Click to become an iconoclast
Disable
Windows Animation
When minimizing or restoring a window, have you seen the window shrinking
(or expanding)? If you're looking to boost performance, disable this window
animation. To do so, use TweakUI (see Product Review, it@tt, 5 June 01)
or directly edit the Windows Registry. In Start|Run, type Regedit and
click OK. In the Editor navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the left pane, right-click WindowMetrics
key and select New, String Value. Type MinAnimate to name the new value
and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click MinAnimate and select
Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, type 0 on the Data Value
line. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows 98. To
re-animate windows, delete the MinAnimate string (right-click it, select
Delete, then click Yes to confirm), or change its data value to 1 (right-click
it, select Modify, type 1 on the Value Data.
Always
Show File Extensions
In any Explorer window, select View|Folder Options and select the File
Types tab. Select a file type under the Registered File Types, click Edit
and select Always Show Extension. Click OK twice. Now every file of that
type will display an extension (even if you've selected the Hide File
Extensions For Known File Types option on the View tab of the Folder Options
dialog box).
Change
Icon Associated with File Type
If you are bored with the "text-on-a-page" icon next to your
*.TXT files? Well you can change it. From the Windows Explorer, select
View|Folder Options and select File Types. Select a file type in the Registered
File Types list and click Edit. In the Edit File Type dialog box, click
Change Icon. (If this command is greyed out, you can't change the default
icon). To pick a new icon, click Browse and find one you like, then click
Open finally click OK. And click Close twice.
Changing
Mouse Pointers
Now that you've fixed the file icon, what about your mouse pointer. Windows
offers a host of variations including piano keys, bananas, horses and
even a dinosaur. Open Control Panel|Mouse|Pointers and highlight the pointer
you want to change. Then click the Browse button. Select a pointer, click
Open, and back at the Pointers list, click Apply. Repeat for each pointer.
Make sure that you have installed the additional cursors first.
Edit Background
Patterns
Click on the desktop with the right mouse button and choose Properties.
From the Patterns list in the Background tab pick one that looks like
it might be fun to change. Now click the Edit Pattern button. But first
ensure that no patters are selected for Wallpaper. Also if your desktop
has a black background, switch to another colour from the Display Properties'
Appearance tab. Patterns are nothing more than a grid of black or coloured
boxes. Click a box, and it toggles between black and your desktop's background
colour. The nice thing is that you get to see your changes right in the
Sample box as you work. When you're done, give the pattern a new name.
Then click Add and finally click Done. To make a Scottie a Doberman just
make the tail and legs longer for a whole new look!
Compiled
by G Menon
[email protected]
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