Quicker Way to Launch Program

Windows Vista assigns shortcuts to all the items in your Quick Launch toolbar, on its own, depending on the icons� positions in the sequence. So if you want to open the program whose icon is the fourth in your Quick Launch bar, just press the Windows key + 4.

Resize Icon of Desktop on fly in XP Vista

Resize icons on the fly :

If you want to resize the icons quickly in Windows Vista Explorer, press and hold the Ctrl key, and scroll up or down with the mouse wheel

Task Manager Not Starting - Error 1717

In windows xp professional & windows 2000, We were not able to start Task Manager and received error message 1717, this error was resloved by starting 'Event Log' Service in Administrative services.

run -> Services.msc -> Start Event Log Service and then Task Manger Service.

Windows File Name

Naming Files in Windows According to Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard the following are the requirements for Windows filenames:

1. A filename may contain any alphanumeric character, including the letters A to Z and numbers from 0 to 9.

2. The full filename (including drive letter, colon, backslashes, and folder names) may be as long as 255 characters.

3. The filename itself may be as short as one character.

4. The following special characters are allowed in a filename:   $ % - _ @ ~ ` ' ! ( ) ^ # & + , ; = . [ ] { }

5. Spaces are allowed in filenames.

6. The following special characters are prohibited from being a part of a filename because they have special meanings to the operating system (DOS underlying Windows):
  / \ | : * ? " < >

You'll get an error message if you try to use one of them.

Windows files (and Office files in particular) typically include a three-letter extension, which is added automatically by the program that created the file (such as .doc for files created by Word). However, an extension is not required, nor are extensions limited to three characters. Windows treats any characters following the last period in the filename as an extension.

Source: Special Edition Using Office 2000 by Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard., pp. 73-74 Que. (paraphrased slightly)

Although the above are requirements, they have a couple of recommendations or notes:

  1. They recommend limiting the name of the file itself to about 40 characters so that you don't have trouble moving files with deeply nested folders.
 

2. If you use a nonstandard extension you may have difficulty opening the file from Windows. In Microsoft Office programs files with nonstandard extensions will not appear in file dialog boxes unless you change the file type to All Files.

  3. Windows filenames are not case sensitive. MyFile.doc is treated the same as MYFILE.DOC and myfile.doc. However, if you are publishing to a web page, the web server may be using a different operating system that does pay attention to case.

  4. Word marks temporary files with a beginning tilde (~) character. I would recommend not using this as the beginning character for any file that will be used by any of the MS Office programs.

Minimizing Window while working

This is a small trick which is very useful to maintain our privacy while working in the office.

Use key window + D -->> to minimize all the windows.

press again by

using key window + D ---> to show all the windows.

I am sure this great short cut to be used in windows.