Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual

Chapter 9. Programs in the Start Menu

Like all versions of Windows before it, Windows 2000 Pro comes with a vast array of small programs to help with miscellaneous chores. Some you’ll find useful—others not. This chapter covers these tools as they appear in your Start→Programs menu.

Accessibility Features

If you have trouble using your keyboard or reading small text on the screen, the programs in the Start→Programs→Accessories→Accessibility folder may be just what you need. They include:

Accessibility Wizard

The screens of this wizard ask you to describe the nature of your disability, and make changes to your Windows settings automatically, using (for example) the other Accessibility programs described here.

Magnifier

Magnifier is a floating window that shows a horizontal slice of your screen displaying an enlarged version of whatever your cursor touches as you move it around. Using its Settings control panel shown in Figure 9-1, you can specify how much magnification you get and which area of the screen gets magnified, among other parameters.

Figure 9-1. Open Magnifier by choosing Start→Programs→Accessories→Accessibility→Magnifier. Top right: Don’t forget that you can drag the large magnified window around to a more convenient spot on the screen, and even resize it by dragging the lower-right corner. Top left: Use the Magnifier Settings panel to choose more high-contrast colors, if you ...