Lexington Public Library | Reading is Just the Beginning ...



Making a Master Control PanelThere are a whole lot of settings you can customize in Windows. The main problem with them is that they’re divided up and scattered all over the place. Using the Search to find settings helps a little, but there is an easier way. You can gather all your settings into one place on your desktop with the Master Control Panel. 1. Go to an empty part of the Desktop and right click. Select New and left click on Folder.2. Name the folder Master Control Panel.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}3. It is the long string of letters and numbers in the brackets that makes this work, so type them in very carefully. If the icon does not change from a folder icon to a control panel icon after you have finished naming it, you will need to go back and check the character string in the brackets to make sure it was all typed in right. 4. For those who prefer a more classic solution the standard Control Panel is still reachable by right clicking on the Start Button. The two are similar in their organization, but not exactly the same.Accessing All Programs from the DesktopWhile the Start Menu gives us access to programs through All Apps, finding the programs that have been buried in folders can be a little annoying. We’re going to get around that by creating a special shortcut on the Desktop, one that will give us all the programs on the computer in one neat listing. 1. Go to an empty part of the Desktop and right click. On the right click menu, select New and left click on Shortcut. It should be the second item on the list.2. In the box that opens, type: Explorer Shell:AppsFolder3. Click Next in the lower right corner.4. When it asks you to name your shortcut, type: All Programs and click Finish in the lower right corner. 5. You should now see the shortcut on your desktop. Double click to open All Programs. Once the shortcut opens, you can right click on an empty area to sort and group the programs. Changing Your Default ProgramsMany, though not all, of the previous versions of windows programs are still available on Windows 10. Often they are hidden away to give the spotlight to newer apps. However, you have the option to choose what programs you would like to handle certain jobs and functions. 1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings. 2. In Settings, locate and click on System. 3. Look along the left side of the open window. Default Apps is the second item from the bottom. 4. The most common tasks will each have a listing in the main window. The app currently assigned to that task will be pictured directly below. To assign a new app to the job, click the icon representing the current app, or the plus sign if there isn’t one assigned. This will cause a list of options to appear.6. Left click on the app you want and its icon will replace the old one. 7. If you don’t see what you want, several more advanced methods are listed below the categories. You can assign defaults by file type, by protocol, or by individual app. Custom Keyboard ShortcutsWant a quicker way to open your favorite programs without cluttering up your desktop or diving into the start menu? By creating a custom keyboard shortcut you can trigger the launching of the program no matter where the actual shortcut icon is located. 1. Create or locate a shortcut for the desired program. 2. Right click on the shortcut icon and select Properties from the menu. 3. In the Shortcut Key box type Ctrl + Alt + desired letter or number. Make sure to use each combination only once. 4. Please remember that some programs may also be using these shortcuts internally, so you may get multiple effects when using the shortcut while in an open program. Different Ways to See Your ScreenWindows 10 gives you several different ways to view, organize, and access the programs and files you’re working with. Task View, a new button that appears in the lower left corner of the screen, shows you all currently open windows. It works well with the snap feature to make arranging open windows quick and easy. It even lets you view programs open in separate work areas, though not all at once. You do need to point to the work area you wish to view from the list in the lower portion of the screen. Or you can adjust things in the settings by going to System > Multitasking > Virtual desktops.Virtual Desktops are separate work areas you can create to help keep different projects or activities separated while still easily accessible. 1. Open the Task View and look in the lower right corner.2. Click on the New Desktop button once for each new work area you want to create. You can easily create 20+. The only limit appears to be how many open programs you think your computer can handle at once. 3. Select a Desktop and open the programs you want it to hold or manually drag open windows to a new desktop from the Task View. You can open the same program across multiple desktops, but not the same file. Any given file can only be open in one place at a time. 4. You can easily switch between desktops by holding down Ctrl + Windows Key and pressing the left or right arrows. 5.If you close a virtual desktop (Windows Key +?Ctrl?+ F4) with things still on it, the open windows will be shifted over to the next desktop to the left. Tablet mode is a separate mode geared more toward mobile devices. It has a slightly simplified structure more closely resembling an improved version of Windows 8 that has been optimized for touch screen use. It can be toggled on and off from the System area of Settings or from the Action Center.Alternative PasswordsIf you’re sick of having to type in the likes of f74DrW52$ just because you were distracted a few minutes too long and the computer brought up the lock screen again, then you’re not alone. And you do have a few alternatives. If you’re tired of typing, you can set up a Picture Password instead. Picture passwords work best with touchscreen devices, but they are still useable with a mouse. 1. Go to Settings on the start menu and click on Accounts.2. Once you are in accounts select Sign-in Options on the left. Then click on the Create a picture password button on the right half of the screen. You may need to scroll down slightly.3. Type in your current password as proof you are the owner of the account. 4. Click the Choose picture button on the left half of the screen. This will take you into your picture library. Select one of the pictures by left clicking on it, then click Open in the lower right corner. Then click the Use this Picture button on the left half of the screen.5. You are now ready to set your password. You will draw three marks on your picture. They can be straight lines, circles, or dots. The direction you draw the lines and circles in matters. Once you have drawn the three, you will be asked to confirm your new password by repeating them. Once the picture password has been confirmed, click the Finish button at the bottom left of the screen. There is also the Pin option. The Pin button is below the Picture Password button. You can choose a four-digit number to serve as your way to log in. Just remember that, while it’s convenient, it is going to be a lot easier to guess then a longer, more complicated password so it doesn’t provide quite the same level of security.Windows 10 also has a new option called Windows Hello that will allow you to log in using facial recognition, fingerprints, or even iris scans. However, these methods do require your computer to have additional hardware to work. If the proper hardware is present you will see these options listed along with the other sign in options. Making your own iconsFor some extra customization and personalization, you can even replace the standard icons with custom made ones. Pictures used for icons must be of the .ico file type, but there are a number of free programs and websites that can convert pictures to this file type. There are only two main requirements for a picture you wish to convert into an icon. The picture must be perfectly square, with identical height and width, and it must be 256 pixels or smaller. Any adjustments required to meet these conditions can easily be done in a basic graphics program. 1. Open Paint and click File in the upper left corner. 2. Click on Open and browse to the picture you wish to use. Open it.3. Once the picture is open, click on Resize in the Image section of the ribbon. If you don’t want to use the entire picture you can crop the unwanted sections before resizing.4. In the resizing window, select pixels. Make sure the maintain aspect ratio box is unchecked. 5. Type the desired size into the Horizontal and Vertical boxes. Remember the two values must be the same and cannot be larger than 256. 6. Once you have finished altering the image, save it under a new name and close paint. A good option is to add the word icon to the name. You can even create a special icon folder to make them easier to keep up with. 1. Locate the Icon Maker and double click to open it. 2. You can drag the image over into the Icon Maker work area or go to File and Import Images.3. Once the image is visible in the work area, go to File and click Save Icon. Choose a name and location for the save. Once it is saved, close the Icon Maker. 1. Locate the icon you wish to replace and right click on it. 2. Select Properties from the bottom of the right click menu.3. In the box that opens, find the Customize tab. The Change Icon button will be near the bottom. 4. Click Change Icon and then click Browse. Locate where you saved your icon, select it, and then click Ok. Select the smaller version of the icon as it appears and click Ok again. 5. The new icon should now be displayed down by the Change Icon button. To finalize the change click either Apply or Ok. If an icon appearance does not update instantly, it will update at the next restart. Or you can try to hurry the update along by using the Refresh command on the right click menu. The Icon Maker can be downloaded for free here: ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download