Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computer Basics, Fourth Edition

To change the name of a shortcut, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the shortcut on your desktop.

2. When the pop-up menu appears, select Rename.

3. The shortcut’s name is now highlighted on your desktop. Use the Delete or

Backspace keys to erase parts of the existing name, and then type a new

name. Press Enter when you’ve finished entering the new name.

Arranging Icons on the Desktop

All those desktop icons let you quickly open your most-used programs, but they can

really clutter up the look of your Windows desktop. To better arrange your icons,

right-click a blank area of the desktop, select View, Sort By (or, in Windows XP,

select Arrange Icons By), and choose from one of the following options:

■ Name—Sorts items alphabetically by filename

■ Size—Sorts items by file size, from smallest to largest

■ Type—Sorts items by file type so that files with the same extension are

grouped together

■ Date Modified—Sorts items by date, from oldest to most recent

In addition, you can click the View option and

choose to Auto Arrange the items, which auto-

matically arranges the icons along the left side

of your desktop, or Align to Grid, which makes

all your icons snap to an invisible grid.

Changing the Way the Start

Menu Works

You use the Start menu every time you launch

a program. Windows offers a few ways for you

to customize the way the Start menu works

for you.

Displaying More—or Fewer—Programs on the Start Menu

By default, the Start menu displays the five most-recent applications you’ve run.

You can reconfigure the Start menu to display more (up to nine) or fewer (as few as

zero) applications at a time.

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO COMPUTER BASICS

tip

You can’t choose Align to

Grid and Auto Arrange at

the same time. If you want

to spread your icons across

the desktop (but aligned to

the invisible grid), turn off

Auto Arrange and Keep

Align to Grid on.