Introduction to Computer

Applications
Lecture 5: Overview of Windows Operating System, Ms Word &
Ms Excel

Nyalala Innocent

Department of Computer Science

Egerton University
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 1
 • Windows operating system is developed by Microsoft Corporation. It
provides Graphical User Interface (GUI), multitasking capability to
users.

• It also provides virtual memory management and several peripheral

devices.

• According to statistics, about 90% of computers have migrated to

Windows operating system.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 2

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 3
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 4
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 5
 • While working with a computer, we use a set of items on screen
called “user interface”.

• In simple terms, it acts as an interface between user and software

application or program.

• It accepts inputs from input devices like keyboard, mouse and

displays output to computer monitor.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 6

 • Task bar appears at bottom of the Windows desktop.
• It is used to launch and manage programs.
• It also shows icons of currently running programs.
Components of task bar
• A task bar consists of following three components:
✓ Start menu
✓ Quick launch bar
✓ Notification area
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 7
Start Menu

• Start menu contains shortcuts for launching programs and opening folders
on computer.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 8

Quick Launch Bar

• It is a special section at left end of task bar where we can add icons to
quickly start programs

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 9

Notification Area

• Notification area displays icons for system and program features. It also
displays system volume and a clock.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 10

• A small pictogram displayed on the desktop is called an “icon”. It
represents links to the resources on PC or network.

• Icons are tiny graphical symbols that represent programs, files, folders,
printers, documents, etc. Icons are also called as “shortcuts”.

• Using mouse pointer, we can click the icon and then corresponding
resource will be launched.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 11

• Start menu consists of shortcuts for launching programs and folders. It also
consists a list of most recently used documents and provides ‘search’ option
and supports ‘help’ feature.
Launching Start Menu
▪ Start menu can be set in motion by clicking (⊞ Win) windows button on a
keyboard.
▪ It can also be launched by pressing CTRL+ESC on a keyboard.
▪ By clicking on the visual Start button, it can be launched
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 12
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 13
 • The operating system offers an interface between programs
and user, as well as programs and other computer resources
such as memory, printer and other programs

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 14

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 15
 Process

• Step 1: Application sends request to operating system.

• Step 2: On encountering the request from an application,

operating system sends a response to requested service

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 16

 • We will learn different settings in Operating System:

Changing System Date and Time

• We can set system date and time in three ways given below:

• Step 1: One way is to just click the clock on task bar and perform
Step 4 and Step 5.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 17

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 18
• Step 2: Another alternate way is to go to the “Control Panel” from
Start menu and select

• “Clock, Language and Region”, and select “Date and Time” and
perform Step 4 and Step 5.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 19

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 20
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 21
Step 3: In the window displayed, select “Change date and time”

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 22

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 23
• Step 4: Set corresponding date and time, and finally press “OK” button.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 24

• Display properties include Desktop Background, Text, Window Color,
Sounds, Screensaver, etc.

• To change these display properties, we must perform the following

steps.

• Step 1: Right click on desktop and select “Personalize” from displaying

options

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 25

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 26
• Step 2: From the displayed window, select desired action, like changing the
background/themes/resolution, and press “Save Changes” button.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 27

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 28
 • Step 3: Alternate way is to go to the “Control Panel” from Start
menu and select “Appearance and Personalization” and select
display you want from the listed options and save changes.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 29

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 30
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 31
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 32
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 33
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 34
 • In order to add or remove Windows component, follow the below
steps:

• Step 1: Type “add or remove programs” in the search box and select
“Add or Remove Programs” under control panel and follow Step 3
and Step 4.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 35

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 36
 • Step 2: Alternate way is to select “Control Panel” from start
menu and select “Uninstall a Program” from “Program” and
follow Step 3 and Step 4

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 37

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 38
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 39
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 40
• Step 3: Click “Turn Windows features on or off” on left side of programs
and features window.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 41

• Step 4: From window displayed, add or remove the program you want,
and click “OK” button.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 42

 • Properties of the mouse can be changed by following steps below:

• Step 1: Go to “Control Panel” from start menu.

• Step 2: Select “Hardware and Sound” and select “Device and

Printers” from the listed options

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 43

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 44
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 45
• Step 3: Click on “Mouse” under Devices and Printers, and change any of
the following properties and “Apply” changes.
oButton - Changes primary and secondary button and double-click
speed
oPointer - Changes image seen during specific window operation.
oPointer Options - Changes precision of pointer, speed and
visibility of long or short pointer.
oWheels - Changes horizontal and vertical scrolling.
oHardware - Helps to view properties of mouse.
oDevice Setting - Required only if we are using the laptop.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 46

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 47
 • To add or remove printers we must execute following
steps:

• Step 1: Go to “Control Panel” from start menu.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 48

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 49
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 50
 • Step 3: Now under “Devices and Printers”, we can add a printer
using “Add a Printer” tab at top of the window

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 51

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 52
 • Step 4: To remove a printer, “Right Click” by placing the cursor
on printer you want to remove and select “Remove Device”
from popped up menu.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 53

• Here, we will learn the concepts of File and Directory Management:

File

• File is nothing but a collection of information. The information can be of

numbers, characters, graphs, images, etc. Every file should be stored
under a unique name for its future reference.

• Every file should be saved along with an extension. Some of the

extensions and their description are given on the next slides:
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 54
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 55
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 56
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 57
Representation

• File should be represented in address bar along with path of the file,
filename and extension.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 58

 • Directory is a place/area/location where a set of file(s) will be
stored.

• It is a folder which contains details about files, file size and time
when they are created and last modified.

• The different types of directories are discussed below:

Root Directory

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 59

• Root Directory is created when we start formatting the disk and start
putting files on it.

• In this, we can create new directories called “sub-directories”.

• Root directory is the highest-level directory and is seen when booting

a system.

Subdirectory

• Subdirectory is a directory inside root directory, in turn, it can have

another sub-directory in it.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 60

• The file management system is a software which is used to create,
delete, modify and control access and save files.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 61

 • The responsibilities of File Management System are as follows:

Operation

• This provides user to work with or manipulate the files.

Manipulation includes open, close, save, copy, delete, move,
rename, share, etc.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 62

Integrity

• In support of integrity, file management system will keep track of data

manipulations like deletion, modification, addition of data, etc.

• If the data gets modified, deleted or added, then those changes

should be reflected in all the files.

Storage

• This allocates memory for storing files, deallocates memory of deleted

or unused files and maintains backups.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 63

Security

• By supporting authorization, it restricts unauthorized user to log into

system and access files.

• Username and password are required for authorization purpose.

• It supports file encryption feature and asks for authorization to access

those encrypted files.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 64

• Files in the operating system are of following types:

Ordinary files

• Ordinary files help to store information like text, graphics, images, etc.
These files are used to store information fed by the user.

• Examples of ordinary files include a notepad, paint, programming

applications, etc.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 65

Directory files

• Directory files are nothing but a place/area/location where details of

files are stored. It contains details about file names, ownership, file size
and time when they are created and last modified.

Device files

• Device files are also called special files. They are created by operating
system which act as a mediator between the operating system and
hardware like printers, plotters, etc., and are stored under a sub-
directory, “/dev”.
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 66
FIFO files

• FIFO files act as an input/output channel between processes.

• As the name indicates, it maintains order of request and response to

files by user or any other device.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 67

• Microsoft Word is a popular word processing software.

• It helps in arranging written text in a proper format and giving it a

systematic look. This formatted look facilitates easier reading.

• It provides spell-check options, formatting functions like cut-copy-

paste, and spots grammatical errors on a real-time basis.

• It also helps in saving and storing documents.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 68

• It’s also used to add images, preview the complete text before printing
it; organize the data into lists and then summarize, compare and
present the data graphically.

• It allows the header and footer to display descriptive information, and

to produce personalized letters through mail.

• This software is used to create, format and edit any document.

• It allows us to share the resources such as clip arts, drawing tools, etc.
available to all office programs,

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 69

 • Word processor is used to manipulate text documents.

• It is an application program that creates web pages, letters, and

reports.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 70

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 71
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 72
• A menu bar is located below the title bar.

• A menu bar is an application window to furnish application or

window-specific menus.

• Menu bar has File Menu along with Home, Insert, Design, Page Layout,
References, Mailings, Review, And View.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 73

• File - It has options such as, Save, Save As, Open a New Document, Print,
etc.

• Home - It has icons to change Font Size, Style, Alignment, Borders, etc.

• Insert - It has icons to insert Table, Shapes, Chart, Pictures, Screenshot,

Header, Footer, etc.

• Design - It has icons to change Themes, Colors, Fonts, Effects, Page

Borders, etc.

• Page Layout - It has icons to set Margins, Orientation, Size, Breaks, Indent
etc.
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 74
• References - It has icons to Add Text, Update A Table, Insert Footnote,
Index.

• Mailings - It has icons to start Mail Merge, Add Labels, Envelopes, etc.

• Review - It has icons for Spelling And Grammar Check, Thesaurus,

Word Count, Comments, Tracking, etc.

• View - It has icons like: Zoom, Print Layout, Switch Windows, Split,
etc.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 75

• The bar located below menu bar is the toolbar.

• Toolbar provides shortcuts to menu commands.

• It has icons which represent commonly used functions.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 76

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 77
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 78
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 79
• To open an already existing document, follow the below steps.

➢Click on the “File Open”.

➢From the window opened, select a file you want to open and double
click on it or just right-click and select “open”.

➢Shortcut key is Ctrl + O.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 80

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 81
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 82
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 83
• After finishing our work, we must save the document permanently, as it
is useful for future reference.

• As RAM is a temporary storage memory, we must save our file on the

hard disk.
❖To save a document, go to “File” menu and select “Save”
option
❖Shortcut key is “Ctrl + S”.
❖Then the file gets saved under a default name
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 84
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 85
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 86
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 87
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 88
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 89
• Save As option is used to rename a file.

• If you want to save your document in another location with same or different
name, you can use “Save As” option.

• The shortcut key for Save As is “F12”.

• To use Save As option in a document, follow the below steps:

1. Go to File menu
2. Click Save As
3. Select the drive where you want to save the document.
4. Then type any Name in the File Name box at the bottom of dialog box.
5. Then click Save option.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 90

• Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application which is used to create and
manage lists of information.

• Excel allows to enter, edit, manage and analyze large amount of data in a
worksheet and create colorful charts and graphs.

• It uses formulae to calculate and analyze data. It helps to combine a

series of commands using “Macros”, thus saving time. At higher levels,
you can use it as a complete development tool catering to many
complex requirements.
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 91
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 92
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 93
 • To open an existing document, go to file menu, File – Open -
Recent workbooks.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 94

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 95
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 96
• Every sheet is given a name by default as sheet 1, sheet 2, etc.

• It is necessary to customize the name according to user reference.

• To change this name, right click on sheet tab that is to be renamed.

• Name in the sheet tab gets highlighted and can be edited.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 97

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 98
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 99
• Cell is a small unit in the worksheet which is used to store data.

• A cell is referred by its column and row number.

Example

• Cell B followed by row 6 is called as B6. Each cell in worksheet has a

unique address.

• Using arrow keys in the keyboard, we can move from one cell to
another cell
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 100
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 101
• You can use formulas to perform basic mathematical calculations, such
as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of numbers.

• The following examples demonstrate how to use formulas to carry out

mathematical calculations.

Addition

• Addition helps to add two or more values. By using “=SUM(cell1+cell2)”

formula, we can calculate the sum of values.
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 102
Subtraction

• Subtraction helps to subtract two or more values.

• By using “=SUM(cell1-cell2)” formula, we can calculate the difference

between the values of cell 1 and cell 2.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 103

• FORMULAS IN EXCEL is an expression that operates on values in a
range of cell addresses and operators.

• For example, =A1+A2+A3, which finds the sum of the range of values
from cell A1 to cell A3.

• An example of a formula made up of discrete values like =6*3.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 104

• Cell content can be edited directly in the cells or in formula bar.

• If cell contains a formula, it will be displayed here.

• If there is no formula, then content of the cell is displayed.

• Formula bar allows you to view, enter and delete data in a selected
cell.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 105

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 106
• Mathematical formula appears in the formula bar when a cell that
includes a formula is selected in the worksheet.

• In the next example, formula to calculate average grades is in cell E5.

• When E5 is selected, formula appears in the formula bar.

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 107

Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 108
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 109
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 110
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 111
• Microsoft Excel has a set of prewritten functions to perform a specific
task. When using a function, remember the following steps:
• 1. Use an equal (=) sign to begin a function.
• 2. Specify the function name.
• 3. Enclose arguments within parenthesis.
• 4. Use a comma to separate arguments.
• 5. Here is an example of a function, =POWER(number,power) or
=POWER(cell1,cell2)
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 112
• FUNCTION IN EXCEL is a predefined formula that is used for specific
values in a particular order. Function is used for quick tasks like finding
the sum, count, average, maximum value, and minimum values for a
range of cells.

• For example, cell A3 below contains the SUM function which

calculates the sum of the range A1:A2.
• SUM for summation of a range of numbers
• AVERAGE for calculating the average of a given range of numbers
• COUNT for counting the number of items in each range
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 113
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 114
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 115
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 116
Lec 5 Introduction to Computer Applications 117