Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

PC Literacy II

Common Window Elements Most windows have common features, so once you become familiar with one program, you can use that knowledge in another program.

 Double-click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop to start the program.  Locate the following items on the computer screen. • Title bar: The top bar of a window displaying the title of the program and the document. • Menu bar: The bar containing names of menus, located below the title bar. You can use the menus on the menu bar to access many of the tools available in a program by clicking on a word in the menu bar. • Minimize button: The left button in the upper-right corner of a window used to minimize a program window. A minimized program remains open, but is visible only as a button on the taskbar. • Resize button: The middle button in the upper-right corner of a window used to resize a program window. If a program window is full-screen size it fills the entire screen and the Restore Down button is displayed. You can use the Restore Down button to reduce the size of a program window. If a program window is less than full-screen size, the Maximize button is displayed. You can use the Maximize button to enlarge a program window to full-screen size. • Close button: The right button in the upper-right corner of a window used to quit a program or close a document window – the X • Scroll bars: A vertical bar on the side of a window and a horizontal bar at the bottom of the window are used to move around in a document. You can use the scroll arrows to view hidden parts of a document. If the entire document is displayed in the window, there will not be a scroll bar.  Click the Restore Down button. The window is less than full screen size, and you can see part of the desktop.  Click the Maximize button. The window is full-screen size.  Click the Minimize button. The Word window is reduced to a button on the taskbar.

Multitasking

It can be helpful to have two or more programs open at the same time. For instance, you might be researching a topic on the Internet and want to take notes. You can keep your web browser open and take your notes in Word. Or, you might want to send an email with information that you found on the Internet or typed in Word. You can keep your web browser and Microsoft Outlook and Word open.

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PC Literacy II Fall 2010

Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

Exercise  Double-click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop. Internet Explorer starts, and the Internet Explorer button appears with some shading around it on the taskbar □1 .

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2  Click the Microsoft Word button on the desktop. The Word window is visible, a button appears lightly shaded on the taskbar□2 , and the Internet Explorer window is then hidden behind the Word window.  Click the Internet Explorer button on the taskbar□1 . The Internet Explorer Window is visible.  Click the Restore Down button on the Internet Explorer window. You can see both the Word and Internet Explorer windows.  Click the Close/Exit button on both windows. Both windows close and there are no buttons for them displayed on the taskbar.

Saving and Opening Files

One of the great features of a computer is the ability to save what you are working on so you can modify it later without having to re-create it. The steps for saving a document are the same in most programs, so once you learn how to save a document using Microsoft Word, you will be able to save a picture in a photo editing software or a spreadsheet in Excel.

Creating and Saving a File

Follow the steps below to open a program, create a document and save it.

1. Double-click the Microsoft Word icon on the desktop. Microsoft Word starts. 2. Type your name. Your name appears at the top of the document. 3. Press the Enter key. The insertion point, the blinking vertical bar, moves below your name. The insertion point indicates the point at which text will be inserted when you type. 4. Type the city and state you live in. The text appears below your name. 5. Click the File tab. Click Save As on the selection list. The Save As dialog box appears. 6. Choose Desktop in the Save in: box by scrolling in the left pane and clicking on Desktop. 7. Select the text inside the File name box, and

type ‘me.’ The text you type replaces the text

inside the File name box. 2

8. Click Save. Page

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Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

9. Click Exit to quit Microsoft Word.

Opening a File

Follow the steps below to open the simple document ‘me’ that you just created and saved in the section above. 1. Double-click the Microsoft Word icon on the desktop or single click the icon in the taskbar if it is showing there. 2. Click the File tab and then the Open icon. The Open dialog box appears [keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O] 3. Double click the file you want to open. It is called ‘me’ and has an icon with a blue W to the left of it. 4. The file opens in Microsoft Word. You can now make any changes, deletions, or additions that you want to make. 5. Click on the Save button to make your changes. Make any additional changes that you would like. 6. Click Exit to quit Microsoft Word. Click on Yes as the answer to the question “Do you want to save the changes you made to me.docx?”

Toolbars Toolbars are the areas of a program screen, across the top, that contain Buttons, Menus, Icons, or other input or output elements are placed. They are used for navigation. Toolbars can also be turned off. Many programs have them and they are very similar in construction, varying depending upon the functionality needed for the program. There are fewer of them for very simple programs such as solitaire or Notepad. Common toolbars include the following:  The Menu Bar  A Links or Bookmarks bar (in Web Browsers) The following section contains basic Menu Bar contents:

The Menu Bar

The menu bar is the region where computer menus are housed, usually directly below the top of a window under the title bar. You use it to access all of the functionality of the program thru its drop down menus. These menus are application-specific. Examples of functionality include opening files, interacting with an application, or help. Menu bars are typically presented in graphical format.

Menu Bars typically include the following components:

 The File Menu (Most Programs) 3

 The Edit Menu (Most Programs) Page

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Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

 View Menu (Most Programs)  A Help Menu (Most Programs)  Favorites or Bookmarks (in Web Browsers)

The File Menu

The File menu is a computer menu common to most file-handling computer programs with a GUI (Graphical User Interface). It often appears as the first item in the menu bar, and contains commands relating to the handling of files, such as open, save, print, etc. It may contain a list of recently edited files. It may also offer commands for closing windows and exiting the current program. [Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_menu"]

The image on the right is the file menu of Firefox 1.5 on Microsoft Windows XP

The Edit Menu

The Edit menu is usually located next to the File menu and contains commands relating to the handling of information in the program. They include the cut, copy, and paste commands, and possibly the select all commands. It may also contain commands for locating information, e.g. find commands. In graphics-oriented programs, it often contains commands relating to the manipulation of images, for example the crop command. [Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edit_menu"].

The View Menu

The View Menu is that part of the toolbar that enables the user to change the way the document’s text appears on the screen. It is also where all of the various toolbars are housed, as well as the ruler and header and footer (in Office Writer). It is also where the zoom functionality [where you can get a close of view of your document text] is accessed.

Computer programs contain additional menus whose contents change depending upon the type of work performed by the program. But, they are usually located in the same place in an open program.

The Standard Toolbar (Open Office Applications)

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Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

The Standard Toolbar in Open Office programs pulls out all of the most commonly used functionality that you need to operate the program and makes that functionality more readily available to you with a click of the mouse. It presents the operation in a graphical format. Hover over the icons on the toolbar and a tooltip will appear that names the operation that you can perform by clicking on the icon. [See the Red arrow above]

The Formatting Toolbar (Open Office Applications) The Formatting Toolbar in MS Office programs also pulls out commonly used functionality from the menu bar for formatting or changing the appearance of the text in your document [see the Green arrow above.]

Turning the Computer On and Off

Most of the time, turning on the computer is simply a matter of pressing the power switch (or switch on a surge protector). If a user account is set up on your computer, you will need to click on your username (in Windows XP) or type your username. You might also be prompted to type a password. Turning the computer off is a bit more complicated. You don’t want to simply press the power switch, because the computer needs to shut down Windows and other software before powering off. 1. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner. (One of the best computer jokes is “Can you believe you click Start to shut down?”) 2. Click on the words ‘Shut down.’ 3. Read the screen. Be sure that Shut down is in the box under the question “What do you want the computer to do?” If it is not, click on the downward pointing arrow at the end of that box and click on the words ‘Shut down.’ 4. Wait until you see a message on the screen that says it is OK to turn off your computer and then turn the power off to your computer by pressing the power switch. (Most computers are set to automatically power themselves off, so you might not receive this message and you might not need to press the power switch. If this is the case, the monitor screen with either goes black or gives you a message that the cable isn’t connected when the computer turns itself off.) 5. Finally, turn off the power to the computer monitor. Note that occasionally, your computer will freeze, and you won’t be able to click on the Start button. If this is the case, you can press the power off button, or if that does not work, turn off the power at the surge protector.

5 Key Points to Remember

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PC Literacy II Fall 2010

Computer classes at The Library East Brunswick Public Library

You can’t harm a computer by experimenting or trying something new, so if you think you remember how to do something, try it. Also, there is more than one way to accomplish many of the tasks you have learned. If you learn another way from a book, or from a friend, use the way that works best for you.

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