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WINDOWS
CHANGING THE SETTINGS:
by
Sharon Bond
When you are ready to
add a bit of flair and personality to the desktop---or, more important, to
adjust operations to the way you like to work----you will find that Windows
provides many important options for customizing the interface. A few of these
options are technical and best left alone to experts, but most are easy to use
and fun to explore.
LET'S
LEARN ABOUT THE CONTROL PANEL
You begin by opening the Control Panel folder,
which displays icons representing various changes you can make in the Windows
environment. Select your
Start Button
and choose
Settings and
select
Control Panel.
Learn more about the Control Panel:
http://www.computertips.com/Windows/Windows98/Control%20Panel/aheader.htm
Lots of Great
information .....please bookmark
http://www.computerstodayinc.com/controlpanels.htm
HOW TO SELECT SCREEN OPTIONS.
 You may have several
reasons for wanting to change the colors and patterns that appear on your
desktop. Different visual effects can prove to be more soothing to the eye, or
at least relieve the monotony of staring at the screen for hours on end. Or,
your display hardware many simply produce better images with particular colors.
Whatever your reasons, you can choose from predefined lists of patterns and
color schemes that Windows supplies. In addition, you can install a screen
saver, designed to prevent “burn-in” damage from long-term display of a single
image on the screen.
Try this:
1. Click the Start button and
choose Settings. Then choose Control Panel from the Settings Menu. The Control
Panel is the engine of your computer, if something goes goofy, this is where to
look.
2. Double-click the Display icon in the
Control Panel folder. The resulting Display
Properties
windows contains four tab folders in Windows 95
and six in Windows 98. Windows 95 you will see Background, Screen Saver,
Appearance, and Settings. Windows 98 added Effects and Web. Really
no great difference as far as I am concerned. Be sure to click the
Background
tab folder.
3. Scroll down the
Pattern list and select the name of a predefined pattern. The sample screen
shows what the desktop will look like with this pattern selection. Repeat this
step until you have found a pattern you like, or select (none) to return to an unpatterend desktop. Alternatively, choose a graphic from the Wallpaper list,
and click the Tile option to fill the desktop background with the selected
image.
4. Click the
Appearance
tab at the top of the
Display Properties
window. Then click the down-arrow button at
the right side of the Scheme box to view the list
of predefined color combinations that Windows supplies.
Select
the name of a color scheme, and examine the results in the top half of the
Display Properties window.
Repeat this step to experiment with other schemes, or select Windows Standard to
return to the original colors.
5. Click the
Screen Saver tab and select an option
from the Screen Saver list. The sample screen demonstrates the appearance
of the screen saver you have selected. Examine other screen savers until
you find one you like. Optionally, change
the numeric value in the Wait box (Windows will activate the screen saver after
your computer has been idle for the specified number of minutes; to clear the
screen saver and return to your work, you simply press a key or move the mouse
pointer.)
6. Click Ok to confirm the selections you have
made in the Display Properties window.
SHARON’S TIP CORNER:
1. Another way to open the Display Properties
window is to click the desktop background with the right mouse button
(secondary) and choose Properties from the resulting menu.
2. You can customize a color scheme by choosing your own
preferences for specific elements of the desktop. Click the Appearance tab,
select a desktop item, and then choose size, font,
and color options for the item.
3. Most of the screen savers can be fine-tuned
for characteristics such as color, shape, and speed. Click the Settings button
in the Screen Saver tab to make these changes.
4. You can define a password to secure your
computer from intruders while you are away from your work. Click the
Password-protected check box, and then click the Change button to define a
password.
HOW TO CHANGE THE DATE AND TIME:
Your
computer’s internal clock and calendar supply the current time and date for many
important operations. Individual applications use these settings for their own
purposes. In addition, every file you save to disk is automatically “stamped”
with the current date and time. You may need to adjust the time and date
occasionally to keep them accurate. The Control Panel’s Date and Time icon
supplies the controls you can use to change these settings quickly and
efficiently.
Try this:
1. Click
the Start button
and choose
Settings. Then choose
Control Panel
from the
Settings menu. The Control Panel
folder opens onto the desktop.
2. Double-click the
Date and Time icon
in the Control
Panel folder. In the resulting
Date and Time
Properties window the Date and Time
tab is selected initially.
3. Click the current
date setting to see if it is correct. If you need to change the month setting,
click the down-arrow button at the right of the month box, and select a new
month. To change the year, click the up-or down-arrow button next to the year
box. To change the date, click any entry in the calendar display.
4. Check the current time to see if it is accurate. If you
need to change any element of the time---the hour, the minute, or the
second.
Double-click the appropriate dig
ital value (hr. minutes,
or seconds) to select it. Then enter a new value from the keyboard, or click
the up-or down-arrow button to increase or decrease the current value.
Click to change settings
when you are in the Control Panel Time and Date settings.
 
SHARON’S
TIP CORNER:
1.
Another way to open the Properties for the Date and Time window is to
double-click the time display at the right side of the
Taskbar.
2. In the Time Zone
tab
of the Date and Time Properties window, you can select your time zone and
automatically instruct Windows to adjust those settings for daylight saving
time.
3. The
date and time formats are determined by options you can choose in the Regional
Settings Properties window. (Double-click the Regional Settings icon in the
Control Panel folder.)
4. To view the current
date at any time, hold the mouse pointer over the time display at the
lower-right corner of the Taskbar. A small tip box pops up to show the date.
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