Hello,
Welcome back from the Christmas and new year season, we hope you all had a fantastic time! To get back into the swing of things, I have a “Word to the Wise” for you all. This time, it’s about your “Desktop”.
E.G the screen that appears once your computer has started up
The desktop, or as some people call it “home screen”, is the area that appears once your computer has started up. It has a background image, and often a lot of little icons that link to certain programs or documents. Your computer’s desktop is much like a physical desktop. You probably keep a number of commonly used items on your desk such as pens, papers, folders, and other items. Your computer’s desktop serves the same purpose, which is to give you easy access to items spread about on your computer.
One of the best features of the desktop is the ability to change the background image (also known as “wallpaper”). It’s great to be able to choose what you want your desktop to look like, so you can customize it to suit you! To change the background image on your Desktop, follow the steps below, depending on your version of windows:
Windows XP: Start, Control Panel, Appearance and themes
Windows Vista: Start, Control Panel, Appearance and Personalization, Personalization and then Desktop Background.
Windows 7: RIGHT click on the Desktop and select Personalize, then click on Desktop Backgrounds
The other great feature mentioned above, is adding shortcuts (which appear as “icons”) to the Desktop, so you can access your favourite programs or documents quickly. You can even add links to your favourite websites!
To add a shortcut icon for a program like, for example, Microsoft Word, go to Start, All programs, and find Microsoft Word in the list. RIGHT click on it, and select “Send to” and then “Desktop (Create shortcut). You can also follow the same steps if you want to add a picture or a sound file to your desktop. RIGHT click on it, and send to desktop.
To add a shortcut icon to a website, RIGHT click on the Desktop, and select “New” and then “Shortcut”. A window will appear that gives you the option to enter a website address, and to name your shortcut icon. This is great if you only want to click your mouse a couple of times to get to your favourite website.
I hope you found that useful!
Georgia
