Vista Overview

8/8/2019 Vista Overview

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Windows Vista Overview

Windows Vista

Overview


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Hewlett-Packard 2007 Page 1 of 16

Table of Contents

Windows Vista Overview ...................................................................................................................... 2What is Windows Vista? ....................................................................................................................... 2Starting Windows Vista ........................................................................................................................ 3Screen Layout ....................................................................................................................................... 4The Recycle Bin .................................................................................................................................... 4

To recycle files .................................................................................................................................. 4To delete files permanently .............................................................................................................. 5To restore files .................................................................................................................................. 6

The Personal Folder .............................................................................................................................. 7The Computer Folder ............................................................................................................................ 8The Network Folder ............................................................................................................................... 9The Start Menu .................................................................................................................................... 10The Quick Launch Bar ........................................................................................................................ 11The Task Bar Tray ............................................................................................................................... 11Getting Help ......................................................................................................................................... 12Where is it? .......................................................................................................................................... 14

Windows XP Start Menu ................................................................................................................. 14Windows XP Menu Bar ................................................................................................................... 14Windows XP Toolbar ...................................................................................................................... 16Internet Explorer Toolbar ................................................................................................................ 16


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Windows Vista is the latest release of Microsoft Windows, a suite of operating systems used on personalcomputers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers.

This release contains a number of new features, including a new visual style, improved searching abilities,

new multimedia tools and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. The

greatest emphasis, however, has been on improving the security of the operating system against malicious

programs such as viruses.

What is Windows Vista?

The physical components that make up a computer is known as hardware, whilst softwareis a collectivename for the programs that run on the computer. Windows Vista is an example of computer software.

Software falls into two main categories: System Softwareand Application Software. System software

performs the essential tasks that enable the computer's hardware to function - tasks such as displaying

information on the monitor and printing the data that the user requests. The operating system is the most

important system software, as the computer could not function without it.

Windows Vista is the latest release of Microsoft's operating system; a set of programs and files that

manage and co-ordinate the resources of your computer. It is the interface between the user, hardware and

applications installed on the computer (e.g. Word, Excel and PowerPoint). The main function of the

operating system is to ensure the system runs smoothly and efficiently. For this reason, the operating

system is only really noticed when something goes wrong!

The application software uses the hardware and operating system to carry out tasks such as printing and

storing information.

Some of the things you can do with the Windows operating system are:

Start your applications

Open more than one application and copy information between them

Organise your files by copying, deleting or renaming them

Change computer settings such as the Date and time


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Starting Windows Vista

Windows Vista will start automatically when your computer is switched on. However, you will need to log onto Windows before you can use the system.

When prompted, press [Ctrl Alt Delete] to log on

If prompted with a security screen, read the information, then click on OK to show that you complywith this information

Type your user name in the User Name box

Type your login password in the Password box

Click on the arrow button to log onto Windows Vista

Passwords are case-sensitive. If you have one or more upper-case letters in your password, it will not berecognised unless you type it in with those letters in upper-case.


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If you always log onto the same computer, you will only have to enter your password each time you log on -your user name and domain name will be remembered and entered automatically.

Screen Layout

Find out more about the various screen elements below:

The Recycle Bin

When you delete a file from your computer, it's temporarily stored in the Recycle Bin, giving you theopportunity to recover accidentally deleted fi les and restore them to your computer. Note that only files

deleted from local drives, not servers or networks, will be sent to the Recycle Bin.

To recycle files

To send a file to the Recycle Bin, do one of the following:

Select the file, drag it to the recycle bin icon and drop it on top

Select the file and press the [Delete] key

Select the file, right-click and select Delete from the pop-up menu

You will be presented with the following dialogue box:


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Click on Yes to send the file to the Recycle Bin or No to cancel the operation.

To delete files permanently

To delete a file without moving it to the Recycle Bin, press [Shift + Delete]. Note that this will permanently

remove the file and you will require specialist assistance to recover it. You will be presented with the

following dialogue box:

Click on Yes to permanently delete the file or No to cancel the operation.


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To restore files

To restore files from the Recycle Bin, do the following:

Double-click on the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. The Recycle Bin folder will open.

Select the file you wish to restore

Right-click it, and then choose Restore from the pop-up menu

To restore all of the files in the Recycle Bin, click on Restore all items in the toolbar. The files will

be restored to their original location on your computer.


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The Personal Folder

The personal folder appears in the Start menu and displays the name that you use to log on

to the computer.

Because this folder is associated with your personal user account, it contains files that

belong only to you, and does not contain files that belong to any other user registered on

your computer.

As this folder is accessible from the desktop, it is easy to

open and edit the documents stored there. Double-click on

the Personal Folder icon (it will have your user name) on

the desktop to view all the files and folders stored there.

The personal folder includes the following subfolders:

Contacts

Desktop

Documents

Downloads

Favorites

Links

Music

Pictures

Saved Games

Searches

Videos

It is also possible to browse to other areas of your computer from your Personal Folder by using the links in the

left-hand window.


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The Computer Folder

The Computer Folder is used to display and work with the contents of your computer, andto manage the files stored on various drives of your computer.

Double-click on the Computer icon on your desktop. A folder will open, showing the various

drives of your computer:

Double-click on the drive icons to browse their contents. The drives are made up of a few different types:

Hard disk drives are stored permanently inside your computer and are usually the PC's mainstorage space. They have a large capacity and as such are used to store the programs that are

installed on the computer, as well as any data that you enter. Floppy disk drives are used to write data on to floppy disks - usually 3 inches in size - which can

be removed from the computer for safekeeping or copying to another PC. Floppy disks can onlyhold a limited amount of information so are not used to store programs or large amounts of data.They are now being phased out - many new computers are not shipped with any floppy drives atall.

CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives have overtaken floppy drives as the most popular form ofremovable storage. They use laser technology to read from CDs and DVDs, and many of thesedrives can now write files to the same media. CDs, and more especially DVDs, can hold vastlymore information than floppy disks.

Network Locations are those remote drives that are "mapped" to your computer. The locations areon other computers which could be in another office, building, city or even country. Mapped

Network Locations are automatically accessed when you login to your computer.


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Each storage drive is assigned a letter by the operating system. The letters are usually as follows:

Letter Drive

A Floppy disk drive

B Second floppy disk drive - if available

C Hard drive

D CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

E - Z Additional hard drives or network drives

The Network Folder

The Network Folder gives you access to the resources of the network your computer is

connected to, including the following:

File servers

Print servers

Other members of your workgroup

Shared folders

Web folders

FTP Sites

Any other networked resources such as scanners, plotters, etc.

Double-click on the Network icon on your desktop to open the Network folder


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Double-click on the icons within the right-hand pane to browse those items. You can also add printers by

clicking on Add a printer in the toolbar.

You can also browse non-network items, such as your computer, by choosing the appropriate icons in the left

pane.

The Start Menu

The Start Button is positioned at the left sideof the task bar at the bottom of the Windows

Vista desktop.

Click on the Start Button to open the Start Menu.

This is the main point of access to your computer's programs, folders and settings. It is divided into 3 parts:

Programs appear in the large left-hand pane. By default it will show the last 9 programs you haverun. To find programs that are not in the list, click on the All Programs button at the bottom of thelist. Launch a program by clicking on it.


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The Search Box is below the programs pane. You can search for files or programs by typing insearch terms here.

The right pane provides access to commonly used folders, files, settings, and features. You canalso power down, lock, switch users or turn off your computer using the buttons at the bottom ofthe pane.

You can also launch the Start Menu by pressing the Windows logo key on your keyboard

The Quick Launch Bar

The Quick Launch Bar is located in the task bar along the bottom of the screen and is used to launch

applications and utilities that are used on a regular basis. Simply single-click on any icon in the bar to

launch that program.

The Quick Launch Bar can be customised to contain shortcuts to commonly used applications and files. Asthe task bar is always visible, these shortcuts will be available when any application is running.

The quick launch bar above has been customised and contains the following links:

Show Desktop. Click to switch from the current open window and your desktop. Click again torevert to the original window.

Switch Between Windows stacks all the open windows on your computer in a 3D manner so thatyou can visually decide which one to choose.

Internet Explorer is the default web browser in Windows Vista

Windows Media Player is the default application for playing music, videos, CDs and DVDs

The last four icons are links to Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint respectively

To add an icon to the Quick Launch bar, locate the program in the Start Menu, hold down [Ctrl] and drag a

copy of the link to the Quick Launch bar. Items in the Quick Launch bar can also be rearranged by dragging

them to the required spot.

The Task Bar Tray

Also known as the System Tray, The Task Bar Tray is found at the end of the task bar and shows the

current time, as well as giving other indications, such as which programs are currently running. In the task

bar tray below, we can see the following (from right):

The time

Speaker volume is on

The network connection is active

The user has signed in to Windows Live Messenger

Outlook is open

There is unread mail in Outlook

Click on the arrow to the left of the icons to see more, hidden, running applications.


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Positioning your mouse over any of the icons will bring up more information. For example, placing the cursor

over the time will show the date and day of the week.

Getting Help

Click on the Start Button and choose the Help and Support button towards the bottom right side of the

Start Menu.


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The default Help and Support screen will open up:

The options you have are divided into four main sections, as follows:

The top section contains a search field in which you can type your query. Above the search fieldare icons that will return you to this screen, print the contents of the screen, browse for help, ask aperson for help and configure your help settings.

The Find an answer section has links to the most commonly searched queries, such as WindowsBasics and a Table of Contents

Ask someone will have your query submitted to a colleague using Windows Remote Assistance,a Windows community or Microsoft Customer Support. There are other options available, butplease note that not all online assistance is free of charge.

Information from Microsoft helps with: finding your files and folders, getting your programs towork and updating your computer's drivers


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Where is it?

Although Windows has changed significantly from XP to Vista, you will still be able to access most of the

commands you have used before.

Windows XP Start Menu

Command New Location

My Documents Documents

My Pictures Pictures

My Music Music

My Computer Computer

Set Program Access andDefaults

Default Programs

Run... All Programs > Accessories > Run

Log Off

> Log Off

Turn Off Computer

> Shut Down

Windows XP Menu Bar

To show the menu bar in Windows Vista, either press [Alt] to display it temporarily or choose Organize,

Layout, Menu Bar to display it permanently


File > Open Right-click on the item and choose Open or show the menu bar to locatethe original command

File > Explore Explore Button

File > Search... Search Box

File > Sharing and Security Right-click on the item and choose Share or show the menu bar to locate

the original command in the File menu

File > Send To... Right-click on the item and choose Send To.. or show the menu bar tolocate the original command in the File menu

File > New > Folder Organize > New Folder

File > New > Shortcut Right-click a blank area of the window and choose New > Shortcut orshow the menu bar to locate the original command in the File menu

File > Create Shortcut Right-click on the item and choose Create Shortcut or show the menubar to locate the original command in the File menu

File > Delete Organize > Delete

File > Rename Organize > Rename

File > Properties Organize > Properties

File > Close Organize > Close

Edit > Undo Organize > Undo


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Edit > Redo Organize > Redo

Edit > Cut Organize > Cut

Edit > Copy Organize > Copy

Edit > Paste Organize > Paste

Edit > Paste Shortcut Right-click a blank area of the window and choose New > Shortcut orshow the menu bar to locate the original command in the Edit menu

Edit > Copy To Folder... Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the Edit menu

Edit > Move To Folder Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the Edit menu

Edit > Select All Organize > Select All

Edit > Invert Selection Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the Edit menu

View > Toolbars... Organize > Layout > Menu Bar

View > Status Bar Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the View menu

View > Explorer Bar... Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the View menu

View > Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons,List, Details

Views Button

View > Arrange Icons by... Show the menu bar and choose between Sort By, Group By and StackBy in the View menu

View > Choose Details... Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the View menu

View > Go To... Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the View menu

View > Refresh Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the View menu

Favorites > Add to Favorites... No longer available

Favorites > Organize Favorites No longer available

Favorites > Links... No longer available

Tools > Map Network Drive... Click on the Map network drive button when the computer is selected orshow the menu bar to locate the original command in the Tools menu

Tools > Disconnect NetworkDrive...

Right-click on the required drive and choose Disconnect or show themenu bar to locate the original command in the Tools menu

Tools > Synchronize... Show the menu bar and choose Tools, Open Sync Center...

Tools > Folder Options... Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the Tools menu

Help > Help and Support Center Get Help Button or show the menu bar to locate the original command inthe Help menu

Help > About Windows Show the menu bar to locate the original command in the Help menu


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Windows XP Toolbar


Back Back to (folder name) button

Forward Forward to (folder name) button

Up Select the previous folder in the crumbtrail

Search Search Box

Folders Organize > Layout > Navigation Pane

Views Views Button

Internet Explorer Toolbar

To show the menu bar in Internet Explorer, either press [Alt] to display it temporarily or right click on ablank area to the right of the tabs and select Menu Bar to display it permanently


Back Back to (web page name) button

Forward Forward to (web page name) button

Stop Stop Button

Refresh Refresh Button

Home Home Button

Search Search Box

Favorites Favorites Center > Favorites

History Favorites Center > History

Mail > Read Mail No longer available

Mail > New Message... No longer available

Mail > Send a Link... Page Button > Send Link by E-mail...

Mail > Send Page... Page Button > Send page by E-mail...

Mail > Read News No longer available

Print Print Button

Edit No longer available

Messenger No longer available