Computer Navigation
Senior 1 · ICT
Computer Navigation
Lesson 2 of 5
20 min
Let's begin
Keza is left-handed, finds the mouse pointer hard to see, and wants a photo of Lake Kivu behind her desktop icons. The computer's clock also shows the wrong time. All of these can be fixed in a few minutes, once you know where Windows keeps its settings.
Windows has two places for settings:
Settings that affect every user of a computer may need an administrator's password.
| Setting | What it changes | How to reach it (Windows 10 and 11) |
|---|---|---|
| Background | The picture or colour behind the desktop icons | Right-click an empty part of the desktop > Personalize > Background |
| Theme | A ready-made set of background, colours, sounds and pointer, all changed together | Personalize > Themes |
| Screen saver | A moving picture or blank screen that appears after the computer has not been used for a chosen number of minutes. Ticking On resume, display logon screen makes it ask for your password, which protects your work. | Personalize > Lock screen > Screen saver, or search screen saver |
| Screen resolution | How many pixels the screen shows across and down, for example 1920 × 1080. A higher resolution gives a sharper picture with smaller items. | Right-click the desktop > Display settings > Display resolution. Choose the one marked (Recommended). |
| Mouse pointer | The pointer's shape, size and speed, and which button is the main one (useful for left-handed users) | Control Panel > Mouse: the Buttons, Pointers and Pointer Options tabs |
| Date and time | The clock, the date and the time zone | Settings > Time & language > Date & time. Rwanda uses Central Africa Time, UTC+02:00. |
| Keyboard | The keyboard layout or language, and how fast a held-down key repeats | Settings > Time & language > Language & region (layouts; switch with Windows key + Space). Control Panel > Keyboard (repeat speed). |
Tip
Right-click the empty desktop: Personalize for how things look; Display settings for the screen.
Windows key + I opens Settings from anywhere.
What is the difference between a background and a theme?
Solution: The background is only the picture behind the icons. A theme changes several things together: background, colours, sounds and mouse pointer.
Umutoni leaves her computer for lunch. How can a screen saver protect her work?
Solution: Set the screen saver to start after a few minutes and tick On resume, display logon screen. When someone touches the computer, it asks for her password.
The text on a new monitor looks blurry. Which setting should be checked, and which value should be chosen?
Solution: The screen resolution (Display settings). Choose the value marked (Recommended), which matches the monitor's real number of pixels.
How do you keep the Calculator button on the taskbar even when Calculator is closed?
Solution: Open Calculator, right-click its taskbar button and choose Pin to taskbar.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
