Recent Class notes 06 Running & Managing Applications April 5, 2004

Without programs, we wouldn’t have much use for a computer. In Windows XP you can run many programs once, and than one user can run a single program simultaneously. Windows XP has a number of features for controlling how programs and for managing programs after they are running.

Starting Programs using Shortcuts You can create shortcuts just about anywhere (e.g. on the desktop, in a folder, etc.). After you create a shortcut, you can customize it by right clicking it and choosing properties. In the shortcuts properties dialog box, switch to the shortcut tab. You can configure a number of items in this dialog box, including the following: • Target: The program that the shortcut will run. At the end of the target string, just after the name of the actual executable file, you can enter any startup switches supported by the program to customize the way the program runs. • Start In: This field specifies the folder that Windows sets as the current directory when the shortcut is run. • Shortcut Key: use this field to specify a key combination that runs the shortcut. • Run: Choose whether you want to run the program in a normal, maximized, or minimized window. • Comment: Enter a comment that will you remember the purpose of the shortcut. • Target: Opens the folder in which the original target file is found. • Change Icon: Changes the icon for the shortcut • Advanced: Opens a dialog box with two options. The 1st lets you run the program using different user credentials that the account with which you are currently logged on- useful if your account does not have the permission to run the program correctly. The 2nd is available only for Windows 3.1 based programs and lets you specify whether the program is run in a separate memory space. To create a shortcut use the following steps: 1. Right click the location in which you want to create a shortcut, and choose New Shortcut from the shortcut menu. 2. Type the location for the program and click next. 3. Type a name for the shortcut and click finish. 4. Right click the new shortcut and choose properties to make modifications to the shortcut.

Starting Programs at Windows Startup Any shortcuts or full programs that you place inside the startup folder will run automatically each you start Windows XP. The items displayed in a particular user’s startup folder actually come form two places: • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Items placed in this folder start up whenever user starts Windows.

1 • C: :\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Username denotes a particular user account configured on the computer. Items placed in this folder start up whenever someone starts Windows and logs on using the specified account. Programs that are started with Windows, but are not included in the startup folder, are usually started with a Registry entry.

Modifying File types and associations The easiest way to change an association is to right click a file and choose Open With | Choose Program. In the Open With dialog box, find the program you want to use to open the file and select the Always Use the Selected Program to Open This Kind of File option. When you click OK, the association is changed. Another method to control associations is from the file tab on the Folder Options dialog box. Choose Tool | Folder Options in any open Explorer window, and switch to File Types tab. This tab presents a long list of all file types registered with Windows. Clicking new opens a simple dialog box that lets you type in a three letter extension to create a new file type. Select any file type on the list to work with it. Click the change button to open an Open With dialog box and choose another program to associate with the file type. To exert finer control over a file association, click advanced on the File Types tab. This dialog box displays all known information about the file type, including its name, icon, and all the actions that Windows XP can perform on the file.

Running Legacy Programs Most programs written for previous versions of Windows will run under Windows XP. Occasionally, you may run across a program that just won’t run. Windows WP comes with a feature named compatibility mode, which attempts to emulate previous versions of Windows so you can run programs that expect to run under those versions. To run a program under compatibility mode, you first create a short cut to the program. Right click the short cut and choose properties and on the dialog box that opens, switch to compatibility tab. Four options are available on the compatibility tab: • Run This Program Using Compatibility Mode: Select this option and choose a particular version of Windows to emulate. Choices include: Windows 95, 98/ME, NT 4.0 (SP5), and Windows 2000. • Run in 256 Colors: Some older programs require a lower color depth to run. • Run in 640 x 480 Screen Resolution: Similar to the 256 color options, this options runs the program at a resolution favored by many older programs. • Disable Visual Themes: Some programs experience problems when using the new Windows XP Desktop Themes. In particular, many programs seem to have a problem with the feature that displays a drop shadow beneath the pointer. Windows XP also provides a Program Compatibility Wizard that steps you through the same choices available on the compatibility tab and lets you test modes. You can access this wizard from the Help and Support utility.

Ending Unresponsive Programs with task manager When a program crashes, one of three things usually occur:

2 • The program offers up a dialog box explaining that it has suffered a problem it can’t from and must now close. • Windows detects that the program has stopped responding and offers a dialog box where you can choose to end the program. • The program stops accepting user input and you are offered no dialog box at all. To use task manager to end a program that is not responding, use the following steps: 1. Right click any open space on the taskbar and click task manager or press CTRL-ALT- . 2. In the task manager window, click the application tab. 3. Select the program that is not responding and click end task. This opens the end program dialog box. Click end now.

Scheduling Programs to Run Automatically Scheduled tasks is a specialized folder that you can use to have Windows automatically run programs at specified intervals. When you schedule a task, you inform Windows what program to run, how often to run the program, what time it should run, and under what account it should run. To schedule a task, use the following steps: 1. Click start, point to All Programs | Accessories | System Tools. Then click Scheduled Tasks. This opens the scheduled tasks window. 2. Double click the add schedule task item to start the Add Schedule Task Wizard. 3. Follow the instructions in the wizard. You will need to specify the program to be run, how often the task should run, the time of day to run the program, and the user name and password for the account under which to run the task. 4. After you have created a task, you can run it manually by right clicking the task and choosing run. 5. You can also modify a task at any time by double clicking the task and using its properties dialog box to reconfigure it.

You can a task to another computer. In the schedule tasks window on the computer to copy the task from, right click the task and choose copy. Next, open my network place and locate the computer to which you want to copy the task. On the remote computer, find the \Windows\Tasks folder and paste the task into it.

Switching Among Running Programs Since you can run many programs at once in Windows, you can also switch among running programs in a number of ways. To switch among running programs, you can: • Click another program’s button on the taskbar. Each running program has its own taskbar button. • Click a program’s window. If you can see a portion of the program window to which you want to switch, click it to activate that program. • Press ALT-TAB to switch to the next program on the taskbar. Press ALT-SHIFT- TAB to switch to the previous program on the taskbar. • Press ALT-TAB, but do not release the ALT key. This opens a small dialog box with icons for all running programs. Press the TAB key repeatedly while still holding down the ALT key to cycle through the programs. Release the ALT key

3 when you have selected the program you want to switch to. Press ESC at any time to the dialog box without switching programs. • Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to open the windows task manager. On the application tab, you can choose from a list of running applications and click switch to, to go to a particular program. Try downloading PowerToys at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp.

Starting Programs with a Particular Document Most files in Windows have a three letter extension appended to the file name that identifies the program associated with the file. This is how Windows knows what program to use to open a file. Example: double clicking a file with a file whose name ends in .doc tells Windows to run Microsoft Word to open that file. Often, more than one program can be used to open a particular file type. Example, you might use one program to view JPEG pictures and another program to edit them. Double clicking a file opens the file with the default program associated with that file type. To open a file with a program different than its default, right click the file and choose the Open with option. You’ll see a list of other programs associated with the file type. You can also choose Open With | Choose Program to open a dialog box that lets you choose an unlisted program with which to open the file.

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