DESKTOP AND TASKBAR

When you switch on the computer, Windows XP automatically starts loading from the Hard
disk(provided it is your default operating system). While loading, it checks the memory and
hardware components such as keyboard, disk drives etc. Once this is over, it starts loading files
necessary for the GUI interface, after which it displays a screen. This opening screen of
Windows XP is called the Desktop.

Desktop
The basic working platform in Windows XP is the Desktop. It contains several Icons like My
Computer, My Documents etc. These are some of the standard icons. Apart from these, you can
also create icons for the applications that you use frequently and place them on the desktop.

The desktop also contains a Taskbar, which is a narrow strip, normally displayed at the bottom
of the screen. On the left, it has the Start button. When you click on the Start button, the Start
menu appears on the left side of the screen. Using the Start menu, you can start any application
that you have installed in your computer.

Next to the Start button is the Quick Launch Toolbar. This contains icons that allow you to
select some commonly used internet-related applications. On the extreme right is the Systems
Tray,that contains the Clock and icons for other utilities. The space between the Quick Launch
Toolbar and the Systems Tray is used to display buttons for the applications currently being
used.
THE START MENU
The Start menu is like a launch pad from which you can do most of the things you want to do
with Windows XP. Using this menu, you can start applications, change the settings of your
computer, find files, get help etc. The Start menu appears when you click on the Start button on
the taskbar.

You can have two different Start menus, one is the usual Start menu and another one is Classic
Start menu.

    

To select an option from this menu, just move the mouse pointer over the options, till the one
that you want is highlighted. Now, with the mouse, just click on the option which is highlighted.

Can you see an arrow at the right of 'All Programs' on the Start menu? A right arrow indicates
the presence of one or more levels of submenu.
     

To select an option on the submenu, move the mouse pointer sideways till one option on the
submenu gets highlighted. Now, move the mouse pointer up/down till the option that you want
is highlighted and then click.
STARTING AN APPLICATION
Starting an application can be done in many ways in XP. But there are two ways which are most
frequently used.

 Using icons on the desktop

 Using the Start Menu

Using icons on the Desktop

If you want to start an application, just see if its icon is available on the desktop. If it is available,
just double-click on it to start the application. This is the easiest way to start an application. If
the icon is not available on the desktop, you can create one. Normally, you may want to create
a desktop shortcut for the most frequently used applications. For creating a desktop shortcut,
refer to Desktop Shortcuts

Using the Start menu

It is not possible to have icons for all the applications on the desktop. So, how do we start the
applications then? You can use the Start menu, to start applications, for which icons are not
available on the desktop. Click on the Start button on the taskbar and select the option that you
want from any one of the menus or submenus that appear.

For example, to start the application 'Notepad',

Click on the Start button, and then click on All Programs. Select Accessories from the submenu,
and then click on Notepad.

The above operation can be performed by keyboard operations also.

 Press Ctrl + Esc, or Window Key

 Press P, this will highlight All Programs
 Press the Enter key, submenu will be displayed.
 Press A and Enter.
 In the final submenu, press N.
  
Parts of a Window
You can move the window around the desktop, change its size, hide it from your view and so
on.

Let us start the Notepad application to learn these operations. Click on Start->All Programs-
>Accessories->Notepad.

The notepad application window opens.

Windows XP is designed in such a way that all windows are similar. The methods used for
resizing, moving and closing the window are the same for all windows.

At the top of the window is the Title Bar. The title bar tells you the name of the application.
There is an exception however; Windows Explorer will not show its name in the title bar. The
tile bar also contains 3 sizing buttons, at the top right corner.

Minimize Button :
This button is used to reduce the size of the window to a button on the taskbar.
Minimizing a window does not close it; it simply hides it from you.

Maximize Button :
Click on this button to enlarge the window to fill the entire desktop.
Resize Button :
This button is used to restore the window to its original size i.e., to the size before you
maximized it.

Close Button :
This button is used to close a window. Closing a window will remove its contents
from memory and screen.

Menu Bar
Below the title bar is Menu Bar. This displays the various menus available to you. When you
click on a menu option, say File, all the sub-options appear as a drop down menu. You can
select any one of them by pointing to it with the mouse pointer and then clicking it.

For example, to save a file, you can click on the File menu and select Save from the drop-down
list. If you save the file for the first time, you may be prompted to enter the name of the file.

Moving a Window
While working with multiple windows, you may face a situation wherein you need to move a
window to a different location on the desktop. You can do so by clicking and dragging the title
bar of the window. Please also note that you cannot drag a window when it is either maximized
or minimized.

Change the size of a Window

Point to the window border with the mouse. The mouse pointer changes like a double-headed
arrow. Click and drag this arrow to increase/decrease the size of the window. To change the
length and breadth simultaneously, move the mouse pointer to either of the bottom corners
and do the above operation.
CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS XP
One important feature of Windows XP is that it allows the users to customize their desktop. Let
us see how to do it?

Customizing Taskbar
Position :You can move the taskbar to any of the four sides of the desktop, unless it is locked.
To do this, place the mouse pointer in an empty area on the taskbar. Then click and drag the
taskbar to any of the sides where you want it to be placed.

Size :To change the size of the taskbar, point to the edge of the taskbar. Now the mouse
pointer will change into a double-headed arrow. Click and drag the mouse to increase/decrease
the size of the taskbar.

Taskbar Settings :Right click on the empty area of the taskbar.

    

From the shortcut menu,

 Select toolbars to add/delete a toolbar like address, links etc.

 You can arrange the windows the way you want with 'Cascade Windows', 'Tile
Windows Horizontally', 'Tile Windows Vertically' and 'Show Desktop' shows the
Desktop. For more details see show desktop
  Click on Task Manager to see the various processes running and also to perform
operations like 'End Task' etc.

 To make the Taskbar fixed, click on 'Lock the Taskbar' so that the taskbar cannot be
moved.

 Clicking on Properties will open the Taskbar and Start menu properties windows under
the Taskbar tab. You can try selecting and deselecting the various options listed there to
customize the taskbar. Changing it into Start Menu tab will give you the option to
change the start menu style. For further details, see Classic Start Menu

Changing Wallpaper :
Wallpaper is the background of your desktop. There are several wallpapers that come along
with XP. You can choose one among them or you can also use a picture of your own.

Right click on the blank area of the desktop. A menu pops up.

Click on 'Properties'. The 'Display Properties' dialog box appears. Click on Desktop tab. It looks
similar to the figure below.
From the list of wallpapers, select the one you want. You can see a preview on the top half of
the window. If you like it,click on Apply and then on OK.

Screen Savers :
With the constantly improving technology, screen savers are nowadays used more as a fun
rather than for a specific purpose. Click on Screen Saver tab in the Display Properties dialog
box. Click on the drop down list box just below the screen saver prompt. A list of available
screensavers would appear as below.

Select any one and a preview would appear at the top half of the window. Specify the time to
wait before displaying the screen saver (in minutes) in the wait text box. According to the figure
below, the computer would wait for 5 minutes before displaying the screen saver.
CONTROL PANEL BASICS
The Control Panel is used to install and manage the different hardware components of your
computer. The Control Panel can be opened in more than one way. Let us see two ways here.

1. To open the Control Panel, click on the Start button and then on Control Panel.

2. Double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop and select Control Panel from the left
side pane.
Control Panel window opens. There are two views of Control Panel.

 Category View
 Classic View

Category View is the Default View. Classic View is similar to the one available in earlier
versions of Windows. Whatever be the view, everything works the same way. Also, we can
switch from one view to another.

Control Panel Icons :

Now, let us see some of the icons present in the control panel and their functions.

This allows you to adjust your computer settings for vision, hearing and mobility.
 This allows you to customize your mouse settings such as the button configuration,
double-click speed, mouse pointers and motion speed.

This allows you to customize your keyboard settings such as the cursor blink rate and
the character repeat rate.

This allows you to set the date , time and time zone for your computer.

This allows you to change the appearance of your desktop, such as the background,
screen saver, colors, font sizes and screen resolution.

This allows you to customize settings for the display of languages, numbers, times
and dates.

There are many other icons also available in the Control Panel. Just move the mouse pointer for
a few seconds over each of the icons to know about their functions.