Tech Tison

Windows Desktop & Start menu   Selecting wallpaper of choice   Windows comes with built-in wallpaper to help you decorate your desktop. While screen savers are animated pictures, wallpaper simply sits on your desktop as background.   To change your wallpaper settings:   • Click  Start .  • Choose  Settings     Active Desktop   Customize my Desktop . • Click  Background  tab. • Preview each wallpaper sample on the small screen in the dialog box to see how it might look on your desktop. • Choose the option you want. • Choose center, tile or stretch. (If you choose (None) as your wallpaper, there is no need to center, tile or stretch) • Click  OK .  

Getting Help When you have questions about Windows 98, you can quickly and easily find the answers in the Windows 98 online help file on the Start menu. Once you have chosen the Help command, the Help dialog box opens: In the Help dialog box, you can search for information using one of three tabs: •  The Contents tab Use this tab to find information as you would in a book's table of contents. This tab displays Help information that is organized to look like chapters in a book. Each "chapter" appears with a book icon next to it. If you click the book icon, the pane displays the subheadings in that chapter. •  The Index tab Use this tab to find information as you would in a book index. As you type a keyword or part of a keyword, the one in the list that is closest to what you are typing is highlighted. You can continue typing more of the keyword to define it more specifically, click the selected keyword in the list to display it, or click one of the keyword ...

Getting Started Using Find If you need a file or program located on your computer or network, but you cannot remember its name or location, use the Find File command. Click the Start button, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders. When you choose this command from the Start menu, the  Find dialog box opens . From this dialog box, you can find the file or program based on several types of search criteria, such as the file format (type), a partial file name, or words in a file. The more specific you can make the search, the faster the search results are displayed. For example, if you know the document you are looking for is a Microsoft Word document, it contains the word "vitae," and it is on your computer, you could choose "*.doc" from the dropdown list for the Named field, type "vitae" in the Containing text field, and select your hard drive in the Look in field before pressing  Find  Now to start the search. When the search is completed, ...

Working with menus Menus provide a way for you to send commands to the computer (tell the computer what you want the computer to do). When you open a window, menu options are listed from left to right just below the title bar on the menu bar. When you Click a menu item, a drop-down menu appears. Select the command you want to execute from the drop-down menu. An ellipse after a drop-down menu item signifies that there are additional options; if you select that option, a dialog box will appear. A menu is a list of commands or instructions that tell your computer to perform an action (such as opening a program or saving a document). The main menu associated with Windows 98 is the Start menu. Most software programs will have their own menus that you will become familiar with as you use the program. You will usually find these menus at the top of the program window in an area called the menu bar. In  Windows 98  you will use menus, cascading menus, submenus, and shortcut men...

Pointing and Clicking   In  Windows 98 , the mouse is the tool you will most often use to navigate through the operating system and perform tasks. There are five basic actions you perform with the mouse:  point ,  click ,  double-click ,  right-click , and  drag .   To point the mouse, simply position the on-screen mouse pointer over an object. Sometimes when you point to an object and “hover” over it, a small box called a  tool tip  will appear that contains a description of the object. When you point to some objects, the mouse pointer changes shape, alerting you to the fact that you can perform some kind of command. For example, when the pointer turns into a hand with a pointing finger, you are pointing to a clickable item such as a hyperlink. A hyperlink is text or a picture that you can click to jump to another location. A two-headed arrow allows you to resize an object.   Click  means to press the  left (prima...

Identifying File Box Features   Another typical dialog box is the file box. This box opens when you choose the Open or Save As command on the File menu of most Windows programs.   Given below is a typical File box on Windows 98 :  

Dialog Box Controls   Dialog boxes pop up on your screen when Windows or a Windows based program needs information, requires you to confirm an action (such as deleting), or has an alert or other information. Dialog boxes look a bit like windows, but don’t have all the features of windows. For example, they have title bars, but not toolbars. You can move them but not resize them. You can close them but not minimize them. Most dialog boxes are intuitive, usually asking for a simple  Yes ,  No , or  OK . Some are more complicated, especially those used for changing settings.   Several Windows 98 dialog boxes you use to change system settings are subdivided into tabbed categories, like a "real" file folder or card file. This allows you to make multiple changes from a centralized location on your computer. Each tab has a heading which categorizes the information on that tab. Click on the tab to change from one to another.   The following illustration sho...

Switching Between Windows   As you know, Windows 98 allows you to have more than one application open at the same time. It also allows you to easily move between open applications. The application that you select becomes the active window. When a window is active on the desktop, its title bar is blue. When a window is inactive the title bar is gray.   To switch between applications:   • Click  Start . • Choose  Programs   Accessories . • Open  Notepad . • Open  Calculator . • Open  MS Paint . • Click on any part of the  Notepad  window on the desktop. • Click on any part of the  Calculator  window on the desktop. • Click on any part of the  Paint  window on the desktop.    In the example below, the Calculator window is active.       Switching Using the Keyboard Method   When you have more than one application open, you can also switch between them using the keyboard...

Moving, Sizing, and Organizing Windows Once you are familiar with the parts of a window, it is easy to use several windows at once so that you can accomplish more than one thing at a time. You can search the Internet and import text or pictures into a Word document; or, you can figure grades with an Excel spreadsheet, and write memos in Word Pad all while you are reading your e-mail. Windows  allows you to easily enlarge, hide or shrink a window using the minimize, maximize and restore buttons. The  Minimize  button is among the three buttons at the right end of the title bar. It's the box that has a small dash (or minus sign). The  Minimize  button lets you remove a window from the desktop while leaving the application running. The button in the middle is the  Maximize  button. It's a box with a picture of a window inside it. Use the maximize button to enlarge a window. After a window is maximized, the button changes to the Restore button...

Parts of the Window Windows 98 Bars and Buttons Windows 98 offers several tools to make using the operating system easy. The title bar is the horizontal bar at the top of a window. It's usually displayed as white text on blue background. The menu bar is below the title bar. It contains several menus which let you see a list of commands. Some Windows 98 programs have toolbars across the top of the window. The toolbar buttons allow you to print, cut, paste or do other tasks. The options vary depending on the program. The numerous bars and buttons of Windows 98 help you access applications and control the way your computer works. The taskbar is a gray horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen. It shows the names of the open programs and folders. The Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar allows you to quickly access some features you may use often such as Outlook Express, Internet Explorer and the desktop. The Control Menu button is the icon (picture) at ...