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Introductory Computer Skills for Adults
Getting Started
1. Turn on the computer by pressing the power button on the front of the computer unit (not the screen) with
the symbol . This button also appears on the monitor, which also needs to be turned on. When using a
computer at the Free Library it will already be turned on so you do not need to press the power button.
2. If the screen is off it may be in "sleep mode" or turned off. Press any key on the keyboard to wake it up if it
is sleeping. If it does not wake up after a few seconds, press the power button on the lower right-hand
corner of the monitor.
3. At the Free Library you will need to type in the PIN number on your PC Reservation Receipt.
PIN – what you type to start your Computer time is one session per day
computer session per location.
Time – The time you can start A computer session at the Regional
your session. and Branch Libraries are 30 minutes.
Location – Where your It costs $0.25 per page to print, and the
computer is located at. printers take coins only.
The Mouse
A mouse is “a pointing device used to provide input for the computer…when you use the mouse on your desk,
the mouse pointer on the screen mimics its movement” (p.194, Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies).
Directional moves: left ←, right →, forward ↑, backward ↓, diagonal , and everything in between.
Left Mouse Button: Click this when you want to select something
on the computer screen.
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After the title screen a blank page will appear in a window. This is your new document.
The blinking line on the top left-hand corner of the page is your cursor. When you type, characters will appear
wherever the cursor is positioned. You can move the cursor to different places in the text by using the mouse
pointer and clicking the left mouse button. To move the cursor to a blank place on the page use the Enter key
to skip lines and the Spacebar, Tab key, and Backspace key to move forward and back.
The Keyboard
The keyboard is used to type characters (letters, numbers, and symbols), and to command the computer to
perform certain functions.
Keys to Know
1. Space Bar: Adds an open space between words.
2. Enter Key: a) When typing, it returns the cursor to the beginning of the next line.
b) When filling in forms it submits information to the computer.
3. Shift Key: a) When held down while typing a letter key it will capitalize the letter.
b) When held down while typing a number or symbol key, it will produce the symbol in the
upper left-hand corner of the key.
4. Arrow Keys (↑ ← ↓ →): Moves cursor (blinking line) around the screen.
5. Backspace Key: Deletes the letter directly behind the cursor. Example: a|
6. Delete Key: Deletes the letter directly following the cursor. Example: |a
7. Insert Key: Turns on and off the ability to insert letters. When on, typed characters appear between
already existing characters. When off, typed characters replace already existing characters.
8. Tab Key: a) When typing, makes the cursor skip ahead 5 spaces. It can be used to indent a line.
b) When filling out a form, moves the cursor consecutively through series of buttons or fields.
9. Caps Lock Key: Turns caps lock on and off. When caps lock is on, letters automatically appear
capitalized. A light at the upper right hand corner of the keyboard is lit when caps lock is on.
10. Control (Ctrl) and Alt Keys: Performs various functions when pressed with different letters.
11. Page Up and Page Down Keys: Scrolls a document or website up and down on the screen.
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Saving your Work
At the Free Library of Philadelphia you can save files to either a Floppy Disk or a USB Flash Drive.
Floppy Disk: A way to save data. It has 1.44 MB of space. Floppy Disks are older
storage devices and they have a limited amount of space. They get worn out with
use, and eventually you will need to get a new disk to save documents. You insert
your floppy disk into the Floppy Disk Drive. This is also known as the A Drive.
USB Flash Drive: A way to save data. Flash drives sold at the Free Library of
Philadelphia have 32 MB of space. Other flash drives have a lot more storage space.
Flash drives are more reliable than floppy disks because they don’t get worn out with
use. You plug the flash drive into the USB port on the front of the computer. Your flash
drive will be either the D Drive or the E Drive.
The computer should automatically know which device you want to save to.
If not you will need to type A:\ before your file name if you are saving to a floppy disk. You will need to type D:\
or E:\ before your file name if you are saving to a flash drive (depending on what letter name your flash drive is
given when you plug it in).
Click on
Save to save
your file.
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Opening a Floppy Disk or USB Flash Drive
A window will appear asking if you are sure you want to permanently delete the file you have selected.
Click Yes if you want to delete the file. Click No if you do not want to delete the file.
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The Internet
The Internet is "a collection of computers all over the world that send, receive, and store information. The
Internet is not a single computer. It is not a software program. It's merely lots of computers communicating
with each other." (p.156, Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies).
The World Wide Web (www) "is a way to access the information on the Internet for both text and
graphics…Each document on the World Wide Web—a Web page—can contain links to other Web pages
displaying additional information" (p.333, Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies).
A website is "a collection of Web pages closely linked to each other" (p.326, Illustrated Computer Dictionary
for Dummies). Every website has a unique address so it can be found on the World Wide Web.
The Free Library of Philadelphia's web address is www.freelibrary.org
A Web Browser is “software designed to view documents written in HTML, which includes all pages on the
World Wide Web…Web browsers display information on the Internet using text, graphics, sounds,” and so on
(p.325, Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies).
The Web Browser used at the Free Library of Philadelphia is Microsoft Internet Explorer.
A search engine is a special Website that is designed to help people find information stored on other
websites. You type a word or phrase describing the information you are searching for in the search box, and
the search engine will return a list of websites that contain the search terms you used.
Three popular search engines are Google www.google.com, Ask www.ask.com, and
Yahoo www.yahoo.com.
Email, or electronic mail, are messages that are created, sent, and read completely on computers (p.103,
Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies).
You must have an email account in order to send and receive email.
You must create a unique email address. This can sometimes be frustrating because the free email sites are
used by people all over the country.
Two popular free email sites are Yahoo www.yahoomail.com, and Gmail www.gmail.com.
An email address looks like the following: johnsmith@yahoo.com. The @ symbol means “at” when it is used
in an email address.
Electronic Books, or ebooks, are books that are available in digital format. The advantage of having the book
accessible via the Web is that you don't have to come into the library to read it. The ebooks owned by the
Free Library are in the NetLibrary database and the Gale Virtual Reference Library.
The Free Library of Philadelphia subscribes to many periodical databases that catalog articles from a large
number of journals or magazines. There are also databases that allow you to search for information about
companies, artists, music, and so on.
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Searching the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Online Catalog
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Books About Computers at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computer Basics (2007) by Michael Miller, 004.16 M616a4
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Computer Basics (2007) by Joe Kraynak, 004.16 K869c3
Teach Yourself Visually Computers (2007) by Paul McFedries, 004.16 M167t
Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Windows Vista (2007) by Shelley O’Hara, 005.4469 M583o3
Microsoft Windows Vista Simplified (2007) by Paul McFedries, 005.4469 M583mcf4
How Computers Work (2006) by Ron Whie, 004.16 W585h6
Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies (2000) by Sandra Hardin Gookin, 004.03 G643i
Internet Books: