At first
glance, the Advanced settings list in this dialog box is presented in a somewhat
awkward format, apparently to accommodate the large number of
options. However, the less-than-ideal presentation is actually designed to
allow customization, permitting Microsoft (or you) to easily add or remove
items from the list. See Figure 3-8 for an example of a customized version of
this window.
You??™ve probably guessed that Microsoft didn??™t make this list of options customizable
for you. Rather, it was designed to accommodate different settings
for different versions of Windows (the actual options present on your
PC, for instance, depend on your edition of Vista). But that doesn??™t mean
you can??™t change it around to suit your needs.
104 | Chapter 3: The Registry
The idea is that you link up a checkbox or radio button to a value??”any
value you choose??”in your Registry. This would, for example, allow you to
make certain Registry changes accessible to yourself or others (such as users
of other PCs you administer), reducing the need for them to mess around in
the Registry. Or, if you??™re a software developer, you can add your own program??™s
options to this window. Or, maybe you just want easier access to a
hidden Microsoft setting you find yourself changing often.
The format is actually quite remarkable, because you don??™t have to be a programmer
to utilize this feature. You can add new options to a certain portion
of the Registry and then tie those options to values you choose
anywhere else in the Registry.
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