<f>Microsoft Windows 95 is a user-friendly operating system that helps you get your work done easily and efficiently.
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Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 95 does not need to run on top of MS-DOS.
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However, Windows 95 can simulate the MS-DOS environment for you so that you can still run any MS-DOS-based programs you might have.
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Because Windows 95 is a complete operating system, engineered from scratch with the latest PC technology in mind, it is the ideal system for most modern home and office needs.
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Windows 95 is a multitasking system. This means that it can effectively run several applications at the same time.
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For example, you could have a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a database program running concurrently.
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You can move from one application to another without having to shut any of them down.
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The 95 interface was designed to provide many different ways for you to get your work done faster.
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For example, it's very easy to run an application in 95 - or to open a file, letting 95 decide which is the best application to open it in.
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The tools for organizing your work are very intuitive, and if you do mislay a file or folder there are lots of ways you can locate it quickly.
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Windows 95 was designed to cater for today's PC user.
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For example, it has the My Briefcase feature - making it easy for a mobile user to maintain consistency between the files on an office computer and those on a portable or home computer.
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You are equipped for easy access to the Internet - 95 provides you with the Internet Explorer which enables you to browse the Internet.
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You also have The Microsoft Network - a ready-to-use mail system that allows you to send e-mail anywhere you choose.
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In an office situation, your machine is likely to be connected to other computers via a network.
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Windows 95 has many features that make networking easy for the end-user.
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If the network at your office is Microsoft-based, you are likely to be part of either a workgroup or a domain.
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A workgroup doesn't have any central control of resources, and each computer communicates with others on a peer-to-peer basis.
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The workgroup model is suitable only on smaller networks.
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In a domain, there is at least one more powerful computer called a server, from which access to shared resources and security are centrally controlled.
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Your 95 machine can also operate effectively as a client in other kinds of networks.
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For example, it has built-in modules that allow it to operate as a client machine in a Novell network.
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Whatever network your machine is part of, 95 has a range of tools that make it easy to
ò browse the network
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ò share your work with other users
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ò connect to the network remotely
via a phone line
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One of the most significant advances of Windows 95, for both home and office use, is the Plug and Play feature.
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This makes it easy to add or replace hardware components.
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For example, you (or your technical support person) can add a CD-ROM drive, or replace your sound card, and then ask 95 to detect the new component.
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Generally the system will be able to modify itself appropriately - the most you'll have to do is tell it where to find a disk.
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Getting your computer running after you turn on the power is called the boot process.
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It includes everything from the time that the power-on test routines begin until the time you can start to use the computer.
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With Windows 95, the boot process is relatively fast.
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For the purposes of this training, suppose that you are a Personnel Manager called Alex Sato.
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You work on a computer named WORKSTATION202 which is part of a client-server domain called DOMAIN2.
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Your username on the network is AlexS.
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After you have switched on your machine, and waited a few moments, you will see the Enter Network Password dialog box.
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If you were the last person to log on to the network using your machine, your username is shown at the first field.
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When you type your password at the Password field, a row of asterisks is displayed, preventing other users from reading your password off the screen.
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Your password will initially be assigned to you by your network manager. On most networks, you can change it later to a password of your choice.
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Since you need to enter a username and a password to log on to a network, unauthorized users cannot access the network, its data, or resources.
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If you click ^UCancel^u, you will not be connected to the network, but you will still be able to operate your computer as a stand-alone machine - just as if your machine were not part of a network at all.
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If your computer is not part of a network, or if your network password differs from the password for your computer, you might get a similar dialog box that asks you for a Windows password to your local machine.
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You click ^UOK^u to connect your computer to the network and complete the boot process.
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Now you are ready to start using your computer.
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When Windows 95 is first installed, your desktop may have up to six icons displayed along the left side of the screen. These are
ò ^UMy Computer^u
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ò ^UNetwork Neighborhood^u
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ò ^UInbox^u
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ò ^URecycle Bin^u
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ò ^UThe Internet^u
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ò ^UThe Microsoft Network^u
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You double-click the ^UMy Computer^u icon to see the resources available to your computer.
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The icons displayed include those which represent storage media on your computer:
ò floppy disk drives
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ò hard disk drives
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ò CD-ROM drives
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Double-clicking any of the device icons will display a list of folders and files stored in the device.
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If your computer is connected to a network, you can double-click the ^UNetwork Neighborhood^u icon to view the computers in your workgroup or domain.
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You can double-click the ^UInbox^u icon to send and receive e-mail messages with Microsoft Exchange.
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This works only if you are set up to exchange mail with other users, either on your network or through modem connections.
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The icon named ^UThe Internet^u is your gateway to the Internet as well as to web pages on your local network.
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The Microsoft Internet Explorer is opened when you double-click ^UThe Internet^u.
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The Recycle Bin is a temporary storage area for deleted files.
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You can use it to retrieve files deleted in error.
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The deleted files are not actually removed from your hard disk until you empty the Recycle Bin.
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It is important to empty the Recycle Bin regularly to free disk space.
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The Microsoft Network is an online service built in to Windows 95.
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You double-click ^UThe Microsoft^u ^UNetwork^u icon to
ò access the Internet
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ò exchange messages with other users
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ò find the latest news, weather, sports,
and financial information
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ò obtain answers to technical questions
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ò download software programs from
the Microsoft Network computer to
your computer
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You use the ^UStart^u button to
ò run programs
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ò open documents
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ò change system settings
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ò find items on your computer
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ò get Help
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When you highlight certain options in the ^UStart^u menu, they expand into fuller menus.
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The options that expand are marked with an arrowhead.
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The taskbar runs across the bottom of the screen.
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When you are working with various applications, you use the taskbar to switch between applications.
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You can also switch between tasks using the ^UAlt+Tab^u key combination, as in earlier versions of Windows.
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Windows 95 provides a context-sensitive shortcut menu when you right-click any part of your interface.
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This means that the contents of the menu are always relevant to the object you right-click.
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For example, when you right-click a file or folder, the resultant menu shows the most frequently used commands for that file or folder.
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You can also right-click on an empty space on the taskbar or desktop to access context-sensitive shortcut menus.
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Whenever you want to switch off or reset your computer, you must always remember to shut down Windows 95 first.
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Shutting down 95 saves the current configuration and ensures that all your work is saved to the hard disk.
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If you forget to save changes to documents, 95 prompts you to save the changes.
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You click the ^UShut Down^u option in the ^UStart^u menu.
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Windows 95 offers you four options in the Shut Down Windows dialog box:
ò Shut down the computer?
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ò Restart the computer?
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ò Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode?
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ò Close all programs and log on as a
different user?
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The last option is available only on machines that are connected to a network.
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If you decide to shut down the computer, Windows 95 lets you know when you should turn your computer off.
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Only then is it safe to do so.
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For the most part, the ^UStart^u button is the point of departure in Windows 95.
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When you want to run an installed program or application in Windows 95, you click the ^UStart^u button.
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You can also run Windows or DOS-based programs by selecting ^UStart - Run^u, entering the path to the program, and clicking ^UOK^u.
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To run a program, you move the pointer to the ^UPrograms^u option.
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Another menu appears to the right of the ^UPrograms^u option.
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The arrowhead to the right of an option indicates that there is a further list of programs or program folders you can access.
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You point to one of the programs already installed on your system, in this case ^UMicrosoft Word^u.
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Then you click the program name, ^UMicrosoft Word^u, to execute the program.
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The program appears on screen in its own window.
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If you click the ^UMaximize^u button the window will expand to fill the screen.
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When the window is maximized, the button becomes a ^URestore^u button, which you can click to return the window to its original size.
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You click the ^UMinimize^u button to reduce the window.
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It then becomes a button on the taskbar.
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You will see that many applications have more than one set of buttons for minimizing, maximizing (or restoring), and closing operations.
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The outer set belongs to the application itself.
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The inner sets belong to work areas within the program.
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Here, for instance, the outer set belongs to Microsoft Word and the inner set controls the current Word document (Document1).
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Let's suppose that you open a second window by running Microsoft Excel.
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You now want to switch between your open applications.
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You can switch between programs by clicking the appropriate taskbar button.
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The quickest way to close an application is by clicking the (outer) ^UClose^u button.
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Alternatively, you could close a program using the ^UExit^u option in its ^UFile^u menu - this is just as effective, although it takes a little longer.
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If the application you want to close is minimized, you right-click its button on the taskbar.
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Then you click the ^UClose^u option at the bottom of the shortcut menu and the system closes the program down.
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The taskbar will no longer display the Microsoft Word button.
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However, you'll notice that Microsoft Excel is still there because it hasn't yet been closed.
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Suppose you have Microsoft Office installed on your computer.
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You wish to open PowerPoint to create a presentation for a conference.
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You know that PowerPoint is part of the Microsoft Office suite.
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Whenever you get stuck, either in an application or in 95 itself, Help is no more than a mouse-click away.
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The 95 Help facilities contain comprehensive, yet simple information. You can use Help to learn about different features in 95, or for assistance in solving problems when they occur.
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You can access online help in 95
ò through the ^UHelp^u option on the
^UStart^u menu
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ò by pressing the F1 key while
you are using a Windows 95
facility, such as My Computer
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When you open Help while not in an application, you will get help for 95 in general.
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However, if you use the ^UHelp^u menu in a program such as Wordpad, Paint, or Microsoft Word, the help you see is specifically for that program.
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You can also get context-sensitive Help from within many Windows applications and applets by pressing the ^UF1^u key.
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This help is provided by the program itself, rather than by 95.
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When you select ^UHelp^u from the ^UStart^u menu, a list of Help topics appears.
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There are three tabs in the Help facility:
ò ^UContents^u
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ò ^UIndex^u
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ò ^UFind^u
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The Help facility defaults to the ^UIndex^u tab. This displays an alphabetical list of all the available topics.
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You type the first letters of the word you want to search for - let's try ^RHelp^r.
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Then you select a topic and click ^UDisplay^u (or double-click the topic) to see the help specific to that topic.
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The Help dialog box can remain on screen for as long as you like.
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You can continue to work with it open.
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To return to the Help Topics dialog box, you click the ^UHelp Topics^u button.
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When you click the ^UContents^u tab, you find topics grouped by subject.
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You double-click a subject such as ^UIntroducing Windows^u to see the topics it contains.
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Then you double-click the title for which you want information.
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Some Help topics contain green dashed-underlined text known as hypertext.
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You can click the green text to see a definition of the term.
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You use the ^UFind^u tab to find all the topics that contain a specific word or phrase.
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The first time you use this facility, you will create the list from all the help available on your system.
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It is usually advisable to keep the database size to a minimum.
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The Find Setup Wizard defaults to that selection.
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You click ^UNext^u to proceed.
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Then you click ^UFinish^u to create the word list.
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You may have to wait a few moments while the list is created.
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You then type the word you want to find in the Help facility.
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And, as before, you double-click the specific topic you need.
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To close the Help facility down, you click the ^UClose^u button in the top right-hand corner of the dialog box.
