BrianAndPamela.com

So I’ve been using Windows XP since forever (or since it first came out, which in computer time is roughly the same) and I’ve recently done a few things to soup it up some.

1) Customize the "Locations Bar" in the Open or Save dialog boxes.  Right now, hit CTRL-S.  I'll wait. … See the bar of places on the left?  Chances are it's almost useless to you, it might get you part way to the places you want but still several clicks away from where you always need to go.  Fix that NOW!  (Ok, you can close the Save dialog now.  

Download and install Tweak UI 2.10  from Microsoft (if you don't have it already).  Run it and choose the "Common Dialogs" entry and "Places Bar" sub entry.  Then select "Custom Places Bar".  You can now choose up to five custom locations for that bar.  Each entry is a drop down, but if you choose one and then type a path over it, it will allow you to link to a deeper path or folder.  Pretty slick.

2) Manage the Start Menu.  (Make XP a little more Vista-y)  One thing I envy about Vista is the ability to hit the Start Button and just type a few letters of a program to launch it.  No more remembering where I stashed it in the mess that is my Menu.  There's a program out there called "Engage" that offers the same thing.  It also connects to a database on the web where a community is tagging and organizing programs so when you open the Start Menu, not only can you type the program name but the programs are all organized logically also.  BRILLIANT!  Engage can be found at http://www.thebestwaytostart.com -  It's not free but pretty cheap and has a trial period.  Even an expired trial works pretty well.

3) Forget "Quick Launch", XP needs a dock.  (Make XP a little more Mac-y.)  I used to use the quick launch bar religiously.  Again, finding programs on my Start Menu was annoying, requiring at least three clicks, more if they are buried in some organizational folder.  The Quick Launch bar solved that by putting my most used programs right next to the Start Menu.  That was good, but it took too much space away from my task bar, and it quickly got too crowded.   OSX solves this problem with the Dock.  It sits at the bottom of the screen, hidden, and pops up when you mouse down there.  Stardock's Object Dock  to the rescue.  It's a very customizable Dock for XP.  I can put all my shortcuts down there (25 at last count and I'm not done with adding all my CS3 apps yet), not waste taskbar real estate and it only comes out when needed. So there.  A couple of tips for you.  Hope they make your life better.   What programs or hacks are you using on XP that you couldn't live without?