WINDOWS Tips and Tricks
VOL. I

The Windows SIG meets at 7:30 PM on the 4th Wednesday
of each month.
All Windows SIG meetings are at 51 Monroe St., Plaza
East 2, Rockville, MD.
  
  Use Sysedit for configuration changes to your autoexec.bat,
config.sys, win.ini, and system.ini files.  This utility
will make a backup copy of the configuration files (with
a .syd extension).  You won't have to remember to make
a copy of these files before altering.  To use this
utility: Select the program group where you want the
icon to be.  Select file, new, program item, OK.  Then
type Sysedit under description, tab to command line
and type sysedit.exe.  Choose OK.  You should now have
an icon labeled Sysedit.
  Set ReservePageFrame=off in the [386Enh] section of
the System.ini if you don't use expanded memory for
any of your DOS applications.   
  To stop the annoying confirmation boxes in File Manager
select the Options menu, then Confirmation, deselect
to clear boxes, then choose OK.
  To copy the contents of the active window to the Clipboard,
press Alt and PrintScreen.
  To start an application minimized to an icon, while
Windows is running, hold down the Shift key while double
clicking on the applications icon.
  To set up a DOS prompt in a window (when running 386
enhanced mode), create a PIF file calling COMMAND.COM,
and check the windowed box under Display Usage. 
  When you press an alpha key in a program group, Windows
selects the next program item that begins with that
letter. (i.e., skip from Calculator to Calendar to Cardfile,
by tapping the C key.)
  To save your configuration, after resizing windows
and getting the "right look", hold the shift key down
and exit windows.  You won't actually exit windows,
your setup will be saved, and you can continue your
work.  To keep the same "look" , in Program Manager,
under Options, turn off the Save Settings on Exit Choice
(a check mark means "on", no check mark means "off").
  If you keep the Print Manager iconized you can easily
drag a file from the File Manager and have it printed
without having to load the application.
  If you have 8MB or more of extended memory create a
RAM disk.  This will put temporary files, such as Print
Manager's spool files, into RAM instead of on disk,
giving you a noticeable performance boost.  Use Ramdrive.sys
to create the RAM disk (see your DOS manual for directions).
Add lines Set Temp=e:\ (where e:\ is your RAM disk's
drive letter) and Set Tmp=e:\ to your Autoexec.bat file.
  To avoid loading any programs in your Startup Group
hold the Shift key down as Windows starts (when the
copyright logo comes on screen).  
  The Mouse section of Control Panel now offers a feature
called Mouse Trails that leaves a temporary trail on
your screen as you move the pointer.  This is especially
useful on notebooks.
  In the File Manager, when copying or moving files the
default arrangement for more than one window when tiled
is one above the other.  To force the windows to display
side-by-side hold the shift key down while selecting
Window, Tile.
  To customize the fonts used to display information
in a File Manager window, select Font from the Option
menu. This opens a dialog box that lists your font display
options.
  Double clicking on the Title Bar will minimize or maximize
a window.
  To quickly switch between open applications in Windows
3.1, hold down the ALT key and press the TAB key at
the same time. To display the application icon and name
for any open applications, repeatedly press the TAB
key while holding down the ALT key. To open the displayed
application, release the ALT key.
  To quickly switch between full-screen and windowed
display while using an MS-DOS-based application, simply
press ALT+ ENTER.
  To open a dialog box listing all the open applications
on your system, hold down the CTRL key and press the
ESC key. The Task List is handy for closing or switching
applications.
  With Windows 3.1, you can use COM ports 1 and 3 together,
in addition to COM ports 2 and 4, if you have the appropriate
hardware. COM ports may need a unique interrupt (IRQ)
assignment. These settings can be modified in the advanced
settings section of the Ports dialog box accessed through
the Control Panel.
  To display the contents of more than one drive or directory
at once using the new File Manager, double-click the
drive icon to open an additional window for that drive,
and select the Tile command from the Window menu.
  To set up or remove Windows components (accessories,
games) after you have installed Windows 3.1, open the
Windows Setup application located in the Main group,
and select Options from the Setup menu. The dialog box
presents information about which optional Windows components
are installed and how much disk space they are using.
Select the Help button or press Fl for more information.
  To use your mouse to copy from an MS-DOS based application
running in a window, from the application's Control
menu select the Edit, Mark command.  With Windows 3.1
you can then use the mouse to highlight the area of
text you want to copy. Return to the Control menu, then
select Edit, Copy to copy the highlighted area of text
to the Clipboard. The data can then be pasted into an
application for either MS-DOS or Windows.
  To run a tutorial that teaches the basics of using
a mouse and Windows, choose the Windows Tutorial command
from the Help menu in the Program Manager. 
  To insert special characters not found on your keyboard
into your document, use the new Character Map application
in the Accessories group.  Double-click on the Character
Map icon, and a dialog box displays different characters
for the font specified.  After selecting the character
you want, simply press the Select and Copy buttons to
place the desired characters in the Clipboard. From
the Clipboard, the special character can be pasted into
your document.
  To assign sounds to different system and application
events--for example to play a sound whenever you start
Windows--open the Control Panel and choose the Sound
icon. In the Events list, select the event that you
want to assign a sound to, and in the Files list, select
the sound file you want to use. To hear the sound, choose
the Test button or double-click the event or filename.
Choose the OK button.  You must have either a sound
card or the Microsoft PC Speaker driver for this tip
to work.
  To make resizing your windows easier try increasing
the border width.  To do this open the main group, open
control panel. and then choose desktop.  At the bottom
left corner under Sizing Grid increase the border width
setting.  A setting of 6 to 8 will give a nice wide
border that will enable you to resize the windows much
easier.
  Use the Startup Group to load apps and utilities on
start up of Windows.  Then select the icon you want
to put in (or move to) the Startup Group as follows.
To copy the icon hold the control key down, and then
click left mouse button and hold down.  Drag icon into
the Startup Group.  This app or file will now start
everytime you start Windows.  To by pass the start up
items, press the shift key as soon as the Windows 3.1
logo comes on the screen.
  To change your Windows video driver, exit Windows.
Change to the Windows subdirectory (usually c:\windows)
and enter setup/i.  This will start setup without trying
to detect your hardware setup.  Change your video driver
here then restart Windows.  This is handy if you change
to an incompatible video driver and need to recover.
  To use a Microsoft mouse in a non-Windows program you
need to use the mouse driver included with Windows 3.1.
This driver has to be manually expanded.  Find the disk
that contains MOUSE.*, and issue the following commands
at the DOS prompt to expand them into your Windows directory:
      EXPAND a:\MOUSE.CO_ c:\windows\MOUSE.COM
      EXPAND a:\MOUSE.SY_ c:\windows\MOUSE.SYS
  If your system has less than 2MB of RAM, TrueType may
not have the memory it needs to operate properly.  If
you have these problems consider either bitmap or vector
fonts, rather that TrueType.



These Tips, Tricks, and Techniques were complied for
you by the Windows Special Interest Group of the Capital
PC User Group, which  meets on the fourth Wednesday
of each month at 51 Monroe St., Plaza 2 East, Rockville,
MD.  Meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the
public.  Each month we feature an in-depth look at Windows
features and products.  These Tips were a recent topic
at our meeting.  Bring your Windows questions and problems
- we are "users helping users".  We would be pleased
to have you attend.

For more information about the Windows SIG :  Charles
Kelly,  SIG Chair  (h) 703-642-2329  (w) 202-357-9511

----------
WINDOWS Tips and Tricks
VOL. II

The Windows SIG meets at 7:30 PM on the 4th Wednesday
of each month.
All Windows SIG meetings are at 51 Monroe St., Plaza
East 2, Rockville, MD.

Optimizing
1.  Make A Clean Boot Disk.  A clean boot disk, with
only the bare essentials for Windows is an invaluable
tool.
  The AUTOEXEC.BAT can be as lean as:  
    C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE  (Optional--set buffers=2
if used)
    PATH=C:\DOS
    PROMPT $P$G
    SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
    WIN
  The CONFIG.SYS can be as lean as:
    \WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS (Optional)
    FILES=30
    BUFFERS=50,8 (Disk<100 MB use XX,8.  XX=half of #
MB on disk)
    STACKS=9,256
.    LASTDRIVE=C (or whatever your last drive is)
2.  Increasing Virtual Memory Limits.  By default the
maximum amount of memory that Windows can use is equal
to the amount of RAM in your system--rounded to the
nearest four MB--multiplied by four.  To increase this
multiplier (and make more virtual memory available)
add the setting PageOverCommit= to the [386Enh] section
of your SYSTEM.INI file.  On a 4 MB system a setting
of 5 will increase virtual memory to 20 MB, 6 will get
you 24 MB, and so on.  There is a maximum multiplier
of 20 if you want to use 80 MB of disk space for virtual
memory.
3.  Screen Saver Shortcut.  Would you like to manually
start the Windows screen saver when you leave your desk,
instead of waiting for the time delay to kick in?  This
trick will give you "Screen Saver on Demand".  First,
check the Password Protect option in the screen saver
Setup dialog box (under Main, Control Panel, Desktop).
Then click on Set Password... and enter a password.
Now edit the WIN.INI file.  In the [Windows] section
edit the Programs= setting by adding .SCR after the
existing settings.  It should look like this: PROGRAMS=COM
EXE BAT PIF SCR
  **Windows must be restarted for WIN.INI changes to
take effect.**  Now make an icon in whatever group you
choose.  Select group, Choose File, New, Program Item,
from Program Manager Menu.  In the Command Line section
of the Program Item Properties dialog box type the file
name of the screen saver you selected earlier.  **The
names may be SSADARK.SCR, SSFLYWIN.SCR, SSMARQUE.SCR,
SSMYST.SCR, OR SSSTARS.SCR.**  Add /S after the screen
saver name, this will activate it immediately.  Then
in the Shortcut Key box type the key combination you
want to use to immediately activate the screen saver.
Don't forget to enter a title for your newly created
icon.  Now by either clicking on the icon or using the
shortcut key combination your screen saver will be immediately
activated.
4.  Customize Control Panel Icon Display.  Through an
undocumented feature you can decide which icons will
display in Control.  The default display is dynamically
loaded--based on installed equipment and Windows' configuration.
To configure Control Panel to disable a specific icon,
in the CONTROL.INI file add the section heading [Don't
Load].  Then under this heading add the name of the
icon you don't want to display and equate it with true,
e.g.,  keyboard=true.  The next time you open Control
Panel the icons you specified to don't load will not
load.
5.  Quickly Change Icon Properties.  To quickly change
the properties of an icon just hold the ALT key down
while double clicking on the icon.  (You can do this
without the mouse also.  Select the icon by using arrow
or tab keys then hit ALT-ENTER.)  The Program Item Properties
dialog box will appear instantly.  **Bonus tip -- To
quickly add a new icon just hold the ALT key down and
double click in an empty space in the group where you
want to add the icon.**
6.  Speeding Up Windows.  Optimizing Windows often involves
trade-offs. I highly recommend the following for faster
-and better--Windows performance:
  a.  Use SmartDrive.
  b.  Use a Permanent Swap File (Virtual Memory)
  c.  Use FastDisk, if possible.
  d.  Defragment your hard disk--often.
  e.  Fire the Print Manager.
  f.  Trim your WIN.INI file.
  g.  Fine-Tune SYSTEM.INI.
  h.  Consider hardware upgrades.
  I.  Look for faster drivers.
  j.  Put Windows first in your PATH statement.
  k.  Run CHKDSK periodically.
  l.  Close apps that don't need to be running - performance
will   increase.
  j.  Clear the Clipboard (or save contents w/File-Save
As) after pasting.
7.  Backup Your Configuration Changes.  Use Sysedit for
configuration changes to your autoexec.bat, CONFIG.SYS,
win.ini, and SYSTEM.INI files.  This utility will make
a backup copy of the configuration files (with a .syd
extension).  You won't have to remember to make a copy
of these files before altering.  To use this utility:
Select the program group where you want the icon to
be.  Select file, new, program item, OK.  Then type
Sysedit under description, tab to command line and type
sysedit.exe.  Choose OK.  You should now have an icon
labeled Sysedit.

Navigation Tips
8.  Using The Keyboard.  This is often faster than using
the mouse and pull-down menus.  For example, ALT-FS
will quickly save the current file.  This saves moving
your hand from the keyboard, finding the mouse, moving
the mouse, clicking on icon or File, Save, and then
finding your place back on the keyboard.
9.  Jumping Between Programs.  Use ALT-TAB to cycle through
open applications (also known as the "CoolSwitch").
To use this make sure the Fast ALT-TAB Switching box
is checked under the Control Panel, Desktop section.
10.  Cycle Between Open Documents In The Same App.  Use
either CTRL-F6 or CTRL-TAB to cycle between open documents
in the same application.  Not all apps support both.
11.  Use Task List To Show Active Apps.  To call up the
Task List use CTRL-ESC or double click on a vacant area
of your desktop.
12.  Toggle Between Full Screen And A Window.  Just double
click anywhere on the open application's title bar to
toggle between a window and full screen.  No more hunting
for the small up and down arrows.
13.  Toggle DOS Apps Between Full Screen And A Window.
Press ALT-ENTER to toggle a DOS app between a window
and full screen.
14.  Access Control Menu Or Select Current Window.  The
Control Menu is the little icon at the upper left corner
of every window.  It looks like a space bar--to quickly
access it press ALT-SPACE.  Just below this is an icon
that looks like a hyphen--to quickly access it press
ALT-HYPHEN.  This opens the control menu for the current
document.
15.  Close An Application.  Press ALT-F4 or double click
on the control box (looks like a space bar).  The same
actions will close the current document.  In Program
Manager the same action will close Windows.

Printing Speedup Tips
16.  Use A TEMP File For Print Spooling.  Make sure that
there are two lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file like SET
TEMP=C:\TEMP and SET TMP=C:\TEMP.  This will send temp
files, like the print spool, to specified directory.
A warnings here:  make sure that the TEMP directory
is on a drive with at least 6 MB free--if not your system
may slow to a crawl or refuse to print.  If you have
8 MB or more you might consider creating a RAM drive
for this TEMP directory.  With a RAM drive TEMP your
print spool will be directed to memory rather than hard
disk (RAM is much faster than hard disk).
17.  Fine Tune Print Manager.  Launch Print Manager from
the MAIN group and change the Priority setting.  Low
gets you back to work quicker but slows printing.  Medium
divides time between foreground app and printing.  High
speeds printing but may slow the foreground app performance.
For fastest output, disable Print Manager by opening
Printers in Control Panel and unchecking the Use Print
manager box.
18.  Keep Printer Drivers Updated.  Check with your printer
manufacturer, local BBS, or the Microsoft Download BBS
for the latest printer drivers.  The Microsoft BBS number
is (206) 637-9009 @ 2400 and (206) 936-6735 @ 9600.
Don't like long distance?  There is a local Microsoft
BBS, the number is (202)364-8699.

OTHER TRICKS
19.  To Bypass The Startup Group.  To bypass the startup
group simply press the SHIFT key as soon as the Windows
3.1 copyright screen appears.  This will stop the items
in your Startup Group from loading.
20.  In Windows Word Processors.  You can use the Shift
key to easily select blocks of text, giving you more
control that dragging.  To do this, position your cursor
at the beginning or end of the section you wish to select.
Hold the SHIFT key down and click once at the other
end of the block you wish to select.  The block is quickly
selected with precision.
21.  Easy File Open.  Here's a handy trick for Word for
Windows.  Do you dislike opening Word for Windows, and
starting with a blank screen.  Then you have to select
File, Open just to get to the point of selecting a file.
Try this.  Select Word for Windows, then hold the ALT
key down while double clicking.  This brings up the
Properties box.  After the application executable add
/mFileOpen.  The line will be:  C:\WINWORD\WINWORD.EXE
/mFileOpen
22.  Move or Copy?  When dragging and dropping to copy
files in File Manager you often find that they have
been moved instead.  This happens because the default
setting is to move any file that is dragged onto or
within the same drive.  To gain control, hold the CTRL
key down before and while dragging files when you want
to copy (C for copy) and hold the ALT key down before
and while dragging files to move the file.
23.  Select discontiguous files.  Want to select discontiguous
files in File Manager?  Click on the first file, then
hold the CTRL key down when clicking on any other discontiguous
files.
24.  Select contiguous files.  Want to select a block
of contiguous files?  Click on the first (or last) file,
then hold the SHIFT key down while clicking on the file
at the other end of the range.
25.  To Vertically Tile File Manager Windows.  By default
Windows tiles the windows in file Manager horizontally,
to tile then vertically just hold the SHIFT key down
when selecting Window, Tile.
26. Assign A Hot Key to Program Manager.  Use a "hot
key" to instantly access your Program Manager.  Open
the STARTUP Group.  Select File, New, Program Item.
Use browse to select C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.EXE.  Click
in the SHORTCUT KEY box.  Then press CTRL and a letter
-I usually use CTRL-P.   Of course, you will have to
restart Windows for this to work initially.
27.  Print Directory Trees.  Go to a DOS Prompt.  Type
TREE C:\ /A>PRN or DIR C:\ /S /B /A:D>PRN.    Replace
C:\ with whatever drive you wish.  The first command
will print an indented directory tree, complete with
lines; the second will print full directory names, one
to a line.
28. Quick Picks In List Boxes.  Instead of scrolling
through a list hunting for a file name that you know,
simply click on the list box and then type the first
letter of the file name.  You will move quickly down
the list.
29. Making Directories Work For You.  Specify a working
directory (where you keep your data files) for your
applications.  This saves the time of changing directories
every time you look for your data files.  From Program
Manager, select the application icon and hold the SHIFT
key down and double click.  Then enter the drive and
full path of the data files associated with the application.

WAYS TO USE DRAG AND DROP
30.  Create Icons In Program Manager.  Drag a file from
File Manager and drop it on an open Program Manager
group window.
31.  Rearrange Icons In Program Manager.  Drag an icon
from one open group window and drop on another.
32.  Print documents.  Open Print Manager or drag a copy
of the icon into the STARTUP group and drop (select
RUN MINIMIZED  under PROPERTIES if you do this).  Holding
the SHIFT key down when double clicking an icon will
also start it minimized.  Then just drag a file from
File Manager and drop it on the minimized Print Manager
icon.  Instant printing.
33.  Open Documents.  Drag a file from File Manager and
drop it on an open application window or a minimized
application icon.
34.  Put Files On A Diskette.  Drag a file from File
Manager and drop it on the A: or B: drive icon in File
Manager.
35.  Rearrange Directories in File Manager.  Drag a directory
from File Manager and drop it elsewhere in File Manager.
You can make directories into subdirectories by just
dropping them onto the directory you want them to be
under.
36.  Link And Embed Documents Into Other Documents. 
Linking and embedding is easy with drag and drop.  Just
open the document you want to contain the linked or
embedded file and open File Manager. Arrange them side
by side on your desktop so one does not overlap the
other.  In File Manager find the file you want to link
or imbed within the open document.  To embed, place
the mouse cursor over the file, press and hold the left
mouse button and then move the cursor over the open
document.  When the mouse is over the place you want
to embed the file, let go of the left mouse button.
The file is embedded.  To link the file, do the same
thing, except hold both the SHIFT and CTRL keys down
while you do it.
37.  Some Power Drag And Drop Tips.
a.  Stop Annoying Confirmation Messages.  Disable the
Mouse Action confirmation.  Select Options,   Confirmation
then click on the Mouse Action box.
b.  Select All Files.  Use the forward slash key to select
all the files in a directory.  Click on any one of the
files in a directory.  Press the / key to select them
all.
38.  Recover Lost Program Manager.  Ever accidentally
move Program Manager so its title bar falls beyond the
top of the screen?  Then can't retrieve it with the
mouse?  Only the keyboard can help you then.  Press
and hold the ALT key and then press the SPACEBAR; let
both of them go.  Press the M key.  Press the down arrow
repeatedly until Program Manager is back in the picture.
Press the ENTER key.


These Tips, Tricks, and Techniques were complied for
you by the Windows Special Interest Group of the Capital
PC User Group, which  meets on the fourth Wednesday
of each month at 51 Monroe St., Plaza 2 East, Rockville,
MD.  Meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the
public.  Each month we feature an in-depth look at Windows
features and products.  These Tips were a recent topic
at our meeting.  Bring your Windows questions and problems
- we are "users helping users".  We would be pleased
to have you attend.

For more information about the Windows SIG :  Charles
Kelly,  SIG Chair  (h) 703-642-2329  (w) 202-357-951