Show your style! Make Windows look the way you want
Published: September 7, 2006
If all the walls in your home are white, stop reading. If you've never accessorized an outfit, customized your car, or pierced your body, this article isn't for you. But if you like adjusting your environment to fit your mood and sense of style, you'll likely enjoy the number of ways Microsoft Windows XP lets you change the look of your operating system.
You can change everything at once by choosing a theme. There are themes for hundreds of movies, TV shows, sports teams, games, cars, musicians, and anything else people get enthusiastic about. Or you can totally customize the appearance of Windows XP by tuning individual settings.
How to change the theme
Themes can change every aspect of your computer's appearance, including colors, sounds, pointers, and the desktop background. To change your theme, first find one that appeals to you. The Microsoft Download Center has many themes, or you can search the Web. To find a theme on a particular topic, search for "Download XP Themes topic." After you download a theme, just install it as you would any other program.
After you've installed a theme, you can change it manually.
To change a theme
1. | Right-click your desktop, and then click Properties. 
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2. | In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Themes tab. Click the Theme list, and then select the theme you want to use. 
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3. | Windows XP shows a preview of the theme. If you like how the preview looks, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel. Go back to step 2 and choose another theme. 
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The new theme takes effect immediately.
How to tune your screen's appearance
Themes can change every aspect of your computer screen's appearance. Sometimes you just want to change one or two things, like the color of your windows or the font size.
To tune the appearance of Windows XP
1. | Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.
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2. | In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. 
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3. | To change the colors used in your screen's appearance, click the Color scheme list and then click a new color. 
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4. | To change text size, click the Font size drop-down box, and then click a new size. 
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5. | Click the Advanced button. 
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6. | In the Advanced Appearance dialog box, click the Item list to select what aspect of the appearance you want to change. The most important items are: | • | 3D Objects. The color of buttons and windows. | | • | Desktop. The color of your desktop if you don't have a picture. | | • | Active Title Bar. The color, size, and font on the title bar of the window you're currently using. You can fade between two different colors. | | • | Icon. The size and font of the icons on your desktop. | | • | Inactive Title Bar. The color, size, and font on the title bar of the windows you aren't currently using. You can fade between two different colors. | | • | Menu. The size of the text in menus. | | • | Scrollbar. The width of scrollbars. | | • | ToolTip. The size of text that appears when you hover your pointer over an object. |
After you've set all your Advanced Appearance settings, click OK. 
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7. | In the Display Properties dialog box, click Apply to test your settings. Click Cancel, and return to step 5 to change any settings you don't like. 
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8. | Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box. 
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If you get tired of your computer's new look, you can always change the theme again, or you can select the Windows XP theme to return to the familiar blue. If other people in your home use your computer but don't share your sense of style, you can set up accounts for each of them. Then everyone can have a look all their own.
