Want a quick peek at a file? Before you waste precious time opening a document in its native application, go for the Quick View. Right-click a file, select Quick View, and up pops a preview of that file.

Don't see a Quick View command? One of two things is happening: Either Quick View doesn't have a file viewer for that file type (we'll show you a workaround for this limitation in the next couple of tips), or Quick View isn't installed on your system. To see if Quick View is installed, right-click any *.txt file and you should see a Quick View command.

To install Quick View, pop your Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive and open the Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, and in the list under Components, double-click Accessories. Click the check box next to Quick View and click OK twice.

Right-click a file, select Quick View, and up pops a preview of that file. Note: If you don't see a Quick View command, either Quick View doesn't have a file viewer for that file type, or Quick View isn't installed on your system. To install Quick View, pop your Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Quick View, and click OK twice. Now onto some Quick View tricks.

If you just opened a file in a Quick View window, and it isn't the one you were looking for, try another. Simply drag and drop another file into the open Quick View window, and its contents replace those of the first file.

When you find the file you want, it's easy to open it in its native application. You don't have to leave the Quick View window. See the icon just below the File menu? Click it. (Or select File, Open File for Editing.)

Okay, one more tip. You can change your Quick View to a full page view by selecting View, Page View.

Right-click a file, select Quick View, and up pops a preview of that file.

The problem with this command, however, is that it appears only in the context menu of file types for which a file viewer is available (as determined by Microsoft). Does this mean you can't use Quick View for other file types? Only if you want to follow the rules. Otherwise, you can open any file with Quick View by adding its shortcut to the SendTo menu.

Open an Explorer window and navigate your way to the Windows\System\Viewers folder. Inside, you'll see Quikview.exe. Create a shortcut to this file in your Windows\SendTo folder. (Inside a second Explorer window, open the Windows folder, right-click and drag Quikview.exe into this window, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.) With the Quikview.exe shortcut selected, press F2 (for Rename), name the file Quick View, and press Enter. Close all open windows.

Right-click any file, select Send To, then choose Quick View in the pop-up menu. Click Yes to confirm that you want to try the default viewers, and there's a preview of your file (in rough form, of course, but that's all you wanted anyway).

This page last updated: Monday, 24. May 1999 09:46:57 -0500