COMPuTeRS fOR BegInneRS II

Computers for Beginners, Part II INTRODUCTION: EXPANDING ON THE BASICS This class will expand on the basic skills and concepts you learned in Computers for Beginners, Part I. This class will cover:  Files, folders, and how to find them  Understanding bytes  Learning file types  Navigating the computer  Moving files (copy & paste, drag & drop)

SECTION I: INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER When you get right down to it, every file on your computer can fit into one of four main categories: text, images, audio, or video. Some things might be a combination – software programs might have text and images together, for example – but for the most part everything you do fits into one of these areas. It should come as no surprise then that your computer has four main areas to save things – Documents (text), Pictures (images), Music (audio), and Video (videos). Throughout this lesson we will be focusing on these four types of content over and over again, but it’s important to understand because once you grasp this concept, so many other things about the computer will make sense. Imagine you are working at a desk. Your boss comes in and throws a single piece of paper on your desk and says “read this.” No problem, right? What if your boss comes in and throws four pieces of paper on your desk and says “read these?” Again, probably no big deal. What if your boss comes in and throws a phone book on your desk and says “read this?” It might be possible, but it will take a while. But let’s say your boss rolls in a dolly with 10 boxes filled with phone books and says “read these.” By this point, you probably want to just throw up your hands and quit, right? Your computer is a lot like you at your desk. When you give your computer something simple to do (open a Microsoft Word document, connect to the internet) it can handle it with no problem. You can even throw a few simple things at it all at once – connect to the internet, open a picture, recognize a flash drive – with no problem. But when you start throwing bigger tasks at it – like editing a two hour long video – your computer may start to run a bit more slowly. The task can still probably be accomplished, but it might just a take a while longer. But let’s say you try to watch six YouTube videos, play a DVD, and edit a high resolution image in Photoshop all at once. At this point, you are overwhelming your computer. It may run extremely slowly – or simply just give up and quit working all together. Sometimes we take technology for granted and forget that technology, just like us, has a limit.

RAM One term many people confuse is memory or RAM, and hard drive storage space. RAM stands for Random Access Memory (don't worry, you don't need to remember that!). RAM is a temporary working space the computer uses to get work done, which gets emptied when the computer is turned off. Think of it as your desk space at work. You have a project you're working on and you do your project at your desk and when you're done, you clear it off.

The Hard Drive The hard drive is the main place your computer uses to store information. It looks like a rectangular metal box which contains a non-removable disk (as opposed to something like a CD Drive or flash drive where you can take the disk out). It is the disk inside the drive which stores everything on your computer – every word document, every picture, every music file, and every video. This hard drive is also where you find your operating system – the program that controls literally everything you do on your computer. Popular operating systems include Windows, iOS, and Linux.

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Computers for Beginners, Part II To continue our analogy, think of it as the drawers of your desk where you store the tools or materials for your project – pencils, pens, glue, scissors, tape, whatever it may be. When you want to work on something you choose the things you need from the drawers, put them on the desk and work on the project. This is like when you run a program; the computer loads the program from the hard drive into memory (the temporary working space). The larger the drawers, the more you can store -- i.e. the more programs you can have installed, the more files you can save on your computer. In summary, here are some important basic concepts to understand:  RAM is the memory needed to simply access and run programs. RAM chips are rated by access speed, which relates to how quickly a request for data from your system can be completed.  Your hard drive has a certain capacity for data storage measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).  Some programs will require a minimum amount of RAM and hard drive space. For example, Windows 7 requires 1GB of main memory and 16GB of hard drive space.  The speed at which your computer runs programs or completes tasks is determined in great measure by your computer’s processor speed. The higher the speed (measured in megahertz), the faster your computer.

Tip: Keep in mind: a computer is only as smart as the information provided to it. You must provide the proper input in the proper location to get the proper output (or result). For example, you can’t give a baker flour and water and expect an apple pie. Even if you gave him all of the ingredients needed, if he puts the pie in a dishwasher instead of an oven the result will not be what you want. In terms of the computer, you can’t open up Microsoft Word and expect to access the internet. You can’t use a program like Paint to record music. Providing the right information in the right spot is crucial.

SECTION II: THIS BYTES! What is a byte? Bits and bytes are digital units of measure. Just as we use feet or inches to measure distance, we use bits and bytes to measure all sorts of digital units. A byte is a relatively small unit. Typically files on the computer are measured in kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and even terabytes. Let’s start off with a chart explaining how we go from a byte to a kilobyte and on up.  8 Bits = 1 Byte  1024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)  1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)  1024 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte (TB)  1024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte (MB) Here are the average sizes of some common file types:  The average Microsoft Word document (text) is between 25-50 KB.  The average picture taken on a 5 megapixel camera is approximately 1.5 MB.  The average MP3 audio file is three and a half minutes long and approximately 3.5 MB.  The average video file is approximate 5 minutes long, or 8 MB. Needless to say, the typical computer can store thousands (or even millions) of files, depending on the size of the hard drive. TechCenter - The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County

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Computers for Beginners, Part II SECTION III: FOLDERS AND FILES What is the difference between a file and a folder? Files and folders on the computer are very much like files or folders you might have in a filing cabinet. For some topics, there may be a large amount of files inside the folder. For other topics, there may be few files (or maybe even none at all) inside the folder. Sometimes you may have several huge filing cabinets worth of folders—of course you need more space (or in the case of the computer, a larger hard drive) to accommodate the large amount of data you are saving. All the data on your hard drive consists of files and folders. The basic difference between the two is that files store data, while folders store files and other folders. The folders, often referred to as directories, organize files on your computer in the same way physical folders organize paper files in a filing cabinet. The folders themselves take up virtually no space on the hard drive; files, on the other hand, can range from a few bytes to several gigabytes. These files can be documents, programs, or other compilations of data. A file can refer to virtually any saved record on a computer. A picture saved on the computer is a file. A word document saved on the computer is a file. But here is the best part – your computer is a lot like a secretary who knows exactly where things should be filed in the “office.” When you save a picture to your computer, by default it will try to save it to the Pictures folder. A music download by default should go to the Music folder. You can change these saved locations if you choose – but remember, your computer it trying to keep things organized for you. Saving a video in the Pictures folder might make it more difficult to find months later when you need it. The diagrams below show a typical file path you might see displayed when you try to locate a file on the computer. This path directs you to the location of a file or folder within the file directory. To search for a file, the best place to start is by double clicking the Computer (or My Computer) icon on the desktop.

C:\User\Documents\Resumes\john2013_resume.docx The part in blue is the drive on which the file is located. In this case it’s C – the hard drive. This letter will change if the file is on a different drive – for example the DVD or CD-ROM drive might be designated by the letter D, a flash drive might show up as letter E, a memory card as letter F, and so on. The part in red signified will typically be your name or the name of the computer you are using. In shared work environments, a generic name might be given to the computer – such as TCRTRG01. On a personal computer, this might very well be your name as it reflects information stored on your profile within the designated drive. The part in purple shows the folder in which the file is stored – in this case the Documents folder. The part in orange shows a sub-folder of the Documents folder – in this case entitled Resumes. The part in green is the actual name of the file. Tip: it’s best to always name your file in a clear and obvious way. Calling a resume a “document” may cause confusion later when you try to find it. If possible, consider putting the date somewhere in the file name. The part in pink signified the file extension, of file type. As we are about to learn this particular file would be Microsoft Word document (post 2007 version of Word).

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Computers for Beginners, Part II Types of files & file extensions We mentioned earlier that most files are divided up into four categories – text, images, audio, and video. We’ve also discovered that depending on the type of file the size can vary greatly. But one of the best ways to know what you are dealing with (and avoid accidentally downloading or opening a virus) is to understand file extensions. A file extension is the three or four letter “code” that appears at the end of a file (in our example above it was .docx). Every single file on your computer will have an extension. And while there are literally thousands of different extensions, the chart below will show you the most common.

Type of File

Common File Extentions .doc (Microsoft Word Document, pre 2007) .docx (Microsoft Word Document 2007-

Text files

Image files

Audio files

Video files

Other common file types

present)

.txt (Plain text) .rtf (Rich Text) .jpg (JPEG) .bmp (Bitmap Image) .gif (Graphical Interchange Format) .png (Portable Network Graphics) .mp3 (MP3 Audio) .aac (Advanced Audio Coding) .wma (Windows Media Audio) .wav (WAVE format) .avi (Audio Video Interleave) .mov (Apple QuickTime Movie) .mpg (MPEG video) .wmv (Windows Media Video) .pdf (Portable Document Format) .exe (Executable file) .zip (Zipped file)

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Computers for Beginners, Part II SECTION IV: OPENING, CREATING, AND SAVING Opening the door Imagine all the icons on your desktop are doors, each leading to a different location. Sometimes when you open a door, you are confronted with more doors you can enter. Sometimes, as soon as you open the door, you are exactly where you want to be. From our example earlier, to find the “john2013_resume.docx” file, you must first open the C: drive through the “Computer” door; then open the “User” folder; then open “Documents,” and finally the “Resumes” folder. That’s a lot of doors! On the other hand, sometimes the first door you open takes you to your final destination. For example, if you double-click on the Microsoft Word 2010 icon, this will open the program to a new blank document— no further doors are needed. Icons that contain the actual name of a program—for example Microsoft Word 2010, GIMP, or KompoZer, will usually be the only “door” you need to go through. Double clicking on these icons should automatically open up the program.

Creating Once inside a program, such as Paint or Microsoft Word or Photoshop, your ultimate goal is to create a document to meet whatever criteria you are looking for. We’ll use Paint as our example. Try playing around with some of the options like making shapes.

Saving – locked up in the bank vault Once you have put all the hard work into your project, you want to be able to save it. Perhaps you are completely done with it and have no plans of ever changing it—but you still want to be able to have access to it at a later date. Or maybe it’s a project like a resume, and while it may be current now, you want to be able to change it six months or a year down the road. Remembering to save your work is one of the most critical parts of doing work on the computer.

SECTION 5: MENUS WITHIN A PROGRAM Virtually every program you open on the computer will have a menu. Typically, the menu is across the top part of the screen and includes buttons such as File, Edit, View, Tools, Help, and so forth. Every program is slightly different, but these basic menu headings are fairly standard.

The File Menu The File menu is perhaps the most important. Typically on the File menu you will be given options such as “New,” “Open,” “Save,” “Save As…,” “Print,” and “Close.”

The Edit Menu The Edit menu is your best bet for making changes to your project. Here you will find such options as “Undo,” “Redo,” “Copy," “Cut,” “Paste,” “Select All” and more. The undo and redo options do exactly what you would expect—by clicking “undo” the last action you did on the project will be undone.

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Computers for Beginners, Part II The View Menu The View menu is typically where you will be able to change the way things are displayed (and where they are displayed). For example, in Internet Explorer, the View menu allows you to change the size of the text on the screen; whether or not you want the status bar to be displayed; whether or not you want to view the browsing history, and more.

The Tools Menu In the Tools menu you will likely find all the “accessories” associated with the program you are using. For example, if you are using Internet Explorer, going to Tools will allow you to turn the pop-up blocker on or off (this is the program that prevents—or at least tries to prevent— annoying pop up ads).

The Help Menu The Help menu is pretty self-explanatory. Click on the Help menu any time you get stuck with something and aren’t sure what to do next. Usually you can search the Help feature by using a keyword. For example, if you are having trouble printing, click on “Help” and type the keyword “print”. It should generate a list of topics that discuss issues related to printing.

SECTION V: MOVING FILES & DATA – THE EASY WAY Copying, cutting, & pasting These three quick actions are used often to move data, files, and folders from one location to another. When you copy, you leave the original information in its original location, but you make a copy of it to paste into a new location. You then have two copies: one in the original location, and one in a second location. Using files as an example, people will often copy a file and paste it to a new location to create a “backup” version in case the original should get lost for some reason.

Cutting works in the same way, except by cutting, you remove the information entirely from the original location and paste it into a new location. When working with files and folders, copying, cutting, and pasting can be done quickly using the mouse button on the right of the mouse. Locate a file you would like to move and simply right-click on the file. You will see a small menu appear which gives you many options; among them the options copy or cut. Select one. Then, go to the destination folder where you would like to paste the file. Once in the folder, right-click in the empty space and the same menu will appear, only this time the paste option is available. Click “paste” and the file will appear in the new folder. These “rightclick” operations are standard for most computer programs and file directories.

Dragging & dropping Dragging and dropping is a procedure where you grab something (selected text, a file, a picture, or whatever), drag and drop it into a new location—similar to the copy, cut, paste procedure. To drag and drop, use your left mouse button to click and hold the item you want to move. Now, keeping that mouse button pressed down, drag the item to its new location. In the new location, release the left mouse button and the item will be "dropped" into place. Think of dragging and dropping as moving clothes from the washer to the dryer. It’s simply a process of moving an object from a place that it no longer belongs to a more suitable location. When moving files from one folder to another, you must have both folders open and visible in order to drag files between them.

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Computers for Beginners, Part II SECTION VI: MANAGING WINDOWS Every program that you open will open as its own window. A window is the area of the screen in which a program is operating. You can have multiple windows open at the same time—one on top of the other, or you can adjust their size and shape to make them all visible simultaneously on the screen. Every window you have open is also represented in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Located on the upper right-hand corner of each window you will find the minimize, restore down/maximize, and close buttons, respectively. • The minimize button on the left looks like an underscore or underline. Clicking this button will “minimize” your window to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. • The middle button is the restore down button. When a window is opened in full screen mode, this button will look like a three dimensional cube. Click this button and the window shrinks to a smaller size, but is still visible; the shape and size of the window can now be adjusted at its edges. Also, once in the smaller mode, the “restore down” button appears as a square. Clicking this button again will bring the window to full screen size. • The button on the right which looks like the letter X is the close button and does exactly what you would think it should—it closes the window. If you are in a program (such as Word or Photoshop) and you have made changes to a file, clicking the close button may prompt you to “save your changes.” If you choose not to save your changes, any new data you entered will be lost!

SECTION VII: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Classes The TechCenter at the Main Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County hosts over two dozen technology related classes each month. Ask your instructor today for a calendar of upcoming events or visit our website at http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/programs for a complete list of all Library events. If you are liked our Computers for Beginners, Part II class, you may also find these related classes of interest:  Internet for Beginners, Part I  Internet for Beginners, Part II Feel free to ask for a copy of any class handout at the Technology Center desk or talk to your instructor today.

Online The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County offers a variety of databases to all card holders which provide excellent learning opportunities on a variety of topics, including computers and technology. Learning Express Library offers a wide variety of interactive computer classes (Complete Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe CS3, Windows, and Mac OSX). Videos and screencasts make learning easy while quizzes help assess your progress. Free with your library card. From http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org, click on Research & Homework > Research Databases > Education > Learning Express Library. Universal Class offers more than 500 classes on many topics. These classes are instructed by real teachers who guide your learning and provide feedback on your work. Learn about Microsoft Office, Web Design, Computer Basics, Business Applications, and more! Free with your library card. From http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org, click on Research & Homework > Research Databases >Education > Universal Class.

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Computers for Beginners, Part II TERMS USED IN THIS LESSON Bit: The smallest unit of measure for a digital file. Byte: A unit of measure for digital files. Close: To completely get rid of a window. Copy: The act of making a duplicate of a file by copying it from one place to be pasted into another. Cut: The act of removing a file from one place with the intent of pasting it somewhere else. Drag & Drop: The act of clicking on a file, holding down the left mouse button, moving your mouse to a new location, and releasing the left mouse button so the file appears in a new location. File: Any type of saved content on your computer. File Extension: The three or four letters at the end of any file path that identifies the type of file you are dealing with. File Path: The location or map of where a file is located on the computer. Folder: A place where files are stored. Hard Drive: The main place on your computer that stores information. Maximize: To enlarge a window size to full screen. Menu: A part of your computer window that has options such as File, Edit, View, Tools, and Help. Typically located in the upper right hand corner. Menu can also refer to any place on the computer where you are presented with a number of options (drop down menus online, menus that become available by right clicking the mouse, etc.) Minimize: To make a window shrink down to the taskbar. Operating System: The program that controls literally everything your computer does; popular operating systems include Windows, iOS, and Linux. Paste: The act of placing a file or other content into a new place after copying or cutting it. Processor: The part of your computer that controls how fast a task is accomplished. RAM: Stands for Random Access Memory; it’s a temporary working space the computer uses to accomplish tasks. Restore Down: To make a window smaller. Taskbar: The line at the bottom of your computer screen that has many of your commonly used programs, options, clock, etc. Window: The area of the computer screen in which a program is operating.

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