A dialog box is an onscreen message box or window that enables you to choose
options and sends other information to a program. It conveys information to, or
requests information from the user.
The computer does its best to do what you want it to do. When it is asked to do
something and it needs more information, it starts a dialog with you to see what
your intentions are. The dialog box gives you control over how the computer does
your tasks.
Sometimes the computer thinks it has enough information to do what you want and
goes its merry way. You can always initiate the dialog so that the computer will
do what you want it to.
When you are looking for a particular folder or file, and you are not sure
where it is located on your computer, you can use the Find command instead of
opening numerous folders. The Find command lets you quickly search a specific
drive or your entire computer. To find a file or folder:
• Click the Start button, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders. The
Find dialog box appears.
• In Named, type the file or folder name you want to find.
• Click the Look In down arrow, or click Browse to specify where to
search.
• Click Find Now. The results of the search will appear.
A word to the wise: start filing your information in an orderly manner at the
beginning of your computer experience. It will make life easier.
After you have located the file you want, you can double-click on it to open
it. To open a file or folder:
• On the Desktop, double-click My Computer.
• Double-click the drive that contains the file or folder you want to
open.
• Double-click the file or folder. If you have recently opened a file that you
want to look at again, check My Documents. You can also open files and folders
from the File Open command in the application.
It is simple to rename a file or folder. To rename:
• In a window, select the file or folder you want to rename.
• On the File menu, click Rename. Type a name and press Enter.
Or
• Select the file or folder you want to rename.
• Right-click on it and select Rename from the shortcut menu.
• Type a name and press Enter.
When you create files and folders, you may want to copy or move them to
another location. For example, the tax return you just finished is in its own
folder named Taxes 2000. You would really like the Taxes 2000 folder to be in
the Finances 2000 folder, so you move it to Finances 2000.
To copy or move a file or folder:
• Select the file or folder you want to copy or move. You can select multiple
items. To select nonadjacent items, hold down CTRL and click the items you want
to select. To select adjacent items, hold down SHIFT while you select items. To
select all of the items in a window, on the Edit menu, click Select All.
• On the Edit menu, click Copy (to copy the file) or Cut (to move the
file).
• Double-click the folder in which you want to place the file or folder. •
On the Edit menu, click Paste. The file appears in a new location.
Moving program and system files is not recommended.
To create a folder: • On the Desktop, double-click My Computer. The My
Computer window opens.
• Double-click the disk drive or folder in which you want to create a folder.
The drive or folder opens.
• On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder or right-click a blank
area in the window. A new folder appears.
• Type a folder name, and then press Enter. The new folder appears in the
location you selected.
Whenever you delete a file, it is temporarily moved to the Recycle Bin on the
Desktop.
If you change your mind, you can restore the file. However, when you empty the
Recycle Bin, all of its items are permanently deleted from your computer.
To delete a file:
• Select the file(s) you want to delete, using either My Computer or Windows
Explorer.
• Right-click the selected file(s) and then select the Delete command.
• Click Yes when prompted to confirm the deletion.
It is not a good idea to delete program files. If you want to get rid of a
program, Uninstall it.
If you do not like the standard color scheme on your Desktop, you can change
it. You can use predefined color schemes or make up your own. If your color
selections are too wild they may cause eye strain!
To select a wallpaper or pattern for the Desktop:
• Right-click on the Desktop.
• Select Properties. The Display Properties dialog box appears. Select a
pattern or a wallpaper, but not both. If you select both, the wallpaper takes
precedence. Then click Okay.
To change any of the screen elements:
• Right-click on the Desktop.
• Select Properties.
• Click on the Appearance tab.
• Display the Scheme drop-down menu and select the color scheme that tickles
your fancy.
Playing music with the CD Player is very simple. A feature called auto-play
detects when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive and automatically starts the
music for you. If auto-play does not work, here is how to do it manually. Follow
these steps to play a CD:
• Click the Start button.
• Select Programs.
• Select Accessories.
• Select Multimedia.
• Select CD Player.
• Insert a disc into the CD drive.
• Click Play.
Most sounds are stored in WAV (wave) files. To play a sound:
• Click the Start button.
• Select Programs.
• Select Accessories.
• Select Multimedia.
• Select Sound Recorder.
• From the Sound Recorder window open the File menu.
• Select Open. In the Open dialog box, change to the drive and folder that
contains the file you want to play.
• When you see the sound file you want to play, double-click on it. To play
the sound, click the Play button.
The control buttons look much like the buttons on a typical voice recorder,
and they work in much the same way
• Seek to Start (double, left pointing triangles). Rewinds to beginning
of sound file.
• Seek to End (double, right pointing triangles). Fast forward to the
end of the sound file.
• Play (single, right pointing triangle). Plays the sound.
• Stop (big rectangle). Stops the playback.
• Record (big red circle). Records the new sound.
To play a media file (AVI, WAV, or MID and RMI):
• Click the Start button.
• Select Programs.
• Select Accessories.
• Select Multimedia.
• Select Media Player. Windows will display the Media Player program.
• Open the File menu.
• Select Open.
• When you see the file you want to play, double-click it.
• To play the clip, click the Play button.
A screen saver is a program that displays an image or animation on your screen when your PC is idle. It was invented to insure that all parts of the monitor screen received equal amounts of illumination so a ghost image would not be "burned" onto the screen. Today's monitors don't have burn-in problems. Screen savers are fun and often entertaining.
Windows comes with many screen savers as part of the package. There are many
more screen savers available commercially. To find the screen savers included
with Windows:
• Right-click on a blank spot on the Desktop, and choose Properties to open
the Display Properties dialog box.
• On the Screen Saver tab, select an option from the drop-down list.
• Click OK to make this your screen saver.