Desktop à la carte

Your Windows NT or 95/98 desktop is covered with open folders but you want to get to a desktop shortcut without minimizing the folders. How? Simply click on the Start button and on Run, then type a period in the space and click on OK. A small window will open, containing just your desktop folders and shortcuts. (If the window covers your whole screen, click on the second icon in from the top right corner of the window to tile it, and next time it’ll open smaller.)

This is especially handy in Win 95 or NT 4.0 when you don't yet have the IE4 or higher browser intalled., since this older interface does not have a desktop icon on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen as Win 98 does. However, this trick can be useful in an updated NT or Win 95/98 too, because clicking on that desktop icon minimizes all your open folders and returns you to the full desktop — and sometimes you don’t want the hassle of later having to re-open all your folders in the same order they were in before you went to the desktop.

Free *Cheap Trick* of the Week: November 8, 1999