Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

By Dorothy Burke and Jane Calabria

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • About the Authors
  • Introduction
  • Conventions Used in This Book
  • Lesson 1. Navigating Windows 2000 Professional
  • Lesson 2. Working with a Window
  • Lesson 3. Using Menus
  • Lesson 4. Using Windows 2000 Professional Help
  • Lesson 5. Using Dialog Boxes
  • Lesson 6. Working with Multiple Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 7. Copying, Moving, and Linking Between Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 8. Using My Computer
  • Lesson 9. Managing Files with My Computer
  • Lesson 10. Using WordPad
  • Lesson 11. Understanding File Properties and the Recycle Bin
  • Lesson 12. Printing
  • Lesson 13. Using My Network Places
  • Lesson 14. Using the Control Panel
  • Lesson 15. Using Outlook Express Mail
  • Lesson 16. Sharing Workstations and Setting Passwords
  • Lesson 17. Using Internet Explorer 5
  • Lesson 18. Web Site and Document Searching
  • Lesson 19. Troubleshooting, Restarting, and Disaster Planning
  • Lesson 20. Customizing the Windows 2000 Environment
    • Creating Shortcuts
    • Arranging Icons
    • Choosing Colors and Backgrounds
    • Changing Fonts
    • Customizing the Taskbar
    • Changing the Time or Date
    • Creating Custom Toolbars

Choosing Colors and Backgrounds

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.

Colors

The desktop color is applied to the area behind the icons and windows. To change the color of the desktop:

1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties.
2. Click the Appearance tab (see Figure 20.2).
   

   Figure 20.2 Select Desktop as the Item and select a Color.

3. Select Desktop from the Item drop-down list.
4. Click the down arrow on the Color list box to see a selection of background colors.
5. Click the color you want.
6. Click Apply to see how the desktop will look in that color.
7. Click OK to accept your choice and close the dialog box.

Schemes

Windows 2000 also has a series of color schemes available from which you can choose. The color schemes not only choose a background color, but also set the color for the window title bars, window borders, and text on your screen. 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 from 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 how your choice will affect the windows and background on your computer.

Wallpaper

Wallpaper makes your desktop interesting, and fun. To select a wallpaper for your desktop background:

1. Open the Display Properties dialog box.
2. Select the Background tab (see Figure 20.3).
   

   Figure 20.3 When you select a wallpaper, a preview appears in the monitor screen.

3. From the list under Select an HTML Document or a picture, select a picture to place on your desktop. It will appear in the monitor picture, so you can see how it will look on your screen.

   Choose (None) to remove all wallpaper from the desktop. The background color fills the screen.

   To select a file you created or imported to be the wallpaper, click the Browse button. The file must be a *.bmp, *.jpg, *.gif, *png file, or an HTML page (Web page).

4. To determine how the wallpaper fills your screen, choose one of the following from the Display drop-down list (if the choice is unavailable, the picture automatically fills the entire screen):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.

   Tip

   Using the Web to Make Wallpaper A quick way to use any graphic on a Web page as a wallpaper is right-click the graphic and choose Set as Wallpaper from the menu.
5. Click Apply to see how the desktop will look with the pattern or wallpaper you selected.
6. Click OK to accept your choice and close the dialog box.

Patterns

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:

1. Open the Display Properties dialog box and select the Background tab.

2. Choose (None) as the wallpaper choice if you want to fill the entire background with a pattern.

   To combine a wallpaper with a pattern, select the wallpaper and choose Center as the Display; the pattern will fill the area around the outside of the wallpaper.

3. Click Pattern to open the Pattern dialog box (see Figure 20.4).
   

   Figure 20.4 A sample of the pattern appears in the Preview box.

4. Under Pattern, select the name of the pattern you want to use. Choose (None) to remove all patterns from the background of the desktop.
5. (Optional) Click Edit Pattern to open the Pattern Editor dialog box where you modify the pattern by changing the pixel colors.
6. Click OK to close the Pattern dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box.

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