Some activities may not be enabled as part of the Kent School District network system

*Customizing Windows 7, Vista, or XP

*Learning Targets

*I Can…

*Add and delete user accounts and change the account picture

*Customize the Start Menu

*Create shortcuts

*Modify the display properties

*Change the display resolution

*User Accounts

*A feature of Windows 7, XP, or Vista is having different user accounts each with various accessibility and settings

*If you are an administrator or have full access, you are able to add and remove user accounts

*Adding an Account

*From the Start menu choose Control Panel and select User Accounts

*Click Create a new account, type a name for the account and click next

*Choose what type of access this user will have to your computer – administrator with full access, or limited account

*Deleting an Account

*From the Start menu choose Control Panel and select User Accounts

*Select the account you want to delete and click “Delete the Account

*Before you delete the account, you will be asked if you want to keep or delete the user’s files

*If you decide to keep the user’s files the desktop and My Documents folders will be saved

*A confirmation screen will make sure you want to delete the account

*Customizing the Start Menu

*Right-click over the Start Menu and choose Properties

*The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window will appear

*Select the Customize button to change the appearance of the Start menu

*Add/Remove Shortcuts from Start Menu

*A feature in Windows allows you to easily add a program to the Start Menu – this action is called pinning

*Enhances your ability to find items easily without searching the file structure

*Find the program you want to add, right-click over it and click Pint to Start Menu

*The program will now appear as a Start Menu shortcut

*To remove a program from the Start menu shortcut list, simply right-click over the program and choose Unpin from Start Menu

*Creating Shortcuts on the Desktop

*A shortcut is a pointer to a file, folder, or program

*The key to identifying a shortcut is to look for a small arrow in the lower left-hand corner of the icon

*Creating shortcuts and placing them on your desktop or adding them to the Start Menu, enhances your ability to find items easily without searching the file structure

*Right-click over the program or folder and choose Create Shortcut and drag to the desktop

If you drag the program straight from the Start Menu, make sure you hold down the Ctrl key. If you do not, you will be moving your shortcut from the Start Menu to the desktop

*Changing Your Account Picture

*The little picture appearing next to your name on the log on screen and on the Start Menu can be changed

*To change the picture, click on the Start Menu and click on the picture

*The User Account window will open and allow you to choose a different picture

*Customizing Your Display Properties

*To open the Display Properties right-click on any blank space on your desktop and choose Properties/Personalize

*Or open the Control Panel and double-click on the Display icon

*Choose a Desktop Picture

*In the Display Properties window select the Desktop tab/background

*Select one of the Windows images or you can add one of your own

*To insert your own image, click on the Browse button and locate your image file

*Selecting Desktop Icons

*From the desktop tab on the Display Properties/Personalization click the Customize Desktop/Change Desktop button

*Changing Your Display Resolution

*You can change the screen resolution by choosing the Settings/Display Settings tab from the Display Properties/Personalization window

*Changing resolution changes the amount of information you can view on your screen

*As you increase the pixel resolution more information will fit on the screen because everything will be smaller

*Summary

*Customize your Windows computer making it easier, more efficient, and personally set up for you

*Manage the user accounts by adding and deleting user accounts with various levels of accessibility

*Specify a different image for each user account

*Skyward Activity

*Complete the related Skyward Activity for Customizing Windows