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.
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.
- How to customize the size (dimensions) of icons on your desktop
- Learn about Vista's "Auto Arrange" and "Align to Grid" options
- Choose whether to show or hide desktop icons (icons are visible by default)
- How to sort desktop icons by a variable settings (such as file name or file size)
- How to configure Windows Vista to display only select items on the desktop
- How to customize the desktop background: choosing a plain color, a standard wallpaper or photo, or a custom picture of your choice (like a family photo or an image found online).
- You will also learn how to change your desktop wallpaper from Internet Explorer or Firefox.
- And how to modify your desktop background's photo from MS Paint or the Windows Photo Gallery.
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.
- How to configure the Start Menu's common items' behavior
- How to show or hide common items from the Start Menu
- How to show or hide recent files on the Start Menu
- How to display large icons or small icons on the Start Menu
- How to use the Classic Start Menu in Windows Vista
- How to configure the Start Menu's search settings
- How to reset the Start Menu's default options
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.
- How to customize the colors and appearance of windows
- How to configure font smoothing options (or anti-aliasing settings) in Windows Vista
- How to customize Windows Vista's screensaver
- How to customize the Windows Vista Sounds
- How to customize the mouse cursors and pointers in Windows Vista
- How to configure Vista's Display Settings and screen resolution
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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