What Should I Know About the Control Panel?

1. What Should I Know About the Control Panel?

2. What is the Control Panel? • How do I access it? • Which ‘view’ is the most useful? • Do I have to know everything about it? • Which functions should most interest me?

3. 1. What is the Control Panel? • A component of Microsoft Windows. • Allows the user to change computer settings. • Enables the addition and removal of hardware and software components. • Permits changing of network settings. • Enables the personalization of screen appearance. • Allows changes to the shape and size of your cursor (pointer).

4. How do I access the Control Panel? • With editions of Windows prior to Windows-8, click on the Start button; then click on ‘Control Panel’ from the pop-up menu. • For Windows-8 onwards, click on the Start button and type-in ‘Control Panel’. The option will appear in a pop-up list to the left of the screen. NOTE: Windows-10 discourages the use of the Control Panel in favour of using the ‘Settings’ function.

5. When you open the Control Panel you will see the ‘View by’ button near the top-right of the screen. (The default View is usually ‘Categories’) Click on the down-arrow and select ‘Large Icons’ instead. 3. Which ‘View’ is the most useful?

6. Your screen will look like this as a result of your having chosen ‘Large Icons’ . . . 3. Which ‘View’ is the most useful? (cont.)

7. 3. Which ‘View’ is the most useful? (cont.) Note that the Control Panel on the previous screen showed a total of 40 icons (applets). Your own version may show a different number depending on what version of Windows is operative on your machine, plus what software options have been chosen – i.e. what programs you are running – and what hardware components you have installed.

8. 3. Which ‘View’ is the most useful? (cont.) • Clicking on each of the options/icons (called “applets”) shown on the previous screen gives you access to a specific function and allows you to change existing settings. • We will be examining some of those in which you might be interested.

9. 4. Do I have to know everything about it? • It is certainly NOT necessary to know all about each of the available functions. • In the majority of cases the default settings established by your Operating System are perfectly acceptable. • As previously stated, we will only be examining a few of the functions displayed.

10. Which functions should interest me? • We will be looking at the following items: a) Backup and Restore; b) Date and Time; c) Keyboard; d) Mouse; and e) Programs and Features.

11. 5 a) – Backup and Restore • The applet looks like this . . . (Note that the title includes “(Windows 7)”. This is because the version of the Backup/Restore function used by Windows-10 is the same as that used by Windows-7. This fact is of no importance as far as the function is concerned.) • When you click on the applet you will see an image like the following screen.

12. 5 a) – Backup and Restore (cont.) Click here to establish your own backup routine. Once your Backup routine has been established the location of the resulting backups will be shown here.

13. 5 b) – Date and Time • The applet looks like this . . . • When you click on the Date and Time applet you will see an image like the following screen.

14. 5 b) – Date and Time (cont.) Click here to change/reset the date and/or time. This button lets you set the time zone to your location. Click on ‘Apply’ when you have made the necessary changes.

15. 5 c) – Keyboard • The applet looks like this . . . • When you click on the Keyboard applet you will see an image like the one on the following screen which will let you change some of your keyboard’s features.

16. 5 c) – Keyboard (cont.) This sliding scale determines how long elapses after you hit a key until the character appears on the screen. This one sets the degree of rapidity of repetition which you can sample by clicking in here. The last one sets the rate at which your cursor blinks. Once again, click on ‘Apply’ when you have made your choices.

17. 5 c) – Keyboard (cont.) Clicking on the ‘Hardware’ tab shows basic data regarding which keyboard is being used. Pushing the ‘Properties’ button gives more detailed information including manufacturer, driver and a summary of the events affecting the keyboard.

18. 5 d) – Mouse • The applet controlling mouse features looks like this . . . • You might be surprised by the degree of flexibility you have at your disposal regarding what you can do with your mouse!

19. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) Note that you have six tabs controlling the various features. This one concerns the buttons on your mouse. The first section shows the manufacturer of your touch-pad and allows you to control whether you want to use the mouse left- or right-handed. The middle section controls the gap between clicks when you use double-clicking. (You may find as you get older that it is an advantage to slow this gap down somewhat!) The ‘Click-lock’ section has a self-explanatory narrative regarding how to highlight or drag without having to hold-down the left button.

20. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) The second tab lets you choose the shape and size of your pointer. The top section lets you choose from a list of a dozen options by clicking the down-arrow to the right of your listed option. (I have chosen the “Inverted extra large” option for this machine.) The second section gives you a wide range of choices for the size and shape of your pointer. At the left-hand side under the second section you can choose to give your pointer a shadow effect by clicking in the ‘Enable pointer shadow’ box. (You can also browse for additional options, or else revert to the default values.)

21. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) The third tab gives you more options regarding the appearance and use of your pointer. The top section lets you determine the speed at which your pointer moves in response to the movement of your mouse. Following this is a box you can check to make the pointer automatically move to the recommended (default) button whenever a dialog appears on the screen requiring a response. The bottom section enhances the visibility of your pointer. You can make a trail appear behind your pointer when you move it and define the length of that trail. You can specify that you want the pointer to be hidden while you are typing, and you can indicate that you want contracting circles to appear on the screen to show where the pointer is by pressing the ‘Ctrl’ key.

22. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) The fourth tab controls the use of the wheel on your mouse. The first section in this case lets you set the number of lines the image will roll with each notch as the wheel is turned. (You can also make it skip a whole page for each notch if you wish.) The lower section is only applicable if you are using a mouse which has a ball on top (instead of a wheel) which you can roll laterally to move the pointer sideways.

23. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) The fifth tab shows basic details of the hardware you are using. Once again, pressing the ‘Properties’ button gives you more details of drivers used with your mouse, plus a summary of events associated with it.

24. 5 d) – Mouse(cont.) The only feature of the “Touch Pad Settings” tab with which you might want to be concerned is the ‘Click Pad Disable’ button approximately half-way down. Clicking this button disables the touch pad on your laptop. This is a good idea if you are using an auxiliary mouse and keyboard so that accidentally touching the touch pad will have no effect on your pointer. Clicking on the ‘Click Pad Settings’ button in the upper section shows you a short video describing how to use the touch pad.

25. 5 e) – Programs and Features • The applet for Programs and Features looks like this . . . • This function is perhaps the most important one we have examined today. • It gives us the only safe way of deleting (uninstalling) items no longer wanted on your machine.

26. 5 e) – Programs and Features (cont.) • The following diagram represents the screen you will see when clicking on the ‘Programs and Features’ applet. • It shows only part of the story, since all programs, etc. installed on your machine will be indicated by a line in the list. • Click on the name of the program you wish to delete and it will be highlighted.

27. 5 e) – Programs and Features (cont.) Note the ‘Uninstall’ option listed on the title line. This is the program we want to uninstall.

28. 5 e) – Programs and Features (cont.) • The program we have highlighted in this case is the ‘Google Chrome’ browser. • Click on the indicated ‘Uninstall’ button and follow the instructions which will appear on your screen. • Note that the use of the ‘Programs and Features’ option will guarantee elimination of all coding related to the unwanted program.

29. Conclusion We have only looked at 5 of the applets on the Control Panel. All of the others are important, but it is less-likely that you are going to need to interact with them, at least in the short term. As previously stated, many of the functions are more effectively handled by the “Settings” feature of Windows-10 in particular. (Furthermore, it is apparent that this phenomenon is becoming more evident as Windows-10 gets more sophisticated.)