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Microsoft Windows Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide

Author: Patricia Lynn

If you want to learn more about your Windows PC, this tutorial is for you! Although written with Windows XP in mind, users of other versions will find the information relevant. Vista users may have a different shortcut from Control Panel to the display properties windows.

Basic PC Terms

  • Monitor or Display: the TV-like portion of a PC system. Also called a terminal or CRT.
  • Windows Operating System: the software that controls your PC, manages programs, and interacts with the user. When the PC powers on, Windows automatically loads.
  • Boot or reboot: to load or reload Windows.
  • Desktop: what is displayed on your monitor by the Windows Operating System. The Windows desktop has a background, icons, and the Taskbar.
  • Icon: a small image that typically represents a shortcut to a program, folder, or file.
  • Shortcut: an icon or text that, when clicked, opens a folder or file, or runs a program.
  • Taskbar: the blue strip at the bottom of the desktop that contains the Start button, small icons, and the system clock.
  • Cursor: the moving pointer or arrow, controlled by the mouse, that lets you select objects, highlight text, and choose the spot from which to begin typing in a document.
  • Mouse: the small piece of hardware that controls the cursor. It has a left and right button, and often a scroll-wheel in the center. Always use the left mouse button unless otherwise instructed!
  • Window: the rectangular holder that appears on your desktop when you run a program or open a Windows dialog. Many windows are resizeable
  • Click: to press a mouse button. By default, to click means to click with the left mouse button.
  • Double-click: rapidly pressing the left mouse button two times.
  • Right-click: pressing the right mouse button. When you right-click on an element, a context menu usually appears.
  • Highlight: to click on an object to select it, or to click and drag the cursor over a portion of text in order to select it. The object or text selected turns blue.
  • Newbie or noob: a person who is brand new to the PC, or to a particular technical skill...!

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Windows Desktop Overview

The Windows desktop is what you see on your monitor after Windows has finished loading. The desktop has a background picture (also called wallpaper) and icons (shortcuts). At the bottom of the desktop is a blue strip called the Taskbar.

Listed below are descriptions of these desktop elements and instructions on how to customize some of them. To look at your customizing options, click Start and click Control Panel. Then click Display. The first tab is labeled Themes, and a theme is defined as "a background, plus a set of sounds, icons, and other elements to help you personalize your computer with one click." The fourth tab is Appearance, and here you can enlarge fonts, if required, for easier viewing. The fifth tab is Settings, and I recommend new users leave this tab alone. The second and third tabs discuss how to change your display's wallpaper and screensaver. These are discussed in detail in our tutorial tutorial Customizing the Windows Desktop

Note: You may have the option to view Control Panel in Classic or Category Mode. This article assumes you are using Classic Mode. Category Mode requires more mouse clicks and adds little value.

Minimizing, Maximizing, and Closing a Window

Whenever you execute a program or open a folder, it opens in a window, and a rectangular placeholder for that window appears on the Taskbar. You can minimize the window - clearing it off the desktop but not closing it - by clicking on this placeholder. If you click the placeholder again, the window will be restored to the desktop.

When a window is displayed on the desktop, you will notice 3 symbols in the upper right corner: 1) a dash, 2) two overlapping boxes or a single box, and 3) a red X.

  • Clicking on the dash symbol will minimize the window. As stated, the window remains open, but is no longer displayed on the desktop. Click on the placeholder at the bottom of the desktop to display the window once again.
  • If you see two overlapping boxes, this means the window is maximized and should fill your entire display. Click on the box if you would like to make the window sizeable.
  • If you see one box in the center spot, this means the window is not maximized and is, therefore, sizeable. You can make a window any shape and size you desire. To do so, place the cursor on an edge of the window. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, press the mouse button and drag the edge. You can put the cursor on the corner of a window and drag to change the height and width at the same time.
  • Clicking on the red X will close the window and close any program running in that window.

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Working with Desktop Shortcuts (Icons)

A desktop icon usually represents a shortcut to a program, folder, or frequently-used file. When you double-click a shortcut, the program, folder, or file opens. If you delete a shortcut, you are only deleting the path to the object (e.g. program), not the object itself. Windows will allow you to move or save an actual file to the desktop, but this is not recommended. The desktop is for shortcuts. Data files should be stored in My Documents.

Most Windows PCs come with some shortcut icons already on the desktop, such as My Computer and Internet Explorer. If you have a CD and/or DVD drive, you will also have a shortcut icon to the program that controls these devices.

Creating a Shortcut

If you have an installed program without a shortcut on the desktop, you should create one. Click Start and click All Programs. Locate the desired program and position the cursor on it. If there is an arrow following a program name, find the program name on the expanded menu and place your cursor on it. When the program name is highlighted, right-click and click “Create Shortcut.” The shortcut will be placed below the original program, or at the end of the program list. The shortcut name will be the same as the program name followed by (2). For example, a shortcut created for the program Excel will be named Excel (2).

Next, we want to move the shortcut to the desktop. If all the windows have closed, again click Start / All Programs. Position the cursor on the shortcut and while holding down the left mouse button, drag the shortcut onto the desktop. Note: You MUST create a shortcut first because when you drag a program name from the All Programs list to the desktop, the program shortcut is moved, not copied, and you never want to remove a program name from the All Programs list.

To create a shortcut to a folder or file, first locate the folder or file using Windows Explorer or My Computer (see instructions on locating folders and files elsewhere in this article). Then right click on the object, click Create Shortcut, and drag the shortcut to the desktop. Once there, you can rename the shortcut and change its icon if desired.

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Renaming a Shortcut

To rename a desktop shortcut, right-click on the icon, click “Rename,” and type in the new name. Or, you can click once on the shortcut to highlight it, click again, and begin typing.

Changing a Shortcut Icon

You can change the icon of a shortcut if you dislike the default image. Right-click on the shortcut and click Properties. On the Customize tab, click Change Icon. Choose an icon from the list provided, and click OK.

Grouping Shortcuts into Folders

If your desktop is cluttered with icons, you can create folders on the desktop in which to store similar shortcuts. I have a folder named Security in which all my security-related program shortcuts reside. I also have a folder called Seldom for shortcuts to programs I seldom use. To create a folder, right-click in an empty space on the desktop, move the cursor over the word New, click Folder, and type the folder name. If desired, customize the folder icon as described above. To move a shortcut into the folder, click the icon and, while keeping the mouse button pressed, drag it on top of the folder. When the folder highlights, release the mouse button.

How to Run or Execute a Program

Programs are often called applications. Long ago, when only large companies had computers, they wrote programs to perform specific functions, like Billing, and called these programs applications. Programs are also called software. The word software is a broad term that refers to any piece of code that runs on a computer. The physical components of a PC are called hardware.

You should have a shortcut on the desktop for most of your installed programs. You can also view a list of your installed programs by clicking Start and All Programs. To run a program, double-click the shortcut. If the program doesn't execute but, instead, the program name becomes highlighted in blue, your double-click didn’t work. If you have a problem double-clicking effectively, you have two options: right-click on the icon and then click "Open," or change the speed of the mouse double-click by following the directions elsewhere in this article.

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The Windows Taskbar

The taskbar is the blue strip that typically sits at the bottom of the desktop, and contains the Start button, the Quick Launch toolbar, placeholders for open windows, and the Notification Area.

Elements of the Taskbar

  • Start Button: The Start button sits at the left edge of the Taskbar. If you click Start, you will see a menu of shortcuts, plus the option to Log Off or Turn Off (Shutdown) the PC. You will also see "All Programs" followed by an arrow. If you click All Programs, you will see a list of all of the programs installed on your PC, plus various Windows utilities.
  • Quick Launch toolbar: to the right of the Start button you will probably see several small icons. These are Quick Launch icons and they reside on the Quick Launch Toolbar. The toolbar's purpose is to give you a place to put shortcuts to your favorite programs so you can execute them with a single click.
  • Open Programs: Windows will place a rectangular placeholder for every window you have open in the middle of the Taskbar.
  • Notification Area: located on the right side of the Taskbar, this area displays certain system features, some programs icons, and the volume icon and system clock. Beginners should leave this area alone except for the volume icon and system clock.

Resizing and Moving the Taskbar

You can change the size of the taskbar, and move it to the top or side of your desktop. To resize the taskbar, place the cursor on its edge until you see a double-sided arrow. Then, while pressing the mouse button, drag the edge of the taskbar. To relocate the taskbar, place the cursor inside the blue area and, while pressing the mouse button, drag the Taskbar to the new location. Make sure the cursor is inside the blue area and not sitting on top of something inside the Taskbar.

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The Quick Launch Toolbar

As stated above, the purpose of the Quick Launch toolbar is to give you a place to put your favorite shortcuts so you can open them with a single click. When you rest the cursor on top of a Quick Launch icon, descriptive text will display. This toolbar also displays the Show Desktop icon. Clicking the Show Desktop icon automatically minimizes all open windows and displays the Desktop. Without this icon, if you had multiple windows open and wanted to see the desktop, you would have to close or minimize each window individually.

Viewing the Quick Launch Toolbar

If you do not see any Quick Launch icons, place the cursor in an empty area of the Taskbar and right-click. On the menu presented, move your cursor over the word Toolbars and a menu list will pop up. If there is a checkmark next to "Quick Launch," then it is displayed, but empty of icons. If there is no checkmark, then the toolbar is not being displayed. Click on "Quick Launch" and the toolbar will be displayed.

Resizing the Quick Launch Toolbar

If you see two little arrows on the right side of the Quick Launch toolbar, this means the toolbar is not large enough to display all of its icons. If you place your cursor on the two tiny arrows and click, you will see the icons that could not be displayed. To resize the Quick Launch toolbar, find the two vertical dotted lines after the two tiny arrows. If you see these dotted lines, skip to the next paragraph. If you don't see them, the Taskbar is locked. To unlock it, place the cursor in an empty spot in the Taskbar, right-click, and click on “Lock the Taskbar” to remove the checkmark.

To increase the size of the toolbar, place the cursor on the vertical dotted lines until you see a double-sided arrow. Press and hold the mouse button (the arrow will change appearance) and drag the dotted lines to the right until all of the icons are displayed, and the two tiny arrows disappear.

Adding and Deleting Icons from the Quick Launch Toolbar

To remove an icon, click and drag the icon onto the desktop and release the mouse button. If you are asked to “Confirm File Replace,” click Yes. This deletes the shortcut, not the program.

To add an icon to the Quick Launch toolbar, the icon must first reside on the Desktop. Click on the shortcut, drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar, and release the mouse. You may release the icon in between other icons, or at the end of the toolbar. If you see a circle with a bar in it, you have not positioned the icon in a spot where it can be placed on the toolbar. Move the icon until the circle disappears, and then release.

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