CIT 1100

Configuring the Operating System

In this chapter, you will learn how toAdjust basic Windows settingsExplain user accounts in detailDescribe how to store, retrieve, rename,

and delete files and folders in Windows

Configuring the Operating System

Adjusting Windows Settings

Windows gives you many options to configure the user interface

Microsoft works very hard to create an intuitive, easy-to-master user interface for each version of Windows

Microsoft makes Windows customizable as well to cater to the millions of Windows users around the world

The Start Menu offers a great place to start customizing Windows, enabling you to open frequently used programs quickly

Right-click the Start button and select Properties from the context menu to open the Taskbar and Start menu  

Customizing the Start Menu

By selecting the Customize Start Menu dialog box, you can display various options as links, as menus, or not at all

Customizing the Start Menu

Customizing the Start Menu

If Display as Link is selected in the Customize Start Menu the item will

be displayed in the Start Menu

Start MenuIf Display as Menu is selected in the

Customize Start Menu the item will be displayed in the Start Menu and submenus

will be displayed when you position the mouse over the icon

Customizing the Start Menu

To unclutter the Start Menu select Don’t Display this item to unused icons

The Control Panel contains numerous areas for customizing the operating system. Windows 7offers eight areas to make adjustments:   Appearance and Personalization Clock, Language, and Region Ease of Access User Accounts Programs Hardware and Sound Network and Internet System and Security

Control Panel Applets

To open Control Panel, go to Start Control Panel

Essential Control Panel Applets

THREE ESSENTIAL APPLETS

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The Appearance and Personalization category enables you to set up Windows to look and feel precisely how you like it

Appearance and Personalization

To change the theme of the screen

You can use Appearance and Personalization to adjust the screen resolution, increasing the resolution makes the desktop font and icons and such appear smaller To counteract this, you can make your fonts

and icons larger

Screen Resolution

You can set up a computer for a specific location, referred to as localization

Set up in Control Panel with the Clock, Language, and Region applet

You can change region settings, which can change the default language used in Windows

You can change time or time zone as well

Clock, Language, and Region

In addition to changing the time to match the local time, you can also add a clock gadget to your desktop in Windows 7

The Ease of Access category enables you to set up a computer to help people work with the computer more easily You can change things such as how the

mouse and keyboard work Sticky Keys that enables you to press key combinations using only one key at a time

The Stick Key is designed for someone learning how to use a keyboard or someone who needs to do input with one hand or finger

Ease of Access

The ability to enter keystrokes one at a time rather than all at once is useful for some users

The sequency Control+Alt+Delete would require pushing (3) buttons at the same time

Sticky keys once enables allows pushing each individually

This is set up in the Ease of Access menu

Sticky Keys

User Accounts define what individuals can do on the machine, and what actions they can take Each time you log on to a computer, you must present

a valid user name and pass word for one of the accounts

Logons can be highly simplified, or even invisible, but you still need a user account

Having multiple user accounts on a single machine enables people to share the computer and retain some privacy

Multiple accounts provide private folders in which each user can keep his or her personal files separate from those of other users

User Accounts

Users get their own Documents folder, Music folder, Pictures folder, etc These folders can't be accessed by another

user, unless that person is an administrator This adds a level of orga nization and security

to the files on your computer Different users have different privileges Knowledgeable users would be assigned

administrative privileges

User Accounts

Windows offers several types of user accounts, such as administrator, standard user, and guest. The Professional versions of Windows offers more Users with Administrator account type can install new

software, change set tings in Control Panel, add new users, and do pretty much anything else that can be done on a computer

This level of power carries with it a similar level of responsibil ity, these users must know what they're doing on a computer

Standard users can use most programs and access personal files but cannot install programs or change any settings that could affect other users

A Standard user attempting do anything that only an administrator can do would be presented with a dialog asking for an administrator's user name and password

Types of User Accounts

Each time you boot your computer, Windows displays the Welcome Screen which serves as the front door to the rest of Windows

User Account Control Each user account with its user name and icon is displayed on the screenClick the icon for your user account to log on to Windows. If your account is password protected, you will be prompted

2.

Adding User Accounts

Click the User Accounts applet

Select Manage another account

1.

New Login accounts can be added to accommodate children or other users in an office environmentTo add new users click on the Control Box button from the Start menu Then click the User Accounts and

Family Safety category

3.

Next Select Create a New Account

Adding User Accounts cont.

Sally

Fill in the users name then click Create Account

Adding User Accounts cont.By default Windows 7 does not create a password for an accountTo add a password to the account you just created, click the user account's icon on the Manage Accounts window

Control PanelUser Accounts and Family Safety

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Working with Files and Folders

To understand how data is organized on your computer imagine it is nothing more than a giant filing cabinet The actual data in your com puter is stored as

individual files on your hard drive These include things like your docu ments,

movies, music, and even important system data that you'll never actually open or look at yourself

There are many different types of computer files, separated by different file extensions File extensions are three or four letters

(possibly longer) after the period in a filename◦ Birthday.jpg file ex tension is JPG◦ Budget.xlsx is an XlSX file◦ Letter.doc is a DOC file

Its these file extensions that lets the computer know which program to use to open the file

Working with Files and Folders

Windows handles file and folder management through the Windows Explorer utility program Windows Explorer starts whenever you click

on Start Documents, or Start Music

Windows Explorer

Start Documents

There are numerous ways you can access Windows Explorer Right click Start Open Windows Explorer Start All Programs Accessories Windows

Explorer

Windows Explorer

DocumentsMicrosoft first introduced My Documents and other "My" folders in Windows 2000 to give users a simple place to store their documents

Microsoft by default will store documents in the My Documents folder, Pictures in the My Pictures Folder, etcWhen you go to Start Documents, you open Windows Explorer focused on that folder. On top is a toolbar with options like Organize, Open, and Burn

Documents

Windows 7 uses libraries to group similar files in one location, regardless of which folder they're in If you have documents spread out over

three or four locations you can add those locations to your Documents library and have a single point of access to the documents

Libraries

Windows assigns each storage device a letter and organizes its contents using folders and subfoldersThe Navigation pane- left side of a Windows Explorer win dow is extremely useful for working with files and folders, giving you a graphical, view of the contents

Navigating in Windows

Folders

Only folders and drives appear in the Navigation pane, both folders and files appear in the Contents pane

Clicking the white drop-down arrow in front of a folder in the Navigation pane expands the folder so that you can see its subfolders.

Navigating in WindowsWhen a folder displays its subfolders, a black arrow pointing downward replaces the white arrow. Clicking the black arrow hides the subfolders.

Windows Explorer gives you options for how you view the contents of a folder. Clicking the Views button in Windows Vista

or the Change your view button in Windows 7

Changing Views

Changing Views

Standard Actions – tasks you would normally perform on a computer include:

Create Move Copy Cut Delete

These actions would be performed on folders, files, as well as between folders and drives

Action works the same with Desktop folders as it does in the Com puter

Standard Actions

To create a folder or file, right-click a blank spot on the screen and select New

Standard Actions

From the Fly-out menu you can choose to create any listed item

To Copy or Move a folder left-click on the folder

Standard Actions

Left click

Drag/Drop with mouse to destination Drive/Folder to Copy

What happens when you drag and drop a file depends on where you drag it.

Copy Move Files

When you drag a file to this location This is what happens

A folder on same drive The file is moved to the destination folder.

A folder on a different drive The file is copied to the destination folder.

A library on your computer (such as the Documents library)

If the library's main folder (or default save location) is on the same drive, the file will be moved. If it's on a different drive, it will be copied.

Windows Explorer enables you to perform standard tasks on multiple files and folders at the same time Select two or more files or folders by clicking

the first one and then pressing the SHIFT key while clicking the last one in the list

Selecting Multiple Targets

Click on the file to select itHold shift and select the last file

Selected files can be copied deleted or moved together

Often times the name of a file needs to be changed for a number of reasons

Renaming Files

Select the file by right clicking on it

Windows7 organizes folders and files on the hard drive in standard locations User files go into folders based on user account names

Operating system files go into the OS folder

Program files tend to go into program folders

Hard Drive Organization

Windows 7 store user folders on the C: drive in a subfolder called Users By default, Standard users cannot see the

contents of the Users folder for each other's account.

If one or the other is an Administrator they can gain access

User Folders

You can access your user folder in a few waysUser Folders

 You can click Start and select your user name. This shows all the folders, such as Contacts, Desktop, Downloads, and so forth

You can access your user folder in a few ways

User Folders

Or you can do it the long way:

Click Start Computer

Double-click Local Disk (C:)

Double-click Users

Double-click user name

Newest versions of Windows organize essential files and folders in a relatively similar fashion All have a primary system folder for storing

most Windows internal tools and flies SystemRoot is the name given to the folder

where Windows has been in stalled Most versions of Windows use C:\WINDOWS

Operating System Folders

Essential folders you need to know about: C:\Windows\Fonts All of the fonts installed in

Windows live here C:\Windows\Offline Web Pages When you tell your

Web browser to save Web pages for offline viewing, they are stored in this folder. This is a folder that Windows automatically deletes if it needs the space

C:\Windows\System32 This is the actual Windows Operating system location all of the most critical programs and files that make Windows run are stored here.

Operating System Folders

Windows has one or two folders that help organize programs: They sit in the root directory at the same level

as the system folder, and have variations in name depending on the version of Windows

Most computers use the C: drive by default to store programs

Program Files

Most programs install some or all of their essential files into a subfolder of the Program Files 32 bit programs are kept in (x86)