Year: 2020

Microsoft Word (or simply Word) is a word processor developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983.

Sometimes called Winword, MS Word, or Word, Microsoft Word is a word processor published by Microsoft. It is one of the office productivity applications included in the Microsoft Office suite. Originally developed by Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, it was first released in 1983.

Microsoft Word is available for Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, Android, and Apple iOS. It can also run on the Linux operating system using WINE.

What is Microsoft Word used for?

Microsoft Word allows you to create professional-quality documents, reports, letters, and résumés. Unlike a plain text editor, Microsoft Word has features including spell check, grammar check, text and font formatting, HTML support, image support, advanced page layout, and more.

What are the uses of Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word is a word processor, and, like other word processors, it’s capable of helping users create a variety of different types of documents. For example, users can create a résumé, business contract, instruction document, or a letter to another person. We’ve included a list of the top uses of a word processor on our word processor page.

How many lines are there on a page in Microsoft Word?

By default, there are 29 lines on one page in Microsoft Word.

What type of files can Microsoft Word create and use?

Early versions of Microsoft Word primarily created and used the .doc file extension, while newer versions of Word create and use the .docx file extension.

More recent versions of Microsoft Word can create and open the following types of files:

• .doc, .docm, .docx
• .dot, .dotm, .dotx
• .htm, .html
• .mht, .mhtml
• .odt
• .pdf
• .rtf
• .txt
• .wps
• .xps
• .xml

1. Entering Text – Microsoft Word

Document area is the area where you type your text. The flashing vertical bar is called the insertion point and it represents the location where the text will appear when you type. keep the cursor at the text insertion point and start typing the text. We typed only two words “Hello Word” as shown below.

The following are the two important points that will help you while typing −

• You do not need to press Enter to start a new line. As the insertion point reaches the end of the line, Word automatically starts a new one. You will need to press Enter, to add a new paragraph.
• When you want to add more than one space between words, use the Tab key instead of the spacebar. This way you can properly align text by using the proportional fonts.

2. Formatting in Microsoft Word

Formatting text in Microsoft Word involves tasks like bolding the text, italicising it, and changing the font and size. The commands to perform all of these formatting tasks are found on the Home tab in the Font group. Select your text and then click on the required formatting button to see the effects.

Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcuts for those commands. Here are the shortcuts for some of the more commonly used formatting commands:

• Bold: ctrl-b
• Italic: ctrl-i
• Underline: ctrl-u

You can also set the formatting before you type by clicking the appropriate button or using the shortcut, and then anything you subsequently type will be formatted. To unset the formatting, you click the same command button or use the same shortcut.

3. Editing

Step I: Open your document to begin editing. If you’re unsure about your editing skills, save an extra copy under the name “DocumentName-edit” so that your document stays in its original format. Edit the new version. If you like your changes, rename the document afterwards.

Step II: Delete single letters one at a time. Place the cursor to the right of the letters to be erased and press the “Backspace” key or place the cursor to the left and press the “Delete” key. Continue pressing the key until all the letters are gone.

Step III: Erase entire words, sentences, paragraphs, or pages. Highlight the text you want to delete by either dragging the mouse to highlight the text, or by holding down the shift key and using the arrows. Once the text is highlighted, press “Backspace” or “Delete” to erase the text.

4. Headers and Footers

Headers and footers are typically used in multiple-page documents to display descriptive information. In addition to page numbers, a header or footer can contain information such as: The document name, the date and/or time you created or revised the document, an author name, a graphic, a draft or revision number.

This descriptive information can appear in many different combinations. For example, the second page of a business letter typically contains a header with the name of the addressee, the page number, and the date. A report can contain a footer with the report name and a header with the page number and chapter name. A newsletter can contain a header with a title and logo on the first page and a footer with the title and page number on the pages that follow. Adjust your Headers and Footers via the “Header and Footer” selection on the View dropdown menu on the Menu toolbar.

5. Column and Section Page Layout

The layout of your pages can have a big impact on how they’re read, and layouts, used well, allow you to position text, images, macros, charts, and much more, to have the best visual impact.

There are two ways to modify the layout of a Confluence page:

• Use page layouts to add sections and columns
• Use macros to add sections and columns.

Page layouts provide a simple, visual representation of your page layout in the editor, while the macros are more flexible and allow for greater complexity in your layout.

To add a section:

Choose the Page Layout button in the toolbar

The Page Layout toolbar appears.

Choose Add Section

The new section appears below your current content, with the boundaries of the section(s) indicated by dotted lines (the dotted lines aren’t visible when you view the page).

To change the column layout in a section:

• Place your cursor in the section you wish to change
• Choose a layout from the page layout toolbar (for example, two columns or three columns)

Any text, images or macros in your section are not lost when you change the column layout. When you decrease the number of columns, Confluence will move your content to the left. When you increase the number of columns, Confluence will add blank columns to the right of your existing content.

To move a section to another part of the page:

• Place your cursor in the section you wish to move
• Choose the Move up or Move down buttons

The section and all of its content will be moved above or below other sections on the page.

To delete a section:

• Place your cursor in the section you wish to remove
• Choose Remove section

The section and all of its content will be removed.

6. Spelling and Grammar Checkers

Microsoft Word comes with built-in spell checker and grammar checker. It also offers robust support for dictionaries.

Given we now produce so much content in a digital format, the tools are useful. You’re much more likely to make spelling errors when using a keyboard rather than a pen.

The tools work automatically most of the time, but there are many ways to customize them. For example, you can use AutoCorrect to speed up your typing. And the dictionary menus are packed with clever features and hidden options.

7. Thesaurus in Microsoft Word

In addition to the spell checking and grammar checking tools that Microsoft Word offers, there is also the Word thesaurus we can take advantage of to improve our documents. Using the thesaurus, you can find synonyms (different words with the same meaning) and antonyms (words with the opposite meaning).

In Microsoft Office Word you can look up a word quickly if you right-click anywhere in your document, and then click Synonym on the shortcut menu.

Thesaurus in Word now: click Review > Proofing > Thesaurus. The Research pane opens on the right hand side of the workspace.

Type in a word into the Search for box and press Enter. Alternatively, press ALT on the keyboard and click a word in your document. Word displays a list of alternatives that you can use. If you find a word in the list that you’d like to use, click on the down arrow that appears to the right and select Insert.

If you had selected a word in your document, the word you select in the Research pane will replace it. If not, the word will simply be inserted into your document where the cursor was positioned.

If you want to continue your research and look up further synonyms for another word in the list, click on it. That word will be placed in the Search for box and its synonyms will be displayed in the list.

8. Replace, Cut and Paste

Cutting, copying, and pasting are three of the most basic features available to a computer user, but as you might expect Microsoft Word gives you more options than just those. There’s a built-in Office clipboard that’s pretty powerful, the ability to choose the format of content you paste, and more. Here’s how it all works.

Paste Text the Way You Want

When you paste text using Ctrl+V, Word defaults to pasting both the text and any formatting applied to that text. This means that the text will look like it did in the original location. Technically, Word copies the formatting marks in the text, which can be interpreted in different ways. This is why you might find that text copied from a website can appear much larger in Word; the formatting marks are interpreted differently by Word than they are by your web browser.

Instead of hitting Ctrl+V, you can click Home > Paste to see some different options.

The “Paste” drop-down menu shows a few options as icons across the top. From left to right these are:

• Keep Source Formatting: This is the default option you get when pressing Ctrl+V, as described above.
• Merge Formatting: This command pastes just the text you’ve copied but changes the formatting to match the surrounding text into which you’re pasting.
• Picture: This command inserts the text as a picture.
• Keep Text Only: This command removes all formatting from the original text. The text will take on the default formatting of the paragraph into which you insert the text.

There are also a couple of other options on the “Paste” drop-down menu. The “Paste Special” command lets you paste whatever you’ve copied as a special document type. For example, you could paste as a Word document, picture, or even HTML. The options available in the Paste Special window change depending on what you’ve copied. If you copied text, for example, you could insert it as a separate Word document. If you copied an image, you can change the format of the image when you paste (which we’ll talk more about in the next section).

The “Set Default Paste” option lets you change the default paste action (when you press Ctrl+V) if you don’t want “Keep Source Formatting” to be the default.

Copy Formatting and Apply it to Other Text

You’ve got your formatting set just so, and now you want various other parts of your document to look the same. It would be a pain to have to change each block of text to match manually, so Word provides the Format Painter tool to help. Format Painter copies the formatting from selected text and then pastes it into other text. If you select an entire paragraph, it copies the paragraph formatting. If you select just a few words of text, it copies any character formatting applied to that text.

Select the text with the formatting you want to copy, hit Home > Format Painter and then select the text to which you want to paste the formatting. If you want to paste formatting to multiple locations, select the text and then double-click the “Format Painter” button. Anything you click or select after that gets pasted with the original formatting, and you can click the “Format Painter” button again to turn it off.

Creating a table in Word 2019

Tables organize text into rows and columns, which can make the text easy to type, edit, and format while spacing it correctly in your document. Tables organize text into cells, where a cell is the intersection of a row and a column.

Word provides four ways to create a table:

• Click the Insert tab, click the Table icon, and then highlight the number of rows and columns for your table (up to a maximum of eight rows and ten columns).
• Use the Insert Table dialog box.
• Draw the size and position of the table with the mouse.
• Convert existing text (divided by a delimiter character such as a tab or a comma).

Creating a table by highlighting rows and columns in Word 2019

Creating a table by highlighting rows and columns can be fast, but it limits the size of your table to a maximum of eight rows and ten columns. To create a table by highlighting rows and columns, follow these steps:

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Move the cursor where you want to insert a table in your document.
3. Click the Table icon.

A pull-down menu appears.

4. Move the mouse pointer to highlight the number of rows and columns you want to create for your table.

When you highlight rows and columns, Word displays your table directly in your document so you can see exactly what your table will look like.

5. Click the left mouse button when you’re happy with the size of your table.

Creating a table in Word 2019 with the Insert Table dialog box

Creating a table by highlighting the number of rows and columns can be fast, but it limits the size of your table to a maximum of eight rows and ten columns. To create a table by defining a specific number of rows and columns (up to a maximum of 63 columns), follow these steps:

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Move the cursor where you want to insert a table.
3. Click the Table icon.

A pull-down menu appears.

4. Click Insert Table.

The Insert Table dialog box appears.

5. Click in the Number of Columns text box and type a number between 1 and 63, or click the up or down arrow to define the number of columns.
6. Click in the Number of Rows text box and type a number or click the up or down arrow to define the number of rows.
7. In the AutoFit Behavior group, select one of the following radio buttons:

• Fixed Column Width: Defines a fixed size for the column widths, such as 0.3 inches
• AutoFit to Contents: Defines the width of a column based on the width of the largest item stored in that column
• AutoFit to Window: Expands (or shrinks) the table to fit within the current size of the document window

8. Click OK.

Word draws the table in your document.

9. Creating a table in Word with the mouse

Drawing a table can be especially useful when you want to place a table in the middle of a page and create rows and columns of different sizes.

To draw a table in your Word document, follow these steps:

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Click the Table icon.

A pull-down menu appears.

3. Click Draw Table.

The mouse pointer turns into a Pencil icon.

4. Move the mouse pointer where you want to draw your table, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse to draw your table.

Word draws a rectangular dotted box to show where your table will appear.

5. Release the left mouse button when you’re happy with the size and position of your table.
6. Draw the boundaries for your table’s rows and columns:

• To draw vertical lines in your table, move the mouse pointer to the top or bottom of the table, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse up and down.
• To draw horizontal lines in your table, move the mouse pointer to the left or right side of the table, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse right and left to draw.

7. Press Esc or double-click to turn the mouse pointer from a Pencil icon back to an I-beam pointer.

You can create a MS Word Mail Merge template that can then be uploaded into Wealthbox to print letters or other documents with fields inserted from Wealthbox. Note: be sure you save the Word file as a document, not a template format.

1. Open MS Word and choose a new document or an existing document that you would like to use as a Mail Merge template.
2. Click the “Insert” tab from the Menu bar and choose “Field” from the “Quick Parts” list.
3. Choose “Mail Merge” from the “Categories” list.
4. Select “MergeField” from the “Field names” list.
5. Within the “Field Properties” section, enter a Mail Merge field in the “Field name” box. Click here to see the available Mail Merge fields from Wealthbox.
6. Click “OK.”

NOTE: Copying and pasting the allowed Mail Merge fields will not work properly when conducting a Mail Merge within Wealthbox. The above steps are necessary when creating your templates within MS Word.

MS Word for PC example:

In DOS, many standard system commands were provided for common tasks such as listing files on a disk or moving files. Some commands were built into the command interpreter, others existed as external commands on disk. Over the several generations of DOS, commands were added for the additional functions of the operating system. In the current Microsoft Windows operating system, a text-mode command prompt window, cmd.exe, can still be used.

When you are using a Microsoft MS-DOS command prompt shell window, you can type the following commands into the window. Click a command shown below for a description of how to use that command.

• cd : Change directory or display current directory path.
• cls : Clear the window.
• dir : Display list of contents of current directory.
• help : Display list of commands or help about a command.
• notepad : Run the Windows Notepad text editor.
• type : Displays the contents of a text file.

Some other useful commands are:

• assoc : Displays or modifies filename extension associations.
• attrib : Displays or changes file attributes.
• call : Calls one batch program file from another.
• chkdsk : Checks a disk and displays a status report.
• chkntfs : Displays or modifies the checking of disk at startup.
• color : Sets the text and background colors.
• comp : Compares the contents of two files or sets of files.
• copy : Copies one or more files to another location.
• date : Displays or sets the computer’s date.
• del (or erase) : Deletes one or more files.
• defrag : Defragment the specified storage device.
• doskey : Display command history; define macros.
• echo : Displays messages, or turns command echoing on/off.
• edit : Runs the MS-DOS text editor.
• exit : Closes the MS-DOS window.
• fc : Compares two files or sets of files and displays the differences.
• find : Searches for a text string in a file or files.
• findstr : Search for a regular expression text string in a file or files.
• goto : Used in a batch program file to jump to a particular line.
• if : Used in a batch program file to perform conditional testing.
• md (or mkdir) : Creates a directory.
• more : Displays the contents of a file one screen at a time.
• move : Moves one or more files from one directory to another directory.
• rd (or rmdir) : Removes a directory.
• rem : Used in a batch program file to identify comments.
• ren (or rename) : Renames a file or files.
• sort : Sorts input.
• start : Starts a new window to run a specified program or command.
• time : Displays or sets the computer’s time.
• tree : Graphically displays the directory structure of a drive or directory.
• xcopy : Copies files and directory trees.

The following internet related commands are not part of MS-DOS but can be typed at the MS-DOS command prompt:

• arp : Displays ARP (address resolution protocol) translation tables.
• ftp : FTP (file transfer program) to transfer files to/from server.
• ipconfig : Displays internet configuration, including IP address.
• netsh : Network services shell.
• nslookup : Lookup IP address to/from domain name.
• netstat : Displays current TCP/IP network connections and statistics.
• ping : Ping the specified internet IP address or host name.
• telnet : Starts a text-based telnet session to the specified host.
• tftp : Transfers files to/from remote computer running TFTP service.
• tracert : Traces the route to the specified IP address or host.

The following command are not part of MS-DOS and do not come with Windows but are available from third-parties. Some are equivalent to the Linux utility by the same name.

• config : Defragment one or more files (rather than entire drive).
• clip : Copy command output to Windows clipboard.
• du : Displays disk usage for selected files or directories.
• lynx : Text based web browser.
• paste : Paste Windows clipboard to command input.
• strings : Find all strings of a specified minimum length.
• whois : Lookup domain ownership information.

Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to retail on June 25, 1998. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-bit monolithic product with the boot stage based on MS-DOS.

Windows 98 is a heavily web-integrated operating system that bears numerous similarities to its predecessor, with most of the improvements being cosmetic or designed to improve the user experience, but there are a handful of features that enhance system functionality and capabilities. These include improved USB support and accessibility, as well as support for hardware advancements such as DVD players. It was the first Windows operating system to adopt the Windows Driver Model. It also introduced features that would become standard in future generations of Windows, such as Disk Cleanup, Windows Update, multi-monitor support, and Internet Connection Sharing.

Microsoft had marketed Windows 98 as a “tune-up” to Windows 95, rather than an entirely improved next generation of Windows. Upon release, it was generally well received for its web-integrated interface and ease of use, as well as for addressing issues that had been present in Windows 95, though users had pointed out that it was not significantly more stable than its predecessor. It saw one major update called Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) on May 5, 1999, and was succeeded by Windows Me in 2000. It sold an estimated 58 million licenses, and Microsoft ended mainstream support for both Windows 98 and 98 SE on June 30, 2002, and extended support on July 11, 2006.

Development of Windows 98

Following the success of Windows 95, development of Windows 98 began, initially under the development codename “Memphis.” The first test version, Windows Memphis Developer Release, was released in January 1997.

Memphis first entered beta as Windows Memphis Beta 1, released on June 30, 1997. It was followed by Windows 98 Beta 2, which dropped the Memphis name and was released in July. Microsoft had planned a full release of Windows 98 for the first quarter of 1998, along with a Windows 98 upgrade pack for Windows 95, but it also had a similar upgrade for Windows 3.x operating systems planned for the second quarter. Stacey Breyfogle, a product manager for Microsoft, explained that the later release of the upgrade for Windows 3 was because the upgrade required more testing than that for Windows 95 due to the presence of more compatibility issues, and without user objections, Microsoft merged the two upgrade packs into one and set all of their release dates to the second quarter.

On December 15, Microsoft released Windows 98 Beta 3. It was the first build to be able to upgrade from Windows 3.1x, and introduced new startup and shutdown sounds.

Near its completion, Windows 98 was released as Windows 98 Release Candidate on April 3, 1998, which expired on December 31. This coincided with a notable press demonstration at COMDEX that month. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system’s ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a USB scanner in, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death. Bill Gates remarked after derisive applause and cheering from the audience, “That must be why we’re not shipping Windows 98 yet.” Video footage of this event became a popular Internet phenomenon.

Microsoft had quietly marketed the operating system as a “tune-up” to Windows 95. It was compiled as Windows 98 on May 11, 1998, before being fully released to manufacturing on May 15. The company was facing pending legal action for allowing free downloads of, and planning to ship Windows licenses with, Internet Explorer 4.0 in an alleged effort to expand its software monopoly. Microsoft’s critics believed the lawsuit would further delay Windows 98’s public release; it did not, and the operating system was released on June 25, 1998.

A second major version of the operating system called Windows 98 Second Edition was later unveiled in March 1999. Microsoft compiled the final build on April 23, 1999, before publicly releasing it on May 5, 1999. Windows 98 was to be the final product in the Windows 9x line until Microsoft briefly revived the line to release Windows Me in 2000 as the final Windows 9x product.

Windows 98 features

While Windows 98 was not as big as release as Windows 95, Windows 98 has significant updates, fixes, and support for new peripherals. Below is a list of some of its new features.

• Protection – Windows 98 includes additional protection for important files on your computer such as backing up your registry automatically.
• Improved support – Improved support for new devices and technologies such as ACPI, AGP, IEEE 1394, DVD, USB, and MMX.
• FAT32 – Windows 98 has the capability of converting your drive to FAT32 without losing any information.
• PnP – Improved PnP support, to detect devices even better than Windows 95.
• Internet Explorer 4.0 – Includes Internet Explorer 4.0
• Customizable Taskbar – Windows adds new features to the Taskbar such as Quick Launch that Windows 95 and Windows NT did not have.
• Includes Plus! – Includes features only found in Microsoft Plus! free.
• Active Desktop – Includes Active Desktop that allows for users to customize their desktop with the look of the Internet.
• New background properties – You can now set *.bmp, *.pcx, *.jpg, *.gif, and *.htm files as your wallpaper (background).
• Updated Microsoft Paint – The updated paint allows you to open *.bmp, *.pcx, *.jpg, and *.gif files.
• Multiple monitor support – Windows 98 now supports multiple monitors on one computer.
• Personal Web Server – PWS supports CGI (common gateway interface) and ISAPI (Internet Server Application Programming Interface) applications.
• Improved floppy drive – Includes HSFLOP.PDR floppy disk driver that helps speed up access for many floppy disk drives.
• Other Software – Includes Dr. Watson, Outlook Express, FrontPage Express, Windows Media Player, DirectX, NetMeeting, and more.

Microsoft ScanDisk (also called ScanDisk), is a diagnostic utility program included in MS-DOS and Windows 9x. It checks and repairs file systems errors on a disk drive, while the system starts.

Microsoft utility purchased from Norton, which is now Symantec, and included with MS-DOS 6.2 and later, as well as all versions of Microsoft Windows except Windows NT. ScanDisk is a software utility capable of checking the hard drive or floppy diskette drive for any disk errors. When errors are encountered, ScanDisk will mark those sections of the disk to help prevent information from further issues.

The program was first introduced in MS-DOS 6.2 and succeeded its simpler predecessor, CHKDSK. It included a more user-friendly interface than CHKDSK, more configuration options, and the ability to detect and (if possible) recover from physical errors on the disk. This replaced and improved upon the limited ability offered by the MS-DOS recover utility. Unlike CHKDSK, ScanDisk would also repair crosslinked files.

In Windows 95 onwards, ScanDisk also had a graphical user interface, although the text-based user interface continued to be available for use in single-tasking (“DOS”) mode.

However, ScanDisk cannot check NTFS disk drives, and therefore it is unavailable for computers that may be running NT based (including Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.) versions of Windows; for the purpose, a newer CHKDSK is provided instead.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is a component of Microsoft Windows that provides the ability to view and change system settings. It consists of a set of applets that include adding or removing hardware and software, controlling user accounts, changing accessibility options, and accessing networking settings. Additional applets are provided by third parties, such as audio and video drivers, VPN tools, input devices, and networking tools.

The Control Panel has been part of Microsoft Windows since Windows 1.0, with each successive version introducing new applets. Beginning with Windows 95, the Control Panel is implemented as a special folder, i.e. the folder does not physically exist, but only contains shortcuts to various applets such as Add or Remove Programs and Internet Options. Physically, these applets are stored as .cpl files. For example, the Add or Remove Programs applet is stored under the name appwiz.cpl in the SYSTEM32 folder.

In Windows XP, the Control Panel home screen was changed to present a categorized navigation structure reminiscent of navigating a web page. Users can switch between this Category View and the grid-based Classic View through an option that appears on either the left side or top of the window. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, additional layers of navigation were introduced, and the Control Panel window itself became the main interface for editing settings, as opposed to launching separate dialogs.

Many of the individual Control Panel applets can be accessed in other ways. For instance, Display Properties can be accessed by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop and choosing Properties. The Control Panel can be accessed from a command prompt by typing control; optional parameters are available to open specific control panels.

On Windows 10, Control Panel is deprecated in favor of Settings app, which was originally introduced on Windows 8 as “PC settings” to provide a touchscreen-optimized settings area using its Metro-style app platform. Some functions, particularly the ability to add and remove user accounts, were moved exclusively to this app on Windows 8 and cannot be performed from Control Panel.

Taskbar

The taskbar is an element of an operating system located at the bottom of the screen. It allows you to locate and launch programs through Start and the Start menu, or view any program that is currently open. The taskbar first introduced with Microsoft Windows 95 and can be found in all subsequent versions of Windows. It also allows them to check the date and time, items running in the background through the Notification Area, and with early versions of Windows access to the Quick Launch.

Toolbar

In computer interface design, a toolbar (originally known as ribbon) is a graphical control element on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed. Toolbars are seen in many types of software such as office suites, graphics editors and web browsers. Toolbars are usually distinguished from palettes by their integration into the edges of the screen or larger windows, which results in wasted space if too many under populated bars are stacked atop each other (especially horizontal bars on a landscape oriented display) or interface inefficiency if overloaded bars are placed on small windows.

A file is a collection of numbers which have been written to your computer’s hard drive. These numbers can be converted into a picture, a sound, text, or a set of instructions for a program to perform certain actions. A clue to a file’s type is given by its Icon or by its file extension. Folders are containers for anything on a computer including files and other folders. A path lists the folders that have to be opened to get to the required file.

Folders were called directories on older Microsoft systems.

These are some typical file icons. They help the user to identify the file type. There are innumerable file types, some of the common ones are represented here:

• .bmp – a bitmap image
• .doc – a Word document
• .wav – a sound file
• .ppt – animated slides
• .txt – plain text
• .xls – a spreadsheet
• .dbf – a database file
• A shortcut (note the arrow)
• .exe – an application (a program)

Windows allows you to view information about files in different ways. the icon view – the default used by Windows XP.

To change the icon view, click on View on the menu bar. Select the required view from the available list.

By default if a file type is a known one, such as a Microsoft Word Document, Windows won’t display its file extension. To view all file extensions click on Tools on the menu bar.

Various options can be configured. e.g. Display compressed files and folders with alternate colours. To display all file extensions, untick the Hide file extensions for known file types box.

File extensions are best left alone. Opening a file with the wrong application can sometimes damage the file. However you may at some stage need to change a file’s extension.

Folders

Each of these is a folder. They may contain files or other folders (called subfolders) or both. There may be many “nestings” of folders within folders.

Files and folders are located on the computer by using a file path. The “James” folder is located inside a folder called “Home”, which is located inside a folder called “es-net”, which is located on the “C:” drive. The file path will be “C:\es-net\Home\theintactone”.

Moving and Copying

To move a file or folder, either right click on its icon OR left click on the Edit  option on the toolbar. Choose cut to move or copy to copy!

At this point the item has been placed onto a clipboard – an area of memory accessible from nearly any application in Windows. Right click (or open Edit in the toolbar) in an open destination folder and choose “Paste” (or use drag and drop).

When an attempt is made to move an item between volumes, it is effectively copied, and the original remains.

Creating Files and Folders

This is mercifully easy. Simply right-click on some empty space in any suitable folder or the desktop and choose to create a new object from the choices offered.

Be careful not to alter the file extension, as this can render the file unreadable. File extensions are usually hidden for this reason.

Windows Explorer is the file manager used by Windows 95 and later versions. It allows users to manage files, folders and network connections, as well as search for files and related components. Windows Explorer has also grown to support new features unrelated to file management such as playing audio and videos and launching programs, etc. The desktop and the taskbar also form part of Windows Explorer. The look, feel and functionalities of Windows Explorer have been enhanced with each version of Windows.

Starting with Windows 8.0, Windows Explorer has been called File Explorer.

Windows Explorer replaced the programs File Manager and Program Manager that were used before Windows 95. In addition to file management, Windows Explorer also provides shell services as well as manages the desktop, the Start menu and the taskbar.

Windows Explorer should not be confused with Internet Explorer. The former is a file browser, whereas the latter is a Web browser. There are different ways to run Windows Explorer: one is by holding down the Windows button on the keyboard (the button with the Windows logo) and then pressing the “E” key. Another way is by clicking the Start menu and then “Run” and then typing in “explorer” in the dialog box that appears.

Starting with Windows 8, the Ribbon interface was introduced to Windows Explorer, now called File Explorer. This feature provides users with all the commands needed for file access and file management.

Where is Windows Explorer?

Windows Explorer is everywhere – yet finding Windows Explorer on the Start Menu is actually fairly difficult. We look at where Windows Explorer is, and some of the many other ways you can get to it.

Windows Explorer is both the hardest to find, and the easiest to find program there is. There are several ways to get it, and all of them are really, really easy.

First, the “expected” location:

• Start menu
• All Programs item
• Accessories sub-menu
• Windows Explorer menu item

Not obvious, but that’s typically where you’ll find it.

And for what it’s worth, I never, ever, use that location.

Here are some of the other ways you can get to Windows Explorer, most of them much easier than that:

• If your keyboard has a “Windows Key”, then Windows+E brings up Windows Explorer.
• Right click on My Computer, and click on Explore.
• Folder with what?Click on Start, then Run, and enter in a folder name, like “C:”, and click OK – that will open up Windows Explorer (without the left hand navigation pane) on that folder.
• Click on Start, then Run, and enter in “explorer /e,c:folder” where “c:folder” is replaced with the folder you want to view. This is roughly the same as the previous point, except that the left hand navigation pane is visible.

Can’t remember what you named a file or folder or where on your computer or storage media you saved it? You can open the Computer window to locate it or perform a Search.

1. Choose Start→Computer.

The Computer window appears.

2. Double-click an item to open it.

For example, you can double-click a USB drive, a CD-ROM drive, or your computer hard drive to open it.

3. If the file or folder that you want is stored within another folder, double-click the folder or a series of folders until you locate it.

Depending on how you choose to display files and folders, you might see text listings, icons, or even thumbnail representations of file contents.

4. When you find the file you want, double-click it.

If you can’t locate a file in the Computer window or in your Documents folder, you can perform a simple search for it.

5. Open the Start menu and type a search term in the search box at the bottom.

A list of search results appears, divided by the location of the results.

6. Click the See More Results link.

Additional search results appear in a window.

7. Click an item to view it.

When you locate the file you want, you can double-click it to open it.