One of the biggest features that Microsoft has been using to sell Vista besides its spectacular graphics capabilities is the ability to customize the operating system and truly personalize your PC. While you have always been able to customize windows, vista does allow you to customize the following items:
- Colors
- Desktop Background
- Screen Saver
- Sounds
- User account picture
- Windows Themes
- Windows Sidebar
- Sidebar Gadgets
The Control Panel
Since windows 3.1, the windows control panel is the place to go if you want to change the default settings for any aspect of the windows graphical user interface GUI. Some of vista’s control panel functions are different and others identical to those in windows XP. Most XP users do not like the default view that vista provides for the control panel. To an inexperienced user this may be easier but it usually annoys the experienced users who really want to see all of the available applets in a single window. The picture below shows the default control panel view in vista.
You can change it back to the classic view as shown below simply by selecting Classic View in the left pane.
There is a compromise between the default and classic views. You can choose the classic view and click on the Category column heading at the top shown above to sort and then choose group. This groups related icons together.
Personalization
Switch to the classic view of the control panel because it will require less steps than using the default view. Select the personalization applet in the control panel.
Themes
This is toward the bottom of the window. Themes allow you to select different schemes. If you like one of the available schemes, a single click will change all of the setting to provide the theme. It’s basically a one click settings control.
Choose the Windows Vista theme and click OK. Your selection will be displayed as My Current Theme. You can save any theme you create by selecting Save As and giving the file a name. It will be saved in the .theme format.
Colors
If you have Aero capability and is already enabled you will see the screen below.
If not, you will see the next screen. Features unique to Aero is the ability to adjust the transparency of a window, Flip (Alt?) which shows live thumbnails of all of your open windows and Flip 3D (Win?) which lets you go through the thumbnails like you were looking at them on a rolodex. If your hardware supports, select to run windows aero.
Effects
Regardless of the selected color scheme, there are three options under Effects. All are checked:
- Standard
- ClearType (default)
- None (uncheck the box)
Show shadows under menus – puts shadows under menus. Personally I don’t like this feature
Show window contents while dragging – again this is a preference and entirely up to you.
Desktop Background
Select Desktop Background. This is a much better interface as shown below than the one in XP because it lets you select the background by choosing the picture. The pictures are selected from the following disk locations: Windows Wallpapers, Pictures, Sample Pictures, Public Pictures and Solid Colors. You can limit background choices to your pictures folder. There is also a browse button to let you search elsewhere.
Screen Saver
This hasn’t changed since XP so there are no real surprises here. Your options are:
- None – standard presentation setting
- 3D Text – you select the text
- Aurora – looks something like the northern lights
- Blank – actually blank
- Bubbles – cute
- Mystify – animated geometric shapes
- Photos – you select a folder or use image tags to select them as a slide show
- Ribbons – color displays
- Windows Energy – requires a 3D card combination of Mystify and Ribbons
- Windows Logo – a fancier version of the logo
Sounds
There really isn’t anything new her either. To apply a sound scheme:
- Select the Sounds tab
- Under Sound Scheme, select the sound scheme you want to use.
User Account Picture
You can select what picture you want to appear next to your user name on the welcome screen and on the start menu. The picture can be one of the ones included in windows or one of your own.
Windows Sidebar
You can customize the sidebar by keeping it on top,, hiding it and adding and removing gadgets from it. There are many gadgets available from the Windows Live Gallery website.
Open the Windows Sidebar by clicking the Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Sidebar.
You can’t change the width of Sidebar. However, you can detach gadgets from the Sidebar and place them anywhere on the desktop. When you close the sidebar, the detached gadgets will remain open.
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