Power Tips

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Hints & tips for “power” users

Who is a power user?

Perhaps it's a bit of an off-putting title, but I mean anyone who is accustomed to using a computer, and is looking for tips to make using it easier. Shortcuts that get things done quicker are especially important.

This section includes various hints and tips both for configuring and using Windows.

Disk Partitioning Primer: An introduction to the hows and whys of partitioning hard disks, including a tabular comparison of some popular partitioning tools.

And here are some very valuable but little-known shortcuts for the Windows key, and below some tricks with Explorer..

Windows key

This is the key with the “Windows Flag” logo that's on most modern keyboards. There's two in fact, usually either side of the Alt keys. If you press it by itself it brings up the Start Menu, which you probably already know. But you can use it in conjunction with several other keys to get some very handy short cuts.

WK + E		Open Explorer
WK + F		Open Find-files
WK + Ctrl + F		Open Find-computer
WK + M		Minimise all windows
WK + Shift + M		Undo previous minimise-all
WK + D		Show/hide desktop
WK + R		Open the Run dialog box
WK + Tab		Cycle the taskbar buttons
WK + Break		Open System Properties
Windows XP only:
WK + L		Lock workstation/Switch user

Did you also know that in Windows NT4 and 2000,
pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc runs the Task Manager?

Explorer

Windows Explorer is just another program, and it can be started with command-line arguments to open views of folders in different ways. This technique can be used to create customised shortcuts.

The full possible command is:

explorer /e,/root,folder-path,/select,file

All the parts are optional, and behave as follows:

/e: opens an Explorer view (with a left-hand folder pane), otherwise just a folder view is shown
/root: the Explorer is "rooted" at folder-path, i.e.the folder pane shows folder-path as the root, and you cannot go any further back; this command underlies Explore-root on the tools page
folder-path: the folder to open, or with /e to display initially; if not supplied a default Explorer opens, same as using the option on the Start menu
/select,file: if /select is used it must be followed by a file-name, and the file will be shown selected in the opened folder (if it exists)

Got a tip?

If you've got a good tip, or a reference to one, let me know by email.