PC Fundamental Syllabus. (With this… you don’t need the class.)

I. Moving Around Windows.

A. When to Double-Click, when to Single-Click, and that pesky Right-Click

1. Double-Click to launch an application or shortcut.

2. Single-Click to activate hyperlink, button, or menu choice.  (Quick Launch shortcuts are buttons!)

3. Right Click to access context sensitive options menus

.

B. Most explorer windows have navigation buttons.

1. Back            

2. Forward       

3. Up               

4. Search          

5. Folders         

6. Views           

7. Missing?  Go to View- Toolbars - Standard Buttons.

C. What does the address bar mean?

1. Location! Location! Location! 

2. Address bar tells Which drive you are on, which folder, and what subfolders. 

3. Displayed left to right.  C: \  Program Files \ Dell  

4.  Missing?  Go to View- Toolbars - Address Bar..

D. Keyboard Shorcuts

1. All menu items can be launched by Alt + Underlined  letter. Example is Alt + F to get to the File menu.  Arrow keys and Enter to navigate

2. Other useful Navigation Shortcuts

1. ALT+TAB switches between open application windows.

2. ALT+ESC will cycle through those items in the order they were opened

3. ALT+F4 close the active item, or quit the active program

II. Moving Files around, and other abuses done to unsuspecting pieces of data.

A. Menu Method

1. Edit -> Copy

2. Edit -> Cut

3. Edit -> Paste

B. Keyboard Method. Universal Windows functions are Ctrl + <some letter>

1. Copy - Ctrl + C

2. Cut - Ctrl + X

3. Paste - Ctrl + V

4. Undo - Ctrl + Z

5. Delete - Del

6. Permanent Delete - Shift + Delete  =Use With Caution =

7. More Useful Keyboard Shortcuts on the Hints and Tricks Page.

C. Drag and Drop.

1. It is Contextual so be aware of where you are moving from and to.

2. On the local drive it moves the file or folder.

3. Between networked drives it copies the file; so C: to M: would copy it, not move it.

D. Right Click Method.  Same options at the Menu Method.  Cut, copy, paste.

1. Bonus Method - Send To.

E. Please note that many of these functions (almost all of them) work in any Windows aware/compliant application such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Mozilla, etc.

F. Naming Conventions- what is in an extension?

1. Standard filename format is  “filename.ext” with the filename being limited to 256 characters for filename and path.

2. Why is that important?  If the file and path is C:\windows\dell\help.doc there is no problem.

3.  If it is C:\Doccuments and Settings\User\Work Folder\Spring 2005\Policy Analyis 2005\Proposal for the spring Project that might never be done\help.doc then you could have a problem.

4. Keep your folder descriptions terse, but descriptive. 

5. Windows uses extensions to determine the appropriate program to open the file.  The difference between .dot and .doc may not seem like much, but one is Word Template and one is a Word Document and they open differently. 

6. Do not get creative with extensions.  Whatever the default program uses... use it.

7. Avoid Special Characters in file names. * . ( ) \ $ are right out.

8. If you must use a separator use the dash. 

III. My Computer, Explorer and You.

A. In previous versions of Windows My computer and Explorer were separate.

B. In Windows XP they are the same program, Explorer just has the Folders tab toggled on.

1. Win + E to launch Windows Explorer

2. Win + F will start the Windows Search

3. Win + R to open the Run Program function.

C. Explorer Features -Or Getting more information then you want.

1. Remember the View button?

2. Switches between 5 modes. Thumbnails, Tiles, Icon, List and Details.

3. All of them but Details mode have standard settings.

4. Details is completely customizable with the information you want to see.

5. Right-clicking on the Detail bar at the top lists many display options. Note that there is the more button, giving you more possible option then you will ever use.

6. The files can be sorted by any of the chosen details either ascending  or descending , with arrow direction showing which is going on.

D. All folders are special, some are just more special then others.

1. My Pictures - Defaults to Thumbnail mode

2. My Videoes - Defaults to Thumbnail mode

3. My Music - Defaults to Thumbnail mode

E. All folders can be set to display the exact same view by default.

1. Open any folder, change to the view mode you want universal.

2. On the folder menu click on Tools-> Folder Options.

3. Click on the View tab.

4. Uncheck “Remember each folder’s view settings”

5. Click on Apply to all folders. And the click on Ok.

6. *Bonus* While you’re there make sure “Hide Extensions of known type” is unchecked

F. To create new folders there are three methods.

1. Menu Method - click on File -> New -> Folder

2. Right-Click Method - Right click anywhere in empty space and choose New -> Folder

3. If the System Task pane is active (instead of Folder view) you can expand the File and Folder Tasks and choose create new folder.

IV. Desktop and Start bar, just some more special folders.  (Yes, another one.)

A. All the keyboard shortcuts and rightclick goodness you’ve learned still apply with some added features.

B. On the Desktop Right-Click -> Properties takes you directly to the System Display Control Panel. 

1. Once there you can adjust resolution, screensavers, wallpapers, etc.

2. Besides adjusting the Resolution don’t touch anything on the Settings tab.   Please.

C. Likewise there are wealth of hidden features buried in the Start bar.

1. Quick Launch - Always have access to your apps.

2. Language Bar - Feeling multi-lingual?

3. Many More… including Making your own!

D. It can also be customized to suit you preferences. Right click on the Start Button and choose Properties.

1. Miss the old Windows 95 style interface?  Choose Classic mode

2. Want smaller Icons?  Click on the customize button.

E. Too many icons in your start menu?  Right-click on the Start Menu and Choose Explore.  It’s another Folder! Double Click on Programs and…

1. Create Folders as you see fit.

2. Drag and Drop Icons and folders into other folders.

3. Delete Application you never use.   =Use With Caution =

4. Be aware some programs are installed in your use profile, and some are in the All Users.

V. Control Panel - Don’t go there.  Any Questions?

VI. Local Drives, Mapped drives, oh My!

A. Local Drives are any drive physically attached to your computer.

1. C:

2. CD

3. DVD

4. ZIP

5. Removable Drive/Thumbdrive/MemoryCard

B. Mapped Drives are local Drives too… just not local to your computer.

VII. Summary - Realize that most commands are universal, there are hidden depths, and mastering some basic concepts is key.

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