-- Click on one of the links below --

Common things about the computer
[External buttons, knobs, etc.] [The Desktop] [The Start menu] [The Task Bar] [Change the desktop background] [Turn the computer off] [Double click Vs Single click]

Which programs to use
[Common things to know] [Play a CD] [View/Edit a picture] [Type a letter/story] [Use symbols in text] [Play games]

Saving, retrieving & deleting files
[Save files] [Retrieve files] [Delete files] [My Computer] [Recycle Bin]

Oops - what happened?!
[Didn't mean to open that program/window] [Program won't close] [Computer has frozen up] [Moving picture taking up whole screen & I didn't do a thing!] [The screen is all black - no screen saver] [I didn't mean to delete that file] [I didn't mean to do that to my document/picture/presentation]

Common things about the computer

External buttons, holes, knobs & wheels

• Turning the computer on and off - big/different button at the front of the computer
• Turning the monitor on and off - the front big button with a little light next to it on the monitor.
• Turning the modem on and off - If you have an external modem, there should be an on/off button on it somewhere. A light should come on when it is turned on. However, most modern computers have an internal modem so you won't have to turn it on or off.
• Inserting & taking out floppy disk - hole/slat in top right of computer. Push it in with the big metal circle down. Press the button beside it to pull it out.
• Inserting & taking out a CD - the button, right below where the CD goes in (the CD-drive), opens the CD tray. Put the CD in plain/silver side down, then push it shut.
• Changing the volume for the CD player - the front knob/wheel thing next to the hole and the CD-drive

The desktop

• This is one way to open programs. I have put the ones you will use most on the desktop. The others are in the Start menu. Double click on them to open the program.
• The desktop has links to the programs you will probably use the most. You can access those programs and more by going through the Start menu.

The Start menu

• The Start menu is everything you view by clicking on the box at the bottom left of your screen with Start in it. Click on that once to:
• Shut Down - shut down the computer.
• Run... - run a program (you shouldn't need to use this).
• Help - for basic Windows 98 help. It's not great.
• Find - Find files you have lost or need to find on the computer.
• Settings - You shouldn't need this.
• Documents - If you're saving your files into "My Documents, click on the "My Documents" folder to view any of your files you've saved. The files below "My Documents" are recent documents you've opened. They are a shortcut if you want to open it again. If you click on one, the appropriate program will open automatically open the file.
• Favorites - "Links" has Internet addresses for if you're online. The same ones are in Internet Explorer. If you do not have a browser open, one will open automatically and take you to the site.
• Programs - This leads you to any program you might want to use. Follow the folders by category to get to the program you wish to use.

The Task Bar

• When you have any programs or windows open, they will be to the right of the Start box at the bottom left of your screen. That bottom bar is called the Task Bar. Each window will have its own box with the title of the window it's representing. Click on the box you want to view. This is how you change windows. The highlighted box is the active window.
• Click on the Start button to open any program.
• In the right hand section of the task bar are little icons representing programs running in the background. You don't need to worry about them, although there's no harm in double clicking on them to see what they are if you're interested. Hold your mouse over the clock without clicking on it and it will show you the date.

Show Desktop

• This is the little icon just to the right of the Start box. Click on that icon at any time to view the desktop with it's icons. Any windows you have open at the time will not be closed. Simply click on their corresponding box in the task bar to show them again.
• This is very handy if you have a window open and wish to open another program/link you have on the desktop at the same time. For example, you might want to open this help file!
• The 'show desktop' option is only available in Windows 98 and later. If you have a different operating system you will need to minimise all open windows before being able to view the desktop. Click here to see how to minimize a window.

Change the desktop background

1. Right click somewhere where there is nothing on the desktop
2. Click "Active Desktop"
3. Click "Properties..."
4. Click the tab "Background"
5. There is a box under "Select an HTML Document or a picture:". Click on one of the file names, e.g. "tartan oliphant" to see what you think. A preview will show in the picture of a monitor.
6. Choose another if you don't like it, but it's not a good preview -very  limited. Click "Apply" when you're happy. Then "OK" when you've finished.

Turn the computer off

1. Go to the Start menu,
2. Click on Shut down
3. Select Shut down to close down the computer, or Restart to reboot the computer.
4. Click OK
5. If you don't want to close down the computer at all, click Cancel.

Double click Versus single click

• Double click for anything on the desktop & folders and icons in My Computer
• Single click for just about everything else including links on the Internet, menu items in programs (e.g., File, Save) & buttons (e.g., Back, Search, Home).

Which programs to use

Common things to know

Menus

• Most programs have menus at the very top of the window with heading such as File, Edit, View, Tools. If you learn how to use them in one, you will be able to use the same skills in many programs. For example, Save and Close or Exit are always under File. Have a look in there and see what you find.

Minimize, Reduce/Maximize, Close

• At the very top right of your window there is:
• Underscore (_). The underscore hides the window. Just click on the corresponding box in the task bar to open it again.
• Square on another OR One square. If you have the window as big as the screen, you can click on the "square on another" to make the window smaller. You can then make it fill the screen again by clicking on the "one square".
• Cross (X). This closes the window. Do not do it unless you are sure you have finished with the window and it's contents.
• Those three actions can also be done in some File menus.

Bar at the very top of the window

• Usually at the very top of programs is a mostly plain bar where the minimize, reduce/maximize and close boxes are; and where the title of the window is written. If you are in a smaller sized window and wish to move it to another point on the screen, you can:
1. click on the title or plain bit of the bar
2. hold down the mouse button while you move the window to the spot you like
3. take your finger off the mouse.

Shortcut buttons

• Most programs have buttons below the menu near the top of the window. They are shortcuts to what is in the menus. Hold the mouse above it without clicking to see what each button is for. A little block of text should hover above the button soon after the mouse is over it.

Scroll bar

• The scroll bar is the bar to the right of any page that is longer than the screen. It allows you to move up and down the page by clicking on it and holding it down as you move it. You can also move up or down the page my clicking on the little arrows at the top and bottom of each scroll bar. If you click on the background of the bar you will jump either a page up (if you clicked above the bar) or page down (if you clicked below the bar).

Highlighting text

• Text can usually be highlighted (click down on the mouse at the start of where you want to highlight, and hold it down until the end of the text).
• Then you can right click the mouse to Copy, Cut or Delete.
• Then if you "Copied" or "Cut" you can go to the spot where you want to insert the text, click the mouse where you want it, then right click Paste.
• If you highlight text then hit the Delete/Del key, the text has gone. No way of getting it back unless you had saved it with it in it.

Play a Compact Disk

Insert or remove a CD

• The button at the bottom right of the computer, right below where the CD goes in (the CD-drive), opens the CD tray. Put the CD in plain/silver side down, then push it shut. In a few seconds the default program to play the CD will automatically open up and play the CD from the start.
• See here for more details of how to use programs in general.

Insert the headphones

• There is a little hole next to the CD-drive at the front right of the computer to insert the connection of the headphones.

Change the volume for the CD player

• The front knob/wheel thing next to the hole and the CD-drive. The triangle above it representing higher volume or lower volume.
• Look in the right of the task bar and click once on the 'volume' icon to increase or decrease the volume. Move it up or down by clicking on it, holding the mouse button down and moving it up or down, then let go.
• Both volumes are separate. Turn both up if you're having trouble hearing the music.

View or edit a picture

• MS Paint is a standard program that is good for creating a picture with just the raw tools of a graphics program. Try out the buttons on the left to see what you can create!
• To find a picture you've save, go into My Computer and find where you've saved your file. For example, it might be in [C:] in "My Documents". Double click on the file and it will automatically open in the program. Click on the maximize box (middle button of the three at the very top right of the window) if the window is too small to see the full picture. If the picture is still too large, use the scroll bar.
• See here for more details of how to use programs in general.
• Some types of pictures cannot be opened by MS Paint, but most can be opened by Imaging and all by Internet Explorer. The only reason you will want to specifically use one of the first two programs is if you want to edit the picture.

Type a letter or story

• Open MS Word. There is an icon for it on the desktop (double click).
• Start typing!
• See here for more details of how to use programs in general.
• If you want to open an old file, go to "File" then "Open" and find the file wherever you saved it on the computer [C:] or on the floppy drive [A:].
• Don't forget to Save regularly.
• Hold the mouse over any of the buttons to see what they do. There are buttons for bold, italics, underline, save, open, new, aligning your text, etc. Highlight some text then have a go!

Use symbols in text

1. Open Character Map from the Start menu in Programs.
2. Click on the symbol you want. If it's not there, click on the little down arrow to the right of the white box besides Font and try a different font.
3. Once you've selected your symbol, click on Select. That will show the symbol you chose in the white box beside Characters to copy.
4. Click on Copy.
5. Go to the text where you want to paste in the symbol. Click the mouse where you want it.
6. Right click Paste.

Play games

• In the Start menu in Programs there should be a folder called games if you wish to try any out. They are only basic ones. Each has their own Help menus for instructions.
• See here for more details of how to use programs in general.

Save, retrieve and delete files

Save files

Downloading/saving from the Internet

• Be comfortable that you can trust the source of the file (viruses).
• If in email
• click on Save/Open the file
• save file to disk (if you want to keep it), or open file if you only want to view it.
• If saving it, click on Browse,
• Click on the arrow to the right of the very top white box
• go to [C:] then My Documents, then OK.
• If you want to copy a picture off a site
• Right click on the image
• Click on Save Image As
• Click on the right arrow the the right of the very top white box
• Browse to [C:] then My Documents, then click OK.

Saving from a program on the computer

• Click on the Save button. If you haven't saved it before, a window will open for you to give direct where it is to be saved and give it a file name (e.g.. myholidays)
• Click on the right arrow the right of the very top white box
• Browse to [C:] then My Documents (or wherever you want to save it, then click OK.
• Click on [A:] if you want to save to a floppy disk.

Retrieve files

• If you are in the program you want to open the file in
• Click on File, then Open
• Click on the right arrow the the right of the very top white box
• Go to [C:] then My Documents, then click OK.
• If you want to open a file from a floppy disk, instead of going to [C:], go to [A:].
• If you want to retrieve a file that you accidentally deleted:
• Click on Recycle Bin on the desktop
• Click on File
• Right click, Restore on a file you didn't mean to delete. It will go back to where it was.

Delete files

• Click on My Computer on the desktop.
• Click on C Drive [C:]
• Click on My Documents
• Or click on A Drive [A:] to delete something off the floppy disk.
• Click on the file you want to delete.
• Hit the Delete/Del key
• A window will pop up to ask if you are sure. Click Yes.

My Computer

• My Computer is the directory of all the disk drives, folders and files on the computer. This is where you can find your files, delete files, or where you save files to.
• Floppy disk is Drive A [A:],
• The hard disk is Drive C [C:]
• You may use My Documents to save things in.
• Audio CD [D:]

 

Recycle bin

• Never drag anything onto the Recycle bin unless you want it deleted. (i.e.. Clicking on something then holding the mouse button down as you move it across to the recycle bin, then letting go button.) The recycle bin is where files are stored before their final and complete deletion when you empty the recycle bin.

To get a file back

1. Click on Recycle Bin on the desktop
2. Click on File
3. Right click, Restore on a file you didn't mean to delete. It will go back to where it was.

To empty the Recycle bin

1. Make sure happy for everything to be gone forever
2. Click on Recycle Bin on the desktop
3. Click on File
4. Click on Empty recycle bin. This will provide more disk space on the hard drive.

Oops - what's happened?!

Didn't mean to open that program/window

• Click on the X up the very top right of the window to close it. You can also close windows by clicking on Cancel, Exit or Close.

Program won't close

• Press these keys all at once: Alt +Ctrl +Del
• Select the program you wish to close from the list. Click on it.
• Click on End Task
• If another window pops up, select End Task.

Computer has frozen up

• If moving the mouse doesn't move the cursor on the screen and you can't seem to do anything, press Alt +Ctrl +Del keys all at once.
• If a window pops up - select program "not responding" - End task. If another window pops up saying it's the program is still in use, or something, and it has the buttons Wait and End Task, click on End Task. Give it about 20 seconds, and if it hasn't helped repeat this dot point.
• If no window pops up - wait about 10 seconds then press Alt +Ctrl +Del again. If still no response turn off computer and start again.

Some moving picture is taking up the whole screen and I didn't do a thing!

• That's the screen saver. It comes on after about 12 minutes of nobody using the computer. Move the mouse or press a key to get your screen back.

The screen is all black - no screen saver

• After 30 minutes of inactivity the monitor may switch off. This is to save power. Move the mouse or press a key to get your screen back.
• If they don't work, check that the monitor is on.

I didn't mean to delete that file

1. Open My Computer from the desktop (double click on it)
2. Right click on the file you want back,
3. Click on Restore on the file you didn't mean to delete. It will go back to where it was before being deleted.

I didn't mean to do that in my document/picture/presentation

• Go to the Edit menu.
• Click on Undo. It will undo the last action. Some will undo previous actions if you click undo again.