Windows Desktop

After your computer finishes loading windows into memory, you arrive at a screen knows as the windows desktop. The desktop is the workspace, the surface on which you spread out any file folders, programs and documents you want to use. Technically, the desktop is the area behind all the objects on the screen, inculding any windows that you open. No matter what you do in the windows environment, you can always get back to the desktop even if you open an application program and expand it to fill the whole screen. Below the desktop you will most likely see a gray bar knows as the taskbar which will be discussed later.

A typical windows 98 desktop is populated with the little labeled pictures knows as icons. When you double click a icon, you open it uop into the rectangular frame called a window. The icos that appear on you desktop when you start windows provide quick access to the places on your compuer that you visit most often. Desktop contains various types of icons.

Folder icons

Folder icnos open into folder windows which reveal the contents of particular folders in your computerrized filing system.

Program Icons

Program icons open into applicaion programs, that is they load the associated programs into memory and start them running.

Document icons

Document icons open into documents. When you double click a document icon, windows starts the application (word processing program, Spreadsheet,database, or whatever) in which the document was created and then opens the document itself.

Shortcut Icons

Shortcut icons provide alternative entry ways to programs, documents and folders. Shortcut icons always have arrows on them and their lables frequently contain the words.

Multitasking

Windwos not only allows you to open two or more programs at once, it allows you to carry out work in both programs simultaneously. If you need to perform a time consuming task  in one program such as, copying a large file from the internet, you simply start the process and then swithc to a different program. The first task will continue unattended while you work in the second. This capability to work on two or more things at once is called multitasking. People perform multitask all the time, such as, reading while watching  television, talking on the phone while cooking dinner, chewing gum while jogging, etc.

Windows Clipboard

Windows also includes a feature knows as the clipboard that lets you easily copy or more data from one program to another and you can do this using hte sam cut, copy and past commands in almost all windows programs. This means that you can copy those sales figures directly from your spreadsheet into your word processing document without having to use any special importing or exporting commands.

Important Features of Windows

Running Several Programs Simultaneously

Windows also allow you to run multiple programs at once. If you are just getting started with computer, this feature may seem of limited value. Why should you want to run two programs at once when you are still feeling overwhelmed by the first one? After you get a little more comfortable with your system, however, you may find this feature useful.

Switching Between open Applications

Imagine getting a phone call about your latest sales firgures when you are in the middle of typing a letter in your word processing program. If you are using windows, you can easily open your spreadsheet program and fintd the necessary information without leaving your word processing program.When you are done, a single mouse click or keystroke will take you back to your word processing document and you can pick up exctly wher you left off.