Windows 95 Introduction

Is this course for you?

This course is intended for anyone wishing to use a PC with Windows 95. It covers the basics of Windows itself, and also gives a grounding in the Windows-way of working, using some of the applications provided with Windows.

You don't need previous experience with a PC or with Windows for this course.

The course includes the following elements:

Lesson 1: Windows 95 basics part 1

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Recognise the parts of the Windows 95 desktop Use the mouse Resize the taskbar Use the Start menu Change taskbar settings with the dialogue box	You don't need to become a Windows expert to do useful things with Windows 95. But you will need to master some basic skills. This lesson introduces the basics of Windows 95, with the emphasis on putting you in control of the Windows 'desktop' display on your screen.

Lesson 2: Windows 95 basics part 2

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Minimise windows Restore a window from its taskbar button Select an icon Move an icon Close a window Resize a menu Use the double click technique	This lesson continues directly from part 1 and carries on introducing basic Windows techniques for organising your desktop display.

Lesson 3: Move and re-size windows

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Move a window by dragging its title bar Re-size a window by dragging its corner Re-shape a window by dragging its edge Change the active window Show icons or details in a window Use the scroll bars Use the menu to organise windows	You can have many different folders and programs open on the desktop -- each in its own window. The key to a tidy desktop is to control which windows you have open at any time and how much space they occupy on the desktop. In this lesson we look at the techniques for moving and re-sizing windows.

Lesson 4: Running programs

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Start a program using the Start menu Change volume and tone settings with the Volume Control	Doing useful work with Windows means running programs to carry out specific tasks -- such as editing text, creating drawings, playing videos -- as well as using programs which control how your computer behaves. In this lesson we look at how to start programs -- using the Windows program which adjusts the volume and tone settings for your computer as an example.

Lesson 5: Organise your desktop

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Open folders Close folders Create new folders Open windows by double clicking Create a new document icon Move items from one folder to another by dragging Delete folders Restore items from the Recycle Bin	Windows 95 uses folder icons to organise your work on the desktop , in much the same way that you might use folders in a filing cabinet. In this lesson we look at creating folders and moving files from one to another, so that you learn enough to be able to organise your own work.

Lesson 6: Get Help

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Display tooltips by pointing Display Help at a dialogue box with the Query button Open the Help system from the Start menu Use the Help index Find topics in Help Annotate Help with your own comments	Windows 95 is very flexible there is a lot to learn about. Luckily you won't have to memorise everything, because Windows has its own built-in help information. In this lesson, we'll look at the Windows Help system, how to use it and how to find information about specific topics.

Lesson 7: Open and save files

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Start new documents by right clicking Rename documents Open documents from the Start menu Open a document file from its icon Open a file from a program Save a document Save a document with a new name	When you do real work with Windows, you'll be using programs like text editors, graphics programs and so on. Even with very different applications like these, many of the procedures are standard. In this lesson we'll look at opening and saving files, and take a look at the relationship between files, applications, documents and file formats and how files are organised on disk.

Lesson 8: Edit text with WordPad

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Learn how to...

Tutor's summary

Move the text insertion point Delete and insert text Undo an action Select with click and drag Select a line or paragraph Move the insertion point using keyboard shortcuts Select with the Shift key Insert the date Copy, Cut and Paste Edit with drag and drop

In this lesson we'll be looking at the WordPad text editor which is supplied with Windows. Although WordPad is short of a full-feature word processor, it's a surprisingly useful program for simple jobs. Many of the features of WordPad will be found on other programs, so once you've mastered WordPad, you're at least on the way to understanding the more powerful applications. In this lesson we'll concentrate on moving around a document, selecting text and making simple text changes.

Lesson 9: Shortcuts

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Learn how to...

Tutor's summary

Create a shortcut to a program

We've seen that Windows is supplied with a useful text editor called WordPad, which you can launch from one of the Start sub-menus. However, if you have a more powerful word processing program on your system, WordPad won't be activated -- and it won't even appear on some of the menus. In this lesson we'll see how to create a shortcut which will make it easy to launch WordPad -- or any of your other favourite programs.

Lesson 10: Restyle text

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Restyle text with Bold, Underline and Italic Use fonts Align a paragraph	One of the main benefits of working with Windows is that you can prepare a document on screen and get a very good idea of how it will look when it is printed. Instead of just concentrating on the text, people now expect documents to be well presented. So in this lesson, we'll be looking at some simple ways to enhance text to make it easier and more attractive to read.

Lesson 11: Swap information

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Copy to the clipboard Paste from the clipboard into another document Use scraps	One of the main benefits of Windows is that you can swap information from one program to another. In this lesson we'll see how to run both Notepad and WordPad together and see how easy it can be to transfer information -- in this case a name and address.

Lesson 12: Add pictures to documents

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Copy and paste a picture from Paint Move and re-size a picture Align a picture Edit a picture	The true power of Windows becomes obvious when you start mixing text and pictures. Adding pictures to a document makes a huge difference to its readability -- and some messages simply can't be communicated any other way.

Lesson 13: Page Setup; Print and Fax

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Learn how to...

Tutor's summary

Set up a page Preview a page on screen Use the print queue Print from an icon

Most of the time you're working with WordPad, you can print your work simply by using the Print button on the toolbar. Sometimes though you'll want to take more control of the page setup and printer. You can preview your work before it is committed to paper; and of course, if your computer is equipped with a Fax/Modem, you can send a fax direct from the screen, without ever making a paper copy. Most Windows word processors will have similar features to WordPad.

Lesson 14: Keyboard shortcuts

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Learn how to...

Tutor's summary

Select menu items Select icons Close a folder Switch between windows Select items on a dialogue box

In the previous lessons we've been working with Windows using a mouse. But there will be times when you need to work without a mouse -- they do sometimes go wrong for example; Windows has a range of keyboard alternatives for most mouse actions. Often these are shortcuts which can save you time -- especially if you are keying in a lot of text; it's much quicker if you don't have to keep switching from the keyboard to the mouse.

Lesson 15: The Recycle Bin

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Select multiple icons Restore items from the Recycle Bin Empty the Recycle Bin Select Recycle Bin properties	Windows helps to make your work more secure by putting anything you delete into the Recycle Bin, so that you can recover it if you need to. But there is a limit to how much you can keep in the Bin. Sooner or later you will need to put out the rubbish and make permanent deletions. In this lesson we look in more detail at the Recycle Bin and how to use it effectively to manage your work.

Lesson 16: My Computer

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Display your computer resources in the My Computer window Open programs from drive C Create a shortcut Change window properties Use Control and double click to open folders in the same window Examine drive properties Use the Disk Tools	The desktop is just one part of the computer system. In this lesson we take a closer look at the other resources available from the 'My Computer' folder.

Lesson 17: Windows Explorer

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Use the Explorer window Show and hide folders Select icons with click and drag Move and copy files	The Windows Explorer program gives you an alternative method for navigating around the files and folders on your system. Instead of opening a succession of folders, the Windows Explorer gives you a single window which displays the complete structure of folders and details of the contents.

Lesson 18: Find lost files

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Set search criteria Use the Browse button Select advanced search criteria	We've stressed the importance of organising your work in to a logical system of folders. But what if you can't find a file? If you are working on a network, the problem may be even greater, because information you need may be on a completely different computer. Windows has its own Find feature, which can help you locate files even when you don't know the exact name.

Lesson 19: File Properties

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
View document file properties View program file properties	Although the normal windows display does give you some information about files, especially when you set the window to show details, there is more information available.

Lesson 20: MS-DOS programs

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Run MS-DOS programs Run in full screen mode Re-scale a DOS window Copy from a DOS window	If you've used computers before the arrival of Windows, then there are times when you might miss the old style DOS command line, which just uses text on screen and none of the nice graphics. The good news is that you can still run DOS while you are running Windows 95. And that means you still have access to the old DOS application programs.

Lesson 21: Add or remove programs

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Set up Windows Add or remove programs	From time to time you'll want to add new programs and remove old ones which you don't use. The default installation doesn't set up all the programs which are supplied so there may be more programs available than you currently have set up.

Lesson 22: Prepare new disks

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Format a disk Create a start-up disk Send files to a disk	In this lesson we'll be looking at the process of preparing a disk for use by formatting it, and then copying files onto that disk so that they could be shared or sent to other people. We also see how to make a start-up disk which allows you to start Windows 95 even if you have a problem with your hard disk.

Lesson 23: Control Panel

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Add new hardware Change the mouse settings Change display properties Use a screen saver Change colour schemes Display the available fonts	As you work with Windows, you'll develop your own preferences about how you want Windows to behave, and what it should look like. In this lesson, we look at the Windows Control Panel which is where you change the mouse settings, the colour schemes, the desktop display and the fonts.

Lesson 24: Character Map

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Use Character Map Copy to the Clipboard Use the Wingdings font	Using fonts is an excellent way to create really professional looking documents. Many of the fonts also include a range of special symbols such as arrows, pointers copyright and trademarks. These don't appear anywhere on your computer keyboard, so how do you get access to them? The answer is another useful Windows application called Character Map.

Lesson 25: Link and Embed objects

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Insert with Paste Special Inset an icon Edit inside a document Link or Embed files	In this lesson we look at the techniques of OLE -- Object Linking and Embedding. This allows you to combine text, pictures, videos, audio created with different Windows programs.

Lesson 26: The Start menu folder

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Learn how to...	Tutor's summary
Add new items to the Start menu Use the StartUp folder	As we've seen elsewhere in the course, Windows 95 is a very flexible way to work with the computer, and you can change and adapt it to suit your personal preferences. In this lesson we'll look at how to customise the menus, so that you can have easy access to any of the programs.

Pre-defined curricula

Like all courses at the Reeltime College this course comes supplied with a number of predefined curricula designed to help you go straight to the subjects you're most interested in. Curricula supplied with this course include:

1. Standard curriculum (all lessons)
2. Windows 95 basics
3. Conversion from Windows 3
4. Text editing
5. Swapping information
6. Shortcuts
7. Exploring files and resources
8. Using MS-DOS programs
9. Setting up Windows and new programs
10. Personal curriculum (designed by you)

What will I need to enrol?

This is what you need to get the most from the course:

1. A Pentium-class PC with Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP.
2. Sound card and loudspeakers or headphones
3. A CD-ROM drive (or DVD drive) either on the PC or accessible over a local network.
4. Approximately 10 Mb spare disk capacity. If you have another 30 Mb spare, you can choose to copy introduction movies onto the hard disk.
5. If you download the course handbook, you'll need approximately 2 Mb spare for the download.
6. The course assumes you have a copy of the target software (Windows 95) correctly installed on your computer. If not, you'll be able to watch the movie segments, but not complete the hands-on segments.

You can enrol on the course by using the Reeltime software, which also allows you to preview the course content off-line. For more information, go to the How to join Reeltime College  page.