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

Q&A

1. How does the wallpaper pattern differ from the screensaver pattern? Are they the same?

   The wallpaper is your desktop's background. You always see the wallpaper when you first start Windows and when you minimize or close programs you are using within Windows. You will never see the screensaver unless you quit working on your computer for a few minutes and the screensaver begins running.

   The screensaver must be a moving pattern (or be completely blank) to accomplish the goal of a screensaver. The screensaver's original purpose was to keep a program running that changed constantly to eliminate the burn-in of the screen's characters that could occur on the monitor. Since the burn-in problem is not common today, a secondary goal of a screensaver is to display an animated and often fun screen during your computer's idle times. As mentioned earlier in this hour, you can turn your Web-based wallpaper into a screensaver so that a designated Web page (or HTML document on your disk) appears when the screensaver wakes up.

2. Why would I need to synchronize a Web page that I place on my desktop?

   When you place a Web page on your desktop, Windows XP takes a snapshot of the current Web page and puts that content on your desktop. If the Web page changes, your desktop will not reflect that change until you synchronize the Web page.

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