How to open display settings on windows vista

Some people like to have a clean, uncluttered desktop with few or no icons, whereas others like to have their frequently used programs, files, and folders. To remove an icon from the desktop, right-click the icon, and then click Delete. If the icon is a shortcut, only the shortcut is removed; the original item is not deleted.

By default, Windows lines up the icons in columns on the left side of the desktop. However, you can move an icon by dragging it to a new place on the desktop.

You can have Windows automatically arrange your icons. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, click View, and then click Auto Arrange. Windows lines up your icons starting in the upper-left corner, locking them into place.

To unlock the icons so that you can move them again, click Auto Arrange again, clearing the check mark next to it. By default, Windows spaces icons evenly on an invisible grid. To place icons closer together or with more precision, turn off the grid. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, click View, and then click Align to Grid to clear the check mark.

Repeat these steps to turn the grid back on. To move or delete a bunch of icons simultaneously, you must first select all of them.

Click an empty area of the desktop and drag the mouse to surround the icons with the rectangle that appears. Then release the mouse button. Now you can drag the icons as a group or delete them. In a list of items, you can select multiple items that are sequential in order such as files and folders by clicking the first item.

You would then click and hold down the Shift key and use the arrows on the keyboard or by the mouse to select the next sequential item or items. To select nonsequential items, click and hold down the Shift key and use the mouse to select each item. To temporarily hide all of your desktop icons without actually removing them, right-click an empty part of the desktop, click View, and then click Show Desktop Icons to clear the check mark from that option.

To get the icons back, click Show Desktop Icons. Whenever you open a program, file, or folder, it appears on your screen in a box or frame called a window that's where the Windows operating system gets its name. Of course, these windows will often partially or completely hide the desktop as the windows are placed on top of the desktop.

To see the entire desktop without closing the programs or windows, right-click the taskbar and select the Show the Desktop option. You can also click the Show Desktop button on the Quick Launch toolbar. To restore all the windows, click the Show Desktop button again. Besides icons, the desktop also includes the taskbar and the Windows Sidebar.

The taskbar similar to Windows XP is located at the bottom of the screen. It shows which programs are running and allows you to switch between the different programs running.

The taskbar also contains the Start button, which opens the Start menu so that you can access programs, folders, and computer settings. The Windows Sidebar is a pane on the side of the Microsoft Windows Vista desktop where you can keep your gadgets organized and always available. Gadgets are easy-to-use mini programs that give you information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools such as checking the weather, checking the time using a digital clock, or checking e-mail without opening up other programs.

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from Pearson IT Certification and its family of brands. The next thing you'll want to do is minimize all of your open windows, right click on the desktop background, and click on "Personalize". This will pull up the "Personalize appearance and sounds" window.

From here you will click on "Display Settings". This will open the Display Settings program. Once you have done this you will see something like the image below. If you have a second video card installed on your computer then you will see two graphical representations of computer monitors.

If you have more than two video cards then you will see a graphic corresponding with each video card you have installed. The monitor you are currently using is "1". We are wanting to turn on monitor "2".

Click on the box with the 2 in it and you'll now be dealing exclusively with the second monitor. Once you've done this you'll see something similar to the window shown in the second image.

By now you've probably clicked the "Extend the desktop onto this monitor" checkbox and seen your second monitor display an image of your desktop background. If you haven't then now would be a good time to do so. Once you've done this you can use your second monitor as is, but it's helpful to align it, and set the proper resolution.

To align the second monitor in relation to the first one you just click and drag the "2" box until it's in approximately the correct position as related to where the monitors are actually sitting on your desk. This is important because when you actually want to use the second monitor you will need to physically drag the windows you want on it "off the edge" of one screen and "onto" the other. It's easier to see, and do, then explain.

Once you've done this click the "Apply" box and you'll be presented with one last dialog box asking if you want to keep the settings. If your screen goes blank and you see nothing then just wait for a minute and it'll come back. At this point you may also want to adjust the resolution of the second monitor to get it to look right. Choose Control panel from the right menu.

When the control panel opens, double click on the system icon. See the screenshot below. I pressed on Classic view so I could see all the icons. The first part of the system properties box will open. Here you can see some details of your computer. Was this information helpful?

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