The desktop is what you see on the screen when you are working on your Macintosh computer or when you are running Microsoft Windows on a PC. Some of the newer DOS programs also have features of the desktop such as drop-down menus and scroll bars.
The desktop usually contains one or more windows layered on top of each other. This reference sheet will explain how to manipulate those windows. These instructions are specific to MS-Windows but are similar in Macintosh.
Using the Mouse
The desktop can be controlled by the mouse. In some cases it can also be controlled by the keyboard, but not all functions of the Macintosh windows have keyboard shortcuts. All functions of MS-Windows can be done using either the mouse or the keyboard.
Icons and Buttons
The desktop will have icons and buttons on it. An icon is a small picture representing a computer program. A button may also have a small picture on it and usually has a rectangle around it. The Macintosh buttons are often shaded to appear three-dimensional. Always double click your mouse on an icon; but single click on a button.
The Control Button
In the upper, left-hand corner of each window is a rectangle with a smaller rectangle in it. This is the control button. Clicking once on this button displays the control menu. Close the entire window by double clicking the control button (the first click of the double click opens the menu and the second click selects the "close window" option on the menu).
Maximize and Minimize Buttons
In the upper, right-hand corner of each window are the maximize and minimize buttons. The maximize button allows you to quickly enlarge the window to fill the entire screen. The minimize button allows you to quickly shrink the window to an icon. To maximize or minimize, click once on these buttons.
The Title Bar
Along the top of the window (between the control button and the max/minimum buttons) is the title bar. This bar shows the title of the window. Use the title bar to move the window around the desktop: Click and drag on the title bar to move the window around the desktop.
The Sizing Corner
In the lower, right-hand corner of each window is the sizing corner. Click and drag on this corner to increase or decrease the size of your window.
Scroll Bars
Scroll bars appear along the right or bottom of a window when text, graphics, or icons in a window take up more space than the window size can show. Using the scroll bars, you can move up, down, left, or right in a window.
The scroll bar will have an arrow on each end and a rectangular bar inside it. You can move around in the window three ways:
1. Click on the arrow at the end of the scroll bar to move (up, down, left, right) one space or line at a time.
2. Click in the space between the arrow and the rectangular bar to move (up, down, left, right) one screen at a time.
3. Click and drag the rectangular button inside the scroll bar to move (up, down, left, right) through the window at your control.
Using Menus
The menus on a Macintosh are called pull-down menus (you must click and hold on the mouse button to pull down the menu). Menus on a PC are called drop-down menus (you must click and release the mouse button and the menu drops down).
Menus have items on them. To the right of the menu item, you may see a keystroke combination (such as CTRL-F3). This means you can also press that keystroke instead of using the menu.
If the menu item has an ellipsis (...) after it, you will obtain a dialog box when you select this menu item (see below).
If the menu item has an arrowhead () after it, you will see a sub-menu when you select this menu item.
Dialog Boxes
A dialog box is a rectangular box which is used to gather more information. For example, if you select print in a word processor, you'll see a dialog box asking such things as How many copies?, Which printer are you using?, and Print entire document or print just some of the pages?
You may see up to six different components in a dialog box:
Text box: a box which allows you to type an entry (for example, the name of a file or the name of a printer or the number of copies).
List box: a box which lists several choices for you to click on your choice. There may be a scroll bar on the side of the list box if there are too many items to fit in the box.
Drop-down list box: a one-line list box that opens to display a list of choices when you click on the down-arrow button on the right side of the list box.
Option buttons: (These are sometimes called radio buttons.) Round or parenthesis buttons present a group of related choices from which you may choose one choice.
Check boxes: Square buttons present a single option or a group of options. You may select as many of these options as you want by clicking inside the square button.
Command buttons: Buttons displayed at the bottom of the dialog box such as OPEN, QUIT, OK, CANCEL, etc. If there is an ellipsis on the button, choosing it will open another dialog box.
