More non-Registry Windows Tweaks

Posted by makeuseof guest-writer Mark O’Neill

1. Edit / customize the “Send To” right-click option

When you right-click on a file in Windows Explorer, you have a “send to” option which can launch a program or send that file to another folder.

You can delete or add new destinations by going to the following Explorer destination

C:\Documents andSettings\username\SendTo (replace “username” with your Windows account username).

Then open a new instance of Windows Explorer, go to the program folder that you want to have included in the “send to” folder. Right click on the program file (normally the .exe file), choose the shortcut option and then drag the shortcut into the “send to” folder. Now when you right-click on a file, your new shortcut will show up in the “send to” folder.

You can also navigate to ‘C:\Documents andSettings\username\SendTo‘ to delete “send to” shortcuts you don’t need.

2. Change the size of the icons and text

Are the icons on the desktop too big or too small? Would you prefer a different font for program windows and browser messages? Would you like to change the desktop background colour? All this and more can be changed by right-clicking on the desktop, click on ‘Properties’ then Appearance then Advanced.

3. Create a desktop shortcut to the Windows User Accounts window

Right-click on the desktop, choose New then shortcut. In the target box, type ‘C:\WINDOWS\system32\nusrmgr.cpl’ then save. Then right-click on the box that appears, choose Properties and you can add a proper icon. Double-clicking the desktop icon now takes you to the Windows user accounts (very handy if you are an administrator who makes and manages lots of other user accounts).

4. Change the file associations

When you click on a MP3 and Windows Media Player opens, do you want Winamp to open instead? This is quite an easy one but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t know how to change a file association. Just right-click on the file, choose “open with” and then “choose program”. Choose your program from the list then tick the box so it remembers your choice. From now on, the file will open with the program you prefer rather than the one Windows wants to use.

Mark O’Neill is a freelance writer, proofreader, editor and blogger. Check out his blog at http://www.betterthantherapy.net