by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
• The Control Panel is now minimized on the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen. Click on the icon in the Task Bar to restore it to the screen. You can now try selecting a different wallpaper. Keep repeating this process until you find the wallpaper that suits you. And remember, you can select different wallpaper whenever you please.
PERSONALIZE IT!
In addition to the wallpapers offered by the computer, you can create a desktop background from photos or images that you have brought onto your computer. Chapter 18 will guide you through how to get images onto your computer.
Choosing a Screen Saver
Now, let’s select a screen saver. A screen saver is an image that appears on the screen when the computer is on and has sat unused for a period of time. This choice allows you to decide what the screen saver will look like and when it will appear.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click on arrow.
2. Click on your choice of screen saver.
3. Click on Preview to see screen saver in action.
4. Click to get back to settings window.
5. Adjust timing by using up and down arrows.
6. Click OK to accept your changes.
• Click on Appearance and Personalization to expose Change Screen Saver among other options.
• Click on ChangeScreen Saver.
• Under the words Screen Saver is a box with an arrow to the right. Click on the arrow to expose the screen saver options. You may have to use the Scroll Bar to see everything that is available. Click on the screen saver you want to see displayed and then click on OK.
• Click on Settings to see the options available to customize your choice. Some screen savers offer a choice of colors or images.
• Click on Preview to see your screen saver choice displayed in its actual size without having to close the window. Click the mouse button to get back to the Screen Saver window.
• The last decision that you need to make is how much time should elapse before the screen saver is activated. Do this by changing the number next to the word Wait. Click on the up and down arrows to the right of the number. Once you have decided on the length of time (I have mine set at ten minutes), click on OK. Your changes have been made and the window will be closed.
• Close the Control Panel window. Now you’re back at the Desktop screen.
This might be a fine time to take a break. Just leave your computer as it is and come back when you’re ready. When you return, we’ll go over some more features.
WHAT AM I SAVING MY SCREEN FROM?
Screen savers were originally designed to protect the screen from “screen burn.” Computer screens used to become damaged when the same screen image remained on the screen for too long. Improvements in the design of screens make this unlikely. Nowadays screen savers are more for visual entertainment.
The Task Bar
The Task Bar is the gray or blue bar at the bottom of your screen. It offers an alternative way to access application software and other areas of the computer.
• The Task Bar.
The computer usually offers more than one way to skin a cat. By that I mean that there is usually more than one way to accomplish a task or complete an action on the computer.
For instance, move the mouse arrow onto the time in the right-hand corner of the Task Bar and click the right mouse button. Now move the arrow to Adjust Date/Time and click once with the left mouse button. You’ve just opened the same Date and Time window that we accessed from the Control Panel. All the date and time changes that we made before can also be done by opening the window this way.
Close the Date/Time window. (Remember, use the Close Box.) Now with the mouse arrow on a blank spot on the desktop screen, click once with the right mouse button. Move the arrow to the word Personalize (in Windows XP, click on Properties) and click once with the left mouse button. Ta-da! It’s the Personalize window that we used to pick your wallpaper and screen saver. Click on the Minimize box. It appears that the Personalization window has closed, but in fact it is waiting for you in the Task bar. Click on Personalization icon in the Task Bar and voilà! the window is back on the screen.
Experiment with what happens when you click the left or right mouse button on an item. You can open all the icons on the desktop screen and see what they contain. For that matter, you can click on anything on the computer screen as long as you don’t press the Enter key, which instructs the computer to take an action, or you don’t click on an action key (OK, Yes, Apply…). If you open a window and are concerned that you’re heading into unknown territory, simply close it by using the Close Box or click on the word Cancel, Finish, or Exit, or click on a blank area of the screen.
LEARNING THE ABC’S
Each computer can vary slightly. In my experience some computers refer to the drive for the CD-ROM as the E: drive instead of the D: drive. The literature that came with your machine will clarify if your CD-ROM drive is referred to as D: or E:.
Getting in the Swing
It’s a lovely thing to listen to music while working (or playing) at the computer. Grab a CD that you enjoy, and let’s learn how to play music.
• Open the D: drive on your computer case by pressing the button near the drive.
• Place the CD, label side up, into the CD tray and press the button again to close the tray. You don’t ever want to force the tray closed by pushing the tray in—it is a very delicate component of the computer.
• A window will appear on the screen with options for the track you want to play and what volume you prefer. Here you will use the mouse to choose your options. For example, move the mouse onto the volume arrow. Click and drag the arrow either up or down to increase or decrease the volume.
• After you’ve set your preferences, click on the Minimize Box. To maximize the window, click once on the box that contains the minimized window in the Task Bar. You can also access the D: drive through the Computer icon. Double-click on Computer. The D: drive is accessed by double-clicking on the D: icon.
There are a couple of other options for controlling the volume. If your computer came with speakers, they may have controls, or your monitor may have a volume control. Fiddle around until you find a comfortable volume. The other place where the volume can be adjusted is the speaker icon (it looks like a little horn) on the right side of the Task Bar near where the actual time is displayed. Left-click on the symbol and a box will appear where you can control the CD’s volume.
When the CD has stopped (either by your choice or because it came to an end), simply press the button near the D: drive on your computer case to “eject” the CD. Remove the CD and press the button again to close the now-empty drive.
Job Well Done
If you’ve been using this book sequentially, at this point you should see a light at the end of the tunnel. The computer is more and more under your control. Stick with the book, and by the end you’ll be in total control. You can repeat any part of this chapter and the previous one until you are ready to go on the Internet in Chapter 13.
PLACEMENT COUNTS
When you open an icon or folder, it’s important that the arrow is placed on the icon and not on the text description or name below the icon.
Welcome, Mac Users
Turn on your computer. In this chapter we will customize some features on your computer and investigate a few others. Feel free to move at your own pace. You can stop and start wherever and whenever you want.
Let’s investigate what the desktop screen has to offer. First, move the mouse arrow onto the Hard Drive icon (probably in the top right of the screen). Double-click on the icon. If you have trouble with the double click, you can single-click on the icon to highlight it, then click on the word File at the top left of the screen and single-click on the word Open, or you can single-click on it and then hold down the Command key and the letter O simultaneously. Your Hard Drive window should now be open.
What’s in the Window?
Notice that the Hard Drive wi
ndow has the same features as the untitled folder window. It has a Title Bar, Close Box, Zoom Box, Collapse Box, and a Size Box. Almost every window you open will contain these elements. Remember, if you get overwhelmed and want to start from scratch, close any open windows by moving the mouse arrow into the Close Box and clicking once. What we haven’t discussed yet on this window is the Scroll Bar on the bottom and the right side of the window.
• You can access different parts of your computer using the hard drive.
The size of the window dictates how much of the information in the window you will be able to see. This is when the Scroll Bar comes in handy. The Scroll Bar allows you to move the information in the window up and down for full viewing.
A Scroll Bar indicates that the window has more to offer than what’s on your screen. You can increase the size of the window or scroll the window to see what else it contains. Students often call me because they can’t find an item that they know is in a certain window. Usually it is right where it should be, but they didn’t see all the contents of the window. An active Scroll Bar is your clue that there is more to be unveiled. Be sure to use a Scroll Bar whenever you see one or you may miss all that the window has to offer. We’ll experiment with this shortly.
Enlarging the Window The most efficient way to see all the contents of a window is to increase its size. You can do that in two ways. Once you have seen how each choice works, follow the instructions in italics to restore the window to its original form and go to the next option. We will experiment with scrolling after you have tried the following options.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click on Zoom Box once to change size of window.
2. Click on Zoom Box again to restore the previous size.
Option 1. There is a box in the Title Bar that will increase the size of the window. As you may remember, it’s the Zoom Box. If you don’t see a plus symbol in any of the three circles in the top left corner of the window, move your mouse arrow closer to the circles. Voilà! The symbols appear. Now move the mouse arrow into the Zoom Box and click once. (As I said in Chapter 11, sometimes the window thinks it is maximized, but it isn’t taking up the entire screen. In that case the window can be maximized by using the Size Box as described in Option 2.) To restore, place the mouse arrow on the Zoom Box and click.
Click and Drag… Is It a Drag?
Are you having some trouble with the click and drag maneuver? Let’s review:
• Place the mouse arrow on the object you want to move and depress the mouse button.
• Keep the mouse button depressed while you drag the object (by moving the mouse) to where you desire.
• Take your finger off the mouse and the object will remain where it has been moved.
My advice is, if you have Solitaire, keep playing. It may seem silly (or drive you nuts), but it is the best way to master the mouse. If you haven’t been faithfully doing your homework, start today!
Option 2. Move the mouse arrow to the Size Box at the bottom right corner of the Macintosh HD window. As you did with the untitled folder window, click and drag the corner down and to the right, so it fills the entire screen. The Size Box allows you to click and drag the window to the exact size you desire. To restore, place the mouse arrow in the bottom right corner of the window. Click and drag the corner to the left and up until the window is the size it was when you first opened it.
CLICK AND GO
1. Increase the size by clicking and dragging bottom right edge out.
2. Click and drag back to restore to previous size.
Scrolling Along
Sometimes there can be more icons contained in a window than you can see no matter how large you make the window. In this case, you will have to use the Scroll Bar to see all that is available. The Scroll Bar is similar to an elevator: A button is pressed to activate it, it moves up and down, and you can get off anyplace you want.
Does your window look like the window in the illustration below? Make sure that the Scroll Bar on the right side of the window is active. If the Scroll Bar isn’t active, double-click on Applications and a window should open in place of the Hard Drive that will have a Scroll Bar on the right (and even maybe on the bottom). If a window opens up that is too big to reveal the Scroll Bar, click and drag the bottom right corner until a Scroll Bar appears.
• The appearance of a Scroll Bar indicates there’s more to see in the window. Mastering the Scroll Bar is critical when you’re on the Internet.
There should be a set of arrows at the bottom of the Scroll Bar positioned on the right edge of the window. If there is also a horizontal Scroll Bar there will be a set of arrows on the bottom of the window positioned at the right. Let’s take a scroll…
• Place the mouse arrow on the bottom scroll arrows on the right edge of the window and click the bottom of the two arrows (the one pointing down) a few times. With each click the screen moves down. Be careful that the mouse arrow stays within the box that contains the bottom scroll arrow. If your mouse wanders, you will not be able to activate the Scroll Bar, or the window may scroll in increments larger than you desire.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click on bottom arrow repeatedly.
2. Click on top arrow and hold mouse down until scroll box is at the top of the scroll bar.
3. Click and drag the scroll box with the scroll bar to also reveal the contents of the window.
• The image within the window will move up if you place the mouse arrow on the top scroll arrow and click.
• The window will scroll left or right with the bottom left and right scroll arrows.
• If you hold down the mouse button rather than depressing and releasing it, the window will scroll very quickly. This technique is more difficult to control but faster than individual clicks.
• You can also move what’s in the window by placing the mouse arrow on the Scroll Box within the Scroll Bar and clicking and dragging the Scroll Box up or down. This is faster than using the scroll arrows and is most convenient if you’re in a very large document wanting to get from page 1 to page 40, for example. Be sure to keep your mouse arrow on target when you scroll. It is easy to lose aim when you are looking at the contents of the window, especially when the contents are moving. Try to hold your hand as steady as you can.
• Close the Applications window by clicking in the Close Box.
Scroll Bars play a big role in viewing websites on the Internet. I strongly recommend that you spend time maneuvering a Scroll Bar every time you play on the computer until you have the technique down.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Move the mouse onto the in the top left corner of the screen and click once. A box with a lot of options will open. Move the mouse arrow down onto the words System Preferences and click once. The System Preferences window will open.
• This window allows you to set the date and time.
We’re going to check to be sure that the date and time are set properly on your computer. Open the Date & Time window by single-clicking on the icon found in the System Preferences window.
Is there a check in the box to the left of “Set time & date automatically”? If so, click in the box to remove the check. At the bottom of the window are two buttons: Revert and Save. These are your action choices. Sometimes a window will offer you Help, Yes, or No as choices. When you click on any of these buttons, you’re instructing the computer to take that action. You must be very sure of the action you want to take—sometimes it is irreversible.
You might notice that the Save button has a slightly darker outline. In this case, the computer assumes Save to be the choice you’ll most likely make and has preselected it for you (you can always choose a different option—it’s just trying to make life easier for you). Be forewarned: If you depress the Return key on your keyboard, whatever action the computer has preselected will be taken. This is why it is so important not to depress theReturnkey arbitrarily; you may unwittingly take an action that cannot be rever
sed. (Note: It may not be Save that the computer preselects for you. It will be any action button that the computer deems will be your likely choice.) In the case of what we are playing with here, not to worry—nothing is irreversible.
PATIENCE, PLEASE!
Remember that if there is a spinning round ball (jokingly referred to by a friend as the “spinning beach ball of death”), sit back and let the computer finish what it’s doing before you use the mouse or keyboard.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click on the Time Zone tab.
2. Click on down arrow and select a city in your time zone.
3. Click Date & Time tab.
4. If month is not correct, click on arrows to choose correct month.
5. If date should be changed, click on correct date.
6. If the hour or minutes are not correct, click on each and use the arrows to adjust.
7. Click Save to keep the changes.
8. Click Show All to return to System Preferences.
Follow the steps below to adjust the Time Zone:
• Click on the Time Zone tab.
• Click on the down arrow to the right of the city listed.
• Scroll to the city nearest where you live and click once on that city’s name.
Follow the steps below to adjust the Current Date:
• Click on the Date & Time tab.
• If the month is not correct, move the mouse arrow onto the arrows to the left of the month and click until the present month is displayed.
• If the date is not correct, click on the correct date.
Experiment
As I describe some of the many icons contained in the System Preferences window, feel free to double-click on the icon to open it and see what’s inside. To get back to the System Preferences window, simply close the window you’ve opened. (Remember the Close Box?) If somehow you have closed the System Preferences window, move the mouse onto the and down to the words System Preferences and click once.