tips.txt comes with Windows 95. It provides various Windows Explorer command line options and several relevant keyboard short cuts. (Windows-E starts Explorer, i.e. hold down the Windows key and press E) You should also be familiar with the additional txt files in your Windows directory.

Computer Tips provides help on many topics, including Windows 95 Explorer and Windows NT 4.0 Tips

Windows 95 (tm) FAQ Provides general help

Windows 95 Annoyances is a good source of information. Also available as a book.

The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design by Microsoft. (Requires javascript)

Freeware related to Windows Explorer and desktop functions. Many of these require the VisualBasic 5 runtime. Many of these are for Windows 95 only.

PC Magazine (ZifDavis) provides a number of utilities and hints.

Ron Badour provides a number of tips on configuring Windows and the registry.

This provides a description of the Windows Explorer Command-Line Switches.

Systems Internals provides utilities (and source code :) that allows you to monitor what is happening. In many cases, both Windows 95 and Windows NT versions are provided.

Regmon (95 & NT - 84K Updated Aug 99) is a great registry spy tool.
• hppropty reads the same 18 printer configuration entries each minute
• mprexe reads the same 19 entries every 5 minutes (more printer related data)
• Simply refreshing IE 3.05 causes 45 accesses - One key is read 6 times
• Right clicking the background in Windows Explorer and selecting New-> causes ~2850 accesses.
• Even when disabled, vshield continuously hits the registry, reading only one key over and over.
• (all access numbers are configuration dependent)
FileMon (95 (31K), NT (41K)) reports all file accesses.

The Windows Registry Guide contains lots of searchable information on the registry. However, be warned that there are at least 2 flashing advertisements per page and that most pages are too wide to view on a 640x480 monitor.

A few Registry Hacks are available here. Included is a way to stop the icons from changing as you use the system (ShellIconCache gets full and a registry hack changes the maximum size). There is also a very good links page.

A large part of Windows Explorer appears to be implemeted vis shell32.dll. This can be verified using DLL Dependency Walker and Resource Hacker.

Microsoft provides information on how to customize Windows Explorer (the shell) including how to customize the context sensitive menus. In general, there is more data than I've presented in this document. However, some of it is presented in a manner that I find very difficult to follow. In addition, some of it is misleading or simply incorrect. (Specifically, see bullet 3 below.) Shell Basics/Context Menus explains that

• The standard canonical verbs should be used because they are automatically translated into the system's default language. (Well, I still think that Open is wrong.)
• The printto verb is never displayed - it is used when you drag-and-drop a file on a printer.
• It says that Open with... is always displayed - but my experience is that it is shown only with un-registered extensions. However, it is shown when you hold down the shift key while you right click.

TweakUI 1.1	- Allows undocumented customization of the User Interface
CAB Viewer	- Allows browsing of the compressed CAB files

Agent Ransack (free) is a super program which replaces the Windows Explorer search function - just right click any folder. In addition, when searching for a string, it actually displays the text lines that contain the string. Even more important, it searches ALL files (unlike Windows XP which searches only those files that Microsoft thinks that you should be searching.

URL: http:// cpcug.org / user / clemenzi / technical / WinExplorer / References.htm