Now that you know how to work with the graphical elements that make Windows Vista work, you’re ready to work with programs. A program is software you use to accomplish a specific task, such as word processing or managing files on your computer. This chapter shows you how to access your Windows programs (and to customize this access). It also shows you how to create and edit files in your programs, share information between programs, and what to do when a program is not responding.

Windows comes with several small programs, called Accessories, that are extremely useful for completing basic tasks, such as creating a written document or performing basic calculations. Windows Vista also provides a number of ways for you to resolve some common problems. For example, you can use older programs (designed to run on previous versions of Windows) on your Windows Vista computer by changing specific settings using the Accessories menu. You can run commands from a text-based interface (called a command line), and Windows provides an interface for quitting a program that has stopped responding without turning off your computer and losing information in other programs. Other special programs in Windows Vista are games. You can play games on your computer, or with other people over the internet.

The most common way to start a Windows program is to use the Start menu, which provides easy access to programs installed on your computer. Clicking the Start button on the taskbar displays the Start menu, which lists common and recently used programs and the All Programs submenu. The All Programs submenu is the master list of every program on your computer. If you start a program, such as your e-mail program, every time you start Windows, you can save some time by adding the program to the Startup folder. When you’re done working with a program, you should exit, or close it, to conserve your computer’s resources.

Start a Program from the Start Menu

Windows Vista provides several ways to start a program:

1. Click the Start button, and then click a program.

2. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click a program group if necessary, and then click a program.

3. Click the Start button, click Computer or Documents, navigate to the folder with the program or file associated with the program you want, and then double-click the icon.

4. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, click Run, type the full path and file name of the program, and then click OK.

Exit a Program

Windows Vista provides several ways to exit a program:

1. Click the File menu, and then click Exit.

2. Click the Close button on the program’s title bar.

3. Double-click the Control-menu on the program’s title bar.

4. Right-click the program’s taskbar button, and then click Close.

Did You Know?

You can display the Programs list in a single column. Right-click the Start button, click Properties, click Customize, click the Advanced tab, select the Scroll Programs check box, and then click OK twice. Point to the black triangle arrows at the top and bottom to scroll through the list.

See Also

See “Using Windows Accessories” on page 29 for information on using Windows built-in programs.

If you start a program, such as your e-mail program, every time you start Windows, you can save some time by adding the program to the Startup folder. The contents of the Startup folder appear on the Startup submenu on the All Programs menu. Every time you start Windows, the programs in the Startup folder automatically start. Sometimes a program installs a program to the Startup folder. If you don’t want the program automatically starting with Windows, you can remove it from the Startup folder.

Add a Program to the Startup Submenu

1. Click the Start button, and then locate the program you want to add to the Startup submenu.

2. Hold down the Ctrl key, and then drag the program on top of the Startup item on the All Programs submenu.

   Using the Ctrl key copies the program to the Startup submenu.

3. When the Startup submenu opens, drag the program onto the submenu, and then release the mouse button and the Ctrl key.

   The next time Windows Vista starts, the program will start.

Remove a Program from the Startup Submenu

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, and then click Startup.

2. Right-click the program you want to remove on the Startup submenu.

3. Click Delete, and then click Yes to confirm the deletion.

   Windows deletes the program from the Startup submenu, not from your computer.

Windows comes with several accessories, built-in programs that are extremely useful for completing every day tasks.

One of the most useful features Windows offers is the ability to use data created in one file in another file, even if the two files were created in different Windows programs. To work with more than one program or file at a time, you simply need to open them on your desktop. A program button on the taskbar represents any window that is open on the desktop. When you want to switch from one open window to another, click the program button on the taskbar. If you tile, or arrange open windows on the desktop so that they are visible, you can switch among them simply by clicking in the window in which you want to work.

A document is a file you create using a word processing program, such as a letter, memo, or resume. When you start WordPad, a blank document appears in the work area, known as the document window. You can enter information to create a new document and save the result in a file, or you can open an existing file and save the document with changes. As you type, text moves, or wraps, to a new line when the previous one is full.

Create a Document

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click WordPad.

   If WordPad is already open, click the New button on the toolbar, click Rich Text Document, and then click OK.

2. Type your text.

3. Press Enter when you want to start a new paragraph.

Change the Page Setup

1. Click the File menu, and then click Page Setup.

2. Specify the paper size and source.

3. Specify the page orientation, either portrait or landscape.

4. Specify the page margins.

5. Click OK.

Open an Existing Document from Within a Program

1. Click the Open button on the toolbar.

2. Click the Files name list arrow, and then click the file type you want to open.

3. Click an icon on the Favorites Links to open a frequently used folder.

4. If desired, click the Look in list arrow, and then click the drive or folder from where you want to open the file.

5. Double-click the folder from which you want to open the file.

6. Click the document you want to open.

7. Click Open.

Open a Recent Document from the Start Menu

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Recent Documents.

3. Click the recently opened document you want to re-open.

Did You Know?

You can remove all recently used documents from the Recent Items submenu. Right-click the Start button, click Properties, click the Start Menu tab, clear the privacy related check boxes, and then click OK.

One of the advantages of using a word processing program is that you can edit a document or change the contents without re-creating it. In the WordPad work area, the mouse pointer changes to the I-beam pointer, which you can use to reposition the insertion point (called navigating) and insert, delete, or select text. Before you can edit text, you need to highlight, or select, the text you want to modify. Then you can delete, replace, move (cut), or copy text within one document or between documents even if they’re different programs. When you cut or copy an item, it’s placed on the Clipboard, which stores only a single piece of information at a time. You can also move or copy selected text without storing it on the Clipboard by using drag-and-drop editing.

Move or Copy Text

1. Select the text you want to move or copy.

2. Click the Cut button or Copy button on the toolbar.

3. Click where you want to insert the text.

4. Click the Paste button on the toolbar.

You can change the format or the appearance of text and graphics in a document so that the document is easier to read or more attractive. A quick and powerful way to add emphasis to parts of a document is to format text using bold, italics, underline, or color. For special emphasis, you can combine formats, such as bold and italics. In addition, you can change the font style and size. A font is a set of characters with the same typeface or design that you can increase or decrease in size, such as Arial or Times New Roman.

Tabs set text or numerical data alignment in relation to the edges of a document. A tab stop is a predefined stopping point along the document’s typing line. Default tab stops are set every half-inch on the ruler, but you can set multiple tabs per paragraph at any location. Each paragraph in a document contains its own set of tab stops. The default tab stops do not appear on the ruler, but the manual tab stops you set do appear. Once you place a tab stop, you can drag the tab stop to position it where you want. If you want to add or adjust tab stops in multiple paragraphs, simply select the paragraphs first.

When you indent a paragraph, you move its edge in from the left or right margin. You can indent the entire left or right edge of a paragraph or just the first line. The markers on the ruler control the indentation of the current paragraph. The left side of the ruler has three markers. The top triangle, called the first-line indent marker, controls where the first line of the paragraph begins. The bottom triangle, called the hanging indent marker, controls where the remaining lines of the paragraph begin. The small square under the bottom triangle, called the left indent marker, allows you to move the first-line Indent marker and the left indent marker simultaneously. When you move the left indent marker, the distance between the hanging indent and the first-line indent remains the same. The triangle on the right side of the ruler, called the right indent marker, controls where the right edge of the paragraph ends.

Before printing, you should verify that the page looks the way you want. You save time, money, and paper by avoiding duplicate printing. Print Preview shows you the exact placement of your text on each printed page. Printing a paper copy is a common way to review and share a document. You can use the Print button on the toolbar to print a copy of your document using the current settings, or you can open the Print dialog box and specify the print options you want.

Preview a Document

1. Click the Print Preview button on the toolbar.

2. Use the toolbar buttons to preview the document:

   1. To change the view size, click Zoom In or Zoom Out.

   2. To view other pages, click Next Page or Prev Page.

   3. To view two pages at a time, click Two Pages.

   4. To print the document, click Print.

3. When you’re done, click Close.

Print All or Part of a Document

1. Click the File menu, and then click Print.

2. Click a printer.

3. Specify the range of pages you want to print.

4. Specify the number of copies you want to print.

5. Click Print.

Saving your files frequently ensures that you don’t lose work during an unexpected power loss. The first time you save, specify a file name and folder in the Save As dialog box. The next time you save, the program saves the file with the same name in the same folder. If you want to change a file’s name or location, you can use the Save As dialog box again to create a copy of the original file. To conserve your computer’s resources, close any file you are not working on.

Save a Document

1. Click the File menu, and then click Save As.

2. Click an icon on the Favorites Links to open a frequently used folder.

3. If desired, click the list arrow, and then navigate to the drive or folder where you want to save the file.

4. Double-click the folder in which you want to save the file.

5. Type a name for the file, or use the suggested one.

6. To change the format of a file, click the Save as type list arrow, and then click a file format.

7. Click Save.

Did You Know?

You can save a file in a new folder. In the Save As dialog box, click the New Folder button, type the new folder name, click Open, and then click Save.

You can close a document. Click the Close button in the program window or click the File menu, and then click Close. If necessary, click Yes to save your changes.

Windows makes it easy to insert a file or part of a file created in one program into a file created in a different program. The ability to share files and information among different programs is called object linking and embedding (OLE). With OLE, you can work with a document in WordPad and at the same time take advantage of the specialized tools in another program, such as Paint or Microsoft Excel. By using OLE, you’ll be able to access features from other programs, edit data easily, update to the latest information, and save space.

Information shared between two programs is an object, which can be a picture from a graphics program, a chart from a spreadsheet program, a video clip, text, or almost anything else you can create on a computer. The program that creates the object is called the source program; the program that creates the file into which you want to insert the object is called the destination program. Likewise, the file that originally contained the object is the source file, and the file where you want to insert the object is the destination file. Both embedding and linking involve inserting an object into a destination file; they differ in where they store their respective objects. With embedding, a copy of the object becomes part of the destination file. If you want to edit the object, you make changes in the destination file, and the original file remains intact. With linking, a representation of the object appears in the destination file, but the object is stored in the source file. If you want to edit the linked object, you make changes in the source file or its representation in the destination file, and the other file will reflect the changes the next time you open it.

Instead of switching back and forth between programs to copy and paste information, you can insert, or embed, the information. Embedding inserts a copy of one document into another. Once you embed data, you can edit it using the menus and toolbars of the source program without leaving the program in which it’s embedded (that is, the destination program). For example, you can create a picture in a program, such as Paint, or select an existing picture and insert it into a WordPad document. The inserted picture is an object you can resize.

Embed an Existing Object

1. Click where you want to embed the object.

2. Click the Insert menu, and then click Object.

3. Click the Create from File option.

4. Click Browse, and then double-click the file with the object you want to embed.

5. Click OK.

When you want to keep source and destination files in sync with each other, you can link the source file that created the object with the destination file that displays the object. Linking displays information stored in one document (the source file) into another (the destination file). You can edit the linked object from either file, although changes are stored in the source file. Only a representation of the object appears in the destination file; any changes made to the object are done in the source file, whether you access it by double-clicking the object in the destination file or by opening it in the source program.

Update a Linked File

1. Open the file with the source program.

2. Edit the file using the source program’s commands.

3. Click the Save button on the toolbar.

4. Click the Close button to exit the source program.

5. Open the linked file with the destination program.

   The object automatically updates.

6. Click the Save button on the toolbar.

7. Click the Close button to exit the destination program.

Did You Know?

You can change a link to update manually. In the destination program, select the object, click the Edit menu, click Links, click the Manual option button, and then click Close.

Finding, Changing, and Breaking a Linked Object

Instead of opening a linked object from the source file to make changes, you can open a linked object from the destination file using the Open Source button in the Links dialog box. The Open Source button finds the source file containing the linked object and opens that file. After making changes, you exit and return to the destination file. The Links dialog box keeps track of the source file location. You can change the linked source to a different file by using the Change Source button. If you want to disregard a link and change it to an embedded object, select the linked object in the destination file, click Edit on the menu bar, click Object Properties, click the Link tab, click Break Link, click Yes in the message box, and then click OK. On the Link tab in the Object Properties dialog box, you can also open or change the source file, change update options, and update the source for the selected object.

When you need to insert special characters such as ©, ™, or ® that don’t appear on your keyboard, you can use a special accessory program called Character Map to do the job. Character Map displays all the characters that are available for each of the fonts on your computer.

If you don’t have a handheld calculator handy, you can use the Calculator program provided by Windows Vista to perform standard calculations or even more complex ones. Calculator performs basic arithmetic, such as addition and subtraction, as well as functions found on a scientific calculator, such as logarithms and factorials.

Use the Calculator

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Calculator.

2. Click the View menu, and then click Standard or Scientific.

3. Enter a number, or click the number buttons.

4. Click a function button.

5. Enter another number.

6. When you’ve entered all the numbers you want, click the equals (=) button.

7. Click the Edit menu, and then click Copy to copy the result to the Clipboard to paste in a document.

8. When you’re done, click the Close button.

Did You Know?

You can use the numeric keypad on your keyboard with the Calculator. Press the number, +, -, *, /, and Enter keys to quickly enter numbers and use the calculator.

You can find out the purpose of a key. Right-click the key, and then click What’s this?

WINV-7.4.1,

WINV-7.4.2

Besides running Windows Vista programs, you can also enter commands and run programs written in MS-DOS. MS-DOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System. MS-DOS, or DOS, employs a command-line interface through which you must type commands at a command prompt to run different tasks. A character such as a > or $ appears at the beginning of a command prompt. Each DOS command has a strict set of rules called a command syntax that you must follow when expressing a command. Many commands allow you to include switches and parameters that give you additional control of the command.

Run a Command

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2. At the prompt, type a command including any parameters, and then press Enter.

3. When you’re done, click the Close button, or type exit, and then press Enter.

Find a Command

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2. At the prompt, type help, and then press Enter.

3. Read the list of commands. Use the scroll bar or scroll arrows to display additional information.

4. When you’re done, click the Close button, or type exit, and then press Enter.

Get Information About a Command

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2. At the prompt, type a command followed by a space and /?, and then press Enter.

3. Read the information about the command. Use the scroll bar or scroll arrows to display additional information.

4. When you’re done, click the Close button, or type exit, and then press Enter.

Did You Know?

You can use a wildcard character to change more than one file. An asterisk is a wildcard and represents any number of characters. For example, the command dir at*.doc matches atback.doc, ati.doc, and atlm.doc.

You can change the appearance of the Command Prompt window. Right-click the Command Prompt window title bar, and then click Properties.

You can ping a connection to make sure it works and find out an IP address. Ping is a diagnostic network tool that verifies whether an IP address is accessible. To test a connection, type ping IP address at the command prompt, and then press Enter. To find an IP address, type ipconfig /? or type ipconfig /all, and then press Enter. To get a new IP address, type ipconfig/release, press Enter, type ipconfig/renew, and then press Enter.

Table . Common DOS Commands

Command	Purpose
cd foldername	Changes to the specified folder
cls	Clears the screen
copy	Copies the specified files or folder
dir	Lists the contents of the current folder
c: (where c is a drive)	Switches to the specified drive
exit	Closes the Command Prompt window
rename	Renames the specified file or files
more filename	Displays the contents of a file, one screen of output at a time
type filename.txt	Displays the contents of the text file

If you have some free time, you can play some fun and exciting games. Windows provides several games you can play against the computer—Chess Titans (New!), FreeCell, Hearts, InkBall (New!), Mahjong Titans, (New!), Minesweeper, Purble Place (New!), Solitaire, and Spider Solitaire.

Play a Game

1. Click the Start button, and then click Games.

2. Double-click the game you want.

   

3. Play the game.

4. When you’re done, click the Game menu, and then click a command to start a new game with the same or different players, or exit the game.

See Also

See “Playing Internet Games” on page 50 for information on playing games over the Internet against other players.

Did You Know?

You can get more information about playing each game in Help. Start the game, click the Help menu, and then click Contents or Help Topics.

Table . Playing the Game

Game	Object is to
Chess Titans	Put your opponents’ king in checkmate. Each player has one king. As you capture your opponent’s pieces, strategize a way to capture the opposing king.
FreeCell	Stack the cards in the cells at the top in descending order, starting from any card, alternating the red and black cards.
Hearts	Score the lowest number of points, one point for each heart and 13 points for the Queen of Spades. You play a card to follow suit or a heart or the Queen of Spades when you can’t follow suit.
InkBall	Use the mouse or tablet pen, draw ink strokes to guide the balls into holes of the same color and to block balls from entering holes of a different color.
Mahjong Titans	Remove all the tiles from the board by finding matching pairs of free tiles. Mahjong is a form of solitaire that is played with tiles instead of cards.
Minesweeper	Uncover all the squares that don’t contain mines in the shortest amount of time. You use the numbers in the uncovered squares to determine which adjacent squares contain mines.
Purble Place	Teach colors, shapes, and pattern recognition.
Solitaire	Reveal all the cards that are turned face down by stacking them in descending order (alternating the red and black cards) on the lower piles, and stack them in ascending order from Ace through King by suit in the upper piles. You use the mouse to drag one card on top of another.
Spider Solitaire	Stack the cards by suit in one column in descending order.

Windows XP provided several games you can play against players over the Internet—Backgammon, Checkers, Hearts, Reversi, and Spades. These and other games are still available on the MSN Games Web site, but you can no longer access them from the Start menu in Windows Vista. When you start an Internet game, the game server finds players matched to your skill level and language from around the world. You can’t select the players or locations of your opponents, but you can communicate with them by using the Chat controls.

WINV-3.1.5

Some older programs are designed to run on earlier versions of Windows and don’t work properly on Windows Vista. You can set the compatibility of Windows Vista to act like an earlier version of Windows to run an older program. In addition, you can also set display resolution and color settings, and user privilege levels to provide the best level of compatibility for the program and the Windows Vista operating system. You set options in the Compatibility tab in the program’s Properties dialog box.

Set Compatibility for an Older Program

1. Click the Start button, and then locate the older program.

2. Right-click the program you want to run, and then click Properties.

3. Click the Compatibility tab.

4. Select the Run this program in compatibility mode for check box.

5. Click the list arrow, and then click the version of Windows in which the program was designed.

6. Select the check boxes for applying the appropriate settings to the display, based on the program’s documentation.

7. Click OK.

Did You Know?

You can test your program using the Program Compatibility Wizard. Click the Start button, click Help and Support, click the Get your programs to work on this version of Windows link, read the Help topic, and then follow the instructions to start the Program Compatibility Wizard. You can also open the Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Use an older program with this version of Windows link to start the Program Compatibility Wizard.

WINV-7.5.1

If a program stops responding while you work or freezes up, Windows provides you with the option to end the task (New!). When you end a task, you’ll probably lose any unsaved work in the problem program. If the problem persists, you might need to reinstall the program or contact product support to fix the problem. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete or clicking the Close button closes the non responsive program and opens the Task Manager, where you can stop the program. You can also use the Task Manager to view system performance and log off users.

End a Task Not Responding

1. Right-click the taskbar, and then click Task Manager.

   If Windows doesn’t respond when you right-click, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and then click Task Manager.

2. Click the Applications tab.

3. Select the program not responding.

4. Click End Task. If you’re asked to wait, click End Now.