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PC911 > Tips & Tweaks> Customizations Index > Customizations #5

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Put The Control Panel On Your Start Menu
This is an oldie-but-goodie. It should be a default part of the OS for any 32-bit version of Windows. This easy tip will set up a new cascading shortcut to the Control Panel right on your Start Menu. This is what you do:

  • Highlight the entire following line (but not the trailing blank space) and then press Ctrl+C to copy it.
    Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
  • Right-click the Start button and choose Open.
  • Right-click anywhere on the background area in the START MENU folder and choose New/Folder. Highlight the New Folder label, and press Ctrl+V to paste the long name you copied.
  • Press Enter.
  • Click the Start button to see the new cascading Control Panel.
  • Enjoy!

Easter Eggs!
Check `em out.

  • The one for Word 2000 is a little lame, but here goes just the same:
    1. Create a new document.
    2. Click Help and then About Microsoft Word.
    3. Hit CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and click the line that goes across the lower part of the dialog box horizontally, just above the "OK" button.
  • Netscape Communicator has a bunch of them:
    1. Launch Netscape.
    2. Type any of the following "about" commands in the URL box (Note: It's case sensitive.):
    3. about:mozilla and hit Enter.
    4. about:logo and hit Enter.
    5. about:license and hit Enter.
    6. about:document and hit Enter.
    7. about:cache and hit Enter.
    8. about:global and hit Enter.
    9. about:memory-cache and hit Enter.
    10. about:plugins and hit Enter.
    11. about:jeff and hit Enter and then go up to the parent directory and check out web pages for a bunch of people that work for Netscape.
    12. You can also type in Javascript: or
    13. Livescript: or
    14. Mocha:
  • And here's a lame one for IE4 or 5:
    1. Launch Internet Explorer.
    2. Type about:mozilla in the URL box and hit Enter.
  • For Outlook Express:
    1. Launch Outlook Express.
    2. Click the New Message toolbar button to start a new e-mail.
    3. Click Format then Rich Text (HTML).
    4. Click on the body of the message.
    5. Type athena and hit Enter once and close the message. (Click "NO" in the dialog box.)
    6. Now click the Outlook Express icon just above Inbox, in the left-hand pane.
    7. Click on a blank space in the big right pane and type "about" and hit Enter.
  • Enjoy!

Outlook Express 5.0 Tweaks
Here are a couple of simple and benign customizations you can apply to OE5.
Kill The OE 5 Splash Screen:

    1. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Identities\ {Identity No.}\ Software\ Microsoft\ Outlook Express\ 5.0.
    2. Add the DWord value (Edit | New | DWord Value) "NoSplash"
    3. Change the value (Edit | Modify) to 1.
    To Change The OE 5 Title:
    1. Go to the same key as above ...
    2. Add the String Value (Edit | New | String Value) "WindowTitle"
    3. Change the value (Edit | Modify) to what you'd like the title to be.
  • Enjoy!

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