tutor-1.html

TUTOR 1

In the beginning …

The screen that appears when you start up your computer is called the desktop. The small pictures on the desktop, with names of programs underneath, are called icons and programs can be opened by double- clicking on the icon.

Tip: If you are new to the mouse and have trouble double clicking, you can click just once and then hit the Enter key on the keyboard.

In your computer there is a program called My Computer. This little program shows you what is on your computer. The places where information is stored are called drives. There are three of them and you can think of them as being three filing cabinet drawers, containing folders with files (documents) in them.

Let’s have a look now.

1. Double-click My Computer.

A window will appear showing the main components of your computer. These are:

There are other components but we won’t worry about them at this time. Also, the names of your drives may be slightly different. The important parts of the names are [A:] [C:] and [D:]

3½ Floppy [A:] If you double-click on A:, the computer will open your floppy drive, provided there is a disk in it. If there is, the files or documents on the disk will be listed.

C: Hard Drive: This is where your computer stores everything. You might think of it as a big filing cabinet. When you double-click on C: the contents of the hard drive will be displayed.

D: CD-ROM Drive. If you double-click on D: the computer will open your CD-ROM drive. If there is a disk in the drive, the contents of that disk will be listed.

2. Double-click C:
You're now looking at everything in your computer's hard drive, including programs (such as Microsoft Works) and files (such as documents). The hard drive [C:] is a sealed unit inside the computer box and is the main storage place. All files are stored in folders each of which are shown as a picture of a yellow folder.

3. Click on View.

It's the 3rd option on Menu Bar at the top of the screen.

A menu appears. Notice the four options for displaying the list of Folders:

Large Icons
Small Icons
List
Details

4. Click Small Icons.
Notice how the listing appears different.

5. Click Detail.

Again, notice the change.

6. Click Large Icons.

Now choose the style you're most comfortable with.

NOTE: If the window looks different or is blank, go to the View Menu and take the tick away from the words "as Web Page" by clicking on it.

Next we’ll have a look at another way to investigate just what programs and files are on your computer. We’ll use another little Windows program called Windows Explorer.

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