An Introduction

to
Microsoft
Windows
Muhammad Rashid
Windows User Interface
• Windows XP has Graphical User Interface (GUI).
– The graphical environment is described as “What You See Is
What You Get”, or WYSIWYG.
• GUI has on-screen pictures or icons to execute
common tasks.
– An icon is a small, labeled picture representing an object,
such as a program, a group of programs, or a disk drive.
– The System icons represent the Windows components.
– A Shortcut icon is a quick way to activate the associated
program or task saved some where else.
• You can use a mouse to execute the tasks represented
by the icons.
Starting Computer with Windows XP
• When you turn on the computer, a built-in program runs
a series of tests.
• Next, files from the hard disk containing essential
operating system components are loaded.
• Finally, the Windows XP opening screen appears.
– The entire process is called booting the system or
performing a system boot.
• You may need to identify yourself, or log on, to computer.
– The user name is a unique name assigned to you by
the person in charge of the network.
– A password is a secret code that prevents
unauthorized users from accessing the system.
• While other users may know your user name, your password should
remain private.
Using Windows XP Desktop
• The Windows XP desktop is the area that appears
when Windows XP is installed on a new computer.
• The taskbar, located at the bottom of the screen,
includes buttons.
• The Start button lets you locate and use additional
applications on your computer.
• The Clock button shows the current time.
• The taskbar includes buttons for applications that are
currently running.
• The taskbar may contain several groups of buttons, known
as toolbars.
– The Quick Launch toolbar appears to the right of the
Start button.
• The buttons on the right side of the taskbar are within the
notification area.
Using PC Mouse
• The mouse is a pointing device which allows you point to
items on the screen.
• The mice use track ball or optical light to trace movement.
• You can also use the mouse to select and deselect objects.

• To execute a task, double-click the

left button of the mouse.
• Use two-clicks of the left mouse
button to rename a file or folder.
• Drag and drop the objects on
screen with mouse to move them.
• Use the mouse to open menus and
then choose menu option.
• Right-click the mouse to access
shortcut popup menu.
 Windows Menu System
The All Programs menu

These programs have been accessed recently.

The Accessories menu

An arrow indicates that

additional menus or
information exists.

Point here to access all programs on your computer.

The Start menu

Click here to open the Start menu.

Turning Off Windows XP
• Close all applications and turn off Windows XP when you
are finished working with the computer.
• Make sure to follow the proper procedures to turn off the
computer.
– Click the Start button.
– Click Shut Down.
– In the Shut Down
Windows, Click Shut
Down again from the
list of choices.
• The Windows will
automatically close all
the open programs
and system will be
shut down.
 Common Windows Elements
Control-menu File menu options display
icon when you click File. Title bar
Menu names
Close
Menu bar button
Minimize
button
Maximize
Folder icon button

Unavailable menu choice

Available menu choice Fixed Drive icon

Removable
Drive icons
Arranging Icons
• The Thumbnail view shows the
contents of graphics files.
• The Tile view, displays each icon
with the item name to its right side.
• In the Icons view, the icon is
smaller; the item name displays
below the icon.
• List view is used to see even more
items within a window.
• Use the Details view to get
complete details about the items in
a window.
• Use the Auto Arrange option to
always align your icons in neat,
orderly rows.
Getting Help on Screen
• Windows Navigation bar

XP provides
a powerful
on-screen
Help Search box

system.
– Click the
Start button.
– Click Help
and
Support.
Getting Help On Screen
• Click the
Index
button, to
see an
alphabetica
l listing of Type help
Help topics. topic here.

• The
Favorites
button
displays
Help pages
you have
added to
the
Favorites
list.
Working Inside My Computer Windows
• The My Computer window displays a drive icon for each of
the storage devices attached to your computer.
• Storage disks contain files and folders.
– A file is a named and ordered collection of information stored on disk.

– The files that make up

Windows operating system
are known as System
Files.
– The application files used to
perform tasks on computer
are program files.
– The work that is created Drive icons
are shown
while computer is being with a letter
used are document files or followed by
data files. a colon.

– Each file has its own file

icon.
Working Inside My Computer Windows….
• A folder is a named
icon containing files or
folders.
– Prior to Windows
95, folders were
called directories. Folder icons

– Folders inside of Subfolder

folders are called icons

subfolders or
subdirectories.
File icons
• Some folders, known
as shared folders, can
be accessed by other
users on the network.
Using Windows Explorer
• Choose Windows Close
button
Explorer to open Title bar
Menu bar

and display the

Explorer window. Standard Buttons toolbar

• You can use

Explorer to search
the storage Address bar

system of your Fol

der
s e
pan an
computer to e
t ent s p
n
examine its Co

contents and
organization.
• This is similar to
using My
Computer
window.
Creating Folders and Subfolders
• To create a top-level folder on a
drive:
– Select the drive icon, then
go the File menu, point to
New, click Folder, type a
name for the new folder.
– Or right-click the Contents
pane, point to New, click
You can
Folder on the shortcut menu, create
type a name for the new subfolders in
folders. Toss
folder. is a subfolder
• To create a folder within a in the
Documents
folder (Subfolder): folder.
– Open the folder that will be
the parent folder.
– Point to New and click
Folder on the File menu,
type a name for the new
folder.
Moving/Copying Files
• Files and Folders can be moved or copied by
dragging them from one place to another place.
• The Cut, Copy and Paste options in the Edit
menu can also be used to move or copy Files
and Folders.
• The Right-click can also be used to get Cut,
Copy and Paste options.
• If the same File or Folder already exists with
the same name:
– Windows XP displays a Confirm File Replace
dialog box.
– If you select YES, the previous file will be
replaced.
• You can select several files and manipulate
them as a group.
Deleting and Restoring Files
• You can delete files that are no longer needed.
• To delete files or folders, select them and press Delete.
• You can also press right-click on the selected files or
folders and select delete.
– You’ll see a Confirm File Delete dialog box when you
delete a file.
• When you delete a file from the hard disk, the file is
moved in the Recycle Bin folder.
• You can restore items that are in the Recycle Bin.
– Open the Recycle Bin from Desktop.
– Click the item you wish to restore.
– Click Restore on the File menu.
• To permanently remove all items from the Recycle Bin,
click the Empty Recycle Bin command on the File menu.
Searching for Files
• Disk drives may contain
thousands of files.
• Some computers have more
than one disk drive, and each
drive can be divided into one or
more partitions.
– A partition is a portion of a disk
drive that has its own drive letter.

• It can be difficult to find a specific file if you

cannot remember the name or location of the file.
• You can use the Search Companion pane in
Windows Explorer to search for files.
Searching for Files….

Type all or part of the file

Search
name, if you know it.
Companion
pane

Select the drive(s) or

folder(s) to search.
Click here
to search Clicking these arrows
for objects opens and closes a
on your set of advanced
computer. options.

Click here to begin

the search.

Click here to change

the search options.
Deselecting this box limits
the search to one folder.
Checking System Properties
• Double- click the
System icon in the
Control Panel.
• The General tab
provides general
information about
system.
• The Hardware tab
manages computer
components.
• The Device Manager
button displays
information about the
system, including
devices connected to it
appearing in a tree.
Device Installation
• Window XP has a Plug and Play feature to add new
hardware to your computer.
• To install an older, non-Plug and Play device, use the
Add Hardware feature from Control Panel.
Installing Printers and Setting Up Faxing
• The Printers and Faxes window is used to select and set
up the device to which you want to send a document.
• You can also use this window to add (install) a new printer.
• The shared printers can be accessed by any user on the
network.
• Select Set up Faxing option to enable Windows XP to send
and receive faxes.
– A Modem Card must be installed into the computer to use faxing
option.

Shared printer

Network Printer
Task to install a new printer
Formatting Disks
• A new disk must be formatted before it can hold data.
• On the disks already in use, the existing files are erased.
• The information that the operating system uses to read and
write data to the disk is copied onto the disk.
Track Sector
• DOS and Windows 95 used the
File Allocation Table (FAT) file Disk Sector
system to manage files on a disk.
• Windows 2000 and Windows XP
can use FAT, FAT32, and NT File
System (NTFS).
– Click Format on the File menu.
– Specify the capacity of the disk.
– Specify the format options.
– Type a name (Label) for the disk. Tracks
– Click Start.
Cluster (two Track Sectors)
Exploring Accessories
• The small applications within
Windows XP are called Accessories,
or Applets.
• The Communications accessories
help you send and receive digital
information from one computer to
another.
• You can use the Entertainment
accessories to control Multimedia
hardware devices.
• The accessibility applets make using
the computer easier for users with
special needs.
• Use the System Tools accessories to
control, update, and maintain your
computer system.
Using Magnifier
• The Magnifier is
used to
magnify/enlarge
the screen portion
to help the people
with weak
eyesight.
• To activate the
Magnifier:
– Go to Start button,
– Click All
Programs,
– Point out
Accessories
– Go to Accessibility
group
– Select Magnifier.
Using Narrator
• The Narrator is provided to help the blind people.
• To activate the Narrator:
– Go to Start button and click All Programs,
– Point out Accessories
– Go to Accessibility group and select Narrator.
Viewing On Screen Keyboard
• The On Screen Keyboard is used to type multilingual
characters from the keyboard.
• To activate the On Screen Keyboard:
– Go to Start button and click All Programs,
– Point out Accessories
– Go to Accessibility group and select On Screen Keyboard.
Cleaning Up Disks
• The Disk Cleanup is used to clean the disk partitions from
un-necessary temporary files to free the disk space.
• To activate the Disk Cleanup:
– Go to Start button and click All Programs,
– Point out Accessories
– Go to System Tools group and select Disk Cleanup.
Using Disk Defragmenter
• The Disk Defragmenter is used to combine the pieces of
files stored on the disk.
• To activate the Disk Defragmenter:
– Go to Start button and click All Programs,
– Point out Accessories
– Go to System Tools group and select Disk Defragmenter.
Restoring the System
• To solve the Windows problems the System Restore is
used to restore the Windows to an earlier date.
• To activate the System Restore:
– Go to Start button and click All Programs,
– Point out Accessories
– Go to System Tools group and select System Restore.
Using the Calculator
• It has two views: Standard
Backspace Close
and Scientific. button
• The numbers can be
entered with the keyboard or
the mouse. Displa
– [C] = start a new calculation, Memory y
indicator
– [Backspace] = delete last digit box Clear
typed,
– [MC] = Clears the Calculator’s Memory
Clear
memory, Clear
Entry
– [/] = division,
Memor
– [*] = multiplication, y Recall
– [-] = minus,
– [+] = plus, Memory
– [=] = equal. Store

Add to memory
Using Text Applets
• NotePad and WordPad are built-in text
editors in MS Windows.
• The NotePad text editor creates plain text
files, without formatting.
• To launch NotePad:
– Point to Programs on the Start menu, Point to Accessories, Click
NotePad.
• A word processor allows to produce text and
enhance the formatting of the document.
• You can use “WordPad” word processor to
create formatted files.
• To launch WordPad:
– Point to Programs on the Start menu, Point to Accessories, Click
WordPad.
• Type document and Click Save on the
toolbar.
• Enter a name and choose a file type for
your document. Click Save.
Using Paint
• The Paint applet lets you
create or edit a picture.
• The toolbox contains the tool
Toolbox
buttons you use to create an
image.
• The color box contains a
series of color squares called
the palette.
– To select a color from one
already in the painting, click the
Pick Color icon and click the
desired color in the drawing.
• You can move and copy
Color box or palette
parts of your drawing. Status bar
• You can also print your
image.
– Click Print on the File menu.
Installing Fonts
• Fonts are different
writing styles.
• To install a new font in
MS Windows XP:
– Click Start.
– Click Control Panel.
– Double-click the Fonts
folder in the Classic
View.
– Double-click the Font
icon .
OR
– Simply copy the
selected fonts files in the
Fonts folder of Windows
XP installation folder.