In this lesson, you learn how to create shortcut icons to your favorite programs or documents, how to arrange the icons on your desktop, how to add color and background patterns to your desktop, and how to change the desktop fonts.
A shortcut is a quick way to access a program, printer, folder, or document you use often. The shortcut appears as an icon on your desktop that acts as a pointer to that program, printer, or document.
To create a shortcut:
Executable File An executable file is the file that starts a program. You can identify it by the icon, which should match the logo of the software product. These files have an EXE file extension (see Part II, Lesson 2, "Using My Computer," to learn how to display file extensions). To test a file to see if it is the executable file, click its icon. The program should start. To learn more about DOS file extensions, see Appendix B, "DOS and Legacy Applications."
Figure 2.1 A shortcut icon created within My Computer.
TIP Using the Right Mouse Button A quick way to make a shortcut is to point to the icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer, hold down your right mouse button, and drag the icon to your desktop. When you release the right mouse button, a pop-up menu opens. Select Create Shortcut(s) Here, and the shortcut icon appears on the desktop.
An alternative to creating shortcuts from My Computer or Windows Explorer is to make them from the Start menu for any entry on the Programs, Favorites, or Documents submenu. Point to the entry, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the icon to the desktop. Choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu that appears.
Another way to create a shortcut is to right-click an open area of the desktop
and choose New, Shortcut from the pop-up menu. When the Create Shortcut dialog
box opens (see Figure 2.2), enter the path and name of the folder, executable file
(for a program), or document file for which you are creating the shortcut. If you
aren't sure of the name or location, click Browse and select the file or folder
from the Browse dialog box. Click Next and then enter a name for the shortcut.
Then click Finish.
Figure 2.2 Enter
the name and location of the file or folder to which you're making the shortcut.
To use a shortcut, click the icon. If the shortcut is to a program, it will start
the program. If the shortcut is to a document, it will start the program associated
with the document and then open that document. If the shortcut is to a printer, just
drag a document icon over the shortcut to print the document. If you drag a document
icon over a program shortcut, the program will start and then open that document.
You don't have to be stuck with the icon that automatically appears for the shortcut.
Right-click the icon and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. On the Shortcut
tab of the Properties dialog box, click Change Icon. The Current icon
box (see Figure 2.3) displays the set of available icons for your shortcut (this
set may be more limited for program shortcuts or for documents associated with programs).
Click an icon to select it (click Browse to find icons from other locations,
such as the \Windows\System folder) and then click OK. Click OK to
close the Properties dialog box.
Figure 2.3 Select
a new icon for your shortcut.
To remove a shortcut icon, drag it to the Recycle Bin or select the shortcut icon
and then press the Delete key. If you delete the shortcut, you're not deleting the
program, printer, or document--you're only removing the icon from your desktop. However,
if you delete or remove the program, document, or printer, the shortcut no longer
has anything to point to and clicking it results in an error message to that effect.
Shortcuts aren't confined to the Windows desktop. Try placing a shortcut in a folder that lets you open another related folder. If you use email, drag a file shortcut onto your email message and when the recipients open the message they can click on the shortcut to open the file (this is embedding shortcuts, which is discussed more fully in Part IV, Lesson 7, "OLE: Linking Data to Different Applications"). Shortcuts can also be added to the Start menu (see Part III, Lesson 4, "Customizing the Start Menu").
When shortcuts are added to the Desktop, they are not arranged neatly. You can control, or arrange the appearance of icons on the Desktop.
To arrange your desktop icons:
To keep your icons from getting scattered all over your desktop, click the right mouse button on the desktop and select Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange from the pop-up menu. The icons will always return to the columns at the left side of your screen. Choose this option again to turn it off.
To have each row of your icons align horizontally, right-click the desktop and select Line Up Icons from the pop-up menu.
Like the shortcut icons, the appearance of the standard icons on your desktop
(My Computer, My Documents, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin) can be changed. Right-click
a blank area of the desktop and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. In
the Display Properties dialog box, select the Effects tab (see Figure 2.4).
From the Desktop icons box, select the icon you want to change and then click Change
Icon. Select a picture from the icons displayed in the Change Icon dialog box
(refer to Figure 2.3), and then click OK. Click OK to close the Display Properties
dialog box.
Figure 2.4 Select
the icon you want to change and click Change Icon to see the alternatives.
In Windows 98, can view your desktop as a Web page (right-click the desktop and select
Active Desktop, View as Web Page). If you've selected that option, you may
also want to hide the icons so you can't see them on the desktop. Right-click the
desktop, select Properties on the pop-up menu, select the Effects tab, and
then check Hide icons when the desktop is viewed as a Web page. Click OK.
Don't worry that you've lost your icons--right-click the taskbar and choose Toolbars,
Desktop to add the desktop icons as a toolbar (see Part III, Lesson 3, "Customizing
the Taskbar," for more details).
The Effects tab of the Display Properties box has an option to increase the size of all the desktop icons. Click Use large icons. This may slow up your processor slightly, so turn off this option if you notice a problem.
To change the way you click on icons (single- versus double-click), adjust the settings in Folder Options, as explained in Part II, Lesson 2, "Using My Computer."
For better viewing or just for variety, you can change the background color of your screen or choose a pattern or wallpaper for your desktop background.
The desktop color is applied to the area behind the icons and windows. To change the color of the desktop:
TIP Right-Click the Desktop To quickly access the Display Properties box, right-click an open area on your desktop and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
Figure 2.5 Select Desktop as the item and then choose a color.
Windows 98 also has a series of color schemes from which you can choose. These color schemes not only choose a background color but also set the color for the window title bars, window borders, and on-screen text. If you change the color scheme, it will override your background color choice; you'll have to set the color again if you want it to be different than the one in the color scheme.
The color scheme choices are also located on the Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Choose one from the Scheme drop-down list. The display will change to show you how your choice will affect the windows and background on your computer.
Wallpaper makes your desktop interesting and fun. To select a wallpaper for your desktop background:
Figure 2.6 When you select a wallpaper, a preview appears in the monitor screen.
TIP Using the Web to Make Wallpaper A quick way to use any graphic on a Web page as a wallpaper is to right-click the graphic and choose Set as Wallpaper from the menu.
Center The wallpaper picture appears in the middle of your desktop. The background color will still show around the outside of the picture.
Tile The picture repeats across the screen until it fills the desktop background. Stretch The picture fills the entire screen. If your picture isn't the same shape as the screen, stretching it may distort the picture.
Wallpapers are usually large and may be distracting or use a lot of memory. Use a pattern as an alternative to wallpaper and you will still add interest to your desktop. To add a pattern to the desktop background:
Figure 2.7 A sample of the pattern appears in the Preview box.
Many of the features of Microsoft Plus! (which you had to buy separately for Windows 95) are incorporated into Windows 98. The desktop themes set up related screen savers, wallpapers (with sounds), and mouse pointers.
To select or change a theme:
Figure 2.8 Deselect any items you don't want the desktop theme to control.
Because the desktop themes are Windows 98 components, you may have to install them on your computer. Look up "Themes, Desktop" in Help for instructions on how to install them. If you have children, there are four "kids" themes. You can get more from your local retailer.
To change the size, color, and font of the screen text:
Figure 2.9 You must select a text-related item for the font choices to be available.
In this lesson you learned to create shortcuts on your desktop, arrange your desktop icons, change the color and/or background pictures and patterns of the desktop, and to change the fonts of the items on the desktop. In the next lesson you'll learn about customizing the taskbar.
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