The contents of the initialization files are read in during Windows startup. If any changes are made to these files, you must exit, then restart Windows to read in the changes. Initialization files are standard ASCII text files. Each is divided into sections of related items or keynames. These keynames represent different Windows parameters. Your initialization files may not contain all of the sections listed. Some are not created unless needed. Even then, they will only contain keywords representing appropriate parameter information.

• [windows]
  The [windows] section sets a number of basic environmental parameters. These include mouse parameters, keyboard parameters, basic printer parameters, and screen saver information. There are two parameters of special interest:
  • load=filename:
    Any filenames listed will be automatically launched each time Windows is started. Applications will be launched as icons, as if Minimize on Use has been set for the program. If the file is not located in the Windows directory, you must supply the full path name.
    
  • run=filename:
    This is similar to the load= parameter, except that applications are not minimized as they run.
    
• [desktop]:
  Parameters within this section control the desktop appearance. Settings include icon spacing, icon title appearance, wallpaper, and desktop pattern information. Most of the settings in this section are directly modified by the Desktop icon in the Control Panel.
  
• [extensions]:
  By associating a data file extension with an application, you can have Windows automatically launch the application when you select to open the data file. Entries contain the extension, one to three characters without the period, an equal sign, and the command line associated with the extension. Entries may be added by directly editing the WIN.INI or through the Associate selection in the File Manager, File pulldown menu. Windows will load several default associations during installation. The entries in your WIN.INI file will be determined by additional associations you have made.
  
• [intl]:
  Different countries use different formats for displaying time, date, and currency information. It also contains the definition for the language to be used for spell checks. The settings for your system are stored in this section. These entries may be modified through the International icon in the Control Panel. All entries default to United States standards.
  
• [ports]:
  The [ports] section is used to define output ports available to printers and default port values for serial (COM) ports. Up to ten ports may be defined, including LPTx: ports, COMx: ports, logical LPTx ports, and file output. Logical ports are used to provide additional ports for assignment, but print to physical LPTx ports. The entries in this section are used when setting up Windows printers. If a port is not listed in this section, it will not be available for assignment to a printer. You must edit this section to make any changes to the list of available ports.
  
• [fonts]:
  Screen fonts will be loaded each time Windows is launched. The fonts to be loaded for your system are described in this section. Each entry will contain a font name, used when making a font selection, and the font filename.
  
• [FontSubstitutes]:
  This section describes font name equivalents; that is, fonts that Windows recognizes as identical to a different typeface. It is used to specify the Windows 3.0 screen fonts that should be replaced with Windows 3.1 equivalents, and what those equivalents are.
  
• [TrueType]:
  Sets true type options, such as determining if TrueType fonts will be listed in application menus, if other fonts should be listed as well, what to do if there is another font with the same name as a TrueType font, and when to switch between outline and bitmap display of screen fonts.
  
• [mci extensions]:
  This is similar to the [extensions] section. It is used to define associations between mci file extension and the appropriate application to use when opening an associated file.
  
• [network]:
  Network settings and connections information are defined in this section. It includes path information used to reconnect to network printers, as well as whether or not to reconnect each time Windows is launched.
  
• [embedding]:
  Lists OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) object definitions. Each entry includes object descriptions, the application used to create the object (source application), and the file format.
  
• [Windows Help]:
  This section relates to the Windows help function, but possibly in a way you don't expect. Parameters in this section define the size and placement of Help, History, Annotate, and Copy Windows.
  
• [compatibility]:
  Programs that will work with Windows, but require Windows to make operational changes, are listed in this section. Programs are listed, followed by a hexadecimal value. When one of these programs is launched, Windows will set internal flags based on the hexadecimal values. There is normally no reason to modify the contents of this section.
  
• [Sounds]:
  Systems events are listed along with an associated sound. Each listing will contain an event, the filename of the sound to be played when the event occurs, and a textual description of the event. This section is normally modified through the Sounds icon in the Control Panel rather than by directly editing WIN.INI.
  
• [PrinterPorts]:
  Both active and inactive printer ports that can be accessed by a Windows device driver are listed in this section. Items in this section are usually modified through the Printers icon in the Control Panel or the Printer Setup selection in the Print Manager Options menu.
  NOTE: If you make any manual changes to this section, you must also reflect these changes in the [devices] section.
  Each entry contains a descriptive device name, device driver filename, port connection, device timeout value, and retry timeout value. The device and retry timeout values override those in the [Windows] section of the WIN.INI file. [devices] This section will contain the same entries as the [PrinterPorts] section, but in a slightly different format. Each entry will contain only the printer driver textual description, the driver filename, and the port to which the printer is attached. This section is used for compatibility with Windows 2.x applications.
  
• [programs]:
  Contains a list of directories through which Windows will search when looking for an application. This is in addition to the DOS search path. When opening a data file which has an associated application, Windows will use this section to help in locating the application file. Each entry contains the name of an associated application and its full path and filename. Include the extension with the filename.
  
• [colors]:
  Defines the color scheme for Windows components. Each component is listed as a keyword, followed by red, green, and blue color values. This section can be changed through the Colors icon in the Control Panel.

• [boot]:
  Parameters required for Windows startup are listed in this section. These include drivers, menu fonts, the Windows shell, the task manager, and so on. Values are assigned to these entries during SETUP. You can run SETUP from DOS, or use the Change System Settings... selection under the Options pulldown menu of Windows setup to modify the driver values. A, relatively common change in this section is to specify an alternate value as the Windows shell. This is done by modifying the file specified in the shell= parameter.
  
  • [boot.description]:
    Contains the textual descriptions for Windows device drivers. These descriptions are displayed when SETUP or Windows Setup is run.
    
  • [drivers]:
    This section is used to define aliases for selected device drivers. You can define drivers that require additional parameters when loaded, then use the defined alias as a keyword value in the [boot] section. Each entry will contain the driver alias and driver filename. If necessary, you can list any options for the driver following the filename. Some application installation programs will add entries to this section. You can also add entries through the Drivers icon in the Control Panel.
    
  • [keyboard]:
    Settings for keyboard support are listed in this section. It will specify the DLL used to provide keyboard compatibility and keyboard layout, name the file defining the EM/ANSI codepage translation, and define the specific keyboard through type and subtype alues. A codepage value will only be specified for systems not using the standard US OEM character set.
    
  • [NonWindowsApp]:
    As the name implies, this section contains DOS session control parameters. In some cases, you may be able to fine-tune the performance of DOS applications by modifying selected parameters. There are two parameters of particular interest in this section:
    • MouseInDosBox=0|1:
      This affects the way mouse support is handled for Windows grabbers. When set to 1, mouse support is available to non-Windows(DOS) applications running inside a window. Set to 0, no mouse support is available.
      
    • ScreenLines=n
      This specifies the number of lines that will be displayed inside a DOS session under Windows. This is convenient when working with command line-based utilities and information you want keeps scrolling off the top of the screen. The default is 25. Even if set to a different value, some DOS applications may override the setting.
      
  • [standard]:
    Parameters in this section relate specifically to Windows operating in the Standard mode. Most of the parameters in this section deal with timing concerns and the way in which interrupts are handled.
    
• [386enh]:
  Parameters in this section relate to Windows operating in the Enhanced mode.This section has, by far, the largest number and widest range of parameters available. Some entries in this section may specify virtual device drivers.These may be displayed either as a filename or as an asterisk (*) followed by the virtual device name. Virtual device drivers are built into the WIN386.EXE file.
  Due to the range of operational parameters supported under this section, let's take a look at each of the types of parameters separately. Device driver Defines the specific drivers used with the display, mouse, keyboard, and so forth. It also identifies any drivers that must be handled locally in each virtual session. In this situation, the device driver name specified must exactly match the case of the driver filename. For example, CON will be listed as a local device. A large number of device driver entries are available for defining serial port support. They allow you to specify serial ports at interrupts or addresses other than the default, set buffer sizes, and define communications parameters. In most cases, the easiest way to configure serial port support is through the Ports icon in the Control Panel. Hard disk Determines if 32-bit access is enabled, which can also be set through the 386 Enhanced icon in the Control Panel. There are also parameters specifying the maximum code page size for DMA, and if MCA DMA extensions are to be supported. MemoryOne of the areas where Windows shows the greatest flexibility is in how memory is supported. Detailed memory arameters are included to allow you near complete control over memory configuration and usage. This includes the following settings: the maximum size of memory, determines memory locking, DMA buffer size and location, swap file information, and XMS (Extended) and EMS (Expanded) memory specific parameters.A number of parameters are dedicated to the LRU (Least Recently Used) algorithm. While it is usually not necessary to change these values, it is helpful to understand their purpose. As physical RAM fills up, Windows must determine what it is going to swap from RAM to Virtual memory. This is done through calculations performed by the LRU algorithm. Location and size information for Temporary and Permanent swap files is also stored in this section. Usually, you will want to modify these values through the Virtual Memory settings in the Control Panel's 386 Enhanced icon.
  Expanded memory support can sometimes become a problem area. It may be necessary to block out areas of the first 1 MB of memory due to device controller conflicts, lock emulated EMS memory into RAM, or even turn off EMS memory completely. Parameters you may have to change, if you have memory problems, include:
  • EMMExclude=paragraph_range:
    Excludes the specific memory range from being canned by Windows.You are locking this area away so that it cannot be used for the EMS paging frame. Multiple ranges may be specified.
    
  • Ignore InstalledEMM=On|Off:
    If set on, this parameter tells Windows to ignore any memory resident EMS drivers. The default is Off. This may be necessary if you are using a third-party EMS driver while working in DOS, but Windows is unable to recognize the driver.
    
  • NoEMMDriver=On|Off:
    This defaults to Off. If set On, EMS memory is completely disabled.
    
• Network:
  The network parameters that are important to you will depend somewhat upon the NOS (Network Operating System) and transport protocol that you are using.The network driver or virtual driver is specified in this section, as well as handling instructions for interrupts 28 and 2A, which are sometimes critical to network TSRs.There are several parameters relating specifically to NetBIOS support. These include settings for defining local memory buffers in case of transmission errors, setting the NetBIOS DMA buffer, and specifying timeout information.
  
• Non-Windows applications:
  The non-Windows applications parameters are available to assist with compatibility and performance issues when running DOS applications. There are parameters affecting support of background processing and what to do if errors occur in the background. Many of the parameters relate to timing on keyboard usage and pasting characters from the Clipboard. On some systems, it may be necessary to increase the keyboard and Clipboard delays to avoid losing characters.Several parameters relate to display support. These include CGA font definitions, EGA font definitions, and specifications for how screen updates are handled.There are a couple of parameters that can directly affect application performance.
  
  • FileSysChange= :
    determines whether or not the File Manager is updated each time a DOS application makes changes to the directory structure or data files.Turning this off can help to improve performance.
    
  • The MinTimeSlice=:
    parameter sets the minimum amount of time that will be given to a virtual DOS session before switching to another session. Reducing this value can make applications appear smoother, but may actually impair system performance due to the additional overhead in switching more often between sessions.
    
• System:
  The System parameters include many that don't fall easily into any category, but affect overall system performance or operational characteristics.

• [current]:
  Specifies the currently selected color scheme.
  
• [color schemes]:
  Lists component color definitions for each of the color schemes available to your system. Twenty-two color schemes are installed, plus the Windows default. You can create and define additional color schemes through the Color icon in the Control Panel.
  
• [Custom Colors]:
  Lists the color definition for any custom colors that have been added to the color palette.
  
• [patterns]:
  Defines values for desktop patterns. Desktop patterns are defined as bitmaps. A color definition is stored separately for each bit in the bitmap.
  
• [installed]:
  Contains the version number of the current Windows version and lists installed printer drivers and DLLs.
  
• [MMCPL]:
  Specifies multimedia device setting parameters.
  
• [drivers.desc]:
  Lists the filename for each of the installed multimedia device drivers. A text description is stored with each of the device drivers.
  
• [Userinstallable.drivers]:
  Lists additional user-installable multimedia drivers. The format is opposite of the [drivers.desc] section. The driver description is listed first, followed by the device driver file.
  
• [ScreenSave.name]:
  Specifies parameters for the installed screen saver. Name will be replaced with the name of the screen saver. Parameters vary according to the screen saver's requirements. If no screen saver is installed, CONTROL.INI will not contain this section.