®® Microsoft Windows 7 Windows Tutorial 3 Personalizing Your Windows Environment

XP Objectives Access desktop icons and gadgets on the desktop Create and use shortcuts on the desktop Use the Control Panel Customize the desktop Activate a screen saver Change display settings New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 72

XP Objectives Manage the desktop with Aero tools Pin items to and modify the taskbar Customize taskbar toolbars Change Start menu settings Pin items on the Start menu New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 73

XP Accessing Common Tools on the Desktop New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 74

XP Displaying Standard Desktop Icons Right-click an empty area of the desktop, then click Personalize on the shortcut menu In the left pane of the Personalization window, click Change desktop icons In the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, click to select a check box for each icon you want to add to the desktop Click the OK button New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 75

XP Displaying Standard Desktop Icons New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 76

XP Using Windows Gadgets Gadgets offer information at a glance and offer similar tools to those you might find on a physical desk: – Calendar – Clock – CPU Meter – Currency – Feed Headlines New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 77 – Picture Puzzle – Slide Show – Weather – Windows Media Center

XP Using Windows Gadgets Right-click the desktop, and then click Gadgets to display gadgets currently installed on your computer New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 78

XP Using Shortcuts You can create shortcuts to access drives, documents, files, Web pages, programs, or other computer resources such as a printer New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 79

XP Using Shortcuts New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 710

XP Personalizing with the Control Panel To open the Control Panel window, double- click the Control Panel icon on your desktop. If the icon does not appear on your desktop, click the icon on the Start menu New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 711

XP Personalizing with the Control Panel New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 712

XP Personalizing with the Control Panel New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 713

XP Selecting a Theme Open the Control Panel window and switch to Category view, if necessary. Click Appearance and Personalization. Click Personalization. Click a theme. New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 714

XP Changing the Desktop Background Open the Control Panel Click Appearance and Personalization Click the Change desktop background link New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 715

XP Changing the Desktop Background New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 716

XP Changing Desktop Colors and Fonts Windows Color and Appearance allows you to change the properties of window elements Click Window Color in the Personalization window New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 717

XP Activating a Screen Saver A screen saver blanks the screen or displays a moving design whenever you haven’t worked with the computer for a specified period of time New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 718

XP Changing Display Settings Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images on your screen – Items appear sharper and smaller at a higher resolution New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 719

XP Managing the Desktop with Aero Tools New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 720

XP Modifying the Taskbar The taskbar contains three sections: – Start button – Middle section Program buttons – Notification area Current time and date Program icons System status information New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 721

XP Pinning Programs to the Taskbar If the program is already running, right-click the program button, and then click Pin this program to taskbar. Or If the program is not running, click the Start button, locate the program in the Start menu, right-click the program icon, and then click Pin to Taskbar. New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 722

XP Moving and Resizing the Taskbar Make sure the taskbar is unlocked. To unlock it, right-click any blank spot on the taskbar, and then click Lock the taskbar on the shortcut menu to remove the check mark. To move the taskbar, click a blank spot on the taskbar, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the taskbar to a new location (the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the desktop). To resize the taskbar, point to a taskbar border until a resize pointer appears, and then drag the border to a different height or width. New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 723

XP Moving and Resizing the Taskbar New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 724

XP Setting Taskbar Appearance Properties Right-click a blank area on the taskbar, and then click Properties New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 725

XP Working with Taskbar Toolbars One way to customize the taskbar is to use it to display toolbars New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 726

XP Creating a Custom Taskbar Toolbar To create a custom toolbar, right-click a blank area of the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click New toolbar In the New Toolbar − choose a folder window, click the folder or object you want to turn into a toolbar, and then click the Select Folder button New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 727

XP Customizing the Start Menu To customize the Start menu, right-click Start button on the taskbar, then click Properties; click the Customize button New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 728

XP Pinning an Item to the Start Menu New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 729

XP Selecting Start Menu Settings New Perspectives on Microsoft Windows 730