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Navigating the Windows 98 Desktop
After Windows 98 is installed on your computer, it starts automatically every
time you turn on your computer. Although you will see lines of text flashing on
the screen during the initial startup, Windows 98 loads automatically and goes
on to display the Windows desktop.
Here is how you start Windows 98:
- Turn on your computer.
- Wait for the various text
messages to flash by (drivers loading, system memory check, and so on).
- If multiple configurations
are presented, choose one.
- If the Login dialog box is
presented, log in with your password. (Your user name should already be in
the dialog box. If this isn’t your correct user name, you need to enter
that, too.)
- Windows 98 now displays the
desktop with icons, Taskbar, and Start menus.
When you finish running Windows applications and want to turn off the
computer, you first must correctly exit Windows by using the Shut Down
command—you can’t just turn off your computer with
Windows 98 still running.
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Caution: Don’t
ever turn your computer off without exiting Windows. You could lose data
and settings that are temporarily stored in your system’s memory. Wait
for the message saying it is safe to turn off your computer. |
- Save any documents and other
data in applications that are open, and then exit all applications.
- Click the Start button and
select Shut Down.
- The Shut Down Windows dialog
box appears with the following options (which may vary depending on your
configuration):
 | Shut Down |
| Restart |
| Restart in MS-DOS
Mode |
Choose Shut Down, and
then click OK.
When prompted, choose Yes.
Turn off your computer when
you see the message that says it is safe to do so.
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Note: Some
types of computers—including many laptops—automatically shut off your
computer without displaying the "safe to shut off" message. |
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Tip: To
restart your computer (reboot) without shutting down completely, choose
the Restart option in the Shut Down Windows dialog box. To simply
restart Windows without restarting your entire computer system, hold down
the Shift key when you choose the Restart option, and click OK. |
The desktop is the background on which you work in Windows 98. With Windows
98 you have the choice of two different desktops: The "classic"
desktop, and the new Active Desktop with True Web Integration. You enable the
classic desktop by following these steps:
- Click the Start button, select
Settings, and then select Folders & Icons.
- When the Folder Options dialog
box appears, select the General tab and choose Classic Style. Click
OK.
- Click the Start button, select
Settings, select Active Desktop, and then deselect View as Web
Page. (If there is no check mark next to View as Web Page, this
option is already deselected.)
The classic desktop looks and works just like the desktop in Windows 95. You
highlight icons by single-clicking them, and you launch applications by
double-clicking icons.
When you activate True Web Integration, your desktop turns into an Active
Desktop, which looks and acts differently from the classic desktop. With True
Web Integration, all objects behave like Web links—you highlight icons by
"hovering" over them (without clicking), and you launch applications
by single-clicking icons.
To enable the Active Desktop:
- Click the Start button,
select Settings, and then select Folders & Icons.
- When the Folder Options
dialog box appears, select the General tab and choose Web Style.
Click OK.
- Click the Start button,
select Settings, select Active Desktop, and then select View
as Web Page.
When the Active Desktop is activated, all objects on your desktop now behave
like objects or links on the Web. You highlight icons by hovering over them, and
you launch applications by clicking icons.
The major parts of the Active Desktop are:
 | Start
button. Opens the Start menu, which has submenus leading to many
other folders and applications. |
| Taskbar.
Displays buttons for your open applications and windows, as well as
different toolbars for different tasks. |
| Toolbar.
A separate button bar that can be attached to the main Taskbar. Windows 98
includes toolbars for URL Addresses, Links to favorite Web sites, Desktop
icons, and Quick Launch of Web utilities; in addition, you can create your
own personalized toolbars. |
| System
Tray. The part of the Taskbar
that holds the clock, volume control, and icons for other utilities that run
in the background of your system. |
| Shortcut
icons. Allow you to launch applications and load documents with a
single click of the mouse. |
| Windows.
When open on the desktop, can be moved around and resized. |
| Active
Channels. These Web-based
channels provide access to specific content "pushed" direct to
your desktop. |
True Web Integration also turns your desktop into a "live" HTML
document. This feature lets you add other HTML objects—such as stock or news
tickers—directly to your desktop.
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Note: I'm
assuming here that you're using the Active Desktop with True Web
Integration. If you're using the classic desktop, convert all instructions
that say "click" to "double-click;" convert all
instructions that say "hover" to mean "click." |
Whether you're using the classic desktop or the Active Desktop, the Start
menu is a straightforward tool for starting applications. Just click the Start
button to display the Start menu and associated submenus.
- Click the Start button. The
Start menu pops.
- Move the pointer along the
menu. Submenus pop up for some of the items: Find, Settings, Documents,
Favorites, and Programs.
- To move to a submenu item,
point to the Start menu item, and then move the pointer either left or right
to the submenu. Move the pointer up or down in the submenu.
- When the application,
document, or command you want is highlighted, click to select it.
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Tip: If
you have a newer keyboard, it may have built-in Windows keys. Look between
the Ctrl and Alt keys. If you see a key with the Windows logo, press it to
open the Start menu. You may also have a key with an icon that looks like
a menu. Press it to open a shortcut menu related to the cursor’s
position on-screen. |
Shortcuts are icons on your desktop that represent programs or documents.
Single-clicking a desktop shortcut will either launch the corresponding program,
or launch a program and load the corresponding document.
To launch a program or document from a shortcut:
- Move your cursor over the
icon. As you hover over the icon, the icon will be highlighted.
- Click the icon once. The
program or document now launches automatically.
Almost every activity in Windows 98 requires opening a window. Although you
probably know at least two ways to open a window or application, maybe you
haven’t tried all the available methods.
Here is the most popular way to open a window or application:
- Click the Start button.
- Click a command, menu,
folder, or document.
The following are some other ways to open a window or application:
| Click a shortcut icon on the
desktop. |
| From My Computer, click an
application or document icon. |
| From Windows Explorer, click
an application or document icon. |
| Click an icon on a separate
program’s shortcut bar, such as the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar. |
Although you may have multiple applications running, with windows all over
your desktop, only one window is active at a time. If you want to work in a
window, it must be selected.
You can see which window is currently active because its title bar is a
different color—usually brighter or darker—while the other title bars become
more faded. (This may not be true if you have customized the window colors.) If
windows overlap, the active one is on top. Also, the active window’s Taskbar
button appears lighter and looks like it is pressed in.
You can select a window, and therefore switch applications, by using the
following steps:
- Locate the window’s button
in the Taskbar.
- Click the window’s Taskbar
button. This is the best method if some of the open windows are maximized,
covering the view of any other windows.
Here are some other ways to select a window:
| Click the window’s title
bar. |
| Click any other part of the
window that is visible. |
| Hold down the Alt key and
then press the Tab key repeatedly until the application window you want is
selected. (This cycles through all open windows.) When you’re at the
window you want, release the Alt key. |
After you’ve finished using a window or application, you can either leave
the window open or you can close it. Your desktop could become very cluttered if
you open many windows, however—and a large number of open applications could
adversely affect the performance of your system. For these reasons, you should
close windows when you are finished using them.
There are a number of ways to close a window:
| Click the X
button in the window’s upper-right corner. |
| Double-click the icon in the
window’s upper-left corner. |
| Click the icon in the
window’s upper-left corner and select Close. |
| Pull down the window's File
menu and select Exit, if you’re closing an application. |
| Right-click the window’s
Taskbar button and choose Close. |
| Press Alt+F4. |
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Caution: If
you attempt to close an application window without saving a document, the
application will warn you and give you an opportunity to save the
document. You must choose to save or not save the document before the
application window will close. |
You can minimize or maximize
a window. If you minimize a window for an application, a temporary button for
the application continues to appear on the Taskbar.
Within an application, minimizing a document window reduces the document
within the application window. Maximizing a document window enlarges the
document to the full size of the application window, which may or may not be
full screen size.
There are a number of ways to minimize or maximize a window:
| Click the Minimize or
Maximize buttons in the window’s upper-right corner. |
| Click the icon in the
window’s upper-left corner and choose Minimize to minimize the
window, or choose Maximize to maximize the window. |
| Right-click the Taskbar
button that represents the window. Choose Minimize to minimize the
window, or choose Maximize to maximize the window. |
When you minimize a window, it becomes a button on the Taskbar. When you
maximize a window, it takes up the full screen or the full size of its
application window if it is a document.
To restore a minimized window, just click the Taskbar button that represents
the window. To restore a minimized document within an application, click its
minimized button in the application window.
Here are some other ways to restore a minimized or maximized window to its
former state:
| Click the Restore button in
the window’s upper-right corner. |
| Right-click the Taskbar
button that represents the window. Choose Restore. |
| Click the icon in the
window’s upper-left corner to open the Control menu, and then choose Restore
to return the window to its previous size. |
Windows 98 includes a Quick Launch toolbar on the Taskbar, as shown in. (To
display this toolbar, right-click anywhere on the Taskbar, select Toolbars,
and then select Quick Launch.) Follow these steps to minimize all open
windows on your desktop:
- To automatically minimize all
open windows, click the Show Desktop button.
- To return your desktop to its
previous state, click the Show Desktop button again.
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Tip: You
can also minimize all windows by right-clicking a blank area of the
Taskbar and then choosing Minimize All Windows from the pop-up
menu. |
Often, you will want to move a window out of the way so that you can access a
desktop icon or view the contents of another window. The easiest way to move a
window on the desktop is to drag it with your mouse.
- Position the mouse pointer
on the title bar of the window.
- Hold down the left mouse
button.
- Drag the item to the desired
position.
- Release the mouse button.
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Note: If
an application is maximized to full-screen size, you can’t move it; the
application needs to be restored to a smaller window before it can be
moved on your desktop. |
You can also use the keyboard to move a window. Press Alt+space bar to
open the Control menu icon in the upper-left corner of the window. The window is
surrounded by a gray border. Choose Move and then use the keyboard arrow
keys to position the window. Press Enter to complete the move.
Resizing a window lets you custom-fit the window to a selected space on your
desktop. Just follow these steps:
- Position the mouse pointer on
any corner or side of the window. The pointer changes to a double-headed
arrow.
- Hold down the left mouse
button.
- Drag the item to the desired
size. Drag toward the window to reduce the size; drag away from the window
to enlarge it. An outline shows the proposed size.
- Release the mouse button.
You can use the keyboard to size a window. Press Alt+space bar to open
the Control menu icon in the upper-left corner of the window. Choose Size
and then use the keyboard arrow keys to size the window. Press Enter to quit
sizing the window.
Use a special pop-up menu on the Taskbar to automatically rearrange windows
on your desktop. (Of course, you can always move and resize any window manually;
these commands just make it easier to deal with multiple windows.)
- Position your cursor
somewhere in a blank area of the Taskbar and then click your right mouse
button. This displays a pop-up menu.
- Choose a command from the
menu, as described in Table 1.
Table 1 Taskbar Menu Commands
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Command
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Description
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Cascade Windows
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Displays windows overlapped from left to right, or top to bottom.
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Undo Cascade
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Returns cascaded windows to their previous sizes (available only
after using Cascade).
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Tile Windows Horizontally
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Displays windows top to bottom without overlapping.
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Tile Windows Vertically
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Displays windows left to right without overlapping.
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Undo Tile Windows
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Returns windows to their previous sizes. (Available only after a Tile
command.)
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Minimize All Windows
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Reduces all open windows to buttons on the Taskbar.
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Properties
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Displays the Taskbar Properties sheet where you can change options
for the Taskbar and the Start menu. (This doesn’t have anything to do
with arranging windows.)
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Toolbars
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Enables you to add other toolbars to the main Windows Taskbar.
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One of the more useful features of Windows 98 is the concept of
context-sensitive pop-up menus. These are
menus that pop-up when you click the right
mouse button, offering you a set of commands appropriate to the current task at
hand (like the Taskbar’s pop-up menu discussed in the previous section).
Displaying a pop-up menu is easy. For example, position your cursor over an
empty portion of the desktop and click your right (not the normal left) mouse
button. (This is also referred to as right-clicking.)
A pop-up menu appropriate to your task at hand—the desktop—is displayed. If
you right-click while your cursor is over a shortcut icon, a different pop-up
menu is displayed. And so on.
With Windows 98, one thing is sure—when in doubt, click your right mouse
button and see what pops up!
When Windows or an application requires a complex set of inputs, you are
often presented with a dialog box. A
dialog box is like a form where you can input various parameters and make
various choices—and then register those inputs and choices when you click the
OK button.
There are various types of dialog boxes, each one customized to the task at
hand. However, most dialog boxes share a set of common features, including:
| Buttons.
Most buttons either register your inputs or open an auxiliary dialog box.
The most common buttons are OK (to register your inputs and close the dialog
box), Cancel (to close the dialog box without registering your inputs), and
Apply (to register your inputs without closing the dialog box). |
| Tabs.
These allow a single dialog box to display multiple "pages" of
information. Think of each tab, arranged across the top of the dialog box,
as a "thumbtab" to the individual "page" in the dialog
box below it. Click a tab to change to that particular "page" of
information. |
| Text
boxes. These are empty boxes where you type in a response.
Position your cursor over the empty input box, click your left mouse button,
and begin typing. |
| Lists.
These are lists of available choices; lists can either scroll or drop down
from what looks like an input box. Select an item from the list with your
mouse; select multiple items by holding down the Ctrl key while you click
with your mouse. |
| Check
boxes. These are boxes—sometimes called "radio
buttons" or "option buttons"—that let you select (or
deselect) various stand-alone options. |
| Sliders.
These are sliding bars that let you select increments between two
extremes—like a sliding volume control on an audio system. |
For example, the Display Properties is a common dialog box. (To display this
dialog box, right-click an empty part of the desktop, and then select Properties
from the pop-up menu.) When you do, you can see this dialog box includes
buttons, tabs, lists, and check boxes —everything except
a text box and a slider.
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Note: If
an option in a dialog box is dimmed (or "grayed"), that means it
isn’t available for the current task. |
A wizard is a kind of interactive dialog
box that automates a complex task. Wizards will pop up automatically when you
choose certain tasks, such as adding a new piece of hardware to your system or
creating a new shortcut on your desktop.
When you see a wizard, follow the instructions and click the Next button as
appropriate; click the Finish button when you reach the end of the task. As with
any dialog box, clicking the Cancel button cancels the current operation and
closes the wizard; clicking the Back button lets you back up through any
completed steps.
An example of a wizard would be the Create Shortcut wizard. To access this
wizard, right-click anywhere on your desktop; when the pop-up menu appears,
select New, and then select Shortcut.
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