WINDOWS 97: Basics

A. Colin Cameron, Dept. of Economics, Univ. of Calif. - Davis

This September 1999 help sheet gives a very brief overview of Windows 95 or higher.


MOUSE USE AND KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Key operations of the mouse are:

Remembering keyboard short-cuts can save time compared to using the mouse.
A classic example is use of CTRL-C and CTRL-V to copy and paste.
 

WINDOWS TERMS

An Icon is a symbol that represents a program or document.
The Desktop is the display of icons that appears when all programs are minimized.
A Toolbar is a collection of small icons that usually appears at the bottom of the screen and at times elsewhere on the screen.
A menu is a list of commands e.g. File.
A command is a command e.g. File | Print.
An option is an option within a command e.g. File | Print Area | Set Print Area (in Excel).
 

START MENU

In Windows there are usually several ways to do the same thing.
The Start menu is the foolproof but sometimes slower way to access programs and files and setup the computer.

The Start menu appears at the lower left corner. [If it does not appear, because the "auto-hide" option for the taskbar has been selected, then move the mouse to the bottom of the screen and wait for the Start menu button to appear.]

The Start menu includes the categories:


DESKTOP

The Desktop is the display of icons that appears when all programs are minimized.
For recent versions of Windows, to see the desktop click on the Show Desktop icon on the bottom taskbar.
A quick way to initiate a program is to double-click on the icon on the desktop. Not all programs will appear as icons on the desktop, however, unless you do a lot of customizing of the desktop.
 

TASKBAR

The bottom taskbar has a limited number of icons of selected unopened programs and all open programs.
The quickest way to initiate a program is to double-click on the icon on the taskbar. However, there is room for only a few program icons on the taskbar.
 

FILE MANAGEMENT

To locate a file with unknown location use Start Menu | Find.
When you know where the file is then use My Computer (on the desktop) or Windows Explorer (in Start Menu | Programs and possibly on the desktop and/or on the taskbar) to e.g. copy a file.
For further details click on Start Menu | Help and choose Index and search under files.
 

WINDOWS HELP

Resources include: