Customize Your DesktopMost people do not want the standard desktop. There are a number of built in options you can use. Or you can use your own photos for the desktop. Below I have used a picture of my granddaughters for the desktop.
Now you can click on the Browse button and your file system will be displayed. You can then navigate to your picture and select it. It will then appear in the Background list. Be sure it is highlighted and then click on the Apply button. The picture will then become the wallpaper on your desktop. Now click OK and you are finished. You do have the option to Stretch, Tile or Center the picture on your screen. I usually use Stretch as it will then cover the full screen. However Stretch may distort the image's proportions. If this happens, I go back and crop the picture so its aspect ratio is close to that of the computer screen. (See section on Digital Photos for more information.) Note the other tabs are also used to modify your desktop appearance. You may experiment with then to change various other colors, text size, etc. Of special importance is the Settings tab. This is used to set the screen resolution and the number of colors displayed. Some software may require a minimum resolution and number of colors. If you are using Windows XP, Windows will automatically adjust the parameters to allow the software to function. With Windows 98 or ME, you must manually set the parameters. |
To set up your desktop, go to a place where there are no Icons and do a right click. A menu as shown in Figure 1-6 will appear. Use your left mouse button to select Properties. This will bring up the Display Properties screen as shown in Figure 1-7. Select the Desktop tab.