Dana Bell

This is a follow up from the previous Where's My Software entry. In that entry I covered how to copy program icons from one user to another.

Another issue I've come upon is not knowing what software was installed on the computer and available for use. If they don't have an icon on the desktop or in the Start Menu, you don't know they exist. You can find some of it by copying software shortcuts to your desktop or program files from other users.

Otherwise, you will have to search for it. One way would be to look in the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs option. Most major software is entered in this registry, but not all. Other programs and minor utilities don't really need to be registered, so you may have to manually scan your computer for new software. You can do this using Windows Explorer. If you don't know where Windows Explorer is, just use the Windows shortcut, by pressing the Windows key and E.

The files you are looking for include Applications, MS-DOS Applications and possibly Microsoft Common Console Documents.
If you have file extensions enabled, you may want to look for the file extensions: com, exe, and msc. The msc files are primarily administrator type files so you may want to forego those files. In most cases, if the program is not listed with a custom icon it is probably not something you can or should use directly.

Major places to look for files would be in

C:\ and first level folders under it
and
C:\Program Files\ and first level folders under it
Sometimes the executables may be found in folders named bin

System utilities can often be found in
C:\Windows\System32\ or the system32 folder in whatever your windows files are located, which could be WINNT, WINME, WINXP, etc.
There you should find things like Notepad, MSPaint, CompMgmt, and even Progman (from previous versions of windows)

As you scan through your computer, you could also try executing files that may contain data. If the file type is associated with a particular program, it activate the program for that particular file. Finally, you can use the Windows Search to find *.exe, *.com, and *.msc

When you find a program that you want to add to your program files, or desktop, Alt-drag it to create a shortcut where you want it. You could also use a temporary folder and move them around later. That's what I would do. When you have a collection of shortcuts you can then place them on your desktop, in your Start Menu or onto you Quick Launch toolbar. See my previous entry for how to manipulate these areas using Windows Explorer.

I often work with multiple users on a single computer. When I create a new user, or log onto a different user account, I may find some of the previously installed software missing. Technically, it's not missing; it's just missing from the desktop, program files, or quick launch bar. Windows protects modern users from accessing and accidentally destroying program files primarily by placing shortcuts for them to access. Where the shortcuts are placed depends on the software vendor.

When a program is installed, it can be installed for the current users, or all users on a computer. If the software is installed only for the current user, any new user will have to reinstall, or otherwise create a shortcut to use that software. In some cases, where the software is to be personalized, a new installation may be the preferred method. If the software is installed only for the current user simply by design or as a design flaw of the installation, you can manipulate the shortcut files in order to access the missing software.

This is where a background in DOS can be useful. Creating shortcuts is a simple matter of copying them from other users' Profiles or Start Menus, depending on the version of Windows in use. But, before you get started, develop a plan. The program icons in a current user's menu may be in his profile, or in the "All Users" profile. If you want an items to default to be added to a new users programs, then move it from the current user to the All Users profile. If you just want to make a copy of a shortcut for a new user without adding it to All Users profile, COPY it to the new users folder.

The way I handle this is to open two separate Windows Explorer windows. Put the destination window on the same side all the time, to avoid getting confused. (I use the right) In one window, navigate to the Documents and Settings window, then the name of the user from which you want to copy/move the programs. In the other window, navigate to the name of the user you want to copy programs to. In most cases you will want to move the files to the All Users profile so everyone has access. Otherwise, COPY them to the destination profile.

Now, let me be specific.

First, the folders you want to do the copying and moving are the Start Menu and the program links in the Programs folder inside the Start Menu folder. This is the Start Menu that many people have all of their programs. These are found in
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu

The program icons and folders that appear on the Desktop are located in the folder in
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop
Often, this includes only a few of the programs that they have installed. The Desktop could also have data files that you may or may not want to copy/move.

And, finally, the Quick Launch icons, which is primarily what I use to execute programs are located in
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

The quick launch icons seem to be user specific on my computer, since there is no similar folder in the "All Users" profile.

In earlier versions of Windows the location of the folders will be different. In one version, you need to look for Profiles instead of Documents and Settings. In some versions of Windows, the All Users profile is only used to copy those shortcuts to the new user's profile. Subsequent installs may only be done placed in the current users profile. You can play with it to see how it works on your version.

I got a reminder of how to do this when I was rebuilding a number of computers, loading the software from an administrative account and then creating a new user for the person to receive the computer. Using the above knowledge, you could also do the reverse, by moving programs from All Users to your profile, thereby not providing access to them for other users of your computer.