Quickly connect to network shortcuts (Win XP)
In a previous tip, I showed you how to return
your favorite icons to your desktop in case you
aren't fond of XP's new streamlined desktop. If
you've done so and you're connected to a
network, chances are that you have shortcuts to
various network resources on your desktop as
well. You can minimize desktop clutter and keep
your network shortcuts more organized if you
place them in My Network Places. Keep in mind
that you can't copy the existing network
shortcuts from your desktop to My Network Places
-- you must create new network shortcuts.
To accomplish this, connect to a network
resource, and then right-click on a folder,
file, computer, or printer icon and drag it to
the My Network Places icon on your desktop. When
you drop the icon, Windows XP displays a
shortcut menu. Select Create Shortcuts Here.
Now, when you need to quickly connect to network
resources, you can easily find them in My
Network Places.
Expand your view with the Full Screen feature
(Win XP)
If you've ever had to wade through a file-packed
My Documents or Windows Explorer window, you
know how annoying it is to have to scroll down
until you've found the item you're searching
for. By taking advantage of XP's Full Screen
feature, you can enlarge your view of these two
windows without having to scroll.
All you need to do is open Windows Explorer or
My Documents and press the [F11] key. When you
do, you activate the Full Screen feature, and
the window's title bar, taskbar, and system bar
all disappear. To return the screen to normal
size, simply press the [F11] key again. You'll
be pleased to know that Full Screen feature is
also available in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Access the Printer User Interface Command-Line
Tool !
If you're always on the lookout for easy-to-use
command-line tools for managing local and
network computers via old-fashioned batch files,
here's another tool to add to your toolkit.
Windows XP has a very powerful, yet
little-known, command-line tool for working with
printers called the Printer User Interface tool.
Using this tool, you can create some really
fancy batch files for accessing and managing
every aspect of local and network-based
printers.
To view the full listing of printer operations
that you can perform with the Printer User
Interface command-line tool, you can open a
detailed dialog box by entering the following
command at a command prompt:
Rundll32 Printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /?
The first 60 lines in the dialog box list the
syntax and the various parameters and switches
that you can use with the Printer User Interface
command-line tool. The remaining lines provide
examples and descriptions of all the operations
that you can perform.
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