Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 1 Part 1 Getting Started with Windows 7 Fundamentals

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 1

Part 1

Getting Started with Windows 7Fundamentals


What is Windows 7?

• Windows 7 is the latest version of a series of Operating Systems that

Microsoft has produced for use on personal computers.

• Windows 7 is an operating system, which is a program that lets you run your computer– A program is a set of instructions written for a computer to execute.

• It uses a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows you to visually

interact with your computer’s functions in a logical, fun and easy way.


Previous versions of windowsRelease date Product name

May 1990 Windows 3.x

July 1993 Windows NT

August 1995 Windows 95

June 1998 Windows 98

February 2000 Windows 2000

September 2000 Windows Me

October 2001 Windows XP

November 2006 (volume licensing)January 2007 (retail)

Windows Vista

July 2007 Windows Home Server

February 2008 Windows Server 2008

October 22, 2009 Windows 7

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.x

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_95



http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Me

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista

http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Home_Server&action=edit&redlink=1

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008



What is new in Windows 7?

• New Taskbar (Larger icons and hidden icons in the Taskbar)

• New Start Icon

• Desktop icons like “Computer” and “My Documents” are removed and

accessed through the Start Menu

• Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced by pinning a program to the

Taskbar

• Aero Snap, Shake and Peek

• Jump Lists for easier access

• A Search Bar in the Start Up Menu

• The "Run" command is accessed through the Start Menu's Search Bar


What are the improvements in Windows7 than Vista and XP?

• Faster and smoother gaming components

• Parental Controls for monitoring computer use

• Improved Start Up, Sleep and Resume performance

• Improved power management saves memory and battery life

• Libraries to improve file access and organization

• Action Center for system maintenance, backups, troubleshooting and

more


Advantages of Windows 7

More effective than the old versions

• Faster with using CPU Graphic 3D

• Using hardware with the most effective ability

• No useless index like Window Vista

• It’s firm although it’s a test version. Decreasing rate of closing screen.

Remembering the last URL that you enter

• Virtualization and reproducing the work as well.

• It’s able to use applications of Windows Vista and some of Windows XP.

6


Drawbacks of Windows 7

• Requiring large space for installing

• Some programs on Windows XP maybe cannot work with Windows 7.

• Having a few driver hardware

• Sometime it have bug of IE 8 beta on some web site.

7


Windows 7 Desktop

• Windows 7 desktop, which actsas your work area

• Icons are small imagesthat represent itemssuch as the Recycle Bin on your computer

• A file is a collection of storedinformation

Recycle Binicon


Windows 7 Desktop

• The Recycle Bin is where you place the files and folders that you don’t need anymore and want to delete

• The desktop background is the shaded area behind your desktop objects

• On the desktop background, you can place icons, called shortcuts, which you can double-click to access programs, files, folders, even devices that you use frequently


Windows 7 Desktop

• Gadgets are optional programs that present helpful or entertaining information on your desktop

Gadgets


Windows 7 Taskbar• The taskbar is the thin strip that runs across the bottom of your screen. It is split into a

number of different areas: a round Start button, Quick Launch icons, a notification area, and a clock. All other areas are the Taskbar itself. The image below shows where the different areas are:

• The Start button is explained in a section all of its own, as it's probably the most important area of the Taskbar.

• There is one more area on the Taskbar, and it's easily overlooked - the Show Desktop button. In the images above, you can just see a narrow rectangle to the right of the clock:

• Click this button to minimize all open programmes and reveal the desktop.


Quick Launch Icons• Quick launch icons, meaning you can quickly launch any of the programmes

you find next to start button. When you hold your mouse over one of the icons, you'll see a small popup rectangle that shows you a preview of any open windows. In the image below, we're holding our mouse over the Firefox icon. (Firefox is a web browser used to display internet pages. It's Internet Explorer's main competitor.)

• In Windows Vista, however, the icons will be smaller, and there's no popup.


Notification Area• The Notification area, formally called the System Tray, is the area of the Taskbar

where you can view programmes and tasks that are running in the background, as well as view important messages about updating your computer. (Although the clock is considered part of the Notification area, we'll look at this separately.)

• In the image below, the Notification area shows three icons:

1. The first one, the white arrow, is for hidden icons. Click the white arrow to see which icons have been hidden:

2. Probably the only one of the four icons above that you'll have is the speaker icon. This sets the volume for your speakers.

3. If yours is too low, click the speaker icon to see a slider that you can move up and down:

23

1


Notification Area1. The second of the three icons in the Notification area is a white flag. This flag

alerts you to issues that need to be taken care of. Click the flag icon to see if there are any problems:

2. As you can see, Windows 7 is telling us that there is 1 message, and that it's to do with Windows Defender. You can click on the "1 message" heading at the top, or on the message itself. You can also open the "Action Center" from here.

3. The third icon that appears in the Notification area (on our computer, anyway) is a Network icon. This tells us that we have an internet connection, and there are no problems. If the internet access is down, there will be a red X through this icon:

4. The red X will disappear when the problem with the internet is solved.

1

2

3


Windows Aero

• Windows Aero is a set of special effects for selected versions of

Window 7 that gives windows transparent backgrounds and fine

animations upon minimizing, maximizing, and moving

• When you arrange windows using Aero, the windows can appear

in a 3-D stack that you can quickly view without having to use

the taskbar

• When you point to a taskbar button, Aero displays a small

preview of the file, a feature called Aero Peek

• Your computer’s hardware must also support

Windows Aero to view and work with these features


Aero Peek

OfWindow 7


A Jump List is what you'll see when you right-click on a program icon on the Windows 7 taskbar (or Start menu). What appears depends on the specific application, but typically contains a list of frequently or last-viewed files, as well as quick access to common commands..

Jump Lists

Available on the Start menu and the on the Taskbar


Using Command Buttons, Menus, and Dialog Boxes

• Command buttons let you issue instructions to modify program objects

• Some command buttons reveal menus


Using Command Buttons, Menus, and Dialog Boxes

• Some menu commands automatically display a dialog box

• A dialog box is a type of window in which you specify how to complete an operation

• A dialog box may have one or more tabs for organizing related settings together on a single sheet


A Sample Dialog Box

General tab

Options tab

Dialog box name

Command buttons

Close button


A Sample Dialog Box

Option buttons(you can only select one)

Check box

Spin box

List box(you can only select one)

Text box

Buttons that open another dialog box


Dialog Box Elements

Check Box Turns on an option (when checked) or turns off an option (when unchecked)

Option Button

A small circle you click to select an option (you can only select one option button in the group)


Dialog Box Elements

Text Box A box in which you can type text or a setting

Spin Box A text box with up and down arrows; you can type a setting or you can click the arrows to increase or decrease a setting


Dialog Box Elements

List Box A box that displays a list of options from which you can select (you may need to adjust your view to see additional settings in the list box)

Command Button

A button that completes or cancels an operation