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To install Tweak UI, you have to right click on a file called TWEAKUI.INF.
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technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983
Free 'Tweak UI' interface customizer for Windows reappears in a new version
Oct. 18, 2000
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers
Not long after Windows 95 came out five years ago, a mysterious Windows
tweaking program appeared on one of Microsoft's Web sites. It was called
Tweak UI, a free program designed to customize the Windows user interface
(the "UI").
Tweak UI was the first of many such utilities for Windows 95 and its
cousin, Windows 98. (Utility programs fix problems or add functions. They're
tools.) Tweak UI solves dozens of problems and gives Windows users many
ways to change little things in Windows. If you think menus pop open too
slowly, you can use Tweak UI to change the rate. If you don't like the
way the mouse handles double clicks, Tweak UI can fix it. If you need to
get rid of one of those pesky non-removable icons on the desktop, Tweak
UI will ride to the rescue.
Tweak UI will do a lot more, too. In the hierarchy of Windows customization
utilities, Tweak UI stands alone not only for what it can do but for how
well it is designed. The only difficult part about Tweak UI is the possibly
confusing installation. (I'll explain how to get around that problem below.)
But until recently Tweak UI didn't work with Windows 2000 or with the
newest member of the Windows family, Windows Me. Mcirosoft has fixed that
problem with the release of Tweak UI 1.33. (If you're already a fan of
Tweak UI, don't let the numbering method confuse you. Tweak UI 1.33 actually
is newer than Tweak UI 1.41a, the previous version.)
Download the new Tweak UI from (whew!)
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTTweakui.asp.
(You might notice "NT" in the address. That's because Microsoft filed the
latest Tweak UI in the Windows NT section of its downloadable files. The
same version works under Windows NT -- the heavy-duty and very expensive
version of Windows -- and under all the other versions.)
Micirosoft points
out that Tweak UI is not "official" software. It's an "unsupported tool,"
the company says. All this means, as far as I can tell, is that if you
call Microsoft's pay-as-you-go support line seeking help with TweakUI,
Microsoft's support personnel will tell you they can't help. But "unsuported"
doesn't mean the program is buggy or will do crazy things to your PC. It
just means unofficial.
You won't need help using Tweak UI, but you might have trouble with the
way Tweak UI is installed. Please follow my instructions carefully.
Create a new folder called "tweak" (without quotes). (Right click on
the desktop and follow the prompts if you're not sure how to create one.)
Go to the Microsoft Web site listed above and right click on the blue "Download
Now" button. Choose "Save as" -- the wording varies in different browsers,
so it might not say "Save as" in so many words -- and navigate to the new
folder you created on the desktop. Have your browser save the TWEAKUI.EXE
file in that new folder.
When the download is done, open that folder and double click the file
you find there. This will extract the necessary installation files. They'll
show up in the folder.
To install Tweak UI, you have to right click on a file called TWEAKUI.INF.
Most Windows users cannot see the "extension" on file names, so you might
not be able to tell which of the TWEAKUI files is the "INF" file. No problem;
just right click on each one in turn until you see a pop-up menu that includes
an "Install" option. When you see "Install," click the left button on that
choice to start the installation.
You'll see a small window with some help on what Tweak UI does. Tweak
UI itself will appear in the Control Panel. (You don't run it like you'd
run a program. You access it from the Control Panel.)
After you're sure Tweak UI works OK, delete the new folder you created
along with all the installation files inside it.
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