Customize Visual Effects in Windows XP

Windows XP comes with a number of visual effects such as fading or sliding menus, drop shadows for desktop icons, XP style title bars and buttons and many more.

In another tip I explained how to Adjust Visual Effects for Increased Performance. However, performance issues aside, you might want to adjust effects simply to achieve the visual configuration that you find most appealing.

To customize Windows XP visual effects:

Right-click the "My Computer" icon (on the desktop or in the Start Menu) and select "Properties" to open the "System Properties" window.
Click the "Advanced" tab.
In the section labelled "Performance", click the "Settings" button to open the "Performance Options" window.
In the "Visual Effects" tab, choose the visual effects that you want in the "Custom" scroll box by ticking or unticking items.
Click "OK". After some changes, the system could take a minute or so to make the adjustment and the screen may briefly go black and white during the process. After the process is complete, the "Performance Options" window will close.
In the "System Properties" window, click the "OK" button to exit.

Some changes may have a more noticeable impact on appearance than others. You can experiment to find the configuration that you like the best.

To go back to the default configuration, open the "Performance Options" window as described above and click either "Adjust for best appearance" or "Let Windows choose what's best for my computer". Alternatively, just replace any ticks that you have removed in the "Custom" scroll box.

XP Tips - Computer Tips for Windows XP