“Doin’ Things” with Programs or “WINDOWS” 101

What is a program? A program is a sequence of computer instructions that perform a task. Programs are stored in the “Program Files” and have the filename extension.exe. or.com.

A Program also…. displays information in one or more window panes. can be run simultaneously with other programs.

Types of programs A “Systems” program does computer oriented work. ie: running printer drivers, disk scanners, operating systems (ie: Windows XP) An “Application” program does real-world work. ie: word processing, spreadsheets, databases A “Utility” program is a small, simple, useful program. ie: Calculator, Notebook

Programs can be started by... clicking its icon on desktop. choosing it from a Start Menu. using the Windows Key. clicking program filenames. clicking on document filenames or file icons. From the Run Dialog Box. when Windows start.

A Window… is a rectangular area on the screen which displays information from a running program. can be Minimized, Restored, or Maximized.

What does Windows do for you? Allows you to run programs that helps you “do things”. Multitasking, run programs at the same time and allows you to switch between them. Allows you to interface between programs.

Switching Programs with multiple programs running Click button for the Window on the taskbar Click on desired Window Press ALT-TAB or ALT-SHIFT-TAB

Parts of a Window System Menu button Title bar Minimize button Maximum or Restore button Close button Menu bar Tool bar Status bar Scroll bar Windows borders

Controlling the size and shape of a Window Restore-Resizes the window to its previous size Maximize-whole screen Minimize-windows button on taskbar

Moving a Window Click and drag the Title Bar to the desired location. Note: A window can not be moved while it is Maximized

Changing the size and shape of a Window Window must be in Restored- Down status to change size and shape Click and drag Window border to change size and shape of window, ie: side, top, bottom, or corner

Commands Almost every Windows program enables you to issue commands to control what the program does. For example, …….

Microsoft Word allows you to.. Create a new document Save the document Print the document Exit the program (along with many others)

Giving Commands Most programs provide several ways to issue commands. (ie: commands from the menu and clicking on icons on the tool bar.

Choosing Commands from the Menu Bar Click on command to get dropdown menu Close dropdown menu by clicking anywhere outside the dropdown box.

Choosing commands from the Tool Bar Click on icon

Symbols on Menus Commands with right pointing triangle on their right means more menu selections are needed to complete command Commands with three dots will open a dialog box (will talk about this later) Check mark means command is turned “ON” (view)

Symbols on Menus A large dot to the left of a list of selection indicates the selection is active. Some commands are on the Tool Bar performs the same command in the dropdown menu (file>print)

Other Commands Note: Commands that appear gray are not currently available (edit) Some commands have keyboard shortcuts, ie: CTRL-O = File>open

Choosing Menu Commands with the Keyboard Commands with underlined first letter (ie: New) can be given by pressing the letter “N” If the first letter is not underlined, press ALT and press the underlined letter

Clicking Buttons on the Tool Bar Clicking a Tool Bar button issues a command, usually a command that you also could have issued from the Menu Bar (print=file>print) Some programs allows you to click and drag the Tool Bar to other areas of the Window

Choosing Commands from Shortcut Menus Right click on a blank space near object to open shortcut menu. Use keyboard to open shortcut menu by keying “Shift-F10”.

Choosing Settings on Dialog Boxes A Dialog Box is a special kind of window that enables you to change settings or give commands in a program. ie: Open File opens specific file Exit buttons, ie: OK, Close, Cancel

Settings in Dialog Boxes Text box (spell check) List box (format>font) Check box (format>font) Radio button (format>font) Pull down menu (format>font) Menu bar (save as) Tool bar (save as) Command button (save as)

Navigating around a Dialog Box (format>font) Click setting you want Press “TAB” key to shift to another setting Press “SHIFT-TAB key to select previous setting selection

Navigating around a Dialog Box (format>font) Dialog Box with tabs, click tabs or pressing CTRL-TAB or CTRL- SHIFT-TAB.

Open, Save As, and Browse Dialog Boxes…. provide a way of specifying a disk drive, a folder, and a file to work with. have a column of icons down the left side and a special tool bar

Open, Save As, and Browse Dialog Boxes Places Bar Look In or Save In pull-down menu Folder Tree Go To Last Folder Visited button Up One Level button Create New Folder button View Menu button Files Of Type box

Closing Programs Click the Close button Choose File>Exit or File>Close Key CRTL-ALT-DEL, Click the program name in the window and click the End Task button (Note: if you were editing the file, you will loose all work that was not saved)