Configuring the Windows XP Interface COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

[Pages:22]1 Configuring the

Windows XP Interface

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

T he desktop is the basic part of the interface that allows you to maneuver around Windows XP and get to what you need. In the past, the desktop was full of icons, but under the default Windows XP Desktop, you're likely to see only the Recycle Bin. The purpose of the desktop is to make your work and play with Windows XP easier. As such, you have many options that enable you to reconfigure the desktop in a variety of ways.

This chapter focuses on customizing and personalizing the desktop and the basic Windows XP interface. You'll see how to change the configuration of Windows XP so that it looks the way you want.

IN THIS CHAPTER

Customizing the XP Desktop Working with Screen Savers Managing the Start Menu Using the Taskbar

Customizing the

XP Desktop

Windows XP is essentially a theme. This means that the desktop, icon appearance, colors, fonts, and desktop wallpaper are all determined by some preconfigured settings under Windows XP. That's fine, and if you like the desktop the way it is, you can leave things as they are. However, if you are curious and prefer to change things to match your personal taste, the desktop area is

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Part I Configuring and Personalizing Windows XP

most likely the place you'll start. Fortunately, you can easily make a number of apparent and not-so-apparent changes to the desktop to customize it. The following sections explore the customization features that you'll find in Windows XP.

Choosing the Classic Theme

The default appearance of Windows XP is a basic theme that is preconfigured when you buy your computer. However, if you are nostalgic for the earlier days of Windows, then you can easily change the default look of Windows XP so that it looks like an earlier version of Windows, such as Windows 98. Changing the theme, however, doesn't actually change the functionality of your Windows XP computer -- it just changes the desktop appearance.

To change the Windows XP desktop theme, follow these steps:

1. Click Start Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Display icon. This opens the Display Properties dialog box

(Figure 1-1).

You can also right-click an empty area of the desktop and click Properties to open the Display Properties dialog box.

3. On the Themes tab, shown in Figure 1-1, click the Theme drop-down menu and click Windows Classic. If you have a Windows XP Plus Pack installed on your computer, you may see additional themes that you can choose as well.

4. Click OK. The Windows Classic theme is applied to your computer.

Figure 1-1: Choose the Windows Classic theme option.

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Expert's Notebook: Saving a Custom Theme

Themes use default configuration options. However, you can select a theme, and then make changes to your desktop configuration. Once you do that, the theme name appears with "modified" notation attached to the name. You can click the Save As button on theThemes tab and rename your modified theme to something else.This allows you to create custom themes between which you can toggle by simply choosing the assigned theme name on the Themes tab. When you choose the Save As option, you see a standard Save As dialog box. You can then give your new theme a name, and save it in the My Documents folder with a .theme file extension. Curt Simmon

In the Theme drop-down menu, look for the More themes online option. This option takes you to where you can purchase the Microsoft Plus! SuperPack for Windows XP. This gives you four additional themes. You can also directly visit the SuperPack page at windows/ plus/screensavers.asp.

Changing the Desktop Wallpaper

Wallpaper is a term used to describe what you see as the background on the desktop. You can use the default theme wallpaper, choose from a list of wallpapers, use your own picture as wallpaper, or simply pick a color. Windows makes it easy for you to make the desktop look however you want with minimal fuss.

1. Click Start Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display properties icon. This opens the Display Properties dialog box.

3. Click the Desktop tab. On the Desktop tab, you have the following options:

? Selecting a Desktop Color: Choose the None option in the Background section, and then click the Color drop-down menu and choose a desktop color, as shown in Figure 1-2. This action gives your desktop the selected color with no additional graphics or pictures.

? Selecting a Desktop Pattern: Choose a desktop picture or pattern from the available options in the Background section of the dialog box, as shown in Figure 1-3. The options that you see here vary, depending on whether you have any PlusPacks installed.

? Select your own picture. Click the Browse button and locate a desired photo file in a standard format, such as a JPEG, BMP, and so on. Select the photo and click Open. The photo appears in the Background selection options and is selected. You can use the Position drop-down menu to Center, Tile, or Stretch the photo, if necessary.

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Figure 1-2: You can choose a desktop color from the drop-down menu.

Figure 1-3: Choose a desktop wallpaper option.

You can select most standard photo file formats, such as JPEG, BMP, PNG, and so on. You can use HTML files as well. However, program-specific files do not work. For example, you can create a Photoshop file and save it as a PSD file. However, Windows XP does not recognize the file as a standard photo file. To work around this problem, re-open the file in Photoshop and save it as a JPEG. 4. Click OK when you're done. The desktop wallpaper changes.

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Adding Desktop Icons

By default, the Windows XP theme only places the Recycle Bin on the desktop. The idea is to give you a cleaner desktop without a bunch of icons crowding up the space. However, you can place My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, or Internet Explorer directly on the desktop. You can create a shortcut to any Start menu item or folder on your computer and place it on the desktop as well.

To place My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, or Internet Explorer on the desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Display properties icon and click the Desktop tab. 3. Click the Customize Desktop button. 4. On the Desktop Items dialog box, select the General tab. Click the desired

check boxes for the standard desktop icons that you want to place on the desktop, as shown in Figure 1-4. 5. Click OK.

Figure 1-4: Select the desktop icons that you want to use.

To add other icons to the desktop, you can click the Start menu and simply drag any icon to the desktop. This creates a shortcut on the desktop. You can also create a shortcut for any application or folder and place it on the desktop as well. You can learn more about creating and managing shortcuts later in this chapter.

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Part I Configuring and Personalizing Windows XP

Changing the Appearance of a Desktop Icon

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows XP has a default appearance for standard desktop icons, such as My Computer and My Documents. However, you can change the appearance of those icons and even create an icon with a graphics program, such as Paint, Adobe Photoshop, or Jasc Paint Shop Pro. You can then use the icon that you have created as a default icon. Follow these steps:

1. Click Start Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Display properties icon and click the Desktop tab. 3. Click the Customize Desktop button. On the General tab of the Desktop Items

dialog box, notice the default icon appearance for My Computer, My Documents, and so on (see Figure 1-5). 4. To change an icon, select it and click the Change Icon button. 5. On the Change Icon dialog box, shown in Figure 1-5, select the icon that you want to use, or click the Browse button to select an alternate *.ico file. 6. Click OK when you're done. The icons appear.

Figure 1-5: Windows XP has various icon options for you to choose.

When you use the Change Icon option, it changes the appearance of the icon in all places that the icon appears on your computer, including the Start menu.

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Expert's Notebook: Automatic Desktop Cleanup

Windows XP has an automated feature called Desktop Cleanup. The Desktop Cleanup wizard attempts to remove older icons from your desktop that you have not used for more than 60 days by placing the old icons in an Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder. Although by default, the tool runs every 60 days, you can manually start it by clicking the Clean Desktop Now button on the Desktop Items dialog box. You may find this tool helpful if you use a lot of desktop icons, yet, in my experience, the Desktop Cleanup wizard has a tendency to move things around that you may not want moved. If you want to maintain better control of what is on your desktop, you can disable the feature by unchecking the "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days" check box on the General tab of Desktop Items. Curt Simmons

Using HTML Content on the Desktop

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows XP allows you to place active HTML content and even complete Web pages on your desktop. You can configure these desktop Web pages to update periodically so that you always see fresh content. Since its inception, this feature has not been very popular, because a Web page on your desktop tends to clutter things up, and you can just as easily configure Internet Explorer to use your favorite Web site as a start page (see Chapter 13). However, if you want to keep track of a particular Web site and see it on the desktop, you can easily do so. Follow these steps:

1. Click Start Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display properties icon and click the Desktop tab.

3. Click the Customize Desktop button and click the Web tab on the Desktop Items dialog box.

4. On the Web tab, click the New button. This opens the New Desktop Item wizard, as shown in Figure 1-6. You can click Visit Gallery to see the downloadable desktop options that are available at . You can also enter the URL of the Web page that you want to use on the desktop, or click Browse to add a picture or HTML document.

Like using HTML content on the desktop, the Internet Explorer Gallery is one of those features that never really took off. The gallery contains some active desktop content that you can download and use, but the stuff you find there isn't too exciting. Fee l free to check it out, though.

5. Click OK. The Web page will now appear as an option on the Web tab, as shown in Figure 1-7. You can click the Synchronize button to update the Web site. A connection to the Internet is required.

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Figure 1-6: Enter the desired URL, or choose to visit the gallery.

Figure 1-7: The Web tab of the Desktop Items dialog box

6. Click OK on the Web tab when you're done. The Web page will now appear on your desktop.

Configuring Desktop Appearance Options

If you open the Display Properties dialog box and click the Appearance tab, a number of options allow you to configure how everything looks on Windows XP. This includes Window and button styles, color schemes, font styles, and a number of advanced features. These are all easy to configure, and they enable you to fine-tune the appearance of Windows XP. Follow these steps:

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