GeekTech
Monday, April 6, 2009
RUN Prompt: Launch any application FAST!
If you are like me and are becoming more and more obsessed by doing every single task on your computer with your keyboard instead of your mouse, then I just thought up and tested the best thing for you.
Ever noticed those little underlines under certain letters in menus? If you didn't know, those are the keyboard commands to navigate an entire program with out using the mouse. In each program, no two menu options use the same letter, or at least they try not to. In case it does, the highlighter will flip back and forth between the options as you press that letter. If you've never experienced this awesome thing before, go ahead and hit ALT + F, or ALT and then F to open your browser's File menu. Don't hit X or else that will close down the program (that's usually standard).
Ok, enough of the basics. How do you get flying fast with launching applications. Well you know that in command prompt it's natural directory defaults to the system32 folder where some common programs are stored - like mspaint, sol, and notepad. When you go to Start --> Run, and you simply type "notepad" (even without the ".exe") it launches that program.
Well I prefer to quickly launch something via the keyboard rather than picking up my stylus (since I don't have a mouse) clicking to activate it's control, finding the mouse on one of my dual monitors, dragging it over the the secondary monitor to click start, etc, etc, etc, etc. So it is much faster to just type something real fast and go.
In windows, you can launch ANYTHING from the RUN prompt. But to formally do it, you have to type the complete path with colons, backslashes, and the .exe extension. So why can't you do it just like - "notepad" and have it launch? Well you can!
Go to the folder - C:\windows\system32 - and create a new text file from the file menu
Or if you're like me, press the following while doing the hokey pokey...
Windows Key + E;
TAB;
L; (if you have one hard drive)
L; (only if you have two hard drives)
Enter;
W;
Enter;
S (8 times);
Enter;
ALT + F;
ALT + W;
ALT + T;
...it really is faster to do it with key strokes.
Anywho, rename that new text file to the name of the program that you want to launch and end it with a [dot]bat extension. My example here would be Firefox.
firefox.bat
It will most likely warn you about changing the file extension and becoming unusable. It's ok, just say yes. If you want, shorten the name of that file to "ff.bat" so you can reduce the amount of keys you have to type to launch your program. It's your file, you do whatever you want.
Now right click that file (or hit the context menu key on the keyboard and then hit "E") which will open a blank notepad.
HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART!!!!
Inside of notepad typ the following:
start "" [path]
That is "s-t-a-r-t SPACE doublequote-doublequote SPACE [path]
Now [path] should be replaced with the complete path to wherever your program is installed including the drive letter and file extension AND the whole path must be in double quotes! Obviously, the batch file should not contain the brackets.
Example: (still for firefox)
start "" "C:\program files\mozilla firefox 3 beta 2\firefox.exe"
(s-t-a-r-t SPACE doublequote-doublequote SPACE doublequote-c-COLON...........)
Save the file once you've added this one line and then close notepad. Type the following (in no program)...
Windows Key (the flag) + R (hit them at the same time);
type "firefox";
hit Enter;
Voila! A new instance of Firefox should open. I even have these set to Thunderbird, Audacity, Photoshop, Premiere, and VMware. It works!
Ever noticed those little underlines under certain letters in menus? If you didn't know, those are the keyboard commands to navigate an entire program with out using the mouse. In each program, no two menu options use the same letter, or at least they try not to. In case it does, the highlighter will flip back and forth between the options as you press that letter. If you've never experienced this awesome thing before, go ahead and hit ALT + F, or ALT and then F to open your browser's File menu. Don't hit X or else that will close down the program (that's usually standard).
Ok, enough of the basics. How do you get flying fast with launching applications. Well you know that in command prompt it's natural directory defaults to the system32 folder where some common programs are stored - like mspaint, sol, and notepad. When you go to Start --> Run, and you simply type "notepad" (even without the ".exe") it launches that program.
Well I prefer to quickly launch something via the keyboard rather than picking up my stylus (since I don't have a mouse) clicking to activate it's control, finding the mouse on one of my dual monitors, dragging it over the the secondary monitor to click start, etc, etc, etc, etc. So it is much faster to just type something real fast and go.
In windows, you can launch ANYTHING from the RUN prompt. But to formally do it, you have to type the complete path with colons, backslashes, and the .exe extension. So why can't you do it just like - "notepad" and have it launch? Well you can!
Go to the folder - C:\windows\system32 - and create a new text file from the file menu
Or if you're like me, press the following while doing the hokey pokey...
Windows Key + E;
TAB;
L; (if you have one hard drive)
L; (only if you have two hard drives)
Enter;
W;
Enter;
S (8 times);
Enter;
ALT + F;
ALT + W;
ALT + T;
...it really is faster to do it with key strokes.
Anywho, rename that new text file to the name of the program that you want to launch and end it with a [dot]bat extension. My example here would be Firefox.
firefox.bat
It will most likely warn you about changing the file extension and becoming unusable. It's ok, just say yes. If you want, shorten the name of that file to "ff.bat" so you can reduce the amount of keys you have to type to launch your program. It's your file, you do whatever you want.
Now right click that file (or hit the context menu key on the keyboard and then hit "E") which will open a blank notepad.
HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART!!!!
Inside of notepad typ the following:
start "" [path]
That is "s-t-a-r-t SPACE doublequote-doublequote SPACE [path]
Now [path] should be replaced with the complete path to wherever your program is installed including the drive letter and file extension AND the whole path must be in double quotes! Obviously, the batch file should not contain the brackets.
Example: (still for firefox)
start "" "C:\program files\mozilla firefox 3 beta 2\firefox.exe"
(s-t-a-r-t SPACE doublequote-doublequote SPACE doublequote-c-COLON...........)
Save the file once you've added this one line and then close notepad. Type the following (in no program)...
Windows Key (the flag) + R (hit them at the same time);
type "firefox";
hit Enter;
Voila! A new instance of Firefox should open. I even have these set to Thunderbird, Audacity, Photoshop, Premiere, and VMware. It works!
Labels: FYI, Modifications, OS, Programming, secrets, Software, tips
Saturday, July 19, 2008
MS-DOS: Getting back to the root of it all
Lately I have taken a deep interest in command prompting and especially batch files. Since we use batch files at work to run scripts for installing files and installing network printers and other miscellaneous tasks, I wanted to learn more about the cool things that are possible with building batch files. After reading through an online ebook I found that you can script batch files a way that is even more fun than doing it in notepad. To get here, start a command prompt. I'll make the following instructions in command prompt style: ('REM' means that it is just a remark. Do not actually type these.)
REM (In command prompt)
edit test.bat
REM This will actually create a batch file in your current folder (wherever command prompt is pointing)
REM Guess what? You are now in a true MS-DOS window. This goes back before command prompt. WOW.
@echo off
echo Hello. This is a test batch file.
pause
echo This batch file will now terminate.
pause
Okay, did you follow all of that? Now use your mouse to click file, and then save. And then go File > Exit. This will bring you back to command prompt. Now type 'test'. This should run your batch file. There are alot of advance commands that you can do like deleting files, moving files, and even some light programming like using the choice command.
The best thing you can do to find out more about commands is to actually use command prompt. If you type a command followed by /? it will display all the parameters and usages of that command and will usually give you an example. Seriously. Go try it out. You're not going to hurt anything.
REM (In command prompt)
edit test.bat
REM This will actually create a batch file in your current folder (wherever command prompt is pointing)
REM Guess what? You are now in a true MS-DOS window. This goes back before command prompt. WOW.
@echo off
echo Hello. This is a test batch file.
pause
echo This batch file will now terminate.
pause
Okay, did you follow all of that? Now use your mouse to click file, and then save. And then go File > Exit. This will bring you back to command prompt. Now type 'test'. This should run your batch file. There are alot of advance commands that you can do like deleting files, moving files, and even some light programming like using the choice command.
The best thing you can do to find out more about commands is to actually use command prompt. If you type a command followed by /? it will display all the parameters and usages of that command and will usually give you an example. Seriously. Go try it out. You're not going to hurt anything.
Labels: Programming, Software, tips
Monday, June 9, 2008
Shell Commands
I was reading this article about helpful commands in Vista, however, these commands also work with XP - well I know a couple do because I just tired them. I find these really helpful. Just type this in your "Run Prompt" and it will perform its action. Really cool.
Most useful Shell commands
- shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder - opens the Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs) window.
- shell:Sendto - opens the SendTo folder so that you can easily add more locations to the Send To list.
- shell:Common Administrative Tools - opens the Administrative Tools menu as a folder
- shell:Desktop - opens the Desktop as a folder.
- shell:Downloads - opens your Downloads folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:Quick Launch - opens the Quick Launch folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:Searches - opens the Search folder showing all your saved searches. (Vista Only)
The other useful Shell commands
- shell:AppUpdatesFolder - opens the Installed Windows Updates location in Program and Files. (Vista Only)
- shell:Cache - opens Internet Explorer’s temporary Internet files folder.
- shell:CD Burning - opens the folder where Windows Vista temporarily stores files to be burned to a CD.
- shell:Common Desktop - opens the Public/Shared User’s Desktop folder.
- shell:Common Documents - opens the Public/Shared User’s Documents folder.
- shell:Common Programs - opens the Start menu shortcuts folder.
- shell:Common Start Menu - opens the Start Menu as a folder.
- shell:Common Startup - opens the Startup folder.
- shell:Common Templates - opens the Templates folder.
- shell:CommonDownloads - opens the Public User’s Downloads folder.
- shell:CommonMusic - opens the Public User’s Music folder.
- shell:CommonPictures - opens the Public User’s Pictures folder.
- shell:CommonVideo - opens the Public User’s Video folder.
- ***you can also open up separate folders of the like above by removing the term "Common"
- shell:ConflictFolder - opens the Sync Center Conflicts folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:ConnectionsFolder - opens the Network Connections folder. Very handy to know if you do a lot of networking
- shell:Contacts - opens your Contacts folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:ControlPanelFolder - opens the Control Panel.
- shell:Cookies - opens the cookies folder
- shell:Favorites - opens your Favorites folder.
- shell:Fonts - opens Vista’s/XP's Fonts folder.
- shell:Gadgets - opens your Windows Sidebar Gadgets folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:History - opens the Internet Explorer history folder.
- shell:InternetFolder - opens Internet Explorer to the "Welcome back"/"Change Your Settings" page - not the home page
- shell:Links - opens your Links folder location. (Vista Only)
- shell:MyMusic - opens your Music folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:MyPictures - opens your Pictures folder. (VistaOnly)
- shell:MyVideo - opens your Video folder.(Vista Only)
- shell:MyComputerFolder - opens Computer window.(Vista Only)
- shell:NetHood - opens Network Shortcuts folder or all the shared folders found on your network.
- shell:NetworkPlacesFolder - opens the Network Places location. (Vista Only)
- shell:Original Images - opens Windows Photo Gallery Original Images folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:Personal - opens your Documents folder. Works with XP
- shell:PhotoAlbums - opens your Slide Show folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:Playlists - opens your Playlists folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:PrintersFolder - opens Printers in the Control Panel.
- shell:Profile - opens your main folder, you know that place that stores all that crap like "my documents", "Favorites","start menu", "desktop","local settings".
- shell:ProgramFiles - opens the Program Files folder. Hallelujah this one works with XP and is now my new best friend.
- shell:Public - opens the Public User folder.(Vista Only)
- shell:Recent - opens the Recent Items(Recent Documents for XP) folder.
- shell:RecycleBinFolder - opens the Recycle Bin folder.
- shell:Start Menu - opens the Start Menu folder.
- shell:Startup - opens the Startup folder
- shell:System - opens the System32 folder location.
- shell:Templates - opens the Templates folder location.
- shell:UserProfiles - opens the Users folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:UsersFilesFolder - opens your main folder. (Vista Only)
- shell:Windows - opens the Windows folder. Works with XP
Labels: Articles, FYI, OS, Programming, secrets, Software, tips
Saturday, June 7, 2008
API Call: GetTickCount. If TickCount > 263520000 Then print BlogPost. On error, exit sub
If you are not familiar with VB, the title basically says if the time since the last blog post has been more than 263520000 milliseconds which is 30.5 days (One month's time (averaged between 30 days for half the months and 31 days)) then it will update my blog with a new post.
Okay, I put way too much effort and processing power into that.
I was farking and I stumbled across this parent directory on some website when I followed a link and it is packed with hilarious geek comics. These are great, lemme tell you. Check them out here:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/
All for now
Okay, I put way too much effort and processing power into that.
I was farking and I stumbled across this parent directory on some website when I followed a link and it is packed with hilarious geek comics. These are great, lemme tell you. Check them out here:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/
All for now
Labels: Programming
Monday, April 7, 2008
My Tattoo
0101010001101000011010010111001100100000011100110110010101100011011100100110010101110100001000000110110101100101011100110111001101100001011001110110010100100000011010000110000101110011001000000110001001100101011001010110111000100000011001010110111001100011011011110110010001100101011001000010000001110101011100110110100101101110011001110010000001100010011010010110111001100001011100100111100100101110
Labels: Programming
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Linux
Time to explore a new OS. This post is for Sandman and his exploration of alternatives to Microshaft's Winblows.
I know a few people who use Fedora. I have never personally experienced it before but I know that there are people who are happy with it. I have personally used Ubuntu for awhile and I liked it. The only reason why I don't use it anymore is that it didn't have support for my audio card (which was a professional studio card) and I couldn't figure out how to install packages. I'm not to that level of programming and understanding Konsol.
My top pick of a Linux distro would definitely have to be Dream Linux. This is as close to an open source Macintosh as you can get. It even has the dock with the cool effects and all that jazz. I liked it from the moment I booted from the live CD. I had issues installing it because I was doing it on ancient machines and there was hardware issues but I definitely recommend it to anyone who sort of like Mac.
In Sandman's particular situation with the fight for XP, I recommend PCLinuxOS. PCLinuxOS is Linux that is designed to look and feel just like XP, but much much less demanding with the resources. Linux Kernel + XP GUI = Your best friend.
You also said that you might go with Kubuntu. I'm not sure if you know this or not but there are three versions of "Ubuntu". There is standard "Ubuntu", there is the "Educational" version called "Edubuntu" and "Kubuntu" which is the KDE version of ubuntu instead of using GNOME. This just gives it a different GUI. From the screen shots, I recommened standard Ubuntu for a more mac feel. If you want more of a windows feel, then kubuntu is the one.
Recently, there have been two more distros added to the ubuntu project. The first is "Gobuntu" which is an operating system that has "no firmware, drivers, applications, or content included in [it] that does not include the full source or whose license does not provide the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the body of work." So if you are an intense programmer, this is definitely the one for you.
The second is Xubuntu - an official derivative of Ubuntu using the Xfce desktop environment. It is intended for users with less-powerful computers, or those that require a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems. Xubuntu features primarily GNOME applications. This distro is basically like a super 'lite' edition and doesn't give you all the cool stuff that you want. I don't recommend this.
I hope this gives you a more broad spectrum and helps shine some more light. These distros are only my favorites but I know that there are hundreds of them. Choosing the right one is like becoming engaged to the girl of your dreams -- it takes a lot of time and a wise decision.
I know a few people who use Fedora. I have never personally experienced it before but I know that there are people who are happy with it. I have personally used Ubuntu for awhile and I liked it. The only reason why I don't use it anymore is that it didn't have support for my audio card (which was a professional studio card) and I couldn't figure out how to install packages. I'm not to that level of programming and understanding Konsol.
My top pick of a Linux distro would definitely have to be Dream Linux. This is as close to an open source Macintosh as you can get. It even has the dock with the cool effects and all that jazz. I liked it from the moment I booted from the live CD. I had issues installing it because I was doing it on ancient machines and there was hardware issues but I definitely recommend it to anyone who sort of like Mac.
In Sandman's particular situation with the fight for XP, I recommend PCLinuxOS. PCLinuxOS is Linux that is designed to look and feel just like XP, but much much less demanding with the resources. Linux Kernel + XP GUI = Your best friend.
You also said that you might go with Kubuntu. I'm not sure if you know this or not but there are three versions of "Ubuntu". There is standard "Ubuntu", there is the "Educational" version called "Edubuntu" and "Kubuntu" which is the KDE version of ubuntu instead of using GNOME. This just gives it a different GUI. From the screen shots, I recommened standard Ubuntu for a more mac feel. If you want more of a windows feel, then kubuntu is the one.
Recently, there have been two more distros added to the ubuntu project. The first is "Gobuntu" which is an operating system that has "no firmware, drivers, applications, or content included in [it] that does not include the full source or whose license does not provide the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the body of work." So if you are an intense programmer, this is definitely the one for you.
The second is Xubuntu - an official derivative of Ubuntu using the Xfce desktop environment. It is intended for users with less-powerful computers, or those that require a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems. Xubuntu features primarily GNOME applications. This distro is basically like a super 'lite' edition and doesn't give you all the cool stuff that you want. I don't recommend this.
I hope this gives you a more broad spectrum and helps shine some more light. These distros are only my favorites but I know that there are hundreds of them. Choosing the right one is like becoming engaged to the girl of your dreams -- it takes a lot of time and a wise decision.
Labels: Help, OS, Programming, Software
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Firefox 3.0 soon to be released
Although version three is still beta, it will be released before 2007 is up. The full article can be found here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140496-c,mozilla/article.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140496-c,mozilla/article.html
Labels: Articles, FYI, Programming, Software
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Xpi
Word of the Day...
I just learned from Mozilla learning about creating your own add-on that there is a word..
xpi
Pronunciation - "Zippy"
I just learned from Mozilla learning about creating your own add-on that there is a word..
xpi
Pronunciation - "Zippy"
Labels: FYI, Programming, tips
Monday, November 12, 2007
Tear it up
Have you ever just wanted to tear apart an executable file just to see how a piece of software works? Or are you trying to remove "limitations" from a program? If you are a programmer than you should find this interesting. I have found some free decompilers that use reverse engineering for your benefit. Here's the first one:
OllyDBG - this is a decompiler that is very complex. It is good for simple applications but has the ability to decompile any and all exe's. I tried cracking a program that was way to complex to find the stuff I needed. So good luck.
DeDe - this is a decompiler for programs written in Delphi. Good for certain apps. This can even open up system libraries (.dll) so that is a plus.
I personally cannot use any of these becuase they are so complex but I thought I would throw them out there just in case you could use them.
OllyDBG - this is a decompiler that is very complex. It is good for simple applications but has the ability to decompile any and all exe's. I tried cracking a program that was way to complex to find the stuff I needed. So good luck.
DeDe - this is a decompiler for programs written in Delphi. Good for certain apps. This can even open up system libraries (.dll) so that is a plus.
I personally cannot use any of these becuase they are so complex but I thought I would throw them out there just in case you could use them.
Labels: Programming, secrets, Software
Friday, June 22, 2007
Anticipationals revisited
Sandman has brought up a good point.
Basically this is the goal for most technology geeks and programmers. We want computers to be able to make their own decisions and become self aware and actually learn how to cope in a spontaneous environment. HOWEVER, thanks to Hollywood, there is now the concept that robots will take over the world due to self-awarness and their desire for power. This is not true. The desire for power must be a programmed motive and is too complex to be learned.
Good point though and I can see where you're coming from.
I'm liking the idea so far, just there is one problem that I can spot very clearly. Have you seen the movie "The Terminator?" Well these anticipationals sound a lot like taking steps towards a "Sky-Net" type computer.
Basically this is the goal for most technology geeks and programmers. We want computers to be able to make their own decisions and become self aware and actually learn how to cope in a spontaneous environment. HOWEVER, thanks to Hollywood, there is now the concept that robots will take over the world due to self-awarness and their desire for power. This is not true. The desire for power must be a programmed motive and is too complex to be learned.
Good point though and I can see where you're coming from.
Labels: Programming, Theories
