5 useful Windows XP tricks you never noticed

Here are 5 Windows XP tricks which I bet you did not ever use, did you?

1. Why maximize your windows when you can go full screen?

When you need a really big window, don’t just maximize it: go full screen! To view a window full screen, hold down the Ctrl key and double-click the window’s title bar—or when the window is active, press the F11 key at the top of your keyboard—to get the biggest window possible.

2. Add the Links toolbar to My Computer

But what the hell shall it do here? Links toolbar is meant for internet links, right?

Not actually. Go to View  –>  Toolbars  –> click on Links 

The Links toolbar will show up. Now drag any application, document, image, just anything to the toolbar, and it will be added there. Click it from anywhere (even from the Internet Explorer) to launch the item.

Note: Make sure that Lock the Toolbars is not checked. Click on it to deselect it if it is.

3. Arrange windows on your desktop

I am sure you come across this option several times a day but always ignore it. In fact, this can be really useful at times.

You can display any two windows side by side on the desktop by first clicking a window’s button on the Taskbar. Next, press and hold the Ctrl key and right-click the second window that you want to open, then click Tile Vertically. This works great when you want to view two Microsoft Word or Microsoft Internet Explorer windows at the same time.

4. Organize your files into groups

Organize your files by grouping them. Try this: Open a folder containing several different subfolders and file types. Right-click any empty space on the window’s contents pane, click Arrange Icons By, and then click Show in Groups.

The files will show up grouped alphabetically; very easy to find one.

5. Make your own icons

Who told you that you needed special software to create icons for windows. Here I tell you how to create icons using Microsoft Paint (yes, the one bundled with Windows). Let’s do it: Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Paint. On the Image menu, click Attributes. Type 32 for both the Width and Height of the document, and make sure that Pixels is selected under Units. Click OK to create a new 32×32-pixel document: the size of an icon.

Now add type, color, or do whatever you’d like to your image. I like to shrink photos (headshots work best) to 32×32 and simply paste them into my Paint document. When you’re finished, open the File menu and click Save As. Use the dialog box to choose where you want to save your file, then give it a name followed by “.ico” (without the quotes), and click Save. (The extension “.ico” tells Windows that it’s an icon file.) You just created an icon! Now you can change any shortcut or folder to your own icon—just browse to it on your hard drive.