Chapter 10. Applications
Hacks 88-98
An operating system by itself is a paltry thing; applications do the real work. So, if you want to get the most out of XP, you need to hack the applications that run on top of it.
Some old programs have a hard time running under XP, so you’ll see in this chapter how to get apparently incompatible programs to run under the operating system. You’ll also find out how to remove applications and uninstall entries that you can’t seem to get rid of, even when you thought you’d uninstalled the application. And we’ll cover shortcuts for launching applications quickly and customizing them to the way you like them. There’s more as well, including how to create and open Microsoft documents without having to spend hundreds of dollars for Office.
Remove Unruly Applications and Uninstall Entries
Uninstalling programs is sometimes tougher than you expect; even when you use built-in uninstallers, programs leave bits of themselves all over your hard disk and Registry. Here’s how to remove them.
Uninstalling applications can be a tricky business. At a glance, it seems simple: choose Start → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs, then choose the program you want to remove in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, and click Remove.
But uninstall routines are generally only as good as the programmer who made them. And that means unruly programs commonly leave bits of themselves behind, even after you uninstall them. They might leave behind DLLs that load every time you start Windows, as well as Registry entries, even though the original program is gone. In both instances, your system performance takes a hit loading resources for programs that no longer exist. The programs also might leave behind unnecessary files and folders, which take up hard-disk space.
There’s a good deal you can do to clean up after these unruly applications, though. Follow this advice:
After you’ve run the uninstallation routine, run the Registry Editor [Hack #83] , search through the Registry for any keys and values the program left behind, and then delete them. Frequently, you can find the settings for the program at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPublisherProgram Name, wherePublisheris the name of the software company that made the program andProgram Nameis the name of the software package (in the case of companies with multiple products like Symantec or Adobe). For safety’s sake, make a backup of Registry keys [Hack #86] before deleting them.Before uninstalling the application, look through your hard disk to see where the program stores its files and folders. Then, after you run the uninstallation routine, look for those files and folders and delete them if they haven’t been deleted. Often, you’ll find them in C:Program Files<Publisher><Program Name>.
After uninstalling the program, make sure no parts of the program are still being run at startup. To do that, delete their entries from
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunandHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun.Create a restore point so that you can restore your system to the state it was in before you installed the program. Choose Control Panel → Performance and Maintenance → System Restore and follow the wizard for creating a restore point. If you’re testing an application and aren’t sure you’re going to keep using it, create a restore point before you install it. Then, after you’ve installed the application and decided not to use it, revert to that restore point instead of using the uninstallation routine; it’s more thorough.
Use RegSpy [Hack #87] . This downloadable program lets you watch and track changes made to the Registry whenever a program installs and runs, and it lets you roll back changes the program made.
Remove Stubborn Uninstall Entries from Already Uninstalled Programs
Inexplicably, even after
you’ve uninstalled some programs, their entries
still remain listed in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box. As time
goes on, it’s easy for you to forget what programs
you’ve uninstalled, so when you see their entries
there you’ll assume the programs are still on your
hard disk, but when you try to uninstall them you’ll
receive an error message. There’s an easy way to
remove those entries. First, try to uninstall the program from the
Add or Remove Programs dialog box. If it doesn’t
uninstall, run the Registry Editor and open
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall.
Look for the entry of the uninstalled program (it will be the program
name) and delete it. In some instances, instead of the program name,
you’ll see an entry like this:
{3075C5C3-0807-4924-AF8F-FF27052C12AE}. In that
case, open the DispayName subkey in that entry; it
should have the name of the program—in this instance, Norton
Antivirus 2002. When you find the proper entry, delete it. For
safety’s sake, make a backup of Registry keys
[Hack #86]
before deleting them.
Remove Access to Certain Microsoft Programs
As part of a settlement in a federal antitrust case, Microsoft was forced to allow non-Microsoft programs to be the default applications for certain uses, such as email, web browsing, and digital entertainment. Users also had to be allowed to remove access to Microsoft programs that accomplished those tasks. That ruling came well after Windows XP was shipped, though, so some copies of XP don’t allow you to do that. However, if you have a later version of XP, or if you have installed Windows XP Service Pack 1 (also called SP1) or Windows XP Service Pack 2 (also called SP2), your copy of the operating system has those capabilities.
Tip
To find out if you have SP1 installed, right-click My Computer and look on the General tab. The words “Service Pack 1” will be there if you have SP1 installed.
To remove access to Microsoft programs, first find out if your system has these capabilities. Choose Start → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs and see whether the Add or Remove Programs dialog box contains a button in the left pane titled Set Program Access and Default. If it does, you can remove access to Microsoft programs. Click that button. You’ll find three choices: Microsoft Windows, Non-Microsoft, and Custom. Click the double-down arrow next to any choice to see more details.
If you choose Microsoft Windows, your default programs for web browsing, email, instant messaging, digital entertainment, and accessing Java applications will be Microsoft programs. If you choose Non-Microsoft, the defaults will be the non-Microsoft programs your computer manufacturer installed on your PC. If you choose Custom, you can pick and choose between Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications, as shown in Figure 10-1.
Keep in mind that “removing access” doesn’t mean removing (deleting) the program. It means only the icon for the program will be removed. For example, if you remove access to Internet Explorer, it won’t actually be deleted from your hard disk; you merely won’t be able to see its icon. Also, be aware that not all email, instant messaging, digital entertainment, and web browsing programs will show up on the non-Microsoft or Custom lists, so you won’t necessarily be able to use this screen to set them as your defaults.
All this means that the best use for the Set Program Access and Default dialog box is to remove the icons of some Microsoft programs; it doesn’t offer a lot of functionality beyond that.
See Also
Force XP-Incompatible Applications to Run
Don’t throw away your old programs that can’t run under XP. Use these hacks to force them to work.
Some older applications, including old games and programs written specifically for an earlier version of Windows, might not run properly or run at all under XP. But there’s a lot you can do to make sure they run, including running an automated Compatibility Wizard and using a little-known Microsoft tool to solve compatibility problems.
Use the Compatibility Wizard
If you find a program that won’t run under XP, start with the easiest step. Run the Compatibility Wizard: choose Start → Help and Support → Fixing a Problem → “Application and software problems” → “Fix a problem” → “Getting older programs to run on XP,” and then scroll down and click Program Compatibility Wizard.
You’ll be prompted to choose the software you want to fix and then you will be asked a series of questions, including the operating system for which the software was written, or on which it last ran properly, and the screen resolutions recommended for the program. Figure 10-2 shows the wizard in action. Once you’ve made your choices, the wizard applies those settings and tries to run the program. If the settings work, the wizard will let you specify to always run the program using them. If they don’t work, try different settings until you get them working properly.
Sometimes you’ll find a program won’t even install on your system. In those instances, run the Compatibility Wizard on the installation or setup program, which commonly goes by Setup.exe or a similar filename. Then, after it installs, see if it works properly. If it doesn’t, run the wizard again, this time on the installed program.
If you’re not a fan of wizards, there’s another way to set the program’s compatibility settings. Right-click the program’s shortcut icon and choose Properties → Compatibility. Then you can manually configure compatibility settings, as shown in Figure 10-3. You can change the same settings as you can using the wizard. You might have to try several different settings before you find one that works.
At the bottom of the Compatibility dialog box shown in Figure 10-3, you’ll notice a setting that lets you turn off “advanced text services.” That setting is applicable if you use speech recognition and text services, so if you use them in the application that won’t run, try turning them off for this application to see whether it helps. If the program doesn’t use these services, don’t bother using the setting.
If the Compatibility Wizard doesn’t work, try these steps:
Check the software manufacturer’s web site to see if an update, patch, or fix is available.
Use Windows Update to see if a fix is available, by choosing Start → Control Panel → Windows Update.
Update your sound card and video card drivers by checking the manufacturer sites and downloading new drivers.
If the problem program is a game that uses DirectX, upgrade to the newest version of DirectX by going to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and clicking the DirectX link or searching for DirectX.
Use the Application Compatibility Toolkit
If the wizard doesn’t work, turn to a more powerful tool, a little-known free program from Microsoft called the Application Compatibility Toolkit. It will automatically apply fixes to hundreds of programs to enable them to run under XP. You can find it in the SupportTools directory of the XP CD, though a much better bet is to download it from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/appcompatibility/default.mspx because newer versions are always being made available online.
Turn off your antivirus program before installing the Application Compatibility Toolkit. The program makes many changes to numerous Registry entries, and antivirus software often interprets those changes as a malicious script.
After you install it, you don’t have to do anything to fix the programs; the analyzer does it for you. It won’t fix every program, though. To see if it fixed yours, go to C:Program FilesMicrosoft Windows Application Compatibility ToolkitApplicationsCompatibility Administrator, run Compatadmin.exe, and go to System DatabaseApplications. You’ll see a list of hundreds of programs that the toolkit has fixed. Scroll to see whether your problem application is on the list and, if it is, to see what fixes were applied. Figure 10-4 shows the fixes it applied to the MusicMatch Jukebox music software.
See Also
Force Older Programs to Use XP Common Controls
Older Windows programs look ancient and outdated in XP because they don’t use the newer-style buttons and checkboxes. Here’s how to make them use XP common controls.
When you run an older program in XP, the operating system applies an XP-type frame around it, with rounded titlebars. But the older program itself still uses its older-style interface. You can, however, force older programs to use XP-type common controls for things such as checkboxes and buttons. You’ll have to create a manifest file (a specifically formatted XML file) and place it in the same directory as the older file.
Example 10-1 shows the code to put in your manifest
file. For Program Name, enter the name of
the program, and for Description of
Program, enter a description for the program.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
<assemblyIdentity
version="1.0.0.0"
processorArchitecture="X86"
name="Program Name"
type="win32"
/>
<description>Description of Program</description>
<dependency>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity
type="win32"
name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
version="6.0.0.0"
processorArchitecture="X86"
publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
language="*"
/>
</dependentAssembly>
</dependency>
</assembly>To create the file, open Notepad, copy the text into it, and save it to the same folder as the executable file of the program you want to force to use XP common controls. Give it the same name as the program’s executable file, but with an extension of .manifest. For example, if the program’s executable file is named oldprogram.exe, give the manifest file the name oldprogram.exe.manifest.
See Also
Launch Applications with Command-Line Shortcuts
Launch applications quickly and customize what they do when they run, by using command-line shortcuts, parameters, and switches.
Windows is a graphical operating system, but all these pretty icons, menus, and clicking often get in the way of getting work done. That’s particularly true when you want to launch applications.
I started computing in the days of DOS, when real men and women didn’t use mice and icons (sometimes because it wasn’t an option). So, I look for any chance I can get to use the command line, particularly when doing so saves me time and lets me take more control of my computer.
That’s why I frequently launch applications using command-line shortcuts, along with parameters and switches. Parameters and switches let you customize the way programs launch. They’re usually specific to each individual program, though some work on many or all programs.
An even bigger timesaver is to use the command line along with keyboard shortcuts. That way, you can press a key combination—such as Ctrl-Alt-W, for example—and launch Microsoft Word with a new document open, based on a specific template.
Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Running Applications
First you’ll
create a desktop shortcut to the application, and then
you’ll customize the shortcut so that it launches
when you use a specific key combination. Right-click the desktop and
choose New → Shortcut. Enter or browse to the filename of
the application for which you want to create a shortcut Include its
path and surround it with quotation marks, such as
"C:Program
FilesMicrosoft
OfficeOffice10WINWORD.EXE“. Click Next; then, in
the “Select a name for the
shortcut” box, type the name of your new shortcut
(such as Basic Word), and click Finish.
Right-click the shortcut you just created and choose Properties. In
the Shortcut tab, shown in Figure 10-5, put your
cursor in the “Shortcut key” box
and press the key combination you want to use to start the program.
It has to be a combination of Ctrl-Alt, Shift-Alt, or Shift-Ctrl,
plus a letter key, such as Ctrl-Alt-A, Shift-Alt-A, or Shift-Ctrl-A.
In our instance, we’re using Ctrl-Shift-W. Click OK.
Now the program will launch whenever you press the shortcut key
combination.
The Shortcut tab contains a variety of entries that let you customize how the program launches when you use the shortcut. The Run drop-down list lets you start the program minimized, maximized, or in a normal window. The “Start in” box lets you determine the start location for the application. You can even customize the ScreenTip that appears when you hover the mouse cursor over the shortcut. In the Comment box, type the text you want to appear as a ScreenTip. Figure 10-6 shows how such a customized ScreenTip looks when a mouse cursor hovers over it.
Customizing Shortcuts with Switches and Parameters
Launching applications with a keyboard shortcut is a timesaver, but there’s still a lot you can do to customize those shortcuts. For example, you can set up a number of separate keyboard shortcuts for Word—for example, to launch Word with new documents based on a different template, or to open Word to specific, already-created documents.
For example, let’s say you want to launch Word and have it automatically open a specific document, one called chapter 9.doc in the C:Hacks directory. Type this (all on one line) in the Target box displayed in Figure 10-5:
"C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice10WINWORD.EXE" "C:Hackschapter 9.doc"
Doing this gives you much more control than double-clicking the
document or creating a shortcut to the document because, in addition
to launching individual files, you can use a variety of switches to
customize how you launch those files. For example,
let’s say you want to launch Word without the splash
screen. Use the /q switch, like this:
"C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice10WINWORD.EXE" /q
Then you can combine switches with opening individual files, like this:
"C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice10WINWORD.EXE" /q "C:Hackschapter 9.doc"
This command opens the file and bypasses the splash screen. Use keyboard shortcuts along with these switches and syntax to create as many customized versions of Office applications as you like. Tables Table 10-1 Table 10-2, and Table 10-3 list switches for Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively.
|
Switch |
What it does |
|
|
Stops add-ins and global templates, including the Normal template, from being loaded automatically. It also locks Word’s settings so that they cannot be read or modified. |
|
|
Loads a specific Word add-in. |
|
|
Starts a new instance of Word without running AutoExec macros. |
|
|
Opens the file specified by number on the File menu’s Most Recently Used list. |
|
|
Runs a specific macro and prevents Word from running any AutoExec macros. |
|
|
Starts a new instance of Word without opening a document. Documents opened will not appear as choices in the Window menu of other Word instances. |
|
|
Starts Word with a new document based on the specified template. |
|
|
Starts a new instance of Word with a blank document. Documents opened will not appear as choices in the Window menu of other Word instances. |
|
|
Opens Word, reregisters it in the Registry, and then quits. Use this switch if there have been problems with Word’s settings and you want to reregister it. At times, certain Registry keys associated with Word can get corrupted. If you use this switch, you’ll delete the corrupt Registry keys and re-create them from scratch. Then your problems should go away. |
|
|
Starts Word without the splash screen. |
|
Switch |
What it does |
|
|
Opens the specified workbook as read-only. |
|
|
Opens Excel without a startup screen and without a new blank workbook. |
|
|
Opens Excel with a new workbook that contains a single macro sheet. |
|
|
Opens Excel and uses the specified path as the active path instead of the default path. |
|
|
Opens Excel and then reregisters it in the Registry. Use this switch if there have been problems with Excel’s settings and you want to reregister it. |
|
|
Opens Excel, reregisters it, and then quits. |
|
|
Opens Excel, unregisters it, and then quits. |
See Also
Open and Create Microsoft Documents Without Microsoft Office
When it comes to word processing and spreadsheets, it’s an all-Microsoft world. But you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for Office to create and read Microsoft files; instead you can download a free office suite.
For better or worse, the Windows world has settled on Word and Excel as the word processing and spreadsheet standards. But as anyone who has recently bought a new computer can tell you, buying an office suite that includes them can push up the cost of your computer by several hundred dollars.
If you want to play well with others, you need to be able to create and read Word and Excel files. That doesn’t mean, however, that you need to buy Microsoft Office. In fact, you can download a free office suite that includes a Word-compatible word processor, an Excel-compatible spreadsheet, as well as image-editing and photo album software. It’s called the 602Pro PC SUITE, and it is available from 602 Software (http://www.software602.com).
The word processor, 602Text, reads Word documents, including all formatting, and can format and save Word documents as well. The spreadsheet, 602Tab, reads and writes Excel files. You won’t get a number of Office extras, such as being able to use macros, but at least one feature of the program is superior to Word. When you open or save a document, you’re shown file thumbnails that have the first several lines of the document, as shown in Figure 10-7. Look closely, and you’ll see a small magnifying glass in the lower right of each document. Click it, and you’ll see even more of the text. It’s a great way to preview information in files so that you know you’ll be opening the right file.
See Also
The OpenOffice.org office suite (http://www.openoffice.org) is a free, open source software suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program, equation editor, and presentation software. It opens and saves Microsoft Office formats as well as many other formats. Versions are available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Solaris.
Stop Hidden Fields in Word from Stealing Your Files and Information
Hidden fields in your Word documents can be used to peer into your PC and even grab your files. Here’s how to prevent that from happening.
A little-known trick in Word can let malicious users steal your private information and can even allow someone to get access to the files on your PC. It does this by using Word Fields, which are used to insert self-updating information into Word documents, such as page numbers in a header or footer. Some fields, though, can be hidden, and because you can’t see them, you can’t tell what they’re doing.
One of these hidden fields, IncludeText, is generally useful; it can insert Word documents or Excel spreadsheets into other Word documents. However, the field can also be used maliciously. For example, let’s say someone sends you a document, you edit it, and then you send it back to the person who sent it to you. If it included a hidden IncludeText field with specific files and their locations on your hard disk, those files on your hard disk could be sent back to the document originator without your knowing it.
There are several ways to solve the problem. One is to install a Microsoft patch that fixes the vulnerability. For more information and to download it, go to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;329748.
Another way to solve the problem is to download the free Hidden File Detector from http://www.wordsite.com/downloads/hfd.htm. It adds a new menu item, Detect Hidden Files, to Word’s Tools menu. When you choose it from the menu, a dialog box alerts you to any documents that have been inserted into the file by a Word Field that could be functioning as spyware.
You can also try to solve the problem yourself by choosing Edit → Links to see if your document contains links to other files. (If none exists, the Links option will be grayed out.) If you find them, delete them, and the problem should be fixed.
Speed Up Your Hard Disk by Improving Defragging
One of the simplest ways to speed up your PC is by defragmenting your hard disk. Here’s how to get the most out of XP’s built-in defragmenter and a third-party program that should speed up your hard disk even more.
Perhaps the simplest way to speed up your PC is to use a disk defragmenter, which will help you open applications and files more quickly. As you use applications and files, they get spread out in fragments across your hard disk. The next time you use them, they take longer to open because your hard disk has to find each disparate fragment so that they can be assembled when you open the file. A disk defragmenter stores files and applications contiguous to one another so that they can be fetched much more quickly than if they were spread out across your whole disk.
XP includes a built-in defragmentation program (sometimes called a defragger), which you can run by choosing Control Panel → Performance and Maintenance → “Rearrange items on your hard disk to make programs run faster.” But there are ways you can use it more effectively, and there are third-party programs that do a more effective job of defragmentation as well.
Defragment Boot Files
One of the biggest
improvements of XP’s defragger over previous Windows
versions is that it can perform a boot
defragment, placing all boot files contiguous to one
another so that you boot faster. The boot defragment option is
usually enabled by default, but there’s a
possibility that it could be disabled, or enabled improperly. You can
make sure it’s enabled, using a Registry hack. Run
the Registry Editor
[Hack #83]
and
go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftDfrgBootOptimizeFunction.
Find the Enable string. If the
String value is set to N,
change it to Y. If it is Y,
leave it as it is, since that means boot defragmentation is enabled.
Exit the Registry and reboot. The next time you defragment your disk,
the boot files will be defragmented.
Tip
You can also defragment the paging file, the hibernation file, and the Registry hives [Hack #83] using the freeware program PageDefrag (http://www.sysinternals.com).
Run the Disk Defragmenter from the Command Line
If you prefer the command line to the
graphical interface, you can avoid maneuvering through menus and
dialog screens to defragment your hard drive. (Using the command line
also gives you greater control over the defragmentation process, as
you’ll see in this hack.) To defragment a hard
drive, type defrag
C: at a command prompt, where
C is the hard drive you want to
defragment. When you use the command line, you won’t
see a visual display of the defragmentation process, and you
won’t be able to pause it or cancel it.
defrag also works invisibly in the background to
make sure your programs load more quickly. It’s set
up so that every three days, when your computer is otherwise idle, it
moves program code to the outside of the disk to make programs load
more quickly. You can force it to do that manually, without having to
do a full defragment, by using the -b switch, like
this:
defrag C: -bIt takes only a few minutes for defrag to do this,
in contrast with a full defragmentation, which can easily take more
than 20 minutes, depending on how fragmented your system is and the
speed of your processor.
You can use several other command-line switches with the
defrag command:
/A
Analyzes the drive you want to defragment and shows you a brief analysis report, summarizing the hard-disk size and total fragmentation. It only displays the report, however; it does not defragment the drive.
/V
Analyzes the drive you want to defragment and shows you a comprehensive analysis report, detailing the size of the hard disk, the percentage of free and used space, total fragmentation, and total number of fragments, among other details. It gives the analysis report, defragments the hard disk, and then gives an analysis of the hard disk after defragmentation.
/F
Forces the drive to be defragmented, even if there isn’t a certain minimum amount of space. Normally, you can defragment the drive only if your hard disk has at least 15% of its space free.
What to Do If the Disk Defragmenter Won’t Defragment Your Drive
There will be times when the Disk
Defragmenter won’t defragment your drive, or will
defragment it only partially. It won’t defragment
your drive if you don’t have at least 15% of the
drive’s space free. To solve the problem, as
explained previously, type defrag
C
: /F at the command
line, where C is your hard drive.
There are also certain files and areas that the Disk Defragmenter won’t defragment: the Recycle Bin, the Windows page file, and Bootsect.dos, Safeboot.fs, Saveboot.rsv, Hiberfil.sys, and Memory.dmp. There’s not much you can do about it, though it’s a good idea to empty the Recycle Bin before defragmenting.
Often, the Disk Defragmenter won’t defragment every file on the first pass. Your best bet here is to use brute force: run it again until it defragments the files it missed the first time around. Also, keep in mind that the Disk Defragmenter won’t defragment any files that are currently in use, so make sure to close all programs; if some files won’t defragment, it might be because they’re being used by an open program. Sometimes, programs might seem to be shut down, but in fact might be running in a kind of phantom mode. For example, Outlook sometimes stays running even after you’ve shut it down. To make sure your programs are completely shut down before running the Disk Defragmenter, run the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del or right-clicking the taskbar and choosing Task Manager. Check both the Applications and Processes tabs to see if any programs, like Word for Windows (Winword.exe) or Outlook (Outlook.exe), are still running. These two programs sometimes continue running even after you’ve shut them down.
Get a Better Disk Defragmenter
For most purposes, XP’s Disk Defragmenter works fine. But if you’re a system administrator who needs to defragment multiple machines or defragment servers, you’ll be better off with a better defragmenter. Even single users of XP might want a better disk defragmenter for purposes such as easy scheduling of defragmenting and the ability to defragment files that XP’s defragmenter can’t handle. Two of the best XP defragmenters are available as try-before-you-buy software:
- Diskeeper
This defragmenter can automatically defragment a disk on bootup, allows you to remotely schedule boot-time defragmentation on multiple machines, will let system administrators create different defragmentation schedules for different groups of machines, will defragment disks that have little free disk space, and makes it easy to deploy on multiple machines. Get it at http://www.execsoft.com. It’s free to download and try, but you’ll have to pay if you decide to keep it. The version for home users costs $19.95. The Pro version, which contains more features, costs $49.50. License packs are available for multiple users.
- PerfectDisk2000
Like Diskeeper, this defragmenter allows administrators to schedule defragmentation of machines across a network, and it can defragment disks with little free hard-disk space. It can defragment files that XP’s built-in defragmenter can’t, such as the Windows page file. It also offers boot-time defragmentation. You can get it at http://www.raxco.com. It’s free to download and try, but it is $44.95 per workstation should you decide to keep it. Figure 10-8 shows the options for using PerfectDisk2000.
Extend Your Screen Real Estate with Virtual Desktops
Virtual desktops allow you to stretch your screen real estate well beyond its normal size, as well as to organize different views of your workspace.
At any point during the day, I might be writing software, listening to music, purchasing computer equipment, messing with my GPS and software, playing computer games with my son, or working with my editor. Sometimes, I’m doing all those things at once. It’s a wonder I can keep all the windows organized. Fortunately, I don’t have to do all the organizing myself.
Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) gives me a way to organize the work I’m doing, using up to four switchable desktops. VDM is part of the unsupported PowerToys collection from Microsoft that includes Tweak UI [Hack #8] .
Download VDM from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp and install it on your machine. Once you have installed VDM, you will not notice anything new. You have to activate its toolbar before you can begin using it. To activate VDM, right-click the taskbar at the bottom of the screen and select Toolbars → Desktop Manager, as shown in Figure 10-9.
After you activate VDM, you will notice a new toolbar on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 10-10. To switch between desktops, press one of the numbered blue buttons. At first, the desktops will appear the same because you haven’t done anything in them to make them unique.
Click button 1 and then launch your web browser. Next, click button 2 and then open your email program. Next, click button 3 and then open the My Computer icon. Now, click the green button with an icon of a window on it. Your screen should look something like Figure 10-11. Click one of the four images of the desktop to switch to that virtual desktop.
Without changing a single option, VDM is a very useful addition to Windows XP. But if you don’t twiddle with it, you can’t really call yourself a hacker, now can you? If you right-click any of the buttons on the VDM toolbar, as shown in Figure 10-12, you will be able to configure VDM to suit your needs.
Your desktop has a background image that you can set as you wish. When you purchased your computer or installed Windows XP, the background image was a grassy hill with a blue sky. Since VDM provides you with four separate desktops, you can customize each with a different background image. If you choose the Configure Desktop Images item from the toolbar’s menu, you will see the dialog box shown in Figure 10-13.
To change the background for one of the virtual desktops, specify which desktop area you want to change on the left side of the window. Then, locate a file from the list on the left. The list of images comes from both C:WINDOWSWebWallpaper and C:Documents and Settings<Your Name>My DocumentsMy Pictures. If you want to use a picture not in the list, click the Browse button and locate the file. However, you might find that VDM changes your original background picture to a solid color when you first run it. Just change it back to your preferred background.
Look at Figure 10-13; notice that desktop 3 is shown in gray. This is how VDM informs you that you have no background image set for the desktop. When you switch to that desktop, the background will be whatever color you have selected in your display properties.
In addition to pressing the numbered buttons, you can use keyboard shortcuts to switch between the desktops. Hold down the Windows key (if your keyboard has one; if it doesn’t, you can change the key assignments, as explained next) and the number keys 1 through 4 to switch to the appropriate desktop. To switch to the VDM preview screen, hold down the Windows key and press V. To change the key assignments that switch between the desktops, choose Configure Shortcut Keys from the toolbar menu and use the dialog box shown in Figure 10-14.
Tip
I’m not a big fan of animation on my computer when I’m trying to work. I don’t like wasting CPU cycles and I don’t like waiting for them to finish. (Also, it reminds me of the talking paperclip in Word.) So, I generally turn off all animation in the Windows desktop and in Explorer. If you want to speed up the switch between virtual desktops, uncheck the menu item named Use Animations.
Look at Figure 10-11 again. Notice that each separate desktop has taskbar buttons for every program that is running. VDM does this so that you can move running programs between the desktops. I prefer each desktop to have taskbar buttons for programs that run on that desktop. To do this, right-click VDM on the taskbar and uncheck the menu item named Shared Desktops.
If you would rather rely on keyboard shortcuts and reclaim space on the taskbar, right-click VDM and uncheck the Show Quick Switch Buttons menu item.
The least useful bit about VDM is the fact that it actually wastes valuable space to tell you it’s there. If you uncheck the item named Show Title, the letters MSVDM will disappear from the toolbar.
You should keep the following things in mind when using VDM:
If you choose a background image using the Settings dialog, the VDM settings will override the background image settings in the Display Properties dialog (your previous image won’t be selected anymore; you’ll have to reselect it).
If you use background images, the act of switching between desktops will be noticeably slower.
Shortcuts and icons on the desktop will show up on all virtual desktops.
If you have programs that float above all other windows on the screen (such as a program with an Always On Top option), they will show up on all desktops.
Windows Media Player using the MiniPlayer skin is one of those programs that float above everything else. If you turn on the Windows Media Player toolbar and then minimize the player, a smaller version of the player appears on the taskbar and becomes available to all desktops.
See Also
Another popular product is the shareware application Cool Desk. It costs $24.95 and supports up to nine separate desktops. You can download Cool Desk at http://www.shelltoys.com/virtual_desktop/index.html.
One of the more interesting desktop managers is Vern. Vern is free to download, but the author asks users who enjoy it to contribute. You can download Vern from http://www.oneguycoding.com/vern/.
—Eric Cloninger
Build a Better Backup Strategy
Don’t be blindsided by disk crashes and other disasters. Here’s how to have a backup ready at any time for any reason.
I used to use 3.5-inch disks for backup; to back up my hard drive using that method today would require approximately 98,000 disks. Granted, we don’t use disks for major backup procedures anymore; nonetheless, a lot of the thinking that goes into a backup is still pretty ancient.
I don’t believe any users actually set out on a given day to destroy a functional operating system, but you know as well as I do that it happens. A little tweak here, a Registry edit there, a power surge or perhaps a badly behaved application that trashes the computer. We’ve all been there and when it happens, I can almost guarantee you that if you listen closely you’ll hear something approximating, “Darn. I meant to _ _ _ _ _,” where the blank is whatever backup task you have been putting off.
In addition to making yourself do the backup, there are a few steps I recommend to make your backup procedure easier, more convenient, and more effective.
Map Out a Backup Plan
I recommend separating the operating system and programs from the data when it’s backed up. All three components—operating systems, programs, and data—have become huge over the years. In most cases, lumping them into a single, large backup is a waste of time, especially for home users.
Before you actually back up anything you need to ask yourself some questions:
How will the backup be saved?
Many of today’s computers come with devices that are suitable for backups; CD-R and CD-RW drives, tape drives, removable cartridge drives, and even a second hard drive can be used to store backups. With the exception of the second hard drive, any of those mentioned can be removed from the site where the system is located, and even the hard drive can be relocated by using specialty cradles that allow it to be plugged in and removed easily. There are a number of web-based hosting services that can be used for offsite storage for a monthly subscription fee. Business users normally back up to a company server, either local or remote, and the IS department takes over from that point.
The best system is one you think you’ll actually use so that you’ll have the backup.
Where will the backup be stored once it’s created?
If fire, flood, or theft should strike where the system is located, the backup should be available from another location to restore the system and datafiles. Unfortunately, safe storage of the backup can be hard to get on-site. If you don’t use an off-site service, consider storing your backups in one of the small fireproof chests that can be purchased at most department or office supply stores.
What files should be backed up?
At one time, it was accepted, if not almost reasonable, to back up everything on a system at one time. But the amount of data and the size of applications make that procedure very outdated. Here are three categories of data:
- System files
There is no need for the average user to back up operating system files. What is important is to protect the original media (i.e., the Windows XP CD and all your program installation discs). Windows XP comes with System Restore, which backs up all your system files automatically, or you can create a restore point whenever you prefer. System Restore is specifically designed to act in concert with the operating system to restore it in case of a system problem.
If you don’t like or trust System Restore, a number of programs are available that image the system and allow you to reinstall it in a fraction of the normal time. Ghost by Symantec is one of the popular choices (http://www.symantec.com/ghost).
- Archive files
These are files acquired through any number of methods, either downloaded or created by you, that don’t change once they have been created. Image and audio files are good examples in this category. They are looked at and listened to for enjoyment, but as a rule they seldom, if ever, receive any modification once they have been added to your system. Don’t back these up more than once.
- Current datafiles
More than anything else on your system, these are the files you most want backed up and protected on a regular basis. The list of included files will vary by user, but a few examples are text documents, spreadsheets, financial records, databases, email, Internet favorites, personal information managers (PIMs), web site projects, and any other type of data you create and work with or modify on a regular basis.
If the thought of losing one day’s work makes the hair on the back of your neck stand upright, you’d better have a tightly structured backup plan and ensure that it’s adhered to without fail. If you have a computer full of spam and Freecell stats, it doesn’t make much difference when, or even if, you back up.
System Organization Aids the Backup Process
How you organize your system can make backup a relatively painless process. Structuring the system so that your datafiles are organized in one area facilitates pointing the backup program to one area instead of having to gather files from widespread locations. In Windows XP, the My Documents folder is an excellent choice for this purpose. Many programs default to saving created files in this location, including Office XP.
Many power users don’t use My Documents because of its corny name; however, some of us have realized it’s a nice shortcut to have (along with My Pictures); because the applications default to these locations, you have less chance of spreading your documents and photos around the computer trying to find your chosen folder. If you don’t like the name, change it [Hack #12] . Or, if you’d rather use your own organization structure but want to designate one of your folders as “My Documents,” you can do that, too [Hack #8] .
Whatever location you choose, the important point is to use it for all the data you create and work with or modify on a regular basis that will be a part of the backup.
The Backup Utilities in Windows XP
While it isn’t absolutely essential to have a utility specifically designed for backing up a computer system, it can make life easier. Both Windows XP Home and Professional come with what Microsoft calls the Backup and Restore Utility, better known as NTBackup. Unfortunately for XP Home users, Backup and Restore is not installed by default, nor is it as fully functional as the version installed by default in XP Professional. Supposedly, the reason it’s not installed by default in XP Home is because XP Home does not support Automated System Recovery (ASR), which is a part of Backup and Restore. This in no way prevents you from making a full backup in Home Edition, but it does limit the recovery or restore options. Bottom line: if you have XP Professional, you’re ready to go. If you have XP Home, follow these directions to install the Backup Utility manually:
Insert the Windows installation CD into your CD drive and navigate to <CD Drive>:VALUEADDMSFTNTBACKUP, where <CD Drive> is replaced by E : or whatever letter represents your CD-ROM drive.
Double-click the Ntbackup.msi file to start the wizard that installs the Backup Utility.
When the wizard is complete, click Finish.
Here are a few things every hacker should know about NTBackup.
I want my CDs!
This really should go under the “you’ve got to be kidding me” category, but NTBackup does not allow you to back up directly to a CD-R or CD-RW drive. Allegedly the best, most stable, and advanced operating system Microsoft has offered, XP, has no CD burner support in backup. The solution is to back up to an alternative drive and then copy it to CD. Many alternative backup programs are available that do support direct backups to CD-R and CD-RW. Microsoft says it’s by design. I say it’s from a lack of design. Considering how popular CD-Rs and CD-RWs have become as backup media—and how inexpensive they are—this lack of design presents a major problem for most people.
However, there is a way to store your backups on CDs (or DVDs, if you’re in the early-adopter wave and already have a DVD burner). First, back up as you would normally, and then copy the resulting file to a CD-R or CD-RW. If you have to restore a backup from the CD-R or CD-RW, you’ll be able to do that directly; you won’t have to copy the file to another medium first.
One problem you’ll run across is that your backup might be larger than the 650MB or 700MB that CDs hold. To solve the problem, create two or more backup sets, each smaller than 650MB or 700MB (depending on your CD’s capacity). Separating data from programs or operating system files as suggested earlier will help you do this. Then copy each resulting set individually to a different CD.
Restoring a backup
When a backup is created the data is not saved in the same way you see it in the backup window where you select the files and folders. A backup is a single file that has to be broken apart during the restore process. To do so, it’s necessary to use the same program that created the backup file to restore it to your system. Normally this is not a problem, except in one special circumstance. Restore will want to return your data to the location it occupied during the original backup. For example, if you backed up data from D: and no longer have a drive D: when you want to restore, the process will fail.
XP Home, NTBackup, and ASR
Windows XP Home Edition does not support ASR. I’ve been told this is why NTBackup is not installed by default in Home, but if that’s the case, why include the item on the Home CD in the value-added directory? Whatever the reason, it’s something you need to be aware of, in spite of the option for ASR that appears in NTBackup when installed on an XP Home machine. XP Professional users are good to go with ASR.
Get a Better Backup Program
XP’s built-in backup program leaves a lot to be desired. But there are downloadable try-before-you-buy backup programs that offer you more features. Two of the best are Backup Plus and NTI Backup NOW! Deluxe:
- Backup Plus
One of the strengths of this program is its simplicity, particularly when restoring backups. Even though the program stores its backup file with a .bac extension, in fact, the backup files are .zip files. So, if you want to restore files or folders, you only need to rename the backup file so that it has a .zip extension and then open the file with an unzipping program, such as WinZip, the one built into Windows. Once you open the file, you can unzip it as you would any normal .zip file. The program also lets you schedule backups and, unlike XP’s backup program, will back up to any kind of media, including CD-Rs and CR-RWs. Backup Plus is try-before-you-buy software. You can download it from http://www.backupplus.net and try it for free; it costs $39.95 if you decide to keep it.
- NTI Backup NOW! Deluxe
This is one of the more powerful and flexible backup programs you can find. It can back up to any media (including DVD-Rs), includes password protection for backup jobs, can span media and drives when backing up, and lets you make a complete image of your hard disk so that you can restore your entire system. NTI Backup NOW! Deluxe is try-before-you-buy software. You can download it from http://www.ntius.com and try it for free; if you decide to keep it, you must pay $69.99.
—Jim Foley and Preston Gralla
Go Beyond Messaging with Windows Messenger
Share a common whiteboard, where you can collaborate on work in real time over the Internet, and get alerts delivered to your desktop with Microsoft’s instant messaging tool.
Windows Messenger can do far more than merely let you chat with other people. Hidden inside it are powerful collaboration tools for working with others over the Internet, as well as the ability to get automated alerts delivered to your desktop.
Tip
Don’t confuse the instant messaging program Windows Messenger with the XP Messenger Service, which is used to send notifications over local area networks—for example, when a network administrator wants to notify network users that a server is about to go down. They’re completely separate programs with different purposes. The XP Messenger Service has been used by spammers as a backdoor way of sending spam pop ups. To see how to turn the XP Messenger Service off so that you don’t get spam, see [Hack #34] .
Using .NET Alerts with Messenger
One of Windows Messenger’s more useful features is its ability to deliver to you a variety of alerts called .NET alerts—messages, reports, or bulletins, such as weather reports, stock quotes, breaking news, and traffic reports. I’m a news junkie, and, where I live in New England, weather-watching is considered a contact sport. (If you don’t believe me, try making your way through a February nor’easter with your body intact.) So, I use .NET alerts to stay on top of breaking events and to get the latest bad news about the weather. Here’s how you can do it.
First, sign up for alerts by clicking the Alerts tab (the one that looks like a bell). If for some reason Messenger doesn’t show you any tabs, choose Tools → Show Tabs → Microsoft .NET Alerts. You’ll be prompted to sign up for an Alert provider, as shown in Figure 10-15.
Next, you’ll be sent to a web page where you can choose from a variety of alerts. Choose the alert you want, and fill out the form. The form for each alert is different and requires different information and different steps. In my instance, I signed up for MSNBC News to get its breaking news, and Weather.com alerts for the weather. I’m an eBay fan, so I signed up for alerts that will track auctions I’m interested in. And, like any long-suffering (but recently rewarded) Bostonian, I’m a Red Sox fan, so I also sign up for ESPN.com.
When you’re done adding alerts, use the navigation on the web page to go to your My Alerts page, shown in Figure 10-16. From here you can edit, manage, add, and delete alerts.
Alerts will now be delivered to you on the schedule you chose. They’ll appear as a small window near the Notification area, as shown in Figure 10-17. As you can see, it’s another lovely day in Cambridge, with a high reaching all the way up to a stratospheric reading of 30 degrees. To read the full alert, click it and you’ll be sent to a web page with the full alert.
If you want to read all your recent alerts, click the Alerts tab. You’ll be able to view them by date or alert provider.
Collaborate Long-Distance with the Whiteboard
Chat windows are fine for simple communication, but when you’re working long-distance with others, you often need more collaboration than that. In particular, you might want to share drawings, images, and text. You can do that using the whiteboard: a tool that lets you collaborate in real time over the Internet or a network with other Windows Messenger users. It’s a drawing program, similar to Microsoft Paint, which allows you to share drawings, diagrams, images, and text. The same whiteboard appears on the systems of both participants, and each person can draw, annotate, and mark up the whiteboard in any way they want. The other participant sees the markup, in real time, and can in turn mark it up as well.
To start a whiteboard with someone, double-click the person’s contact name and click the Start Whiteboard link on the right side of the Messenger conversation screen. An invitation goes out to the contact, and, if he agrees, a small Sharing Session window appears, as shown in Figure 10-18.
Click the Whiteboard button, and the whiteboard appears. Now both of you can use the markup tools. They’re largely self-explanatory and work like Windows Paint or similar graphics programs. You can see the whiteboard in action in Figure 10-19. Make sure, though, to use the remote pointer, a small hand you can drag around the screen that helps you better highlight what you’re currently working on together. If you look closely at Figure 10-19, toward the middle of the screen, you can see it.
The buttons along the lower right of the screen let you create new pages and navigate among those pages. When you create a new page and navigate among pages, the other participant comes along with you to those pages. Additionally, there are four buttons in the left part of the whiteboard that serve special purposes:
- Lock Contents
When you click this button, it locks the whiteboard and prevents anyone else from making changes to it. To unlock the contents, click the button again.
- Unsynchronize
When you click this button, you can jump to another page or create another page, and you’ll do that privately; for the purposes of creating and navigating among pages, you’re not synchronized with the other participant. When you click the button again, other participants’ whiteboards will switch to the page you’re viewing.
- Select Window
Click this button, and then the next window you click anywhere in XP or any application will automatically be pasted into the whiteboard.
- Select Area
Click this button, and you’ll be able to select an area anywhere in XP or an XP application and paste it into the whiteboard.
When you’re done using the whiteboard, click the Close button in the Sharing Session window. You’ll be given the option of saving the whiteboard. If you save it, it will be saved in its own proprietary format (as a .nmw file). To view that whiteboard again, double-click it in Windows Explorer.
Share Applications with Messenger
The whiteboard is useful for basic collaboration, but an even more powerful tool is Messenger’s application sharing. It allows two people to work in the same application on the same document. Whatever is on your screen appears on the other person’s screen, and the two of you can work on the document together. I’ve found it to be ideal for collaborating on spreadsheets, it’s easy to share “what-if” scenarios this way.
To start a whiteboard with someone, double-click the contact name and click the Start Whiteboard link on the right side of the Messenger conversation screen. An invitation goes out to the contact, and, if he agrees, a small Sharing Session window appears, as shown previously in Figure 10-18. Once he agrees, click App Sharing, and you’ll be able to choose which file and application to share, as shown in Figure 10-20. You can share only programs and files that are already open on your PC.
Click one or more programs and click Share; the applications open in a window on the other person’s computer. You have full control over the application; they can only watch what you do. In that sense, it’s not full collaboration. If you want the other person to also be able to control the document, click the Allow Control button; the other person will be able to work on the application and document after he requests your permission. Only one person at a time can control the document; you can pass control over it back and forth.
Universal Messaging: Trillian Unites AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, and ICQ
It’s the Esperanto of the instant messaging world; Trillian lets you communicate with all the major messaging programs.
I live, therefore I message. That’s the credo of not just teenagers everywhere, but also people like me. I use instant messaging to keep in touch with editors, friends, and other authors, as well as readers of my books. And I frequently use it along with conference calls; while the larger group is speaking over the phone, I instant-message others in the phone conference to get background information and make occasionally less-than-flattering remarks about speakers who revel in the sounds of their own voices.
But as all instant-message users know, there’s a big drawback to instant messaging: the major instant messenger programs, including Windows Messenger, can’t communicate with one another. That’s a bit like being able to make phone calls only to people who use the same brand of telephone as yours. Given the economics and ego that drive the instant messaging industry, this shows no sign of changing any time soon.
However, there’s a great workaround, and it’s free. The universal instant messaging program Trillian will let you communicate with users of ICQ, Windows Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and AOL Instant Messenger as well as the old Internet chat standby, IRC. You don’t need to install any of those programs; just run Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com), shown in Figure 10-21.
After you install Trillian, enter the usernames and passwords from your other instant messengers. When you do that, Trillian automatically uses those contact lists, so you don’t need to reenter them. To enter a new contact from inside Trillian, choose the Add Contact button, tell Trillian which program your contact uses, and then fill in the contact information. Because instant messaging programs store your contacts on their servers, rather than locally on your PC, when you add contacts like this these new contacts will be available not only in Trillian, but also when you use your instant messaging program.
If you have accounts on more than one instant messaging program, Trillian signs you into all of them when you log in, so you get a single sign-in but you’re available everywhere.
Trillian lets you use only some of the features of each individual instant messenger program. For example, you’ll be able to send files as you can with instant messengers. But you can’t, for example, use the Windows Messenger whiteboard or application sharing.
One problem with instant messaging with any program is the way it leaves you open to the world: anyone who wants to contact you can do so, including increasingly aggressive messaging spammers. Each individual program gives you controls over who can contact you and how you want to be contacted, and Trillian also lets you customize your privacy for each program. Right-click the big Trillian icon near the bottom of the Trillian screen and choose Preferences. Then, scroll to the bottom of the list to where it says Chatting Services. You’ll find ways to customize your privacy, which differ according to the service’s capabilities, as shown in Figure 10-22.
Trillian is skinnable, so you can easily change its appearance. To choose a new skin, select Skins in the Preferences screen shown in Figure 10-22, and choose either Launch Skin Chooser to choose from any skins already on your system, or Get More Skins to choose from skins online.
Trillian is one of the few programs that take advantage of XP’s transparency capabilities. To make Trillian transparent, right-click anywhere in the program and choose Advanced Options → Transparency. Then you can choose a transparency of anywhere from 10% to 90%, where 10% is the least transparent and 90% is the most transparent. I suggest using 10%; any more than that and it becomes very difficult to see the program or chat with it.
There are two versions: the basic Trillian one is free, and the other, called Trillian Pro, costs $25. The Pro version includes a plug-in system that allows third-party developers to create plug-ins you can download for free. For example, there are plug-ins for delivering the weather and news, checking your POP3 email accounts, integrating with WinAmp MP3 software, and more. The Pro version has other features as well, such as the ability to videoconference using the Yahoo! portion of Trillian.
See Also
Gaim (http://gaim.sourceforge.net) is another universal instant messenger. Earlier versions tended to crash unexpectedly on XP, but more recent versions are more stable. It’s not as handsome-looking as Trillian, and it doesn’t take advantage of as many of the built-in features of each instant messenger in the same way Trillian does. But it’s open source and runs on many other platforms, not just on Windows.