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to the Unleashing Windows Index The Windows Control Panel is different than all of the other programs included with Windows. The Control Panel allows you to customize Windows to give it a flavor that is uniquely yours. With it, you can control the screen colors of your Windows session, personalize your "desktop," and even enhance the way Windows actually works.
The Control Panel is composed of 15 possible items, if you have a 386 or better on a network. If you don't have those, the count is a bit smaller. Those items are: Color, Fonts, Ports, Mouse, Desktop, Keyboard, Printers, International, Date/Time, Network, 386 Enhanced, Drivers, MIDI Mapper, and Sound. I don't intend to talk about all of the categories in detail, but let's look at some of the more interesting and useful functions.
The Color icon allows you to change the color scheme from the Windows default to one of the preset color schemes or from a new scheme that you create. To actually change the color scheme, double-click on the Color icon. Then, choose the color schemes list and select a color scheme you would like to see. The Color dialog box shows all of the Windows items with their respective colors for that scheme to show you how your windows session will look. If you like what you see, click on the OK button, and Windows now shows off that scheme. If you don't like it, you can either pick another scheme, or create your own.
To create your own, select Color Palette from the Color dialog. The dialog expands to allow you to select a screen element and a listing of basic and custom colors. Chose what element of the screen you want to change by clicking the down arrow beside the listed screen element. Then click on the item you want to change in the list. Then, choose a color from the basic colors by clicking on that color. You'll notice that element is changed in the example on the left part of the dialog. When you're finished, choose Save Scheme in the upper left-hand corner of the dialog. Type the name of the scheme, then choose OK.
Probably the item that allows the most
"personalizing" of Windows is the Desktop icon. It
allows you to set either a background pattern or a bitmap, choose
a screen saver (which you can even password protect), or change
the way icons are displayed. To change a background pattern,
click on the down arrow box in the Pattern section of the Desktop
dialog. Then, choose a pattern you like or click on Edit Pattern
and draw your own.
If you have a picture you would rather display than a pattern,
click on the down arrow box in the Wallpaper section. Windows
comes with some default wallpapers that you can select, or if you
have a picture in .bmp format, you can select it as the
wallpaper. Either click on one of the defaults, or type the path
and name of your favorite .bmp picture. You can also choose if
the picture is centered on the screen or displayed in a tiled
format. Wallpapers take up more memory than patterns, so if
you're having memory problems in Windows, display patterns
instead of wallpaper.
Screen savers were designed originally to protect monitors from "burning out." Most modern displays don't have to worry about that problem, but screen savers are a novel way to hide information if you're away from you desk. In a corporate environment, screen savers with passwords are a good way to protect information you are working on from "prying eyes." Also, they're just plain fun! To choose a screen saver, click on the down arrow in the Screen Saver section. Select a screen saver to use. (All screen saver files must be in the \windows directory) Then, you can set the delay time of inactivity before the screen saver is activated. You can either use the up and down arrows or type in the delay you want in minutes. If your computer is inactive for that length of time, the screen saver will activate. Most screen savers allow you to customize their settings, including passwords. To change a screen savers settings or to change a password, choose Setup. Finally, to see how the screen saver will be displayed, choose Test.
If you have a 386 or better computer, the 386 Enhanced icon will appear in the Control Panel group. This icon allows you to actually modify the performance of Windows to better suit your needs. The most interesting option in the 386 Enhanced icon, is the Virtual Memory button. The Virtual Memory option lets you create a swap file which Windows can use when it runs out of room in the physical memory area. If all of the physical memory is used, Windows can use a portion of the hard disk as a memory area.
Windows allows two types of swap files: permanent and temporary. A temporary swap file is created when Windows starts and is deleted when Windows ends. The disadvantage is that it takes a little more time for Windows to load and exit. A permanent swap file avoids the delay in time, but takes up a portion of hard disk space whether Windows is running or not.
Another item that Windows provides for better system performance is the 32-bit access of hard drives. To turn this feature on, click the checkbox at the bottom of the Virtual Memory dialog. This allows Windows to bypass the BIOS when "talking" to the hard drive, thereby speeding up hard disk access. One thing to note, some machines have drives that are not compatible with the 32-bit access feature. Before turning this feature on, you should find out from the manufacturer if their drive is compatible.
One of the nicer features of Windows is that once you setup a printer in Windows, it is available to all Windows applications. With most DOS programs, you have to setup a printer for each program. To display the Printers dialog, double-click on the Printers icon in Control Panel. You can also bring up the Printers dialog if Print Manager is running by choosing the Setup button. The Printers dialog allows you to add a new printer, set the default printer, or remove a printer.
To add a new printer to the Windows system, click on the Add>> button. The dialog box expands at the bottom to display the possible printer drivers in Windows. Select your printer from the list and choose Install. Some printers were introduced after Windows was released and may not be listed in the List of Printers box. If you can not find your printer listed, the manufacturer probably has a driver for that printer. After you obtain that driver, choose Install Unlisted or Updated Driver from the list. Then, choose OK. You will be prompted for either a Windows disk or the driver disk. Insert the appropriate disk and choose OK.
To select the default printer, simply click on the printer name in the Installed Printers box. Then, choose the Set As Default Printer button. To remove a printer, click on the printer name in the Installed Printers box and choose Remove. Chose Yes to remover the printer, and then choose Close. This does not actually remove the driver file from the hard disk, but it makes the printer unavailable to Windows.
If you have a sound card installed in your computer, you can actually have Windows play sounds depending on what is occurring in Windows. These sounds are in .WAV format & are associated with certain Windows functions, such as Windows startup, Windows exit, the default beep, etc. To assign a sound to an event, first select the event in the left-hand box you want to assign a sound to. The Files list displays all of the sounds in the \windows directory. Select the sound you want to assign to the event. To hear a test of the sound, click on the Test button. You can then assign sounds to all of the events you want. When you are finished, click the OK button.
With Control Panel, your working environment can be tailored to suit the way you like to work in Windows. It allows many different options to customize Windows to your preferences. It is one of the most interesting items included with Windows and one of the most fun to explore!