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Features: My Computer |
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This page gives a brief overview of your computer, from what you see on your desktop to drives and folders and organising files.
Remember, things may be slightly different than explained here depending on the version of windows that you use.
Desktop
The desktop is basically your computer screen, or ?monitor?. You can customise your desktop by right clicking on it and selecting Properties. This displays a tabbed window allowing you to set colours, screen savers and the screen resolution. Screen resolution is the width and height in pixels (number of dots that your screen displays). The higher the number, the smaller items appear on your screen. This, together with the number of colours used allows for clearer, better quality images and gives you the opportunity to see a larger area on your screen. It also can lead to nasty eye strain if your eyes are weak!
Shortcuts
The desktop usually has shortcuts to default folders on your hard disk. These are ?My Documents? which is the default location for storing your files; ?My Computer? which gives you access to all available drives, printers and network places; ?Recycle Bin? which is where everything that you delete goes until you empty it; and ?My Network Places? if you have a network, of course. You may also find a shortcut for Internet Explorer on the desktop. All of these may be switched off (and on). Right click on the desktop and select Properties, click on the Desktop tab, then the button ?Customize Desktop?.
Program shortcuts on the desktop are recognisable by a small arrow at the bottom left of the icon. The desktop quite often gets cluttered with these, but you can safely remove anything you rarely use as well as add new ones to programs and documents that you use frequently.
Taskbar
The taskbar is the small strip usually appearing on the bottom of the monitor. It contains the start button and the system tray (which includes the clock and programs loaded at startup). The taskbar can be docked along any edge of your screen. You can lock the taskbar size and position by right clicking on it and selecting properties from the pop up menu.
You can gain a lot of information from the taskbar, such as seeing what programs are running (minimized windows and system tray), and also using it to launch programs (via the Quick Launch toolbar).
Start Button
The Start Button is the place from where all installed programs can be run. It also gives you access to various settings for your PC through the Control Panel.
System Tray
As well as the system clock, the System Tray contains icons of various programs that run at startup. These may include your anti-virus program and the volume control. You should be aware of the programs that run at start up and are displayed in the system tray. Various options or easy access to common functions are accessible through right clicking on the program icon.
Quick Launch
The Quick Launch toolbar is adjacent to the Start Button. This toolbar gives one click access to common programs. It can be switched on and off by right clicking on the Taskbar, clicking Toolbars, then Quick Launch. You can add and remove programs in the toolbar by dragging shortcuts to it and right clicking a shortcut and selecting delete. Remember, the icons in the Quick Launch toolbar are only shortcuts.
Finding Files
Finding files in windows is straight forward. Select Start Button -> Search -> Files and Folders. You should now have the search window open. Here you can specify what files you are looking for, where to conduct the search, and the scope of the search (file type, date, etc?).
Creating Shortcuts
You can create a shortcut by right clicking on the Desktop and selecting New -> Shortcut from the pop up menu. You will be presented with a dialog box asking for the file that the shortcut will call. The next and final step is to give it a name.
An easy way to create a shortcut is to hold the SHIFT and CTRL buttons while dragging the desired file or program to the desktop.
My Computer
My Computer gives you access to all the files and resources on your machine and network. Your machine may have a Floppy Disk drive (A:) although these as a storage medium are beginning to die out. It also has a hard disk drive which can be divided (partitioned) into one or more logical drives (Local Disk C: and maybe others). Then there are CD Drives, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-RW etc. If you are on a network, then you may see Network Places and/or various shared folders and resources such as Printers. You can browse and explorer any of these locations to find files and folders.
Organising Files
File organization is a useful practice to follow when storing files on your PC. Have you ever saved a file and then forgotten where you stored it? By organizing your files and then following the organization you set up, you will never have this problem again.
You can use any type of filing system you like as long as you continue to follow it.
Windows offers some help in this area to get you started. The following are some default directories that Windows sets up when it is installed:
- Program Files - this folder stores all the installed programs on the computer.
- My Documents ? this folder is an area where all the files you create can be stored.
- My Pictures ? this folder is where images will be stored by default.
If you are going to be saving many documents and files on your computer, it makes sense to create new folders in My Documents to organise them efficiently.
Moving Files
Have you ever had a file move when you wanted to copy it, or maybe have a file stay when you wanted it to move?
When you drag a file from one folder to another using the left mouse button, different methods of copying can happen based on a few factors.
- If the source folder and destination folder for the file reside on the same drive letter (such as A: or C:), then the file will be moved.
- If the source folder and destination folder for the file reside on different drive letters, then the file will be copied.
- If the file is an executable file, then a shortcut will be created if the source and destination folders are on the same drive letter, else, it will be copied.
A quick way to control how the file is copied is by dragging the file using the right mouse button. When you let go of the button, a menu will appear asking how you want to copy the file. Alternatively, right click on the file and select Copy or Cut (move) then right click at the destination and select Paste.
This document is provided by Chips IT without warranty. It is intended to give useful advice to customers, but no responsibility for any action can be accepted by us. If you are in any doubt, consult the experts for advice - Chips IT.
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