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Customizing Windows for Personal Use (3 of 3)

Article ID: 316610

Article Last Modified on 8/28/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition

This article was previously published under Q316610

SUMMARY

The information covered in this article is provided by: Microsoft Press.

This article is part 3 of a series of three articles that explain how to customize Windows Millennium Edition (Me) for personal use. Part 3 focuses on how to customize folder appearance, use the folder list to move and copy files or folders, use compressed files and folders, and use search. A lesson wrap-up outlines a number of common procedures. And, a Glossary is included that describes some of the terms used in this series of articles. To view the remaining articles in the series, click the link to the topic you want to view:

312933 Customizing Windows for Personal Use (1 of 3)

312934 Customizing Windows for Personal Use (2 of 3)

This information is an excerpt from the Microsoft Windows Me Step-by-Step book, "Lesson 1: Customizing Windows for Personal Use". Learn More About Microsoft Windows Me Step-by-Step.

MORE INFORMATION

Customizing Folder Appearance

If you have used previous versions of Microsoft Windows, you have probably changed your desktop display by adding wallpaper, changing desktop color schemes, or creating other special effects. In much the same way that you can customize your desktop, you can also customize folders by adding templates, background images, colors, and comments about the folder contents. In fact, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition includes an enhanced Customize This Folder Wizard, which steps you through the process of changing folder appearance.

When you customize a folder, you can apply one of several built-in HTML templates. Depending on the template, you can view more or less information about the files in the folder.

Folder      Template Description 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standard    Includes icons and file names; displays information about
            selected files. Standard is the default folder style. 

Classic     Traditional Windows folder appearance. Includes icons only. 

Simple      Similar to Classic style, but includes file names along with 
            the icons. 

Image       Preview used for viewing and organizing image files. Includes 
            an image viewer and links to a scanner, camera, and slideshow 
            for viewing folder images.

In addition to using templates, you can add a folder background color, pattern, or picture, and change the file name color and background. You can also include a comment to help identify the folder's contents.

In this exercise, you enhance the appearance of your folders so that they are functional yet pleasing to look at. You also decide to add a comment to a folder to help you identify its content at a later time.

To customize a folder's appearance

Double-click the folder you want to customize.
On the View menu, click Customize This Folder to start the Customize This Folder Wizard.
Click Next.

The first wizard screen appears. By default, the Customize option is selected as well as the Choose Or Edit An HTML Template For This Folder check box.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of first page of Customize This Folder Wizard]

Select the Modify Background Picture And Filename Appearance check box and the Add Folder Comment check box, and then click Next.

The Standard template in the Change Folder Template window is selected by default. You can preview other templates by clicking them.

Click the template you want, and then click Next.

Available background image file names are displayed.

In the Select A Background Picture From The List Below box, select the image you want to use.

The image appears in the Preview box.

In the Filename Appearance area, click the Background button, choose a color from the color palette, and then click OK.

The background behind the file names will change to the selected color.

Click Next, and then in the Folder Comment box, type a brief description about the contents of the folder.
Click Next, and then click Finish.

The customized template and background are displayed.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the customized template and background]

TIP: To remove folder customization, start the Customize This Folder Wizard in the folder that you customized, click Next, and select Remove Customizations. Then, work through the wizard to remove the enhancements you do not want.

Viewing Information About Files and Folders

By default, the contents of Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition folders are presented in the Large Icon view. Windows Me also includes other views, each of which can be useful in particular situations. Although the folder view is often a matter of personal preference, choosing the best view can make navigating in and selecting from folders easier, depending on such variables as the number and type of files in the folder. You can easily switch among the views, but when you change a folder view, the view is changed for the active folder only. The following table suggests how you can use each view effectively.

TIP: To change views, on the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Views button, and then click the view you want to use. Or, on the View menu, click a view.

Folder View    Use 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Large Icons    Help to quickly distinguish file types. Large icons are
               easier to see than smaller icons or text but do not include 
               information about file properties, such as date created or 
               file size. If a folder contains many files, it can be 
               difficult to see all the files without having to move 
               through them. 

Small Icons    Help to quickly distinguish file types, but are more 
               difficult to see than large icons. This view can be useful 
               if the folder contains a large number of files. 

List           Similar to Small Icons view, but organizes icons in a list, 
               which can be easier to move through if the folder contains a 
               large number of files. 

Details        Includes small icons and file names, plus file details such 
               as file size, type, and date modified. Because the details 
               are immediately visible, this view can be useful for quickly 
               distinguishing among files by their date and size. 

Thumbnails     Provides thumbnail views of image files. Useful for 
               previewing images without having to open them or customize 
               the folder.

Depending on the folder view you have chosen, you can view details about files and arrange the list of files:

To view details about a file, position the pointer over the file name or file icon.
To view details about a file in the folder pane, click the file. The details are displayed on the left side of the folder. (The folder options must be set to enable Web content in folders.)
To arrange icons, on the View menu, point to Arrange icons, and then select the way you want your icons to be arranged.

Using the Folders List to Move and Copy Files and Folders

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition has made dragging files between folders much easier, particularly when the folder you are moving an item to is located on another level in the folder hierarchy. For example, let's say you have two folders in the My Pictures folder--one called Amy's Images and another called Amy. Moving Amy's Images folder to the Amy folder is easy because both are visible in the My Pictures folder. But moving the Amy's Images folder to My Documents would be difficult because that folder is not visible. In Windows Me, you can open the Folders list that contains all of the folders on your hard disk, which makes it easy to drag a selected folder to a folder on another level in the folder hierarchy.

You have started to organize your hard disk by creating folders for your family and yourself. In this exercise, you want to complete the job by moving several folders to a better location and then copying a file to another folder.

To copy a folder to another folder by using the Folders list

On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click Folders.

The Folders list is displayed. The list displays icons for all the folders on your hard disk, icons for other drives attached to your computer, and other folders on the desktop.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Folders List]

Double-click the folder that contains the folder you want to move to another folder higher in the directory structure.
Click the folder you want to move, drag it to the target folder, and then release the mouse button.

The folder is moved to the target folder.

Click the plus sign (+) next to the target folder.

The folder you copied is displayed in the target folder.

To copy a file to a folder by dragging it from one window to another

In the right pane, double-click the folder that contains the file you want to copy. And, double-click the folder into which you want to copy the file.
Hold CRTL, click the file you want to copy, and drag it to the target folder in the Folders list.

The file is copied to the target folder.

You can also use the following method to copy a file to a folder:

Double-click the folder that contains the file you want to copy.
Right-click the file, drag it to the target folder in the Folders list, and then release the mouse button.

A shortcut menu appears.

Click Copy Here to copy the file to the target folder.

To delete a file or folder

Double-click the folder that contains the file or folder you want to delete.
Click the file or folder you want to delete and then click the Delete button on the Standard Buttons toolbar.
If you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

TIP: You can also use Windows Explorer to manage and organize files and folders on your hard disk. Windows Explorer is similar to folders, in that you can use Windows Explorer to view the contents of your computer as well as to move and copy files. In some cases, Windows Explorer might be more convenient because you can start it directly from the Start menu: right-click the Start button, and then click Explore.

Using Compressed Folders to Save Disk Space

When you compress a file, folder, or an entire disk, the contents take up less space. In fact, a file might take up less than half the space it takes in an uncompressed form. Using compression is useful in several situations. If you are using an older version of Microsoft Windows and you need extra space on your hard disk, you can use a compression utility program like Microsoft Drive Space to compress the entire hard disk, depending on how your drive is formatted. You can also compress an entire floppy disk, for example, when you want to copy a very large file to a floppy disk. More often, though, you`ll want to compress a single file or folder, which you can do with special utility programs like Drive Space.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition includes a folder compression utility that you can use to compress the contents of folders. Compressed folders are particularly useful in two situations: copying large files to floppy disks or sending large attachments in e-mail. If you often transfer files between computers--such as between your computer at home and your computer at work--you might discover that some of your files are too large to fit on a floppy disk. You can compress those files in Windows Me to reduce their size so that more data will fit on a single floppy disk.

When you attach large files to an e-mail message, the time it takes to send and receive the e-mail message is increased, which is especially noticeable if you are using a slower modem and sending your e-mail messages over standard telephone lines. But if you compress the files before you attach them to your email message, the sending and receiving time is decreased. In addition, some e-mail programs limit the size of files that you can attach, so sending a very large file can be impossible without compressing it first.

In this exercise, you will create a compressed folder from an existing folder and also create a new compressed folder.

To create a compressed folder from an existing uncompressed folder

Right-click the folder you want to compress, point to Send To, and then click Compressed Folder.

A compressed folder, named the same as the original folder, is created.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Compressed Folder]

Right-click the original folder, and then click Properties.

The Properties dialog box appears.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Properties Dialog Box]

Click Cancel to close the dialog box.
Right-click the compressed folder and then click Properties.

The size of the compressed folder is displayed in the information pane of the folder.

Close the Properties dialog box.
Double-click the compressed folder.

The folder opens. It contains a copy of the original folder.

Double-click the copy of the original folder inside the compressed folder.

The folder opens, and the contents of the folder are displayed. The files are compressed versions of the original files in the original folder.

Right-click the first file, and then click Properties.

The Compressed Item Properties dialog box appears. The original and packed sizes of the file are displayed.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Compressed Items Properties Dialog Box]

Click OK, and then click the Close button.

To create a new compressed folder

Open the folder in which you want to create a compressed folder.
Right-click an empty space in the folder, point to New, and then click Compressed Folder.

A new compressed folder is created. The file name is selected.

Type a name for your folder and then press ENTER to rename the new compressed folder.

TIP: You can compress a file by copying it to a compressed folder. You can decompress a file by dragging it from the compressed folder to a regular folder or to the desktop. You can decompress an entire folder by right-clicking the folder, and then clicking Extract All.

Using Search to Find Files

Once you have organized your folders in Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, you will find it easier to locate your files. But as the number of files increase, it can be easy to forget where you put them, particularly files that were created a long time ago. Also, children who use the computer might not understand the file system and inadvertently save a file in a different directory without realizing it. Then, when they try to find the file, they might have trouble locating it.

If you can remember or guess at details about the file--a partial name, for instance, or the date it was created--you can usually locate the file quickly by using Windows Search. When you use Search, you can look for files by specifying different criteria. You can search by name, or you can search by a word or phrase that a document contains. You can also search by the date the file was created, the file type, and the file size. Finally, you can specify where Windows searches--your entire hard disk or another drive, all subfolders on a drive, or a specific folder. The broader your search criteria, the longer it takes Windows to finish the search. Any information you can specify speeds up the process. For example, if you can remember that you created a file during a particular month, you can specify the month as one of your search criteria to speed up your search.

After you specify your search criteria and begin the search, the search results are displayed in the Search Results folder. You can preview and open files from the search folder as well as move or copy them.

In this exercise, you will search for a file that contains a string of text. And, you will search for a bitmap (*.bmp) file that was created during January 2000.

Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click For Files Or Folders.

The Search Results dialog box appears.

Click the Maximize button.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of Search Results Windows]

TIP: You specify the search criteria in the Search pane on the left of the screen, and the results are displayed in the right pane. By default, Search will search for files or folders on your entire hard disk.

In the Containing Text box, type some text that you know to be in the file you want to find.
In the Look In list, click Browse.

The Browse For Folder dialog box appears.

Select the folder or hard disk where you think the file is stored and then click OK.
Click the Search Options link.

The Search Options box is displayed.

Select the Advanced Options check box.

The Search Subfolders check box and Case Sensitive check box are displayed. The Search Subfolders check box is selected. If you are not sure in which subfolder the file is located, the Search Subfolders option will search all of the subfolders within that folder.

Click Search Now.

After a few seconds, the search results are displayed in the Search Results pane, and a file is displayed. You can open the file directly from the pane by double-clicking it.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of Search Results Pane ]

Click New in the Search pane.

The information from the previous search results pane is cleared.

In the Search For Files Or Folders Named box, type *.bmp.

The asterisk (*) is a wildcard character that can be used as a substitute for any character or string of characters. The *.bmp means that Windows will search for all files ending with .bmp.

In the Search Options area, select the Date check box.

Several options are displayed following the Date selection. By selecting one of the date options, you can search for files modified, created, or accessed in a specified period in the past. For example, if you know that you created the file during January 2000, you can narrow the search by specifying a date or date range.

In the Date list, make sure that Files Modified is selected.

You will search for files created on a certain date or during a certain period.

Make sure that the Between And option is selected, and then click the Between arrow.

A calendar is displayed. The current date is circled in red.

Click one of the Calendar arrows to locate December 1999, and then click December 31.

The date is entered in the first date box.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Calendar]

Click the And arrow, move to February 2000, and then click February 1.

The date is entered in the second date box. Windows will search for all .bmp files created on any date in January 2000.

Click Search Now.

Search locates the .bmp files created in January 2000.

TIP: You can save the results of a search by clicking Save Search on the File menu.

In the Search Results pane, click the Close button to display the Windows desktop.

Searching for People and Web Sites

Windows Search is not restricted to searching for files on your computer. You can use Search to locate people on the Internet or who are listed in an address book on your computer or on a network. You can also search for a Web site.

Locating someone in an address book

Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click People.
In the Look In box, click the address book in which you want to search.
On the People tab, you can type part of the person's information in the corresponding boxes; for example, the person's first or last name, the person's e-mail address, or the city where the person lives.
Click Find Now.

IMPORTANT: You must first have an Internet connection set up on your computer and use an Internet directory service that specializes in finding e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and names.

Locating someone on the Internet

Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click People.
In the Look In box, click a directory service, fill in the Name and E-mail boxes, and then click Find Now, or click Web Site to view the directory service Web site.

Locating a Web site

IMPORTANT: You must first have an Internet connection set up on your computer.

Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click On The Internet.
In the Find A Web Page Containing box, type a search keyword and then click Search.

Lesson Wrap-Up

In this article series, you previewed some of the new features on the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition desktop, and you customized the Start menu to make program items easier to locate. You added user profiles to safeguard customized desktop settings and then set up accessibility options for users with special needs. Next, you customized the appearance of a folder and used the Folders list to move and copy files. Finally, you learned how to compress folders and search for misplaced files on your hard disk.

Glossary

compress To reduce the size of a file or folder by using a file compression utility such as Windows Compression Agent.

Control Panel A utility used for controlling Microsoft Windows or hardware settings.

HTML Hypertext Markup Language. A language used for creating Web pages. In Windows Me, you can view HTML objects, such as templates or images, on your desktop and in folders.

link A graphic, word, or phrase in one location that points to another element in a different location. When you click a link, the element it points to is displayed. For example, when you click the My Computer link in My Documents, My Computer opens. Word and phrase links are often underlined and in a different color than surrounding text. You click the link once to go to the element the link is connected to.

profile A record of personal settings maintained by Windows Me for a particular user, such as a user's choice of desktop background color or Start menu settings. Also called a user profile.

shortcut An icon that is linked to a program, folder, file, or Web page. For example, when you double-click the Microsoft Outlook Express shortcut on the Windows desktop, Outlook Express starts.

utility program A program designed to accomplish a specific maintenance task, like compressing or backing up files.

wildcard A character, such as * or ?, that can be used to represent other characters. In the file name *.bmp, the * stands for any string of characters; in the file name Mar?.bmp, the ? stands for any single character.

wizard An interactive Help utility that guides you through a series of steps to accomplish a complex task. For example, the Enable Multi-User Settings Wizard steps you through the process of setting up a user profile.

Quick Reference

To customize the Start menu

Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Taskbar And Start Menu.
Click the options you want in the General tab.

To set up Windows for multiple users and create additional user profiles

Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Users icon.
Click New User, and then work through the wizard steps.

To configure Windows for accessibility needs

Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and then click Accessibility Wizard.
Follow the wizard steps.

To use the Windows Magnifier

Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and then click Magnifier.

To customize folder appearance

Open the folder that you want to customize.
Click View, and then click Customize This Folder.
Work through the steps in the wizard.

To use the Folders list to move and copy files and folders

Open a folder containing files or folders, and then on the Standard Buttons toolbar, click Folders.
To move a folder or file, drag it to a folder in the Folders list.
To copy a folder or file to the Folders list, press and hold CTRL, and then drag it to the Folders list.

To compress folders to save disk space

Right-click the folder you want to compress.
Point to Send To, and then click Compressed Folder.

To search for files

Click the Start button, point to Search, and click Files Or Folders.
Enter the search criteria, and click Search Now.

REFERENCES

The information in this article is an excerpt from the Microsoft Windows Me Step-by-Step book, published by Microsoft Press.

[GRAPHIC: Picture of the Windows Me Step-By-Step book][1]

Learn More About Microsoft Windows Me Step-by-Step

For more information about this publication and other Microsoft Press titles, see http://mspress.microsoft.com.

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