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Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization
It has been my experience when the [Appearance and
Personalization] category is mentioned it's primarily in relation to
desktop backgrounds, screensavers, and items of that nature. It's
true, they are a part of personalizing a system, but personalization
goes far beyond the colors and themes. One of the most important
areas every Vista user should visit is Folder Options, yet it sits
here largely overlooked. And for people with special vision,
hearing, and mobility needs the Ease of Access section is a
necessity. There's no doubt users work more efficiently and enjoy
the experience far more when the system is tailored to their
preferences. Don't overlook any of the categories. They all contain
enhancements, and often times it's the small changes that make the
largest impact in productivity.
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Fig. 01
Appearance and Personalization
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Personalization -
Click the [ Personalization ] icon
and open a host of options for customizing the appearance of Vista.
Some of the options such as Mouse Pointers and Sounds are repeated
elsewhere in separate categories. This screen is also the same place
you arrive when right clicking an open area of the desktop and
selecting Properties. Why the developers chose to split all the
functions out into separate windows rather than have them integrated
into one tabbed window as in XP is a mystery. The old method was far
more convenient in my opinion. This is exactly the same thing that
can be found in
CP > Hardware and Sound >
Personalization.
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Windows Color and Appearance
- What you see in this window [Figure 03] depends on whether
or not your Vista version and hardware support the Aero
interface and transparency. If it does, choose your colors,
set the transparency level and fine tune your choices with
the color mixer controls as shown at left. If Aero isn't
supported you'll see the screen at right [Figure 04] where
you can still fine tune the colors and appearance but to a
lesser degree and without the transparency effects. |
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Desktop Background
- Just as the name says, choose from a fairly wide variety
of pictures and colors to change the desktop background. If
the stock fare doesn't do anything for you a Google search
will turn up thousands of sites that offer backgrounds of
all sizes ranging from the mundane to the downright bizarre. |
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Screen Saver
- The Screen Saver Settings window is pretty straight
forward. Select the one you like and set the options for how
it behaves. Some of the choices have no options, others are
just awash with them. For some reason there is still a link
on this screen to Power Management Settings. I don't
understand why since it's linked in numerous other places. |
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Themes
- I don't know how many users mess with themes anymore. When
they first appeared, and truthfully I don't even remember in
which Windows version they debuted, they were a cute novelty
that attracted a lot of attention. Today, I think the
majority of users with any interest in themes use third
party theme managers that offer powerful interfaces for
changing just about anything the mind can imagine. The
setting is useful though in the ability to save
personalization settings using the [Save As] button once you
have things the way you like them. |
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Display Settings -
This is probably the most
useful setting of this entire category. If you use multiple
display monitors this is where you set them up and arrange
them for your preferred viewing. Resolution is adjusted by
using the slider. The drop down allows changing the focus of
which monitor will be selected for the changes. The [
Advanced Settings ] button provides access to many
additional options and in some cases an entry point to
control panels that are specific to third party graphics
cards. |
Taskbar and Start Menu - I don't think anyone will
dispute the idea every user has their own style of work that suits
them best. Some users love the Taskbar and load it up with every
conceivable button and option. Others find it a distraction and want
it hidden. The same thing applies to the Start Menu with some
wanting the absolute minimum while others load it up to the maximum.
Whatever your preference there is a pretty good chance it can be
configured to taste via this category.
Clicking Taskbar and Start Menu opens the Taskbar and Start Menu
Properties window, a four tabbed affair as shown below in the screen
captures. If you don't to bother going through control panel to get
there it's just as easy to right click the taskbar and select
[Properties], or you can do the same thing on the Start Menu button
or inside the Start Menu. The only difference is what tab you are
directed to inside the [Taskbar and Start Menu Properties] window.
Ease of Access Center
- I'll be the first to admit I'm very fortunate. As long as I have a
pair of glasses I can sit down at any computer and go to work. There
are many however that struggle to do what the majority take for
granted. I commend Microsoft for this section of Control Panel.
Spend a few minutes going through the options and you'll likely be
amazed how helpful some of the options can be to folks suffering
with vision, hearing, and mobility restrictions.
As good as the majority of the tools are, I did find narrator to be
difficult to understand on quite a few occasions. There are male and
female voices available and they can be adjusted over a fairly wide
range to control speed, volume, and pitch. Still, when
narrator was reading the 'Quick Access to Common Tools' section in
the screen capture below, the word SPACEBAR was pronounced 'Spack-Bur'
using the default settings. But, that's the point of the
adjustments. I was able to fine tune the speech until there was no
difficulty understanding the words.
Folder Options
- I've always felt [Folder Options] is an item users need to visit
as a first order of business when setting up a system. For such a
simple little item it contains a bucket load of options that can
honestly make a huge difference in the way users work as well as
system security. Yet for some reason it always seems to get buried
where it's difficult to find and access.
If you prefer to bypass Control Panel, [Folder Options] can also be
accessed via Windows Explorer using the [Organize] button. Click
[Organize] and then click Folder and Search Options to open the
[Folder Options] window, a three tabbed affair that every user of
Vista should visit as a first order of business. I'll go through
them below and explain my reasoning.
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General Tab
- If I asked you what the difference is between [Show
Preview and Filters] versus [Use Windows Classic
Folders], would you know the answer? Truth is, the
difference is pretty damn subtle. Both options under
Tasks refer to folder views. Here's the deal.
Selecting [Show Preview and Filters] means that 'Detail' and
'Preview' panes will be visible [Figure 15] in all folders.
The blue stripe across the bottom of the window is the
'Detail' pane and the area on the right with the larger
Garden graphic is the Preview pane.
Selecting [Use Windows Classic Folders] eliminates the
'Detail' and 'Preview' panes from all folder views.
Browse Folders
- Exactly what it states. If you have the room and don't
mind the clutter, opening each folder in its own window can
be very useful.
Click Items As Follows - There's no doubt the
accepted standard is the single click to select and double
click to open method when selecting and navigating with the
mouse, but there are alternatives.
This certainly isn't new to Vista, but if you want to try
something different use the point to select and single click
to open scheme. It does take some getting used to and you'll
end up with some unexpected results until you master the
concept, but once it has become second nature you may prefer
it to the standard method.
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View Tab
- I'll come back to the [Folder View] section in a
minute but let's focus first on the [Advanced Settings]
section. Vista functions with the default settings, but
it can be improved greatly by making some simple
changes.
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Always Show Icons, Never Thumbnails - Icons are static
representations of a file type. Thumbnails are a visual
representation of what is actually inside a file. It's
really a matter of preference which is used, although on
severely underpowered systems icons may speed up
performance slightly.
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Always Show Menus - Vista has hidden the menu bar in
Windows Explorer. Checking this option makes the menu
bar visible. If you don't want it visible by using this
option, the Alt key will toggle the menu bar on and off.
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Display File Icon On Thumbnails - I've never claimed to
be the brightest penny in the stack and this option
confirms I'm not. After toggling it on/off a few hundred
times I still don't know what it does. Enlighten me,
please.
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Display File Size Information In Folder Tips - When the
mouse is hovered over a folder a balloon appears showing
the date and time the file was created. Checking this
option also shows the file size.
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Display Simple Folder View in Navigation Pane - To see
the vertical lines that connect folders and subfolders
in the navigation pane, check this option. To eliminate
the lines for a cleaner look, remove the check.
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Display The Full Path In The Title Bar - From the
description of this item I thought it would apply even
if the Windows Vista theme was in use. I was wrong. You
have to use Windows Classic to get this to apply in
spite of the fact it states (Classic Folders Only) in
the description.
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Hidden Files and Folders - The default here is not to
show hidden files and folders. Personally, I want
everything visible.
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Hide Extensions for Known File Types - In spite of the
fact the default is to hide extensions, this is just
simply wrong. Extensions should never be hidden. File
names are fairly useless when trying to identify a file.
A quick example. I have four files, all named
TheElderGeek. One is a text file (.txt), one a photo
(.jpg), one a spreadsheet (.xls) and the last one a
Portable Document Format (.pdf) file. Without file
extensions enabled and visible, all four files appear
exactly the same in Windows Explorer. Totally useless.
There are also security implications by not displaying
extensions. In a nutshell, with extensions hidden you
really have no idea what type of file you are viewing. A
file that appears as 'New Text Document.txt' with
extensions hidden could really be named 'New Text
Document.txt.exe' and be a malicious program file trying
to fool you into clicking it thinking it is a text file.
Shame on Microsoft for hiding extensions by default, but
even worse is if you leave them hidden.
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Hide Protected Operating System Files - Hiding protected
operating system files isn't nearly as bad as hiding
file extensions, but if you do any tinkering with the
system or are an experienced user you'll want them
visible.
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Launch Folder Windows In A Separate Process - If the
system has the necessary resources this should be
enabled. With each instance being in a separate process
it protects against closing all the instances if one
crashes.
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Remember Each Folders View Settings - When you change
the View in a Windows Explorer folder, the new setting
will be retained for the next time the folder is opened.
This is not a global folder setting; the setting is
retained only for the individual folder.
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Restore Previous Folder Windows At Logon - Opens
whatever folders were open at the last Vista shutdown.
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Show Drive Letters - Displays or removes the drive
letters in Windows Explorer. If unchecked the drive will
be identified using what is commonly referred to as the
'friendly' name if one has been supplied.
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Show Encrypted or Compressed NTFS Files in Color - Shows
the specified files in color for easier visual
identification.
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Show Pop-Up Descriptions for Folder and Desktop Items -
Enables the descriptions visibility when the item is
moused over. Note this does not eliminate the yellow
descriptions/balloons associated with the notification
area of the taskbar.
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Show Preview Handlers in Preview Pane - I have no idea
what 'preview handlers' means, but if this is unchecked
you won't see any previews in the Explorer Preview Pane,
even if you have the Preview Pane activated in Explorer.
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Use Check Boxes to Select Items - Enabling will place
check boxes next to items in Windows Explorer as well as
on the desktop. In theory this sounds great for easy
selection of files, but the implementation is horrible.
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Use Sharing Wizard - Enabled by default, this places a
Share icon on the ribbon in Windows Explorer. Select the
folder or file to be shared and click the Share icon. If
disabled, right click any folder or file and select
[Share...] to open a far more optioned dialog box to set
up the share.
At the top of this tab there is section called Folder
Views. When working in Windows Explorer you can set the way
files are viewed using the [Views] button. Choices range
from extra large to small icons, list view, details view and
a tile view. Personally, I prefer the details view in all
folder windows, but this is seldom the default view. All you
have to do is set the view you want in Windows Explorer then
click the [Apply To Folders] button to have all folder
windows use your selection. Unfortunately, there will still
be occasions where your new default doesn't take effect, but
for the most part your wishes will be respected.
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Search Tab
- Users today would laugh at the concept of a 300MB hard
drive (that's right, I said megabyte, not gigabyte) but
that was reality. You had to make some hard decisions
about what was kept versus being discarded. Today, huge
drives make it easy to store just about anything, but
with that additional capacity comes the task of
remembering what you've stored as well as where it is
located on the system.
In an effort to help with storage and retrieval of
information, indexing and search capabilities have been
under constant development. The way I look at it, how
valuable indexing and search is to you depends on two
things; how organized you are as an individual and how good
a memory you have.
In my case, I'm a very organized person and know exactly
what I have saved and where it is located on my system. I
spend a lot of time developing and organizing directory and
file storage structures so I can find an item very quickly.
That's not to say I never use search, because I do, but good
system organization can reduce your reliance on a feature
that can use a lot of room.
You can instruct to search only 'filenames' or 'filenames
and contents', then break that down further into whether or
not search looks at every file on the machine or only files
that reside in an indexed location. Your choice is largely
determined by your degree of organization I mentioned
earlier. If you have files everywhere with random names that
don't reflect the files contents you're going to have to
cast a broader net to get results.
Search, while convenient, doesn't come without a price.
Files have to be indexed and that requires processing power
as well as storage space. The less you index, the less
system overhead is required, but if you don't have locations
indexed with the search pointed to all files the search
process can take much longer.
Experiment and see if you're satisfied with the search
results you get. If not, fine tune the settings here and try
again. Read the Windows Help and Support section on Search.
It answers a lot of questions about the index and how to
maximize its efficiency as well as offering tips on what not
to do to make search fast and efficient.
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Fonts
- Clicking on the [Fonts] category opens the \Windows\fonts folder
on the hard drive in Windows Explorer. The list of fonts is
displayed in whatever view is selected and if the Preview Pane is
enabled you see a preview of the selected font. A larger preview is
available by double clicking the font file. It will open in the Font
Viewer. To add a font, drag and drop the font file into the fonts
folder or you can right click inside the window, select [Install New
Font...] and use the [Add Fonts] dialog box . To delete a font just
use any of the methods you'd normally use to delete a file.
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Windows Sidebar Properties
- This is the same window that opens if you right click the
Sidebar on the desktop and select Properties. Not much here,
but I did find the [Display Sidebar On Monitor] control
useful. If I had to choose between using or not using
Sidebar on a single monitor I'd have to turn it off. Having
it on the second monitor tucked out of the way yet visible
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NVIDIA Control Panel
- Obviously this isn't a standard issue item on the Vista Control
Panel, but if you have a separate graphics card that comes with its
own drivers, it's likely you'll see some type of entry here to
access the features specific to that piece of hardware.
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