FIGURE 1.21 The Send To menu in Windows Explorer
And finally, you can use this method:
1. Press and hold down Ctrl+Shift while you drag that item to the location you want to create a shortcut to.
2. Release the item in the location where you want to create a shortcut for it.
Search for a File There are many ways to search for a specific file, provided you know something about it. One way is to use the Search box on the top-right of the Windows Explorer window:
1. Select the library or folder where you want to perform the search.
2. Click inside the Search box (Figure 1.22) and type the name of the file you are looking for.
FIGURE 1.22 The Search box in Windows Explorer
If you want to search for a file on the whole computer, do this:
1. Select Local Disk (C:) in the Computer section of the Navigation pane.
2. Then use the Search box.
Here's another way:
1. Close Windows Explorer and press the F3 key on the keyboard.
2. This brings up a Search window where you can type the name of the file (Figure 1.23).
FIGURE 1.23 The Search window that is accessed by pressing F3
If you don't know the filename, you can search based on the date you believe it was created, by the kind of file it is, by the type, and other criteria. Your search will be made across your whole computer.
You can also click the Start button on the Desktop and start typing the name of the file (Figure 1.24). Searches are performed automatically as you type but only in locations that are indexed by Windows, like your libraries. To access a file or folder, click it in the list of results. If you want to perform a computer-wide search, the previous methods work better.
FIGURE 1.24 The Start menu search
Customizing Your Computer
All modern operating systems give you plenty of options for configuring the way they look and how you use them. The most basic customizations are about changing the way the operating system looks. For example, in Windows 7, you can change the resolution of the screen, the Desktop background, the theme, and so on. Obviously, you can go into a lot of detail and customize more advanced settings, but there's no need to, unless you have very specific needs.
When you first use a computer, most probably you will want to change the way Windows looks, the language used for typing, the time and the date, and how accessible the computer is, in case you have a disability.
Another aspect that you might want to customize is how many user accounts there are on your computer and who is allowed to use it and who the administrator is.
Let's look at the most common types of customizations that are performed on a computer and see how they are done.
Customizing the Desktop
All the visual customization options that are available in Windows are found in the Control Panel. To access them, click Start ➢ Control Panel ➢ Appearance And Personalization, as shown in Figure 1.25.
FIGURE 1.25 The Appearance And Personalization section in the Control Panel
In this panel you will find that Windows offers lots of visual customizations:
■ You can change the theme used by Windows, the Desktop background, sound effects, and the screensaver.
■ You can change the resolution of the screen and make text and other items larger or smaller.
■ You can add gadgets to the Desktop, which provide additional information like weather data or the calendar. Please note that this feature of Windows has been discontinued, and Microsoft doesn't provide any new gadgets except those already found in Windows 7.
■ You can customize the icons on the taskbar and the items that are displayed by the Start menu.
■ You can improve the level of accessibility and turn on features like High Contrast or a screen reader, in case you have disabilities that do not allow you to use your computer without help.
■ You can install new fonts, view those that are installed, and adjust their settings.
■ You can also set how files and folders are displayed when using Windows Explorer.
Customizing the Screen Resolution
The display of any computer or device has a specific size that is measured in inches (for example, 9″, 24″, and so on). This number tells you the diagonal measurement of the screen, measured from the bottom-left corner to the top-right corner.
All displays are split into really small squares that are used to display color. Think of the image on your display like a puzzle with really small pieces. Pixels are the smallest squares that could be manufactured and used to display color. How many pixels are on the screen depends on the size of the screen. The total number of pixels is communicated using the screen resolution. It is usually quoted as width × height, with the units in pixels; for example, 1366×768 means the width is 1366 pixels and the height is 768 pixels.
The bigger the resolution, the clearer the image is because there's more room for displaying small details on the screen. When you increase the resolution, items on the screen appear smaller. The opposite happens when you lower the screen resolution. Computer displays have a maximum resolution that can be set, depending on their size and the actual number of pixels available. However, their resolution can be lowered if needed. Exercise 1.6 demonstrates how to change the screen resolution so that items on the screen appear bigger, if you need them to.
EXERCISE 1.6
Changing the Resolution of Your Screen
1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance And Personalization and then Adjust Screen Resolution, under Display.
3. Click the drop-down list next to Resolution and use the slider to set a lower resolution like 1024×768, if it is available, as shown in Figure 1.26.
4. Click Apply.
5. If you like the new resolution, click Keep Changes. Otherwise, click Revert and repeat steps 3 and 4.
6. Click OK.
FIGURE 1.26 The Resolution slider from the Screen