Windows 95: Features Windows Introduction Windows 95 is the much-anticipated update to Microsoft s popular Windows graphic user interface, or GUI. A GUI is designed to make computer tasks (such as file management) intuitive and easy for novices as well as experts, replacing clunky line-driven commands with pictures called icons. Unlike previous versions of Windows, the interface for Windows 95 is much more seamless, and does not require continual switching between program manager and file manager. Users familiar with the Macintosh operating system will recognize many elements of this interface, and cross-platform work will be easier than ever before. Windows 95 is also a more complete 32 bit operating system. The good side of this is that 32 bit applications are potentially faster than older ones, and more memory (RAM) will considerably improve overall system performance. The bad side is that users will be forced to upgrade both their applications and system RAM to take advantage of these performance benefits. Older applications will slow down performance when they are executing, and will not conform to new standards established in Windows 95 for example, longer file names. Minimum System Requirements The following should be considered the minimum acceptable hardware requirements for running Windows 95: a 486/33 based PC or better 8 MB of RAM 500 MB of hard drive space a double speed CD-ROM drive (though quad speeds are better for little increase in price) Users who customarily run multiple applications at the same time, or who run very large single applications (e.g., Photoshop), would want to add more RAM and a larger hard drive. In general, it is case that adding more RAM memory will aid performance more than going up one level of processor; e.g., a 486/33 with 16 MB of RAM is faster than a 486/66 with only 8 MB of RAM. The Desktop The desktop is the first thing that appears when Windows 95 starts. On the desktop you may arrange different icons to suit your work habits. Unlike previous versions of Windows, the desktop has several interesting features other than simply serving as a place to drop icons. A desktop, for example, can can be arranged with the hard drives and network connections on the right hand side of the screen and various documents and frequently-used programs on the left side. The recycle bin, or trash can, a safe way to erase files, can be conveniently placed in the lower right corner of the desktop. Keep in mind that you are in complete control over what objects appear on the desktop, and this example is one of many different layouts. Where to Start When you first start Windows 95, you ll notice there are very few objects on your desktop. The first place to look is in the My Computer folder, by default, located in the upper left hand corner of your screen (though you can move it anywhere after you first start up Windows 95). When you open the My Computer icon (by double-clicking on it), you ll find a set of icons that correspond to the various parts of you PC. Most likely, you will see a 3 1/2 inch floppy drive, a hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, control panels, and printer settings.
Windows 95: Features Page 2 Since each PC is different, what appears in the My Computer folder will depend upon your unique configuration. What you will probably want to do is drag icons from this folder to your desktop, and make it look like our desktop above (i.e., drive icons on one part of the screen). When you attempt to drop an icon on the desktop, Windows 95 will ask if you want to create a shortcut, answer yes. This simply means you wish to make an alias that allows you to access an object from more than one place (in this case, from both the My Computer folder and a new icon on the desktop). Shortcuts have slightly different icons than the original: a small arrow is in their lower left hand corner. Managing Files Once you have explored the My Computer folder (and placed a few objects on the desktop), double click on your hard drive icon. You will see a new window much like the picture below: Close Folder name & menu Minimize Maximize Close Title bar Menu bar Toolbar Scroll bar Windows 95 allows you to manage files, folders and applications by simply manipulating the icons that appear in this window. Unlike previous versions of Windows, everything on your hard drive appears here, and a much richer set of icons are used to display your files. One particularly useful option is to double-click on an icon to open it. Double-clicking on an application s icon will launch the application. Double-clicking on a document will open the document and launch the application that created it. Double-clicking on other things, such as the My Computer icon, the Recycle Bin, or a folder, opens a window that displays the contents of the selected object (hence the name, Windows). Dragging and Dropping By picking up a file and dropping it in another location, you can accomplish many system functions: a few of the most important are listed below. You can add shortcuts to items in this window to your desktop; for example, you might want to put WordPerfect on the desktop. Find the icon for the WordPerfect program, and drag it to your desktop to make the new shortcut. This process will also allow you to place folders and data files on the desktop. Try picking up a file you don t need and dropping it on the recycle bin. This erases a file. You ll notice, however, that when you do this the bin fills up with paper. If you want the file back, double-click on the recycle bin and find the file you erased; to retrieve it, drag it out of the recycle bin and place it where it
Windows 95: Features Page 3 belongs. To kill files permanently, choose from the file menu empty recycle bin to erase everything left in the bin. To copy a file from one location to another, pick it up and drop it in the new place. You can also move groups of files by dragging an invisible box around them (i.e., click and drag), and then dragging the entire highlighted group to the new location. The Parts of a Window Once you ve mastered the art of dragging and dropping files around your system, it is time to look more closely at other, useful parts of your file window. Listed below are the main features. If you don t know what one of these corresponds to, find its label in the screen shot above. Title Bar: Besides displaying the name of a window, clicking on the title bar allows you to drag the window to a new location. Clicking on the computer icon next to the title pulls down a menu of ways you can change your view of the window. These functions are duplicated in the various buttons mentioned below. Minimize Button: Clicking on this button shrinks the window down, as it did in Windows 3.1, but now instead of an icon on the desktop, the window is reduced to a button on the task bar. The window may be restored to its previous size by clicking on its task bar button. Maximize Button: Clicking on this button enlarges the window so that it fills the entire screen. Close Button: Clicking on this button closes the window. The keyboard shortcut for this command is Alt+F4, the same as it was in Windows 3.1. Resizing: Any window may be resized by clicking on its borders and dragging. The Toolbar Buttons If you don t see the toolbar on your windows, go to the View menu and choose the toolbar option. This makes file management much easier, especially if you wish too move among different directories. If you forget what a button does, place your mouse over it without clicking, and the button s name will appear. Go To a Different Folder Menu To the right of the name of your open folder is a button with a down-pointing arrow on it. Clicking on this button pulls down a menu of other folders on the desktop. You can go to any of these immediately simply by clicking on your choice. Up One Level: Takes you to the current folder s parent folder. This is essential for navigating between your folders! Map Network Drive: Allows you to connect to a remote drive. Disconnect Net Drive: Disconnects you from a remote drive. Cut: Removes the file(s) from the folder and puts a copy in the Clipboard. Copy: Puts a copy of the selected file(s) into the Clipboard. Paste: Pastes a selected file or group of files from the Clipboard into the current folder (or desktop, or recycle bin, or printer, or...). Undo Delete: Reverses the last system action you performed (e.g., deleting a file or renaming a folder). Very cool. Delete: First, click on a file (or draw a box around a group of files) and then choose this button. Deletes the selected file or folder. Properties: Lists detailed information about the selected file and allows you to designate the file as readonly or hidden. This also allows you to access information on how the file should be executed, which is particularly important for older DOS programs you are using in Windows 95. If you need to fix something, check here. Customize Your Windows These last four buttons allow you to customize the information presented in the file window. Large Icons: Displays only file icons and labels.
Windows 95: Features Page 4 Small Icons: Displays smaller file icons and labels. List: Lists files (with small icons) like those displayed in Explorer (see below). Details: Lists files as above, but includes more detailed file information, such as size and time of last modification. Walk on the Right Side One of the most useful underlying concepts of the new interface is the idea that everything on your screen is an object that has both unique features and relationships to other objects. For example, a file has different attributes unique to it (e.g., which application created it), but should work in a logical way with other objects on the screen: if you drop it on a printer icon, it should print. To find out what properties an object has in Windows 95, or to see what you can do an object, click on an object s icon with your right mouse button (much like OS/2). Depending upon the object and the context in which you are using it, Windows 95 will supply you with a menu of features related to that object. This may not seem all that useful, but it is perhaps the best feature of the whole interface, and leads to this general principle: when confused, right click on the object that is confusing. A good example of the power of the right mouse button is demonstrated by right clicking on an open drive window (do it at the main level right after you open a drive). You ll get a nice pie-chart displaying available hard drive space and a list of the tools you can use to check for errors, fix your drive, compress it, or whatever else your system has installed that affects your drives. Right click on another icon and you ll get a different set of options (try the recycle bin for a quick way to empty the trash). There are, however, some common elements to most of the menus generated by right clicking on an object; some of the more ubiquitous are listed below: Open: Opens the object in the application that created it. Send To: Sends the object to a variety of different places. The list of places that appears here is dependent upon what shortcuts you have placed in the Send To folder (located inside your Windows directory). If you want to be able to Send To the notepad, clipboard, floppy drive, and printer, find these icons and drag them to the Send To folder. Print: This allows you to send the object to the printer. Arrange Icons: This option allows you to arrange your desktop in an orderly fashion, by Name (alphabetical order), Type, Size, or Date. Alternatively, you can choose Auto Arrange and let Windows arrange your desktop automatically. Line Up Icons: Another housekeeping option, this command puts all your icons back into tidy columns and rows. Delete: This command recalls to the desktop something you've already placed in the recycling bin. New: This option lets you create empty folders or files of a given type. Properties: This option allows you to customize a variety of settings related to the selected object. The Task bar and Applications Unlike previous versions of Windows, all of your currently running applications appear on a handy bar on your screen named the Task bar. You ll notice that every time you open a folder or start an application, a new tile will be added to the Task bar. A common situation is pictured below:
Windows 95: Features Page 5 When you want to switch to an application, simply click on its tile, and it will appear on your screen at the point where you left off. Whatever tile is currently in the foreground will be depressed; other tiles will look like stand-up buttons. Other programs will also add items to the task bar, starting on the right side of the bar. You ll notice that after installing Windows 95, two mini-programs will already reside here: the clock and the sound control panel. Try leaving your mouse hanging over the time (without clicking) and watch for the date to appear. Or, double click on either the time or volume control to change their settings. The Start Menu On the left side of the Task bar is one last feature, the Start Menu. Much like the Apple menu that preceded it, the Start Menu allows you to access commonly used applications and documents in an organized, hierarchical list. Click on the Start button to open this menu. Think of this menu as your customizable program launcher. You can open any program from the Start menu by choosing it from the list, and you can place your favorite applications or documents in this list by dragging their icons on top of the Start Menu tile (or try right clicking on the tile). In fact, the Start menu also allows you to access a number of submenus by using your mouse to follow the arrows next to different names (e.g., Programs). Notice that several icons appear at the top of the menu: these are icons you ve dragged to the Start Menu on your own, and will vary from machine to machine. The other more standard parts of the Start Menu are as follows: Programs: Allows you to choose (and therefore launch) any application that you had on your hard drive when you installed Windows 95. New applications that you install will also appear here, assuming their installation conforms to Windows standards. Even if they don t, you can add them to the menu by means of the Task bar settings (see Settings, below). If you installed Windows 95 over a previous version of Windows, your old program manager groups will be automatically placed here. Documents: Keeps track of the last 10 documents you worked with, allowing you to quickly load the document and launch its creator application by simply clicking on the filename. Settings: Provides access to the Control Panel (for all your basic Windows settings), the Printers folder (for printer settings and task control) and the Task bar settings (to customize both the Task bar and the Start menu). Find: Brings up a dialog box which supplants the File Manager search feature of earlier Windows versions. Searches can now be done based on partial text, file size, or last modification date. Help: Takes you to the improved on-line help, which is now context-sensitive. Help screens now stay on top so you can see them while you re working on the task at hand. Run: Allows you to run programs from the command line (DOS). Shut Down: This option saves all opened files and saves your current environment settings to disk, readying the computer to be turned off. It also displays the Shut Down dialog box with four options: Shut down the computer, Restart the computer, Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode, and Close all programs and log on as a different user.
Windows 95: Features Page 6 Explorer, the Heir to File Manager The File Manager in previous versions of Windows has been replaced in Windows 95 by Windows Explorer, which looks and feels like a beefed-up version of File Manager. Explorer is more flexible and less confusing than its predecessor was, but retains File Manager's advantages, allowing powerful file management controls as an alternative to My Computer. Generally speaking, the approach to file management outlined above (using file windows opened up from the My Computer icon) and Explorer do the same things, but My Computer is thought to be easier to use by beginners while Explorer keeps those functions of File Manager that experts wanted. If you want to try out Explorer on your own, it is located in the Windows directory (and also under the Start Menu\ Programs). Plug and Play and Peripherals With the advent of Plug and Play protocol for peripherals, Windows 95 supposedly makes adding hardware to your system a snap. No more are DIP switches, interrupts or address conflicts. Just plug in the hardware and Plug and Play will recognize your hardware and add it to your system configuration, without conflict or further tinkering on your part. In other words, Plug and Play takes care of the messy details of installation and configuration. This is certainly true of most hardware newly designed to work with Windows 95. If the hardware label says it was designed for Windows 95, you should have no problem whatsoever. The trick is when you deal with hardware produced before Windows 95, which Plug and Play is also supposed to handle, yet some hardware may still not be recognized. Moreover, adding hardware is not a sure thing even with newer hardware, so don t absolutely depend on Plug and Play. What to Do with a DOS Craving If you get a DOS craving, despair not, as it is still in there. To run old DOS programs, simply double click on them. If that doesn t do the trick, you should be able to get it to run by right-clicking on the program icon and fooling with the settings under the properties option. Lastly, you can choose to shut down and restart your computer in MS-DOS mode. This will remove the Windows 95 interface and allow you to run the DOS program in its pristine state. If you wish to return to nature and enter DOS commands from a command prompt, you can find the DOS prompt lurking under the Start Menu \ Programs list. ALT-ENTER will switch you from a windowed mode to a full-screen DOS session. Where to Get the Latest Information on Windows 95 Microsoft has created the WinNews information forum, which serves as an easily accessible electronicdistribution point for new white papers, press releases and other pertinent documentation. If you have a modem or access to the Internet, you can always get up-to-the-minute information on Windows 95 direct from Microsoft via WinNews. To subscribe to the WINNEWS Electronic Newsletter, send e-mail with the words SUBSCRIBE WINNEWS as the only text of your message, to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com. You can also keep up with Windows 95 developments by visiting Microsoft's Windows 95 Information Page on the World Wide Web. The URL is: http://www.windows.microsoft.com. This document is a publication of Academic Technology & Networks at The University of North Carolina. It may be copied for individual or non-profit use. Please send comments about this publication to CB# 3450, 402 Hanes Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3450 or to atndocs@unc.edu. Author: Scott demarchi. Editor: Damon Sauve. Revision date: December 4, 1995. Print date: September 30, 1997. ATN Document dws06