Next to your keyboard and mouse, this could be your most important accessory. Just keep it next to your keyboard and your mouse and refer to it to capitalize on the terrific capabilities at your fingertips with Windows XP. Windows XP For Dummies Quick Reference Second Edition covers the latest updates to Windows XP, including enhanced security and changes to Internet Explorer. It starts with the basics for true beginners, goes through everyday stuff, and progresses to the Web, accessories, and the control panel. After a quick introduction to the desktop, My Documents, dialogue boxes, and other basic info, you’ll explore: - Customizing your desktop
- Saving music with Windows Media Player
- Browsing drives, folders and files
- Dragging, dropping, cutting, and pasting
- Playing music, videos and movies
- Browsing with Internet Explorer
- Sending and receiving e-mails
- Using Windows Accessories
Written by Greg Harvey, author of Excel 2002 For Dummies and more than 50 other computer books, Windows XP For Dummies Quick Reference, 2nd Edition is so clear and concise it turns computer phobes into computer geeks with step-by-step guides to:
- Using the Home Networking Wizard so two or more home computers can share a single Internet connection and other resources
- Creating slideshows with your graphics files
- Producing videos with Windows Movie Maker accessory program
- Downloading Microsoft Reader free and then downloading eBooks (many are free) and saving them in My Library
- Using the link to the Photo Printing Wizard to format and print your digital photos
- Using Windows Media Player to play audio, video, and animation files you’ve saved, play Internet radio stations, view trailers for upcoming movies, and play MP3 audio files you’ve downloaded
Complete with a glossary and index, Windows XP For Dummies Quick Reference doesn’t delve into the technology and terminology: it sticks to exploring the things Windows XP lets you do and describing how to!
Table of Contents:
Windows XP: BP-1
What You See: The Windows Desktop BP-2
What You See: My Documents BP-4
What You See: Dialog Boxes BP-5
Taskbar Table BP-6
The Basics: Opening and Closing Windows BP-7
The Basics: Creating New Folders BP-10
The Basics: Deleting Folders and Files BP-11
The Basics: Copying or Moving Folders and Files BP-13
The Basics: Exiting Windows BP-15
What You Can Do: Setting Up a Desktop Made to Order BP-16
What You Can Do: Saving Music with Windows Media Player BP-18
What You Can Do: Producing Movies with Windows Movie Maker BP-20
Part I: Doing Everyday Stuff 1
Adding or Removing Programs 2
Putting programs on your computer 2
Adding Windows Components 3
Taking programs off your computer 4
Setting default Windows applications 5
Arranging and Sizing Icons in a Window 6
Browsing Drives, Folders, and Files on the Computer 7
My Documents 7
My Pictures 8
Making slideshows 9
Printing pictures 10
My Music 12
My Videos 12
My eBooks 13
My Computer 14
Using the Folders Explorer bar 16
Mapping network drives 18
My Network Places 19
Network connections 20
Network Places 22
Home Networking Wizard 23
Copying (and Moving) Files and Folders 24
Drag ’em up, drop ’em down 25
Using cut-and-paste 26
Creating New Files and Folders 27
Creating a blank file 28
Compressing files and folders 28
Compressing FAT files and folders 29
Encrypting a compressed folder 30
Extracting files from a compressed folder 31
Compressing NTFS files and folders 33
Sharing folders on a network 34
Creating Shortcuts 34
Shortcuts to open stuff 35
Shortcuts to Web pages 36
Customizing the Desktop 36
Deleting Junk 37
Formatting a Disk 39
Getting Help and Support 40
Getting Info on a Disk, Folder, or File 42
Disk properties 42
Folder properties 44
Customizing a folder 44
File properties 45
Launching Programs 46
Moving and Resizing Windows 46
Naming Files and Folders 49
Long filenames 50
File icons 50
Things you do with files 51
Renaming files and folders 51
Opening Files and Folders 52
Playing Music, Video, and Movies 53
Windows Media Player 53
Audio CD-ROMs 56
Radio stations 59
Copying audio files and making CDs 60
Copying music to your hard drive 60
Creating playlists 62
Recording audio CDs 63
Video files 65
DVDs 66
Portable device 67
Printing 68
Managing the print queue 69
Installing a new printer 70
Searching for Files and Folders 73
Searching for computers, people, and Web sites 75
Searching for pictures, music, or video 76
Selecting Commands on Menus 77
Pull-down menus 78
Shortcut menus 79
Dialog boxes 79
Alert dialog boxes 82
Wizards 82
Control menus 82
Selecting Commands on Explorer Bars 83
Selecting Commands from Toolbars 84
The Address Bar 86
The Desktop toolbar 87
The Links toolbar 87
The menu bar 88
The Standard Buttons toolbar 88
The status bar 90
Resizing and moving toolbars 90
Customizing the Standard Buttons toolbar 91
Selecting Files and Folders 92
Shutting Down Windows 93
Using the Command Prompt 94
Using the Windows Taskbar 95
The Start menu 96
The Quick Launch toolbar 97
The Notification area 98
Customizing the Taskbar and Start menu 99
Customizing the Notification area 100
Customizing the Start menu 101
Switching between programs 102
Arranging windows on the desktop 103
Using Task Manager 104
Creating custom toolbars 105
Using Windows Automatic Update 106
Part II: Windows and the Web 109
Adding Web Favorites 110
Opening Favorites 112
Offline Favorites 112
Organizing Favorites 114
Synchronizing offline Favorites 116
Browsing with Internet Explorer 117
Connecting to the Internet 118
Launching Internet Explorer 118
Navigating the Web 119
Address AutoComplete 120
Saving Web graphics 120
Saving Web pages 121
Saving Desktop items 122
Printing Web pages 123
Working offline 124
Browsing with MSN Explorer 126
Searching the Web 130
Searching from the Explorer Bar 130
Autosearching from the Address Bar 132
Sending and Receiving E-Mail 132
Composing and sending messages 133
Adding recipients to the Address Book 136
Reading e-mail 138
Organizing e-mail 141
Deleting e-mail 142
Instant Messaging 143
Adding contacts 144
Sending instant messages 145
Retrieving e-mail via Windows Messenger 146
Part III: Windows Accessories 147
Accessibility 148
Accessing Your Accessories 148
Address Book 149
Calculator 149
Command Prompt 151
Communications 151
Networking 151
Network Connections 152
Remote Desktop Connection 153
Entertainment 156
Sound Recorder 156
Volume Control 157
Microsoft Interactive Training 158
Notepad 159
Program Compatibility Wizard 159
Scanner and Camera Wizard 160
Paint 160
System Tools 161
Character Map 162
Scheduled Tasks 163
System Restore 165
Windows Explorer 166
Windows Movie Maker 167
Assembling your clips 168
Editing the elements in your movie 168
Creating the final movie 169
WordPad 170
Part IV: The Windows Control Panel 171
About the Control Panel 172
Accessibility Options 173
Add or Remove Programs 174
Appearance and Themes 175
Folder Options 176
Display 176
Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options 178
Network and Internet Connections 179
Performance and Maintenance 180
Printers and Other Hardware 182
Security Center 183
Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices 183
User Accounts 184
Glossary: Techie Talk 187
Index 191
About the Author :
Greg Harvey, the author of more than 50 computer books, has had a long career of teaching business people the use of IBM PC, Windows, and Macintosh software application programs. From 1983 to 1988, he conducted hands-on computer software training for corporate business users with a variety of training companies (including his own, PC Teach). From 1988 to 1992, he taught university classes in Lotus 1-2-3 and Introduction to Database Management Technology (using dBASE) in the Department of Information Systems at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
In mid-1993, Greg started a new multimedia publishing venture, Mind over Media, Inc. As a multimedia developer and computer book author, he hopes to enliven his future online computer books by making them into true interactive learning experiences that will vastly enrich and improve the training of users of all skill levels.
