Upgrading to Windows XP: Change is Easy
Published: July 16, 2001
By Sharon Crawford
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I don't like change.
Yes, I know the official cultural position in this world is that one must embrace change, that change is an inevitable part of life. They say flexibility in the face of change is the hallmark of an intelligent modern human. I say, phooey! Show me someone who loves change and I'll show you someone who doesn't understand the situation in the first place.
This no doubt explains my initial reaction to every new version of Windows, starting with Windows 95 and continuing through Windows XP—horror and dismay. I see it's different and immediately hate it. Every time, though, I'm won over by the improved usability and new features, and Windows XP has won me over as well. So if you're also a hide-bound resister of change, read on, and you'll see why some changes are for the better (and the ones in Windows XP don't require you to relearn what you already know).
The Bare Facts
The initial desktop is probably the most startling thing about Windows XP. It's startling because it's mostly bare.
You start out with a clean slate, with only the taskbar and Recycle Bin marring the wallpaper, and even they can be hidden if you want a true minimalist look. You'll notice that the taskbar and Start button look brighter and more colorful. (So do all the windows and icons that are part of Windows XP.) The default look is lean and clean. This uncluttered desktop can be configured any way you like. It can be kept as pristine as the day Windows XP was installed because there are no longer any icons that can't be removed. Hide (and reveal) the Recycle Bin and any desktop shortcuts you add by right clicking the desktop, pointing to Arrange Icons By, and then clicking Show Desktop Icons.
Of course, we charter members of the Messy Desk Club will clutter up our desktops with as many shortcuts as it takes to make us feel comfortable. But even messy desktops pass the point of no return eventually and when that happens, run the Desktop Cleanup Wizard. This wizard shows all your shortcuts, when you last used each one, and suggests moving the unused ones to a folder called Unused Desktop Shortcuts. You make the final selection, and no programs or shortcuts are deleted: they're just moved and can be restored at any time.
The Desktop Cleanup Wizard runs automatically every sixty days. So tidy you don't need it? So messy you don't want it? You can easily turn it off.
1. | Click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click the Display icon. |
2. | In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop. |
3. | Clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box to deactivate the automatic launch. |
No More Overcrowded Taskbar
Even the taskbar has been streamlined and made more orderly. For what are no doubt grubby psychological reasons, I sometimes find that I have many email messages open at once and a dozen email buttons on the taskbar leave little room for anything else. Windows XP groups those messages together on one Outlook Express button. A single click of that button displays a list of the open messages and I can select the one I want to view.
Even the notification area (that space by the clock that was mysteriously called the "System Tray") is tidied up. In recent years, lots of programs have decided to muscle into this small space. Windows XP displays only the icons that have been used recently. Specific settings for all the possible icons in this area can be made in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. (To open this dialog box, right-click the Start menu, click Properties, and then click the Taskbar tab.) Another stalwart of the taskbar, the Quick Launch toolbar, is turned off by default and can be turned on also by adjusting the taskbar properties.
Another great idea whose time has come: Lock Taskbar/Lock Toolbar. Sure, you can use it to lock in the configuration of the Windows XP taskbar but it also works anywhere there's a toolbar, such as in Internet Explorer. Right click the toolbar and select Lock Toolbars. While the lock is in place you can't mess up your carefully constructed toolbars by accident.
The New Start Menu
With such a totally clean desktop, everything starts, appropriately enough, from the new-look Start menu.
You add programs to the Start menu immediately by right-clicking the program and selecting Pin to Start menu.
Or Windows XP, over time, adds your most frequently used programs to the Start menu automatically. (The Start menu even shows who's logged in.) I also like that the Start menu is even more customizable. Links to Control Panel, printers, network connections, and so forth can be removed, added, or enhanced with submenus.
Beyond the Start Menu
The new Windows XP look doesn't end at the Start menu. The organization of the operating system is much more task oriented. That is, objects are grouped together around areas of work. A new view of Control Panel, for example, is by Category. Select the Performance and Maintenance category and find a list of possible tasks in addition to the related Control Panel icons. You see the same kind of thing in other windows. Open a folder and in addition to the contents, you see a list of possible actions that you can select.
Highlight a file and the list of options changes to actions associated with files.
Is that neat, or what?
New Wizards Walk You Through
Helpful assists like these are all over Windows XP, plus a whole slew of new wizards. Of particular delight to me is the Program Compatibility Wizard. I'd guess that we all have remnants of our past that we're reluctant to give up. Personally, I'm quite fond of an elderly version of the Paint Shop Pro program acquired some years back. Our relationship began in the days of Windows 3.1 and went swimmingly through Windows 95 and Windows 98 but started to get shaky with Windows 2000. It looked like we were going to have to break up (I was facing an upgrade) when the Program Compatibility Wizard came along and convinced the program that it's running inside Windows 95. Now when I open Paint Shop Pro, it's just like the old days—the program runs perfectly. If you too have older programs that you want to keep using, this wizard will be your new best friend.
So there are some changes in Windows XP that can help you not to change at all—and that's the coolest new thing of all.
Sharon Crawford is a former editor now engaged in writing books and magazine articles. Since 1993, she has written or co-written two dozen books on computer topics. Her books include Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual, Windows 98: No Experience Required, and Windows 2000 Professional for Dummies (with Andy Rathbone).
