Learning Outcome one start the computer
Learning Outcome one start the computer
Windows 7 is an operating system that Microsoft has produced for use on personal computers. 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.
The first screen appear after you turn on the power of computer is a desktop
1 - The Desktop
The Desktop is the main Windows 7 screen (see image below). It is the work area where dialog
boxes, windows, icons, and menus appear. Like an office desk, the Windows 7 desktop contains
items you can use to do your job. For instance, from your desktop, you can perform file-management
tasks and run software applications. You can customize the appearance of the desktop to suit your
preferences.
Documents– Supplies a ‘catch-all’ place for your personal files. Within here you can see your
files, any shared files from other computer users and any music or pictures you may have stored. The
Documents folder will sometimes be identified by your name instead of the word “Documents.” –
Stores any files you delete until you empty it.
Internet explorer – Contains Windows’ built in web browser that integrates with other Windows
components (such as your folders and Documents).
Desktop Components
1- Icons: An icon is a graphic image, a small picture or object that represents a file, program, web
page, or command. Icons help you execute commands, open programs or documents
quickly. To execute a command by using an icon, click or double-click on the icon. It is
also useful to recognize quickly an object in a browser list. For example, all documents
using the same extension have the same icon.
We can classify icons as the following
• Folder Icons • File Icons • Shortcut Icons
• My Computer:
My Computer allows the user to explore the contents of their computer drives as
well as manage their computer files. Once My Computer is open you'll see all
available drives on your computer. For most users, you'll only be concerned with
the Local Disc (C:) drive, which is the hard drive and what stores all your files.
Icon Operations
• Arrange Icons On the Desktop
To change the arrangement of icons on the desktop do the
following 1 - Right Click the desktop
2-Click Sort by
3-Select one of the 4 options to arrange
icons from sub-menu
• View/Hide Icons
1- Right Click the
desktop 2- Click View
• Switch user: If you have more than one user account on your computer, Fast User Switching is an
easy way for another person to log on to the computer without logging you off or closing your
programs and files.
• Log off: When you log off from Windows, all of the programs you were using are closed, but the
computer is not turned off.
• Lock: Locking your PC is a good option if you’ll be back soon. You'll have to enter your
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password when you come back, which helps keep your work more secure.
• Title bar. Displays the name of the document and program (or
the folder name if you're working in a folder).
•Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons. These buttons hide the
window, enlarge it to fill the whole screen, and close it,
respectively.
• Menu bar. Contains items that you can click to make choices in
a program.
• Scroll bar. Let’s you scroll the contents of the window to see information
that is currently out of view.
• Borders and corners. You can drag these with your mouse pointer to
change the size of the window.
Moving a window
To move a window, point to its title bar with the mouse pointer . Then drag the window to the
location that you want. (Dragging means pointing to an item, holding down the mouse button,
moving the item with the pointer, and then releasing the mouse button.)
Closing a window
•
Closing a window removes it from the desktop and taskbar. If you're done with a program or
document and don't need to return to it right away, close it.
•
To close a window, click its Close button
•
If you close a document without saving any changes you made, a message appears that gives you
the option to save your changes.
To easily identify a window, point to its taskbar button, when you point to a taskbar button, you'll
see a thumbnail-sized preview of the window, whether the content of the window is a document, a
photo, or even a running video. This preview is especially useful if you can't identify a window by
its title alone.
•
Using Alt +Tab. You can switch to the previous window by pressing
Alt+Tab, or cycle through all open windows and the desktop by holding
down Alt and repeatedly pressing Tab. Release Alt to show the selected
window.
Dialog boxes
A dialog box is a special type of window that asks you a question, allows
you to select options to perform a task, or provides you with information.
You'll often see dialog boxes when a program or Windows needs a
response from you before it can continue.
Unlike regular windows, most dialog boxes can't be maximized,
minimized, or resized. They can, however, be moved.
Toolbar: Use the toolbar to perform common tasks, such as changing the appearance of your files
and folders, burning files to a CD, or starting a digital picture slide show. The toolbar's
buttons change to show only the tasks that are relevant.
Address bar: Use the address bar to navigate to a different folder or library or to go back to a
previous one.
Library pane: The library pane appears only when you are in a library (such as the Documents
library). Use the library pane to customize the library or to arrange the files by different
properties.
Column headings: Use the column headings to change how the files in the file list are organized.
For example, you can click the left side of a column heading to change the order the files
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and folders are displayed in, or you can click the right side to filter the files in different
ways. (Note that column headings are available only in Details view.
File list: This is where the contents of the current folder or library are displayed. If you type in the
search box to find a file, only the files that match your current view (including files in
subfolders) will appear.
Search box: Type a word or phrase in the search box to look for an item in the current folder or
library. The search begins as soon as you begin typing—so if you type "B," for example,
all the files with names starting with the letter B will appear in the file list.
Details pane Use the details pane to see the most common properties associated with the selected
file. File properties are information about a file, such as the author, the date you last
changed the file, and any descriptive tags you might have added to the file.
Preview pane: Use the preview pane to see the contents of most files. If you select an e-mail
message, text file, or picture, for example, you can see its contents without opening it in a
program. If you don't see the preview pane, click the Preview pane button in the
toolbar to turn it on.
Each time you click the left side of the Views button, it
changes the way your files and folders are displayed by
cycling through
five different views: Large Icons, List, a view called Details that shows several columns of
information about the file, a smaller icon view called Tiles, and a view called Content that shows
some of the content from within the file. If you click the arrow on the right side of the Views button,
you have more choices. Move the slider up or down to fine tune the size of the file and folder icons.
You can see the icons change size as you move the slider.
Notes: After selecting files or folders, you can perform many common tasks, such as copying, deleting,
renaming, printing, and compressing. Simply right-click the selected items, and then click the
appropriate choice.
2. Rename
• Click the file or folder to select it
• Click the organize button on the toolbar, and then click Rename
• With the name selected highlights, type a new name, or click to position the insertion
point, and then edit the name.
• Press Enter
Notes:
•
Right-click the file or folder you want to rename, click Rename, type a name, and then press Enter.
•
You can also select the file, then press F2, type a name, and then press Enter.
• File names can be up to 255 characters. You can use spaces and underscores in names, but you
can’t use the following characters: * : < > | ? “ \ or /. Remember the best way to keep your files
organized is with a consistent naming convention.
3. Copying
When you copy an item, the original item remains in its original location— plus you have the new
copy
•
Open the location that contains the file you want to copy.
•
Right-click the file, and then click Copy.
•
Open the location where you want to store the copy.
•
Right-click an empty space within the location, and then click Paste. The copy of the original file
is now stored in the new location. Notes:
•
Another way to copy and paste files is to use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C (Copy) and Ctrl+V (Paste).
•
You can also press and hold the right-mouse button and then drag the file to the new location. When you
release the mouse button, click Copy here.
4. Moving (cut)
Moving a file (or folder) is different from copying it. Moving cuts the item from its previous
location and places it in a new location. Copying leaves the original item where it was and creates a
copy of the item elsewhere. In other words, when you copy something you end up with two of it.
When you move something, you only have the one thing.
•
Open the drive or folder containing the file or folder you want to move.
•
Select the files or folders you want to move.
•
Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Cut.
•
Display the destination folder where you want to move the files or folder.
•
Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Paste.
Notes:
To move the selected items, drag them to the destination folder. To copy the items, hold down the Ctrl key
while you drag.
Another way to copy and paste files is to use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+X (Cut) and Ctrl+V (Paste). Pay
attention to pop-up messages that appear when dragging—you can use these to find out what will happen
when you release the mouse button.
5. Create a Folder
•
Open the drive or folder where you want to create a folder.
•
Click the New folder button on the toolbar.
•
With the New Folder name selected, type a new name.
•
Press Enter.
Notes:
Right-click a blank area on the desktop or in the folder window, point to New, and then click Folder.
6. Deleting
•
Select the file or folder.
•
Click the Organize button and select Delete from the pull-down menu.
•
After you select delete a confirmation message appears.
Notes:
•
You can also delete a file or folder by press right clicks on the item and then click delete.
•
Or press Del buttons on the keyboard.
•
The easiest way to delete on the desktop by drag and drop it to recycle Bin.
•
When you delete a file or folder from your hard disk, it's not deleted right away. Instead, it's stored
in the Recycle Bin until the Recycle Bin is emptied.
•
If you delete a file or folder from a network folder or from a USB flash drive, it might be
permanently deleted rather than being stored in the Recycle Bin.
•
If a file cant be deleted, it might be in use by a program that's currently
running. Try closing the program or restarting your computer to fix the
problem. For more information.
Note: To permanently delete a file without first moving it to the Recycle Bin, select the
file, and then press Shift + Delete.
Notes:
•
You can empty the Recycle Bin without i £ Empty Recycle Bin opening it by right-clicking the Recycle Bin
and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin. • You can permanently delete a file from your computer without
sending it to the Recycle Bin by clicking the file and then pressing Shift + Delete.
Note Deleted files do not stay in the Recycle Bin indefinitely. By default, the deleted files in the Recycle Bin can occupy
10% of your hard disk space. When you’ve deleted enough files to exceed this 10%, the oldest files in the Recycle Bin
are automatically and permanently deleted from your hard disk.
as you start typing in the search box. As you type, items that match
your text will appear on the Start menu. The search results are based
on text in the file name, text in the file, tags, and other file
properties.
The search box filters the current view based on text that you type. The search looks for text in the
file name and contents; and in the file properties, such as in tags. In a library, the search includes all
folders included in the library as well as subfolders within those folders. To search for a file or
folder by using the search box:
•
Type a word or part of a word in the search box.
•
As you type, the contents of the folder or library are filtered to reflect each successive character
you type. When you see the file that you want, stop typing.
For example, now, suppose that you're looking for your invoice files, so you type "invoice11 in the
search box. As you type, the view is automatically filtered and you see something like this:
Notes:
•
You can use a question mark (?) as a wildcard for a single character and an asterisk (*) as a
wildcard for any number of characters.
•
The easiest way to start search window is by press F3
•
I f you know which file type it is, you can just enter the file extension ("JPG" for example) in the
• You can display Control Panel screen with different view types as
follow Open control Panel by
System and Security Action Center, Windows Firewall, System, Windows Update, Power Options, Backup and
Restore, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and Administrative Tools
User Accounts User Accounts, Windows Cardspace, Credential Manager, and Mail (32-bit)
Network and Internet Network and Sharing Center, Homegroup, and Internet Options
Appearance and Personalization Personalization, Display, Desktop Gadgets, Taskbar and Start Menu, Ease of Access Center,
Folder Options, and Fonts
Hardware and Sound Devices and Printers, AutoPlay, Sound, Power Options, Display, and Windows Mobility
Center
Clock, Language, and Region Date and Time, and Region and Language
3. Under How should the picture be positioned, choose to have the picture fit the screen, tile, or be
centered on the screen, and then click OK.
Note:
You can make any picture stored on your computer (or a picture
you are currently viewing) your desktop background by right
clicking the picture, and then clicking Set as Desktop Background.
Note:
• To clear a screen saver, move your mouse
or press any key.
• You can change wallpaper and screen
saver by right click on the desktop and
then choose personalize
1. On the Taskbar tab, select one of the options from the Taskbar buttons list:
• Always combine, hide labels
This is the default setting. Each app appears as a single,
unlabeled button, even when multiple windows for that app are
open.
• Never combine
This setting shows each window as an individual, labeled
button, and never combines them, no matter how many
windows are open. As more apps and windows open, buttons
get smaller, and eventually the buttons will scroll.
2. To use small taskbar button icons, select the Use small taskbar buttons check box. To use large
icons, clear the check box.
• To remove a pinned app from the taskbar, open the app's Jump
List, and then tap or click Unpin this program from taskbar.
Notes: Open Sticky Notes by tapping the Start button. In the search
box, type Sticky Notes, and then tap Sticky Notes in the list o f
results.
• To create additional notes, click the New Note button. You
can also open a new note by pressing Ctrl+N.
5. Desktop Gadgets
Windows contains mini-programs called gadgets, which offer
information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used
tools. For example, you can use gadgets to display a picture slide
show or view continuously updated headlines. Some of the gadgets
that come with Windows 7 are Calendar, Clock, Weather, Feed
Headlines, Slide Show, and Picture Puzzle.