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Answer Line

Keep nosy PC-mates from accessing your files and programs; avoid freezes at boot-up; reset an internal modem without rebooting; find furtive Outlook files.

  

Two Programs, One Icon

How can I double-click one icon and have it open several programs?

Nachie Guterman, Staten Island, New York

There are two ways to do this. You can use an old-fashioned DOS batch file instead of a shortcut: First, launch Notepad by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad.

In Notepad, enter the command to launch one program (such as notepad.exe), press Enter, then enter the command to launch another (say, calc.exe), and so on. If you aren't sure of a command name, right-click a shortcut for the program and select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, check the Shortcut tab's Target field; it will show the name you want. When you finish, enter cls on the very last line in Notepad. Do not press Enter. Select File, Save. In the Save As box, navigate to \Windows\Start Menu, the desktop, or wherever you want the icon. For "Save as type," select All Files(*.*). Give the file the extension .bat.

Or you can download Winx32, a free program by Don Beusee available at FileWorld. Winx32 doesn't make the job any easier than it is with a batch file (you still have to create a script in Notepad), but it doesn't bring up a DOS box and doesn't need a command like cls.

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