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Windows 95 -Review & Enrichment |
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Windows 95 -Review & Enrichment |
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This is an addition to your tutorials, you will not be tested on it, however, you can do the questions and take an oral exam for extra credits if you choose. Everything written in purple is New, and you will not be required to know it for any written exams, only the extra credit oral exam. The rest is review, which will be helpful for your written test.
By now you are aware that Windows 95 programs are displayed on your screen in a resizable box known as a window. Each program will be run inside its own window. Although there are minor variations from one program to another, Windows 95 programs generally use a standardized set of controls. Once you get to know how to operate them, you should be comfortable getting around in any new program.
Every Windows program has a Title Bar at the top of its window. Its most obvious function is to display the name of the program. Many programs also display the name of the document you are currently working on. You can also use the Title Bar to move a window. Place your mouse pointer over it and click the left button once. Then, while holding the button in, move your mouse around and watch the window. It's that easy.
Note the three
buttons to the far right of the title bar. These are the basic
window controls which you will find on every program window. The
button on the left with the picture of a flat line is the minimize
button. A single left-click on this button will shrink the window
down into the program's button on the Taskbar. Left-clicking once
on that Taskbar button will restore the window to its previous
size (Restore
Up). The
"X" button on the right will close the window and its
associated program entirely. The button in the center with the
single large square will maximize the window, causing it
to fill your entire screen.
Once a window is
maximized, the picture on the middle button changes to two
overlapping squares. A single left-click on this button now will
shrink the window back down to its previous size (Restore Down). You can also switch quickly
between maximized and restore down by double-clicking on any
portion of the Title Bar other than the three buttons on the
right or the icon at the far left. Try it -- it's easy.
You can also
enlarge or shrink a window to any specific size you desire by
holding your cursor directly over one of the window's edges or
corners until the pointer changes into a Resize cursor --
a two-way arrow similar to the example at the left. Clicking on
the left mouse button, holding it in, and dragging the resize
cursor in or out will expand or contract the window.
A drop-down menu
containing items to perform all of the tasks above can be
accessed by clicking once on the small program icon on the far
left of the Title Bar. The options generally include: Restore,
Minimize, Maximize, Close (the same four actions provided by the
three buttons on the right of the Title Bar), Resize, and Move.
Double-clicking on this same icon will exit the program.
When you select
Move or Resize from that menu, a Move cursor similar to this, or
the Size cursor shown above, will appear. You can then move or
size the window by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. When
the window begins to move, the cursor will change back to a
pointer and you can then switch to the mouse if you wish. When
you're done, press the 
key on your keyboard or click the left mouse button
once to stop.
Menu Bars are common to virtually every Windows program. Of these, the File and Help menus are nearly always available. The Edit and View menus are very common. Not all programs will have identical menu items but the ones described here are very common.
To access one of these menus, just move
your cursor over the name of that menu and left-click once. A box
will drop down containing all of its menu items. Move your cursor
down over the item you wish to select and left-click once more.
Alternately,
you can bring up any menu in the window in which you are working
by holding down the 
key and pressing the key corresponding to the
underlined letter in that menu's name. In the case of the File
menu at left, that would be the 
key. You can then select an item from
that menu by clicking on the key corresponding to its underlined
letter. For example, once the File menu is open, you can select Print by just pressing
the 
key on
your keyboard.
As you
can see, some of the items have shortcut keys listed to their
right on the menu. You can select these options with your
keyboard without even opening the file menu first. In the case of
Print, you can just hold down the 
key while
you press the
key.
Some programs offer you a Status Bar at the bottom of their window which displays helpful information for you. For a good example of this, hold your cursor over one of the Toolbar buttons of Netscape and keep an eye on the Status Bar.
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The Start Menu |
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The
Start
Button is located
in the bottom lefthand corner of your screen, at the end of the Taskbar. A single left-click on this
button will launch a pop-up menu similar to the following:
As you move your cursor up and down this
menu, the various menu items are highlighted with a band of color
as the cursor passes over them. Note that the four items at the
top have small arrows to their right. Holding your
cursor over any of these items for a moment will open a cascading
submenu to the right of the main menu. The bottom
four items have no arrow next to them. A single left-click on one
of these items will open a window to that application.
You can
also open the Start Menu by holding down the key as you
press the 
key. Notice that all of the menu items have one underlined
letter. Pressing that letter's key while the Start Menu is open
will also open the submenu or window for each.
A left-click on the Shut Down menu item will open the Shut Down
Options window.
All computers should have available the 3 options at the left. If
your computer has multiple registered users, you will also have
an option to Log off and log on as a different user.To select your option, hold the
cursor over the circle to the left of that choice and click once
to highlight that circle. then click the Yes button. Alternately, you
can press the key corresponding to the underlined letter in each
option.
The Shut down the computer option shuts down Windows 95 and allows you to save any unsaved data in files on which you are working . You should never turn off your computer without using this option, as you can lose data and even damage your Windows 95 files. After the shutdown process has been successfully completed, a screen will appear telling you that "It is now safe for you to turn off your computer."
The Restart the computer option will proceed through the same shutdown process and then quickly turn your computer off and back on. This is useful if you are having problems with Windows caused by a program crashing and fouling up everything else. Usually, shutting down and restarting will clear up the problem.
Note: A
useful tip is to hold down the 
key on your keyboard as you are clicking Yes to Restart the
computer. This will restart Windows without going
through the complete shutdown and startup procedures. Often this
accomplishes the same results and saves a fair amount of time.
The Suspend item on the start menu is only available if you have a newer computer with energy conservation built in. If available, this feature will allow you to place your computer and monitor in a low power state, thus conserving energy without shutting down. The monitor will black out and the computer will go into sleep mode. Moving the mouse or pressing any key will quickly restore you to a full-power state.
A left-click on the Help Start Menu item will open the Windows 95 Main Help Database.
Clicking on the Find item on the Start Menu, hitting the F3 key, will open a dialogue box providing you with one or more options to perform searches. At a minimum, every computer should have the Find Files or folders option available, as described on our Windows 95 Find Window Page. If you are connected to a network, an additional option will be available: Find Computer, which allows you to search the network for the exact location of another computer, provided you know the name which was given to it.
The Programs item on the Start Menu leads to a series of cascading submenus from which you can launch the various programs and applications on your computer. Every computer's Programs menu will be different, depending on what software is installed.
On these submenus, the items with this
icon to their left and a right-facing arrow to their right (such
as Accessories in the first submenu above) are folders containing
other items. Holding your cursor over them for a moment will open
up another submenu.
The items without the arrows (such as Windows Explorer in the first submenu and Notepad in the second above) are programs and can be launched by highlighting then with the cursor and left-clicking. In the example above, Notepad is launched by:
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The Desktop |
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The Desktop is the starting point for all of your Windows 95 computing. At the bottom of the screen you will find the Start button for launching programs and the Taskbar for managing all of your open windows.
Right-clicking on an empty area of
the Desktop will bring up a pop
up menu similar to the one shown at the right. It allows you
to tidy up your Desktop icons by choosing Arrange Icons or Line up Icons.
You can create new folders, files and shortcuts from the New sub-menu.
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My Computer |
Double-clicking on this Desktop Icon opens
the My Computer window, shown at right. This window shows
all hard drives, floppy drives, and CD-ROM drives on your system.
You can double-click on any of their icons to manage the files
and folders they contain. You can use the Control Panel folder to
manage many of your computer's settings and the Printers folder
to manage printing. Here at Salmo Secondary, the Control
Panel folder is hidden, so that only the admistrator can
make changes.
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Network Neighborhood |
Just as the My Computer window displays icons representing the various drives, printers, etc., that make up your computer system, the Network Neighborhood window displays icons representing resources available to you on your network. This, of course, applies only when your computer is connected to a network.
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Recycle Bin |
Double-clicking on this icon opens your Recycle Bin folder. All files deleted from your hard drive end up here. You can delete a file using Windows 95 Explorer, or My Computer window simply by left-clicking on the file, dragging it over the Recycle Bin icon with the mouse button held down, and letting go of the button. The Recycle Bin gives you an extra step to protect you against accidental deletions. To recover a deleted file, double-click on the above desktop icon to open the Recycle Bin, highlight the file by left-clicking on it, and select Restore from the File menu. Empty the Recycle Bin periodically to delete these unwanted files, but remember, files deleted from the Recycle Bin cannot be retrieved by Windows 95.
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Microsoft Exchange Inbox |
Double-clicking on this icon opens Microsoft Exchange: Windows 95's built-in communications package.
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Internet |
This icon is not on the Salmo Secondary
Desktop, but will likely be on your computer at home. The first
time you double-click on this icon, the Internet Setup Wizard
will appear, guiding you through a step-by-step process of
connecting to an Internet provider.
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Introduction to Windows 95