Using Your Desktop
On this page we will go over some of the basics of the desktop and the windows. Between this page and learning about the mouse, you can have enough understanding of what you're seeing to get around.
The images shown here are from Windows XP. Other versions of Windows are similar.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DESKTOP
You can mouse over the areas outlined in red to see what they are called. Each section is discussed below.
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
DESKTOP
The desktop is where all of your open programs will appear. The desktop also contains icons, which are shortcuts that you click on with your mouse in order to open a file or program. It's small, but you can see the icon for the Recycle Bin in the lower right-hand corner of the graphic above.
START BUTTON AND MENU
The Start Button brings up the Start Menu when clicked. This is where you can find and run the programs that have been installed on your computer, as well as tools that help you with some of the technical aspects. This menu can be customized in many ways. You can drag items around, delete them (right-click>Delete), and add items.
You can learn about using and customizing the Start Menu here.
TASKBAR
The Taskbar displays the programs that are open and running on the desktop. You can click the button of the program that you want to bring to the front to work in it. The Taskbar can be customized with different toolbars, and it can be resized or even moved to one of the four sides of your monitor screen. Read more about the Taskbar here.
SYSTEM TRAY
The System Tray, at the far right end of the Taskbar, contains your system clock, as well as programs that are running in the background, meaning that they likely don't show up in the Taskbar as active programs. This is another area that can indicate a source of problems if your computer is slow. These are all programs that are running in the background, therefore they are using system resources. Many of them are unnecessary, and thanks to many software companies who think that their software is the only stuff you need, this can mess things up in a hurry.
The System Tray in Vista is similar to that of XP, shown above.
And here is the Tray in Windows 7.
Note the up-arrow to the left. When that arrow is pressed, the icons for running programs are displayed.
TIP: Also note the rectangle to the right of the clock, on the end of the tray. When that is pressed, all your open windows will be minimized, exposing the desktop. This is handy if you have a lot of windows open, and you need to see something on your desktop quickly.