Lesson 6: Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop Environment
Windows 2000 provides great flexibility in configuring the desktop. You can configure you computer for multiple languages and multiple locations. This is especially important for employees of international companies that do business with customers in more than one country or who live in a country where more than one language is spoken. Windows 2000 also provides Accessibility options that allow you to make Windows 2000 easier to use. All of the Desktop settings available through Control Panel are as easy to configure as those that will be discussed in detail in this lesson.
After this lesson, you will be able to
Configure and troubleshoot multiple language settings.
Configure and troubleshoot multiple locale settings.
Configure and troubleshoot accessibility options.
Configure and troubleshoot desktop settings.
Estimated lesson time: 25 minutes
Configuring Language and Location Settings
Through the Regional Options program in Control Panel, Windows 2000 gives you the ability to configure your computer for multiple languages and multiple locations. You can select multiple languages on the General tab of the Regional Options dialog box by clicking the check box in front of each language that you want your computer to support. If you select more than one language, your computer now supports multiple languages. Regional Options also allow you to configure your computer to use multiple locations or locales. The General tab shows you the current locale setting, and the Input Locale tab allows you to add additional locales.
There are additional tabs in the Regional Options dialog box that allow you to configure the rest of the items that vary from language to language. The Numbers tab allows you to configure the appearance of numbers, including the following: the decimal symbol; the number of places after a decimal; the digital grouping symbol, such as the comma in 1,246; and the measurement symbol. There are also a Currency tab, a Time tab, and a Date tab that allow you to configure the way money, the time, and the date are displayed.
If there are any problems with the way your multiple languages or locales support are working, you may want to double-check your settings. You can also try uninstalling the multiple language support or multiple locales support. Make sure that everything is working correctly with only one language or locale, and then reconfigure and reinstall the multiple language or multiple locale support.
Practice: Using Control Panel to Configure a Computer for Multiple Languages and Multiple Locations
In this practice, you use the Regional Options program in Control Panel to configure multiple languages and multiple locations.
To configure multiple languages
Log on as Administrator.
In Control Panel, double-click the Regional Options icon.
The Regional Options dialog box appears.
On the General tab, scroll through the items in the box labeled Your System Is Configured To Read And Write Documents In Multiple Languages to determine the current default language and some of the available languages.
NOTE If you want to have your system use multiple languages, click the check box in front of each language you want to support.
Click Advanced.
The Advanced Regional Options dialog box appears.
Click to select 1147 (IBM EBCDIC - France (20297 + Euro)), and then click OK.
When prompted, insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
When the files have finished copying, your system is configured for multiple languages.
NOTE If configuring for multiple languages is all you were going to do, you would click OK to close the Regional Options dialog box. Leave the Regional Options dialog box open for the next procedure.
To configure multiple locales
On the General tab, note the default locale in the Your Locale (Location) box, and scroll through some of the choices.
NOTE Do not change your default locale.
Click the Input Locales tab.
NOTE The Installed Input Locales box shows which locales are currently installed on your computer and the current keyboard layout. For example, if you are in the United States, you will probably see the following:
EN English Language US
Click Properties.
The Input Locale Properties dialog box appears.
Click the down arrow for the Keyboard Layout/IME drop-down list to view the other keyboard layout options you could select.
NOTE Be careful not to change your keyboard layout.
Click Cancel.
The Regional Options dialog box is again active.
Click Add.
The Add Input Locale dialog box appears.
NOTE This is the dialog box that allows you to configure for multiple locales.
Click Cancel.
Close the Regional Options dialog box and the Control Panel window.
Configuring and Troubleshooting Accessibility Options
Windows 2000 provides you with the ability to configure accessibility options through the Accessibility Options program in Control Panel. The five areas that you can configure in Accessibility Options are controlled by these tabs: Keyboard, Sound, Display, Mouse, and General.
The Keyboard tab allows you to configure StickyKeys. Turning on StickyKeys allows you to press a multiple key combination, such as Ctrl+Alt+Delete, one key at a time. This is useful for people who have difficulty pushing more than one key at a time. This is a check box selection, so it is either on or off.
The Keyboard tab also allows you to configure FilterKeys. Turning on FilterKeys causes the keyboard to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. This option also allows you to configure the keyboard repeat rate, or the rate at which a key continuously held down repeats the keystroke. This is a check box selection, so it too is either on or off.
The Keyboard tab allows you to configure ToggleKeys. Turning on ToggleKeys causes the computer to make a high-pitched sound each time the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys are switched on. Turning on ToggleKeys also causes the computer to make a low-pitched sound each time these three keys are turned off.
The Sound tab allows you to configure Windows 2000 to use SoundSentry. SoundSentry causes Windows 2000 to generate visual warnings when your computer makes a sound. The Sound tab also allows you to configure ShowSounds, which causes Windows 2000 programs to display captions for the speech and sounds they make. These two features are toggled on or off by selecting the respective check boxes.
The Display tab provides a check box that allows you to configure Windows 2000 to use color and fonts designed for easy reading.
The Mouse tab provides a check box that allows you to configure Windows 2000 to allow you to control the pointer with the numeric keypad.
Configuring General Tab Options
The General tab allows you to configure Automatic Reset, which turns off all the accessibility features, except the SerialKeys devices, after the computer has been idle for a specified amount of time. The General tab also allows you to activate the SerialKeys devices feature, which configures Windows 2000 to support an alternative input device (also called an augmentative communication device) connected to your computer's serial port.
Other options on the General tab include the Notification feature and the Administrative options. The Notification feature allows you to configure Windows 2000 to display a warning message when a feature is activated and to make a sound when turning a feature on or off. The Administrative Options provide two check boxes that allow you to configure Windows 2000 to apply all configured accessibility options to this user at logon and to apply all configured accessibility options to all new users.
Configuring and Troubleshooting Additional Desktop Settings
There are many configurable desktop settings in Windows 2000 that are configured through Control Panel programs. Some of these programs include Fax Services, Internet Options, and Phone And Modem Options. To configure any of the settings these programs control, double-click the appropriate icon, click the appropriate tab, and provide the requested information.
In this lesson you learned how to use the Regional Options program in Control Panel to configure Windows 2000 Professional for multiple languages and multiple locales. You also learned how to change your keyboard layout and how to configure currency, date, and time settings.
You also learned how to use the Accessibility Options program in Control Panel to make Windows 2000 Professional easier to use. All of the configurable settings for the desktop that are set through Control Panel are easy to configure and troubleshoot. To configure or troubleshoot them, simply double-click the appropriate icon and provide the appropriate information.