Windows XP Hacks [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 12 Rename and Change "Unchangeable" Desktop Icons and System Objects

To create the perfect XP interface, you want to
be able to give every desktop icon and system object the name and
icon of your choice. Here''s how to do iteven
to objects that appear to be unchangeable.

Interface hackers (myself
included) are a details-oriented bunch. We want to be able to control
every part of the interface so that it reflects our personality. That
means being able to choose our own icons for desktop items and system
objects, give new names to system objects, and create our own balloon
tipsfor example, adding a balloon tip to the Recycle Bin
saying "Take Out the Trash!"

But it''s not as simple as you might think. Microsoft
has a way of protecting its own. For example, it
won''t let you change the text and

balloon tips associated with
a variety of system objects, such as the Recycle
Bin, Outlook, Internet Explorer, My Computer, and My Network Places.

You can normally change both the name and the balloon text (text that
appears when you hover your mouse over the icon) of all the icons on
your desktop, but you can''t change these. Normally,
to change the name and balloon text of an icon, you first right-click
on the icon and choose Properties. To change the name of the icon,
you choose the General tab and, in the box at the top, type in the
name that you want to appear beneath the icon.

Then, to change the balloon text, you click on the Shortcut tab and
in the Comment box type in the text that you want to appear. When
you''re ready to make the change, click OK. The icon
name and balloon text should now be changed.

But when you try to do this for system objects such as Outlook,
Internet Explorer, My Computer, and Network Neighborhood, it
won''t work. The proper options
don''t appear when you right-click on them and choose
Properties.

There are ways, however, to change them in any way that you want, so
that you can create your own personalized XP interface.

2.6.1 The Registry to the Rescue

The Registry is your best tool for
personalizing XP. It will let you change both the text and balloon
tip associated with system objects. First, you need to know the
object''s class ID (CLSID), which uniquely
identifies each system object. Table 2-3 lists the
CLSIDs for common desktop objects.

Desktop object

CLSID

My Computer

{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Recycle Bin

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Microsoft Outlook

{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

Internet Explorer

{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}

The Internet

{3DC7A020-0ACD-11CF-A9BB-00AA004AE837}

My Network Places

{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}

Briefcase

{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}

Dial-Up Networking

{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}

Once you find the right subkey, if you want to edit the name of the
object, open the Default value and type in the
text that you want to appear underneath the object. If you want to
edit the balloon text for the object, open the
InfoTip value and type in the text that you want
to appear as balloon text. Once you''re done, exit
the Registry and reboot.

You may also be able to force the changes to take effect without
rebooting. After you exit the Registry, go to your Desktop and press
F5 to refresh the screen. The new names and balloon tips might now
appear.

2.6.2 Change the Desktop Icons of System Objects

You can hack objects
besides names and balloon with this method. You can also change the
desktop icons of system objects that appear to have unchangeable
icons.

First, using Table 2-3, find the CLSID for the
object whose icon you want to change. Then run the Registry Editor,
go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID, and look for the
CLSID subkey from Table 2-3 for the object whose
icon you want to change. Open the subkey and then the
DefaultIcon subkey under that. For example, to
change the icon for My Computer, open the subkey
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon.
Change the Default value to the path of the icon
that you want displayed. Exit the Registry. You may have to reboot in
order for the new settings to take effect.

Some people aren''t able to change their icons using
this method. Instead of editing
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID, they have to edit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\,
and that does the trick.