Introduction 

 This document explains some of the basic operating principles
of the Windows '95 operating system.  In addition to this
document, several other sources of information are available.
 Numerous books can be purchased for almost any depth of
coverage desired, and copies of Win '95 manuals are available in
the Faculty workroom in Main Hall.  In addition, the online
help facility is very good. 

 Logging On 

 When your computer is first turned on, a box appears
requesting your Username, Password, and Server.
 The username and password are unchanged.  The server
name for faculty should already be set to "Control". 

 Windows '95 Principles 

 When you first enter the Windows '95 environment, three of
the basic elements of the operating system will be in view.
 Icons, representing quick ways to access
application programs or other information will be displayed. 

  Representative icons that
might be present on your desktop. 

 A bar containing the START button will typically be
present along the bottom of your screen.  This bar will
always be shown, and will contain buttons that allow you to
conveniently access any program you might be running.  This
is similar to using the Windows 3.11 <alt><tab>
keystroke sequence. Finally, the background (blank screen) is the
Desktop.  Shortcuts can be placed on this, and
programs will display windows on this space.  To change
things such as the background color, screen resolution, add a
screensaver, etc. you will modify the "Display" icon
from the Control Panel or use the right mouse button to
"click" on a blank portion of the screen. 

 Mouse usage 

 To efficiently use Windows '95, use of a "mouse" or
other point device is almost essential.  The following terms
will be used throughout this document to describe various mouse
actions. 


    
 Highlight:  Move the tip of the pointer over the
        desired object without pressing either mouse button. 
    
 Select:  Place the tip of the pointer over the
        desired object and press the left mouse button once. 
    
 Double click:  Place the tip of the pointer over
        the desired object and press the left mouse button twice
        in rapid succession.  This is the same as selecting
        an object and pressing the <Enter> key. 
    
 Right click: Place the tip of the pointer over the
        desired object and press the right mouse button once.
         This typically gives a different (and less commonly
        used) result than pressing with the left mouse button. 


 Application Programs 

 Application programs in Windows '95 tend to have a consistent
look.  At the top of almost every Windows '95 application is
a Title Bar, which ideally will have a text string explaining
which program is in use, the filename, or some other relevant
piece of information.  To the far right of the Title Bar
there will typically be one or more buttons (such as those shown
below). 

  Title Bar
"buttons" 

 The first button shown above (the underscore)
will "Minimize" a window.  The second button is a
toggle between the full screen display of a window and a somewhat
smaller view.  The last button (the X) will delete the
window, typically by closing the file or application program.
 Another common button includes a question mark, which will
bring up a help screen. 

 Below this will typically be a menu of options
used to control the program.  The most important menu items
are probably "File Save", "File
Exit", and "Help".  The menu
bar for the Windows Notepad program is shown below, with the
"File Exit" menu item selected.  This program has
a fairly simple menu bar.  Part of the title bar is also
visible in this image, and gives the name of the file (which
hasn't be saved or given a name in this example) and the name of
the program (Notepad). 

 Menu Bar with "File
Exit" selected. 

 Directories 

 To view the contents of any disk drive, use
either Explorer (not Internet Explorer) or My
Computer. Shown below are two views of how drives,
subdirectories (called folders), and files are displayed by this
program.   On the leftmost screen, the floppy drive
(A:), hard drive (C:), and CD-ROM (D:) are represented
graphically.  By selecting the C: drive icon, a list of
folders and files in the C:\ (root) directory are shown.  To
view the contents of a subdirectory (folder), select the folder
with the mouse (double-click). The screen on the right shows the
contents of the C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS folder.  This subdirectory
contains one folder (Proof) and one file (Mscreate.dir).
 Different views are available (chosen from the View menu),
ranging from highly graphical with little information other than
filenames to almost pure text, with file sizes, creation dates,
etc. 

     

 Common Keystrokes 

 The following keystrokes are useful for taking
information from one application and placing this in a second.
While not all application programs accept the following
keystrokes, most modern Windows programs do. 


    
 
 <ctrl>X - cut (remove text,
        picture, ... from application and save to clipboard). 
    
    
 
 <ctrl>C - copy (copy text,
        picture, ... from application and save to clipboard). 
    
    
 
 <ctrl>V - paste (place contents
        of clipboard into current application). 
    


 Microsoft Office 

 A special set of icons appears on most computers on this
campus near the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
 These icons (shown below) provide a shortcut to
applications in the Microsoft Office program suite. 

  Microsoft
Office toolbar 

 The application programs that can be accessed by this toolbar
are (in order): 


    
 Word:  A word processing program. 
    
 Excel: A spreadsheet program. 
    
 Powerpoint: For creating presentations. 
    
 Access: A database program. 
    
 Find File: To quickly find any file or folder on any
        drive. 
    
 Office: Provides a means of customizing this toolbar. 


 Creating a Shortcut on the Desktop. 

 Many programs are used so frequently that is
worthwhile to create a simple mechanism for starting these
applications.  Icons on the Desktop are the Windows '95
solution to this problem.  The simplest way to create an
icon for a program is to locate the desired program using
Explorer (or "My Computer").  One the program is
located, highlight the program with the mouse and
"drag" it onto the desktop.  An icon for that
program should appear titled "Shortcut to ...".
 To change the name of this icon, select the text with the
mouse (which takes some practice) and type the desired name.
 To actually use this application, simply select the icon
and "double-click" with the mouse or press
<Enter>. 

 Potential Problems 

 Printing 

 Several of the application programs (in particular Pegasus
mail) appear to default to printing from the upper tray of the
printer located in the faculty workroom. Since this tray
typically holds letterhead paper, this is obviously not an ideal
situation.  To change this, select the Print command.
 There should be a Setup option for the printer.
Select this button.  The next dialog box should give you an
option for the paper source.  Choose "Lower Tray".
 These two dialog boxes (from Pegasus mail) are shown below.


  

  

 Passwords 

 The Windows '95 operating system saves your
password the first time you log in. Periodically, you must change
your network password.  To do this, you will need to
change both your Windows password and your network password!
 To change your network password, go to the DOS prompt, type
"SETPASS", and follow the on-screen prompts.  To
change your Windows '95 password, select the control panel using
the START button as shown below.  From the Control
Panel, select the Passwords icon and press the
"Change Windows Password" button. 

 Selection
of the Control Panel 

 

 



 Document created January 30, 1997

by Clarke
Earley

Kent State University - Stark Campus

Department of Chemistry

Email: cearley