User Interface
Registry Explorer (just kidding)
Regedit is similar to Windows Explorer. In fact the root of the tree is "My Computer", just like it is in Windows Explorer. I don't know why they didn't name it Registry Explorer.
The left pane of Regedit shows keys and sub-keys. The right pane shows only values, which is different from Windows which shows sub-folders in both the left and righ.
Keys are like folders for files. Each key -- and in turn, each sub-key -- can contain sub-keys, one default value, and as many other values as needed.
Each value has a specific data type. There are many of them, but the ones you'll work with are text strings, integers, or collections of binary bytes.
Registry values:
The text types are REG_SZ, REG_EXPAND_SZ, and REG_MULTI_SZ.
REG_SZ is used for a simple text string, such as c:\windows or yes. SZ <= string
REG_EXPAND_SZ is used for text strings that contain environment variables enclosed in percent signs-for example %SystemRoot%\system32.
REG_MULTI_SZ is used when the data is a collection of text strings separated by null characters and ending with two null characters.
The number types are four-byte integers.
REG_DWORD is used for numbers, with the most significant byte in the high-order location.
REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN is used for numbers, with the most significant byte in the low-order location.
The main binary type.
REG_BINARY is used for binary data.
