Versions of Window OS
• Windows 3.11
• Windows 95
• Windows 98
• Windows NT
• Windows 2000
• Windows Me
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
Windows XP Terminology
Windows XP uses the following terms to name or describe
its basic components:
• Windows
•Desktop
• Icons
• Shortcut (or aliases).
• Menus
• Toolbars
•Pointer
Windows XP
Standard desktop icons
(shortcuts)
Window
Titlebar
Menu
Toolbars
Start button Taskbar
ICONS
Standard Desktop Icons
• They are small pictures or images that
represent a program file, a data file or some
command to perform a complex action.
• It makes easy to initiate actions, open programs
and files and manipulate objects.
Shortcuts
• It is a quick and convenient way to run a
frequently used programs or open a data file or
folder without having to use the Start Menu or
My Computer.
• It is nothing but a link to the actual program or
file or folder.
• All data files that are opened by using a
shortcut must have a file association.
• It can also reference hardware devices such as
printers and storage devices.
Taskbar
• Acts as a container for other objects.
• Provides a place to access programs that are opened.
• To restore a program that has been minimized to a fully functional
window by clicking its button on the taskbar.
• Other features (Detailed discussion in later chapters):
– The Start Button – gateway to the start menu
– The Notification area – provides a place for notice of
important programs that aretoolbar
running (System Utilities) scrollbars
and
the system clock.
• New features of XP taskbar:
– Group buttons of common programs.
– Hides icon in the notification area after short period of time, or
if they have not been accessed recently.
Start button Show Desktop button Taskbar
Open Program buttons Notification Area
Start Button
•The Start Button opens the Start Menu.
• StartButton also has a shortcut menu that can be accessed by
right clicking on it.
• This menu provides important features of windows such as
windows explorer, taskbar and start menu properties, the
search tool, and the ability to open the start menu as a
folder.
The New XP Start Menu
Current
user
Basic division of Start Menu:
Pinned List
• Current User
Most Frequently • Pinned items list
Used Programs
List • The most frequently used
program list
• Standard items on the right
• All programs and log off/turn
off buttons
Click here for
the Programs
menu
Turn off or log
off the
computer
The Classic style Start Menu
Click here for the Programs
menu
Turn off or log off the computer…the
current user is also shown here.
The Start Menu viewed as a folder in Windows Explorer
Shortcuts (or menu items) on the Start
Menu
The Start Menu folder
Windows XP
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts are key combinations that can be
substituted for mouse actions, and visa versa. They are
fairly universal throughout Windows.
Task Manager
Entering Ctrl+Alt+Del will open the Windows XP Task Manager
window,
Cutting and Pasting
You can perform these operations by using the following keyboard
shortcuts instead of selecting a command from a menu:
Cut Ctrl+X Paste Ctrl+V
Copy Ctrl+C Select All Ctrl+A
Selected text
Pop-up or
Shortcut menu
Running Simple Programs
There are four main ways to run, open or
launch a program with Windows XP:
• Clicking an Icon on the desktop.
• Selecting a command from the Start Menu.
• Using the Start Menu Run command.
• Clicking on a file that is associated with a program.
WordPad
•Windows XP includes two word processing
programs, NotePad and WordPad.
To run WordPad from the Run
command on the Start Menu:
Click the Start button, then
Select Run…, next
Enter “wordpad” in the text box, as
shown in Figure 3.14.
Press the OK button.
If you do not know the name of the
file or the file’s path, you can click
the Browse button to use the
Windows Explorer to locate it.
WordPad
Paint
To run Paint from the Start Menu:
• Click the Start button, then
• Select All Programs, next
• Select the Accessories Paint Menu
submenu, then command
• Click the Paint command as
shown here
Selecting the menu command to start Microsoft Paint
“Standard”
toolbars
Toolbar docked on the
Drawing toolbar side of the window
docked at the bottom
of the window
Floating toolbar
Type of Windows
• Program windows:
– Encapsulates the operation of one application.
– Considered to be the true windows.
– Each application you open or run within windows has its own window i.e.
each program runs within its own ‘protected’ environment.
Program window
Application
window
Type of Windows
• Message Boxes:
– Show the state of your actions, ask for
confirmation before you proceed with
another action, or warn you of a problem.
Type of Windows
• Dialog Boxes:
– An object displayed to
present information or
request input is called a
dialog box.
– Both windows and the
Macintosh GUIs have a
convention that any menu
item followed by ellipsis (…)
will open a dialog box for
further input.
Elements of a Window
• Windows Panes Menu
– Panes usually can
be resized to show Control buttons
Toolbar
more in one pane
than another, can
have their own
scroll bar.
Navigation pane Folder pane
Vertical
Scrollbar
Elements of a Window
• Menus
– A window element that is a list of available
commands is called a menu.
– Each subordinate menu opened by a menu
command is called a submenu.
Opens a Dialog box
(…)
Opens a Submenu }
Executes a
menu command
Submenu
Elements of a Window
• Tool Bars
– They are like graphical menus
– Toolbars can use buttons, textboxes, list
boxes and other objects to get input from
the users.
Moving & Resizing Windows
• To move a window grab the title bar with your left
mouse button and drag to its new location and
release the button. The window will be placed
where put it.
• Resizing a window can be done using maximizing
or minimizing or restore down control buttons.
Mouse pointer
ready to resize
the window
Mouse cursor ready to resize a WordPad window's width
Mouse pointer
ready to resize
the window
Mouse cursor ready to resize a WordPad window's
width
Logging on to the System The
name of
the user
currently
logged
• An act of running a on
computer under a
specific user account is
called being ‘logged on’.
• The user account
defines who you are and
what you can do on the
network based on rights
and permissions given.
• User with most
permission is called
Administrator.
Logging on to the System
• To log on to a Windows XP computer that is
connected to a network:
– From the Log on prompt press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to
display the Log on dialog box,
– Enter your user name and your password
– Click the OK button to log on
Logging on to the System
• If you are using a PC that is not connected to a network, Windows XP
still employs user accounts, and therefore requires users to log on
• You can change the user log on “prompt” from the Welcome screen
to the “classic” Windows XP user logon dialog by modifying the
“Change the way users log on and off” setting in the User Accounts
tool found in the Control Panel.
• Turning off both the Use the Welcome Screen and Fast User
Switching options will set your logon to the classic style.
– The classic logon prompt is considered more secure as it requires
you to know both the user name and the password. You can also
require a domain name to be entered.
NEXT LECTURE
• Next Lecture will cover more features of
Windows Operating System
Questions
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