Windows® 98 Unleashed

Examining the Structure of the Registry

The Registry Editor window looks a lot like the Explorer window, and it works in basically the same way. The left side of the Registry Editor window is similar to Explorer's Folders pane, except that rather than folders, you see keys. For lack of a better phrase, I'll call the left pane the Keys pane.

Navigating the Keys Pane

The Keys pane, like Explorer's Folders pane, is organized in a treelike hierarchy. The six keys that are visible when you first open the Registry Editor are special keys called handles (which is why their names all begin with HKEY). These keys are referred to collectively as the Registry's root keys. I'll tell you what to expect from each of these keys later (see the section called ...