13. Folder Options
For the most part, the options available in
Folder Options remain the same as those available in Windows 7. They
include three tabs: General, View, and Search.
On the General tab, you
can configure how you want to browse folders, and you can configure how
you want to open items (using a single-click or using a double-click).
Two check boxes in the Navigation Pane section are worth noting. By
default, when you are working with Explorer, Windows 8 navigation shows
you important items but not necessarily all of your items
that you might be used to. If you select Show All Folders, you will see
them all. You can also select Automatically Expand to Current Folder.
The View tab has a variety of options to
choose from, and they are pretty straightforward. However, because many
users do not know these options exist, we recommend that you scan
through the options to gain a better understanding before you use them.
The Search tab has a few different groups of
settings, such as What to Search, How to Search, and When Searching
Non-Indexed Locations.
14. Fonts
Fonts displays all the fonts installed on the
computer. In Windows 8 you can preview the fonts available by clicking
the Preview button. Each thumbnail for the font shows three characters
of the alphabet on the icon (see Figure 14).
In addition, fonts of a combined set no longer take up different slots.
They appear as one font that you can double-click to view other options.
Figure 14. Available fonts
You can also toggle
fonts on or off if you prefer (also known as hiding fonts). By default,
Windows 8 hides fonts based on regional settings, but you can also
manually hide them. The Font section is part of the Appearance and
Personalization group.
A newer font to look for is Gabriola Regular.
It is a beautiful script font and supports a variety of advanced
OpenType functions.
14. HomeGroup
The HomeGroup settings allow you to configure a smaller set of
networked Windows 7/8 systems to share files (documents, pictures,
music, videos) and printers as well as stream media to and from
devices. The HomeGroup item can be accessed from the Network and
Sharing Center.
15. Indexing Options
To speed up searches, Windows 8 has an
indexing feature turned on by default. However, predefined locations
are indexed by default, such as Internet Explorer History, Offline
Files, Start menu, Users folder, and Windows Mail.
You can access Indexing Options in the Control Panel by typing index
in the Search Control Panel box. When you click the Indexing Options
item and then click the Modify button at the lower-left of the Indexing
Options dialog, you can quickly add locations to the index. Keep in
mind, however, that adding to the indexing increases the workload on
Windows 8 in its effort to keep those areas up to date. But it makes
for faster searches when you are looking for something that isn’t on
the standard index path.
Through Advanced Options you can also
determine whether you want to index encrypted files, rebuild the index
(if it is giving you problems), and find the location of the index
file. You can also determine file types to include or exclude, among
other options in the Advanced Options dialog box.
From time to time you are going to find that
your index will crash, so to speak. If you find yourself in Outlook
searching for an email that you know you have and you cannot get any
results from your search or any search, you should rebuild the Index.
It will take a few moments, but it will fix the problem.
16. Internet Options
The Internet Options group is located within
Network and Internet on the Control Panel. Basically, these are your
Internet Explorer10 settings—they aren’t really your Internet Options.
You can configure them from within IE by going to your Tools, Internet
Options, or you can configure them here. Obviously, if you use another
browser (such as Firefox or Safari), the vast majority of the settings
you configure here will not apply on any other third-party browser,
such as Firefox or Chrome.
17. Keyboard
To open the Keyboard item, simply type keyboard
in the Search Control Panel box and then click Keyboard. Nothing new to
report here. In the Keyboard Properties dialog that appears, use the
Speed tab to configure the Character Repeat settings and the Cursor
Blink Rate. Click the Hardware tab to access hardware information and
properties.
18. Location and Other Sensors
To open the Location and Other Sensors item, simply type location
in the Search Control Panel box and then click Location and Other
Sensors. This is where you can configure the Windows-based sensors that
can detect your location and the orientation of your system. So,
essentially, Windows 8 supports both hardware and software sensors that
can be designed for systems. Examples of hardware sensors are a GPS, a
microphone, an accelerometer, or a motion detector. Software sensors
might be based on information coming through the network or Internet.
One simple use for these types of features
might be the support of ambient light sensors (ALS) so that the system
automatically controls the brightness based on the available ambient
brightness detected.
19. Mouse
The Mouse item is found in the Hardware and
Sound group on the Control Panel. After you click Hardware and Sound,
you see the Mouse link under the Devices and Printers group. Much like
Keyboard, there is not much new to report. One item to take note of is
ClickLock (which isn’t new—it’s been around since ME), which is located
on the Buttons tab. If you have a hard time holding down the mouse
button to move items and highlight text easily, ClickLock will help
you. The other point to note is the fact that Windows 8 supports
enhanced Wheel support. In the Mouse Properties dialog box, click the
Wheel tab to configure Horizontal Scrolling.
20. Notification Area Icons
This option allows you to configure the
settings for your Notification Area (also called the system tray) to
show or hide certain icons or notifications. You can find Notification
Area Icons by typing notification in the Control Panel Search box.
There are three settings for your icons:
• Show Icon and Notifications
• Hide Icon and Notifications
• Only Show Notifications
21. Family Safety
Family Safety can be accessed in the
User Accounts and Family Safety group on the Control Panel. Family
Safety provides you the ability to set times that users can use the
computer and also gives you control over what games and programs other
users can use.
