You can’t manually make the registry tweak yourself using regedit.exe because there’s no way to add a default item of type REG_EXPAND_SZ, but I’ve provided a registry hack download for you.

Please note that this does not work with the Home editions of either Vista or XP because they don’t come with Group Policy Editor.

Windows Vista

After installation, you will find the new item by first choosing Additional Options in Control Panel.

You should now see Group Policy Editor in the list.

Windows XP

You will have to switch to the Classic View in order to see the icon in XP.

And now it will show up in the list of icons.

Installation

Just download and extract and double-click on AddGroupPolicyToControlPanel.reg to add the icon. There is also another registry script that will remove the items.

Download AddGroupPolicyToControlPanel Registry Hack

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Adding this to the menu couldn’t be simpler – there’s only a single registry key to add.

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box, and then find the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right-hand pane, create a new 32-bit DWORD value called EncryptionContextMenu and give it a value of 1.

Now when you right-click on a file, you’ll see a new option called Encrypt.

When you choose this option, you’ll receive the following dialog, asking if you want to encrypt just the file, or also the parent folder. You can also choose just the file as the default.

Once the files are encrypted, you’ll notice that the title of the file is now green, indicating that it’s been encrypted. The right-click option will also now change to Decrypt. 

Definitely much simpler… makes me wonder why this wasn’t a built-in option.

Download AddEncryptionMenu.zip Registry Hack

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After installation, you can simply right-click on a drive and choose “Disk Cleanup” from the menu:

If you are using Windows 7 or Vista, you’ll be asked whether you want to clean up your files or all files…

And then disk cleanup will begin:

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell

Create a new key called “diskcleanup” and set the default value to “Disk Cleanup”. Then create another key underneath it called “command” and set the value to the following:

cleanmgr.exe /d %1

The change should be immediate, just right-click on the drive and you should see the new menu item.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on DiskCleanupDriveMenu.reg to enter the information into the registry. You can use the included RemoveDiskCleanupDriveMenu.reg file to reverse the changes.

Download DiskCleanupDriveMenu Registry Hack

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Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak 

There’s a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don’t have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak

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Once you select that item, obviously it will immediately open up Control Panel:

Of course you could use the same technique to add any item into the context menu, or you could even use the same location in the registry to remove things like the NVIDIA Control Panel or ATI Control Center from the menu.

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

Once you are there, you’ll want to right-click on “shell” and create a new key called Control Panel.

Under that one, you’ll want to right-click and create a new key called “command”.

Select the “command” key on the left-hand side, and then set the (Default) value on the right-hand side to the following:

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL

You should immediately see the new item in your context menu, and it should be working. To remove, simply delete the Control Panel key.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on the AddControlPanelToDesktopMenu.reg file to enter the information into the registry. You should immediately see the new item. To remove, use the included remove script.

Download AddControlPanelToDesktopMenu Registry

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If you don’t know what we’re talking about, I mean the menu that shows up when you right-click on the desktop:

For today’s lesson we’ll show you how to add Notepad to the menu, but you could add any applications you want instead.

Step 1: Browse to the Registry Key

The first thing you’ll want to do is open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

The screen should look similar to this one if you are in the right place.

Step 2: Create the Menu Item Key Name

To complete this step we’ll need to create a new key, the name of which is exactly what is going to show up on the desktop menu.

Right-click on the “shell” key, and then choose New \ Key from the menu.

Give the new key the name that you want to show up on the desktop context menu. For this example we’ll be using Notepad.

Optional Step: If you want to assign an “Alt” key to this menu entry for quicker access, you can change the (Default) value on the right and put an & character in front of the key you want to use. For instance, if you wanted to be able to just use the N key to launch Notepad once the desktop context menu pops up, you can do this:

Personally I don’t find this terribly useful since you have to use the mouse to right-click on the desktop… may as well just use the mouse to click the item. Still, for completeness I’ve included it.

Step 3: Create the Command Key

Next you’ll need to create the command key that will actually hold the command used to launch the application. Right-click on the new Notepad key, and then choose New \ Key from the menu.

Give this key the name “command” in lowercase.

Step 4: Add in the Full Application Executable Path

To complete this step you’ll need the full path to the application that you want to launch. You can use Shift + Right-Click to get the Copy as Path menu item to find this more quickly.

Now click on “command” on the left side, and then double-click on the (Default) key in the right side to edit the string value.

Paste in the full path to the executable that you got from the “Copy as Path” step above, or you can put in the full path yourself if you’d like.

Once it’s done, it should look like this:

And right-clicking on the desktop will produce the new menu item… naturally, using this menu item should launch Notepad.

You can add as many applications to the desktop context menu as you’d like

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Windows Vista has some great ways to help you use your digital pictures to personalize your computer. Whether you use a picture of your pet as your desktop background, a series of vacation pictures as your screen saver, or add all of your pictures to the Windows Sidebar as a slide show, there are many ways to keep all of those memories within view.

Add a slide show of your pictures to the Sidebar

If you have a digital camera, chances are good that you have a ton of pictures on your computer, most of which go unnoticed or get forgotten. You can solve this by adding all of your pictures to the Sidebar as a slide show. By catching glimpses of your pictures throughout your day, you can connect to your memories anytime you're at your computer.

To add a slide show to the Sidebar

The Slide Show gadget on your Sidebar automatically displays the sample pictures that come with your computer. Here's how to set it to show all of the pictures in your Pictures folder.

1. On the Sidebar, point to the Slide Show gadget, and then click the Options button.

    

   Open slide show options

    

2. In the Folder list, click Pictures, and then select the Include subfolders check box.

    

   Set slide show options

    

3. You can adjust the speed of the slide show by setting the time that each pictures is shown. It is automatically set for 15 seconds, but you can increase or decrease that length of time.

If at any time during the slide show you see a picture that you want to see at full size, just point to the picture and click the View button, and the picture will open in Windows Photo Gallery.

 

Control your slide show

 

Once you have the picture open in Windows Photo Gallery, you can tag it or rate it so that it's easier to find later. Or, right-click the picture in Windows Photo Gallery and choose Set as desktop background to make that your new desktop background.

In the same way that you might put framed pictures up in your home or office, now you can personalize your computer with your favorite digital pictures.

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• The Start button , which opens the Start menu. See The Start menu (overview).

• The Quick Launch toolbar, which lets you start programs with one click.

• The middle section, which shows you which programs and documents you have open and allows you to quickly switch between them.

• The notification area, which includes a clock and icons (small pictures) that communicate the status of certain programs and computer settings.

• v

• 

• You're likely to use the middle section of the taskbar the most, so we'll discuss that first.

  Keep track of your windows

  If you open more than one program or document at a time, you can quickly start piling up windows on your desktop. Because windows often cover each other or take up the whole screen, it's sometimes hard to see what else is underneath or remember what you've already opened.

  That's where the taskbar comes in handy. Whenever you open a program, folder, or document, Windows creates a button on the taskbar corresponding to that item. The button shows the icon and name of the item. In the picture below, two programs are open—Calculator and Minesweeper—and each has its own button on the taskbar.

   

   

  Each program has its own button on the taskbar

   

  Notice how the taskbar button for Minesweeper appears pressed in. That indicates that Minesweeper is the active window, meaning that it's in front of any other open windows and is ready for you to interact with.

  To switch to another window, click its taskbar button. In our example, clicking the taskbar button for Calculator brings its window to the front:

   

  Click a window's taskbar button to switch to that window

   

  Clicking taskbar buttons is only one of several ways to switch between windows. For more information, see Working with windows.

   

  Minimize and restore windows

  When a window is active (its taskbar button appears pressed down), clicking its taskbar button minimizes the window. That means that the window disappears from the desktop. Minimizing a window doesn't close it or delete its contents—it merely removes it from the desktop temporarily.

  In the picture below, Calculator has been minimized, but not closed. You can tell it's still running because it has a button on the taskbar.

   

  Minimizing Calculator leaves only its taskbar button visible

   

  You can also minimize a window by clicking the Minimize button, in the upper-right corner of the window:

   

  Minimize button (left)

   

  To restore a minimized window (make it show up again on the desktop), click its taskbar button. For more information about these buttons, see Working with windows.

   

  How the taskbar groups similar items

  As you open more windows, you'll see existing taskbar buttons shrink in width to let new buttons squeeze in. However, if the taskbar becomes too crowded with buttons, then the buttons for the same program will be grouped into a single button.

  To see how this works, suppose you have three Paint pictures open on the desktop. If the taskbar has enough room, it displays the three Paint windows as separate buttons:

   

  Three Paint windows displayed as separate taskbar buttons

   

  But if you have many programs and documents open, the taskbar collapses these three buttons into a single button that shows the name of the group (Paint) and the number of items in the group (3). Clicking the button displays a menu listing the files in the group:

   

  Three Paint windows grouped into one taskbar button

   

  Clicking one of the items in the menu activates its window so you can see it.

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