Registry Tweaker Philosophy

The Idea

I got the idea for Registry Tweaker, while I was working with Microsoft Outlook 2003 on company PC. User couldn't open attachments with mdb extension. I found a registry tweak that allowed me to specify which files (with certain extensions) can be opened (viewed). The idea of Registry Tweaker (RT) was born. At that time I was using REG files, so I could patch PCs instantly. I quickly got some more tweaks and created first version of RT. It was really primitive, but it was doing his job very well. You can get this old version from Download page, it's good to know something about RT history :). Soon I got more ideas, how to improve it. Friends also had some suggestions and I was a busy bee. Basic idea was, that RT will have its database and can read from it. This is a first step of customization. Why? I decided to put database in plain text, so anyone can view it and change it from their favorite text editor. Database Editor was added later and it's now a crucial part of RT. Program became more customizable with advancing program interface and features like profiles, categories, exports, etc.

The Big Deal

I sure am happy what RT is today. I never thought that this progy will be such a success. I got many positive thoughts from users and I am very happy about it. Of course you might say: "No big deal, this program is nothing new." or "Just another Registry Tweaker..". But, if you look to it from more professional side...why use RT? If you had a chance to work in corporate environment, you know that need for specialized tools, that can ease a job, are welcome. You also know that companies do not want to pay for such programs, so we (admins) must deal with the problems on our own. Administrators are writing tools or a scripts that can help them to achieve quicker, safer and automatic process. This are the things I used when I was building RT. Because this RT idea was good to me, I thought other might use this as well. As far as I know, RT is used by advanced users. These users are familiar with Windows Registry and have also, just like me, been using other Registry Tweaking or cleaning tools. If you are not familiar with Windows Registry, it's time for you to discover and maybe learn some new stuff (read article about Windows Registry).

RT vs. ?

I never saw anything similar to RT, well maybe you have. Working with RT is easy and very customizable. You can copy it on USB pen or HDD and patch PCs with one click. Or use it remotely, by coping it on server and run it on clients. You can create custom databases and profiles. I saw someone saying that RT does not offer enough tweaks. That is true in a way of course. When I was searching for tweaks to include in RT database, I wanted rare or uncommon tweaks, that are "none-clickable". What I mean is that you can't set them by clicking in Windows Properties, Control Panel, etc. But when RT was getting larger, with more features, other tweaks were also included. You can also check forum and copy/paste tweaks from users or you can add your own custom tweaks, the choice is yours. Here I would like to mention my buddy Smashly who is totally dedicated to RT and supplies it with new tweaks. If you need *.reg files for your scripts, you can easily export profiles to *.reg files and use it. When you explore RT databases, you can see all basic tweak components. Hive, key, value name and value itself are basic components of every tweak. So you can always check what will be written and where. RT also supports all common tweaking types, from DWORD, STRING and BINARY. I am proud to say that ;). Basically you can import every known tweak to RT and apply it.

Final Thoughts

RT is a success, my personal achievement and I am proud of it. This text is just a hint on what I was thinking while building RT and contains some explanations about it. Thanks for your reading.

Copyright © 2005, 2006 Miha Jakovac