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A lot of people seem to not like the default locations of folders in Vista, things like the personal folders, Documents, Favorites, Contacts, Music, Public Documents, Public Videos, etc.....Most don't like the default locations simply because they are used to using a different drive or location to store their stuff that suits there way of operation. Symlinks might be an answer for you. Instead of going into the long explaination, the easy way to become aquanted with the Symlink feature in Vista is to open up a command prompt and type 'Mklink /?' ,you will be presented with the necessary information for creating your own symlinks in Vista. So lets create one then... Say for example we want to call the 'Music' folder in Vista "My Personal Music Collection" but we want that folder to appear at another location other that the default Vista location and we have some problems moving the 'Music' folder and we really don't mind if the actual folder stays at its default location, we just want a folder called "My Personal Music Collection" because we don't like the default Vista 'Music' name. Ok here is how we would do that. Additionally, lets say that our user name is 'Mickeymouse' (just for the heck of it). (Open up a command prompt and type Mklink/?. That will give you information and the syntax of the command to create a symlink.) 1. Open command prompt in the place where you want to create the symlink, were going to use the root of the C:\ drive in this example but it can be anywhere you want.. 2. type mklink /? for information. So if we want to create a symlink directory at the root of C:\; mklink /J <the name of our link directory> <the target of our link> so lets create a link directory named "My Personal Music Collection" at the root of C:\ with a target of the default C:\Users\Mickeymouse mklink /J "My Personal Music Collection" "C:\Users\Mickeymouse" If you now look in the root of the C:\ drive you will see what looks like a folder but really isn't, its not a shortcut either but we won't go into that in this post. You will be able to copy, save, paste, and do all the normal things you would do with an actual folder with your "My Personal Music Collection" symlink, but remember, the actual activity is taking place in the original "C:\Users\Mickeymouse" To enable Local to remote symlinks: 1. Both the client and server must be using Vista. 2. As admin, you need to enable 'Local to Remote' policy using gpedit.msc and go to: Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/NTFS Filesystem/ then right click on the 'Selectively Allow the evaluation of symbolic link' - choose 'Properties', then 'Settings' tab. Another use of symlinks, that might not be of much use to your right now but will in the future, if you transfer a lot of files using seperate clients (FTP, P2P, etc..); How about a symlink that you simply copy files into and they are transfered to a remote server for example. If the server uses symlinks (or junctions in older windows versions) then simply create a symlink with a folder on the server as a target, works great! and lets you use the remote server location like you would any folder on your hard drive just like you were on a LAN somewhere. OK, thats it. Now granted, this doesn't move the actual folder so if your still focused on moving the actual folder its self then you'll need to do something else. But for those that just want the simplicity offered by symlinks, simple name changes and stuff like that without messing with the actual folder then symlinks might help you out.

Enabling ClearType in Vista is easy, you can do it in the GUI, and besides its enabled by default anyway. However, tuning ClearType in Vista is not so easy as there is nothing exposed in the GUI for tuning. ClearType is integrated into Vista. There is , however, a way to adjust ClearType in the registry. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002 "FontSmoothingGamma"=dword:000003e8 "FontSmoothingOrientation"=dword:00000001 These settings affect ClearType 'Globally' across the entire operating system. They may not, however, have much effect for HTML as seen in Internet Explorer. For Internet Explorer you may need to turn on ClearType in the settings for IE. The "FontSmoothingType", "FontSmoothingGamma", "FontSmoothing", and "FontSmoothingOrientation" items already exist in the registry. The settings for each important item for ClearType activation and tuning are: "FontSmoothingType" - a DWORD value: 1 = ClearType is not used for the font smoothing, standard font smoothing is used instead - 2 = ClearType is used for font smoothing. (setting to '2' also enables ClearType) "FontSmoothing" - a DWORD value : 1 = use font smoothing, 2 = use ClearType font smoothing. This is a REG_SZ value, not a dword. This is different from "FontSmoothingType" and is not a switch to help turn on ClearType to begin with. This tells the font smoothing to use AFTER ClearType is enabled. "FontSmoothingGamma" - a DWORD value: Perhaps the most important setting for ClearType. Range is 1000 to 2200 (integer). Setting to 1000 (the default) produces the most readable text for most people (its the darkest against a white background with a black font). 2200 gives the lighest text. You may be able to go below the 1000 value, I haven't tried that yet since the official lower limit is 1000. "FontSmoothingOrientation" : This is a hard one to figure out. It seems basically to determine if the display will use RGB, BRG, or a flat pixel structure. Most LCD screens are RGB so play with this one a little if your using a LCD display. The values for this dword are 0, 1, or 2. These values for "FontSmoothingOrientation" and what each does is represented below: Flat = 0 - The display device has no pixel structure. This means that light sources for each color are spread equally on the pixel area

An X-Mouse - Windows Follow Mouse, feature is something I miss in Windows. In WnXP we could enable this by using the Power Toys. The Power Toys don't seem to work to enable this feature in Vista, but you can still have this if you like by doing the below, but before proceeding remember to back up these registry entries first in case something goes wrong: (This reg entry change not only makes the window active but makes it the forground window by bringing it foward on top of other windows when the mouse is over it.) 1. Open up Regedit and browse to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] 2. Look for the REG_Binary key "UserPreferencesMask" in the right pane. You will see its value as a string of hex numbers. Mine was hex 98,12,03,80,10,00,00,00. 3. Next you need to add the hex value '41' to the first hex value on the left in the hex string found in step 2. Using the hex string I have as an example: 98h + 41h = d9h. You can use the Calculator (in scientific mode) in Vista to do this simple addition. My new hex value, using my example, string now becomes d9,12,03,80,10,00,00,00 4. Next, Right click on the "UserPreferencesMask" key and choose 'Modify',then alter the original value of "UserPreferencesMask" to your new value found in step 3. 5. Next, at the same [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] registry location right click in the right pane and choose to add a new DWORD (32-bit) value and name this value "ActiveWndTrkTimeout". Next right click on your new "ActiveWndTrkTimeout" DWORD and choose modify and put in the time (in milliseconds) that suits you for the mouse switching between windows. 6. Close Regedit and re-boot. Now for multiple windows open on the desktop, the window the mouse pointer is on will become the active window and come to the foreground without having to click on it. You may need to play with the value for "ActiveWndTrkTimeout" a little to get it correct. These are the values (below) I used to test with and the time for the mouse to remain over a window before its bought forward is 3 seconds (3000 miliseconds). Experiment with your time and find something that suits you: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "UserPreferencesMask"=hex:d9,12,03,80,10,00,00,00 "ActiveWndTrkTimeout"=dword:00000bb8

Here's a nice little trick that I've found out. Open command prompt with admin rights.. You can do this by selecting command prompt-->right click, in the start menu and click on "run as admin".. Type this: rundll32 slc.dll, SLRearmwindows Then hit enter and reboot... This will reset the activation time for windows vista.. It's great if you only got 1 day left or you're using Vista the last day before it has to be activated..

Disable IPv6 in Vista (makes ipconfig more readable): http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community...guy/cg1005.mspx [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters] "DisabledComponents"=dword:000000ff

You can turn off the Vista Start menu baloon tips one of two ways, use either Gpedit.msc or the reg entry below: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 ; turn off start menu baloon tips [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] "NoDriveTypeAutoRun"=dword:00000091 "NoSMBalloonTip"=dword:00000001

Yup, happy birthday our idea man :thumb_yello:

User Account Control, or UAC for short. Yes, I know its a bad word to many, however, it really is your friend and will save your butt at some time or another. Part of the reason for the anger of some over UAC is its name, think about it, User Account Control...."CONTROL!!!! Why is MS wanting to control my computer?" In the beginning of Vista UAC was named User Account Protection (UAP), perhaps they should have left it named that way because the word 'Protection' is much more suitable then 'Control' when in reality the aim of UAC is to protect the user. Anyway, UAC is here for right now. Rumor has it that UAC will quietly go away beginning with SP1 for Vista, I don't know the accuracy of those rumors but in the mean time there are a few tips for living with UAC. There are a few different ways to disable UAC; 1. The easy solution is through Control Panel. Type "UAC" into the search bar at the top of the screen and you'll be presented with a User Accounts GUI that allows you to turn UAC on and Off. 2. At the start menu type 'msconfig' and hit enter and a System Configuration editor will start up. Click on the tools tab and scroll down to the 'Disable' and 'Enable' entries for UAC. 3. You can also disable UAC by using registry entries (outlined in the Vista Tips and Tweaks section) The above methods are a brute force approach, as they just turn it on or off without offering any control over the finer aspects of UAC. Right now your probably thinking "What finer aspects?"...Yes there are some finer aspects for UAC, or at least there is a way to get a more granular control over UAC so you can keep it enabled and still live with it. There's a more subtle configuration choice that gives you some of the benefits of UAC without any of the prompting. You'll need to edit the local security policy to control this, do the following: 1. From the Start search bar type 'Local Security Policy'. 2. Accept the elevation prompt (if you get one). 3. From the snap-in select 'Security Settings' - 'Local Policy' - 'Security Options'. 4. Scroll down to the bottom, where you'll find nine different group policy settings for granular configuration of UAC. Perhaps the best choice I can suggest for you here is to select and change the setting 'User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode' from 'Prompt for consent' to 'Elevate without prompting'. Read the explanations on the second page of the property sheet for each policy setting before changing anything. Be careful here because you can mess something up and be locked out of your own computer.

:crying_anim:

Actually, I've downloaded a D2_Downloads System, but have some problems installing it. Looks like it's for an old version of IPB..I'm interested in that download mod you have. Can you share it?

Parfume Bvlgari Aqua, my favorite one :boxing:

I hope so buddy. Forum is quick thx to MSFN Hosting, IPB 2.2.1 is working like a charm, so we can only be optimistic on this.. :g:

Yes, and FF users can use a keyboard shortcut to send shouts (CTRL+E), while IE users can't. Don't know why is that.. :ranting:

Nice one Wolf..You can safely put it on the frontpage :thumbsup: Maybe it's usefull to mention, that with the new version of IPB, downloads are not available for guests anymore. You'll have to register before downloading. Shoutbox can't be used or even seen by guests, because we want to avoid spam messages..

Hmm, strange, I just said to cyg that Tain is active now and I was calling you to join us on shoutbox..Which browser are you using, can you post a screenie so I can see what could cause this strange behaviour..

The shortcut arrows in Vista are actually overlaid icons. You can get rid of them using a couple of different methods, one of which concerns removing, renaming, or changing the value of the more traditional 'IsShortcut' key (outlined elsewhere in the Vista Tricks and Tips section). However, there is a slight problem with changing the 'IsShortcut' key, since Vista relies heavly on links if you change this key some items that rely on links may fail to start up. So we need another method. Using the reg entery below gets rid of the shortcut arrow overlay. Actually what this reg entry does is substitute the shortcut arrow overlay for a transparent overlay which is exactly what TweakUI from MS did in the past. So...here it is for ya... Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Icons] "29"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\shell32.dll,52" The 'Shell Icons' key doesn't normally exist in Vista. This reg entry creates the key, and puts the '29' REG_SZ entry in the key and gives the REG_SZ '29' a value of "C:\\Windows\\System32\\shell32.dll,52" which points it to a transparent icon (icon #52) in the shell32.dll file. This reg entry gets rid of the shortcut arrow and at the same time doesn't break our links like the 'IsShortcut' key method might do in Vista.

I think that licence cost 50$, but instead of one, you get 3 licences..In that way Microsoft gets 3 users for about 17 $ each..

To all of WinCert members, I wish Merry Christmas, hope that you all have a good and peaceful one:

Hello Craig, welcome to the forums.

I'm using a free 90-day trial of Microsoft One Care Live and I'm preety satisfied with it, rather than have 3 different apps installed..

Not many votes, this is a tie

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 ;Set ConTEXT as HTML editor in Firefox [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxHTML\shell\edit\command] @="C:\\Program Files\\ConTEXT\\ConTEXT.exe \"%1\"" ;Set ConTEXT as HTML editor in Firefox [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\FirefoxHTML\shell\edit\command] @="C:\\Program Files\\ConTEXT\\ConTEXT.exe \"%1\"" ;Set ConTEXT as HTML Default Editor [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared\HTML\Default Editor\shell\edit\command] @="C:\\Program Files\\ConTEXT\\ConTEXT.exe \"%1\"" ;Set ConTEXT as HTML editor in Internet Explorer [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Default HTML Editor] "Description"="ConTEXT Programmers Editor" ;Set ConTEXT as HTML editor in Internet Explorer [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Default HTML Editor\shell\edit\command] @="C:\\Program Files\\ConTEXT\\ConTEXT.exe \"%1\"" ;Turn On Popup Blocker [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows] "PopupMgr"="yes" ;Add Google as a Search Engine [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{A5816146-54D7-4DEF-B045-53B0E67878FD}] "DisplayName"="Google" ;Add Google as a Search Engine [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{A5816146-54D7-4DEF-B045-53B0E67878FD}] "URL"="http://www.google.com/search?q={searchTerms}&rls=com.microsoft:{language}&ie={inputEncoding}&oe={outputEncoding}&startIndex={startIndex?}&startPage={startPage}" ;Add Google as a Search Engine ; Export your own Key here as it may be different [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Connections] "SavedLegacySettings& quot;=hex:3c,00,00,00,c1,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0 ,04,00,00,00,00,00, 00,00,a0,7b,ae,ef,9e,48,c6,01,01,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,c0,a8,01,66,00,00,00,00,00 00,00,00,6f,00,6f,0 0,74,00,25,00,5c,00,54,00,45,00,4d,00,50,00,00,00,44,00,3b,00,2e,00,56,00,42,00, 3,00,3b,00,2e,00,56 ,00,42,00,45,00,3b,00,2e,00,4a,00,53,00,3b,00,2e,00,4a,00,53,00,45,00,3b,00,2e,0 ,57,00,53,00,46,00, 3b,00,2e,00,57,00,53,00,48,00,00,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c 00,57,00,62,00,65,0 0,6d,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00, ;Make Google DEfault Search Engine [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes] "DefaultScope"="{A5816146-54D7-4DEF-B045-53B0E67878FD}" ;Phishing Filter Automatic [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\PhishingFilter] "Enabled"=dword:00000002 ; Export your own Key here as it may be different [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Connections] "SavedLegacySettings& quot;=hex:3c,00,00,00,c4,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0 ,04,00,00,00,00,00, 00,00,a0,7b,ae,ef,9e,48,c6,01,01,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,c0,a8,01,66,00,00,00,00,00 00,00,00,6f,00,6f,0 0,74,00,25,00,5c,00,54,00,45,00,4d,00,50,00,00,00,44,00,3b,00,2e,00,56,00,42,00, 3,00,3b,00,2e,00,56 ,00,42,00,45,00,3b,00,2e,00,4a,00,53,00,3b,00,2e,00,4a,00,53,00,45,00,3b,00,2e,0 ,57,00,53,00,46,00, 3b,00,2e,00,57,00,53,00,48,00,00,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c 00,57,00,62,00,65,0 0,6d,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00, ;Add MSFN Forums as a Secondary Home Page [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "Secondary Start Pages& quot;=hex(7):68,74,74,70,3a,2f,2f,77,77,77,2e,6d,73,66,6e,2e,6f,72,67,2f,62,6f,6 ,72,64,2f,69,6e,64, 65,78,2e,70,68,70,3f,00,00, ; add search MS Knowledgebase by KB number (just type the number in the search box) [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\MSKBnumber] "DisplayName"="MS KB number" "URL"="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid={SearchTerms}" ;add search MS knowledgebase by string (type the string in the search box) [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\MSKBString] "DisplayName"="MS KB String" "URL"="http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?query={SearchTerms}" ;search using Dogpile [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\Dogpile] "DisplayName"="Dogpile" "URL"="http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/web/{SearchTerms}"

Link :shocking: