| Term Definition Icon Small picture, usually with a label, representing a particular program or group of programs which can be run or is already running through Windows. Maximize Makes the current window fill up the entire screen. Minimize Reduce the current window back to an icon at the bottom of the screen (program is still running) Restore Bring back the windows previous size and screen position to be the same as the last time it was opened. Open Start up a program (usually called an application). Close Completely exit from a program/application. Mulitasking Opening several applications and having them run simultaneously, so that you can switch back and forth between them. Cascade Pile each open window on top of the other one so that the title bars display in ascending order. Tile Arrange each open window side by side across your screen, giving each window the same amount of display space. Title bar The line at the top of the screen that shows you the name of the window you are currently looking at (eg. Program Manager;) Menu Bar The line below the Title Bar containing commands called "options". Clicking on these leads to a drop down menu with more options. Scroll bar A column down the right-hand side of the screen ("vertical scroll bar") or along the bottom of the screen ("horizontal scroll bar"). If you click on the arrows at each end of the scroll bar, the contents of your window will move up and down or from side to side. Dialog Box A small window, usually containing a list or a form to be filled in, that pops up when you need to tell the application something ( e.g. the name of a file you want to open). Hard Drive Also called drive c (c:\). The programs and files resident on your computer are on its hard drive (vs. files on a diskette or at a remote location). |
| COMMON WINDOWS TERMS |
Cut/Copy/Paste Chosen text may be cut, copied, or pasted within a single windows application and between different windows applications. 1. Choose the text. Using the mouse, position the arrow at the beginning of the desired text. Drag the mouse until the whole desired text is either highlighted or enclosed in a box. Whether the text is highlighted or boxed in is a function of the application you are in at the time.You can use either the edit menu or the keyboard to cut, copy, and paste. 2. Single click on Edit in the Menu Bar. Choose the desired function (cut, or copy) from the menu with a single click OR with the text chosen press <ctrl><x> to cut or <ctrl><c> to copy. 3. Place the cursor at the spot in the application where you want to paste the text. Either open the Edit menu in the Menu Bar and choose paste with a single click OR press <ctrl><v>. Print Screen You can print an image of any window by using the following steps. While the window you want to print is diplayed on your screen, simply press the Print Screen key on your keyboard. Open your Word Processing software such as MS Word or Word Perfect. A blank document will open with the cursor blinking in the top left corner. Paste the image into the document. Single click on File on the menu bar. Single click on Print. OK Moving, hiding and seizing the task bar. To move the Taskbar, point your mouse to an unoccupied spot of the Taskbar. Holding down the mouse, drag the Taskbar to either side or the top of the screen. To seize the Taskbar move your mouse over the upper edge of the Taskbar until the pointer turns into a double-arrow. You can then drag the edge of the Taskbar and make room for, say, two rows of running programs. To hide the Taskbar right-click an empty spot of the Taskbar and choose Properties. Select Auto Hide. This will hide the Taskbar from view. Moving the mouse to the edge of the screen where the Taskbar is located will make the Taskbar slide into view. It will disappear again once you are done using it. Sending Email from your desktop Right-click on the Desktop and choose Shortcut from the New menu. In the Command line field type: mailto: Click Next and give the shortcut a name - that's it! |
| Windows Tips and Tricks: Basics |
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| This is an excellent site to find answers to the many problems of Windows. Just click on the frog. This site covers the following Windows versions: Win95, Win98, Win2000, WinME, WinXP |
| Shift-F10 Brings up same menu you get with right-click Shift while inserting CD-ROM Bypasses autoplay F2 on selected item Rename Ctrl-Esc-R-.-Enter (enter a full stop in the Run command line) Opens your desktop folder (containing all folders and shortcuts currently on your desktop) Win-D Go to Desktop Ctrl-Esc, Alt-M or Win-M; Minimze all windows; Win-Shift-M Restore all windows Alt-Esc (continue pressing Esc) Shifts keyboard focus to next open application Ctrl-Esc; Win Start menu Ctrl-Alt-Del Close Program dialog (with access to kill tasks or shutdown) Win-Break, Alt-double click System Properties Shift-Del Delete bypassing Recycle Bin Win-E Explorer Print Screen Copies entire desktop to clipboard (can paste into a paint program) Alt-Print Screen Copies active window to clipboard (see above) Win-R Run dialog |
| Keyboard Shortcuts |
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