Pain-Free Windows Tweaks

Five Batch Files

Automate Hard-Drive Maintenance

Batch files trace their lineage back to DOS, but they're still handy for everyday Windows chores. This one scans your hard drive for errors and then defrags it automatically. If you have the appropriate apps, you can make it scan for viruses, back up data, and perform other chores. Click here to download the file and instructions for Windows 98 and Me, here for Windows 2000, and here for XP. The Windows 2000 version requires that you download and install MorphaSys's free AutoDeFrag program before you use it.

Print a Folder's Contents

Windows offers no easy way to print a list of the files in a given folder, but this batch file does. Download the file printdir.bat, and save it in the SendTo folder under your user profile. To find your SendTo folder in Windows 98, Me, or XP, select Start, Run, type sendto, and press Enter. If you use Windows 2000, go to "Add to the Send To Menu" for details on how to proceed. Once the file is in your SendTo folder, you can print a copy of a folder's contents by right-clicking the folder's name in Windows Explorer and selecting Send To, printdir.bat.

Purge Your Recent Documents

You want to return to the spreadsheet you were working on yesterday, so you go to the Start menu's Documents list (Recent Documents in Windows XP). Unfortunately, Recent Documents gives every file type equal weight, including the types you don't return to often. This batch file culls everything from Recent Documents that lacks one of the extensions you specify beforehand, such as .doc, .xls, and .txt (as in the example here). This file doesn't remove the documents, only the shortcuts to them. Go here to download the batch file and instructions for using it.

Launch Multiple Programs

Some chores require you to open more than one program. This batch file lets you launch several programs at once. In Windows 98 or Me, each line of the batch file should contain the command to launch a particular program or file, as in c:\quickenw\qw.exe or "c:\my documents\finances.xls" (the quotes are required because of the space in the file path). End the batch file with the command cls on the very last line. In Windows XP or 2000 (shown here), your batch file must point to file shortcuts rather than to the files themselves. It's best to collect the shortcuts you need in one folder.

Because you'll have to make this batch file yourself, there's nothing to download. Simply open Notepad or the text editor you prefer and type in the command lines shown, altered to point to the applications you need to open.

Change Your Resolution on the Fly

Some programs work best at a particular screen resolution. This batch file changes your resolution to 640 by 480 (at 32-bit color depth), launches a program, and waits until you exit before returning to your original settings. It requires EnTech Taiwan's free MultiRes, so download and install that program before loading the batch file. The file loads in Notepad, but just change the second line to tell the file to load itself into the program of your choice. Alter the numbers on the first line to change the resolution and the color depth. The terms "start /w" at the beginning of the second line and "cls" at the end of the program are necessary in Windows 98 and Me; they're harmless in 2000 and XP. Click here to download the batch file.