InformIT: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

Configuring Your Keyboard and Mouse

Windows 2000 lets you adjust the operation of your keyboard and mouse to suit your abilities and preferences.

To configure your keyboard:

Choose Settings, Control Panel from the Start menu.
In the Control Panel, double-click the Keyboard icon. The Keyboard Properties dialog box appears (see Figure 14.6).

Figure 14.6 Set the character repeat options for the keyboard.
Under Character repeat , control what happens when you hold down a key on the keyboard.
- Repeat delay: Use the slider to set the amount of time between when you hold down a key and the time the character repeats. If you have trouble with your hands or fingers, such as arthritis, or are just learning to type, you may have trouble removing your fingers from keys fast enough to prevent the typing of multiple letters. In that case, adjust the delay toward Long.
- Repeat rate: Use the slider to adjust the speed of how fast the character repeats when you hold down the key.
To test your settings, click in the Click here and hold down a key to test repeat rate box. Then hold down a key to see what happens.
Click OK .

The Input Locales tab of the Keyboard Properties box lets you add another language to use with your keyboard (it doesn't translate for you). If you add languages, you may also select a keyboard shortcut to switch languages when using the computer or place an indicator on the taskbar. The Hardware tab of the Keyboard Properties box lists your keyboard and allows you to troubleshoot if you are experiencing problems with your keyboard.

Windows 2000 lets you swap mouse buttons for left-handed users, adjust your double-click speed, choose different pointers for different events, adjust the speed of the mouse pointer, or create a trail to follow to help you locate the pointer. To adjust the mouse options:

Choose Settings, Control Panel from the Start menu.
In the Control Panel, click the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties dialog box appears (see Figure 14.7).

Figure 14.7 Left-handed users can swap the mouse buttons for easier use.
On the Buttons tab, click Left-handed if you need to swap the functions of the left and right mouse buttons.
You may have difficulty making the double-click on the mouse because you can't click fast enough. Or, possibly you click so fast that your double-click doesn't register. For either problem, you need to adjust the Double-click speed on the Buttons tab. Drag the slide and then double-click in the test area to see if it suits you.
On the Pointers tab, select a type of mouse pointer and choose a different picture (use Browse to find the file). Or, to change the settings for all the mouse pointers, choose a Scheme .
A frequent complaint is having trouble finding the mouse pointer on your screen. It either moves too fast or "disappears" before you can locate it. You need to change the Pointer speed on the Motion tab. You can also check an Acceleration speed to have the mouse pointer adjust to your speed as you work. Finally, selecting the Snap to Default option places the mouse pointer on the default button when a dialog box is open.
Click OK .

Plain English

Intelli-mouse and Intelli-keyboard These Microsoft devices have extra features that give you added flexibility when working with Windows 2000. The extra button on the Intelli-mouse, for example, allows you to scroll the screen without clicking a scrollbar. When you add these devices, Windows will automatically detect them when you restart your computer. For more information on these devices, refer to the literature that came with the device or check out the Microsoft Web site at Microsoft.com.

In this lesson, you learned about the Control Panel and what it can do for you. You also learned how to select and configure a screen saver. In the next lesson, you learn to use Outlook Express Mail.

Lesson 15. Using Outlook Express Mail | Next Section

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