Microsoft Windows XP

Introduction

There are many new and exciting features at your fingertips in Windows XP. Some of these features are making their debut in Windows XP but they are built off of Windows 98. There are new tools you can use to get the most out of your computer experience, and other technologies that run in the background, making your computer run more efficiently and reliably.

First, what you can't see, Windows XP has great capability in the behind-the-scenes running of your computer. Overall security has been improved. Performance is at an all-time high, allowing you to use more programs and have them run faster than ever. Windows XP is dependable and stable, so you can always rely on the performance and effectiveness of your computer. Best of all, compatibility with other programs is better than ever. Windows XP is designed to make you have less work to do with the least amount of hassle.

Start Menu

Clicking Start displays a menu that lets you easily access the most useful items on your computer. Clicking All Programs opens a list of programs currently installed on your computer. The list of programs on the Start menu is divided into two parts: the programs displayed above the separator line (also known as the pinned items list) and the programs displayed below the separator line (also known as the most frequently used programs list). The programs on the pinned items list remain there and are always available for you to click to start them. You can add programs to the pinned items list.

Programs are added to the most frequently used programs list when you use them. Windows has a default number of programs that are displayed on the most frequently used programs list. When that number of programs is reached, the programs you have not opened recently are replaced by the programs you used last.

• All Programs – The all programs menu holds all of the applications that come with Windows XP or ones that you have installed that are supplied by the university or ones that you have installed yourself.
• My Recent Documents – is a list of the most recent documents that you have worked on.
• Control Panel – NEW! It now has its own menu. Control Panel is full of specialized tools that are used to change the way Windows looks and behaves.
• Help and Support - NEW! The Help and Support Center is your comprehensive resource for tools and information. Use Search, the Index, or the table of contents to gain access to the extensive online Help system.
• Search – NEW! This use to be called Find, this option allows you to search for files and folders on your computer.
• Run – This option allows you to specify a program to run if it does not have an entry in the All Programs Menu
• Turn Off The Computer – NEW! It is the same as the Shutdown option from Windows 98. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO USE THIS OPTION BEFORE YOU TURN OFF THE COMPUTER.

The Control Panel

To open Control Panel, click Start and then click Control Panel.

Control Panel is full of specialized tools that are used to change the way Windows looks and behaves. Some of these tools help you adjust settings that make your computer more fun to use. For example, use Mouse to replace standard mouse pointers with animated icons that move on your screen, or use Sounds and Audio Devices to replace standard system sounds with sounds you choose. Other tools help you set up Windows so that your computer is easier to use.

When you first open Control Panel, you will see some of the most commonly used Control Panel items organized by category. To find out more information about an item in Control Panel while in Category view, hold your mouse pointer over the icon or category name and read the text that appears. To open one of these items, click its icon or category name. Some of these items will open to a list of tasks you can perform, as well as a selection of individual Control Panel items. For example, when you click Appearance and Themes, you will see a list of tasks such as Choose a screen saver along with individual Control Panel items. If you open Control Panel and do not see the item you want, click Switch to Classic View.

Display Properties

Windows provides different options for the look of the screens. To get to the display options in Control Panel click on Display then on the Appearance tab. This is the screen that will appear:

• Under Windows and Buttons you can change the look of a Window Box to the XP style (above) or you can select Classic style, which is the style that was used in Windows 98.
• Under Color Scheme you can choose different color for the windows boxes.
• Under Font Size you can choose between small, normal, and large icons.

Mouse Settings

The mouse option can also be found in the Control Panel under Mouse.

Mouse Properties allows you to choose whether you want it as a right-handed or left handed mouse, the double-clicking speed, and also click-lock: which is a NEW! feature. This enables you to highlight or drag without holding down the mouse button. You can choose your pointer, the pointer speed, and the visibility of the pointer. You can choose how many lines you can scroll over when using the mouse.

Setting a Screen Saver

A screen saver is a program that displays moving graphics or words on your screen when you are not working. To choose a screen saver, select Display in the Control Panel then choose the Screen Saver Tab. 

Use the Screen Saver pull down menu to choose a screen saver. If there are settings that you want to change for the screen saver, use the Settings button. The Wait prompt allows you to change the time it takes for the screen saver to appear while the computer is idle.

The Accessories Menu

• Calculator – it can be set for simple or complex math operations.
• Command Prompt - MS-DOS, the acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, is an operating system with a command-line interface used on personal computers.
• Notepad – A simple text editor.
• Paint – A paint program for editing pictures.
• Word Pad - A low level word processor.

WordPad

You can use WordPad to create or edit text files that contain formatting or graphics. (Use Notepad for basic text editing or for creating Web pages.) You can add special formatting such as boldface, italic, and underline. WordPad has many features but if you already have a capable word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word) it is recommended that you use that.

• To open WordPad, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click WordPad.

Paint

Paint is a drawing tool you can use to create black-and-white or color drawings that you can save as bit map (.bmp) files. You can also use Paint to send your drawing in e-mail, set the image as a desktop background, and save image files using different file formats.

• To open Paint, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Paint.

Multi-Tasking

One of the most useful features of Windows XP is multi-tasking. Multitasking is the process of running two or more programs at the same time. With this feature you can quickly copy information from one program to another. A NEW! Feature in Windows XP is grouping in multitasking. It groups different documents all from the same program together.

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are icons that can be placed on the desktop or in the Start Menu. They represent programs, folders and files that are on the computer. Since they only represent items, they can be copied, moved and deleted without any harm to the actual program, folder, or file.

To Create a Shortcut on the Desktop:

• Use the right mouse button to click on the desktop (anywhere not in a window), a menu will appear.
• From the New menu choose Shortcut.
• This dialog box will walk you through the process of creating the shortcut. Once you find the file by clicking on the browse button, you can name the folder or file anything you like. If you make a mistake in the previous dialog window click the Back button. Then click Finish and you will see the shortcut on your desktop.

My Computer

In My Computer you can browse through a hierarchy of folders on your computer and all the files and folders in each selected folder.

To start My Computer

You can either double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop or you can go to the Start Menu and select My Computer.

You can select a number of different views to look at My Computer.

To access any file click on the drive that it is stored on and locate the file.

Changing Your Desktop

To change your desktop, click on the Start Menu, and then the Control Panel, select Display, and then click on the desktop tab.

There are many choices to choose from! Highlight the one you prefer, then click apply, and then click OK. You can also create your own by clicking on the Browse button and locate a picture that you have saved then click apply, then click ok.

When you click on Customize desktop, there are more advanced options such as the look of the icons, and a New! cleanup tool feature for your desktop to make it less cluttered.

Making Your Own Icons

This will allow you to create the icons that appear on your desktop.

• Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, and Paint.
• From the pull down menu bar, click on Image and then select Attributes.
• Enter 32 Pixels in Height and Width. Click Ok.
• A small white box appears. Then create an icon using the Paintbrush or Pencil Tools.
• Select File, Save As. Name the file and click Save.

Replacing the Shortcut on Your Desktop

Replacing the Shortcut allows you to change the standard icons to ones you have created.

• Right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties.
• Click on the Change Icon button.
• Click on Browse and locate the icon you saved.
• Locate the file and highlight it. Click Open. Then click OK.