3.0  Using Windows

3.1 Windows Basics

Before you begin to use Windows 95/98, you need to understand some of the screen features. As the computer starts up you will see many of them begin to appear on your screen. The first thing you will notice, after the Windows 95/98 Startup Screen, is that the monitor has a color background on which a series of pictures appears. By using your mouse and some of these pictures you'll quickly learn to operate your computer. Let's start by turning on the computer.

The Steps:

Turn on the computer and monitor.

Wait for the computer to work its way through the startup sequence.

The Pointer

Whenever you move your mouse, you'll see a small arrow icon moving around over your Desktop. This is called the Pointer. By placing your pointer over the icons on the Desktop and clicking the left and right mouse buttons, you can make all sorts of things happen.

How to Use the Pointer ?

Many of the functions of the computer are operated by the buttons on your mouse. Most mice have two buttons although some new mice have a small vertical wheel in the center, which allows you to move the page up and down without using the scroll bars.

Clicking: When you press a mouse button once, it is called Clicking. You can click with both the left and right buttons but you'll normally use the left button. The right button is used for special commands.

Left Clicking: This is when you press the left mouse button down once.

Right Clicking: This is when you press the right mouse button down once.

Double Clicking: To open a file, folder or to start a program, you need to left click twice in quick succession on the appropriate icon.

How does Windows work?

When you start your computer, you'll see a screen known as a Graphical User Interface (GUI) or, as it is commonly called, the Desktop. To operate your computer quickly and effectively, you need to know what the parts of the Desktop do. Let us see what are those? 

3.2 The User Interface

3.2.1 The Desktop

The Desktop can be compared to your desk. In your study you'll have the top of your desk where you lay out your work, a filing cabinet or drawers, a site shelf, a rubbish bin, a clock and maybe a telephone/fax machine. You'll find the same things on your computer only they might have different names. This list shows only some of the many features of Windows 95. Within, there many other hidden features which you will learn to access. Some of these features will be useful for you and some you may never use. It is not important that you learn to operate all of them, as a computer is only a tool, to be used to achieve a result. That result might be a letter, an assignment, communication with others or storage of your private memories and photos.

  1.  

My Computer - Lets you access the parts of your computer where the files and programs are stored. When you double click on it, you can see the

a.   3 1/2 Floppy (A:) - Drag and drop files on here to quickly copy to a floppy, or right click to format.

b.       Hard Drive (C:) - Scandisk, defrag, and backup utilities are just a right click away

c.       CD ROM (D:) - Opens by default every time you slip in a new CD

d.       Printer Folder - You may change the properties of the printer here, such as internal memory and network settings

e.       Dial Up Networking Folder- Set up a modem to access the Internet

f.        Control Panels Folder - Contains all of the controls for making changes to the computer.

 

 

 
  1.  

Recycle Bin: - The bin is the place to which you drag all of your unwanted files so that they can be deleted from the computer. To get rid of files, you have to empty the bin.

 

 

 

3.   

The Internet - From here you can automatically gain access to the Internet if you have a modem and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) account. When you double click on The Internet, the computer will ask for your password and connect you to the World Wide Web via Internet Explorer.

 

 

 

4.   

Start Button : This button provides access to many of your programs and files. For most of your work you will start here. By clicking on this button, you cause a pop up menu to appear and you will find these icons

 

 

 

 

5.   

Icons: Most of the programs and files on your computer are shown as little pictures in the Start Menu, Desktop or windows. These little pictures are called Icons and they allow you to start a program or open a file without having to type in its name. These are some of the icons you may see on your Desktop.

 

There may be other icons on your Desktop, but these are the ones most often used.

If you can't remember what some of the icons on the Desktop are called, move the pointer over the top of them and pause for a second. A box will appear telling you the name of the icon. This also works on icons within programs.

 

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