Change the Way Windows Looks

 

There are other ways to customize your desktop.

You may have noticed from other pages with screenshots that my desktop looks different from yours:

You can also customize things like the desktop picture, theme, and even fonts used in your windows.

To access these things, you can do one of two things:

Go to Start>Control Panel>Display
OR
Right-click the desktop and select Properties--->

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND PICTURE

Select the Desktop tab at the top of the window.

You will see a list along the left side of the window. These are Windows-provided graphic files taht can be used for desktop backgrounds. Or you can select Browse on the right side, and look for a picture that you want to display.

 

NOTE: If the picture you want to use is smaller than your desktop space, it may appear "jaggedy". Without getting into too much detail, that's beacuse the picture is smaller, and has to be stretched to fit your window.

 

THEMES

You can also change the "theme" of Windows, which means that the blue title bars, grey boxes, etc., can be changed to your liking.

In the Display Properties box we accessed above, click the Appearance tab.

Find the Color Scheme dropdown box on the left, and click the down arrow. Try changing the colors to Silver, then Apply and OK. See how the appearance of your windows changes.

You can more radically change the appearance of your entire system by using third-party programs like ThemeXP by TGTSoft or Windowblinds by Stardock. These cost money (around $20) but they can make your system look like an entirely different Operating System

Also note that in the Appearance window shown above, there is an Advanced button. This will allow you to change the fonts windows uses, as well as colors in specific parts of Windows.