CYBER NOTES December, 2005 by Dave Benore

The Control Panel

There are controls on your computer that can make using it easier and less frustrating. They are found in the Control Panel. (Click the Start button and then click Control Panel on the menu.)

Keyboard Icon: Double click it. A dialog box opens. Open the Speed tab, if necessary, by clicking on it. Here you can adjust the repeat delay and repeat rate of your keyboard. When a key is held down, there is a short delay before it starts to repeat automatically. If the delay is too short you may get two letters instead of one before you raise your finger off of the key. Frustrating! So adjust the delay by dragging the slider arrow. The repeat rate adjusts how fast the repeat action occurs. You can test your adjustments in the box provided before you finalize your settings.

Note: Another Control Panel icon called Accessibility Options can override the repeat rate set here. See more below.

Mouse Icon: Double click it. A dialog box opens with several tabs along the top.

The Buttons tab is where you set double click speed. If your fingers are too slow and you have trouble double clicking, adjust the double click speed here to slow it down.

The Pointers tab is where you can change the shape of the cursor. Play around here and have some fun changing the shapes. They can always be changed back.

The Pointer Options tab is where you adjust pointer speed as you move the mouse. If the pointer moves too fast or too slow as you move your mouse, you can adjust the speed here to suit yourself. Left click and drag the slider to adjust the speed.

Accessibility Options Icon: This section of the Control Panel is for people having trouble using the mouse or keyboard. It offers special control over how these devices work. By opening the Accessibility Options and using the Question Mark at the upper right corner of a dialog box, you can get explanations of how the different controls work. (Click on the question mark and then click on a button or statement. A box will open with a short explanation.) Note: In this section, if Filter Keys is checked, it overrides the keyboard repeat rate set in the Keyboard section of the Control Panel.

Any of these controls can be set and reset as often as you wish.

Happy Computing!