If you are looking at Control Panel
in Windows 8 and you are a former Windows XP user, you will note a lot
of change. If you are a Vista or Windows 7 user, you will note some
change, but not too much. Let’s see how you can use some of these items
to configure Windows 8 to work better for you.
1. The Action Center
The Action Center replaces the Security Center for XP and Vista users
and was introduced in Windows 7 as the one-stop location for your
security and maintenance dashboards. The Action Center is located in
the System and Security category.
2.Administrative Tools
This is less of an item and more of a
shortcut to Administrative Tools that you might need to use, such as
Computer Management, Event Viewer, and Services . The Administrative Tools are located in the System and Security group.
3. AutoPlay
Use AutoPlay to change default settings for
CDs, DVDs, and devices so that you can automatically (per your
specifications) play music and movies, view pictures, and so forth.
This item gives you a single location, as shown in Figure 1,
to determine the result you want when putting in different types of
media. You can configure a DVD to automatically play within Windows
Media Center or some other application. Or you can determine that
pictures or audio files use specific options. Notice that you have more
options than you did in Windows 7.
Figure 1. The AutoPlay item
Modifying Your Picture, Video, and Audio AutoPlay Options
The following steps show you how to change the computer’s behavior when you insert media such as CDs and DVDs.
1. From the Start screen right-click on the screen.
2. Click the All Apps button that appears on the lower-right corner of the screen.
3. Select Control Panel.
4. Choose Hardware and Sound.
5. Click AutoPlay.
6. Check the Choose
What to do With Each Type of Media box. This enables the down arrows of
your selections directly below this box.
7. In the Pictures media type, click the drop-down arrow and select a new action to take.
8. Select new actions to take for Video Files.
9. Select new actions to take for Music Files.
10. Select new actions to take for Mixed Content Files.
11. Click Save.
The AutoPlay
options include settings for enhanced audio CDs or enhanced DVD movies.
What are these? Well, sometimes artists include additional items on
their CDs, like music videos and so forth. Basically these are CDs or
DVDs that have different format types on them, requiring additional
settings.
