R. Craig Collins > Common > Windows Crash Course

Windows Crash Course © R. Craig Collins, 2005/11

Minimize, shrink to task bar (Icon look like monitor and task bar)
Maximize, fill the screen with one window (Icon looks like one window)
Restore down, to move or resize, to share info between windows (Icon looks like overlapping windows)
Close Window

Keyboard Shortcuts

Vista vs. XP, the 6 minor differences in daily usage

Controlling File names (explanation below)

Locating a file (explanation below)

Saving a file (explanation and short video)

Selecting separate files (explanation and short video)

Selecting a group of files (explanation and short video)

Zipping a File (explanation and short video)

Renaming a file (explanation and short video)

Create shortcuts to a file (explanation and short video)

Making a screen shot

Controlling Windows File Names
Many computers are set up to hide known file extensions, this can be very confusing for computer students. To set your computer to display the entire file name:
 • Open My Computer or Windows Explorer
 • Choose Tools\Folder Options... (for Vista users, press the [Alt] key to reveal the Tools menu, then select Folder Options)
 • Choose the View tab
 • Click off the check mark next to 'Hide extensions for know file types'
       • Click OK

Locating a File in Vista
When trying to open a file, say in Work, or trying to locate a file using Computer (formerly called My Computer),
one way to start is to click the Folders menu.
From the Folder view that will now be visible on the left, you could then select the Computer menu item,
to browse your hard drive, CD\DVD drive, removable drive, or network drive