Windows XP in a Nutshell

Chapter 4. Windows XP Applications and Tools

This chapter provides an alphabetical reference to all of the useful components that make up Windows XP: an encyclopedia of everything you can do with Windows out of the box. Some of the more prominent applications and utilities that come with Windows XP are available through shortcuts on the Start menu, but many useful tools aren’t as conspicuous — available only to those who know where to look. What you’ll undoubtedly find interesting is the large number of applications that aren’t listed in the Start menu or documented in the manual or in most books.

At the beginning of each entry, you’ll find all the different methods of launching (or opening) these components, including their locations in the Start menu (if applicable), their executable filenames for starting them from the command prompt, or any other means of accessing the component. See Chapter 2 for an overview of all the ways to launch programs in Windows XP.

Using the Command Prompt

You may need to use the command prompt to run some of the programs listed in this chapter (see Figure 4-1). In addition to the command prompt application, cmd.exe, two other elements in Windows XP can also be used as command prompts. The Address Bar, typically found at the top of the Internet Explorer window, is where you type a web site address to instruct IE to open the corresponding web page. The Address Bar can also be used as a rudimentary command prompt, where you can type application filenames, ...