WINDOWS DESKTOP - USING PROGRAMS IN WINDOWS 10, 8 AND 7

Almost everything you do on your computer requires using a program. For example, if you want to draw a picture, you need to use a drawing or painting program. To write a letter, you use a word processing program. To explore the Internet, you use a program called a web browser. Thousands of programs are available for Windows.

(a) Opening a program

The Start menu is the gateway to all of the programs on your computer. To open the Start menu, click the Start button Picture of the Start button . The left pane of the Start menu contains a small list of programs, including your Internet browser, email program, and recently used programs. To open a program, click it.

If you don't see the program you want to open, but you know its name, type all or part of the name into the search box at the bottom of the left pane. Under Programs, click a program to open it.

To browse a complete list of your programs, click the Start button, and then click All Programs.

Tip:

You can also open a program by opening a file. Opening the file automatically opens the program associated with the file.

(b) Using commands in programs

Most programs contain dozens or even hundreds of commands (actions) that you use to work the program. Many of these commands are organized in a ribbon, located just under the title bar.

In some programs, commands might be located under menus. Like a restaurant menu, a program menu shows you a list of choices. To keep the screen uncluttered, menus are hidden until you click their titles in the menu bar, located under the title bar.

To choose one of the commands listed on the ribbon, click it. Sometimes a dialog box will appear, in which you can select further options. If a command is unavailable and cannot be clicked, it is shown in gray.

In some programs, toolbars provide access to frequently used commands in the form of buttons or icons. These commands usually appear in the program's menus, too, but toolbars let you choose a command with just one click. Toolbars typically appear just below the menu bar.

Clicking a toolbar button performs a command. In WordPad, for example, clicking the Save button Picture of the Save button saves the document. To find out what a particular toolbar button does, point to it. The button's name or function is displayed:

(c) Creating a new document

Many programs allow you to create, edit, save, and print documents. In general, a document is any type of file that you can edit. For example, a word processing file is a type of document, as is a spreadsheet, an email message, and a presentation. However, the terms document and file are often used interchangeably; pictures, music clips, and videos that you can edit are usually called files, even though they are technically documents.

Some programs, including WordPad, Notepad, and Paint, open a blank, untitled document automatically when you open the program, so that you can start working right away. You'll see a large white area and a generic word like "Untitled" or "Document" in the program's title bar.

If your program doesn't open a new document automatically when it opens, you can do it yourself:

Click the File menu in the program you are using, and then click New.

    – or –

Click the menu button and then click New. If you can open more than one type of document in the program, you might also need to select the type from a list.

(d) Saving a document

As you work on a document, your additions and changes are stored in your computer's random access memory (RAM). Storage of information in RAM is temporary; if your computer is turned off or loses power, any information in RAM is erased.

Saving a document allows you to name it and to store it permanently on your computer's hard disk. That way, the document is preserved even when your computer is turned off, and you can open it again later.

To save a document

1.      Click the File menu, and click Save.  

Click the Save button  

1   If this is the first time you are saving the document, you’ll be asked to provide a name for it and a location on your computer to save it to.

Even if you've saved a document once, you need to keep saving it as you work. That's because any changes you've made since you last saved the document are stored in RAM, not on the hard disk. To avoid losing work unexpectedly due to a power failure or other problem, save your document every few minutes.

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