Windows 7 : Working with Registry Entries (part 2)

12/3/2010 2:40:09 PM

Editing a String Value

If the setting is a REG_SZ value (as it is in our example), a REG_MULTI_SZ value, or a REG_EXPAND_SZ value, you see the Edit String dialog box, shown in Figure 2 . Use the Value Data text box to enter a new string or modify the existing string, and then click OK. (For a REG_MULTI_SZ multistring value, Value Data is a multiline text box. Type each string value on its own line. That is, after each string, press Enter to start a new line.)

Figure 2. You see the Edit String dialog box if you’re modifying a string value.

Editing a DWORD or QWORD Value

If the setting is a REG_DWORD, you see the Edit DWORD (32-Bit) Value dialog box shown in Figure 3 . In the Base group, select either Hexadecimal or Decimal, and then use the Value Data text box to enter the new value of the setting. (If you chose the Hexadecimal option, enter a hexadecimal value; if you chose Decimal, enter a decimal value.) Note that editing a QWORD value is identical, except that the dialog box is named Edit QWORD (64-Bit) Value, instead.

Figure 3. You see the Edit DWORD Value dialog box if you’re modifying a double word value.

Editing a Binary Value

If the setting is a REG_BINARY value, you see an Edit Binary Value dialog box like the one shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. You see the Edit Binary Value dialog box if you’re modifying a binary value.

For binary values, the Value Data box is divided into three vertical sections:

Starting Byte Number— The four-digit values on the left of the Value Data box tell you the sequence number of the first byte in each row of hexadecimal numbers. This sequence always begins at 0, so the sequence number of the first byte in the first row is 0000. There are eight bytes in each row, so the sequence number of the first byte in the second row is 0008, and so on. You can’t edit these values.
Hexadecimal Numbers (Bytes)— The eight columns of two-digit numbers in the middle section display the setting’s value, expressed in hexadecimal numbers, where which each two-digit number represents a single byte of information. You can edit these values.
ANSI Equivalents— The third section on the right side of the Value Data box shows the ANSI equivalents of the hexadecimal numbers in the middle section. For example, the first byte of the first row is the hexadecimal value 54, which represents the uppercase letter T. You can also edit the values in this column.