I just came across a computer program that allowed Windows users to change the language of the computer keyboard with the Caps Lock key. Using different keyboard locales is a solution for users who work with different languages throughout the day, e.g. Chinese and English. These users need to read and often write in different languages and an option to quickly switch the keyboard layout would probably be appreciated by most of them.
What the developer of the software program Capswitch did not know is that the Windows operating system comes with options to switch keyboard locales with keyboard shortcuts. The Windows XP operating system for example provides this option in the Regional and Language options module of the Control Panel. A click on the Details button under the Languages tab will open all installed input languages.
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software
computer keyboard, computer keyboard locales, keyboard layouts, keyboard locales, locales switcher, windows tips
The windows xp star menu adds new entries to the end of the list even though you have sorted it alphabetically before by right-clicking and choosing to sort the entries by name. Most users who sort their start menu alphabetically don;t like it when new entries to the start menu are added at the bottom of the list. Looks bad, causes confusion.
Fortunately there is a registry hack that changes the default sort order to alphanumeric instead of date. Start by right-clicking in the programs window of the start menu and select Sort by Name. Open your registry editor by pressing Windows + R and typing regedit to open the registry. Navigate to the following registry key:
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Operating Systems, windows
windows tips
If you want to move folders that are automatically created by windows xp on your c: drive to another path or folder you might face a problem. Simply moving the folders won;t work which means there must be another way to relocate them. The easiest way that I;ve come up with is to use the freeware called Folder Redirector which makes it simple and fast to redirect the following folders to a different folder or drive on your system.
It works on Desktop, Favorites, My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, Send To, Shared Documents, Shared Music, Shared Pictures, Shared Video, Start Menu, Startup, Temporary Internet Files, Common Startup and Common Desktop. I can think of two occurrences where relocating such folders would be a good idea. The first one would be if your c: drive does not have that much space and you want to remove everything that reduces space on that drive.
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Operating Systems, windows
microsoft, windows tips
Sounds on my computer seem to be different depending on the application that is used to play the sounds. Sometimes I have almost silent video playback and loud intros when playing games. What;s the matter with the differences ? Volumouse gives you immediate control of the volume on your computer making it possible to alter it without leaving the application that you are currently working with.
Once installed you can configure up to five rules that define when and how you are able to control the volume with your mouse wheel. By default two rules are already in place. You can change the volume with the mouse wheel by pressing ALT or by clicking the left mouse button. You might want to change this behavior if you want to use volumouse in games for instance. ALT and left mouse are often used for other actions and this could pose problems.
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Tools
software, windows tips
Well this is just a little registry hack that changes the size of the thumbnails of images that are displayed in windows explorer by default. The default size is relatively small and most people surely would like a bigger size for the thumbnails to get a better preview of the images. To do that you have to add a new entry called ThumbnailSize to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Select Edit – New – Dword Value and name it ThumbnailSize. Double-click the new entry and select decimal and a number between 32 and 256. The default value for the thumbnail size is 100, if you would like a bigger size increase the number above 100, if you like smaller ones choose one below 100.
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Operating Systems, windows
windows tips, windows-xp
Sizer is a great freeware application that lets you resize any window to a predefined size. It is only 30k unpacked and can be started from any location on your computer. Once started a icon appears in the system tray that allows you to configure sizer. You are free to add exact pixel sizes to the configuration which appear when you right click any window that is open. You may also opt to reposition the window while resizing it, sizer offers some default locations like top left or bottom right but has another option that makes it possible to enter the coordinates yourself.
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Operating Systems, windows
software, window, windows tips