EXPLORING THE VISTA CONTROL PANEL

Welcome back. In Lesson 2, you took a tour of the Windows Vista interface and picked up some tricks for more efficient file management. Now you're ready to learn how Vista is wonderfully customizable. If there's something you don't like about the way it looks or how it operates, you can probably change it. In this lesson, you'll take a look at some of the ways you can make Vista your own. Let's begin with the center of customization in Windows operating systems -- the Control Panel.

To open the Control Panel, select Start > Control Panel. Control Panel settings are organized into categories to make them easier to browse. Figure 3-1 shows the top level of the Control Panel. Under each category are hyperlink shortcuts to a few of the most common options within the category.

Figure 3-1: The Control Panel displays categories at its top level.
Figure 3-1: The Control Panel displays categories at its top level.

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When you're looking for a certain setting, it's not always obvious which category contains it. To make it easier to find a particular option, you can switch to Classic View by clicking the Classic View hyperlink to the left of the categories. In Classic View, shown in Figure 3-2, individual icons appear for each setting. To return to the regular category-based view, click Control Panel Home.

Figure 3-2: In Classic View, each setting has its own icon.
Figure 3-2: In Classic View, each setting has its own icon.

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The following table lists each category of the Control Panel and its contents (all in alphabetical order) to help you find what you're looking for more easily. Notice that some items appear in more than one category; this makes them easier to find when it's a close call as to which category they fit into more naturally. Notice also that the items might not exactly match the ones on your system, depending on your Windows version and depending on the third-party programs installed.

Category Content
Additional Options These vary, depending on the third-party programs installed.
Appearance and Personalization Ease of Access Center
Folder Options
Fonts
Personalization
Taskbar and Start Menu
Windows Sidebar Properties
Clock, Language, and Region Date and Time
Regional and Language Options
Ease of Access Ease of Access Center
Speech Recognition Options
Hardware and Sound AutoPlay
Color Management
Device Manager
Game Controllers
Keyboard
Mouse
Pen and Input Devices
Personalization
Phone and Modem Options
Power Options
Printers
Scanners and Cameras
Sound
Tablet PC Settings
Windows SideShow
Network and Internet Internet Options
Network and Sharing Center
Offline Files
People Near Me
Sync Center
Windows Firewall
Programs Default Programs
Get Programs Online
Programs and Features
Windows Defender
Windows Sidebar Properties
Windows SlideShow
Security Internet Options
Parental Controls
Security Center
Windows Defender
Windows Firewall
Windows Update
System and Maintenance Backup and Restore Center
Indexing Options
Performance Information and Tools
Power Options
Problem Reports and Solutions
System
Welcome Center
Windows Update
User Accounts and Family Safety Mail
Parental Controls
User Accounts
Windows CardSpace

Table 3-1: Vista Control Panel categories.

Next, learn how to control the appearance of your desktop.