1. The Big Picture

   1. Chapter 1 The Lay of the Land

      1. The Big Picture
      2. What's New in Windows XP
      3. Windows XP Home and Professional Editions
      4. Windows Update
      5. Windows Service Packs

   2. Chapter 2 Using Windows XP

      1. The Desktop
      2. Point-and-Click Operations
      3. Starting Up Applications
      4. Styles and Consequences of Styles
      5. Windows and Menus
      6. Keyboard Accelerators
      7. Common Controls
      8. Files, Folders, and Disks
      9. The Command Line
      10. Online Help
      11. Shutting Down

2. Alphabetical Reference

   1. Chapter 3 The User Interface

   2. Chapter 4 Windows XP Applications and Tools

      1. Using the Command Prompt
      2. Alphabetical Reference to Windows Components

   3. Chapter 5 Task and Setting Index

   4. Chapter 6 The Command Prompt

      1. Using the Command Line
      2. Command Prompt Choices
      3. Wildcards, Pipes, and Redirection
      4. Alphabetical Reference to DOS Commands
      5. MS-DOS Batch Files

3. Advanced Topics

   1. Chapter 7 Networking

      1. Networking Terminology
      2. General Procedures

   2. Chapter 8 The Registry

      1. What's in the Registry
      2. Adding and Deleting Registry Keys and Values
      3. Organization of the Registry
      4. Hives
      5. Backing Up the Registry
      6. Exporting and Importing Registry Data with Patches
      7. Ten Cool Things You Can Do in Your Registry

   3. Chapter 9 The Windows Script Host

      1. What Is WSH?
      2. Additional Resources
      3. Executing Scripts
      4. Creating a Script
      5. VBScript
      6. Object Model
      7. Wscript Object
      8. Shell Object
      9. Registry Routines
      10. Shortcuts
      11. Popup
      12. Network Object
      13. Network Printer-Related Functions
      14. FileSystem Object
      15. TextStream Object
      16. Object Browser
      17. Database Example
      18. Messaging

4. Appendixes

   1. Appendix A Installing Windows XP

      1. Installation on a New (Clean) System

   2. Appendix B Migrating to Windows XP

      1. Before Upgrading to Windows XP

   3. Appendix C Keyboard Shortcuts

      1. Keyboard Accelerators Listed by Key
      2. Keyboard Accelerators Listed by Function

   4. Appendix D Power Toys and TweakUI

      1. Inside TweakUI

   5. Appendix E Keyboard Equivalents for Symbols and International Characters

   6. Appendix F Common Filename Extensions

   7. Appendix G Services

   8. Appendix H Service Packs

      1. Before You Install
      2. Getting Service Packs
      3. Installing a Service Pack
      4. Key Features in Service Pack 1
      5. Key Features in Service Pack 2

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition, is a climbing frog. There are more than 2,600 species of frogs and toads. The general differences between frogs and toads are that frogs jump (toads tend to walk), depend more on access to water, and are slimy (as opposed to dry and warty).

Frogs range in size from less than half an inch to almost a foot in length. Frogs are able to survive in diverse surroundings, including water, semi-deserts, and mountains. However, they are not able to survive in salt water and the iciest and driest climates. Frogs metamorphosize from swimming tadpole larvae to their adult form; tadpoles are more vulnerable to predation than are adults. Adult frogs rely on various methods of defense, including flight, poison, and many patterns and colors of camouflage. Frogs breathe and absorb water through their skin, which is shed periodically. Most are nocturnal or twilight animals, and rely more on their sense of vision and smell than hearing. Many species hibernate through the winter months. Despite fairy-tale claims, it has not yet been proven that frog-kissing produces princes.

The global frog population has been declining at unprecedented rates in recent years, causing speculation about the overall health of the biosystems from which they are disappearing. Mary Brady was the production editor for Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition. Adam Witwer was the proofreader. Emily Quill and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Julie Hawks to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Nancy Kotary and Ann Schirmer.