AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The aims and objectives of this course include the following:

1. To understand fundamentally the general scope of the computer system

2. To interact effectively with the computer

3. To know the uses of the basic components of the computer

4. To manage the system to some extent before involving an expert

5. To know some basic things about the computer and the world

INTRODUCTION
Computer as a revolution left no area of life untouched in the present world. It
is of tremendous help in all field of life. Hence, the knowledge of computer is a
necessity for existence of everybody in this global village. The invention of computer
has transformed our simple manual works to sophisticated life of automated works to
meet the global demand for the higher productivity and increased efficiency with high
precision.

Computer is increasingly becoming compulsory in nearly all fields of studies,

not because of anything but its accuracy and versatility in processing data. Many
tasks at home or office are being automated rapidly with computer. Thus, it is
becoming apparent that in whatever discipline or working sector, the computer is now
a very vital tool for efficiency improvement and precision of job or task execution.

This is designed to meet the prerequisite need of everybody that are interested
and wish to know about computers science and computing in general.

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions

stored in its own memory. These instructions tell the machine what to do. The
computer is capable of accepting data (input), processing data arithmetically and
logically, producing output from the processing, and storing the results for future use.
Most computers that sit on a desktop are called Personal Computers (PCs).

The "computer" is an ensemble of different machines that you will be using to

get your job done. A computer is primarily made of the Central Processing Unit
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(usually referred to as the computer), the monitor, the keyboard, and the mouse. Other
pieces of hardware are commonly referred to as peripherals.

In everyday life activities, we process data or encounter cases of data

processing. A typical example of data processing is the generation of statement of
student result from the marks score in an examination and continuous assessment. It
is essential to know that information is as good as the data from which it is derived,
and the transformation process which they are subjected to. Meaningless data or
inappropriate processing produces wrong information. Thus, computer gives you
results corresponding to what data you supply and how you process it (i.e. gabbage-
in, gabbage-out).

Summarily, the intelligent performance of a computer depends on correctness of

input data and the intelligence performance of the human being that drives it.
USES OF COMPUTERS
People use computers in many ways; business, computers are used to track
inventories with bar codes and scanners, check the credit status of customers, and
transfer funds electronically, homes, tiny computers embedded in the electronic
circuitry of most appliances control the indoor temperature, operate home security
systems, tell the time, and turn video cassette recorders (VCRs) on and off,
automobiles regulate the flow of fuel, thereby increasing gas mileage, they also
entertain, creating digitized sound on stereo systems or computer-animated features
from a digitally encoded laser disc.

Computer programs, or applications, exist to aid every level of education, from

programs that teach simple addition or sentence construction to programs that teach
advanced calculus. Educators use computers to track grades and communicate with
students; with computer-controlled projection units, they can add graphics, sound, and
animation to their communications. Computers are used extensively in scientific
research to solve mathematical problems, investigate complicated data, or model
systems that are too costly or impractical to build, such as testing the air flow around
the next generation of aircraft. The military employs computers in sophisticated

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communications to encode and unscramble messages, and to keep track of personnel
and supplies.

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS
The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the
different generations of computing devices. Each generation of computer is
characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally changed the
way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful,
efficient and reliable devices.

First Generation - 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive
to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat,
which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on
machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on
printouts. The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation
computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a
business client. It was used in the 1951U.S. Bureau Census.

Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of
computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in
computers until the late 50s. The transistor was a vast improvement over the vacuum
tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy efficient
and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Second-generation
computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Second-
generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or
assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as
early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that
stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to
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magnetic core technology. The first computers of this generation were developed for
the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation - 1964-1971: Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third
generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips,
called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers. Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third
generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an
operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one
time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time
became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than
their predecessors.

Fourth Generation - 1971-Present: Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of
integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation
filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. In 1981 IBM introduced
its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh.
Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many
areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As
these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation
computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE

Hardware is the term given to the physical components of a computer: e.g.
keyboard, monitor, system box or floppy disk drive. Software, on the other hand, is
electronic information: files, operating system, graphics, computer programs are all
example of software. The difference between hardware and software reflects the
duality between the physical and mental worlds: for example, your brain is hardware,
whereas your mind is software.

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 Software is the stuff that makes your computer do things for you. The computer
without software would be like a home entertainment system with no tapes, CD s, or
movies - you have the machine, but there’s nothing to play on it. Software is
continually developed. Each time the software maker (Microsoft, Adobe, Corel, etc)
develops a new version of their software they assign it a version number. Before
Microsoft Word 7, there was Microsoft Word 6.0.1, and before that Word 6.0. The
larger the developments made to the software, the larger the version number changes.
Usually a large change will result in a whole number upgrade; a small change may
result in a tenth of a decimal place. Hardware are those components or physical
pieces (things you can touch) that make up the computer. The different pieces of the
computer s hardware are monitor, speakers, mouse, CDROM, floppy drive, hard
drive, keyboard, CPU, RAM, Processor, etc. Each piece plays a role in the operation
of a computer.

DIFFERENT PARTS OF A COMPUTER AND THEIR USES

The standard computer consists of a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and the

system unit. One can attach accessories such as printers and scanners by means of
ports. Increasingly in the workplace, computers are connected to printers and other
computers by means of a network.

Figure 1: Computer System Hardware

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The Monitor
This is the Visual Display Unit (VDU). There are various
technologies for the display unit, cathode ray tube (CRT) or Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD) or electro luminescent screens or the
projector. The monitor or screen displays your work. Facing it down reduces reflected
glare from room lights. This reflection may affect your sight. Monitors come in
different sizes. The (most important) size of the monitor is measured diagonally on
the screen (in inches). Based on this, the monitors range in sizes of 12", 14", 15", 17",
19", 21", 29", etc. Monitors are also characterized by the flatness of their screen. The
flatter and the wider screens are usually the better.
The System Box or Computer Console

The system box is where all the computations that the computer
performs take place. Inside are the CPU processor, the
motherboard, the hard disk, any network or sound cards, memory
chips (RAM), printer ports (at the back) and the drive bays for floppy disks, Zip disks
or CDs. Outside the casings are the power buttons (ON/OFF and Restart) with some
additional facilities like the casing USB ports, Webcams, etc.

The keyboard (Pressing)

This is the basic input device. It is one of the ways you can tell
the computer what to do. It consists of the standard typewriter
keys as well as a numeric keypad and function keys. You can use
it to give the computer commands, name folders and files, and type text in word
processing documents. The keyboard is made of three main categories of keys with

each used for a different purpose.

i. Character Keys: These comprise of letters, numbers and the symbols. They are
used to insert/display readable characters on the screen which is equivalent to the
keystroke pressed. Letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

Numbers0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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Symbols
Accent Dash/Minus - Equal = Opening Square [ Closing Square ]
`
Bracket Bracket
Backslash Semi-Colon ; Single-Quote ' Pipe | Greater than >
\
Less than < Comma , Period . Forward Slash / Question mark ?
Tilde ~ Exclamation Mark ! At @ Pound # Dollar $
Dollar $ Percent % Caret ^ Ampersand & Asterisk *
Asterisk * Opening ( Closing ) Underscore _ Plus +
Parenthesis Parenthesis
Opening { Closing Curly } Colon :
Curly Bracket
Bracket

ii. Action Keys: These are not used to type anything, instead they cause an action.
Escape, Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, Control, Alt, Backspace, Enter, Windows, Win Menu,
Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause Break, Number Lock, Insert, Home, Page Up,
Delete, End, Page Down, Power, Sleep, Wake up, Up Arrow, Left Arrow, Right
Arrow, Down Arrow, and Space Bar.
iii. Application-Dependant Keys: These are called function keys. They are F1,
F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, and F12. Although the F1 key is usually
used to get help while working in Microsoft Windows, the use of the other keys
varies from one application to another. Eventually, the application you use will give
you instructions on what to do and how to use the function keys. Key Combinations.

Some keys can be combined to produce uppercase letters or to access the upper
symbols of some keys (i.e. the Shift and Control keys). Keys are also combined for
many other reasons. In some situations, you have to press keys simultaneously, which
means that you may be expected to press two or more keys at the same time, or
almost at the same time. In some other situations, you may have to press and release
one key, followed by another.

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Shortcuts

A shortcut is a quick action you ask a program to perform when you press one
particular key or a combination of keys. Some shortcuts are universal or almost, that
is, the computer responds regardless of what application is running. Some other
shortcuts depend on what you have on your screen. Some shortcuts are already known
to the computer (as part of the operating system). Most other shortcuts are set by the
programmer of the particular application you are using. Yet some applications allow
you to create your own shortcuts. Some shortcuts are readily obvious and can be seen
from the main menu of the application. Some other shortcuts are either part of
Microsoft Windows (and can be applied in your program) or are not easily displayed,
you might have to search the Help documentation of the program you are using.

The Mouse (Clicking and Dragging)

This is another input device used to move a small white arrow pointer-the
Cursor (but the shape will change depending on the context in which the
mouse is being used) on the screen. By pointing and clicking you can
carry out commands. The computer may ask you to verify that you are sure to rename
a file, by clicking on the Ok button. A mouse is primarily made of three parts: the
buttons, the handling area, and the sensor (rolling object or light). There are either
one, two or three mousebuttons. By default, a mouse has two buttons: left and right.
Most mice nowadays are also equipped with a wheel on top of the middle button
called the Scroll Button.
To use the mouse, the first decision you make is to know which of your two
hands you will be using to handle the mouse. By default, the mouse is configured to
work for the right hand. If you are left-handed, the settings can be changed to suit
your needs: Start  Control Panel  Double-click Mouse  on the Buttons Tab,
Check the Switch Primary and Secondary Buttons check box.

You can also change the cursor from the default Up-Left Pointing to another
but you should know that this is best determined by the computer as this varies from
program to program. To change, click the Pointer s Tab. Also click the other tabs to
review the different properties.

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Note:The expression "by default" means "if everything is not (yet) changed from the
original or normal settings".

Figure 2: Mouse Properties Dialog Box

The tip of the mouse pointer must be positioned on the item you want to use
(Pointing). To select an item, point to the item and click once (Selection Left
Clicking). Double-clicking (left button) on an icon invokes a command or launches
an application. Dragging an item (icon or other object) from one location to another,
position the mouse pointer on the item, click and hold the mouse buttons (left, right)
down, and move the item to the new location. Right Clicking (right button) invokes a
shortcut (contextual) menu that contains all the actions that are related to the item.
Some applications, namely programs used to manipulate text (they are called word
processors), allow you to triple-click. `
On Windows machines, there is a left and right mouse button. Most time you
use the left mouse button (if you are right-handed). On some newer Macs, the same
feature can be used with their single mouse button by holding down the Control key
as you click an item on the screen.

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The Peripherals
All the parts we have reviewed so far are usually required for the
computer to function. Some other parts, not required, can also be connected to the
computer to complement it. A peripheral is an object attached to the computer to
help it perform some necessary assignments none of the other parts can handle. In
most scenarios, no peripheral is required but nowadays, it is unusual for a computer
not to have any peripheral at all.
The most used peripherals are the printer, a digital camera, a scanner, a projector, an
external drive (such as an external CD burner for an old computer), etc.
Disk Size Conversion Chart (Bits, Bytes, Kilobytes, Megabytes and Gigabytes)

Bit- Binary digit:-a single elements in the computer memory that can store either 1 or
0
Word 1Byte, 2Byte or 4Byte depending on the machine. Generally computer word
length is giving in bits; hence we have 8bit, 18bit or 32bit microprocessor computer.
Table 1: Computer Storage Devices Unit Conversion
Unit Equivalent to
1Byte 8 Bits
1kilobyte (kB) 1,024Byte
1MB 1,024KB =
1,024,000Byte
1GB 1,024MB =
1,024,000,000Byte

TYPES OF COMPUTERS
Analog computer
These systems were the first type to be produced. It is an electronic machine
capable of performing arithmetic functions on numbers which are represented by
some physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, voltage, etc. Analog refers to
circuits or numerical values that have a continuous range. Popular analog computer
used in the 20th century was the slide rule.

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Digital Computers
Virtually all modern computers are digital. Digital refers to the processes in
computers that manipulate binary numbers (0s or 1s), which represent switches that
are turned on or off by electrical current. A bit can have the value 0 or the value 1, but
nothing in between 0 and 1. A desk lamp can serve as an example of the difference
between analog and digital. If the lamp has a simple on/off switch, then the lamp
system is digital, because the lamp either produces light at a given moment or it does
not. If a dimmer replaces the on/off switch, then the lamp is digital, because the
amount of light can vary continuously from on to off and all intensities in between.
Digital computers are more common in use and it will be our focus of discussion.

Hybrid Computer
This is when a computer make is of both analog and digital components and
techniques. Such computer require analog to digital and digital to analog converter
which will make analog and digital data palatable to it. The basic classification
nowadays uses the following.

1.The Desktop
A computer is referred to as "desktop" when it is relatively small
enough to be positioned on top of a table where a person is working.
Such a computer can also be placed on the floor or somewhere under,
or aside of, the table, in which case the monitor would be placed on top of the table.
This is the most common type of computers used in the office or at home. A desktop
computer is made of different parts that are connected with cables.
2. The Laptop
A computer is called laptop when it combines the CPU, the monitor, the
keyboard, and the mouse in one unit to be so small that you can carry it
on your laps when traveling or commuting. A laptop is also called a
notebook. Other parts, such as an external mouse, an external keyboard, or peripherals
such as a printer or a projector, can be connected to the laptop. A laptop is only
physically smaller than a desktop but, everything considered, it can do anything that a
desktop can do.
3. The Server
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 A server is a computer that holds
information that other computers, called
workstations, can retrieve. Such
workstations are connected to the server
using various means. This means that they could be connected using cable, wireless
connection, etc. Only computers that maintain a type of connection with the server
can get the information that is stored in the server.

Normally, although not particularly recommended, any computer, including a desktop

or even a laptop can be used as a server, as long as it can do the job required. A server
is more defined by the program (called an operating system) that is installed in it, not
how the machine looks.

Any type of computer, including a desktop, a laptop, a CD or DVD machine, etc can
be connected to a server. The person who sets up a server also defines the types of
connections it is made for.

4.The Mainframe

A mainframe is a computer, usually physically big, that does almost all

the jobs for other types of computers that are connected to it. This is a
broad definition but other aspects are involved. Like a server, the program (operating
system) that runs in the mainframe defines its role.

ANATOMY OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

A typical computer system irrespective of its size, class or type consists of hardware
and software, integrated and harmonized together to perform computational work
(scientific or military) or data processing.
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Hardware system: Computer hardware consists of the components that can be
physically handled. It refers to the physical units or machine of functional units,
which makes up the computer configuration which is done to suit the goals and
objectives of the user. The function of these components is typically divided into
three main categories: input, output, and storage. Components in these categories

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 connect to microprocessors, specifically, the computer s central processing unit
(CPU), the electronic circuitry that provides the computational ability and control of
the computer, via wires or circuitry called a bus. Hardware may be classified into
Central Processing Units (CPU) and the peripherals. The CPU entails Control Unit
(CU), Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and the Internal Memory Unit (IMU) or
main memory. The peripherals consist of the input, output and Auxiliary Storage
Units.
Strictly speaking, computer is made up of five district elements to include:
1. A central processing unit (ALU and CU)
2. Input unit
3. Output unit
4. Storage unit (Internal and Auxiliary)
5. The communication network; Bus that links all the elements of the system, and
connects them together.
6. External world. (Cables and Cords)

MOTHERBOARD
The motherboard is a printed circuit board that connects other components
through the use of traces, or electrical pathways. The motherboard is indispensable to
the computer and provides the main computing capability. Personal computers
normally have one central processing unit (CPU) on the motherboard.
THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
This is the main brain of the computer that accepts data, performs operations on
the data and sends out the result.Information from an input device or from the
computer s memory is communicated via the bus to the
Central Processing Unit (CPU), which is the part of the computer that translates
commands and runs programs.
It consists of ALU and CU, and a single chip or series of chips that performs
arithmetic and logical calculations and controls the operations of the other elements
of the system.
Most CPU chips are composed of four functional sections:
1. ALU: Calculating ability either arithmetical or logical operations.
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2. Registers: Temporary storage areas that hold data, keep tracks of instruction, and
hold the location and results of these operations.
3. Control Section: Times and regulates the operation of the entire computer system, by
using its instruction decoder to read patterns of data in a designated register and
translate the patterns into activities, such as addition or comparison. It also uses its
interrupt input to indicate the order in which individual operations uses the CPU and
regulates the amount of CPU time allotted to each operation.
4. Internal Bus: Network of communication lines that connects the internal elements of
the processor and also leads to external connectors that links the processor to the
other element of the computer.
The main functions of the microprocessor (CPU clips) includes the following.
a. Control use of the main storage in storing data and instructions (i.e the ROM).
b. Control the sequence of operations.
c. Give commands to all parts of the computer system.
d. Carry out processing.

INPUT DEVICES
Input unit consists of external devices that is, components outside the computer
s CPU. It provides or fetches information and instructions to the computer. These
include keyboard, mouse (mechanical/ optomechanical/ opticals), light pen, joystick,
scanner, microphones (voice recognition modules), Optical Character Reader (OCR),
Magnetic Ink Character Reader Recognition (MICR), bar code reader, badge reader,
digitizer, touch screen and optical mark reader (OMR).
A. Light pen: This is a stylus with a light sensitive tip that is used to draw directly on a
computer s video screen or to select information on the screen by pressing a clip in
the light pen or by pressing the light pen against the surface of the screen. The pen
contains light sensors that identify which portion of the screen it is passed over. It is
mostly used with Laptop.
B. Mouse: This is a pointing device designed to be gripped by one hand. It has a
detection device (usually a ball) on the bottom that enables the user to control the
motion of an on-screen pointer, or cursor, by moving the mouse on a flat surface. As

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 the device moves across the surface, the cursor moves across the screen. To select
items or choose commands on the screen, the user presses a button on the mouse.
C. Joystick is a pointing device composed of a lever that moves in multiple directions to
navigate a cursor or other graphical object on a computer screen.
D. Keyboard: Keyboard is typewriter-like devices that allows the user to type in text,
numeric and execute commands with the aid of the functional keys on the keyboard.
E. Optical Scanner: This is light-sensing equipment that converts images such as a
picture or text into electronic signals that can be manipulated by a computer. For
example, a photograph can be scanned into a computer and then included in a text
document created on that computer. The two most common scanner types are the
flatbed scanner, which is similar to an office photocopier, and the handheld scanner,
which is passed manually across the image to be processed.
F. Microphone: This is a device for converting sound into signals that can then be
stored, manipulated, and played back by the computer. A voice recognition module
is a device that converts spoken words into information that the computer can
recognize and process.

G. Modem: It stands for modulator-demodulator, is a device that connects a computer to

a telephone line or cable television network and allows information to be transmitted
to or received from another computer. Each computer that sends or receives
information must be connected to a modem.

OUTPUT DEVICES
Output devices consists of hardware that transfer information from the
computers CPU to the computer user. This includes the monitor, Printer, plotters, or
speaker.
Video Graphic Adapter: This is a device that converts information generated by the
computer into visual information called Monitor. It looks similar to a television set.
Information from the CPU is displayed on the screen of the monitor.

Printers: Information and graphics processed or produced with the aid of computer
are printed out as hardcopy with the aid of printer. There are different types of
printers; Dot-matrix printers, Laser printers, Inkjet, etc.

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Plotters: Computer output to microfilm or fiche (COM) which process information
on rolls of film (drum plotter) or slide of film (flatbed plotter).

STORAGE DEVICES
Storage devices provide permanent storage of information and programs for
retrieval by the computer. The two main types of storage devices are disk drives and
memory. There are several types of disk drives: hard disk drive, floppy disk,
magneto-optical, and compact disk.

Hard diskdrives store information in magnetic particles embedded in a disk.

Usually a permanent part of the computer, hard disk drives can store large amounts
of information and retrieve that information very quickly. The disks are of different
sizes such as 1G, 10G, 40G, etc.

Floppy disk drives also store information in magnetic particles embedded in

removable disks. Floppy disks store less information than a hard disk drive and
retrieve the information at a much slower rate. It is of 2 type 51/4 floppy disk and
31/2 floppy disk.

Magneto-optical disc drives store information on removable discs that are

sensitive to both laser light and magnetic fields. They can typically store as much
information as hard disks, but they have slightly slower retrieval speeds.

Compact Disc Drives store information on pits burned into the surface of a disc of
reflective material such as CD-ROM. CD-ROMs can store about as much information
as a hard drive but have a slower rate of information retrieval.

Digital Video Disc (DVD): This is similar and works like a CD-ROM but can store
more than 15times as much information.

Flashdrives work as floppy disks but more sensitive as a hard disk that must be
ejected logical before final removal from the computer system. It has more memory
than floppy disks.

Memory Cards work as flash drive but with an additional device called the card
reader. This is very effective and more durable than the flash drives.

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 Some devices serve more than one purpose. For example, floppy disks may also be
used as input devices if they contain information to be used and processed by the
computer user. In addition, they can be used as output devices if the user wants to
store the results of computations on them.

SYSTEM MEMORY
Memory refers to the computer chips that store information for quick retrieval
by the CPU. They are basically divided into two ROM and RAM.
Random Access Memory (RAM) is used to store information and instructions
that operate the computer s programs. Typically, programs are transferred from
storage on a disk drive to RAM. RAM is also known as volatile memory because the
information within the computer chips is lost when power to the computer is turned
off or the computer hanged.
Read-Only Memory (ROM) contains critical information and software that
must be permanently available for computer operation, such as the operating system
that directs the computer s actions from start up to shut down. ROM is called non-
volatile memory because the memory chips do not lose their information when power
to the computer is turned off.
HARDWARE CONNECTIONS
To function, hardware requires physical connections that allow components to
communicate and interact. A bus provides a common interconnected system
composed of a group of wires or circuitry that coordinates and moves information
between the internal parts of a computer. A bus is characterized by two features: how
much information it can manipulate at one time, called the bus width, and how
quickly it can transfer these data.

A serial connection is a wire or set of wires used to transfer information from the
CPU to an external device such as a mouse, keyboard, modem, scanner, and some
types of printers. This type of connection transfers only one piece of data at a time,

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and is therefore slow. The advantage of using a serial connection is that it provides
effective connections over long distances.

A parallel connection uses multiple sets of wires to transfer blocks of information

simultaneously. Most scanners and printers use this type of connection. A parallel
connection is much faster than a serial connection, but it is limited to distances of less
than 3 m (10 ft) between the CPU and the external device.

COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Software is the set of instruction that tells the computer what to do and when to
do it. The computer uses this instruction to manipulate data, and enhance the proper
functioning of the hardware components. It is designed to exploit and provide the
potential capabilities of the hardware to the user. It converts data into information and
allows users to use the computer in different ways.
Computer programs are written by human beings, like you. This means that the
person who writes a program also decides on its functionality and behavior; which
explains why two programs that are supposed to do the same thing, don't do it the
same way. This is why, regardless of your expertise, you need to be acquainted with a
particular program in order to make better use of it. The fact that you don't know a
particular program doesn't say anything about your intelligence or lack of it. It simply
means that you are not familiar with that program.
These programs are usually stored and transferred via the computer s hardware
to and from the CPU. Software also governs how the hardware is utilized; for
example, how information is retrieved from a storage device. The interaction between
the input and output devices is controlled by software called the Basic Input Output
System (BIOS) Software. Software as a whole can be divided into a number of
categories based on the types of work done by programs. The two primary software
categories are system software, and application software.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
This refers to set of programs that facilitate the optional use of the hardware
systems by coordinating them. It consists of programs that start up the computer and
perform some utility functions such as checking and getting the computer ready for
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 use. They are usually written to accomplish loading, execution, storage, and retrieval
of files from/into the computer. They are basically operating system, utility software,
and language translators.
Operating System
An operating system is a program that acts as an intermediary between the
application programs and the computer hardware. You cannot directly use computer
applications (or programs) with computer hardware without a translation system
between the hardware and the applications. This translation system is called the
operating system (OS). The Windows or Mac OS works behind-the-scenes to run
your computer (i.e. the software and the hardware). It tells the computer what to do
when it starts up and keeps track of your documents, files, and other software. It also
provides the standard user interface component (like menus and the desktop) that you
see when you look at your computer screen. Both the Windows and the Mac OS
operating systems use a graphical interface (pictures or icons instead of text) that
allow you to immerse yourself in multitasking (accessing multiple applications and
files simultaneously). You work with windows in this interface. These windows are a
series of boxes, which can be opened and closed as needed.
We shall be using Microsoft Windows Operating System as it is the most
common on the personal computers. There are various types of Microsoft Windows.
A type of Microsoft Windows is referred to as a version. Examples of versions are
Microsoft Windows 3.3, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT
Workstation, Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft
Windows 98 Second Edition,
Microsoft Windows Millennium, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft
Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows
XP Professional, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Operating System Components
Processstorage
Secondary management
management Networking
Memory management System Protection
File management Command-interpretersystem

The Operating System Layer

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 Figure 3: Operating System Layers
Operating System is the basic software that controls the major operation of the
computer. It is the master control program, permanently stored in memory, which
interprets users commands requesting various kinds of services such as display, print
or copy a data files; list all files in a directory; or execute a particular program. It
provides the link between the user, the application program and the computer
hardware with a view to controlling and managing the operation of the computer. The
operating system has four major functions: It coordinates and manipulates computer
hardware, it organizes and manages files on a variety of storage media, it manages the
function of processor, and it interfaces with user.
FUNCTION OF THE OS
• Resource sharing: manages resources by ensuring proper and effective use.
• Provision of virtual machine: Hidings the hardware details from the user.
• Memory management: It manages the effective usage of internal memory, RAM
while running multiprograms.

• Protector and error handling.

• File management.
• Facilitates booting
• Manages multitasking: determines which application should run, in what order, and
how much time should be allowed for each application before giving another
application access to run.
CLASSIFICATION OF OS
This could be done based on the number of programs they can handle at the
same time or the number of user(s) that can be accommodated on the system
simultaneously. Hence we have single tasking and multitasking (for class1) and,

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single user and multi-user OS (for class 2). Single user OS is multitasking but can
only allow only one user at a time e.g. PC-DOS, MS-DOS, CP/M, OS/2. Multi-user
OS is multitasking and at the same time multi-user. This is done when a number of
computers (workstation) connect to a central computer so that all the other computers
can use the work on the central computer e.g. UNIX, XENIX, PC-MOS, windows
NT, Linux and Novell.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINDOWS &MACS
The personal computer industry has generally sorted itself out along the lines of
two major operating systems: Mac and Windows. The Mac OS runs on CPUs made
by Apple Computer. The Windows OS, made by Microsoft, runs on CPUs made by
many different companies, but not Apple. Some of these companies are: IBM, Dell,
Compaq, Gateway, Fujitsu, Sony, etc. When people talk about the differences
between Windows and Macs, in general, they are expressing a personal preference
about which operating system or hardware they believe to be superior.

UTILITY SOFTWARE
This program is produced by the manufacturers to provide useful facilities for
performing common computing tasks of a routine nature to many computer system
e.g. system generator, text editor, antivirus, dumping routine, housekeeping
operations etc.

Language translator
The language the computer understand is machine language (Os and 1s) which is very
tedious, time consuming, hard to write/read, or debug. Any program written in
another language than this needs language translator which carries out the translation
to this machine language. The 3 main types of translators are Assemblers, Compilers
and Interpreter.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Application Software isa computer program designed to help people perform a
certain type of task. An application thus differs from an operating system (which runs
a computer), a utility (which performs maintenance or general-purpose tasks), or a
language translator (with which computer programs are created). Depending on the
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 work for which it was designed, an application can manipulate text, numbers,
graphics, or a combination of these elements. Some application packages offer
considerable computing power by focusing on a single task, such as word processing,
spreadsheet, graphics, and a database program.

Table 2: Different computer programs with their areas of application

Application Areas Package

Word processing NotePad (text editor), WordPad, Word perfect, WordStar, Microsoft word
Budgeting, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft excel,
accounting
Databases Database 3,4 oracle, Microsoft excel, Corel Paradox, dBase, SQL, M-
Access
Graphics CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Instant Artist, Print
Artist
Spreadsheets Microsoft Excel and Access, Corel Quattro Pro, Sun StarCalc
Book publishing PageMaker, Microsoft publisher
Seminar PowerPoint
presentation
Engineering AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, electronic desktop
drawing
Statistical analysis SPSS, SPLUS, statistical
Web design Microsoft FrontPage

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS ACCORDING

TO SIZE
Computers exist in a wide range of sizes and power. The smallest are
embedded within the circuitry of appliances, such as televisions and wristwatches.
These computers are typically pre-programmed for a specific task, such as tuning to a
particular television frequency, delivering doses of medicine, or keeping accurate
time. They generally are hard-wired that is, their programs are represented as circuits
that cannot be reprogrammed.
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 Mini Computers (Laptop, Notebook Computers and Desktop PCs) are
typically used in businesses and at home to communicate on computer networks, for
word processing, to track finances, and for entertainment. They are equipped with a
keyboard; a mouse, trackball, or other devices; and a video display monitor or liquid
crystal display (LCD) to display information. Laptop and notebook computers usually
have similar hardware and software as PCs, but they are more compact and have flat,
lightweight LCDs instead of television-like video display monitors. If equipped with
a cellular phone, they can connect to worldwide computer networks to exchange
information regardless of location.
Workstations are similar to personal computers but have greater memory and
more extensive mathematical abilities, and they are connected to other workstations
or personal computers to exchange data. They are typically found in scientific,
industrial, and business environments especially financial ones, such as stock
exchanges that require complex and fast computations.

Mainframe computers have more memory, speed, and capabilities than

workstations and are usually shared by multiple users through a series of
interconnected computers. The most powerful mainframe computers, called
supercomputers, control businesses, industrial works, scientific research and process
complex and time-consuming calculations, such as those used to create weather
predictions. Large businesses, scientific institutions, and the military use them. Some
supercomputers have many sets of CPUs. These computers break a task into small
pieces, and each CPU processes a portion of the task to increase overall speed and
efficiency. Such computers are called parallel processors. As computers have
increased in sophistication, the boundaries between the various types have become
less rigid.

COMPUTER VIRUSES AND SECURITY

COMPUTER VIRUSES
Virus is a self-duplicating computer program that interferes with a computer s
hardware or operating system. They range from being merely irritating (or disturbing)
to the very destructive. Computer viruses activate when the instructions (payload of

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 the virus) or executable code that run programs are opened. Once a virus is active, it
may replicate by various means and infect the computer s files or the operating
system. For example, it may copy parts of itself to floppy disks, to the computer s
hard drive, into legitimate computer programs, or it may attach itself to e-mail
messages and spread across computer networks by infecting other shared drives.
Viruses attached to e-mail messages can infect an entire local network in minutes
(this is specifically called WORM).
Thousands of viruses and worms exist and can quickly contaminate millions of
computers. People who intentionally create viruses are computer experts called
HACKERS; they also violate confidentiality by observing computer monitors and by
impersonating authorized users in other to gain access to the user s computer
databases to steal the identities of other people by obtaining privately identified
information about them. They also engage in software piracy and deface website on
the internet. They develop powerful software crime tools such as the following:
a. Internet eavesdropping snuffers which intercepts internet messages sent to other
computers
b. Password guessers that tries millions of combinations of characters in an effect to
guess a computer s password.
c. Vulnerability testers that look for software weaknesses
d. Computer services saturator
e. Automatic computer virus generator.

TYPES OF VIRUSES
a. A boot sector virus stores itself at the start of a disk and becomes activated by
reading, starting or restarting the computer when that disk is in the boot drive.
b. A file infector virus attaches itself to program files i.e. files that give instructions to a
computer. These files usually have extensions like exe, com, or bat. When the
program is run, the virus executes.
c. A macro virus affects data files, especially Word documents and Excel workbooks.
This virus type accounts for the vast majority of infected files. When the infected
document is opened and the macro are run, the virus is triggered and can perform

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 system operations such as creating or deleting files or writing into already existing
files and thus have the potential to cause a great deal of damage.
d. Worm or an email virus (for the purpose of this guide) is not really a virus at all (in
that it is not self-replicating) but a chain letter phenomenon sent through email. The
message will, for some reason or other, tell you to pass this message on to as many
people as possible. Hoax virus alerts are typical examples of chain emails. These are
distinct from viruses in that they do not have host file like most other viruses but are
carried on the internet and can spread from one computer to another by themselves
without the need for a user to assist the process by giving someone an infected file or
disk. They are usually spread through the internet as an attachment.
e. Trojan horses are programs that have some hidden, generally malicious functionality
that the computer does not expect. They claim to be a thing (e.g. an audio for
example), when they are actually another (e.g. code that will overwrite a portion of
your hard disk). They do not run their own like a virus does but rely on tricking the
user to run them. They don t also replicate themselves which is a major distinction
between a virus and a Trojan.
HOW VIRUSES ARE SPREAD
Viruses are spread by running infected programs or opening infected files. This can
occur by using any of the following methods:
 Passing floppy disks from PC to PC
 Downloading (copying) infected files from the Internet
 Opening an email attachment
 Booting a PC with an infected bootable disk.
Computer viruses work in two phases: infection phase and the attack phase.
Infection Phase: in order to infect a computer, a virus has to possess the chance to
get executed before it can infect the computer system and spread to others. Events
that can trigger the execution of virus are included above.
Attack Phase: viruses do destructive things such as deleting files, erasing data on a
hard disk, sending random emails or slowing down the processor by sending millions
of looped instructions. Since most users will try their best to delete the virus once it
launches the attack, most virus delay revealing their presence by launching their

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attack only after they have had ample opportunity to spread. This means the attack
may be delayed for a long time after the infection.

PREVENTION OF COMPUTER VIRUS

Computer users can prepare for a viral infection by creating backups of
legitimate original software and data files regularly so that the computer system can
be restored if necessary. However, the best prevention may be the installation of
current and well-designed antiviral software. Such software can prevent a viral
infection and thereby help stop its spread.
Or obtain a virus checker for your own machine then register the program with the
manufacturers. They will regularly send you updated versions of the software while
your agreement is current. New viruses keep appearing, so out of date virus software
will not protect you and the checker is essential. Install the available security patches,
particularly for Microsoft products. Keep your floppy disk write-protected whenever
possible. If you are really cautious, change the set-up option in your computer s
BIOS so that it will always boot from the hard disk, not from floppies.
Write protect MS Word s Normal template to get limited protection against macro
viruses. This template will be a file called Normal.dot. Select the Read Only bod.
Note that this will not disinfect existing infected files.
In Word, turn on the Macro Virus Protection Option in Tools, then Options, then
Security Tab and finally Macro Security button, by setting the level of security you
desire for the macros.. This will warn you if files contain macros. You or a colleague
may have created the macros for some legitimate purpose but they could also be
viruses. If a warning appears, open the file only it comes from a trusted source. Note
that this procedure will warn you about macros (whether malicious or benign) but will
not disinfect existing infected files.
Virus Detection
Several types of antiviral software can be used to detect the presence of a virus.
Scanning software can recognize the characteristics of a virus s computer code and
look for these characteristics in the computer s files. Antivirus software packages
provide complete protection against viruses. Other types of antiviral software include
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 monitoring software and integrity-shell software. Monitoring software is different
from scanning software. It detects illegal or potentially damaging viral activities such
as overwriting computer files or reformatting the computer s hard drive.
COMPUTER SECURITY
These are techniques developed to safeguard information and information
systems stored on computers. Potential threats include the destruction of computer
hardware and software and the loss, modification, theft, unauthorized use,
observation, or disclosure of computer data.
I Simple Techniques: A variety of simple techniques can help prevent computer
crimes, such as protecting computer screens from observation, keeping printed
information and computers in locked facilities, backing up copies of data files and
software, and clearing desktops of sensitive information and materials.
Increasingly, however, more sophisticated methods are needed to prevent computer
crimes. These include using encryption techniques, establishing software usage
permissions, mandating passwords, and installing firewalls and intrusion detection
systems. In addition, controls within application systems and disaster recovery plans
are also necessary.

II Backup: Storing backup copies of software and data and having backup computer
and communication capabilities are important basic safeguards because the data can
then be restored if it was altered or destroyed by a computer crime or accident.
Computer data should be backed up frequently and should be stored nearby in secure
locations in case of damage at the primary site. Transporting sensitive data to storage
locations should also be done securely.
III Encryption: Another technique to protect confidential information is encryption.
Computer users can scramble information to prevent unauthorized users from
accessing it. Authorized users can unscramble the information when needed by using
a secret code called a key. Without the key the scrambled information would be
impossible or very difficult to unscramble. A more complex form of encryption uses
two keys, called the public key and the private key, and a system of double
encryption. Each participant possesses a secret, private key and a public key that is
known to potential recipients. Both keys are used to encrypt, and matching keys are
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 used to decrypt the message. However, the advantage over the single-key method lies
with the private keys, which are never shared and so cannot be intercepted.
IV Approved Users: Another technique to help prevent abuse and misuse of computer
data is to limit the use of computers and data files to approved persons. Security
software can verify the identity of computer users and limit their privileges to use,
view, and alter files. The software also securely records their actions to establish
accountability. Military organizations give access rights to classified, confidential,
secret, or top-secret information according to the corresponding security clearance
level of the user. Other types of organizations also classify information and specify
different degrees of protection.
V Passwords: Passwords are confidential sequences of characters that allow approved
persons to make use of specified computers, software, or information. To be effective,
passwords must be difficult to guess and should not be found in dictionaries.
Effective passwords contain a variety of characters and symbols that are not part of
the alphabet. Another advantage of this password is because it is case sensitive (i.e.
Advent is different from advent). To thwart imposters, computer systems usually
limit the number of attempts and restrict the time it takes to enter the correct
password.
VI Firewalls: Computers connected to the communication networks such as internet are
vulnerable to electronic attack because many people have access to them. They can be
protected by firewalls computer software placed between the networked computers
and the networks. The firewalls examines filters and reports on all information
passing through the network to ensure its appropriateness. These functions help to
prevent saturation of input capabilities that might otherwise deny usage to legitimate
users.
VII Intrusion Detection Systems: These are software that detect unusual and suspicious
activities and in some cases, stop a variety of harmful actions.

BASIC COMPUTER MAINTENANCE

MAINTENANCE
One of the most common questions computer users ask is, how do I maintain my
computer and keep it running great? A computer is a lot like a car...it costs more than
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 you think it should, it starts going down in value as soon as you bring it home and it
requires regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly.
To properly deal with repairable systems, we need to first understand how
components in these systems are restored (i.e. the maintenance actions that the
components undergo). In general, maintenance is defined as any action that restores
failed units to an operational condition or retains non-failed units in an operational
state. For repairable systems, maintenance plays a vital role in the life of a system. It
affects the system s overall reliability, availability, downtime, cost of operation, etc.
Generally, maintenance actions can be divided into three types: corrective
maintenance, preventive maintenance and inspections.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
Preventive maintenance is the practice of replacing components or subsystems before
they fail in order to promote continuous system operation. The schedule for
preventive maintenance is based on observation of past system behaviour, component
wear-out mechanisms and knowledge of which components are vital to continued
system operation. Cost is always a factor in the scheduling of preventive
maintenance. In many circumstances, it is financially more sensible to replace parts or
components that have not failed at predetermined intervals rather than to wait for a
system failure that may result in a costly disruption in operations.
Here are a few basic guidelines required.
i Surge Protection: Power surges, spikes, lightning and brown - outs are all things that
can literally burn up your computer and its peripherals. Save yourself lots of money
in repairs by buying a decent surge protector (a.k.a. Power strip) for your computer
and use it. A UPS (uninterruptible power supply), though slightly more expensive, is
even better.

ii Anti-Virus Protection: Everyone should know about this by now, but we often see
computers with either no virus protection at all, or anti-virus software that is badly
out-of-date. Nothing can wreck your
computer faster than a virus (except for maybe electricity), but with a small
investment in good anti-virus software and making sure you set it to update itself
daily.
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iii Minimize the number of Software you install: This is another thing many people
overlook. Installing lots of programs on your computer is a lot like pulling a bunch of
rowdy children together on a playground. Some of them may not play well together.
A good rule of thumb is if you don t need, don t install. This is especially true when
you surf the web. You will likely get bombarded with pop-up ads trying to get you to
install all kinds of flee utilities they claim your computer can t live without most of
these are spyware, adware and junk.

iv Backup your important files: To minimize the potential of losing important

information, always make a backup of your crucial files. To do this, you can use a
CD-burner, a backup tape system, or a removable disk drive (such as a Jazz, Zip,
floppy or flash drive). Keep copies of these backups in another location, just in case
you need to perform a disaster recovery.

v Firewall Protection: Symantec s Norton personal Firewall keeps personal data in and
hackers out. Right out of the box, it makes your PC invisible on the Internet so that
hackers can’t find it. The programs Intelligent Intrusion prevention technology blocks
suspicious Internet traffic. And easy-to-use privacy controls prevent personal
information from being sent out without your knowledge.

vi Internal/External Component Cleaning: Dust is one of the leading causes of

hardware failure. All moving components are thoroughly cleaned and lubricated
during service visits. The case is opened and dust is removed from the motherboard
and all system boards. The CPU fan, power supply fan and any other board fans are
cleaned, lubricated and tested. All data cables are checked to be sure they are securely
heated on system boards. CD and floppy drives are opened, cleaned and tested for
data transfer. External components such as keyboard, mouse, monitor and printers are
cleaned of dust and debris and all cable connections are checked. Connections to
surge protectors or UPS are checked.

vii Scan and defragment your hard drive on arrive: Your hard drive stores
information in open areas of your hard drive. As you delete data on your drive, open
space appears. The computer will utilize this open space to store new information.

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Sometimes information for a particular file or application is separated on a drive into
several different locations. The totality of the information may not fit in the open
space in one area, so the computer will divide the information into several pieces.
When you scan and defragment your hard drive, you are minimizing the risk of
having problems and slowdowns caused by separated data on your hard drive. The
defragmentation will locate, delete open spaces and place associated files back
together again, helping your computer to run smoothly and faster.Todo this, Right-
Click on the drivePropertiesTools, Tab, Defragmentation section, Defragment now,
select the drive, Analyze OR Defragment.
DISK DEFRAGMENTER
Disk Defragmenter is a system utility for analyzing local volumes (an area of storage
on a hard disk. A volume is formatted by using a file system, such as FAT or NTFS,
and has a drive letter assigned to it. You can view the content of a volume by clicking
its icon in windows Explorer or in My Computer. a single hard disk can have multiple
volumes, and volumes can also span multiple disks) and locating and consolidating
fragmented files and folders. You can also defragment (Defragmentation is the
process of rewriting parts of a file to contiguous sectors on a hard disk to increase the
speed of access and retrieval. When files are updated, the computer tends to save
these updates on the largest continuous space on the hard disk, which is often on a
different sector than other parts of the file. When files are thus fragmented, the
computer must search the hard disk each time the file is opened to find all of the file s
parts, which slows down response time) disks from a command line using the defrag
command. The best practices for fragmenting a volume are enumerated below.
Analyzing before defragmenting
Analyze volumes before defragmenting them. After analyzing a volume, a dialog box
tells you the percentage of fragmented files and folders on the volume and
recommends whether to defragment the volume. Analyze volumes regularly and
defragment them only when Disk Defragmenter recommends it. A good guideline is
to analyze volumes at least once a week. If you seldom need to defragment volumes,
analyze volumes monthly instead of weekly.

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 Analyzing after large numbers of files are added
Volumes might become excessively fragmented when users add a large number of
files or folders, so be sure to analyze volumes after this happens. Generally, volumes
on busy file servers should be defragmented more often than those on single-user
workstations.

 Ensure that your disk has at least 15% free space

A volume must have at least 15% free space for Disk Defragmenter to completely and
adequately defragment it. Disk Defragmenter uses this space as a sorting area for file
fragments. If a volume has less than 15% free space, Disk Defragmenter will only
partially defragment it. To increase the free space on a volume, delete unneeded files
or move them to another disk.

 Defragmenting during low-usage periods

Defragment file server volumes during low-volume usage periods to minimize the
effect that the defragmentation process has on file server performance. The time that
Disk Defragmenter takes to defragment a volume depends on several factors,
including the size of the volume, the number of files on the volume, the number of
fragmented files, and available system resources.

 Defragmenting after installing software or installing Windows

Defragment volumes after installing software or after performing an upgrade or
clean install of Windows. Volumes often become fragmented after installing
software, so running Disk Defragmenter helps to ensure the best file system
performance.

Defrag
At times, it might be difficult to even select the drive to be defragmented; hence
the use of command line. Locates and consolidates fragmented boot files, data
files, and folders on local volumes. Syntax defragvolume; defragvolume [/a];
defragvolume [/a] [/v]; defragvolume [/v]; defragvolume [/f]

Parameters definitions

VolumeThe drive letter or a mount point of the volume to be defragmented.

Analyzes the volume and displays a summary of the analysis report.
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 Where displays the complete analysis and defragmentation reports. When used in
combination with /a, displays only the analysis report. when used alone, displays both
the analysis and defragmentation reports.

Force defragmentation of the volume regardless of whether it needs to be

defragmented.
The displays will help at the command prompt

Remarks
 A volume must have at least 15% free space for defrag to completely and adequately
defragment it. Defrag uses this space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume
has less than 15% free space, defrag will only partially defragment it. To increase the
free space on a volume, delete unneeded files or move them to another disk.

 You cannot defragment volumes that the file system has marked as dirty, which
indicates possible corruption. You must run chkdsk on a dirty volume before you can
defragment it. You can determine if a volume is dirty by using the fsutil dirty query
command.

 While defrag is analyzing and defragmenting a volume, it displays a blinking cursor.

When defrag has finished analyzing and defragmenting the volume, it displays the
analysis report, the defragmentation report, or both reports, and then exits to the
command prompt.

 By default, defrag displays a summary of both the analysis and defragmentation

reports if you do not specify the /a or /v parameters.

 You can send the reports to a text file by typing >filename.txt, where filename.txt is a
file name you specify. For example: defragvolume/v>filename.txt

 To interrupt the defragmentation process, at the command line, press CTRL+C.

 Running the defrag command and Disk Defragmenter are mutually exclusive. If you
are using Disk Defragmenter to defragment a volume and you run the defrag
command at a command-line, the defrag command fails. Conversely, if you run the

33
 defrag command and open Disk Defragmenter, the defragmentation options in Disk
Defragmenter are unavailable.
Formatting legend
Format Meaning
Italic Information that the user must supply
Bold Elements that the user must type exactly as shown
Ellipsis (...) Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line
Between brackets ([]) Optional items
); Set of choices from which the user must choose only onepipe (|). Example: {even|
odd}
Courier font Code or program output
viii Checking Errors on the Hard Drive:This is done to rectify bad sectors. To do this,
Right-Click on the drivePropertiesTools TabError-Checking SectorCheck Now
Automatically fix file system errors OR Scan for and attempt recovery of bad
sectorsStart.
CORRECTIVE MAINTENANCE
Corrective maintenance consists of the action(s) taken to restore a failed system
to operational status. This usually involves replacing or repairing the component that
is responsible for the failure of the overall system. Corrective maintenance is
performed at unpredictable intervals because a component s failure time is not known
at prior. The objective of corrective maintenance is to restore the system to
satisfactory operation within the shortest possible time. Corrective maintenance is
typically carried out in three steps:
i. Diagnosis of the problem. The maintenance technician must take time to locate the
failed parts or otherwise satisfactorily assess the cause of the system failure.
ii. Repair and/or replacement of faulty component(s). Once the cause of system
failure has been determined, action must be taken to address the cause, usually by
replacing or repairing the components that caused the system to fail.
iii. Verification of the repair action. Once the components in question have been
repaired or replaced, the maintenance technician must verify that the system is again
successfully operating.

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 SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS
The diagnosis practice is usually called troubleshooting. Much of the troubleshooting
guide treated here caters for users of Windows operating systems.
Always keep detailed records of all errors and steps taken to correct these errors.
Error numbers and codes are important to log. They tell technicians/network
administrators specific information about the problems you are having. To document
errors, press the Details button or simply write down the first couple of lines of
information given in the error screen.
Check all cables first. The most frequent problem with computers is a loose or
disconnected cable. Don t be afraid to make mistakes. Don t let the machine
intimidate you. Before calling an expert for technical support, always shut your
computer down totally and reboot; wait until the CPU is not making any sounds and
then turn it on again, by pressing the power button.
1. BOOTING PROBLEMS
When you press the power button, you give the instruction to the electricity to
"wake" up the computer. This instruction causes the computer to start giving its own
instructions to internal parts. One of the instructions is called BIOS. The BIOS
instruction starts checking "everybody", asking "Are you OK?", "Are you OK?",
"What about you?". If a certain part that is important doesn't respond (for example if a
certain important object such as the keyboard or mouse is not connected, which
means it will not respond when the BIOS asks, "Are you OK?"), then the BIOS may
interrupt everything, or it may continue checking. If the BIOS comes to a conclusion
that this computer is not worth using, it would display an error and may not let you do
anything significant. If the
BIOS "thinks" that everything is alright and that the computer can be used, then it
gets the hardware parts ready.

a. I am receiving an error that says, Invalid system disk, replace and press any key when
ready: This error is caused by the presence of a floppy disk in the floppy drive while
the computer is booting up. Whenever you turn your computer on, remember to eject
all disks from the floppy drive (unless a bootable floppy disk). If you get this error,
eject the floppy disk and hit enter. Your computer should continue to boot as normal.
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b. Receiving a keyboard related error: This error occurs when the keyboard has become
unattached from the rear of the computer. Check behind the computer to see if your
keyboard is still firmly attached to the computer. Also check to see if something has
been pressing on top of the keyboard during booting. Remove all items that are
pressing keys and re-plug the keyboard into the computer. Restart your computer.

c. I am receiving a no signal error, or there are no visuals on my monitor: A no signal

error means that the monitor isnot receiving a signal from the computer. Check to see
if the computer is on and running. Then check the connection (cord) between the
computer and the monitor. If everything is connected, turned on, and running, then
there might be an internal error causing this error to occur. Contact a technician for
assistance.
d. Scan disk appears on a blue screen, stating that Windows was not properly shut
down: Scan Disk is a utility that Windows runs automatically when it thinks
there might be a problem with your system. This does not mean that there is a
problem, but Windows will automatically take this step to ensure that the problem is
rectified. Let Scan Disk run and wait, to see if your machine will boot properly after
scan disk is complete. If it does not, turn the computer off, and reboot to see if the
problem clears up on its own. If rebooting the computer does not solve the problem,
contact your technician.

2. SAFE MODE PROBLEMS

If your computer boots to a screen giving you a choice to boot into safe mode, or it
automatically boots into safe mode, Windows has run into an error that it cannot
bypass to run smoothly. In most cases, you can reboot and the problem will resolve
itself automatically. If you continue to get the safe mode screen, or it goes away and
comes back frequently, then contact your technician.

3. THE SYSTEM IS ON BUT IT IS NOT RESPONDING

My system is locked and nothing I press or click is working. What now? Sometimes
your computer will stop responding, or freeze, either during operation or after unused
for a period of time. If the computer has not been used recently, press a few keys and
wait several minutes. If the computer freezes during operation, stop using the

36
 keyboard and the mouse for several minutes. If you continue to use the computer
when it is frozen, it will prolong your waiting period. If, after waiting for several
minutes, you cannot get your computer to respond by using the keyboard or the
mouse, turn the computer off by pressing the power button on the front of the
machine. Let the computer shutdown (the CPU is no longer making any sounds) and
then reboot. If you still get no response from the machine, your mouse and keyboard
may have become dislodged from the rear of the machine, check those connections
and reboot again. If the computer freezes again after plugging the mouse and
keyboard into the back of the computer and rebooting, contact your technician.

4. REBOOTING PROBLEMS

a. Windows won’t shut down, it stays at the please wait screen, or won’t power down:
This is a problem with the way Windows is talking to your computer. The computer
wants to suspend activity, but Windows is telling it to shut down. This is causing
confusion for the computer. In some cases, this can be solved with a patch from the
Microsoft web site. A patch is an update to a software product that fixes a known
problem. You can get this update by downloading it from www.Microsoft.com.
Windows 98 generally has a problem with shutting down, especially when the
computer is attached to a network. Generally, this doesn’t hurt anything. It is just a bit
of a nuisance. See Booting Problems on what to do during subsequent reboots.

b. A window pops up with End Task, Shut Down, and Cancel buttons, what do I do?
This message usually appears when you press and hold Control, Alt, and Delete while
running an application or program. This keystroke tells the computer to shut itself
down, despite the fact that applications are running. If you would like to turn off the
computer without manually closing or saving anything, click the
Shut Down button. If you would like to close just the program you are running
currently, ensure that the correct program is highlighted in the box and click End
Task. If this window was opened accidentally, click Cancel and you will return to the
program you were just using.

c. An internal error or KernaI32 error box appears suggesting that I restart Windows:
This error has occurred because Windows has come across an error that it cannot
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 continue with. If something like this happens and you are in the middle of your work,
try to save your work before you click OK . If your work caused the error to occur,
everything, after the last time you saved your work, will be lost. Restart your
computer. Remember to always document errors thoroughly. Misbehaving software
often causes these errors. If the error occurs repeatedly, call for assistance from your
technician.

5. MONITOR PROBLEMS
My monitor has no display, the monitor turned off for no reason, or my display
is faded: Ensure that the monitor and the computer are turned on. Next, check both
the power cord to the monitor and the power cord to the computer. If you are using a
power strip, ensure that it is turned on. You can also check the settings on your
monitor (the buttons are located on the lower front of the monitor). Check the contrast
and tint to see if they are set correctly. Next, check the connection between the
monitor and computer; at the rear of the computer (this is the cord that connects the
monitor to the computer). The next thing to check is your screen saver settings. Right
click on your desktopProperties or you can click Start, Settings, Control Panel,
Display (display settings dialog box will appear) Screen Saver tab. Make sure your
screen saver is set to go off in a reasonable amount of time (usually 10 minutes or
more). Also, make sure your Energy Savings settings are marked correctly. You can
locate the energy savings settings button in the Screen Saver box, near the bottom.
When you click on
Settings, you will be able to adjust the amount of time that your computer waits
to turn off the monitor if the computer is not in use. If you don t ever want the
monitor to be shut down by the energy saver mode, choose Never. If all these things
don t fix the problem, contact a technician.

6. MONITOR FLASHES ON AND OFF

Usually this is caused by a loose or bad connection at the back of your computer. You
should be able to retighten the connection, and continue as normal. If that is not the
problem, then it needs to be diagnosed by a professional.

7. MOUSE PROBLEMS

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a. My mouse is sticky and/or the cursor won’t move Check to see if your mouse cord is
pulled too tightly. If your cord doesn’t have enough room to maneuver, then you will
have less control over it. Next, check the mouse s connection to the back of the CPU
and ensure that it is plugged in. If neither of these possibilities were the problem, you
may need to clean the ball on the inside of the mouse. You can flip over the mouse
and take the ball out by twisting the round disc that holds it in place (turn the round
piece in the direction of the arrows). Once you have taken out the ball, clean the ball
off with a clean, dry, and lint-free cloth. Never use water on any computer part! Put
the mouse back together again. If that doesn’t fettle problem, it might be time to
replace the mouse.
b. My mouse won’t right click, or won’t double click: Press Ctrl-Alt-Esc and use the
arrow key up to get to Shut down, and then choose reboot. This should fix the
problem, if not a technician should look at the machine.

8. KEYBOARD PROBLEMS
a. I am receiving a keyboard error when booting my computer: This is usually caused by
a key being pushed down while the computer starts. Make sure nothing is on top of
the keyboard during boot time. Also, this could be caused by the keyboard becoming
disconnected from the back of the computer. If neither of these are the problem,
contact your technician.
b. My Keyboard won’t respond at all: If your computer has frozen and the keyboard will
not respond at all, the first thing to do is to check the keyboard connection to the
computer and restart the computer. If your keyboard still does not respond, you may
need technical assistance.

9. PRINTER PROBLEMS
a. The printer won’t print my document: Check the printer to make sure it is plugged in
and turned on. Click Start, Settings, Printers. If the printer you want to use is not
listed, you will have to install that printer. You can do this by clicking Add Printer
and following the installation process through to completion. If the printer appears
light or grayed-out, your printer is offline. Double-click on the printer in question,

39
 then click Printer and uncheck Pause Printing and Use Printer Offline or Right-Click
the printer and select Online. Next, make sure that you have chosen the correct
printer. You can check this by going back into the file you were trying to print and
click on File, Print. The name of the printer will appear near the top of that window
next to Name. If the correct printer does not appear in this box, click on the down
arrow to the right of the name of the printer being used. Find your printer s name and
highlight it by clicking the left mouse button on it. Once you have ensured that the
correct printer is chosen and that the printer is not offline or paused, ensure that you
are logged onto the network. To do this, click Start and look to see if your logon
name is listed after Log Off. If your logon name is not there, you need to log back
onto the network. To start this process, ensure that you have saved your work. Then,
click Start, Log Off. This will bring up a dialog box. Click Yes. You will be prompted
to enter your name and password to log back onto the network. Once you finish this,
click Ok or Enter. Open your file again and try to print it. If you still cannot print,
please call a technician.

b. Documents come out faded or striped: This is usually due to dirty or clogged print
heads, or the printer being out of ink. Try running a print-head cleaning utility to
clean the heads. Most printers come with this to help with dirty or clogged heads. Do
this by going to Start, Settings, Printers, and then right clicking on the printer in
question. Try cleaning the heads, and then print a page. If you still get fades or
stripes, try it once more. If after two times your pages are still coming out faded or
striped, then you may need to replace the ink. If, however, the ink is not an issue, you
should contact a professional.

c. I am receiving an out of memory error or a spooter error: This is caused when the
machine that the printer is connected to runs out of memory, or has an internal error.
This usually happens because of large print jobs. If you get this error frequently you
might want to consider upgrading the memory on the computer with the printer
attached to it. It can also be caused by lack of free disk space. Check to see if
you have enough free space. To do this, double click on My Computer, Right-Click C

40
 Drive, Properties. The free space should be listed on that screen. If you only have a
couple of megabytes or less, that could be your problem. You will need to either
clean up your drive or replace it with a bigger drive. Call a technician to help with
either of these processes. If you have adequate disk space, try uninstalling and then
reinstalling the printer. To do this, Click Start, Settings, Printers, Right-Click on the
printer in question and select Delete. You want to remove it completely from the
system. Then click Add Printer and reinstall the same printer. If it was used across a
network make sure you reestablish the share with the same name. This can be done
by right clicking on the printer and choosing Share This Printer.
10. CD-ROM ISSUES
a. I Have No Audio And/Or My CD Player Won’t Come On When Playing An
Audio CD: First, check to see if your speakers are turned on and the volume levels
are adequate. At the Task bar tray is a little speaker, double click it to get its
properties. Make sure the volume levels are turned up and that none of the controls
are muted. Next, look at the back of the computer where the speakers plug in. If there
is a volume control there, make sure it is turned up. Then check to see if the speakers
are plugged into the correct jack for audio out. There are usually three jacks on the
back of a sound card plug as appropriate.
Next, we want to open the CD player application by clicking Start, Programs,
Accessories, Entertainment, CD Player. If the application will not open, you will need
to reinstall the CD player application of the
Windows CD. You can do that by going into Start, Settings, Control Panel,
Add/Remove, Programs, Windows Setup, Multimedia, Details. You should see the
CD Player checked (if it is not, check it and click ok and then apply), uncheck it and
click Ok. Then click Apply, but don t shut the panel. We now need to go back to
Multimedia and recheck the CD Player, click Ok, and then click Apply again. If this
was not the issue, contact your technician.
b. I Am Receiving A CD ROM Is Not Accessible Error: Check to see if you have
placed the CD you want to read in the CD ROM drive. Pick up the CD and check to
see if it is dirty, or scratched. If your CD is clean and fully inserted in the drive, try to
read from the drive again. You can also insert another CD into the drive and try to

41
read the new CD. Some burned CDs cannot be read by certain CD R0M drives. If
your issue goes unresolved, call a professional for assistance.

INSPECTIONS
Inspections are used in order to uncover hidden failures (also called dormant failures).
In general, no maintenance action is performed on the component during an
inspection unless the component is found failed, in which case a corrective
maintenance action is initiated. However, there might be cases where a partial
restoration of the inspected item would be performed during an inspection. For
example, when checking the motor oil in a car between scheduled oil changes, one
might occasionally add some oil in order to keep it at a constant level.
ABOUT BACKUPS
A backup is a copy of your file, made in case you lose or damage the original. For
those using system in offices or at home, it will be necessary to follow a strict backup
regime, using floppy disks or ZIP disks, Flash drives and other secondary memory
devices. A zip disk is like a floppy disk except that it hold 70 times as much
information: obviously useful for graphics and multimedia projects. A flash drive can
hold larger information than a ZIP drive.
BE DISCIPLINED

It requires discipline from the user for a backup strategy to work. Make backups at
the end of every day or every week depending on how much work you do and how
important the data is. To make backups of individual files, copy them to disk using
Explorer or My Computer. Note that you can also copy entire folders with this
method. Alternatively, open the file and use the Save as option in the application
perhaps the most convenient method is to make a copy of the Zip or floppy disk,
using Copy Disk. Don t work directly with backup files (i.e. Zip/floppy disk), you
work on the hard disk and thereafter copy to a ZIP or floppy disk. We cannot stress
enough just how important it is to make backups, horror stories exist when people
loose months or years of work. Unfortunately, even people, who know they should
make backups, tend not to bother until they have been stung. So, follow the advice in
this book and be an exception to this tendency!

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 WORKING WITH DESKTOP

Figure 4: Window s Desktop Figure 5: Display Properties Dialog Box

The computer s interface uses a desktop metaphor. The desktop is the coloured
background you see on the screen when you start your computer (this may vary for
different computer since it is customizable). It is the place where you manipulate the
work you are doing by handling icons (a little pictures that represent your files,
folders, and disks). It summarizes the systems properties by enabling you to have
access to all these properties. It serves as an intermediary between the system and the
user.
The desktop elements include the icons, the taskbar (Start Menu, Taskbar and
the System Tray) wallpaper and screen saver. The icons are images, pictures,
symbols, or logos that represent items on the desktop. For instance, the desktop above
has 30 icons. An icon may represent an application, a file, a folder, a shortcut or even
a location on the hard drive. The taskbar is the horizontal (by default) bar placed
separately on the desktop but will never appear on the screen saver. The wallpaper
represents the picture used as the desktop image. It is the placeholder for the icons
(i.e. the icons are placed on it). The screen saver is the animated picture shown
instead of the wallpaper when the system is idle for some time. It differs from
wallpaper in that it can’t harbor the icons. There are two entities that mainly need to
interact with icons:
 As a person using the computer, icons allow you to familiarize with the various
programs that are installed in a computer. Every application or every category of
application has its own icon. This is easily possible because every person who creates
an application has the possibility of providing a special icon for that particular
application.

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  The operating system also has an interior mechanism to identify an icon or a type of
icon and associate it with a particular application or a series of applications of the
same type. Microsoft Windows ships with various icons for its own use. For example,
every version of Microsoft Windows ships with a special icon for the My Computer
program. There is also a special icon for Recycle Bin, etc.
The sizes of icons are standardized and they should not have just any random
dimensions. For example, the icons on the desktop are 32x32 pixels. Sometimes, the
icons display in a 16x16 dimension.
You can customize your desktop s elements using the Display Properties
Dialog box (shown above) which can be accessed by either Right-Clicking the
desktop, Properties or Start, Control Panel, DoubleClick on Display. This window
will enable you to change the appearance of your desktop, such as the background
(wallpaper), screen saver, colours, font sizes, and screen resolution. Use the various
tabs to change the various properties.
You can also right click any section of the taskbar and select Properties to
customize it. This will display the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties Window where
you can select the Tab you need as the case may be. To customize the System tray
section, Click the Customize button on the Taskbar Tab of the window.

WORKING WITH WINDOWS

Working with windows gives you the ability to look at something. It allows you
to look into a document, or a folder, or a disk. When you begin using your PC, you
will be confronted with the desktop, which is simply the term used for the space on
your screen. When you want to run a particular application, you need to load the
package (launch). To do this depends on the location of the package.

a. Desktop
i. Click its icon/ press Enter
ii. Double-click the icon
iii. Right-click/open
b. Start Menu
Start/All Programs/Navigate to where it resides/Select the application
c. Quick Launch (this is just beside the start button for easy launch)
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 Click on the icon once.
d. Taskbar Tray (this is at the right on the task bar)
Double-Click on the icon.
Note that for all the methods, you double-click twice to launce any application.
This is also true for any icon (files, folders or executables).

Standard toolbar Menu bar Title bar Program Close button

Window Close button

Formatting bar

Drag Indent
Rulers Task Pane

Document Area
Page Layout
View Scroll bars
Drawing bar
Status bar
Start Menu Browse bars
Task bar

Task bar Tray

Figure 6: Common Application Window

For any method you use, you’ve performed some actions. Each action is stored in a
particular program and kept under a button or a menu. A program's menu, simply
referred to as a menu, is a series of words usually aligned on a (vertical) column, each
line of words indicating a particular action.
For any window you open, what is common to all packages is the title bar.
There are different types of windows we will encounter when working with the
computer. Some of them include a dialog box, a Single Document Interface (SDI),
and a Multiple Document Interface (MDI).
Dialog Boxes
A Dialog Box is a square or rectangular window whose main role is to carry, hold, or
host, other windows. The objects it carries define its role and name. A dialog box is
made of two main sections. On top, it displays a Title Bar (with the title and System
Close Button). By convention, a dialog box cannot be minimized or maximized.
Therefore, it doesn't have those system buttons. Sometimes, a dialog box will have a
button with a question mark (the Help button). A dialog box equipped with the Help

45
button indicates that you can get quick help on the items displayed on the dialog box.
The second section of a dialog box is its body (programmers call it the Client Area).
This is the area where the objects the dialog box is hosting are positioned. Examples
include the Save As Dialog Box and the Open Dialog Box in most applications.

Figure 7: A Typical Dialog Box (The Run Dialog Box)

The Single Document Interface (SDI)

This is a window that allows the user to work on only one opened document at a time.
It is similar to a typical window. An example is the WordPad.
The Multiple Document Interface (MDI)
This is similar to the SDI except that you can work on more than one document at a
time. An example is the Microsoft Word.
The Windows Controls
The controls on a window refer to the objects that are available on the window.
There are various controls to include Command buttons, Text boxes, List boxes,
Option (Radio) buttons, Check boxes, Combo boxes, Scroll bars, Progress Bar, etc.
For all the objects that may be present on a window, only one of them can receive
focus at a time. The focus is a visual aspect that indicates that a control is ready to
receive input from you. Various controls have different ways of expressing that they
have received focus. Button-based controls indicate that they have focus by drawing a
dotted rectangle around their text. In the following picture, the button on the right has
focus. A text-based control indicates that it has focus by displaying a blinking cursor.
A list-based control indicates that it has focus when one of its items has a surrounding
dotted rectangle.
To give focus to a control, you can click it. Alternatively, if the focus is already on
one of the controls, to give focus to a particular control, you can press Tab
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 continuously until the control shows that it has focus. On a browser, if you press Tab
continuously, the focus would move from one link or control to another. This means
that a link on a web page can receive focus as if it were a control.

Main Menu Display

We have just seen that, when you know where a menu is available, to access it,
you can just click or right-click the item that holds the menu. How a menu appears
can be influenced by the available room. The operating system decides on the
availability of room to display the menu. If a menu is accessed from the middle to top
section of a window, the operating system would display it under the item that was
clicked. If the menu is being accessed from the bottom section of the screen, the
operating system would calculate the available room under the item that was clicked.
If there is enough room, the menu would be displayed under the item that was
clicked. If there is not enough room, then the operating system would decide to
display the menu above the item that was clicked

Categories of Menus
To diversify the actions that can be performed on a computer, there are six main
categories of menus, each of which depends on the person who created the menu.

a) Stand-Alone Items: The simplest menu item displays a word or a group of words on
itsline. To use this menu type, you can simply click it. What happens depends on the
program and the familiarity with it. Example is the Refresh menu on most browsers.
b) Disabled Menu Items: If a menu appears gray, this means that the menu is not
available at this time. Such a menu is said to be disabled. Clicking a disabled menu
would not do anything, at all. Most of the time, such a menu would require a
prerequisite action in order to become available or enabled.
c) Check Menus: A menu that appears with a check mark is used as a "witness" of a
window object being available or not. This means that, when the check mark is set,
the object the menu item refers to is visible. If you click such a menu item, the check
mark disappears along with the item it refers to; the menu item is still visible: only its
check mark and the item it refers to disappear.

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d) Arrow Menus: When a menu appears with an arrow, this means that the menu item
holds its own list, called a submenu. Again, this design depends on the person who
created the menu and is not subject to any preconceived rule. To access the menu
item, simply position the mouse cursor on the menu item that has the arrow. How the
submenu appears may depend on the section of the screen from where the menu is
being accessed. The operating system decides how to display this submenu based on
the available room.
Main and Context-Sensitive Menus
We have seen that a menu on the same object can be different depending on
what item you click to access such a menu. Based on this, a menu that appears when
you simply click an object is considered the regular menu of the object, and it is
simply called the menu. Sometimes when you click or even right-click an object, a
menu might not appear. On the other hand, if a menu appears when you right-click an
item or an area of a window, this menu is referred to as the context-sensitive menu.
Most applications display a menu in their top section, the Main Menu, below
the Title Bar. The main menu displays columns of menus, each column is represented
by a word (sometimes it will be more than one word for a menu item). To use this
main menu, you can click a word. This causes a list of menu items to display. There
are no strict rules (only suggestions) on what items must appear under what word.
The person who creates an application also decides on the menu columns, their items,
and their roles.
After clicking a menu column, if you find the item you are looking for, you can
click it. If you don't see the item you are looking for and you want to check another
column, you have two options. You can simply move the mouse to another menu
column of your choice. You can also click the menu item you had opened, then click
the new column you desire. If you still don't see what you are looking for, you can
dismiss the menu.
There are various ways you can dismiss the menu if it is opened. If you click an
item in the list of the displayed column, the menu would retract and close itself. If
you have opened a menu but don't want to use it anymore, you can click one of the

48
 menu items on top. You can also click anywhere other than the opened menu; this
also closes the menu.
To access or close the menu using the keyboard, use Alt + the Access Key
(underlined letter on the menu) for the menu. Once this is initiated, you just press the
access key for each command under the main menu. To dismiss a displayed menu,
press the Esc key. You can also use the navigation keys to move from menu to menu
(Left and Right Arrows) or down a menu using the Up and Down Arrows.

 The Control/System Buttons (located at the top right corner of a window)

i. Minimize button: Click this to reduce the programs to a button on the Taskbar.
ii. Restore/Maximize button: This switches the window size between full-screen size
(docked window) and Half-Window (or customized) size (floating or cascade
window). You can also double-click the empty space of the title bar to toggle between
the options.
iii. Close button: Click this to dispense with the window until the next time you open the
program. If the file inside the window has not been saved, it will prompt you to save
it.

You can also access any of the actions by clicking the application logo or right-
clicking the empty space of the title bar and then select the action you want.

 Moving Windows
If a window gets in the way of what you are doing, you can move it to a
different place on the screen by clicking and holding the Title bar using the Left
Mouse button (only possible for floating window).
You can change a windows shape or size so that you can see more of its
contents or so that you can arrange windows side-by-side manually. This is possible
when the window is restored down. Place the mouse over the edge of the window so
that the mouse pointer changes shape to a double-pronged arrow (either side or edge),
drag inwards or outwards to reduce or enlarge the window (default Restored).

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  Splitting Window
This is usually done when you want to compare different places of a particular
document. For instance, view pages 50 and 350 of a particular document at the same
time. To do this, select Windowsplit; the cursor will change to a horizontal line which
you will click at the desired location. You can work on each of them as if you are
dealing with a single window. To remove WindowRemove split.

 Arranging Windows
For a particular document, more than one window can be opened
simultaneously. To do this, select WindowNew Window. The new window will
change the name of the document by adding index. The name will be like
Filename:indexnumber e.g. Adebisi:1 while the second name will be Adebisi:2. You
can add as many as you want. You can now arrange the window using
WindowArrange All. This will arrange the windows horizontally. To change the
arrangement to side-by-side, select WindowCompare Side by Side. To change to
horizontal, select WindowClose Side by Side.
Note that these two procedures may seem similar in that both are used for comparing
a document in different windows. Thus, the major differences are:
i. Splitting windows does not use name index; both bear the same name.
ii. Splitting windows has only one title bar and toolbars while each window in New
Window has its own title bar and toolbars.
iii. Splitting windows can only be viewed horizontally whereas New Windows can be
viewed in two ways (either horizontal or vertical).
To arrange windows of different documents, Right-Click on the taskbar 
Choose either Cascade windows (all windows restored), Tile Windows Horizontally,
Tile Windows Vertically, or Show the Desktop (all windows minimized).

 The Taskbar
The taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen and displays all the programs that are
currently open. When you minimize a window, it still appears as a button on the
taskbar. Click the program button on the taskbar to restore it to a window. By

50
 selecting different program buttons on the taskbar, you can switch easily between
currently open programs or press Alt + Tab key or WIN + Tab key + Enter.

 The Status Bar

The status bar, which is a horizontal area at the bottom of the document
window (e.g. in Microsoft Word) which provides information about the current state
of what you are viewing in the window and any other contextual information. To
display the status bar, click ToolsOptionsView tabselect the Status bar check box
under Show. The elements on the status bar for the above window include the
following.
i. Page number: Shows the page number.
ii. Sec number: Shows the section number of the page shown in the window.
iii. Number/number: Shows the page number and the total number of pages based on the
physical page count in the document.
iv. At measurement: Shows the distance from the top of the page to your insertion point.
No measurement is displayed if the insertion point is not in the window.
v. Ln number: Shows the line of text where the insertion point is located. No
measurement is displayed if the insertion point is not in the window.
vi. Col number: Shows the distance, in number of characters, from the left margin to the
insertion point. No measurement is displayed if the insertion point is not in the
window.
vii. REC: Shows the macro recorder status. Double-click REC to turn the macro recorder
on or off. When the recorder is off, REC appears dimmed.
viii. TRK: Shows the track changes status. Double-click TRK to turn the Track Changes
feature on or off. When changes are not being tracked, TRK appears dimmed.
ix. EXT: Shows the extend selection mode status. Double-click EXT to turn the mode on
or off. When selection mode is off, EXT appears dimmed.
x. OVR: Shows the overtype mode status. Double-click OVR to turn the mode on or off.
When overtype mode is off, OVR appears dimmed.
xi. Spelling and Grammar: Shows the spelling and grammar checking status. When
Word is in the process of checking for errors, an animated pen appears over the book.

51
 If no errors are found, a check mark appears. If an error is found, an X appears. To
resolve the error, double-click this icon.
xii. Background save: When a pulsating disk icon appears, Word is saving your document
in the background as you work.
xiii. Background print: When a printer icon appears, Word is printing your document in
the background as you work. A number next to the printer icon shows the current
page number being printed. To cancel the print job, double-click the printer icon.

Note that the status bar are grouped into sections: Page (i, ii, and iii), Measurement
(iv, v, vi), while others shows the current status of the commands.

USING THE SYSTEM (BOOTING/SHUTTING DOWN)

Turning the system ON (Booting) is very easy. It only requires you to press the On
Button once. This button is usually the upper button in front of the system console.
Before doing this, you must ensure that power supply has entered into the power
supply unit. To enforce this, switch on the UPS, turn the console box ON if there is
ON/OFF button at the back of the box (optional).
Shutting down has many options. The settings in the Shut Down Windows dialog box
include Stand by, Hibernate, Shut down, Restart, Log off, and Disconnect. To display
the Shut Down Windows dialog box, click Start,Shut Down. Stand by and Hibernate
appear only if your computer supports these features and you have turned them on in
Power Options. Disconnect appears only if you are connected to a Windows Server
running Terminal Services. On Windows 2000 Server products, you will be prompted
to supply information regarding why you are shutting down or restarting the
computer. This feature is turned off in Windows XP.
Standbymode: A state in which your computer consumes less electric power when it
is idle, but remains available for immediate use. Typically, you put your computer on
standby to save power instead of leaving it on for extended periods. In standby mode,
information in computer memory is not saved on your hard disk. If the computer loses
power, the information in memory will be lost. This option appears only if your
computer supports this feature and you have selected this option in Power Options.

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Hibernate: A state in which your computer saves any Windows settings that you
changed, writes any information that is currently stored in memory to your hard disk,
and turns off your computer. Unlike shutting down, when you restart your computer,
your desktop is restored exactly as it was before hibernation.

Shutdown: A state in which your computer saves any Windows settings that you
changed and writes any information that is currently stored in memory to your hard
disk. This prepares your computer to be turned off.

Restart: A state in which your computer saves any Windows settings that you
changed, writes any information that is currently stored in memory to your hard disk,
and then restarts your computer.

Logoff: A state in which your computer closes all your programs, disconnects your
computer from the network, and prepares your computer to be used by someone else.
When connected to a Windows 2000 Server running Terminal Services, Log off
closes all programs running in your Terminal Services session, disconnects your
session, and returns you to your Windows desktop.

Disconnect: A state in which your Terminal Services session is disconnected, but

remains active on the server. When you reconnect to Terminal Services, you are
returned to the same session, and everything looks exactly as it did before you
disconnected.

Make sure that you always shut the system down in the normal way, else you are
hastening to destroy the system especially when you are using Window XP.

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Lesson 1 INTRODUCTION TO WORD
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH MICROSOFT WORD 2007
FOR WINDOWS
 The Microsoft Office Button
 The Quick Access Toolbar
 The Title Bar
 The Ribbon
 The Ruler
 The Text Area
 The Vertical and Horizontal Scroll Bars
 The Status Bar
 Understanding Document Views
 Click
 Understanding Nonprinting Characters
 Create Sample Data and Select Text
 Place the Cursor
 Execute Commands with Keyboard Shortcuts
 Start a New Paragraph
 Exit Word

Microsoft Word is a word processing software package. You can use it to type letters,
reports, and other documents. This tutorial teaches Microsoft Word 2007 basics.
Although this tutorial was created for the computer novice, because Microsoft Word
2007 is so different from previous versions of
Microsoft Word, even experienced users may find it useful.

54
This lesson will introduce you to the Word window. You use this window to interact
with Word. To begin this lesson, open Microsoft Word 2007. The Microsoft Word
window appears and your screen looks similar to the one shown below
.

The Title Bar

Next to the Quick Access toolbar is the Title bar. The Title bar displays the title of the
document on which you are currently working. Word names the first new document
you open Document1. As you open additional new documents, Word names them
sequentially. When you save your document, you assign the document a new name.

The Ribbon

You use commands to tell Microsoft Word what to do. In Microsoft Word 2007, you
use the Ribbon to issue commands. The Ribbon is located near the top of the screen,
below the Quick Access toolbar. At the top of the Ribbon are several tabs; clicking a
55
 tab displays several related command groups. Within each group are related command
buttons. You click buttons to issue commands or to access menus and dialog boxes.
You may also find a dialog box launcher in the bottom-right corner of a group.
Clicking the dialog box launcher gives you access to additional commands via a
dialog box.

The Ruler

The ruler is found below the Ribbon.

You can use the ruler to change the format of your document quickly. If your ruler is
not visible, follow the steps listed here:

1. Click the View tab to choose it.

2. Click the check box next to Ruler in the Show/Hide group. The ruler appears below the
Ribbon.

The Text Area

Just below the ruler is a large area called the text area. You type your document in the
text area. The blinking vertical line in the upper-left corner of the text area is the
cursor. It marks the insertion point. As you type, your text displays at the cursor
location. The horizontal line next to the cursor marks the end of the document.

56
 The Vertical and Horizontal and Vertical Scroll Bars
The vertical and horizontal scroll bars enable you to move up, down, and across
your window simply by dragging the icon located on the scroll bar. The vertical scroll
bar is located along the right side of the screen. The horizontal scroll bar is located
just above the status bar. To move up and down your document, click and drag the
vertical scroll bar up and down. To move back and forth across your document, click
and drag the horizontal scroll bar back and forth. You won't see a horizontal scroll bar
if the width of your document fits on your screen.
The Status Bar
The Status bar appears at the very bottom of your window and provides such
information as the current page and the number of words in your document. You can
change what displays on the Status bar by right-clicking on the Status bar and
selecting the options you want from the Customize Status Bar menu. You click a
menu item to select it. You click it again to deselect it. A check mark next to an item
means it is selected.

57
Understanding Document Views
In Word 2007, you can display your document in one of five views: Draft, Web
Layout, Print Layout, Full Screen Reading, or Online Layout.
Draft View
Draft view is the most frequently used view. You use Draft view to quickly edit your
document.
Web Layout
Web Layout view enables you to see your document as it would appear in a browser
such as Internet Explorer.
Print Layout
The Print Layout view shows the document as it will look when it is printed.
Reading Layout
Reading Layout view formats your screen to make reading your document more
comfortable.
Outline View
Outline view displays the document in outline form. You can display headings
without the text. If you move a heading, the accompanying text moves with it.
You should use Draft view for these lessons. Before moving ahead, make sure you are
in Draft view:
58
 1. Click the View tab.

2. Click Draft in the Document Views group. When the Draft option is selected it
appears in a contrasting color.

Click
During the lessons that follow, you will be asked to "click" items and to choose tabs.
When asked to click:

1. Point to the item.

2. Press your left mouse button once.

If you are asked to double-click an item:

1. Point to the item.

2. Quickly press your left mouse button twice.

If you are asked to right-click:

1. Point to the item.

2. Press your right mouse button.

If you are asked to choose a tab, click the tab.

Understanding Nonprinting Characters

Certain characters, called nonprinting characters, do not print and will not appear in your
printed document but do affect your document
Character Denotes layout. You can elect to see these characters on
the A tab screen as you type or you can elect to have them
. A space
¶ The end of a paragraph
Hidden text 59
remain invisible. For these lessons, opt to see them onscreen. This table describes most of
them:

1. Choose the Home tab.

2. Click the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group. The Show/Hide
button appears in a contrasting color, when it is selected

CREATE SAMPLE DATA AND SELECT TEXT

If you type =rand() in your Word document and then press Enter, Word creates three
paragraphs. You can use these paragraphs to practice what you learn. Throughout
these lessons, you will be asked to select text. The following exercise teaches you how
to create data and how to select data. You can select by using the arrow keys or by
clicking and dragging. When using the arrow keys, use the up arrow to move up, the
down arrow to move down, the left arrow to move left, and the right arrow to move
right. When using the mouse, press the left mouse button and then drag in the
direction you want to move.
EXERCISE 1
Create Sample Data
1. Type =rand().
2. Press Enter. Three paragraphs appear in your document.

60
 Select with the Shift and Arrow Keys
1. Place your cursor before the word "On" in the first paragraph.
2. Press and hold down the Shift key, which serves as an "anchor" showing where
text you wish to select begins or ends.

3. Press the right arrow key until the first line of text is highlighted.

4. Press the down arrow key until the first paragraph is highlighted.

5. Click anywhere outside the highlighted area to remove the highlighting.

Select with the Mouse
1. Place your cursor before the word "You" in the second paragraph.
2. Press and hold down the left mouse button.

3. Drag the mouse until you have highlighted the second paragraph.

4. Click anywhere outside the highlighted area to remove the highlighting.

Place the Cursor
During the lessons, you will often be asked to place the cursor at a specific location
(the insertion point) on the screen. You place the cursor by moving the cursor to the
specified location and pressing the left mouse button or by using the arrow keys to
move to the specified location.
EXERCISE 2
The Arrow Keys
1. Use the down arrow key to move down your document.

2. Use the right arrow key to move to the right.

3. Use the up arrow key to move up.

4. Use the left arrow key to move to the left.

Cursor
1. Move around your document by using you mouse and clicking in a variety of location.

2. Click in a location and type. Note what happens.

Execute Commands with Keyboard Shortcuts

There are many methods you can use to accomplish tasks when using Word.
Generally, you choose an option by clicking the option on the Ribbon. However, you
61
 can also use shortcut keys. A key name followed by a plus and a letter means to hold
down the key while pressing the letter. For example, Ctrl+b means you should hold
down the Ctrl key while pressing "b." A shorthand notation of the above would read
as follows:

Press Ctrl+b
Typists who are slowed down by using a mouse usually prefer using keys.
Start a New Paragraph
When you type in Microsoft Word, you do not need to press a key to move to a new
line. To start a new paragraph, press the Enter key. Exit Word
You have completed Lesson One. Typically, you save your work before exiting.
EXERCISE 3
Close and Save—Windows

1. Click the Microsoft Office button. A menu appears.

2. Click Exit Word, which you can find in the bottom-right corner

3. You are prompted: "Do you want to save changes to Document1?" To save
your changes, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. If you click Yes, the Save As dialog
box appears.

62
 4. Move to the correct folder.

5. Name your file by typing Lesson One.doc in the File Name field.

6. Click Save. Word saves your file.

Close and Save—Windows XP

1. Click the Microsoft Office button. A menu appears.
2. Click Exit Word, which is in the bottom-right corner.

3. You will be prompted: "Do you want to save changes to Document1?" To save
your changes, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. If you click Yes, the Save As dialog
box appears.

4. Specify the correct folder in the Save In box.

5. Name your file by typing Lesson One.doc in the File Name field.

6. Click Save. Word saves your file.

Lesson 2 MICROSOFT WORD 2007 BASIC FEATURES

Lesson 1 familiarized you with the Microsoft Word window. You are now ready to
learn how to create a Word document. This lesson covers typing, using the Backspace
key, using the Delete key, inserting text, bolding, underlining, and italicizing. To
begin, open Microsoft Word.

• Type, Backspace, and Delete

• Insert and Overtype
• Bold, Italicize, and Underline,Save a File and Close Word

Type, Backspace, and Delete

63
In Microsoft Word, you create documents by typing them. For example, if you want to
create a report, you open Microsoft Word and then begin typing. You do not have to
do anything when your text reaches the end of a line and you want to move to a new
line—Microsoft Word automatically moves your text to a new line. If you want to
start a new paragraph, press Enter. Microsoft word creates a blank line to indicate the
start of a new paragraph. To capitalize, hold down the Shift key while typing the letter
you want to capitalize. If you make a mistake, you can delete what you typed and
then type your correction.
You can use the Backspace key to delete. Each time you press the Backspace key,
Microsoft Word deletes the character that precedes the insertion point. The insertion
point is the point at which your mouse pointer is located. You can also delete text by
using the Delete key. First, you select the text you want to delete; then you press the
Delete key.
EXERCISE 1
Type and Backspace
1. Type the following sentence: Joe has a very large house.
2. Delete the word "house." Using either the arrow keys or the mouse, place the
cursor between the period and the "e" in "house."
3. Press the Backspace key until the word "house" is deleted.
4. Type boat. The sentence should now read: "Joe has a very large boat."

Delete
Delete the word "very" from the sentence you just typed.
1. Select the word "very." You can place the cursor before the "v" in the word "very,"
press and hold down the Shift key, and then press the right arrow key until the word
"very" is highlighted.
2. Press the Delete key. The sentence should now read: "Joe has a large boat."
Insert and Overtype
While creating your document, you may find you need to insert text—place
new text between existing text. Suppose, you type the sentence, "Joe has a large boat."
After typing it, you decide you want to change the sentence to "Joe has a large blue

64
boat." With Microsoft Word, inserting a word, phrase, or even several paragraphs is
easy.
Alternatively, you may want to overtype text—replace old text with new text. For
example, suppose you type the sentence, "Joe has a large blue boat." After typing it,
you decide you want to change the sentence to "Joe has a large gray boat." With
Microsoft Word, overtyping the word blue with the word gray is also easy. Before you
attempt to insert or overtype, you should check the mode you are in—Insert or
Overtype. You right-click the Status bar and then use the Customize Status Bar menu
to place the Insert/Overtype button on the Status bar. You can then use the
Insert/Overtype button to switch between Insert and Overtype mode. When you are in
Insert mode, you can insert text. When you are in Overtype mode, you can overtype
text. By default, Microsoft Word is in the Insert mode.
EXERCISE 2
Placing the Insert/Overtype button on the Status bar
1. Right-click the Status bar. The Customize Status Bar menu appears.

2. Click Overtype. The Insert/Overtype button appears on the Status bar.

3. If the word Insert appears on the Status bar, you are in Insert mode.

4. If the word Overtype appears on the Status bar, click the word Overtype and it
will change to Insert, thereby changing Word to Insert mode.
Insert
Make sure you are in Insert mode before proceeding. You are going to insert the
word "blue" between the words "large" and "boat."
1. Place the cursor after the space between the words "large" and "boat."

2. Type the word blue.

3. Press the spacebar to add a space.

4. The sentence should now read: "Joe has a large blue boat."
Overtype
You can type over the current text (replace the current text with new text) in the
Overtypemode. Do the following to change to the Overtype mode.
Click "Insert" on the Status bar. The word Insert changes to Overtype.
65
Change the word "blue" to "gray."
1. Place the cursor before the letter "b" in "blue."

2. Type the word gray.

3. The sentence should now read: "Joe has a large gray boat."
Note: You can overtype text without changing to Overtype mode by selecting the text
you want to overtype and then typing.
When creating a document, you may need to emphasize particular words or phrases by
bolding, underlining, or italicizing. Also, certain grammatical constructs require that
you bold, underline, or italicize. You can bold, underline, and italicize when using
Word. You also can combine these features—in other words, you can bold, underline,
and italicize a single piece of text.
When you need to perform a task in Microsoft Word, you can usually choose from
several methods. The exercises that follow show you how to bold, underline, or
italicize using four different methods: using the launcher, the Ribbon, the Mini-
toolbar/context menu, and the keyboard.

EXERCISE 3
Type the following exactly as shown. Remember, pressing the Enter key starts a new
paragraph. Press the Enter key at the end of each of the following lines to start a new
paragraph.
Launcher: Bold Italicize Underline these words. All three Regular
Ribbon: Bold Italicize Underline these words. All three Regular
Mini Toolbar: Bold Italicize Regular
Keys: Bold Italicize Underline these words. All three Regular

66
 Your screen should look similar to the one shown here.
1. On the line that begins with Launcher, select the word "Bold." You can place the

cursor before the letter "B" in "Bold." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.

2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Font group. The Font dialog box appears.

4. Click Bold in the Font Style box. Note: You can see the effect of your action in
the Preview window. To remove the bold, click Regular.
5. Click OK to close the dialog box.

6. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting. You have bolded the word

bold.
Alternate Method—Bold with the Ribbon

67
1. On the line that begins with "Ribbon," select the word "Bold." You can place the

cursor before the letter "B" in "Bold." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.

2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the Bold button in the Font group. You have bolded the word bold.
Note: To remove the bold, you can select the text and then click the Bold button
again.
4. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.
Alternate Method - Bold with the Mini Toolbar

1. On the line that begins with "Mini Toolbar," select the word "Bold." You can place
the cursor before the letter "B" in "Bold."Press the Shift key; then press the right
arrow key until the entire word is highlighted.
68
2. Right-click. The Mini toolbar appears.
3. Click the Bold button . You have bolded the word bold.
Alternate Method—Bold with Keys
1. On the line that begins with "Keys," select the word "Bold." You can place the cursor

before the letter "B" in "Bold." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow key until
the entire word is highlighted.
2. Press Ctrl+b (hold down the Ctrl key while pressing b).

Note: To remove the Bold, press Ctrl+b again. You can also remove formatting by
pressing Ctrl+spacebar.
3. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.
Italicize with the Dialog Box Launcher

1. On the line that begins with Launcher, select the word "Italicize." You can place the

cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.
2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Font group. The Font dialog box appears.

69
4. Click Italicin the Font Style box.

Note: You can see the effect of your selection in the Preview window. To remove the

1. On the line that begins with "Keys," select the word "Italicize." You can
place the cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press
the right arrow key until the entire word is highlighted.
2. Press Ctrl+i (hold down the Ctrl key while pressing i).
Note: To remove italics, press Ctrl+i again. You can also remove formatting by
pressing Ctrl+spacebar.
italics, click Regular in the Font Style box.
5. Click OK to close the Font dialog box.

Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting. You have italicized the
word Italicize.

1. On the line that begins with "Ribbon," select the word "Italicize." You can place the

cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.
2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the Italic button on the Ribbon. You have italicized the word Italicize.
Note: To remove the italics, select the text and click the Italicize button again.
4. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.
Alternate Method—Italicize with Keys
1. On the line that begins with "Keys," select the word "Italicize." You can place the
cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.
70
 2. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting. You have italicized the
word Italicize.

1. Press Ctrl+i (hold down the Ctrl key while pressing i).
Note: To remove italics, press Ctrl+i again. You can also remove formatting by
pressing Ctrl+spacebar.

Alternate Method—Italicize with the Mini Toolbar

1. On the line that begins with "Mini Toolbar," select the word "Italicize." You can place
the cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press the right
arrow key until the entire word is highlighted.
2. Right-click. The Mini toolbar appears.
3. Click the Italic button . You have italicized the word Italicize.
Alternate Method—Italicize with Keys
1. On the line that begins with "Keys," select the word "Italicize." You can place the
cursor before the letter "I" in "Italicize." Press the Shift key; then press the right arrow
key until the entire word is highlighted.
2. Press Ctrl+i (hold down the Ctrl key while pressing i). Note: To remove italics, press
Ctrl+i again. You can also remove formatting by pressing Ctrl+spacebar.
3. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.You have italicized the
word Italicize.

71
 Underline with the Dialog Box Launcher
You can underline when using Word. Word provides you with many types of
underlines from which to choose.The following are some of the underlines that are
available if you use the dialog box launcher:

The following illustrates underlining with the dialog box launcher:

1. On the line that begins with "Launcher," select the words "Underline these words."
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Font group. The Font dialog box appears.

72
4. In the Underline Style box, click the down arrow to open the pull-down menu.
5. Click the type of underline you wish to use. Note: To remove an underline, you
selectNone from the pull-down menu.
6. Click OK to close the dialog box. The underline you selected appears under the words.
7. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.

1. On the line that begins with "Ribbon," select the words "Underline these words."

2. Choose the Home tab.

73
3. Click the Underline button in the Font group . Alternatively, you can press the down
arrow next to the underline button and click to choose the type of underline you want.
Note: To remove the underlining, click the Underline button again.

4. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.

Alternate Method—Underline with Keys

1. On the line that begins with "Keys," select the words "Underline these words."
2. Press Ctrl+u (hold down the Ctrl key while pressing u). Note: To remove the
underlining, press Ctrl+u again.

3. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.

All Three with the Dialog Box Launcher
1. On the line that begins with "Launcher," select the words "All three."

2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Font group. The Font dialog box appears.

4. In the Font Style box, click Bold Italic. Note: You can see the effect of your selection
in the preview window. To turn off the Bold Italic, click Regular.

5. In the Underline box, click to open the pull-down menu. Click the type of underline
you want to use. Note: To remove an underline, select None from the pull-down
menu.

6. Click OK to close the dialog box.

7. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.

Alternate Method—All Three with the Ribbon
1. On the line that begins with "Ribbon," select the words "All three."

2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the Bold button in the Font group.

4. Click the Italic button in the Font group.

5. Click the Underline button in the Font group.

6. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.

74
Lesson 3 MORE BASIC FEATURES

 Open a File
 Cut and Paste
 Copy and Paste
 Use the Clipboard
 Create AutoText
 Use Spell Check
 Find and Replace
 Change the Font Size
 Change the Font
 Save Your File

The features in Word 2007 can make your work easier, make your documents more
attractive, and/or enable you to work more efficiently. This Microsoft Word lesson
teaches you how to open a file, cut, copy, paste, use AutoText, use spell check, use
Find and Replace, and change fonts. All of these features either make your work
easier or make your document more attractive.

Open a File
When you do not have time to complete your work or when you finish your work, you
can save and close your file. After saving a file, you can later open it to revise or
finish it. You learned how to save a file in Lesson 2. In the exercise that follows, you
learn how to open the file you saved.

EXERCISE 1
Open a File with Windows Vista
If you are using Windows Vista:
1. Open Word 2007.

2. Click the Microsoft Office button. A menu appears.

75
3. Click Open. The Open dialog box appears.

4. Locate the folder in which you saved the file. The file is named Lesson Two.docx.

5. Click Lesson Two.docx.

6. Click Open. The file you created during the previous lesson appears.
Alternate Method—Opening a File with Keys
1. Open Word 2007.

2. Press Ctrl+o.

3. Locate the folder in which you saved your file. The file is named Lesson Two.docx

4. Click Lesson Two.docx.

5. Click Open. The file you created during the previous lesson appears.
CUT AND PASTE

You can use Word's Cut feature to remove information from a document. The you can
use the Paste feature to place the information you cut anywhere in the same or another
document. In other words, you can move information from one place in a document to
another place in the same or different document by using the Cut and Paste features.
The Office Clipboard is a storage area. When you cut, Word stores the data you cut on
the Clipboard. You can paste the information that is stored on the Clipboard as often
as you like.

EXERCISE 2
Cut with the Ribbon

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1. Type the following: I want to move. I am content where I am.
2. Select "I want to move. "
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the Cut button in the Clipboard group. Word cuts the text you selected and
places it on the Clipboard. Your text should now read: "I am content where I am."
Paste with the Ribbon

77
1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence "I am content where I am."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the Paste button in the Clipboard group. Word pastes the text on the Clipboard.
Your text should now read: "I am content where I am. I want to move."
Alternate Method—Cut with a Context Menu

78
1. Type the following: I want to move. I am content where I am.
2. Select "I want to move. "
3. Right-click. The Mini toolbar and a context menu appear.
4. Click Cut on the menu. Your text should now read: "I am content where I am."
Alternate Method—Paste with a Context Menu

1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence "I am content where I am."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Right-click. A Mini toolbar and a context menu appear.
4. Click Paste. Your text should now read: "I am content where I am. I want to move."
Alternate Method—Cut with Keys
1. Type the following: I want to move. I am content where I am.
2. Select "I want to move."
3. Press Ctrl+x.
4. Your text should now read: " I am content where I am."
Alternate Method—Paste with Keys
1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence: "I am content where I am."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Press Ctrl+v.
4. Your text should now read: "I am content where I am. I want to move."

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COPY AND PASTE
In Microsoft Word, you can copy information from one area of a document and
place the information you copied anywhere in the same or another document. In other
words, after you type information into a document, if you want to place the same
information somewhere else, you do not have to retype the information. You simple
copy it and then paste it in the new location. As with cut data, Word stores copied data
on the Clipboard.
EXERCISE 3
Copy with the Ribbon

1. Type the following: You will want to copy me. One of me is all you need.
2. Select "You will want to copy me."
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the Copy button in the Clipboard group. Word copies the data you selected to
the Clipboard.
Paste with the Ribbon

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1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence: "One of me is all you need."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the Paste button in the Clipboard group. Word places the data you copied at the
insertion point. Your text should now read: "You will want to copy me. One of me is
all you need. You will want to copy me."

Alternate Method—Copy with a Context Menu

1. Type the following: You will want to copy me. One of me is all you need.
2. Select "You will want to copy me."
3. Right-click. A Mini toolbar and a context menu appear.
4. Click Copy. Word places the data you copied at the insertion point. Your text should
now read: "You will want to copy me. One of me is all you need. You will want to
copy me."
Alternate Method—Paste with a Context Menu

1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence: "One of me is all you need."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Right-click. A context menu appears.
4. Click Paste. Word pastes the information on the Clipboard into the document.

Alternate Method—Copy with Keys

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1. Type the following: You will want to copy me. One of me is all you need.
2. Select "You will want to copy me. "
3. Press Ctrl+c. Word copies the information you selected to the Clipboard.

Alternate Method—Paste with Keys

1. Place the cursor after the period in the sentence "One of me is all you need."
2. Press the spacebar to leave a space.
3. Press Ctrl+v.
4. Your text should now read: "You will want to copy me. One of me is all you need.
You will want to copy me."
Use the Clipboard
As you cut or copy, Word can store the information you have cut or copied on the
Clipboard in a hierarchy. Then each time you cut or copy, the data you just cut or
copied moves to the top of the Clipboard hierarchy and the data previously at the top
moves down one level. When you choose Paste, the item at the top of the hierarchy is
the item Word pastes into your document. The Clipboard can store up to 24 items.
You can paste any item on the Clipboard into your document by placing your cursor at
the insertion point, displaying the Clipboard pane, and then clicking the item.
The Clipboard pane includes an Options button. You can click the Options button to
set the Clipboard options described in the following table.
EXERCISE 4
Use the Clipboard

1. Place the cursor at the point at which you want to insert your text.
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2. Choose the Home tab.

3. Click the Clipboard dialog box launcher to open the Clipboard.

4. Click the item on the clipboard you want to insert into your document. Word pastes
the Clipboard item into your document at the insertion point.
Create AutoText
Cut and Copy both store information on the Clipboard. Information you store on the
Clipboard is eventually lost. If you want to store information permanently for reuse,
use AutoText. AutoText permanently stores information for future use.
EXERCISE 5
Create AutoText

1. Type the following: AutoText information is stored permanently.

2. Select "AutoText information is stored permanently."
3. Choose the Insert tab.
4. Click Quick Parts in the Text group. A menu appears.
5. Click Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. The Create New Building Block dialog
box appears.

6. Microsoft Word suggests a name. Change the name by typing AT in the Name field.
7. Click OK. The dialog box closes.
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8. Click anywhere in the text area to remove the highlighting.
9. Place the cursor between the period in the sentence you just typed and the paragraph
marker (¶).
10.Press the spacebar to leave a blank space.
11.Type AT.
12.Press F3. Your text should now read: "AutoText information is stored permanently.
AutoText information is stored permanently."
Note: Whenever you need the text, simply type the name (AT) and then press F3.
Use Spell Check
Word checks your spelling and grammar as you type. Spelling errors display with a
red wavy line under the word. Grammar errors display with a green wavy line under
the error. In Word 2007, you can use the Review tab's Spelling & Grammar button to
initiate a spell and grammar check of your document.
EXERCISE 6
Use Spell Check

1. Type the following exactly as shown. Include all errors. Open thr door for Mayrala.
She is a teacher from the town of Ridgemont.
2. Select: "Open thr door for Mayrala. She is a teacher from the town of Ridgemont."
3. Choose the Review tab.
4. Click the Spelling & Grammar button. The Spelling and Grammar dialog box appears.

5. "The" is misspelled, so it is highlighted on the screen and noted in the Not in

Dictionarybox. Word suggests correct spellings. These suggestions are found in the
Suggestions box.
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6. Click "the" in the Suggestions box.
7. Click Change. Note: If the word is misspelled in several places, click Change All to
correct all misspellings.
8. The name "Mayrala" is not in the dictionary, but it is correct. Click Ignore Once to
leave "Mayrala" in the document with its current spelling.
Note: If a word appears in several places in the document, click Ignore All so you are
not prompted to correct the spelling for each occurrence.
9. "Ridgemont" is not found in the dictionary. If you frequently use a word not found in
the dictionary, you might want to add that word to the dictionary by clicking the Add
to Dictionary button. Word will then recognize the word the next time it appears.
Click Add to Dictionary.
10.The following should appear on your screen: "Word finished checking the selection.
Do you want to continue checking the remainder of the document?"
11.Click No. If you wanted Word to spell-check the entire document, you would have
clicked Yes.
Note: You can also press F7 to initiate a spelling and grammar check. If you don't have
anything selected, Word checks the entire document.
Find and Replace
If you need to find a particular word or phrase in your document, you can use the Find
command. This command is especially useful when you are working with large files.
If you want to search the entire document, simply execute the Find command. If you
want to limit your search to a selected area, select that area and then execute the Find
command.
After you find the word or phrase you are searching for, you can replace it with new text
by executing the Replace command.

EXERCISE 7
Use Find with the Ribbon

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1. Type the following: Monica is from Easton. She lives on the east side of town. Her
daughter attends Eastern High School.
2. Select: "Monica is from Easton. She lives on the east side of town. Her daughter
attends Eastern High School."
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click Find in the Editing group. A menu appears.
5. Click the Find option on the menu. The Find and Replace dialog box appears.

6. Type east in the Find What field.

7. Click Find Next. Note that the "East" in Easton is highlighted.
8. Click Find Next again. Note that "east" is highlighted.
9. Click Find Next again. Note that the "East" in Eastern is highlighted.
10.Click Find Next. The following message should appear: "Word has finished searching
the selection. Do you want to search the remainder of the document?"
11.Click No.
12.Click Cancel.

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Alternate Method—Find with Keys
1. Select: "Monica is from Easton. She lives on the east side of town. Her daughter
attends Eastern High School."
2. Press Ctrl+f.
3. Follow steps 6 through 12 in the preceding section.
Use Replace with the Ribbon

1. Select "Monica is from Easton. She lives on the east side of town. Her daughter
attends Eastern High School."
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click Replace in the Editing group. The Find and Replace dialog box appears.
4. Type east in the Find What box.
5. Type west in the Replace With box.
6. Click Find Next. The East in Easton is highlighted.
7. Click Replace. Word replaces the "East" in "Easton" with "West" and then highlights
the word "east."
8. Click Replace. Word replaces the word "east" with "west" and then highlights the
word "Eastern."
9. Click Close. Do not replace the "East" in "Eastern" with "West."
10.Your text should now read, "Monica is from Weston. She lives on the west side of
town. Her daughter attends Eastern High School."
Alternate Method—Replace with Keys
1. Select "Monica is from Easton. She lives on the west side of town. Her daughter
attends Western High School."

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2. Press Ctrl+h.
3. Follow steps 4 through 11 in the preceding section.

Change the Font Size

A font is a set of characters (text) represented in a single typeface. Each
character within a font is created by using the same basic style. In Microsoft Word,
you can change the size of your font. The following exercise illustrates changing the
font size.
EXERCISE 8
Change the Font Size

1. Type the following: I can be any size you want me to be.

2. Select "I can be any size you want me to be."
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. In the Font group, click the down arrow next to the Font Size box. A menu of font
sizes appears.
5. Move your cursor over the menu of font sizes. As you do, Word 2007 provides a live
preview of the effect of applying each font size.
6. Click 36 to select it as your font size.
Note: If you know the font size you want, you can type it in the Font Size field.
Alternate Method—Change the Font Size with Grow Font and Shrink Font
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 You can also change the size of your font by clicking the Grow Font and Shrink Font
buttons. Selecting text and then clicking the Grow Font button makes your font larger.
Selecting text and then clicking the Shrink Font button makes your font smaller.

1. Type the following: Grow Shrink

2. Select "Grow"
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the Grow Font button several times. Your font becomes larger.
5. Select Shrink.
6. Click the Shrink Font button several times. Your font becomes smaller.
Change the Font
In Microsoft Word, you can change the font (the "family" of type you use for your
text). This feature is illustrated in the following exercise:
EXERCISE 9
Change the Font with the Ribbon

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Type the following: Changing fonts
Select "Changing fonts."
Choose the Home tab.
Click the down arrow next to the Font field. A menu of fonts appears.
Move the cursor over the list of fonts. Word 2007 provides a live preview of what the font will
look like if you select it.
Click the font name to select the font you want.
Alternate Method—Change the Font with the Mini Toolbar

1. Select "Changing fonts."

2. Right-click. The Mini toolbar and a menu appears
3. Move to the Mini toolbar.

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4. Click the down arrow next to the Font field. A menu of fonts appears.
5. Click the name of the font you want.
Save Your File
This is the end of Lesson 3. You can save your file and close Word. See Lesson 2 to
learn how to save and close.

Lesson 4: Formatting Paragraphs and Working with Styles

When you type information into Microsoft Word, each time you press the Enter key
Word creates a new paragraph. You can format paragraphs. For example, you can
indent the first line of a paragraph, you can set the amount of space that separates
paragraphs, and you can align a paragraph left, right, center, or flush with both
margins. Styles are a set of formats you can quickly apply to a paragraph. For
example, by applying a style, you can set the font, set the font size, and align a
paragraph all at once. In this lesson, you will learn about the various formats you can
apply to a paragraph and about styles.

 Open a Blank Document

 Add Sample Text
 Add Space Before or After Paragraphs
 Change Line Spacing
 Create a First-Line Indent
 Indent Paragraphs
 Align Paragraphs
 Create a Hanging Indent
 Choose a Style Set
 Apply a Style
 Change Style Sets
When you type information into Microsoft Word, each time you press the Enter key
Word creates a new paragraph. You can format paragraphs. For example, you can
indent the first line of a paragraph, you can set the amount of space that separates
paragraphs, and you can align a paragraph left, right, center, or flush with both

91
margins. Styles are a set of formats you can quickly apply to a paragraph. For
example, by applying a style, you can set the font, set the font size, and align a
paragraph all at once. In this lesson, you will learn about the various formats you can
apply to a paragraph and about styles.
When you are formatting a paragraph, you do not need to select the entire paragraph.
Placing the cursor anywhere in the paragraph enables you to format it. After you
format a paragraph, pressing the Enter key creates a new paragraph in the same
format.
Open a Blank Document
To begin a new Word project, you start by opening a new document.To begin this
lesson, open a blank document in Microsoft Word.
EXERCISE 1
Open a Blank Document

1. Open Word 2007.

2. Click the Microsoft Office button. A menu appears.

3. Click New. The New Document dialog box appears.

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4. Click Blank Document.

5. Click Create. A new blank document opens.

Add Sample Text
This lesson uses sample text provided by Microsoft for training and
demonstration purposes. You can type the text; however, there is a quicker way. You
can use the rand function.
Functions are used to obtain information. You tell the function what you want
and the function returns that information to you. By default, in Word, when you type
the rand function, Word returns three paragraphs. When working with functions, you
use arguments to be specific about what you want the function to return. There are two
arguments you can use with the rand function. The first one tells Word how many
paragraphs you want, and the second one tells Word how many sentences you want in
a paragraph. You place arguments between the parentheses and you separate them
with a comma. For example, if you type =rand() and then press Enter, word returns
three paragraphs. To tell Word you want two paragraphs with three sentences in each
paragraph, you type =rand(2,3).
EXERCISE 2
Add Sample Text
1. Type =rand().

2. Press the Enter key. The following text appears:

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On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the
overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers,
footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create
pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.
¶
You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by
choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab.
You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most
controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format
that you specify directly. ¶
To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the
Page Layout tab. To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the
Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick
Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of
your document to the original contained in your current template. ¶

1. Place your cursor anywhere in the second paragraph of the sample text you created
in Exercise 2.

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2. Choose the Page Layout tab. The default spacing appears in the Spacing Before
field.

3. Click the up arrow next to the Spacing Before field to increase the space before the
paragraph.

4. Click the up arrow next to the Spacing After field to increase the amount of space
after the paragraph.
Note: You can click the down arrows next to the Spacing Before and the Spacing
After fields to decrease the amount of space before or after a paragraph. You can also
type the amount of space you want to use directly into the fields. Space is measured in
points. There are 72 points to an inch.
Change Line Spacing
Line spacing sets the amount of space between lines within a paragraph. The spacing
for each line is set to accommodate the largest font on that line. If the lines include
smaller fonts, there will appear to be extra space between lines where the smaller fonts
are located. At 1.5, the line spacing is set to one-and-a-half times the single-space
amount. At 2.0, the line spacing is set to two times the single-space amount (double
space).
EXERCISE 4
Change Line Spacing

1. Place your cursor anywhere in the first paragraph of the sample text you created in
Exercise 2.
2. Choose the Home tab.
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3. Click the Line Spacing button in the Paragraph group. A menu of options appears.
4. Click 2.0 to double-space the first paragraph.
Create a First-Line Indent
Some people and organizations delineate the start of a new paragraph by indenting the
first line. If you want to indent the first line of your paragraphs, you can use the
Paragraph dialog box to set the amount by which you want to indent. In the Special
Field of the Paragraph dialog box, you tell Word you want to indent the first line by
choosing First Line from the menu options. In the By field, you tell Word the amount,
in inches by which you want to indent. EXAMPLE: First-line Indent on the Insert
tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of
your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists,
cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or
diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.

1. Place your cursor anywhere within the first paragraph of the sample text you
created in Exercise 2.

2. Choose the Home tab.

3. In the Paragraphs group, click the launcher. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.

5. Click to open the drop-down menu on the Special field.

6. Click First Line.

7. Enter 0.5" in the By field.

8. Click OK. The first line of your paragraph is now indented half an inch.

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9. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.

10.Click to open the drop-down menu on the Special field.

11.Click First Line.

12. Enter 0.5" in the By field.

13.Click OK. The first line of your paragraph is now indented half an inch.
Special Note: To remove the first line indent:
1. Place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. In the Paragraphs group, click the launcher. The Paragraph dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
5. Click the down arrow next to the Special field and then click None.
6. Click OK. Indent Paragraphs Indentation allows you to indent your paragraph from
the left and/or right margin. You may find this necessary when you are quoting a
large block of text. The following exercise shows you how to indent a paragraph 1
inch from each side. EXAMPLE: Indentation On the Insert tab, the galleries
include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your
document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover
pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or
diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look. You can easily
change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for
97
 the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also
format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls
offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you
specify directly.

EXERCISE 6
Indent Paragraphs

1. Place your cursor anywhere in the second paragraph of the sample text you created
in Exercise 2.

2. Choose the Page Layout tab.

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3. Type 1" in the Indent Left field or use the up or down arrows to set the field value
to 1".

4. Type 1" in the Indent Right field or use the up or down arrows to set the field value
to 1". Your paragraph is now indented one inch from both the left and right margins,
as in the example.
Align Paragraphs
Microsoft Word gives you a choice of several types of alignments. Left-aligned text is
flush with the left margin of your document and is the default setting. Right-aligned
text is flush with the right margin of your document, centered text is centered between
the left and right margins, and Justified text is flush with both the left and right
margins.

EXAMPLE: Left-Aligned
Sample Paragraph
On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the
overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers,
footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create
pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.
EXAMPLE: Right-aligned
Sample Paragraph
On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the
overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers,
footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When
diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.
EXAMPLE: Justified
Sample Paragraph
On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the
overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers,
footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create
pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.

99
1. Select the paragraphs you create
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the Align-right button in the Paragraph group. Word right-aligns your
paragraphs.
Left-align
1. Select the paragraphs you created.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the Align-left button in the Paragraph group. Word left-aligns your
paragraph.
Center
1. Selected the paragraphs you created.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the Center button in the Paragraph group. Word centers your paragraph.
Justify
1. Select the paragraphs you created.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the Justify button in the Paragraph group. Word justifies your paragraph.
Alternate Method—Right-Justify with Keys
1. Select the paragraphs you created.
2. Press Ctrl+r. The paragraph is now right-aligned.
Alternate Method—Left-Justify with Keys
1. Select the paragraphs you created.

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 2. Press Ctrl+l. The paragraph is now left-aligned.
Alternate Method—Center with Keys
1. Select the paragraphs you created.
2. Press Ctrl+e. The paragraph is now centered.
Alternate Method—Justify with Keys
1. Select the paragraphs you created.
2. Press Ctrl+j. The paragraph is now justified.
Create a Hanging Indent

1. Type the following: Hanging Indent: The hanging indent feature indents the first line
by the amount specified in the Left field. Subsequent lines are indented by the amount
specified in the Left field plus the amount specified in the By field.
2. Select the paragraph you just typed.
3. Choose the Home tab.
4. Click the launcher in the Paragraph group. The Paragraph dialog box appears.

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 5. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
6. In the Special field, click to open the pull-down menu.
7. Click Hanging.
8. In the By box, type 2".
9. Click OK.
10.Place the cursor after the colon following "Hanging Indent."
11. Press the Tab key. Notice that the indentation changes.
Choose a Style Set
When working with Word, you can use styles to quickly format your documents. A style is a
set of formats consisting of such things as fonts, font colors, font sizes, and paragraph
formats. Word 2007 supplies you with predesigned style sets that contain styles for titles,
subtitles, quotes, headings, lists and more. The sections that follow all show you how to
work with styles. The exercises are based on a file you must download. Right click here to
download the file. Click Save Target As from the menu that appears, and save the linked file
to a directory on your computer.
The file will download as a zip file. A zip file is a file that is compressed. Compressed files
are smaller and easier to download. To open the file:
1. Open the folder you downloaded the file to.
2. Right-click on the file name.
3. Click Extract All on the menu that appears. The Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders
dialog box appears.
4. Enter the folder you want to put the file in or except to suggested location.
5. Click Extract. Windows Explorer extracts the file.
6. You can use Microsoft Word to open the file. EXERCISE 9 Choose a Style Set
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1. Choose the Home tab.
2. Click Change Styles in the Styles group. A menu appears.
3. Click Style Set. A menu appears. You can choose from any of the styles listed on the menu.
4. Click Simple. Word 2007 reformats all of the paragraphs into the Simple style by applying the
Normal format to each paragraph.
Apply a Style
You can see of all the styles available to you in the style set by clicking the launcher in the Styles
group and opening the Styles pane. You can leave the Styles pane open and available for use by
docking it. To dock the Styles pane, click the top of the pane and drag it to the left or right edge of the
Word window.
You do not need to select an entire paragraph to apply a style. If the cursor is anywhere in the
paragraph, when you click on the style, Word formats the entire paragraph.
EXERCISE 10
Apply the Title Style

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1. Choose the Home tab.

2. Click the launcher in the Styles Group. The Styles pane appears. You can drag it to
the side of the Word window to dock it. To close the Styles pane, click the Close
button in the upper right corner of the pane .

3. Click anywhere in the paragraph "Single-Parent Family—Career Help."

4. Click Title in the Styles pane. Word 2007 applies the Title style to the paragraph.
Headings and subheadings mark major topics within your document. With Word
2007, you can easily format the headings and subheadings in your document. Apply
Headings 1. Click anywhere in the paragraph "The Nature of Single Parenthood."

2. In the Style box, click Heading 1. Word reformats the paragraph.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 in the following paragraphs:

 Types of Single Parents

 Career Development Needs of Single Parents

 Career Development Programs Apply Subheadings

1. Click anywhere in the paragraph "Displaced Homemakers"

2. In the Style box, click Heading 2. Word reformats the paragraph.

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 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the following paragraphs:

Displaced Homemakers

 Adolescent Mothers

 Single Fathers

 High School Dropout Prevention

 Established Education Sites

Change Style Sets

Once you have applied styles, changing to another style set is easy. You simply open the Style Set
gallery. As you move your cursor down the menu, Word 2007 provides you with a live preview of the
effect of applying the style set. To choose a style set, you click it.
EXERCISE 11
Change Style Sets
1. Click Change Styles in the Styles group. A menu appears.
2. Click Style Set. A menu appears. As you move your cursor down the menu Word 2007 provides you
with a live preview of the effect of applying the Style set to your document.
3. Click Formal. Word 2007 reformats all of the paragraphs into the Formal style applying the
appropriate format to each paragraph.

Adding Bullets and Numbers, Undoing and Redoing, Setting

Page Layouts and Printing Documents
If you have lists of data, you may want to bullet or number them. When using Microsoft Word, bulleting
and numbering are easy. The first part of this lesson teaches you to bullet and number. After you have
completed your document, you may want to share it with others. One way to share your document is
to print and distribute it. However, before you print you may want to add page numbers and tell Word
such things as the page orientation, the paper size, and the margin setting you want to use. In this
lesson you will learn how to layout and how to print your documents.
 Add Bullets and Numbers
 Undo and Redo
 Set the Orientation
 Set the Page Size
 Set the Margins
 Add Page Numbers
 Insert Page Breaks
 Preview and Print Documents

If you have lists of data, you may want to bullet or number them. When using Microsoft Word, bulleting
and numbering are easy. The first part of this lesson teaches you to bullet and number.
After you have completed your document, you may want to share it with others. One way to share your
document is to print and distribute it. However, before you print you may want to add page numbers
and tell Word such things as the page orientation, the paper size, and the margin setting you want to
use. In this lesson you will learn how to layout and how to print your documents.
Add Bullets and Numbers
In Microsoft Word, you can easily create bulleted or numbered lists of items. Several bulleting and
numbering styles are available, as shown in the examples. You can select the one you wish to use.
EXAMPLES: Numbering

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 EXAMPLES: Bulleting

EXERCISE 1
Bullets

1. Type the following list as shown: Apple Orange Grape Mango Cherry

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 2. Select the words you just typed.

3. Choose the Home tab.

4. In the Paragraph group, click the down arrow next to the Bullets button . The Bullet
Library appears.

5. Click to select the type of bullet you want to use. Word adds bullets to your list.
Note: As you move your cursor over the various bullet styles, Word displays the bullet
style onscreen.

To remove the bulleting:

1. Select the list again.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the down arrow next to the Bullets icon. The Bullet dialog box
appears.
4. Click None. Word removes the bullets from your list.

Numbers

1. Type the following list as shown: Apple Orange Grape Mango Cherry
2. Select the words you just typed.
3. Choose the Home tab.

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4. In the Paragraph group, click the down arrow next to the Numbering button . The Numbering Library
appears.
5. Click to select the type of numbering you want to use. Word numbers your list. Note: As you move
your cursor over the various number styles, Word displays the number style onscreen.
To remove the numbering:
1. Select the list again.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the down arrow next yo the Numbering icon. The Number dialog box
appears.
4. Click None. Word removes the numbering from your list.

Undo and Redo

You can quickly reverse most commands you execute by using Undo. If you then change your mind
again, and want to reapply a command, you can use Redo.
EXERCISE 2
Undo and Redo

1. Type Undo example.

2. Click the Undo button on the Quick Access menu. The typing disappears.
3. Click the Redo button on the Quick Access menu. The typing reappears.
4. Select "Undo example."
5. Press Ctrl+b to bold. Word bolds the text.
6. Press Ctrl+i. Word italicizes the text.
7. Press Ctrl+u Word underlines the text.
8. Click the down arrow next to the Undo icon. You will see the actions you performed listed. To undo
the underline, click Underline; to undo the underline and italic, click Underline Italic; to undo the
underline, italic, and bold click Bold etc.
9. To redo, click the Redo icon several times.
Alternate Method -- Undo & Redo by Using Keys
1. Type Undo example.
2. Press Ctrl+z. The typing disappears.
3. Press Ctrl+y. The typing reappears.
4. Select "Undo example."
5. Press Ctrl+u to underline.
6. Press Ctrl+z. The underline is removed.

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7. Press Ctrl+y. The underline reappears.
Set the Orientation
Before you print your document, you may want to change the orientation of your pages. There are two
orientations you can use: portrait and landscape. Paper, such as paper sized 8 1/2 by 11, is longer on
one edge than it is on the other. If you print in Portrait, the shortest edge of the paper becomes the top
of the page. Portrait is the default option. If you print Landscape, the longest edge of the paper
becomes the top of the page.

Portrait
Landscape

The exercises that follow use a file named SamplePrint.docx. Right click here to download the file.
Click Save Target As from the menu that appears, and save the linked file to a directory on your
computer. The file will download as a zip file. A zip file is a file that is compressed. Compressed files
are smaller and easier to download. To open the file:
1. Open the folder you downloaded the file to.
2. Right-click on the file name.
3. Click Extract All on the menu that appears. The Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box
appears.
4. Enter the folder you want to put the file in or except to suggested location.
5. Click Extract. Windows Explorer extracts the file.
6. You can use Microsoft Word to open the file.

EXERCISE 3
Set the Orientation

1. Choose the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Orientation in the Page Setup group. A menu appears.

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3. Click Portrait. Word sets your page orientation to Portrait.
Set the Page Size
Paper comes in a variety of sizes. Most business correspondence uses 8 1/2 by 11 paper which is the
default page size in Word. If you are not using 8 1/2 by 11 paper, you can use the Size option in the
Page Setup group of the Page Layout tab to change the Size setting.
EXERCISE 4
Set the Page Size
1. Choose the Page Layout tab.
2. Click Size in the Page Setup group. A menu appears.
3. Click Letter 8.5 x 11in. Word sets your page size.

Set the Margins

Margins define the amount of white space that appears at the top, bottom, left, and right edges of your
document. The Margin option in the Page Setup group of the Page Layout tab provides several standard
margin sizes from which you can choose.

EXERCISE 5
Set the Margins

1. Choose the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Margins in the Page Setup group. A menu appears.
3. Click Moderate. Word sets your margins to the Moderate settings.
Add Page Numbers
Page numbers help you keep your document organized and enable readers to find information quickly.
You can add page numbers to the top, bottom, or margins of your pages, and you can choose where the

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 numbers appear. For example, numbers can appear at the top of the page, on the left, right, or center
of the page. Word also offers several number styles from which you can choose.

EXERCISE 6
Add Page Numbers

1. Choose the Insert tab.

2. Click the Page Number button in the Header & Footer group. A menu appears.

3. Click Bottom of Page.

4. Click the right-side option. Insert Page Breaks As you learned in Lesson 1, you can
display your document in any of five views: Draft, Web Layout, Print Layout, Full
Screen Reading, or Online Layout. In Print Layout view you see your document as it
will appear when you print it. You can clearly see where each page ends and a new
page begins. As you review your document, you may find that you want to change the
point at which a new page begins. You do this by inserting a page break. For example,
if a page heading appears on one page and the first paragraph under the heading
appears on the next page, you may want to insert a page break before the heading to
keep the heading and the first paragraph together.

EXERCISE 7

Change to Print View

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1. Choose the View tab.
2. Click Print Layout in the Document Views group. Your document changes to the Print Layout view.
Insert Page Breaks

1. Place your cursor before the D in "Displaced Homemakers"

2. Choose the Insert tab.
3. Click Page Break. Word places a page break in your document.
To delete a page break, you select the page break and then press the Delete key.

Preview and Print Documents When you have your margins, tabs, and so on the way you want them,
you are ready to print. In Word, You can preview your document before you print. In the Preview mode,
you can review each page, view multiple pages at the same time, zoom in on a page, and access the
Size, Orientation, and Margin options. If you press the Zoom button while you are in Preview mode, the
Zoom dialog box appears. In the Zoom dialog box you can set the sizes of the pages that display as well
as the number of pages that display. When you are ready to print, you use the Print dialog box. In the

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Print Range area, choose All to print every page of your document, choose Current Page to print the
page you are currently on, or choose Pages to enter the specific pages you want to print. Type the
pages you want to print in the Pages field. Separate individual pages with commas (1,3, 13); specify a
range by using a dash (4-9). EXERCISE 8 Print Preview

1. Click the Microsoft Office button. A menu appears.

2. Highlight the Print option. The Preview and Print the Document menu appears.

3. Click Print Preview. The Preview window appears, with your document in the window.

4. Click One Page to view one page at a time. Click Two Pages to view two pages at a time.

5. To view your document in normal size, click 100%.

6. Click the Zoom Button. The Zoom dialog box appears.

7. Select an option and then click OK. Perform this task for each option and note the results. Note: As
you review your document, if you see changes you would like to make to the layout, use the Margin,
Orientation, or Page Size options to make the changes. If you want to make other types of changes to
your document, click the Close Print Preview button, to return to your document. Once you are satisfied
with your document, you are ready to print. Print

1. Click the Print button. The Print dialog box appears.

2. Click the down arrow next to the Name field and select the printer to which you want to print.

3. Choose All as the page range.

4. Click OK. Word prints your document. You have completed Lesson

5. You can save your document and close Word.

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 INTRODUCTION TO COREL DRAW

What is CorelDraw? Corel draw is a package specially meant for designing of many things like invitation
cards, hand bills, complimentary card etc. From the special character it possesses. It provides you with many
tools to enable you design to your taste. Entering into Corel Draw environment using Keyboard Press
Window Logo button. Use up arrow button to highlight all program. From the fly out, use up arrow button to
locate CorelDraw and press enter key. It will display Corel draw environment, then press enter key again to
view the design page.

Click on New, Recently Used or Open (previous saved documents)

FEATURES OF COREL DRAW:

Some of the following features can be seen on the Corel draw window environment.

TITLE BAR: This is the first horizontal bar at the top of the window environment, it carries the name of the
application you are currently running and also the names of the in which the active document is being saved
with. It contains the Minimize, Restore, Maximize and close button.

MENU BAR: - This is located at the bottom of the title bar. It contains command jacket from File to Help.

Menu Bar

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STANDARD TOOLBAR: - This is located below the menu bar and contains some important short key of the
menu bar that standardized you document.

Standard Tool Bar

PROPERTY TOOLBAR: - This is located below the standard toolbar, it displays all information about any
command selected, it also provides you with more features on a certain command selected.

Property Tool Bar

RULER BAR: - It is usually vertical and horizontal ruler bar. They are used for maintaining measurements
unlike in column.

Ruler Bar

TO CHANGE THE MEASUREMENT UNIT

Double click on ruler bar from the ruler option, select the measuring unit and click ok. OR Go to layout menu
and click at page set up. Select your desire measurement unit and click ok. TEXT BAR - This bar enables you
to see and select the necessary font style or character of your choice.

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