bigstar
asked on
Changing the 'reserved' icons on the Win 98 Desktop
A simple question (I think). You can change the icon for most items that sit on the Windows 98 Desktop except for a few reserved items - the recyle bin, my documents etc. However it must be possible to change them (perhaps through the registry) as when I've installed "Themed Screen Savers" they appear to change all these reserved icons
All I want to change is the icon for the 'My Documents' Shell - how do I do this?
All I want to change is the icon for the 'My Documents' Shell - how do I do this?
Download TweakUI and install it. From ther eyou can change those reserved icons.
Right-click the desktop and select properties. One of the tab shows all the icons and will let you change them.
Windows 98 Desktop Themes, also provides numerous other options for Recycle bins, etc.... There are also new themes available for Windows 98 users at the WindowsUpdate site for download, aside from those provided with initial Windows 98 installs. The icon, once installed, is then placed in your control panel for selection. Within each theme, you can opt for specifics relative to pointers, icons, etc. CAUTION, when uninstalling some themes, some fonts are uninstalled as well.
98's New High-Powered Tweakui
Tweak UI PowerToy is there for the taking, right on your Windows 98 installation CD. In
case you missed it, you'll find this handy utility in your CD's tools\reskit\powertoy folder.
To install it, right-mouse-click tweakui.inf and select Install. To run it, open the Control
Panel and double-click Tweak UI.
Wish you could hide a few Control Panel items, to keep meddling fingers from messing
with these settings? Tweak UI has an entire tab for just this purpose. Select the Control
Panel tab, then scroll through the list of items, deselecting those items you'd like to hide
from view. The next time you (or more importantly, anyone else) open the Control Panel,
those "hidden" items are nowhere in sight.
So the question then becomes, how do YOU access the hidden Control Panel items? Set up
shortcuts to the hidden *.cpl files (as indicated on Tweak UI's Control Panel tab) and store
them in your secret location of choice. (Tip: Use Find to locate all *.cpl files in the
Windows\System folder; then right-mouse-click and drag the "hidden" *.cpl file(s) to your
location of choice, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.)
Is there an item on the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog
box that shouldn't be in the list--either because you've already removed it or because
selecting it and clicking Add/Remove doesn't accomplish a thing? You could always
venture into the Registry to remove items from the list, but with Tweak UI around, you can
clean out this list with a few quick clicks.
Open Tweak UI and select the Add/Remove tab. One at a time, select an item you'd like to
remove from the list, click Remove, then click Yes to confirm. When you're finished,
check out the real-life version, and you'll find a list that's clean as a whistle.
To be sure that Tweakui is not just masking an entry, go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
look for applications that are not supposed to be there. If they are there, trash them. Oh, of
course BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY 1st.
Tired of seeing that cloudy logo screen whenever you start Windows 98? There's an easy
way to keep this image out of sight, for a logo-less startup. Open Tweak UI and click the
Boot tab. Deselect Display Splash Screen While Booting, then click Apply or OK. All those
startup details are more interesting than Microsoft's advertising anyway!
Remember the Windows 95 PowerToy, XMouse? With this feature turned on, Windows'
focus followed your mouse pointer. (If you moved your mouse over any window,
Windows switched its focus to that window.) The problem with XMouse, however, was
that trying to turn it on and off was a bit complicated.
The PowerToys developers resolved this problem by making the new XMouse part of
Tweak UI. Open Tweak UI, select the General tab, and select Activation Follows Mouse
(X-Mouse). Click Apply or OK, and X-Mouse is on. To turn it off, simply deselect this
same option.
Speaking of X-Mouse. With this feature on, Windows' focus follows your mouse pointer.
(Move your mouse over any window, and Windows switches its focus to that window.)
To turn X-Mouse on, open Tweak UI, select the General tab, and select Activation Follows
Mouse (X-Mouse).
Want to take this whole focus-follows-the-mouse thing one step further? Select Tweak
UI's General tab, and under Effects, select Auto-Raise. Now moving your mouse pointer
over a window selects that window AND raises it up to the top of the open window pile.
You can remove the Documents folder from your Start menu altogether (to prevent other
users from accessing a list of your most recently accessed documents). Of course,
removing this folder means that you can't use it either. If you still want access to the
Documents folder, but want a bit more privacy, ask Tweak UI to clear the Documents list
(as well as the Run list and your IE 4.0 typed-URL history list) whenever you exit
Windows.
Open Tweak UI and select the IE 4 tab. Under Settings, select Clear Document, Run and
Typed-URL History on Exit. Click OK, and the next time you exit and restart Windows, all
three lists will be wiped clean.
Do one or more icons on your desktop (or your Quick Launch toolbar, or anywhere else
for that matter) suddenly look nothing like they're supposed to--in other words, they're the
wrong icons? Tweak UI can rebuild them (or at least, it can try). Open Tweak UI, select
the Repair tab, and you'll see Rebuild Icons selected. Click Repair now, wait a bit, and
those icons should be good as new.
Erase that little arrow from the lower-left corner of every shortcut icon. Open Tweak UI,
select Explorer, and check out the options under Shortcut overlay. Select None to delete
those arrows altogether, or try Light arrow for a less obtrusive version of the shortcut
arrow.
You could also select Custom and select a new icon; just make sure to choose something
small or it will overlap the entire icon!
You know how to hide both the Favorites folder and the Documents folder from the Start
menu by editing the Registry. With Tweak UI, you can hide (or show) these folders at the
click of a button. Open Tweak UI and select the IE 4 tab. Scroll to the end of the Settings
list and deselect Show Documents on Start Menu and/or Show Favorites on Start Menu.
Click Apply or OK. (Note: You'll need to restart Windows for this change to take effect.)
Clear Find Files Documents and History Lists
Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, and select the Paranoia tab. Select Clear
Find Files History at Logon, click Clear Selected Items Now, then click OK.
There's another way to clear this Find history, but you have to be willing to do away with
your Documents list, as well as the list of previously typed URLs in IE 4.0. Select Start,
Settings, Taskbar & Start Menu. Select the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear
button (under Documents menu), wait a few seconds until your hard drive stops thrashing,
then click OK. All three lists will be wiped clean.
Regards,
Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
Tweak UI PowerToy is there for the taking, right on your Windows 98 installation CD. In
case you missed it, you'll find this handy utility in your CD's tools\reskit\powertoy folder.
To install it, right-mouse-click tweakui.inf and select Install. To run it, open the Control
Panel and double-click Tweak UI.
Wish you could hide a few Control Panel items, to keep meddling fingers from messing
with these settings? Tweak UI has an entire tab for just this purpose. Select the Control
Panel tab, then scroll through the list of items, deselecting those items you'd like to hide
from view. The next time you (or more importantly, anyone else) open the Control Panel,
those "hidden" items are nowhere in sight.
So the question then becomes, how do YOU access the hidden Control Panel items? Set up
shortcuts to the hidden *.cpl files (as indicated on Tweak UI's Control Panel tab) and store
them in your secret location of choice. (Tip: Use Find to locate all *.cpl files in the
Windows\System folder; then right-mouse-click and drag the "hidden" *.cpl file(s) to your
location of choice, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.)
Is there an item on the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog
box that shouldn't be in the list--either because you've already removed it or because
selecting it and clicking Add/Remove doesn't accomplish a thing? You could always
venture into the Registry to remove items from the list, but with Tweak UI around, you can
clean out this list with a few quick clicks.
Open Tweak UI and select the Add/Remove tab. One at a time, select an item you'd like to
remove from the list, click Remove, then click Yes to confirm. When you're finished,
check out the real-life version, and you'll find a list that's clean as a whistle.
To be sure that Tweakui is not just masking an entry, go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
look for applications that are not supposed to be there. If they are there, trash them. Oh, of
course BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY 1st.
Tired of seeing that cloudy logo screen whenever you start Windows 98? There's an easy
way to keep this image out of sight, for a logo-less startup. Open Tweak UI and click the
Boot tab. Deselect Display Splash Screen While Booting, then click Apply or OK. All those
startup details are more interesting than Microsoft's advertising anyway!
Remember the Windows 95 PowerToy, XMouse? With this feature turned on, Windows'
focus followed your mouse pointer. (If you moved your mouse over any window,
Windows switched its focus to that window.) The problem with XMouse, however, was
that trying to turn it on and off was a bit complicated.
The PowerToys developers resolved this problem by making the new XMouse part of
Tweak UI. Open Tweak UI, select the General tab, and select Activation Follows Mouse
(X-Mouse). Click Apply or OK, and X-Mouse is on. To turn it off, simply deselect this
same option.
Speaking of X-Mouse. With this feature on, Windows' focus follows your mouse pointer.
(Move your mouse over any window, and Windows switches its focus to that window.)
To turn X-Mouse on, open Tweak UI, select the General tab, and select Activation Follows
Mouse (X-Mouse).
Want to take this whole focus-follows-the-mouse thing one step further? Select Tweak
UI's General tab, and under Effects, select Auto-Raise. Now moving your mouse pointer
over a window selects that window AND raises it up to the top of the open window pile.
You can remove the Documents folder from your Start menu altogether (to prevent other
users from accessing a list of your most recently accessed documents). Of course,
removing this folder means that you can't use it either. If you still want access to the
Documents folder, but want a bit more privacy, ask Tweak UI to clear the Documents list
(as well as the Run list and your IE 4.0 typed-URL history list) whenever you exit
Windows.
Open Tweak UI and select the IE 4 tab. Under Settings, select Clear Document, Run and
Typed-URL History on Exit. Click OK, and the next time you exit and restart Windows, all
three lists will be wiped clean.
Do one or more icons on your desktop (or your Quick Launch toolbar, or anywhere else
for that matter) suddenly look nothing like they're supposed to--in other words, they're the
wrong icons? Tweak UI can rebuild them (or at least, it can try). Open Tweak UI, select
the Repair tab, and you'll see Rebuild Icons selected. Click Repair now, wait a bit, and
those icons should be good as new.
Erase that little arrow from the lower-left corner of every shortcut icon. Open Tweak UI,
select Explorer, and check out the options under Shortcut overlay. Select None to delete
those arrows altogether, or try Light arrow for a less obtrusive version of the shortcut
arrow.
You could also select Custom and select a new icon; just make sure to choose something
small or it will overlap the entire icon!
You know how to hide both the Favorites folder and the Documents folder from the Start
menu by editing the Registry. With Tweak UI, you can hide (or show) these folders at the
click of a button. Open Tweak UI and select the IE 4 tab. Scroll to the end of the Settings
list and deselect Show Documents on Start Menu and/or Show Favorites on Start Menu.
Click Apply or OK. (Note: You'll need to restart Windows for this change to take effect.)
Clear Find Files Documents and History Lists
Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, and select the Paranoia tab. Select Clear
Find Files History at Logon, click Clear Selected Items Now, then click OK.
There's another way to clear this Find history, but you have to be willing to do away with
your Documents list, as well as the list of previously typed URLs in IE 4.0. Select Start,
Settings, Taskbar & Start Menu. Select the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear
button (under Documents menu), wait a few seconds until your hard drive stops thrashing,
then click OK. All three lists will be wiped clean.
Regards,
Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
Hey bud, I know that you have a lot more info than I did, but my suggestion above was the same:)
ASKER
Many thanks to all for comments.
Bud - I'm confused, although in your answer you provide an exhaustive amount of information about Tweak UI (which I'm I fan of and have used since Win95) - thanks for that - but I can't for the life of me find one direct reference to changing the 'reserved icons'. Nor can I see how in Tweak UI you can do this!
Bartsmit's solution however, did work - simple - right-clicking the desktop, selecting properties, then the effects tab, allows you to exchange the 'reserved' icons for one of your own choosing.
Do you all agree?
Bud - I'm confused, although in your answer you provide an exhaustive amount of information about Tweak UI (which I'm I fan of and have used since Win95) - thanks for that - but I can't for the life of me find one direct reference to changing the 'reserved icons'. Nor can I see how in Tweak UI you can do this!
Bartsmit's solution however, did work - simple - right-clicking the desktop, selecting properties, then the effects tab, allows you to exchange the 'reserved' icons for one of your own choosing.
Do you all agree?
Please reject bud's answer so I can put in my comment as an answer. TIA
Both work and I agree, I like the flexibility of all the solutions, they all work. I also like the Windows 98 desktop themes, in that they deliver packages that can be easily customized within themselves without any visible roadblocks, quite to my liking. I'm always glad when solutions evolve! This teamwork forum is great.
ASKER
bartsmit - I'm not completely happy about rejecting Smeebud's answer - I was hoping he or somebody would come back and explain exactly how you change an Icon in Tweak UI - nobody has as yet.
I'll give it one more go - if not - you rightly should be awarded the points.
I'll give it one more go - if not - you rightly should be awarded the points.
If you had reserved icons prior to installing Windows 98 Desktop themes, you had the option to take all the settings (control panel, desktop themes, and on the right-hand side under settings, deselect various options, including ICONS to maintain original reserved icons. Perhaps you merely applied 'all' default settings that come with the specific desktop theme you installed, thus over-riding your prior reserved icon settings.
I have read the thread up to this point. There is no way to change any icons in TweakUI. It does ALOT of other things but that is not one of its functions. It would make no sense to add functionality to an add-on utility that is already available in the basic OS. That should answer your question. bartsmit's points.
Heath
Heath
ASKER
heathprovost - Thanks, that's what I thought also - Tweak UI has been a bit of a red herring in all of this. You've definately cleared up the confusion for me. So... bartsmit - if you'd like to resubmit your comment as an answer, the points are yours.
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ASKER
Simple and effective thanks - sorry you've had to wait for your reward - thank heathprovost, he's the guy!