Softpanorama

May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Home Switchboard Unix Administration Red Hat TCP/IP Networks Neoliberalism Toxic Managers
(slightly skeptical) Educational society promoting "Back to basics" movement against IT overcomplexity and  bastardization of classic Unix

Registry browsing and tweaking

News See also Recommended Links Free Tools Commercial tools ResKit tools
Microsoft
Registry Tools
Registry Cleaning Monitoring Snapshots Backups  
           

Standard Microsoft registry editor (regedit/regedit32; see 141377 about differences between Regedit.exe and Regedt32.exe ) is OK, but there are better tools: 

Tools you probably should not use:


Top Visited
Switchboard
Latest
Past week
Past month

NEWS CONTENTS

Old News ;-)

[Jul 5, 2005] Sample Chapter from Microsoft® Windows XP® Registry Guide by Jerry Honeycutt Mapping Tweak UI

Command Prompt

If you're a command-line junkie like me, you'll appreciate file name and directory completion. The MS-DOS command prompt supports both of these features, but you have to enable them first. Table 5-27 describes the settings in the Command Prompt category in Tweak UI. Set the value CompletionChar to the keystroke you want to use for file name completion, and set the value PathCompletionChar to the keystroke you want to use for directory completion. You can use the same keystroke for both values. The value you use for key is the ASCII key code. Thus, Tab is 0x09. The value WordDelimitersis a string of characters that delimit words on the command line when you press Ctrl+Right Arrow or Ctrl+Left Arrow. Create these values if they don't exist.

Table 5-27 Values in Command Prompt

Setting Name Type Data
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
File name completion CompletionChar REG_DWORD key
Directory completion PathCompletionChar REG_DWORD key
HKCU\Console
Word separators WordDelimiters REG_SZ separators

Recommended Links

Google matched content

Softpanorama Recommended

Top articles

Sites

Sample Chapter from Microsoft® Windows XP® Registry Guide by Jerry Honeycutt Mapping Tweak UI

Command Prompt

If you're a command-line junkie like me, you'll appreciate file name and directory completion. The MS-DOS command prompt supports both of these features, but you have to enable them first. Table 5-27 describes the settings in the Command Prompt category in Tweak UI. Set the value CompletionChar to the keystroke you want to use for file name completion, and set the value PathCompletionChar to the keystroke you want to use for directory completion. You can use the same keystroke for both values. The value you use for key is the ASCII key code. Thus, Tab is 0x09. The value WordDelimiters is a string of characters that delimit words on the command line when you press Ctrl+Right Arrow or Ctrl+Left Arrow. Create these values if they don't exist.

Table 5-27 Values in Command Prompt

Setting Name Type Data
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
File name completion CompletionChar REG_DWORD key
Directory completion PathCompletionChar REG_DWORD key
HKCU\Console
Word separators WordDelimiters REG_SZ separators

Free Tools

[Jan 10, 2006] How to edit the Windows registry with Lavasoft's RegHance

Why might a Windows professional want a more capable registry editor than Regedit? To answer this question, you must first look at several common reasons for editing the Windows registry.

Reasons to use RegHance over Regedit
The following sections list several reasons why you might need a faster, more efficient registry editing tool.

Registry editing is just part of Windows support
Those who support or troubleshoot Windows systems will find that a certain amount of registry editing comes with the job. Although Windows consoles and utilities offer what might be called "mediated editing" of the registry (which goes on behind the scenes under the control of such tools), sometimes direct registry snooping and editing speeds problem solving. This is particularly true when software without uninstall utilities must be removed from systems, or when uninstall programs leave unwanted detritus behind.

More quickly create Windows images
Those who create Windows images for automated installation via Microsoft's Remote Installation Service (RIS) or by using various ghosting techniques often find that editing the registry on a master image is the fastest way to fine-tune a configuration en route to finalizing the desktop, group policy, logon, or other settings. Once a working master is tweaked, tuned, and tested, it can then be distributed in bulk around a network (or an entire enterprise).

Backing up and restoring the registry are important skills
Those who seek to back up or checkpoint Windows systems will benefit from a working knowledge of registry backup and restore techniques (or ways to roll back to earlier registry versions), because the registry basically represents the "configuration database" that describes Windows' (and related applications) presence, behavior, preferences, settings, history, etc.

Learn more about Windows' inner-workings
Those who are curious about Window's internals and inner workings can learn a lot by looking around inside the registries. "Before" and "after" snapshots of the registry when compared to one another-for example, using the Windiff.exe utility included in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit or in the Windows XP Support Tools-can reveal exactly what happens when software is installed or when Control Panel tools or Windows consoles operate on the registry.

Definitely a step up from Regedit
Windows professionals and other interested parties will find it necessary to interact with the registry regularly, and that a good editing tool for such interaction can be helpful and worthwhile. Though RegHance doesn't support some highly advanced registry handling functions (more on this topic later), it is definitely a step up from Regedit.exe.

Also, RegHance is tightly integrated with Ad-aware. This is likely to make it appealing for those who depend on Ad-aware (and Ad-watch, the companion event tracker that watches the registry closely, among other points of Windows focus) to tell them what spyware, cookies, pop-ups, and other external influences may be doing or have done to their systems. Simply put, installing RegHance along with these tools makes it easy to observe and investigate registry changes that spyware can attempt to make or succeed in making.

Registry Jumper - freeware registry navigation utility Provides HTML view of registry using regjump protocol.

Registry Jumper is a small utility that makes system registry navigation easier. This tool allows you to open desired registry keys in Windows® Regedit by one click. Works in two modes: GUI mode and command-line mode (opens the registry key supplied as a command-line parameter). Additionally, Registry Jumper handles the "regjump://" custom protocol, which, for example, can be used in links in HTML pages to point to specific registry locations.

Registry Jumper advantages

Commercial tools

PC Magazine Registry Cleaners article contains the list of commercial tools some of which contain registry editor. some of them, for example Reg Organizer, has free 30 days trial:

ChemTable Software's Reg Organizer 2.0 ($29.95 direct) can either perform a general check for Registry problems or specifically analyze and edit areas like shared DLLs or start-up programs. It includes an excellent Registry editor that-among other things-displays the effects of a REG file before merging it into the Registry.

The program offers Registry-wide search-and-replace capabilities, and its Age System identifies recently changed Registry items. Among its many other features are removal of unnecessary files, identification of bad shortcuts, and Registry-style editing of INI files. The help system, however, didn't quite match up with the actual program.

Note: The new version of Reg Organizer is 3.1 Download it here. See what's new in this version.


Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotesSomerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose BierceBernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOSProgramming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC developmentScripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-MonthHow to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D


Copyright © 1996-2021 by Softpanorama Society. www.softpanorama.org was initially created as a service to the (now defunct) UN Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) without any remuneration. This document is an industrial compilation designed and created exclusively for educational use and is distributed under the Softpanorama Content License. Original materials copyright belong to respective owners. Quotes are made for educational purposes only in compliance with the fair use doctrine.

FAIR USE NOTICE This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to advance understanding of computer science, IT technology, economic, scientific, and social issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided by section 107 of the US Copyright Law according to which such material can be distributed without profit exclusively for research and educational purposes.

This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help You For Free) site written by people for whom English is not a native language. Grammar and spelling errors should be expected. The site contain some broken links as it develops like a living tree...

You can use PayPal to to buy a cup of coffee for authors of this site

Disclaimer:

The statements, views and opinions presented on this web page are those of the author (or referenced source) and are not endorsed by, nor do they necessarily reflect, the opinions of the Softpanorama society. We do not warrant the correctness of the information provided or its fitness for any purpose. The site uses AdSense so you need to be aware of Google privacy policy. You you do not want to be tracked by Google please disable Javascript for this site. This site is perfectly usable without Javascript.

Last modified: March 12, 2019