The Start menu can lead you to all the programs and settings on your computer. If you have used previous versions of Windows, you know that the Start menu looks drastically different in Windows 7. If you don’t like the new look, however, you can change it. The following steps take you through customizing your Start menu to your own preferences:
1. Right-click on the Start menu, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. This presents the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog window with the Start Menu tab selected.
2. Select either Start Menu to use the Windows 7 style Start menu or Classic Start Menu to use the older Windows-style Start menu.
3. Click on the Customize button to access additional settings for the Start menu. The remaining steps walk you through these options.
4. Select the icon size you want used in your Windows 7 Start menu. You can select either large icons or small icons.
5. Enter the number of program shortcuts you want displayed on the lower-left side of the Start menu. These will be icons leading to programs that you have used the most. Enter the number into the box next to the Number of Programs on Start Menu prompt.
6. Set Internet and email links on your Start menu. On the upper-left side of the Start menu, you can include shortcut icons that link to the Internet and to your email. These are turned on by default. If you want to remove them or to change the programs they point to, change the values in the Show on Start Menu section of the Customize Start Menu dialog window. Uncheck the boxes next to Internet and E-mail to remove the items from the Start menu. If they are checked, you can select the program to associate the icons to from the dropdown list to the right of the option.
7. Make changes to the Windows 7 advanced Start menu settings by selecting the Advanced tab. Many of the changes on this tab are similar to those in the previous steps.
8. Click the OK button once you have made all your changes. This returns you to the Windows 7 Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog window. Your changes are not yet implemented.
9. Click the Apply button to implement your changes.
The desktop in Windows 7 is the entire screen that you see. Just like a regular desktop, this is your area to use as you see fit. If there are things you like to have handy, you can place them on your desktop. In Windows 7, you generally don’t place the actual item on the desktop, but you place a shortcut to that item. You can place a shortcut to nearly any item on your desktop. The following steps walk you through the standard process:
1. Right-click on an open area of the desktop. A pop-up menu is displayed.
2. Select New > Shortcut from the pop-up menu. The first page of the Create Shortcut Wizard appears.
3. Enter the location for the item for which you are creating the shortcut. You can either enter the full path to the item on your hard drive or you can select the Browse button and search for the item. For example, to create a shortcut to the Windows 7 calculator, you would enter \Windows\system32\calc.exe into the text box.
4. Click the Next button. If you did not select a valid item at a valid location, an error appears. If you entered a valid location, you are taken to the next page of the wizard.
5. Enter a name for your shortcut. This is the text that will be displayed under the icon on the desktop. By default the name of the item you selected will be displayed.
6. Click the Finish button. The Windows 7 Create Shortcut Wizard ends and the icon is placed on the desktop.
In Windows 7 you can place icons, Web pages, and other items directly onto your desktop so that you can quickly find and use them. By default, these items are placed on your desktop wherever you click. The following steps walk you through arranging the icons and Web pages that you have placed on your desktop:
1. Right-click on an open area of the desktop, and select the Arrange Icons option on the pop-up menu. A submenu appears.
2. Select Name, Size, Type, or Modified from the Windows 7 menu to automatically arrange the icons on the left side of your desktop in the corresponding order.
3. Select Auto Arrange from the menu present in Step 1 if you would like to have the icons automatically added to the left side of the desktop. When the auto arranging is active, there will be a check next to it on the pop-up menu. Select Auto Arrange again to turn Auto Arrange off.
4. Select Align to Grid from the menu presented in Step 1 if you want to keep the icons in a somewhat uniform location on the desktop. Icons are aligned within an invisible grid on the desktop when this is active. When this is not active, icons will remain in the exact location where they are placed (unless Auto Arrange is active). This option is active when a check mark appears next to this on the menu. To turn it off, select the option on the menu again. This removes the check mark and turns the option off. Icons have been dragged into groups on the Windows 7 desktop to make them easier to find.
5. Select Show Desktop Items from the menu presented in Step 1 if you want to hide all the items that are on the desktop. When a check mark is next to Show Desktop Items, all items will be visible on the desktop. If you select this again, the check mark is removed and all desktop items are hidden. Simply select it again to bring the items back.
Programs in Windows 7 have icons associated with them. These little graphics can sometimes be fun; however, often they are relatively boring. Within Windows 7, you can change the icon that is used on some programs. More specifically, you can change the icons used on shortcuts. On a shortcut, you can change the icon to any other icon available on your system, or you can even create an icon. The following steps show you how to determine if you can change the icon and if so, how to make the changes. You can choose an item on the Windows 7 Start menu, the All Programs menu, the Quick Launch bar on the taskbar, or the desktop.
1. Right-click on the item and select Properties from the pop-up menu. If Properties is not an option on the pop-up menu, it is most likely not a valid item for changing the icon. The Properties dialog window for the selected Windows 7 item should be displayed. The values displayed will depend on the program that you selected.
2. Look for a Change Icon button. If this button is not available, you cannot change the icon on the selected item. If the button is available, click it. You are presented with the Change Icon dialog. You will see the icon that was displayed for your item. You may also see additional icons.
3. Select one of the icons presented by clicking on it. If you don’t see an icon that you want to use, or if you want to use your own icon instead, continue to Step 4. If you are using one of the presented icons, continue to Step 5.
4. Enter the path and filename for the icon you want. If you don’t know where other icons are, then do one of the following:
5. Press the OK button to finalize the selection of the icon and to close the Change Icon dialog. You are returned to the Properties dialog window with the new icon shown in the top left.
6. Click the OK button. Your icon should now be updated.
You can customize your desktop by placing an image on it. You can also customize it in a number of other ways. We will see how to add a number of standard icons, as well as other active content onto your desktop. There are several standard icons you can add to your Windows 7 desktop:
You can add these icons and customize them by following these steps:
1. From the Windows 7 Start menu, select Control Panel.
2. Select Appearance and Theme.
3. Select Change the Desktop Background. The Desktop tab in the Display Properties dialog window appears.
4. Select the Customize Background button. This displays the Desktop Items dialog with the General tab presented.
5. Check the standard desktop icons you want displayed on your desktop. The standard desktop items in the preceding list are shown at the top of the General tab of the Desktop Items dialog window. If you want to remove an icon from the desktop, uncheck the item.
6. Select the icon you would like for each of these standard Windows 7 desktop items.
7. Select other Windows 7 desktop items and follow the instructions in Step 6 to change each of their icons.
8. Click OK to exit the Windows 7 Desktop Items dialog window.
9. Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog window and to apply the change you made to the desktop.
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