Application Tips resources directory for programmer and webmasters

Even though you delete your e-mail from the Delete Items folder, the file size may still stay the same.
This means that you need to manually compact them.

You need to have the Folder List showing. If it is not already there, from the View menu, click Folder List
From the Folders list, right-click on Personal Folders at the top
Select Properties For Personal Folders
Click on the Advanced button
Click on the Compact Now button

Outlook 2000 Hangs at Splash Screen

If Outlook hangs up at the logo splash screen,
try starting it with the /safe switch (Start / Run / Outlook.exe /safe) If this works some files may be corrupted and can simply be deleted or reNAMEd.
Use the Windows Explorer to search for and then either reNAME or delete the following files:

Views.dat
Outcmd.dat
Extend.dat
Frmcache.dat

Note: Not all files may be present on the computer

Restoring the Outlook2000/2002 Icon to the Desktop

If the Outlook icon was removed from the desktop
it can restored by adding in the following registry key.
Then logoff and back on again. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NAMESpace\ {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

Hyperlinks Not Working In Office

If hyperlinks are not working in Outlook or other Office applications:

Start the Internet Explorer
Select Tools / Internet Options
Click on Programs tab
Make sure that Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser is enabled
Click Reset Web Settings.
Click Start / Run / regsvr32 urlmon.dll
If that single change does not resolve the problem, repeat the process by running the following additional entries:
- regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
- regsvr32 Msjava.dll
- regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
- regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
- regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
- regsvr32 Browseui.dll
- regsvr32 Shell32.dll (Windows XP and Windows 2000 only)

Resolving Inability to Add or Remove Programs

If a particular user cannot add or remove programs, there might be a simple registry edit neeed.

Go to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall
Change the DWORD NoAddRemovePrograms to 0 disable it

Spell Checking in Outlook Express Without Office

You can spell check with Outlook Express without needing to install Office or Works You will need access to your existing legal version to copy some files.

On a computer with Office installed, go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof
Copy the following files (they will easily fit on a floppy disk)

MSSP2_EN.LEX
MSSP232.DLL
CSAPI3T1.DLL
CTAPI3T2.DLL
CHAPI3T1.DLL

Copy them to the same location on the computer without Office
Download the reg file and import into the registry

Reducing Viruses in E-Mail

You can greatly reduce the amount of viruses you might get through e-mail attachments by simply installing the free Outlook E-mail Attachment Security Update from Microsoft. Since most viruses come this way, it should all but eliminate them. You should also have a good virus protection program installed as well. This update strips out any attachments where, if you click on them, they will automatically run on their own.
Examples of restricted extensions are:
.exe, .com, .bat, .vbs, .scr This will work for Outlook98 and Outlook2000. OutlookXP has it already built in as part of the product. Download from Microsoft

Clearing the Outlook NickNAME Cache

The NickNAME Cache is used by Outlook for automatic NAME checking and the automatic completion.
I you want to clear the cache with the list of NAMEs that Outlook shows when sending an e-mail

Close Outlook
Start the Windows Explorer
With the focus on the root of the C: drive, search for *.nick (Outlook2000) or *.NK2 (Outlook2002 or newer)
You will find a file that starts with your profile NAME
ReNAME this file
Restart Outlook
Outlook will start rebuilding the file over again.

Opening Attachments in Outlook Express

If you are unable to open any attachments in Outlook Express

Start the program
Go to Tools / Options
Click on the Security tab
Uncheck Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus

Creating A Watermark in Word2002

It is easy to create a watermark in Word2002.

Go to the Format menu
Select Background
Click Printed Watermark
From here you can either select a graphic or text watermark.

Changing the Spreadsheet Tab Color in Excel 2002

If you have a spreadsheet with multiple pages in it,
you can change the color of the individual tabs by simply right clicking on the tabs and select Tab Color

Using Outlook 2002 Sticky Notes

While in Outlook, you can create sticky notes that look like post-it notes.
These stay on your desktop and can help server as reminders for things you need to do. To Create a Note In Outlook:

Go to File / New / Note
Or press Ctrl+Shift+N
From here you can enter any text you like
You can change the color of the note by clicking on the icon in the upper left hand corner and selecting Color
When created this way, the notes are only available when Outlook is still running

To Create a Note Anytime

Create a shortcut on the desktop
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OUTLOOK.EXE" /c ipm.stickynote
Give it a NAME that makes sense for you
Now you can create a note without Outlook running

Configuring Automatic NAME Suggestion in Outlook 2002

The default setting in Outlook 2002 is to offer to complete the NAME of a person you are sending mail.
This is based on anyone you have ever sent mail to.
For me things brings up far too many NAMEs and I prefer to simply use the NAMEs in my contact list.
(Start typing a NAME and press Ctrl-K to pull up NAMEs in your address book) To turn off this setting:

Go to Tools / Options
Click on the E-mail Options button
Click on the Advanced E-mail Options button
Uncheck Suggest NAMEs while completing To, Cc, and Bcc fields

If you want to leave the setting in place and simply delete individual suggestions:

Us the arrow keys to highlight a NAME
Press the Delete key to delete just that entry

Outlook Shortcut Keys

Send and receive mail	Control + M
Open or post a new message	Control + N
Forward a message	Control + F
Reply to a message	Control + R
Print the selected message	Control + P
Delete a mail message	Delete or Control + D
Reply to all	Control + Shift + R
Open the Inbox	Control + I
Open the Outbox	Control + O
Open the Address Book	Control + Shift + B
Go to next unread mail message	Control + U
Go to folder	Control + Y

Open the selected message	Control + O or Enter
Mark a message as read	Control + Enter or Control + Q
Move between the Folders list and message list	Tab

Find text	F3
Find a message	Control + Shift + F
Switch among Edit, Source, and Preview tabs	Control + Tab

Check NAMEs	Control + K or Alt + K
Check spelling	F7
Insert signature	Control + Shift + S
Send (post) a message	Control + Enter or Alt + S

Having Word Not Display URL's in Underline

To have it remove currently underlined links,
Simply press Ctrl-A to highlight all the text.
Then Ctrl-6 to remove the underlines Normally when you enter a URL or E-Mail Address in Word , it shows in Underline.
To turn this feature off:

Go to Tools / AutoCorrect / AutoFormat As You Type
Uncheck Internet and network paths with hyperlinks

Note: This will not change the display of previously entered links or e-mail addresses

Redirecting Output from Command Line Programs

With most command line programs, you can redirect the output to a file.
This is useful if you want to capture the output of a program. Simply run the program and add a " > fileNAME" after the command.
Substitute whatever fileNAME you want with no quotes
One example, I frequently compare two files using the FC (file compare) program.
Normally the differences scroll off and I can't tell what they were.
Instead I run FC File1 File2 > difference.txt
Then with notepad it is easy to open up difference.txt and view all the changes.

Eliminating MSCONFIG Warning at Next Boot Up

By default, if you make any changes to your startup with the MSCONFIG utility,
an warning is displayed on the next bootup. If you use this utility a lot and would like to eliminate that from happening

Create a registry text file (e.g. file_NAME.reg) with the CONTENTs:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run]
"MSConfig"=-

Create a shortcut on the desktop
Enter in:

regedit /s file_NAME.reg

Give it a TITLEthat make sense to you
When you click on the icon, the specific registry value will be deleted and you won't be prompted next time you boot.

Minimizing Outlook2002 to the System Tray

By default, when you minimize Outlook2002, it goes to the taskbar. You can have it minimize to the system tray if you prefer.

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 10.0 \ Outlook \ Preferences
Create a DWORD Value called MinToTray
Give it a value of 1
You may need to logoff for the setting to take effect.
This helps reduce clutter on the taskbar but doesn't allow you to task switch to Outlook.

Changing Colors in Outlook2002 Calendar

You can now change the colors of calendar items with Outlook2002.

Simply right click on the event
Select Label
From here you can select from a variety of pre-selected colors

Sending Contacts in Outlook

It is easy to send a list of of contacts you want to send to others through e-mail. For the following steps, make sure you have the Folder List selected in Outlook SENDING CONTACTS

Start a new email
In the TO section, select the users you want to receive the contacts
Select Insert / Item
Scroll to Contacts
Highlight the contacts you want to send
To select multiple items, hold down the control key
Click OK when finished
Send the mail

RECEIVING CONTACTS

Have both your main Folder List and e-mail visible
Select all the contacts
Drag them to the Contacts folder

Copying E-Mail to Your Calendar

If you receive an e-mail regarding an appointment you need to schedule,
simply drag that e-mail from your Inbox to the Calendar. You will then have the option to change the date, time etc for that event.

Editing the Shared Border in FrontPage 2000/2002

By default, you can't directly edit the HTML code in a shared border in FrontPage. To enable this ability:

Go to Tools / Web Settings
Click on the Advanced tab
Check Show hidden files and folders
Your shared borders will now show up in a folder called _borders (from the Folder list)

Filling Word Documents with Pretend Text

If you want to fill a page(s) with text to test something like printing, but don't want to spend time pasting the same phrase over and over, Type in =rand(x,y) Where x and y are replaced by numbers.
X would be the number of paragraphs
Y would be the number of sentences in a paragraph.
The text that gets generated is The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Adding Horizontal Dividers in Word

To add a variety of horizontal dividers in Word, type three

Hyphens ( --- )
Underscores ( ___ )
Equal Signs ( === )
Pound Signs ( ### )
Asterisks ( *** )
Tildes ( ~~~ )

Determining Formatting in Word

To determine what formatting is applied to a particular paragraph in Word:

Go to Help / What's This?
When the cursor changes to a question mark, click on the paragraph.
Information such as font and size, alignment, indent, spacing and margins will show

Quickly Change Font Size in Office

To quickly change the font size in your Office application (Word, Front Page, Publisher or PowerPoint):

Highlight the text you want to change
Press: CTRL+SHIFT+> - To Increase the size
CTRL+SHIFT+< - To Decrease the size

Word Command Line Switches

The following text was copied from the Microsoft Site at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q210/5/65.ASP

Type	To do this
/a	Starts Word and prevents add-ins and global templates (including the Normal template) from being loaded automatically. The /a switch also locks the setting files; that is, the setting files cannot be read or modified if you use this switch.
/laddinpath	Starts Word and then loads a specific Word add-in.
/m	Starts a new instance of Word without running any AutoExec macros.
/mmacroNAME	Starts Word and then runs a specific macro. The /m switch also prevents Word from running any AutoExec macros.
/n	Starts a new instance of Word with no document open. Documents opened in each instance of Word will not appear as choices in the Window menu of other instances.
/ttemplateNAME	Starts Word with a new document based on a template other than the Normal template.
/w	Starts a new instance of Word with a blank document. Documents opened in each instance of Word will not appear as choices in the Window menu of the other instances.
(no switch)	A new Word window is opened with a blank document using the existing instance of the Word application.

Excel Command Line Switches

The following text was copied from the Microsoft Site at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q211/4/81.ASP

   Switch           Function
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   /e, /embedded    Forces Excel to start without displaying the 
                    startup screen and creating a new workbook 
                    (Book1.xls).

                    Example: /e, /embedded

   /m               Forces Excel to create a new workbook that
                    contains a single macro sheet.

                    Example: /m

   /o               Forces Excel to re-register itself. Specifically, 
                    the following key is rewritten in the registry:

                    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel

                    NOTE: If this key contains invalid values, they are
                    not corrected by using this switch. This switch only
                    replaces missing values.

                    Example: /o

   /p <folder>      Forces Excel to use the path you specify as the active
                    path rather than the default path. 

                    Example: /p "C:\Windows"

   /r <fileNAME>    Forces Excel to open the specified file in
                    read-only mode.

                    Example: /r "C:\My Documents\Test.xls"

   /s               Starts Excel in Safe mode. ("Safe Mode" will appear in 
                    the Excel TITLEbar.) Safe mode starts Excel as if it is 
                    the first time after Setup. 

                    Safe mode bypasses the following:

                    - All files in any Excel startup folder. 

                    For more information about the location of startup 
                    folders, please see the following article in the
                    Microsoft Knowledge Base:

                       Q240150 XL2000: How to Use Excel Startup Folders

                    - Add-ins: The Addins dialog box still displays the 
                      selected addins. However, the addins are not loaded.

                    - Excel toolbars (Excel.xlb or <userNAME>.xlb): The 
                      original installation default toolbar settings are 
                      used.

                    - Excel specific registry information: The original 
                      installation default registry settings are used. 
                      Registry information can include the following key and 
                      other keys:

                      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options

                      NOTE: When Excel is in Safe mode, the Options dialog 
                      box displays the default settings, not your customized 
                      settings.

   /regserver       Forces Excel to register itself and then quit. Use this 
                    switch when you want Excel to rewrite all of its 
                    registry keys and reassociate itself with Excel files, 
                    such as workbooks, charts, and so on.

                    Example: /regserver


   /unregserver     Forces Excel to unregister itself and then quit.

                    Example: /unregserver

Outlook Command Line Switches

The following text was copied from the Microsoft Site at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q182/1/12.ASP

 Command-Line Switch      Purpose
   -------------------      -------

   /CleanFreeBusy           Cleans and regenerates free/busy information.

   /Cleanfinders            Removes saved searches from the Exchange
                            Server store.

   /CleanReminders          Cleans and regenerates reminders.

   /CleanViews              Restores default views. All custom views you
                            created are lost.

   /CheckClient             Prompt for default manager of e-mail,
                            news, and contacts

   /ResetFolders            Restores missing folders for the default
                            delivery location.

   /ResetOutlookBar         Rebuilds the Outlook Bar.

   /Safe                    Launches Outlook without extensions, preview
                            pane or toolbar customization.

   /Nopreview               Turns off the Preview Pane and removes the
                            option from the View Menu.

   /CleanSchedPlus          Deletes all Schedule+ data (free/busy,
                            permissions, and .CAL file) from the server
                            and enables the free/busy information from the
                            Outlook Calendar to be used and viewed by all
                            Schedule+ 1.0 users.

Customizing Outlook2002 Security Settings

By default, Outlook2002 restricts access to potentially damaging e-mail file attachments.
To enable access to files with extensions such as .exe. or com:

Exit Outlook2002 if it is running.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Security
Create a new string value called Level1Remove
Enter in the file extensions you want to use, such as .exe or .bat
You can have multiple file types separated by a semicolon
exe;com

The following are a list of the file attachments that are restricted by default

.ade        Microsoft Access project extension
.adp        Microsoft Access project
.asx         Windows Media Audio / Video
.bas        Microsoft Visual Basic class module
.bat         Batch file
.chm       Compiled HTML Help file
.cmd       Microsoft Windows NT Command script
.com       Microsoft MS-DOS program
.cpl          Control Panel extension
.crt           Security certificate
.exe         Program
.hlp          Help file
.hta          HTML program
.inf           Setup Information
.ins          Internet Naming Service
.isp          Internet Communication settings
.js             JScript file
.jse           Jscript Encoded Script file
.lnk           Shortcut
.mdb        Microsoft Access program
.mde        Microsoft Access MDE database
.msc         Microsoft Common Console document
.msi          Microsoft Windows Installer package
.msp         Microsoft Windows Installer patch
.mst         Microsoft Windows Installer transform; Microsoft Visual Test source file
.pcd          Photo CD image; Microsoft Visual compiled script
.pif            Shortcut to MS-DOS program
.prf            Microsoft Outlook profile settings
.reg           Registration entries
.scf            Windows Explorer command
.scr            Screen saver
.sct            Windows Script Component
.shb           Shell Scrap object
.shs           Shell Scrap object
.url            Internet shortcut
.vb             VBScript file
.vbe           VBScript Encoded script file
.vbs           VBScript file
.wsc          Windows Script Component
.wsf           Windows Script file
.wsh          Windows Script Host Settings file

Changing Notepad Defaults

If you want to change the default settings of notepad such as word wrap, font and size:

Start Regedit
Go to HK_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Notepad
From here it is pretty easy to see what items you can change

Access Gives License or Database Error

If you try to run Access97 and get an error:

Microsoft Access can't start because there is no license for it on this machine
or
Can't find the database you specified or you didn't specify a database at all

There is a patch from Microsoft to fix this problem.
I copied it to my site since they often change the location of their files.

Outlook Can't Create Item Error

If you get the error Can't Create Item when attempting to open an attachment for Outlook,
the \Windows\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Forms\Frmcache.dat
file may be corrupted. Simply delete this file and restart Outlook

Opening Multiple Windows in Outlook

If you want to have multiple windows open in Outlook (for example your InBox and Calendar),
Simply right-click on the new item and select Open in New Window This makes it a lot easier to cut and paste between Outlook applications

Setting Outlook to be the Default E-Mail Program

Normally you can set the default mail program from the Internet Explorer (Tools / Internet Options / Programs)
If this still doesn't work for you:

Open the Explorer (not Internet Explorer)
Select Tools / Folder Options
Click on the File Types tab
Go to URL:MailToProtocol
Edit the Open action to be "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OUTLOOK.EXE" -c IPM.Note /m "%1"

Note: The location of Outlook may be different depending on the version of Office you have installed.

Changing the Office2000 Registered Owner

An easier way was submitted:

Start Word2000
Go to Tools / Options / User Information
Change the current user's NAME.

To change the NAME of the registered owner without reinstalling, two simple registry changes need to be made. These are the NAMEs displayed in the opening splash screens of each application as well as the About box.

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \ {00000409-78E1-11D2-B60F-006097C998E7
Change the value of RegOwner and RegCompany to the ones you would like
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Common \ UserInfo]
ReNAME the UserInfo key
Now you should see the new NAME and company information when you start your Office2000 application.

Reducing the File Size of Word Documents

There is, however, a much easier way.

Choose Tools
Options...
Open the Save tab
Uncheck Allow Fast Saves

This makes Word rewrite the entire document file from scratch each time it is saved. The save command takes slightly longer, but your files can be drastically smaller (especially if you've done lots of formatting changes). If you have make documents using MS Word and you make many formatting changes for the paragraph, fonts, page etc., you will see your file size gets bigger. Microsoft Word saves files by blocking, so any change you made for your document it will create a new block with the new formatting and disappear the old block without deleting it from the file. You can solve this problem.

If you open your file and select File \ Save As and give your file a new NAME, it will save only the active blocks with out the old ones.
If you compare the two files you will see a difference in size

Enabling Outlook 2000 Mail Logging

Normally Outlook 2000 does not log Internet, SMTP, and POP sessions.
To turn on this feature:

Start Regedit
Go to Hkey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Outlook \ Options \ Mail
Create a new DWORD
Give it a NAME of Logging
Give it a value of 1
After this, 3 files will be created in the C:\Windows\Temp\Outlook Logging directory.

InetXP.txt logs the Internet session
Pop3log.txt logs mail-retrieval activity
Smtplog.txt logs mail-sending activity

Removing the Task Scheduler

To remove Task Scheduler

Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
Go to HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Uninstall\SchedulingAgent
Click the SchedulingAgent folder
Double-click the UninstallString key.
Copy the value data on the UninstallString key.
Quit Registry Editor.
Click Start, click Run, right-click in the open dialog box, and then click Paste.
Click OK to uninstall Task Scheduler.

Switches for Starting Outlook 2000

Here are some switches you can add to a shortcut to OUTLOOK.EXE.
I have tested them with Outlook 2000 but they might work with previous versions as well.

Hide the Outlook Bar	/folder
Have the specified folder visible	/select "path/folder NAME"
Create an e-mail message	/c ipm.note
Create a post	/c ipm.post
Create an appointment	/c ipm.appointment
Create a task	/c ipm.task
Create a contact	/c ipm.contact
Create a journal entry	/c ipm.activity
Create a note	/c ipm.stickynote
Prompt for default manager of e-mail, news, and contacts	/checkclient
Create an item with the specified file as an attachment.	/a "path/file NAME"

asdasdsdas asdaasdas asd asdasd

Opening Files with Other Than the Default Application

If you have more than one application you use for the same type of file (media, text, graphics etc.)
Use one as your default player, make a shortcut to the other player and put it in the C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO folder.
When you want to open a file with the non-default application, right click on the file and send it to the other application

Changing the NAME of the Outlook Icon on the Desktop

To change the NAME of the Outlook icon on the desktop:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ CLASSES \ CLSID \ {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Change the Default value to the NAME you want to appear

Showing a Map of an Outlook 2000 Contact's Address

You can view a map to the address of an Outlook 2000 by simply:

Open up the Contacts
Open up the contact you want to view
Select Actions / Display Map of Address or click on the icon that looks like yellow road sign with an arrow on the toolbar

Note: You need to be connected to the Internet for this to work.

Re-Applying Formatting in Office 2000

The following will work for the Office 2000 version of Word, Front Page, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Publisher, and Photodraw If you have a section of text formatted they way you want additional sections to look:

Select the text whose format you want to replicate
Click on the Format Painter icon. This is the one that looks like a paint brush.
Now select the new text and the formatting will be applied
To repeat this to more than one selection, double-click on the icon and it will stay selected.
When you are finished, press the ESC key.

Selecting Columns in Word

Selections in MS Word is usually lines or paragraphs.
To make a selection for a column across lines or blocks just press Alt key while you select your text.
You can see that the selection did not select all of the line. It just selects the block or the area that had the mouse over it.

Having Excel 2000 Display the Year with Four Digits

Normally, if you enter 1999 or 2000 as the years in Excel, it will change it to 99 or 00.
To change Excel 2000 so it shows a four digit year:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Excel \ Options
Add or Change the DWORD Value EnableFourDigitYearDisplay to 1

Note: You may need to create the Excel and Options keys

Disabling Outlook Express Splash Screen

To disable the opening Outlook Express screen:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Identities
For OE 5 go below this to {ABE2B8A0-C02D-11D3-867B-948FF355BD32} \ Software \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express \ 5.0
Add a DWORD NoSplash
Give it a value of 1

Hidden FDISK Switches

Here are a few additional switches that can be used with FDISK:

/Status - Give the status of the partitions. Similar to option #4
/FPRMT - FAT32 in drivers smaller than 512 MB
/MBR - Fix master boot record
/PRI:xx - Primary partition of size XX in megs
/EXT:xx - Extended partitio
/LOG:xx - Logical drive in extended partition

Customizing the Office Assistants

You can customize the behavior of the Office Assistants. The easiest way to delete them completely is by deleting the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Common \ Assistant
Note: You will have 9.0 or 8.0 depending on the version of Office you run You can also create dword values and turn on or off the following selected features:

Allow Most Tips - AsstAssistWithWizard = 1
Disable Showing Office Assistant with F1 - AsstAssistWithHelp = 0
Assistant Moves When In the Way - AsstMoveWhenInTheWay = 1
Disable Mouse Tips - AsstMouseTips = 0
Disable Context Sensitive Help - AsstGuessHelp = 0
Disable Keyboard Tips - Delete AsstKeyboardShortcutTips
Disable Feature Tips - AsstFeatureTips = 0
Disable Tip of the Day - Delete AsstShowTipofDay
Disable Office Assistant Help Messages - AsstAssistWithHelp = 0
Show only High Priority Tips - AsstOnlyHighPriorityTips = 1

Starting Outlook Express Immediately to Mail or News

If you want to start Outlook Express and have it immediately go to your Mail or News: Create two new shortcuts

One is msimn /mail
The other is msimn /news

Playing DVD's with Windows Media Player

To play DVD's with the Windows Media Player

Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ MediaPlayer \ Player \ Settings
Create a new string EnableDVDUI
Give it a value of yes
The next time you start the Media Player, you can do a File / Open DVD

Stopping Applications from Starting Automatically

With Windows98, you can run MSCONFIG.
Click on the Startup tab to remove apps that are starting automatically from the registry.
You can also search through the AUTOEXEC.BAT and WIN.INI files as well. If you have applications that you want to stop from starting automatically, there are three places you need to look, the WIN.INI file, the Startup Folder and the Registry.

The load= or run= lines in the WIN.INI file. This is in the directory where you installed Win95, usually the C:\WINDOWS directory
The StartUp folder. Start the Explorer.
Go to C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp folder.
Remove any shortcuts you find there that you don't want.
The Registry. Edit the Registry
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run.
Remove any programs from there.

Changing the Default Page Location for Front Page

Normally Front Page opens documents in either C:\MY WEBS or C:\MY DOCUMENTS \ MY WEBS To change these locations to another directory:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ FrontPage \ Explorer \ FrontPage Explorer \ Settings
Change the DefaultWebNAME to the directory you want

Opening a File by Dragging to Task Bar

If you already have a application showing on the taskbar,
a quick way to open a file is to drag it with from the Explorer to that icon and hold it for a second or so. (Don't let up on the mouse).
The app will re-open with that file loaded.

Eudora Lite and More than One E-Mail Account

To set up Eudora Lite to work with more than one E-Mail account you need make 4 changes to the Eudora.ini file and then save the file as Eudora2.ini Etc.
Then to start Eudora on the alternate account you create a new shortcut with the target entered as C:\Eudora\Eudora.exe C:\Eudora\Eudora2.INI where "C" is the appropriate drive letter. The 4 modifications to the Eudora.ini file are all in the "Settings" section as follows: Where altNAME = 2nd user NAME & alternate.net = 2nd ISP

POPAccount=samplescript @samplescript.com
ReturnAddress=samplescript@samplescript.com
DialupUserNAME=altNAME
SMTPServer=mail.alternate.net

Note many setting will remain as they are in the primary account .ini file. Side Note: To remove Eudora's startup splash screen add the line "NoSplashScreen=1" in the settings section.

Hidden Format Switches

There are a couple of undocument Format switches that have been around for several years: They will work with at least DOS 6.2 and above.

FORMAT /AUTOTEST - Formats without any prompting and exits the program when finished
FORMAT /BACKUP - Like /AUTOTEST but you will be prompted for a volume label

These can be useful if your are formatting drives from a batch file or shortcut and don't want to be prompted for input.

Changing the Number of Days Displayed in Outlook Calendar

When in Outlook's Calendar program with Day View, to change the number of days shown. For eampls press Alt along with the number of days you want to see.
For example Alt-4 would show 4 days. Alt-M shows a Month

Creating Outlook Contacts Shortcut

To create a shortcut for your Outlook Contacts folder on the desktop

Right click on an open area of the desktop
Select New / Shortcut
Enter in the path to your outlook program followed by outlook:contacts. Note the quotes are necessary - "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OUTLOOK.EXE" outlook:contacts

Changing File Associations

Changing File Associations quickly
In Explorer select a fileof the type you want to change.