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Adding Icons to the Start Button
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Click and drag any object from the desktop and drop it on the Start button to add it to the Start Menu.
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Adjusting the Volume
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On the Audio page of the Multimedia control panel applet, select the ???Show volume control on Taskbar??™ option. Once enabled, clicking the speaker icon on the Taskbar will launch the volume control slider. Double-clicking the speaker icon will launch the full volume control applet.
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Battery Status
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For computers with APM functionality, clicking on the battery icon in the Tray status area brings up a detailed battery meter.
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Color Schemes
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To change the Windows color scheme, use your right mouse button to click the desktop; then click Properties and select the appearance tab.
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Creating a Shortcut
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Right click on the desktop, choose New from the drop down list, and select Shortcut. After providing the path and Shortcut name, the new desktop Shortcut will be created.
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Customize Your Desktop
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You can change the look and feel of your Desktop by right clicking any open area on your desktop (not on a file) and selecting Properties.
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Desktop Display Properties
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To quickly adjust your display properties, right click anywhere on the desktop and choose properties.
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Find File via Keyboard
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While the desktop is active press the F3 key. This will open the Find File window and allow you to search for a file on the computer.
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Folder Icons
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To change the icon for a folder, select Options from the folder??™s view menu. In the Options dialog, select the File Types tab and scroll down the list to the Folder item. With the Folder item selected, click Edit, then click the Change Icon button. Select a new icon.
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Icon Property
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One of the properties of a shortcut is its icon. You can change the icon of any shortcut by right-clicking, selecting "Properties", going to the "Shortcut" tab, and pressing the "Change Icon" button.
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Icon Property, Part 2
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If you want to change a shortcut??™s icon, and only a few application icons are available to you, simply hit the browse button and find SHELL32.DLL in your Windows System directory. It contains over 70 icons you can use instead.
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Keeping the Taskbar Visible
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If your screen resolution is 800 x 600 or higher, you should keep the taskbar visible at all times. There are many benefits to doing so. For instance, while you??™re connected to the Internet you can see the flashing red and green modem icon??™s lights in the taskbar??™s system tray. If they??™re not flashing, there??™s no data being exchanged. It also lets you instantly see all the other applications you have running at any time.
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Making the Taskbar Vertical
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If you??™re a power user with a newfangled PC with tons of memory and acres of screen real estate, you might want to consider moving the taskbar to the right or left of the screen, in a vertical orientation. It may seem a little disconcerting at first, but there are two main reasons for this. First, a screen is 33% wider than it is tall. That means you can spare more room horizontally. Secondly, as a power user you will probably be running several programs at the same time ??“ maybe over a dozen. The vertical orientation allows the programs to line up neat and clean so it??™s easier to keep track of them.
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Minimizing All Windows
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To minimize all open Windows simultaneously, right click on the Taskbar and choose Minimize All Windows from the drop down menu.
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Moving the Taskbar
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If you don??™t like where the Taskbar is located (by default at the bottom of the screen), you can drag it to one of the other 3 edges of the desktop area.
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Putting Your Own Items in SendTo
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There's a folder in the WINDOWS directory or Documents and Settings, called SEND TO. By creating shortcuts in this folder to your favorite applications, you can right click files, select Send To, and send the file to any of the applications on the list. This is a great way to send unknown file types to a default text editor, like Notepad.
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Removing the Clock
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To remove the clock from the Taskbar do the following: 1) Right-click the Taskbar and selection the Properties item. 2) On the Taskbar Options page, uncheck ???Show Clock??™.
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Screen Saver
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To change your screen saver, use your right mouse button to click the desktop; then click Properties and select the screen saver tab.
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Viewing a Disk's Properties
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Right click on any drive and choose properties. The properties box will appear allowing you to label the disk, view it's properties or run system optimization tools.
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