Raymond Chen

Rotating the Z-order

August 26th, 2003

Sometimes you run into a conflict where you need the controls laid out in one Z-order to get hit-testing to work, but need a different order to get keyboard TAB order working. For example, consider this dialog template, which has been simplified for expository purposes. The...

Windows brings out the Rorschach test in everyone

August 25th, 2003

It seems that no matter what you do, somebody will get offended. Every Windows 95 box has an anti-piracy hologram on the side. The photographer chose his infant son as his model, since the human face is very hard to copy accurately. The baby sits next to a computer, and as you turn the hologram...

Knitting a pumpkin

August 22nd, 2003

I've decided to change the color scheme to match my latest knitting project:  A pumpkin hat. (Previous food-themed hats were raspberry and eggplant.) I just got a call from the yarn store that the yarn for my sweater has come in, and I can't wait...

Why isn't my time zone highlighted on the world map?

August 22nd, 2003

In the original release of Windows 95, you could change your time zone by clicking on the map, and the time zone you selected would highlight. Similarly, you could change your Region Settings by clicking on the world map. This was one of those little touches that made Windows 95 that much more fun to use...

The secret life of GetWindowText

August 21st, 2003

GetWindowText() is more complicated than you think. The documentation tries to explain its complexity with small words, which is great if you don't understand long words, but it also means that you're not getting the full story. Here's an attempt to give the full story. How windows ...

What is in the "Windows 95 Special Edition" box?

August 20th, 2003

At the Windows 95 Launch and at various other marketing events, guests were given a copy of "Windows 95 Special Edition". What is so special about the box? Answer: The box. The contents of the box are exactly the same as a regular copy of Windows 95. The only thing special ...

Lessons from the trenches

August 19th, 2003

Lessons I learned from working in product support the past few days...

There will be a part 9 in the scrollbar series

August 18th, 2003

But it's not finished yet. I hope to get to it later this week...

Why does Windows 95 have functions called BEAR, BUNNY and PIGLET?

August 18th, 2003

If you dig back into your Windows 95 files, you'll find that some internal system functions are given names like BEAR35, BUNNY73 and PIGLET12. Surely there is a story behind these silly names, isn't there? Of course there is. "Bear" is the name of the Windows 3.1 mascot, a stuffed teddy ...

A day in the trenches

August 16th, 2003

I got up at 5 this morning to spend the day at Product Support Services answering phones: today was the day the Blaster worm launched its second wave. And by a startling coincidence, the person at the station next to me was Michael Howard our Senior Security Program Manager and author of Writing...