Random Hints
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              HOUSEKEEPING SIMPLIFIED: A DIR OF YOUR DIRs

   When you're moving through the directories on your hard drive, deleting 
unnecessary ones as you go, you really don't want to wade through a bunch 
of filenames to find the subdirectories. Of course you could redirect the 
output of DOS's TREE command to the printer, giving you a hard copy of 
your directory structure for reference (TREE>PRN). But that gets a little 
cumbersome at times. If you have DOS 5 or 6, you could also set the DIRCMD 
environment variable to put all subdirectory entries at the top of the 
listing when you enter DIR (we recommend you use something like SET 
DIRCMD=/OGNE anyway in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file anyway).

   If you don't have DOS 5 or 6 (with which you can simply enter DIR /AD), 
the best way we've seen to eliminate these problems, allowing you to see 
only the subdirectories in the current directory, is to do a DIR of the 
<DIR>s; pipe the output of DIR through the FIND filter, and tell FIND to 
look for the less-than (<) symbol, which is a part of all directory names. 
Just enter

      DIR | FIND "<"

   To get a little bit fancier, put this command in a batch file called 
DIRD in your BATCH directory. Add the @ECHO OFF statement at the 
beginning, and you'll have a handy little housekeeping tool.

   DOS 5/6 users can make this utility even better by taking advantage of 
DOSKEY. Just add the line

      DOSKEY DIRD=DIR /AD

to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or a separate batch file that loads all of your 
DOSKEY definitions. Then whenever you enter DIRD, you'll get the output 
you need.

                                  -=*=-

                        GIVING YOUR MOUSE A BATH

   No matter how careful you are to keep your mouse's "cage" clean, it'll 
eventually need a bath. (You'll know this when the mouse cursor jerks 
around the screen when you move it.) Giving your mouse a bath is a lot 
easier than it may at first appear.

   To get started, disconnect the mouse from the computer, turn it over 
and remove the retaining plate. With the plate out of the way, the rubber 
ball inside will come out if you tip the mouse over. Scrub the ball 
thoroughly (but be gentle -- it is part of a mouse, you know), using water 
and some mild detergent, then rinse it well. Finally, set the ball aside 
to dry for several hours; it is important that it be completely dry before 
you reassemble the mouse.

   While the ball dries, remove loose dirt from inside the mouse by 
blowing into the cavity (a good set of lungs or a can of compressed air 
works well). Now use foam swabs and denatured alcohol to remove the gunk 
from the rollers inside the mouse. Sometimes a little extra work is needed 
to remove stubborn gunk. You can use your fingernail for this, but 
whatever you use, be careful to not scratch the roller -- that could make 
your mouse permanently jumpy. Make sure to remove any loose dirt after 
this step too.

   When the rubber ball is dry, make sure it hasn't attracted any lint. 
Then pop it back into place and replace the retaining plate.

   Finally, when you put your mouse back into operation, be forewarned 
that it will appear to be much faster. (It's amazing how a simple bath can 
be so invigorating.) Because you've gotten used to moving it through the 
muck, you'll have to go easy for a while.

                                  -=*=-

                           TAKE OUT THE TRASH

   Have you ever deleted a file only to realize (usually just after 
pressing ENTER) you've trashed the wrong file or that you really weren't 
finished with it? Yeah, you can UNERASE and UNDELETE, but you might also 
find that a computerized trash can -- one you could grab stuff back from 
before "dumping" <G> -- is pretty helpful at these times, and with DOS 5 
or 6, building a simple trash can is pretty easy.

   First create a new directory called TRASH from your root directory. 
Then use DOSKEY to create a macro replacement for the DEL command. Add the 
following line to AUTOEXEC.BAT (or other batch file you use to load DOSKEY 
macros):

      DOSKEY DEL=COPY $1 C:\TRASH $T DEL $1

   With this DOSKEY macro in effect, any time you enter DEL, DOS will copy 
the file(s) to the TRASH directory and delete it from its current 
location. (Inside the macro, the use of DEL calls DOS's internal DEL 
command rather than calling the DEL macro again.)

   To "dump" the trash can and get rid of the files for good, we use a 
short and simple batch file called EMPTY.BAT. Here's how to create it:


COPY CON EMPTY.BAT
@ECHO OFF
ECHO Y | DEL C:\TRASH

   Since DOSKEY macros don't work within batch files, the actual DOS DEL 
command is invoked, removing any files in C:\TRASH. And piping ECHO Y 
through DEL means you won't have to answer the "Are you sure?" prompt.

                                  -=*=-

                           TO DO, OR NOT TO DO

   If you're into to-do lists, you're probably already well organized and 
have a super PIM (personal information manager) to handle this chore. But 
if you're simply looking for a way to track a few daily tasks and 
reminders, you can use Windows without putting out any extra bucks.

   Open Windows' Notepad and type your first list (or just create a 
template, or model, of how you'd like the list to look). Now save the file 
as TODO.TXT, and exit Notepad. Back in Program Manager, click on File-New, 
the Program Item radio button, and OK. Call the new program item To Do, 
then use Browse to locate the TODO.TXT file (type TODO.TXT in the File 
Name box, then click on OK or press ENTER). Now click on Change Icon, type 
PROGMAN.EXE in place of NOTEPAD.EXE, and press ENTER. A new set of icons 
appears, from which you can select your preference (we like the little 
note paper with the thumbtack in it). Click OK twice, and the ToDo program 
item is added to the current window on your desktop.

   Whenever you double-click on the To Do item, Windows calls up Notepad 
with the TODO.TXT file in place. You can just review the list or change it 
as necessary and save the altered file.

-=------------=-     T-H-E   E-N-D   F-O-R   N-O-W     -=-------------=-
