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WINDOWS
95/98 |
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Download a 18page 'Getting Started with Windows NT/95/98' file |
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Windows 95/98 Now the most widespread and
popular of Operating Systems.
The operating system interfaces between you and the
computer hardware by the use of a Desktop or graphical user
interface (GUI). This means an interface using graphically displayed lists and
icons which can be selected or clicked with a mouse in order to get at,
or run those elements.
Notice the word SELECTED. To SELECT something is one of the most important aspects of dealing with Windows and the programs that can be run on the operating system.
Once something has been SELECTED you are able to DO one
or many things with it.
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So this is the Key Phrase: |
SELECT and DO |
Remember it, it applies to all windows items, to Word, Excel,
Access...and all other programs that run in Windows
It will be helpful to regard anything in Windows and in programs - as OBJECTS.
It is easy to regard an icon as an
object, but......
a cell or range of cells in a spreadsheet is an
object
a picture in Word processing or in
any other program is an object
a word,
paragraph, page, or complete file
is an object.
Sound, video and midi
files, and other elements inside a program can be regarded as objects.
SO......
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We SELECT Objects and DO one or many things with them |
Why do we need to know about objects, can't we just be told to
click this or select that...and forget talk of objects ?????
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YES of course you can, BUT your understanding of modern computers and how you can do things with them will be severely limited. |
You
may have noticed that you can move or copy bits from one program to another.
You
may know that data or pictures from one program can be used in others....
THIS IS BECAUSE EVERYTHING CAN BE
REGARDED AS AN INDEPENDANT OBJECT and so.......
Object Properties and Methods
An object stores information about it's own size, colour, content..etc -
it's properties
In addition it stores information of how it should be handled by a
program - it's methods.
Because it is so independent, it can be placed
anywhere and once it is activated it knows what to do and how to display or
present itself. The program it is placed in to does not need to know anything
about the object...it just activates it and lets the object do it's own thing.
SO....
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We SELECT independent Objects and DO one or many things with them |
NOW......
If you think about the nature of objects, that you can select them, that
you can do things with them (move, copy..etc), that you can change their
properties (bold, underline, font, font size, font colour..etc)....then
it is not long before you actively search and find ways to do many many things
with them
...and your skills have GREATLY improved.
What are the MOST IMPORTANT
OBJECTS in Windows ???
Answer: The 'START' button and the
'My Computer' icon
- DOCUMENTS: Gives access to
the last 16 documents (files) you saved
(wordprocessing,spreadsheets,sound..etc).
- PROGRAMS: Gives quick
access to All registered (installed) programs.
- SETTINGS: Gives the
ability to add, remove or change hardware and software settings. Don't mess with these without learning a little about
them first - you could make your PC inoperable.
- FIND: Find any file or
folder using full or part names
- HELP: COMPLETE help with
Window95 - if you have the time to go through it.
- RUN: AS with DOS, you can
enter commands on a command line. E.g. edit, run...etc. For more
information on DOS type commands see DOS
Advice.
- SHUT DOWN: This is what
YOU MUST DO before turning off the computer. It may seem strange that in order
to shut down and stop working, you need to use the START buttom, but look
at the START button as the Start of a Process...in this case...start the
process of shutting down.
'My Computer' is used to manipulate files.....to delete them, copy, move, and rename them. This is where SELECT and DO comes in on the windows GUI (Desktop).
Note:
Another version of 'My Computer' exists
for those who were used to the File Manager' in previous Windows versions -
it's called EXPLORER and can be accessed by right clicking 'My Computer'
To activate 'My Computer' - double click
it. (Single click if this is evoked in
Win98)
To view a drive or other element in the
'My Computer' window - double click it . (Single
click if this is evoked in Win98)
To find a
known file, double click or click, on the folder to view the files in it (then
if necessary a sub-folder..and again until you find the folder it is in).
When you have found the file or files:
BEFORE copying, moving, renaming or
deleting a file, you select it (left click it)
You can then use the menus of the window to edit, copy, delete,
rename...etc
Drop-Down List
Or better still, once the file is selected, right click it to get a quick
drop-down list of all the actions - then left click an action, for example copy
a file to Floppy using the 'Send To' action in this list. (you can add to the list see 'Send To' list by placing shortcuts to locations in the Windows/Send to
folder).
And even better still, you can Drag 'n' Drop to move or copy files from
one place to another...
BEFORE copying, moving, renaming or
deleting a range of files..........
you need to SELECT
them by:
- Clicking
the first file in a range of files...then
- Shift-Clicking
the LAST file in the range of files to get all the ones in-between.
Then use the window menus to move,copy or delete
Or
Control-Clicking
individual files anywhere in the list, until you have the range of files you
need.
Or
(the graphical way to manipulate
files)
Right-Click on a
file then drag to another folder's window, then drop. From the drop-down
list, select Move, Copy or Create Shortcut
Or
Clicking
above a file, then dragging down and
across to form a box around the range of files (You can also drag 'n'drop
folders). Open a folder window where you wish to move or copy these files to
then simply Drag 'n' Drop them to this folder.
To Move them - Just Drag 'n'Drop.
To Copy them - Drag 'n'Drop with the Ctrl key
depressed
Technical Stuff -
Troubleshooting
Right clicking on a file gives a drop-down menu
upon which is the 'Send To' action.
This provides a fast way to send a file to a
listed location (folder).
By default the 'A Drive', 'Fax Recipient' and
'My Briefcase' are on this list, but YOU CAN ADD OTHER LOCATIONS such as 'My
Documents', or any of your own-named folders.
To do this firstly using 'My Computer' open a
window showing the folder you want adding on to the list ( we'll call this the destination
folder).
Next... open the Windows\SendTo to folder.
Right-click and drag the destination folder
into the 'Send To' folder, drop it there and select 'Create shortcut(s) here'.
This will put a shortcut to your folder into the 'Send To' folder...and the
next time you look at the Send To list you will see your folder listed there.
Getting
Started with Windows NT/95/98 - (18 page html document)
If you don't care to save the web pages from this site in order to learn Windows, then here is a 18 page booklet on 'Getting Started with WindowsNT/95/98'. To save downloading time it has been zipped up. The file is windsgs1.zip and is 271KB zipped (332 unzipped).
Download instruction:
Click the windsgs1.zip in the download box below, chose Save to
disk, select a temporary folder (or My Documents) to download the zip file
to, allow to download (on a 56K modem this should take about 2-3 minutes). When
downloaded is completed, you can close the your browser and pull out of the
Internet. To see how to unzip and use the file see below before downloading
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DOWNLOAD |
Unzipping the file on your computer:
Next, will be the use of Winzip (if you haven't got Winzip click here download and unzip it, then run setup). Using My Computer or Windows Explorer, locate the zip file (windsgs1.zip) and click it (double click in Win95). This will start Winzip.
In Winzip, click the Extract button (to unzip the file) and decided into which folder you want the 45 files from the zip file, to be unzipped to. Note: It would be better to firstly use My Computer to create a new folder calling it for example ' Windows Lesson1 '
Viewing the file on your computer:
Close Winzip, use My Computer /or within Windows97, locate gs1(2).htm and open it. This is an HTML file, a web page. If you open it via My Computer it will automatically run Internet Explorer to view the web page. If you open it via Word97, it will be converted and you can view it as it, or use File, Web Page Preview, to view it in Internet Explorer.
Finally in the file there are links (usually in blue), these hyperlinks allow you to jump to another place in the 18 page web document. You can use the Web toolbar's back arrow, to go back to the original location.
This 18 page html document is better than buying an expensive 200-400 page book on Windows, but although is gives easy to follow instructions on Windows basics covering many different areas you will need know, it is not an advanced document.
Comments:
I hope that you find this and the use of my
web-site for your Windows study, worthwhile. If you have any comments to
improve this aspect of the site, email me at michael_small@lineone.net (no file
attachments unless previously agreed between us)