Windows 7 Bible

By Jim Boyce

This comprehensive reference by a Microsoft expert covers all aspects of the new Windows release

The much-anticipated release of Windows 7 will have numerous changes, and you'll need a complete guide to take full advantage of all it has to offer. Windows 7 Bible covers navigation changes such as pinning to the task bar, full screen preview with invisible windows, Jump Lists, Home Group, Sticky Notes, and many others. It shows you how to use Internet Explorer 8, including features like Web Slices and Network view changes, and guides you through all the new desktop features.

This reference thoroughly examines all three parts of the new platform: Windows 7 Core OS, the Windows Live applications, and Windows Live Services. Windows 7 Bible shows you everything you need to know to make the most of Microsoft's new operating system.

• Covers Windows Live Essentials, including Windows Live Family Safety, Mail, Messenger, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Toolbar, Writer, and Microsoft Office Outlook Connector
• Shows how to use Windows Live Services, including Hotmail and Spaces
• Explores new features including Desktop Gadgets Gallery, Desktop Windows manager, updated Fax and DVD Maker, an updated "Devices and Printers" option, and Sticky Notes
• Explains new features in the Calculator, ribbon features in applets such as Paint and WordPad, the new Media Center, and searching updates
• Fully covers the first complete overhaul of applets in a decade

With Windows 7 Bible at your side, you can learn as much or as little as you need to know for the way you use Windows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Jan 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781118081273

Jim Boyce

Jim Boyce is a highly-regarded expert on operating systems and productivity software who's written or contributed to more than 50 books, including Microsoft Outlook 2010 Inside Out and Microsoft Outlook 2010 Plain & Simple.

Book preview

Introduction

Welcome to Windows 7 Bible. If you are familiar with Windows, you might know that the Windows operating system has existed for two decades. In that time, OS has transformed in many ways as computer hardware has changed dramatically.

Windows 7 is the latest edition in the Windows family, and builds on the previous edition, Windows Vista. Windows 7 isn't just a new face on Vista, however. Windows 7 not only addresses many of the functional and usability issues that users disliked about Windows Vista, but it also adds new features to improve performance and make Windows easier to use.

While we have tried to cover as many of the features and capabilities as Windows 7 offers, some naturally fall through the cracks because we only have so much space in this book. With a good understanding of the key features, however, you are well on your way to getting the most from your Windows PC.

Who This Book Is For

Not everyone wants to be a computer expert, and few have the time to become one. Most people just want to use a computer to get things done, or even just to have some fun. This should come as no surprise. After all, not everyone who drives a car wants to be a professional mechanic. Not everyone who uses a cell phone wants to be an electrical engineer. So why should everyone who uses a computer want, or need, to be a computer expert? They shouldn't. Some people need to just be computer users, people who use the computer without being total nerds about it.

This book is for the computer users. The people who just want to use their computers to have some fun and get some things done. It might seem like an awfully big book for such an audience. The only reason it's such a big book is because there are so many things you can do with Windows 7.

Most of us prefer to learn by discovery, by exploring and trying things out. It's a lot more fun that way and typically much more effective. However, just a couple of problems are evident with that approach. For one, you can get yourself into a bind from time to time. For another, when you get to a place where you don't know what's going on, sometimes you need to fill in some gaps before you can move on and continue learning by discovery.

A book can help with that by covering all the stuff everyone else assumes you already know. Especially if that book is divided up into sections and chapters that deal with one topic at a time, so you can focus on just the thing you need to know, when you need to know it. Which brings us to…

How to Use This Book

A book that supports learning by discovery needs to have some elements of a tutorial and some elements of a reference book. I guess you could say it has to be a reference book divided into multiple mini-tutorials, so you can learn what you need to know about one topic, when you need to know it. To that extent, this book is divided into 10 major parts, each of which covers a large topic.

Each part, in turn, is divided into multiple chapters, each chapter covering a smaller topic. Chapters are divided into sections and subsections, all designed to help you find the information you need, when you need it. The Table of Contents up front covers all the specifics. The index at the back of the book helps you find things based on a keyword or topic. The only thing missing is a high-level view of just the parts. So that's what I'll provide here.

Part I: Getting Started, Getting Secure

How you get started with Windows 7depends on where you're coming from. Part I tries to cover all fronts. If you're an experienced Windows user, then you probably want to know what's new. Chapter 1 covers that turf. If you're relatively new to PCs, you'll likely be interested in learning the most important basic skills for using a computer. Chapter 2 covers that ground. Chapters 3–6 cover important getting started topics for everyone. Chapter 6 provides solutions to common problems with getting started.

Part II: Batten Down the Security Hatches

There is no such thing as a 100-percent secure computer. Even with all of its advanced built-in security, there are certain things that you, the user, need to contribute to make sure that your computer is safe and stays up-to-date with ever-changing security threats. The chapters in Part II cover that ground.

Part III: Personalizing Windows 7

We all like to tweak things to suit our personal needs, taste, and style. That's what Part III is all about. But it's not just about changing the look and feel of things. It's about really making the computer a useful tool for whatever your work (or play) requires.

Part IV: Using the Internet

Just about everyone who uses a computer also uses the Internet. And Windows 7 has many tools to make that possible. Chapter 16 covers Microsoft Internet Explorer, the program for using Web sites like eBay, Google, and millions of others. Chapter 17 covers Windows Live Mail, a great new program for e-mail and newsgroups. Other chapters get into lesser-known, but still useful, aspects of the Internet and techniques for troubleshooting common Internet problems.

Part V: Pictures, Music, and Movies

The Internet isn't the only place to have fun with a computer. You can have a lot of fun offline with pictures, music, and movies. The chapters in Part V tell you how.

Part VI: Managing Files and Folders

We all have to make some effort to get our stuff organized and keep it organized. Otherwise, we spend more time looking for stuff than actually doing things. Part VI covers all the necessary housekeeping kinds of chores to help you spend less time looking for things and more time doing things.

Part VII: Printing, Faxing, and Scanning

Sometimes, you just have to get a thing off the screen and onto paper. That's what printing is all about. Sometimes, you need to get a thing off of paper and into the computer. That's what scanning is about. And sometimes you have to use a fax machine rather than e-mail to get a printed page to someone. Such are the topics of VII.

Part VIII: Installing and Removing Programs

Hot topics here include downloading programs, installing programs from CDs and floppies, getting older programs to run, controlling access to programs, getting rid of unwanted programs, and dealing with problem programs and processes. After all, what good is a computer without some programs to run on it?

Part IX: Hardware and Performance Tuning

Hardware is the computer buzzword for physical gadgets you can hold in your hand. As the years roll by hardware just keeps getting smaller, better, faster, cheaper, and, well, cooler. This part covers everything you need to know about adding and removing hardware and troubleshooting hardware problems.

Part X: Networking and Sharing

Whether you have two PCs or 20, eventually you'll want to link them all together into a single private network so they can share a single Internet account and printer, or perhaps several printers. And if you've been wasting time transferring files via floppies, CDs, or some other removable disk, you'll want to replace all that with simple drag-and-drop operations on your screen. Part X tells you how to make all of that happen.

That's a lot of topics and a lot to think about. But there's no hurry. If you're new to Windows, or your experience is limited to things like e-mail and the Web, Chapter 2 is probably your best first stop. Those of you with more extensive Windows experience might want to hop over to Chapter 1 for a quick look at things that are new in Windows 7.

Part I

Getting Started, Getting Secure

In this Part

Chapter 1 What's New in Windows 7

Chapter 2 Getting Around

Chapter 3 Sharing and Securing with User Accounts

Chapter 4 Parental Controls and Family Safety

Chapter 5 Help, Support, and Troubleshooting

Chapter 6 Troubleshooting Startup Problems

Windows users range in experience from people who are just getting started with their first PC to folks with years of Windows experience under their belts. Part I attempts to address both audiences by tackling topics that everyone needs to know in order to get started.

Chapter 1 highlights the new features of Windows 7 and is geared toward people with some experience with a previous version of Windows. The idea there is to point out the main Windows 7 features that make it different from or better than earlier Windows versions.

Of course, if you have little or no Windows experience, you don't really care about what's new versus what's not. All you care about is learning how to work the computer. If you're in that category, you can skip Chapter 1 and go straight to Chapter 2.

Chapter 3 then covers user accounts and the User Account Control (UAC) features of Windows. Chapter 4 moves on to Parental Controls, something that many parents have wanted in their computers for a long time. Beginners and experienced users alike will find much that's useful in those chapters.

Chapter 5 helps you learn where to go in Windows to get help using Windows and your computer. Chapter 6 tackles some common problems you might encounter in getting things to work throughout the first five chapters.

Chapter 1

What's New in Windows 7

In this Chapter

A new look and feel

Quicker, easier navigation

Built-in security and parental controls

A better Internet experience

And so much more

Welcome to Windows 7! This chapter is for people who have experience with Windows Vista or other versions of Windows and just want to know what's new. If you're new to PCs, this chapter won't help much because everything will be new to you. So feel free to skip this chapter and head over to Chapter 2 if you're not a long-time Windows user.

Even though Windows 7 has new features and some new looks (particularly if you are a Windows XP user), that doesn't mean you have to throw away all your existing hard-earned knowledge. In fact, you don't have to throw away any of that, because the old familiar ways of doing things still apply.

If you invest a little time in learning what's new and different, you'll find that you really can get things done more quickly and easily in Windows 7. This chapter provides a quick overview of what's new, so you can decide for yourself which of the features are most relevant to how you use your computer.

Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements

The taskbar at the bottom of the Windows desktop provides, just as it does in previous versions of Windows, quick access to your running programs, the clock, and notification messages. But Windows 7 improves on the taskbar by streamlining it with smaller icons that group your programs together. For example, if you have three different Web pages open in three instances of Internet Explorer, you'll see a single, small Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar that you can use to quickly access one of those windows. The reduced icon size makes more room available on the taskbar for other program group icons, making it easier for you to work with your programs. Figure 1.1 shows an example of the new taskbar.

Figure 1.1 The new taskbar.

1.1

In addition, Windows 7 now provides preview features to help you move between programs. When you click the mouse on or hover it over a program group icon, Windows displays a preview of each of the program windows in that group, and as you hover the mouse over a preview window, Windows shows you a full-size preview on the desktop of that window's contents. You can then click the preview to open its associated program window (Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.2 Window previews from the taskbar.

1.2

Windows lets you control the taskbar's new behavior. You can direct Windows to always combine like programs into a single group icon, combine them only when the taskbar gets full, or never combine them.

Jump Lists

Jump lists are another new feature in Windows 7. When you right-click a taskbar icon, Windows displays a jump list that contains menu items for commonly-used tasks for the program and quick access to recently-used documents (Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 A program's jump list.

1.3

Jump lists are a Windows feature, rather than an application feature, so you'll get a jump list for a program even if it wasn't written specifically to use the jump list. However, program developers can modify the jump list, so programs that are written specifically to do so will likely provide additional options in the jump list menu.

New Ways to Work in Windows

Windows 7 gives you more ways to work with program windows. For example, you have more ways to maximize and arrange windows on the desktop. In addition to the familiar ways of maximizing a window—double-clicking its taskbar or clicking the Maximize button—you can simply drag the window's title bar to the top of the desktop. Windows will then maximize the window. To restore it to a window, just drag the title bar down from the top of the desktop. Is that any faster than using the buttons in the top-right corner of the window? Not really, but on a high-resolution display, those buttons can be kind of small, and dragging the title bar is an easier method.

You can also dock windows to the left or right side of the desktop. Docking the window attaches the edge of the window to the edge of the desktop and sizes the window to fill exactly half of the desktop. You dock the window by dragging the title bar to the left or right edge of the desktop. This is a great feature when you want to copy or move items between two windows.

Finally, remember the Show Desktop icon in previous versions of Windows, which when clicked minimized all running programs to the taskbar temporarily? That feature is now in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar. Just hover the mouse over the small, vertical button at the right edge of the taskbar, and Windows makes all open windows disappear so that you can see the desktop. This is really handy when you want to see your desktop gadgets for a second. To view your program windows again, just move the mouse away from the taskbar.

Tip

To minimize or restore all program windows, click the Show Desktop button at the right edge of the taskbar.

Internet Explorer 8

Windows 7 comes with Internet Explorer 8, and IE 8 sports lots of new features. The following sections explore a few of them.

Instant Search

In IE 8, as you start typing in the Live Search box, IE offers instant results to match what you are typing. For example, it offers previously visited sites, just as in previous versions of IE. But it also starts searching for that word or phrase within Live Search and within your history. Figure 1.4 shows an example.

Figure 1.4 Live Search at work.

1.4

Web Slices

Web slices in IE 8 let you keep track of content from sites through the IE 8 Favorites Bar. For example, Live Search offers Web slices for weather that you can add to your Favorites Bar, and you can get weather update notifications when they occur. eBay is another example, offering to track an auction and notify you when bid changes occur.

When you visit a page that offers a slice, you see a green icon, which in Figure 1.5 is under the mouse cursor. To subscribe to the slice, click the icon. Internet Explorer opens a dialog box asking whether you want to add the Web slice to your Favorites Bar. Click the Add to Favorites Bar button to add the slice. When the slice is updated, Internet Explorer highlights the item in the Favorites Bar.

Figure 1.5 An icon on a Web page indicates an available Web slice.

1.5

Accelerators

Accelerators are another new feature in Internet Explorer 8 that simplify and speed up browsing tasks. For example, if you were using an earlier version of IE and found an address on a Web page for a restaurant you wanted to visit, you'd probably have to copy the address to the Clipboard and then navigate to another site to map that address. With the Map with Live Maps accelerator, all you need to do is highlight the restaurant's address and then click the blue accelerator icon that appears above the text. If you hover the mouse over the Map with Live Search option, IE displays a pop-up window showing the location on a map (Figure 1.6). You can click the menu option to open the map in a new IE tab.

Figure 1.6 Accelerators speed up browsing tasks.

1.6

There are lots of accelerators for IE 8 for blogging, research, mapping, music, social networking, and much more. To find more accelerators for your computer, visit http://ieaddons.com.

Better Navigation

IE 8 adds several improvements to simplify navigation. For example, when you open a new tab from a page, IE 8 places the two tabs next to each other and color codes them so that you can see that they are related. You can right-click a tab and close that tab, close all other tabs and keep that one open, remove the tab from its group, and access a list of recently closed tabs so that you can easily reopen them.

Searching on a page is also improved. The Find on Page toolbar, which you can open by pressing Ctrl+F, performs an instant search as you type. It offers search results as you type each character. It also highlights search results on the page rather than locates them one at a time, as in previous versions of IE (Figure 1.7).

Figure 1.7 On-page search in IE 8.

1.7

IE 8 offers several other navigation improvements, including a smarter address bar that provides an instant search of your History, Favorites, and RSS feeds; better page zoom; smarter back navigation; and a compatibility view for viewing Web pages that are not fully compatible with IE 8.

InPrivate Browsing

InPrivate Browsing in IE 8 helps you minimize your exposure on the Internet. This new feature helps prevent your browser history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being saved by the browser, effectively leaving no evidence of your browsing or search history. InPrivate Browsing also can block content from external sites—sites that the page you are visiting is pulling data from. Blocking these third-party sites can help minimize how and whether your browsing habits are tracked.

Other New IE Features

The new features described in the preceding sections are just some of the new features in IE 8. You'll find better performance, better crash recovery, additional security features for phishing and malware attacks, better favorites management, and more.

Windows Live

If you have been a Windows Vista user, you might be surprised to see that some of the programs you are accustomed to using are no longer included with Windows 7. For example, you won't find Windows Mail included in 7. Instead, these programs have been pulled from Windows and made part of Windows Live, a set of online services and programs from Microsoft. These programs include:

Messenger: Use Messenger to text chat, video chat, or make phone calls to others.

Mail: Formerly Outlook Express, then Windows Mail in Windows Vista, Windows Live Mail lets you send and receive e-mail and work with online newsgroups.

Writer: Use this program to blog and share photos and videos on many blog services.

Photo Gallery: Manage your digital photos, edit them, share them with friends and family, and even stitch together photos to make panoramic shots.

Movie Maker: Create movies and video clips, and add titles, subtitles, music, and special effects.

Family Safety: Control what sites your children can see, view reports about their browsing history, limit searches, and decide with whom they can communicate when they are using Windows Live Messenger.

Toolbar: The Windows Live Toolbar gives you quick access to Windows Live and Live Search in Internet Explorer.

You'll find most of these Windows add-ons covered throughout this book. Visit http://home.live.com to download these Windows Live add-ons.

Better Device Management

Previous versions of Windows provided several different ways to manage hardware such as printers, mice, cameras, scanners, and so on. For example, you managed printers from the Printers object in Control Panel, mice from the Mouse object, keyboard from the Keyboard object, and so on. Windows 7 brings devices together in a new Devices and Printers object that enables you to view and manage devices in one location (Figure 1.8).

Figure 1.8 Manage devices in one location.

1.8

In Devices and Printers, you can manage cell phones, MP3 players, cameras, mice, displays, printers, faxes, keyboards, and other compatible devices. Bringing all these devices under a common management tool simplifies device configuration and troubleshooting.

Homegroup

Windows 7 introduces a new feature called Homegroup to help simplify sharing files and printers in a home network. A homegroup is a collection of computers that are set up to automatically share pictures, music, videos, documents, and printers (or any combination thereof).

In effect, a homegroup lets you share resources on the network using a single password. By default, when you create a homegroup, Windows 7 shares your Pictures, Music, and Videos libraries, along with your printers. You can also share other folders simply by right-clicking the folder, choosing Share With, and then choosing one of the Homegroup options from the menu (Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.9 Easily share folders in a homegroup.

1.9

Windows 7 includes a Homegroup object to help you access resources that are shared in your homegroup. Click the Windows Explorer icon in the taskbar to open the Libraries window; then click Homegroup in the left pane to open your homegroup. You see the resources there that are shared by others in your homegroup.

A homegroup is a simplified sharing mechanism, so you have somewhat limited sharing options. For example, you can give those in your homegroup the ability to read or modify files as a group. If you need to enable some people only to view files but others to edit them, a homegroup isn't the right solution for you. Instead, you need to use one of Windows 7 other sharing options to share those files.

Performance and Battery Life

Performance is another area of improvement in Windows 7. If you have worked with previous versions of Windows, you'll find that Windows 7 starts, resumes, and shuts down faster, giving you a snappier experience with your computer. Thanks to some additional power-saving features, Windows 7 should also give you better battery life for your notebook computer.

Look and Feel

Because Windows 7 has its origins in Windows Vista, the look and feel is much the same between the two versions of Windows. As you might expect, however, Windows 7 adds its own features that give this new version its own look and feel.

For example, you find new backgrounds, color schemes, and screensavers bundled with Windows 7. You can also download new themes as they become available. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, changes to the desktop, taskbar, and window preview also give Windows 7 a new look and make it easier to use.

Troubleshooting and Alerts

One of the annoyances in Windows Vista is the frequency of the alerts and pop-up messages that it displays. Windows 7 changes the way it displays alerts; it also gives you more control over those alerts and messages, letting you choose the messages you want to see.

The Action Center consolidates alerts from several Windows features, including the Security Center and Windows Defender. In Windows 7, the Action Center icon appears in the taskbar. Clicking the icon displays messages related to the items that you might need to address, such as the lack of an antivirus program, a problem with a device in the computer, or the need to scan the computer for threats (Figure 1.10).

Figure 1.10 Action Center consolidates notifications.

1.10

Windows 7 also gives you control over the types of messages you see. For example, if you don't want to see messages about Windows Update, you can turn off those messages by deselecting a check box in the Action Center settings. In addition, you can control how Windows 7 notifies you when changes are being made to your computer. Instead of Windows notifying you and asking you to allow a change that you initiate in Windows, for example, you can have Windows notify you only when programs try to make changes.

Other changes are geared toward troubleshooting. The Devices and Printers folder, for example, gives you a single place to manage and troubleshoot a wide variety of devices connected to your computer. In addition, the Troubleshooting item in the Control Panel consolidates troubleshooting tools in one place (Figure 1.11).

Figure 1.11 The Troubleshooting item in Control Panel.

1.11

Music and Video Sharing

Windows 7 gives you new ways to enjoy and share your music and videos. With the new homegroup networking feature, you can easily share your music, pictures, and videos with others on your home network. For example, you might consolidate all your photos into one location, where you can easily back them up and share them across the network.

Even more significant is the capability in Windows Media Player 12, which is included with Windows 7 to stream media to other computers, even across the Internet. This means that others on your homegroup can access a central media library—for example streaming music from a home server tucked in your basement that streams to a media center in your living room. Even cooler than that, you can stream music from your home computer to your computer at work—and potentially stream music to mobile devices such as a Windows Mobile smartphone or media player.

To further extend sharing capabilities, Windows Media Player 12 can browse media libraries on other computers, enabling you to browse to and play music stored on other computers on your network. This capability isn't limited to Windows Media Player libraries, either. Media Player 12 can also browse and play from iTunes libraries.

… and More

The new Windows 7 features I describe in this chapter are just some of the major new features and capabilities offered by this latest version of Windows. You also find expanded hardware support and other usability features. For example, Windows 7 improves on its touch-screen features to make navigating on touch-screen devices easier. Windows 7 also improves on handwriting-recognition features to improve your experience with tablet PCs and similar devices.

So, don't think of Windows 7 as Windows with just a new look and feel. As you get more familiar with it, you realize that it offers a wealth of new features and capabilities that will make your computer experience more enjoyable and useful.

Wrap-Up

Long gone are the days when people managed a few files and folders on external disks without an Internet connection. In today's connected world, we deal with massive amounts of digital information in many forms, and from many sources. Windows 7 gives you new ways to interact with that information.

This chapter has been a sort of view from 30,000 feet of what's new in Windows 7. Here I've focused on the main things that most users will want to explore. But there's much more than I cover in a single chapter. Here's a quick recap of what's hot:

The new taskbar makes it easier to work with multiple programs simultaneously.

Jump lists give you quick access to documents and program functions right from the taskbar.

New desktop features let you navigate the desktop more easily, quickly move and view program windows, and control the desktop much better than in past versions.

Internet Explorer brings a big toolbox of new features that make Internet browsing easier and more useful.

Windows Live makes several Windows features available as optional downloads to streamline Windows, but also makes more features available when you need or want them.

Consolidated device management makes managing the devices connected to your PC easier.

Homegroup networking simplifies sharing documents and media across your home network.

Windows Media Player 12 extends media sharing across the Internet.

Chapter 2

Getting Around

In this Chapter

Logging in

Using the Windows desktop

Using the Start menu

Using programs

Shutting down the computer

In today's busy world, few people have the time to sit down and really learn to use a computer. Many books and online tutorials don't really help because they assume you already know all the basic concepts and terminology. That's a big assumption because the truth is that most people don't already know those things. Most people don't know a file from a folder from a megabyte from a golf ball. These just aren't the kinds of things we learned about in school or from our day-to-day experiences.

This chapter is mostly about the kinds of things everyone else assumes you already know. It's for the kind of people who bought their first computer and discovered it has this thing called Windows 7 on it. Or the kind of people who were getting by with an older computer but now have a new Windows 7 computer and really want to know more about how to use it.

I often refer to the skills in this chapter as everyday skills because they're the kinds of things you'll likely do every time you sit down at the computer. I point out the name and purpose of many things you'll see on your screen. All these things combine into a kind of basic knowledge about how you use a computer, in general, to get things done. And it all starts with logging in.

Terminology for Things You Do

If you're new to computers, the first step is to learn a little terminology about things you do to operate the computer. I assume you know what the mouse is. When you move the mouse, the mouse pointer on the screen moves in whatever direction you move the mouse. Most mice have two buttons. The one on the left is called the primary or left mouse button. It's called the primary button because clicking it always makes an action occur directly.

When you rest your hand comfortably on the mouse, the left mouse button should be under your index finger. You don't want to hold the button down, though. Just rest your index finger on it lightly. If you are left-handed, you can switch the orientation of the buttons using the Mouse applet in the Control Panel.

The button on the right is called the secondary or right mouse button. In contrast to the primary mouse button, clicking the secondary mouse button usually doesn't make an action take place directly; instead, it shows you various actions you take.

Mouse Terminology

Everyone uses some specific terms to refer to actions you perform with the mouse. These terms include point, click, double-click, right-click, and drag.

Point

The term point, when used as a verb, means to touch the mouse pointer to an item. For example, point to the Start button means to move the mouse pointer so that it's positioned on the Start button (the large, round button at the lower-left corner of your screen that shows the Windows logo). If the item you want to point to is smaller than the mouse pointer, make sure you get the tip of the mouse pointer arrow on the item. Whatever the tip of the mouse pointer is on is the item to which you're pointing.

The term hover means the same thing as point. For example, the phrase hover the mouse pointer over the Start button means the same as point to the Start button.

When you point to an item, the item's name typically appears in a tooltip. For example, if you point to the Start button, the word Start appears in a tooltip near the mouse pointer. The tooltip tells you that the item you're pointing to is named Start. Figure 2.1 shows an example of pointing to the Start button with the tooltip showing.

Tip

You can learn the name and purpose of many items on your screen just by pointing to the item and reading the tooltip that appears near the mouse pointer.

Figure 2.1 Pointing to the Start button.

2.1

Click

The term click means to point to an item and then tap the left mouse button. Don't hold down the left mouse button. Just tap (press and release) it. It makes a slight clicking sound when you do. For example, the phrase click the Start button means put the mouse pointer on the Start button and tap the left mouse button. When you do, the Start menu appears. Click the Start button a second time, and the Start menu goes away.

Double-Click

The term double-click means to point to an item and then tap the left mouse button twice, quickly. Don't hold down the button and don't pause between clicks. Just tap the left mouse button twice. You use double-clicking to open items that icons on your screen represent.

Right-Click

The term right-click means to point to an item and then tap the right mouse button. Again, don't hold down the mouse button, and don't use the left mouse button. Whereas clicking an item usually takes an immediate action, right-clicking presents a shortcut menu of things you can do with the item. You'll see many examples throughout this book.

Drag

The term drag means to point to an item and hold down the left mouse button while you're moving the mouse. You typically use dragging to move and size things on the screen. You can see examples a little later in this chapter.

Tip

As you discover in Chapter 29, you can also use dragging to move and copy files from one location to another.

Keyboard Terminology

The keyboard is the thing that looks like a typewriter keyboard. The keys labeled F1, F2, and so forth across the top are called function keys. The keys that show arrows and names such as Home, End, PgUp (Page Up), and PgDn (Page Down) are navigation keys.

Tab, Enter, and Spacebar

The Tab key shows two opposing arrows pointing left and right. That key is usually to the left of the letter Q. The Enter key (also called the Carriage Return or Return key) is located where the carriage return key is on a standard typewriter. It may be labeled Enter or Return, or it may just show a bent, left-pointing arrow. The Spacebar is the wide key centered at the bottom of the keyboard. When you're typing text, it types a blank space.

If in Doubt, Escape Key Out

The Esc or Escape key is the one labeled Esc or Escape (or maybe even Cancel). It's usually at the upper-left corner of the keyboard. It's a good one to know because it often allows you to escape from unfamiliar territory.

The Help Key (F1)

The Help key is the F1 function key. That's a good one to know because it's the key you press for help. Not the kind of help where someone appears and helps you along. Unfortunately, it's not possible to get that kind of help from a computer. Instead, pressing Help opens a help window. You learn more about getting help in Chapter 5.

The windows Key

If you have a Windows keyboard, you also have a Windows key, which shows the Windows logo. In text, that's often referred to as windows . That one is usually near the lower-left corner of the keyboard. That key might also show the word Start, because you can tap it to show and hide the Start menu.

Shift, Ctrl, and Alt

The keys labeled Shift, Ctrl (Control), and Alt (Alternate) are modifier keys. There are usually two of each of those keys on a keyboard, near the lower left and lower right of the main typing keys. The Shift key may just show as a large, up-pointing arrow. One is to the left of the Z key, the other to the right of the question mark (?) key. They're called modifier keys because they usually don't do anything by themselves. Instead, you hold down a modifier key while pressing some other key. For example, when you hold down the Shift key and press the A key, you get an uppercase A rather than a lowercase a.

Shortcut Keys

The term press always refers to a key on the keyboard rather than something you do with the mouse. For example, the term press Enter means to press the Enter key. When you see an instruction to press two keys with a + in between (key+key), that means hold down the first key, tap the second key, release the first key. For example, an instruction to

Press Ctrl+Esc

means hold down the Ctrl key, tap the Esc key, release the Ctrl key.

You'll often see the term shortcut key used to refer to key+key combinations. The shortcut part comes from the fact that the keystroke is an alternative way of doing something with the mouse. (It may not seem like much of a shortcut, though, if you can't type worth beans!)

Much as we all hate to learn terminology, knowing the terms and keyboard keys I just described is critical to learning how to use a computer. All written and spoken instructions assume that you know what those terms mean. If you don't, the instructions won't do you any good.

Okay, let's move on to using the computer and to the names of things you'll do, see, and use often.

Logging In

Obviously, the first step to using a computer is to turn it on. Shortly after you first start your computer, the Windows 7 Login screen appears. Exactly how that screen looks depends on what user accounts exist on your computer. By default, Windows 7 comes with a built-in user account named Administrator. But it's unlikely that you'll ever see that user account because it's not for day-to-day computer use. If you've never used your computer or Windows 7 before, you'll likely be taken through a process where it asks you to create a user account. Just follow the on-screen instructions if faced with that question.

If your computer already has user accounts, you'll likely see a login page that displays icons (little pictures) and names for one or more user accounts. You learn about user accounts in Chapter 3. But for now, all you need to know is that if you see user account icons shortly after you first start your computer, you have to click one in order to use the computer.

Tip

The blue circle near the lower-left corner of the screen provides Ease of Access options for the visually impaired. The red button at the lower-right corner lets you turn off the computer rather than log in.

If the user account isn't password-protected, the Windows desktop appears automatically. If the user account you clicked is password-protected, a rectangular box appears instead. You have to type the correct password for the account to get to the Windows desktop. The letters you type won't show in the box. Instead, you'll see a dot for each letter you type, as in the example shown in Figure 2.2. This is to prevent people from learning your password by looking over your shoulder as you type it on the screen. After you type the password, press Enter or click the arrow to the right of the password box.

Figure 2.2 Typing a password.

2.2

After you've successfully logged in, the Windows desktop appears.

What's on the Desktop

The interface that Windows 7 provides is called the Windows desktop. The name desktop comes from the fact that it plays the same role as a real work desktop. You work with programs on the Windows desktop in much the same way as you work with paper on an office desktop.

The desktop is on the screen from the moment you log in to the moment you log off. The desktop may get covered by program windows and other items, but the desktop is still under there no matter how much you clutter the screen. It's the same as a real desk in that sense. Although your real desktop may be completely covered by random junk (as mine is right now), your desktop is still under there somewhere. You just have to dig through the mess to get to it.

The two main components of the Windows desktop are the desktop itself and the taskbar. The desktop is where everything that you open piles up. The taskbar's main role is to make it easy to switch from one open item to another. Everything you'll ever see on your screen has a name and a purpose. Virtually nothing on the screen is there purely for decoration (except the wallpaper). Figure 2.3 shows the main components of the Windows desktop and other items. Your desktop might not look exactly like the picture and might not show all of the components. But don't worry about that. Right now, you want to focus on learning the names of things so that you know what people are talking about when they refer to these things.

Figure 2.3 The desktop, taskbar, and other items.

2.3

Here's a quick overview of what each component represents. The sections that follow the list describe each component in detail.

Tip

You learn to personalize your desktop in Chapter 10. But here's a quick hint: Virtually everything you'll ever see on your screen, including the desktop, is an object that has properties. To customize any object, right-click that object and choose Properties.

Desktop: The desktop itself is everything above the taskbar. Most programs you open appear in a window on the desktop.

Desktop icons: Icons on the desktop provide quick access to frequently used programs, folders, and documents. You can add and remove desktop icons as you see fit.

Gadgets: These are optional components for showing data in a small window. Examples are a clock, weather information, or stock ticker.

Start button: Click the Start button to display the Start menu. The Start menu provides access to programs installed on your computer, as well as commonly used folders such as Documents, Pictures, and Music.

Taskbar: A task is an open program. The taskbar makes switching among all your open programs easy. Right-clicking the clock in the taskbar provides easy access to options for customizing the taskbar and organizing open program windows.

Notification area: Displays icons for programs running in the background, often referred to as processes and services. Messages coming from those programs appear in speech balloons just above the Notification area.

Clock: Shows the current time and date.

That's the quick tour of items on and around the Windows 7 desktop. The sections that follow look at each major item. But first, I should point out that your desktop might be partially covered by the Getting Started item. If so, and it gets in your way while you're trying things out in this chapter, you can close the Welcome Center so that it's out of your way. See The Getting Started Item near the end of this chapter for more information.

Using the Start Menu

Clicking the Start button displays the Start menu. The left side of the Start menu shows icons for some (but not all) of the programs on your computer. The right side of the menu offers links to commonly used folders and other features. Figure 2.4 shows an example.

Figure 2.4 Start menu.

2.4

The icons on your Start menu won't necessarily match those shown in the figure, so don't worry if yours looks different. The figure is just an example. You will notice, however, that some of the program names on the left side of the Start menu are boldface and some are not. There's a horizontal line separating the two types of names.

Items above the horizontal line are pinned to the Start menu and never change. Items below the horizontal line are dynamic, meaning they change automatically based on the programs you use most frequently. As the weeks and months roll by, the left side of your Start menu will eventually list just the programs you use most often.

To see all the programs available on your system, click All Programs near the bottom of the Start menu. In the All Programs menu, some icons look like folders, others like logos. Any icon that looks like a logo represents a program. To start (open) a program, you click its name or logo.

Icons that look like folders represent program groups. To see the names of programs in a group, click the folder icon or name. For example, in Figure 2.5 I clicked the Accessories folder. So now the left side of the Start menu includes programs and program groups from the Windows 7 Accessories program group.

Figure 2.5 The All Programs menu showing the Accessories group.

2.5

You can choose from many more programs than can fit on the left side of the Start menu. Use the vertical scroll bar just to the right of the program name to scroll up and down through the complete list. If you want to leave the All Programs menu and return to the dynamic menu, click the

The Right Side of the Start Menu

The right side of the Start menu shows menu items for frequently used folders and features. The name at the top of the list (jboyce in the previous examples) is the name of the user account into which you're currently logged. Clicking the user name opens a folder containing icons for other folders that represent things like documents, pictures, music, and other information saved and stored by this user.

Items labeled Documents, Pictures, and Music open folders in which you can store documents, photographs, songs, respectively. The Games link opens a folder of games you can play on your computer.

Tip

A folder in Windows 7 is like a manila file folder in a filing cabinet. It's a container in which you can store documents. You use folders in Windows to organize things, just as you use folders to organize things in a filing cabinet.

The Computer link opens a folder that shows icons representing disk drives, memory card slots, and other connected hardware devices such as DVD drives, cameras, and scanners. Chapter 29 tells the whole story on that folder.

Tip

As with everything else in Windows 7, you can customize many aspects of the Start menu. For instance, you can choose which options you do/don't want to appear on the right side of the Start menu. Right-click the Start button and choose Properties to get to its Properties dialog box. See Chapter 10 for a description of its options.

You have plenty of time to get into the various folders and document types described previously. For now, I keep you focused on the Start menu.

The Start Menu Search Box

Tip

Near the bottom of the Start menu, you see a Search box. As its name implies, it allows you to search for items based on a word or phrase. For example, say that you click the Start button (or press windows or Ctrl+Esc on your keyboard) to open the Start menu and then type the letters cal. The Start menu will list all programs that contain cal. For example, in Figure 2.6, Calculator is listed under Programs.

Figure 2.6 Start menu search for cal.

2.6

Below the list of programs that contain the search letters, you may see Control Panel items, files, contacts, and e-mail messages that also contain those letters. As you type more letters, the list shrinks to show only the items that contain all the letters you've typed so far. When you see the item you want to open, just click its name in the Start menu.

To cancel a search without making a selection, press Escape (Esc).

Tip

For experienced users, the instant searches from the Start menu are one of Windows 7's best features. It can save you a lot of time you'd otherwise spend opening programs and folders to find something.

The Power Button

The Power button at the lower-right side of the Start menu plays several roles and can take one of two appearances. If the Power button has no icon beside it, and reads Shut Down, clicking the button powers down your computer. If you see a shield icon on the button in addition to the words Shut Down, Windows will install downloaded updates and then shut down.

Clicking the arrow on the Power button displays several options, as shown in Figure 2.7 and summarized in the following list (you might not see all of them depending on your computer's configuration).

Switch User: Switches to another user account without logging out of the current account.

Log Off: Closes all open items, logs out of the current user account, and returns to the login screen.

Lock: Hides the desktop behind a login screen. Regaining access requires entering the user account password.

Shut Down: Closes all open items and shuts down the computer.

Restart: Closes all open items and restarts the computer (also called a reboot or warm boot).

Sleep: Puts the computer in a state in which it consumes little power without losing your place on the screen.

Hibernate: Saves what's on your desktop and then shuts down the computer all the way so that it's consuming no power at all. When you restart the computer and log in, your desktop is returned to wherever you left things.

Figure 2.7 The Power button and options.

2.7

Different types of computers offer different options for sleeping, hibernating, and shutting down. How you restart the computer also varies. For example, when you put the computer to sleep, you can often wake it up just by tapping a key on the keyboard or by moving the mouse. Or, on a notebook computer, simply opening the lid to view the screen may wake up the computer.

When you hibernate or shut down the computer, you have to use the main On/Off switch to turn the computer back on. But because these vary from one computer to the next, I can't say exactly which options your computer offers or how they work. If you have any trouble with those options, refer to the instruction manual that came with your computer for specifics.

At times, the button for powering down the computer might show a shield and exclamation point, as shown in Figure 2.8. When you point to that button, the tooltip shows information like that shown in the figure. The button and tooltip are telling you that your computer has automatically received an update that requires you to click that button. Go ahead and do so. Don't worry: It's not a security risk. Nothing bad will happen, it won't cost you any money, and everything will work the way it did before. The update is just a security patch or minor fix. Go ahead and click the exclamation point button and wait for the computer to shut down on its own.

Figure 2.8 Shut Down button and tooltip.

2.8

Note

Chapter 9 talks about automatic updates in depth.

Using Jump Lists

Jump lists are a new feature of Windows 7 that enhance the usefulness of the icons on the taskbar. Jump lists add the most recently used objects from the application to a pop-up menu. Just right-click the icon to view the Jump list (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9 A Jump list for Microsoft Office Word.

2.9

Other applications written for Windows 7 offer additional capabilities in the Jump menu. For example, Internet Explorer 8 offers your browsing history (Figure 2.10).

Figure 2.10 Browsing history in the IE jump menu.

2.10

You don't need to do anything to set up Jump lists—they happen automatically. Whenever you want to use a Jump list, just right-click a taskbar icon and choose from the list the item you want to open.

Using the Windows Desktop

As mentioned, the Windows desktop is the electronic equivalent of a real desktop. It's the place where you keep stuff you're working on right now. Every program that's currently open is usually contained within some program window. When no programs are open, the desktop and all your desktop icons are plainly visible on the screen.

About Desktop Icons

Desktop icons are just like the icons on the Start menu. Each icon represents a closed object that you can open by double-clicking the icon. Most desktop icons are shortcuts to files and folders. They're shortcuts in the sense that they duplicate icons available elsewhere. They just save you the extra clicks required to get to the same icon through the Start menu or All Programs menu.

Rules always have exceptions. When it comes to desktop icons, the Recycle Bin is the exception. The Recycle Bin icon exists only on the desktop, and you won't find it anywhere else. The role of the Recycle Bin is that of a safety net. Whenever you delete a file or folder from your hard drive, the item is actually just moved to the Recycle Bin. You can restore an accidentally deleted item from the Recycle Bin back to its original location.

In addition to the Recycle Bin, you have other built-in desktop icons from which to choose. If you want to take a shot at adding icons, you have to get to the Personalization page and make some selections. You can use either of the following techniques to get to the Personalization page:

Click the Start button, type pers, and click Personalization.

Right-click the desktop and choose Personalize.

Note

If you don't see Personalize when you right-click the desktop, that means you didn't right-click the desktop. You right-clicked something that's covering the desktop. You learn to close and hide things that are covering the desktop a little later in this chapter.

The Personalization Control Panel applet opens. In its left column, click Change Desktop Icons. You see a dialog box like the one in Figure 2.11. It's called a dialog box because you carry on a sort of dialog with it. It shows you options from which you can pick and choose. You make your choices and click OK. You'll see menu dialog boxes throughout this book.

Figure 2.11 The Desktop Icon Settings dialog box.

2.11

To make an icon visible on your desktop, select (click to put a checkmark in) the check box next to the icon's name. To prevent an icon from appearing on the desktop, click the check box to the left of its name to deselect it (remove the checkmark). In the figure, I've opted to see all icons except the Network and Control Panel icons.

You can choose a different picture for any icon you've opted to show on the desktop. Click the icon's picture in the middle of the dialog box. Then click the Change Icon button. Click the icon you want to show and then click OK. If you change your mind after the fact, click Restore Default.

Click OK after making your selections. The dialog box closes and the icons you choose appear on the desktop. However, you might not see them if that part of the desktop is covered by something that's open. Don't worry about that. You learn about how you open, close, move, and size things on the desktop a little later in this chapter.

If nothing is covering the desktop, but you still don't see any desktop icons, they might just be switched off. I cover this topic in the next section.

Arranging Desktop Icons

As you discover in Chapter 10, you have many ways to customize the Windows 7 desktop. But if you just want to make some quick, minor changes to your desktop icons, right-click the desktop to view its shortcut menu. Items on the menu that have a little arrow to the right show submenus. For example, if you right-click the desktop and point to View on the menu, you see the View menu, as shown in Figure 2.12.

Figure 2.12 Right-click the desktop.

2.12

The final item on the View menu, Show Desktop Items, needs to be selected (checked) for the icons to show at all. If no checkmark appears next to that item, click that item. The menu closes and the icons appear on the desktop. When you need to see the menu again, just right-click the desktop again.

The top three items on the menu, Large Icons, Medium Icons, and Small Icons, control the size of the icons. Click any option to see its effect. If you don't like the result, right-click the desktop again, choose View, and choose a different size.

Tip

If your mouse has a wheel, you can also size icons by holding down the Ctrl key as you spin the mouse wheel. This gives you an almost endless range of icon sizes from which to choose. Use one of the three items in the View menu to get them back to one of the three default sizes.

The Sort By option on the desktop shortcut menu lets you arrange desktop icons alphabetically by Name, by Size, by Type, or by Date Modified. However, no matter how you choose to sort icons, the built-in icons are sorted separately from those you create. Custom shortcut icons you create yourself are listed after the built-in icons. So if you sort by name, the built-in icons are listed alphabetically