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Windows 98 Annoyances

Windows 98 Annoyances

By David A. Karp
1st Edition October 1998
1-56592-417-7, Order Number: 4177
464 pages, $24.95 Includes CD-ROM

Sample Chapter 8: Taking Control of Web Integration

In this chapter:
A Little History and Motivation
Massaging the Interface
The Web View and the Active Desktop
Choosing Your Defaults

Sometime after the release of Windows 95 and before the introduction of Internet Explorer 4.0 in 1997, Microsoft decided to deliver web integration to millions of unsuspecting Windows users around the world. With the release of Windows 98 and NT 5, Microsoft stopped making it an option, and included a preinstalled copy of the integrated web browser with every copy of the operating system.

Whether you feel that Microsoft has inflicted web integration on their users, or that they've graced their users with this feature, is entirely up to you. What's for certain is that they don't give you a choice when you install Windows 98.

Of course, to say that the Internet Explorer web browser is actually integrated with Explorer is quite inaccurate. What Microsoft calls "integration" is a collection of otherwise unrelated features designed to make it appear as though the web browser is part of the operating system. What's more, most of these features don't have all that much to do with the Internet; they're in effect for everyone, whether they use the Internet or not.

The following is a list of the various components that Microsoft has put under the "integration" umbrella:

Now, saying that the items listed above constitute a web browser integrated with the operating system is like saying that Notepad and FreeCell are integrated because (1) they both can be launched from the Start Menu; (2) they both have rectangular windows; (3) their About boxes look the same; and (4) they both come with Windows 98. This is, of course, absurd.

A Little History and Motivation

Before Version 4.0 and its integration with Windows, Internet Explorer was marketed and distributed as a separate product, which, among other things, put it in equitable competition with its rival, Netscape. By Microsoft's own admission, the integration of the browser with Windows was a scheme engineered to gain market share in the web browser market; making the web browser seem like part of Windows, Microsoft believed, would result in fewer customers looking for a third-party browser.1

Aside from the potential ethical problems, this means that Internet integration in Windows 98 may not necessarily have been included for the user's benefit. Whether or not this is true, however, depends upon your point of view.

On one hand, the idea of an operating system coming with a free web browser and means for connecting to the Internet is, conceptually, a step in the right direction. The Internet is quickly becoming a staple of the information age, and access should be within the reach of as many people as possible, regardless of financial or intellectual limitations. If you believe that Internet integration actually makes access to the Internet easier, then Microsoft has done Windows users a service.

On the other hand, consider Microsoft's motivation in wanting to gain market share with a product they're essentially giving away for free.

The primary purpose of a web browser is to display a certain type of document: the web page. Those who design web pages make design decisions based upon the people who view them and the tools they use. Since Netscape Navigator is the most popular web browser at the time of this writing, for example, most web pages are designed to take advantage of Navigator's features as well as to accommodate its limitations.

If Microsoft succeeds in making Internet Explorer the most popular browser, more web pages will be designed to take advantage of specific IE features, like ActiveX. ActiveX, a Windows-only technology used for making building blocks that can be used in web pages, is not supported by Netscape, and therefore is not currently very popular among web page designers. As IE gains consumer acceptance, however, so will ActiveX; more web pages will be designed to utilize ActiveX, which will result in a stronger demand for IE, and therefore, for Windows. Furthermore, the products used to create ActiveX components are sold exclusively by Microsoft; proliferation of IE will mean more sales of Windows and other Microsoft products to both developers and end users.

In the end, of course, the decision is yours. While some users are required to use a particular web browser for one reason or another, due to their employers' standards or some other political agenda, most users have the freedom to choose their tools.

Knowledge Is Power

While writing this book, I was asked by literally hundreds of Windows 95 users if they'd still be able to use Netscape, or any other Internet programs, for that matter, in Windows 98. Even more striking was the existential angst expressed by Windows 98 users who believed they wouldn't have any choice about Internet integration--to the point that many were reluctant to upgrade for that very reason. This is precisely the intent behind Internet integration: to maintain the myth that Internet Explorer is the only choice. This chapter intends to dispel that myth.

The truth is that you do have a choice--not just for your default browser, but for all of the components that make up Internet integration, and indeed, all the components that make up your computer. The solutions in this chapter will enable you to disable the options you don't want, as well as customize the options you do want.

Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss. The more you understand the technology behind the tools you use, and the motivation for their design, the better you can take advantage of the entire system.

Massaging the Interface

As described in the beginning of this chapter, Internet integration is the combination of several different interface components and settings. The problem is that the configuration of these various components is scattered across about a dozen different dialog boxes. The following guidelines should help you take full control over each these features, changing or even disabling them to your liking:

Icons get single-click rather than double-click

How to change: Select Folder Options from Explorer's View menu, choose Custom, based on settings you choose and then click Settings. Choose either Single-click to open an item or Double-click to open an item and then click OK twice.

Notes: Selecting Classic style or Web style in the Folder Options window will override this setting.

The Web View

How to change: Select Folder Options from Explorer's View menu, choose Custom, based on settings you choose and then click Settings. Make the desired selection in the View Web content in folders section and then click OK twice when you're done.

Notes: See "The Web View and the Active Desktop" for details on customizing the Web View.

The Active Desktop

How to change: Double-click on the TweakUI icon in Control Panel (see Appendix A, Setting Locator), and choose the IE4 tab. You can enable or disable the Active Desktop entirely with the Active Desktop enabled option.

Notes: See "The Web View and the Active Desktop" for details on customizing the Active Desktop.

The Internet Explorer Icon on the Desktop

How to change: Right-click on the icon and select Delete to get rid of it. To get it back, open TweakUI (see Appendix A), choose the Desktop tab, put a checkmark next to Internet Explorer, and click OK.

Notes: If you get rid of the icon, you can still run Internet Explorer by selecting Internet Explorer using the Start Menu or by launching Iexplore.exe.

The Favorites Menu on the Start Menu

How to change: Double-click on the TweakUI icon in Control Panel (see Appendix A), and choose the IE4 tab. You can show or hide the Favorites menu with the Show Favorites on Start Menu option.

Notes: If you remove the Favorites menu from the Start Menu, it will still be shown in the Windows Explorer and in Internet Explorer.

The Channel Bar

How to change: To turn it off, move the mouse over the Channel Bar until its titlebar appears, and then click the close [X] button. To get it back, double-click on the Display icon in Control Panel, choose the Web tab,2 put a checkmark next to Internet Explorer Channel Bar, and click OK.

Notes: You can customize the Channel Bar, should you decide to keep it, by simply dragging items (Internet shortcuts, programs, documents, etc.) onto it. Drag items onto the Recycle Bin to remove them. Changes are recorded in the \Windows\Favorites\Channels folder.

Web links are everywhere

How to change: For the most part, this cannot be changed. However, since most modern Windows applications allow you to customize their menus, you should be able to get rid of any unwanted web links in applications. For example, in Microsoft Word, right-click on the menu bar, select Customize, open the Help menu, and drag the Microsoft on the Web item off the menu to get rid of it.

Notes: To change the browser used to open these links, "See Choosing Your Defaults" later in this chapter.

The illusion that the Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer are the same program

How to change: Double-click the internet icon in Control Panel, choose the Advanced tab, turn on the Browse in a new process option, and click OK.

Notes: See "Choosing Your Defaults" later in this chapter for choosing another program to be the default browser, which is another way of disabling this behavior.

The Address Bar on the Taskbar and in the Windows Explorer

How to change: Right-click on an empty area of the Taskbar, select Toolbars, and then Address to turn on or off the Address Bar.

Notes: See Appendix E, Interface Terminology and the Basics, for more information on the Taskbar toolbars, and Appendix B, DOS Lives, for details on using the Address Bar as a DOS command prompt.

The fact that Internet Explorer is the default web browser

How to change: You can make any program your default web browser; see "Choosing Your Defaults" later in this chapter for details.

Notes: Even if you make another web browser the default, you can still use Internet Explorer by selecting Internet Explorer from the Start Menu.

The Web View and the Active Desktop

The Web View component in Windows 98 allows you to make any folder (including the desktop) feel like a web page, complete with hyperlinks, graphics, and even a scripting language like JavaScript. But why would someone want to do this?

Traditionally, interface designers and users alike have prized clean, unobtrusive, attractive, and simple interfaces. The Web View isn't any of these. The Web View is, on the other hand, fairly customizable; exactly how customizable depends on your knowledge of HTML.

Now, it's unlikely that most users will have much use for the Default Web View, which augments the fairly simple Explorer interface with a bunch of unnecessary graphics and text. Figure 8-1 shows the same folder in its classic view as well as its Web View.

Fifgure 8-1: The Default Web View takes up much more space yet offers no additional information except for a full-size preview of some graphics files

When you first install Windows 98, all folders are shown in their Web View; that is, they all look similar to the larger window shown in Figure 8-1. If you turn off the Web View by unchecking As Web Page in Explorer's View menu, all folders should revert to their traditional appearance, exemplified by the smaller window in Figure 8-1.

I see a tremendous wasted opportunity here. While the Web View that Microsoft provides offers no apparent benefit to most users other than some pretty colors, the ability to customize the Web View is potentially quite useful. What's additionally confusing about the entire design is how complicated Microsoft has made the customization process.

While it's fairly easy to turn on and off the Web View for one or all of your folders, the process of customizing the Web View involves altering the template used for the Web View, which turns out to be an exercise in futility.

Using Hypertext Templates (Some Knowledge of HTML Required)

The pages that Windows uses for the Web Views of your folders and the Active Desktop are written in a somewhat bastardized version of HTML called Hypertext Templates (HTT). Windows 98 stores its .htt files in your \Windows\Web folder; for example, Controlp.htt is used for the Web View for Control Panel, and Mycomp.htt is used for My Computer.

Now, in the case of ordinary folders, the file used for the Web View is Folder.htt (located in the \Windows\Web folder). However, if you choose to customize the Web View of a particular folder, Windows places a copy of the Folder.htt file in that folder and creates a file called Desktop.ini alongside it.3 Since most of us spend much more time navigating normal folder windows than the special system folders like Network Neighborhood and Printers, we'll concentrate on customizing the Web View of an average, generic folder.

I recommend creating a new folder to test out the Web View, rather than endangering the contents of an existing folder. If, at any time, you want to start over, just delete the folder and make a new one.

To set up a custom folder, first open the folder, and then select Customize this folder from its View menu. Choose Create or edit an HTML document, and click Next twice. Windows will automatically copy the necessary files, switch the folder to Web View, and open the folder's own copy of Folder.htt file in Notepad for editing.

Unfortunately, this is where Microsoft really screwed up. The template that's used for folders is a whopping 341 lines of nearly incomprehensible code. Although the Web View is supposedly intended to make Windows easier for less experienced users, the process involved in customizing this view is so convoluted that only the most experienced users will be able to make anything of it. And it's unlikely that experienced users are going to want to bother.

The truth is that you can cut out almost all of the code here,4 and replace it with only a few lines of HTML, making it much easier--and much more desirable--to customize. The resulting Web View will not only load quicker, but the fact that's it's customized will make it instantly more useful.

There are a few things you need to know about .htt files used in the Web View before proceeding:

Start by erasing all the text in the open Notepad window,6 and replacing it with the code in Example 8-1. Make sure to type all lines exactly as shown.

Example 8-1: HTML Code for the Most Basic Web View 
<html>
<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 rightmargin=0 bottommargin=0
      scroll=no>
<object id="FileList" 
        classid="clsid:1820FED0-473E-11D0-A96C-00C04FD705A2" 
        style="position: relative; width: 100%; height: 70%">
</object>
Hello World!
</body>
</html>

Notice the <object></object> structure, which shows the FileList object. You'll notice that its width is set to 100%, which makes it fill the window horizontally, but its height is only 70%, which leaves room for the text Hello World! at the bottom of the page. Also note the values in the <body> tag, which set all the margins to zero; without them, there would be an unsightly margin surrounding the entire page.

When you're done, save your changes, close Notepad, and click Finish in the Customize this Folder wizard. Windows will automatically update the folder, showing you the changes you've just made; it should look like Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2: The resulting Web View using only seven lines of code (as shown in Example 8-1)

You can then reopen Folder.htt in your favorite text editor, and make any additional changes as desired. To see your changes in the folder at any time, press the F5 key to refresh the folder window.

You'll notice when you resize the folder window (try it) that the FileList and the area containing "Hello World!" both resize proportionally. It should be apparent that this doesn't work very well; the lower area takes up too much space if the window is made larger, and is too small if the window is made smaller. For best results, we will want to engineer this so that the area outside the FileList has a constant height. The next example shows how to do this to accommodate a custom toolbar at the top of the window, for example.

Making a Custom Toolbar with the Web View

For more control over the way components in the folder window are resized, we can use frames. Frames allow us to subdivide a web page into two or more panes, each of which contains a child page. Example 8-2 shows the revised Folder.htt file, which specifies the necessary frameset structure.

Example 8-2: HTML Code for Folder.htt; the <frame> Tags Point to the Two Pages with the Actual Content 
<html>
<frameset rows="40,*">
<frame src="c:\windows\web\toolbar\Toolbar.html" 
       name="toolbar" scrolling="no" noresize>
<frame src="c:\windows\web\toolbar\Filelist.htt" 
       name="filelist" scrolling="no">
</frameset>
</html>

This simple page has no content of its own; it simply lists the two other HTML files that are displayed in each of the two panes. The key is the <frameset> tag, which defines a fixed height of 40 pixels for the top pane and a variable height for the bottom pane, specified by an asterisk (*).

Note that the src values for both <frame> tags point to the Toolbar.html and Filelist.htt files, which are located in a fixed folder created for this example. This means that we can use the same custom toolbar page for all folders on the hard disk, making subsequent changes very easy. Example 8-3 contains the code for Toolbar.html (the upper "toolbar" pane), and Example 8-4 shows the code for Filelist.htt (the lower "filelist" pane). Make sure to save both of these files in the c:\windows\web\toolbar folder. (If you choose to save them in a different folder, make sure that change is reflected in the Folder.htt file as well.)

Exmaple 8-3: HTML Code for the "toolbar" Pane to Go with Examples 8-2 and 8-3 
<html>
<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 rightmargin=0 bottommargin=0 
      scroll=no background="c:\windows\web\toolbar\stone.gif">
<nobr>
<a href="c:\windows\desktop" target="_top">
<img src="c:\windows\web\toolbar\desktop.gif" border=0
     hspace=3 vspace=5></a>
<a href="c:\my documents" target="_top">
<img src="c:\windows\web\toolbar\documents.gif" border=0 
     hspace=3 vspace=5></a>
<a href="http://www.annoyances.org/" target="_top">
<img src="c:\windows\web\toolbar\internet.gif" border=0 
     hspace=3 vspace=5></a>
</nobr>
</body>
</html>

The toolbar page (Toolbar.html ) contains three graphical buttons, linked to the Desktop folder, the My Documents folder, and to a web site, respectively. A few things to note about this file:

Example 8-4: HTML Code for the "filelist" Pane to Go with Examples 8-2 and 8-3 
<html>
<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 rightmargin=0 bottommargin=0 
      scroll=no>
<object id="FileList" 
        classid="clsid:1820FED0-473E-11D0-A96C-00C04FD705A2" 
        style="position: relative; width: 100%; height: 100%">
</object>
</body>
</html>

Note that the Filelist.htt file shown in Example 8-4 is very similar to the code in Example 8-1 at the beginning of this section, except that the "Hello World!" text has been taken out, and the FileList object now has a height of 100%. This is the beauty of the design; since the FileList object resides in its own pane (which it fills completely), we can effectively resize the folder window and keep the upper toolbar pane at a constant height.

Once you've made the changes, press the F5 key in the open folder window to refresh. Figure 8-3 shows the finished folder window using all three files.

Figure 8-3: The resulting Web View, complete with functional toolbar

The other nice thing about this design is that it allows you to design a custom toolbar, something Explorer won't let you do. 8

In its current implementation, the toolbar will appear only in the folder in which it was configured. However, we can easily propagate it so that it appears in every folder, with the exception of system folders such as Control Panel and My Computer. Here's how you do it:

  1. Make a backup of the original template file, Folder.htt, located in your \Windows\Web folder (call it something like Backup of Folder.bak ). When making the backup, create a copy of the file (see "Make a Duplicate of a File or Folder" in Chapter 2, Customizing the Interface) instead of renaming it. If you rename it, Windows might "track" the change in the Registry.

  2. Copy the customized Folder.htt file from your test folder into the \Windows\Web folder, replacing the one that's there.

  3. From your custom folder's View menu, select Folder Options, and choose the View tab. Click Like current folder, and then click OK.

Now, the toolbar will appear at the top of every folder on your hard disk. To make a change to the toolbar, you'll only need to edit the single Toolbar.html file, and the change will instantly take effect in all your folders.

To remove the toolbars, first open any standard folder in which the toolbar appears. Select Customize this Folder from the View menu, choose Remove Customization, click Next twice, and then click Finish. Then, propagate the change across all folders by repeating step 3 above.

The Active Desktop

Although it was heralded as a breakthrough feature when it made its debut in Internet Explorer 4.0, Microsoft has somewhat downplayed the Active Desktop component in Windows 98. 9 What makes the desktop "active" is a combination of three features of Internet Explorer:

To hide desktop icons on the Active Desktop, select Folder Options from Explorer's View menu, choose the View tab, and turn on the Hide icons when desktop is viewed as Web page option.

The idea is to set up an "active" web page on your desktop that would automatically be updated at regular intervals. Common examples of this include a stock ticker that is on your screen all the time, and a weather forecast window that is always up-to-date. Suffice it to say that the potential of this system has yet to be realized.

If you have some time to kill, connect to Microsoft's web site to see the "Active Desktop Gallery," a listing of all kinds of things that you can add to your desktop, assuming you want to be connected all the time.

Choosing Your Defaults

The Internet is useless without communication tools. While Windows 98 comes with Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Telnet, FTP, and other such programs, it's often desirable to use different programs, either from Microsoft or from a third-party manufacturer.

To take the most advantage of whatever programs you use, you'll want to make sure that each is made the default for the particular type of communication in which it specializes. For example, typing a URL in Explorer's Address Bar or double-clicking on an HTML file will launch the default web browser; likewise, clicking on a mailto: link in a web browser or using the Mail feature of your word processor will launch the default email program.

The problem is that while it may be relatively easy to change the defaults, there's virtually no way to keep other programs from making themselves the default whenever they please. The most common example, of course, is the ongoing battle between Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer for the prestigious position of the default web browser.

The ongoing theory in the computer industry these days is that the Internet is, in simple terms, an important business opportunity. Since the web browser is the doorway to the Internet, whatever company can produce the browser used most frequently as the default--the one that pops up automatically when you want to access the Web--is the company that, theoretically, can control the Web. From the user's point of view, however, this corporate battle is nothing more than an annoyance.

There are two ways to launch Internet programs: by double-clicking on .html files, which are web pages on your hard disk, or by using Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which are addresses of web pages elsewhere on the Internet. HTML file types concern only web page documents on your hard disk: the browsers are used to view them, and the editors are used to change them. URLs, on the other hand, handle all Internet protocols, including Internet Shortcuts, web links in applications, and anything entered into Windows' Address Bar.

It's important to realize that you can have different programs associated with these various URLs and file types; you don't have to hook them all up to a single browser. In fact, if you use both Netscape and Internet Explorer, it might be convenient, for example, to associate Netscape with the .html file type, and Internet Explorer with the .htm file type.

Select Folder Options from Explorer's View menu, and choose the File Types tab to configure all your default clients. Table 8-1 shows the common HTML file type and URL entries, and their default Windows associations. See "Customize Context Menus" in Chapter 4 for details on configuring individual applications and making them the default, and "Protect Your File Types," also in Chapter 4, for more information on keeping your preferences intact.

Table 8-1: Default URLs and HTML File Types, and Their Associated Default Internet Clients

File Type Description

Default Application

Microsoft HTML Document
(*.htm, *.html, *.shtml, *.dhtml )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe ) for
Open, Notepad for Edit

URL:File Protocol ( file://filename )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe )

URL:FTP Protocol ( ftp://host )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe )

URL:GOPHER Protocol ( gopher://host )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe )

URL:HTTP Protocol (http://host )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe )

URL:HTTPS Protocol (https://host )

Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe )

URL:MAILTO Protocol
(mailto:username@host )

Outlook Express (msimn.exe )

URL:NEWS Protocol (news://host )

Outlook Express (msimn.exe )

URL:RLOGIN Protocol (rlogin://host )

Telnet (telnet.exe )

URL:SNEWS Protocol (snews://host )

Outlook Express (msimn.exe )

URL:TELNET Protocol (telnet://host )

HyperTerminal (hypertrm.exe )

URL:TN3270 Protocol (tn3270://host )

Telnet (telnet.exe )

There are easier ways to make certain programs the default. The installation programs for most Internet software will either ask you if you want to make the new program the default, or do it automatically without asking. So, if you want to make Netscape the default web browser, for example, you may be able to do it by simply reinstalling.

On the other hand, you may wish to stop certain programs from making themselves the default even after installation, as web browsers often do. The following solutions disable the functionality in Internet Explorer and Netscape that allows these browsers to make themselves the default without asking:

The next step is to find Netscape's Prefs.js file. For Netscape 3.x, it's in the main Netscape folder; for Netscape 4.x, it's in the current user folder (usually c:\program files\Netscape\Navigator\Users\Default). Open the file with a plain text editor, such as Notepad, and look for the following line:

user_pref("browser.wfe.ignore_def_check", false);
Change change false to true so that the line reads:

user_pref("browser.wfe.ignore_def_check", true);
Save the file and close your editor when you're done. The next time you start Netscape, it won't automatically make itself the default browser.

Note that the Web Browser Delegate utility, part of O'Reilly Utilities--Quick Solutions for Windows 98 Annoyances (see Appendix F), allows you to choose the default applications for all major file types and URL protocols. In addition, it automates all of the above settings, and allows you to create a backup registry patch to easily restore associations in the event that they are overwritten.

1. In suggesting a possible strategy to compete with Netscape, Jim Allchin, a Microsoft senior vice president, wrote to Paul Maritz, the executive in charge of Microsoft's operating system division, "We should think first about an integrated solution--that is our strength." (Source: New York Times, Jan. 12, 1998)

2. The Web tab will be available only if the Active Desktop is enabled.

3. Both Folder.htt and Desktop.ini are hidden files and therefore not visible by default. To show hidden files, select Folder Options from Explorer's View menu, choose the View tab, and select Show all files.

4. Most of the HTML code used to resize the folder window is JavaScript. With a little bit of thoughtful design, you can totally eliminate the need for this code. See Chapter 9, Scripting and Automation, for more information on JavaScript.

5. For more information on HTML, see HTML: The Definitive Guide, by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy (O'Reilly & Associates).

6. Notepad should still be open from the beginning of this procedure. Remember, this is just a duplicate of the original template file located in your \Windows\Web folder. You can change it, delete it, or totally mess it up without affecting the original file that Windows will use for subsequent Web Views.

7. The web page (the internet button) will only be displayed within the folder window if Internet Explorer is the default browser. See "Choosing Your Defaults" later in this chapter for more information.

8. It's worth mentioning that while you can't customize Explorer's default toolbar, you can change the bitmap used for the toolbar background. Open the Registry Editor (see Chapter 3) to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar, and set the BackBitmap value to the complete filename of any bitmap on your hard disk.

9. Similarly, "Push" technology, once a hot topic in the industry, has all but vanished from the collective conscience of the Internet. "Push" allowed a web site to initiate communication with you, the surfer, saving you the trouble of having to click on links or type URLs to visit web sites. The idea was a passive TV-like interface, from which the Channel Bar was born. Incidentally, the Channel Bar is slated to disappear in the next release of IE.

Back to: Windows 98 Annoyances

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