File shortcuts have been in Windows since Windows 95. In case you don't know what shortcuts are, they are merely a link to another file or folder on your hard drive's file system or to some system object. The object that they link to is called the target. Shortcut files have the extension .LNK but it is always hidden by the Explorer shell using the 'NeverShowExt' registry value. Shortcut files can be placed anywhere - on your Desktop or pinned to your taskbar or Quick launch but the most number of shortcuts are located in your Start Menu folder. Today, we will see how we can turn on the display of more details about these shortcuts which the Explorer shell hides.
Create a shortcut to open the Update history in Windows 8.1
The update history is a part of the Modern Control Panel which allows you to see the updates that were downloaded and applied to your current Windows 8.1 installation. If you have turned on automatic updates, Windows 8.1 will regularly download new patches and fixes from Microsoft servers.
If you would like to have quick access to the Update history, you can create a shortcut to open it directly with one click in Windows 8.1 and later. Just follow these simple instructions.
Daily Bing #33 theme for Windows 8
How to turn off a PC that has stopped responding or hanged
Sometimes your PC hangs completely and you are not able to even turn it off. Whatever may be the reason - some malfunctioning software, defective hardware problem, overheating or buggy device drivers, it can be pretty intimidating if your PC just hangs and you don't know how to recover. On desktop PC cases, there is the Reset button to restart but if you do not have the reset button (a very common situation for most modern mobile PCs, tablets and laptops), you may wonder how to get a PC that has stopped responding working again. What do you have to do in this case?
How to change the icon of default libraries in Windows 8.1
In Windows 8, one of new features was an option to change the icon of a library. For some reason, Microsoft has restricted this option only to custom libraries, which were created by the user. For built-in Libraries, the icon cannot be changed from the Windows interface on Windows 8, nor on Windows 7.
Today, we will look at how to change the icon of any library, including the predefined/system libraries. The method I will cover is applicable to Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1, but I will use Windows 8.1.
How to change the icon of a folder inside a Library
With Windows 7, Microsoft has introduced Libraries: a wonderful feature of the Explorer shell, which allows you to group multiple folders in a single view, even if they are located on different volumes. Searching through Libraries is also very fast, because Windows performs indexing of all locations which are included inside a Library.
If you use Libraries regularly, you might have noticed that when you open the Properties of a folder to change its icon, you are unable to do so because the Customize tab is missing from the folder's properties.
How to apply skins to Firefox Australis
Australis, the new interface of the Firefox browser, is the most radical change to its UI since the release of version 4. It is less customizable, and looks completely different compared to the current stable version. While some users like it, others are not impressed by its new look and want to disable Australis in Firefox and restore the classic appearance. However, there is good news for every Firefox user: now it is possible to customize the appearance of Firefox's Australis UI and apply cool skins to the browser.
Nature HD#30 theme for Windows 8
How to create a shortcut to open Windows Update settings in Windows 8.1
Windows Update settings allow you to configure the frequency of updates. Using these settings, you can specify if you want to receive recommended updates or not; also you can enable updates for other MS products installed on your PC.
In Windows 8.1, Windows Update settings are included in the Modern Control Panel, which is touch friendly. It is included in the PC Settings application. Today I am going to share a way to create a shortcut to open Windows Update settings in Windows 8.1.
