Conventions: At the bottom of most Properties Boxes are three buttons: OK, CANCEL and APPLY. Clicking on APPLY applies the changes but leaves the box open so you can select another. Clicking on OK closes the box and then applies the changes. Clicking on CANCEL closes the box and MAKES NO CHANGES. When in doubt, click CANCEL. 

In the Beginning...  ...is the desktop. This opening screen on new computers is usually crowded with icons on top of a manufacturer's logo. Some of these icons are placed there by Microsoft, some by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and usually there are duplicates and triplicates of these shortcut icons scattered throughout your desktop environment. When you've become familiar with the programs they point to, some of them can be deleted. We navigate this symbolic Office environment by manipulating the mouse, which moves the cursor. We use the cursor to select different Windows to open onto the applications that run on the computer. It's the primary Hi-Look item on the desktop and the best place to start personalizing your desktop. 

Choose a Cursor
The default cursor is usually very small and hard to find amid the clutter of screen activity. Click on START | SETTING | CONTROL PANEL | MOUSE | POINTERS. Click the down arrow to the right of the list box and choose a larger one. There may be more than one choice of Large cursors, and you'll be able to preview them as you select them. Try to refrain from using animated cursors: they're cute, but they just add to the clutter.  Keep the one you like by clicking on OK. If you click on APPLY, you'll be able to see your choice in action. If it's a keeper, click on OK. Otherwise, choose another. 

Personalize the Display
What you see doesn't have to be what you get! The Display Properties dialogue box allows you to personalize your environment. This is where you can change your desktop colors, fonts, background, screensaver and screen resolution. Right click on an open space on the desktop and choose PROPERTIES. 

Background
Choose a Pattern, choose a Wallpaper to Tile or Center. Choosing (None) may seem unimaginative, but you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to see the icons on your desktop, if you do. On the other hand, take a look at the, "[on] Display Exhibition," at Kaliber10k for inspiration provided by 1,200 or so Designers' Desktops. 

Screensaver
Modern monitors no longer require that their screens be saved; screen savers are just for fun. Use the PREVIEW button to inspect the results. Much of this software is pretty amusing but some of it is poorly written. If you suspect a screensaver of causing you grief, pick another. It's a matter of taste and practicality. I use Blank Screen at a 17 minute delay with no Energy Saving Features selected, and chide myself for a lack of imagination. 

Appearance
Clicking on different parts of the graphic changes the focus of the Item form, and highlights options of Size and Color if they can be changed. When you click on one of the Text images, e.g.. Windows Text, the Font, Size and Color options become available. It's a good idea to write down what changes you make here in order to change things back to the way they were, should you choose to.  All fonts can be enlarged and Bolded (the B button, next to the Color key; try this button even if you don't enlarge the font and see that the lettering under your desktop icons becomes easier to see). Changes here also affect the fonts in the Task Bar. It's a good idea to use a neutral color for the background, teal is the default. I use a cream color for the Desktop background, because white is really too bright. 

Those Caption buttons (_ [] X) can be enlarged to make them easier to find with the cursor. While in the Appearance window, in the Item list, select Caption Buttons (or click on them in the preview box), and then adjust their size, watching the preview screen to see the changes. When you're satisfied, click OK. Just remember that you can return to the Appearance screen with a right click anywhere on the desktop and restore things to the way they were. Or change them to the better. 

Arrange Icons
Right click on the desktop again, click on Arrange Icons, and ensure that Auto Arrange is NOT checked. Then drag and drop your icons into tactical and practical groupings. You can line them up as a border around the screen or put those you use for different jobs into different corners. Those that you're NEVER going to use can be deleted, (Right Click|Delete). Going after the software that created them is beyond the scope of this brief. 

Double Paned Windows This can be accomplished by holding down the Shift key while you double click on My Computer, but to save yourself the extra effort, in an Explorer or My Computer window, select View|Options and click the File Types tab. Select Folder in the list of Registered file types, then click the Edit button. Select Explore in the Actions list, click the Set Default button, and click Close. Click Close one more time and go try out your change--double- click any folder and its contents appear in an Explorer view. (Note: To open a folder in a regular window view, right-click it and select Open.) 

START Friendly

You click on the START button in the lower left corner of your screen, slide your cursor to Programs, and out jumps a bewildering assortment of icons. And that blizzard of choice follows your cursor around blinking open other panels and other columns until you're convinced you need to take a class in, "Mouse Handling." The game of Solitaire, under START|PROGRAMS|ACCESSORIES|GAMES is for teaching hand-eye-mouse control and if you'd rather pass on the class, play some Solitaire and try a few of these quick fixes

Go to START|SETTINGS|TASKBAR|START MENU PROGRAMS|ADVANCED and find those short-cuts to programs and files you are never going to use, delete them. Feel free to read some of the Read Me files before you delete their short-cuts, just to convince yourself that most of them aren't worth the time. This is accomplished via Right-clicking on them and then clicking on DELETE. Consider that every program you open will have a HELP button on the upper right of the screen. Delete those HELP shortcuts that add chaos to your menus. Be ruthless. The more you remove, the less you'll have to look at every time you open the menu and the easier it'll be to navigate through them. 

Rename Shortcuts
"Microsoft Word For Windows98" seems a bit LONG for a Short-cut, doesn't it? It's those long names that drag the menu columns out to the right of your screen, until they run out of real estate, and then bring them cascading back on top of themselves. While you're in the ADVANCED view, right-click on ANY that could do with a simpler name and choose RENAME. You'll still be able to open "Microsoft Word For Windows98" even if it's just named "Word". The same goes for "wordy" icons on your desktop. Right click them and choose RENAME. 

Now is a good time to click on Start|Shut Down|Restart the Computer. Windows really likes this procedure! It saves your settings and then starts fresh. Ensure that WYSIWYG, (What You See Is What You Got), and what you want. 

Phase 2 deals with System Optimization procedures.