Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Chapter 5. Task and Setting Index

After a quick assessment of Windows XP, it should become apparent that there are literally hundreds of settings, features, and displays of information. Finding all these items in the interface can sometimes be a challenge.

In Chapter 4, all of the components of Windows XP were listed alphabetically. This chapter provides the other end of the spectrum; a comprehensive listing of settings and tasks that can be performed with the components described in Chapter 4, but sorted alphabetically by their function rather than by their location in the operating system interface. The following index contains nearly 700 entries, all of which are accessible with components listed in Chapter 4. Headings show major functional groupings (like “Accessibility” or “Cookies”) interspersed with purely alphabetical headings (like “Br-Ca”) that group miscellaneous entries up until the next functional grouping.

Note that Registry settings (see Chapter 8) are typically not included here, not only because of their complexity and relative obscurity, but because most of the more common settings have corresponding options in the interface that, of course, are listed here. The remaining Registry “goodies” are introduced in Chapter 8 and are documented more fully in a reference such as Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks (O’Reilly).

Under certain circumstances, the contents of the Control Panel are divided into categories. For the sake of simplicity and brevity, these categories have ...