TWEAK - The Windows Environment and Application Konfigurator

TWEAK will configure and manage Windows (for performance, usability and security); various software applications (OpenOffice, Mozilla, etcetera) and hardware drivers; desktop, Start Menu and Quick Launch shortcuts; file type associations; services; and permissions.

Download and use the latest beta test version for free: version 0.9.0 Release Candidate 3 (released 12^th June 2008)
[Change log] [MD5 checksum: 3448256a4247fd98bf82f2a33cd4bb81]

Download and use the latest stable but outdated version for free: version 0.8.42 (released 27^th July 2004)
[Release notes] [MD5 checksum: cbfcf6fa0b2c107e8899c755fc231a3d]

Microsoft Windows' default configuration can be much improved upon in terms of performance, usability and security. Configuring Windows and software applications can be time consuming, especially if you manage lots of computers/users.
This program (by itself and using other programs) tweaks the Windows user interface and system configuration; configures applications and hardware drivers; and manages icons/shortcuts, file and directory permissions and file type associations by making automated changes to the Windows registry and file system, in accordance with our document on Configuring Windows 2000/XP for Performance, Usability and Security, applying settings in convenient chunks defined by subject and context.

Applications configurable using TWEAK include Mozilla, OpenOffice, Pegasus Mail, IrfanView, NoteTab, Nero, Zinf, F-Prot, Sun Java Runtime Environment, Adobe (Acrobat) Reader, Adobe Page Maker, Real (One) Player.

To use TWEAK, download then unzip it using any unzipping program (such as 7-Zip) and run the file tweak.bat.

Windows configuration changes are made with respect to the default settings Windows installs with. Application configuration sections assume the applications are installed in versionless, brandless directories, i.e. 'mozilla' rather than 'mozilla.org\Mozilla'); if you've installed elsewhere then you can change this behaviour.

TWEAK is part of the Windows Toolbox (a collection of predominantly ethical software for Windows, and information) and is used to configure workstations for the Roaming Computing System (instructions on setting up a complete organisation-wide computing system using Windows workstations and predominantly Free software applications and servers).

This program is still in development; It comes with absolutely no warranty. Though it has proved reliable in numerous production environments that we administer, we cannot be sure it will not behave unexpectedly in unforseen circumstances. To help us understand how it works or not in your situation your feedback would be appreciated (use email or the discussion forum) - let us know how you're using it, whether or not it works, changes or additions we could make to improve the program, or code patches for inclusion. TWEAK is written in batch language so you are easily able to examine its innards with any text editor.

TWEAK makes use of other programs to do its work, either those included with Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP Home/Pro or these other programs which are bundled with TWEAK (and for which we are indebted to their authors):
Reg (AKA RegFree) by David G. Thomas, atleast available from JSI (for editing the registry);
Perl (a version from DJGPP);
SetACL by Helge Klein (for setting file, directory and registry permissions; source code available from SourceForge);
Associate by Cool Toys (for setting file type associations);
UnZip by Greg Roelofs and Christian Spieler (for uncompressing compressed images).
A Mozilla splash screen image created by Johan Josefsson is also included.

TWEAK is licenced under the GNU General Public License.
TWEAK is Copyright (C) 2003-2008 Pete Boyd. All rights reserved. This is Free software and comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.

TWEAK is registered with SourceForge, who kindly provide many of the services accompanying its web site.

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