Who says that a productive computer user cannot have fun being productive? Windows 95 from the Microsoft Corporation, is fun, friendly, and powerful. This hour introduces you to Windows 95. You will learn some of the goals that the Microsoft programmers had in mind when they designed Windows 95. Also, you will learn how Windows 95 improves upon previous versions of Windows and other operating environments.
The highlights of this hour include:
Most users like the look and feel of Windows 95, and they appreciate the fact that Windows 95 is also enjoyable to use. Although Windows 95 is both fun and easy to master, it is also a computer interface system that offers tremendous power for anyone who uses PCs. With Windows 95 you will be able to access your computer's hardware and data files easily even if you have not used a computer much before. As a matter of fact, Microsoft spent many hours and many dollars streamlining the way that Windows 95 helps people work.
Windows 95 contains a computer interface that attempts to please all groups of people including novice computer users, current Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS users, and advanced computer programmers. In order to achieve the lofty goal of pleasing a broad spectrum of users, Microsoft designed an interface that is intuitive without being intrusive.
Figure 1.1 shows the typical Windows 95 screen that Windows 95 users see much
of the time. The Windows 95 screen is often called a desktop and you'll learn
to manage items on the Windows 95 desktop just as you do with your own desktop where
you sit. Other than some pictures and text here and there, the Windows 95 desktop
screen is very clean and clear of the clutter that previous Windows users so often
saw.
Figure 1.1.
The Windows 95 screen, like a clean desktop, is free of clutter.
The pictures that appear on the Windows 95 desktop's background are called icons.
Figure 1.1 contains seven icons along the left side of the screen. Icons can also
appear elsewhere, such as on the ribbon across the bottom of Figure 1.1's desktop.
Just a Minute Your Windows 95 screen may contain more or fewer icons than Figure 1.1's screen, depending on the way your version of Windows 95 is configured. For example, if your PC is not connected to a computer network, you will not see the icon labeled Network Neighborhood. In addition, you may see artwork in your Windows 95 desktop's background.
The artwork that forms the background for a Windows 95 screen is called wallpaper.
The wallpaper comes from a graphics file called a bitmap file. In Hour 3,
"Understanding the My Computer Window," you'll see how you can change or
remove the wallpaper if you don't like the artwork used on your system. Figure 1.2
shows the same Windows 95 desktop as before, only the desktop contains a graphical
wallpaper file to make things more interesting.
Figure 1.2.
Wallpaper can make your desktop less boring.
The Windows 95 screen acts like a desktop from which you'll work on your computer.
If you want to write letters using a word processor, you'll start the word processor
program from the Windows 95 environment. Windows 95 always remains in the computer's
memory to help you interact with your programs and with the computer hardware.
In ancient times (less than ten years ago!), people controlled computers by typing all kinds of cryptic commands that the computer responded to. MS-DOS is one such environment that requires typed, and sometimes difficult, commands. These commands take a long time to learn and are often hard to remember.
Computers controlled by graphical user interfaces (GUIs), such as Windows 95, no longer require the tedium of typed commands. Windows 95 is extremely graphical in nature. Instead of typing a command that directs the computer to start a program, you'll use the mouse or keyboard to point to an icon on the screen to activate the icon's matching program.
Microsoft developers proudly promote the effort they put into the Windows 95 interface. In designing Windows 95, Microsoft took people who had never before used a computer and placed them in front of other operating environments, such as previous versions of Windows, and requested that the new users perform certain tasks such as starting game programs. As a result, Microsoft learned a lot about the way people approach a visual environment. Windows 95 is the result of countless hours of this kind of usability testing.
3.1 Step Up When you used to start Windows 3.1, you saw all kinds of Program Manager icons. These icons represented different program groups. Program groups still exist in Windows 95, but they are much more integrated into the system and remain out of the way until you are ready for them.
If you are fairly new to computers, you may not understand why you would want to use Windows 95. Perhaps you've used a word processor or a spreadsheet but never taken the time to learn about MS-DOS or find out what this Windows stuff is all about. Other newcomers to Windows 95 may have migrated to the PC world from a Macintosh or from a mainframe computer. In a nutshell, Windows 95 is all of the following:
If one were to state the single greatest reason to use Windows 95, that reason would be this: Microsoft designed Windows 95 so that you can concentrate on using your software and hardware--not so you have to concentrate on using Windows 95. As you'll see throughout this book, use of the keyboard and mouse complement each other to give you easy control over every aspect of Windows 95.
The odds are good that you've used a mouse if you've used a computer before. Using the mouse involves following the mouse cursor around the screen. The mouse cursor is the pointing arrow that moves as you move your mouse. In Hour 3 you'll learn how to change the mouse cursor shape from the arrow to something else.
Here's a quick review of the possible mouse actions you can perform:
You can almost always use the keyboard instead of the mouse to perform just about any Windows 95 operation. Remember, though, that using the mouse is a lot easier than using the keyboard for most Windows 95 operations. If you are uncomfortable with using a mouse, don't fret, because the mouse actions soon become second nature.
One of the benefits that Windows 3.1 users learn about Windows 95 is that Windows 95 does not require as many mouse clicks and double-clicks as previous versions of Windows did.
Starting Windows 95 is easier than starting previous versions of Windows. The first requirement that users of earlier versions of Windows needed to master was how to enter the Windows environment. Engineers designed PCs to be controlled by an operating system such as MS-DOS. When Microsoft designed Windows originally, Windows ran in addition to MS-DOS. Therefore, after users would start their computers, which first loaded MS-DOS, they would also have to issue a separate command to start Windows.
Windows 95 contains a complete native operating system (called the kernel because the operating system is the heart of everything you do on the computer), in addition to a graphical user interface. Except in rare cases where someone configures his or her computer to run Windows 95 along with another version of Windows, Windows 95 starts automatically when you turn on your PC. Therefore, you don't have to learn how to start Windows 95; Windows 95 automatically loads itself when you turn on your computer or reboot it (which means to reset the computer using the strange Ctrl+Alt+Del keystroke sequence).
Just a Minute The keystroke Ctrl+Alt+Del might be confusing to you. To issue that key combination, you press and hold down the keys sequentially: Press and hold down the Ctrl key, then press and hold down the Alt key, and then press the Del key (you'll actually hold down all three keys). Let up on all three keys at once to begin the reboot process.
If you are not connected to a network, nothing in this section applies to you. Even if you access the Internet, you will not need to know this section's material if your computer is not part of a wired networking system. You may skip ahead to the next section entitled, "Welcome to Windows 95."
If your PC is connected to a network, you will have to log on to the network.
When you log on, you type a user name and password that you or a System Administrator
in your company has set up. Figure 1.3 shows the logon screen that you might see
if you are running in a networked computer environment.
Figure 1.3.
Network users will have to log on to Windows 95.
Task 1.1: Logging On to Windows 95 Step
1: Description
There is no way for this book to know your user name and password. You'll have to
ask the person responsible for installing the networked Windows 95 on your PC for
the logon information. Once you get the user name and initial password, you can log
on to the computer and then be able to access Windows 95.
Step 2: Action
Step 3: Review
If you get an error message, you will have to check with the System Administrator
to make sure you are properly authorized to use the networked Windows 95. If this
is the first time you or anyone else has logged on with your user name, the initial
password that you enter will be the permanent password unless you change the password
later. Windows 95 will request that first password twice to be sure that you type
the initial password exactly as it should be.
Just a Minute By design, networks allow more than one user access to the same files. In other words, assuming that you have the proper electronic authorization, you can access files stored on any person's PC that is connected to your PC. The extra benefits that a network provides also require extra security precautions so that unauthorized users do not bother other people's files.
Time Saver Your Network Administrator can set up different user profiles for each network user. A user profile defines your interface preferences and the file access you have. The Windows 95 interface is customizable, as you'll see throughout this book. When you log on, your custom interface, such as a particular desktop wallpaper you prefer, can appear. If another user uses your computer, that user's profile will determine that user's interface design.
You can change your password by double-clicking the Windows 95 Control Panel's Password icon and entering your current and new password. If you need further help with the Control Panel, you'll learn how to use the Control Panel for managing your system in Hour 3.
Windows 95 is helpful. In fact, Windows 95 is extremely helpful! Each time
when you first turn on your PC and start it, Windows 95 displays the Welcome Screen
with a different tip (such as the one shown in Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.4.
Learn something new every time you start Windows 95.
The Welcome Screen is an example of a window. In Windows 95, windows appear
all over the place, often overlapping and hiding other windows. Keep in mind that
Windows 95 works as if it were a 3D set of images on your screen. If one window covers
up a screen object (such as text, an icon, or another window), the objects the new
window covers are still underneath the new window. When you move the window or make
the window disappear (called closing the window), you'll see the hidden objects
once again.
The Welcome Screen is a helpful screen that you might want to see the first few times you start Windows 95. In addition to a different tip, you can access any of the following services from the Welcome Screen:
Much of the time, you'll read the Welcome Screen tip and then close the Welcome Screen window with the button labeled Close, so you can begin working with Windows 95. After a while, the tips will begin to repeat themselves, and you won't need the services of the Welcome Screen any longer. Uncheck the caption next to the checkbox at the bottom of the screen when you want to stop seeing the Welcome Screen.
As you work with Windows 95, you'll see all kinds of windows appear and disappear. The Welcome Screen window shown in Figure 1.4 is sometimes called a dialog box. Dialog box windows contain all kinds of various controls with which you can manage Windows 95.
There are six command button controls down the right side of the Welcome Screen. Command buttons (often just called buttons) give you push-button access to various options. These on-screen graphical buttons look and act as if they are physical pushbuttons. There are three ways to select an on-screen command button:
There is another kind of control at the bottom of the Welcome Screen called a checkbox. Certain windows need checkboxes to indicate a yes or no possibility. If the Welcome Screen's checkbox is checked (a check mark appears in the white box when checked), Windows 95 shows the Welcome Screen (with a different tip) the next time you start Windows 95. If you uncheck the checkbox, Windows 95 will not show the Welcome Screen again.
There are three ways to check (or uncheck) a checkbox:
Perhaps you just started Windows 95, but the Welcome Screen did not appear. The last person to use your PC may have unchecked the Welcome Screen's checkbox control so the screen does not appear for you. If you'd like to see a Welcome Screen tip when you start Windows 95, you'll learn how to add the Welcome Screen to the startup sequence in Hour 7, "A Call for Help!" Although activating the Welcome Screen is not difficult to do, you need some additional Windows 95 skills before you should try this task.
3.1 Step Up You will quickly see that Windows 95 takes on an entirely different look from Windows 3.1. The command buttons have a more chiseled 3D appearance, and window buttons, such as the resizing and control buttons, look different and make more sense in Windows 95 than they did before.
Even programs written for Windows 3.1 will take on the rejuvenated look of Windows 95 programs when you run those programs under Windows 95. Figure 1.5 shows the Microsoft Word menu bar as it looks running under Windows 95. Notice that the same menu items and window-control icons appear in Windows 95 just as you are used to from Windows 3.1 but that the Windows 95 version is different and less bulky looking. (Many new Windows 95 programs, such as Word 97, show a button depression when you move your mouse over the menu item, as Figure 1.5 shows.)
Close the Welcome Screen window if it still appears on your monitor. When you
close a window, the window goes completely away. You can close the window by clicking
the command button labeled with an X (the Close button). In Hour
2, "What's Windows 95 All About?," you'll learn how to leave a window without
completely closing the window; the window will be out of your way, but you will be
able to return to that window whenever you want.
Figure 1.5.
Windows 95 makes a new fashion statement.
You are probably anxious to get started, but before you learn more about using Windows 95, you must learn how to quit Windows 95 properly. Due to the integration of Windows 95 and your computer's hardware and software, you must take a few extra steps when quitting your Windows 95 session and turning off your computer.
Caution If you do not properly shut down Windows 95, you could very easily lose work that you just completed. At the worst, you could damage a Windows 95 configuration file that will mess up Windows 95 the next time you start your PC.
Surely you've noticed the button in the lower-left corner of the Windows 95 screen
labeled Start. This area of the screen is known as the taskbar, and this button
is called the Start button. The taskbar is perhaps the most important element
in Windows 95 because you'll use it, the taskbar, to launch and switch between several
programs. Windows 95 lets you run more than one program at the same time. In other
words, you could be downloading a file from another computer, printing a spreadsheet,
listening to an opera on an audio CD, and typing with a word processor, all at the
same time. The taskbar grows to list each program currently running.
Figure 1.6 shows a taskbar that lists four programs
running in memory at the same time.
Time Saver Think of the taskbar as acting like a television channel changer. On a television, there are several channels with programs going at the same time; you can switch between the channels using the remote control. When you run more than one Windows 95 program, you can switch among the programs by clicking the program names in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
The taskbar does more than list and manage running programs. The taskbar is the starting point for just about everything you will do in Windows 95. If you want to rearrange files, start programs, change screen colors, modify the mouse, or view the contents of files, the taskbar contains the power to do all those things and more. The taskbar is the launch pad for just about everything you'll want to do in Windows 95.
The taskbar also contains the commands you'll need to shut down Windows 95 and your computer. In Hour 4, "Take Windows 95 to Task," you'll delve much more deeply into the operations of the taskbar. At this point though, you'll learn just enough to master the Windows 95 shutdown process, because without the proper shutdown you face risky consequences of data loss as I described at the start of this section.
Time Saver Place the mouse cursor over the Start button but do not click the mouse button. After a brief pause, Windows 95 displays a small caption box next to the mouse cursor that reads, "Click here to begin." If you are unsure as to what a Windows 95 button does, move the mouse cursor over the button and wait for a moment. Most of the time, Windows 95 displays a message, such as the Start button's, that describes what the button would do if you were to click it.
When you click the Start button on the taskbar, you'll see the Start menu
pop up above the Start button as shown in Figure 1.7. The Start menu gives you access
to every part of your computer. Table 1.1 describes what each option of the Start
menu does. From the Start menu, you can start programs, check disk space, manage
files, and properly shut down the computer. The latter, shutting down the computer,
is the concern of this section.
Table 1.1. The Start menu commands.
| Command | Description |
| Programs | Displays lists of program groups and names that you can run. |
| Documents | Displays a list of documents, or data files, that you've recently opened and may want to return to again. As you'll learn in Hour 5, "Cruise with Documents and Windows," Windows 95 works from a data-driven viewpoint. Windows 95 lets you work on your data without worrying about tedious program-starting details. |
| Settings | Lets you change the configuration of Windows 95. |
| Find | Lets you search your computer's files for specific data. |
| Help | Gives you online help for the various tasks you can perform in Windows 95. |
| Run | Gives you the ability to execute programs or open program group folders if you know the proper MS-DOS commands to do so. |
| Shut Down | Lets you safely shut down your computer without losing data that you might otherwise lose if you did not shut down properly. |
Although you can select the various Start menu commands, please understand that the most important command on the start menu is the Shut Down command. Before you do too much, even before you really master the ins and outs of the Start menu, you should read the rest of this section to learn how to shut down your computer safely. You don't want to write the first chapter of a best-selling novel only to find that Windows 95 sent the chapter into oblivion because you did not shut down the computer properly before turning off the power.
Just a Minute Actually, the data on your computer is fairly safe in most cases. If you did not shut down the computer before turning off the power, you'd probably not lose any data 99 times out of 100. Why take the chance though? The Shut Down command is quick and easy to use and ensures that all data and Windows 95 settings are safely recorded so you can turn off the computer without the worry of data loss.
Windows Minute
Activating Menu Commands
Windows 95 menus list various options and commands available to you at the time. When confronted with a menu, such as the Start menu, there are several ways you can select any item you want from the menu.
If you use your mouse, you can point to an item on the menu. As you move the mouse cursor over the menu items, you'll see that a highlight follows the mouse cursor through the menu, clearly showing you which menu item the mouse cursor is over. If your hands are on the keyboard when you display a menu, you can press the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight through the menu's commands.
Some menu commands, such as the Shut Down command, contain ellipses (...) to the right of the command name. The ellipses indicate that if you choose this command, a dialog box will appear requiring additional information.
Some menu commands, such as the Start menu's Programs and Documents commands,
display arrows to the right of the command names. The arrows indicate that other
command menus appear if you select from those commands. Sometimes, Windows 95 menu
commands cascade (trigger additional menus) several levels deep, such as the
one shown in Figure 1.8. You can decrease the cascade, removing one or more of the
extra cascaded menu levels, simply by moving the mouse to the left one menu or by
pressing the Esc key.
Figure 1.8.
Some menus trigger other menus producing a cascaded menu look.
Some menu commands, such as Help, do not contain anything to the right of the command
name. These commands perform an immediate service, such as displaying a Help screen,
displaying a menu, or starting a program from your disk drive.
If a menu command contains an underlined letter, such as Help, you can select that menu command by pressing Alt plus the letter. Alt+H activates the Help menu command.
3.1 Step Up To display a cascading menu, you don't have to click the mouse as you would in Windows 3.1. As a matter of fact, Windows 95 changes all your Windows applications, such as the pull-down menus in Microsoft Excel. When you display a menu, you only have to move the mouse cursor through the menu options to highlight those commands. In Windows 3.1, if you wanted to highlight a menu command, you would have to use the up and down arrow keys or click on the menu command with the mouse button.
Are you beginning to see how Windows 95 improves your use of Windows without taking away any functionality? Through the cascading menus, you can see all your program groups, but those program groups don't appear 100% of the time, getting in your way as they did in Windows 3.1. Also, the menus are sometimes called sticky menus because you don't have to press a mouse button to highlight a menu command. The commands highlight themselves as you move the mouse cursor through them (the commands stick to the mouse cursor).
If you just explored a bit and displayed a cascaded menu or selected another command from the Start menu, press Esc until the Start menu disappears and the Start button returns to normal. As mentioned earlier, this is an important time to learn about the Shut Down command.
Press the Start button once again and select the Shut Down command. The ellipses
after the words Shut Down indicate that a dialog box window will appear. Figure 1.9
shows the resulting Shut Down window. There is more than one way to shut down your
computer depending on what your current need is.
Figure 1.9.
You must make a decision as to how you want to shut down the computer.
The Shut Down window demonstrates a new kind of control in Windows 95. The three lines inside the Shut Down window represent captioned option buttons. A dot inside one of the option buttons indicates that this option is the selected option. When you first display the Shut Down window, the first option, "Shut down the computer?" is the selected option. If you were to select another option, Windows 95 would deselect the first option, thereby ensuring that only one is active at any one time.
Here are three ways to select an option from a list of option button choices:
Simply selecting an option does not trigger any action. Once you select the desired option, you'll then have to activate the Yes command button (sometimes labeled OK) to execute that option's command. If you choose No, Windows 95 removes the Shut Down window and returns you to the Windows 95 environment. If you push the Help command button, Windows 95 displays online help that describes the options in more detail. (Hour 7 explains the Windows 95 online help system in detail.)
Time Saver If you want to restart Windows 95 without rebooting your computer, hold down a Shift key when you select the Restart the computer? option. Continue holding Shift until you see the message, Restarting Windows 95. Windows 95 will restart, but your computer won't go through the time-consuming reboot and memory test.
Table 1.2 describes each of the three shut down options. Most of the time, you'll select the first one because you are turning off the computer. When you select the first option, Windows 95 pauses briefly, and then displays a message telling you that you can turn off the computer's power. Go ahead and select the first option now. Select the first option button and click the Yes button to initiate the shut down.
Time Saver When you see command buttons, Windows 95 will highlight one of them by darkening the button's edges a bit as done on the Yes button in Figure 1.9. If you were to press Enter, Windows 95 would activate the Yes button for you. As a shortcut to using Windows 95 and command buttons, you can always press Enter to trigger the activation of the highlighted button instead of using the mouse or keyboard to find and press that same button.
Table 1.2. The Shut Down commands and their descriptions.
| Command | Description |
| Shut down the computer? | Closes all open files and programs as well as writes any remaining unwritten data to the disk. |
| Restart the computer? | Performs a shut down, but then reboots the computer for you. Sometimes, you'll be instructed to restart Windows 95 after installing a new program or after changing a Windows 95 option. |
| Restart the computer in MS-DOS Mode? | Performs a shut down, but then restarts the computer in MS-DOS mode without putting you directly into Windows 95. Only those users who understand MS- DOS commands would want to use this command. From the MS-DOS mode, you can type the word exit to leave MS-DOS and enter Windows 95. |
Time Saver If you shut down the computer but change your mind, you don't have to turn off the machine. Instead of turning off the computer and then turning it back on again, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot the computer and Windows 95 will reload after a few moments.
Still not convinced that you want to change from the familiar Windows 3.1 to Windows 95? Here are ten good reasons to make the switch:
You are off to a great start! It's time to push your own Start button, gear up your mind's memory chips, and begin exploring Windows 95 to see how to use Windows 95 and what it can do for you. Over the next 23 hours of study and tutorial, you'll be mastering the Windows 95 environment and learning all kinds of shortcuts along the way.
Keep in mind that Windows 95 is not an end in itself. The application programs that you want to run are the most important parts of your computer usage. It is Windows 95's job to help you work with your applications as painlessly as possible.
AutoPlay The Windows 95 feature that starts the loading and execution of
CD-ROMs
as soon as you place the CD-ROM in your computer's CD-ROM drive.
bitmap The technical name for a graphics file. Windows 95 often uses bitmaps for the Windows 95 wallpaper.
checkbox A Windows 95 control that appears next to each item in a list which you use to select one or more items from the list.
click The process of pressing and immediately releasing one of the mouse buttons.
command button A Windows 95 control that appears and acts like a push button on the screen.
cursor A pointing device, such as the arrow that represents the mouse pointer location and the insert bar that represents the Windows 95 text location. The cursor moves across the screen as you type or move the mouse.
desktop The Windows 95 screen and background.
dialog box A window containing text and one or more screen controls that you use to issue instructions to Windows 95.
disk operating system The program inside memory that controls all the hardware and software interactions.
dragging The process of moving an image or selected text from one screen location to another using the mouse. To drag the mouse, you move the mouse while holding the mouse button. When you've dragged the item to the final position, release the mouse to anchor the item in that position.
focus The highlighted command button or control in a dialog box that Windows 95 automatically selects when you press enter.
GUI A graphical user interface, such as Windows 95, that lets the user interact with the computer primarily through graphic images as opposed to a more traditional text-based interface that requires typed commands.
hot key The combination of an Alt keypress combined with another key that selects command buttons. The key you press with Alt is displayed with an underlined letter in the command button you want to select.
icons Small pictures that represent commands and programs in Windows 95.
kernel The internal native operating system that controls the hardware and software interaction.
log on The process that lets you gain access to a networked computer.
multitasking The process of a computer that is running more than one program at the same time.
Option buttons A Windows 95 control that appears next to each item in a list which you use to select one and only one item from the list.
Plug-and-Play The feature inside Windows 95 that detects and automatically configures the operating system to match new hardware that you install in your computer system.
point The action made by the screen's mouse cursor when you move the mouse.
reboot The process of restarting your computer through the keyboard (by pressing Alt+Ctrl+Del) without shutting off the computer's power.
Start button The button at the left of the taskbar that displays the Windows 95 cascading menu of choices. When you click the Start button, the Windows 95 Start menu appears.
Start menu A Windows 95 system and program menu that appears when you click the taskbar's Start button.
System Administrator The person in charge of assigning user names and setting up new users on networked environments.
Taskbar The bar at the bottom of a Windows 95 screen where running program icons appear along with the system clock.
User profile The customized interface and file-access rules setup for each
networked user.
wallpaper The background graphics that appear on the Windows 95 desktop.
