ICONS

Learning Targets  I Can…  Identify the different categories of icons specific to the Windows OS  Explain the function of the icon(s) specific to each category  Move items to the recycle bin and empty the recycle bin  Name the various hard disks related to your computer  Insert and eject removable storage

Icon Overview  Five categories of icons in a Windows OS  Program  File  Folder  Shortcut  Special

Examples of a program icon, a document icon, a file icon, and a shortcut icon

Program Icons  Allow you to accomplish tasks  Variety of shapes and sizes  Purpose – give you an idea of what the program is by looking at it

File Icons  Created by programs  Typically look like the program that created them  Easily find file icons by the folded over top-right corner

Folder Icons  Represent the containers where files and applications are stored  Can store folders within other folders  Picture a file cabinet with several drawers, within each drawer there are different types of folders, and within each folder you may store other folders

Shortcut Icons  Typically found on the desktop  A pointer to an item  Can be anywhere in the Windows OS  Double-click to open the item  Identified by an arrow in the bottom left- hand corner of the icon

Special Icons  Include:  My computer  My network places  The recycle bin  Hard drive  Floppy disk drive – (but…when was the last time you used a floppy disk?)

My Computer Icon  Defaults in the Start menu, but can be moved to a different location  Doorway to all disk drives  Hard drive  Floppy drive  CD ROM drive  Printer folders

Recycle Bin Icon  Trash can  Drag items you no longer want  Not a permanent disposal  Container (like a folder) holding all of your trash until you are ready to dispose of it permanently…or consumes 10 percent of your hard drive  To completely delete the items, must empty the recycle bin

 To delete files, drag file over Recycle Bin, when bin is highlighted release the mouse button  Can also select the item then delete with the delete key – or right click and select delete  Can view files in the recycle bin by opening bin, then opening the file  When there are items in the bin the icon will appear with a paper in it

 To empty the Recycle Bin, open the icon (double-click on it) and select Empty Recycle Bin from the Recycle Bin Tasks menu  A warning box will appear to confirm you are sure about deleting the files

Hard Drive Icon  The name varies depending on the computer you are using – at school it is the C:/ drive  Primary storage location – not a good idea to save things here at school, if the computer dies all work is lost  Storage space for programs – including the operating system  Measured in terms of gigabytes

Checking Hard Drive Size and Space  To check the size and space available on the hard drive, double-click on its icon and view the details section

USB Flash Drive Icon  Rewritable storage medium  Plugs directly into a computer through a USB port  Can hold 16GB or more of information  Variety of shapes and sizes  Specific drive letter will depend on what is available

Safely Remove Hardware  After saving files to a Flash drive  Close files  Single-click the upward pointing arrow icon on the bottom right hand side of your screen  Then single-click the green check icon  Eject the device you want to safely remove  Then the “Safe to Remove” screen will display and you can unplug your device

Compact Disk Icons  CD ROMs are read only storage medium  CD-R or CD-RW allow you to write information  Typical CD holds up to 700 MB of information  Typical DVD holds up to 4.7 GB of information  Information retrieval is faster than from a floppy disk, but slower than hard drive

Summary  Icons are small pictures  Represent an object – file, folder, shortcut, or program  Various functions

Skyward Activity  Use the following diagram to answer the questions on Skyward for Icons