On Fri, 1 Mar 2019 20:30:38 -0700, Bill in Co wrote:
I've done some of those things, but it's still a bit of a PIA. And don't
get me started on the circular references and junction points crapola!

As I've said, life is too short for this obfuscation (at least for me).

You sound the way I did when I first got Windows 7. Then I buckled
down and learned it, with the help of people in this group and the
excellent book /Windows 7 Inside Out/.(*)

I don't mean to make light of your pain, I'm just saying that you
sound like you're letting frustration get the better of you. In my
experience, the best way to master such feelings is not to keep the
complications at arm's length -- as you've observed, that's a losing
game. Instead, I've found it best really to learn as much as I needed
to know to get the jobs done.

Windows XP (and Windows 98SE and Windows 2000) were simply lean and
mean, with nothing ever getting in your way.

It may seem that way in hindsight, but I remember a steep learning
curve even for Windows XP. The "Annoyances" book was my constant
companion.

If you ever drink the Kool-Aid ... oops, I mean "upgrade" to Windows
10 ... I guarantee you'll look back with nostalgia on Windows 7 and
sigh about how Windows 7 just worked and Windows 10 constantly gets
in your way.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://BrownMath.com/
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
Shikata ga nai...