Windows 3.x Tips for HP Users

Text version.

Undo your last action in most Windows applications by typing Ctrl-Z or Alt-Backspace.

When running a non-Windows program, press Alt-Enter to switch between Full-screen mode and running in a window.

The Sysedit utility (\windows\system\sysedit.exe) lets you see and change your Windows initialization files.

To avoid executing your Startup group, press and hold the Shift key while starting Windows.

There is a "find files that contain a string" utility in the Windows for Workgroups Resource Kit (aka "the missing manuals").

In Reflection for Windows, click on the Minimize and Maximize buttons using the Right mouse button to change the font and screen sizes.

In Reflection for Windows, to copy a Qedit Visual mode screen to the Clipboard without the relative line numbers, press Ctrl while marking the area to be copied. If the first line of a .Txt file is .LOG, Notepad appends the current date and time to the end of the file every time you open the file. Great for diaries.

To cheat at Solitaire, press Shift-Ctrl-Alt while you click to turn over only one card at a time instead of three.

To cheat at Minesweeper, type xyzzy and press Enter. Then press Shift as you move the mouse over the minefield. A single pixel lights up at the top left corner of the screen when you are pointing to a safe square. It helps to set your background color to black so you can see the pixel turning on and off.

Using Windows 3.x Without a Mouse

Text version.

Esc	=	Cancel, get out of a menu.
F1	=	Help on the current context.
F10	=	Same as Alt for pulling up the menu bar.
Enter	=	OK, select the highlighted item.
Tab	=	Go to the next item in a dialog box.
Shift+Tab	=	Go to the previous item in a dialog box.
Spacebar	=	Select or deselect a command button.
Shift+Cursor Key	=	Select some text (Shift-End selects to end of line).
Cursor Key	=	Move around within an item (don't forget PgDn and PgUp too).
Home	=	Moves to the start of the line.
End	=	Moves to the end of the line.
Down	=	Pulls down a drop-down list box.
Alt	=	Pulls up menu bar. Another Alt deselects the menu bar.
Alt-letter	=	Selects the option or menu item whose underlined letter matches the one your type (for example, Alt-H brings up the Help menu).
Alt-Down-Arrow	=	Opens a List Box.
Shift-Up-Arrow, Shift-Down-Arrow	=	Selects or deselects one item at a time in a List box.
Alt+F4	=	Selects Close from Control menu.
Alt,F,X	=	Usually pulls up a File menu, selects Exit.
Alt-Tab	=	Switches to the most recently used application.
Alt-Shift-Tab	=	Go backward through task list (useful if you go too far).
Alt-Tab-Tab	=	Switches among open applications, showing the application name and icon. Hold Alt and keep pressing Tab until the desired application is displayed, then let go of Alt.
Alt+Esc	=	Activates the next task in the task list.
Alt-Enter	=	Switches a non-Windows application between running Full-screen and running in a window. In Program Manager, shows the Properties of the selected item.
Alt+Backspace	=	Undo the last action.
Alt+Spacebar	=	Opens the control menu of the application.
Alt+Hyphen	=	Selects Control menu of sub-window.
PrtSc	=	Copies an image of the screen to the Clipboard.
Alt-PrtSc	=	Copies an image of the active window to the Clipboard.
Ctrl+Esc	=	Pulls up the Task List (Start menu on Windows 95).
Ctrl+X	=	Cuts the selected text to the Clipboard.
Ctrl+C	=	Copies selected text to the Clipboard.
Ctrl+V	=	Pastes the Clipboard to the current location.
Ctrl+Z	=	Undo the last action.
Ctrl+F4	=	Closes current document in MDI application.
Ctrl+F6	=	Switches to the next document within a MDI application.
Ctrl+Tab	=	Same as Ctrl+F6, next document.
Ctrl+PgUp	=	Scrolls one window to the Left.
Ctrl+PgDn	=	Scrolls one window to the right.
Ctrl-Home	=	Moves to the start of the page or document.
Ctrl-End	=	Moves to the end of the page or document.
Ctrl-Right-Arrow	=	Moves to the next word.
Ctrl-Left-Arrow	=	Moves to the previous word.

Entering Extended Characters with Alt-Num

DOS and Windows allow you to create Extended Characters such as y-umlaut with the help of a numeric code. To enter any character from the IBM PC Extended Character (ECS), which is standard on DOS, hold down the Alt key while you enter the 3-digit decimal code. For example, Alt-152 is y-umlaut in ECS. Since HP uses the Roman-8 Character Set, the Reflection Terminal Emulator for DOS accepts Alt-152, but translates the character into decimal 239 (what HP expects for the Roman-8 y-umlaut character).

The situation in MS Windows is more complex and the only way to simplify it is to get a National Keyboard. To be compatible with DOS, you can still use Alt plus a 3-digit ECS code, but only if the character exists in the ANSI Character Set used by Windows. Windows then converts the character from the ECS code to the equivalent ANSI code. For example, y-umlaut is entered as Alt-152 but is translated to decimal 255. Or you can enter the ANSI code, but must convert it to 4-digits by preceding it with a 0 (zero). Thus Alt-0255 is also y-umlaut. Reflection for Windows accepts either the 3-digit ECS code or the 4-digit ANSI code, but translates either into the Roman-8 equivalent. Reflection translates both Alt-152 and Alt-0255 into decimal 239.

Warning: be sure to use the Numeric Keypad when keying in an Alt-Number and remember to engage the Num Lock key.

To find the 4-digit Windows code for a character, use the Character Map applet of the Accessories drawer. Select some font, such as Arial, click on the character you want, then note the 4-digit code displayed at the bottom of the window.

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