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Opening, Closing, and Switching Between

Programs
There are two ways you can open a program in Windows NT. You can select the
program from your Programs menu. Or, if you know the name and path of the
program you want to start, you can use the Run command to start it.
To open and close a program from the Programs menu
1. To start a program, click the Start button, and then point to Programs. Any
program groups that you have from previous versions of Windows NT have been
converted into folders by Windows NT.
2. Point to the folder containing the program that you would like to open, and then
click the program name.

3. To quit the program, click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the
window.
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To open and close a program using the Run command

1. To start a program, click the Start button, and then click Run.

2. Type the name of the program, folder, or document you want to open. You can
also click Browse to look for the item.
When you use the Run command, you can often specify just the name of the
program instead of the full path.

3. To see items that you typed previously, click the arrow in the Open box.
4. To quit a program, click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the
window.
You can run many programs at the same time, and switch easily between them by
using the taskbar. The taskbar contains a button for each open folder or program on
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 20

your computer. You must already have the programs open in order to view them on
the taskbar.
To switch between programs
· Click the taskbar button representing the open program or folder that you want to
switch to.
The program’s window then appears in front of the other windows on your screen.
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Viewing the Contents of Your Computer

There are two ways you can view programs, documents, and data files that you have
on your computer. You can use the My Computer icon that is displayed on your
desktop, or you can use Windows NT Explorer under Programs on the Start menu.
To view your computer’s contents using the My Computer
icon
1. From your desktop, double-click My Computer. A window appears displaying
additional icons.
2. Double-click these icons to view the contents of your computer.
The following table shows many of the icons likely to appear on your screen, and
explains their uses.

Double-click this icon To do this

3 1\2 Floppy A: View the contents of a disk in your computer’s
3.5-inch drive, if there is one.
5 1\4 Floppy B: View the contents of a disk in your computer’s
5.25-inch drive, if there is one.
Disk Drive C: View the contents of your computer’s hard disk.
Audio CD D: View the contents of a compact disc in your
computer’s CD-ROM drive, if there is one.
Network Drive E: View the contents of a network drive, if your
computer is connected to one.
Control Panel Change the settings for your computer.

Printers Set up printers and view information about your

printers and the documents you print.

When you double-click a disk-drive icon in My Computer, you see the

following window.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 22

3. Double-click any of these icons to start a program, see the contents of a folder, or
view information in a file.

This icon Represents

A folder, which can contain files and other folders. Your directories
appear as folders.
A shared folder. You set up shared folders so that other people on a
network can use the folder’s contents.
A file, the basic unit of storage in Windows NT. The documents you
use and create are files, and so are the programs you use. Different
files are represented by different icons. If the file type does not have a
specific icon associated with it, then this standard icon will be used to
represent your document.
A document that was created with WordPad, the text editor that is
included with Windows NT.
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To view your computer’s contents using Windows NT

Explorer
1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, and then click Windows NT
Explorer.
A double-paned window appears. The left side of the window lists all the names
and icons of the disk drives on your computer, as well as files and folders. The
right side of the window displays the contents of any item you click on the left,
along with its icon.
2. Double-click the icon of a document or program that you want to open. The
contents appear in the right window.
 Move Items Create Shortcuts Get Help Complete Common Tasks

Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 24

Using Your Mouse to Work Efficiently

This section shows you how you can use your mouse to quickly accomplish common
actions and speed up your work. Notice that your mouse has two buttons, a left
button and a right button. You select an item by clicking it—to click, quickly press
and release the left mouse button (called left-click) or the right mouse button (called
right-click).
Here are some actions that you perform using your mouse:
You can move an item by pointing to it, pressing and holding down the left or right
mouse button, and then dragging the item to another location.
You can open a file or folder directly from your desktop or from the Start menu by
creating a shortcut icon that represents a link to a document, folder, disk drive,
computer or printer.
You can get help on any item on your screen by clicking the What’s This? button
and then clicking the item you would like more information on.
You can right-click any item on your screen and a task menu will appear, listing
common tasks that can be performed on that item. Click a task to activate it.

Organizing Files and Folders

This section shows you some basic procedures for organizing files and folders on
your computer so that they are easier to work with. The following procedures use
My Computer, but you can also use Windows NT Explorer to do these tasks.
To create a new folder
1. Double-click My Computer, and then double-click the drive or folder in which
you want to place the new folder.
2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.

3. Type the name of the new folder, and then press ENTER.

To move or copy a file or folder

1. Double-click My Computer. Find the file or folder you want to move or copy,
and then click it.
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2. Click Edit. To move the file, click Cut. To make a copy of the file, click Copy.

3. Open the folder where you want to place the file, click Edit, and then click
Paste.

To delete a file or folder

1. Double-click My Computer. Find the file or folder you want to delete, and then
click it.

2. On the File menu, click Delete.

To copy a file to a floppy disk

1. Double-click My Computer. Find the file or folder you want to copy, and then
click it.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 26

2. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click the drive where you want to
copy the file or folder.

Using Drag and Drop to Move Information

Sometimes the quickest way to move and copy information is to drag it from one
place to another by using your mouse. You can move or copy files and folders to
another folder or disk drive.
To move or copy by dragging
1. In Explorer, open the folder that contains the file or folder you want to move or
copy.
2. Press down the right mouse button and keep the button pressed down as you drag
the icon to the folder where you want to move or copy it. Then release the mouse
button.

3. Click Move Here or Copy Here.

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Installing Software Programs

It’s easy to install software onto your computer using Windows NT. You can add
and remove programs with the Add/Remove Programs utility in Control Panel.
To install programs
1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 28

2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. The Add/Remove programs Properties dialog box appears. Follow the
instructions on your screen.

Customizing Your Computing Environment

There are many ways in which you can customize Windows NT to suit your needs.
For example, you can change the way your computer screen physically looks by
changing screen colors and backgrounds. You can also change the way your
keyboard and mouse work. And you can create shortcuts to frequently-used files and
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programs, which will then open automatically when you start your computer or click
the shortcut icon.

Personalizing Your Desktop

You can personalize your desktop by changing screen colors and backgrounds. These
changes are made using Control Panel.
To change the way your screen looks
1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display icon.

3. To see more settings, click the tabs at the top of the Display Properties dialog
box.
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Opening Frequently-Used Programs and

Documents Quickly
If there are programs and documents that you use frequently, you can create a
shortcut to open the program or document quickly. Once created, the shortcut
appears as an icon. The shortcut icon has a small arrow in its lower-left corner.
A shortcut lets you open a file or folder from a more convenient location. For
example, directly from your desktop or from the Start menu, or automatically at
Startup. You can open any object—including folders, disk drives, other computers,
or printers—using a shortcut.
A shortcut does not change a file’s location. It can point to a file or resource on your
computer or on a network server. A shortcut can even represent a paragraph in a
document. You can have multiple shortcuts to the same object and you can copy and
delete shortcuts. Note that when you delete a shortcut it does not affect the original
object.

Opening a Document Directly from Your

Desktop
You can open a file or folder directly from your desktop. For example, if you write a
letter to David every day, you can place a shortcut icon to that file on the
Windows NT desktop. You can then open the document directly from your desktop
by double-clicking the “Letter to David” icon.
To open a document directly from your desktop
1. In My Computer, locate the item you want to copy onto your desktop.
2. Use the right mouse button to drag the item to the desktop. You can see that you
are moving the icon because there is an arrow pointing to it as it moves. Release
the mouse button when the item is directly on the desktop.
3. A menu appears when you release the mouse button. Left-click Create
Shortcut(s) Here.

4. The shortcut icon appears on your desktop. You can now open the Letter To
David file directly from your desktop.
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Opening a Program Automatically

It is convenient to have the programs that you use most often open automatically
when you start Windows NT. To do this, create a shortcut to the program in your
Startup folder.
To open a program automatically when you start Windows
NT
1. From the Start menu the Find command, and click Files or Folders.
2. Type the name of the file, program, or folder you want to create a shortcut to,
and then right-click it.
3. Click Create Shortcut.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 32

4. A message appears asking if you would like to create a shortcut on the desktop.
Click Yes.

The shortcut appears on your desktop.

5. Using the Find command, locate the Startup folder on your computer.
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6. Double-click Startup to view the Startup window.

7. Drag the shortcut from the desktop into the Startup window and release the
mouse. Your program will now begin automatically at Startup.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 34

Opening a Document Directly from the Start

Menu
You can create a shortcut that will enable you to open a document directly from the
Start menu. Your shortcut icon will appear at the top of the menu.
To open a document directly from the Start menu
· In My Computer or Explorer, right-click the document you want, and drag it
onto the Start button. The icon will appear at the top of the Start menu, and you
can open it by clicking it.
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Changing the Way Windows NT Works and

Looks
To change the way Windows NT works and looks, use the icons in Control Panel.
These icons represent options, including network and sound capabilities, for
configuring your computer. The icons in Control Panel will vary, depending on the
devices you installed on your computer.
To view Control Panel
· Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
The following table shows many of the icons likely to appear on your screen, and
explains their uses:
Choose To
Accessibility Change your computer screen, mouse, keyboard features,
Options and sound to make Windows NT more accessible for
people with disabilities.
Add/Remove Install and remove software automatically, and add or
Programs remove installed components in Windows NT.
Console Change the appearance of your MS-DOS screen by
changing screen colors, screen size and position, fonts,
cursor size, and more.
Date/Time Change the system date, time, and time zone.

Devices Start, stop, and configure the startup type for device
drivers.
Display Change the appearance of your screen by changing screen
colors, fonts, the appearance and size of windows,
background design, icons, and other visuals.
Fonts Add or remove screen, vector, TrueType, and Type 1 fonts.
Some printer fonts are installed automatically when you
install a printer. Other printer fonts must be installed using
a font installation program provided by the font
manufacturer.
Keyboard Adjust the keyboard delay and repeat rate, and add
keyboard symbols that are exclusive to other languages.
Modems Add modems using the Add Modem wizard, a step-by-step
modem setup program.
Mouse Customize elements such as speed and button functions for
your pointing device.
Multimedia Adjust audio, video, CD (music), and MIDI, and add or
remove multimedia devices.
Network Configure network adapter cards, network services and
protocols, and join a workgroup or a domain.
 Chapter 2 Learning the Basics 36

PC Card Display resources used by any PC cards, if you have these

(PCMCIA) devices.
(continued)
Choose To
Ports Set parameters for, and add and remove serial
communications ports.
Printers Add and remove printers and remove, control, and create
share access to printers using the Add Printer wizard, a
step-by-step printer setup program.
Regional Change sort dates, time, currency, and numbers to reflect
Settings regional standards.
SCSI Adapters Display adapters and devices connected to your computer.

Server Display user and share information.

Services Start, stop, pause, or continue the services available on the
computer, and configure startup options.
Sounds Assign sounds to system and application events, and turn
on or off the warning beep and system sounds.
System Specify the default operating system for startup, change
user environment variables, and define paging file size.
Tape Devices Display, add, and remove tape devices.
Telephony Display, add, and remove telephony drivers. Change
telephony properties. Adjust telephony conditions
depending on whether your computer is docked or
undocked.
UPS Create settings for Uninterrupted Power Supply.
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