WINDOWS 7
Windows 7 is GUI operating system developed by Microsoft. Other versions of Windows Operating System are Windows XP, Win 8, Win 10, Win 11 etc.
Mouse:
We can operate computer in Windows environment with the help of a input device called mouse. Mouse is the pointing device that displays a pointer (arrow head) on the screen. The pointer on the screen moves with respect to the movement of mouse on the table. In general, Mouse has 3 buttons. The Left, Right and Scroll buttons.
The basic operations that we can perform using mouse are Clicking, Double Clicking and Dragging.
Clicking: Press and release mouse button once. Clicking left button of the mouse generally selects an object on the screen. Clicking the right button of the mouse displays a sub/context menu which is related to the area, upon which clicked.
Double Clicking: Press and release mouse button twice quickly.
Dragging: Press and hold down mouse button, move mouse to the required position on the screen and release button. Dragging generally used to move objects on the screen and draw objects.
Desktop
The initial work area or startup screen of the system that is working under Windows O/s is called as Desktop.
Components of Desktop:
- Wallpaper: The picture that is used to decorate the desktop
- Icons: small pictures representing different programs or files that are frequently useful.
- Taskbar: Horizontal bar appears at the bottom of the screen consists of the following components:
- Start button
- Pinned/Opened Applications
- Notification Area
Start Menu
Clicking on Start button (has Windows Logo) opens the start menu. Start menu contains the following parts:
- Pinned Applications
- Recent Applications
- System Folders and System Apps
Window
The rectangular shaped frame or box that opens each time you open any program under Windows O/s is called as Window.
Components of Window:
- Title bar
- Control buttons
- User Interface Elements
- Work Area
- Status bar
Title bar
Horizontal bar that appear at the top of the window that shows the name of the application and the name of the file opened.
Control Buttons
Three buttons appear at top right side of window are called Control buttons. These are used to resize or close the window.
Control buttons are:
- Minimize
- Maximize/Restore
- Close
User Interface Elements
The options of the application that can be used by the user are provided in different ways are called as User Interface Elements.
The following are UI Elements of different applications:
- Menu bar
- Tabs and Ribbons
- Toolbars
Shutdown is the process of closing all programs properly before turn off the system.
Turn off computer:
Start Menu–>Turn off–>turnoff
WORKING WITH WINDOWS
The Window is default working or viewing area in which we can view programs, list of files many more.
Components of Window:
Title bar
Control buttons
Menu bar
Toolbars
Addressbar
Any number of windows can be opened at a time but one can be activated.
Changing between Opened Windows:
Click on visible area of inactive window to make it active
(or)
Click on icon of inactive window on taskbar
Using Control Buttons of Window:
-
- Click on Minimize button to make window as an icon on taskbar
- Click on Maximize button to make window full screen
- Click on Restore Down button to change window from full screen to previous size
- Click on close button to close window
Using Title bar to resize or move window:
- Double click on title bar to change to full screen/restore down mode
- Drag title bar to move window
- Keep mouse pointer on the edge of window and drag to resize
Arrange opened windows:
Right click on empty area of taskbar–>Show windows cascase/sidebyside
You can also undo the arrangement with the same menu immediately.
Minimizing all windows at a time:
Right click on the taskbaràshow the desktop command
(or)
Place mouse pointer on the show desktop button at bottom right corner taskbar to temporarily view desktop. Clicking on the same button will cause minimize all opened windows.
Arranging Opened Windows:
- Right click on the taskbar
- Select any one of the following:
- Cascade Windows
- Tile Windows Horizontally
- Tile Windows Vertically
- To rearrange the windows back to their previous positions: right click on taskbaràundo cascade/tile
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Keyboard shortcut is the combination of keys to be pressed simultaneously to perform an equivalent mouse action.
Hot key is an underlined character in a menu command that appears when the menu has been opened with the help of keyboard.
Using Control Menu of a Window:
1. Open any Window like Mycomputer, Windows Explorer, MyMusic etc.
2. Press Alt+spacebar to open control menu
3. Use arrows to highlight a commandEnter (or) Press Hotkey (Underlined character)
Some useful Windows Keyboard Shortcuts:
Close current window: alt+F4
Close a menu: Esc
Minimise all windows at a time: Windows+M/D
CONTROL PANEL
Control Panel is used to change various hardware as well as software settings.
Control Panel can be opened using:
Start menu
(or)
Search bar
Categories of Settings in Control Panel:
- System and Security
- Network and Internet
- Hardware and Sound
- Programs
- User Accounts
- Appearance
- Clock and Region
- Ease of Access
System and Security Settings: These settings are useful to set or modify different protection related things of system like firewall, backup and restore, windows update and administration.
The important settings for the user, from this category are:
- View system RAM and processor speed
- Disk cleanup and Disk Defragmenter.
Network and Internet: this category is used to setup Internet or Computer Network using Wired or Wireless medium. Today’s o/s are intelligent enough to automatically setup LAN or internet settings, so these settings are not important for a normal user.
Hardware and Sound: Used to setup or alter settings of any Hardware devices attached to the system like keyboard, mouse, printer, camera etc. Nowadays devices are Plug N Play devices with USB and in-built driver support by O/s. Hence, these settings are also not needed for user.
Some interesting settings from this category are mouse, keyboard and sound settings
Programs: Used to install, modify or uninstall application software as well as system utility programs.
User Accounts: used to manage different user accounts in the system to provide personalization and privacy.
User accounts can be two types: Administrator or Standard User
Each user account can be secured with password and customised according to his choice.
Appearance: used to set different visualization settings like desktop wall paper, screen saver, background colors and themes.
Clock and Region: used to setup different input methods and currency, date and time formats
Ease of Access: used to setup different settings for easy access of system by differently abled people like magnifier, on screen keyboard, narrator etc.