Some of the programs that we use in Windows, have a system menu containing an option – Always on top.  If selected, this feature sets a window to be always on top of other windows. This is very useful if you want to work across multiple windows but want to focus more of your attention on a particular window. You can set that window to be always on top and keep an eye on it. I personally use this feature to set my TV Tuner window to be always on top so that I can enjoy TV programs while doing work at the same time.

Unfortunately this Always on Top option is not available in many programs. Possibly because the software designer never thought that users will ever need such a feature. However, if you want to keep a program always on top, you can use the Always On Top application. After downloading and installing this program, you can start it from the shortcut it creates. Now you can drag the hand like icon over a window the you want to make always on top. Later, you can toggle the always on top status of that window on and off using the hotkey Ctrl + F8.

This software works very well for the situations when you have to read data from one application and type it into another, for example, password managers. You can set the first password manager window to be always on top and easily read the information and type it into your login window.

Download Window On Top

Download Window On Top

Previously, we asked you if you use the Windows command prompt and many of you answered by saying you do not; for those that do use the command line interface (CLI), many use it infrequently. In this guide, we’ll go through the basics of the command prompt, show you examples of how you can use it, and show you how to customize it.

Familiarize Yourself with the Command Prompt

Before you start using the command prompt, I recommend you learn the basic shortcuts and commands. The first guide, listed below, shows you how to access the command prompt. If you’re familiar with how to get to the command prompt already, you can skip this guide.

• How to open the command prompt

Basic Commands

Now you have the command prompt in front of you, let’s go through a series of commands to help you navigate:

Unless you changed your home or working directory, you’ll see you start in your home folder (usually something like C:\Users\Rich)

1. Type cls to clear the command prompt
2. Type ver to view the Windows version you are currently using
3. Type dir to view the contents of the directory (folder) you are currently in
4. Type cd .. to change directory to the parent (folder above) i.e. from C:\Users\Rich to C:\Users
5. Press the up arrow twice to list your second from last command (dir) and press Enter. You’ll now be viewing the contents of the C:\Users folder
6. Type cd Public to change to the Public folder
7. Type md test to create a “Test” directory in C:\Users\Public (optionally type dir again to view it in the listing)
8. Type ren test test2 to rename the test folder to test2
9. Type rd test2 to remove the directory you just created and renamed
10. Type copy “C:\Windows\System32\Bubbles.scr” BubblesCopy.scr to copy the bubbles screensaver from the Windows directory to your Public directory (note: If you don’t specify a path for the file, the directory you are currently working in is used)
11. Type dir to view the contents of the public folder again. Do you see the Bubbles.scr file?
12. Type del BubblesCopy.scr to delete the bubbles screensaver from your Public folder
13. Type echo All Done! to print “All Done!” on the command line interface

To recap, you used the following commands:

• cls - Clears the screen so you are left with an empty prompt
• ver – Show the Windows version
• dir – List the contents of the directory you’re currently working in
• cd – Change directory i.e. cd C:\Users\Rich; cd .. etc.
• md – Create a directory (mkdir also performs the same)
• ren – Renames a file or directory
• rd – Remove a directory (rmdir also performs the same)
• copy - Copies a file from the source to the destination i.e. copy C:\sample.text copied-C:\sample.txt
• del – Deletes a specified file
• echo – Echoes the string (text) specified i.e. echo Hello

Add Command Switches

Switches give you a greater degree of control over your commands and give you more options. You can add them after the command to change the behavior of that command.

We used the dir command a number of times in the previous example, let’s look at the available switches. The easiest way to see what’s available is to open a command prompt and type:

dir /?

The /? is a switch that returns the help text and available switches for each command. In this case, you got a response that’s something similar to:

C:\Users\Public>dir /?
Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.

DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/A[[:]attributes]] [/B] [/C] [/D] [/L] [/N] [/O[[:]sortorder]] [/P] [/Q] [/R] [/S] [/T[[:]timefield]] [/W] [/X] [/4]

[drive:][path][filename] Specifies drive, directory, and/or files to list.

/A          Displays files with specified attributes.
attributes
D  Directories                R  Read-only files
H  Hidden files               A  Files ready for archiving
S  System files               I  Not content indexed files
L  Reparse Points             -  Prefix meaning not
/B          Uses bare format (no heading information or summary).
/C          Display the thousand separator in file sizes.  This is the default.  Use /-C to disable display of separator.
/D          Same as wide but files are list sorted by column.
/L          Uses lowercase.
/N          New long list format where filenames are on the far right.
/O          List by files in sorted order.
sortorder
N  By name (alphabetic)       S  By size (smallest first)
E  By extension (alphabetic)  D  By date/time (oldest first)
G  Group directories first    -  Prefix to reverse order
/P          Pauses after each screenful of information.
/Q          Display the owner of the file.
/R          Display alternate data streams of the file.
/S          Displays files in specified directory and all subdirectories.
/T          Controls which time field displayed or used for sorting
timefield
C  Creation
A  Last Access
W  Last Written
/W          Uses wide list format.
/X          This displays the short names generated for non-8dot3 file
names.  The format is that of /N with the short name inserted
before the long name. If no short name is present, blanks are
displayed in its place.
/4          Displays four-digit years

Here you see the list of switches you can add to your dir command. Now, in C:\Users (cd C:\Users), type:

dir /W

This displays the contents in “Wide” format, which is particularly helpful if you’re listing out a large directory as you need to scroll less to see all the output.

Let’s try another one:

dir /Q

Now you see the owners of each folder listed. Understanding these switches and knowing how to use them will come with practice and time. Feel free to explore the switches of other commands i.e. del /?

Additional Commands

As you become more familiar with the basic commands, you can add more to your artillery by learning some shortcuts that will save you of time if you come to rely on the command prompt more frequently:

• Top 10 command prompt commands
• Become a command prompt super user

Command Prompt Usage Examples

Once you’re familiar and comfortable with the command prompt, I recommend you try some of the other commands and tools available:

• Use Windows commands to manage your PC and improve productivity
• Correct program associations using the command prompt
• Basic networking commands
• Delete persistent files using the command prompt
• Fix corrupted Windows files using the command prompt
• Use xcopy on the command line to transfer large amounts of data

Customize the Command Prompt

For those that want a custom look with the dated looking command prompt, you are in luck. You can customize the native command prompt’s color scheme or you can use a third party command prompt that provides further customization like transparency:

• Customize the appearance of the command prompt

You can also customize the default working directory when you launch the command prompt. For example, I use my scripts directory:

• Set the command prompt to open in your scripts directory

What else can you do with the command prompt? Are you a beginner and are you struggling to find use for or understanding of the command prompt? Let us know in the comments and we’ll be happy to help.

You can download the FastPreview shell extension installer from its website and install it in Windows. After the installation, if you right-click on an image file, it would show an image preview right inside the context-menu. The dimensions of the image in pixels and its color depth is also shown at the bottom of the image preview. It supports all the major image file types like jpeg, bmp, gif, psd, tiff and more.

Additionally, it also adds an extra tab in the File Properties dialog which you can open by right-clicking on an image file and then choosing Properties from the context-menu. You would see an extra tab titled FP which shows a list of various types of EXIF data like software used to edit the image, model and make of the camera used, time and date of taking the picture among many others.

FastPreview shell extension does not offer much in the name of options. You can only set the thumbnail size of the image preview shown in the context menu. By default, this is 300 x 300 pixels which can be customized to suit your requirements. In my personal opinion, the default size is optimal and you should keep it as it is. A larger thumbnail would cover up all your open windows and menus, while a smaller thumbnail might not show any of the details in the selected image.

So if you want a quick image preview feature for your collection of pictures without making Windows Explorer slower, then you can try the free FastPreview shell extension for Windows. The download is available for both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows.

Download FastPreview

Download FastPreview

After installing  HashTab in Windows, all you have to do is right-click on any file and choose Properties from the context-menu. In the File Properties dialog, you would see an extra tab File Hashes which shows the that file’s hash values using multiple hashing algorithms. By default, it shows the hashes using CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1 functions.

If you want to customize which hash functions should be used to calculate the file hashes, then you can click on the little Settings link shown in the tab. In the HashTab Settings window, you can choose  from over 14 different  hash functions like MD2, MD3,  MD5, SHA256, SHA512, Adler32, RIPEMD-256 and more. You can also choose to show the hashes in uppercase letters or lowercase letters.

Are wondering how you can use a file’s hash value to find out if it’s a malicious file? Its easy. First of all open the file properties dialog for a file you want to check. Select the File Hashes tab, right-click on the SHA-1 hash and choose to Copy it. Now visit the VirusTotal site in your browser, paste the hash value you copied in the search field and click on the Search It button. The VirusTotal site would immediately show you a list of scan results indicating if that file is malicious or not.

Download HashTab

Download HashTab

Note: As you increase the number of tabs to open, the time it takes to launch Internet Explorer will increase.

Add a Page to Your Home Page Tabs

1. Browse to a website you want to add to your home pages

2. Click the drop-down arrow on the Home Button and click Add or Change Home Page…

3. Select Add this webpage to your home page tabs and click Yes

Manage Home Page Tabs

To add and remove tabs:

1. In IE, click Tools > Internet Options

2. On the General tab, under Home page, delete any pages you don’t want to include

3. Add sites (one per line) that you’d like to open at each launch

4. Click OK

Now restart Internet Explorer and verify the tabs you want to launch load successfully.

If you want quick access to the items on your desktop, any website, or you Internet Explorer favorites, you can add them to your Windows taskbar. Learn, in this guide how to add these toolbars and how to create a custom toolbar.

To enable the Desktop, Address, or Links toolbars on the Windows Taskbar, right click a blank space on the Taskbar and click Toolbars > Desktop (or Address or Links)

How to Use the Address Bar

The address bar placed in the Taskbar is the same as the address bar used in both Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of the address bar:

To launch a website, simply type in the address of the page:

i.e. enter www.mintywhite.com or http://www.mintywhite.com

To open a folder, type the path to the folder or its common name

i.e. enter C:\Windows or My Documents or Recycle Bin

To open a network location, type the server name/address and share name

i.e.: enter \\SERVER-NAME\share or \\SERVER-IP\share:

How to Add a Custom Folder Toolbar

Adding a custom folder toolbar is easy. To add a toolbar:

1. Right click a blank space on the toolbar

2. Click Toolbars > New toolbar…

3. Navigate to the folder required and click Select Folder

Now you’ll have access to your favorite folders and files right from the taskbar:

Enable Visual Cues for System Notifications

To enable visual cues alongside audible notifications:

1. Click the Start button, type ease, and click Ease of Access Center

2. Click Use text or visual alternatives for sounds

3. Check Turn on visual notifications for sounds (Sound Sentry), choose to flash the caption bar, active window, or desktop:

Note: You can also use text captions for spoken dialogue

Now, when you trigger an alert sound, your desktop (or window or caption bar) will flash:

To disable queues, simply uncheck the Turn on visual notifications for sounds (Sound Sentry) option and click OK.

Customize which Sounds/Visual Cues You Use

You may want to adjust sound settings to stop audio cues when you’re browsing through Windows Explorer for example (it can be annoying browsing folders with the screen constantly flashing.) To customize the sounds and visual cues used:

1. Click the Start button, type sound and click Change system sounds

2. On the Sounds tab, click the sound you want to disable and select (None)

3. Click OK to save changes

What is Resolution?

Screens are made up of tiny addressable squares or pixels. If you look closely at your monitor, you’ll see these tiny squares made up of (usually) Red, Green, and Blue lines. The Red, Green, and Blue lights mix to produce a colored light; the collection of these colors work like a huge patchwork quilt to produce the image you’re looking at right now.

Resolution is the number of these pixels wide by the number of pixels high that your screen displays.

i.e. 1920 x 1080 resolution is 1,980 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels high and is referred to as “nineteen twenty by ten eighty.”

What is My Resolution?

If you have JavaScript enabled in your browser, you will see your resolution below:

Manually Check Screen Resolution

To manually check screen resolution:

Windows 7

Go to your Desktop (Windows Key + D)

Right click the Desktop and click Screen Resolution:

Your screen resolution is displayed:

Windows Vista

Go to your Desktop (Windows Key + D)

Right click the Desktop and click Personalize:

On the Personalize appearance and sounds panel, click Display Settings

Your screen resolution is displayed:

• Create a shortcut on your desktop
• Create a shortcut on the start menu

Hint: If you’re not sure where the program or folder is located, use the search box in Windows Explorer (Start > Computer or Windows Key + E)

Create a Shortcut on Your Desktop

Here are two easy ways to create a shortcut on your desktop:

Method 1: Send to Desktop (Create Shortcut)

1. Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E) and navigate to the desired program or folder

2. Right click the program or folder and click Send to > Desktop (create shortcut)

Method 2: ALT Key and Drag and Drop

1. Minimize all current Windows (Windows Key + D)

2. Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E) and navigate to the desired program or folder

3. Hold the ALT key, click the program/folder, and drag it over your desktop:

Note: You do not need to hold ALT to create a shortcut for programs but it’s good practice so you don’t relocate any files by accident

Create a Shortcut on the Start Menu

Here are two ways to create a shortcut on your start menu:

Method 1: Pin Program to Start Menu (Windows 7 only)

1. Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E) and navigate to the desired program or folder

2. Right click the program and click Pin to Start Menu

Method 2: ALT Key and Drag and Drop

1. Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E) and navigate to the desired program or folder

2. Hold the ALT key, click the program/folder, drag it over the Start button (wait for the menu to pop up), hold the icon over All Programs (wait for all Programs to show), and drop the icon on the start menu:

Shortcuts included in this pack:

• About Windows
• Action Center*
• Command Prompt
• Computer Management
• Event Viewer
• Internet Options
• Display IP Configuration
• Performance Monitor
• Add/Remove Programs
• Remote Assistance
• Resource Monitor*
• System Information
• System Properties
• System Restore
• Task Manager
• User Account Control Settings*
• Windows Guides
• Windows Troubleshooting*

Note: When you first open each link, you may see a warning about opening files downloaded online. You may un-check Always ask before opening this file so you are not prompted each time.

Download Windows Shortcuts

Download Windows Shortcuts (13.3 KiB)