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
    • Activate Your Desktop
    • Synchronizing Your Web Page Desktop
    • Active Content
    • SOS—Save Our Screens!
    • Paint Windows XP
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • 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
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Paint Windows XP

Windows offers several color schemes for you to select. Microsoft designed multiple color schemes that work well together. Depending on your taste, you can choose from conservative to very wild colors.

The color schemes that you can select have nothing to do with the colors of icons, wallpaper, or screensavers on your system. The color schemes determine the color for various systemwide items such as screen title bars, window backgrounds, and dialog box controls.

By selecting from various color schemes, you can determine the colors that Windows XP uses for common system-level items such as window controls. You'll use the Display Properties dialog box to change the color of your Windows XP environment as the following steps show:

1. Right-click over a blank area of your desktop and select Properties. The now- familiar Display Properties tabbed dialog box appears.
2. Click the Appearance tab to display the Appearance page, shown in Figure 7.7.

3. If you want to take the time, you can change the color of every item on the Windows screen including dialog boxes, window borders, and title bars. However, it's much easier to pick a color scheme from the list of the many choices that Microsoft supplies.

   On the top half of the Appearance page, you see the currently selected color scheme. If you select a different color scheme, you will see that scheme's color appear at the top of the dialog box.

   

   Figure 7.7 Change system colors in the Appearance page of the Display Properties dialog box.

4. The color scheme of your Windows installation does not instantly change. You're still in the process of selecting colors at this point. If you don't like your selected color scheme, try another. As a matter of fact, try all of them to find one you really like.

5. Click the Effects button to display the Effects dialog box shown in Figure 7.8. Use the Effects settings to determine how menus and ToolTips appear and disappear, whether large icons appear for Windows XP items such as menus, whether a shadow appears under menus, and other special effects that transpire as you use Windows XP.
   

   Figure 7.8 Select from several screen effects.

6. When you find a color scheme that you really like, click the OK button to close the dialog box and change the color scheme to your selected colors. You can now begin working with the new color scheme. As soon as you open a window, you'll see the difference.

As you change your color scheme, feel free to change the Windows display font as well. From the Appearance dialog box, you can select a different font for almost every kind of text Windows XP displays.

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