Center for Instructional Design and Delivery

Recycle Bin
Introduction to Computer
Windows and its Components When you delete a file from your
computer's hard drive, it is removed to the
The main components of Windows when folder called Recycle Bin. Files deleted
you start your computer are the Desktop, from your hard drive are still available for
My Computer, Recycle Bin, Start Button, restoring if needed, unless you empty your
Taskbar, and shortcuts to applications. Recycle Bin.

After opening an application, you will also  To restore the files, open the
have a window with an active application Recycle Bin folder by double-
which will appear in your desktop and clicking the icon on your desktop,
taskbar. select the file and then select
Restore.
 Windows and its components Desktop
 Desktop  To clear the Recycle Bin, select
 Taskbar The Desktop is the very first screen you Empty Recycle Bin and the files
 Start Menu see after Windows starts. There you find will be permanently removed from
 Minimize/Maximize/Close Buttons the folders: My Documents, My Computer, your computer.
 My Computer the Recycle Bin and any Shortcuts for
 Click either the left button or the applications and files that you have Note that the recycle bin does not apply to
right button created. the contents of a floppy disk. If you delete
 Multitasking a file from a floppy disk, it is permanently
 Highlight deleted, and you cannot restore it.
 Copy/Cut and Paste text
 Save and/or Save As Minimize/Maximize/Close Buttons
My Computer
 Print Command
 New Folder In the top-right corner of your document
 Copy/Move files When you double-click on the My
Computer icon on the desktop, it will are the Minimize/Maximize/Close
 Drag and Drop buttons.
 File types with varying extensions open a window similar to the one shown
 Create shortcuts below, where you can navigate between
the computer's drives and Control Panel The first one when clicked minimize your
 Hard drive and floppy drive
tools. screen, sending it to the taskbar. The
 Rename/Delete
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on your keyboard to see all the open With right-clicking, you can operate
second one maximize your screen, filling applications; you will need to hold the different functions such as:
all desktop with the document you are ALT button and continue pressing TAB to
working with.The last button is used to go through each application until you come  Copy/cut or paste a text, file, or
close your document. to the one you want to use. folder.
 Rename or delete a file or folder.
It is best practice to work with your Shortcut
document window maximized. Multitasking
A shortcut creates a button or icon which
Start Menu typically stays on the desktop and when The term multitasking means to be
clicked, quickly allows you to start a running or working in two or more
By clicking the Start button, in the very program or open a file without having to applications at the same time. You can be
bottom-left corner of the screen, a vertical go to its permanent location on your more productive by multitasking. For
window will come up with the Start computer. To create a shortcut, open the instance, you can download files from the
Menu. Windows Explorer or go to the Start Internet while managing your files or word
menu, select the file or program you want processing.
The list of submenus in the pop-up window to create a shortcut for, place the cursor on
let you navigate and select the application the icon for the file, then right-click and In order to switch between the applications
you want to run. select Create Shortcut from the menu that you can use the Taskbar, clicking on the
pops up. The shortcut file will be created. icon of the application you want to have in
Taskbar After that, you drag the shortcut file to the the foreground.
desktop and whenever you click on it, it
The Taskbar is the row at the bottom of will open the application or document Highlight
the Windows screen where all currently related to the shortcut.
open applications or files are listed.The Put your cursor at the beginning of a word
taskbar is used to select a file or Right and Left Click or sentence you want to highlight, then
application that is already opened or to put click and drag your mouse to the end of the
an application in the foreground.To put an To use the mouse, usually you click the selection.
application in the foreground, just click on left button. However you can also right-
the icon of the application in the taskbar. click to display a hidden menu related to Copy/Cut and Paste Text
Another way to put an application in the the object you are in when clicking. This
foreground when more than one is in use is menu can vary depending on which
to hold the ALT button and then click TAB application you are using. Copy is used when you
 Center for Instructional Design and Delivery

want to have an area of 2. To paste you just insert your

text from a document cursor where you want, right- Save As is used when you want to save a
twice at the same click and select Paste. file with a different name to create backups
document or in another of a file in the creation process. In that
document. You first select way, you can have different versions of the
Copying or cutting and pasting a same document and can return to a
the area of the text by
text in Microsoft Word: previous stage.
highlighting it and then
press CTRL+C, or go to
1. Highlight the text you want to Go to File menu and select Save As or use
Edit menu and select
copy or cut, press CTRL+C (for the combination keys CTRL+SHIFT+S.
Copy.
copy) or CTRL+X (for paste).
Cut is used to delete an Print Command
area of text from a 2. Insert your cursor where you want
document. You first select to paste the text. To print a page go to the File menu and
the area of the text by select Print. A window will pop up with
highlighting it and then 3. Paste your text by pressing options for how many copies and which
press CTRL+X, or go to CTRL+V. The text will appear. pages you want to print. Other options are
Edit menu and select Cut. also available depending on the printer.
Paste is used to insert an Save and/or Save As
area of text or image in a
document by hitting Save is used when:
 It is the first time you are saving a New Folder
CTRL+V or in the Edit
menu selecting Paste. file.
 You want to keep saving a existing To create a New Folder, which means a
file in different moments that you new directory (a place where documents
Another way of using the copy, cut or are working on it. from the same subject are stored), go to the
paste commands is using the right-  It is the end of a working period. File menu, then New and select Folder
click button of your mouse. from the pop-up menu, either in My
1. After highlighting the text you Note that clicking Save will replace Computer or in Windows Explorer.
right-click and a menu will whatever file you were working on.
appear where you can select
To open Windows Explorer, click the
Copy or Cut. Go to File menu and select Save or use the Start button, select
combination keys CTRL+S.
 Center for Instructional Design and Delivery
Programs/Accessories/Windows Drag is when the mouse button is held Examples
Explorer. down while the mouse is moved. It is are: .txt, .doc, .exe, .html, .jpg, .gif, .wav.
mostly used to move files around in
Copy/Move Files Windows Explorer or in some other However, sometimes you will want to save
applications. Drop is the release of the a file with different extensions. In order to
To copy and move a file or folder, use button, after finishing dragging the mouse. do that, select Save As in the File menu.
Windows Explorer. The Save As box will open. Choose from
Here is an example of dragging and the drop-down menu next to Save As Type
To open the Explorer application, click the dropping a file from the hard drive to the the type you want to save. The extension of
Start button and select Programs and floppy drive in Windows Explorer: the type will be created for you by the
Windows Explorer (some computer have application.
Explorer under Programs/Accessories). 1. Select the file, hold down the left
mouse button and drag it in the Here is an example from Microsoft Word:
Copy or move a file using Menu direction of the floppy drive on the
command: left side.

1. Select the disk drive that contains Some file extensions:

the file by clicking twice on it.
2. Click on the folder where the file 2. After the floppy drive highlights  Graphic files: .bmp, .gif, .tif, .jpg
is located you can release the mouse button;  Word document: .doc
3. Select the file by clicking on it. the file will be dropped and copied  Program file: .exe
4. Go to Edit menu, select Copy (if there.  Webpages files: .htm, .html
you want to retain a copy of the  Unformatted text: .txt
file in the original place) or Cut (if File Extensions  Excel spreadsheet file: .xls
you want to move the file).  Compressed file: .zip
5. Navigate to the new location  Rich Formatted Text: .rtf
where you want to paste the file. A file extension is the three letters of a file  Sound file: .wav
6. Go to Edit menu, select Paste. name after the dot. It is created by the  Acrobat Reader file: .pdf
application when you save a file. It is the
The same procedure can be used if you way operation systems identify which
want to copy or move an entire folder. application to use to open a file. Windows
often doesn't list them when you are Hard Drive and Floppy Drive
Drag and Drop searching for a file, but they are there.
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In your computer there are different drives: 3. The file name will be highlighted
the hard drive, the floppy drive and the and blinking in the right corner
compact disk drive. waiting for you to type the new file
name.
The hard drive, also called the C: drive,
is used for storing all your applications and To Delete a file or folder:
files. The floppy drive, or A: drive, is
used when you insert a floppy disk to store 1. Navigate and select the file or
files that you want to transport or create a folder you want to delete.
back up. 2. Go to the File menu and select
Delete.
To select the hard drive or floppy drive for
file management you can go to either Another way of renaming or deleting a file
Windows Explorer in programs or to My or folder is using the right-click button of
Computer on the desktop. your mouse. After highlighting the file or
folder, you right-click and a menu will
In Windows Explorer select the hard or appear where you can select Rename or
floppy drive. Delete.

Rename/Delete a Folder or File

Using Windows Explorer you can rename

or delete a file or folder.

To Rename a file or folder:

1. Navigate and select the file or

folder you want to rename from
the proper drive (c:, a:).
2. Go to the File menu and select
Rename.