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When you first switch on your computer, after you have typed in any necessary password(s),
you are ready to load up a program. Think of your computer as like a library with
many different books in it, You can have several of those books out on your desk,
each open at the page you wish to use. You can now learn how to do this by opening
several programs at the same time and moving from one to the other. Do not open
too many simultaneously or your computer will start to run very slowly.
You will find these little pictures, which are called 'icons', at the bottom left
hand corner of your screen. To find out what an icon is for, move your mouse very
gently onto it. DO NOT CLICK. Very sensitive creature, a mouse. If you just allow
it to rest there for a moment, a box will appear (for a few seconds only) telling
you what that icon is for. Here the blue icon to the right of the word Start will
launch the internet for you, provided that your computer is 'Online'. Leave that
for the moment and move to the next, light brown one. This launches Outlook. Give
a single click with your left mouse button.
Outlook is now open. There are three main parts to Outlook which are listed in the
bottom left hand corner: Mail, Calendar and Contacts. At present Mail is showing
on the screen. The word at the bottom left is highlighted in yellow to indicate
this. This is where all your emails come. Now try moving to Calendar. Put your mouse
pointer on the word Calendar below the word Mail in the bottom left hand corner.
If you are in the right place the arrow will turn into a hand with a pointing finger.
Single left click once.
This shows your Calendar, which rolls on continuously from one year to the next.
You are viewing it one month at a time. Everything in Outlook can be seen in many
different views. You will learn in the section on Outlook how to view the calendar
a week at a time, or a working week at a time or a day at a time. Now try moving
to Contacts in exactly the same way, by moving your Mouse to the word Contacts in
the bottom left hand corner and single left clicking.
These are your Contacts, an elaborate and very useful form of address and telephone
book. In this particular view the categories which I divide my contacts into are
listed.
Now we will open two other programs as well as Outlook. If you look at the bottom
right hand corner of your screen you will see some of these icons. See if you can
open Windows Messenger. The icon for Messenger is a little blue man. In this picture
it is to the left of the number 375 and to the right of the icon rather like two
televisions with a cross. Your computer will have different icons and they may be
in a different order. See if you can find the little blue man. As you rest your
mouse on him without clicking it will say "Windows Messenger". Now double left click
to open Messenger. You can find more about using Messenger in the section on remote
control. A single click on the left mouse button selects something. A double click
makes something happen, as in this case it opens the program. SINGLE SELECTS, DOUBLE
DOES.
Now you have two programs open on your computer, Outlook and Messenger. Next open
one more program. This time try opening Word. To do this place your mouse on the
word START in the bottom left hand corner and click.
When this screen appears you may find, as here, that the icon for Word shows on
the left hand side. Here it is third from the top. If it is there you can click
on it to open Word. If you have not used Word much recently the icon may not appear.
In that case, go to wear it says All Programs with a green arrow and just gently
rest your mouse on it without clicking.
A list of all the programs on your computer will appear to the right of your mouse.
To find Word first move your mouse (very gently - no need to click) to Microsoft
Office (highlighted blue in the middle column above). This will cause another list
to appear to the right again of your mouse. These are all the programs included
in Microsoft Office. Move your mouse to these and find Word. In this case it is
at the bottom of the list, also highlighted blue, or selected. Now you can click
to open up Word.
Now you have three programs open at the same time: Outlook, which is currently looking
at Contacts, Messenger and Word, which is currently looking at Document One. You
can see the icons for each of these in the larger boxes along the bottom in the
middle. Practise moving between these different programs by going to the icon and
clicking, then moving back by doing the same to one of the other two icons. Once
you can do this confidently you are ready to start using the different programs.
Incidentally if you want to know why the mouse has a right button as well as a left
button, since we have only been using the left button up to now, place the mouse
pointer on one of the icons – try putting it on the ‘Document 1 – Microsoft’ box,
which controls Word, and click with the Right mouse button.
This box tells you all the different things you could do with the program. Those
in fainter type are not available at this moment but would be in different circumstances.
But now that you have learnt how to open and go to different programs, it is time
to try using the programs themselves.
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