Answers To Basic Computer Technology Training

Microsoft Windows 95

  • Mouse Configuration   Windows 95 offers many mouse configuration options.   In addition to choosing the double-click speed, pointer speed, and whether to set up your mouse for right-or-left handed use, you can change the pointer's appearance, as well as give it a trail.  Click the Start button and select Settings, Control Panel and then double-click the Mouse icon.  In the Mouse Properties dialog box, the first tab is the Buttons tab.  Here, you can set your mouse for right-or-left handed use and adjust the double click speed.  There's even a little Jack-In-The-Box which to test your double-click speed.  The Pointers tab lets you change the way your mouse pointers look.  In the Scheme field, open the drop-down menu to view all the available files in which the pointers are held.  Underneath is a table showing what the various look like.  You can customize this Scheme by clicking the specific pointer you want to change, clicking Browse, and selecting from the pointers available in the Cursors folder.  The next tab, Motion, lets you adjust the pointer speed, and also offers the option of using pointer trails.  The last tab, General, lists what type of mouse you are using.

  • Creating Directories   To create a new directory, called a folder in Win95, open the hard drive (C:) by double-clicking its icon.  It is located in My Computer.   Open the File menu and select New and then Folder.  A folder-shaped icon appears in the window, waiting for you to type in a new name and press Enter.  The new folder is ready.  To create a subdirectory, double-click the folder you just created to open it.  Open the File menu and select New, then Folder.  Again, the new folder appears, ready for you to give it a name.

  • Searching For Files and Directories   The most common way to search for files and directories is to click the Start button and click Find, then Files or Folders.  A dialog box appears with three Tabs.  The first tab, Name & Location, is where you enter the name of the file or directory, and any wildcards, in the Named text box.   Below this is a Look In drop-down list.  Open the drop-down list and choose the drive you wish to search.  Next to the drop-down list is a Browse button.   Click it to open a new dialog box listing all the drives on your computer.   Once you've entered your search criteria, click the Find Now button.  The dialog box will expand to include a results area at the bottom that displays all files and folders that match the search criteria.

  • Moving and Resizing Windows   To tile and cascade windows in Win95, right-click an empty spot on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen.  In the pop-up menu, choose to Cascade, Tile Vertically, or Tile Horizontally al of the open windows.  You also can choose to Minimize All Windows that are open.  Another way to maximize a window is to double-click an empty spot on the window's titlebar.  Double-click again to return the window to its normal size.

  • Using the Taskbar   To switch between windows, just click the program button on the located on the taskbar you want.  When you close a window, its button disappears from the taskbar.  Depending on what task you're working on, other indicators can appear in the notification area on the taskbar, such as a printer representing your print job or speaker volume.  At one end of the taskbar is the clock.  To view or change settings, just double-click the clock or any of the indicators.

  • Opening a Document   To open a document from within a program....With in the program you are using, i.e., Microsoft Word, select the File menu, click open.  Click the folder that contains the document you want to open, and then click Open.  You may have to scroll to see more folders.  To open a document by using the Documents menu....Click the Start button, and then point to Documents.  Click the name of the document you want to open.  Remember, only recently opened documents will appear in the Documents menu.

  • My Computer    To use an item in My Computer, double-click the icon associated with what you want to do.  Below describes what each icon in My Computer represents.

    • 3.5" Floppy    The contents of a floppy disk in your computer's 3.5" drive, if there is one.

    • Hard Disk    The contents of your computer's hard disk.

    • CD-ROM Drive    The contents of a compact disc in your computer's CD-ROM drive, if there is one.

    • Control Panel    Change the settings for your computer, such as display settings, mouse settings, etc.

    • Printers     Set up printers and view information about your printers and the documents you print.

  • View the Hierarchy of Folders        Click the Start button, point to programs, and then click Windows Explorer.  Another way to open Windows Explorer is to right-click on the Start button and choose Explorer.  The Windows Explorer window contains two panes.  The right side of the window displays the contents of the item you click on the left.  You can open a document or start a program by double-clicking its icon in the right side of the window.  To show or hide the folders on the left side of the window, click the plus or minus sign beside the folder.

  • Move or Copy a File or Folder    Double-click My Computer.  Find the file or folder you want to move or copy, and then click it.   Click Edit.....to move a file, click Cut.....to make a copy of the file, click Copy.  Open the folder where you want to place the file, click Edit, and then click Paste.

  • Deleting a File or Folder    Double-click My Computer.   Find the file or folder you want to delete, and then click it.  On the File menu, click delete.  A quick way to delete a file is to drag it to the Recycle Bin on the desktop.  The files you delete are put in the Recycle Bin, a holding place for files you no longer need.  They are not actually removed from your hard disk until you "empty" the Recycle Bin.

  • Creating a New Folder    Double-click My Computer, and then double-click the disk drive or folder in which you want to place the new folder.  On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.  Type the name of the new Folder, and then press ENTER.

  • Creating a Shortcut    In My Computer or Windows Explorer, locate the item you want easy access to.  Use the right mouse button to drag the item to the desktop.  Then release the mouse button.  Click Create Shortcut(s) Here.

  • Defragmenting Your Hard Drive    Left-click on the Start button and select run.  In the run dialog box, type defrag and press the Enter button.  Select which drive you want to Defrag...normally the C:/ drive (local hard disk).  Defrag usually takes 5-15 minutes depending upon the number of fragmented files on your hard disk.  Allow Defrag to continue without computer interruption.  After Defrag has finished defragmenting your drive, select No to defrag again.  Users should defrag their hard drives (C:/) drive approximately once per month.

Microsoft Outlook 97

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0

  • Setting Your Default Home Page    Within the Internet Explore program go to your favorite web site which you want the browser to default to each time you start the program.  Click on the View pull-down menu and choose Internet options.  On the General tab click on the Use Current button and select OK.  Your browser will now default to this web page everytime you start the program.

McAfee VirusScan

  • Scanning Your C:\ & H:\ Drives    From the desktop, select START, Programs, and McAfee VirusScan.  Within the McAfee VirusScan dialog box and Where & What tab, select C:\ for the drive to scan, All Files for what to scan and press the Scan Now button.  Depending upon how many files are located on your C:\Drive the scanning process will take between 5 and 15 minutes to complete.   To scan your H:\Drive simply select your H:\Drive by pressing on the browse button and My Computer.  Then select the H:\Drive and press OK.  Now you can Scan Now your H:\Drive files.

  • Updating McAfee DAT Files    New updated DAT signature files will be located on every school's computer server.  The systems engineer will notify each staff member that new DAT files are available to be downloaded to your computer.  The user will then manually find the new DAT files on their school's computer server.  Following the steps listed below will allow you a simple way to update your DAT signature files. 

1)    You will receive via email a notice from the systems engineer that new DAT files are ready for you to download.  The email will contain the folder and file/s name/s for the new DAT files.

2)    Within the My Computer icon locate and select the virtual L:\shared drive.  The L:\Drive will contain a folder called VirusScan.  Open the folder which is named DAT Files and the date associated with the information contained within the system engineers email.   That folder will contain the new DAT files for which you will copy to your VirusScan program folder.

3)    After selecting the files to copy open the C:\program files\network associates\virusscan folder on your computer.  Copy the files from the L:Drive to the virusscan folder on your C:/drive.  This will update the DAT signatures. 

4)    After the copy process is complete, open the McAfee VirusScan program from the START/Programs icon on the taskbar.  Select Help and About to view the date of your virus signature list to ensure you have the most current signatures.