Module2 - Windows.pdf

ECDL Module 2 Notes Module 2: Using the Computer and Managing Files 2.1 Operating System 2.1.1 First Steps 2.1.1.1 Start the computer and log on securely using a user name and password. ♦ First check that all cables are plugged securely into the rear of the machine. ♦...

ECDL Module 2 Notes Module 2: Using the Computer and Managing Files 2.1 Operating System 2.1.1 First Steps 2.1.1.1 Start the computer and log on securely using a user name and password. ♦ First check that all cables are plugged securely into the rear of the machine. ♦ Then check that the monitor is turned on. ♦ Locate the power switch on the system unit (tower) and press it once to turn on the computer. ♦ You may be asked to supply a logon ID and a password. 2.1.1.2 Restart the computer using an appropriate routine. ♦ Click on button that represents Start ♦ Click on the bottom arrow ♦ ♦ And then click Restart ©TCTC -1-  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.1.3 - Shut down a non-responding application. Sometimes a program / application fails to respond i.e. the program ‘hangs’. Typically non-responsive cannot be closed in the normal way. In such case, you need to follow these steps in order to shut down (close) the program: ♦ Press Ctrl, Alt and Delete on your keyboard. - ♦ A window will occur. You will see a list of things which you can choose from. It’s important that you click on Start Task Manager ©TCTC -2-  ECDL Module 2 Notes ♦ You will see a list of programs. Click on the program that is not responding and click End Task. ♦ The End Program dialog box will be displayed. ♦ Click End Now button. ©TCTC -3-  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.1.4 - Shut down the computer using an appropriate routine. ♦ Click on button that represents Start ♦ Click on the bottom arrow ♦ And then click Shut Down 2.1.1.5 - Use available Help functions. ♦ Click on button that represents Start ♦ Then Click on Help and Support ©TCTC -4-  ECDL Module 2 Notes ♦ A window will load up. In Search Help box write what you need to search example how to rename files and click on the magnifier glass ♦ Click on the category you need the information about example rename a file and then all the information about renaming a file will occur ©TCTC -5-  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.2 Setup 2.1.2.1 View the computer’s basic system information: operating system name and version number installed RAM (random- access memory). ♦ Click Start, Control Panel ♦ Double-click on System icon. ©TCTC -6-  ECDL Module 2 Notes ♦ The following window will be displayed: Operating System Version Number CPU Speed Random Access Memory Note: You can also display the computer’s basic system information, by right clicking on the computer icon on the desktop and selecting Properties. ©TCTC -7-  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.2.2 - Change the computer’s desktop configuration: date & time, volume settings, desktop display options (colour settings, desktop background, screen pixel resolution, screen saver options). Change Desktop Window colour and appearance ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Personalization ♦ Click on window colour and appearance ♦ From colour scheme choose the one you prefer ♦ Then click on Advanced ♦ Choose the item you need to change the font or the colour of and then change also the colour or the size ♦ Click Ok and then click apply ♦ After click ok for the second time. ©TCTC -8-  ECDL Module 2 Notes Change Desktop Background ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Personalization ♦ Click on Desktop Background ♦ From the location choose whether you need a slid background, windows wallpaper or a picture from your documents. In case it’s a picture saved in your documents click on browse and search for the desired picture ♦ After you have chose the picture choose how the picture should be positioned ex fit to screen, tile etc ♦ You can also change the background colour. Just click on Change Background Colour ♦ After you click on Change background colour a window with different colour will show up on the screen. Choose the colour and click ok ©TCTC -9-  ECDL Module 2 Notes Change the Screen Saver ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Personalization ♦ Click on Screen Saver From the window given choose the screen saver by clicking on the arrow under the text Screen Saver and choose from the list given If you choose 3d Text click on Settings to set the Size, text etc. then click on Preview to see how the screen saver looks like. Also change the minutes to wait before the screen saver show up. ©TCTC - 10 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Change Screen Pixel Resolution ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Personalization ♦ Click on Display Settings ♦ From there one can change the Resolution and also the colours ©TCTC - 11 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Change Date and Time ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Date and Time ♦ Click on Change time and date ♦ Change the date, Month and year from the calendar given and the time from the arrows facing up and down ♦ ©TCTC - 12 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Change Volume Settings ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Sound ♦ Then double click on speakers ♦ click on the tab Levels and change the volume of the speakers accordingly 2.1.2.2 – Set, add Keyboard Language’ ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Regional and Language ♦ Then Click on the tab Keyboards and Language ♦ Click on Change Keyboard ♦ Click on Add and select a Country ©TCTC - 13 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.2.4 Uninstall a software application. ♦ From the Control Panel double click on Programs and Features ♦ Choose a Software from the list below that you wish to Remove and Click on Uninstall 2.1.2.5 Use keyboard print screen facility to capture a full screen, active window. Use print screen facility to capture a full screen ♦ Locate the print screen button on your keyboard and press it once. This will take a picture of the current screen. ♦ Open a document (e.g. Word processor), and click Edit, Paste. ©TCTC - 14 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Use print screen facility to capture an active window ♦ If you only need to capture a copy of the active window, press Alt from your keyboard and press the print screen button, whilst holding the Alt key. ♦ When you click Edit and Paste in an application, you will see that only the active window will be pasted and not the whole screen. 2.1.3 Working with Icons And 2.2.4 Copy, Move 2.1.3.1 Identify common icons like those representing: files, folders, applications, printers, drives, recycle bin/wastebasket/trash. ©TCTC - 15 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes ©TCTC - 16 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.3.2 Select and move icons. And 2.2.4.1 Select a file, folder individually or as a group of adjacent, non-adjacent files, folders. Selecting Files, Folders and Sub-folders ♦ To select an individual file / folder simply click once on the file / folder. The file / folder will be highlighted in blue. ♦ To select a number of adjacent files / folders. Click on the first file / folder in the block you wish to select, then press Shift and keep holding the key whilst clicking on the last file / folder in the block. ♦ To select a number of non-adjacent files / folders. Click on the first file / folder that you wish to select. Then press and hold the Ctrl key, whilst clicking on the other files / folders that you wish to select. ©TCTC - 17 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.4.2 Copy files, folders between folders and between drives. And 2.2.4.3 Move files, folders between folders and between drives. Duplicating / Moving Files and Folders from one folder / directory to another ♦ Select the files / folders that you wish to duplicate / move. ♦ Click Edit, Copy (to duplicate) OR Cut (to move). ♦ Open the folder where you want to paste the files / folders and click Edit, Paste. 2.1.3.3 Create, remove a desktop shortcut icon, and make an alias. Creating Desktop Shortcut Icons Sometimes it might be necessary for you to create a shortcut on the desktop. Usually the reason behind this is that you use a particular file / folder on a regular basis and you want to be able to open it easily and quickly. To Create a New Shortcut: ♦ Right click on a file / folder. ♦ Move the pointer to Send to. ♦ Click Desktop (Create Shortcut). A shortcut to that file / folder will be created on the desktop. ©TCTC - 18 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Creating a Shortcut to another Location on your Computer ♦ Right click on a file / folder. ♦ Click create shortcut. ♦ The shortcut will be created next to your selected file / folder. ♦ Move the shortcut to the desired location. (Using cut & paste or drag & drop techniques). 2.1.3.4 Use an icon to open a file, folder, application. Opening Desktop Folders or Icons Double ♦ Click on a folder (e.g. My Documents) or an icon (e.g. Recycle Bin) to open. ©TCTC - 19 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.4 Using Windows 2.1.4.1 Identify the different parts of a window: title bar, menu bar, toolbar or ribbon, status bar, scroll bar. Title Bar Menu Bar Toolbar Status Bar Scroll Bar ©TCTC - 20 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.4.2 Collapse, expand, restore, resize, move, and close a window. You need to do other actions with windows, including: collapsing, expanding, resizing, moving and closing. To MOVE a window, hover over the title bar. Then click the left mouse button and drag the To COLLAPSE To EXPAND the window to the position you the window, click window, click the want. the minimize icon maximize icon To CLOSE the window, click the close icon To RESIZE a window, move the mouse over the edges of the window until you see a double- ended arrow. You then need to click the left mouse button and drag the window to the right size. ©TCTC - 21 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.1.4.3 Switch between open windows. If you have windows open, but they are minimized, you can restore them quickly and easily. All you need to do is click on the window that you want to open, displayed in the taskbar. If you want to switch between two open windows i.e. if you have one open but want to view another that is minimized, simply click on the window you want to display – again this is done at the bottom of the screen in the taskbar. 2.2 File Management 2.2.1 Main Concepts 2.2.1.1 Understand how an operating system organizes drives, folders, files in a hierarchical structure What are Drives, Folders and Files? When accessing a drive on your computer, Windows uses a system of drive letters to serve as logical pointers to the different physical drives you have access to. From each drive letter it is possible to access all of your files stored on that particular physical drive. For instance, the Hard Disk drive letter is usually ‘C’. On some computers, you will find two hard disks, one of which will be the C drive and the other will be the D drive. The Floppy Disk is referred to as drive A. Pen drives are referred to as Removable Disks and they may be assigned different letters, depending on the number of disks installed on your computer. To help organise your files it is possible to create folders (also referred to as directories) to help divide and even sub-divide the files stored within the various logical drives available. A system of hierarchical folders within folders which ©TCTC - 22 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes represent your hard disk are often referred to as the folder (directory) tree, in the same way the very top of the file system is known as the root folder (directory). Finally, at the very end of this structure are the various files which we use. Each file name can be up to 255 characters in length. 2.2.1.2 Know devices used by an operating system to store files and folders like: hard disk, network drives, USB flash drive, CD-RW, DVD-RW ♦ Hard Disk: Stores your operating system, application programs and data. When you save data, it is normally saved to the hard disk. ♦ CD / DVD: These can hold a significant amount of data and are ideal for backing up your personal computer. ♦ Network Drives: Seen by your computer as a normal drive, but in reality the network drive is a folder located on another computer which is connected to the network. 2.2.1.3 Know how files, folders are measured: KB, MB, GB. ♦ KB: Kilobyte represents 1,024 bytes, ♦ MB: Megabyte represents 1,048,576 bytes, ♦ GB: Gigabyte represents 1,073,741,824 bytes 2.2.1.4 Understand the purpose of regularly backing up data to a removable storage device for off-site storage. Why do you need to back up your computer? It is very important that you make regular backups of the information which is stored within the computer, since hard disk failure can cause your data to be lost forever. In large organisations this backup procedure is normally performed automatically by your computer support team, where the data is normally held on a centralised, networked computer server. In smaller organisations, it is often up to the individual to organise some sort of data backup. At home, you can save your data on CD’s or DVD’s. ©TCTC - 23 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Why you should use 'off-site' storage It is no good backing up your data, only to leave the item which you backed up to next to the computer. If someone steals your computer (or laptop), it is likely that they will also steal your backup tapes or disks if you have left them next to the computer (or in the laptop case)! If you have a fire, then again you will lose your backups if the backups are stored next to the computer. Ideally, backups should be stored off-site at a safe location. 2.2.1.5 Understand the benefits of online file storage: convenient access, ability to share files Online File Storage: Secure Online File Storage can be used to store your electronic documents and general files online for always-available access from any location. Online File Storage Tools are used to keep files safe, secure and is a great way to save your files when you want to rest assured that they will not be deleted inadvertently, stolen or lost. The need for online file storage; Some of the most common reasons that make having online file storage imperative are: ♦ Offline Storage is not 100% safe - CDs get corrupt, Hard disks can fail, virus attacks can claim all data ♦ Distribution and access is difficult, emailing large files is difficult 2.2.2 Files and Folders 2.2.2.1 Open a window to display folder name, size, and location on a drive. ♦ Right click on the folder. ♦ Click Properties. ♦ The following window will appear: ©TCTC - 24 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Location of the Folder in your computer Size of the Folder Number of folders within the folder Number of files contained within the folder (including files in sub-folders) 2.2.2.2 Expand, collapse views of drives, folders. And 2.2.2.3 Navigate to a folder, file on a drive. The Windows Explorer Window To open the Windows Explorer Window, click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer. The Windows Explorer permits you to explore all aspects of your system using a hierarchical view. In the example shown the files and folders are displayed in 'Details' view (more about this later). ©TCTC - 25 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes The Windows Explorer window is split into two separate views as illustrated above. On the left-hand side you can see all system folders, whilst on the right- hand side the contents are displayed. The Windows Explorer Views The Views icon allows you to set the view to display files. Clicking on the down arrow displays the following options. ♦ Medium and Large: Displays picture files as a series of small pictures. ♦ Tiles: Displays only the file titles. ♦ Small Icons: Displays all objects as icons. ♦ List: Displays all files/folders in list format split into multiple columns. ♦ Details: Displays all files and associated file details such as name, size, type, and last accessed date in a single column. To view the contents of a folder (displayed on right): Within the Windows Explorer single click on the required folder. To expand a branch one level: Click on the plus sign next to the folder. To open all folders on a disk Within the Windows Explorer window, click once on the drive icon, such as drive C. 2.2.2.4 Create a folder and further subfolders Creating Folders / Sub-folders ♦ Identify the area where you will create your new folder, e.g. Desktop or My Documents. ♦ Right click in an empty space, point to New, and then click Folder. ♦ A new folder will be created and you can use the keyboard to type a name for the folder. ♦ Press Enter. ©TCTC - 26 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Changing the name of a Folder / File ♦ Right click on the folder / file. ♦ Click Rename. ♦ Type in a new name. ♦ Press Enter. ©TCTC - 27 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.3 Working with Files 2.2.3.1 Identify common file types: word processing files, spreadsheet files, database files, presentation files, portable document format files, image files, audio files, video files, compressed files, temporary files, executable files. Within the Windows Explorer window each file will be marked with a small icon, as illustrated. In the example shown, the first file displays an icon representing Microsoft Word, and if you look along the line of information about this file, it clearly states (assuming that you are using the details mode to view the files) that the file is indeed a Microsoft Word Document. The second file is marked as a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation file in the same way. File extensions File names usually end with a 3 character extension. A period (.) separates the filename from the file extension. Some of the common file extensions are listed below: ©TCTC - 28 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.3.2 Open a text editing application. Enter text into a file, name and save the file to a location on a drive. Follow these steps to open Notepad: ♦ Click Start. ♦ Point to All Programs. ♦ Point to Accessories. ♦ Click on Notepad. ©TCTC - 29 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes Note: By default, Notepad opens with a blank document. To enter text in Notepad, start typing. Text will appear at the blinking cursor. Saving a File When you save a document for the first time, you need to give it a name. Document names can have up to 255 characters including spaces. File names cannot include any of the following characters: forward slash (/), backslash (\), greater than sign (>), less than sign ( @ ♦ When numbering similar types of files or sequences try to anticipate maximum numbers ♦ Files should not be located in directory structures with more than six levels, as this can create difficulties when accessing and archiving files. ©TCTC - 34 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.3.6 Rename files, folders. ♦ Right click on the file or folder and click Rename. ♦ Type in a new name for the file / folder and press Enter. Note: ♦ You can only rename a file provided that the file is not currently being used by a program. ♦ You should not change the extension when renaming a file. The extension of a file determines the program to be used to open that file. For example, document files ending by.doc are typically opened by a word processing program. If you change the extension, windows will not be able to determine which program to use in order to display the file contents. 2.2.5 Delete, Restore 2.2.5.1 Delete files, folders to the recycle bin/wastebasket/trash. Deleting Files ♦ To delete a file, simply right click on it and click Delete. The same procedure applies for a folder. ♦ Files and folders that you delete are placed in the recycle bin, from where you can permanently delete a file or restore it. To permanently delete a file / folder: ♦ In the Recycle Bin right click on the file / folder that you wish to remove permanently, then click on delete ©TCTC - 35 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.5.2 Restore files, folders from the recycle bin/wastebasket/trash. To restore a file / folder: ♦ Right click on the file / folder (in the Recycle Bin) and click on restore. The file will be restored to its original location. 2.2.5.3 Empty the recycle bin/wastebasket/trash. To empty the Recycle Bin: ♦ Double click on the Recycle bin to open it. - Click, Empty Recycle Bin. 2.2.6 Searching 2.2.6.1 Use the Find tool to locate a file, folder The Search utility allows you to search for files by name, part of a name, content, and even by the date of a files creation. You may also search for a particular type of file such as searching for all sound files (ending in an extension of.WAV). You can also search for a file containing a particular word or phrase! To open the Search dialog box, click on the Start button, and write the file/folder where you have Start Search and click on the magnifier. Automatically it will start searching but f you need more options click on Search Everywhere. This will open the Search Results dialog box. On the Advanced options you can search for files and folders by name, date modified etc ©TCTC - 36 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.2.6.2 Search for files by all or part of file name, by content. And 2.2.6.4 Search for files by using wildcards: file type, first letter of file name. To search for a file using wildcards instead of the full name. In the previous example, we knew the full name of the file or folder for which we were searching. In some cases we may only know part of the name, in which case we can use wildcards. For example: To search for all files whose names start with z Type: z* To search for all files whose names start with za Type: za* To search for all files whose names start with za and contain 5 characters Type: za??? To search for all Microsoft Excel files whose names start with za and contain 5 characters Type: za???.xls 2.2.6.3 Search for files by date modified, by date created, by size. To find a file created on or around a certain date ♦ Click on the Start button, and write the file/folder where you have Start Search ♦ Click on the magnifier ♦ Click on Search Everywhere. ♦ Click On the Advanced options ♦ Click on Date and choose between Date, date created and date modified ©TCTC - 37 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes To find a file according to its size ♦ Click on the Start button, and write the file/folder where you have Start Search ♦ Click on the magnifier ♦ Click on Search Everywhere. ♦ Click On the Advanced options ♦ Click on the arrow next to Size (KB) choose one of them and then write the size on the box next to it 2.2.6.5 View list of recently used files. ♦ Click on the Start icon (bottom-left of your screen), and from the popup menu displayed select My Recent Documents. ♦ A submenu will display a list of recently used documents. ♦ Clicking on one of these document files will load the document into the relevant program. ©TCTC - 38 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.3 Utilities 2.3.1 File Compression 2.3.1.1 Understand what file compression means. File compression allows you to compress files so that the file size becomes smaller. This allows you to save disk space. It is useful when sending files over the Internet (especially when you have a slow connection). 2.3.1.2 Compress files in a folder on a drive. To compress the files within a folder, ♦ right click on the folder, ♦ from the popup menu displayed, select Send to, ♦ Then click Compressed (zipped) Folder. 2.3.1.3 Extract compressed files from a location on a drive. ♦ Right click on the zipped folder that contains the files that you wish to open. ♦ Click Extract files… ♦ This will display a Wizard dialog box. ♦ Simply follow the wizard to uncompress the files. ©TCTC - 39 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.3.2 Anti-Virus 2.3.2.1 Understand what a virus is and the ways a virus can be transmitted onto a computer. Concepts A computer virus is a program designed and written to make additional copies of itself and spread from location to location, typically without user knowledge or permission. Viruses are written by programmers with malicious intent to annoy computer users. There are different categories of viruses - some of these may corrupt or destroy data files stored in the hard disk. Typically, viruses spread by: ♦ Introducing infected disks into the computer. ♦ Opening infected files attached to e-mail messages. ♦ Sharing infected files over the intranet i.e. the internal campus computer network. ♦ Downloading infected files from ftp (file transfer protocol) sites on the Internet. Anti-virus software is a program which protects the computer system against most viruses. Typically, such programs detect the presence of viruses in a computer and in most cases remove (or disinfect) any files infected by viruses. Understanding the advantages of a virus-scanning program An up to date virus checker should help protect you from losing data due to virus attack. You will save time and money by preventing virus attacks as opposed to dealing with the effects of an attack. NOTE: Get all the security updates and patches for your version of Windows so that Windows itself is less vulnerable to virus attack. Basically if you access files which are virus infected, then that virus may be transmitted to your computer. Never accept diskettes/CD-ROMs/DVDs which have not been properly virus scanned first by your computer support team. Never connect to the Internet without an active virus checker program scanning all the files you download. ©TCTC - 40 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes What is virus disinfecting? Running a virus checker on a computer which contains a virus is known as disinfecting the PC, as the virus program will detect, and then eliminate the virus. 2.3.2.2 Use anti-virus software to scan specific drives, folders, files. Many virus checking programs will scan your PC when you first switch on in the morning and some will even run detailed scans automatically, as well as automatically updating themselves so that you are protected against new virus types. There are many different virus-scanning applications; however they all work essentially in the same way. All you need to do is open your virus-scanner and choose whether you need to: ♦ Update the anti-virus ♦ Scan your computer ♦ Scan specific drives on your computer Having chosen your options you can then hit the Scan or Scan now button. At the end of the process you should see a message telling you that your computer is free of viruses. If a virus is detected during the scan and you work in a large organisation inform your IT technical support team immediately. Do not panic! If you are running a computer at home, then normally, let the virus checking program removes any viruses which it finds. If the virus scanner cannot remove the virus by itself, you might need to search for technical support. Usually the best way to eliminate a virus is to format your hard disk. ©TCTC - 41 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.3.2.3 Understand why anti-virus software needs to be updated regularly. As new viruses are constantly emerging, it is vital to update your virus program on a regular basis. Many programs will do this automatically. For instance the Norton Antivirus program has a facility they call 'Live Update', which will update the virus checker with information about more recent viruses. 2.4 Print Management 2.4.1 Printer Options 2.4.1.1 Change the default printer from an installed printer list. Changing the Default Printer Normally in a computer network environment, there will be several printers. Users will therefore need to send their documents to a specific printer – probably to the printer closest to their computer system. Such users will set this printer as the default printer. The default printer is the printer to which a computer sends documents when you select the Print command without first specifying which printer you want to use with a program. You can have only one default printer; it should be the printer you use most often. To set a printer as the default printer: ♦ Click Start button. ♦ Click Control Panel. ♦ Double-click Printers. The Printers window appears, showing a list of printers connected to the network will be displayed. ♦ Right-click the name of the printer to set as a default printer. ♦ Click Set as Default Printer. The icon of selected printer will display a checkmark on the top right corner. ©TCTC - 42 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes 2.4.1.2 Install a new printer on the computer To install a printer driver follow these steps: ♦ Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Printers ♦ Double-click Add Printer to start the Add Printer Wizard, and then click Next. ♦ Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the wizard. 2.4.2 Print 2.4.2.1 Print a document from a text editing application. ♦ Click on the Office Button. ♦ Point to Print, and then click on Print from the sub-menu ♦ The Print dialog box will be displayed as illustrated below. ©TCTC - 43 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes In the Page range section choose whether you wish to print all the pages in the document, the current page only, selected pages, or a particular selection. ♦ In the Copies section specify how many copies of the same document you wish to print. ♦ You can choose to print all the pages in the range specified, or else you can choose to only print the odd or the even pages. ♦ Finally, click OK. 2.4.2.2 View a print job’s progress in a queue using a desktop print manager. Once you have started printing you can view a print job’s process. ♦ Double click on the printer icon displayed at the bottom-right of your screen. ♦ This will display a dialog box showing the progress of your print jobs. ©TCTC - 44 -  ECDL Module 2 Notes ♦ Otherwise, from the Control Panel, click on Printers, then double- click on the printer in use. 2.4.2.3 Pause, re-start, and delete a print job using a desktop print manager. Right clicking on any of the print jobs will open a menu with three important options: Pause, Restart or Cancel the print job. ©TCTC - 45 -