Tip #3562 - Personalizing Vista
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Q:
Can you give me some basic directions on how to personalize my Windows
Vista? I'm talking about the desktop wallpaper, screensavers, etc. Vista's
layout seems to be a lot different and I can't quite figure out how to
do it. Please help!
A:
Excellent question! This is one of the things I've been wanting to check
out myself ever since we got a Vista machine here in the office. This
is also the perfect question for today, because I wanted to lighten things
up in this issue of the newsletter. The last few days' Q&A questions
have been rather lengthy and I wanted to slip something a little less
serious into today's.
So, if you are now
using Windows Vista and you're having trouble figuring out how to personalize
it with your own wallpaper, etc., here are some simple instructions for
you on how to do it. It's not as hard as it may seem either. So, let's
get started!
To get to the options
window, right click on your desktop and choose Personalize.
You will then have several different settings to choose from. For this
tip, I'm only going to go over Window Color and Appearance, Desktop Background
and Screensaver. The others (Sounds, Mouse Pointers, Theme and Display
Settings) are pretty much the same as they were in Windows XP.
Window Color
and Appearance: For this one, you can choose a solid color for
your window color. This is the color you'll see when you open any new
window. There are several color options to choose from, including blue,
teal, red, pink and a frost (white) color. If you're not happy with any
of those, you can click on the Color Mixer to make your
own combination. Once you're done, click OK and your
new color will take over. If you don't like it, just go back and choose
another one until you find the right one for you.
Desktop Background:
This is for your computer's desktop wallpaper. When you get to
this screen, you have several options to choose from. There is Windows
Wallpaper, Pictures, Sample Pictures, Public Pictures and Solid Colors.
The Windows Wallpaper has several different customized pictures. You know,
they're the ones that already come with your computer. There are some
really neat ones, so just browse through them and see if there's any you
like. For Pictures and Public Pictures, you can insert your own photo
in to be used for your background. Just hit the Browse button,
find the picture you want to use and select it. These new wallpaper choices
will come up automatically, as soon as you click on them once.
There are also some
Sample Pictures to choose from or if you just want a solid color, choose
Solid Colors. There are several very nice colors to choose from, if that's
what you prefer. Once you choose the background you want, you can pick
to have it stretched, tiled or centered on your desktop. Just click the
appropriate button at the bottom of the window and click OK
when you're all done. I personally like the orangish/yellowish daisies
picture from Windows. It lights up my screen!
Screensaver:
This works pretty much like the older versions of Windows, but there are
some different choices in Vista. Use the drop down menu to see all of
the selections and just click the one you want to use. I really like the
bubbles. They just float across your screen and they're so vivid looking!
There are other choices, like using your own photos and even a marine
aquarium as well. You can also choose how much wait time you want before
your screensaver kicks on. Mine's set at 10 minutes, but you can wait
as long or as little as you'd like. You can also click the Preview
button to see what your new screensaver will look like. If you don't like,
choose a new one before you click that OK button.
One more thing:
To navigate back and forth between these different screens, just use the
back arrow button located in the upper left hand corner of the Personalize
window. That way, you don't have to keep right clicking on your desktop
each time you want to change something.
Once you get your
new Vista computer looking the way you want it, you'll be so much happier.
I know it's a slow process to get things back to a normal way for yourself,
but as I'm sure you can already see, it's worth taking the time to get
things perfect for your new computer. Happy personalizing! : )
~ Erin
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