How Using The Start Menu

Windows XP serves as a platform for running a variety of software applications. To start an application, click the start button on the taskbab. The start menu appears. It contains commands to start programs, open files,change the settings of the   computer,search for files and get assistances on Windows XP.

        The list of commands on the start menu is shown. Some of the commands have an arrow beside them. When you point to such commands, a submenu appears.

         The start menu also bas commands, such as MY Computer, My Documenys. My Recent Documents, My Pictures and My Music.

My Documents

When you click My documents on the start menu, the My Documents folder opens. This folder stores all the files and folders that you frequently access. Ang document you save is automatically stored in the My documents folder, unless you specify a different location.

My Recent Documents

My Recent Documents displays list of 15 files that you opened recently. To view the list, point to My Recent Documents on the Start menu. To open a file click it. Windows starts the application in wich the file was created and then opens the file.

My Pictures

When you click My Picture on the Start menu, the My Picture folder opens. Picture file such as .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, bmp, and .png, can be stored here and oraniised as thumbnails for easy browsing.

My Music

When you click My music on the start menu, the My Music folder opens. Music files you save can be stored in the My Music folder.

My Computer

When you click My Computer on the start menu, the My Computer window opens, this is the most important and frequently used window on the desktop. It is used to access the drives, folders and files on the computer.

My Network Places

When you click My Network Places on the start menu, the My Network Places window opens. This window lists the computers on the network. In addition, it gives information about resources, such as folders and printers that are accessible on the network.

Control Panel

When you click Control Panel on the start menu, the Control Panel window opens. This window is used to customize the appearance and functionality of your computer. The Mouse icon in Control Panel is used to change the shape of the standard mouse pointer. The comtrol panel can also be used to add new hardware and software to your computer.

Printers Faxes

When you click Printer and faxe on the start menu, the Printer and faxes window opens. This window is used to add printer and faxes to the computer. You can also change the setting of existing printers and faxes.

Help and Support

When you click Help and Support on the start menu, the Help and Support center window opens. This window provides information about various windows topics. You can click a topic from the list in the Help and Support center window and get information on that topic.you can also type the search topic in the search box and get information on it.

Search

When you click Search on the start menu, the Search window opens. This window is used to search for files and folder on the computer. If you want to search for a file, you need to type the name of the file in the box, and then click Search. The Searched files will be listed in the right pane of the window.

Run

This command is used to open a file or program directly. To do so type the file name or the application name in the name box, and click OK.

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Use The Window

Scrolling through a Window

Sometimes, a window is too small to display all its contents. In such a situation, windows XP display a vertical bar scroll bar and a horizontal scroll bar to enable you to scroll through and view the contents of the window. Scrolling refers to navigating arrow the contents of the window from top to bottom or left to right.

The small triangular arrow at either end of a scroll bar is called 

the scroll arrow.

To scroll through the contents of a window, click on the scroll arrow to scroll through the window in small increments.

Moving a Window

Sometimes, a window may overlap with another window or hide apart of the desktop that you want to see. In such a case, you can move the window to different location on the desktop. To move a window, click anywhere on its title bar, and drag it to the location where you want to place it.

Maximizing a Window

You want to view the components of a window in full-screen mode, click the Maximize buttonto maximize it. When you maximise a window, it resizes to occupy the whole screen. The Maximize button acts as a toggle switch between a smaller size and full-screen size.

Minimizing a window

In window XP, you can have many a window open at the same time. If you want to stop working in a window temporarily, you can minimize it by clicking the minimize button on the title bar. When you minimize a window, it reduces to a button on the taskbar. You can restore the window by clicking that button on the taskbar.

Resizing a Window

You can resize a window to increase or decrease itssize.

To resize a window:

1. Point to one of the edges of the window. 

    The mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow. The arrow could turn to

    one of four arrows, depending  on the side or edge being resized.

 2. Drag the pointer upward or downward. Depending on the direction you drag, the size of the 

      window will increase or decrease.

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Working With Windows

Just as you can have many books on table at the time, you can have several windows on the desktop at the same time. The books on a table cab be of different sizes and you can keep them beside each other or on oone of the other. Similarly, the sizes of windows can also be different, and the windows can either be placed beside each other or one on top of the other. You can minimize or maximize a windows, change its size, move it around and close it.

Part of windows

The different parts of a windows are the title bar, the menu bar, the toolbar and Minimize, maximize and Close buttons.These tools are used to mange the window and the compenents within it.

1.The bar at the top of the window is called the title bar.The name of the window appears at the top left corner of the window.

2.The Minimize,Maximize and close buttons are present at the top right corner of the title bar. These three button are used for resizing or closing the window.The bar below the title bar is called the menu bar.The menu bar displays a list of commands that can be used to perform arious tasks.The commands in a menu are called menu items.

3.A toolbar contains asset of buttons for frequently used commands.

Opening a window

When you start an application in windows, it occupies a rectangular area on the desktop. This rectangular area is called a window. You need to open a window to view its contents. For example to view the contents of the hard disk drives, the floppy disk drive and the CD-ROM drive, you have to open the My Computer window.

To open the my computer window,click my computer on the start menu. The my computer window appears on the desktop.

If an application is present as an icon on the desktop, you can open its window by double-clicking the icon. For example, to view the contents of the Recycle Bin, you can double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop. Double-clicking refers to pressing the left mouse button twice in instant succession. 

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Logging on to Windown XP

When you can start a computer with Windown XP installed, the opening system is loaded automatically. This processis called is booting the computer.

To log on to Windows XP:

      1. Turn your computer on.

      2. Wait for a few seconds till the booting process gets over and   

          Windows XP is loaded. The Welcome to Windows dialog box  

          appears.

      3. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Log On to Windows dialog                                                   

                                                  box appears.

4. Enter your user name and password in the user name and password boxes respectively.

5. Click the domain name in the Log on to list, and then click OK. The Windows desktop appears.

   

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Setting a Background And Change The Screen Saver

Setting a Background

The picture that appears on the desktop is called the background. You can change the background picture on the desktop. Windows XP prvides a set of background pictures from which you can choose the background you want.

To change the background on the desktop:1. Right-Click anywhere on the       blank area of the desktop.2. Click Properties. Then the display         properties dialog box appears.1. Click the desktop tab.2. Click a background from the background list.3. Click Apply,then click OK.
    

You can position the Background  command in three positions. These are Center,tile and stretchTo position the background:1. Click center,tile or stretch in the position box.2. Click Apply, and then click OK. You can also select a plain background for desktop.1. Click None in the background list.2. Click the color arrow in the display properties dialog box. A colour in the palette.3. Click a colour in the palette.4. Click Apply, and the click OK.

Changing the Screen Saver

Windows XP provides a set of screen savers that you can apply apply to your computer. You can use the wait box on the Screen saver tab to set the amount of inactive time that must pass before the screen saver appears. The time interval is specified in minutes.

To change the screen saver:1. Right-Click anywhere on the blank area of the desktop.2.  Click Properties. The Display properties dialog box appears.3. Click the Screen saver tab.4. Click a screen saver in the screen saver list.5. Click apply, and then click OK.You can customize the screen savere by clicking setting. The setting may very for each screen saver.How to set the Marquee screen saver:1. Click the screen saver tab.2. Click the Marquee screen saver in the Screen saver list.3. Click settings.The marquee setup dialog box appears.4. Click position.5. Set the speed and background colour.6. Type the text you want in the text area.7. Click OK.8. In the display Properties dialog box,type or select a time in the wait box9. Click Apply, and then click OK. You can see the preview of the screen saver by clicking preview        

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