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