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Almost every object in Windows has a
Properties dialog box full of information
about its contents and settings. Items with
properties include files, folders, drives, documents,
programs, hardware devices, fonts,
the taskbar, the Start menu, the sidebar, the
desktop, the notification area, Computer,
and Network.
To display an item's properties:
- Right-click the item and choose
Properties (Figure 1.46).
or
Select (highlight) the item and press Alt+Enter.
or
Hold down Alt and double-click the item.
Figure 1.47 shows Properties dialog boxes
for a Word file and a hard disk. Windows
lets you change some properties; you can
rename the file or compress the hard disk,
for example. Many properties are read-only,
however, meaning that Windows sets them
and you can't change them. You can inspect-
but not change-a hard disk's capacity or a
file's creation date, for example.
Tips
- A read-only property usually is shown
as black text on a gray background;
a modifiable (read-write) property is set
in a text box, check box, drop-down list,
or similar control. If it's not obvious
whether you can change a property, try
to click it or tab to it. You can copy the
text of some read-only properties by
dragging across the text to select it and
pressing Ctrl+C. Paste it somewhere
with Ctrl+V.
- Some dialog boxes have a button labeled
Restore, Restore Defaults, Defaults, or
Reset. Clicking this button changes your
current settings back to Windows' factoryinstalled
settings. Be careful, because you
(or the programs that you've installed)
have probably made more changes than
you remember-or even know about.
- Some programs let you add file properties
such as comments and custom
name-value attributes. In the Properties
dialog box of a Word document, for
example, click the Details tab (or choose
File > Properties inside Word itself). Also
see "Tagging Files" in Chapter 5.
- To see how much disk space a group of
files or folders occupies, select the files'
or folders' icons; then display the properties
for the selected group.
Figure 1.47 The properties information shown is
appropriate for the item you select. Here are properties
for a Word document (left) and a hard disk (right).
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Figure 1.46 You can choose an item's properties from
its shortcut (right-click) menu. The Properties
command usually is at the bottom of the menu.
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