Win abc's

This tutorial is for newcomers to Windows and will provide the essentials for working with Windows applications. This entry will get you started, and all the rest of the Windows "how to's" begin with a "Win" prefix and follow this entry. Also, if you do not understand a term used in any of these explanations, just look it up in the Encyclopedia. See operating system for details about operating systems in general.

What's a Window?
A window is a rectangular area on screen surrounded by a window frame with a title bar and title at the top. Each time you launch (run) a Windows application, it is displayed in its own window, and you can launch additional applications and work with all of them.

If your screen is big enough, you can place windows side by side or overlap them so you can see more than one document at the same time. You can move windows around, make them smaller or let them take up the full screen and easily switch between them.

When you restart an application, it will usually display on screen at the same size it was when you closed it the last time.

The Essentials
Following are the essentials for working with Windows applications:

1. Start menu and Taskbar
2. Launching your application
3. The Desktop
4. Switching programs
5. Moving and resizing windows

Start Menu and Taskbar
The Start menu is displayed by clicking the Start button on the Taskbar and is your master menu and launching pad for applications. The Taskbar is a bar that starts out at the bottom of the screen, but may be moved to the top or either side. In fact, the Taskbar can also be hidden and only revealed when you move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. To learn how to do this, see Win Hide Taskbar.

Taskbar and Start Menu

The Start menu button starts out at the bottom left side of your screen. You can move it (with the Taskbar) to the top or either side. Starting with Windows XP, the Start menu icon changed.

Launching Your Application
The Start menu contains the Programs submenu. When you install an application, its icon is placed in Programs. Normally, the Application Group name is the first level, and the actual program icon is one level deeper. To learn how to customize the Start menu, see Win Start menu.

Start Menu and Programs

Installation programs place icons in the Programs section of the Start menu. The icons located directly above Programs are placed there by the user in order to launch commonly used programs quickly. Icons can be dragged and dropped in these menus and renamed by right clicking.

Windows XP Start Menu

In XP, the Programs section is at the bottom of the Start menu. Like other versions of Windows, icons can be placed at the top of the Start menu. Unlike other versions, XP automatically places icons of recently used programs above Programs and below the user icons. In this example, the Paint and Character Map icons were placed by XP.

After Launching

As soon as you launch a program, the program icon turns into a button on the Taskbar.

The Desktop
The Windows Desktop serves as an alternate location for storing icons that are pointers to programs, folders and data files. Windows comes with a few icons on its Desktop, but you can add as many others as you like. It's really a matter of preference. Some people like to launch everything from their desktops while others prefer the Start menu. Many people use both methods.

A Crowded Desktop

You can place files and folders on your desktop as well as applications. You can also place pointers to files and folders and applications whereby the actual file is still in its original folder, but you have created an additional way to access it. Every icon on this desktop that says "Shortcut to" and has a tiny bent arrow facing northeast is a pointer to the real file, folder or program located elsewhere.

Switching Programs
After you have opened (launched) more than one application, you can switch back and forth between them using the Taskbar or keyboard commands. To switch using the Taskbar, simply click on the Taskbar button that represents the application you want to switch to.

To switch using the keyboard, which is often the fastest method, hold the Alt key down and press Tab. This will switch you to the application you were working in before this one. Pressing Alt-Tab again switches you back. If you have more than two open applications, hold Alt down and press Tab, but don't let go of the keys. Keep pressing Tab and you will cycle through all your open applications. When you have selected the one you want, let go of the Tab key.

Moving and Resizing Windows
You can move your windows around on screen and make them larger or smaller. The first time a new application is run, it may open up full screen or only partially. However, if you want to change the size and location of your application windows you can, and all that information is located in, see Win Change window position and size.

What Now?
This Win abc's entry is designed to give you a working knowledge of Windows basics, but once you get into your specific application, you have to learn the details of that program such as Word, Photoshop or Eudora.

A lot more is contained under the various "Win" entries. Just type "win" to get to the top of the Win list in the index.

Good luck and happy computing.