[ECDL / ICDL Skill Set]

In this section will learn how to:

·         Start the Computer.

·         Shut down the computer properly.

·         Restart the computer.

·         View the computer’s basic system information e.g. the operating system, processor type, installed RAM (random-access memory) etc.

·         View the computer’s Desktop configuration: date & time, volume settings, Desktop display options (e.g. background options, screen settings, screen saver options etc.).

·         Be able to format a diskette.

·         Use available Help functions.

A little knowledge goes a long way … Read this section first!

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 that 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!

Which mouse button?

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.

"Select then manipulate"

While using Windows or a Windows based application, when you want to do something you have to tell Windows what you are intending to edit or manipulate.  You need to select something first before you can manipulate it.  Thus if you wish to move an icon on your Windows screen (the Desktop) you will first click on it once to select it and then use drag and drop techniques to move the icon.

Double clicking

Double clicking 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.  Windows interprets this as something else!  If you are sure that you are clicking fast enough, but nothing happens, then pay attention to keeping the mouse still between your clicks!

As an example of double clicking, double click on the My Computer icon located on your Windows screen.

You should see the following displayed when successful.  

"Drag and drop" moving

The term "drag and drop" basically 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 (with the normal, left hand mouse button).  This selects the item.  You then depress the left hand mouse button and while keeping the button depressed 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. 

In short, drag and drop is an easy way of moving (or copying) selected items.

"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, depress the Control (Ctrl) key as you are dragging with the mouse.

Multiple selection techniques

You click on something to select it.  However, once something is selected and you then click on something else, the second item becomes selected, while the first item is de-selected.  This would be true of say selecting an icon on your Windows screen.  To select multiple items, keep the Control (Ctrl) depressed while you are selecting items and they will all remain selected when you release the Control key after selecting all the required items.

The other (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.   

Thus if you right click on an empty part of your Window screen, you will see a popup menu that will allow you to customize your Windows Desktop.   

In other situations, a different popup menu would be displayed.

This also works within applications.  In Microsoft Word for instance, an incorrectly spelt word is indicated by wavy red underlining, as illustrated.  If you were to right click on this word, a popup menu would be displayed offering suggestions for the correctly spelt word. 

Lets say that you had created a table within Microsoft Word, then right clicking within one of the cells that make up the table would display a popup menu that related to tables, as illustrated. 

As you can see the idea of these popup menus is that they provide shortcuts to manipulating the object that you have either selected or are within at the time! 

Learn to use this right-click technique!   It can save you a lots of time compared to messing around with finding the right command under the drop down menus within applications!

What is the "Desktop"?

The Windows 95/98/2000 Desktop will look something like this …  

What is the Start Button?

A single click of the left-hand mouse button on the Start button will invoke the Start menu.  As mentioned previously, the idea behind the Start button is to allow the user to access their work or application with the least amount of fuss in a way that is ‘discoverable’ to the first time user (actions such as double clicking are not discoverable).  

A single click of the right-hand mouse button will display a popup menu containing the options Open , Explore and Find .

Item

Function

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 95/98/2000 Explorer.  The Windows Explorer can display a hierarchical representation of the entire system and permit further Desktop manipulation and configuration.

Find

Will invoke the Windows 95/98/2000 file searching utility from which you may search for any file either by its name or by its actual content.

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.

To display the Start menu using a mouse

·       Click on the Start Button located at the bottom left of your screen.  

To display the Start menu using a keyboard shortcut

·       Press Ctrl +Esc .

To display the Start menu using a Windows 95/98/2000 aware keyboard

·       Windows 95/98/2000 aware keyboards have two extra keys.

·       Pressing the key with the   symbol on it will open the Start menu.

To close the Start menu using a mouse

·       Point the mouse at the Desktop (not at the start menu) and click the left mouse button.

The Start Button - Programs

From the Programs category, you have access to all sub-groups that you create, or which may be created automatically by application installation routines.  

TIP :  You can easily add your own sub-categories to the Programs category by initially clicking the Start button with the right-hand mouse button and selecting the Open command.  The view will now expand to display the contents of each of the categories as a window.  The creation of additional folders and program icons can be performed easily whilst in this view.   

Finally, when complete, close off the windowed view and click on the Start button with the left-hand mouse button - your newly created folders and icons will now appear within the Start menu itself.

The Start Button - Documents

The Documents section within the Start menu contains a list of the last 15 documents that were opened directly from your Desktop.  Simply select the document you wish to continue working on and Windows 95/98/2000 will automatically launch the associated application and open the file. 

BEWARE :  Document files that are opened within some older applications (typically by selecting the File/Open command within the application) will not be displayed here.

The Start Button - Settings

By selecting Settings from within the Start menu, you can directly access the Control Panel and Printers folders.  Being able to access the core system configuration utilities in this way is particularly useful when an application is already in the foreground and you want to make a quick change.  In this scenario simply press Ctrl +Esc to invoke the Start menu over the top of your application and click on Settings .

The Start Button - Run

The Run option provides a text entry box for you to type the name and location of the file you wish to run.  Clicking on Browse will allow you to search all local and network drives for files, this is particularly useful if you are unsure of the exact filename or path; you can also run executable files.  Running document files will run the ‘associated' program and then display the document within the correct program.

The ‘Other’ Mouse Button

Windows 95/98/2000 makes extensive use of the right-hand mouse button to extend the functionality of previous versions of Windows.  As the Windows 95/98/2000 Desktop is now, object-based, clicking any object (even the Desktop itself) will invoke a special object menu containing key configuration information and controls.   

A key emphasis of the design of Windows 95/98/2000 is to encourage users to interact in a more object-oriented way than ever before.  Users only have to click on the document on which they are working and not worry about first invoking the needed application.  Use of the right-hand mouse button further extends this process; once in an application the right-hand mouse button can take on additional functionality to make the application more powerful.

To use the right-hand mouse button

·       Click on any object with the right-hand mouse button.

·       A popup menu will be displayed.

·       The contents of the menu will depend upon the object on which you clicked.  Even clicking on the Desktop itself will open a popup menu.

What are property sheets?

Property sheets are similar to dialog boxes and allow you to see all the information regarding how the selected object is configured.  They can be accessed by clicking on the object required with the right-hand mouse button.

To open a property sheet

·         Click on the object whose properties you wish to change with the right-hand mouse button and then select the Properties command to display the property sheet pertaining to the object selected.

·         When you have finished click on OK to close the property sheet and accept the changes, select Apply to accept the changes without closing the property sheet, or select Cancel to cancel the operation.

To open property sheets, using the mouse

·         Depress the Alt key and then double click on the object whose property sheet you wish to view.  Release the Alt key.

Drag and Drop techniques

Windows 95/98/2000 fully supports the ability to drag and drop objects.  Using the drag and drop feature makes many system operations much more logical.  For example, you can copy files from one folder to another in Windows Explorer simply by picking up the object you want to copy, dragging it with the mouse button, and releasing the mouse button to drop it into the new folder.