LESSON 2 - THE DESKTOP

Objective
Learn the elements of Windows 7 desktop Locate and understand the Start Menu Learn how the launch a program Understand Windows 7 file and folder hierarchy

Table of Contents
LESSON 2 - THE DESKTOP ........................................................................ 1 REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 2 The Start Menu ........................................................................................... 3 All Programs ............................................................................................... 3 The Windows Vista Desktop ...................................................................... 4 Windows Sidebar ........................................................................................ 4 Gadgets ....................................................................................................... 5 Icons ............................................................................................................ 5 Taskbar........................................................................................................ 6 Quick Launch Toolbar ............................................................................ 6 The Notification Area (System Tray) ......................................................... 6 Arrange Desktop Icons ............................................................................... 7 Computer..................................................................................................... 8 Folders, Files, and Drives ........................................................................... 8 What is the Personal Folder ...................................................................... 10 Customize the Start Menu......................................................................... 11 CUSTOMIZE THE TASKBAR ............................................................... 12 UNLOCK TASKBAR .......................................................................... 12 MOVING THE TASKBAR ................................................................. 12 TASKBAR and START MENU PROPERTIES ...................................... 13 INCREASE TASKBAR ICON SIZE ....... Error! Bookmark not defined. Customize the Start Menu......................................................................... 13 Customize the Start Menu..................................................................... 14 Customize the Toolbar. Click on the Toolbar tab. .............................. 15 Make Desktop Icon Larger ....................................................................... 15 Pin Program to the Start Menu ................................................................. 15 WORDPAD .............................................................................................. 16 Help Function ....................................................................................... 16 EXERCISE Text Editting (WordPad) ................................................... 18 You can change or modify text after entering it. .................................. 18 Simple Formatting ................................................................................ 19 To delete text, do one of the following: ................................................ 19 Save and Save As .................................................................................. 19 Homework................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 1 Review Questions .................................................................... 20 Chapter 2 Review Questions ................................................................. 22

Windows 7 Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.1

6/27/2010

REVIEW The Start menu is the main gateway to your computer's programs, folders, and settings. It's called a menu because it provides a list of choices, just as a restaurant menu does. And as "Start" implies, it's often the place that you'll go to start or open things. One of the most common uses of the Start menu is opening programs installed on your computer. To open a program shown in the left pane of the Start menu, click it. The program opens and the Start menu closes. If you don't see the program you want to open, click All Programs at the bottom of the left pane. Programs Folders and Tools Personal Folders

Pinned Programs added by the user.

Vista Virtual Folders

Recent Program s Common Tools

Windows 7 New Start Menu

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.2

6/27/2010

The Start Menu To access the Start Menu, click on the new Vista Start Button. The Start Menu is the starting point for launching almost every program on your computer. It is also the starting point for all file and folders on your computer. The Start Menu is the first place will to access all programs and files on the computer. The Windows Vista has a two-columned Start Menu. The first column represents all program and the second are places. Everything on the Start Menu is customizable, so if you want to change the icons or the way it looks, it's possible. On the left hand side, you see icons for the Internet and E-mail (you can change these to your browser or favorite email program), and a list of the most recently used applications, then the "All Programs" menu, which used to be your Programs menu. On the right hand side are the top level folders. Folder contains all of the files you create. Each file type are organized into different folder for Document, Must, Picture and Video. You also have commonly use tool such as Control Panel. All Programs Icons on the left side of the Start menu represent only a few of the programs on your computer. To see icons for all the programs on your computer, you need to click on (you guessed it), All Programs. When you point to (or click on) All Programs, a much larger menu opens, giving you access to all your programs. Some of the items on the Start menu actually represent groups of programs which are stored in folder. To expand the folder to show all of the program, click on it.

Microsoft Office program folder

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.3

6/27/2010

The Windows Vista Desktop The Desktop is the whole area of the screen on your computer monitor. The new Windows Vista Desktop for the most part is not that different in appearance from previous version on windows. You will notice the new side bar gadget in the right side of the screen. This is a new feature in Vista. The Start Button is the round windows logo on the bottom left of the screen.

Some of the new feature in Vista is that the System Tray hides unused icons, and windows will "stack" similar windows when you start filling up the Taskbar. The background on the desktop is known as the wallpaper. Everything on the desktop including the wallpaper can be changed. Vista Sidebar Gone Windows Vista Sidebar is a pane on the side of the Microsoft Windows Vista desktop where you can keep your gadgets organized and always available. In Windows 7, gadgets do not have to be docked on the Windows Sidebar. They are free floating and can be placed anywhere on the desktop

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.4

6/27/2010

Gadgets

Gadgets are mini applications with a variety of possible uses. They can connect to web services to deliver business data, weather information, news updates, traffic maps, Internet radio streams, and even slide shows of online photo albums. Gadgets can also integrate with other programs to provide streamlined interaction. For example, a gadget can give you an at-a-glance view of all your online instant messaging contacts, the day view from your calendar, or an easy way to control your media player. Gadgets can also have any number of dedicated purposes. They can be calculators, games, sticky notes, and more.

Icons An Icon represents a program, folder, file or resource like the hard drive. When you install a new program a new icon is created. Icons can also be created by the user as a Shortcut to programs, folders or files. You can customize your desktop by added, deleted and moving the icons. They do not have to be is the same place.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.5

6/27/2010

Taskbar The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. Unlike the desktop, which can get obscured by the windows on top of it, the taskbar is visible almost all the time. Beside the Start Menu, the main function of the taskbar is to show all active applications running on your system. It can be used to launch and monitor all of applications. This concept was first introduced on Windows 95.

When you have lots of program windows open, they pile up on your Windows desktop, just like sheets of paper can pile up on your real desktop. You can use the taskbar to sort of "shuffle things around", so you're in control of what is, and isn't visible at the moment. Here are some things you can do with the taskbar along those lines. Quick Launch Toolbar A separate Quick Launch Toolbar is removed in Windows 7. This allows you can quickly access program using a single click. If you notice you can still do this, but is has merged into a single icon for both task and quick launch. When an application is Minimize, you can mouse over the task/quick launch icon to view it as a Live Preview.

The Notification Area (System Tray) The Notification Area is in the lower right corner of your Windows desktop. It gets its name from the fact that sometimes, when Windows has a suggestion or message for you, the text appears down in this area.
Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc 2.6 6/27/2010

The Notification area also holds icons for processes that are running in the background. In a nutshell, these are programs that don't have a big program window on the screen, or a taskbar button. Rather, they just do their jobs "behind the scenes" without disturbing. For example, a program that scans all your incoming e-mail for viruses might show its icon in the Notification. It keeps an eye out for viruses, but does its work behind-the-scenes. It won't disturb you unless a situation comes up that requires your attention. The system tray is loaded by SysTray.exe, and may load the following icons: Battery meter PC card status Volume control Anti-Virus Windows Update Task Scheduler

Arrange Desktop Icons You can click and drag the icons to any place on the screen. Or, you can use the Auto Arrange feature by right-click on the desktop and select View, the click Auto Arrange. All icons will automatically arrange in a grid formation on the left side of the desktop.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.7

6/27/2010

Computer Any time you open the Computer icon, the Window Explorer appear to represent all of the storage devices on your system. Storage devises on your system is shown as a Icon. Each device is assign a drive letter (C:, D:, E:),

Windows Explorer is the program that allow you to access removable storage such as CDs, DVDs, Flash Drive, SD Memory Card, etc. In the folder pane on the left side on the screen, we can see the file structure of the storage devices and is relationship to other folder. This structure looks like a like a family tree. On most computers (C:) is your primary storage for all of the programs and files on your system. In this example, we have a second hard drive (D:), which is used as a recovery area and DVD-ROM drive (E:). Folders, Files, and Drives All the information that's "in your computer" is actually stored on your computer's hard disk (often referred to as drive C:). In a sense, your hard disk is like a filing cabinet. And like a filing cabinet, the information on your hard disk is organized into files and folders. Figure 1 shows the simple analogy.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.8

6/27/2010

To open a folder or file, you typically doubleclick its icon. When you open a document, some program that's capable of displaying (or "playing") that document opens, and displays the document. For example, when you open a song (music) or a movie (video), Windows Media Player or some other program will open to play the document. When you open a folder, a program named Windows Explorer opens and shows you the contents of that folder. I'll talk more about Windows Explorer in the next mini-tutorial, for those of you who are interested. For now, the main thing to focus on its to understands the difference between folders and files. To recap: A folder is a "container" in which you can store documents, like a manila file folder in a filing cabinet. The icon for a folder will usually resemble a manila file folder in some way. A file (or document) is like a paper document, something you store inside a manila file folder (though on a computer is can be a picture, song, or video as well as typed text).

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.9

6/27/2010

Bob
What is the Personal Folder In Windows VISTA , My Document is the root folder for all of your newly created files under your User Account. This has changed in Vista. The My Document folder is now called your Personal Folder. The name of your Personal Folder is your logon name. We you installed Vista you are ask to input the account logon name of the person using the computer. It could be Bob, Steve or Kojo. You will now have a Personal Folder with the same name. Every user that logins has their own Personal folder. Under this folder you have default sub-folders for Document, Picture,Music and Video. These are default folders for type files. You can create any number of folders structure to like to store your documents, pictures and videos.

Bob
Contacts Document Downloads Favorites Music Pictures Video
Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc 2.10 6/27/2010

Customize the Start Menu Pin a program to the Start Menu will add a program entry on the Start Menu without have to open All programs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Start Menu. Click on All programs. Locate the program you wish the pin. Right click on the program Click Pin to Start Menu from the list box.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.11

6/27/2010

Task Bar CUSTOMIZE THE TASKBAR UNLOCK TASKBAR You must first uinlock the taskbar in order to resize or move it. Right-click in the task bar area. Click on Lock the taskbar. MOVING THE TASKBAR The taskbar can be moved to any one of the four edges on the screen. Position the mouse over a blank area of the taskbar and drag to the location of your choice. You must be very careful that the pointer arrow is showing when dragging the taskbar. If you drag with the double-headed arrow, you may end up in great trouble. SIZING THE TASKBAR You may also size the taskbar by using the double-headed arrow. Do this only after you can move the taskbar with ease. Place the double-headed arrow on the outer edge of the taskbar and drag away from the edge of the screen until you get the size you want. Then, release the button

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.12

6/27/2010

TASKBAR and START MENU PROPERTIES Right click on a blank area of the Taskbar and a menu will appear. Click on properties and a window like the one below will appear. The items that are checked are the features that are currently being used. If you wish to turn off a feature, click on the check mark and the check will go away. Click on the Apply button to apply the change and then click on OK. If you wish to turn on features that are not currently being used, click on the box in front of the feature you want and a check mark will appear in the box. Again, you must click on the Apply button to apply any changes you have made and then click on OK. If you are having a lot of trouble getting used to the Windows 7 Start menu, you can change it by using the Start Menu tab on the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window and clicking in the circle in front of Classic Start menu. Again, you must Apply and then OK if you change the Start Menu. Change the action of the power button:

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.13

6/27/2010

Customize the Start Menu Control Panel>Taskbar and Start Menu Or Right-Click on the taskbar and click on Properties.

Customize the Start Menu Click on Customize

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.14

6/27/2010

Click on Printers and Run command. These two items will be added to the Start Menu under common tools.

Customize the Toolbar. Click on the Toolbar tab.

You can change the number of most recently used icons on your Start Menu. Make Desktop Icon Larger 1. Right-click on any open area on the desktop 2. Select View and mouse over to Large Icons and click. Pin Program to the Start Menu 1. Click on the Start Menu. 2. Click on All Programs
Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc 2.15 6/27/2010

3. Locate program and right-click 4. Select Pin to Start Menu. WORDPAD WordPad is a scaled down version of Microsoft Word with less robust features. We will use this program to introduce you to one of many Windows Applications. To fully understand Windows, you must be able to create, edit, print and save file on your computer.

Help Function It is impossible to learn and remember everything that can be done in a program. In the beginning you will not be able to understand all the information that the Help function shows. As you keep trying, you will find that this is one of the most useful of all the tools. Each program has its own Help. The Help for the main program, which in this case is located in the Start Menu. Path: Start > Help. Help for the smaller program - such as WordPad - is usually located at the end of the Menu Bar after you have opened the program. In WordPad click on Help to see something similar to the illustration below. There are tabs in the dialog box. Explore. Click on the "tabs." See what they have to offer. Find a tab that has a box in which you can type your question. Do not enter a whole question. Usually a keyword is all you need. Press Enter. Double click on your selection. If you do not get your answer, try another word. Dont give up after one try. This is where you can find information on almost everything the program, WordPad, has to offer.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.16

6/27/2010

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.17

6/27/2010

EXERCISE Text Editting (WordPad) Type a letter similar to the one below and save it to your Student CD - be sure to enter the date by using "Insert" on the menu bar. The "tab" is set by default at 1/2 inch, but can be changed by going to menu bar > format > tabs

In the new blank screen, where the text cursor (small vertical line) is blinking, type your document. In the new blank screen, where the text cursor (small vertical line) is blinking, type your document. You can change or modify text after entering it. To insert new text, simply place the text cursor at the location where you want to insert the text (click once with the left mouse button). Text you enter from your computer keyboard will now be inserted in the location you have chosen.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.18

6/27/2010

Simple Formatting Most other text modification operations will require that you first select the text to be modified. To select a single word, double-click on it. The word will be selected (it will be highlighted in dark blue). To delete text, do one of the following: Select some text and then press the Delete key on your keyboard. Press the Delete or Backspace keys without selecting text. One character will be deleted at a time. Save and Save As Once you have saved your new document, clicking on that same button no longer gives you these choices. WordPad assumes you simply want to update the originally saved copy by overwriting it with this new version of the same file. If, however, you do want to either put a copy of this same file in a new location, create a new copy with a new name, or change the file type, you must go to the File menu and choose Save As. Remember that Windows will not allow you to have two files with the exact same name in the same folder, so when you save a file to a location where that file already exists, Windows will replace the existing file with your new one. So, if you do not want to overwrite the existing file, but rather want to create copy with a different name, put this file in a different location, or change the file type, you must use the Save As option. When you choose Save As, a dialog box, to select the location where you want to save your new copy. You can also change the name of your new copy by using the File name input box and then either save it in a new location or in the same location as the original (because this new copy now has a different name). Furthermore, you can change the file type by selecting a new type from the dropdown box at the bottom of the Save As dialog that's labeled Save as type. Homework 1. 2. 3. 4. Practice customizing your own desktop and icons. Open and examine your personal folder (logon name) Open and examine Computer. Open Exercise Files on the Student CD. Practice WordPad Ex #5 - #8
Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc 2.19 6/27/2010

Chapter 1 Review Questions

2) Which of these is Hardware? a. b. c. d. e. f. CPU Keyboard Mouse CD ROM Windows Vista Microsoft Word

3) Which of these is Software? a. CPU b. Keyboard c. Mouse d. Microsoft Windows e. Nortons Anti-Virus f. Computer Virus 4) Which of these affect the speed of the computer? a. b. c. d. e. Larger hard drive Increase the RAM Size of the System Unit Speed of the CPU Wireless Keyboard

5) What happened to RAM memory when the computer is turn off? a. b. c. d. It saves your files. Your files are deleted. It is volatile. Much faster that the hard drive.

6) How many bits are in a byte? (1 character of information) a. 1 b. 8

c. 16 7) All data and programs are stored permanently on your: a. b. c. d. e. RAM ROM Hard Drive Flash Drive Personal Folder

8) Which of the following are input device? a. b. c. d. e. f. Mouse Printer Speaker Keyboard Monitor. WebCam

9) On a right-handed mouse, the primary button is the: a. b. c. d. 10) a. b. c. d. Right Button Middle Button Left Button Scroll Button The right-click ? Is like the left-click Is used rarely Display a Context sensitive menu Command button.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.21

6/27/2010

Chapter 2 Review Questions

2) Where do I click to access the CD drive? a. b. c. d. Start Menu, Computer Computer icon Windows Explorer All of the above

3) What is an I-beam? a. Use in construction b. Mouse pointer over text editing area. c. The cursor 4) What is an Insertion Point? a. b. c. d. e. The cursor The point insert point It flashes Can be moved using the mouse All of the above

5) How do I make a window active? a. Click on the background windows. b. Click on the desktop c. Click on the taskbar 6) What button returns a maximized window to its original size? a. b. c. d. Click Click Click Click on X. on the desktop on the taskbar the Restore button

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.22

6/27/2010

7) Every Windows has 4 bars. What are they? a. b. c. d. Title, menu, tools and status bar. Title, tool, icon and status bar. Title, file, tools and status bar. Program, menu, tools and status bar.

8) When to Save As or Save? a. You never saved the file before. b. To give is a new filename. c. To save it to a new folder or different drive. d. To save a second version with a different name. e. All of the above. f. 9) All files are save in your? a. b. c. d. 10) a. b. c. d. e. 11) a. b. c. d. You Document folder My Document folder C drive. Personal folder. What type of program run in the notification area? Anti Virus programs. Network connection status. Volume control. Program, menu, tools and status bar. Battery meter. Every Windows has 4 bars. What are they? Title, menu, tools and status bar. Title, tool, icon and status bar. Title, file, tools and status bar. Program, menu, tools and status bar.

Lesson 2 - The Desktop.doc

2.23

6/27/2010