Chapter 1: The Basics of Windows XP

Choosing Between Single-Click and Double-Click

You can choose how icons on the Windows desktop and in Explorer windows behave (as you could in Windows Me and 98 Second Edition). Your choices are

• Single-click (Web style) To select the icon without running or opening it, move your mouse pointer to the icon without clicking, and wait a second. To run or open the icon, click it once. Icon labels appear underlined (like Web page links).
• Double-click (Classic Windows style) To select the icon, click it once. To run or open the icon, click it twice. Icon labels are not underlined.

Follow these steps to choose between single- and double-click:

1. Choose Start | Control Panel. Click the Appearance And Themes category.
2. Click the Folder Options icon near the bottom of the Appearance And Themes window. You see the Folder Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 1-5. If the General tab isn't selected, click it. (Windows XP Home Edition doesn't include the Offline Files tab.)

Figure 1-4: The General tab of the Folder Options dialog box, where you can specify how Windows icons work

Whether you use single-click or double-click, you can right-click icons to see a shortcut menu of commands you can perform on the icon.

3. In the Click Items As Follows box, click Single-click or Double-click. If you choose Single-click, choose whether you want icon titles to be underlined all the time (Consistent With My Browser) or only when your mouse pointer is on the icon (Only When I Point At Them).
4. Click OK.