Add the Recycle Bin to the Windows 7 Start Menu
Last Updated on Tuesday, 1 November 2011 09:28 Written by Alan Tuesday, 15 November 2011 07:00
The Windows Start Menu is quite a useful feature, especially in Windows 7. However, one thing it lacks is access to the Recycle Bin. For that, you need to go to your desktop, and if you like a clean desktop, like I do, and keep that hidden and it’s apps available from a “Desktop” menu in the Windows Taskbar, then the Recycle Bin is even less convenient to access. You may have noticed that the Recycle Bin is not even accessible by searching from the Start Menu.
While you can’t actually add the Recycle Bin in a way that makes it an option like Computer, Pictures, or Music, you can make it be found by a search from the Start Menu. It’s a fairly simple hack that makes this possible.
To get started click Start => Computer and in the menu bar type “C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu” and insert your user name in place of “your_user_name”, then hit Enter.
Now right-click in the folder area and choose New => Shortcut. In the location box enter “explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder”. Hit Enter and you will be prompted to enter a name for the shortcut. You can use “Recycle Bin” or whatever you wish.
(You don’t have to perform this step.) Right-click the Recycle Bin shortcut folder and choose Properties. On the Shortcut tab click Change Icon. In the “Look for icons in this file” box type “%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll”, hit Enter and then look for the Recycle Bin icon.
Click OK and you are done. Now when you search for “recycle bin” in the Start Menu search you have a result. You could even name your shortcut something a little shorter and easier to type like “trash”.
Perhaps in the future Microsoft will make the Recycle Bin a bit more easy to access from various locations, but from what we have seen of Windows 8 that may not be the case, given the vast changes to the interface. Still, this is a simple hack that almost any user will have no problem following.
Change the Windows 7 Explorer Folder Destination
Last Updated on Sunday, 16 October 2011 09:59 Written by Alan Tuesday, 1 November 2011 07:00
You are probably familiar with the folder icon that is part of the Windows 7 taskbar. Hovering your mouse over it tells yout that it is called Windows Explorer. In the old days Windows Explorer launched what “Computer” launches today. Windows Explorer now launches the new Libraries, which were introduced in Windows 7. Not everyone has embraced them, but they are now the default like it or not.
You can change the default to the old “My Computer” view with a simple hack. Before you start, make sure you are logged in to Windows as an Administrator. That’s required to make any system changes.
To get started do a Shift-Right-Click on the Windows Explorer folder in the Taskbar and choose Properties.
Under the Shortcut tab click in the box next to Target. Enter the following: explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}. Now click the OK button.
Now when you click the folder icon in the taskbar it will open to Computer, which is much more useful to many of us who want easy access to drives, mapped drives, and network places. You can make this open to wherever you want, you’ll just need to do a bit of online research to find what needs to be entered for the location you want it to go to.
An Easier Way to Find Things in Windows 7 Control Panel
Last Updated on Friday, 30 September 2011 08:48 Written by Alan Tuesday, 18 October 2011 07:00
One thing Windows 7 didn’t necessarily do better was the Control Panel. Many users find it confusing and difficult to find what they are looking for. The default icons, and the menus under them, only give partial information about what you will find, and clicking an icon can lead to more, and different, options. It’s all a bit jumbled, and certainly not the best way to display what could be considered the core of the whole operating system.
While we can’t offer a fix for the Control Panel, we can show you a simple way to see a bit more useful, and meaningful, options in it. For instance, if you want to see or change your mouse settings, it can be found in the default Control Panel setting under Hardware and Sound => Devices and Printers. The default Control Panel view is known as “Category”.
However, Category is not the only view. At the top right of of the main Control Panel window next to “View by:” you will find a drop-down list that gives you two other choices besides the Category view. You can choose Large icons or Small icons. Obviously both give you the same view, so it’s up to your personal taste about which you select. Either way, you will get a handy view of the most used apps from Control Panel.
Now that Mouse settings option is right in front of you, not 2 clicks away. Of course, that’s just one example of the options that are now presented right on the main screen instead of buried within other settings.
In the future we will take a closer look at some these most-used settings and how to optimize them for what you need and want most on your computer.
