But what if you want some items to start only once a day? Or you may want to schedule an app to run just before shutdown (such as backing up the day’s work).
Sure, you can place any application in your Startup group to have it load every time Windows opens. To learn more about this utility’s command-line options, choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt, type either shutdown.exe or shutdown.exe -? and press Enter. You can even add a custom message to the shutdown announcement by typing -m followed by a space and then the message in quotation marks.Īlthough PsShutdown works with Windows XP, users of that operating system don’t need it, since Windows XP includes the shutdown.exe program after which PsShutdown was modeled. For example, if you want a command line that will reboot your computer after a 5-second warning delay, your command line would look like this: "C:Program Filespsshutdown.exe" -l -r -t 5 (your path may differ, of course).
To get the most out of the program, set up some shutdown shortcuts with the different command-line options you’ll need. For those of us who don’t have the Resource Kit, Sysinternals has made PsShutdown, a freeware equivalent of this utility. The Windows 2000 Resource Kit comes with a utility called Shutdown that lets you turn off your own machine (or others on the network, providing you have the necessary permissions). The answer is yes, although Windows 2000 doesn’t have this capability built-in. I’m often asked whether Windows 2000 and XP offer a way to create such batch files and shortcuts.
If you know how to type the secret codes, Windows 9 x and Me let you exit, log off, or restart your PC from a command line that you can add to a batch file or make into a shortcut (click here for the full skinny). As with PrintFolders, you then have to open the resulting file in another application (such as a text editor or a Web browser) to do the actual printing. When you’re satisfied, Directory Lister lets you save the file as text or HTML. You can preview the results in plain text or in an HTML table to verify your file and folder selections. The program allows you to select noncontiguous folders across multiple drives, decide exactly which details to include, specify the column width for each detail, and customize the sort order, among other options. You can easily edit and print the list using any word processor or text editor.įor even more control over your file-list printing, reader Connie Stanifer from Whiteland, Indiana, recommends Directory Lister, the brainchild of Leszek Skorczy ñski. The tool provides a number of useful formatting options, such as complete file details and full path information (see FIGURE 2 FIGURE 2: Fast and thorough file and folder printing is a breeze with PrintFolders.). PrintFolders is blazingly fast and easy to use. PrintFolders instantly generates a text file listing the contents of a folder and (if you choose) subfolders.
Vernon Solomon, writing from South Africa, points us to PrintFolders, a free utility from programmer Roman A. One way to print a list of a folder’s files is with a batch file–such as the one from last August’s “ Pain-Free Windows Tweaks.” But if batch files aren’t your bag, two freeware tools may suit you better. To see open apps in the taskbar of each desktop, choose Shared Desktops to select a background, choose Configure Desktop Images (see FIGURE 1 FIGURE 1: Windows too cramped? Get up to four desktops with Microsoft’s free Virtual Desktop Manager.) and to add dissolves and other effects as you move in the map, choose Use Animations.