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LittlePaul.com Developer Repository
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This page:
These pages are applicable to Windows generally, with specific parts in Microsoft VC++ 6. It does not use MFC.
What is the registry?
The Registry is a hierarchical database in later version of Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP) where all the system settings are stored. It has replaced all
of the .ini files that were present in Windows 3.x. The data from system.ini, win.ini, control.ini, are all contained within it now, along with hundreds
of other system settings. Additionally, all Windows specific programs are now to store their initialization data within the Registry instead of .ini
files. Taken from Active Network
RegEdit
To edit the registry you need to use a program called RegEdit. Start / Run - regedit. (In NT and win2k regedit32 has far more features.)
Warning: it is very dangerous playing around in your system registry. You can easily cock everything up.
Why use the registry?
You have written a program, and it has user set-able values. For example, you wrote a paint program, and when you open an image, you change the
directory in the open dialog box, and select your picture. Later on they go to open another picture, and the open dialog appears with the
directory last opened automatically selected. Chances are there next picture was going to be in the same directory. We can do this with an environment
variable within the program. BUT: when the program is quit this variable is lost. The next time the program is run, the directory is not automatically
switched to in the open dialog.
We can store the variable in the registry, so we can quit the program, and when we rerun it, we can get the value back again - kind of a temporary
storage.
Customize Windows with loads of little registry hacks available on these sites:
Windows Registry Guide
Active Network
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