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Exploring the Windows Interface
Figure 1.14 shows the basic elements that you'll find on the Windows XP desktop. Microsoft modeled Windows on a real-world office environment: You have a desktop, on which you work and use tools, and folders, in which you organize files.
Figure 1.14. Basic elements of the Windows XP desktop. The desktop lets you move items and manage your tasks in vaguely the same way that you would on a physical desktop.
Chapter 2 covers the Start menu.Taskbar. Chapter 2 covers the taskbar.Mouse pointer. Use your mouse, stylus, trackball, touchpad, or a similar input device to move the mouse pointer to select items, drag icons, or choose commands onscreen.Menus. A menu is a list of related commands. Most programs use menus to provide an easy-to-learn, easy-to-use alternative to memorizing instructions.Toolbars. A toolbar is a row, column, or block of buttons or icons. When you click one of these buttons or icons, the program carries out a command or task.Icons. An icon is a small image that represents an item to be opened, such as a file, folder, disk, program, or the Recycle Bin. An icon's picture is a visual cue designed to help you recall what the icon represents.Windows. A window is a rectangular portion of your screen where a program runs. You can open many windows at the same time. Each window can be independently resized, moved, closed, maximized to occupy the entire screen, or minimized to a button on the taskbar.Dialog boxes. A special type of window called a dialog box contains text boxes, buttons, tabs, scrolling lists, or drop-down lists that let you set preferences or run commands. Some dialog boxessuch as Open, Save As, and Printare much the same in every Windows program. Others, such as the Properties dialog box shown in Figure 1.14, depend on the program or context.
The User Interface
You work with Windows through its graphical user interface (GUI, pronounced gooey ), which offers pictures along with words to help you perform tasks. To make learning easier, Windows displays visual clues about how things work. Often these clues are analogous to those you see in the real world. If a door has a flat plate rather than a handle to grasp, it's a clue to push that door, not pull it. The three-dimensional (3D) look of buttons on your screen implies that you're supposed to push them (click them). You'll recognize similar hints throughout the user interface. This chapter and the next introduce Windows' standard GUI elements. Experienced Windows users may learn some new tricks from the sidebars and tips in these chapters.
