scripts

Open .URL files (Internet Shortcut) with any Browser via Right-click menu

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Double-clicking a .url file (Website shortcut) always launches it using the default browser. But, there are situations where you need to open different website shortcuts in various browsers. Adding browser choices to the right-click menu for .url files allows you to choose a non-default web browser from the list and launch the website in it.

One way to make this possible is by adding the Open with context menu option, which does not exist by default for internet shortcut files. Apart from Open with, there are other ways to launch a website shortcut using a non-default web browser.Read more

How to Find the Current Wallpaper File Name and Path in Windows 10/11

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If you’re using the Desktop background slideshow or third-party wallpaper changer software and want to find the file name of the currently displayed desktop wallpaper, then this article is for you. The current wallpaper path is are stored in the registry but is not displayed in the modern Personalize settings page in Windows 10/11.

This post tells you how to find the current wallpaper file name and path in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11.Read more

How to Copy the Title and URL of All Open Tabs in Internet Explorer?

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When searching about a topic on the internet, one might easily end up opening a couple a dozen web sites in separate tabs. What would you do if you need to copy all those URLs to make a note of them in your document, or send them to a friend? This article explains how to copy the title and URL of all open tabs in Internet Explorer.

We’ve covered how to copy the title and URL of the current tab in article Copy Title and URL Extension for Internet Explorer. But the extension works for the currently active tab only. Rather than copying one URL at a time, here are a couple of smart methods to copy the url & title of all open tabs in Internet Explorer.Read more

How to Reset Folder View Settings in Windows 10/11 and Earlier

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Folder view settings include column preferences, view mode (icon or thumbnail), grouping, sorting order, window size, etc. Sometimes Windows may forget your folder view settings due to corruption or if the 5000 folders limit has been reached.

For instance, Windows may keep resetting the view back to “List” even though you repeatedly choose the thumbnail view. Another example would be that the system keeps enabling the auto-align setting for your desktop icons into a grid (even when the Align icons to grid is not ticked.

Or, let’s say you had added additional columns in a folder and closed the folder. When you reopen the folder, the changes may not be retained, and it goes back to the default view and sort order settings.

In those situations, you may want to reset the views to clear out corrupt settings and start afresh. This article explains how to completely clear the saved folder views in Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Windows 11.Read more

How to Backup and Restore Pinned Taskbar Shortcuts in Windows 10

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taskband registry key export

When you install Windows on a new computer, customizing Windows takes a lot of time and effort. One such thing is the taskbar. You may have to redo the procedure of pinning the applications which you frequently use. If you’re planning to move to a new Windows PC or a new user profile on the same computer, and wondering how to transfer the pinned taskbar items, then this article is for you.

This post explains how to backup and restore the pinned Taskbar items in Windows 10 and earlier.Read more

Scan USB Drives Using Microsoft Security Essentials via the AutoPlay Dialog

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We’d like to share with you an interesting registry hack that adds a Microsoft Security Essentials AutoPlay handler so that you can thoroughly scan a CD/DVD media or USB flash drive for viruses, via the AutoPlay dialog. See article Scan Your Thumb Drive for Viruses from the AutoPlay Dialog at the How-To Geek website. Thanks … Read more

How to Find Current Wallpaper (Desktop Background) File Location in Windows 7

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Desktop Background Slideshow is a neat little feature in Windows 7 which helps you shuffle your desktop background from a image file store folder, at predefined intervals. But, as Windows doesn’t show the file name of the currently displayed wallpaper, it becomes a problem if you have thousands of images in a store folder and you need to find the file name and the directory location of the currently displayed wallpaper.

Here is a small script which adds the Desktop Background File Location option in the Desktop context menu, which opens the current wallpaper file’s target folder and selects the file.Read more

Empty the Recycle Bin Without the Confirmation Window Showing Up

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recycle bin delete confirmation prompt

When emptying the contents of your Recycle Bin, you’ll be asked for confirmation as below. Here is a registry edit to turn off the prompt in Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10, using NirCmd. This registry edit replaces the Empty Recycle Bin command in the right-click menu and the ribbon button action with NirCmd, so that the Recycle Bin can be emptied silently.Read more

BlockThisSite Menu Extension for Internet Explorer

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Did you accidentally land on a bad site when browsing the Web? While it’s advisable to close bad websites immediately, you can quickly block that particular site before closing it so that you don’t visit that site in the future.

This can be done using the BlockThisSite Internet Explorer Menu Extension that I’ve created for Internet Explorer. The extension works by automatically adding an entry to the HOSTS file for each site you block.Read more