Backing Up Your Stuff Part 5: Where Is It #1?

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I don't know about you, but I love to collect cool ...
offthe ... I've got ...
of ... files, desktop themes and ...
as well as more ... of screen savers and wallpa I don't know about you, but I love to collect cool downloads offthe internet.
I've got thousands of stationary files, desktop themes and ICQskins, as well as more thousands of screen savers and wallpaper files. Mostof these special files are stashed in obscure locations which makes themdifficult to back up and a pain to restore.However, if you know where the various applications store their data files,you can make copies of those to your hearts content.
Programs such as SecondCopy and InSync are perfect for this job, although in a pinch you can simplydrag the files to your writeable CD drive.Outlook Stationary FilesSomething that I love is outlook stationary. I think it great to receive acool email with a nice background, perhaps a graphic of some kind and somecool sound.
I know my wife likes to get an "Love" email from me with, say, agigantic heart and some gentle romantic music.In fact, it's very simple to build up a huge collection of stationary files.There are tens of thousands of them available for installation all over theinternet. The problem is: where the heck are these things installed?The answer is simple: C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedStationeryStationary files are always in this location (I have searched very hard andhave never found a way to change this directory).
I guess that the driveletter could change if you installed the operating system somewhere otherthan the C partition, but I have not tried that out myself.Each piece of stationary consists of one standard HTML file and a number ofadditional graphic and sound files. By far most themes consist of the singleHTML file, one graphic and perhaps one sound file.Desktop themesBeginning with the "Plus" pack that was an optional add-on to Windows 95,Microsoft introduced the concept of desktop themes.
These are very cool inthat they allow you to change your wallpaper, sounds, icons, cursors and ahost of other things using a simple text file.Themes are very easy to create, and they have become extremely popular.There are hundreds of sites totally dedicated to them, and there are tendsof thousand of individual themes available on every conceivable subject.Normally, themes are stored in the following location: C:Program FilesPlus!ThemesNote that the location is stored in the system registry file (if you don'tknow what that is, then you probably don't need to worry about it). Thisallows you to modify, if you are very daring, the disk and directory wherethe theme files are stashed.Each theme consists of a single text file with a file type of ".theme", anda number of associated icon, graphic, cursor and sound files.ICQ SkinsThe most popular instant messaging platform is called ICQ (I-Seek-You).Someone very creative decided the ICQ interface was very boring and createdICQ-plus.
This add on allows you to change the look and feel of the ICQinterface. Virtually everything can change - the buttons, colors, graphics,fonts and text.
These changes are called skins.ICQ skins are stashed here: C:Program FilesICQPlusSkinsEach skin is self-contained in a zip file (which can be unpacked usingWinzip if you so desire) Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .