A common request from users is to change the user interface. Wait. Strike that. A common task carried out by users is to change the user interface. Your job as administrator, then, is to walk over to the user’s cubicle, figure out what in the name of William Gates he did to make his system look like that, and then figure out how you can put the Vista interface back in order.
This chapter looks at many features that will affect how users navigate the operating system. In it, we examine such things as working with multiple monitors, customizing menus, and using virtual folders.
A few of the topics discussed here may seem a bit elementary to some, but then again, brain surgery is elementary to brain surgeons. So consider some of what follows as Anatomy 101 of the Windows Vista desktop. You have to know this stuff fairly well to go on to bigger and better topics. Don’t worry; more than a few nuggets here will raise the eyebrows of all but the most experienced Windows network admins. (For example, do you know what to do if you delete the Quick Launch toolbar’s Show Desktop icon? You will find out in the pages herein.) If you like to dive into the registry as some sort of display of bravado, you will find plenty to like here.
And for all you English majors/part-time IT admins out there, the chapter’s underlying theme will be relatively easy to spot: it’s all about control—control of the desktop, control of the Start menu and taskbar, and control over the output to one or more monitors. After digesting this entire chapter, you have my permission to armchair-psychoanalyze how this chapter serves as a transparent glimpse into my id, ego, or otherwise by emailing any comments to this address: hmsbrian@brianculp.com.
We’ll begin by looking at how to take command of the new and improved Vista Start menu.
As we discussed briefly in Chapter 1, one of the major changes to the Vista Start menu is that it now incorporates the Windows Desktop Search. In fact, all you have to do to initiate a search is to click the Start menu button and start typing. (For even quicker searches, use the Windows key on the keyboard.) Vista then presents you with a list of the best possible choices based on the characters in your search.
For example, if you want to find the Character Map—where was that thing stored in Windows XP, anyway?—just press the Windows key and type char. Boom. There it is, listed first in your list of programs. Select it and launch.
And just to reiterate, the new expanded Search will also present results in a wide variety of file types besides program executables. The search results will also include Internet favorites and history, contacts, email messages, and even appointments you’ve set in Outlook. And as you have seen and marveled at previously, the Windows Desktop Search also includes the body of the file in the search. Using the search phrase just mentioned, Vista’s Start menu search will also return any email messages or Word documents that mention your favorite American Idol contestants.
Now, let’s talk about other Start menu options in more detail.
Changing Between the Classic and Simple Start Menus
You don’t have to use the new Vista Simple Start menu. If complicating your computing environment (as Microsoft Start menu nomenclature would tell it) appeals to you, you can switch back to the Classic Start menu that was used by previous Windows operating systems such as Windows 2000.
Follow these steps:
First, right-click on the Start button or on an empty area of the taskbar (an area not hosting a program bar) and choose Properties from the context menu.
Of course, to switch back from the Classic to the Simple Start menu, select the “Start menu” radio button. Click OK to commit the changes.
Note here that if you change to the Classic Start menu, you’re not changing things back to the way they were in Windows XP. Save for the circular Start button, the Classic Start menu resembles the one that’s been around since Windows 95.
Figure 4-1. Change to the Classic Start menu from here
Because the Start menu interface has been around for so long, most people won’t have any trouble figuring out how to change the look and feel. You can add and remove Classic Start menu commands just as before. Here’s what to do:
As before, right-click on the Start button or on an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties from the context menu.
Make sure the “Classic Start menu” radio button is selected and then choose the Customize button.
For example, many admins like to have easy access to the administrative tools. As with previous Windows editions, you can access these tools by checking the “Display administrative tools” Advanced Start menu option.
In my opinion, changing to the Classic Start menu really highlights the power of the newly designed Start menu with the Windows Desktop Search incorporated. Now try to find the Character Map, or that email you got three months ago with directions to that meeting.
Figure 4-2.Customizing the Classic Start menu appearance
As mentioned previously, it displays a submenu full of Vista’s administrative tools.
Display Favorites
Shows the Favorites menu from the Start menu. This is helpful when users frequently navigate using the Favorites menu.
Display Log Off
Adds and removes thelog offcommand. If this option is not selected, users must press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete key combination to log off.
Display Run
Shows users theruncommand from the Start menu, which is not present by default in Windows Vista.
Expand (Documents, Pictures, Network Connections, Printers, Control Panel)
These are individual choices, but they all perform the same function. They cause the selection to appear as a submenu rather than in its own window when clicked.
Show Small Icons in Start Menu
This reduces the Start menu program icon sizes.
Use Personalized Menus
This option causes only a partial display of menu contents, hiding less frequently used programs behind a down arrow at the bottom of the menu.
If you’ve spent time exploring the Classic Start menu options, you’re off to a good start getting a handle on the Simple Start menu ones. That’s because all the options available with the Classic Start menu are present with the Simple Start menu. The difference is that Simple Start menu users also get some additional features not available with the Classic version.
As I’ve opined, I think you’ll really get a lot of practical use out of these new features. Here’s how to change some of the default settings:
Right-click the Start menu and choose Properties from the context menu.
Make the desired changes and click OK twice to commit the changes.
Figure 4-3. Customizing the Simple Start menu
Notice here that most of the options have three choices:
Display as a link
Display as a menu
Don’t display this item
Choosing to display as a link causes another window to open when the link is clicked. For example, note that this is the default option for the Control Panel display. That means when you click this link (it glows more like a button, really, but then again, I wasn’t consulted when writing the code for the Start menu options dialog box, surprisingly), the Control Panel opens in its own window. If you select “Display as a menu,” the Control Panel Start menu option will then cascade a list of possible applets that can be launched right from there.
Choosing not to display a certain item can be an administrative option for reducing the temptation to launch certain Start menu items such as the Control Panel or the Network Configuration window. Note, however, that this is not the same thing as restricting access to each of these tools. To restrict access, use a Group Policy Object (GPO). We will discuss GPOs in Chapter13.
Here are some other Start menu customizations of note, along with their default settings:
Enable context menus and dragging and dropping (enabled)
This allows users to right-click a Start menu item to bring up a list of actions. You can use the context menus to, among other things, open a file or application, or pin the application shortcut to the Start menu so that it’s more readily available. Obviously, it also allows dragging and dropping to rearrange Start menu items. One of these context menu items, by the way, gives you the ability to delete the selected Start menu item. Administrators might consider disabling this option to prevent accidental reconfiguration of the Start menu. (There’s also an interesting note about dragging and dropping on the Start menu, which I’ll address in a bit.)
Highlight newly installed programs (enabled)
This option draws attention to new programs by highlighting them in the Start menu.
Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer (enabled)
This simply means that users don’t have to click to open a program group submenu. You might want to consider unchecking this if you’re using the “submenu” display options rather than the “Display as a link” option for items such as the Control Panel and documents. When disabled, you will only see the cascading submenu after clicking.
This default setting uses large icons in the Vista Simple Start menu. As the name implies, unchecking this box reduces the size of Start menu icons, but will not affect the overall size of Vista’s Start menu.
Start menu size (default of 9)
Located just below the main dialog box section, this absolutely can control overall Start menu size. It determines how many recently used programs are listed. You can set this value all the way up to 30, but the Start menu will then likely take up the entire left side of the screen.
Sort all programs by name (enabled)
By default, Vista lists contents of the All Programs Start menu folder alphabetically. Unchecking this makes it so that programs are listed in order of installation. This is a subtle yet welcome change from older Windows Start menus that had to be sorted by name manually to make programs easier to find.
Internet and mail links (Internet Explorer and Windows Mail by default)
These will be the top two shortcuts in the most recently used program list. Users have the option here to change the program displayed (if other mail and/or Internet browsers have been installed), or to disable the program links altogether.
Figure 4-4. The Vista Search dialog box with advanced options expanded
By default, only users with administrative privileges can drag and drop to rearrange the Start menu.
Please check back next week for the continuation of this article.
Controlling the Vista Start Menu
