Configuration of the desktop environment in the Windows XP Professional operating system.

Configuration of the desktop environment in the Windows XP Professional operating system.

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Windows XP Professional allows a user to configure the desktop in different ways. It provides several options such as Regional and Language options and Accessibility options for configuring the desktop. These options are found in Control Panel and provide great flexibility to configure the desktop of a computer. Following is a description of each of the options:


Regional and Language Options

The Regional and language options allow a user to configure his computer for multiple languages and multiple locations. These options are very important for those who live in a country where more than one language is spoken or who frequently visit different countries for their work. The Regional and Language options can be configured by opening the Regional and Language Options dialog box. A user can open this dialog box in Control Panel by clicking Date, Time, and then Regional and Language Options. When a user clicks on the Regional and Language Options in Control Panel, the following dialog box opens:



The Regional Options tab page of the Regional and Language Options dialog box allows a user to configure standards and formats for each language. When a user needs to change the currency, data, time, and formats on a computer, he can do so in the Regional Options tab page of the Regional and Language Options dialog box. If a user has configured his computer to use multiple languages, he can choose his preferred location also. If a user wants to change the default settings for currency, time, symbol, etc., but wants to keep other settings intact, he can do so by clicking the Customize button in the dialog box.

The Language tab page allows a user to configure different input language options. The input language configured for a computer controls the behavior of the keyboard, i.e., how the keyboard reacts when text is entered using a keyboard. A user can add different languages, configure language bar settings, and advanced keys settings. When multiple languages are installed on a computer, a user can switch between the languages by using predefined shortcuts. To configure text services and input languages, a user needs to click the Details button on the Language tab page. In this dialog box, a user can select one of the installed input messages. This dialog box also allows a user to configure multiple input languages.


Accessibility Options

Windows XP Professional provides the ability to configure the accessibility options through the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel. When a user clicks on the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel, the Accessibility Options dialog box will open. This dialog box allows a user to configure mouse, keyboard settings, sound, and display settings.

StickyKeys: Enabling StickyKeys allows a user to press a multiple key combination, such as CTRL+ALT+DELETE, one key at a time. This is a very useful feature for those users who have difficulties in pressing multiple keys at a time. If a user wants to configure StickyKeys, he can do so by clicking the Settings button and enabling or disabling the options found in the Settings for the StickyKeys dialog box, which is displayed as follows:



FilterKeys: The Keyboard tab page also allows a user to configure FilterKeys. Enabling FilterKeys causes the keyboard to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. A user can also configure the options for FilterKeys in the Settings for FilterKeys dialog box, which is opened when the Settings button under the FilterKeys section is clicked. The Settings for the FilterKeys dialog box is shown below:



The FilterKeys options also allow a user to configure the keyboard repeat rate. The keyboard repeat rate is a rate at which a key continuously held down repeats the keystroke. A user can configure a shortcut key for FilterKeys. He can also configure the notification settings for FilterKeys: Beep When Keys Pressed Or Accepted and Show FilterKey Status On Screen. The first setting causes a beep when a user presses a key and another beep when the keystroke is accepted. The second notification option causes a FilterKeys icon to be displayed in the taskbar when FilterKeys is turned on.

ToggleKeys: Enabling this option causes the computer to make a high-pitched sound each time the CAPS LOCK, NUMLOCK, or SCROLL LOCK keys are switched on. Enabling ToggleKeys also causes the computer to make a low-pitched sound each time these three keys are turned off.

Configuring Sound Options: The Sound tab provides the Use Sound Sentry check box. Enabling this option allows a user to generate visual warnings when his computer makes a sound. This tab page also provides the Use ShowSounds check box, which allows a user to configure programs to display captions for each speech and sounds they make.

Configuring Display Options: The Display tab page provides a High Contrast check box, which allows a user to configure the Windows XP to use colors and fonts. The display tab also provides cursor options that allow a user to set the blink rate and the width of the cursor.

The Mouse tab page in the Regional and Language Options dialog box provides the Use MouseKeys check box, which allows a user to configure Windows XP to control the pointer with the numeric keyboard. A user can configure the MouseKeys settings in the Settings for MouseKeys dialog box, which is displayed as follows:



MouseKeys uses a default shortcut, LEFT ALT+LEFT SHIFT+NUM LOCK. On this page, a user can also configure the pointer speed and acceleration speed.

Configuring general options: Clicking on the General tab in the Regional and Language Options dialog box will open the General tab page as displayed in the following image:



The General tab page allows a user to configure Automatic Reset. This feature turns off all the accessibility features after a computer is idle for a specified amount of time. The General tab page also includes the notification feature. Enabling this feature will allow Windows XP to give a warning message when a feature is activated and make a sound when a feature is turned off or on.

The General tab page can also be configured to allow a user to activate the SerialKeys Devices feature. Enabling this feature allows Windows XP an alternative access to keyboard and mouse features.

The Administrative Options feature can also be configured in the General tab page of the Regional and Language Options dialog box. This feature provides two check boxes as shown in the above image. Selecting the check boxes allows a user to configure Windows XP to apply all configured accessibility options to the user at logon and to apply all configured accessibility options to all new users.

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