Copyright: NT Desktop (c)1992 Babarsoft


Desktop+ for Windows NT Control Panel

(c)1992,1993 Babarsoft, Inc

by Mark Gamber

Version 2.4

For Windows NT Operating System, March release.

 Installation

 Warning!

 Settings

 Automatic Login


About NT Desktop

NT Desktop may be freely distributed. It was written by Mark Gamber and is

(c) 1992 and 1993 to Babarsoft, Inc

The author may be reached on the following services:

America Online EMail:	PCA MarkG

Compuserve Mail:	76450,2754

Internet Mail:	pcamarkg@aol.com

Sorry, no Internet file tranfers are supported at this time.


NT Desktop Version 2.4 3/21/93


Installing NT Desktop

   Installation is very simple. After unZIPing the files into their various components, you must copy NTDESK.CPL, AUTOADMN.EXE and NTDESK.HLP to your System directory, most likely \WINNT\SYSTEM. The Control Panel program can then find the programs.


 Warning!

   This is a very powerful program, capable of completely trashing your system if you're not careful. If you are unsure of anything, either consult the online help or leave the settings alone. This having been said, the author cannot be held liable for any misfortunes caused by the user.

   If, for any reason, you do NOT want to put the current settings into effect, nothing actually happens until you press OK at the "Desktop Settings" dialog box and nothing ever happens if you press Cancel.


Menu Alignment

Mouse Double-Clicks

Icon Spacing and Fonts

Program Manager

Login Settings

Help Colors

DOS Box Settings


Automatic Login

   If you are using a single user machine or don't care about security, logging in rapidly becomes a real pain. To get around this, you need to create a user with no password. By default, this is the Administrator. After setting the default user to the Administrator and checking the "Automatic Login" feature, NT will automatically log in the Administrator upon boot and, if no password is required, will bypass the "login" dialog box.

   Note: Naturally, this doesn't take effect until you log off.


Menu Dropdown Alignment

   Drop-Down menus may be left or right aligned. You may select the alignment and a delay, in milliseconds, between the time a menu item is selected and it's drop-down menu is displayed.


Mouse Double-Click Settings

   "Double-Click Range" may be selected, giving you control over the number of pixels the mouse may move and still consider two clicks a double-click. The numbers entered for Width and Height define a square, the sides determined by the settings for Width and Height.

   Note: This does not take effect until Windows is restarted.


Icon Spacing and Fonts

   The vertical spacing between icons (and text) may be changed through this setting. Set the pixel spacing or scroll to it using the Spin control. In addition, you may select the font to use for the desktop and Program Manager icons.


Program Manager Settings

   You may control how much access a user has to Program Manager functions through this dialog box. Unchecking "Run Menu Item" disables the "Run..." item in the Program Manager. Unchecking "Allow To Close" disables the "Close" item and unchecking "File Menu" eliminates the "File" drop-down menu altogether. The last item, Edit Level, is a number from 0 to 4.

   Note: These settings do not take effect until you log off Windows.


 Edit Levels

   0 - No restrictions.

   1 - Unable to add Groups

   2 - Edit Level 1 plus missing File New, Move, Copy and Delete

   3 - Edit Level 2 plus missing Command Line and Browse.

   4 - Edit Level 3 plus no Change Icon


Login Settings

   The desktop shell may be changed through this dialog box. The default is "taskman,progman" and I recommend you not change this unless you really have a better shell. In addition, you may change the default user name and default domain name, both which appear initially in the "Login" dialog box. Finally, you may select whether to use the "Automatic Login" feature and whether to be nagged to remember to add it to you Startup group.


Automatic Login

   Copy AUTOADMN.EXE to your \WINNT\SYSTEM32 directory and add the program to your Startup group to use this feature. You must also have a user than doesn't require a password to log in, such as the Administrator by default. By selecting this item and making the "no-password" user the default user, you can bypass the login procedure and boot straight to the Program Manager.


Help Colors

   Help colors are the colors that appear for text you can click on for an action. You may change the color of text that jumps to another topic, displays a popup window, runs a macro or jumps to a topic or displays a popup window if a correct response was received by the user. Click on the colored bar next to the item to change, select a color from the color dialog and press OK or Cancel.


DOS Box Settings

   DOS box settings may be altered to suit taste. You may select the text foreground color, Command Buffer Size and window Rows and Columns. All are fairly self-explainatory except Command Buffer Size, which is the number of commands stored by the DOS emulator. Like limiting DOSKEY by commands.