Computer Basics

Presented by
Dodge County Tech Team
November 15, 2004

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 Desktop

The Desktop is the name of the

screen that opens after the
Operating System has loaded and
in some cases, after you have
logged on to the computer
system.

Store folders, files, and application

icons on the Desktop.

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 Taskbar on Desktop
• The Start key á [left side of toolbar] can be click on with
your mouse pointer or you can use your shortcut key on
your keyboard.
• The icons from the Horn [volume] to the right are in what
is called the System Tray or Notification Tray. The items
here are the items that come up when your computer is
started.
• The way right is the time. You can remove the clock from
the bar and free up some memory.
• The icons to the right of the Start key are programs
that are open.
• This area is called the Quick Launch Toolbar

System Tray or
Quick Launch Toolbar Notification Tray

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 Quick Launch Toolbar
• To turn the Quick Launch Toolbar on
or off – Right click on the taskbar
• Highlight Toolbars
• Highlight Quick Launch
• To add programs to Quick Launch
drop and drag shortcut to toolbar

4
 Identify Areas in the Application Window
Control Menu
Menu Bar
Title Bar Tool Bar
Address Bar

Detail Pane Detail

Scroll
Panebutton

Scroll arrow

Status Bar
Sizing handle
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 á Start Button
• You can Run programs
• You can find Programs or Documents
• Search for folders or files
• Settings – find Control Panel,
Printers, Network & Dial up
Connections, Taskbar and Start Menu
• Help!!!

6
 Understanding Your File
System
• Find files in these places:
– Desktop
– My Computer
– Computer Drives
• Hard Drive is the Letter “C”
• Floppy Drive is the Letter “A”
• CD-ROM is the Letter “D”
– My Documents
• Folders where your files from your programs
are set as default places to save.

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 My Documents
• These are default folders set
My Documents up by your computer
My Data Sources determined by the software
My Ebooks you have on your computer
My Music – Data Sources where merge files
are stored
My Pictures
– eBooks are books that are
My Webs available in digital format. eBooks
are ordered online, and delivered
electronically to your computer.
You save money with no shipping,
no taxes, and the lowest prices.

www.ebookmall.com/aboutebooks.htm
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 My Computer

My Computer displays all of the drives,

folders, and files available to you.
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 Exercise: Desktop
• Right click on the Desktop and click on
Properties.
– Notice that you can change the appearance and
settings for application windows and the
Desktop.
• Right click again on the Desktop and click
on New.
– Notice that this puts the folder on the
desktop. You will find it in your directory
under the desktop

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 Some Symbols You Need to Know
•  this symbol represents a folder
•  this symbol represents a open folder
• + indicates there are more files and/or folders.
By clicking on the “+” it will show you the files
and/or folders.
• á this is a windows icon on the start button
•  the hourglass tells you that the computer is
working on your request.
•  this symbol represents a floppy disk or a
floppy disk drive.
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 Exercise: My Computer
• Move the cursor over “C:” drive letter and
double click on the left mouse button.
– A list of the contents of every directory and
file is listed. Close the window.
• Move the cursor over the “C:” drive letter
and right click.
– Click on Properties.
– A graphical image represents used and free
space on the drive. Close the window.

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Windows XP User Directories

• Because Windows XP is a true

multi-user system, each user
has his or her own documents
folder, located in a very
specific directory structure.
• Check out C:\Documents and
Settings.
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 Making a File Folder
• There are several ways to a file folder
1. From My Computer
2. From Windows Explorer
3. In your software application –
Talked about later Slide 35

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 Exercise: Making File
Folder
• Double click on My Computer
• Double click on W: drive
• Click on folder Computer Basics
• Click on File then scroll to New
• Click on the word Folder and type
your name for the folder name

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 Exercise: Formating a
Floppy Disk
• Click on My Computer
• Highlight the A:/drive
• Click on File on the Menu bar
• Click on format
• You can label your disk in the box
provided
• Click on Start

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 Control Panel
is a facility for changing many of the functions
available in Windows.

• Display Properties
• Mouse Properties
• Keyboard Properties
• Adding & Deleting Programs and Hardware
• Printers
• Scheduling Tasks
• Folder Options

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 Exercise: Control Panel
Display Properties

• Highlight “Control Panel”

by left click on the icon
• Left Double Click on
“Control Panel” to open it
up.
• Click on “Display”
• In “Display” you can change
your Background, Screen
Saver, Appearance and
Settings

You can get this same screen from your desktop by right
clicking on your desktop and going to properties. 18
 Display Properties
• Background – changes the picture you see on your
desktop
• Screen Saver allows you to change what happens
after your computer sets idle for a period of
time. The amount of time is set here.
• Appearance – changes the colors and how your
look on the screen.
• Settings - Sets up color and screen size

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 Exercise: Background
• Make sure that the background tab is
selected
• Click on “Browse”
• Pick out a picture from under the
W:\Computer Basics\Graphics
• Click on Open, then click on Apply and
OK

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Mouse Controls

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Mouse Pointers

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 Using your Mouse
• Single left click selects an item
• Double left click opens an item
• Right click context menu
• Special Drag

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Exercise: Opening Word
Application
• There are many ways you can open
your Program Applications.
– Use the á Start key and find Word
– Use Quick Launch Toolbar
– Use shortcut on your desktop
• Open Microsoft Word

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 Title Bar

Puts the application down on the taskbar

 Enlarges the application screen

U Close the application

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 Toolbars
Toolbars provide shortcuts to menu
commands. Toolbars are generally located
just below the Menu bar.

Menu Bar

Standard Toolbar

Formatting Toolbar

These toolbars are taken from Microsoft Word

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 Menu Bar

You can either use your mouse and click on the word
to open the drop-down menu or use the shortcut key
by pressing and holding down the Alt key + the letter
that is underlined in the Menu bar.
Example: Alt + F will bring the File drop-down menu

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 Standard Toolbar

• On the Standard Toolbar you can click on the icons to

perform functions.
1. New document
2. Open file
3. Save file – this will overwrite the previous version saved
4. Print
5. Print Preview
6. Spell Check

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 I lost my toolbar!

• On the menu bar click on View and

scroll down to toolbars
• The check next to the word is the
toolbar that is active
• To activate a toolbar, click on the
toolbar you want.

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 Opening a File
1. Click on File on the Menu Bar.

2. Find the file name you want to open.

a) Look for the drive letter, folder, and file name.
3. Highlight Open. Press Enter.
4. Click on Open.

You can use the Standard Tool Bar to open a file.

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Recently Used File List
At the bottom of this drop-
down box there is a list of
the most recently opened
files.

You can set the number of

recently opened files by
going to Tools then scrolled
down to Options.

Explained more later.

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 File - Open
• This drops down
your directory.
• Clicking here
allows you to go
up one folder.

• Clicking here allows you to select the file name.

• Clicking here allows you to select a file

type. HINT: use “all files” to show all file
types. 32
 CAUTION!!!
• Make sure that you only open a file from the same
application.
– .doc is Word document
– .xls is Excel document
– .ppt is PowerPoint document
– .mdb is Access database document
– .pub is Publisher document

• A warning box should come up when you open a

different file type in an application.

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 Saving a File
Save your file by following these instructions:
1. Click on File.
2. Highlight Save As. Press Enter.
3. Specify the correct folder in the Save In field.
4. Name your file by typing a file name in the File
Name field.
5. Click on Save.

You can also use the Save icon on the Standard Tool
Bar.

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 Making a Folder when
Saving

Click this icon to open up the folders.

Click this icon to go up one tier.

Click on this icon to create a new file folder.

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 What’s the Difference
between Save and Save As?

• Save – overwrites or updates the file

you are working in
• Save As – Allows you to change the
name of the file and/or the location of
the file, but will work the same as
“Save”.

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 Changing Your Options
• On the Menu bar, click on Tools and scroll down to
Options

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 Options – General Tab
• Here is where you
can set the number
of your recently
opened files.

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 Options - Save Tab

• Save AutoRecover
info every ___
minutes choose
how many minutes
the computer will
automatically
backup your file.
• Save Default Word
Format

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 Options – File Location Tab
• Here you can choose
where your documents
are saved
– Documents
– Clipart Pictures
– User Templates
– AutoRecovery Files
– Tools
– Startup

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 Upcoming Workshops
• January 17, 2005 – Word XP Basics
– Make Flyers and Invitations
• January 31, 2005 – Word XP Advanced
– Learn columns, text boxes, labels, etc.
• April, 2005 – Excel Basic and Advanced
– Dates to be announced. Watch newsletter!

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