|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Making The Windows Control Panel More User-Friendly
By Greg Shultz, ZD Journals
Do you regularly access the Control Panel to run one of its utilit
utilities? I know that I do. I'm constantly clicking through the
Start menu selecting \Settings\Control Panel and then waiting for
the folder to open. After a while it gets tiresome.
Since I'm always on the lookout for techniques that will save me
time and effort, I did some research and discovered two techniques
for putting the Control Panel directly on the Start menu as a
cascading menu. The first technique gives you access to the entire
Control Panel while the second technique simply gives you access
to those Control Panel utilities that you use most often.
In this article, I'll show you how to make the Control Panel much
easier to use by implementing each of these techniques. As I do,
I'll discuss the advantages of each technique and explain how
they will save you time as well as increase your efficiency when
troubleshooting or configuring your computer
Technique 1: Listing The Entire Control Panel On The Start Menu
------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to have easy menu access to the entire Control Panel,
you'll want to implement this version of the technique. Putting
the entire Control Panel on the Start menu is as easy as creating
a new folder in the Start menu folder and then using a special
code that loads the Control Panel from within the Registry.
To begin, simply right-click on the Start button and select
either the Open or Explore command from the shortcut menu. When
you do, Windows 95/98 opens either a My Computer window or a
Windows Explorer window rooted in the Start Menu folder,
respectively.
At this point, you'll create a special folder. The easiest way
to do so is to press [Alt]F and use the accelerator keys NF. (If
you're using the original version of Windows 95, you'll use the
accelerator keys WF.) This keystroke combination quickly pulls
down the File menu, opens the New submenu, and selects the Folder
command.
Once Windows 95/98 creates the folder, type
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
in the highlighted rename text box. Be sure to type this Registry
code exactly as it is shown above. If you don't, the technique
will fail.
Once you finish typing the Registry code, press [Enter]. When you
do, Windows 95/98 replaces the standard folder icon with the
Control Panel icon. It also replaces the Registry code with the
words Control Panel.
If the icon doesn't change, then you mistyped the Registry code.
Simply click the icon once to enable the rename text box and
retype the code.
Once you've inserted Control Panel in the Start Menu folder, you
can close the folder. Now, you can easily access any of the
Control Panel utilities by selecting the new Control Panel
cascading menu, which now appears on the Start menu.
Of course the advantage of this technique is that you have access
to all of the utilities in the Control Panel. However the
drawback it that the menu can appear crowded, which may make it
difficult to find what you're looking for.
Technique 2: Putting Select Control Panel Utilities On The
Start Menu
------------------------------------------------------------------
The crowded menu drawback of the first technique led me to develop
this second technique. Furthermore, I typically don't need to
access all of the utilities in the Control Panel, only a select
group of the utilities.
If you'd rather put on the Start menu only those Control Panel
utilities that you use frequently, you can do so by creating a
folder in the Start Menu folder and creating and copying shortcuts
to those particular Control Panel utilities you need. To begin,
access the Start Menu folder and create a folder as I explained
in the previous section. However, this time you'll name the folder
as you normally would. For example, I named mine the Control
Center.
Then, open the Control Panel as you normally would. Next,
reposition the Control Panel folder so you can see both it and
your Control Center folder easily. Now, you can drag the
utilities that you use most often from the Control Panel to your
new Control Center folder. When you do, Windows 95/98 will
inform you that you can't copy or move Control Panel utilities
and prompt you to create a shortcut. Just select yes to continue.
Windows 95/98 may automatically add to each utility's title the
prefix Shortcut to. If so, you'll probably want to remove the
prefix to keep things looking neat. To do so, simply select each
item, press [F2], and then highlight and delete the prefix.
Once you've created shortcuts to all the Control Panel utilities
that you use most often, close both folders. Now, you can easily
access those Control Panel utilities you use most often by
selecting the new Control Center cascading menu, which now
appears on the Start menu.
Enhancing The Second Technique
------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, both of these techniques provide you with similar
results - easy access to Control Panel utilities. However, the
second technique provides you with additional advantages. Let's
take a closer look.
Reorganizing The Control Center Folder
Since the Control Center folder contains shortcuts, you can now
organize the items in the folder according to which utilities
you use most often. To begin, open the Control Center folder and
then rank utilities in the order that you use them the most.
Once you've decided on a ranking, you're ready to organize the
Control Center folder. To do so, choose the utility that you use
most often, select it, and press [F2]. When you do, the rename
text box will open and highlight the text. Simply press [Home]
to move the cursor to the beginning of the text and type 1)
followed by a space. Then, press [Enter] to close the rename
text box and effect your change. Now, select the next most
frequently used utility and use the same procedure as before:
select the shortcut, press [F2] followed by [Home], type 2),
press the spacebar, and press [Enter]. Continue renaming your
shortcuts using the appropriate ranking. When you finish, press
[F5] to refresh the folder contents and then close the Control
Center folder. Now, when you open the Control Center cascading
menu, the utility that you use most frequently will be at the
top of the list.
Adding The Control Panel To The Control Center
------------------------------------------------------------------
Second, if you want to keep all the Control Panel utilities in one
place, you can put the entire Control Panel in your Control Center
folder. To do so, simply follow the instructions from the first
technique to create the Control Panel folder. Only this time,
create it inside the Control Center folder rather than the Start
Menu folder.
Conclusion
------------------------------------------------------------------
Putting access to the Control Panel utilities directly on the
Start menu allows you to make configuration changes quickly and
easily. In this article, I've shown you two techniques for putting
Control Panel utilities on the Start menu.
Greg Shultz is a Senior Editor for ZD Journals. He writes two
monthly tips and techniques journals, Inside Microsoft Windows 98
and Inside Microsoft Windows 95. You can reach Greg at
greg_shultz@xxxxxxxx
|