by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
• Slowly move the mouse arrow to the upper left corner of your screen. Now move it to the upper right, lower left, and lower right corners. Did the arrow ever disappear off the edge of the screen? Sometimes that happens when you get close to the edge of the screen. No harm done—gently move the mouse around a bit and the arrow will reappear on the screen. Don’t ask me where it goes when this happens—it is the computer’s version of hide-and-seek.
• Whatever type of mouse you use, try to keep your hand relaxed and tension-free. It takes very little physical effort to move the mouse.
• Now slowly move the mouse arrow onto the little picture (which is called an icon) above the words Recycle Bin. The tip of the mouse arrow needs to be right on the icon, not on the edge of the icon or the words below. If you’re using a desktop or an external mouse, push on the button under your index finger and release. This is clicking the mouse. There may also be a button on the upper middle and right. I want you to depress only the button on the upper left. If you’re using a touch pad or trackball mouse, use your thumb to depress the button to the left of the pad or ball (above or below it) and release. If you’re using a touch point, use your thumb to depress the left of the two buttons at the base of your computer. There is no need for the mouse to move when you depress the button. Keep your eye on the screen and your hand steady so the arrow won’t move from its position. If you’re having trouble hitting your mark, take your hand off the mouse. Give your hand a rest; maybe shake it a bit. For some people manipulating the mouse is easy, and for others it takes a few tries. When you’re ready, try again.
• Keep your eye on the mouse arrow on the screen and do not move the arrow when you depress the left button of the mouse. It’s very common to move the mouse as you depress the button. That will unfortunately make the mouse click off-target. Keep trying—you’ll get it eventually. Remember, it is like driving a car—keep your eye on the road (the screen), not the steering wheel (the mouse).
CLICK AND GO
1. Move mouse to upper right corner.
2. Move mouse to lower left corner.
3. Move mouse to lower right corner.
4. Click on Recycle Bin icon.
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“In the beginning all sorts of things would appear on the screen and I couldn’t figure out how they got there. As I calmed down and got more proficient with the mouse I realized I had been clicking on things without knowing it.”
—Fred
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What About the Other Buttons on the Mouse?
For now I want you to depress only the upper left button of the mouse. The other buttons perform advanced actions that we aren’t ready for. Be very careful not to let your fingers depress the buttons in the center or right by accident. Nothing bad will happen, but unfamiliar things will appear on your screen.
If something appears on your screen that you didn’t intend to have there, either click on the Close Box or, if there is no Close Box, move the mouse to a blank space on the screen and click once with the left mouse button. That should get rid of whatever happened when you hit the wrong button.
The Windows Desktop
A non-laptop computer is called a “desktop” computer. The main screen display of your computer (whether it is on a desktop or laptop) is also called the “Desktop.” Isn’t the English language a beautiful thing?
Your screen is now displaying the Desktop. Think of it as the top of your desk in a virtual office. From this screen you can access everything that your computer has to offer, just as you can access what you need on your office desk. The Desktop is your home base.
First, find the brightness control on your monitor. It is most likely a dial or button somewhere on the bottom or side edge of the monitor. (Refer to your computer manual to locate it if you can’t find it. It may be that you use the computer to adjust the monitor.) Fiddle with the control until the brightness of the screen is right for you. On a laptop the brightness control may be indicated on the keys of your keyboard. Look for a small image on a key that resembles a sun.
Your Desktop screen may not exactly match the screen in the illustration on the next page. Each manufacturer configures how the Desktop looks, so yours may have some of the same components, but they may appear slightly different.
The small pictures on your Desktop are referred to as icons. These icons offer access to different programs and parts of your computer. They are like doors but instead of knock, knocking to open the doors, you click, click, or “double-click” on them. You will get to know each of these icons and their capabilities in due time. But for now let’s learn more about how to move about the computer.
• Your Desktop screen may appear slightly different from this one, but it will offer the same basic features.
EEK! It’s a Mouse!
The mouse has a variety of functions. All of the tasks that the mouse performs are accomplished by moving the mouse to the designated area and depressing and releasing the button on the mouse.
In some ways it is more chameleon than mouse. You won’t see its many mutations until later, but in the box on the right are the different faces and what they mean.
To Click or to Double-Click, That Is the Question
As I’ve said, to click the mouse means to depress and release one of its buttons. Clicking the mouse instructs the computer to perform a task (such as to open a document). You can click either the left button or the right button on the mouse, but you will never click them simultaneously. For now, however, unless I instruct you otherwise, you will use only the left button.
What It Means
This is the most common look for the mouse arrow. In this form it tells the computer where to take an action. When you move the mouse arrow, you need to be sure that the point of the arrow is on whatever you want to click on.
When you move the mouse arrow into a text area, it changes into an I-beam. This shape can be positioned easily between letters or numbers to mark where you want to make editing changes. This shape can be referred to as the cursor.
The hourglass or circle indicates that the computer is busy performing a task. You shouldn’t use the keyboard or the mouse until the hourglass or circle changes back to an arrow.
The combination of an hourglass and an arrow indicates that the computer is “multitasking,” but you can still use the mouse. However, whatever you do may be slower than usual.
An up-and-down arrow appears when the mouse is at the top or bottom edge of a window. This will allow you to click and drag to increase or decrease the height of the window (for more on this, see page 141).
An arrow going right and left appears when the mouse is at the left or right edge of a window. This will allow you to click and drag to increase or decrease the width of the window.
A two-ended arrow at an angle appears when the mouse is at the corner of a window. This will allow you to click and drag so you can change the window’s height and width.
A hand with the index finger pointing indicates that if you press the mouse button, more information will become available. It is the finger of the hand that must be on the item desired—just as it is the point of the arrow.
A “don’t” icon indicates that you’re not allowed to take any action at this time. You’re either in an area where you’re prohibited from taking an action, or the computer is busy and will let you know when you can resume.
I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN, BUT MAYBE I CAN’T DOUBLE-CLICK
It may be that double-clicking is giving you some trouble. You have a second option. When you’re required to double-click to open an icon, you can single-click (to highlight the icon) and then depress and release the Enter key on your keyboard.
With the left button you can either single-click or double-click. A single click is accomplished by depressing and quickly releasing the button. To double-click, you depress, release, depress, release in quick succession. (The right button will only require a single click.)
There’s no clear way to expl
ain when to single- or double-click. Generally, you double-click on an icon to open it, allowing you to access an application software program. Remember, think of it as a knock, knock to allow entry to the program. Usually when you’re in a program (typing a letter or playing a game), you single-click on something to perform a task. You’ll get the feel for what’s best to do when. If you single-click when a double click is necessary, you’ll know because you won’t accomplish your desired task. If you double-click when a single click is called for, nine times out of ten nothing is affected. On occasion the double click opens another window unexpectedly, but you can press Esc (Escape key—upper left on the keyboard) to correct things or click on the Close Box or a blank area on the screen to get rid of the unwanted window.
Let’s Experiment
It’s time to experiment with the mouse arrow on your Desktop screen and become familiar with its movement.
1. Place your hand on the mouse (with the tail or cord of the mouse pointing away from you), and move the mouse arrow to a blank space on the Desktop screen. (Don’t click on an icon yet.)
2. Click the left mouse button by depressing and releasing it with your finger.
3. Now depress and release the left button two times. Do it again as fast as you can. Continue double-clicking until you’re comfortable with the action. For some people, double-clicking can be tricky.
4. Once you’ve had enough of that, click once on the right mouse button just for fun. The little gray box that appeared on the screen has advanced options that we don’t want to get into yet. To get rid of the box, move the mouse arrow anywhere on a blank area of your Desktop screen and click once with the left button.
• If you right-click by accident, a box will open. To get rid of the box, move the mouse arrow anywhere on a blank area of your Desktop screen and click once with the left button.
If you get lost along the way or make an error, go back to step 1 and try again. You can also “click and drag” with the mouse. I don’t want you to try this yet, but when it’s time, we’ll move the mouse arrow onto an item and “drag” the item to a new position on the screen. We’ll practice this movement when we play Solitaire. But first we need to learn how to open the Solitaire window.
Place Your Bets
We’re now going to open your Solitaire program, which is included in many Microsoft PC operating systems. The Start button (at the bottom left of your screen) or offers you access to everything on your computer, including any of your application software programs. It is also where you go to shut down the computer. Yes, you go to Start to stop the computer… don’t ask me why.
Follow these steps to access Solitaire:
• Move the mouse arrow to the Start button or , located at the bottom left corner of your screen, and click once. Remember, unless I instruct you otherwise, always click with the left button on your mouse. What has now appeared on the screen is called the Start Menu. The Start Menu lists what is available on the computer.
THE START BUTTON HAS DISAPPEARED
If the Start button disappears, hold down the Ctrl key (bottom left on the keyboard) and the Esc key (upper left on the keyboard) at the same time and release. The Start button should reappear on your screen.
• To access Solitaire, you open a series of menu boxes. What appears on your screen may be slightly different from what you see here.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click Start or.
2. Click All Programs.
3. Click Games.
4. Click Solitaire.
• Slowly move the mouse arrow up to the words All Programs. You’ll notice that if the mouse arrow lingers as it passes over a word, that word becomes highlighted in blue, and if there is an arrow to the right of the word, a small menu box appears. Don’t let this confuse you—keep moving the arrow up to the word Programs. Stop when the arrow gets to the word Programs. (You don’t need to click the mouse. The blue highlighting shows the computer where you want to take an action.) In this case, we’re going to open Programs.
• When a menu box appears next to the word Programs, slowly move the mouse arrow across the word Programs until it’s in the menu box, or use the scroll bar to find Games.
• Move the arrow to the word Games. Don’t click the mouse yet. If a menu box appeared, you’ll notice that if you move too far up or down you lose the desired menu box. Simply move the mouse back onto the area where you were and the box will reappear.
• When the mouse arrow is on the word Games click on it or slowly move it across and into the menu box that contains the names of the games on your computer. Move to the word Solitaire and click the left button on the mouse once. At this point the Solitaire window should open.
If at any point you goof up and your mouse careens around the screen, don’t worry. Just relax and try again. Move the mouse arrow to a blank spot on your desktop and click the left button once. That will make everything you opened from the Start button disappear. Return to step 1 on page 110 and begin again. If you opened another program by accident, move the mouse arrow to the Close Box and click once to get rid of it.
If that was rough going, don’t despair. This is your first time playing with the mouse and accessing a program. It’s all about practice, practice, practice. Keep repeating the steps just listed until you have opened the Solitaire window.
Learning the Parts of a Window
Look at the Solitaire window. The top blue bar, or the Title Bar, contains the name of the program you are now in. In this case it indicates that we are in the Solitaire window. The words in gray below the Title Bar are contained in the Menu Bar.
At the far right corner of the Title Bar are three small boxes. You remember that the to the far right is the Close Box. The box in the middle is the Maximize Box. And the box to the left is the Minimize Box.
These same features will appear on nearly every window that you open on your computer. There will be a Title Bar at the top that tells you which window you are viewing. There will be a Menu Bar, and a Close, a Maximize, and a Minimize Box. Once you learn how to use these features within the Solitaire window, you will be able to use them on any window you open.
• Most PC windows have a Title Bar, Menu Bar, Minimize Box, Maximize Box, and Close Box.
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“I thought I would never be able to control the mouse. It took me a long time to feel comfortable with the clicking and the movement. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but eventually it got easier. Sometimes I don’t even think about it now—I just do it.”
—Eileen
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Maximize Box
To maximize a window is to make the size of the window as large as possible. The advantage of this is that you will see more of what is contained in that window.
Move the mouse arrow into the Maximize Box and click once. It’s a little tricky to position the arrow exactly inside the box. If the Solitaire window disappears, you probably clicked the CloseBox by accident. No harm done. Just go back to step 1 (page 110) and follow the instructions until you’ve reopened the Solitaire window. That’s what we were going to do soon anyway—you get a little extra practice.
If you have clicked successfully on the Maximize Box, the Solitaire window will now take up the whole screen. It is maximized! Now look at the Maximize Box. It has changed to look like this: . It has now become the Restore Box.
Why Are Some Letters Underlined?
Select letters within a word may be underlined on the screen (e.g., File). This underlining allows you to take the action associated with that word by using the keyboard rather than the mouse. You can do this by either depressing the letter on the keyboard that is underlined on the screen or by holding down the Ctrl key while you depress the letter on the keyboard. How you activate the word varies, but you won’t hurt anything by trying both methods.
Restore Box
To restore a window is to bring it back to its original size, which is smaller than when it is maximized. This allows you to view
other items on the screen at the same time that you view part of what is contained in the restored window.
Move the mouse arrow onto the Restore Box, and click once to restore the Solitaire window to the size it was before you maximized it. Did the Solitaire window return to the size it was when you started? If the window disappeared, you might have clicked on one of the other boxes on the Title Bar instead. To catch up to where we are, go back to step 1 (page 110) and follow the instructions to reopen the Solitaire window. If it didn’t disappear, you did it right.
Minimize Box
To minimize a window is to shrink the window to its smallest form and store it in the Task Bar at the bottom of your screen. The advantage of this is that you can access the window quickly, but it isn’t taking up space on your screen.
Let’s see the Minimize Box in action. Move the mouse arrow onto the and click once. If you click on the correct button, the box seems to disappear, but it doesn’t really. You’ll find a small gray box in the Task Bar at the bottom of your screen that contains the word Solitaire or the Solitaire icon. This is the Solitaire window minimized.
The advantage of minimizing a window is that you can, in one click, get the window off the screen so you can view other items, then just click on it in the Task Bar to open it again. Return the window to its original size by moving the mouse arrow onto the word Solitaire and clicking once. The Solitaire window is back on your screen.
