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PlacesBar Editor |
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PlacesBar Editor v1.0.2 | download 33K PlacesBarEditor.zip download 522K PlacesBarEditorComplete.zip (explain the difference between these) |
| Compatibility: runs under Windows 2000, Windows ME and Windows XP. | Freeware |
Jump to: Description | Installation | Usage | Screen shots | Uninstallation | More info | License
PlacesBarEditor is a free utility for Windows 2000 and Windows ME that allows you to customize the "PlacesBar" that appears on the left side of the Open and Save dialogs in most applications.
The PlacesBar is a set of shortcuts to commonly-used folders, but wouldn't it be more useful if you could determine what "commonly used" means for yourself, instead of letting Microsoft define it for you? That's where PlacesBarEditor comes in.
No installation is necessary; just run the main file PlacesBar Editor.exe. You can copy the program file wherever you like; it doesn't care. Shouldn't all software install this easily?
(Note: PlacesBar Editor relies on a standard Microsoft control file called MSCOMCTL.OCX. If you download a lot of software, you probably already have it; because it is 1 megabyte and PlacesBar Editor is only 90K, it's not included in all versions of the PlacesBar Editor download. If you run PlacesBar Editor and it complains that this file is missing, copy MSCOMCTL.OCX to your System32 or System directory in your Windows directory. If MSCOMCTL.OCX wasn't included in this .zip file, you can download the "Complete" version of PlacesBar Editor from: http://www.maddogsw.com/placesbar/.)
Just run PlacesBar Editor; it presents a window with a list of folders to put in your PlacesBar. (Due to Windows limitations, you can have a maximum of 5 folders in your PlacesBar.) If you select the "Use customized list" option, you can specify the folders yourself; if you specify the "Use defaults" option, Windows will use its defaults and you won't be able to edit the list. (PlacesBar Editor won't show you what the defaults are because they might be different in different versions of Windows.)
If you've selected "Use customized list", just click Add Folder (to add real folders from your hard drive) or "Add Special" (to add special folders that aren't actually places on your hard drive, such as the Desktop, My Computer, or Control Panels). To save your changes, hit Apply. To see what your choices look like in real usage, hit the Test button. That's it!
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Using PlacesBar Editor |
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No uninstallation is necessary; just delete the program if you don't want it. (Any changes you make to your PlacesBar will remain after you delete the Editor; if you want the defaults back, run PlacesBar Editor one last time and choose the "No customization" option.) Shouldn't all software uninstall this easily?
You can find more information on PlacesBar at http://www.maddogsw.com/placesbar/.
Please direct questions and comments via email to matt@maddogsw.com, and put PlacesBar in the subject line. There are shortcuts to both of these links in the About box.
Please check out my other software at http://www.maddogsw.com/ too.
PlacesBar Editor is free and may be copied and redistributed freely. It comes with no warranty whatsoever, expressed or implied.