Some of my company's Windows 2000 machines display the OS version and build number in the lower-right corner of my screen (i.e., above the taskbar), and some don't. How do I control this behavior?
Although Microsoft lets you use GUI-based controls to modify many of Win2K's desktop-customization features, some modifications require Registry editing. To control whether the desktop displays the Windows version and build number, you need to edit the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Desktop\PaintDesktopVersion Registry value. This value is of data type REG_DWORD and has a range of 0 (i.e., don't display) or 1 (i.e., display).
On many Win2K systems, this Registry value contains an incorrect data type of REG_SZ (instead of REG_DWORD). One cause of this behavior is when you use early versions of the TweakUI utility on a Win2K system. Although many of TweakUI's functions work on Win2K systems, some don't. Selecting TweakUI's Show Windows version on desktop option (on the General tab) sets the correct Registry value name but sets it to an incorrect data type of REG_SZ. If you find that the value already exists on your system but has the wrong data type, delete and recreate the value as REG_DWORD and set the appropriate value (0 or 1). After you log off and log back on, your new setting will take effect.
I've recently seen some cool Windows 2000 desktop modifications on other users' systems, and I'd like to know how to implement them on my system. For example, in the Start menu's Settings submenu, I've seen the Control Panel and Printers folders open as a menu (i.e., like a program group). How can I tweak my Start menu settings?
To make the Control Panel and Printers folders expand as menus, right-click on the taskbar. Choose Properties to open the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, which Figure 1, page 150, shows. On the Advanced tab, you can control whether the Start menu displays Administrative Tools, Favorites, and Logoff; whether Control Panel, Printers, My Documents, Network, and Dial-Up Connections expand as folders instead of simply opening their respective folders in a window; and whether the Programs menu scrolls. Win2K stores these settings in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Registry subkey.
I've heard you can make Windows 2000 automatically complete filenames and directory names within a command prompt session—for example, when you're entering a command that specifies a filename or directory name as an argument, but you don't want to type the whole name. Can you tell me how to enable this behavior?
Windows NT supports filename completion, and Win2K supports both filename and directory name completion. This capability has the added benefit of providing an auto-search facility for filenames and directory names that you type within a command prompt session. To enable the feature, you can use the Cmd tab of the Tweak UI Control Panel utility (http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTTweakUI.asp), which Figure 2, page 150, shows.
Alternatively, you can modify the Registry values that control this capability (or create them if they don't exist). To enable filename completion in Win2K or NT, modify or create a CompletionChar value of type REG_DWORD in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor Registry subkey and set it to a value of 9. In Win2K, you can set directory and folder name completion by creating or modifying the PathCompletionChar value in the same Registry subkey.
The value of the subkey sets the character you'll use to trigger name completion. For example, a value of 9 configures the Tab key to be the name-completion character, but you can use different values to enable other keys. If you don't want to use Tab, I recommend using Tweak UI, which lets you select from a drop-down list of possible keys.
If you decide to use the Tab key, you can press Tab after you begin to specify a filename or folder name at any command line within a command prompt session (e.g., after you type the first few letters of the name). Each time you press Tab, the system will complete the folder name or filename with the next match within that folder. If you want to cycle backward through the list, press Shift+Tab.
You can also dynamically enable filename and folder name completion for individual command prompt sessions by launching cmd.exe with the /f:on parameter (e.g., click Start, Run, and use the command cmd /f:on) or by typing the command cmd /f:on within an existing Command Prompt window. Doing so enables the Ctrl+F key sequence as the filename-completion character and Ctrl+D as the folder and directory name completion character. To disable the capability for that session, enter the command cmd /f:off.
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