X-mouse functionality in vista

This is another one of those usability tips that makes my work flow in Vista a little better, in my opinion. If you don’t know what x-mouse is, it is basically a mode in which the window focus follows your mouse cursor. It's commonly used in Linux. I like it because it makes it easer to type in windows that may have other windows on top of them and it requires less clicking to change focus while working.

This was actually part of XP’s PowerToys, but as they still haven’t released PowerToys for Vista, it’s a good way to get it.

1. Open up Regedit and browse to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
2. Look for the REG_Binary key "UserPreferencesMask" in the right pane. You will see its value as a string of hex numbers. Mine was hex 98,12,03,80,10,00,00,00.
3. Next you need to add the hex value '1' to the first hex value on the left in the hex string found in step 2. Using the hex string I have as an example: 98h + 41h = d9h. You can use the Calculator (in scientific mode) in Vista to do this simple addition. My new hex value, using my example, string now becomes d9,12,03,80,10,00,00,00
4. Next, Right click on the "UserPreferencesMask" key and choose 'Modify',then alter the original value of "UserPreferencesMask" to your new value found in step 3.
5. Next, at the same [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] registry location right click in the right pane and choose to add a new DWORD (32-bit) value and name this value "ActiveWndTrkTimeout". Next right click on your new "ActiveWndTrkTimeout" DWORD and choose modify and put in the time (in milliseconds) that suits you for the mouse switching between windows.
6. Close Regedit and re-boot.
Now for multiple windows open on the desktop, the window the mouse pointer is on will become the active window and come to the foreground without having to click on it. You may need to play with the value for "ActiveWndTrkTimeout" a little to get it correct. These are the values (below) I used to test with and the time for the mouse to remain over a window before its bought forward is 3 seconds (3000 miliseconds). Experiment with your time and find something that suits you:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"UserPreferencesMask"=hex:d9,12,03,80,10,00,00,00
"ActiveWndTrkTimeout"=dword:00000bb89F

Vista Taskbar Order

I've enjoyed using Vista for a long time now, but as with every OS there are some things that I like to tweak to make the experience just right. I found this tip over at the Shell:Revealed blog a while back and use it on my system. I have certain programs open every day and like keeping them ordered the same way in the taskbar all the time. To ensure they always stay where you want, do the following:

Create a file named taskbar.ini in the following location:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\explorer\

With info like so:

[ApplicationSortOrder]
outlook.exe=1
firefox.exe=2

Listing the exe names in the order you want to sort them. After a reboot the programs will be ordered just how you'd like every time.

Hello world

Here we go. I've been thinking about starting this blog for a while now and finally decided to give it a try. It will mostly be a place for me to type out some things that I've worked on and share some of what I've figured out. Maybe someone searching around will be able to get past that problem they're having thanks to a tip I post. I may occasionally post some thoughts on Tech news if the mood strikes. Enjoy!