those old-fashioned menus....
win95 could expand a long menu into multiple columns. but win98 forces you to scroll. check out start|programs. if you have lots of entries, you end up with one long column and scroll arrows at either end. there is a way to make the win98 start menu behave like the one in win95...
if you decide to make this change (i did and i like it so much better!), be certain to back up the registry first. the linked article
pcworld.com
has a hyperlink within it
pcworld.com
that says, "Protect Yourself Against Catastrophic Installs" that gives details on creating a regback file.
changing these menus is a very good exercise for anyone who doesn't have experience editing the registry, but wishes to gain some. the operative words here are wishes to! by all means, don't go in and do this if you feel it is beyond your comfort zone. well, on second thought, exceeding comfort zones tends to be where most learning occurs, doesn't it? <g3> the pcworld article provides wonderfully detailed instructions that won't let you go wrong. just follow them closely! <g3>
one thing that the article does not say is that you can easily restore the win98 behavior by renaming the value of the 'StartMenuScrollPrograms' from false to true. i was able to toggle back and forth between the two menu styles by simply switching this value. additionally, unlike the article's instruction to reboot after closing the registry editor, i was able to see the effects of the change without rebooting. i did, of course, reboot when i was all done.
good luck
:)
mark |
