Windows Vista
User Guide
WINDOWS CONTROL PANEL
Here are some of the ways Windows Vista
is consistent. Each folder window features a Search
box. This comes in handy even in places like the Control
Panel.
Click Start and select Control Panel.
Type the term “power” in the Quick Search box, and
Power Options should appear
The control panel is still where you
modify and configure your applications and your computer. However,
finding specific utilities with the control panel is easier since more
items are logically grouped together.
As you see similarly grouped control
panel functions are displayed on the first page. To ease the
transition you can easily switch to the Classic View for control panel.
Click Classic View on left navigation pane
Click Back arrow to return to Control panel view
Sometimes you will want to see the basic
systems information of you PC, which even includes a “Rating” for the
system performance. Also, you may want more detail information on
the performance of the systems, and that is just one click away.
Here we can see how Windows Vista views
the relative performance of this particular PC, which might give us ideas
on where to upgrade.
Click System and Maintenance
Click View amount of RAM and processor speed (under
System)
Click Performance on Left Navigation pane (lower
left)
Click << next to Performance Rating and Tools
and select Control Panel
Networking continues to be a priority
for Windows Vista, as more and more information is shared and access via
the Internet and an organizations network. The control panel offers
options for wireless networking configuration, a map of the network,
configuration of the Internet Options, and a number of network related
properties.
Click Network and Internet
Shows the Network Center map, and that
it is also available from an icon in the system tray.
The control panel is still where you
modify and configure your applications and your computer. However,
finding specific utilities with the control panel is easier since more
items are logically grouped together.
As you see similarly grouped
control panel functions are displayed on the first page. To ease
the transition you can easily switch to the Classic View for control
panel.
Click Classic View on left navigation pane
Click Back arrow to return to Control panel view
Sometimes you will want to see the
basic systems information of you PC, which even includes a “Rating” for
the system performance. Also, you may want more detail information
on the performance of the systems, and that is just one click away.
Here we can see how Windows Vista views
the relative performance of this particular PC, which might give us ideas
on where to upgrade.
Click System and Maintenance
Click View amount of RAM and processor speed (under
System)
Click Performance on Left Navigation pane (lower
left)
Click << next to Performance Rating and Tools
and select Control Panel
FILE MANAGEMENT
AND ORGANIZATION
Your Windows knowledge will directly
transfer over to Windows Vista so you will hit the ground running.
For Example, we can easily open folders on the desktop.
In addition, you can modify our views,
Windows Vista will provide a “reading view” for documents, giving you a
quick glimpse of the document before you open it. This will
increase your efficiency. No longer will you need to open the application
to view the contents.
Double-click <your own account> Folder on
desktop to open
Maximize <your own account> Folder
Double-click Documents Folder
Double-click Demo Files Folder
Move, AND Hover over Toolbar icon, return to
configure layout (far left icon on toolbar)
Click Layout Fly-out > Click Reading Pane
Click “Reading Layout” Word Document
Point to preview
Click Layout Fly-out > Click Reading Pane (off)
Windows Vista also simplifies your life
by helping you find and manage all the information that resides on your
PC.
New desktop search and organization
features let you work with your files and email efficiently.
ADDRESS BAR
Navigation of your folders and files is
easy. Folders are easily opened; the <your own account>
folder, as you can see, includes files located on the PC that belong to
<your own account>. You may also notice the sub-folders
designate content.
This line is the Address bar; a simple
click allows us to navigate to the top level folders on this PC.
When you click this arrow all the sub-folders for <your own
account>, are displayed, they have been streamlined.
For example you see Music, rather than
“My Music,” “Pictures” rather than “My Pictures” and “Documents” rather
than “My Documents.” The locations of files are represented more
easily in this hierarchical structure.
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar next to of the
folder icon
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar to the right of
<your own account>
Move mouse away from <your own account> folder
dropdown
Press Alt key
Press Alt key again to hide Classic Menus
Windows Vista has the flexibility to
navigate in whichever way you are most comfortable. We have the choice of
navigating the traditional method, by double-clicking the folder or
choosing the Address bar. To go to Documents, we click the arrow and
choose Documents. Continuing we can visit the Finance Folder.
The Address bar now displays our
location. Root or desktop folder, to <your own account>
folder, to the Documents folder to the Finance. <<use the
mouse to focus audience attention on each element of the address bar>>
We can preview our documents with a
zoom affect by changing the size of the icons through the Views menu, an
excellent way to preview a file before an action, such as opening.
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar to the right of
<your own account>, Select Contacts.
Click Back arrow
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar to the right of top-level
folder, Select Computer.
Click Back arrow
Click Views Fly-away arrow
Move scroll bar up and down slowly to
preview files (start and return to Details)
Windows Vista provides more
functionality in less space than Windows XP. Common tasks and folder
navigation are now available in the same view. The Address bar and
Search functions take less space, leaving more room for you to work with
your files.
Notice, to again streamline your
actions, the Menu Bar is context-sensitive, and provides tasks appropriate
for the current selection. Different tasks appear for folders,
documents, and media files.
Indicate the location of the Address Bar, the Search
box and Properties Pane
Click Address Bar drop down arrow
(show the DOS-like path is available)
Click X to Close Window
PROGRAM MENU
Windows Vista makes it easy to find and
launch an application using integrated search.
As I type an application’s name in the
Search box, the Start Menu zeroes in on a match. The Start Menu will
filter down until only “Calculator” is showing.
Click Start Button >
Type “calc“ in the Start Search box.
Press ENTER to launch Calculator.
RUNNING APPLICATIONS
You might be concerned the RUN command
has disappeared. However, the Search box is multifunctional. It
will act as the RUN command line too.
Click Start Button >
Type “command” press Enter
Move Windows to expose
The traditional use of “All Programs”
to access applications installed on the PC is available as well. Notice
I can also toggle or switch back to the initial start application list,
by clicking the Back arrow.
It is still just as easy to open
Microsoft Excel from the menus, but instead of the flyaway menus which
could get away from you, there is now an expanding list.
Click Start Button >
Click All Programs
Click Back
Click All Programs
Click Microsoft Office > Click Microsoft Excel
Click Restore Down button
SAVING FILE SEARCHES
Once you build a useful search, you can
save it for later use as a saved search. A saved search is a new
feature in Windows Vista that enables you to take any search that you’ve
run and save it for later usage. This prevents you from having to
design the same search over and over again.
Why would you save a search? There
are many reasons, for example, you save your files chronologically in
folders by month, and then you wish to find all files related to a
particular subject, a saved search would make these files available, just
like a folder whenever you need them.
Press the ALT key to expose the traditional Explorer
Click File > Save Search
Type Jenn’s Marketing docs and Click Save
Close all windows
One benefit of a saved search is that it doesn’t
matter where files reside on your PC - Search Folders find your content
for you. As more “Jenn / marketing” documents are saved to my PC,
they automatically appear in my custom Search Folder.
Your Search Folders are easily accessed
from the Document folder’s navigation pane, and are also located in a
folder in your user’s profile.
Click Start > Documents
Maximize Folder
Click Saved Searches in the left pane
OFFLINE FILES & SYNC CENTER
Offline files, are a straightforward
means of configure access to files that you might need to access when the
PC is not connected to a network.
The new Windows Vista Sync Center gives
you one place where you can manage data synchronization in several
scenarios: between multiple PCs, between network servers and PCs, and
with the devices you connect to your PC.
Click Offline Files
Click Open Sync Center
Right-click Offline Files Folder > Click Explore
Point to Sync toolbar at top
Close Sync Center Windows
Close Control Panel
IE7: CUSTOMIZING
APPEARANCE
Windows Vista enhances the Internet
Explorer experience. The upcoming release of Internet Explorer 7 not only
adds important new security and privacy features, but makes everyday
tasks easier through features such as tabbed browsing, inline search, and
shrink-to-fit printing.
So, depending on the page you are viewing
and the resolution of your monitor you can adjust the text to fit the
situation. This can make some web pages easier to read.
Adjusting the some can also enhance the visual nature of the page, larger
text and larger images, if that is important for the page.
Anytime you need them, you also have
access to the familiar menus of previous versions of IE and this is just
if you want the menus on all the time. Most common functions are easily
available from the menu bar buttons without the classic menus.
Thus the menus may become obsolete for you as you familiarize yourself
with the aspects of IE7.
Ensure you’re logged in as <your own account>
Launch Internet Explorer
Click Page menu > Text Size >
Select smallest
Click Page menu > Zoom > 400%
Click Page menu > Text Size > Largest
Scroll around to show text and images
Click Page menu > Zoom > 100%
Click Tools menu > Full Screen
Press F11 to return
Show ALT, then Click Tools > Toolbars >
Classic menu
Click Page menu > Text Size > Select smaller
IE7: WEB SEARCH
Searching has become an integrated part
of finding information on the web and now with the integrated
Toolbar Search Box you can access a variety of popular search engines
with the click of a button.
We have our IE search configured for
MSN Search, however, you are able to easily add more search engines, such
as AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, and Yahoo! Search engines.
Click the fly-out on the Search bar to show
available providers
Search on a topic of interest to you (example:
“bigfoot”)
Press Enter
Click Quick Search dropdown arrow> Get Search
Providers…
Select Google
Click Back button
IE7: TABBED BROWSING
Sometimes when you are surfing the
Internet doing research you will need to open a number of web pages
looking for the best content.
IE7 features tabbed browsing.
Opening new tabs is as easy as holding the control key and clicking
links, or by clicking with the mouse wheel. This makes it easier to
manage IE windows and web pages information working with groups of pages
from different sites.
You can also use the “new tab” tab to
open a new tabbed window, and then type the URL
Control-click several links in the search results.
Click the new tab button and type a URL
IE7 includes some great features to
help you get the most from tabbed browsing.
Quick Tabs displays snapshots of all of
your open tabs. You can quickly visualize and select the tab you
want, and also close or refresh tabs.
I am sure many of you can envision many
uses in you routines for the tabs and associated groupings. The
next step is to re-use or revisit these groups and pages when needed.
Click the Quick Tabs button, just left of the
left-most tab (four squares)
Right-click one of the tabs and describe the
available options. Choose Refresh
IE7: FAVORITES CENTER
Using the Favorites Center, You can
create Tab Groups by placing your favorites in subfolders. Clicking
the arrow to the right of the folder opens each link in a new tab.
You can even set a Tab Group as your
home page, so all your favorite pages open every time you start
IE7.
Click the Favorites Center, the star
icon on the toolbar.
Click Add Tab Group to Favorites …
Type Demo Tab Group
Right-click a tab and select Close Other Tabs.
Click Home icon on top navigation
Click the Favorites Center, the star icon on the
toolbar.
Click the blue arrow to the right of your link
folder (it appears when you mouse over the folder)
Click Quick Tabs button
IE7: PRINT PREVIEW
NOTE: PRINT PREVIEW WILL NOT
CHANGE FROM “FIT TO PAGE”
If you’ve ever had problems getting a
web page to print, you’ll be glad to know that IE7 gives great results
when printing web pages. IE shrinks web pages to fit on paper
correctly, so you get the result you want with less waste.
You can save even more paper by
turning off headers and footers.
Finally, if you just want to print a
selection of a web page, simply highlight it before printing.
Note: If the page preview does
not render quickly, change the scale from “shrink to fit” to some other
value.
Click the fly-out next to the Print
Icon button, and choose Print Preview.
Change the print size from shrink to fit to 90% to
show how web pages usually won’t fit on a page nicely
Click the turn off headers and footers button
Click Page View Fly-out and select 2 Page View
close print preview
highlight some text on the page, and print preview
again
Close Print Preview
IE7: ANTI-PHISHING
Phishing scams imitate legitimate
websites hoping to trick users into handing over sensitive personal
information. Phishing scams are a major concern on the Internet,
and have exponentially in the last year.
Several new features in Internet
Explorer 7 will help users avoid phishing scams.
IE7 makes it easy for users to find out if they’re
visiting a legitimate site. A security report is available for
every secured site visited. This report is easy to read and helps
the user determine if the website is legitimate.
Remember if you are unsure of what
something does, you can always get help, which is often immediately
available with a simple click.
Open the Favorites Center and click on
Favorites button
Hover over the Anti-Phishing group Click Tools >
Phishing Filter > Check this website
Click “How does phishing help protect me?” Link
Close the Help
Click OK button
IE7: CLEAR BROWSING
HISTORY
IE7 provides a central easy to clear
your browsing history. You can clear specific areas such as
Temporary Internet Files or Cookies, or you can clear your entire
browsing history with the Delete All button.
Click the Tools > Select Delete
Browsing History
Click Delete All
SOME CHANGES YOU MAY WANT TO DISCOVER
So you have seen many new ways to do
some old things. However, there are some other changes to the
Windows environment with Windows Vista. For example, if you used
Outlook Express and not the Outlook available from the Microsoft Office
Suite, you will no longer see Outlook Express. This does not mean
you will not have access to your email through Windows Vista; simply it
has been redesigned and named Windows Mail.
Also, you may notice there is no Net
Meeting. However, Windows collaboration gives you the ability to
share documents, programs, or your desktop with other people.
There is the addition of Windows
Defender (optional demo), which assists you in protecting your PC,
network and organization from unwanted and problematic software, such as.
spy ware
A Windows Fax and Scan tool is
available to help managed digital documents, throughout an organization.
You might find the addition of RSS
support for IE a useful tool and you will continue to hear more about
Windows Sidebar and Gadgets.
Windows Sidebar is a little like a
desktop corral, where you keep small applications that are helpful to
frequently used tasks, these include World Clocks for example if your
work requires International communication.
There are plenty of new programs,
software, and features to explore; so set some time aside and try some of
them. Oh, do not worry; when you need an executive break, Windows
Solitaire is still available on most configurations.
Click Start button > All Programs
> Windows Mail
Click Start button > All Programs > Windows
Collaboration
Click Start button > All Programs > Windows
Defender
Click Start button > All Programs > Windows
Fax and Scan
Click Start button > All Programs >
Accessories > Windows Sidebar
Click Start button > All Programs > Games
(right)
Click Windows Solitaire icon
Optional: WINDOWS SIDEBAR
Windows Sidebar keeps information and
tasks at your fingertips, and helps you be more productive at work and at
home. Windows Sidebar is a platform for a brand new category of
mini applications, for both the desktop and the Web. These new
mini-applications are called Gadgets for Windows Sidebar.
Click Start button > All Programs
> Accessories > Windows Sidebar
Gadgets bring the tasks and information
important to you right to the desktop, without the need to launch full
applications. For example you can glance at a news site, even when you’re
doing other things on the computer. This could show new photos
co-workers uploaded from onsite situations; for example insurance
adjusters, appraisers, construction progress, diagrams, flow processes,
and other visual business related content. These images can be uploaded
to a web location great way for organizations to stay connected.
Gadgets displayed are:
Launcher
Slide Show
RSS feed
Recycle Bin
Clock
Many gadgets can be dragged to the
desktop for an expanded experience.
Drag the slideshow gadget onto the desktop.
Drag the slideshow gadget back to the Sidebar
Like the RSS gadget which provides news
headlines in real time, from any provider. If you see a
particularly interesting headline, You can click it for the full story.
Optional: click headline RSS Gadget to open
browser. Close IE when finished.
The gadget library stores all the
gadgets That are available on your computer. Sidebar is extensible,
so you can download more gadgets from the Web.
Click the + at the bottom of the Sidebar.
Close the gadget library.
Right-click the Sidebar icon in the system tray, and
select Exit
These are just some examples of gadgets
that partners and Microsoft can build for Windows Sidebar. We
expect to see many more in the future. Some day your IT department
may send the latest corporate news to the Sidebar.
Optional: IE7: RSS
SUPPORT
IE7 has great support for RSS, or
Really Simple Syndication, used to deliver content when you are
“tuned-in” to the web page. Need to explain more here what an RSS feed
does and the benefit. Many people will not know. e.g. Some sites, such as
news sites, allow you to get an RSS feed that sends you the latest
articles or content from the site on a regular basis.
RSS has revolutionized the way people use the
Internet, but RSS feeds can be tough to discover. IE7 makes feed
discovery easy by detecting the links available on a web page. The
RSS icon glows orange when RSS feeds are detected.
Close all but one tab. (Right-click Tab and select
Close other Tabs)
Click the Favorites Center, the star icon on the
toolbar and Open the News > New York Times
Scroll to the bottom of the page, and select the
“Add New York Times RSS Feeds” link.
Click the fly-out next to the RSS button to display
available feeds
Select the Sports feed
Selecting a feed loads the content into
a simple, easy-to-read layout. The feed is easily searched and
sorted using the toolbar at the right.
Subscribing to a feed is as easy as
clicking the Subscribe button. Subscribed feeds are placed into a
central RSS store where they are available to other applications.
Enter a term to search in the Search
Box – look for a term on the page that will give a result (Do not enter the
text in the Explorer Quick Search but the feed search on the page)
Clear the search term using backspace
Click the Sort By links to show sorting capabilities
Click the Favorites Center, the star icon on the
toolbar and click the Feeds button
Click a Feed link
Click the Favorites Center, the star icon on the
toolbar and click the Feeds button to close the Favorites View
Close IE by click X
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar next to of the
folder icon
Click Fly-away arrow on Address bar to the right of
<your own account>
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