UTILITIES IRON OUT SOFTWARE GLITCHES.

Byline: Charlie Paschal Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

If you're one of those addicted to Windows 95, here are some utilities (some shareware, one freeware, some commercial) that you might want to consider getting:

ShoveIt: If you're one of those folks who like your menus to drop down or want to make your PC look more like a Mac, then you've moved your taskbar to the top of your screen. (If you don't know how to do that, just click on an open spot on the taskbar, hold and drag it to the top or either side. It will then dock itself there.) The trouble with this, though, is that some unruly applications will stick their title bar underneath the taskbar and you're unable to move or resize the application.

This little utility solves that problem. When an application tucks its title bar underneath the taskbar, ShoveIt gives it a gentle nudge to move it down. You can do this by clicking on ShoveIt, or you can make it automatic (why wouldn't you?). ShoveIt is freeware by Phil Hord (phord(at)msn.com).

Winshade: Since Corel invented window shades (little menus that roll up like a window shade with just the title bar showing), the nifty feature has been showing up everywhere, including Macs. Mark Rentz and Chris Fuchs (Shapphire) have moved this out on the desktop in Windows 95.

With Winshade invoked, clicking on the title bar of any application rolls it up with a whoosh. (The sound effects are great.) Clicking on the bar again rolls the application down. I use this a lot when I'm involved with a Windows 95 news group. I have an editor open (rolled up, of course), and when I find a nifty Win95 tip, I select the text I want, click on copy, then roll up the application, roll down my editor, paste, roll it up again and go back to the news group. (Registration: $5, Mark Rentz/500 Memorial Drive/Cambridge, MA/02139-4326). (Shareware is software that you can try before buying. If you use the programs frequently, you should register them.)

Long File Names: This is a must one for me. Although it costs $29 (View, 1-800-LFN-VIEW), it's worth it because it gives you long file names in virtually all 3.1 applications. It does this so easily that I seldom notice the old DOS name anymore unless I shell out to a DOS box. It's the best of all similar utilities.

Ezdesk: Have you ever messed up your Windows 95 settings and had to load in "safe mode" to get things straight? If you're using a high resolution video driver, when you do this and return to your normal desktop, all the icons are packed together and scrambled. Ezdesk by Melissa Nguyen ($15) is worth the price. What Ezdesk does is give you the option of saving your desktop for each resolution. Thus, when this happens to my desktop (or when my 7-year-old niece scrambles it), all I have to do is use Ezdesk to make it pleasing to my eyes again. This useful utility can be registered at 8-A Village Loop, Suite 160/Pomona, CA 91766.