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Expand Control Panel in Windows XP Start Menu.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

You know you can change the Windows 2000 Start Menu so that the Control Panel expands into a sub-menu when you click it, rather than opening in a separate window. You can do this in Windows XP, too, although some of the terminology has changed a little.

In Windows XP right-click the Start menu button, then choose Properties. From the Taskbar & Start Menu Properties window, click the Customize button, then click the Advanced tab. You should see three options for Control Panel: Display as Link (default), which means it opens in a separate window when you click it, Display as Menu, which means that when you click it, or even hold the mouse over it, the Control Panel items will open as a sub-menu, and Do not display this item, which will remove it from the Start Menu completely.

But what if you want to open the Control Panel in a separate window sometimes? No problem! Simply right-click the Control Panel icon in the Start Menu, and choose Open. A new Control Panel window will appear, without changing the behavior of the Start Menu.

 

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Hidden Icons in the Notification Area.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

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Creating a Zipped Folder.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

 

Creating a Zipped Folder: In Windows 98.Me, if you wanted to create a compressed or zipped version of a file, you would need third-party compression software. Windows NT/2000 did have compression features, but that was only good for storing files on NTFS drives, not for sending or uploading files.

In Windows XP, creating zipped files is a built-in feature. To create a new zipped file in Explorer, simply click the File menu -> New -> Compressed (zipped) Folder. A new folder will appear, and you can enter a filename (remember to use a .zip at the end) and press enter to save it. You can also right-click an open area in Explorer or on your desktop and follow the same steps (New -> Compressed (zipped) Folder, etc.). Simply double-click the folder to open it, and then you can drag and drop files or folders into it to zip a copy of them.

Note: If you want to actually move the file into the zipped folder, hold the Shift key down while you drop it. You can tell the the file will be moved rather than copied, because the small + sign next to the mouse cursor will disappear.

 

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Zipping a File or Folder.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

I mentioned a way that you can create a new (empty) zipped folder, and copy or move files and folders into it to compress them in to a .zip file. This is a great way to create smaller files for uploading or emailing.

Here is a shortcut to this whole process that you may find even handier. You can right-click a file or folder -> Send To -> Compressed (Zipped) Folder to create a zipped folder that has the same root name as the file. For instance, if you right click the file NewFile.txt, and send it to a Compressed Folder, then a new folder will appear called NewFile.zip in the same folder as NewFile.txt. If you double-click NewFile.zip, you will see that it contains a copy of NewFile.txt.

Note: You can select multiple files or folders by holding down the CRTL key while you click individual ones, or by clicking the first one in a list, and holding down SHIFT while you click the last one in a list. Then you can right-click the selected files and use the Send To process above to send them all to a Compressed (Zipped) Folder or drag and drop them. The newly created zipped file will use one of the names of the files or folders that you copied, except it will end in .zip for the extension. You can always right-click the new file, and choose Rename the .zip file.

 

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Zipping with a Password.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

 

See how quickly and easily you can create compressed zipped folders. This is a great way you can store or email files. Here's an extra feature that you can use with zipped files, try adding a password, so that only those you want to (by giving them the password) can access the compressed file.

All you have to do to password protect a your zipped file, open it by double-clicking on the zipped file. Click on the File menu, then choose "Add a Password..." In the dialogue box that appears, enter your password, then you have to enter it again in the field below to confirm it, and click on OK. If you want to remove the password, simply open the zipped file again, and choose "Remove password" from the File menu.

 

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Snap to Address Bar - ATL+D.
Windows XP Support
By: WinXpFix.com

 

Snap to Address Bar: In Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer, there's an area referred to as the Address Bar. This is where you type in the URL of a web site, or the drive and path to a folder. Normally if you want to type in an address manually, you would click in that area with the mouse. There is a keyboard shortcut that will automatically snap the cursor to that area, however.

Just press ATL+D (that's the Alternate key then the d key) and you are now ready to enter a new address in the Address Bar.