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Best Free Windows Utilities

Make Shortcuts Do More

Do you want to launch both Word and Excel with a single Shortcut? Or launch Eudora, wait 2 minutes for your e-mail to download, then open your browser? All this is possible when you point your Shortcuts to Winx32, a macro-style program that launches other programs to your specific instructions. <1 min. winx3216.zip, 100KB, www.simtel.net/simtel.net/win95/util.html

Save Disk Space

It's 6 o'clock. Do you know how much disk space your files are occupying? Probably not. On many systems, even a 1-byte file wastes 32KB of space on your hard drive. Diskdata tells you how much space each drive, folder, and subfolder is really taking up--something Windows itself won't let you know. It's a great tool for helping you decide what to archive and when to partition. 2 min. ddsetup.exe, 364KB, www.digallery.com/diskdata

Magnify Your Screen

Ever find yourself squinting at the fine print displayed on your PC screen? Then scope out Screen Loupe. This handy utility gives you a close-up view of whatever part of the screen you're pointing to--magnified up to eight times. You can save the contents of the Loupe window to Windows' Clipboard, which is handy for printing the larger, magnified version of your screen image. <1 min. loupe32.zip, 102KB, www.execpc.com/~sbd

Secure Your Files

Getting just a bit paranoid? Then download CodedDrag, an encryption program that integrates into Windows, letting you drag or right-click from Explorer to safeguard files, directories, and drives. You choose the intensity of encryption you want, from basic 56-bit­key DES to top secret 448-bit­key Blowfish. 6 min. cd1500.exe, 1.07MB, www.fim.uni-linz.ac.at/codeddrag/codedrag.htm

Get Microsoft's Hidden Stash, Part 1

Call it Windows 95-and-a-half. Microsoft's great collection of interface enhancements is a must-have for any Win 95 user. PowerToys makes it easier to dig inside a folder's contents, take the Internet Explorer icon off your desktop, conveniently change screen resolution without rebooting, and click desktop icons when you've got windows in front of them. 1 min. powertoy.exe, 204KB, www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/powertoys.htm

Edit Text on the Fly

Editing .txt, .bat, .ini, and other ASCII text files with a word processor is like washing your car with a fire hose. But Windows' NotePad is a poor substitute for the real thing, so replace it with the best text editor out there. Super NoteTab lets you edit multiple files and toggle word wrap on and off, and doubles as an HTML editor, with buttons for viewing a file in your browser and for following links. 4 min. snt263e.zip, 729KB, www.unige.ch/sciences/terre/ geologie/fookes

Get Microsoft's Hidden Stash, Part 2

If you want more power in your PowerToys, check out Microsoft's other collection of enhancements. If you're a heavy gamer, you'll want its wizard for creating custom exit-to-DOS environments. If you don't like where your Ctrl, Alt, and special Windows keys are, remap them. A lot of the tools are on the nerdy side, but some are highly useful for the rest of us. <1 min. krnltoys.exe, 55.7KB, www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/kerneltoys.htm

Maximize Your Clipboard

With Windows' Clipboard, it's use it and lose it--every time you copy a new item to the Clipboard, the last one gets deleted. To the rescue comes Yankee Clipper, which saves up to 50 Clipboard text-only items for later retrieval. It's a handy device for keeping collections of boilerplate text--such as your return address--that you would otherwise have to retype frequently. A shareware version may be available by the time you read this article, but the freeware one won't go away. 1 min. ycplus.zip, 43KB, www.tiac.net/users/lvasseur/ycphome.html

Hide Your Windows

Too many items on your Windows 95 Taskbar? Don't want the boss to see that you're playing Riven? With OuttaSight you can conceal any active window. Customizable options let you hide programs as you minimize them, and show the hidden programs in the system tray (the icon space on the right of the Taskbar). And you can password-protect the program so that others can't see what you've hidden. 2 min. os112.zip, 390KB, rosa.simplenet.com/oos/

Serve Your Folders on a Tray

Folder Organizer puts access to My Documents, the Start menu, and your own favorites on the system tray (the screen to the right of the Start button) where you can always find them. As a bonus, the program gives you an easy way to clear various caches and history lists, and lets you change your screen mode without rebooting. 3.5 min. fldor100.exe, 682KB, tp.lc.ehu.es/win95.html

Open Zip Files Instantly

It's simple: EZip Wizard decompresses .zip archives on the fly, expanding the file as it's downloaded. Or if you prefer, you can actually install a downloaded program without unzipping it first. If you want to compress files, you'll have to pay the $29.95 registration fee and get the full version. For decompression only, it's free. 3 min. e32setup.exe, 581KB, www.edisys.com

Jog Your Memory

Forget something? Put Eh Windows Reminder in your Startup folder, and every time you load Windows you'll get today's messages, from the weekly 'Back up your system' to the annual 'Mom's birthday next week'. The user interface is clumsy--but it's still easier than remembering. 1 min. eh131.exe, 295KB, tp.lc.ehu.es/win95.html

Cut Out Shortcuts

Ever suspect that your program Shortcuts are breeding down there in Windows' Start menu? Start Menu Cleaner will search the desktop and Start menu for surplus Shortcuts and empty folders, then asks your permission to delete. <1 min. clean13.zip, 27KB, www.mithril.d.se

Make It Truly "My Computer"

Here's one great 18-tab dialog box for changing just about everything about Windows' configuration. X-Setup has options for clearing various histories and caches, speeding up the Start menu, autoplaying CD-ROMs , and setting your document and Windows installation paths. Now if it only had a 'Keep Windows from crashing' option... 1 min. xset20.zip, 174KB, www.kos.org