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Windows XP For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Adding a Picture of Your Face to Your User Account in Windows XP


Adapted From: Windows XP For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Tired of the little spaceman or soccer ball Windows XP has added to your User Account photo? Putting your own picture there isn't tough, provided that you have a digital image of yourself stored on your computer.

Don't have a digital image of yourself? Then find a friend with a digital camera, have her snap your picture, and store the picture in your My Pictures folder as a JPG file. Then follow these steps to put that picture on your account:

1. Click the Start button, choose Control Panel, and select User Accounts.

2. Click Change My Picture.

If you're the administrator, you may need to click Change an Account, choose an Account, and then choose Change the Picture.

3. Choose Browse for More Pictures.

Your My Pictures folder opens up, showing its contents.

4. Locate your saved picture, click its name, and click Open.

Windows grabs your picture and sticks it on your account. Plus, your picture appears as an option in your list of available pictures for swapping.

Windows shrinks the entire picture to a thumbnail size to place it onto your account image.

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Here are a few more tips for changing your User Account picture:

  • If you have a digital picture of you within a group, open it with the Windows Paint program, cut out your face, and save the face in your My Pictures folder. When Windows opens that picture, it will grab your face, and not everybody in the picture.

  • Feel free to grab pictures off the Internet for your User Account, too. If you spot a picture of Bart Simpson on the Web that you'd like to use, right-click it, choose Save Picture As, type a name, and click Save. That automatically saves the picture in your My Pictures folder for later grabbing.

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