Me Blog (Em-nice)

16 software tips, tweaks and tricks

Windows Vista SP1

001. Turn off User Account Control (UAC)

The most annoying feature of Vista, UAC interrupts with a pop-up dialogue box, consistently asking if it's OK to run things. It serves two purposes, both to protect the user in case a malicious program is run, and to get programmers to write more secure code. Which is all very nice, but it completely gets in the way of day-to-day work. Here's how to turn off the annoying nuisance forever.

1. Click the Windows button in the bottom left-hand corner.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. This step will change depending on whether you're using the Classic view for Control Panel or not. 
o If you're using Classic View, double click User Accounts
o If you're using the default view, click on the green User Accounts and Family Safety link, then the green User Accounts link
4. There should be a link here, Turn User Account Control on or off. Click it
5. Click Continue in UAC for the last time
6. Uncheck User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer, then click OK
7. A notification will pop up — save any documents you have open, and choose Restart Now to reset your computer
8. Never deal with UAC again!
 
Die, die, die my darling.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

002. Show multiple time zones in the system tray

If you're an international traveller, or have family or business overseas, this one might come in handy, allowing you to display up to two extra clocks from the system tray.
1. Click on the time, then click on the Change date and time settings... link
2. Click on the Additional Clocks tab
3. Check one of the boxes that says Show this clock
4. Set the time zone and display name and click OK when done
5. Now when you click on the time, a second or third clock is shown, with the display name used as a label above it
 
World time is one click away.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

003. Improve network performance

By default, Vista SP1 has protections enabled which throttle back network performance while playing a media file. This is to ensure the CPU has enough available cycles to play back the media smoothly; however, it may lead to noticeable network performance deficits, particularly over gigabit.
To turn it off: 
1. Click on the Windows button
2. Type regedit and hit enter
3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\
4. Double click the NetworkThrottlingIndex key, and enter FFFFFFFF as the Value data, making sure the Base is set to Hexadecimal
Note that the entry supports values between 1 and 70, and the default is 10. If you enter a numeric value, make sure that the Base is set to Decimal rather than Hexadecimal. The higher the number, the more the throttling is weighted in favour of the network. You may wish to experiment to suit your particular network set-up/media playing needs.

004. Control your audio

Windows Vista supports per application volume control — meaning you can turn your Windows sounds right down, but Media Player right up, for example. Just right-click on the volume icon in the system tray, and click Open Volume Mixer for the extra level of configurability.
 
Finally, we can control volume per application. (Credit: CNET.com.au)

005. Better screenshot tool

Unlike the ages old Printscreen button on the keyboard that takes a screenshot of your entire screen, there's a more complex tool hidden within the bowels of every version of Windows Vista except Home Basic. Known as the snipping tool, it was originally found in an add-on pack for XP Tablet Edition 2005, to make using a stylus easier. Now mouse users on Vista can reap the benefits too.
Just open the Start menu, type snip and hit enter to load the tool. You can now specify whether you want to take a screenshot of a free-form area, a rectangular one, isolate a window or take a screenshot of the entire screen. After you've used the mouse to highlight the area you want, you can draw on the screenshot to add notes, and then save it as you would a normal file.
You can create a keyboard shortcut to it in two ways. For the first, right-click on the application, choose Properties, select the Shortcut tab and in the Shortcut key field click, and enter any alphanumeric key. By default Windows assigns a CTRL + ALT in front of the shortcut, however, we've found this often doesn't work — try holding down SHIFT while pressing a key, to make the key combination CTRL + SHIFT + [whatever key you pressed]. You might create a shortcut here that will clash with existing ones, so be careful.
By far the easier way is to simply CTRL + drag the Snipping Tool shortcut into your Quick Launch bar, effectively copying it there. Now you can access it by pressing + whatever number Quick Launch button it is (for example, if it was the first in the row, you'd press + 1).
 
Better screenshots for all!
Windows XP & Vista

006. 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.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

007. 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.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

008. Keep your desktop icons in order

Simple one this — right click on the desktop in an empty spot. In Windows XP, mouse over Arrange 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 Icons options, 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, below View.
 
Get those desktop icons to do what you want.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

009. Know your keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can make using your PC a heck of a lot quicker. Listed below are some of the essentials — note that a plus symbol (+) indicates striking keys simultaneously.
Universal shortcuts
  Opens Start menu. You can also use CTRL + ESC
 window Key + R Open Run dialog
 window Key+ E Open Windows Explorer
window Key + D Show desktop
window Key + L Lock computer
window Key + PAUSE or BREAK Load system properties
window Key + B Make the system tray active. Use Enter to simulate a double click, or use the arrow keys to select the icons
window Key + TAB Windows XP: Cycle forward through applications in the taskbar 
Windows Vista: Cycle forward through Flip 3D 
window Key + T cycles the taskbar forward in Vista
window Key + SHIFT + TAB Windows XP: Cycle backward through applications in the taskbar 
Windows Vista: Cycle backward through Flip 3D 
window Key + SHIFT + T cycles the taskbar backward in Vista
ALT + TAB Cycle forward in task switcher
ALT + SHIFT + TAB Cycle backward in task switcher
CTRL + ALT + DEL Bring up the Windows Security dialog, allowing you to log out, change password, lock the computer, shutdown or run the Task Manager
CTRL + SHIFT + ESC Load the Task Manager
PrintScreen Take a screenshot, and copy it to the clipboard. To retrieve it, you'll need to paste it into an imaging program like Paint and save it

Windows Vista Only
window Key + any number Hotkeys for the appropriate entry in the QuickLaunch bar. For example, + 1 will execute the first shortcut, + 2 the second, and so on.

File operations in Windows Explorer
CTRL + C Copy the file
CTRL + X Cut the file
CTRL + V Paste the file. If you previously performed the copy shortcut, the file will be copied to the chosen location. If you previously performed the cut shortcut, the file will be moved to the chosen location
CTRL + Z Undo the previous file operation
Holding CTRL when click dragging a file Upon release of mouse button, force the file to copy to the new location
Holding ALT when click dragging a file Upon release of mouse button, create a shortcut to the file in the new location
Holding SHIFT when click dragging a file Upon release of mouse button, force the file to move to the new location
ALT + ENTER or
ALT + double left click on icons Load the properties dialog
SHIFT + DEL Delete file immediately, without sending it to the Recycle Bin.
SHIFT + arrow keys, or HOME/END Group select/deselect multiple sequential files
CTRL + left click Select/deselect multiple specific files
F2 Rename file
F3 Open search Explorer bar
F4 Go to address bar
F5 Refresh contents
Numpad * Expand entire selected folder tree
CTRL+ A Select all files in current window
 or numpad + Expand current folder
 or numpad - Collapse current folder
BACKSPACE Go up to parent folder

Shortcuts with text
CTRL + or Place the cursor at the beginning or the end of the current word.
CTRL + END Send the cursor to the end of the document
CTRL + HOME Send the cursor to the beginning of the document
Double click Quick select the clicked word
Triple click Quick select the clicked paragraph
SHIFT + arrows, HOME, END, PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN Select text

Navigation without a mouse
SHIFT + F10 Same as right clicking a file
TAB Navigate menu elements forward
SHIFT + TAB Navigate menu elements backward
ALT + F4 Close the current application
ALT + SPACEBAR Display application system menu
ALT + Underlined letter in menu Open that menu
SPACEBAR If a checkbox or radio box is selected, activates this. If a button is selected, clicks it
ENTER Click the default button (usually OK)
ESC Equivalent to clicking the CANCEL button

010. 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.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

011. 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.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

012. 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. 
o If you're using the default view, click the green Hardware and Sound link, then under the Sound category, click the Change system sounds link.
o 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!
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

013. Maximise/restore window quickly

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

014. Expanded context menu

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

015. 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.
(Credit: CNET.com.au)

016. 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)