Form 1 Using the Computer and Managing Files
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| 1. Learn and remember |
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4. Working with desktop icons |
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| 2. First steps with the computer |
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5. Working with windows |
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| 3. Formatting a removable disk |
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6. Text editing applications |
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1. Learn and Remember
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A little knowledge goes a long way |
Most operations within Windows can be achieved in two ways: The hard way and the easy way. Which would you choose? Read the basic techniques in this section and remember them! They are tricks which you will be able to apply repeatedly in a wide variety of different situations when using not just Windows itself but also many Windows applications! |
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Normally you use the left mouse button. Thus to select something, click on it with the left mouse button. In this training manual when an instruction says use the mouse button, unless otherwise specified, it is always the left mouse button. |
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Using the Mouse |
Selecting an item - While using Windows when you want to do something you have to tell the computer what you are intending to edit or manipulate. In other words, you need to select something first before you can manipulate it. Thus if you wish to move an icon on your Desktop you will first click on it once to select it and then use drag and drop techniques to move the icon.
Left mouse button – This is the normal button that is used. Thus to select something click on it with the left mouse button.
Double clicking – This means that you click once and then (as fast as you can) click a second time. Double clicking is an acquired art and often the reason that it does not appear to work, is that you may move the mouse slightly between the first click and the second click.
Drag and drop moving – The term drag and drop means picking up an item with the mouse and dragging it to a new location. This could apply to moving an icon from one location on the screen to another position, or to physical files on your hard disk being dragged from one folder to another. To drag and drop an item you first have to click on it. This selects the item. You then press the mouse button again and while keeping it pressed move the mouse pointer on the screen to a new location. When you let go of the mouse button, whatever you are dragging will be moved to the new location.
Drag and drop copying – This is basically the same as drag and drop moving, except that you end up with a copy of the item you are dragging, at the new location. To copy rather than move, press the Control (Ctrl) key as you are dragging with the mouse.
Multiple selection – If you select something and then you click on something else, the second item becomes selected, while the first item is de-selected. To select multiple items, keep the Control (Ctrl) depressed while you are selecting items and they will all remain selected when you release the Ctrl key after selecting all the required items.
Right mouse button – Once you have selected something, you often find that right clicking on the selected item displays a popup menu that relates directly to the selected item.
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Learn to use this right-click technique! |
It can save you a lot of time compared to messing around with finding the right command under the drop down menus within applications! |
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What is the Desktop? |
The Desktop is the first screen that allows you to use the computer after you have switched it on.
Some important items found on the Desktop are:
Icons: Small pictures representing programs/files.
Taskbar: a band at the bottom of the Desktop.
Start: A button that lists the programs/tasks. |
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What is the Start Button? |
A single click of the left-hand mouse button on the Start button will display the Start menu.
The idea behind the Start button is to allow the users to access their work or application with the least amount of fuss in a way which is ‘discoverable’ to the first time user (actions such as double clicking are not discoverable).
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- A single click of the right-hand mouse button will display a popup menu containing options such as Open, Explore and Search.
Open: The contents of the Start menu can be viewed. Folders and icons can be deleted, copied, and moved using drag and drop techniques.
Explore: Will invoke the powerful Windows Explorer. The Windows Explorer can display a hierarchical representation of the entire system and permit further Desktop manipulation and configuration.
Search: Will invoke the Windows file searching utility from which you may search for any file either by its name or by its actual content. |
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| The Start Menu |
The Start menu contains the various categories where your applications and work are stored. You can move further into the various sub-categories by positioning the mouse over the category you are interested in to automatically open the next sub-category (you do not even have to click the mouse.)
TIP: If you drag an object either from the Desktop or from the Windows Explorer and drop it directly onto the Start button a link to that object will automatically appear in the Start menu. |
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To display the Start menu using a mouse |
- Click on the Start Button located at the bottom left of your screen.
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To display the Start menu using a keyboard shortcut |
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To display the Start menu using a Windows keyboard |
Windows aware keyboards have two extra keys.
- Pressing the key with the Windows symbol on it will open the Start menu.
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2. First Steps with the Computer
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To turn the computer on |
- Ensure that all cables are plugged securely into the rear of the machine.
- Make sure that there is no floppy disk inserted in the floppy drive.
- Locate the power switch and turn the computer on.
- After a few seconds, you should see something on the screen. If not, ensure that the monitor is switched on.
- You may be asked to supply a logon ID and a password (your tutor should be able to give you details about these).
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To properly shutdown the computer |
- Save any files you may have been working on.
- Close any open applications.
- Use the Turn Off Computer (accessed via the Start button) command to close down the system.
- Then select the Turn Off button.
- Wait for the computer to completely shutdown before switching off the computer. Many computers will automatically turn themselves off once the shutdown sequence is complete.
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‘Turn Off Computer’ Options |
The 'Turn Computer Off' option allows the user to close down the Windows operating system cleanly so that any unsaved data may be saved to your hard disk. Several options are available when shutting down the computer.
Turn Off: Allows you to save any unsaved data to disk and closes the computer down.
Restart: Allows you to save any unsaved data to disk and then restarts the computer down.
Stand By: Places your computer in 'power saving, standby' mode. To re-awaken your computer simply press a key or move the mouse. NOTE: Not all PCs support this feature. |
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To restart your computer |
Never just switch off your Windows based computer.
- Click on the Start icon.
- Click on the Turn Off Computer button.
- Click on the Restart button.
NOTE: Sometimes your computer will crash due to 'bugs' in the software. This crash may freeze the computer and not allow you to use the computer or mouse. If your computer appears frozen, leave it for a few minutes and see if it un-freezes itself. If the computer remains frozen, then you may have no option but to switch off and restart your computer. If you work within a large organisation, check with your technical support department before restarting a frozen computer, as switching off a computer without properly closing it down could result in the loss of data! |
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To close down an application which is not responding |
If you have an application which is not responding to the keyboard or mouse, then the program cannot be closed down in the normal way. Sometimes the program will display a message such as the following.
You should ask your IT support staff whether they wish you to send this information to Microsoft. If in doubt, select Don’t Send. The program should then close down.
Sometimes the program which has frozen cannot be automatically closed down. In this case try the following.
- Press the Ctrl+Alt+Del keys simultaneously which will display the Task Manager. Select the Applications tab. Select the ‘Not Responding’ program (from a list within the dialog box).
- Click on the End Task button.
NOTE: Closing a program in this way may result in the loss of data!
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3. Formatting a Removable Disk
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To format a diskette (floppy disk) |
- Place a blank diskette (floppy disk), or a diskette which contains information which you no longer wish to keep, into your PCs diskette drive.
WARNING: If you format a diskette containing valuable data you will lose that data for good! - BE WARNED!
- Right click on the Start button and from the popup menu displayed, select Explore. This will display the Windows Explorer window.
- If necessary scroll up the Windows Explorer window until you can see the 3 1/2 Floppy [A:] icon, as illustrated.
- Click on the 3 1/2 Floppy [A:] icon to select it.
- Right click on the 3 1/2 Floppy [A:] icon and from the popup menu, displayed select the Format command, as illustrated.
- You will see a dialog box.
- Clicking on the Start button will display a dialog box.
- Clicking on the OK button will start formatting your diskette. You will see the following when the process has finished. For more reliable results DO NOT use the Quick Format option from the Format option section of the dialog box.
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To format a removable drive |
Some types of removable disks have their own software for formatting the drive, whilst others use the format command within Windows, in which case you would use a similar process used to format a diskette (floppy drive), i.e. select the drive within the Windows Explorer, right click, and from the popup menu displayed, select the Format command. |
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4. Working with Desktop Icons
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Sometimes you may see data files on your Desktop. When you double click on a Desktop data file, then application required to edit the data is automatically loaded first, and then the data file is loaded into the application.
A Microsoft Word file displayed on the Desktop.
A Microsoft Excel file displayed on the Desktop.
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Desktop applications |
Sometimes icons to launch an application may be copied to the Desktop for you.
The Microsoft Excel Desktop icon.
The Microsoft Word, Desktop icon.
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Desktop folders can be used so that not all the Desktop icons are displayed at once on a crowded Desktop. If you double click on a Desktop folder, then a dialog box will be displayed allowing you to see the item stored within the folder.
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The Recycle Bin / Wastebasket
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The Recycle Bin is a Desktop icon which contains files which have recently been deleted. It is there for safety reasons. In early versions of Windows when you deleted a file, there was no easy way to get the file back if you subsequently changed your mind. As files are moved to the Recycle Bin rather than physically deleted this allows you to change your mind and retrieve deleted files.
Beware: - Deleted files will not stay in the Recycle Bin forever! |
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- To select a Desktop icon, single click on the required icon. Once selected the icon will be highlighted, as illustrated.
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To move a Desktop icon
To copy a Desktop icon
To customise your Desktop icon alignment
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- Select the icon which you wish to move.
- Depress the left mouse button and whilst keeping it depressed, drag the icon to the new location on the Desktop, as required.
- Release the mouse button.Select the icon which you wish to copy.
- Depress the Control key (and keep it depressed).
- Depress the left mouse button and whilst keeping it depressed, drag the icon to the new location on the Desktop, as required.
- Release the mouse button and release the Control key.Right-click on the Desktop to display the Desktop popup menu.
- Click on the Arrange Icons By command, which displays a sub-menu.
- Click on the desired type of icon arrangement.
Name: Icons are arranged on your Desktop by name, alphabetically.
Size: Icons are arranged on your Desktop by size.
Type: Icons are arranged on your Desktop by object type.
Modified: Icons are arranged by the date when the object was created.
Auto Arrange: Icons are re-arranged on your Desktop automatically each time you drag an icon from one part of the Desktop to another. |
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5. Working with Windows
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The Title Bar is displayed along the top of almost all program, folder and dialog box windows. It is used to display information such as the name of the application (or folder) and the document you are working on. Information which is displayed here may vary. For example, the example shows the title bar for a program called Microsoft Word, in which a document called My Accounts has been opened or saved.
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The Menu bar |
The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus. The example shown illustrates the Microsoft Word Menu Bar.
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The Tool Bar |
The tool bar contains a series of icons, which allow you to achieve a desired effect as quickly as possible. For example in the Microsoft Word Formatting toolbar illustrated, clicking on the Bold icon (i.e. the icon displaying the letter B), would make the selected text, bold.
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The Status Bar |
Most application windows have a status bar displayed along the bottom of the window. In the example illustrated, taken from Microsoft Word, the status bar conveys information about the page within the document which you are working on, along with other relevant information.
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What is the scroll bar? |
When a program or folder needs to display information within a window, two sets of scroll bars may be displayed along the bottom and right side of the window. By using the scroll bars it is possible to move to any position within a document and also work on a document many times bigger than your physical screen size. |
window (using the scroll bar) |
- To scroll upwards in a window, click on the upwards-pointing arrow at the top of the vertical scroll bar.
- To move downwards in a window, click on the downwards-pointing arrow at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar.
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To move right to left within a window<
To scroll through a window at speed |
- To move to the right-hand side of a window, click on the right-hand arrow on the horizontal scroll bar.
- To move to the left-hand side of a window, click on the left-hand arrow on the horizontal scroll bar.
- Click on the scroll box and drag the small shaded box up and down the vertical scroll bar.
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Maximise, Minimise, Restore and Close Buttons |
The Maximise, Minimise and Restore buttons are located in the top, right-hand corner of every window. When you click on the Maximise button, the window expands to fill the screen, the Minimise button reduces the window to an icon on the Taskbar and the Restore button returns the window to its original state. |
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To restore a maximised object to run in a window |
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- Click on the Minimise icon.
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- Click on the Maximise icon.
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- Click on the Restore icon.
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Restoring a window from the Task Bar by single clicking on it |
Within Windows all windows which have been minimised, are minimised down to the Task Bar. In the example shown, Microsoft Word has been minimised and is displayed within the Task Bar.
- If you wish to restore the Microsoft Word window, simply click on the Word icon in the Task Bar.
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To make a Desktop window taller or shorter
To make a Desktop window narrower or wider
To resize a Desktop window in two directions at once |
- Move the mouse pointer to either of the horizontal borders.
- Depress the left-hand mouse button (and keep it depressed).
- Drag the mouse pointer up or down the screen.
- Release the mouse button when the window is the size and shape required.
- Move the mouse pointer to either of the vertical borders.
- Depress the left-hand mouse button (and keep it depressed).
- Drag the mouse pointer to the left or right across the screen.
- Release the mouse button when the window is the size and shape required.
- Move the mouse pointer to any corner of the window.
- Depress the left-hand mouse button (and keep it depressed).
- Drag the mouse pointer diagonally across the screen.
- Release the mouse button when the window is the size and shape required.
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To close a program using the Close button |
The Close button is located in the top, right-hand corner of every program or folder window. It allows you to close the current window in the same way as double clicking on the small Control menu icon (found in the top, left-hand corner of each window) but only requires a single mouse click. If you have any un-saved work, Windows will first ask if you want to save your changes before final termination of the application.
- Move the mouse pointer to the Close button and click once using the left-hand mouse button.
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To switch between programs (using the Task Bar)
To switch between programs (using a keyboard shortcut) |
- To switch between open application windows, simply click on the application icon, as displayed in the Windows Taskbar (normally displayed across the bottom of your screen).
- Use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Tab.
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6. Text editing application
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The WordPad is like a cut-down, free version of Microsoft Word. It is supplied with Windows and is located in the Accessories group within the Start menu. It is not nearly as sophisticated as Microsoft Word, but is useful for creating simple documents and can even allow you to use pictures with your text.
Text manipulation features include: -
- The ability to change the colour of a given font as well as the usual font attributes.
- Full paragraph manipulation and indentation control.
- The ability to define tabs.
- An ‘insert today’s date’ feature.
- Full print preview.
- A case-sensitive ‘find’. |
To start WordPad |
- Click on the Start button.
- Move the mouse pointer to All Programs and select Accessories from the sub-menu.
Click on WordPad, as illustrated. |
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Simply start typing! WordPad opens up with a blank document by default.
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To save a WordPad file |
- From the File drop down menu, select Save, which displays the Save As dialog box
- OR click on the Save icon.
- In the Save In section, select the location you wish to save the file to (i.e. on your local hard disk(s), on a diskette, or on a network drive). Clicking on the down arrow next to the Save In section will display a drop down list.
- Enter the file name as required.
- By default, the file is saved in Word for Windows 6.0 format. If you wish to save it in a different format, click on the drop down arrow next to the Save as type box to display the following drop down list.
- Click on the Save button to save the file.
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To create a new document within WordPad |
- Either from the File drop down menu select the New command
OR click on the New icon.
The New dialog box will be displayed as illustrated.
- Select the required format (or simply use the Rich Text Format default) and then click on the OK button.
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To open an existing WordPad file |
- Either from the File drop down menu select the Open command
OR click on the Open icon.
The Open dialog box will be displayed as illustrated.
As when saving a file, select the correct location and enter a file name. Click on the Open button. |
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To save a file to a specific folder (directory) |
When you use a Microsoft application, such as Word, PowerPoint or Excel, then by default the files which you save will be saved in a folder called My Documents. Thus clicking on the Save icon within the application will display a dialog box similar to that illustrated. You may of course wish to save your files in a different folder (or even a different disk on a different computer connected to your computer network).
- Clicking on the Up One Level icon displayed within the Save As dialog box will take you up one folder level.
If you continue clicking on the Up One Level icon, then you will soon see the following.
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- Double clicking on the My Computer icon will display something similar to the following.
- Double clicking on the Local Drive (C:) icon, will display the highest-level folder (root folder) on your hard disk, and all other folders on your disk form a tree structure under this folder. When you are in the root folder you may double click on any subfolder which you see displayed to move down a level to that subfolder level. Clicking on the Save button now would save the file in this folder.
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Creating a new folder in which to save your document |
- Click on the Create New Folder icon, displayed within the Save As dialog box.
This will display the New Folder dialog box. Enter the name of the new folder, and then click on the OK button.
NOTE: The folder will be created under the current folder.
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To close an editing application |
- Click on the application's Close icon (represented by a red cross at the top-right corner of the application window).
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Notes reproduced with permission from Sir Adrian Dingli JL Girls Pembroke
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Design: Emmanuel Zammit -
Webmaster:
Joseph Micallef
Department of Technology in Education, Education Division, Floriana, Malta. Tel: (+356) 25982146, Fax: (+356) 21226254. |
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