In this course, we will introduce you to the world of computers and focus in particular on the way in which computers are used in the modern business environment.

 No prior knowledge is assumed! This is perhaps the first time that you have ever tried to seriously use a computer.

Some limitations

Since it is not possible to provide, in a single course, detailed instruction on all the 'tools' available in a computer, we aim here to provide a 'big picture' view. After the course, we hope that you will be stimulated to learn more about using computers and of naturally enough, encourage you to to enrol in one of our other courses as your understanding and skill level improves.

  The natural companion to follow this course is one called "Getting more from your computer - understanding Windows". it should be taken once you have started to use your computer on a regular basis.

Why take this particular course?

it is almost impossible to avoid the use of a computer these days - banking, electronic mail etc. with a computer are becoming quite commonplace.

If you want to succeed in almost any profession in the 21st century, you will require some degree of computer proficiency. Facility with computers will increasingly be required in the workplace - it won't be an optional skill.

Inhibitions

Many of us are reluctant to 'take the plunge' to learn to use a computer. There are many reasons for this - lack of time, no access to a computer, lack of funds for training, fear that learning to use a computer may prove to be too difficult since computers are so complex and so on. 

Trust us! You need not be concerned, we will make it easy for you. The transition from working with pens, paper and a calculator to 'doing it all' on a computer is very easy indeed!

What can you use a computer for?

It's quite important to realize that computers are very good at taking the drudgery out of boring and repetitive tasks! Your work can be made much more enjoyable if you learn to use a computer efficiently. 

Among many other things, you might use your computer to:

• produce professional looking letters, free from embarrasing spelling errors,

• produce detailed reports with proper tables of contents and a cross checked index,

• keep accurate financial records using financial applications,

• correspond with clients locally and friends overseas by electronic mail (email),

• join special interest groups allied to your hobby,

• play games in 'real time' with others in foreign countries,

• book your travel plans, saving money in the process,

• check screening times and book a movie ticket,

• buy groceries, wine or other specialist products

• carry out banking at any time of the day and reduce the fees that your bank charges etc.

We hope that you can see that computers can offer new, worthwhile and perhaps even exciting experiences.

Assumptions

Again, we repeat the previous statement about prior experience. We assume that you haven't had any previous experience with computers and that you wish to start learning about computers from the point of view of an absolute beginner. This may of course be in error - most of our students have had a little experience, but let's start without assuming any knowledge.

Squash those fears!

Learning to use a computer can be an intimidating process, made more so by many practitioners (often called computer geeks) who use jargon to make the operation of a computer seem like black magic. Trust us - it is not - we will not use jargon and help you overcome any fears or reservations you may have!

The most important thing to recognize to begin with is that you cannot break a computer simply by using it. If a computer does not work properly, it is not your fault! Do not be afraid to jump in and 'have a go'. You do learn by experimenting with your computer and trying things out.

Our learning strategy

We all learn more by 'doing' rather than being lectured to. Experience has shown us that people learn to use a computer more effectively if they carry out some simple exercises, rather than watch us demonstrating. There is nothing worse than a tutor 'rattling away at the keyboard' and then saying "see, that's how its done".

Don't be put off by this requirement that we want you to carry out a number of exercises. We will make it easy for you to complete any task that we set, by playing a movie on your computer screen, which shows us completing the exercise in full before you begin. After you have watched the movie, you can then complete the exercise. Our movies play right in front of you on your computer screen and can be repeated as many times as you like. 

 It is a good idea to keep the printed notes and electronic notes synchronized at the same point as you progress through the course.

Let's play a sample movie which shows how to use the mouse and how to start applications (tools in your computer). If your computer has some external speakers attached to it and the speakers are turned on, click here to play the first movie. Use your mouse and click with the left button of the mouse on the 'open' option.

A quick survey of some computer applications

We will first look at some (a few) of the common tools used in computers in a business and home environment.

Just think of a computer as a black box which contains lots of tools. You use different sets of tools in individual professions.

  Click here (click once only with the left button of the mouse) to play a new movie. It illustrates the use of several different computer programs and tries to give you some idea of the range of different applications available. 

Your turn

Let's now see if you can use one of the 'applications' shown in the movie. We will use the Photo Album program.

Click here to play a movie demonstrating the steps that we want you to take in order to start (run in computer jargon), the PhotoAlbum program.

Run the PhotoAlbum application

Use your mouse and click on the 'Start' button at the bottom left of your screen.

The Start button is contained in what is called the task bar.

Move your mouse pointer up and select Programs and then Windows Explorer as shown in the movie.

If you are using a computer with Windows XP as the operating system, click the Start button and then select the the 'My Computer' tool from the fly-out menu.

Alternatively, click twice with the left mouse button (double-click in computer jargon) on the 'My Computer' tool on the desktop.

The figure below shows the 'My Computer' tool in action.

Find the Photo Album program by clicking (with the left button of your mouse) on the + sign next to the Disk labelled CD Drive (Often Drive D:). This action 'expands the tree' and should show a folder under the CD drive called Exercises.

Under the Exercises folder, you should find the 'Photo Album' program. Click on it and (in the panel on the right) you should see the 'Photo Album' program proper. Finally, double click on the Photo Album program itself to start it. [Hopefully the movie has explained how to do this better than we can explain here.]

If you cannot start the program (application), using Explorer, play the movie again.

Once the Photo Album program is running on your computer, click in the 'Select keywords' box and type the word France.

Then click on the 'Add' box and finally on 'Find Photos'. Those photos restricted to France will now appear. To display a photo, simply click on the small image at left. These small images are called 'thumbnails'.

Click on the second red box in the grid to show the second group of photos.

After 'playing' with the program, click the 'cross' marker in the top right of the blue title bar to close the PhotoAlbum program. This will return you to your notes.

The sequence Start>Programs>Select application (in this case Windows Explorer to find the PhotoAlbum program) is common to all tasks that you will carry out using your computer.

You are over the biggest hump of all, you know how to start and use a computer program. Thankfully, there is consistency in the way in which most things are done on computers.

Use a notebook - the old fashioned paper kind.

  It is a really good idea to have a small bound notebook handy when you work through this course. If you jot down what you think are the important critical steps needed to complete particular tasks in your own hand writing, you be able to refer to your notebook each time you use your computer, rather than thumbing through these notes which of necessity are rather bulky. Don't skip on this note taking, because experience has shown us that even though the information is in these notes, you will need some brief 'crib sheets' to refer to when you work on your own. 

We will use the symbol below when we think that it is an appropriate time for you to make a note.

Your first notebook entry

We used the 'Start' button system to locate the Windows Explorer application. However, there is a shortcut method that you can use to start Windows Explorer. Rather than clicking Start>Program Files>Windows Explorer, it is sometimes simpler to hold the 'Windows key' and 'E'  keys simultaneously to start Windows Explorer (or My Computer in Windows XP). The application (tool, program) that you are currently using gets hidden and Windows Explorer immediately takes its place.

Tapping the the Windows key on its own, 'pops up' the Start menu from the task bar. Try it!

Testing your first keyboard shortcut

Try it.

Hold the Windows key and the E key down simultaneously.

Windows explorer should start.

Click the cross sign in the top right corner of the Windows Explorer window to close the program.

Write down the purpose of the Windows key & E combination in your notebook now! And the Windows key on its own.

Windows key and E, Windows key on its own.

Other shortcuts

There are quite a few other keyboard shortcuts. We will deal with these as we go along, but you may care to add the following to your notebook now:

• The Windows key and D shifts from the current program (application) to the desktop

• The Windows key and F shifts to the 'find files' tool

• If you are using Windows XP, The Windows key and L locks your computer if you need to go away for a short time.

• The Windows key and V activates voice recognition on computers with windows XP.

Windows key and D, Windows key and F, Windows key and V.

Using a second computer application

Let's now learn to use another computer program - a 'maintenance' tool available in all Windows computers. This tool 'cleans up' and removes unwanted files from your computer. It should be used on a regular basis. As usual, we will first play a movie before using the application. It's started in much the same way as Windows Explorer.

Click here to play a movie demonstrating how to use the disk cleanup application.

Disk cleanup

Let's practice using another of these shortcuts.

Hold the Windows key down and press the 'D" key. This is the shortcut to hide the electronic copy of your notes and display what is called the Windows desktop.

The electronic copy of your course notes should disappear and you should see the the desktop with a number of pictures (icons) on it and the Start button on the bottom left of the task bar. We will have a lot more to say about the desk top in a short while.

Click the Start button at the bottom left of the screen as you did before and a menu will pop up. Move the mouse to Programs, select the 'Accessories' folder from the second 'fly out' menu, then select system tools from the third 'fly out' menu and finally click on 'Disk Clean up'.

Click OK, OK and OK again to enable disk cleanup application to remove unwanted files from your computer.

When the disk cleanup application has done its work, click (with the left mouse button) on the rectangular icon labelled 'Introduction' in the strip running across the bottom of the screen. This action will return you to your notes. 

Review

Thus far you have used two applications on your computer and gained some knowledge of how programs work. However, our approach has thus far been (deliberately) piecemeal. It's now time to further your computer understanding by introducing a little bit of theory (and some history).

Let's go right back to the very beginning!

Computers have been with us since the 1950's. For a long time, they were peripheral to everyday life because, in those early decades (1950's, 60's and 70's), computers were very expensive and out the reach of individuals. Operating a computer required special training, there were even jobs for computer operators and data entry clerks. But, by the 1980's, relatively cheap 'personal' or 'desk top' computers became readily available and were introduced into the workplace. 

Computers are now (relatively) common in the workplace. More and more people have been required to learn to use them in order to carry out everyday work. 

A first look at a computer

Let's imagine that you have never seen a computer before. The first thing that you would need to learn is how to to start up a computer, (or recognize that it is already working) and then close it down. We know that you can do this already, but ask you to bear with us while we go over the process of starting up and shutting down a computer.

'Start your engines'

Take a moment to look at the various parts of your computer. The critical parts of the computer are labelled in the figure below.

The parts that you will use most often are shown at left - the mouse, keyboard and screen.  At the right is (to a user) a less important component often referred to as the 'system box'. The system box contains the 'heart' or 'brain' of a computer and will vary considerably in appearance. It is often found under the monitor as shown in the figure below. It may even be placed on the floor below the desk top.

We will provide an explanation of the function of the cables and where all the leads are 'plugged into' in the next module.

Starting a computer

We want you to simply read the next section - there is no need to carry out the actual steps below. We know that you can start your computer because you are reading these electronic notes!

Step 1. You would locate the system box and press the power key to start the computer up.

The power key can sometimes be difficult to find, it may be a small or large grey button, a 'rocker' switch, a push pin or (on notebook computers) a small slide bar. 

If you cannot find the switch, refer to the manual that came with your computer. It will have a diagram in it showing the location of the switch.

The computer should spring to life when you press the power switch and you should hear 'whirring' sounds. 

 If the computer does not come to life, make sure that the power cable is plugged into the back of the system box and that the wall switch is turned on. 

The figure below shows the rear of the system box with a power lead plugged into the back of the computer. 

Step 2. While the computer system box is starting up, turn on the power button on the monitor/screen. 

Step 3. If a printer is attached (to the system box), you may also need to turn it on. Power buttons on the printer are often difficult to find. Again, the printer manual will have a diagram showing the location of the power switch. Turn on the power to the scanner and external speakers if fitted.

 Some switches on computers have a 'rubbery' feel and need to be firmly pressed in before the computer will 'come to life'.

Make a note in your logbook of the location of the switches on the system box for your computer and monitor, plus those on the scanner and printer (if you have them).

What happens when you turn on your computer?

When you turn your computer on (variously called 'powering up' or 'booting' the computer), you will hear sounds and see various startup messages, usually in rather plain text, appearing on the screen. 

Microsoft 'Windows' then loads

Your computer is 'driven' by what is known as the Windows operating system. The Windows operating system is published by a technology company called Microsoft, which is based in Seattle on the west coast of the USA. Windows takes control of your computer quite early in the startup process. The first visible sign that it is loading is a so-called 'splash screen' showing the Windows logo. The logo will be different for each version of Windows. 

Make a note of the Windows version in your computer in your log book. There are many versions of Windows: Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows NT Workstation, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP etc.

'Logging on'

At this point, particularly if your computer is connected to another computer (a network), you may be asked to type in information into what is called a dialog box.

User Name;
Password;
and possibly a Domain Name are often required. 

These so-called fields in the dialog box may already contain information, especially if you have ticked the 'store password' box on a previous occasion. 

 The domain name is often quite cryptic because it is 'invented' by the person setting up your computer network. Our domain name is 'Stirling' - the name of the street in which we have our offices. Yours may well be the name of your company, but could be anything that the installer of your computer network made up at the time.

Typing in these values and clicking OK with the left button of your mouse is known as 'logging on'.  Passwords and logging on provide companies with a degree of security. It is possible to allocate differing privileges to different users on a network. You do not want a junior staff member being able to adjust salaries!

   If you are unsure of your user name and password (a computer technician may have set this up earlier, and have departed) and you are using a computer with Windows 95 or Windows 98, then you can use your mouse and click on the 'Cancel' button. Your computer will then be able to bypass the 'logging on' procedure. Choosing to do this (select cancel) will not affect your ability to use your computer, it's not compromised and you will not have done any damage!

Logging on at work

If you are working in a company where the computer that you are to use is attached to other computers (it is said to be networked), then you may have to ask one of your colleagues for a valid user name and password. Don't accept the throwaway line 'you can use my user name'; you must get one of your own. The reason for this is that if you use your own user name, then you can be sure that the various 'drives' for company data which might be labelled cryptically - G:, S: R: etc. will be available when you are given your user name. The arrangement of icons on the desk top will also be likely to remain yours, not someone else's. In addition, you cannot be blamed for someone else's misdemeanors when you have your own password.

Note that most companies require that you change the password at regular intervals. Passwords are important, so guard yours carefully. It should not be written in your notebook!

Windows desk top

After entering (typing) the user name and password (you usually leave the domain name unchanged), the display on the screen will change to of what is called the Windows Desk Top.

 The Windows operating system is quite large, so for reasons of speed and convenience, it is usually loaded from the so-called 'hard disk' in the computer. If you leave a floppy disk in your computer by mistake, the computer will try and load an operating system from the floppy disk. Messages such as "unable to find operating system" "not a system disk" or other similar message will appear. You need to take the disk out and re-start so that your computer can load Windows from the hard disk. 

Watch the mouse pointer while Windows loads

Your computer is not necessarily ready for work immediately the Windows desk top shows. The shape of the mouse pointer can be used as a useful guide to gauge what the computer is doing 'behind the scenes'.

It is worth getting to know the meaning of these various mouse pointer shapes, because they also apply when you are working with computer programs (applications). So you wait till you see the mouse pointer take on the   shape before you begin to work. If the mouse pointer takes on its 'ready' appearance, you have successfully started the computer and its ready for some serious work.

An aside - using a mouse

We have asked you several times to use a mouse and move it around the screen and then click using the left button of the mouse to select various items. Some of you may be unfamiliar with the operation of a mouse so we have prepared a movie which explains the operation of the mouse and how you use it to activate these hyperlink jumps.

Click here on the icon of the movie camera to play a 'mouse' movie.

Shut the computer down - the proper procedure

It's time to learn to turn a computer off properly. 

 It is important to learn that when you have finished work, you do not simply switch the computer off at the power supply.

Paradoxically, the 'Start' button is also used to shut the computer down! Again, we will not ask you to do this because you have already shut your computer down. These notes are provided for completeness.

To shut down, you move your mouse pointer to the 'Start' button at the bottom left of the screen, click it (the button) with the left mouse button (press the button down and choose the shut down option. 

If your computer is using Windows 98 as its operating system, a box similar to that shown below should appear in the middle of the screen. 

Again using the mouse, you would click the 'Shut down' option by clicking in the circle at the left of the text.

 These little circles in dialog boxes are known as 'radio buttons'. A 'selected' radio button has a black dot against it.

You would then click OK and the computer will then shut down. Note that It does take some time for a computer to shut down, especially when it is connected to a network.

When the computer tells you (by a message in the middle of the screen) that it is safe to turn off, do so by pressing the power control on the 'system box'. 

Make sure that you switch off the monitor/screen. Different versions of Windows will show slightly different boxes.  Some computers automatically shut down completely and do not give you a final message on the screen. 

An aside: how do you tell if a computer is already on when you sit down at it?

When you approach a computer, it is not always easy to determine if it is on (running) because modern computers very often go into what is called 'sleep mode'. The depth of their sleep is variable, but there is often little indication that the computer is running - the screen for example, may well be blank. If you press the power switch of a computer which is already running, you will of course cause it to shut down immediately, even though your intention was to turn it on! You have in fact induced the equivalent of a power failure to the computer. While this is not fatal, it does give a computer a considerable headache so it is useful to be able to recognize if a computer is running.

You can easily determine if the computer is running by studying the keyboard.

Look at the LED (light emitting diode) on the right hand side of the keyboard - labelled Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock. If any of these are lit, the computer is operating. 

 If the lights are on, touch a key on the keyboard and 'waggle' the mouse. Wait at least half a minute. 

If the screen springs to life and shows an image similar to that below, the computer is on. Clearly someone else has started it up for you, but remember that they will have used their password. 

Let's return to our main argument - getting to know our computer and the tools in it.

The tools in your computer

The tools that you use to carry out tasks on your computer are called software, programs or applications; each term is used synonymously and loosely. There may well be dozens of different applications installed in your computer. In this course we want to take a quick look at the applications commonly used by business. 

However, before we start our next tool, we ask that you practice what we have been preaching above and (tidily) shut down and restart your computer. We want you to get to the point where the Windows desk top shows and the 'mouse ready' pointer indicates that your computer is ready for instruction from you (showing the ).

Just before you do this (shut down), play the movie below because it sets out what we want you to do in the next part of the course when you re-start your computer. Do not skip playing the movie, because the next step is a little challenging! When you are confident about your next step, shut down the computer and re-start it.  

 Before shutting down, mark this point in your printed notes (which are a facsimile of what is on the screen) so that you can find this point again. You will need to follow the steps in the printed book to get back to this point in the electronic notes.

Click here to play a movie showing how to carry out the next task.

If on a re-start, you computer runs another application, simply use the Windows and D key to 'get to' the desktop.

Shut down and re-start your computer

Leave the CD-ROM containing the course notes in your computer.

Follow the procedure set out above to close your computer.

Turn it off. This is a good point to take a break!

Starting Internet Explorer (our third application)

We have been using Microsoft's Internet Explorer tool to view the electronic copy of our course notes. It (Internet Explorer) started automatically when you put the  CD-ROM containing the course in your computer's CD drive. We now need to learn to start Internet Explorer 'manually' and open the electronic course notes again and get back to the appropriate point in the notes. You already know how to do this if you have played the movie. The printed instructions below summarize the steps in the process.

View course notes using Internet Explorer

Turn your computer on again.

Wait until the Windows desk top shows.

Click the Start button on the left of the bar running across the bottom of the screen, select Programs from the 'pop up' menu and select Internet Explorer from the second menu.

The browser application program will start and some information will be presented. This information (or page of text) will vary from computer to computer. Your computer may even try to connect to the Internet. If it does, click the stop button (shown in the figure below).

As shown in the movie, use the File>Open sequence to load the 'home' page - default.htm - for our course notes.

The sequence File>Open is common to most applications that you will use. The default.htm is known as a file. Any piece of work (in this case an introductory page) in computer parlance is called a file.

Here are the steps to take to open the file (page), set out in some detail.

Click File in the top left of the window and then click Open and a box will shown below.  

When you click Browse, the screen shown in the figure below will appear. Click the down arrow alongside the 'My Documents' folder and then on the icon (picture) of the CD-ROM drive. Click on the CD-ROM. Finally, click on the file default.htm and click 'Open'.

An electronic copy of the front (or home) page of your course notes will appear on the screen just as it did before. 

Click the word here in the middle of the screen as before.

We now need to find the appropriate point in our electronic notes, but before we do that, some instruction on Internet Explorer. It is perhaps the most common tool used by beginners.

Microsoft's  Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (our third application) is a web browser - a tool found in all Windows computers. It is designed to provide convenient viewing of electronic pages of text (and images) such as you see here. Browsers are very versatile. As the name Internet Explorer signifies, browsers are used to explore and read content on the Internet. They can be used to read newsletters, movie times, occupational health and safety regulations, employee times sheets etc. If you were running a restaurant, you might wish to put the week's menu on the Internet (more later) and allow potential diners to have access to the menu before they book a table. Alternatively, you might have your staff use a browser to enter details of hours worked on various shifts directly into the computer.

A close look at Internet Explorer - understanding the user interface

In common with all applications, tools within the browser appear at the top and the contents of the page to be viewed occupies the rest of the screen.

You moved your mouse to the word 'here' in the middle of the page (circled in yellow in the figure above) and clicked on the word with the left mouse button on the word. The mouse pointer should appear as a hand when you move the pointer over the word 'here'. This action took you (jumped) to the next page (Introduction) of your notes as shown below. 

Note that the tools and drop down menus belonging to the application stay the same as they were when you viewed the opening page, but a different page of text is now displayed - the Introductory section to these notes. 

This web browser tool (Microsoft Internet Explorer) is clearly optimized for quickly displaying linked pages. 

Now click on the 'Back' tool on the menu bar. This should take you back to the opening page (home page) of the notes. 

Congratulations, you have started yet another application (computer program) and used it to view an electronic copy of your printed notes using a computer tool specially developed to view electronic text - a 'web browser' tool.

Click the 'Forward' button and return to the second page again.

See if you can use the scrollbar which runs along the right of the screen (circled in yellow in the figure above) to scroll down to locate this very point in your notes.

If you cannot find this point, do not worry. Scroll to the very top of the page and click on the small blue letters labelled 'Go to Exercise1' after the title 'Introduction'. This will jump you to the correct place in these notes, ready to continue the course.

This 'jump' illustrates one of the big advantages of a web browser, - we can use it to jump quickly to pre-defined points in long blocks of text.

We hope now that you have gained some confidence in using this web browser application and that you realize that all tools in the computer are started (and operated) in much the same way.

Closing an application - some tools that come with the 'Window' 

If you look closely at the browser screen, you will see that there is a cross sign in the top right hand side. This is called the 'close button' and is common to all applications.

   All applications (tools) in your computer run in a window. That is why Windows is called Windows!. Any application can be closed by clicking on this cross at the top right of the window. You have learned a valuable skill because it can be applied right across the board!

Close Internet Explorer (even though you have just started it!) by clicking on the cross.

Starting application programs using different methods

Programs can be started from desk top short cuts, from a quick launch toolbar or from the Start button. We want you to practice the alternative methods for starting programs as set out below.

Choose one of the methods below one that you have not previously used.

  Recapitulation:

You have started an application and opened a piece of work (a file). The sequence - start an application and then open a file is common in the computer field.

You now know how to your computer and 'load', or 'launch' applications - we have started 'Windows Explorer' (or 'My Computer'), PhotoAlbum, Disk Cleanup, and Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser. The list of applications with which we are familiar is growing fast.

We also know that if we click on an 'icon' or picture that 'belongs' to the application on the desk top, we can launch it. We have also learned to load a file by 'browsing' across our computer to one of the devices in it - a CD-ROM drive and selected a particular file (piece of work). We will have more to say about files and explain how devices such as the CD-ROM drive work in the next chapter.

Now a little more theory.

A computer is simply a 'black box'

It's useful to think of a computer as just a black box, rather like the box of tools that a carpenter or seamstress might carry around with them as tools of trade. Just like the sewing box or carpenter's tool box, the computer contains a number of different tools which can be used to perform various tasks. 

The trick is to learn to open the box and understand the function of each of the tools. In the figure below, we have tried to give a 'visual' guide to some of the categories of tools found in modern computers. Not all of these are found in every computer when you purchase - some more esoteric applications have to be loaded in.

As you have seen, the tools are called 'applications' or 'programs'. 

Who makes what tool?

Just as there are several manufacturers of equipment needed for dressmaking - sewing scissors, pinking shears, bobbins, and several for carpentry equipment - hammers, power saws, screwdrivers etc., there are different manufacturers of applications. 

Let's try and categorize tools and put the names of applications to some of these tools:

Not easy is it? As you can see, there are many many applications in each category. 

Selecting a suitable tool

• If you wanted to write a letter, you would reach into the computer's toolbox and start the letter writing tool (choosing between Microsoft Word, WordPad, WordPerfect, Star Office, Ami Pro, WordStar). 

• If you want to work out how many years you can shave from your housing loan by increasing payments by $50 per week, again you dip into the box, start the tool that allows complex calculations - a spreadsheet. Again there are many different spreadsheets on the market (Microsoft Excel, Lotus 123, AsEasyAs, Sphygmic).

• If you want to scan a photograph, you might load PhotoShop, PhotoImpact or CanoScan application software. 

So, in each category, there are many possible tools.

'In-Built' tools vs purchasing additional ones

Although your computer comes with several 'in-built' tools, you will usually need to buy some additional ones. In computer jargon, some applications need to be 'installed' or 'loaded'.

Shops that sell software (applications) are rather like bookshops. If for example, you wanted a book to help with courtyard design, there are many books on that particular topic - the problem is choosing one that suits you. Exactly the same conundrum faces computer users who wants to select a tool for a particular task. Shortly we will try and help you choose appropriate tools for different tasks, but for now, let's just concentrate on some general examples.

To work gain!

A reminder. We believe that you only learn by 'doing'! it's no good watching someone else use a computer program. You need to try yourself, so we make you carry out exercises. Remember though, we don't leave you totally alone; we will always provide a movie which will show you the steps involved in the exercise before asking you to do it.

Let's use another tool and carry out some word processing

By far the most common application used on modern computers is word processing (the moulding of text). 

An aside

Business correspondence has changed dramatically with the advent of computers. The figure below shows a business letter from 1930. Note the difference in language and that the writer's address and date are at top right, while the address is inset, as is the first paragraph.

The tools used to compose this letter were simple enough - paper, pen and ink! Ours are more complex. However, but one does wonder how far we have come. Incidentally, the writer of this letter lived to be 102 years of age and she still wrote literate letters in copperplate script at that age!

Letter writing with WordPad

We will now select and start the letter writing tool in the computer to prepare a similar letter, but we will do it in the modern style.

All Windows computers come with a letter writing (word processing) tool -it's called WordPad and we need to start it.

Previously, we started the PhotoAlbum program (tool) by starting the 'My Computer' tool and navigated to the PhotoAlbum program. We will use a slight variant  of this approach to load the WordPad program. Instead of using the Windows Explorer program to locate it, we will start it in a more 'conventional' way via the 'Start' button, , just as we did with the disk cleanup tool.

Click here to play a movie which shows you how to carry out the next task.

Word processing with WordPad

Click the minimize button at the top right of the Internet Explorer browser Window - it's the minus sign. This action does not shut down the browser. It simply puts the browser application down to the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

Click the left mouse button on the word "Start" on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. A 'pop up' menu appears.

Slide the mouse pointer up to Programs. 

Then to Accessories. 

Finally, click on WordPad in the drop down menu.

When the program opens, move your mouse to the top left of screen and begin typing the letter set out below. You do not have to type it up exactly, but do generate a 'proper' letter.

Note that we forgot to put in the date in the letter above, so go back and add it.

When you have finished, click File>Print and print the letter. Click File>Save and save the document in the 'My Documents' folder, giving it a meaningful name. We ask that our distance learning students post a copy of this letter to us. To Course tutor, Design Cad Pty Ltd, PO Box 464, Marleston, South Australia, 5033

Close WordPad.

In a following module, we will type the very same letter but use the more sophisticated word processor from Microsoft (Microsoft Word).

Calculator

Let's get to work and learn to use yet another rather useful tool that is available in all computers - the Windows calculator. 

 We have chosen WordPad above and now the Windows calculator for you to learn, because these two are always delivered with  a 'standard' Windows computer.

Modern computers come with their own 'in-built' calculator. You can always use this 'virtual' calculator if you cannot find the real one! Let's experiment with the Windows calculator.

Click here to play a movie showing the use of the Windows calculator.

Operate the Windows calculator

We now know that a computer programs (applications) in a Windows computer can be started in the same way; just as we did with the disk defragmenter and WordPad. You click 'Start' on the task bar, slide your mouse up to 'Program Files' and select the program (tool or application) that you want. The sequence is often written  Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter.

Let's start the calculator using this system.

Move your mouse to the Start button, click Programs, then Accessories, then click on Calculator. 

The calculator will appear and occupy a relatively small space on the screen. Note that the maximize button is greyed out. There is no call for a calculator to occupy the entire screen.

The calculator can be operated either by the mouse or by the numeric keypad on the right hand side of the keyboard.

Use the mouse on the calculator to do some arithmetic. Add 12 + 12. Multiply 12 by 12. The multiplication sign is the * sign. The divide sign is '/'.

Make sure that you can add and divide numbers. Try using the numeric keypad.

Why not store a value in the memory of the calculator (perhaps the value of PI - 3.142) and recall it for later use?

When you have finished using the calculator, click on the cross icon (picture) on the top right of the calculator window. This closes the application.

Email messaging

Let's take a very brief look at yet another commonly used tool - an email application. We will return to this application in detail in a subsequent chapter.

Click here to play a  movie which introduces Microsoft Outlook, a tool used for sending electronic messages (email) across the Internet.

We will not send an email message at the present time because your computer must be correctly set up for this to successfully occur.

Review

Thus far, we have dipped into the computer's 'black box' drawn out and used a number of tools - the disk clean up tool, a web browser (Microsoft's Internet Explorer) to view an electronic copy of our notes, WordPad to create a letter, the PhotoAlbum program to manipulate and store pictures, and the calculator for performing simple arithmetic. We also used a special program called 'My Computer' or Windows Explorer to locate and start the PhotoAlbum program. 

Can you see a pattern emerging? Your computer contains many tools. Each (application, tool, program) is started in much the same way (via the Start button or by clicking on an icon representing the tool), used and terminated by clicking on the cross icon at the top right of the window in the title bar. 

We also know how to establish whether or not a computer is actually running, close a computer down and re-start it. 

You may care to refresh your memory regarding the proper way to shut down a computer by clicking here.

Great progress has already been made! We hope that you are gaining confidence. Now it is now time to get to the 'meatier' bits of the course.

Running the course

Start the course by moving your mouse pointer to the title of the first module below - 'What's inside a computer'. As you reach the title, the mouse pointer will change to a hand. Click with the left button of your mouse on the hyperlink when the hand icon shows and you will be taken to the module. 

 When you have finished the module, you will be able to click on a 'back' button to return to this 'menu of chapters', ready to select the next module.