Mac OS 9's Appearance control panel replaces the old Color, Windowshade, and Desktop Pictures control panels and adds a few twists, including a first-ever opportunity to change the entire look and feel of your Mac using slick new themes.

The Appearance control panel window has six tabs: Themes, Appearance, Fonts, Desktop, Sound, and Options. Each governs a particular aspect of how your Mac looks and feels.

Here's how you can choose specific aspects of how your Mac looks and feels:

• The Appearance pop-up menu lets you choose from different appearances. But Apple, in their infinite wisdom, provides only one — Apple Platinum. Other appearances may be available (try the Internet) but are not sanctioned by Apple.
• The Highlight Color pop-up menu lets you choose the color that text turns when you select it in a document or in an icon's name in the Finder.
• The Variation pop-up menu lets you choose the color that menu items turn when you select them and also the color of scroll boxes in windows.