Introduction to Window

Practical No.-2

Introduction to Window

1.WINDOWS

An operating system with a graphical user interface (GUI). Graphical User Interface (GUI) is a user interface based on graphics (icons and pictures and menus) instead of text; uses a mouse as well as a keyboard as an input device)

Versions

·         Windows 98

·         Windows Me

·         Windows NT

·         Windows 2000

·         Windows XP

·         Windows Server 2003

·         Windows Vista

·         Windows 7

·         Windows 8

·         Window 10

1.1  Desktop and its elements

In Windows operating system the basic working platform is the desktop. It is also the opening screen of the Windows operating system.

Fig. . Picture of a Desktop

The desktop contains:

Ø  Taskbar

Ø  Icons

Taskbar

Taskbar is usually a narrow strip present at the bottom of the screen.

Fig.. Picture of a WINDOWS XP Taskbar

                                                Fig.. Picture of a WINDOWS Vista Taskbar

Icons

Icons are small pictures/images representing applications of a file/folder/program/shortcut etc. Each icon has a label telling the name of the application it represents and is identified by the picture.

Example:

Computer

Ø  lists  the contents of    floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM drive, and mapped network drives

Network

Ø  locates shared resources on the entire network to which the computer is connected. Recycle Bin

Ø  stores deleted files, folders, graphics, and Web pages until you empty the bin.

Internet Explorer

Ø  opens the browser internet explorer.

1.2 Anatomy of a Window

A rectangular area on the desktop that is used by an application is called a Window. Although the contents of every window are different, all windows share some things in common. For one thing, windows always appear on the desktop - the main work area of your screen. In addition, most windows have the same basic parts:

Ø  Title bar: Displays the name of the document and program (or the folder name if you're working in a folder).

Ø  Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons - These buttons hide the window, enlarge it to fill the whole screen, and close it, respectively (more details on these shortly).

Ø  Menu bar - Contains items that you can click to make choices in a program.

Ø  Tool bar – It is present below the Menu bar of some Windows and have ready-made programs in form of icons viz., Standard tools( New, Open, Cut, Copy, Paste etc.) and Formatting tools(Bold, Italic, Underlined, Alignments, Spacing etc.).

Ø  Scroll bar - Lets you scroll the contents of the window to see information that is currently out of view.

Ø  Borders and corners - drag these with mouse pointer to change the size of the window.

Starting Windows

1.      Switch on the power supply.

2.      Switch on the CPU and Monitor.

3.      Windows XP splash screen will be displayed as shown below and wait for desktop displayed to work in the computer:

Shutting Down

•      Click Start Button à Choose Turn Off Computer option

•      Click the Turn Off option in the Shut Down Dialog Box.

Use of Mouse

Mouse is a pointer device. The mouse allows an individual  to control a pointer in a  graphical user interface (GUI). Utilizing a mouse a user has the ability to perform various functions such as opening a program or file and does not require the user to memorize commands. It is a  device that controls the movement of the cursor on a monitor. A mouse will have 2 buttons on its  top. The left button is the most frequently used button. There will be a wheel between the left and right buttons. This wheel enables us to smoothly scroll through screens of information. As we move the mouse, the pointer on the monitor moves in the same direction. Optical mouse is another advanced pointing device that uses a light emitting component instead of the mouse ball. Mouse cannot be used for entering the data. It is only useful to select the options on the screen.