Handout Objectives: a. b. c. d. 3. a. b. c. d. e a. b. 6. a. b. c. d. Overview:

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1 Computer Basics I Handout Objectives: 1. Control program windows and menus. 2. Graphical user interface (GUI) a. Desktop b. Manage Windows c. Recycle Bin d. Creating a New Folder 3. Control Panel. a. Appearance and Themes. b. Printers and Other Hardware c. Network and Internet Connections. d. Performance Maintenance. e. Add or Remove Programs. 4. Working with the mouse. 5. Personalization. a. Wallpaper. b. Screensaver. 6. Folders View. a. My Computer. b. Explorer. c. Folder View Styles. d. USB Overview: Computer Basics introduces general computer use and terminology. It introduces basic skills for using software programs in a windows environment.

2 1. Control program windows and menus. All your programs are located at the Start button Programs Menu. To open a program click on them, then explore. A computer program (also a software program, or just a program) is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task for a computer. A computer requires programs to function; typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-readable source code form, from which executable programs are derived (e.g., compiled), enables a programmer to study and develop its algorithms. This is a programs main window. 2

3 1. This area here shows the window s program name bar. 2. Most programs also have menus in which you have the option to save, print, import, open and more. 3. The programs may also have a side bar that mostly deals with the programs solely purpose. 4. This three buttons minimize the program s window on the Taskbar, Expand the window in full screen and the X button shuts down computer.\ 2. Graphical user interface (GUI). A graphical user interface (GUI) (sometimes pronounced gooey) is a type of user interface item that allows people to interact with programs in more ways than typing such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A GUI offers graphical icons, and visual indicators, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through direct Once your computer is on you ll see the Computers Main screen or the Desktop. The Desktop has different components such as the Icons, the Task Bar and the Start Menu. Icons; the little thumbnails images that you see on the Desktop are called icons. Each icon represents a function, program or document on your computer. To open an icon, double-click on it. 3

4 The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. Unlike the desktop, which can get obscured by the windows on top of it, the taskbar is visible almost all the time. It has four main sections: The Start button, which opens the Start menu. See The Start menu (overview). The Quick Launch toolbar, which lets you start programs with one click. The middle section, which shows you which programs and documents you have open and allows you to quickly switch between them. The notification area, which includes a clock and icons (small pictures) that communicate the status of certain programs and computer settings. The Start Menu. The Start Menu provides access to all your programs and Windows settings, a Help and Support guide, a Search facility for locating documents and other items on your computer or on the Internet, and several other options. Keep track of your windows If you open more than one program or document at a time, you can quickly start piling up windows on your desktop. Because windows often cover each other or take up the whole screen, it's sometimes hard to see what else is underneath or remember what you've already opened. That's where the taskbar comes in handy. Whenever you open a program, folder, or document, Windows creates a button on the taskbar corresponding to that item. The button shows the icon and name of the item. In the picture below, two programs are open Calculator and Minesweeper and each have its own button on the taskbar. Notice how the taskbar button for Minesweeper appears pressed in. That indicates that Minesweeper is the active window, meaning that it's in front of any other open windows and is ready for you to interact with. 4

5 To switch to another window, click its taskbar button. In our example, clicking the taskbar button for Calculator brings its window to the front: Clicking taskbar buttons is only one of several ways to switch between windows. Minimize and restore windows When a window is active (its taskbar button appears pressed down), clicking its taskbar button minimizes the window. That means that the window disappears from the desktop. Minimizing a window doesn't close it or delete its contents it merely removes it from the desktop temporarily. In the picture below, Calculator has been minimized, but not closed. You can tell it's still running because it has a button on the taskbar. 5

6 You can also minimize a window by clicking the Minimize button, in the upper-right corner of the window: To restore a minimized window (make it show up again on the desktop), click its taskbar button. Or right Click to see more Options. Parts of a window Although the contents of every window are different, all windows share some things in common. For one thing, windows always appear on the desktop the main work area of your screen. In addition, most windows have the same basic parts: 6

7 Title bar. Displays the name of the document and program (or the folder name if you're working in a folder). Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons. These buttons hide the window, enlarge it to fill the whole screen, and close it, respectively (more details on these shortly). Menu bar. Contains items that you can click to make choices in a program. See Using menus, buttons, bars, and boxes. Scroll bar. Lets you scroll the contents of the window to see information that is currently out of view. Borders and corners. You can drag these with your mouse pointer to change the size of the window. Other windows might have additional buttons, boxes, or bars. But they'll usually have the basic parts, too. Moving a window To move a window, point to its title bar with the mouse pointer. Then drag the window to the location that you want. (Dragging means pointing to an item, holding down the mouse button, moving the item with the pointer, and then releasing the mouse button.) Changing the size of a window To make a window fill the entire screen, click its Maximize button or doubleclick the window's title bar. To return a maximized window to its former size, click its Restore button (this appears in place of the Maximize button). Or, double-click the window's title bar. To resize a window (make it smaller or bigger), point to any of the window's borders or corners. When the mouse pointer changes to a two-headed arrow (see picture below), drag the border or corner to shrink or enlarge the window. A window that is maximized cannot be resized. You must restore it to its previous size first. 7

8 Dialog boxes A dialog box is a special type of window that asks you a question, allows you to select options to perform a task, or provides you with information. You'll often see dialog boxes when a program or Windows needs a response from you to continue. Working with desktop icons Icons are small pictures that represent files, folders, programs, and other items. When you first start Windows, you'll see at least one icon on your desktop: the Recycle Bin (more on that later). Your computer manufacturer might have added other icons to the desktop. Some examples of desktop icons are shown below. Double-clicking a desktop icon starts or opens the item it represents. For example, double-clicking the Internet Explorer icon starts Internet Explorer. Recycle Bin. This is the equivalent of the wastepaper bin in your office. Dump unwanted documents and programs in here either by dragging and dropping them with the mouse or by selecting them and then pressing the Delete (or Del) key on your keyboard. When you delete a file or folder, it doesn't actually get deleted right away it goes to the Recycle Bin. That's a good thing, because if you ever change your mind and decide you need a deleted file, you can get it back. 8

9 If you're sure that you won't need the deleted items again, you can empty the Recycle Bin. Doing that will permanently delete the items and reclaim any disk space they were using. Adding and removing icons from the desktop You can choose which icons appear on the desktop you can add or remove an icon at any time. Some people like a clean, uncluttered desktop with few or no icons. Others place dozens of icons on their desktop to give them quick access to frequently used programs, files, and folders. If you want easy access from the desktop to your favorite files or programs, create shortcuts to them. A shortcut is an icon that represents a link to an item, rather than the item itself. When you double-click a shortcut, the item opens. If you delete a shortcut, only the shortcut is removed, not the original item. You can identify shortcuts by the arrow on their icon. Moving icons around Windows stacks icons in columns on the left side of the desktop. But you're not stuck with that arrangement. You can move an icon by dragging it to a new place on the desktop. You can also have Windows automatically arrange your icons. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, click View, and then click Auto Arrange. Windows stacks your icons in the upper-left corner and locks them in place. To unlock the icons so that you can move them again, click Auto Arrange again, clearing the check mark next to it. Selecting multiple icons To move or delete a bunch of icons at once, you must first select all of them. Click an empty area of the desktop and drag the mouse. Surround the icons that you want to select with the rectangle that appears. Then release the mouse button. Now you can drag the icons as a group or delete them. 9

10 Folders are a convenient way to store and organize files on your computer. For example, you'll probably want to create folders within the Documents and Pictures folders to help you manage your files. You can create any number of folders and even store folders inside other folders. Folders located inside other folders are often called subfolders. 1. Go to the location (either a folder or the desktop) where you want to create a new folder. 2. Right-click a blank area on the desktop or in the folder window, point to New, and then click Folder. 3. Type a name for the new folder, and then press ENTER. 3. The Control Panel allows users to view and manipulate basic control and system settings. 10

11 To access the control panel got the Start button and click on the control panel option. Hardware and Sound - Allows the configuration of the printer, sound and mouse. 1. On the Mouse configuration it configures the pointer options, such as the double click and scroll speed, and includes visibility options such as whether to use pointer trails and whether the pointer should disappear when typing. Appearance and Personalization - Allows users to change the desktop wallpaper to a picture of their choice and specifies how it should be shown. 1. Allows the user to change or disable the screensaver, and specify how long it takes to activate and whether to ask for a password on resume 2. Allows the user to specify the color styles of all elements within the system. 3. Allows the user to change the screen resolution and color quality, and provides trouble shooting advice for displays. Programs - Allows users to uninstall and change existing software packages, as well as indicating how much space individual programs take and how frequently they are used. System and Maintenance - Allows backing up your computer in case of virus attack. 11

12 1. System will allow you to view your PC s information. 2. Administer tools it allows to maintain your computer fast by defragmenting the hard drive and deletes unnecessary hidden files from your computer by freeing up disk space. 4. Working with the Mouse Mouse is a small hand-held device, used to control the position of the cursor s movements of the screen on a desktop. Move your mouse pointer over each image at the right. After a brief pause, a popup tip appears. Click on the cars. Something changes. Click on other images. Do they all change? Double-click the fish. Another change. Double-click other images. Which ones change? Right click on a picture. Right click but not on a picture. You get two different context menus. Drag the scrollbar at the right of the images down a new set of images comes into view. Click and double-click these images also. Do they change? Drag the images around. Can you get them into a single stack... with even edges? What other arrangements can you create? If you mouse has a scroll wheel, put the mouse over the framed area. Rotate your scroll wheel. You can move the images up and down in the frame just like the scrollbar did. When you reach the top or bottom of the framed document, rotating the wheel any more makes the whole page move. To change how the mouse pointer works 1. Open Mouse by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Hardware, and then clicking Mouse. 2. Click the Pointer Options tab, and then do any of the following: 12

13 To change the speed at which the mouse pointer moves, move the Select a pointer speed slider towards Slow or Fast. To make the pointer work more accurately when you're moving the mouse slowly, select the Enhance pointer precision check box. To speed the process of selecting a choice when a dialog box appears, select the automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box check box. To make the pointer easier to find when you move it, select the Display pointer trails check box, and then move the slider towards Short or Long to decrease or increase the length of the pointer trail. To ensure that the pointer doesn't block your view of the text you're typing, select the Hide pointer while typing check box. To find a misplaced pointer by pressing the CTRL key, select the Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key check box. 5. Personalization. Change your desktop background (wallpaper) Your desktop background (also called wallpaper) can be a digital picture from your personal collection or one that comes with Windows. You can also select a color for your desktop background or use a color to frame your background picture. To change the desktop background 13

14 1. Open Desktop Background by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance, and then clicking Desktop Background. Or just right click on your desktop and click on Properties or Personalize. 2. Click the picture or color you want for your desktop background. If the picture you want to use is not in the list of desktop background pictures, click the Picture location down arrow to view other categories, or click Browse to search for the picture on your computer. When you find the picture you want, double-click it. It will become your desktop background and appear in the list of desktop backgrounds. 14

15 Under How should the picture be positioned, choose to have the picture fit the screen, tile, or be centered on the screen, and then click OK. If you choose to have a centered picture as your desktop background, you can also have a color background to frame your picture. Under How should the picture be positioned, click Change background color, click a color, and then click OK. You can make any picture stored on your computer (or a picture you are currently viewing) your desktop background by right-clicking the picture, and then clicking Set as Desktop Background. Set a picture as your desktop background You probably have at least one picture that you never get tired of seeing. Here's how to make that picture your desktop background: 1. Open Windows Photo Gallery by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Photo Gallery. 2. Find the picture that you want to use, right-click it, and then click Set as desktop background. Your desktop background automatically changes to the picture that you selected. Turn your pictures into a screen saver Wouldn't it be great if you could turn your computer into a digital picture frame every time you took a short break? With the Photos screen saver, you can. Here's how: 1. Open Screen Saver Settings by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, clicking Personalization, and then clicking Screen Saver. 2. Click Photos from the list of screen savers, and then click Settings to customize your screen saver. If you don't make any changes to the screen saver settings, all of the pictures and videos in Windows Photo Gallery will be used for your screen saver. 3. When the screen saver is set up the way that you want it, click Save, and then click OK. 15

16 6. Folders View. There are several different views you can use in this window and you can sort what you see in several ways. This lets you arrange what you see to suit yourself and what you need to do. View: My Computer The My Computer icon on the Desktop opens a window that shows all your drives. Just double-click the icon on your desktop. The default My Computer view has two panes. The selected area of your computer shows in the Address bar. The right pane shows your drives, folders, and files. The default view uses Icons arranged by name, in alphabetical order going across the pane. 16

17 View: Explorer An Explorer view shows two panes. The left pane contains the folder tree, which shows visually how the drives and folders are related to each other. The right pane shows the contents of the drive or folder that is selected on the left. You can switch between My Computer and Explorer views in the same window, using the Folders button. It's about time! Click the button to show the folder tree and click it again to return to Common Tasks. Default Explorer window in Win XP means that the drive or folder has subfolders in it. means that this drive or folder has been expanded in the folder tree, to display all its subfolders. The name of the selected drive or folder shows in the Address bar. In the case of a folder, the icon will change to an open folder. Windows Classic: For those who don't want to use the new look, you can change to the Windows Classic style, where My Computer and Explorer views look like they did under Win98. From the 17

18 menu select Tools > Folder Options > Use Windows classic folders. The toolbar remains the same, so you can still switch between My Computer and Explorer in the same window with the Folders button. Windows Classic style in Windows XP Folder View Styles You have several choices for how to display the files and folders in the right pane of a My Computer window. Change the view using the Views button on the toolbar or right click on the right pane and choose from the context menu. Normally, folders are listed first, then files. Thumbnail Big icons or thumbnails of images. Alphabetical across columns. Folders that have images in them will display up to 4 thumbnails on the folder, like the one at the top right of the illustration. Tiles Alphabetical across columns. Beside each file icon is information about the file. What information depends on how you are sorting in this view. 18

19 Icons Alphabetical across columns. List Alphabetical down the column. You can see many more items with this view. It is more natural to alphabetize down the column. 19

20 Details Alphabetical down the column. The default details are: Name Size File type Date modified Filmstrip This view is offered only in the My Pictures folder or folders that Win XP recognizes as picture folders. The pictures extend to the right in a strip. Click on an image in the strip at the bottom to show larger view above. Sorting Normally the items in the right pane are sorted alphabetically by name, with folders being listed first. You can sort based on the name, the size, the type, or the date modified. These are the column titles in the right pane in Details view. You can just click on a column title to sort. Click again to reverse the sort. For other views, use the menu View > Arrange Icons By or the right click menu. 20

21 Show in Groups Win XP can now group the items shown in the right pane, based on how you choose to arrange the icons. The List and Filmstrip views cannot show groups. The illustration at the right will change when you click on the links below. Examples of group labels: Name - Other, A, B, C,... Size - Zero, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large Type - Cascading style sheets, configuration settings, HTML, images, folders, Word documents, Excel documents Modified - Today, Yesterday, Earlier this week, Last month, Two months ago, Earlier this year, Last year, Two years ago, A long time ago Change Details Shown The choices you see in the Arrange Icons By list are the Details that are shown in Details view. 21

22 To change this list, from the menu select View > Choose Details... In the dialog that appears, click on the checkboxes to clear the ones you do not want and to check the ones you do want to use. You can also change the order that the columns appear in the Details view by moving items up and down in the list. USB Flash Drives There are many different names, shapes, and capacities for USB flash drives. Each company calls it something different, including flash drive, flash pen, jump drive, thumb drive, key drive, and mini-usb drive. All have the same kind of rectangular connector under the cap. This connector can only plug in one way. Do not force it! All are small, about the size of your thumb or a large car key, and plug into a USB port on the computer. No drivers are needed for Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or me. Plug it in and the computer reports a new drive! Older versions of Windows need to have drivers installed. Such small flash drives can have large storage capacities, from 8 MB to 4 GB or more! Much better than a floppy disk! Some flash drives have a tiny, hard-to-see switch that you can use to prevent writing to the drive. Some flash drives include password protection, encryption, and the ability to run software right off the USB drive. So cool! 22