How to clear Windows clipboard

Ever wanted to clear you last copy-paste query? Tired of pasting the wrong stuff? Well here’s how to clear Windows clipboard, aka COPY (Ctrl+C)! It applies to pretty much all Windows versions:

Windows XP

Win+R, then type:

clipbrd.exe

And press the “X” icon to clear the clipboard.

Windows Vista/7/8

Win+R, then type:

cmd /c echo off | clip

I recommend you keep your “run” history: it’s then easier and faster to run past commands again. (see my “Launch any program from the “Run…” prompt” article)

Enjoy!

EDIT (24-04-2014)

I noticed using quotes rendered the command useless. I updated the command. Sorry for the inconvenience. It’s strange because it used to work before using quotes… (cmd /c “echo off | clip”)

Sirus
sirusdark.ca

Reference
-http://mywindows8.org/clear-clipboard-in-windows-8/

Force .Net Framework to execute all pending tasks

Here’s a neat tech trick to force pending operation after updating .NET Framework in Windows XP (and possibly in the more recent Windows):

Open cmd (Windows Key + R) and navigate to your latest .NET Framework folder, then execute the following command:

ngen.exe executeQueuedItems

.NET Framework’s folder location can be access either by using direct path (the version name is just an example of what you may have):

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319

or using %WINDIR%:

%WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\LATEST VERSION\

Enjoy!

Sirus
sirusdark.ca

How to change default picture editor in Windows XP

Welcome to another simple & easy life-saving how-to!

So, you know how to change a file’s default program : right-click -> Open with -> Choose Program… -> check the check-box “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file”. Cool!

Now, what about changing the default image EDITOR? (Right-click -> edit) Dunno about you, but for example, if I wanna edit a picture, I don’t want MS Paint: I want GIMP (or Photoshop, if you have too much money) to be launched.

Most solution I kept finding all over the place were overkill crap-ware (useless software) solutions or overly technical procedures (Registry Hack) for what is already available in Windows. So here’s the easy short method:

STEPS

1. Open Explorer (WIN Key +E) -> Tools -> Folder Options… -> File Types tab

2. Click once on any item of the list, then press the first letter (with your keyboard) of the file type you wish to modify the default editor. Since all the files extensions are in alphabetical order, it’ll take seconds to find what you’re looking for. (.jpg is J, .bmp is B, .html is H, etc.)

3. Once you’ve found the file type you want, select it, then click the bottom right button Advanced.

4. Create a new Action entry and call it “edit“, then browse which application to be used to perform the action (aka the editor of your choosing).

5. Finally, click in the application’s path and add two double-quotes at the very end, around the variable %1 like this “%1”. Otherwise it won’t work. That’s the killer detail that is hard to find anywhere.

6. Press OK and voilà! You’re done!

Now all your files will be opened by that editor when you click edit!

Enjoy!

Sirus
sirusdark.ca

P.S. : Leave a comment if it helped! And if you have any questions, lemme know!

Animal tested! This how-to was tested on:
-Windows XP
-Probably similar for Windows Vista/7/8… Needs more investigation…