COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Section 6
The Windows Desktop
Section 5 covered what an operating system is. This section is the part of it you actually touch — the desktop, the taskbar, the Start menu and the windows programs run in. Written for Windows 11.
The desktop and its icons
Slides 2–6
Taskbar, Start and search
Slides 7–9
Working with windows
Slides 10–12
Inside a program window
Slides 13–14
The Windows Desktop
When your computer is booted up and ready to use, the screen you see is called the desktop. It is the background for all programs and contains the commands needed for accessing those programs.
Desktops vary from one operating system (OS) to another, and even vary somewhat from version to version of a particular OS.
Whatever type of OS you use, it is very important to learn how to use the desktop correctly, since it is the base for all computer operations.
Windows is one of the most common operating systems used today - particularly by students and educators.
the desktop on a lab machine — icons left, taskbar centered
It changes between versions
Windows 11 centered the taskbar and rounded the window corners. The parts do the same jobs, but they have moved.
Everything starts here
Every program, file and setting is reached from the desktop, the taskbar or the Start menu.
It is yours to arrange
Wallpaper, icons, pinned apps and colors can all be changed. Learning where those settings live is half of using it well.
Desktop Graphics
Both Windows and Macintosh systems are based on Graphical User Interface or GUI, which simply means that the interface uses graphics or pictures to help the user navigate and access programs.
When you first turn on a new computer, the screen will show a background picture chosen by Microsoft. This background graphic is called Wallpaper.
It is essentially a backdrop for your work area. The graphic can be changed to a different pattern or even a photo or picture through Settings, under Personalization.
Settings, Personalization — where the wallpaper is changed
How to get there
Right-click any empty part of the desktop and choose Personalize. That is quicker than opening Settings and hunting for it.
What else is in there
Colors, themes, the lock screen and whether Windows uses a light or dark appearance.
Control Panel is going
Older instructions send you to the Control Panel. It still exists, but Microsoft is steadily moving everything into Settings.
Icons
Another important graphic feature that you will find on a desktop is an icon. Icons are small pictures that are linked to programs or files.
Double-clicking on the icon runs the program or accesses the file and right-clicking accesses a menu offering options, actions and properties.
Certain icons are a permanent fixture on the desktop.
The user can put other icons on the desktop that will quickly access programs or files - like a shortcut.
Icons can be moved around on the desktop by clicking and dragging them.
icons on the desktop, each with a small shortcut arrow
A shortcut is not the file
Deleting a shortcut removes the pointer, not the program or document it points at. The small arrow on the corner marks one.
Right-click is the shortcut
Almost everything in Windows offers more options on a right-click. It is the single most useful habit on this slide.
Pinning instead
Rather than filling the desktop, programs can be pinned to the taskbar or the Start menu, which keeps them reachable without clutter.
This PC
One of the most important icons on the desktop is This PC, which accesses drives, folders and other system locations.
From here you can see the C: drive, any USB drives you have plugged in, and the H: drive where your school work is saved.
Settings gives the user access to the computer system and its support options: hardware settings for the keyboard, mouse and printers, as well as settings for the display and sound.
This PC — the local C: drive, and the network drives below it
Where your drives are
This PC lists everything the machine can reach: the internal drive, anything plugged in, and network drives such as H:.
File Explorer
This PC opens inside File Explorer, which is the program for browsing files. The folder icon on the taskbar opens it too.
Settings, not Control Panel
Add and remove programs, printers and accessibility options all live in Settings now. Control Panel still opens, but it is on the way out.
The Recycle Bin
Another important icon that you should know about is the Recycle Bin. It has the same purpose that a real trash can does - you put things in it that you no longer need or want.
On most computers, anytime you delete a file or folder, it goes into the Recycle Bin where it stays until the bin is emptied. Double-clicking on the icon will open a window that will show you what is stored in the Recycle Bin.
If you throw something away from the student server, it will not be possible to change your mind!
Never put anything in the Recycle Bin or empty the Recycle Bin without permission!
the Recycle Bin
Restoring something
Open the bin, right-click the file and choose Restore. It goes back exactly where it was deleted from.
The H: drive is different
Files deleted from a network drive do not go to the Recycle Bin. They are gone immediately, which is what the warning above means.
Shift+Delete
Holding Shift while deleting skips the bin entirely. Worth knowing so it is not done by accident.
The Taskbar
At the bottom edge of the screen you will see a long, thin bar. This is the taskbar - another graphic tool that helps you to access programs and files.
In Windows 11 the icons sit in the center of the bar rather than at the left. The Windows button opens the Start menu, the clock and notifications are at the right, and the icons between them are the programs you use most.
the center of the taskbar — Start, then pinned apps
Pinned apps
Icons kept on the taskbar so they are always one click away. Right-click any program and choose Pin to taskbar.
Which are running
A small line appears underneath an icon when that program is open. No line means it is pinned but not running.
Search and Task View
The magnifying glass searches the whole machine. The two-rectangle icon shows every open window at once.
The Start Menu
If you click on the Windows Start button, a box called a menu will appear. In Windows 11 it opens in the middle of the screen and has four parts:
• A search box across the top, which searches programs, files and settings at once.
• Pinned — a grid of the programs you use most, with All apps at the right to see everything installed.
• Recommended — files and programs you opened recently.
• Your account at the bottom left, and the power button at the bottom right for shutting down or restarting.
search, Pinned, All apps, Recommended, account and power
Pinning and unpinning
Right-click anything in All apps and choose Pin to Start. Right-click a pinned tile to take it off again.
Just start typing
Press the Windows key and type. You do not need to click the search box first, and it is faster than hunting through menus.
Power lives here
Shut Down, Restart and Sleep are all under the power button. Holding the physical button instead can leave files half-written.
Finding Things
Windows 11 puts search at the center of the taskbar because it is usually the quickest way to reach anything.
Press the Windows key and start typing, and it looks through your programs, your files, your settings and the web at the same time.
That matters most when you cannot remember where something was saved — which happens more often than anyone admits.
press the Windows key and type — apps, settings and the web at once
Searching inside folders
File Explorer has its own search box at the top right, which looks only inside the folder you are in and everything below it.
Search still needs names
A file called "document1" is hard to find however good the search is. Sensible file names are covered in Section 7.
Know where it lives too
Searching is quick, but a student who only ever searches never learns the folder structure. Both skills matter.
Windows… not the OS
Many programs and applications run within windows or boxes that can be opened, minimized, resized and closed.
At the top of each window, you will see a title bar that contains the title of the program or folder. To the right of the title bar are three buttons. The button on the far right has an X on it and closes the window (which also closes the program). The middle button will have one or two small boxes on it - this is the resize button. Resizing allows the user to make the window full-screen or smaller. The button on the left has a small line on it - this is the minimize button.
a title bar — minimize, resize and close at the right
Closing is not saving
The X closes the program. Most will ask about unsaved work first, but not all of them, and not always clearly.
Double-click the title bar
That does the same as the resize button, and is quicker than aiming for a small target.
Drag to the top
Dragging a window to the top edge maximizes it. Dragging it away again brings it back to its old size.
Minimizing and the Taskbar
When a window is open, you will see its icon on the taskbar. Minimizing the window clears it from the screen, but keeps the program running - all you will see of a minimized window is the icon on the taskbar.
In Windows 11, a small line underneath an icon shows that the program is open. Minimizing a window is helpful if the user is temporarily not using the program, but plans to return to it soon. To restore a minimized window, simply click on the icon on the taskbar.
a line under Chrome and PowerPoint; none under Start or Settings
Minimized is still running
The program keeps working and keeps using memory. Minimizing hides it; only closing stops it.
Alt+Tab
Hold Alt and press Tab to flick between open windows without touching the taskbar. Much faster once it is a habit.
Windows+D
Minimizes everything at once and shows the bare desktop. Press it again to put everything back.
Two Windows at Once
Working from one document into another is far easier with both on screen at the same time, and Windows 11 has a built-in way to arrange that.
Drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen and it snaps to fill that half. Windows then offers to fill the other half with something else.
Hovering over the resize button shows a set of layouts to choose from instead.
two windows snapped — each filling half, meeting in the middle
Windows key and arrow
Hold the Windows key and press left or right. Same result as dragging, without the aiming.
Snap Layouts
Hover over the resize button for a menu of arrangements — halves, thirds and quarters, useful on a large screen.
More than one desktop
Task View lets you keep several desktops with different windows on each. Useful for separating schoolwork from everything else.
Tabs and Groups
In the Windows operating system, each window contains its own menu. Found just under the title bar, the menu toolbar contains several words that will access drop-down menus of options and actions. The menus vary from one program to another. Examples include Home, Insert, Layout, Mailings, References
Under the tabs, you will often find a standard and a formatting toolbar - a bar of icons or options that allow you to perform specific operations within the program.
tabs across the top, groups underneath
Tabs are subjects
Each tab gathers one kind of task. Insert holds everything you can add; Layout holds everything about the shape of the page.
Groups are sections
Within a tab, related buttons are boxed together with a label underneath — Clipboard, Font, Paragraph.
The workspace and scroll bar
The main body of the window is where you type or draw. A scroll bar appears on the right when there is more than fits on screen.
The Ribbon
The entire section of Tabs and Groups is referred to as the Ribbon.
It replaced the old menus and toolbars, and it is the same idea in Word, Excel and PowerPoint — learn it once and it works across all of them.
Collapse it
Double-click any tab name to hide the ribbon and get the space back. Double-click again to bring it back.
Tell Me
The search box on the ribbon finds a command by name. Faster than hunting through tabs for something used rarely.
Not everywhere
The ribbon is a Microsoft Office idea. Other programs use menus, toolbars or a sidebar instead — the same jobs, arranged differently.