Table of Contents
- What Is Windows?
- Logging In
- What You See When You Start Windows
- Using the Mouse To Tell Your Computer What To Do
- Basic Window Structure and Function
- Working with Menus
- Talk to Me: Dialog Boxes
- Ready To Start?
- Other Ways To Start a Program
- Help! I Can?t Find My Desktop!
- Becoming a Task Master
- The Control Panel
- Security
- Where To Get More Information
Windows is an operating system that makes it easy for you to tell your personal computer what to do. Instead of memorizing commands and typing them at a prompt, you tell the computer what to do by selecting buttons, pictures (called ?icons?), and commands from menus. With Windows, you can run more than one application (or program) at a time. Each application you run, such as Word, Excel, or Netscape, appears in a separate window, as if you had several computer screens but just one monitor. By learning to manage the different windows, you can easily work on several different projects at the same time. The way you work with these windows is very consistent, so you can apply what you learn here to any application you run in Windows.
When a machine running Windows XP is first powered on, press the <Ctrl> <Alt> and Delete keys simultaneously (when prompted) to bring up the login screen. Enter the User Name and Password. (The password is case-sensitive.) If you are logging in from a remote location and you have an Internet Service Provider (ISP), select the Options button and check the box to Log on using dial-up connection to have Internet capabilities. You will notice another textbox to indicate the domain or computer name you wish to Log on to . Enter your choices and select OK to start up Windows. For more information about connecting from home using a modem, refer to the ITS document [ http://help.unc.edu/?id=70 ] About Email and Web Access from Home .
When Windows opens, you first see a screen called the desktop . Each window you open sits on this desktop. Sometimes windows are so large you can?t see the desktop behind them, but it?s always there. The desktop is just like your own desk: you can keep it as orderly or as messy as you like. Windows gives you a tool that makes it easier to keep things tidy as you move from task to task: the Taskbar , located at the bottom of the desktop.
When you run different programs, the program icons show up on the Taskbar, making it easy for you to switch between programs. You?ll see more about this later. At the far left side of the Taskbar is the button for the Start menu. The Start menu is, as the name implies, the place you generally go to start any program. You can also log off and shut down your computer from this menu. Depending on how you?ve arranged your desktop, you usually see several icons on the left side of the screen. Let?s take a look at a few of them:
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You can use My Computer to manage files and folders on your hard drive (usually C:\) and any other drives to which you have access, such as a CD-ROM drive, floppy disk drive (A:\), or Local Area Network (LAN) drives.
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My Network Places appears if you?re connected to a network. Go here to connect to other networks for which you have access privileges.
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The Recycle Bin is where you discard files.
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The My Documents icon is a quick way to view the contents of the My Documents folder on the D:\ drive, where you are strongly encouraged to save files.
You might notice that your settings look different from the settings of other students who also have XP. The settings on your laptop have been modified to resemble the ?classic? look of Windows 2000. If you want to change your laptop to full XP, do the following (keeping in mind, of course, that the contents of this document will then differ in many ways from what you see on your screen):
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To change the general appearance of your windows, click on Settings from your Start menu and select Control Panel . In the Control Panel, double-click on the Display icon. On the Themes tab, you can select Windows XP from the Theme drop-down menu. On the Appearance tab, you can select Windows XP Style from the Windows and Buttons drop-down menu.
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To change your taskbar and the start menu, click on Settings from the Start menu and select Taskbar and Start Menu . On the Start Menu tab, select the Start Menu radio button and click OK .
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To modify your folder options, double-click on Folder Options on the Control Panel and click on the Show Common Tasks in Folders radio button on the General tab. This will give you additional options on your My Folders and My Documents windows, among other places.
You?ll use your mouse (trackpoint on laptops) to make selections and tell the computer what to do with those selections. When you move the mouse, you move a pointer on the computer screen at the same time. Point at what you want to work with and click with either the left or right mouse button (located beneath the spacebar on laptops). You?ll use your left mouse button most of the time. (Note to left-handers: You may want to make the right mouse button your ?primary? button; you can change mouse settings from the Control Panel, as you?ll see later on in this document.)
Point and click with your left mouse button to select buttons, menus, commands, and other items. To make a selection with your left mouse button, just point at the item. For example, try clicking on the My Computer icon to select it. The icon changes color, which signals that you?ve selected it. Try selecting the other icons on your desktop for practice pointing and clicking. After you select something, you can tell the computer to act on it in some way.
You can use the right mouse button in Windows to make ?shortcut? menus appear. These menus list frequently used commands for the item you select. Just use your right mouse button to click on an icon, or on the desktop itself, and a shortcut menu appears for that item. Select a command from the menu. Let?s look at an example. This time select My Computer with your right mouse button. Using either the right or left mouse button, select Properties from the menu that displays. The System Properties window displays for your computer. For now, let?s close the window: use your left mouse button to select the Cancel button.
One of the easiest ways to open a window, look at the contents of a folder, or open a file in a list of files is to double-click on it. By double-clicking, you take two separate actions at once: you select an item and you tell the computer what to do with the item. The action the computer takes is the ?default? action, which is often to open the item or start a program. To double-click, point to an icon or file name and click twice rapidly, without moving the mouse . Timing is important: if you wait too long between clicks, the computer doesn?t know you?re double-clicking?it thinks you just clicked on the same item twice. If you double-click correctly, you?ll start the program, see the contents of the folder, or open the file you selected. The best way to learn to double-click is to practice. You can also change the double-click speed from the mouse settings in Control Panel.
You can click and drag to perform many tasks, including these:
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Moving windows, icons, graphics, and other objects from one place to another
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Resizing windows and other objects
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Copying and moving files from one directory to another
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Moving objects in and out of the Recycle Bin
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Creating Program and document ?Shortcuts?
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Drawing and moving graphics
The key to clicking and dragging is to keep your left mouse button pressed down until you?ve completed the action. Specifically, to click and drag, point at an object, hold down the left mouse button, and move the mouse. Try it with one of the icons on the desktop. Select the icon and move the mouse until the icon is in the position you want, release the left mouse button, and the icon appears in a new location. By the way, clicking and dragging is also called ?dragging and dropping? in most contexts.
The windows you see in Windows have many essential features in common. We?ll use the My Computer window to show examples of the following features:
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Title Bar:
A title bar does more than display the name of the window. To move a window that is not maximized, click on the title bar and drag. To close the window, double-click on the icon in the left corner of the title bar. To see two different menus of various options, click or right-click on the icon.
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Minimize:
Click on the minimize button to shrink the window so that you can see other items on your desktop. A button for the minimized window appears in the Taskbar. To work with the window again, just click on its button on the Taskbar.
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Maximize:
Click on this button to enlarge the window so that it fills the entire screen.
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Restore:
This only appears when a window is maximized. To make a window not too big, not too small, but just right, click on the Restore button.
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Close:
Click on this button to close a file or exit a program.
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Resizing a Border: A border appears around the exterior of a window that is not maximized. Resize the window by clicking on the border and dragging. Simply move the pointer arrow over the border until it changes into a double-headed black arrow, then click and drag to change the shape and size of the window.
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Scroll Bars:
When a window is too small to show everything in it, scroll bars appear along the right edge or the bottom edge of the window or both. When you click on the arrows at either end of the scroll bar, you scroll through the window, and the scroll bar moves. You can also drag the scroll bar to move quickly through a window; this is especially handy when you?re working with long documents.
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Status Bar: Many application and file management windows show helpful information at the bottom of the window. This area of a window is called the status bar. To activate the status bar, open your View menu and place a checkmark next to Status Bar
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Help Button:
In some windows, a ?What?s This?? button (question mark icon) is available. When you click on it, the pointer arrow becomes a question mark (?). Click on something in the window. A Help window appears, which usually explains either the specific option you selected, or the overall function of the window or dialog box.
A menu bar appears in application windows below the title bar. To see an example, go to the Start menu and choose Settings. From there, choose Control Panel . You can see the Control Panel menu bar right below the title bar. Menus provide you with commands you can simply select instead of typing out. To see the commands in a menu, click on its heading (for example, click on File ). A drop-down menu appears. Some commands require you to select an object before they become active. You can choose commands that are black (active commands); you cannot choose commands that are ?grayed out.? To see how this works, check which options are available from the File menu with nothing selected; then select one of the icons in the Control Panel and see which commands are available. To choose a command from the menu, click on it. Don?t be afraid to look at the contents of a menu?it?s a good way to learn what?s available. You don?t have to choose anything; just click outside the menu to close it without choosing a command.
As you will notice in working with the menus, there are symbols next to certain menu options that give you additional information about them:
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Checkmarks and Checkboxes : A check mark indicates that an option can be toggled on and off. A check mark means the feature is on; no check mark means it is off.
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Radio Buttons and Bullets: These circular buttons allow you to choose only one item from among a group of options. The appearance of a bullet or a blackened (filled-in) radio button signifies your choice.
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Text Boxes: When you move the arrow pointer over a text box, it changes shape to what?s called an I-beam. You can use the I-beam to position your typing insertion point (the cursor), and then begin typing.
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Ellipses: Ellipses are the three dots (?) that indicate that you?re going to encounter a dialog box to enter or select more information before your selection takes effect.
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Drop-down Menus: A triangle pointing downward tells you there is a drop-down list that will appear when you click on the triangle. This list works much like a menu. Just click on your choice to select it.
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Tabs: Many times you?ll choose a menu option, or sometimes an icon, and be presented with a stack of tabbed ?cards.? For an example, double-click on the My Computer menu and choose Tools from the menu. Then select Folder Options. When you?re working with these stacks, you click on the tab you want to use. The cards are another type of dialog box.
Actually, you don?t always have to use menus, as convenient as they are. To the right of many commands listed in menus, you?ll see the keyboard shortcut for the command. For example, in the Edit menu you can see that Ctrl + A is the keyboard shortcut for the Select All command; this means you can hold down the <Ctrl> key and type the letter ?a? to issue the command. In addition, most applications have toolbars with buttons for popular commands.
Windows XP (and the Microsoft Office XP suite) offers expandable pull-down menus that show only your most recently used items. These menus are initially condensed; however, to see all the choices while viewing a menu, click on (or hover your mouse pointer over) the double arrows at the bottom of the menu. To turn this feature off in Windows XP, choose Settings from the Start menu and click Taskbar & Start Menu . Then click on the Customize option on the Start Menu tab and uncheck the Use Personalized Menus checkbox. Finally, click on the Okay button to complete your changes.
As you work in Windows, you?ll see various ?dialog boxes.? When you see a dialog box, you must respond to it before you can do anything else. Usually, dialog boxes give you options that allow you to go through with the action (OK, Yes) , close the dialog box without taking the action (Cancel, No) , or see Help windows. Others are only informational, so you only have the option to confirm that you read the message (OK) . Regardless, when you see a dialog box, your computer insists that you click on a button to respond before you can move on.
Click on the Start button on the Taskbar. You?re likely to find the following options in the Start menu:
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Windows Update : This option allows you to add the latest device drivers, fixes, and enhancements for Windows at no cost. Selecting this option prompts your default browser to connect directly to Microsoft?s update page, http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ . You will be offered a selection of potential downloads. Here, you can browse through the catalog, make as many selections as you like (or have your selections chosen for you), and download and install them directly on your computer.
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Programs : Select a program listed in this menu to start it. Later in this document we?ll learn how to add customized options to the Programs menu.
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Documents : This menu lists up to 15 of the last documents or images you?ve worked on.
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Settings : The Control Panel is located here, along with Network and Dial-Up Connections and the Printers option. You can also make changes to the Taskbar and Start menu settings from here.
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Search : Use this option to search for files or folders. This feature also provides help finding information on the Internet.
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Help and Support : Use this option to find information about Windows. The main content page contains topics divided by general categories that you can click on to find information that you need. From the menu on this page, you can also select the Index button. The Index page arranges topics by keywords. You can also type keywords into the Search field to find information about a certain topic. If you want to ?bookmark? an item, locate your topic as outlined above, select it by double-clicking on it (it will be on the left side of the split window), and then click the Add To Favorites button in the menu just above the topic once it displays (it will display on the right side of the split window). Once you have added it, you can return to this and other favorite topics by simply clicking the Favorites button in the main menu on any of the Help and Support pages and then double-clicking on one of the topics.
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Run : Use this application to run applications that aren?t listed in your Programs menu. You can type the command line for the program or click the Browse? button to look for the program and select it.
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Shut Down : Choose this option to shut down or restart Windows or Log Off.
Notice that some of the options in the Start menu, such as Programs, have arrows next to them. When you move your pointer to those options, another list of options displays. You?re working now with nested menus or folders, with one folder tucked inside another. When you get to an option that doesn?t have a black arrow, you?ve actually found a file or program, not a folder. If you click on one of these options, you will either run the program or open the document. If you don?t find anything in the Start menu that you want to select, just click outside the menu on a blank area of the desktop. The menu then closes.
As you learn Windows, you will find that most tasks can be accomplished in several different ways. Besides choosing the program from the Start menu, for example, try one of the following options:
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Double-click on a ?shortcut? icon for the program.
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Double-click on a file created by the program.
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Find the program icon in a folder or on the desktop, and then double-click on the icon.
Remember, when you start a program, a button for it appears in the Taskbar, so you can easily switch between programs. In addition, most programs can have more than one document open at one time, so you don?t need to run multiple copies of the program at once?just switch from one document to another from the Taskbar.
It?s easy to lose sight of your desktop under many windows. The fastest and easiest way to instantly minimize all your windows is to use the Quick Launch icon. To add it to your taskbar, right-click on the task bar and click on Properties . When the dialog box appears, click the Show Quick Launch checkbox (on the Taskbar tab) and then click OK. The icon that appears on your task bar looks like this:
Another solution is to press <Ctrl> <Esc> (to bring up the Start menu) and then <Alt> m . You should be able to see your desktop now. You?ll notice that only dialog boxes and property sheets stay open when you minimize all windows.
You can use the Taskbar for more than switching between tasks.
When you have a number of windows open on the Desktop (not minimized), you can use the Taskbar shortcut menu to arrange the windows so that they?re all visible. Right click on a blank spot on the Taskbar, and choose Cascade Windows , Tile Windows Horizontally , or Tile Windows Vertically .
You may have moved and re-sized toolbars in applications before. In the same manner, you can move and re-size the Taskbar in Windows. To move it, find a blank spot on the Taskbar, and click and drag its outline to one of the four corners. To change the size, move the pointer arrow to the edge of the Taskbar until you see the familiar double-headed Windows re-sizing arrow. Then click and drag to change the size and shape of the taskbar.
If your taskbar disappears, it may be hiding under a large window, or the Taskbar properties may be set to Auto Hide so that it doesn?t appear unless you?re using it. Either way, you can press <Ctrl> <Esc> or move your mouse over the location where your taskbar was last to make the taskbar and the Start menu re-appear.
To turn Auto Hide off, choose Settings from the Start menu, and then Taskbar & Start Menu or right-click on the Taskbar and choose Properties. Then de-select the Auto Hide checkbox on the Taskbar tab.
Windows XP allows you to group similar taskbar buttons by ?stacking? them, that is, by placing them all in the same taskbar button. For instance, if you had several Word documents open at the same time, along with other items that were crowding your taskbar, XP would condense the Word documents into one button. Clicking on the Word taskbar button would open a list of the Word documents that you have open. You can select any of the documents by clicking on them. To activate this option, click on the Start button, choose Settings, then Taskbar and Start Menu , and then select the Group Similar Taskbar Buttons checkbox on the Taskbar tab. Then click OK. If it is already checked and you want to deselect this option, simply uncheck the box.
You can control many features in Windows by changing settings in the Control Panel. If it?s not already open, open the Control Panel now: pull up the Start menu, select Settings , and then double-click on Control Panel . To open a window for an option displayed in the Control Panel window, just double-click on it: you?ll open windows that allow you to make changes to your computer. Some Control Panel options may be familiar, but here are a few to note:
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Mouse : Here, you can change your double-clicking speed, the speed and size of your pointer arrow, or your mouse buttons from right-handed to left-handed (you?ll now right-click with your left mouse button). Laptop users might also want to click in the Display Pointer Trails checkbox (on the Pointer Options tab), which makes it easier to find your pointer arrow.
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Printers and Faxes : Use this option to add printers and to troubleshoot printing jobs. To see what jobs are waiting to be printed, double-click on the Printers and Faxes icon and then on the icon(s) of the printer(s) you are networked to. You can then select a print job, and pause or cancel printing by choosing the appropriate option from the Document menu.
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Add or Remove Programs : Use this to install or remove new software. Also, look here for extra goodies that Windows includes but doesn?t set up automatically.
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Add Hardware : A wizard steps you through adding new hardware.
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Accessibility Options : Look here for options that make Windows more accessible to users for whom some features present a physical challenge. Adjust the appearance or behavior of the mouse, keyboard, sound and display here.
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Display : This is the place to make those aesthetic changes you?ve been dreaming about. Use the tabs to navigate through your options.
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Background : Change background color, design, or wallpaper. You?ll find this option on the Desktop tab.
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Screen Saver : Choose a new screen saver, determine how long you?d like the computer to wait before turning the screen saver on, and set up password protection to ?lock? your workstation when it?s not in use. The password to unlock the machine?s screen saver is the same password used to login. You?ll find these options on the Screen Saver tab.
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Appearance : Adjust the colors of your windows and the fonts displayed. You?ll find these options on the Appearance tab.
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Web : Contains options to make your desktop look and act like the Web, subscribe to channels from the desktop view, and add active content (Internet content that changes on your screen, such as a stock ticker or weather map) to your desktop. You will find these options on the Desktop tab: click on the Customize Desktop? button and then select the Web tab in the Desktop Items window.
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Effects : Change your desktop icons and make other customized changes to your desktop. To find these options, follow the same procedure for finding your Web options, but choose the General tab in the Desktop Items window instead of the Web tab.
As you know, it is important to keep your computer secure, protecting your data and programs from inappropriate access. Windows XP has built-in accounts and groups to help protect from such unauthorized access. Two accounts are created by default during the Windows XP installation: Administrator (to install software, add printers, access all Control Panel items, and more) and Guest (for those who do not have a user account). By default, the Guest account is disabled; you shouldn?t have to worry about someone logging in with that account.
You will automatically be logged in as Administrator, which does not have a password assigned by default the very first time Windows opens. Follow the steps below to change the Administrator password immediately . Don?t forget the Administrator password, or you will not be able to install software or perform other administrator tasks on this machine!
When you log in to Windows with your user account (your unique user name and password), your identity is verified, permission is granted to access certain data and programs based on the groups you belong to, and your profile determines your desktop and Start menu settings.
You must be logged in with an account that has Administrator privileges to open the User Accounts control panel. If you didn?t set up your user account at CTOPS , or if you wish to create another user account for someone else to log in to your machine, go to the Control Panel (you will find this by clicking on the Start icon in your taskbar and selecting Settings ) and double-click on the User Accounts icon. In the User Accounts window that appears on your screen, select Create a New Account . In the field that appears on the next screen, enter a name for the new account ( it is highly recommended that you use the Onyen name ) and click on Next . The next screen will allow you to pick an account type based on how much access you want your guest to have. After you have clicked either the Computer Administrator or Limited radio button, click on the Create Account button. The new account name, along with a picture, will now appear at the bottom of the main User Accounts window. Be sure to assign a password (as outlined below) to keep unauthorized users from accessing your files.
To create a password, go to the initial User Accounts window ( Start, Settings, Control Panel , and then User Accounts ) and click on one of the user account pictures at the bottom of the screen. In the next screen, click on Create a Password . Type in your password in the top field ( it is highly recommended that you use the Onyen password ), type it again in the second field, and then type in a word or phrase in the bottom field that will help you remember your password should you forget it. Then click the Create Password button. You will then see a What Do You Want To Change about _____?s Account? screen. There you can make additional changes or simply close the screen.
Good security means assigning a password to your user account that is hard to guess and then changing that password periodically. Keep these points in mind when assigning a password:
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Make it at least eight characters long. Windows XP passwords can be up to 14 characters in length and are case-sensitive .
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Use a combination of letters (upper and lowercase), numerals, and symbols.
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Don?t reuse previous passwords.
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Don?t use common words or names; most security administrators recommend not using words found in the dictionary.
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Keep your Onyen and Windows IDs and passwords the same to accommodate logging in to your AFS space.
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If you write down your password, hide it as you might hide money!
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If you forget the password(s) that have Administrator access, your machine may have to be restored to its original state as it was delivered to you. Remember that password!
The easiest way to change your Windows password while logged in to Windows is to press <Ctrl> <Alt> <Delete> simultaneously and select Change Password . Type in your current password in the Old Password text box and then type in your new password in both the New Password and Confirm New Password text boxes. Don?t worry, your password won?t be displayed as you type; asterisks will be displayed instead.
If you have access to the Internet, you can get up-to-the-minute information on Windows by visiting Microsoft?s Windows Information Page on the World Wide Web at http://support.microsoft.com/directory , or try http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/default.asp to access Microsoft?s Windows XP documentation on the Web. For additional XP tips and tricks, go to to http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_tips.asp . Remember, use Help from the Start menu for Windows assistance; for specific application help, first open the application and choose Help from the menu bar.
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