Click left mouse button to proceed. Windows Tutorial CST-133 Lab W-1 2002-2003 © Delta College CST Faculty This tutorial was created by R. Hoag in August

Click left mouse button to proceed.

Windows Tutorial

CST-133 Lab W-12002-2003

© Delta College CST Faculty

This tutorial was created by R. Hoag in August 2001 and modified in August 2002 for use in CST-133. Some of its text and graphics are taken from Microsoft’s Discover Windows 98.


As you take a tour through this tutorial, write the answers to questions on your yellow hand-in sheet for Lab W-1.

Questions are in the same order as the tour.

You already know how to write documents, balance a checkbook, and read and send correspondence.

Whether you’re at home or in the office, you can accomplish these and many other tasks using your computer

Your computer includes a variety of hardware components. One of the most important of these is the system unit.

It houses the central processing unit, or CPU, which is the brain of your computer.

Another hardware component of your computer looks like a TV. It’s called a monitor.

Text and images generated by your computer are displayed on its screen.

You communicate with your computer using one of two devices.

You can type information and instructions into your computer using a keyboard which looks like a set of typewriter keys.

Or, you can use a pointing device such as a mouse, to select and move items that are displayed on the monitor’s screen.


1. Computer Essentials: 1. Meeting Your Computer

You may have other hardware components most of which plug into the back of your computer.


Printers, modems and speakers are all examples of hardware.

A printer produces a paper copy of the information displayed on your screen or contained in a document.

A modem connects your computer to the Internet over a telephone line.

Audio can be heard through either internal or external speakers.

You can type information and instructions into your computer using a keyboard.


This is the main typing area of your keyboard. It resembles the keys on a standard typewriter.

You press and release the keys, and the corresponding letters and numbers appear on the screen of your monitor.

Another part of your keyboard is called the numeric keypad. Not all keyboards have a numeric keypad.

You use it to enter numbers with one hand, as if you were using an adding machine.

These keys are called function keys (F1, F2, F3 …). They’re used to quickly perform tasks in your software applications.

Your keyboard has other special keys that perform specific functions. For example, the escape key (Esc) can sometimes be used to interrupt a task.

You can use the Alt key and the control key (Ctrl) by themselves or in combination with other keys to perform keyboard shortcuts.

The more you work with your computer, the more comfortable you’ll become using the different keys on your keyboard.

Using Your Keyboard

In addition to the keyboard, you can use a pointing device to give your computer instructions.


The most popular type of pointing device is the mouse.

It allows you to do the four basic mouse actions:

1. Pointing

2. Clicking

3. Double-clicking

4. Dragging

The mouse controls a pointer that identifies your location on the screen.

Think of the mouse as an extension of your hand. When you move the mouse on your desk, the pointer moves as well.

Some objects change when your pointer passes over them.

2. Using Your Mouse


Pointing at an object means to move the mouse until the tip of the pointer is on the object.

Clicking means pressing and releasing a mouse button one time. The result of this action varies depending on the software you are using and the button you click.

Double-clicking means to press and release the left mouse button twice in quick succession.

Dragging means to position the pointer over an object, press and hold down the left mouse button, move the mouse to the desired place on your screen and then release the button.

You use these mouse actions repeatedly when working with your computer.


Your computer is comprised of two main parts: hardware and software.

The instructions that tell your computer what to do are called software.

Your main software, called the operating system, controls and manages your computer by translating your instructions into a language your hardware can understand.

This is the Windows desktop. It’s the workspace of your screen on which icons, desktop components, application windows, and dialog boxes appear.

The taskbar is one element of the Windows desktop. The taskbar is a gray rectangular bar located, by default, across the bottom of the Windows desktop.

The taskbar includes a Start button, a button for each program that is open, and a system clock.

Word

One of the most useful items on the taskbar is the Start button.

From here, you can quickly start a program, find or open a document, change your computer’s settings, shut down the computer, and much more.

Your Windows desktop includes several small pictures. These are called icons.

Icons provide an easy way to open the programs or documents you use on a daily basis.

3. Exploring the Windows Desktop

When you click the Start button, Microsoft Windows shows you the Start menu.

A menu is a list of software applications, documents, and other options available on your computer.

The Start menu is divided into three sections. The bottom section contains basic operating tasks, or commands, such as Shut Down …

The middle section provides a way to open applications and customize options.

The top section is personalized with functions that you can add to the Start menu.

To the right of some of these items in the Start menu is a black triangular arrow pointing to the right edge of the menu.

Using the Start Menu


You can point to one of these arrows with your mouse to bring up a submenu (also called a cascading menu).


Note: This example is similar to the “classic” look of Windows XP. See Appendix G for more information.

The new look for XP is similar – but you start out by clicking on “Start” and then on “All Programs ”

Click the Start button to view the Start menu. Point to Programs, and the cascading Programs menu appears.


On the Programs menu, point to Accessories, and another cascading menu appears. Click WordPad, at the bottom of the list, and the application opens.

When you start a program or application, a defined work area appears on the screen. This defined work area is called a window.

A window is a movable, resizable area in which information is displayed and with which you can interact.

A title bar appears at the top of each window. It displays the name of the open application or software.

A window may be moved from one location to another by pointing to the title bar and dragging the window to another location.

A scroll bar is a bar that can appear at the lower edge or the right edge of a window.

Scroll bars are used when the amount of information in a window is larger than can fit comfortably in a single window.

Since a window is a flexible (resizable) object, you can easily change its size.

On the far right of the title bar are three important buttons: Minimize, Maximize, and Close.

You can use these buttons to increase or decrease the size of a window, or to close the window.

Working With Windows

If you have a question about how something works, most software applications include a built-in Help feature that provides information and suggestions.


On the Windows desktop, Help is available from the Start menu.

Most applications have a Help button or a Help icon on the toolbar. This button usually looks like a question mark.

Getting Help

In most software, the F1 function key opens the Help feature.


No matter where you are working in Windows, help is never far away.

Many of the programs stored on your computer can be opened from the Start menu.


2. Windows 2000 Overview: 1. Starting a Program

As an example, to open a program, click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click WordPad.

You can use WordPad, a Windows word processing program, to write letters, reports, and other documents.

To close WordPad, click the Close button on the WordPad window title bar.

Each file is a collection of text or data saved under a unique name. Most of the information stored on your computer is stored in files.

An important part of your Windows labs includes learning how to use Windows to manage your files and folders.


2. Exploring Files and Folders

Folders are containers for programs, files, and other folders that are used to organize the information on your computer. A folder is represented in Windows by a file folder icon. Folders are the equivalent of directories in some other computer operating systems.

Note: Your hand-in sheet refers to this as screen #2 of 13. Click anywhere to see the definition of files – then click anywhere to see the definition of folders.

You can use My Computer to learn how to create and organize:files

folders

If you Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, the My Computer window shows you the contents of your computer.


Your lab work will lead you through several exercises that use My Computer or Windows Explorer to create and manage files and folders.

Using the Windows taskbar you can move quickly and easily between open windows.


3. Managing Open Windows

For example, if you click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, and click Windows Explorer, the Windows Explorer window opens.

To move the Windows Explorer window out of the way, you could click and hold down your left mouse button on the title bar of the Windows Explorer window and drag the window.

Note: Your hand-in sheet refers to this as screen #4 of 15. Click anywhere to see the definition of icon

For example, you could move it out of the way so you could see the My Computer icon on your desktop.

An icon is a small graphic image that appears on your desktop or within a program, which represents a file, folder, command, program, or Web page.

To open a second window, you could double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop

To display the My Computer window in front of any other windows, you can click the My Computer button on the taskbar.


You can return to Windows Explorer by clicking its taskbar button on the taskbar.

There is a shortcut for rotating between open programs – click anywhere to see a Tip.

You can also rotate between open programs by holding down the Alt key and pressing Tab.

You can click the Minimize button on the title bar of any window to minimize it – or, click the Maximize button on the title bar of any window to maximize it.


You can click the Restore button on the title bar of any window that has been maximized to return the window to its previous size.

And, of course, you can click the Close button on the title bar of any window you want to close.

Note: Your hand-in sheet refers to this as screen #9 of 15. Click anywhere to see the Tip about rotating between open windows.

When you minimize a window, you hide the window on the desktop, but the button representing that window remains on the taskbar. A program continues to run while the program window is minimized.

Note: Your hand-in sheet refers to this as screen #11 of 15. Click anywhere to see the definition of minimize.

Note: Your hand-in sheet refers to this as screen #12 of 15. Click anywhere to see the definition of maximize.

When you maximize a window, it expands to fill the entire screen, or in some cases, to fill a larger window.


• This concludes the Windows Tutorial. Double-check that you have answered all questions on your hand-in sheet.

© Delta College CST Faculty

Documents

Click left mouse button to proceed. Windows Tutorial CST-133 Lab W-1 2002-2003 © Delta College CST Faculty This tutorial was created by R. Hoag in August