THE  REGISTRY

Always make a backup copy of the registry before you make any changes to it. If after making any changes the desired effect was not achieved you can use the backup to undo any changes you made.

If you don’t see any change after editing the registry then I suggest running the backup because I can almost guarantee that you changed something. You just don’t know what it is yet. Be careful what you do here and always save the backup to the desktop.

---

To enter the registry editor, Click Start. Click Run. Type "regedit" without the quotes. Click OK. To backup the registry, Click Registry.
Click Export Registry File... in the drop down menu.
In the Save in box use the arrow to drop down the menu. Click Desktop. In the File name box type Backup. In the Save as type: box use the arrow to drop down the menu. Click All Files [*.*] In the Export range area make sure All is selected. Click Save.

You should now have an icon that looks like this.

Double click it to merge the backup into the registry.

---

This is an example of deleting a registry key. The keys are listed in the tree column in the left pane of the registry editor. Sometimes you need to highlite a key then delete or modify values in the right pane. But as I said this is just an example of editing the registry so you can get a feel for it. I actually used this one myself.

PAINTSHOP PRO is a good program but it is one of many that add to list of context menus. Context menus can grow quite large with the addition of new programs. I don't usually want, need or like new items listed in context menus.

In the case of Paintshop when you right click a picture file or right click Start you'll find a new entry in the context menu. "Browse with Paintshop Pro".

To delete the new context menu item open the Registry Editor and delete the following key.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\Browse With Paint Shop Pro 8]
The version of paintshop can be different but the path is the same. Click on the + signs until you arrive at the key in the left pane. Right click the key. Click Delete.

At some point you may find that the text has changed to something else. This is usually but not always the result of installing a program. For instance if you ever used AOL as an internet provider the text will now read -AOL even if you uninstalled AOL. This practice is known as BRANDING.

If you want the title bar to display something different such as "My homepage-AOL" or "My homepage-Microsoft Internet Explorer" or "My homepage-John Doe" it's easy to change. Open the registry editor and navigate to the proper key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Click the "Main" folder to bring up values in right pane. Find the value "Window Title". Right click it's icon and click "modify". Just type in whatever you want for a top bar logo. OK it, then exit from the registry. Close and reopen IE.

Example: Right click a picture on a web page. Some items listed in the context menu may have been added after you install certain programs. To remove those entries navigate through the registry editor by clicking on the + signs until you find the key in the left pane then delete the key.Do not delete MenuExt. Delete the program key under it. The path is,
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt

Start Menu Program List. Multiple columns. Do you want Windows to start a new column for your programs when the list becomes to long to fit on your viewing screen instead of having to click on a down arrow? Most versions of windows allow you to do this.

This is not the same thing as a sub menu creating a second column. An example is that "Accessories" is a sub menu of the start menu. If you go to the program list and see a down arrow then you do not have it set for multiple column view.

If I remember correctly Windows 98 does not have the multiple column list as an option. It only has a scrollable list as an option. Do not confuse this with a sub menu column as seen above. Windows 95 had the option and so do newer versions. Add this option to the registry in Windows 98.