But the primary
means of editing Registry keys and values directly is the Registry Editor
(open the Start menu, type regedit, and then press Enter), included with all
editions of Windows Vista.
Although the Registry is stored in multiple files on your hard disk, it is represented
by a single logical hierarchical structure, similar to the folders on
your hard disk. When you open the Registry Editor, you??™ll see a window
divided into two panes (as shown in Figure 3-1). The left side shows a tree
with folders, and the right side shows the contents of the currently selected
folder. Now, these aren??™t really folders??”this is just a convenient and familiar
method of organizing and displaying the information stored in your Registry.
Each folder-like object is called a key. Each key can contain other keys, as
well as values. Values contain the actual information stored in the Registry,
Figure 3-1. The Registry Editor lets you view and change the contents of the Registry
The Registry Editor | 85
The Registry
while keys are used only to organize the values. Keys are shown only in the
left pane; values are shown only in the right pane (unlike Windows
Explorer, where folders are shown in both panes).
To display the contents of a key (folder), just click the desired key name on
the left, and the values contained therein will be listed in alphabetical order
on the right side. To expand a certain branch to show its subkeys, click the
tiny arrow to the left of any folder (or double-click the folder name).
Pages:
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138