The Properties page for a file. Folder's Properties page is similar.

If you're using FAT32 partitions you cannot take advantage of the security features that NTFS partitions provide. But you can still take advantage of the basic file or folder attributes: Read-only, and Hidden. There is nothing new here. You've been able to write-protect (Read-only) and hide (Hidden) files and folders since the invention of UNIX (maybe earlier.) To take advantage of these attributes select a file or folder, right-click the mouse, and select Properties. At the botton are three of the attributes. We only care about the Read-only and Hidden. Check either one or both to read-only and hide a file or folder. note: Even though you Read-only a file it can still be DELETED. Go figure.

Another tip from another newsletter. This time the tip comes in the form of a small utility that does big things, Replicator, from Karen Kenworthy's newletter Karen's Power Tools. Karen has created several useful utilities and they all can be found at her site. She also makes' them available on CD.

In the current issue Karen discusses the latest inprovements she has made to Replicator. Replicator will duplicate disk files. Each copy the Replicator's creates is an exact duplicate of the original. Not only do they contain the same data, they also have the same file attributes (read-only, hidden, system, etc). The clones even have the same dates (last-modification, creation and last-access) as the original. It will also do all this automatically.

Karen has created several useful utilities. Check it all out and remember it's all FREE.

Our last tip was culled from Scot Finnie's Newsletter. Today we are going to use an item that was in the Langa List. Fred Langa publishes his newsletter twice a week and has a free version as well as a subscription, Plus, ($10/year) version. You get additional material with Plus.

The tip has information about Microsoft's KnowledgeBase and how to find what's in it. This is not an easy thing to do. If you don't know the exact Q number of an article you may find it very difficult to locate the information you desire. In the current newsletter Fred Langa has suggestions on using Google to find information in the KnowledgeBase. You can go to Microsoft's site and get a list of all keywords that are currently used to locate articles. His final tip is for a site, http://www.kbalertz.com/ , where you can sign up for automatic email notification of any new KB articles that are posted in any or all 250+ categories.

Many of the tips in WindowsAssistance.com come from our editir's own personal experiences with Windows XP. To a lesser degree we find ideas in several newsletters we receive. This tip comes from Scot Finnie's Newsletter. If you want to read the issue we are referencing then go here.

In the newsletter Scot explained how to extend the abilities of the Recovery Console. Our question was: 'What is the Recovery Console?' Turns' out it is a very handy tool to have in an emergency. As described in the Microsoft KnowledgeBase article, Q314058:

When you use the Windows Recovery Console, you can obtain limited access to NTFS, FAT, and FAT32 volumes without starting the Windows graphical user interface. In the Windows Recovery Console, you can:

• Use, copy, rename, or replace operating system files and folders.
• Enable or disable service or device startup when you next start your computer.
• Repair the file system boot sector or the Master Boot Record (MBR).
• Create and format partitions on drives.

Note that only an administrator can obtain access to the Windows Recovery Console so that unauthorized users cannot use any NTFS volume.

The Recovery Console utility is on your Windows XP CD and can be installed on the hard disk or you can boot the Recovery Console from the CD. We leave it up to you weather you want to learn and use this tool. WindowsAssistance is in the process of installing and using the Recovery Console.

For whatever reason many of you want to go back to Windows 9X and want to dual boot your machine. Dual booting allows the user to use two or more operating system on the same computer. One OS will be the default and start automatically while the others must be selected from a list. All Windows systems will multi-boot. To learn how to setup a system with multiple operating systems Microsoft has a KnowledgeBase article available that explains the process.

There is one big gotcha to dual or multi-booting and that is this: Windows 9X must be installed FIRST. If you purchased a new Windows XP system you better make sure you have a Windows XP CD before you do anything.

There are times when we will offer tips that we would never use ourselves. This is one of those times.

Many Windows XP computers are for family use and they would rather not have to go through the log-on process every time someone in the family wants to use the computer. You can configure Windows XP to ignore passwords.

Click Start, click Run, and type control userpasswords2. Clear the Users must enter a username and password to use this computer check box. Click Apply. Enter the user name and password you wish to automatically log on with, and then click OK. Click OK. Done.

This feature allows other users to start your computer and use the account that you establish to automatically log on. Enabling auto logon makes your computer more convenient to use, but can pose a security risk.

The last few tips we have look at using text with multimedia files to help in organizing and searching for these files. Now we have to come up with words that best describe the file. And there is the rub. A list of keywords that can be used for all picture files. Another list for music files. In short a list of keywords for each file type.

We need a keyword list for each file type. Any suggestions? WindowsAssistance alter ego's is as a photographer. We need a keyword list for still photographs. If anyone out there in computer-land has suggestions for keywords for various file type then send them to WindowsAssistance and we will publish them.

In the past few tips we have discussed adding text information to our multimedia files. Then using that data as a way to search for multimedia files. If you want to view the file information we inserted into our pictures, music, or video files you must either select the file, right-click and select Properties or use the Details view with Windows Explorer. I can't figure out why Microsoft put the ability to add data to multimedia files and then limited it's use. Even the Details section of the Taskbar will not show this optional data. Dumb. Maybe lazy too.

To view the added data go to the View menu and select Choose Details. Not all fields will be available. For instance, the Keywords field is not available. Go figure. Still lazy at Microsoft.

If you search for Multimedia you will need to select Use Advanced Search Options to include text in the search criteria.

In our previous tip we showed how to add text data to a picture file to make it more searchable. Using the text data in a search is very simple since Windows Explorer only allows you to search ANYWHERE in the file for a word or phrase.

Chosing to search All files and folders will enable you to include text in your search. To use the text data you added to a picture file just include the text in the small window labeled: A word or phrase in the file:.

As shown in the example if you chose to do a Pictures, Music, Video search you will need to expand the Use Advanced Search Options to include text in your search.

Use the file summary window to add detailed information.

If you have lots of graphics or pictures and you need to search for just one it can be a problem. Other than the filename what can you use as search data? Windows XP gives you the ability to provide data to a file that will make it easier to find the picture in the future.

To add information to a file - from Windows Explorer select and right-click the file. Select Properties and the Summary tab. Add the information. Take advantage of the Keyword field. This is where you can save time when searching. Include descriptive words that BEST describe the file. Done.

To change the Open command from Windows Explorer.

In previous tips we discussed how to change or had a command to the Short-cut menu in Windows Explorer. Here's another method.

You can only change the Open command with this method and you must have Administrator rights to make the change.

From the list of files in Windows Explorer select a file of the type you want to change, such as a JPEG file if you want to use a different graphics program. Right-click and select Properties. Click the Change button. Now you can either select a different program from the list (The same programs that are listed when you select the Open With command.) or click the Browse button to locate the program of your choice. OK back to Windows Explorer. Done.

Windows XP Home Edition will not log-on to domains. If you have the Home edition and need to log-on to a domain the you need PowerToys for Windows XP. It has been reported in the Windows 2000 Power Users newsletter that it is possible to log-on to a domain using WinXP Home edition. Because WindowsAssistance uses Windows XP Professional edition we cannot verify this but it is worth a try.

Download & install PowerToys for Windows XP. Then in the Powertoys for Windows XP group choose TweakUI. Under the Logon tab you can specify a domain.

Currently, PowerToys for Windows XP is not available on the Microsoft site until April 2002. It's been taken in for retooling but you can still get it from other places that may have mirrored it.

Change date and time Internet tab to change or disable automatic time checks.	From the Regional settings windows set default for new users.

In our last tip we showed how each user can customize the format of numbers, dates and times. We can also set formats for all future users by setting default formats from the administrator account. Another ability you have from the Administrator account is to assign an Internet site where Windows XP can get the time and therefore keep accurate time without any intervention from you.

To assign a Web site for automatic time checks go to the Control Panel>>Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options>>Change the date and time. Click the Internet tab to disable or change the Time check location. The default location is at Microsoft.

To set default setting for new users go to Control Panel>>Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options>>Change the format of numbers, dates, and times. Select the Advanced tab. At the bottom check the box for Default User Account Settings. Done.

From the Regional tab click the Customize button.	From the Regional options windows you can change Numbers, Currency, Time, and Date formats.

Each user can customize the format of numbers, dates and times by going to the Control panel and selecting Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options. From the Start button select Control Panel>>Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options>>Change the format of numbers, dates, and times. Make sure the Regional tab is active and click the Customize button.

WindowsAssistance misses the analog clock. You can only see this clock from an Administrator or Power User account. That's because the analog clock is used or seen only when you need to adjust the date/time. If someone knows of any shareware analog clock out their in Internet land let WindowsAssistance know about it. We're not looking for any kind of scheduler just a plain, old, ordinary analog clock.

Run As command

WindowsAssistance tries not to use an account that has Administrative rights while on the Internet. This is just added safety. But for some reason we have applications (One in particular: Microsoft PhotoEditor) that will not run unless the account has Administrative rights. If you are using an account with limited rights and need to run a program that requires Administrator then use the Run As... command. Select and right-click the program and double-click Run As... Select The following user: and from the Drop-down list select a user with Administrator rights. Lastly enter the password. Click OK. Done.

In our previous tip we explained how to set a file type to a different default action. We set Edit to be the default action for graphic files. Only problem was the Edit command didn't show up as the default action in Windows Explorer. Preview continued to be the default action. We tried setting Open as the default action but Preview still showed up as the default action in Windows Explorer. Can't explained why Windows Explorer ignores it's own directions. So until we can solve the problem we will have to right-click to select Edit or Open.

Correction: As mentioned above we also could have set the Open or any other action action as the default.

Today we explain how to define an action for a file type such as Edit. From Windows Explorer menu select Tools>>Folder Options>>File Types. Travel down the list of File Types until you find a graphic type, such as JPEG. Click the Advanced button. Now click the New button. For the command type &Edit. If you do not know the exact location and name of the graphics editor (Who does?) click the Browse button to locate your graphics editor. Click OK, OK, OK ...... until you are back to Windows Explorer. Now when you right-click a graphic file you should see the Edit command as part of the list of commands.

One of the new features in Windows Explorer is the Filmstrip viewer. With the viewer built-in I no longer need to open an additional program just to view my pictures. But I still need to edit photographs. Therefore I have made the Edit command the default action for all my pictures.

First you need an Administrator account to make any changes to File Type Actions. From Windows Explorer menu select Tools>>Folder Options>>File Types. Travel down the list of File Types until you find a graphic type, such as JPEG. Click the Advanced button. Select edit and click the Set Default button. Edit isn't listed? We'll fix that in the next tip.