Windows Vista Tutorial

Customize Windows Vista Tutorial

This section of our tutorials will show you how to customize Windows Vista to your tastes and needs. Like previous versions of Windows, Vista is highly customizable: from folder behavior, window and desktop appearance, maintenance and security, everything can be tweaked to your liking. Customizing Vista is probably easier than with any previous version of Windows: it comes with a completely re-designed Control Panel, which includes a search field to quickly locate customization topics.

Windows Vista's brand new Control Panel

 

Customize your desktop

We will first show you how to customize your desktop: your desktop is what you see when all windows are minimized to the Taskbar. You will usually see the standard shortcuts like your profile folder, your Computer, Network, Windows Vista's Control Panel, and the Recycle Bin. You will also see on your desktop all files you have saved there: stuff downloaded from the Internet, Office documents, and pictures, to name a few. Your desktop also shows, by default, a background image or picture.

Customize the Start Menu

Windows Vista's Start Menu is very different from older versions of Windows (like Windows 98, ME or 2000), and somewhat different from Windows XP's Start menu. However, your Start Menu can be customized to the point where it will look like a "classic" Start Menu, like the one that shipped with Windows 2000 for example. Un-customized, Vista's Start Menu offers you a one-stop access to computer file search, power management, the Control Panel and programs installed on your PC.

Customize Windows Appearance and Sounds

With its new "Aero" theme, Windows Vista gives you a access to a new level customization features for the look and feel of windows, including transparency, colors, etc. You will also learn how to configure your screensaver, customize the Windows sound settings, change the cursor scheme you are using, and much more.

Customize Windows folders

Vista comes with quite a few changes and improvements in Windows Explorer. We will show you how to make the best of the new Explorer, and show you how you can customize both Explorer itself, and "folder views." Folder views determine how files will be displayed, what columns of information will be shown, whether or not you want the hierarchical folder tree visible, etc. By default, Windows Explorer's menus are hidden, which can be confusing; you will learn how to always show these menus.

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