Recipe 5.18. Using TweakUI

Problem

You want an easy way to make simple, useful changes to the user interface, without having to use the Registry or other complicated tools. You want to do it all from a single place, and you don't want to have to pay for the software.

Solution

Using downloadable software

TweakUI, one of a suite of free, unsupported utilities from Microsoft called PowerToys, is the best job for the task. Get it from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp. After you install it and run it, simply scroll through the different major settings, and follow the directions for making changes. There is no logical rhyme or reason for which settings you can change with TweakUI for example, in Windows Explorer you can change the color of different types of files (compressed, encrypted, and so on) displayed in folders, you can change how shortcuts will be displayed on the desktop (with an arrow, without an arrow, with a light arrow, or with a custom look); you can change the display of thumbnails, as described in Recipe 5.15, and other customizations. The best way to see what TweakUI can do is download it and give it a try.

Discussion

The latest version of TweakUI works only with versions of Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or higher, so if you don't have the service pack installed, you'll have to install it in order to use TweakUI. If you have an old version of TweakUI on your system, you have to uninstall it before installing the newest version.

Problem

Solution

Using downloadable software

Discussion

See Also