INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS AND FILE MANAGEMENT Windows 7 The Work Environment Your computer monitor is designed to resemble a desktop and is often referred to as such. Just as you might put on a regular desktop, your computer screen should have the tools and folders that you use more frequently. Some of those tools will be found on the taskbar. This is the blue bar located at the bottom of your screen which contains the Start button, the Quick Launch Toolbar, taskbar button area, and tray status. Start Button Quick Launch Toolbar Taskbar Buttons Tray Status The Start button allows you to launch a program quickly, find or open a document, change the computer s settings, shut down the computer, and perform many other tasks. The Quick Launch toolbar contains icons of commonly used programs such as Internet Explorer Browser. This toolbar eliminates the need for multiple clicks to get a program started and allows the user to add frequently accessed programs to this location. The Taskbar Buttons area contains buttons to indicate which windows are open on the desktop. Hovering over the Taskbar Buttons will provide a menu of files that are currently open in those programs. The Tray Status area is located on the right side of the taskbar and contains such things as the speaker icon and the current time. The portion of the screen above the taskbar is the desktop. Generally the default desktop color is blue, but it can be customized to a different color or image. The desktop can also be customized to display shortcuts to particular programs and files, but Windows 7 will contain a folder specific to the student logged on to the computer, Computer (where you and view the contents of the computer), and Network Applications (shows network resources available for student use). Screen Shots A screen shot is taking a picture of whatever is currently displayed on the computer screen. To take a screen shot of a computer screen: Press the Print Screen button located above the numeric keypad. Pressing this key will take a picture of whatever is showing on the screen. Open Word. Right-click and Paste the picture in a Word document.
Storage Information and data on your computer may be located and saved in various locations. It is important to understand these different locations and how to open and save files correctly. You may view these locations by opening Computer from the desktop screen. The right pane in the My Computer window contains a list storage media on the computer and document folders. Storage media will be listed under sub-categories such as Hard Disk Drive, Devices with Removable Storage, and Network Location. Drives (hard drives and removable drives) are identified by letters. Computers may have varying drives depending on the computer system. However, for most computers, drives are usually identified by the following letters: Drives A and B generally are floppy drives, although these drives are rarely used as floppy drives are considered obsolete. Drive C typically represents the hard disk, also called the local disk. Some computers have more than one hard disk, and some computers have partitioned hard disks, meaning the drive is divided into different sections for use. Additional partitioned hard disks and other disks, such as CDs and DVDs, USB disks, Zip disks, and mobile devices, usually are labeled D, E, F, and so on. Double-clicking on a drive will display the contents of that drive. For the purposes of this course, you will need to understand the different storage areas in which to locate and save information. As a student, you are each assigned a partition of the hard drive identified as the student drive, or H-drive. This is the drive where you will need to save your work and should only be accessible to you under your log-in account number and password. All your work should be saved to this drive. To retrieve documents already created for the purpose of this course, you will need to locate them in the shared drive, labeled with the letter S (S-drive). This drive is identified as shared(\\shared)(s:). All files needed to complete assignments in the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint units will be located in their respective folders on this drive. To open them, you will need to locate this drive from the appropriate program, open the Computer Technology folder, open the appropriate application (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) and open the correct folder for that unit. You will find in the unit folder all the files necessary to complete each assignment.
File Management Just as you may organize work or projects in folders in a file cabinet, you can also store similar documents in folders on your computer. An organized desktop makes locating information quick and easy. Files are created when a document is saved and folders are used to organize your work and store files. When you want to create a folder to store files, your first decision is the folder location and then the folder name. You can create folders on any of your computer s storage media. To create a subfolder, decide under which parent folder you will create the subfolder. Naming Folders and Files The files and folders that you save on your drive must have names so that you will be able to find them. It is best to make your file names relevant to the content so that you easily can identify the file when you want to retrieve it. File names can have up to 255 characters. In addition to the name of the file, files also have extensions, which consist of three or four characters. A period separates the file name and the extension. Extensions identify the type of file, such as docx for a Microsoft Word 2010 document or xlsx for an Excel 2010 spreadsheet file. The program in which you are working assigns a default extension. You can change the file type and, therefore the extension when you save the file using the Save As dialog box. Creating Folders You can create your own folders on your H-drive to organize the work you will be doing in this class. Folders can be created from Computer, Windows Explorer, or from the individual application you are working in when you are ready to save files (such as Word, PowerPoint, or Excel). To create a new folder within the application, select Save or Save As to open the Save As dialog box. Below the path name is a New folder button. Click on this tool to create a new folder in the location indicated by the path. You will then need to name your folder and hit enter to add the folder to your drive. Renaming a File or Folder Create New folder button Sometimes you might want to change the name of a file or folder maybe to describe its content better or simply to correct spelling. When renaming a file, you should keep the same file name extension (docx, xlsx) so that you can open it with the correct application software. Renaming a file or folder is a simple process. You may accomplish this task in any window that lists the name of the file or folder you wish to rename (Open, Save As, My Computer, Explore). However, be aware that you cannot rename a file while it is open. To rename a file or folder, perform one of the following options: Click the folder or file to select it, press the F2 key, and then type the new name in the text box. Click the folder or file twice slowly to select it. Do not double-click. Type the new name in the text box.
Right click on the folder or file, choose Rename on the shortcut menu, and then type the new name in the text box. Copying and Moving Files and Folders You move or copy files from a source location to a destination. The source is the file to be copied, and the destination is the location where the copied or moved file then will reside. When working on your H-drive, moving and copying files can be accomplished in any window that lists the name of the file or folder you wish to copy or move. To Copy a File/Folder: Right click on the file or folder name to select the source and open a shortcut menu. Select copy from the shortcut menu then open the destination location in which you want to place the file or folder. Right click on the destination location and select paste from the shortcut menu. This will place a copy of the file or folder in the destination location, while not removing the file or folder from the original site. To Move a File/Folder: Right click on the file or folder name to select the source and open a shortcut menu. Select Cut from the shortcut menu then open the destination location in which you want to place the file or folder. Right click on the destination location and select Paste from the shortcut menu. This will remove the file or folder from the source location and place it in the destination location. Selecting Multiple Files or Folders At times you may want to select more than one file or folder to copy or move. To select items that are adjacent (located next to each other), simply hold down the Shift key as you click on the first and last items you want to select. Holding down the Shift key will allow all items in between to be selected. However, if you want to select files or folders that are non-adjacent (not located next to each other), hold down the CTRL key and click each item you want to select. To select all of the items in a window, on the Edit menu, click Select All Deleting a File or Folder Windows provides several options to delete a file or folder. You may use one of the following methods to delete a file or folder: Click the file or folder to select it, then press the delete key. Right click the file or folder name, then click delete on the shortcut menu. Use extreme caution when deleting a folder. When you delete a folder or subfolder, you also delete all the files in the folder. To verify this is what you really want to do, Windows displays a Confirm Folder Delete or Confirm File Delete dialog box. When you delete a file or folder from a floppy disk, it is deleted permanently. When you delete a folder or file from a hard disk, it goes to the Windows Recycle Bin, from which it can be recovered until the Recycle Bin is emptied.
Working with Programs Windows 7 Installing Programs You can do a lot with the programs and features included in Windows, but you might want to install other programs. How you add a program depends on where the installation files for the program are located. Typically, programs are installed from a CD or DVD, from the Internet, or from a network To install a CD or DVD Insert the disc into your computer, and then follow the instructions on your screen. administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. If you're prompted for an Many programs installed from CDs or DVDs open an installation wizard for the program automatically. In these cases, the AutoPlay dialog box appears and you can choose to run the wizard. If a program doesn't begin installation automatically, check the information that came with the program. This information will likely provide instructions for installing the program manually. If you can't access the information, you can also browse through the disc and open the program setup file, usually called Setup.exe or Install.exe. To install a program from the Internet 1. In your web browser, click the link to the program. 2. Do one of the following: To install the program immediately, click Open or Run, and then follow the instructions on your screen. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. To install the program later, click Save, and then download the installation file to your computer. When you're ready to install the program, double-click the file, and then follow the instructions on your screen. This is a safer option because you can scan the installation file for viruses before you proceed. Uninstalling Programs Click on this link to view a short video on how to uninstall or change a program. Answer the questions on your File Management Worksheet as you view the video.