1. Computing Fundamentals Module
Lesson 8 — Changing Settings and
Customizing the Desktop
Computer Literacy BASICS

2. Objectives
 Understand the settings on the Control
Panel.
 Apply a predefined theme to the desktop.
 Change the Windows desktop background.
 Customize the icons on the desktop.
 Clean up your desktop.
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3. Objectives (cont.)
 Explainwhat a shortcut is and how it is used.
 Create and delete shortcuts.
 Assign a shortcut key to a shortcut.
 Add a program to the Quick Launch bar.
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4. Vocabulary
 Background  My Documents
 Control Panel  My Network Places
 Desktop shortcuts  Shortcut
 Desktop theme  Shortcut
 Internet Explorer  Wizard
 My Computer
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5. The Control Panel
 You open the Control Panel by selecting it on
the Start menu.
 In Category view (the default view), the Control
Panel window has two panes:
– The left pane includes a list of tasks you can
choose quickly, plus other places you can look for
information about the Control Panel and
Windows.
– The right pane has nine categories you can pick
to change settings and display options.
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6. The Control Panel: Category View
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7. Changing Control Panel Settings
 Many settings can be configured using the
Control Panel.
 You change settings by selecting a category and
then a task or Control Panel icon.
 You then customize the settings using the
Wizard or dialog box that opens.
 On a networked computer, you may not be
allowed to change all Control Panel settings.
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8. Control Panel Categories
 Appearance and Themes: Change the background,
screen saver, or desktop items; customize the Start
menu and taskbar; apply a theme to your display;
change the screen display resolution or colors
 Network and Internet Connections: Create a small
office or home network; change network, Internet,
and phone settings.
 Add or Remove Programs: Install, change, or
remove software and Windows components; see a
list of installed software; control access to certain
programs.
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9. Control Panel Categories (cont.)
 Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices: Change
speaker volume and other settings for audio and
speech devices; change the sound scheme or
individual sounds made by the computer.
 Performance and Maintenance: Enable energy-
saving features; compress the data on your hard
disk drive; schedule routine maintenance tasks, such
as disk cleanup and antivirus checking; find system
information.
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10. Control Panel Categories (cont.)
 Printers and Other Hardware: Change
settings for printers, keyboard, mouse, game
controllers, modems, scanners, and
cameras; identify the hardware devices on
your computer and determine whether they
are running properly.
 User Accounts: Change user accounts and
passwords; change a user’s e-mail profile.
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11. Control Panel Categories (cont.)
 Date, Time, Language, and Regional
Options: Change the language your system
uses or the date, time, or time zone; change
the way numbers, currency, dates, and times
are formatted and displayed.
 Accessibility Options: Adjust hardware and
operating system settings for users with
vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities.
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12. Customizing the Desktop
 You can change the appearance of the Windows
desktop via the Control Panel.
– Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
– Select the Appearance and Themes category and
then click the Display Control Panel icon.
 The Display Properties dialog box contains
several tabs that can be accessed to change
your desktop’s appearance and behavior.
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13. The Display Properties Dialog Box
Display
Theme name Properties
tabs
Example of
current theme
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14. Display Properties Tabs
 Themes tab: Lets you assign predefined themes
including icons, fonts, colors, and other elements to
your desktop.
 Desktop tab: Offers pictures and graphics you can
use as a background for the desktop.
 Screen Saver tab: Selects a screen saver to use.
 Appearance tab: Controls fonts and colors for
various screen elements.
 Settings tab: Sets resolution and color settings for
your computer monitor.
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15. Selecting a Desktop Theme
 Click the Themes tab of the
Display Properties dialog box.
 Open the drop-down menu
below the word Theme to see
a list of available themes.
The Theme drop-down
 Select one and that theme will menu on the Themes
appear in the example tab in the Display
window. Properties dialog box
lists the available
 Click Apply to set the new desktop themes.
theme.
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16. Setting a New Background
 You can change the background for a theme
by clicking the Desktop tab and selecting a
new background from the available choices.
 You can set various options for the background
using the Position drop-down list box.
 Windows can use any picture or graphic file as
a background. Click the Browse button in the
Desktop tab to find the file you want to use.
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17. The Icons on Your Desktop
 Click the Customize Desktop button on the Desktop
tab of the Display Properties dialog box to define
which icons should appear on your desktop.
 Commonly used icons:
– My Documents: Personal folder to save files
– My Computer: Displays the contents of your
computer
– My Network Places: Lists all computers on your
network
– Internet Explorer: Fast, personalized Web browser
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18. The Desktop Items Dialog Box
Click a check box to
display an icon on
the desktop.
You can change the
icon graphic by
selecting the element
and clicking the
Change Icon button.
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19. Customizing a Toolbar
 The Standard toolbar is the row of buttons
below the menu bar on most windows.
 Other toolbars appear if you select them in
the Toolbars submenu of the View menu.
 You can change the buttons that appear on
any toolbar using the Customize Toolbar
dialog box.
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20. Customizing a Toolbar (cont.)
 Click on the View menu and then select the
Toolbars option. (The right-pointing arrow
tells you a submenu will open.)
 Select the Customize option on the Toolbars
submenu to open the Customize Toolbar
dialog box.
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21. The Customize Toolbar Dialog Box
The Available The Current
toolbar buttons toolbar buttons
list box displays list box displays
the types of the buttons
command already on the
buttons available. toolbar.
 To add a button, select it from the Available list box
and click the Add button.
 To remove a button from a toolbar, select it in the
Current list box and click the Remove button.
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22. Cleaning Up Your Desktop
 Icons on your desktop are shortcuts to programs and
are called desktop shortcuts.
 Windows XP has a Desktop Cleanup Wizard
(available from the Desktop Items dialog box) that
can examine desktop icons and tell you which ones
have not been used over a 60-day period (Windows
7 it is part of security and maintenance).
 The Wizard gives you the option of removing unused
icons to free up desktop space.
 Removed icons are stored in an Unused Desktop
Shortcuts folder so they can be retrieved if needed.
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23. Shortcuts
 Shortcuts are represented by icons on your
desktop.
 Double-clicking a shortcut opens the actual
item to which the shortcut is pointing.
A small arrow in the
lower-left corner of
an icon identifies it
as a shortcut.
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24. Shortcuts (cont.)
A shortcut functions as a pointer to an
application or a document file, wherever the
file is located.
 You create a shortcut by dragging a file to
the desktop or by using the Create Shortcut
command on the File menu.
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25. Creating a Shortcut Using
Drag and Drop
 Using the right mouse button, right-drag the
item (file, program, folder) from its current
location in the My Computer window to
where you want the shortcut.
 Drop the item where you want it by releasing
the mouse button.
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26. Creating a Shortcut Using
Drag and Drop (cont.)
A shortcut menu appears, giving you several
options.
– Click Create Shortcuts Here to create a
shortcut icon with a default name.
– To change the name, right-click the icon to
open the shortcut menu and select Rename.
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27. Creating a Shortcut Using
the File Menu
 Select the item for which you want to create
a shortcut in the My Computer window.
 Open the File menu and click Create
Shortcut.
 A shortcut icon for the item appears as the
last item in the My Computer window.
 Drag the shortcut item from the My Computer
window to the desktop.
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28. Using Shortcut Keys
 A shortcut key is a keystroke combination that runs
a program or opens the dialog box to which it is
linked.
 Shortcut key combinations are assigned using the
Ctrl key, the Alt key, and a letter or number key to
create a combination such as Ctrl + Alt + N.
 You can activate the program or object assigned to
a shortcut by using a shortcut keystroke
combination that you assign in the Shortcut
Properties box.
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29. Assigning a Shortcut Key
 Right-click the shortcut and select
Properties to open the My
Shortcut Properties dialog box.
 Select the Shortcut tab.
 Click in the Shortcut key text box.
 Press and hold down the Ctrl key
and enter the letter or number key
you want to use for the shortcut.
 Click OK to save your shortcut
key.
The Shortcut key text box in the
My Shortcut Properties dialog box
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30. Deleting a Shortcut
 There are several ways to delete a shortcut
when it is no longer needed:
– Select the shortcut, then press the Delete key.
– Right-click the shortcut, then select Delete from
the shortcut menu.
– Drag and drop the shortcut in the Recycle Bin.
 Deleting a shortcut deletes only the shortcut,
not the object attached to the shortcut.
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31. Quick Launch Bar Shortcuts
 You can also add a shortcut to the Quick
Launch bar on the taskbar.
 If you don’t see the Quick Launch bar, right-
click in an empty part of the taskbar, point to
Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.
Quick Launch
shortcut icons
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32. Adding and Removing
Quick Launch Shortcuts
 To add an icon to the Quick Launch bar, drag
a program, document, or desktop shortcut
icon to the Quick Launch bar.
 To remove an icon from the Quick Launch
bar, right-click the shortcut and then select
Delete from the shortcut menu that displays.
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33. Summary
 The Control Panel allows you to find
information about system settings, change
display options, and customize your desktop.
 You can modify your desktop using the
Display dialog box tools and options.
 You can select from Windows’ existing
themes or choose a different background on
the Background tab.
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34. Summary (cont.)
 Windows comes with a number of preexisting
desktop themes that give your desktop a
unified and distinctive look. A picture can be
tiled to fill the whole screen, centered on the
screen, or stretched across the screen.
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35. Summary (cont.)
 You can use almost any picture or graphic
file as a background. For example, you might
take a photograph on a digital camera or
download a graphic from the Web and then
use it as a desktop background.
 The Desktop Cleanup Wizard is used to
remove any unwanted or unused desktop
shortcuts from the desktop.
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36. Summary (cont.)
A shortcut functions as a pointer to a file—
wherever it is located. Double-click the
shortcut icon to open the actual item to which
the shortcut is pointing.
 You create a shortcut by dragging and
dropping or by using the Create Shortcut
option on the File menu. When you no longer
need a shortcut, it can be deleted without
impacting the original instance.
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37. Summary (cont.)
 You can add a shortcut key to a Windows
shortcut. A shortcut key is a keystroke
combination that runs a program—or in this
case, runs the Windows shortcut to which it
is linked. Shortcut keys to Windows shortcuts
always use Ctrl + Alt + and one additional
character.
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38. Summary (cont.)
 You can place a program, document, or
desktop shortcut icon that you plan to use
often on the Quick Launch bar.
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