Managing The Control Panel In Your PC

Windows XP enables you to make the windows interface more user friendly by allowing you to change various settings through the Control Panel. For example, you might wish to change your system date or change the display settings of the windows.

To open Control Panel click on the Start menu and select Control Panel.

As can be observed from the figure, the Control Panel offers various specialized options that can be used to customize windows. Let us discuss some options that are commonly used.

Changing Date and Time

You can change the date and time settings of your computer by clicking the Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options icon in the Control Panel. The following window is displayed:

Click the Date and Time icon or Change the Date and Time option in the above window. The Date and Time Properties dialog box is opened.

Alternatively, you can open the Date and Time Properties windows by double clicking on the time icon on the taskbar.

•  Date and Time

• Time Zone

• Internet Time

Using the Date and Time tab, you can set the year, month, date, and time. In the Date and Time Properties windows, you can change the system date in the Date area and time by clicking the up and down arrows in the Time area.

Using the Time Zone tab, you can select the time zone that your city is in. Windows XP sets the time on your computer by determining the time difference between GMT time and your time zone.

The following figure displays the Time Zone settings tab in the Date and Time Properties window.

Change the time zone in the drop down list. Click Apply and OK.

The Internet Time tab is not available if your computer is not connected to  the Internet or is a part a domain. In case your computer is not a member of a domain, your computer’s clock is automatically and regularly synchronized by an Internet time server.

To change the time server you can click the Internet Time tab and select the Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server check box. You can select the server in the server list box.

Setting Mouse Properties

You can use a mouse to interact with objects on the monitor, as you would use your hand in the physical world. It can be used to move, open or change objects on the screen. You can change the functionally of the mouse to make it more user friendly according to your requirements.

You can customize the settings of a mouse by clicking the Mouse icon in the Printers and Other Hardware option in the Control Panel. The Mouse Properties dialog box is displayed.

Buttons Tab

A mouse typically has two buttons, a primary button and a secondary button. The primary mouse button is the left button of the mouse and is used most often by you to click or select an item. The secondary button is the right mouse button and is used to display the shortcut menu or the program specific functionality. Clicking on the right mouse button is also called right clicking the mouse button.

To reverse the functionality of the mouse buttons you can change the configuration in Button Configuration. You can change the speed of the double click of your mouse by moving the slider in the Double click speed area. You can check the Turn on Click Lock to avoid holding down the mouse button while selecting an area.

Pointers Tab

You can change the mouse pointers that are shown on the screen by selecting the Pointers tab and the following window will be displayed:

In the above figure, you can select a different scheme for your pointer from the Scheme drop down list to change all your pointers at one time.

You can change one pointer by using the following steps:

1. Select the pointer you want to replace in the Customize list.
2. Click Browse to select the name of the new pointer. The Browse dialog box is displayed.
3. Select the pointer name in File Name.
4. Click Open.
5. Click Apply and OK.

Setting the Keyboard Properties

You use the keyboard to enter text or enable certain activities in the computer, Normally a keyboard doses not require any special settings once you plug it in. It should work.

However, you can change some keyboard setting using the Control Panel. For example, when a person is handicapped you can adjust the rate at which a character is repeated when you hold down a key, and the time delay before it starts repeating. To access the Keyboard Properties dialog box, click on the Keyboard icon in the Printers and Other Hardware option of the Control Panel.

The cursor that appears while you are editing blinks at a particular speed. You can also adjust the blink rate by moving the slider in the Cursor blink rate area.

The Hardware tab displays hardware information about the keyboard that is required only if there is some problem with the hardware.

Changing Display Properties

The Control Panel presents you with various settings of the system that you can customize. For example, you can change the display fonts or the date and time settings of your computer.

Let us discuss how you can customize the display of the Desktop. The steps are:

1. Right click on the Desktop and select Properties to go to the Display properties window.

Setting the Theme

You can set a theme of your desktop by selecting the Themes tab in the Display Properties dialog box.

A theme affects the general appearance of your desktop. It is a predefined set of icons, fonts, color, and other elements that make up a window. You can select a theme from the Theme drop down list box. Alternatively, you can customize individual element of the theme by clicking on other tabs in the Display Properties dialog box.

Applying a Background to the Desktop

If you are a frequent computer user, you might prefer to have a pleasant looking screen in front of you. You can achieve this by applying wallpaper to your desktop background. Wallpaper is typically a bitmap image or a scanned picture.

You can use to following steps to apply the background:

1.      Select the Desktop tab in the Display Properties window. Windows XP displays the available wallpapers for you to select from.

2.      Select a picture from the Background list. If you want to apply wallpaper that is not listed in the list, you can select it by clicking the Browse button and location the image file from the Explorer.

3.      Choose the way the picture should be displayed on the desktop by either sleeting the Stretch. Tile or the Center option from the Positing list. Stretch will  elongate the picture to cover the full desktop, Tile repeats the picture to cover your desktop screen and Center creates a window of the picture and centers it on the desktop.

4.      Click Customize Desktop to further enhance the Desktop. The following dialog box is displayed:

5.      Select the desktop icon you want to change under Desktop icons. For example, select My Computer.

6.      Click Change Icon to change the icon. The following figure is displayed:

7.      Select an icon from the list or click Browse and select an icon from a comprehensive icon list.

8.      Click OK. The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed with the changed My Computer icon:

The icon is changed on the Desktop also as shown in the following figure:

Adding Web Content

You can also display a web page as a background of your desktop. Use the following steps:

1. Click the tab in the Desktop Items dialog box. The following window is shown:

2. Select the Web page under Web Pages or click on New to add a new web page. The New Desktop Item window is displayed:
3. Click Browse to locate the Web Page you want.

As can be observed from the figure that Browse opens the Favorites folder of IE by default.

4. Select the web page by double clicking the folders. For example, you can click celebrities in the Browse dialog box.

5. Click Open.
6. Click OK. The following message will be displayed:
7. Click OK. The following box will appear showing that the site is being synchronized:

8. Click Apply and then OK to finish the task.

The desktop will display the selected web page offline as shown in the following figure:

The active desktop will contain the web content as shown in the above figure. You can arrange the web content as required by selecting the options from the drop-down menu on the top. You can update the web content by selecting the Synchronize option from the menu. To remove the web content click Close from the menu or the Close button on top of the web page.

Setting a Screen Saver

A screen saver is an animated graphics program that runs on your screen if you are not working on your computer for a specified time. Thus if you have to leave your workplace for a few minute, the screen saver executes and displays animated graphics on your computer. If your computer has a wound card, the screen saver may produce sounds too.

To set a screen saver for your computer:

1. Open Display Properties by right clicking on the Desktop and selecting the Properties option.
2. Select the Screen Saver tab from the Display Properties window.

3. Select a screen saver that you like from the Screen Saver drop-down list. For example in the above figure, Marquee has been selected.
4. Specify the minutes to wait before the screen saver is executed in the wait list box.
5. Specify that he screen saver is password protected by selecting On Resume and Password Protect.

The Settings button will open another dialog box, if further settings such as rotation speed etc, are required. The Settings button will display different settings for individual screen savers.

For example, if you select Marquee screen saver, then you need to further click on the Settings button to set the text of the marquee. The following figure will be displayed:

In the above Marquee Setup box, you can write the text to be displayed in the marquee in Text box. You can further format the font by clicking on the Format Text button. You can adjust the speed of the marquee by moving the slider in the Speed box.

6. Click OK.

The screen saver password is the same as the system password. The password option requires you to supply the password before the screen clears and returns to the active application. This facility ensures that no one tampers with your computer if you are away for some time.