What is a mouse operation in which you move the mouse until the pointer on the desktop is positioned on the item of choice?

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After positioning the mouse to the desired position, the next thing you must do is to locate its presence on the screen. Most of the time, and after a while of practice, you will be more concerned with where your mouse is on the screen as opposed to where your fingers are. This means that the position of the mouse on the screen is very important and you should know it at all times (unless an application, such as a screen saver, is meant to hide it).

To make the position of the mouse known, the computer draws a small picture on the screen. This picture is called a mouse cursor or simply, a cursor.

From now on, the word "cursor" always refers to the mouse, always. When we refer to the keyboard, we will use another word but we will never use the word "cursor" when referring to the keyboard. In the same way, the word we will use for the keyboard's presence will never be used for the mouse. Once again, when we use cursor, we mean the mouse.

The most used cursor displays as an arrow pointing to the North-West

As mentioned already, the most regularly used cursor is the one with the up-left pointing arrow. The primary object that defines what cursor to use is the computer. In some cases, when performing an assignment, the mouse cursor may change also depending on what you are doing. A programmer (a person who creates a computer program) also is highly in charge of deciding what cursor to display and when. Besides the above cursors, many programs you will use also have their own cursors, in addition to, or instead of, the above.

Not all mice function the same, nor do they use the same mechanical functionality, but all accomplish the same purpose. Many mice have a ball in the bottom section; that ball rolls when the mouse moves. Some mice, such as trackballs, have their ball on top and/or they don't exhibit buttons; you would have to grab the ball to do what you want:

Many of the new mice don't use a ball at all: they use a type of light beam to provide the same functionality as the ball. Laptop computers - Notebooks - use another process to simulate the mouse. They are usually equipped with a small flat area/surface, or, sometimes, a short stick.

One of the actions you can perform with the mouse is to move it. To do this, if you are using a regular mouse, you can physically but slightly push the mouse on the table. If you are using a trackball, you can roll the ball. If you are using a laptop, you can position a finger on the pad, press and hold the finger, then move the pressed finger.

When the mouse rests on certain items on the desktop or on some buttons of some programs, a short word or sentence appears: that's a tool tip.

Practical Learning: Moving the Mouse

1. Position the mouse on an empty area of the desktop. You see the mouse pointer
   
   also called the mouse cursor or simply the cursor
2. To see a tool tip, position (only position) the mouse on the Recycle Bin icon and see the sentence that appears:  
   

From now on, unless specified otherwise, the word "Mouse" refers to the mouse pointer or cursor on the screen. For example, if we write, "Position the mouse on Mamma", we mean, "Position or place the mouse cursor on the item identified as Mamma". This means that the word mouse will not anymore refer to the mouse on the table or the pad on the laptop. Unless specified otherwise, the word mouse means the cursor on the screen.

The mouse is the object you will use the most when interacting with the computer. The mouse is primarily used in one of four actions.

When asked to click, this request always refers to the left mouse button. To perform this action:

1. Place your index finger (if you are right-handed, this refers to the right hand index finger; if you are left-handed, this refers to the left hand index finger) on the left mouse button
2. Press the index finger once on the button and release the finger. What you see on the item clicked depends on the type of item. We will view most types of behaviors that occur when the mouse is clicked on an item

Practical Learning: Clicking the Mouse

1. Position the mouse on an empty area of the desktop and make sure the mouse pointer is not touching anything else:  
   

2. Place your index finger on the left mouse button and press the mouse button once. This action is called Click 
3. Notice that nothing happens
4. Move the mouse and position its cursor on Recycle Bin
5. Then press the mouse button again once
6. After clicking, notice that the Recycle Bin icon becomes highlighted. This is also referred to as "selected"
7. Position the mouse on another item such as Internet Explorer. Then click once
8. Notice that Recycle Bix is not selected anymore but the new item is now selected or highlighted
9. Position the mouse on an empty area on the desktop and click
10. Notice that the previous item that was selected got deselected and now nothing is selected

From now on, unless specified otherwise, if you are asked to CLICK, position the mouse cursor on the item you are asked to CLICK (we will always state or indicate what item you need to click). Then press the left mouse button once. Remember two things: 1. CLICK always refers to the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON 2. CLICK always means press the left mouse button ONCE

Another regular action you will perform using the mouse consists of pressing one of its button twice, very fast. This action is referred to as Double-Click. To perform this action:

1. Position the mouse on an item
2. Then apply two very fast strokes on the left mouse button. What happens as a result depends on the item on which you performed the action. It may open something. It may select another. Or it may not do anything at all

Practical Learning: Double-Clicking

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The first and most important program of your computer is called an operating system. All the other programs depend on it. Everything that works in your computer is in accordance with the operating system. Since our lessons focus on the popular "personal computer", the operating system we use is called Microsoft Windows.

There are various types of Microsoft Windows. A type of Microsoft Windows is referred to as a version. Examples of versions are Microsoft Windows 3.3, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation, Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, and Microsoft Windows Server 2008.

How your version of Microsoft Windows was installed in your computer may depend on how you got the computer. If you bought it in a store, the company that manufactured (that put together or assembled the pieces of) the computer also installed the operating system. It you bought it from a friend, a neighbor or a classified section in the newspaper, it had probably been installed one way or another. If you are taking a class in a school or a training center, the administration took care of installing the operating system. If you work in an office, the operating system likely has already been installed in the computer you use. If you built your own computer, then you might have installed the operating system. Regardless, this site assumes that the OS is already installed in the computer you are using and that you are able to start the computer.

Because the basic functionality of all of the Microsoft Windows versions is the same, our lessons don't distinguish the version of Microsoft Windows you are using. Unless stated otherwise, we simply consider that you are using a computer on which a Microsoft Windows version is installed.

While the operating system is the central program that is used to coordinate everything in your computer, you will usually not be concerned with the operating system and what it does in your computer. You will use other programs of your computer.

After the operating system has been installed, the computer is hardly useful to you and me. To make it useful, other regular programs, or applications, must be installed in it. There are various types of applications you will use because of the different everyday assignments you will receive. Even though some applications can do many things, most of the time, an application is meant to serve a particular purpose and it is not realistic to expect one application to possibly do everything. For this reason, applications are categorized by their roles:

Text Editors: An application is called a text editor when it is used to create and manipulate simple text. All the characters display in the same way. When Microsoft Windows is installed, it also installs the most popular text editor of the operating system called Notepad:

Word Processors: An application is referred to as a word processor when its job is to create text and manipulate it but provide advanced features beyond the capabilities of a text editor. For example, some parts of a document in a word processor may appear in different colors, some sections may display pictures. When Microsoft Windows is installed, it also installs a word processor named WordPad. Word processing assignments are highly demanding nowadays. For this reason, most people and companies purchase commercial word processors published by corporations. Largely the most popular word processor used in Microsoft Windows is Microsoft Word. Other word processors are Sun StartOffice, OpenOffice, or Corel WordPerfect:

Spreadsheets: A spreadsheet is an application that displays small boxes called cells. Microsoft Windows doesn't install any spreadsheet application. To use such an application, you must install it or have somebody install it for you. The most popular spreadsheet application used in Microsoft Windows is Microsoft Excel:

Other popular spreadsheet applications include Corel Quattro Pro or Sun StarCalc. Other packages include a spreadsheet application. That's the case for OpenOffice or Microsoft Works

Databases: A database application is an environment that is used to create, store, and manipulate series of records. By default, Microsoft Windows doesn't install a database when it is setup. If you need a database application, you may have to purchase one. The most popular database application used in Microsoft Windows is Microsoft Access. Other popular database applications are Corel Paradox or dBase.

Graphics: A graphics application is used to create and manipulate graphics. When Microsoft Windows is installed, it also installs a graphics application named Paint (it used to be called Paintbrush, in previous versions of Microsoft Windows):

Because of the limitations of Paint, people and corporations usually purchase commercial graphics applications. Some of the most popular of them are Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint Shop Pro.

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We have seen that a menu on the same object can be different depending on what item you click to access such a menu. Based on this, a menu that appears when you simply click an object is considered the regular menu of the object, and it is simply called the menu. Sometimes when you click or even right-click an object, a menu might not appear. On the other hand, if a menu appears when you right-click an item or an area of a window, this menu is referred to as the context-sensitive menu.

Most applications display a menu in their top section. On this site, such a menu will be referred to as the Main Menu. The main menu displays columns of menus, each column is represented by a word (sometimes it will be more than one word for a menu item). To use this main menu, you can click a word. This causes a list of menu items to display. There are no strict rules (only suggestions) on what items must appear under what word. The person who creates an application also decides on the menu columns, their items, and their roles.

After clicking a menu column, if you find the item you are looking for, you can click it. If you don't see the item you are looking for and you want to check another column, you have two options. You can simply move the mouse to another menu column of your choice. You can also click the menu item you had opened, then click the new column you desire. If you still don't see what you are looking for, you can dismiss the menu.

There are various ways you can dismiss the menu if it is opened. If you click an item in the list of the displayed column, the menu would retract and close itself. If you have opened a menu but don't want to use it anymore, you can click one of the menu items on top. You can also click anywhere other than the opened menu; this also closes the menu. We will also learn how to close the menu using the keyboard.

If a menu appears when you right-click an item, we will call it the context-sensitive menu. When necessary, you will be directed when to use the main menu or the context-sensitive menu.

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An icon is a picture used to identify a program or another type of object on the computer. As such, the small pictures that appear on the computer desktop are called icons. Besides the desktop, there are many other places where you will see icons when using the computer.

There are two entities that mainly need to interact with icons:

• As a person using the computer, icons allow you to familiarize with the various programs that are installed in a computer. Every application or every category of application has its own icon. This is easily possible because every person who creates an application has the possibility of providing a special icon for that particular application.
• The operating system also has an interior mechanism to identify an icon or a type of icon and associate it with a particular application or a series of applications of the same type.

Microsoft Windows ships with various icons for its own use. For example, every version of Microsoft Windows ships with a special icon for the My Computer program. There is also a special icon for Recycle Bin, etc.

The sizes of icons are standardized and they should not have just any random dimensions. For example, the icons on the desktop are 32x32 pixels. Sometimes, the icons display in a 16x16 dimension.

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Practical Learning: Introducing Window Frames

1. To open an application, on the Taskbar, click Start -> Control Panel
   (if you are using Windows 95 or 98, click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel)
2. To open another application, on the Taskbar, click Start -> (All) Programs -> Accessories -> Calculator

A classic window, such as Control Panel, has a long bar on its very top section. This is called the Title Bar. It is made of three sections.

On the left side of the title bar, there is an icon that identifies the application you are using. This icon is called the system icon. Every application that looks like Control Panel is equipped with this type of icon but the icons are different from one application to another. This is because the person who creates the application also designs the icon that goes with it. The system icon has its own menu called the system menu. To access this menu, you can simply click the system icon.

On the right side of the icon, the name of the window or application you are using displays. This text on the title bar is called a caption. It can be anything that the application programmer wanted it to be. On the right side of the caption, there is a long, empty, section. This section is actually the one referred to as the title bar.

Like the system icon, the title bar has its own menu.

Practical Learning: Using the Title Bar

1. To use the system menu of the application's icon, on the top left corner of the Calculator window, click the icon and notice that a menu displays:  
   

2. On the displayed menu, click Close
3. To use the other system menu, right-click the title bar of the Control Panel window  
   

4. On the displayed menu, click Maximize
5. To restore the window, right-click its title bar and click Restore

On the right side of the title bar, three buttons allow you to manipulate the application as a window object. On all the windows we have used so far, the system buttons are located on the extreme right side of the title bar. Depending on how the application was configured, the computer can display one or three of these buttons at a time. These buttons are:

Button	Name	Description
			Close	This button allows you to dismiss a window that is currently opened. To use it, simply click it. This makes its window disappear. Depending on how the application works, you may be asked a question before the window is actually closed. If you have closed a window with this button and you want the window back, you have to reopen it.
			Minimize	This button allows you to reduce the presence of a window to the Taskbar. The window doesn't get closed but it disappears from the screen. If you want to bring the window back, from the Taskbar, click its name. After clicking this button, the window is said to be minimized.
			Maximize	If a window equipped with this button is occupying only an area of the screen, you can click this button to fill the whole screen with only this window. If there are other windows on the screen, they don't get closed but they disappear, making their presence be known only by their name or button on the Taskbar. After clicking this button, the window is said to be maximized. After a window has been maximized, this button is replaced by another button: the Restore button.
			Restore	This button is used to restore a window if the window has been maximized. If you click this button, the window gets the size it had prior to being maximized.

Practical Learning: Using the System Buttons

1. To see the system buttons, on the right section of the title bar, position the mouse on the left button:  
   

2. Click the Minimize button
   
   . Notice that the window has disappeared.
3. To open another window, on the desktop, double-click Recycle Bin. Notice that its window comes on the screen.
4. On the Taskbar, click Control Panel. Notice that it comes on top of the previous window
5. To maximize the Control Bar window, click its Maximize button
   
6. To bring back the other window, on the Taskbar, click its name: Recycle Bin
7. On the top right section of the screen, notice the different middle icon each window has
   
   and
   
    
   

8. To close the Recycle Bin window, click its System Close button
   
9. To restore the Control Panel Window, right-click its name on the Taskbar and click Restore

One of the most visible characteristics that identifies a window is its size. This allows the operating system to manage the available space on the screen and to know how much space each application is using. Some windows have a fixed size while the size of others can change. This aspect is controlled by both the operating system and the programmer who created the window. If the window's size can be changed by you, the window is said to be resizable. Once again, keep in mind that it is the programmer, in accordance with the operating system, who decided whether a window can be resized (this means that the person who created a window had the ability to make sure that the window would never be resized). A programmer can also decide how much a window can be resized by setting the minimum and maximum dimensions. For example, you cannot enlarge the FreeCell application beyond the maximum width of 8 cards:

The size of a window is characterized by two values: its width and its height:

We mention these aspects of the dimensions only for references. Unless you are a programmer, you will never be concerned with the values of the width and/or the height of a window.

Most windows that display the Minimize and the Maximize buttons can be resized, but this is only an indication. To resize a window, first decide whether you want to enlarge, narrow, heighten, or shorten it. Then, position the mouse on either the upper or the lower borders until a vertical short line with double arrows appears, then click and drag in the direction of your choice. To widen or shrink a window, position the mouse on either the left or the right borders until a horizontal narrow line with double arrows appears, then click and drag in the direction of your choice. The last two techniques allow you to resize a window on one dimension, either vertically or horizontally. Fortunately, you can resize a window on two dimensions at the same time. Position your mouse on one of the corners and drag the short diagonal line in the direction of your choice.

Notice that you can resize a resizable window using any of its four borders or any of its four corners.

Practical Learning: Resizing a Window

1. With the Control Panel window still displaying, make sure it is not maximized
2. Position the mouse on the top border until you see a short vertical line with arrows:  
   

3. Click and drag up � an inch (no need for precision)
4. Position the mouse on the right border of the Control Panel window until a horizontal line with arrows appears:  
   

5. Click and drag right � an inch (no need for precision)
6. Position the mouse on the lower right corner until a short diagonal line with double arrows appears:  
   

7. Click and drag up and left (no need for precision)

Whenever you launch an application or open a window, it uses a portion of the screen or the whole area. When a window is maximized, it uses the whole display. On the other hand, a window that is occupying only a portion of the screen can be moved away from its current location. This allows seeing other programs that are "running" on the computer. The ability to move a window is partly controlled by the person who created the window. Therefore, in some applications, you will not be able to move the window.

When a window is not maximized, it is positioned at some coordinates with regards to the monitor. Based on this, such a window can be located by its top and its left values. Here is an example:

Unless you are a programmer, you will never be concerned with the Top and Left values of the location of a window.

If at one time you don't like the area where a window is located, you can move it. To move a window using the mouse, you can drag its title bar to the new location. To move a window using the keyboard, first right-click its title bar and click Move (or click its System icon and click Move). The mouse pointer changes into a four arrowed cross. Then press the right, the up, the down, or the left arrow keys. When the window gets to the desired location, press Esc.

Practical Learning: Moving a Window

1. To move the Control Panel window, click and hold the mouse on the middle section of its title bar  
   

2. Drag to the right section until the right border of the window disappears behind the right border of the monitor
3. Then release the mouse
4. Notice that the whole window has moved
5. Click the System icon of the window and click Move
6. To move the window left, press the left arrow key
   
   three times
7. While the Move key tool is still active, move the mouse up but don't click
8. To dismiss the key tool, click
9. To close the window, double-click its System icon

We saw how you can move a window. In some cases, you end up with one window positioned on top of another. Of course the first remedy that comes in mind is to move one of the windows away from the other. This also implies that sometimes you would have to enlarge and/or heighten the window. There are situations that either you don't want to resize the window or you can't: your only solution is to have one window on top of another.

When one window is positioned on top of another, they use a third axis whose origin, like that or the other axes, is on the top-left corner of the monitor. This third axis, also considered the z-axis, is oriented so that it moves from the monitor towards you. The operating system is in charge of positioning and drawing the objects on the screen.

Here is an example where WordPad is positioned on top of FreeCell, which is on top of Netscape:

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Downloading is the ability to get something from the internet and put it in your computer. By default, downloading means that you decide when to get that thing. Unfortunately, some things get into your computer while using the internet. Some of these things don't bother your computer; some others do. This is why you should be restrictive with the sites you visit.

By default, sites of big corporations, government agencies, and schools are less harmful, almost not harmful because they are more accountable or more responsible. In fact, most responsible or accountable businesses run sites that are not harmful at all (you are extremely unlikely to get a disease, I mean a virus, from the web site of a big corporation or a government agency).

Like everything else in life, the internet was abused and is now the source of some bad behaviors. There is no strict list of things you should do or sites you should not visit. So, welcome to this world of the Internet.

Because of bad behaviors some people and corporations have witnessed on the internet, if you work for some corporations or government agencies, or if you are accessing the internet using a public or school's computer, you may not be able to just download anything you want, and these decisions are right (if you want to download harmful things, do it at home or using your own computer; create your own bad experience, be your own victim, learn from your own mistakes; don't do it on someone else's computer. This means that, if a school, an agency, a business, or a corporation prevents you from using the Internet any way you want, it is a valid decision they make and you should live with it).

Many big corporations offer free and safe things you can download (big corporations are more responsible and accountable; they can't take the risk of having their name dragged to the mud). For example, if you plan to get into programming, you can check offerings from http://www.sun.com, http://www.borland.com, or Dev-C++. I didn't cite Microsoft, not because I hate the company (I don't) but because most of its free offerings I can remember may be installed in your computer already, such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Works (which is not really free, it is just that if you buy your computer in a store, it may have Microsoft Works already but if you don't have Microsoft Works and you nee it, you would have to purchase it) or the .NET Framework (the .NET Framework is not really free and it is not a program by itself anyway, it is a library whose job is to complete the operating system; fortunately, while doing that, it comes with free programs for programmers, not for casual users).

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The focus is a visual aspect that indicates that a control is ready to receive input from you. Various controls have different ways of expressing that they have received focus.

Button-based controls indicate that they have focus by drawing a dotted rectangle around their text. In the following picture, the button on the right has focus:

A text-based control indicates that it has focus by displaying a blinking cursor. A list-based control indicates that it has focus when one of its items has a surrounding dotted rectangle:

To give focus to a control, you can click it. Alternatively, if the focus is already on one of the controls, to give focus to a particular control, you can press Tab continuously until the control shows that it has focus. On a browser, if you press Tab continuously, the focus would move from one link or control to another. This means that a link on a web page can receive focus as if it were a control.

A Dialog Box is a square or rectangular window whose main role is to carry, hold, or host, other windows. By itself, a dialog box means nothing. The other objects displayed on it define its role. Like a dialog box, the types of objects whose role is to host other objects are called containers. Therefore, the primary role of a dialog box is as a container.

Displaying a dialog box depends on the instructions you are given.

A dialog box is made of two main sections. On top, it displays a title bar. The left side of the title bar displays a sentence as the title of the dialog box. This group of words is also called the caption. Each dialog box is called by its title. Therefore, if the title displays Employees Registration, then the dialog box is called the Employees Registration Dialog Box. We will use the same naming convention in our lessons.

On the right section of the title bar, a normal dialog box would display only the system Close button

Sometimes, a dialog box will have a button with a question mark. This is called the Help button. A dialog box equipped with this button indicates that you can get quick help on the items displayed on the dialog box. While the behaviors of the system buttons seen in previous lessons are defined and controlled by the operating system, the person who creates a dialog box and equip it with the Help button also defines what happens if you click that Help button.

The main section of a dialog box can be referred to as its body (programmers call it the Client Area). This is the area where the objects the dialog box is hosting are positioned. There is no predefined directive nor a restriction on what types of objects a dialog box can hold. It is left to the programmer to decide.

Practical Learning: Displaying a Dialog Box

• To display a dialog box, on the Taskbar, click Start -> Run� The Run dialog box comes up.  
  

A command button, commonly called a button, is a rectangular object that displays a word or a group of words, expecting you to make a decision. You make your decision by clicking the button. The button is usually placed on a dialog box but it can also be placed on another type of container.

As far as you (the user) are (is) concerned, the most important characteristic of a button is the word or sentence it displays. This is called the caption. The most basic common button you will encounter has a caption of OK. The buttons available on a dialog box, including their behaviors, once again, depend on the programmer.

In many circumstances, the buttons come as a group. For example, you may have a dialog box with OK and Cancel buttons. Many dialog boxes have an OK and a Cancel buttons. Sometimes, they will have more than one button.

Whenever a button has an OK and a Cancel buttons, clicking the OK button tells the computer that "I accept the changes I made" or "I agree with the changes made", or simply, "I agree". Clicking the Cancel button tells the computer that "Never mind", or "No, cancel your suggestion", or "Dismiss what I did". The documentation of the dialog box you are using should give you enough information about the buttons on the dialog box.

Practical Learning: Using Command Buttons

1. To dismiss the Run dialog box, click Cancel
2. To launch Solitaire, on the Taskbar, click Start -> (All) Programs -> Games -> Solitaire
3. To display a dialog box, on the main menu, click Game -> Deck...
4. Click the picture on the 1st row - 4th column  
   

5. Click Cancel and notice no change on the game.
6. On the main menu again, click Game -> Deck...
7. Click the picture on the 2nd row - 3rd column  
   

8. Click OK
9. Notice that the back picture on the left top card has changed

A text box is a window that is used to display text or to receive text from you. The type of text it displays or the type of text you are asked to provide depends on the application or the situation.

Some text boxes are used only to display text. Either you cannot change the text or only an intermediary action can make it possible to change the text. Some other text boxes would require you to enter text. If you don't, something bad might happen. Some text boxes would display text already, giving you the chance to change the text or to accept the one suggested to you.

In all or most circumstances, you will be informed about the text box and what you are supposed to do with it.

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If you are starting a new document or some control that expects text from you, the first action you may take is to type, using the keyboard and its keys as we reviewed in Lesson 2. To do this, you can first use the mouse and click in the area where you are supposed to type.

When you click in an area that either contains text or expects text from you, a short vertical bar appears and starts blinking but doesn't move. This bar is called the caret. To  enter text, you press the desired key on the keyboard. When a letter or a symbol has been entered, the caret moves one character to the right (in US English and Latin based languages) and starts blinking again, indicating that it is ready. If you keep typing, the caret keeps moving to the right. If the caret gets to the most right position but you keep typing, it gets automatically moved to the next line.

The presence of the caret lets you know where the next character would appear if you type. For this reason, before typing, you must make sure that, at all times, you know where the caret is. 

There are various categories of items you will create by combining keys:

As we saw in Lesson 2, a letter is a symbol recognized by the alphabet and that is used to create spoken words. To get a letter in your document, you can press its corresponding key or the necessary combination to get its uppercase equivalent

A space is an empty character; that is, a character non-visible and non-readable. A space can be used to separate two characters or two groups of characters. To create space after typing one character, press the space bar. The space bar is the long empty bar on your keyboard and closer to your body; normally, it is in the same range as the Alt key but is wider than most or all keys on your keyboard.

A word is a combination of letters that produce a recognizable item of your language, which could be part of the English language. Therefore, to get a word, you type the desired characters together. This means that there is no empty space inside of a word. Examples of words are computer, world, floor, mean.

Although most words are readable, you can also use or make up words that are not known to anybody or are known to only a few. Example are #define, _stdcall

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Navigating through text is the ability to move the caret or the mouse cursor among the various characters or sections of text. The easiest way to move the caret to any section of the document is to click the desired position. If you click between two characters, the caret would be positioned between those two. If you click in the middle of a letter, the operating system would calculate the shortest distance to a border of the letter and position the caret there: Neither the caret nor the cursor can be positioned in the middle of a character. For example, if you try clicking the letter M, if your mouse landed between the left border of the letter and the left diagonal, the caret would be positioned to the left of M. If you try clicking M and your mouse lands between the right diagonal and the right border of the letter, the caret would be positioned to the right of M.

You can also perform text navigation using the keyboard:

• If you press the right arrow key, the caret moves one character to the right.
  If the caret is already at the end of the line but it is not on the last line of the document, the caret would be moved to the left of the first character of the next line.
• If you press the left arrow key, the caret moves one character to the left.
  If the caret is already at the beginning of the line  and it is the first line of the document, nothing would happen. If the caret is already at the beginning of the line but it is not on the first line of the document, the caret would be moved to the right of the last character of the previous line.
• If you press Home, the caret moves to the beginning (the far left) of the current line.
  If the caret is already at the beginning of the current line, it would not be moved.
• If you press End, the caret moves to the end of the current line. If the caret is already at the end of the current line, it would not be moved.
• If you press the down arrow key, the caret moves down to approximately the same position but to the next line of text. If the position is not available in the next line of the text, for example if the next line of text is shorter than the current line, the caret gets positioned at the end of the line.
  If you press the down arrow key but the caret is positioned in the last line of text of the document, nothing would happen.
• If you press the up arrow key, the caret moves up to approximately the same position but to the previous line of text. If the same position is not available in the previous line of the text, the caret gets positioned at the end of the line.
  If you press the up arrow key but the caret is positioned in the first line of text of the document, nothing would happen.
• If you press Ctrl + the right arrow key, the caret would move one word to the right. If the caret is already positioned at the end of the line and it is not on the last line, the caret would be moved to the left of the first word of the next line. If the caret is already positioned to the right of the last word of the current line and there is no other word after that, nothing would happen.
• If you press Ctrl + the left arrow key, the caret would move one word to the left. If the caret is already positioned in the beginning of the line and it is not on the first line, the caret would be moved to the left of the last word of the previous line. If the caret is already positioned to the beginning of the first word of the current line and there is no other word before that, nothing would happen.
• If you press Ctrl + the down arrow key, the caret would be positioned to the left of the first word of the next paragraph. If the caret is positioned anywhere in the last paragraph, the caret would be moved to the end of the paragraph. If the caret is already at the end of the paragraph and the current paragraph is the last, it would not be moved but it may beep.
• If you press Ctrl + the up arrow key, the caret would be positioned to the left of the first word of the previous paragraph. If the caret is positioned anywhere in the first paragraph, it would be moved to the beginning of the paragraph, to the left of the first word. If the caret is already at the beginning of the paragraph of the document, it would not be moved.
• If you press Page Down and the document is so long that it is not displaying completely, all the area you are looking at would be moved up; the same number of lines down would be displayed. This means that the document would be displayed to you one page at a time, going downward. The operating system is in charge of calculating the amount of text that constitutes a page. This means that a page of text is not the same as the page of the printer.
• If you press Page Up and the document is so long that it is not displaying completely, all the area you are looking would be moved down, leaving place for the next page to be displayed. This means that the document would be displayed to you one page at a time, going upward. The operating system is in charge of calculating the amount of text that constitutes a page.
• If you press Ctrl + Page Down, the caret would be moved to the end of the area that is displaying to you.
• If you press Ctrl + Page Up, the caret would be moved to the beginning of the area that is displaying to you.
• If you press Ctrl + Home, the caret moves to the very beginning of the document
• If you press Ctrl + End, the caret moves to the very end of the document

All these operations are managed by the operating system. This means that they usually don't depend on the application you are using.

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Text selection consists of isolating part of the text of a document, for any reason that is necessary. Why you select text and what you do with the selected text are two completely different issues. This means that text can be selected for any reason. The effect produced while selecting text is also different depending on the application. Also, as always, some applications may provide a feature that is not available in some others.

Text indicates that it is selected when it appears with a different background color than the other characters. It is also said that the text is highlighted. When text is selected, it appears inside of a black or blue background. Actually, the color of the background depends; it is usually the same as the text but it gets the opposite color. For example, when a word in black is selected, it gets white but it gets drawn in a black background.

Here is an example of the letter "a" selected inside of the word "quartiers":

Here is an example of the word "quartiers" selected in a paragraph:

Here is an example of a paragraph selected in a document:

Text is primarily selected using the mouse but you can also use a keyboard or a combination of both.

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Practical Learning: Introducing the Clipboard

1. Start Notepad
2. Type the following:
    

The primary means of using the clipboard consists of putting information in it. One of the ways you do this is to copy information from a source. To do this, you must first select that information and this depends on what you are using. The document from which you are copying an item is referred to as source.

To get text from a text-based application, first select it. To copy it, most applications have a menu called Copy under Edit.

Practical Learning: Copying an Item to the Clipboard

As mentioned above, copying consists of putting information into the clipboard. To use that information, you must retrieve it from the clipboard and put it where you want. This operation is referred to as pasting. The document into which you are pasting an item is referred to as destination.

Before pasting something, you should first make sure that the clipboard is not empty and, most of the time, you should know what is in the clipboard. Remember that when the computer starts, the clipboard is empty. Also, you have no way of visually checking the contents of the clipboard. You would just need to remember what you had previously put in the clipboard.

We mentioned that the clipboard could contain just about anything: a character, a picture, a book, a group of pictures, a whole library, a paragraph of text, an icon. Notice that these are disparate items that may not share anything at all, except that they are retrieved from the computer. To distinguish these items, the computer (the operating system) categorized using a technique referred to as format. Because of the differences among these items, each uses a specific format. Based on this, some items are categorized as text. Some items are categorized as images (bitmap), and so on.

To paste the content of the clipboard, most applications have a Paste item under their Edit menu. In most applications also, you can right-click the area or section where you want to paste. The context menu would have a Paste item. In both cases (using the main menu or the context menu), if you click Paste, the contents of the clipboard would be added to that section.

As mentioned already, not all items use the same format. For this reason, not just anything can be pasted in just anywhere. A text-based item such as a letter, a symbol, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a book (as text) can be pasted in a document that can receive it. On the other hand, a picture cannot be pasted in a text-based application like Notepad because the format is not compatible. Some other applications (OLE-based, don't ask) can be pasted almost anything, even a whole object from an application that has nothing to do with the destination.

Practical Learning: Pasting an Item From the Clipboard

1. Click the right side of C to position the caret there.
   On the main menu of Notepad, click Edit -> Paste
2. Continue typing as follows:
    

   Le C�ur Dormant Henry de Mesquieux is a young French movie director who, once more, has produced a masterpiece of cinematography. A few years ago, his commendable ability to carry an audience started with �La Fille Cr

3. Return to http://www.functionx.com/html/articles/specialchars.htm then find the � character and select it
4. Press Ctrl + C to copy it to the clipboard
5. Return to Notepad and press Ctrl + V to paste the character
6. Type ole aux Yeux Per
7. Return to http://www.functionx.com/html/articles/specialchars.htm then find the � character and select it
8. Press Ctrl + C to copy it to the clipboard
9. Return to Notepad and press Ctrl + V to paste the character
10. Continue as follows:
     

    Le C�ur Dormant Henry de Mesquieux is a young French movie director who, once more, has produced a masterpiece of cinematography. A few years ago, his commendable ability to carry an audience started with �La Fille Cr�ole aux Yeux Per�ants�. This movie had put its own reference in the world of wonderful pictures and won various awards, including the Marsouni Critique Consortium.

We mentioned that you could copy an item and put it in the clipboard. When you do this, the item is only copied; in other words, a copy of the item stays in the source and a copy is made in the clipboard. If you want to remove an item from a source and have it only in the destination, you can Cut it. When this is done, the item is deleted from the source.

To cut an item, most applications have a Cut item under the Edit category of their main menu. They may also have a Cut item in their context menu that appears when you right-click. Different applications handle cutting differently. In most applications, once you click Cut, the character, word, sentence, paragraph, the whole text, the picture, the group of pictures, etc, is immediately deleted and put into the clipboard. With some other applications, the item that was cut becomes dimmed or disabled but not completely deleted.

After cutting an item and pasting, it becomes available in the destination. As stated already, if the destination is not equipped to received the contents of the clipboard because of a different format, the contents would not be pasted and nothing would happen. You would not even receive a message stating that the pasting operation failed.

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Text formatting consists of of changing individual characters, words, single paragraphs, or pages. This allows you to tremendously change the look of your text by applying different fonts, sizes, and styles such as making the text appear bold or italicized. Furthermore, you can underline portions of text and/or use different colors to emphasize a point.

The ability to format text highly depends on the application your are using. Because this is a high detail of applications, some of them provide more features than others. In most cases, if you plan to create a highly formatted text, you may need to use a commercial application. Otherwise, Microsoft Windows installs WordPad that is equipped with all the fundamental tools used to format text. What is also available in WordPad is also available in commercial applications. This means that what we will review here can be applied in all or most word processors.

As mentioned already, what you need to format text depends on the application you are using. With WordPad, the most fundamental used to format text is the Formatting toolbar:

The Formatting toolbar is equipped with three combo boxes and a few buttons. Like any toolbar, to know what a button is used for, position the mouse on top of it, a tool tip will appear.

A font is a series of characters designed to draw symbols or readable letters. This design can be made by an individual or a company. After the design has been made, it is electronically made available to individual or companies that can use it to draw characters. Based on this, there are various ways you can get a font in order to it. Because it is designed, a font usually belongs to the designer or is copyrighted. This means that you should have some concerned with getting or using a font.

Practical Learning: Introducing Text Formatting

• Start another instance of WordPad and type the following (make sure you put an empty line at the end of the text
   

  Common Sense Introduction Common sense, as Alan defined it, was a theory or an illusion that made us believe that most people share some common fundamental qualities. In reality, Alan didn�t agree with it. He thought everyone should be treated as an individual instead of being considered as fitting a particular group. In his everyday life, Alan refused to be identified with others. He strongly advocated individual qualities and personal responsibilities. How it Started A few months prior to defending his denial of the existence of common sense, Alan had attentively read a book titled �Fundamental Human Attributes� by Jerry Pastor, a self-described scholar of human behavior and ethnocentricity. The goal of the book was not to defend common sense but many sections of the book seemed to support it. After reading the book half-through, Alan thought the author did not make sense. He ended up hating the book and the author. John Pollock, Essays of a Private Life

There are various ways you can get a font to your computer. When Microsoft Windows gets installed, it also installs various fonts that would be used in the various applications and can be used you. The list of fonts of a computer can be seen from the Fonts icon of Control Panel.

Besides the default fonts, you can install new fonts to your computer. If you install some commercial applications such as Corel WordPerfect or Microsoft Office, it may install various fonts it would use. Once such fonts have been installed, they can be used by other applications of the same computer, not just the application that installed or needs them.

Various web sites also sell or distribute fonts, free or for a fee.

You can purchase a graphics package, such as Corel Gallery, that also includes fonts. Once you get and install such a package, you would have the option to also install or add fonts.