● Social networking: These include mobile applications and websites that allow users to connect

and exchange status updates and comments. Examples of these are Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn.
● Media: These include tools that allow media to be viewed or listened to, such as Windows
Media Player or iTunes.
● Design: These include applications for working with images, such as Adobe Photoshop or
GIMP, or publishing, such as Adobe InDesign.
● Mobile applications: These include a range of applications that can be used in mobile devices
and smartphones. Examples are online storage applications or e-mail.

1.2. Windows 7 Essentials

Windows 7 is the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) released commercially in October
2009. It is the follow-up to the Windows Vista Operating System, which was released in 2006. An
operating system allows your computer to manage software and perform essential tasks. It is also a
Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows you to visually interact with your computer’s functions in a
logical, fun, and easy way. Interact with your computer’s functions in a logical, fun, and easy way.

1.2.1. Start up, shut down

Start up the PC

● Make sure all the cables are plugged in correctly.

● Find and press the power button. Before you can use your computer, it has to run through a
process of booting up.
● Once the computer has booted up, you may need to log in. You identify yourself by entering
a user name or selecting your profile, and then entering your password.

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Logging Off

Logging off a system means that the user who is currently logged on ends their session, but
leaves the computer running for someone else to use. This is generally done during the course of the
day when a system is shared between multiple users, for example in a school or library.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click the arrow next to Shut down.

3. Click Log off.

Restarting

Restarting (or rebooting) puts the computer through a process that shuts it down and then starts
it back up again. This is frequently required after software installations or during troubleshooting.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click the arrow next to Shut down.

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 3. Click Restart.

Shutting Down a computer

Shutting down (or powering down / powering off) puts the computer through a process that
shuts down the computer completely. It will not come back up again without someone powering it back
on.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Shut down.

1.2.2. Desktop and icons

Purpose of Desktop and Task Bar

The desktop is what you see when your computer has completed the start-up process. It will look
different depending on what type of operating system you are using, but it generally consists of a bar at
the bottom, top, and/or sides of the screen, with the rest of the screen containing a desktop
background or wallpaper. You can find icons of files, applications, or shortcuts on the desktop
background area.

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 The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. It contains three main
sections:

Start Middle section

button
Notification
area

Opens the Start menu. Shows open programs Shows clock and
and files and allows you settings icons.
to quickly switch between
them.

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Common Icons

An icon is a symbol or image that represents files, applications, shortcuts, or devices. Your
computer desktop displays a range of different icons.

Desktop Icon Examples

Files

Folders

Applications

Printers

Available Printer Current Printer

Drives

Shortcuts

Recycle Bin

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Selecting and Moving Icons

Click on the icon to select it and then drag it to where you need the icon. To arrange icons by
name, type, date, or size:

1. Right-click on a blank area on the desktop.

2. Click View.
3. Click the command that indicates how you want to arrange the icons (by Name, by Type,
and so on).
● To arrange automatically, click Auto Arrange.
● To arrange manually, click Auto Arrange to remove the check mark.

Manipulating Shortcut/Alias

A shortcut is a link to a file, folder, or program on the computer. Shortcuts can, for example, be
placed on the desktop for easy access.

A shortcut icon is differentiated from the original file by the arrow that appears at the bottom
left of the icon.

To create a new shortcut:

1. Navigate to the location of the item that you want to create a shortcut to.
2. Right-click the item and click Create shortcut. The shortcut appears in the same location as
the original item.
3. Drag the new shortcut to the desired location, for example the desktop.

You can also right-click the item, select Send to, and click Desktop (create shortcut). A shortcut
to that file / folder will be created on the desktop.

To rename a shortcut:

1. Right click on the shortcut.

2. Click Rename.
3. Type a new name and press Return.

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To move a shortcut:

1. Right click on the shortcut.

2. Click Cut.
3. Go to the location where you want to move the shortcut to.
4. Right-click on a blank area.
5. Click Paste.

To delete a shortcut:

1. Right click on the shortcut.

2. Click Delete. A message similar to the one below appears, clarifying that this only deletes the
shortcut and does not uninstall the file, folder or program.

3. Click Yes.

1.2.3. Using windows

You will now learn about the basics of using a Windows computer, including how to use the
desktop, how to open different files and applications, and how to move and resize windows. The
information in this lesson applies specifically to Microsoft Windows 7.

Different Parts of a Window

A program, file, or folder, when opened, appears on the screen in a box or frame called a
window. For example, when you open a folder or library, you see it in a window. Different parts of the
window contain tools that you can use to move around Windows or work with files and folders.

Here is a typical folder window and each of its parts:

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When you open a file, it is also displayed in a window.

1. Title bar: Shows document/folder/program name.

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 2. Tab: Displays different, but related, commands, such as those relating to inserting or
viewing.
3. Toolbar / Ribbon: Displays the commands available in the selected tab.
In some applications, these groups of commands are presented as options on
drop-down menus.
4. Status bar: The status bar displays information about the window / document
you are viewing.
5. Scroll bar: Scroll through the contents of the window that are hidden.

Other windows might have additional buttons, boxes, or bars, but they will usually have the basic
parts.

Manipulating Windows

To open a window: Simply double-click on the icon. For example, to open a word processing file,
double-click the Word icon.

To collapse/expand/restore/close window: You will see the same three buttons in the upper-right
corner of almost every window. These buttons allow you to:

Minimize: Click here to hide the window. The window will be minimized to the taskbar. You
can then click the icon for that window on the taskbar to make it reappear.

Maximize: Click here to make the window fill the entire screen. The Maximize button will be

temporarily replaced by the Restore button. Just click it to return the window to its original size.

Close: Click here to close the window.

To move a window: To move a window, point to its title bar with the mouse pointer . While
holding the left mouse button, drag the window to the location that you want.

Switching between Open Windows

If you have more than one program or document open at a time, you can easily switch between
the open windows using either of these two methods:

Using the taskbar

Each open window will have a corresponding button on the taskbar. Click on the appropriate
taskbar button to switch to the open window. The window becomes the active window.

You can point to the window's taskbar button to identify the window. A thumbnail-sized preview
of the window will appear.
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Using Alt+Tab

Press the Alt and the Tab keys at the same time to switch to the previous window. You can also
cycle through open windows and the desktop by holding down Alt and pressing Tab repeatedly.
Release the Alt key to show the selected window.

1.2.4. Tools and settings

Viewing Computer System Information

You can see important information about your computer by opening System in Control Panel.
This shows basic hardware information, such as your computer's name.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Right-click Computer.
3. Click Properties.

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 ● System presents a summary view of basic details about your computer, including:
● Windows edition: Lists information about the version of Windows
running on your computer.
● System: Displays your computer's Windows Experience Index base score, which is a
number that describes the overall capability of your computer. Your computer's processor
type, speed, and quantity are listed. Also displayed is how much random-access memory
(RAM) is installed and, in some cases, how much of the memory is usable by Windows.
● Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings: Displays your computer's name and
workgroup or domain information. You can change this information and add user
accounts by clicking Change settings.
● Windows activation: Activation verifies that your copy of Windows is genuine, which
helps prevent software piracy.

Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

You can change a range of different settings associated with Windows, including the date and
time, volume, desktop background, and screen resolution.

Setting the date and time:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Clock, Language, and Region.
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 4. Click Date and Time.
5. Click the Date and Time tab, and then click Change date and time.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide
confirmation.

6. In the Date and Time Settings, change the values as required and click OK.

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Changing desktop background

Your desktop background, or wallpaper, can be an image from your personal collection, an image
that comes with Windows, a solid colour, or a picture framed with a colour.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Personalization.
4. Click Desktop Background.
5. Click the picture or colour that you want to use for your desktop background.

6. Click the Save changes button.

Setting Keyboard Language

If you need to enter or edit documents in multiple languages, you can change the input language
to make the process easier. Input languages are included with Windows. You will need to add them to
the list of available languages first. To add or remove a keyboard language:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Clock, Language, and Region.
4. Click Change keyboards or other input methods.

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 5. Click the Keyboards and Languages tab.

6. Click the Change keyboards… button.

7. To add keyboard language:
a. Under Installed services, click Add.
b. Double-click the language you want to add, double-click Keyboard, select the text
services options you want to add, and then click OK.
8. To remove keyboard language: Under Installed services, click Remove.

You can also set the keyboard language that is used by default. To change the default language:

1. In the Keyboards and Languages tab of the Region and Language

dialog box, click Change Keyboards.

2. Click on the arrow to change the default language.

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 3. Select the required language.
4. Click OK to close the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box.
5. Click OK to close the Region and Language dialog box.

1.2.5. File management

Understanding Files and Folder Structure

You can think of the information on your computer as being stored hierarchically: In other words,
your computer has one or more drives which contain folders; these folders contain files, such as
documents or pictures, or other folders. To view drives, folders, and files:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Computer.

Windows identifies the different drives on your computer with a series of letters.

For instance, the letter ‘C’ is usually given to the main hard drive on the computer. Some
computers may have two hard disks, one of which will be the C drive and the other may be the D drive.
USB drives are called Removable Disks and may be assigned different letters, depending on the number
of disks installed on your computer. You can use these drives to find or save files. A file is an item that is
used to store information, such as text or images. On your computer, files are displayed as icons; this
makes it easy to recognize the file type by looking at its icon. Folders are used to organize your files just
like a filing cabinet. Grouping files into folders will help you manage your files in a logical, structured
way on the computer. Folders may contain other folders. These are known as subfolders.
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 When you double click on a folder, its contents are displayed. The address bar at the top of the
folder window displays your current location as a series of links separated by arrows.

You can click the Back button and the Forward button to navigate through locations you
have already visited.

Displaying File or Folder Properties

You can learn more about a file or folder by viewing its properties. Properties are not part of the
actual file content, but are pieces of information about the file. Properties of a file or folder may
include name, size, date modified, and location.

To display file or folder properties:

1. Right-click the file or folder.

2. Click Properties.
3. Common properties such as name, size and location display.

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Viewing Files and Folders

When you open a folder, you can change how the files appear in the window. For example, you
might prefer to view the files as larger (or smaller) icons, or you may want to see different kinds of

information about each file. To make these kinds of changes, use the Views button in the toolbar.

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To change file and folder view:

1. Click the arrow on the right side of the Views button.

2. Select the appropriate view.

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Identifying Common File Types

In Windows, each file is represented by a small icon, as illustrated.

Windows file names have two parts: the name and the extension (suffix), separated by
a period. The extension is a three- or four-letter abbreviation that comes after the period.

Creating a Folder

To create a folder:

1. Navigate to where the folder is to be created, for example in another folder

or on the desktop.
2. Right-click a blank area on the desktop or in the folder window and click New.
3. Enter a folder name, and then press Return.

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 The new folder will appear in the location you specified.

Renaming a File or Folder

1. Right-click the file or folder that you want to rename.

2. Click Rename.

3. Enter the new name, and then press Return.

Copying and Moving Files and Folders
To move or copy files or folders using the drag and drop method:

1. Open the folder containing the file or folder that you want move or copy
(source).

2. Open the folder where you want to move or copy to in a different

window (destination).

3. Arrange the two windows side by side on the desktop.

4. To move, drag the file or folder from the first folder (source) to the
second folder (destination). To copy, press Ctrl while dragging.

When using the drag-and-drop method across two folders on the same hard disk, the
item is moved; however, if the destination is a different location such as a USB drive, the
item is copied. You can also copy / move files and folders by using the copy and cut
functions. To use the copy and cut functions:

1. Right-click on the file or folder you wish to copy or cut.

2. Click Copy or click Cut.
3. Click on the new location you wish to paste the new item to.
4. Right-click a blank space and click Paste.

Deleting and Restoring Files and Folders

To delete files and folders:

1. Select the items to delete.

2. Press Delete.
3. Click Yes.

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 You can also delete a file or folder by dragging it to the Recycle Bin. When you delete a
file or folder, it is not deleted right away. Instead, it is stored in the Recycle Bin until the
Recycle Bin is emptied. To restore a deleted file or folder:

1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
2. Select the deleted item.
3. Click Restore this item on the toolbar.

Emptying the Recycle Bin

To permanently remove files from your computer and reclaim any hard disk space they
were using, you need to delete the files from the Recycle Bin. You can empty the Recycle Bin
by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.

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