Personalizing Vista - Controlling the Start Menu
(Page 2 of 4 )
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
Next: Customizing the Classic Start Menu >>
More BrainDump Articles
More By O'Reilly Media
|
 This article is excerpted from chapter four of Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide, written by Brian Culp (O'Reilly, 2007; ISBN: 0596529597). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.
|
|
