1. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Objectives: At the end of the session, the students are expected to:  Create, save, open, print, and close files Explore the common features of Windows interface Display system information of the computer system Change the Desktop’s appearance such as themes, desktop wall paper, screen saver, and overall appearance, and resolution Modify date and time Change the settings of the mouse Start or launch programs Manage user accounts Explore the system properties of the computer system Modify the task bar Materials:  1 PC with pre-installed Microsoft Windows operating system Basic Principles: A common interface to everything you do is one of the features of Windows. You will see the same types of objects no matter what program you are using or where you are navigating. You will see the building blocks of Windows whenever you use a new program. These building blocks are:  Windows Dialog boxes Menus Toolbars Windows are the most basic element of the Windows XP operating system. It displays a program or document. You display a window when you double-clicked an icon on the Desktop. Multiple windows can be displayed at the same time and you can move back and forth among them. The following parts of a window are:  Title bar – It simply tells what is in the window. It may be the name of the directory or the title of the document. It is used to select and move a window to another place on the screen. It tells if the window is active or not. Minimize button – This is the first button located at the far right of the Title bar. It allows you to minimize a window and becomes a button on the taskbar. The minimized window is displayed if you clicked the button representing that window. Maximize / Restore Down button – This is the middle button located at the far right of the Title bar. This button changes whenever you want to change the size of the window. The maximize button is represented by a single square and the restore down button is represented by two squares slightly overlapped with each other. The maximize button is used to make the window take up the entire screen. The restore down button is used to display a window to the size it was before you clicked the maximize button.

2. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs  Close button – It is located at the far right of every window and is used to close or terminate the window entirely. Clicking this button will make the window and its button on the taskbar to disappear. Resize area – It is located at the bottom right corner of the window which allows you to resize the window by clicking and dragging the Resize area. Figure 2.1 Elements of a window A dialog box appears when a program requires additional information in order to complete a certain task. Dialog boxes allow you to enter information. They have similar features with windows. They have Title bar and Close button. Some of the common elements of dialog boxes are:  Text box – This is the area where you can type the information you want to enter. Drop-down list box – It is a text box that displays the selected item when the down arrow button is clicked. Click the selected item found in the list. Check box – It allows you to indicate if an option is accepted of rejected. Clicking the check box once will fill the box with a check or will make the check box clear. Radio button – It is a round button and is used to select one option among a few options. You click the radio button to select an option next to it. Button – It performs actions on the information in the dialog box. The buttons are usually located at the bottom of the dialog box. Tab – A tab is used to select fields. This is important because it can be used to distinguish one group of fields to another group of fields. A tab resembles the tab on a file folder. You must click the tab to display the fields contained on it.

3. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.2 Buttons, Tabs, and Text box of a window Figure 2.3 Check box, Drop-down list box, and Radio button of a window A list of options displays a dialog box, change a setting, or performs an action is called a menu. The two kinds of menus are:  Menu bar – It contains several menus which are represented by a name on the menu bar. Click the menu label to display the menus contained on it. Context menu – It displays the functions you can perform on the object when you right-clicked on the object.

4. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.4 Window Menu The symbols used to indicate different types of menu options are:  Right arrow – It indicates that another menu of options is displayed when you select that option. Double arrow – It indicates that there are more options that are hidden. Click this symbol to display the expanded version of the menu. Ellipsis (…) – It indicates that a dialog box will be displayed when that option is selected. Check mark – It indicates a toggle type of command which turns on or off a feature if selected. Bullet – It indicates the currently selected feature and only one can be selected at a time. Dimmed command – It indicates that the option is not available and you cannot select it if the text of the menu option is in color gray. Shortcut key – It is a key or combination of keys you can use to perform a command without using the menu and is indicated by a text besides the menu option. A graphical toolbar contains buttons you can use to perform functions without searching through a menu. A ToolTip is displayed when you move a mouse pointer over the button in the toolbar. This ToolTip will then display the function of the button. The ToolTip disappears automatically after several seconds.

5. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.5 Toolbars The Start menu has a Programs option which provides access to all of the programs installed on your computer. Starting a program is called launching it. After launching a program, you may perform several tasks such as create a new file, save a file, print a file, open an existing file, and close a file. The options for these tasks are all located in the File menu. These options are:  New – It creates a new file generated by the application. Open – It opens an existing file. Save – It allows you to save a copy of your document to your computer. The Save As dialog box is displayed if this button is clicked for the first time (assuming new document). The file is saved to its current location and under the same file name if you try to save a previously saved document. The Save As dialog box will not appear for this case. Save As – It allows you to save the same file to a new location or with a new name. Print – It allows you to print a file. Print Preview – It allows you to preview a page before printing. Page Setup – It is used to change page margins, select paper size, and other modifications you want to do in the page. Send – It is used when you want to send through email the said document. Exit – This is used to exit or close the said document.

6. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.6 Options of the File Menu Windows XP allows you to customize how you interact with the computer such as setting up your mouse and keyboard, provides a selection of sounds you can use to notify you when you perform certain actions, setting up hardware, adding or removing programs, adjusting date and time, adjusting display settings, and many more. These actions are all available from the Control Panel. Figure 2.7 Control Panel The basic icons that can be seen in the Control Panel are (from left to right, top to bottom):  Accessibility Options – This option is used to customize the way your keyboard, display, or mouse functions for vision-impaired, hearing-impaired or mobility-impaired users without requiring additional software or hardware. Add Hardware – This option is used to add new devices in your computer system. It is also used to troubleshoot hardware.

7. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs  Add or Remove Programs – This option can help you to add programs to your computer system or remove programs from your computer system. This is used basically to help you manage the programs in your computer system. This is also used to manage your Windows components. Administrative Tools – This is used to configure your computer’s administrative settings. Date and Time – This used to modify your date and time. Display – This is used to modify your desktop appearance, monitor setting, desktop theme, and screen saver. Folder Options – This is used to manage file associations, manage the display of files and folders, and to manage network files. Fonts – This option is used to manage fonts. Game Controllers – This used to manage game controllers such as joysticks, gamepads, etc. Internet Options - This is used to configure display and setting of Internet. Keyboard – This is used to configure the settings of your keyboard. Mail – This is used to manage the profiles of Microsoft Office Outlook. Mouse – This is used to configure your mouse settings. Network Connections – This is used to manage the connection of your computer to other computer, network, and the Internet. Phone and Modem Options – This is used to configure the settings of your modem and the rules in phone dialing. Power Options – This is used to configure the computer’s energy-savings settings Printers and Faxes – This is used to help you add new printers and faxes. This is also used to display all printers and faxes installed on your computer or in the network. Regional and Language Options – This is used to customize the display of languages, numbers, and time and date. Scanners and Camera s – This is used to manage your scanners and cameras. Scheduled Tasks – This is used to schedule tasks and for them to run automatically. Sounds and Audio Devices – This is used to configure the settings of speakers and recording devices of your computer. It is also used to modify the sound scheme of the computer. Speech – This is used to configure settings for text-to-speech and speech recognition. System – This is used to configure settings for hardware, performance, and automatic updates. This is also used to display system information. Taskbar and Start Menu – This is used to configure the taskbar and start menu. User Accounts – This is used to manage user accounts. Some of the icons not mentioned above are dependent on the programs you installed on your computer.

8. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 You can customize the taskbar and the Desktop in Windows XP, which are:  Add icons and toolbars from the taskbar Remove icons from the taskbar Change the display and monitor settings using the Display Properties dialog box. Quick Launch bar is one of the elements that can be displayed on the taskbar. It contains buttons that represents an application. You can launch an application by clicking one of these buttons. The default buttons shown in the Quick Launch bar are:  Internet Explorer Windows Media Player Show Desktop Quick Launch bar Figure 2.8 Quick Launch bar Programs or files can also be added to the Quick Launch bar so that the users can easily access them. Besides the Quick Launch bar, you can also display other toolbars on the taskbar. These toolbars are:  Addresses – This toolbar allows you to type an Internet Web access and you can be connected to the Internet without first having to open a web browser. Links – This toolbar offers you with Microsoft links that contains Microsoft’s Internet official website. It also contains tips on customizing your links bar. Desktop – This toolbar contains all icons on your Desktop. Double arrow indicates that there additional hidden icons Figure 2.9 Hidden Icons on toolbars You can display and remove these toolbars using the context menu of the taskbar. Each toolbar that is displayed in the context menu has a check mark next to it. You can drag individual toolbars to other areas of the Desktop. You can also place a toolbar to one edge of the screen or have it display anywhere in the Desktop. In order to do all of these, you must make sure that the taskbar is unlocked.

9. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.10 Unlocking Taskbar Figure 2.11 Moving the Taskbar You can also make a folder into a toolbar. Each file or folder in that folder then becomes a button on the toolbar. Windows XP allows you to change the way your mouse pointer looks and performs. You can also set up the mouse button as well. Windows XP allows you to adjust your mouse to open files. You can also change the pointer s that is displayed on the screen. You can control how the buttons on your mouse behave using the Buttons tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box. The Buttons tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box is consist of three sections:  Button configuration – This section allows you to switch the functions of the mouse’s right and left buttons. Double-click speed – This section provides a slide selector that you can use to adjust the double- click speed.

10. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs  ClickLock – This section allows you to drag or highlight without holding the mouse button. Figure 2.12 Buttons tab of Mouse Properties dialog box You can customize the look of your pointers using the Pointers tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box. Windows provides pointer schemes for the mouse which is a collection of pointers to represent different states of the mouse. You can also customize individual pointers within a scheme. Figure 2.13 Pointers tab of Mouse Properties dialog box The Pointers tab of the Mouse Properties Dialog box contains a slide bar that you can use to control the speed and acceleration of your mouse pointer. It also includes a Snap by default checkbox which allows the mouse pointer to automatically move to the default button when you open a dialog box. Lastly, the Pointers tab has a Visibility area that allows you to increase or decrease the visibility of the pointer.

11. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.14 Pointer Options tab of Mouse Properties dialog box You can also use the Control Panel to set the date and time that determines the time displayed when files are created and saved. This is also used to when you need to insert dates and times in documents. The Date and Time tab of the Date and Time properties uses a drop-down lists and the calendar to set the date. You can click either hour, minute, second, AM, or PM and by clicking the up or down arrows to adjust the time. You can also change the time zone under the Time Zone tab. Figure 2.15 Date and Time Properties dialog box The Display Properties dialog box is used to change the appearance of the Desktop. You can add wallpapers and patterns to the Desktop background, activate a screen saver, set up a new color screen, change the Desktop theme, and adjust the screen resolution. You can change the overall appearance of your screen by clicking the Themes button. Just choose a theme by clicking the drop-down list under the Theme area. A sample monitor displays the theme you chose before you put them in effect.

12. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.16 Themes tab of the Display Properties dialog box The Background area under the Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box contains options for adding wallpaper to your Desktop’s background. You can select or browse for pictures you’d like to be your background. By clicking the Position tab, you can display the background picture in the center, in tiled, or in stretched. You can fill any background color not taken up the wallpaper by clicking the Color tab. Figure 2.17 Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box You can customize virtually every aspect of the windows you use in Windows XP by using the Appearance tab. It contains two sample windows and a sample message box which provides a preview of the changes before you put them into effect. You can select a scheme which is a collection of colors and fonts that gives the screen a certain look and feel. You can also change individual elements of the scheme to make the screen more appealing.

13. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.18 Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box You can set the screen saver under the Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box. A screen saver is an image or animated sequence that is displayed after a defined period of inactivity on your computer. This tab includes a sample monitor so that you can view the screen saver options. You can make adjustments that are applicable to the screen saver you chose by clicking the Settings button. You can also preview the screen saver in full screen for a couple of seconds by clicking the Preview button. Figure 2.19 Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box The more advanced area of the Display Properties dialog box is the Settings tab. You can change the number of colors you want the monitor to display and you can also control the size of the screen by changing the resolution. The monitor’s resolution is measured in pixels per inch and it indicates the numbers of horizontal and vertical pixels that the monitor can display.

14. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.20 Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box Another important function of the Control Panel is that it is used to add user accounts. A user is an individual who uses the computer. A user must have an account first or must be using an account before he/she can use the computer. User accounts indicate the rights and abilities that a user has. Figure 2.21 User Account Window The User Accounts property of the Control Panel will allow you to create, edit, and delete user accounts. You must understand the job function of each user before you can create user accounts for them. You can assign users as computer administrator or just a limited user.

15. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.22 User Accounts rights Procedures: Activity 1Exploring Control Panel 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel from the list. Figure 2.23 Launching Control Panel 3. Enumerate the different icons shown in the Control Panel window.

16. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Activity 2Customizing Taskbar 1. Click Start button. 2. Choose All ProgramsAccessoriesNotepad. 3. Click and drag the Notepad icon to the Quick Launch bar. Figure 2.24 Choosing Notepad application Figure 2.25 Notepad icon added in Quick Launch 4. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar. 5. Click Toolbar in the context menu. 6. Click Quick Launch in the Toolbar submenu. Figure 2.26 Quick launch toolbar

17. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 7. Unlock the taskbar. Figure 2.27 Unlocking taskbar 8. Click the Quick Launch bar. 9. Drag it to the left side of the screen until it snaps into place. Figure 2.28 Quick Launch located on the left side of Desktop 10. Continue dragging the Quick Launch on the different sides of the Desktop until it snaps into place. 11. Return the Quick Launch bar to the Desktop. 12. Lock the taskbar.

18. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 13. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar. Figure 2.29 Launching New Toolbar dialog box 14. Click Toolbars the New Toolbar… in the context menu. 15. Use the navigation tree to select a folder. Figure 2.30 New Toolbar dialog box 16. Click My Documents. Figure 2.31 My Documents toolbar 17. Click OK.

19. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Activity 3Configuring Mouse 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Double-Click the Mouse icon. Figure 2.32 Mouse Icon 4. Click the Buttons tab in the Mouse Properties dialog box. 5. Click the Switch primary and secondary check box under Button Configuration to switch the mouse buttons to the left-handed configuration. 6. Use the slider bar under the Double-click speed to increase or decrease the space between clicks for double-click. 7. Click the Turn on ClickLock checkbox under ClickLock to enable you to highlight or drag without having to hold down the mouse. 8. Click OK or Apply. Figure 2.33 Configuring Mouse Buttons

20. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Click the Pointers tab in the Mouse Properties dialog box. Click a scheme in the Scheme drop-down list. Click the pointer you want to change an individual pointer within a scheme. Click Use Default of you want to return a pointer to its default value. Click OK or Apply. Figure 2.34 Configuring Mouse Pointers Click the Pointer Options tab in the Mouse Properties dialog box. Adjust the mouse speed using the Speed slide bar. Check the Snap To checkbox. Adjust the Display pointer trails by checking its checkbox under Visibility area. Check Hide Pointer while typing. Click Apply or OK. Figure 2.35 Configuring Mouse Pointer Options

21. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Activity 4Exploring System Information of the Computer System 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Double-Click the System icon Figure 2.36 System Icon Figure 2.37 System Information

22. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 4. Enumerate all the information found in the General tab. 5. Click the Computer Name tab and enumerate all the important information that can be found in the given tab. Input the computer’s description in the Figure 2.38 Computer Name tab 6. Under the Systems Properties, choose the Hardware tab and then click the Device Manager Button to display all the hardware installed in your computer system.

23. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.39 Hardware tab Figure 2.40 Device Manager Activity 5Adjusting Date and Time 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Double-Click the Date and Time icon.

24. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.41 Date and Time icon 4. 5. 6. 7. Use the drop-down lists and calendar on the Date and Time tab to select the month, year, and day. Adjust time by clicking either hour, minute, second, AM, PM and by using the up and down arrows. Select the time zone on the Time Zone tab. Click OK. Figure 2.42 Date and Time tab

25. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.43 Time Zone tab Activity 6Configuring Display and Monitor Settings 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Click the Display icon. Figure 2. 44 Display icon 4. Click the Themes tab of the Display Properties dialog box. 5. Choose a theme by clicking the drop-down list.

26. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 Figure 2.45 Themes tab 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Click OK. Click the Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Click the wallpaper in the list to select existing wallpaper. Click Browse to select a picture from your computer. Click Center (to center the picture on the screen), Tile (to repeat the picture to fill up the screen), or Stretch (to stretch the picture to fit the screen) in the Display drop-down list. Figure 2.46 Desktop tab 11. Click Apply or OK.

27. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs 12. 13. 14. 15. Click Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Click the scheme to use in the Color Scheme drop-down list. Click an option in the Font Size and the Windows and buttons drop-down list. Click Apply or OK. Figure 2.47 Appearance tab 16. Click Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box. 17. Choose a screen saver using the Screen Saver drop-down list. Figure 2.48 Screen saver tab

28. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 18. Click the Settings button to display and set any settings for the screen saver. Figure 2.49 3D Flying Objects Settings 19. Click the Preview button to display the screen saver in full screen before activating the screen saver. 20. Adjust the number of minutes for the computer to the inactive before the screen saver activates in the Wait field. 21. Click Apply or OK. 22. Click the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box. 23. Click the number of colors in the Colors quality drop-down list. 24. Slide the bar either to the left or to the right under the Screen resolution to increase or decrease the resolution. 25. Click OK. Figure 2.50 Settings tab

29. Office Productivity Tools 1 Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Activity 7Managing User Accounts 1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Click the User Accounts icon. Figure 2. 51 User Accounts icon 4. Click the “Create a new account”. Figure 2.52 Create New User Account

30. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 5. Enter name of the new account to be created. Use the name “User”. Figure 2.53 New User name text box 6. Select the user account type. Choose Limited. Figure 2.54 User Account Type Options 7. Click Create Account.

31. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 8. Click the “Change an account”. Choose User among the list. Figure 2.55 Change an account Figure 2.56 Options in editing user accounts

32. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 9. Change the name of the user by clicking “Change the name” from “User” to your name. Figure 2.57 Change User name 10. Create a password for the user account. Click “Create a password.” Figure 2.58 Create password

33. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 11. Change the picture by clicking “Change the picture” for the user account. Choose the picture you want to use. You may browse for pictures that you want to use. Figure 2.59 Change user account's picture 12. Change the account type to Computer Administrator by clicking “Change the account type.” Figure 2.60 Change account type 13. Click “Change an account.” Choose a user name you want to edit. Choose the account you created a while ago.

34. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 14. Choose “Delete an account”. Figure 2.61 Delete an account 15. Choose “Keep Files”. Figure 2.62 Deleting user account

35. Laboratory Exercise # 2 - Exploring Windows XP and Running Programs Office Productivity Tools 1 16. Click “Delete Account” to permanently delete the user account. Figure 2.63 User Account deletion confirmation References:  Estevez, E., Haag, S., Perry, J., and Sosinsky, B., (2002), The i-series Microsoft Windows XP complete, New York, USA, McGraw-Hill/Irwin