This tutorial covers a general Windows-related issue, rather than
a programming question. This is a departure from the tutorials
usually put up on this site, but I've received a handful of
requests for this.
Windows 98, NT, ME and Win2000 usually have an icon in the Quick
Launch bar (to the right of the START button) that looks like a
pencil drawing on a desktop. When you click it, it will minimize
any open windows, and take you straight to the Windows Desktop.
Sometimes (and judging from the e-mails I've gotten, more than a
few times) this icon can be accidently deleted. Or, on some custom
versions of Windows, the desktop icon is not there. Here's what to
do to restore this icon:
First, open up Notepad (or any text editor), and type in the
following:
Save the file as Show Desktop.scf (in order to do this
properly, when the "Save As" window comes up, make sure you select
All Files(*.*) and put the file name in quotes). If you are running
Win98 or Win ME, save the file in the \Windows\System
folder, or for NT and 2000 put it in \Winnt\System32
folder.
From there, you have two options. First, you can right-click and
drag the newly created file, and drop it into
Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick
Launch (for Win98 and Win ME) and select "Create Shortcut
Here." Or, just right click the file, and drag and drop it onto the
quick launch bar, and select "Create Shortcut Here."
On a related note, for Windows 98 users, there's an easy way to
change the icons for your desktop items. Right-click your desktop,
select PROPERTIES, then EFFECTS. Choose the Item you want to
change, select CHANGE ICON, then select BROWSE and point to one of
these files (the folder is listed to the right of the file name):
- Cool.dll Windows\System
- Shell32.dll Windows\System
- User.exe Windows\System
- Moricons.dll Windows
- Progman.exe Windows
- Welcome.exe Windows
Want to discuss this article, or other development issues? Visit our
message boards!
Or contact us directly with a comment or question on this article: click here !
|