Computer Basics I. Computer/network login

Computer Basics I

Computer/network login

Logging into a network gives you access to files and applications on the network. With Windows 9x you can bypass the network login (by clicking on Cancel) and still use the computer locally (anything that is located directly on the computer). However, anything that is located on the network is not available to use (e.g. Staff Folders and Classroom Folders are on the network).

With Windows XP, you must log in, either locally or to a network. XP maintains a profile for each user. When you log in, you are letting XP know which profile to load. A profile is just a group of settings set by the user or the network administrator (e.g. desktop background, shortcuts, screensavers, etc).

To login to the network:

1. If you are on an XP machine, you will see the screen below, press CTRL – ALT – Delete (all at the same time). Note: Some XP systems are set to bypass this screen.

2. Type in your user name in the first box. The user name is assigned by the technology coordinator. If you don’t know your user name, please see your technology coordinator.

3. Type in your password. If you don’t know your password, please see your technology coordinator to have it reset.

4. In the Log on to: box, ensure that HIGHGATE is displayed. If it is not, type Highgate. 5. Click on OK or press Enter.

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is the concept of having more than one program open at a time. For instance, you may be typing in a word processor and have a

spreadsheet open at the same time.

You can switch between

programs by clicking on item on the task bar. Here, I have a Word document, two Excel documents and a web page open. To switch between active

windows, I just click on the item on the task bar.

Note: the active document, the one currently in the front on the screen, appears as a darker item on the task bar.

Open files

Minimize, Maximize and Close

In the upper right corner of each window there are three buttons. The first button, Minimize, closes the

window down to the task bar. To open the window, click on the item on the task bar. This does not close out the program or the file, it just minimizes it down to the task bar.

The middle button, Maximize/Restore Down, will shrink down the window. Click on this button again and the window will maximize. Note: When the window is Restored Down, you can use your mouse to resize the window. Place your mouse on the window border, when you have a double-headed mouse pointer, you can click and drag to resize the window.

Window after clicking Maximize/Restore Down button.

The close button closes out the window. This closes the file you are working on and the program.

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are links on the desktop or start menu to a file or program and can be created for favorite files or programs.

To save a file to the desktop: • Open the file

• Click on File > Save as • Navigate to the Desktop • Click on Save

To create a desktop shortcut to a file:

• Open Windows Explorer (Windows key + E or Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer) • Navigate to the file (for instance in My Documents)

• Right click on the file and choose Send To > Desktop (create shortcut) To create a desktop shortcut to a favorite program:

• Click on the Show desktop button or minimize open windows, if any • Click on Start > All Programs

• Find the program you would like to create a shortcut for • Click and drag the program to the desktop

To add a shortcut to the top of the Start Menu: • Click on Start > All Programs

• Find the program you would like to create a shortcut for • Click and drag the program to the menu

• The program will be added where you release the mouse button (note that it also remains under All Programs)

Create, Open and Save Files

To create a new file, you just need to launch the program associated with the type of file you would like to create. For example, if you would like to create a new word processing document, you just need to launch Word. This will launch the program and create a new, blank

file. If the program is already open, you can click on File > New.

To save a file, click on File > Save As. The save as window opens. The default location for saving is in the My Documents folder. To change the location, click on the drop-down list box next to the Save in: box. This will show you a list of locations that are available.

• Click on a location. The drop-down list disappears and your chosen location appears in the Save in: box. For example, click on staff folders on ‘galaxy’ then double click on your folder.

• Next, name your file. In the box labeled File name: give your file a descriptive name. File naming is important for finding files for later use.

• Click on Save.

To open a previously saved file, click on File > Open. The Open Window opens. Again, it will default to the My Documents folder. Click on the drop-down list box in the Look in: box. This will list all of the locations available.

Click on the location where the file was saved. The drop-down list disappears and your chosen location appears in the Look in: box. For example, click on staff folders on ‘galaxy’ then double click on your folder. Your file should be there.

To open the file, click on the file and click on Open. (Alternately, you can double-click on the file to open it.)

Word Wrap

Word wrap allows you to type continuously without pressing RETURN to start a new line because the program "wraps" the text to the new line for you. The program “senses” when to move down to the next line. When using a word processor (like Microsoft Word) you should never hit the Enter [Return] key unless you are starting a new paragraph. Text Wrap describes how text wraps around an object such as clip art.

Insert/overwrite

When your computer is in Insert mode, the text you type pushes existing text forward to make room for the new text. This allows you to move your cursor to the middle of a paragraph and insert extra text. When your computer is in Overwrite mode, the text you type replaces (types over) text to the right of the cursor. The default mode is Insert. To switch to Overwrite, click on the Insert key [sometimes labeled Ins] on your keyboard. This is a toggle key, clicking it again will switch you back to Insert mode.

In MS Word, the mode is indicated at the bottom of the window, in your status bar. When you are in overwrite mode, OVR will appear in black text.

Shortcut Menu

When using a mouse, a left click is used for selecting. Often, you can use the right mouse button (known as a right click) to see a contextual shortcut menu. Shown below are several shortcut menus.

Formatting Text

There are many ways to format text. Formatting text changes the appearance of the text. Formatting is used to make text stand out, make it easier to read, add interest to a document, etc.

Enter text – to enter text, just start typing. Text enters at the location of the cursor.

Delete text – to delete text to the left of the cursor, click on the Backspace key. To delete text to the

right of the cursor, click on the Delete key.

Selecting text – click at the beginning and drag (while holding down the mouse button) to the end of the text you

would like to select. When you release the mouse button, the text will appear white in a black background.

Bold – to make text bold, click on the Bold button on the formatting toolbar before typing the text. Italics – to make text italic, click on the Italics button on the formatting toolbar before typing the text.

Underline – to underline text, click on the Underline button on the formatting toolbar before typing the

text.

Bold, Italics and Underline are all toggle switches. Click once to turn them on, click on them again to turn them off.

Font - A complete set of type of one size and face

.

•

Times New Roman – size 14

•

Bradley Hand ITC – size 18

Selected text shortcut menu: Graphic/image shortcut menu: Toolbar shortcut menu (right

click anywhere on a toolbar):

B

B

I

I

U

U

•

_{Goudy Stout – size 22}

Font Color – to change the font color, click on the font color drop-down list box. Choose a color (click on a color) from the selection or click on More Colors… to bring up more color choices.

NOTE: If you have already typed the text, you can change any of the formatting (bold, italics, underline, font, size, color, etc.) by selecting the text (see above) and choosing the new formats.

Font Size – to change the font

size, click on the font size drop-down list box. In this example, it is the drop-down list box next to the 10. To choose a size not listed in the drop-down list, click on the drop-down list and type the size number you would like. For example, to choose the size 85, click on the drop-down list box and type 85 and press Enter. The size, 85, will appear in the text size box. Rule of thumb – 72 pts ~ 1”

Undo, Redo

The Undo and Redo buttons do exactly that, they undo/redo the last operations performed.

Cut, Copy, Paste, Move

Cut and paste (move) – cutting text/objects does basically the same thing as deleting text/objects with one major

difference. When you cut text, it is temporarily saved on the Office Clipboard* for later use. Delete removes the text/object permanently. The Cut button appears on the Standard toolbar as a pair of scissors . Select the text/object that you would like to cut and then click on the Cut button. If your clipboard is visible, the

text/object will appear in the Clipboard panel. To move the text/object to a new location, you can cut the object, then move your cursor to the new location and click on the paste button .

Move – when you want to just move an object, the easiest way is to select the text/object and then drag it to its

new location.

Use cut if you want the item to be available for later use, use move if you want to move an item to a new location.

Copy and Paste– use the copy and paste functions when you would like to keep text/objects in the original location

but also put them in another location (think duplicate). For example, I can copy this text. For example, I can copy this text.

To copy a text/object:

• Select the item then click on the copy button

• Click your mouse pointer in the new location to place the cursor

*Clipboard – a panel which displays/holds copied and cut text and images for later use. It can display items from multiple programs. To make Clipboard visible, click on Edit > Office Clipboard. To use items from the Clipboard, move your cursor to the location you would like to add the item, move your mouse over an item on the Clipboard and a drop-down list box appears. Click on the arrow and click on Insert. When using multiple programs, the Clipboard icon appears in the system tray. Right click on the icon and choose Show Office Clipboard.

Note: there are keyboard shortcuts that can be used for many functions including bold, italics, cut, copy, paste, etc. To see keyboard shortcuts, click on the menu item (File, Edit, etc.). The shortcuts are generally the same across programs, especially Microsoft programs.

Format Paragraph and Page

Spacing

Line Spacing – to change the line spacing, click on Format > Paragraph. Default line spacing is single.

Spacing Before/After changes the space above and below selected text and works similar to Line Spacing.

Indentation

Indentation sets left and right indents.

Special allows for special indents such as hanging. Hanging indent moves consecutive lines of text in as in this example. Once you press Enter, the first line will be at the margin and all lines of text following will be indented.

I pressed enter and have moved to a new line. Notice text moved back to the margin. But consecutive lines are indented.

General

Alignment – sets text alignment. You can also use the alignment buttons on the formatting toolbar.

full right center

Left – aligns text to the left side of the page

Center – centers text between the left and right margin of a page Right – aligns text to the right side of the page

Full – aligns text to both the right and left side of the page (this is often seen in magazines and newspapers)

Outline level – When creating an outline, use this for different levels. Page Orientation – direction text will print on the page.

• To set orientation, click on File > Page Setup • Orientation is on the Margins tab

• Defualt orientation is Portrait

Margins – white space bordering the written or printed area on a page

landscape portrait

• To set margins, click on File > Page Setup • Margins are on the Margins tab

• Default margins for a Word document are o Top and bottom – 1”

o Right and left – 1.25”