TURN OFF WINDOW ANIMATION
Ever notice that when you minimize or restore a window, you actually see the window-shrinking (or reverse) process? If you're looking to increase performance, remove this "window animation." Your windows will grow and shrink faster than ever.
(Note: This technique involves editing the Registry. As always, we recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type
regedit
and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the left pane, right-click the WindowMetrics key and select New, String Value. Type
MinAnimate
(to name the new value) and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click MinAnimate and select Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, type
0
on the Data Value line. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows 98.
Tip-in-a-tip: If you want your window animation back, delete the MinAnimate string (right-click it, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm), or change its data value to 1 (right-click it, select Modify, type 1 on the Value Data line, then click OK).

INSTALL ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS
Ever hear of Accessibility options? In case you aren't familiar with them, they're a group of settings that make Windows 98 easier to use. Although these settings were designed for people with disabilities,
such as sight or hearing impairments, they can be useful to everyone. There's even a wizard to help you decide which Accessibility options are right for you. In today's tip, we'll show you how to install this
wizard and the newest Accessibility option, Microsoft Magnifier. Then, over the next three tips, we'll show you how to use the wizard and this new tool.
Open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab and wait as Windows 98 checks your system for installed components. (Depending on your system, this may take a few minutes.) Under Components, select Accessibility, then click the Details button. Select Accessibility Tools, click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked. Click OK again, and wait until Windows 98 finishes copying the files it needs.
Curious to know what that wizard has to say? More in our next tip...

INSTALL ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS
Ever hear of Accessibility options? In case you aren't familiar with them, they're a group of settings that make Windows 98 easier to use. Although these settings were designed for people with disabilities,
such as sight or hearing impairments, they can be useful to everyone. There's even a wizard to help you decide which Accessibility options are right for you. In today's tip, we'll show you how to install this
wizard and the newest Accessibility option, Microsoft Magnifier. Then, over the next three tips, we'll show you how to use the wizard and this new tool.
Open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab and wait as Windows 98 checks your system for installed components. (Depending on your system, this may take a few minutes.) Under Components, select
Accessibility, then click the Details button. Select Accessibility Tools, click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked. Click OK again, and wait until Windows 98 finishes copying the files
it needs.
Curious to know what that wizard has to say? More in our next tip...

RUNNING ACCESSIBILITY WIZARD
In our last tip, we showed you how to install the Accessibility Wizard and the newest Accessibility option (Microsoft Magnifier): Open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup
tab, and select Accessibility. Click Details, select Accessibility Tools, click OK twice, insert the installation CD, and click OK. Now, we'll show you how the Accessibility Wizard can determine which Accessibility options are right for you.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Accessibility Wizard. In the resulting dialog box, click on the smallest text you find comfortable to read. Click Next twice (assuming you don't want to
change any of the options along the way--if you do, go ahead and change them). In the Set Wizard Options box, select each statement that applies to you. Click Next, and the wizard will ask you some
questions, depending on which of the statements you selected. For example, if you indicated that you have a hard time using the keyboard or the mouse, you'll be asked if you want to press each key in a
keyboard combination one at a time. Continue clicking Next until you've answered all the questions, and at the end of the wizard, click Finish. The wizard will now apply the appropriate settings.

USING MICROSOFT MAGNIFIER
Two tips ago, we showed you how to install the Accessibility Wizard and the newest Accessibility option (Microsoft Magnifier). Now let's look at Microsoft Magnifier, a tool you can use to enlarge any area of
the screen.
To launch Microsoft Magnifier, select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Magnifier. A bar appears at the top of the screen displaying everything under your mouse pointer in a magnified (two
times) view. To change the contents of this window, simply move your mouse around the screen. Assuming you don't want to change any options (we'll discuss these in our next tip), click OK to send the Magnifier dialog box to the Taskbar.
When you've finished using the Magnifier, maximize its Options window, then click Exit. Alternatively, right-click its Taskbar item and select Close.
(Tip-in-a-tip: If you use Microsoft Magnifier frequently, place a shortcut to it somewhere that's easily accessible, such as the desktop or the Quick Launch toolbar.)

MICROSOFT MAGNIFIER OPTIONS
A few tips ago, we showed you how to install the Accessibility Wizard and the newest Accessibility option (Microsoft Magnifier): Open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, and select Accessibility. Click Details, select Accessibility Tools, click OK twice, insert the installation CD, and click OK. In our last tip, we introduced Microsoft Magnifier: Select Start,
Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Magnifier, and at the top of the screen, you'll see a magnified view of the area of the screen under your mouse. Now we'll take a closer look at the Magnifier's options.
For starters, you aren't limited to the size or location of the Magnifier. Hold your mouse pointer over the edge of the magnified area, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag up or down to adjust the Magnifier's size. To move this bar to another area of the screen, click and drag it to that location (as a floating window) or to any of the screen's four edges. Like the Taskbar, the bar will snap into place along any edge.
You can change the remaining Magnifier options from inside the Magnifier dialog box. Restore this window, if you haven't already, then take your pick of options. For example, you might select Invert Colors to provide some contrast between your screen and the magnified view. Or, if you don't want the Magnifier's focus to follow the mouse, deselect Follow Mouse Cursor. The Magnifier will still follow your keyboard commands and the cursor. When you've finished selecting options, click OK to minimize the Magnifier dialog box. (Remember, don't click Exit unless you want to turn the Magnifier off altogether.)

FAT32 CONVERSION UTILITY
Does your hard drive still use the FAT16 file system? That means you aren't taking full advantage of your hard disk space, and you should consider converting the drive to FAT32. This new and improved system
stores data in smaller clusters, resulting in less wasted space.
If you aren't sure whether to convert, run the FAT32 Conversion Utility, which is available on the Windows 98 installation CD. It'll tell you exactly how much space you'll regain upon conversion.
With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD and then navigate your way to the tools\reskit\config folder. Double-click the Fat32win.exe file, and when the utility opens, select
a drive and click Scan. (If you see a dialog box telling you the drive is already a FAT32 drive, you're all set.)
In our next tip, we'll show you how to complete the conversion.

CONVERT DRIVE FROM FAT16 TO FAT32
In our last tip, we suggested that if your hard drive still uses the FAT16 file system, you might want to convert to FAT32. This new and improved system stores data in smaller clusters, resulting in less wasted space. We also pointed out that you can run the FAT32
Conversion Utility (Fat32win.exe, located in the tools\reskit\config folder of your Windows 98 installation CD) to determine exactly how much space you'll regain upon conversion. Assuming the numbers convince you to convert, here's how to perform the operation.
First, find a time when you won't be using your system for a while--say, three hours. Close any open programs, then select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Drive Converter (FAT32). Click the Details button, read all the pertinent do's and don'ts (for
example, don't try to convert a compressed drive), then click Next. Select the drive you're about to convert, click Next, and wait as the wizard makes sure you don't have any incompatible programs installed. Click Next again, and you'll be asked if you want to back up your files before proceeding. If so, click Create Backup and so on (Microsoft Backup will help with the operation); otherwise, click Next. One last Next, and the converter is off and running.

CHANGE EXPLORER'S FOCUS
When you select Start, Programs, Windows Explorer, Explorer always opens to your C:\ drive's contents. Is there another folder you'd rather start in? You can tell this, or any Windows Explorer shortcut, to open to your folder of choice.
Right-click Start, select Open, and double-click Programs to reveal the Windows Explorer shortcut. Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab.
In the Target line, after the last comma, you'll see your root directory, C:\. Add the name of any folder to the end of that line (for example, it might now read C:\MYFILES or C:\MYFILES\LETTERS after the last comma), then click OK. Now take it for a test spin--select Start, Programs, Windows Explorer.

KEYBOARD ACCESS TO CONTROL PANEL
In a previous tip, we suggested that you create a Control Panel shortcut on your desktop for quick access: Open My Computer, click and drag the Control Panel icon out to the desktop, release the mouse button, and click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut. Would you prefer to access this oft-used window with a simple keyboard combination? If you've already created a shortcut, you're halfway there.
Right-click your Control Panel shortcut and select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, and you'll see your cursor inside the text box next to Shortcut Key. Type the letter you'd like to use in combination with
Ctrl-Alt to open the Control Panel, such as C, then click OK. From now on, pressing that hot key combo--in this case, Ctrl-Alt-C--from anywhere on the system opens the Control Panel.

NEW HARD DRIVE ICON
Reader G. Murphy writes, "How do I change the name of my hard drive?"
To change the name of any drive on your system, open a My Computer window, right-click the drive's icon, and select Properties. In the text box next to Label, type a new name of up to 11 characters, then
click OK.

CANCEL PRINT JOB
Just send a bunch of documents to the printer, and now you've changed your mind? Rather than waste all that paper, use the printer queue to cancel what you can.
Select Start, Settings, Printers, and double-click your printer's icon to display its queue, or list of pending jobs. Right-click the job you'd like to cancel and select Cancel Printing. Immediately, that document disappears from the list.
(Tip-in-a-tip: If a long document is already in the process of printing, canceling that job will stop it midway.)

LASSO ICONS WITH THE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
In a previous tip, we told you that you could use your mouse to lasso (or select) a group of icons by clicking and dragging a box around them. Once you have a bunch of icons selected, you can then click any
one with the right mouse button, select a command, and that command will apply to all of them.
Want to save yourself a step? Lasso the icons using the right mouse button, and when you release the button, the Context menu pops up automatically.

CUT-AND-PASTE INSTEAD OF DRAG-AND-DROP
Planning to move some selected icons to a new location, say to a new folder or to the desktop? Don't assume you have to click and drag them all the way there. Instead, try a cut-and-paste operation.
Assuming you've already selected the icons, right-click the selection and select Cut. Poof--the icons disappear. Right-click their destination (desktop, folder, wherever), select Paste, and they're right where you want them.

DISPLAY FULL PATH IN TITLE BAR
Open any folder window, and you'll see its name in the title bar. Need to see a bit more information there? You can opt to display every folder's complete path right in that bar.
In any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options. Click the View tab, select Display Full Path In Title Bar, and click OK. Now take a look at the title bar of any open folder window (or glance down at its
spot on the Taskbar).

MISSING PROPERTIES DIALOG BOX
Have you ever opened a Properties dialog box--for example, by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Properties--switched to another window, and then come back to the desktop, only to discover that the Properties box is gone? Chances are, you clicked the Show Desktop icon (on the Quick Launch toolbar) or pressed Windows-D. Either way, you're asking Windows 98 to reveal the desktop, meaning it sends all open windows to the Taskbar and any open Properties boxes off to oblivion.
Or so it seems. To reveal that hiding Properties box, press Alt-Tab to display all open windows. Still holding Alt, press Tab repeatedly until the icon representing the missing Properties box is highlighted (you'll know by the names at the bottom of the box). Release the keys, and there's that Properties box.