitted 7/4/97
Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right - Submitted 4/25/97
Removing the Start Button - Submitted 11/24/96
Customizing the Start Button's Name and Icon - Added 5/28/96
Adding Options to the Right-Click of the Start Menu - Submitted 5/20/96
Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu - 11/17/95
Getting rid of Click here to continue - 11/4/95
Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons - Submitted 6/29/96
Adding the Control Panel icons to the Desktop - 10/2/95
Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu - 10/2/95
Speeding up the Start Menu
Misc
Easy Access to Folders from the Toolbar - Added 9/9/01
Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut - Added 1/31/00
Creating 3D Window Effect - Added 1/8/00
Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! ) - Submitted 5/25/98
Getting Screen Shots - Submitted 4/12/98
Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar - Submitted 1/11/98
Adding Send To the Recycle Bin - Submitted 10/11/97
Adding AnyFolder and Mail to SendTo - Submitted 3/7/97
Easier User Interface - Submitted 1/24/97
Changing the clock to 24-Hour Time - Added 10/20/96
Adding Drives to the SendTo List - Submitted 6/29/96
Adding a Protected Briefcase - Submitted 6/23/96
How to make the task bar autohide - Added 5/15/96
Closing Nested Folders - Added 2/28/96
Moving and Resizing the Taskbar - Submitted 1/21/96
Correcting Corrupted Fonts - 1/11/96
Creating document scraps - 9/13/95
Turing off Windows Animation
Using old Window's Groups
Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin icons
Removing the Tildes in filenames
Easy Access to Folders from the Toolbar
Added 9/9/01
You can quickly access commonly used folders from your Toolbar
- Right click on an open area of the Toolbar
- Select Toolbars / New Toolbar
- Browse to the directory you want to add
- Now on the toolbar you will see the name of that folder displayed.
- Click on the >> to open any sub-folders as well.
Organizing the Start / Programs Listing
Added 5/29/01
As you add more and more programs, the listing of them in Start / Programs can get fairly long.
One solution is to categorize your programs into several groups, create a folder for those groups, and move the shortcuts to those folders.
For example:
- Start the Explorer
- Go to Windows / Start Menu / Programs
- Create new folders with the categories you want (e.g. Graphics, Utilities, Internet etc.)
- Now move the shortcuts to those programs in Windows / Start Menu / Programs to whichever category you decide.
This can greatly reduce clutter and make it a lot easier to find your programs.
Note: Windows2000 and WindowsXP Users will need to go to the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs directory
Restoring a Lost Desktop
Submitted 3/15/00
If you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button,
you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
- Click Start
- Click Run
- Type a period " . "
- Then press Enter
Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut
Added 1/31/00
To create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
- Right click on an open area of the desktop
- Select New / Shortcut
- For the Command Line, enter mailto:
- For the title enter something like New E-Mail
- When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.
Creating 3D Window Effect
1/8/00
You can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
- Make sure the following setting are there:
- ButtonHilight=128 128 128
- ButtonShadow=255 255 255
Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons
Added 1/8/00
To create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindowsexec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0
Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically
Added 11/9/99
If your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
