Windows 98 From A to Z

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Taskbar Properties

The Windows 98 taskbar is the long, rectangular box that contains the Start button, the clock, the system tray icons, and the Quick Launch icons. Whenever a Windows application is running, a button representing that application also appears in the taskbar. Although the taskbar appears along the bottom of the desktop by default, it can be moved to either side or to the top.

The Windows 98 taskbar serves many purposes, including providing easy access to applications and folders, as well as to the Internet. A new feature in Windows 98 is the ability for users to create as many new taskbars as they want (it's not a great idea to create too many, but this is a nice feature nonetheless). To configure your taskbar to your liking, do the following:

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties, as shown in Figure T.1.

Figure T.1

2. The Taskbar Options tab of the Taskbar Properties dialog, shown in Figure T.2, opens. The top two check boxes control the visibility of the taskbar; if the taskbar is always on top, then it never gets hidden (of course, this consumes precious real estate on smaller monitors). Click the Show small icons in Start menu check box if you want your monitor to display smaller than normal icons. Leave the Show clock check box checked so you can view the time on the taskbar.
3. Click the Start Menu Programs tab to view the screen shown in Figure T.3. Here you can add items to or remove items from your Start menu, and you can clear the contents of the Documents menu (review the sections titled "Start Menu" and "Documents Menu" for more information).
4. To add an item to the Start menu, click the Add button. This starts the Create Shortcut wizard, as shown in Figure T.4.

Figure T.2


NOTE: This wizard is slightly different from the one discussed in the "Shortcut" section.
5. If you know the full path for the shortcut you want to add, type it in the Command line text field. If not, click Browse to open the Browse window, shown in Figure T.5.
6. Navigate to the folder that contains the file for the shortcut you want to add. Click the file and then click Open to continue to the screen shown in Figure T.6. Notice that the path and filename are automatically entered in the Command line field.
7. Click the Next button to continue to the Select Program Folder screen, shown in Figure T.7. If you want to create a new area in your Start menu for the shortcut you want to add, click the New Folder button. Otherwise, simply locate the folder in which you want to house the shortcut and then click Next.

Figure T.3

Figure T.4

Figure T.5

Figure T.6

8. In the Select a Title for the Program screen, shown in Figure T.8, type a descriptive name for your shortcut (this is the name that appears in the Start menu), and then click the Finish button.
As shown in Figure T.9, the newly created shortcut is now part of the Start Menu structure.

Figure T.7

Figure T.8

Figure T.9

Adding a New Toolbar to the Taskbar To add a new toolbar to the taskbar, do the following:

1. Right-click a blank area of the taskbar, click the Toolbars menu option and then choose New Toolbar (see Figure T.10).

Figure T.10

2. In the New Toolbar dialog, shown in Figure T.11, either type the
location on the hard drive where the new toolbar should point,
click one of the folders, or type an Internet address (such as http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/default.asp), and then click OK.
3. As shown in Figure T.12, the new toolbar appears on your taskbar.

Figure T.11

Figure T.12

Task Scheduler

The Windows 98 Task Scheduler enables you to schedule tasks, such as ScanDisk, at the time you specify. Task Scheduler starts every time Windows 98 starts and is present in the background system memory as a TSR
(terminate-and-stay resident). When Task Scheduler is operational, its icon appears on the taskbar next to the clock, as shown in Figure T.13.

Figure T.13


NOTE: If you hover the mouse pointer over the Task Scheduler icon, a tiny message box appears, showing the status of the Task Scheduler application.

To add a task to Task Scheduler, do the following:

1. Double-click the taskbar icon to open the Scheduled Tasks window, shown in Figure T.14. This screen shows all the presently scheduled tasks and provides the entry point into the Add Scheduled Task wizard.

Figure T.14

2. Double-click the Add Scheduled Task icon to start the wizard. Its first screen, shown in Figure T.15, contains information about adding tasks. Click Next to continue.
3. The next screen, shown in Figure T.16, lists all applications that have been registered with the Windows 98 operating system, but you can always click the Browse button to locate applications that are not present in the list. After you select the item you want Windows to run, click Next.
4. In the screen shown in Figure T.17, type a descriptive name for the task (this name will be shown in the main Task Scheduler window). Click the appropriate radio button to specify how often you want this task performed, and then click Next to continue.

Figure T.15

Figure T.16

5. Use the screen shown in Figure T.18 to specify the time and day you want the task to start, and click Next to continue.
6. The wizard's final screen, shown in Figure T.19, displays the choices you have made. Click the check box if you want to view or modify the Advanced Properties screen for this task after you end the wizard process (most applications have different types of advanced properties, so read the prompts carefully for each task).

Figure T.17
Figure T.18

7. Click the Finish button to complete the process and return to the Scheduled Tasks screen. As shown in Figure T.20, your new task now appears in the window. To run it immediately, right-click the task and choose Run.

Figure T.19

Figure T.20

Telephony

Telephony is the process by which the technologies of a PC are coupled with the technologies of the telephone systems. To configure the Windows 98 Telephony screens, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, choose Settings, and then select Control Panel, as shown in Figure T.21.

Figure T.21

2. Double-click the Telephony icon in the Control Panel window, shown in Figure T.22.

Figure T.22

3. Click the Telephony Drivers tab in the Dialing Properties dialog to view the screen shown in Figure T.23.

Figure T.23

4. To add a new driver, click the Add button and follow the prompts.


NOTE: When hardware devices such as ISDN modems and the like are first installed, their drivers automatically show up in this screen. Therefore, it is very unlikely that you will ever use the Add button to install new telephony drivers into your Windows 98 system.
5. To remove a driver, click the driver you want to remove and then click the Remove button.
6. To configure a particular driver, click that driver to select it, click the Configure button, and then follow the prompts.
7. Click on the OK button to accept any changes and exit the Dialing Properties dialog.

Toolbar

A toolbar in Windows 98 terminology is nothing more than a starting point for launching applications, programs, and utilities. Four basic types of toolbars are found in the Windows 98 operating system:

Trial Programs

When you install Windows 98, an additional set of programs known as trial programs is installed. These are just scaled-down versions of various Microsoft applications, including the following:

The sole purpose of the Microsoft trial programs for Windows 98 is to try to get you interested enough to buy the real full-scale versions of these applications. To use these trial programs, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, select Programs, choose Accessories, click Entertainment, and select Trial Programs.
2. You are taken to a setup screen where you specify which, if any, of these sample programs you want to install.


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