Windows Explorer

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• Thumbnail view without file & folder names
  
• Associating files without extensions as text files
  
• File security on XP Home
  
• Displaying ZIP files as folders
  
• ASSOC - display file associations
  
• Restoring the Show Desktop icon
  
• Removing the Shared Documents Folder
  

Thumbnail view without file & folder names

In Thumbnail view, Explorer lets you view files and folders with or without file and folder names. By default, thumbnail view shows the names. To turn them off, go to one of the other views (eg List or Icons), then with the Shift key held down, select the Thumbnail view. To reverse this, repeat the process. [27-Apr-05]

Associating files without extensions as text files

If you want Explorer to treat files without extensions (eg with no .TXT) as text files, and open them with the default application (Notepad by default), issue the following command:

assoc .=txtfile

Note the space between the c and the period. You can tell what application is associated with text files with this command:

ftype txtfile

File security on XP Home

Unlike XP Professional, XP Home Edition doesn't let you change file permissions. Specifically, there is no Security tab when you view the Properties of a folder or file. There are ways around this:

• Boot XP Home into Safe mode. In Safe mode, the Security tab is now available
• Install the XP File Security Extension (freeware)

Displaying ZIP files as folders

Unlike previous operating systems, Windows XP includes a feature to create and extract zipped files, and will automatically display zipped files as folders in Windows Explorer. However, if you use a different program (such as WinZip), you might want to disable this feature.

This feature of XP also results in Windows not displaying the size of the ZIP file in the status bar. It thinks the ZIP file is a folder so doesn't display the size.

To disable this issue the following command:

regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll

This will cause XP to stop displaying zipped files as folders. To enable it again, issue the command:

regsvr32 zipfldr.dll

Note that this will also prevent the Search feature from being able to search the contents of a zip file.

ASSOC - display file associations

The ASSOC command displays or modifies file extension associations

ASSOC [.ext[=[fileType]]]

Where

• .ext Specifies the file extension to associate the file type with
• fileType Specifies the file type to associate with the file extension

Type ASSOC without parameters to display the current file associations. If ASSOC is invoked with just a file extension, it displays the current file association for that file extension. Specify nothing for the file type and the command will delete the association for the file extension.

Restoring the Show Desktop icon

[From WinXPnews] If you accidentally deleted the Show Desktop icon from the quick launch bar, here's how to get it back:

1. Click Start | All Programs | Accessories | Notepad (or you can use any other plain text editor).
2. Create a text file that has the following lines:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

3. Save the file with the name Show Desktop.scf. Put it in the Windows\System32 folder. If Notepad adds a .txt extension, remove it.
4. In Windows Explorer, right click the file you just created. Select Create Shortcut.
5. Copy the new shortcut to the following folder:

Windows\System32\Config\Systemprofile\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

6. Rename the shortcut to Desktop

Now the Show Desktop icon should reappear in the Quick Launch bar.

Removing the Shared Documents Folder

This is how to Remove the Shared Documents Folder. When your XP computer belongs to a workgroup, there is a Shared Documents folder created automatically and accessible through My Computer. The purpose is to allow you to share files and folders with other users easily across the network. To get rid of this folder, do the following:

1. Run regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY CURRENT USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3. Create a new value by right clicking an empty space in the right pane and selecting New and then DWORD Value. Name the value NoSharedDocuments
4. Double click the new value and type 1 in the box for value data
5. Close the Registry Editor and log off or restart the computer. The Shared Documents folder will no longer appear

If you decide you want the folder back, navigate to the Registry value you created and set its value to 0.