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Control Panel - Programs
It will come as no surprise a category called [ Programs
] is going to deal with -- well, programs. Although a lot of
people fault Microsoft for integrating some programs into
the operating system to the point where they cannot be
removed, in reality Vista is pretty damn useless for any
serious work without the addition of additional programs.
Sure, you can surf the web, perform basic e-mail functions,
watch a video, or play around with photos and save them to
an external media using the basic operating system, but any
serious home user and all business users will have to deal
with installing, configuring, maintaining and very likely
uninstalling programs. So, let's take a look at [Programs]
and see what Vista has to offer.
Figure 01
Programs and Features - The first
thing you'll notice is there are quite a few sub-links under
the {Programs and Features] category. Ignore the sub-links
for a few minutes and just click on the main category.
Essentially this screen is equivalent to Add/Remove programs
in XP but with a few changes, some good and some not so
good.
There is a ribbon above the program listing
with a series of buttons. In the screen capture below they
are [Organize] [Views] [Uninstall] and [Change]. The buttons
refer specifically to the program that is selected in the
program list. The buttons can, and do, vary with which
program is selected. It's important to pay attention and not
do something unintended. Three more button choices that
appear frequently are [Install/Uninstall] [Change] and
[Repair].
One of the 'not so good' changes is if a
program name in the list is double clicked rather than
single clicked and a button selected, the double click will
trigger the uninstall function. On the bright side, in every
test I've conducted, there has always been a confirmation
dialogue box appear to give you a second chance if the click
was in error, but some of the confirmation dialogues do have
the option of not being shown again if the user so chooses.
Figure 02
A bright spot is a change in the way Microsoft Updates are
now handled. Rather than clutter up the [Uninstall or Change
A Program] window with all the Security, Hotfix, Cumulative,
and just plain Updates they are now listed in a separate
window (screen cap below) accessed from the Task >
View Installed Updates link in the left hand window panel.
As the months go on and more and more updates are issued,
the list could grow quite long and having to wait for it to
load could become annoying. This eliminates that problem.
Figure 03
Windows Defender - Simply put, Windows Defender is
Microsoft's version of a antispyware program. I won't get
into whether Windows Defender is good, bad, or how it
compares to other antispyware applications. Frankly, I think
an aware, cautious, and knowledgeable computer user will
automatically eliminate many of the risk factors that
antispyware programs monitor. That's not to say antispyware
isn't needed. There is a constant influx of new and ever
increasing security threats that antispyware programs help
to protect and defend against. One would be foolish to
venture into the online world without antispyware
protection, especially in light of the number of both free
and paid antispyware programs available. If
for some reason Windows Defender isn't already on (this can
happen if another conflicting program has turned it off
during an installation) and you click the [Windows Defender]
category you will see the screen shown below. Just click the
link to turn on and open Windows Defender.
Figure 04
If it's the first run for Windows Defender it will prompt to
check for updated definitions. Once the definitions are up
to date, go ahead and click the [Scan] button to perform the
initial scan. Unless you modify the settings it will be a
Quick Scan. Once the scan is complete you'll (hopefully) see
a window as shown below detailing the scan statistics and
status of the system.
Figure 05
Default Programs - The majority of programs used in
Windows are designed to work with a certain type of file.
The relationship between the file and the program is called
an association. As much as some developers and software
companies would like an association or a protocol to be
exclusive to their particular program, in most situations
that just isn't the case. If you don't like a particular
installed program that is specified as the handler for an
association or protocol, more than likely it can be modified
to use the program you prefer. This section of Control Panel
allows you to modify those associations.
Figure 06
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Set Your Default Programs - This
option is designed to allow you to quickly set the
associations for a particular program. The programs
available to be selected as 'defaults' are listed in the
left column. Every program has a specific set of file
types and protocols it is designed to handle. I assume
the available 'default' choices are dictated by the file
types and protocols the program is designed to handle,
although I haven't tested a variety of different
programs yet.
Once you select a program, two options
become available. Clicking the [Set This Program As
Default] option does just as the dialogue says, making
the selected program the default for all file types and
protocols the program supports.
Figure 07
If you aren't sure you want to select
the program for all defaults, select [Choose Defaults
for This Program] to open the [Set Associations For A
Program] screen. As you can see below, there are nine
default associations for this particular program. Each
default association has a check mark indicating it is
selected. In spite of the name [Set Associations For A
Program], you can't actually remove any of the selected
associations.
Figure 08
In order to modify the associations
shown above, you need to have an alternative, recognized
program installed on the system; in this case the
Mozilla Firefox browser program. If you compare the
screens above and below, you can see some items are
duplicated while others only appear in the Firefox
window. If you want, you can now place a check mark next
to the items you want to default to Firefox. This
will remove the association from Internet Explorer and
place it with Firefox once the [Save] button is clicked.
Note that there are four items in Firefox where the
check marks cannot be removed or changed because there
are not equivalent items available as defaults in
Internet Explorer.
Figure 09
Here's the bottom line. At first glance
it appears you can simply alter the associations at
will, but in reality there has to be an alternative
program for the association or protocol and it's
necessary to bounce back and forth between the program
screens to get the changes you desire. As long as the
program you want to be the default is listed, the [Set
This Program As Default] option is useful. The [Choose
Defaults for This Program] option is much more
cumbersome to use and the possibility for error is much
higher because of the necessary switching back and forth
between programs.
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Associate A File Type or Protocol
With A Specific Program - In the previous section,
[Set Your Default Programs], the basic principle was to
select a program and based on its built in file types
and protocols, modify them using other installed
programs with matching built in file types and
protocols. In this section the method is going to be
essentially reversed with much more flexibility as to
what can be modified. However, with that added
flexibility comes a much greater chance of associating
something incorrectly to the point where a file type
simply won't open. Be careful.
Once you open the screen you're
presented with a huge, somewhere in the vicinity of 675,
alphabetically arranged list of file extensions, a
description of each extension and a column listing the
current default for each extension. Since we played
around with Internet Explorer and Firefox in the
previous section I'll use them again as an example.
Since everyone knows the .html extension
is related to HTML documents, select it and click the
[Change Program] button.
Figure 10
As shown below, the Open With dialogue
opens with two available sections; Recommended Programs
and Other Programs. The only recommended program is
Internet Explorer and nothing is listed in the Other
Programs section. Since Internet Explorer is already the
default we need some additional options. Click the
downward facing arrow on the right side of Other
Programs.
Figure 11
Now there are some additional options
available under Other Programs with a scroll bar on the
right to see more that are hidden. Rather than tell you
what's hidden, move on down to the next screen capture.
Figure 12
This is the complete scrolling panel
from the screen capture above to make it easier. So,
what program would be a wise selection to make the
default for handling the .html extension instead of
Internet Explorer. Actually, absolutely none of these
[Other Programs] choices would be a wise selection and
that's something you have to be very aware of and
careful about when changing file associations. Just
because a program is listed here it doesn't mean it is a
choice you'd want to make. Certainly, some of these
programs will open a file with the .html extension, but
you would never want them as the primary file type
association.
Figure 13
As a matter of fact, why doesn't Firefox
appear in either one of these categories? I can
understand it not being in the Recommended Programs
section because it's Microsoft's operating system and
they control the Recommended Programs section. However,
I don't understand why it doesn't show up in the Other
Programs section. Obviously the operating system is
aware of Firefox because it appears in the {Set Your
Default Programs] program list discussed in the previous
section on this page. That doesn't mean it can't be
added. Just click on the [Browse] button and navigate to
where Firefox is located, selecting the executable file.
Note that selecting the file at this stage does not
actually change the association, it simply adds it to
the [Other Programs] section as shown below. To actually
change the association, click the entry and then click
[OK] button.
Figure 14
You can see below, the association has
been changed to reflect Firefox as the current default
for the .html extension.
Figure 15
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Change Auto-Play Settings -
This is a pretty much self-explanatory category, but
there are a couple of things worth mentioning. First
of all, AutoPlay in Windows versions prior to Vista
has always been a hit or miss proposition. It seems
like half the time when you insert media nothing at
all happens, or when something does happen it's not
what you were expecting. I'd like to say Vista has
solved those problems. I can't. I will say it seems
to be a little better in Vista, but it has miles to
go before it ever becomes a reliable proposition.
In theory, the choices you make here
will be applied every time that particular media or
device is inserted. Each type has a drop down menu
with various selections. If you normally follow a
very structured routine with your media and devices
it may be worth trying the settings and see if they
perform properly. Out of all the choices available,
the safest is probably [Take No Action] followed
closely by [Ask Me Every Time]. There is an option
under 'Software and Games' for [Install or Run
Program], a choice that is almost assuredly asking
for trouble unless you are the only user and pay
close attention to what's happening.
Clicking [Reset All Defaults] does
just that, returning them all to the 'Choose A
Default] option in all the drop down menus. Uncheck
the box by [Use AutoPlay for All Media and Devices]
to disable the entire AutoPlay function.
Figure 16
Figure 17
Windows SideShow - SideShow is
covered in the
Control Panel - Hardware and Sound section.
Windows Sidebar Properties - If you
use the Vista Sidebar this is where you can set the
available options. Actually, it's easier to just fire up the
Sidebar (if it isn't already on), right click and select
Properties. Easier and quicker than going through Control
Panel.
Figure 18
Same thing goes for getting Gadgets. Right
click the Sidebar, click [Add Gadgets...] and the screen
below opens.
Figure 19
Get Programs Online - Nothing here
but a link to Windows Marketplace. It doesn't even warrant a
screen capture. If you make use of Digital Locker there is a
sub-link here to access the locker, but it's easier to get
there in other ways.
Home
Up
Control Panel - Additional Options
Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization
Control Panel - Clock, Language, and Region
Control Panel - Ease of Access
Control Panel - Hardware and Sound
Control Panel - Mobile PC
Control Panel - Network and Internet
Control Panel - Programs
Control Panel - Security
Control Panel - System and Maintenance
Control Panel - User Accounts and Family Safety
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