Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast

Where I rant about Microsoft products, computers and technology, and much more.

November 2006 - Posts

  • Change the Start Menu "Shut Down" button

    Posted by Kristan Kenney to Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast on Nov 21 2006, 09:32 PM

    The Windows Start Menu's new shut down default is "sleep" - however, you may want to change this for whatever reason. To change it:

    1. Click on Start, and then click on Control Panel.
    2. Click on "System and Maintenance".
    3. Click on "Power Options".
    4. Select a power management plan and then click on "Change Plan Settings".
    5. Click on "Change advanced power settings".
    6. In the Power Options dialog that appears, expand "Power Buttons and Lid", and then expand "Start menu power button".
    7. Click on "Setting" and then choose the function you want the button to perform - "Sleep", "Hibernate", or "Shut down".
    8. Click on OK.
    9. Close the "Edit Plan Settings" Control Panel window.
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  • Temperature Converter Gadget

    Posted by Kristan Kenney to Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast on Nov 19 2006, 12:13 PM

    I've created a new gadget for the Windows Sidebar which allows you to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice-versa. I thought it might be useful to some people.

    You can download it at http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=062ec052-caaf-454d-bcaf-91fc42614383&l=1

    Using it is quite easy:

    • To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, type the value in and press SHIFT-TAB.
    • To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, type the value in and press TAB.

    Version 1.1.0.0 is already in the works which allows for different styles and automatic updating of the fields when you change their values, much like the Currency gadget. Just wanted to get this one out the door early so to speak.

    (Also - if you haven't already, check out the Uptime Gadget - http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=9edd60d7-5810-44b4-a72e-b3416de5758b&l=1)

    Enjoy!

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  • Workround for Adobe Photoshop CS2

    Posted by Kristan Kenney to Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast on Nov 18 2006, 12:10 PM

    If you are using Windows Vista and Adobe Photoshop CS2, you may have noticed that you are constantly asked if you would like to register the program every time you launch it. In order to work around this, simply right click on the Adobe Photoshop CS2 shortcut in the Start menu and click "Run as administrator", and then provide consent when User Account Control asks you.

    You will be asked to register, click on "Do not register" and then close Adobe Photoshop CS2. Re-launch it normally (without running it as Administrator) and it should open without nagging you to register.

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  • Slow down the window animation speed in Windows Vista

    Posted by Kristan Kenney to Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast on Nov 17 2006, 04:05 AM

    This little tip has been kicking around since Windows Vista Beta 1 and I just confirmed that it works on the RTM build (6000.16386). For those of you who don't know what this is, you can change a certain registry key and it will allow you to slow down the animation of windows (on minimize/maximize/close for instance) by holding down the SHIFT key while performing an action.

    In order to enable this, you must edit the registry.

    1. Click on the Start button.
    2. In the "Start Search" field type "regedit". When it is displayed, either click on it or press Enter.
    3. If User Account Control prompts you for consent, click on Continue.
    4. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
    5. In the right hand pane, right click on an empty space and from the context menu that appears choose "New > DWORD (32-bit) Value".
    6. Give the new DWORD (32-bit) Value a name of "AnimationsShiftKey" (without the quotes).
    7. Double click on the "AnimationsShiftKey" value and give it a value of 1.
    8. Close the Registry Editor.
    9. Log off of Windows and log back in for this to take effect.

    Please note that in order for this to work you must be using Windows Aero.

    One really cool way I've found to test this is to invoke Windows Flip3D by pressing CTRL+WinKey+Tab and then holding shift while clicking on a window. Pretty nifty.

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