right-click

You can right-click just about anything on the screen to see a menu of options relevant to that
item.
If the item you right-clicked can be customized in any way, shape, or form, you’ll see a Properties option
in the menu. An item’s properties are its characteristics, such as color, size, shape, and so forth.
Choosing the Properties option will take you to the dialog box for changing that item’s properties.
If the item you right-clicked can be moved, renamed, deleted, and so forth, you’ll see appropriate
options. You can never do any harm by right-clicking an item, so don’t be afraid to try it. If, for whatever
reason, the item you right-clicked has no shortcut menu, nothing will happen when you right-click. If you
right-click an item, and then decide not to make a selection from the shortcut menu, just click some
neutral area outside the shortcut menu, or press the trusty Escape key, to close the menu without
making a selection.

ToolTips,

right-clicks, and the “What’s This?” button
Although the Help system provides extensive help, you can get to a couple of simple “quick and dirty”
types of help without going through the Help system. For starters, be aware that just about everything
you see on your screen has a small hidden ToolTip. This is really no more than the name of the item in
most cases. However, when you cannot figure out what the heck some icon is supposed to represent,
you can just point to the item for a moment to reveal its tiny ToolTip.
Most items also offer shortcut menus. If you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen when you click an
icon, or want a quick overview of the options available for an icon, try right-clicking, rather than clicking,
the item. Usually you’ll see a little shortcut menu of options. In Figure 1-13, for example, I right-clicked
directly on the desktop. You can see the shortcut menu that appeared after I did so.

Closing Help

The Windows Help and Support Center window is like any other window. You can size it and move it
like any other. You’ll learn specific techniques for doing so in Chapter 2. But one thing you’ll want to
learn right now is that you can close any open window on the screen by clicking the Close (X) button in
the upper-right corner of the window. So when you’re done with Help and want to close its window, to
uncover the desktop once again, just go ahead and click the Close button.
Tip For an overview of Windows XP, click the Start button and choose Tour Windows
XP. Alternatively, if you don’t see that option on the Start menu, click the All
Programs option and choose Accessories, and then choose Tour Windows XP
from the menu.

Print:

Prints the current Help page.
If the amount of text available in the window is longer than what can display on the Help screen, a scroll
bar will appear to the right of the text. You can scroll through the text by clicking the buttons at the top
and bottom of the scroll bar. Or, if your mouse has a wheel, click anywhere within the text and spin the
wheel on your mouse to scroll up or down.
Tip You’ll learn more about using scroll bars in Chapter 2.
The Help index, which appears when you click the Index button near the top of the page, displays an
index to the Help system, similar to the index at the back of a book. You can scroll through the index
using the scroll bar at its right edge. Optionally, click in the text box below Type in the keyword to
find and start typing some word that best describes the information you’re looking for. As you type,
you’ll automatically be taken to the part of the index that matches what you have typed so far. If you
locate an index entry that matches what you’re looking for, click it. Then click the Display button below
the index. If several topics are available, a Topics Found dialog box displays. Click whichever topic in
that dialog box best describes what you’re looking for, and then click the Display button.
Figure 1-12 shows an example where I searched for the word volume. When I got to that section of the
index, I chose adjusting speaker volume to display the help you see in the right pane.
Figure 1-12: The Help index in the left pane of Window’s Help and Support window
Whether you use Search or the Help index to get help on specific topics is entirely up to you. I do
recommend trying Search first, however, as it’s easier and often produces better results. If you can’t find
what you’re looking for using Search, then try the Help index.

The right panel

offers help on the topic you clicked, usually in the form of step-by-step instructions. To
see the definition of any green underlined term, just click the term. Buttons above the right pane offer
the following:
Add to Favorites: Adds the Help topic to your list of favorites. At any time in the future, you
can quickly jump back to this topic by clicking the Favorites button near the top of the
screen.
Change View: Removes the left pane so that you can see more of what’s behind the
window. Clicking that button a second time restores the left pane.

What’s with the Internet Connection Wizard?

Some of the choices within the Help system will attempt to access the Internet to provide you with the
most current information. If your computer isn’t connected to the Internet, you’ll end up at an Internet
Connection Wizard dialog box rather than at the appropriate Internet page. As discussed in Chapter 5,
you need some kind of modem and an account with an Internet service provider (ISP) to get beyond the
Internet Connection Wizard to the Help page you were actually supposed to see. Part II of this book tells
you everything you need to know. For now, if you just want to close the Internet Connection Wizard
without setting up an account, click the Cancel button near the lower-right corner of the Internet
Connection Wizard dialog box.

Buttons across

the top of the Help and Support Center window help you get around within Help, as
follows:
Back: After you go to a new page, you can press the Back button to return you to the page
you just left.
Forward (right-pointing arrow): The forward-pointing arrow to the right of the Back button
enables you to return to the page that you just backed out of (if any.)
Home: Takes you back to the first page of Help and Support Center, shown in Figure 1-10.
Index: Takes you to the Help system index, which is the same as the index at the back of a
book. For more information, see the section “Using Help’s Search and Index features” later
in this chapter.
Favorites: Lists Help topics you have added to your list of favorites, as discussed in the
section “Using Help’s Search and Index features.”
History: Displays a list of Help pages you have already visited.
Support: Provides an overview of Support options available from Microsoft.
Those buttons alone will enable you to explore the Help system on your own. When looking for help with
specific questions, however, the Search and Index features will be your best bet.
Using Help’s search and index features
The Search box is always available in the Help and Support Center window. To use it, just click the text
box titled Search. If there’s already some text in that box that you want to get rid if, just drag the mouse
pointer through that text. Whatever you type replaces that selected text. Type in a word or phrase that
describes what you need help with, and then click the button just to the right of where you typed the
word or phrase. In Figure 1-11, for example, I typed Make a CD and then clicked the button. The Help
window splits into two panes. The left pane displays topics relevant to my search. To see the help for
any of those listed topics, just click the topic. The right pane will display the help.
Figure 1-11: Results of searching for “Make a CD” and clicking the Copy files and folders to a CD topic

The Windows Task Manager

The Task Manager will list all running programs. The hung program (if any) will have the words not
responding after the program name in the Status column of the display. Click the name of that errant
program, and then click the End Task button. The program should close, and things should return to
normal. To close the Windows Task Manager, click the Close (large red X) button in its upper-right
corner.
Again, only use the Windows Task Manager as a last resort. As you’ll learn later, there are far better
and safer ways to end “normally” running programs.
Using the Help and Support Center
Windows XP offers a wide range of Help and Support options. You can see what’s available by doing
either of the following:
Click the Start button, and then click Help and Support.
Press the Help key (labeled F1 near the upper-left corner of your keyboard).
Tip The Help key (F1) is almost universal. You can press it in just about any program to
get help for whatever program you’re working with at the moment.
The Help and Support Center will open (see Figure 1-10). Some options on the screen are updated
automatically from time to time, via the Internet. So yours may not look exactly like the one shown. To
use this, just click any blue text that looks interesting. The Windows basics help topic provides
instructions for specific tasks (although not in any particular order).

Figure 1-8:

The Escape key, and any of these buttons, will help you back out of unfamiliar territory.
If all else fails, press Alt+F4. (On the keyboard, hold down the key labeled Alt, press and
release the key labeled F4, and then release the Alt key.) This key combination closes
whatever window is currently open.
If you can remember these techniques, you should be able to back your way out of any jam, no matter
how lost you feel. If you really, really, really get stuck and none of the previous techniques work, and the
computer appears to be hung (not responding normally to your keystrokes and mouse clicks), you might
have to use the Windows Task Manager to locate and kill the offending task. This is the least desirable
approach because it doesn’t give you a chance to save any work you’ve completed. If all else fails,
however, it might be your last resort.
To get to the Windows Task Manager, right-click the taskbar and choose Task Manager from the menu
that appears. Alternatively, press Ctrl+Alt+Del (hold down the Ctrl key, hold down the Alt key, hold down
the Delete keys simultaneously for a moment), and then release all three keys. The Windows Task

Backing out of jams

Sometimes, especially as a beginner, you might open some item and then not know what to do with it.
In this case, you’ll probably want to back out of that selection until you get to more familiar territory.
When you find yourself in unfamiliar territory, try any of these techniques to back out of your current
situation gracefully:
Click somewhere on the desktop, or some other neutral looking area of the screen. Doing
so will often undo whatever your last click did.
Press the Escape key (labeled Esc or Cancel) on the keyboard. This key is so named
because it enables you to escape from unfamiliar territory. And it’s a darn good key to
become familiar with.
Look for any of the buttons shown in Figure 1-8. If you see one, click it. You’ll be taken back
to wherever you were before without a hitch.

The second big bugaboo

that plagues newbies is the feeling of helplessness that comes from not
knowing what to do next. “If only there were someone sitting right here to answer all my questions.”
Well, paying someone to sit there and answer all your questions can be a bit expensive — and also
quite unnecessary, because there are lots of ways to get help and information as you go. The sections
provide all the proof that you’re really not as helpless as you may feel from time to time.

You’re Not Helpless

Most beginners need to overcome two major hurdles to really start using their computers. The first is the
sheer anxiety that comes from fear of the unknown. “Am I going to do the wrong thing and ruin the
computer?” “Am I going to find out I’m too stupid to work this thing?” The answer to both questions is
definitely no. There is no secret “ruin this computer” button that you can accidentally click. In fact, if you
sat blindfolded at the computer for hours and just clicked away and pounded the keyboard at random,
you would probably do no harm whatsoever.
If you’re thinking you’re too stupid, you’re dead wrong, The very fact that you can read these words
proves that you’re smart enough. Unlike the olden days of computing, when you practically had to be an
electrical engineer just to use the darn thing, modern-day computing is a simple matter of pointing and
clicking. Granted, you weren’t just born knowing how to work a computer. But neither was anyone else.
If Albert Einstein came back to life and was placed in front of a computer, he wouldn’t have a clue as to
how to work it either. We all have to learn the things we weren’t just born knowing — which is pretty
much, everything!

You also might see an occasional message pop up from the Notifications area. Sometimes these are
messages from Windows and inform you of some feature you might have overlooked. If your computer
is connected to the Internet, you also might receive messages regarding updates that are available at
Microsoft’s Web site, to keep your system up-to-date. These messages are always self-explanatory —
you just have to follow the instructions provided by the message.

The Notifications area

The Notifications area contains the clock, and icons that keep you posted as to the status of various
programs or services running on your computer. Pointing to the current time reveals the current date.
Double-clicking the current time brings up a dialog box that lets you set the current date, in case it’s
wrong. (As you’ll learn, a dialog box is a window that pops up on the screen and provides options from
which you can choose.)
When you point to an icon in the Notifications area, a brief message displays describing what the icon
means. Although this varies from one program to the next, clicking an icon in the Notifications area will
display options for that item. Double-clicking the icon will display more information and options for that
item.

The Quick Launch toolbar

The Quick Launch toolbar (also called the application launcher) provides one-click access to commonly
used programs. It provides an alternative to going through the Start menu to start these programs (and
can be handy when your desktop icons are covered by some large program window). When you point to
an icon in the Quick Launch toolbar, you’ll see the name of the program or service that the icon
represents.
The Show Desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar provides a service I wish I had on my real desktop.
When you click it, all open windows on the desktop are instantly swept out of view, so you can see your
desktop again. Clicking that button a second time brings all the clutter back onto the desktop. As
discussed later, you can also bring items back onto the desktop one at a time, by clicking their taskbar
buttons, which will be visible whenever you have programs open on the desktop.

The Start button

The Start button, as the name implies, is where you can start any program on your computer. When you
click the Start button, the Start menu opens (see Figure 1-7). The Start menu is divided into two
sections. The left half of the menu provides access to frequently used programs. The right side provides
access to frequently used folders (places where things that are “in your computer” are stored), as well
as access to Help and Support and other features of Windows. Your Start menu won’t look exactly like
the one in the figure. Again, that’s because it provides options, programs, and features that might be
unique to your computer. Furthermore, you can easily customize the Start button to your liking, as
discussed in Chapter 13.
Windows XP Bible

The taskbar

The taskbar is the colored strip along the bottom of the desktop. In a sense, the taskbar is like the
center desk drawer of a real desk. It provides quick access to frequently used programs and features of
Windows. Even when some large program window is covering the Windows desktop and its icons, the
taskbar can remain visible on the screen so that you can get to the things if offers. As discussed in the
sections that follow, the taskbar contains the Start button, the Quick Launch toolbar, and the
Notifications area.
If you don’t see the taskbar at all, it’s probably hidden (out of the way for the moment). Typically, to
bring the taskbar into view, you must move the mouse pointer down to the very bottom of the screen. If
the taskbar doesn’t slide into view automatically, you may have to drag it up. To do so, move the mouse
button to the very bottom of the screen, hold down the primary (left) mouse button, drag the mouse
pointer upward a half inch or so, and then release the mouse button. Chapter 13 explains how you can
customize the appearance and behavior of the taskbar.

The desktop icons

Each little picture on the desktop is an icon. Each icon, in turn, represents some program you can run,
or some location on your computer where things are stored. The desktop icons on your computer
probably won’t match the ones shown in the figure, because different computers have different
programs installed. And all Windows users (including you) can easily add new desktop icons, and delete
unused ones, to their liking.
To open an icon, you either click or double-click it, depending on how your copy of Windows XP is
currently configured. If you click a desktop icon and it doesn’t open up into a window, your computer is
set up for double-clicking. You’ll have to double-click icons to open them for the time being. The section
“To Single-Click or Double-Click” later in this chapter shows you how to choose one method or the
other.

The desktop

The desktop, proper, is the large area of the screen. Everything else you see on the screen is actually
resting on top of this virtual desktop. As mentioned, from the moment you start your computer, to the
moment you turn it off, the desktop is always there — when it’s completely covered by some large
program window.
The mouse pointer
The mouse pointer is the little indicator that moves when you move the mouse. As mentioned, to point
to something, you rest this mouse pointer on it. Sometimes the mouse pointer appears as a hollow
arrow. Other times, it has a different shape, depending on where it’s currently resting. When the
computer is busy doing something, the mouse pointer turns to a little hourglass symbol. That means
“Wait — the computer is doing something.” Wait until the mouse pointer changes back to a little arrow
(or some other symbol) before you try clicking anything else on-screen.

The Windows XP Desktop

Throughout the rest of this book, we’ll be showing the Windows desktop with a simple gray background
rather than any fancy pictures. The reason being that the pictures in this book are quite a bit smaller
than your screen, not to mention grayscale (black and white). So a plain gray background will make it
easier to see the pictures in this book.
Cross-
Reference
You can easily adjust the look and feel of your own Windows XP
desktop to your liking, as you’ll learn in Chapter 14.
With that in mind, take a look at Figure 1-6. This figure shows the names of the various doodads that
appear on the Windows desktop. Becoming familiar with those names is a good idea, as you’ll come
across them constantly in your work with Windows XP. The sections that follow describe each item in
some detail.
Figure 1-6: Names of things on the Windows XP desktop