Windows 7 screen saver settings and changes


Setting or Changing a Screen Saver in Windows 7

Screen savers are a great way to customize your system. In the past, a screen saver was used to prevent images from being burned into your computer’s monitor; however, with today’s technology that is rarely a problem. Most people use a screen saver to simply hide what is on their screen if they are away from their computer. Windows 7 gives you several options for setting and using screen savers. Additionally, they provide you with a number of screen savers to use. To set or change your screen saver, use the following steps:

1. Go to the Screen Saver tab on the Display Properties dialog:

2. Click the drop-down list in the Screen Saver section of the window. This presents you with the list of available screen savers.

3. Click on the name of the screen saver you are interested in viewing or using. The small display changes to show a preview of the newly selected screen saver.

4. Click the Settings button to see if the screen saver can be configured. If not, a warning is displayed.

If available, make the change to the settings and then press OK to save them. Settings can include changes to a number of features including:

The exact settings depend on the specific screen saver. For example, the settings for the Marquee screen saver allow you to pick a text color, the background color for the screen, the text to display, the speed at which the text scrolls, and the format and font of the text. It also allows you to choose whether the text scrolls across the middle or at random places. By changing these settings, you can tweak the screen saver to behave the way you want.

5. Select the Apply button to immediately set the screen saver and your settings. Select OK to save the screen saver and close the Display Properties dialog. Select Cancel to leave the screen without saving any further changes.

Choosing or Changing an Appearance

Windows 7 lets you customize the appearance of a number of desktop items. This includes changing the overall color scheme, the button style, and basic font size. To make changes:

1. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.

2. Select Appearance and Theme.

3. Click the Display icon. You are presented with the Display Properties dialog window.

4. Select the Appearance tab to display the Appearance options.

5. Select the type of buttons and windows you’d like displayed. You can pick either Windows 7 style or Windows Classic style from the Windows and buttons drop-down list.

6. Select the color scheme you’d like to use from the Color Scheme drop-down list. The list contains different values depending on what you selected in Step 5.

7. Select the font size you would like to use. Select this from the Font Size drop-down list. Again, you can see a preview of your selection in the top portion of the window.

8. Set any effects you want by clicking the Effects button. This presents you with a number of additional options you can select that will impact the appearance of your windows. When you are done selecting effects options, click the OK button to close the window.

9. Click Apply to save your changes.

10. Click OK to exit the Display Properties dialog window.

Assigning Sounds to Events in Windows 7

One way to customize Windows 7 is through the use of sounds. In Windows 7 you can assign different sounds to different events that can occur. You can set a sound when you start Windows, when you log off, when you open or close a window, and for lots of other events. To see the events and assign sounds to them, use the steps that follow. Once you’ve assigned the various sounds, you can save them as a sound scheme. You can actually set up a number of different sound schemes.

1. Select the Control Panel from the Start menu.

2. Select Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. The Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices window appears.

3. Select Change the Sound Scheme from the tasks. The Sound tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog window appears.

4. In the Program Events list, select a program event to which you would like to assign a sound. Be aware that this is a scrollable list, so there are a large number of items you can choose from.

5. Select the sound to assign to the event selected in Step 4. Do this either by selecting a sound from the Sounds drop-down list or by clicking the Browse button and searching for a sound file on your machine.

6. Listen to your sound if you want. You can play the selected sound by clicking the Play button next to the Sounds drop-down list.

7. Repeat Steps 4 though 6 until you’ve set all the sounds you want to set.

8. Click the Apply button to apply the sounds.

9. Determine if you want to save the group of sounds currently assigned to Windows 7 as a scheme. If you do, then click the Save As button under the Sound Scheme drop-down list. This presents you with a prompt in which to enter a scheme name. Enter the name for your scheme and press Enter or click OK.

10. Click the OK button to close the dialog window.

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This article was sent to us by: Felix Goldman at 02112010

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