Toshiba Satellite 2430 2435 Manual

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 6: Starting programs
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The operating system displays the document as an icon 
on the desktop.
5Click the document icon and drag it toward your New 
Folder icon. Position the document icon over the New 
Folder icon until it changes color, then release the 
primary button.
The outline of the document icon moves across the 
desktop and disappears into the folder.
6To see your document, double-click the folder icon.
A window opens and displays the contents of the folder.
7Close the window by clicking its Close button and 
continue with the next lesson to learn how to start 
programs.
Lesson 6: Starting programs
Usually, you will know which program you want to use for a 
particular task. 
This lesson teaches you how to launch programs from the 
Start menu, using two of the programs that are built into the 
Windows
® XP operating system: Paint and Windows 
Explorer.
1Click Start, then point to All Programs.
The operating system displays a list of program folders.
2Point to Accessories, then click Paint.
The operating system opens Paint—a basic drawing 
program. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 6: Starting programs
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Sample Paint window
3To open the second program, click Start, then click All 
Programs.
4Point to Accessories, then click Windows Explorer.
The operating system opens Windows Explorer, which 
provides access to all your computer’s resources. For 
example, it lets you see all the files in a particular folder 
on the computer’s hard disk. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 7: Resizing, repositioning, and hiding windows
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Sample Windows Explorer window
Notice the taskbar now has two buttons on it—one for 
Paint and one for Windows Explorer. 
5Click the Paint button on the taskbar.
The operating system displays the Paint program.
The operating system places the active window on top of 
other windows on the desktop unless you have selected a 
different display option. You can move back and forth 
between the two programs by alternately clicking each 
button.
Lesson 7: Resizing, repositioning, and hiding 
windows
If you have followed the lessons in this chapter, you now have 
a screen with several program windows open. You can 
organize these windows by resizing and repositioning 
windows so that you can see more than one of them at a time. 
You can also hide windows by removing them from the 
desktop without actually closing your document or program. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 7: Resizing, repositioning, and hiding windows
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This lesson introduces several ways to adjust the size, shape, 
and position of windows open on the desktop.
Using the taskbar
If you have applications open on the desktop, you can 
rearrange them by pointing to the taskbar using the TouchPad 
and clicking the secondary button. The Windows
® XP 
operating system provides these options:
❖Move windows
❖Size windows
❖Minimize all windows—display only the taskbar buttons
❖Maximize windows
❖Close windows
Choose your option depending on how you wish to set up 
your desktop.
Minimizing and maximizing windows
1To make the Windows Explorer window the active 
window, click the Windows Explorer button on the 
taskbar.
The operating system highlights the Windows Explorer 
title bar to show that Windows Explorer is the active 
window. 
2Click the Minimize button at the top-right of the 
Explorer window to hide the window.
Windows Explorer disappears from the desktop. 
However, it is still open, as you can see from the taskbar.
HINT: Minimizing program windows is a good way to clean up the 
desktop without actually closing programs. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 7: Resizing, repositioning, and hiding windows
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3Click the Maximize button in the top-right corner of the 
Paint window.
The Paint window expands to fill the screen, hiding 
everything except the taskbar. Notice that the Maximize 
button has changed. It is now called the Restore Down 
button.
HINT: Maximizing a program is a good way to work when you are 
only using that program and do not want any distractions on the 
screen.
Resizing and moving windows
1Click the Restore Down button in the top-right corner of 
the Paint window.
Paint returns to its previous size and location. Notice that 
the Restore Down button has changed back into the 
Maximize button.
For the next few steps assume that you want to be able to 
see both Paint and Windows Explorer at the same time.
2Move the pointer to the right-hand edge of the Paint 
window.
The pointer changes to a two-headed arrow.
3Click and drag the edge of the window until it takes up 
just less than half the width of the desktop.
4Click the title bar of the Paint window and drag it to the 
left side of the desktop.
You can move any window by clicking its title bar and 
dragging it.
5Click Windows Explorer button on the taskbar. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 8: Closing programs
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6Repeat steps 3 and 4 to change the size and position of 
Windows Explorer, placing it on the right side of the 
desktop.
Now that the windows are side by side, you can see how 
you could refer to one window while working in the 
other.
Resizing and moving windows allows you to rearrange the 
desktop to suit your needs. Experiment with different sizes 
and placements of windows to find the best arrangement for 
your work.
Sample Windows Explorer windows
At this point you have two programs open on the desktop. 
The next lesson shows you how to close them.
Lesson 8: Closing programs 
Once you are finished working with a document or program, 
it is a good idea to close it. While you can run several 
programs at the same time, having a large number of 
programs and documents open simultaneously can slow 
down your computer.  
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 9: Creating shortcuts
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This lesson teaches you how to close the programs you 
opened earlier in this tutorial. 
To close the programs:
1Click the Close button at the top-right of the Explorer 
window.
Windows Explorer closes, removing the Explorer button 
from the taskbar as well.
2Close Paint and the My Computer window (assuming it is 
still open) by clicking the Close buttons for each 
program.
HINT: Always save your work before you close a program.
Lesson 9: Creating shortcuts
By adding shortcuts to your desktop, you can open programs 
or files with the click of a button. You will probably want to 
create shortcuts for the programs you use most frequently. 
This lesson explains how to create shortcuts using two 
Windows
® accessories, Calculator and Character Map, as 
examples.
Creating a shortcut to the Calculator
Use this method when you know the name and location of the 
program file to which you would like to create a shortcut.
1Move the pointer to an empty area of the desktop, then 
click the secondary button.
The operating system displays the desktop shortcut 
menu.
2Click New, then click Shortcut.
The operating system displays the Create Shortcut dialog 
box. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 9: Creating shortcuts
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Sample Create Shortcut dialog box
3In the Command line box, type 
c:\windows\system32\calc.exe 
and click Next.
The operating system prompts you to select a name for 
the shortcut.
4Ty p e  
Calculator and click Finish.
The operating system displays the new shortcut on your 
desktop.
Creating a shortcut to the Character Map
Use this method when you don’t know the name and location 
of the program file.
1Click Start, then point to Search. 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 9: Creating shortcuts
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Sample Search options on the Start menu
2Click All Files and Folders.
The operating system displays the Search Results dialog 
box.
Sample Search Results dialog box 
						

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Getting to Know the Windows ® XP Operating System
Lesson 10: Changing the screen saver
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HINT: Search also allows you to perform searches on the Internet.
3Ty p e  
char in the All or part of the file name: text box, 
and then click Search.
The operating system displays a list of all the files with 
“char” in their names.
4Click the Character Map file with the secondary button 
and drag it to the desktop.
A shortcut menu appears.
5Click Create Shortcut here.
A shortcut to the Character Map appears on your desktop.
Clicking a shortcut icon opens the program or folder 
immediately. You can place as many shortcuts on your 
desktop as you find useful.
HINT: The Character Map is a useful tool when you want to add a 
special character to a document.
Lesson 10: Changing the screen saver
You can personalize the background area of your desktop 
with pictures, patterns, or colors. The background is 
considered a “property” of your desktop. This lesson will not 
only teach you how to change the background, but will also 
introduce you to properties.
The operating system treats all windows, icons, programs, 
drives, etc. as self-contained objects, each with its own set of 
properties (such as size, position on-screen, and color). Many