gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials » customize windows http://www.ghacks.net A technology news blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:24:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Windows 7 Navigation Pane Customizerhttp://www.ghacks.net/2011/02/19/windows-7-navigation-pane-customizer/ http://www.ghacks.net/2011/02/19/windows-7-navigation-pane-customizer/#comments Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:50:39 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=40018 The default file browser Windows Explorer under Windows 7 displays several sidebar items by default which link to libraries, user favorites, Homegroup and connected hard drives and optical drives. While those guarantee quick access to files and folders, they often display at least some folders and links that users do not need.

A Windows 7 user who is not using the Homegroup feature for example does not necessarily need the Homegroup link displayed in the sidebar.

The free software program Windows 7 Navigation Pane Customizer gives the user better control over the items that are displayed in the sidebar in Windows Explorer.

The application displays a list of system folders that can be added or removed from the navigation pane in Windows Explorer. Checkboxes are used to enable or disable items in the sidebar.

Windows 7 Navigation Pane Customizer

Available are the following items:

  • Favorites
  • Libraries
  • Homegroup
  • User Home Folder
  • Computer
  • Network
  • Control Panel
  • Recycle Bin

All items can be enabled or disabled individually. It is theoretically possible to remove all items, enable all or make a custom selection.

A click on the Apply Settings button applies the settings to Windows Explorer and restarts the process so that the changes are visible in the same session.

The restore settings button offers to restore the undo the changes and display the default selection of links in the navigation pane.

The program appears to be working only under 32-bit editions of Windows 7. 64-bit users receive an error message (file not found) after they click on the Apply Settings button.

Windows 7 Navigation Pane Customizer is available for download at the developer website. The application requires the Microsoft .NET Framework, but the developer does not state which version. It either runs on the framework 3.5 which ships with windows 7 or the newer framework 4.0.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2011/02/19/windows-7-navigation-pane-customizer/feed/ 5 Remove The Windows Start Buttonhttp://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/07/remove-the-windows-start-button/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/07/remove-the-windows-start-button/#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:45:01 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=8126 Users who like total desktop conversions might seek methods of removing standard Windows elements like the Windows Start Button to maximize screen estate. Not everyone would want to give up on the Windows Start Menu but someone who is working with an application launcher like Launchy would probably not miss it at all.

But even those users who rely on the Windows Start Menu won’t have that many difficulties accommodating because Start Killer, the name of the application, removes the Start button only for the time it is running in the background. It furthermore provides keyboard shortcuts to display the Windows Start Menu even while running.

Start Killer will automatically remove the Windows Start Menu button from the Windows Taskbar once it is running. It works with every taskbar orientation possible which should make users happy who run the Windows Taskbar on the left or right side of the screen.

Windows Taskbar:

Windows Taskbar with Start Killer running:

A few things need to be explained. The Windows Start Menu can be displayed with the keyboard shortcuts [Windows] or [CTRL+ESC]. That opens the Windows Start Menu at the usual position and hides it again once the user has finished the task at hand.

Start Killer adds an icon to the Windows System Tray which provides access to several settings after right-clicking it. The application can be set to load on system startup. It is furthermore possible to disable the System Tray icon in the options.

Computer memory usage of Start Killer is at the low end with about 2.5 Megabytes and barely any virtual memory.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/07/remove-the-windows-start-button/feed/ 8 Customize the Open and Save Windowhttp://www.ghacks.net/2007/10/07/customize-the-open-and-save-window/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/10/07/customize-the-open-and-save-window/#comments Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:11:12 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/2007/10/07/customize-the-open-and-save-window/ The open and save dialogs in Windows have the nasty habit of not remembering any of the changes that you made while using them. I prefer a wider window to be able to read all filenames, navigate more easily through the folder structure and have more details in sight all the time.

Unfortunately though, Microsoft did not think of this feature and resets the open and save window every time. Open Wide is a software that makes all those dreams come true. It can customize the open and save dialog windows permanently with settings of your choice.

You can basically set a width and height for the open and save dialog box plus the position it should appear at. It is furthermore possible to define the cursor focus which can be set to filename, filetype, directory listing, look in and Places Bar.

Last but not least the View Mode can be defined. If you prefer a detailed view – like I do – you can set it to that or change it to any other mode available in Windows.

open wide customize open save dialog box

Read More:

Open Wide Homepage
via The How-To Geek

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