Windows 98
Tips & Tricks (2)

Get rid of the Office Shortcut Bar and use new Windows 98 Quick Launch.

If you are using Microsoft Office 97 with Windows 98, the new Windows 98 Quick Launch bar operates as a more versatile and convenient Office Shortcut Bar. It’s located just to the right of the Start button on the taskbar. You can place buttons on it in any order you want and put it anywhere you want on your desktop. To move your current shortcuts from the Office Shortcut Bar to the Quick Launch bar:

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Shortcut Bar.
3. Click and drag any shortcuts you want to the taskbar.
4. Right-click a blank area on the Office Shortcut Bar and click Exit. When prompted if you want the bar to run when you restart Windows, click No.

Get express e-mail from your Windows 98 desktop with e-mail shortcuts.

If you frequently send electronic mail to the same person, you can create a shortcut on the desktop that will instantly open a preaddressed message in your e-mail client (for example, Microsoft Outlook Express). To create an e-mail shortcut:

1. Right-click a blank area on the desktop.
2. Point to New and click Shortcut.
3. Type mailto: and insert the e-mail address after the colon, leaving no space.
4. Click Next.
5. Select a name for the shortcut and click Finish.

Add shortcuts to your SendTo folder for quick e-mail attachments.

Once you’ve completed the above tip and added e-mail shortcuts to your desktop, copy them into your Windows SendTo folder. If you’re using Outlook, this allows you to attach a file to an e-mail message and send it simply by right-clicking the item to attach, pointing to Send To, and choosing the shortcut from the pop-up menu. To copy the icon to the SendTo folder:

1. Right-click the new shortcut and click Copy.
2. Open Windows Explorer.
3. Go to C:\Windows\SendTo.
4. From the File menu, click Paste.

Browse everywhere from any Explorer window.

You’ve probably heard a bunch about true Internet and desktop integration in Windows 98. Here’s some of the proof. You can switch back and forth between Web pages, files and folders on your computer, network drives, and pages on a corporate intranet—all from the same browser or window. Toolbar buttons change to match content you’re viewing, and you can use the Forward and Back buttons to flow freely between locations. For example, type a folder location in the Address bar of your browser or, vice versa, type a Web site address in your Address bar in My Computer.

Give your clicking finger a rest, using single-click desktop icons.

In Windows 98, you can change your desktop to operate in single-click mode, which allows you to open applications, windows, and folders the same way you do in your Web browser. To change from double-click mode to single-click mode:

1. Double-click (for the last time!) My Computer .
2. On the View menu, click Folder Options.
3. Click the General tab and click Custom, based on settings you choose.
4. Click Settings and click Single-click to open an item.

Surf your computer the same way you surf the Web.

In Windows 98, click My Computer to open a window in a default setup called Web View. You "surf" the contents of My Computer similar to surfing in a Web browser. Along the left side, a panel displays useful information specific to the item you click. For example, if you point to a disk drive, the panel displays drive size and free space. If you point to a folder, the panel displays a folder description. If you point to a file, the panel displays document details and a thumbnail image of the file.

Get instantaneous desktop access.

The Quick Launch toolbar on the Windows 98 taskbar contains a new Desktop button. With a single click of the Desktop button, all open windows are instantly minimized. Click again to restore all open windows, or click a single icon on the taskbar to open only that application or window.

Make a Web page (or a single graphic on a Web page) your desktop wallpaper.

You can use any hypertext markup language (HTML) document, or Web page, as your desktop wallpaper. To make a Web page your wallpaper:

1. Right-click the desktop and click Properties.
2. Click the Background tab.
3. Click Browse, and locate and click the Web page you want.
4. Click Apply.

Bonus Tip: You also can right-click any graphic on a Web page, and click Set As Wallpaper.

Clean off your desk—remove all desktop icons from your desktop.

The Windows 98 Active Desktop allows you to view Web sites, updated subscription channels, pictures (including animated pictures), and more. If you want to see all this content without desktop icons getting in the way:

1. Right-click anywhere on the Active Desktop.
2. Highlight Active Desktop and click Customize my desktop.
3. Click the Effects tab.
4. Check Hide icons when the desktop is viewed as a Web page.

Don't worry-you still have access to your desktop icons. In Windows 98, you can add them to your taskbar:

1. Right-click a blank area on the taskbar.
2. Highlight Toolbars and click Desktop. The Desktop toolbar will appear on the taskbar.

Undo file operations.

Have you ever accidentally deleted, renamed, moved, or copied a file you didn't intend to? Windows 98 has added an Undo command-that works like the Undo command in Microsoft Office 97 applications-to every user interface window. Click Undo on the toolbar (if you are viewing a window in Web View), or click Undo on the Edit menu.

Add your most frequently used programs to the taskbar.

You can create custom toolbar buttons on the new Windows 98 taskbar simply by dragging a program file, folder, or Web site window onto the taskbar. Windows 98 will automatically create a toolbar button for that application, folder, or Web site.

Search the Web directly from your Windows 98 taskbar.

To search the Web from your taskbar, first open the Address toolbar:

1. Right-click a blank area on the taskbar.
2. Highlight Toolbars and click Address. The Address toolbar will appear on the taskbar.

To search the Web, begin typing a Web address in the text box, and AutoComplete will suggest URLs based on sites you've visited. Or type Go, Find, or ? followed by a word or a phrase.

Create your own toolbar on the taskbar.

You can turn any folder into a toolbar, complete with single-click icons accessible from the taskbar. To create your own toolbar:

1. Right-click any empty space on the taskbar.
2. Highlight Toolbars, and click New Toolbar.
3. Click the folder you want to become a toolbar, and click OK.

After you've created your toolbar, you can click and drag it to any location on your desktop-for example, you can anchor it at the top-, right-, or left-hand side of the screen.

Play Help hide-and-seek.

The Help system in Windows 98 has a new look. Click Start and click Help. When you click the Contents tab, you will see Back and Forward buttons similar to a Web browsing menu. There are also Hide and Show buttons: If you want to maximize the windows as you view Help information, click Hide to hide the Contents and Index pane. Click Show to view Contents and Index again.

Simply drag and drop to reorganize your Start menu.

In Windows 98, it is much easier to move programs, shortcuts, and Favorites around. Simply click Start and then highlight Programs, Favorites, or Documents. Click and drag the item you want to move to its new location. You can even move items up from submenu locations to higher levels for faster access

Copyright© 1998 of The Code Name: Windows 98 Team