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| CONTENTS A-Z | SEARCH | CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD | ANNOUNCEMENTS | STATUS MESSAGES |
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The Screen | Window Management | The Taskbar
Start Menu - Programs, Documents, Settings, Find, Help, Shutdown
Menus | Dialogue Boxes | Windows Explorer | Shortcut Icons | Recycle Bin
Windows '95 Keyboard Shortcuts | A Typical Windows '95 Desktop
Upon startup Windows '95 will ask you for a user name and password, and if you are connected to a network, Windows '95 uses this information to log you on to the network.
The Windows '95 desktop occupies all of your screen and is the area on which the icons or windows are displayed depending upon whether the item is open (window) or closed (icon). Windows can be resized and moved, whilst icons can also be moved around the desktop.
The initial screen will display some or all of the following icons on the left-hand side of the desktop:
My Computer represents a window displaying system information; open* the icon to see a picture of your computer's disks, printers and Control Panel tools.
The VIEW menu in the My Computer window allows you to display the drives as icons or listed names, with as much detail as required. If you right-click on each icon and choose the Properties option, you can acquire information about the drive (or disk), for example how much space you have left, etc.
Recycle Bin acts as a temporary trash area for files and directories on the hard disk drive; open the Recycle Bin icon to display the contents which can be retrieved at any time. (Alternatively items can be permanently deleted on issuing the appropriate delete commands, in which case they bypass the Recycle Bin option.)
Network Neighbourhood - Open* this icon to display a picture of the network and other computers to which you are connected.
Msn - is the Microsoft network.
Inbox - is a universal inbox for Microsoft exchange, for example Mail.
My Briefcase is for keeping various copies of files updated.
* To open an icon …
EITHER click the right mouse button once over the icon and choose the Open command
OR double-click the icon with the left mouse button.
The appearance of the desktop is dependant upon the 'wallpaper' (desktop pattern) settings you have chosen via the START-CONTROL PANEL-DISPLAY command pathway. This can also be achieved by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop to display the context menu in which Properties is one of the options available. Via the same context menu you can also customise the arrangement of the icons on the desktop.
The mouse and the keyboard are used to make basic choices on screen. The actions of the mouse are ...
pointing
single-clicking
double-clicking
dragging
Title bars identify the application displayed in a window and any documents displayed in a document window. Title bars for active applications or document windows are coloured differently from those in inactive windows. A window can be moved around the screen by dragging the Title Bar. The Title Bar Icon (or Control Menu icon) in the upper left-hand corner of any window may be single-clicked to display a menu of commands for managing the window, or double-clicked to quickly close the window.
The Sizing Buttons in the upper right-hand corner are used to quickly alter the size of a window as follows:
A window may be resized a little more selectively by dragging a border in the direction of the resize; the mouse pointer will change to a double-headed arrow when it engages with any of the window borders. Dragging a corner allows you to resize a window in two directions simultaneously.
Beneath the title bar, the Menu Bar contains menus of commands that effect an action.
The horizontal and vertical Scroll Bars allow you to see more of a document or list when it won't quite fit into the window; note that the PgUp and PgDn keys will give you the same facility.
This bar usually runs horizontally across the bottom of the desktop although can be dragged to either side of the desktop. Left-clicking the START button on the left hand side of the Taskbar reveals a menu containing choices of operation (see below); ESC will remove any menu.
Analogous to the Program Manager in Windows 3.1; to start a program, just left-click over the Run command.
There is still an Accessories sub-menu containing the 'utility' programs that come free with Windows '95, for example PAINT which is an enhanced version of Paintbrush found in Windows 3.1; you can view your bitmap drawing by using the Zoom controls (note the useful Thumbnail option). A bitmap picture can be used as 'wallpaper' for your desktop! WORDPAD replaces the Write program in Windows 3.1 and can be used to open documents with the following extensions:
.doc (Word)
.wri (Windows Write)
.rtf (Rich Text Format)
.txt (ASCII text and MS-DOS text)
Allows access to the fifteen most recent documents worked on. If you wish to delete the list of documents, right-click the Taskbar to access the context menu, choose the Properties option; click the Start Menu-Programs tab and then click the Clear option.
The Control Panel, Printers and Taskbar options allow you to customise your working environment. For example, the Control Panel allows you to customise settings for your Mouse, Keyboard, set the Date/Time, check Regional (international) Settings, customise Sounds and decide how your Windows '95 interface will look through the Display option. A new feature in the Windows '95 Control Panel is to be able to Add/Remove programs; easy to follow instructions are displayed using the latest Windows Wizard technology. The Fonts folder can display currently installed fonts and symbols; remember the height of fonts is given in points (72 points are approximately equal to 1").
NOTE: Right-clicking is extensively used in Windows '95 to access context or shortcut menus, to investigate the properties of an item and customise settings.
Starts a powerful search engine for finding files and folders, even other computers on the network!
Now easier and more consistent across the software applications; the new Answer Wizard uses what's known as Microsoft Intellisense to make sense of questions you ask of Help!
EITHER used to close Windows '95 and to shut down the computer,
OR to restart Windows!
Windows '95 allows true multi-tasking; open windows and minimised icons (representing programs or documents) appear as buttons on the Taskbar. Just by clicking the buttons on the Taskbar, you can either switch between windows or restore minimised items and make them active (note that ALT + TAB used in Windows 3.1 does the same). The button relating to the active window appears to be 'depressed' and is a lighter grey in colour. (See A Typical Windows '95 Desktop.)
To change the arrangement of the windows on screen ie to tile them or cascade them neatly perhaps, click the right mouse button in a blank area of the Taskbar (between the buttons) and choose the appropriate command from the menu; you can also minimise all open windows in this way.
These contain lists of related items or commands. To choose one, point to the required item with the mouse and click the left mouse button. Any dimmed items are not available or are invalid. Some commands can be issued by by-passing the menus and using keyboard shortcuts instead - these are displayed to the right of the items in the menus; see Windows '95 Keyboard Shortcuts.
A command is not always issued at the moment the menu item is clicked. Where menu items are followed by right pointing arrows or by a series of dots, then clicking with the left mouse button will respectively produce a sub-menu or dialogue box of further choices.
Dialogue boxes prompt the user for information essential to the effectiveness of the command. You can click in the various text boxes with the mouse to activate a particular text box or you can press the tab key to pass from one text box to another.
The user will encounter the usual buttons - OK, Apply, Cancel, etc. The OK or Apply buttons are usually the default buttons for saving the chosen options (Cancel does not save), and therefore they can be activated by pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard.
The user may also be required to left-click the following to select or deselect options:
NOTE: Pressing the ESC key will remove menus or dialogue boxes from display.
Good ole' File Manager from previous versions of Windows can still be run from within Windows '95 (look for the file WINFILE.EXE which you can add to your Start Menu and even create a shortcut for), but a program analogous to this (although more powerful) is the Windows Explorer in which it is possible to move, copy and delete files (more use is made of the Windows '95 Clipboard in moving and copying files, in addition to the usual mouse dragging techniques).
Windows Explorer has a similar interface to the previous Windows File Manager, except that the application displays only ONE main window. It is not possible to display a separate window for the individual drives, and therefore if you choose to move or copy files using Windows Explorer, you may have to open the application more than once to display all the locations you require. Another way to move/copy files and folders is to open and display the icons in the My Computer window and to drag files/folders from one window to another.
The main window is divided into two familiar panes; the Folder Pane on the left-hand side displays the hierarchy of the drives and main folders, whereas the File Pane on the right displays sub-folders and files. You can move between files in the File Pane by using the TAB key, or UP/DOWN ARROW keys (see the section on Keyboard Shortcuts); the selection of files still requires use of the CTRL and SHIFT keys in whilst single-clicking on the left mouse button.
Folders are expandable if they contain further folders, and this is indicated by a plus sign next to the icon in the Folders Pane; simply clicking over the plus sign will expand the contents (or you can use the + and - keys on the keyboard [see the section Windows '95 Keyboard Shortcuts]). A minus sign on a folder denotes that the folder is expanded and therefore collapsible. A folder icon bearing neither a plus or minus sign contains no sub-folders.
Files can be named using up to 255 characters, including spaces! Extensions are still used for identification purposes and you can choose whether or not to display such via the VIEW menu in the Windows Explorer. Files and folders can be renamed much more easily; click the file or folder icon once to highlight the item, then click again on the name of the file/folder and a cursor will appear in the file/folder name box (take care here not to 'double' click, or you will launch both file and application!).
Via the Windows Explorer, you can format floppy disks, just as with File Manager. Two options are now available - the Quick Format command should be used for disks that have already been formatted, whilst the Full Format command should be used for unformatted (new) disks. Disk copying is also available, even if you have only one floppy disk drive. Insert the source disk and click the Copy Disk command in the FILE menu; you will prompted to insert the destination disk when required.
NOTE: The disk label should be named using 11 characters only.
It is possible to place program aliases (more usually known as Shortcuts) either on the desktop, or in the START menu, such that when they are left-clicked, the item proper is activated. Either browse for the required file/folder in the Windows Explorer, or use the START-Find pathway and use the search engine dialogue box. Right-click over the filename to access the Create Shortcut option in the context menu, then drag the shortcut icon so created (it will have curved arrow in the bottom left-hand corner denoting its shortcut nature) to the required location.
NOTE: If you remove the shortcut icon at a later date (ie drag to the Recycle Bin) you won't actually delete the program or file itself.
Under Windows '95 a percentage of your hard disk space is reserved for storing items which you require to move out of the way (or temporarily delete) such as files, folders and shortcut icons. Until you fill up the Recycle Bin, Windows '95 will just keep adding 'deleted' items. When the Recycle Bin is full, Windows '95 will still keep adding 'deleted' items, but will delete the oldest item(s) - this is a recycling feature that can be turned on or off by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon and choosing the Properties option. If you require files to be deleted without being first moved to the Recycle Bin, then this option can also be set via the Properties option, as can whether confirming messages are displayed (never a bad idea where deletion is concerned!).
Anything in the Recycle Bin can be undeleted immediately by using the Undo command in the EDIT menu, although you can always restore items to appropriate locations on the computer at a later date by just dragging the file/folder icons out of the Recycle Bin.
NOTE: The Recycle Bin only captures files being deleted from the hard disk. Files requiring removal from any other drives (for example, floppy disk drives or network drives) are deleted permanently - remember to set the confirming messages to 'on' in the Recycle Bin Properties dialogue box.
The following section provides keyboard shortcuts for objects, folders and Windows Explorer
FUNCTION (F) KEYS
F1 Starts Help
F2 In Windows Explorer, renames a file.
F3 In Windows Explorer, starts the search engine.
F4 In Windows Explorer, displays a combo box and
moves the input focus to the list.
In the Open/Save dialogue box, displays the
Look In list
ALT + F4 Closes any window.
F5 In Windows Explorer, refreshes the display.
In the Open/Save dialogue box, refreshes the
view.
F6 In Windows Explorer, moves the focus between
panes.
F10 Switches to the menu mode whereupon you just
press the underscored letter of the required
menu to access the commands - cursor
temporarily disappears from document.
CTRL key + …..
CTRL key + whilst dragging a Copies an item, but be sure to depress the
selected item CTRL key before dragging.
CTRL + A Select all
CTRL + C (select item first) Copies item to the Windows '95 Clipboard
(= EDIT-COPY)
CTRL + G In Windows Explorer accesses the Go To
command.
CTRL + V Pastes item from the Windows '95 Clipboard
(= EDIT-PASTE)
CTRL + X (select item first) Cuts item to the Windows '95 Clipboard
(= EDIT-CUT)
CTRL + Z Undo
CTRL + ESC Displays the Start Menu and moves focus to the
Taskbar.
CTRL + ESC, ESC Moves the focus onto the Taskbar enabling you
to TAB and then SHIFT + F10 for the context
menu, or use TAB and the arrow key to change
tasks, or use TAB to go to the desktop.
CTRL + SHIFT (select item Creates a shortcut to the item if pressed
first) whilst dragging an item to either the desktop
or a folder.
CTRL + Double-click a folder If you have more than one window open, this
operation closes the active window. If you
have only one window open, this operation
opens a new window.
CTRL + right-click on Places alternative commands on the context
selected object menu (Open With)
CTRL + Arrow key In Windows Explorer, scrolls without moving
the selection.
SHIFT key + …..
SHIFT + F10 Displays context menu for a selected item
(same as right-clicking the item).
SHIFT + DEL (select item Deletes the item immediately without sending
first) item to the Recycle Bin.
SHIFT + Double-click selected Explores an object, but if the object does not
item have an Explore facility, then the default
Open command is started.
SHIFT + Close button on Closes the current folder and its parent
folders folder(s).
SHIFT + Inserting a CD Bypasses Auto-Run when inserting a compact
disk.
ALT key + …..
ALT + M When the focus in on the Taskbar or desktop,
minimises all windows and moves the focus to
the desktop.
ALT + S When no windows are open and no items are
selected on the desktop, displays the Start
Menu; use the arrow keys to select the menu
commands.
ALT + TAB Switches to the next open application.
ALT + ENTER or Displays the properties of a selected item.
ALT + Double Click
Other keys ….
* (Numeric keypad) In Windows Explorer's All Folders window,
expands everything under the selected item.
+ (Numeric keypad) In Windows Explorer's All Folders window,
expands a selection
- (Numeric keypad) In Windows Explorer's All Folders window,
collapses a selection
RIGHT arrow In Windows Explorer's All Folders window,
expands the current selection if not expanded
already; otherwise goes to the first child
LEFT arrow In Windows Explorer's All Folders window,
collapses current selection if expanded;
otherwise goes to the parent folder.
DEL Deletes the selected object (or sends to
Recycle Bin)
BACKSPACE Goes to the parent folder if the focus in on
the View window.
