Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Wake Up with Windows XP
  • Hour 1. Taking a Bird's-Eye Look at Windows XP
  • Hour 2. Getting Started with Windows XP
  • Hour 3. Managing the Windows XP Interface
  • Part II: Morning Windows Desktop Exploration
  • Hour 4. Working with the My Computer Window
  • Hour 5. Navigating Files with Windows Explorer
  • Hour 6. Calling for Help
  • Hour 7. Improving Your Windows Desktop Experience
  • Part III: Early Afternoon Windows Exploration
  • Hour 8. Installing Programs with Windows XP
  • Hour 9. Finding Files, Folders, and Friends
  • Hour 10. Using the Desktop Accessories
  • Part IV: Late Afternoon Internet Integration
  • Hour 11. Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer
  • Hour 12. Tying Windows into the Web
  • Hour 13. Networking with Windows XP
  • Hour 14. Managing E-mail and Newsgroups with Outlook Express
  • Part V: An Evening with Advanced Windows
  • Hour 15. Exploring Your Hardware Interface
  • Hour 16. Understanding Printing and Fonts
  • Hour 17. Using Windows on the Road
  • Hour 18. Giving Windows XP a Tune-Up
  • Hour 19. Managing Your Hard Drives
  • Hour 20. Tinkering with the Advanced System Tools
  • Part VI: Having Fun at Nighttime
  • Hour 21. Using Media Player
  • Hour 22. Picturing Windows XP Graphics
  • Hour 23. Making Movies with Windows XP
  • Hour 24. Advanced Windows XP Tips
    • Windows Desktop Tips
    • Make Yourself More Comfortable
    • Internet Explorer Tips
    • Outlook Express Tips
    • Printing Tips
    • Miscellaneous Tips
    • Summary
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Make Yourself More Comfortable

What's the most important component in your PC system? It's not your system unit, your CPU, the speed with which Windows performs, your hard disk, or your printer. Your most important component is the very chair you sit in. Smart PC users spend more money on their chair than on their operating systems.

If you spend an hour or more a day at your PC, run, don't walk, to your local office furniture store and check out their desk chair selection. If you've never paid much attention, you'll be shocked at how many kinds of chairs that you find. Your back, arms, shoulders, and wrists (not to mention the body part on which you sit), deserve far better than the average chair most people place in front of their computers. You'll be more productive, work more accurately, and you'll take care of your body.

Start Windows Explorer Quickly

If your keyboard is a Windows keyboard—that is, your keyboard has a key with the flying Windows logo that displays the Start menu when you press it—you can press the Windows key along with the letter E to start Windows Explorer. (This is not Internet Explorer but the Windows Explorer program you use to manage disks, folders, and files.)

Adjust the Toolbar in Any Window

You can right-click over any Windows XP window's toolbar to display a menu of toolbar options, as shown in Figure 24.3, which determine how the toolbar appears.

Figure 24.3 The pop-up menus give you control over a menu option.

You can display or hide any of the following on your toolbar:

• Standard Buttons: Displays the toolbar buttons using the icon-based standard.
• Address Bar: Displays the Web Address text box in which you can type a Web URL or any pathname to a folder in which you want to work.
• Links: Displays hyperlink buttons (they appear next to the address bar if you display the address bar) that quickly point the window to a Web or folder location. You can drag other shortcuts to the links to add your own buttons, and you can also right-click over a link button to change its property or rename the button.
• Lock the Toolbars: Fixes the toolbar's settings so you cannot inadvertently change or move it until you unlock the toolbar.
• Customize: Enables you to add or remove buttons on the toolbar.

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