Tips for Windows 3.1/3.11

Tips for Windows 3.1/3.11(31 - 40)

SHARE vs. VSHARE: Windows users have long lamented the DOS program called SHARE. It's been accused - wrongly - of contributing to the general instability of Windows, adding overhead where none is necessary, and generally acting like an ogre perched at Windows' door. Unfortunately, many Windows programs require SHARE. If you look at your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files, chances are good you will fin a line installing SHARE. WFWG has a new, much improved version of SHARE called VSHARE.386. Instead of clunking around with other DOS stuff loaded before Windows runs, VSHARE provides SHARE style services within Windows itself. If you're not running WFWG, you can get VSHARE from the Microsoft Web site and searching Online Support for the Word 6.0a for Windows upgrade. When you install the upgrade, VSHARE will also be installed on your system (it will be copied to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory, and the appropriate line will be added to the [386 Enhanced] section of SYSTEM.INI) If you use VSHARE only under Windows 3.1, you need to run it in 386 Enhanced mode, and you can then remove any reference to SHARE from your AUTOEXEC.BAT and\or CONFIG.SYS files.

Notepad Fix: You want Notepad to display all of the available files in the File Open option instead of just TXT files. In File manager, copy NOTEPAD.EXE to NOTEPAD.BAK. Launch Write, open NOTEPAD.EXE, and click on No Conversion. Select Find, Find, type TXT and press Enter. Write highlights the first occurrence of TXT. Click twice on Find Next to skip to the third occurrence and click on Cancel to stop the search. TXT should be highlighted. Type an asterisk followed by two spaces. Save and Exit. Next time you launch Notepad, it will display all the files in a directory when you select File, Open.

File Manager Selections: To select one file in File Manager, you click on it. To select more than one file, hold down the Ctrl key as you click on the files you want to select. If you want to select a bunch of files that are right next to each other, hold the Shift key, click on the top file, then the bottom file: You'll select the entire range. To select all the files in a directory, press Ctrl+/.

Missing a Double-Click: If you move the mouse more than a tiny distance between the first and second clicks of a double-click, nothing will happen. If you're not steady of hand, this is a problem. Edit WIN.INI, and go to the [Windows] section. Find the lines DoubleClickHeight= and DoubleClickWidth= and change the numbers after the = signs to 10. If the lines aren't there, add them. This is the number of pixels your mouse can move before the second click becomes ineffective.

Easy Editor: Windows supplies an editing tool called SysEdit that automatically opens the key files that control your computer. This is a quick and easy way to edit any files to configure your system. To use SysEdit, in Program Manager choose File, Run. In the Command Line box, type SYSEDIT, then choose OK. SysEdit will launch with AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI already open and ready to edit. If you're using WFWG, there will be a few more configuration files open. You can edit any of the files from SysEdit, and it will even save backup copies for you with the SYD extension in place of the original extension.You will need to restart Windows or your computer for the changes you've made to take effect. If you want to make SysEdit more available, in File manager, in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory you'll find the file SYSEDIT.EXE. Drag the file to the program group you want it in, and next time you open that group, SysEdit will be there to use. It even comes with it's own icon!

Load Apps Minimized: For speedy application launch, hold down the Shift key and double-click on an icon to launch its application in minimized mode. Once you've opened several applications, use the Cool Switch (Alt+Tab) to scroll them.

Navigating File Manager: Looking for a file in a 300-file directory can take too much clicking and scrolling. The easiest way to go quickly to a specific file is to sort the directory by name (select View, Sort by Name), click anywhere in the file window (on the right), then type the first letter of the filename you wish to reach. This will take you to the first file that starts with that character. Type the same character again, and you'll go to the next file that starts with that character.

Icon Fonts: If squinting at tiny fonts on the Windows Desktop gives you a headache, try this: edit WIN.INI and add the following lines under the [Desktop] section: IconTitleFaceName=Arial, IconTitleSize=11, and IconSpacing=86.Change the font name and size to your liking. Note that the larger the font size, the higher the icon spacing should be, or your icon titles will overlap.

Y2K Fix: Microsoft has come up with a fix for one part of the 'Millennium Bug.' They have released updates for Windows 3.1 and WFWG that will correct garbled dates in File Manager for files that are created with a date of 01-01-2000 or later. You can download this by going to Microsoft's Support site and searching their Online Support for 'year 2000' under the Windows 3.1 category.

Tile Treatment: Double-click anywhere on the desktop (outside of Program Manager) or press Ctrl+Esc, and you will open Task Manager. From Task Manager, you can see all the programs that are running at the time, and if you click Tile, you can look at all the windows at once.