Accessing Desktop and Taskbar Settings

Method 1 - The Control Panel

Control Panel: For anyone who has experience with Windows this will be the most commonly recognized way to make changes. To make changes to the desktop:

Click [Start] [Control Panel] [Appearance and Themes]
The mouse sequence above will start the modification to the desktop.

Fig. UI-02	Fig. UI-03

Selecting [Start] (Fig. UI-02) opens the basic Windows XP Start Menu to allow additional selections. Select [Control Panel] (Fig. UI-03) as shown by the name being highlighted. This selection will open the basic [Control Panel] (Fig. UI-04) and give us access to the different categories that are available for modification. Highlight and click the [Appearance and Themes] selection and the Appearance and Themes window opens as shown in Fig. UI-05. It is from this screen that we can finally get to the [Display Properties] Property Sheet where the actual changes to the desktop can be implemented.

Fig. UI-04	Fig. UI-05

Looking at the Appearance and Themes window in Control Panel you’ll see the right side of the window is divided into two sections. The upper section is [Pick a task ...] and the lower [pick a Control Panel icon]. Any one of the four selections in the [Pick a task...] section or [Display] in the lower section will open the [Display Properties] window. The only difference each selection makes is which of the five tabs is selected along the top of the [Display Properties] window. The screen captures below (Figs. UI-06 through UI-10) show [Display Properties] opened to the five different tabs where the majority of the Desktop changes will be initiated.

The Five [Display Properties] Property Sheets by Tab Selection
Fig. UI-06	Fig. UI-07	Fig. UI-08	Fig. UI-09	Fig. UI-10

Method 2 - Context Menu

The [Control Panel] will certainly get you where you want to go but at the expense of numerous mouse clicks and screens along the way. A much simpler and efficient way to arrive at the same [Display Properties] window is available through the use of context menus. Essentially, a context menu is a list of commands that appear when the right mouse button is clicked while hovering the pointer over an object on the screen. In the current scenario we are working with the Desktop. To navigate to the [Display Properties] window, right click on any open portion of the desktop and select [Properties]. The [Display Properties] window will open with the focus on the first tab. (Fig. UI-06)

Method 3 - Command Line

The command line doesn’t come into use very often these days. Most of the tasks you can accomplish from the command prompt can be done via the Graphical User Interface (GUI) in Windows. A little knowledge can always be useful so if you find yourself in a situation where the other access methods are unavailable, either by design or accident, the table below shows the control panel applet names and their corresponding .cpl names.

To launch the applets, open a Command Prompt window by clicking:
[Start] navigating through [All Programs] [Accessories] and clicking [Command Prompt]
The [Command Prompt] window will open as shown in Fig. UI-11. Enter the CPL Filename at the C:\ prompt and hit enter to launch the applet.