FindTarget

I can't tell you how long I've looked for this functionality! Actually, I can. Ever since I started using Windows, in 1992. In MacOS (my favorite OS), you can press Command-R to "find original" (resolve an alias), but in Windows normally you have to right-click, select Properties, press the "Find Target" button (which finds your "target"), and then you still have to dismiss the Properties dialog box (to add insult to injury). Finally, with this DLL, you can right-click, choose "Find Target", and be brought right to the shortcut's target! Click on the icon for the web page, or download the DLL from me. To install, place the DLL somewhere permanent (e.g., C:\WinNT), open a DOS Window, and type regsvr32 C:\WinNT\FindTarget.dll (for example) to register the DLL. It will be available the next time you right-click! :-)

File Attributes

I've found two free utilities which do essentially the same thing - allow you to contextually change the attributes of files and folders (hidden, read-only, etc.).

• AttrMenu comes with an easy INF install script.
• Attributes Context Menu can work on multiple files/folders at once (nice!), but must be installed manually by typing something like:
     regsvr32 C:\WinNT\system32\ContextAttrib.dll
  I can no longer find the homepage of this DLL, so I'm offering it for download. I did not write this DLL, but I've been using it for years..

Hidden Files Toggle

This rocks! A CM item to toggle the display of hidden items. Normally this requires tedious trips through menus, so this is a real time-saver. This functionality is included in StExBar, but it works much faster with this DLL.

BackgroundCMD

This DLL provides a contextual menu item (when right-clicking in a folder's background/whitespace) to open a Command Prompt in the current folder. This functionality is included in StExBar, so the only reason to use this DLL instead is if you need to frequently open command windows in your Desktop directory.

HobComment

This is a great idea! Install this DLL and you can add comments to folders in Explorer. Windows includes this ability for files and shortcuts, but (until now) there wasn't a way to do the same for folders.

This is a "beta" release, and it's several years old, but it works fine for me. The website includes an extra DLL supposedly needed for XP, but I've found this to work fine without it.

Links and Junctions

Windows has been a little slow to adapt filesystem-level "links", but the basics are now in place. Vista will apparently support real symbolic links, but for now you can set hardlinks to files and junctions to folders.

At the command line, you can use:

• ln from unxutils can create hardlinks (files).
• junction from Microsoft can create and delete junctions (folders).
• linkd from the Windows 2000 Resource Kit can create and delete junctions (folders). This Resource Kit is no longer supported by Microsoft (but it's available here) and I think linkd may be obsoleted by junction.
• fsutil is built into XP and it can create hardlinks (files) and delete (but not create!) junctions (folders).

But, this is the contextual menu section, so try out Alax.info's NTFS Links or preferably Link Shell Extension (LSE). If you'd like full app with a GUI for looking at your junctions, try Junction Link Magic.

Also, you really need to read this warning about links. If you use "traditional" methods to delete a junction (drag to Windows recycle bin, etc.), you will delete everything under the junction's destination. This isn't immediately obvious sometimes as you might need to empty the Recycle Bin to lose the files, but you will lose them! Given this, I highly recommend installing the LSE software mentioned above - it will put a special icon overlay on junctions (a little link!) and add a contextual-menu option to create or delete junctions.

Folder Guide

For years I've been looking for a Windows' version of Default Folder, a handy Mac OS utility that can specify the "default" folder automatically chosen in open/save dialog boxes and can maintain a list of "favorite" folders that you use often.

Folder Guide is the closest thing I've found. It doesn't handle the "default" folder feature, but provides very handy shortcuts to "favorite" folders. You can specify up to 5 "favorite" folders without Folder Guide by customizing the Places Bar (see Custom Places), but Folder Guide provides an unlimited number of favorite folders to pick from.

The only caveat is that you pick from your favorite folders using the contextual menu, instead of from the Places Bar. A nice aspect of the CM, though, is that it works from anywhere, not just open/save dialog boxes. So, you can also use this as a way to quickly jump to one of you favorite folders in Explorer, too!

Contextual Menu Editors

If you find your contextual menu is getting too crowded or slow (a common occurence!), try Context Menu Editor, ContextEdit, or ShellEx View to turn off and on different items in your contextual menu. Note that the ContextEdit link takes you to PC Magazine, which only provides files for subscribers, but you can easily find a free download elsewhere on the web.

Recommendation: use the free KO Approach.

• gPhotoShow (1.6.1.0, 8/3/2005) has the most options of these screen savers, and is my favorite. However, it installs an adware program called gPhotoShow Toolbar (a variant of NavHelper?). It can be easily uninstalled with the Add/Remove Progams Control Panel, but be warned! Also, I consider this a slimy tactic, and this leaves a sour taste in my mouth about this otherwise fine piece of "freeware"
• jpgsaver (3.0) is no longer available from the original company (Midnight Blue), but you can download a copy here. This screen saver is simple (not many options), but it's very effective at displaying a folder or folder-tree of images.
• PhotoSaver (2.0.4.0, 4/29/2003) is another nice screen saver, especially if you like the optional fancy transition effects between images. This screen saver will show images in a folder, but it won't descend into sub-folders.
• My Pictures Slideshow is included in Windows XP, but it doesn't have the nice options of the above screen savers, it won't descend into sub-folders, and it randonly positions the image on the screen (not centered). It's "ok", but you really should try one of the above screen savers!

Direct Download

Note - if you're running WinXP or later, try Taskbar Shuffle or Taskix, both of which let you re-arrange your Taskbar directly inside the Taskbar, not in a separate GUI like TaskArrange.

I prefer this one slightly over Taskbar Shuffle because it uses less memory and the sliding is realtime (the icons rearrange as you slide, not after you release the mouse), although it is a little disconcerting at first.

• AllWay Sync
• Smart Sync Pro
• SyncBack
• Unison