Microsoft Windows Vista

how to do it

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Computers & Technology

Windows Vista

®

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Open up an entirely new Windows.

Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system is the most significant overhaul of Windows yet. Teach yourself everything you need to know to start using Vista and make the most of its new and improved features with: • A rundown of the various versions of Vista and which one suits you best • A guide to the new Vista desktop, including Windows Aero® and Flip 3-D® • Ways to use Vista to search your PC, get online, and manage email

An Introduction to Windows Vista Windows Vista is the latest version of Microsoft Windows, the operating system that runs on 95% of PCs worldwide.

The successor to Windows XP ®, Vista is by far the most powerful version of Windows yet. In addition to Vista’s dozens of new features and improvements, the most obvious change is Windows Aero, a suite of visual enhancements, including translucent and 3-D windows, that makes Vista look and feel unlike any previous version of Windows. ®

The Full Version vs. The Upgrade Version Each version of Vista comes in both a full version and an upgrade version.

The Four Main Versions of Vista

• Full version: Allows you to install Vista on any PC, with or without a prior version of Windows. The prices listed earlier refer to the full versions of Vista.

• Upgrade version: Allows you to install Vista only on a PC that has a prior version of Windows (such as Windows 2000 or XP) already installed. The upgrade version contains all of the features of the full version but costs 20–30% less.

Before you start using Vista, you need to know which version to buy. There are four versions on the market, and your choice will affect how Vista looks and works on your PC.

If you already have a previous version of Windows installed, it’s generally best to buy the upgrade version of Vista.

• Ultimate: As the name implies, Vista Ultimate ($399.95) includes all of Vista’s new features and is the most expensive and powerful version of Vista.

• Home Premium: Vista Home Premium ($239.95) is the version that most everyday PC users run. It includes Aero and most—though not all—of Vista Ultimate’s other core features.

• Home Basic: Vista Home Basic ($199.95) is the cheapest and most stripped-down version of Vista.

It’s the only version of Vista that doesn’t include Aero.

Though Home Basic has some of Vista’s new features, such as better security and search, most users won’t find enough of a difference between it and Windows XP to justify the cost of buying or upgrading to Vista.

• Business: Vista Business ($299.95) is designed for business users running Vista on a network. It offers a variety of enhanced network security features that few home-based users need.

Which Version of Windows Vista Do You Have?

Which Version Should You Buy?

• Vista Capable PCs: Can run all of Vista’s most crucial new features, such as the improved search and security options, but can’t run many of Vista’s premium features, including Aero. Vista Capable PCs will not be able to run premium features even if you’re running a version of Vista that includes these features, such as Home Premium.

• Vista Premium Ready PCs: Can run all of Vista’s features, including Aero and all other premium features.

For most everyday users, Vista Home Premium is the best version to buy. It includes almost all of the features of Vista Ultimate for much less money. And you probably won’t miss the few Ultimate features that Home Premium lacks, such as advanced data encryption and networking options.

Though the low price of the Home Basic version might be tempting, it’s definitely worth spending the extra money for Home Premium, which has Aero plus many more essential features that Home Basic lacks. All of the features and instructions in this guide apply to the Home Premium edition of Windows Vista, unless otherwise noted.

If Vista came preinstalled on your PC, you most likely have Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. To check which version you have: 1. Click on the Start Button (located at the bottom left corner of the screen). The Start Menu will pop up.

2. In the Start Menu, click on Welcome Center.

3. The version of Windows you have is displayed to the near the top of the right of the computer graphic Welcome Center window.

Capable

Premium Ready

CPU type

Pentium or later

Pentium or later

CPU speed

800 MHz

1 GHz

Memory

512 MB RAM

1 GB RAM

Graphics card

DirectX 9 capable

DirectX 9 capable with 128 MB RAM

Hard drive size

20 GB

40 GB

Hard drive free space

15 GB

15 GB

Drives

DVD-ROM

DVD-RW

If you don’t know your system’s specs, you can get a quick overview of most of them by clicking on the Start Button and selecting Welcome Center. A snapshot of specs, including CPU type, CPU speed, and memory, will appear near the top of the Welcome Center window. For a complete rundown of your specs, contact your PC’s manufacturer.

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

System Requirements for Windows Vista

To get a quick assessment of your PC’s Vista readiness, you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, a software application that Microsoft offers for free at www. microsoft.com/windowsvista/upgradeadvisor. The program checks your PC’s specs and provides you with a summary of the following info:

System requirements are the minimum specs, such as memory and processor speed, that your PC needs in order to run certain software programs. Microsoft has split the system requirements for Vista into two tiers: Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready.

• Whether your PC can run Vista, and if so, whether it’s Vista Capable or Vista Premium Ready • Which version of Vista will run best on your PC • Which Vista features, such as Aero, will run on your PC

Windows Vista’s Minimum System Requirements The following table shows the minimum specs your PC needs to qualify as Vista Capable or Premium Ready.

System Requirements You’ll Want Your PC to Have Though you can run Vista with a PC that has only the minimum specs, to take full advantage of Vista’s many new features, you’ll want a PC with Vista Premium Ready specs, at the least. If you can afford to buy a PC with even better than Premium Ready specs, the following specs will give you the best experience with Vista: • • • •

CPU type: Core 2 Duo or better Processor: 2 GHz or faster Memory: 2 GB RAM or more Hard drive size: 100 GB or more

Microsoft Windows Vista

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count Control, all of which are designed to make Vista much more secure than previous versions of Windows. For more on Vista security, see How to Use Vista’s Security Center.

What’s New in Windows Vista?

Vista is a major improvement over previous versions of Windows, in both form and function.

Windows Search

Changes to How Windows Looks Windows Vista has a smoother look and feel than previous versions of Windows. The aesthetic changes that make Vista feel more polished result from subtle tweaks—minor animations and colorful effects, such as glowing buttons—and from major changes, such as Aero’s translucent windows and 3-D features. The most notable visual changes are listed below.

Changes to How Windows Works Vista includes hundreds of new features designed to make using Windows more efficient and secure. The most important new features are described below.

Windows Flip Translucent Windows In Vista versions with Aero, the edges of Windows and various other key components of the Windows interface appear translucent—you can see through these elements to get a glimpse of the graphics or other windows “behind” them.

Though translucency can make it easier to “look through” your open windows to see which programs you have running, its main purpose is, admittedly, to look cool.

3-D Folders In previous versions of Windows, file folders (or fold­ ers for short) were represented by a flat, “plain manila” folder with the name of the folder shown below it. Folders in Vista include the folder name and a small 3-D graphic that includes a preview of the files that the folder actually contains. For instance, folders with various Word ®, Excel®, or PowerPoint ® documents will show a tiny rendering of those documents.

Windows Flip is a feature that lets you switch between the open windows on your desktop by pressing the Alt and Tab keys simultaneously. In Vista, Flip shows a small version of each of your active windows, which makes it easier to see what each open window contains. Once you’ve opened Flip, hold down Alt and press Tab repeatedly to switch between windows. Letting go of Alt selects the window you’re currently on (indicated by a colored ring) and makes that window the active window.

Internet Explorer 7 Vista comes with a preinstalled copy of the newest version of Microsoft’s popular web browser, Internet Explorer ® 7.

The new Explorer includes several major improvements to previous versions, including tabbed browsing. For more on the new Internet Explorer, see How to Browse the Web with Vista.

How to Use the Vista Desktop The main screen you see when you start up your PC is known as the Windows desktop. The Windows Vista desktop is similar to that of previous versions of Windows: there are icons on the left, a taskbar along the bottom of the screen, and an open space in the middle of the screen used mainly to view your open windows. Vista’s desktop also introduces several new features, such as gadgets and a sidebar, all of which are described and identified in the rest of this section.

Windows Flip 3-D

1. The Start Button

The flashiest aspect of Windows Aero, Windows Flip 3-D is a feature that presents your open windows as a layered three-dimensional stack on the desktop. When you activate Flip 3-D, you’ll see not only which windows are open, but also the actual “live” contents of each window. You can then choose which window you’d like to switch to by clicking on it in the Flip 3-D layout. To activate Flip 3-D, press symbol) at Tab and the Windows key (the key with the the same time.

The Start Button is a round blue button that contains the four-color Windows logo and is located at the bottom left corner of the desktop. Clicking on the Start Button opens up the Start Menu. For more on the Start Menu, see How to Use the Vista Start Menu.

Live Thumbnails In Vista, when you scroll over the icons of each program in the taskbar (the horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen), a small version of that program’s full-size window, known as a live thumbnail, pops up. For instance, if you have a document open in Microsoft Word, a tiny version of that document will appear in the live thumbnail that pops up when you scroll over Word in the taskbar.

Vista’s search features are much quicker and more effective than search features in previous versions of Windows. For more on the new search, see How to Use Vista’s Search.

Windows Security Center The Windows Security Center is Microsoft’s response to perhaps the most troubling weakness of previous versions of Windows—vulnerability to viruses and spyware.

The Security Center includes features such as Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, BitLocker Drive Encryption (Vista Ultimate and Business versions only), and User Ac-

2. Desktop Icons Desktop icons are small graphical symbols that represent programs, files, drives, or folders on your PC. Double-clicking on an icon opens a window containing the program, file, or folder. Three of the most important Windows icons are the Recycle Bin, Computer, and Documents.

• Recycle bin: Stores items you’ve deleted. Double-click on the Recycle Bin to retrieve deleted items.

• Computer: The “My Computer” icon from previous Windows versions has been renamed simply “Computer” in Vista. The Computer folder shows information about the drives and peripherals connected to your PC, such as USB drives and digital camera memory cards.

• Documents: The “My Documents” icon from previous Windows versions has been renamed simply “Documents” in Vista. The Documents folder is the default location in which programs store your files— except music and photo files, which have their own dedicated folders (called Music and Pictures).

The information contained in this and every Quamut guide is intended only for the general interest of its readers and should not be used as a basis for making medical, investment, legal or other important decisions. Though Quamut makes efforts to create accurate guides, editorial and research mistakes can occur. Quamut cannot, therefore, guarantee the accuracy of its guides. We disclaim all warranties, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and must advise you to use our guides at your own risk. Quamut and its employees are not liable for loss of any nature resulting from the use of or reliance upon our charts and the information found therein.

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Microsoft Windows Vista

www.quamut.com How to Add Standard Windows Icons to the Desktop The Recycle Bin is the only icon that appears by default on the Windows Vista desktop. To add other standard Windows icons to the desktop, such as Computer and Documents, right-click on the desktop, choose Personalize, and then click on Change Desktop Icons in the left bar of the window that pops up. Choose the icons that you’d like to add and click OK.

How to Add Your Own Icons to the Desktop Whenever you install a new program, Vista will ask you whether you’d like to include its icon on the desktop. If you choose not to include a desktop icon, you can still launch the program through the Start Menu. And if you decide you want to add the program’s icon to the desktop later, you can do so as follows: 1. Click on the Start Menu button.

2. Select All Programs.

3. Right-click on the program for which you’d like to add an icon to the desktop and choose Send To. 4. A menu will open to the right. Choose Desktop (create shortcut) and a desktop icon for that program will instantly appear on the desktop.

Vista allows you to add shortcuts to any file, folder, or drive on your PC by using the same method.

How to Change How Icons Appear on the Desktop Vista introduces a few new options that let you control the size and layout of desktop icons. To view these options, rightclick on any blank part of the desktop. A menu will appear— choose View. In the View menu, you can select: • Icon Size: You can choose among large, medium, or classic icons. Classic icons are the smallest and look just like Windows XP desktop icons. Medium and large icons are successively larger and more detailed but take up more space on the desktop.

• Show Desktop Icons: Uncheck this option, and all the desktop icons vanish. Check it, and they reappear.

• Auto Arrange: This option organizes your icons as neatly as possible in vertical rows starting on the left side of the desktop.

• Align to Grid: Does the same thing as Auto Arrange, but it keeps your icons near their current position— it won’t move them over to the left side of the desktop.

3. The Taskbar The Windows taskbar is the horizontal bar that runs along the entire bottom of the desktop. The standard taskbar consists of three elements, from left to right: the Start Button, the Quick Launch Bar, and the Notification Area (explained later). Between the Quick Launch Bar and the Notification Area lies an empty region of the taskbar in which icons appear for any open program or folder. For instance, if you’re running Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint all at once, a horizontal bar will appear in the taskbar for each open program, complete with the program’s name and icon. An icon appears for every program that’s running, even if you’ve minimized it. As you mouse over each icon in the taskbar, the icon will glow and a live thumbnail will pop up.

icon for the program. It’s possible to have a desktop icon and a Quick Launch icon in place for the same program.

Vista comes with a few Quick Launch icons preinstalled. , Perhaps the most useful of these is the desktop icon the leftmost icon. Clicking it creates a clean desktop by minimizing all of your open windows.

How to Add Icons to the Quick Launch Bar 1. Unlock the taskbar: Right-click a blank part of the taskbar, then uncheck Lock the Taskbar in the menu that pops up.

2. Create a desktop icon: Follow the steps in “How to Add Icons to the Desktop” to create a desktop icon.

3. Copy the desktop icon to the Quick Launch Bar: Click and drag the icon into an empty part of the Quick Launch Bar. The desktop shortcut will remain in place.

You can delete icons from the Quick Launch Bar by rightclicking them and choosing Delete. Note that when you delete a shortcut, you’re not deleting its underlying program, file, or folder.

5. The Notification Area How to Customize the Taskbar You can customize the taskbar’s appearance and performance by right-clicking on an empty part of the taskbar and choosing Properties from the window that pops up.

For instance, you can choose to auto-hide the taskbar (so it appears only when you mouse over it), or to add toolbars to the taskbar that allow you to control various Vista features, such as Windows Media Player ®, directly from the taskbar.

4. The Quick Launch Bar The Quick Launch Bar occupies the left part of the taskbar next to the Start Button. It contains Quick Launch icons, which are tiny versions of desktop icons. They’re called “Quick Launch“ icons because they launch programs (or open files, folders, or drives) with just one click. If you mouse over a Quick Launch icon, the name of its program, file, or folder will pop up in a small window.

When you install a new program, typically the software will ask you whether you want to create a Quick Launch

Also known as the System Tray, the Notification Area contains a group of icons representing programs that load automatically when your PC starts up and then run in the background as you work. Icons for antivirus software and for software that controls peripherals (such as your mouse, printer, scanner, and sound card) typically appear in the Notification Area. The Notification Area also houses the Windows clock—left-click on it to set the time and date.

How to Use the Icons in the Notification Area You can click on the icons in the Notification Area to change specific aspects of your system settings. For instance, to change the volume of your PC’s sound, you’d click on the speaker icon and then adjust a volume slider. You may be able to right-click and left-click some icons in the Notification Area and get different options depending on which type of click you use.

Though you can add and remove icons from the Notification Area, generally it’s best to leave them alone unless you absolutely know what you’re doing. To see what each icon in the Notification Area represents, mouse over it—a small window will pop up that identifies its name or function.

6. The Sidebar

desktop icons open and active windows

desktop background

picture and color sidebar gadgets

New to Vista, the Sidebar is a vertical bar that runs along the right side of the Vista desktop. Its sole purpose is to house Windows gadgets (explained below). By default, the Sidebar remains hidden until you mouse over it. You can change this setting, move the Sidebar so it occupies another area of the screen, or change various other Sidebar settings by rightclicking on the Sidebar and selecting Properties.

7. Sidebar Gadgets Windows gadgets are small, stand-alone software applications that typically perform one simple function in a graphical, visually appealing way. For instance, rather than use the plain old digital clock at the bottom right corner of the desktop, you can place one of eight different styles of actual “clocks” in the sidebar.

How to Access Your Gadgets At the top of the Sidebar is a menu that contains a plus sign and two arrows. You can use this menu to access your gadgets.

sidebar

start button

quick launch bar

taskbar

notification area

• Click on the plus sign to access the Gadget Gallery, a window containing all of your available gadgets (Vista comes with 11 gadgets preinstalled). Double-click on a gadget in this window to add it to your Sidebar.

• Click on the arrows to navigate among your gadgets.

The arrows become active only if you add more gadgets than can fit in the Sidebar.

Microsoft Windows Vista

www.quamut.com How to Remove, Customize, and Relocate Gadgets Each gadget has its own menu that pops up near the top right corner of the gadget when you mouse over the gadget. These menus all contain an X that you can click on to remove the gadget from the Sidebar. Some also contain a small wrench—clicking the wrench opens the gadget’s options/features window, which you can use to customize how the gadget looks and works.

To relocate a gadget within the Sidebar, click and drag it to a new spot—the other gadgets will reshuffle to make space. To relocate a gadget to a spot on the desktop outside the Sidebar, right-click the gadget, choose Detach from Sidebar, and click and drag the gadget to a new spot.

How to Get New Gadgets New gadgets are constantly being created by Windows Vista users around the world. To browse and download additional gadgets for free, click on “Get more gadgets online” in the bottom right corner of the Gadget Gallery. If you’re online, your web browser will open up the Windows Live Gadgets Gallery. You can also access the Gallery directly at gallery.live.com.

actually working—it lies at the top of the stack of your other open windows. Usually, your active and open windows appear stacked flat on top of one another on the desktop.

If you’re using Flip 3-D, you’ll see the same windows presented at a “3-D” angle that makes it easier to see what each window contains.

Minimizing and Maximizing Windows • When you minimize a window, it continues to appear on the taskbar, but not on the desktop. an active window, it stretches • When you maximize to take up the entire screen—only the active window and the taskbar remain visible. a window, it no longer appears • When you close on the desktop or in the taskbar.

How to Use the Vista Start Menu

3. All Programs Clicking on All Programs brings up a menu that gives you access to every software program on your PC. The programs are listed alphabetically by name. You can scroll through this list and click on a program to launch it or expand it to see its complete contents.

For instance, clicking on Microsoft Office will bring up an expanded list of all of the Office software on your PC—you can then click on programs in that list to launch them. The programs highlighted in yellow in All Programs are those that you have installed recently.

8. Desktop Background Picture and Color

Vista’s Start Menu contains shortcuts to Vista’s main features and folders, plus a list of shortcuts to every program on your PC. The shortcuts that appear in the Start Menu work just like desktop shortcuts, but you only need to single-click to use them. To open the Start Menu, click the Start Menu button or press the Windows key on your keyboard.

Vista lets you personalize your desktop by changing the background color or adding an image of your own to it.

The Main Components of the Start Menu

5. Personal Icon, Folders, and Games

How to Change the Background Color

The Start Menu contains eight main sections, explained in the diagram and descriptions below.

When you use Vista for the first time, the software requires you to create a user account, including a name and a personal icon. The top right corner of the Start Menu lists a shortcut to your personal account folder, which is given the name you choose for your account, along with more specific shortcuts to the Documents, Pictures, and Music subfolders contained within your personal account folder.

This list also contains a Games shortcut, which takes you to the Games folder that contains nine classic Windows games, including solitaire, hearts, and minesweeper.

1. Right-click on an empty portion of the desktop. Select Personalize from the pop-up menu.

2. Near the top of this menu, click Desktop Background.

3. In the new window that appears, click on the dropdown menu next to the words Picture Location, then choose Solid Colors.

4. Choose a color from among the ones that appear, or select More at the bottom of the window to see more color choices.

5. Once you’ve found a color, click on it and then click OK to make the change take effect.

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5

This section includes the following four shortcuts, each of which opens up a new window when clicked:

2 6

7 3

8

4

9. Open and Active Windows Your open windows—the windows of programs or folders that you’re currently using—will all appear on your desktop.

The active window is the single window in which you’re

• Search: Brings you to a more robust version of the Start Menu’s Windows Search Box for performing advanced (more precise) searches • Computer: Displays the same Computer menu that opens when you click on the Computer desktop icon • Network: Shows the names of all of the computers and other devices, such as PDAs, that are connected to your PC’s network (if you don’t have a network, you’ll for your PC) just see an icon • Connect To: Shows the networks to which your PC can connect in order to get internet access, including wireless, dial-up, and VPN networks

7. Control Panel, Default Programs, and Help 1. Permanent Start Menu Software The top left corner of the Start Menu contains a list of the programs that you choose to include in the Start Menu. To add a program to this section of the Start Menu, right-click on the program’s shortcut anywhere in Vista and choose Pin to Start Menu. For instance, if you’d like to add a program on your Quick Launch Bar to your Start Menu, you can rightclick directly on the shortcut and choose Pin to Start Menu.

2. Frequently Used Software You can also add an image to the desktop by right-clicking directly on a photo that you’re looking at in an open window, or even on a web page. After right-clicking, choose “Set as Desktop background.” A menu will appear in which you can choose how to display the image on your desktop.

You can use the Search Box to find programs, files, or folders on your PC. For more on the new Vista search, see How to Use Vista’s Search.

6. Search, Computer, Network, and Connect To

How to Add a Photo to the Desktop Background 1. Copy and paste the image file that you’d like to use onto the desktop. The image must be a jpeg, gif, or png file. If you’re not sure of the file type, right-click the file, choose Properties, and look under “Type of file” near the top of the Properties menu.

2. Right-click the desktop, select Personalize, then select Desktop Background. You should now see a white box in the center of the Desktop Background menu that contains a tiny version of the image file that you pasted onto the desktop (if you have other image files on your desktop, they will also appear). If for some reason you don’t see the image that you’d like to use, click the Browse button to find the image on your PC manually.

3. To use one of Microsoft’s stock images instead of your own image, click on the drop-down menu (next to the words Picture Location) to peruse the images in the Sample Pictures or Windows Wallpaper folders.

4. Once you find an image to use, click on it.

5. Below the white box, you’ll be able to choose how you want the image positioned—as a blown-up version of the image stretched to cover the entire desktop, a tiled version of the image repeated across the desktop, or a single image in the center of the desktop. Select your preferred option and click OK.

4. The Search Box

A horizontal bar separates the programs that you add to the Start Menu from a list that Vista automatically generates of software programs that you use often. This list changes depending on which programs you’ve used most in the recent past. To eliminate an item from this list, right-click on it and choose “Remove from this list.” To give one of these programs a permanent spot in your Start Menu, right-click on it and choose Pin to Start Menu—its shortcut icon will move up to the top left part of the Start Menu.

This section includes the following three shortcuts, each of which opens up a new window when clicked: • Control Panel: The Control Panel allows you to customize every aspect of your PC experience, from the volume of your sound to your screen’s resolution.

• Default Programs: This feature lets you specify which programs Vista uses to open certain types of files. For instance, if you’d like to make Microsoft Outlook® your default program for sending and receiving email, you can specify that preference by opening up the Default Programs window from the Start Menu.

• Help and Support: Clicking on this shortcut opens up the Help and Support Center, where you can search all of Vista’s help docs for answers to your questions about Vista’s new features or other issues. If searching doesn’t get you the answers you need, Help and Support can also point you to online help, Microsoft phone support, or Windows Remote Assistance, a feature in which certified Windows users can access your PC remotely to help you resolve problems.

Microsoft Windows Vista

www.quamut.com 8. Locking, Restarting, and Shutting Down Your PC Despite its name, the Start Menu is also the place to go to lock, shut off, or restart your PC. This section of the Start Menu has three buttons:

You can also type a website address directly into the address bar. When you do, your default web browser will pop up automatically and show you the page.

3. Search Box puts your PC in sleep mode, a low-power state that saves • The sleep button energy. You can pull your PC out of sleep mode and back into full-power mode quickly. locks your PC so that it can be accessed only by entering • The lock button the password you created for your user account. pulls up a menu that lets you choose Sleep, Lock, or four other • The arrow button options—Switch User (allows someone else in your home to log into his or her Vista user account), Log Off (logs you out of your user account), Restart (starts up your PC again), and Shut Down (turns off your PC).

The search box that appears in an open folder works just like Vista’s regular search, with one major difference—it searches only through the items contained in the current folder.

4. Classic Toolbar By default, Vista does away with the familiar pull-down menus (File, Edit, View, Tools, Help, and so on) that have long been a Windows staple. But if you want, you can cause the classic toolbar to appear (as it does in the sample diagram) by pressing Alt.

5. Vista Toolbar

How to Customize the Vista Start Menu

By default, the Vista toolbar includes three main tools:

Vista lets you customize several dozen different aspects of the Start Menu’s appearance and function. To access these options, right-click on the Start Menu Button, or on an empty portion of the Start Menu itself, and click Properties. The Properties window will open. Within this window, you can make three important customization choices: • Classic vs. Vista: If you don’t like Vista’s new Start Menu, choose Classic to revert to Windows XP’s version.

• Recently Opened Programs List: This box is checked by default. Unchecking it removes the list of frequently used software programs (#3 in the Start Menu diagram) from the Start Menu.

• Recently Opened Files List: This box is unchecked by default. If you check it, a list of files that you’ve used recently will be added to the Start Menu (in section #6 in the Start Menu diagram).

The Customize Button The Start Menu Properties window contains a Customize button near the top right. Clicking it opens up a menu that offers more advanced Start Menu customization options.

• Organize: Lets you adjust the folder’s overall layout • Views: Lets you choose how files within the folder are displayed • Burn: Lets you burn the contents of the folder to a CD or DVD (this option won’t appear if your PC lacks a CD or DVD burner) Additional toolbar entries will appear when you click on files within the folder, with different choices showing up depending on the type of file you select. If your folder contains just document files (like the folder in the sample diagram), the toolbar will show options related to document files, such as Open, Print, and Email. If it contains videos or photos, several additional options will appear, including Preview and Slideshow.

6. Preview Pane The Preview pane shows a small preview of a file’s contents. For instance, if you click on a Word document in your folder, you’ll see the first few lines of the document’s actual text without having to open Word. When you click on a photo or video, a small version of it will appear in the Preview pane. By default, Vista hides the Preview pane. To open it, on the Vista toolbar click Organize > Layout > Preview pane.

How to Navigate Files and Folders in Vista

7. File List

Windows Explorer is the graphical user interface that Microsoft introduced in Windows 95 to make it easier to navigate among a PC’s files and folders. Vista introduces many significant changes to how Windows Explorer works, though the underlying premise—navigating through files and folders visually by using your mouse—remains unchanged.

The File List displays all the files in the current folder. On the Vista toolbar, click Views to choose whether to display the file list as text (choose List or Details) or as graphical thumbnails (choose Small, Medium, Large, or Extra Large Thumbnails). The Tiles option in the Views menu displays each file with a medium-sized thumbnail and a bit of descriptive text.

The Components of a Typical Folder Window in Windows Vista

8. Details Pane

The following diagram shows the 10 main parts of a folder window in Vista. Each part is identified and explained in this section.

New to Vista, the Details pane includes a list of information about each file you click on in a folder, including the file size and the date on which you last changed the file.

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2

3

4

5

6

9. Folders Tab Clicking on this tab brings up a hierarchical list of all the folders on the hard drive you’re using. Use it as an alternative to the address bar to jump directly to a folder of your choice.

10. Navigation Pane The Navigation pane includes a list of Favorite Links, which are shortcuts that let you jump to various folders on your PC. By default, Vista includes a set of commonly used folders in the Navigation pane, such as Documents, Pictures, and Searches. You can add folders that you use often to this list by clicking-and-dragging them directly into the Navigation pane.

Those folders will then be included on the permanent list of Navigation pane folders for easy access from any open folder.

How to Use Customized File Folders as Templates in Windows Vista

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9

8

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1. Forward and Back Buttons Clicking on the back (left) button returns you to the folder that you opened before the one you’re currently viewing. Clicking on the forward (right) button brings you back to the folder that you opened after the one you’re currently viewing. You can click on either button repeatedly to step through as many folders as you’ve opened, just as you would use a web browser’s forward and back buttons to step through web pages you’ve visited.

2. Address Bar The address bar shows the hierarchy of your open folders in what is known as a breadcrumb trail (because it allows you to trace your way back through the hierarchy of your open folders). You can click on any of the folders shown in the address bar to open that folder. For instance, in the sample diagram, the address bar indicates that the window is showing the Word Documents folder and that the Word Documents folder is contained in the Documents folder. Clicking on the Documents folder icon in the address bar would open up the Documents folder in the window.

Once you’ve made changes to a particular folder’s layout­— such as by choosing whether to show the Preview pane and how to the file list displays—you can use your custom folder layout as a template for all folders containing similar file types, such as all document folders, photo folders, or music folders. To access this option, right-click on an empty part of a folder window and choose Customize This Folder. A menu will appear that allows you to set the current folder as a template. This menu also allows you to assign a new icon to the current folder. If you stick with the default icon (the picture of a folder), you can choose which documents or photos appear “inside” the folder in its 3-D thumbnail.

How to Use Vista’s Search Vista’s search is much faster, more user-friendly, and more precise than previous versions of Windows search.

How to Do Basic Searches Previous versions of Windows search made you classify your searches by type, such as file, folder, or software application. Vista’s search figures all of that out for you, so all you have to do is enter exactly what you want directly into the search box in the Start Menu—you don’t even need to press Enter.

Microsoft Windows Vista

www.quamut.com How Vista’s Search Results Work

User Account Control

Vista’s search uses the Windows Search Index, a behindthe-scenes feature that creates an ongoing index of all the files (and their contents) on your entire computer system.

Now, even if you have multiple hard drives, Windows won’t have to search through various drives and hundreds of gigabytes every time you do a search. As soon as you start entering search terms, Windows searches the index to find anything that might match what you’re seeking. Search results appear immediately in the Start Menu—they take the place of the program shortcuts normally listed down the left side of the Start Menu. Vista breaks down the list of search results into three main categories:

A controversial new addition to Windows is User Account Control (UAC), a feature that alerts you whenever a program attempts to make a change to your PC that might indicate a security threat. When a user or program triggers UAC, an alert will pop up to request your approval. If you don’t approve, Vista will prohibit the program from continuing.

• Programs: Software applications that include your search terms • Files: Individual files that include your search terms • Communications: Emails that contain your search terms (this category will appear only if you use Windows Mail® or Microsoft Outlook® to manage email) For instance, a search for “mp3” might yield software programs that let you play mp3 files, individual mp3 files on your PC, and emails in which you mentioned the word “mp3” or included attachments that contained mp3s.

How to Refine Searches and Get More Search Results By default, Vista returns only the top 20 most relevant results. To get a list of all of your results, click “See all results” just above the search box. A search window will open containing every result. You can search again in this window and refine your search to include only emails, documents, pictures, or music files. If you’d prefer to skip straight to the search window (bypassing the Start Menu’s search box on the right entirely), click on the Search button side of the Start Menu.

How to Do Advanced Searches An advanced search lets you refine various aspects of your search, such as the file size, author, or location.

1. Click the Search button in the Start Menu. The search window will open. next to Advanced Search 2. Click the up arrow button (near the upper right corner of the search window).

In the Advanced Search menu that appears, you can refine your search by location on your PC, date, file size, and more.

How to Respond to UAC Alerts Usually you’ll know why a UAC alert has appeared. For instance, every time you install a new program on your PC or make a change to a security feature—or make a change to any major Vista feature—expect a UAC alert. In general, the only time you should disapprove an alert is if you haven’t just made an intentional change to your Vista settings or installed a new program.

Windows Update Microsoft constantly releases software updates, also known as patches, to fix unforeseen security problems. Windows Update is a security feature that can download and install these updates automatically as they’re released. It’s crucial that you have Update activated and set to download and install updates automatically each day. To check your PC’s Windows Update settings: 1. Click on Windows Update in the left column of the Security Center’s main window.

2. Click Change Settings in the Windows Update menu.

3. Choose “Install updates automatically.”

4. Under “Install new updates,” choose “Every day” and specify when you’d like your PC to check for updates.

Windows Firewall Windows Firewall is a feature that sets up a firewall between your PC and other PCs on the Internet. A firewall can prevent hackers from stealing your personal data or hijacking your PC to send spam or other malicious software to other computers. Unless you’re using third-party virus or spyware software that has already installed a firewall on your PC, you should have Windows Firewall set to On. To adjust your firewall settings: 1. Click on Windows Firewall in the Security Center.

2. Click on “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” in the left column of Windows Firewall’s main window.

3. Click On and then click OK (do not click “Block all incoming connections”).

How to Save and Rerun Your Searches

Windows Defender

If you tend to repeat the same search often, you can use Vista’s new save search feature to call up that search instead of having to reenter it repeatedly.

Windows Defender is Vista’s built-in antispyware program.

You can use it to scan your system for spyware manually every few times you use your PC, or you can schedule it to scan automatically at certain intervals, such as once a day. By default, Vista turns Defender on, both providing real-time protection against spyware and performing daily checks of your entire system. In general, it’s best to stick with these settings, though you can adjust them by following these steps:

1. In the Start menu, click on Search.

2. Enter your search terms. in the 3. Click on the Save Search button horizontal bar that appears when your search results are returned.

4. Enter a name for your search and click Save.

5. Vista will save your search in a folder called Searches.

To retrieve your saved search in the future, click on Searches under Favorite Links in the left column of any folder’s open window. Your Searches folder will open and show a list of your saved searches. Click on the appropriate name to rerun the saved search.

How to Use Vista’s Security Center Windows Vista’s Security Center includes four main features that help protect your PC from malicious software such as viruses and spyware. To open up the Security Center, click on Control Panel in the Start Menu and then click on Security Center in the Control Panel window.

1. Click on Windows Defender in the Security Center.

2. Click on Tools in the top menu bar, then click Options.

How to Browse the Web with Vista Vista includes the newest version of Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7). Vista sets Explorer as your default web browser—anytime you click on a link to a web page, IE 7 will open and show you the page.

How to Use Tabs in IE 7 IE 7 works just like previous version of Internet Explorer, with one main exception: tabbed browsing. First popularized by Mozilla’s Firefox® browser (IE’s main rival), tabbed browsing lets you open up a new tab to view several websites all within the same browser—previous versions of IE required you

to open a new browser for each separate site you viewed.

To open a new tab in IE 7, click Ctrl+T. A new tab will appear next to your current tab. You can press Ctrl+T to open up as many tabs as you need.

• To view a list of all of your open tabs, click on the to the left of your leftmost tab. down arrow tab • To view a page of thumbnails of all of your open just to the left tabs, click on the Quick Tabs button of the down-arrow tab.

How to Use Another Browser Instead of IE 7 If you’d prefer to use another program instead of IE 7 as your default browser, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Control Panel and click Default Programs.

2. Click on “Set your default programs.” A list of programs that you can set as default programs will appear.

3. Click on the browser that you’d like to set as your default browser, choose “Set this program as default,” and then click OK. Once you click OK, the new browser will open up whenever you click on a link or enter a web address into the Windows Explorer address bar.

How to Manage Email with Vista Windows Vista does away with Outlook Express®, the basic version of Microsoft Outlook® that served as the “free” builtin email software in previous versions of Windows. Instead, Vista includes a program called Windows Mail® that’s very similar to Outlook Express, but with improved search and security features.

Why Use Windows Mail?

Windows Mail differs in two main ways from web-based services such as MSN Hotmail ® (www.hotmail.com), Yahoo!

Mail® (mail.yahoo.com), and Gmail® (www.gmail.com): 1. It downloads all of your mail to your hard drive: As a result, you have no storage space restrictions, and you can search and access a complete archive of your email at any time, even if you’re not online. You can also create backup copies of all of your mail easily.

2. It lets you manage multiple email accounts: You can download and manage email from your various accounts—such as work, Gmail, AOL, or your ISP’s email—all in one place.

If these benefits don’t matter to you, or if you’re happy with the web-based service you’re using, there’s really no need for you to switch to Windows Mail.

How to Set Up Windows Mail Email Accounts Before you can use Windows Mail, you need to tell Windows Mail the information it needs about your existing email accounts. You can do this by setting up an email account: 1. Go to the Start Menu. Click All Programs, then choose Windows Mail.

2. In the Windows Mail main toolbar, click Tools > Accounts > Add. 3. Windows Mail will ask you for some info about the email account you’d like to set up: the name you’d like to use with the account, the email address, and the email provider’s incoming (POP3, IMAP, HTTP) and outgoing (SMTP) mail server information.

Where to Find Incoming and Outgoing Server Info SMTP, IMAP, HTTP, and POP3 servers are the computers from which Windows Mail will download your email. Their addresses are usually very simple—the Gmail POP3 server, for instance, is pop.gmail.com. To find the SMTP and/or POP3 address of your email provider(s), search their online help docs or contact them directly by phone or email.