I've been going over my blog posts preparing for the hands-on final (which I'd planned to do today) and finally read more closely Rob's note on Chapter 6 that I would have to find a computer with admin access for the HOF. I have to find it??? That's like saying I'd have to find my own chemistry lab to do a CHE practical final. And part of it is my fault; if I'd read Rob's note back in Chapter 6 I wouldn't be facing a brick wall right now with T - 36 and counting . . . Still, I think there should be 1) a computer or computers in the Labs that have admin access, 2) a registration sheet for a computer or computers in one of the classrooms on campus where the HOF (and indeed the exercises regarding User Access setup) could be done, since not all of us are running Win7 (I'm running Win XP, and many people now have Win8), or 3) a posted time where those of us without such access would have an on-campus final. And, for exactly that reason, maybe Intro to Windows is not a brilliant choice for Distance Learning. I don't think I was particularly dense to imagine that 1) the Distance Learning computers at the public library would have everything I needed to do the course, or that 2) the computer labs on campus would have everything I needed to do the course. The registration summary says "computer running Win7", which describes 1) and 2), but is not sufficient.
I'm going for a cup of coffee . . .
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Chapter 9 summary
Chapter 9 discusses digital video in Win7.
Windows Live Movie Maker is the add-on software used to create digital video in Win7. It also assists in importing picture, audio and video files. (Files cannot be uploaded directly from a web cam or a similar device; they must be converted by the webcam software or by Windows Live Essentials' video importing software and then imported into WLMM.) As always, copyright issues and computer permissions will have an effect on what you can do on your computer.
In WLMM, you upload digital media files into a project onto a storyboard. The project is a sort of bin that everything to do with your video goes into; the storyboard is like a desk or bulletin board where you create and edit your movie. Once you have edited, trimmed, added transitions and music, etc., you can preview the project to see what the finished video might look like; you can then decide if further work is needed. Finally, once the video is how you want it to be you can publish and distribute the project as a movie.
Digital video tape (DV) cameras produce files that can be imported directly to the computer via a FireWire (IEEE 1394) or a USB connection. The movies can be imported in either .AVI or .WMV formats. The imported videos will always be placed into Windows Live Photo Gallery, from which they can be accessed by WLMM. Files imported via the IEEE 1394 port are placed in the Videos section of WLPG, while files imported via USB are placed in the Pictures section (I wonder if it's because USB started being used with still digital cameras?) Digital files can be imported from other sources, but be careful about who holds copyright.
The Import Video dialog box will only work with a DV tape camera connected to the FireWire or USB port of your computer. Other forms of digital camera will have to use their own software (or WLE) to import their video. AutoPlay should invoke when you connect your camera to the computer; AP also gives you the option of saving and burning the video directly to DVD using Windows DVD Maker or saving and opening the video in WLPG. Importing the video from within WLMM will only give you the option of saving the video to WLPG (and recall that it also will not automatically start WLPG for you). If your camera is in playback mode, you will import already-recorded video. If your camera is in camera mode, you will import live video as it is recorded. You can use the Import Video dialog box to import only the portions of the video that you want. Chapter 9 then walks us through how to import a stored video on a DV tape camera to WLMM, including how to select a particular part of the video instead of the whole thing.
Videos already on your computer will be in WLPG, Chapter 9 walks us through the process of browsing for a video and adding it to WLMM. You can preview the video before adding it to make sure it's the one you want. In a similar way, you can add pictures from WLPG's Pictures gallery to your video. Chapter 9 walks us through the process. You can also preview and add music from the Music library.
Sound can be modified by either using the Audio mix slider to have the music you have added to the project override all audio on the individual videos, or by editing each video individually to mute the audio. The Options tab on the Music Tools ribbon permits the music to be faded in and/or out at slow, medium or fast speed or not at all (that is, it starts immediately at the defined time).
Title items can be edited for background color, text color, or movement effect (similar to Word or PowerPoint), as can the credits. Transitions can be added similar to PowerPoint. A still picture can have a pan and zoom effect applied to make it look like a camera is moving around the pictured item. Effects can be added to items to make them look like black and white or like they're reflected in a mirror, again similar to Word. Brightness can be adjusted if the items is slightly too dark or too bright.
Clicking the Title button to return to the start of the project, then clicking the Play button will permit you to preview the movie in the Preview Monitor.
Projects are saved by default in the My Documents folder with a .WLMP file extension. They contain information about how the items are ordered in the storyboard and can ONLY be used by WLMM. They must be published to be saved as .WMV or .AVI files that can be played by Windows Media Player or other compatible movie players. The movie files have only the finished movie, not the information about how items are ordered in the storyboard.
Movies can be saved to the computer without burning a DVD or posting to a videolog. In order to post the movie somewhere other than YouTube it's a good idea to have the movie saved to your computer. It;'s also a good idea to encrypt the name to remind you if it's an HD format movie, widescreen or standard format.
Movies can be saved (and burned) to DVD; it's a good idea to encrypt the name to remind you that this is the DVD version of the movie, not the saved copy.
If you want the computer to decide in what order your items should be placed in a movie, you can use AutoMovie to create the movie automatically. Once the automovie is created, you can edit it just as any other project.
Chapter 9 then reminds us how to close WLMM, to delete unneeded files, and log off and turn off the computer.
Windows Live Movie Maker is the add-on software used to create digital video in Win7. It also assists in importing picture, audio and video files. (Files cannot be uploaded directly from a web cam or a similar device; they must be converted by the webcam software or by Windows Live Essentials' video importing software and then imported into WLMM.) As always, copyright issues and computer permissions will have an effect on what you can do on your computer.
In WLMM, you upload digital media files into a project onto a storyboard. The project is a sort of bin that everything to do with your video goes into; the storyboard is like a desk or bulletin board where you create and edit your movie. Once you have edited, trimmed, added transitions and music, etc., you can preview the project to see what the finished video might look like; you can then decide if further work is needed. Finally, once the video is how you want it to be you can publish and distribute the project as a movie.
Digital video tape (DV) cameras produce files that can be imported directly to the computer via a FireWire (IEEE 1394) or a USB connection. The movies can be imported in either .AVI or .WMV formats. The imported videos will always be placed into Windows Live Photo Gallery, from which they can be accessed by WLMM. Files imported via the IEEE 1394 port are placed in the Videos section of WLPG, while files imported via USB are placed in the Pictures section (I wonder if it's because USB started being used with still digital cameras?) Digital files can be imported from other sources, but be careful about who holds copyright.
The Import Video dialog box will only work with a DV tape camera connected to the FireWire or USB port of your computer. Other forms of digital camera will have to use their own software (or WLE) to import their video. AutoPlay should invoke when you connect your camera to the computer; AP also gives you the option of saving and burning the video directly to DVD using Windows DVD Maker or saving and opening the video in WLPG. Importing the video from within WLMM will only give you the option of saving the video to WLPG (and recall that it also will not automatically start WLPG for you). If your camera is in playback mode, you will import already-recorded video. If your camera is in camera mode, you will import live video as it is recorded. You can use the Import Video dialog box to import only the portions of the video that you want. Chapter 9 then walks us through how to import a stored video on a DV tape camera to WLMM, including how to select a particular part of the video instead of the whole thing.
Videos already on your computer will be in WLPG, Chapter 9 walks us through the process of browsing for a video and adding it to WLMM. You can preview the video before adding it to make sure it's the one you want. In a similar way, you can add pictures from WLPG's Pictures gallery to your video. Chapter 9 walks us through the process. You can also preview and add music from the Music library.
- The Title button on the ribbon permits us to add a title to our video, similar to a PowerPoint title slide.
- The Caption button allows captions to be added to other items (such as pictures) in the video, which can be useful for identifying video segments or chapters.
- The Credits button allows a closing credit sequence to be added to the video.
- You can split a video into two or more parts to have both parts of the video in the project but something else in between.
- You can trim a video (similar to cropping a photo) to hide part of either the beginning or the end that you do not want to use.
- Having split the video, you can choose to delete a portion you do not need from the storyboard.
- Deletions can be undone!
- You can move an item to a new position in the storyboard by clicking and dragging to the new position.
- You can zoom out to make it less necessary to scroll to see your work; you can zoom in to see a particular detail of an item.
- You can change the items on the storyboard from thumbnails to Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large icons.
- You can change the aspect ratio of your video from standard (4:3) to widescreen (16:9).
Sound can be modified by either using the Audio mix slider to have the music you have added to the project override all audio on the individual videos, or by editing each video individually to mute the audio. The Options tab on the Music Tools ribbon permits the music to be faded in and/or out at slow, medium or fast speed or not at all (that is, it starts immediately at the defined time).
Title items can be edited for background color, text color, or movement effect (similar to Word or PowerPoint), as can the credits. Transitions can be added similar to PowerPoint. A still picture can have a pan and zoom effect applied to make it look like a camera is moving around the pictured item. Effects can be added to items to make them look like black and white or like they're reflected in a mirror, again similar to Word. Brightness can be adjusted if the items is slightly too dark or too bright.
Clicking the Title button to return to the start of the project, then clicking the Play button will permit you to preview the movie in the Preview Monitor.
Projects are saved by default in the My Documents folder with a .WLMP file extension. They contain information about how the items are ordered in the storyboard and can ONLY be used by WLMM. They must be published to be saved as .WMV or .AVI files that can be played by Windows Media Player or other compatible movie players. The movie files have only the finished movie, not the information about how items are ordered in the storyboard.
Movies can be saved to the computer without burning a DVD or posting to a videolog. In order to post the movie somewhere other than YouTube it's a good idea to have the movie saved to your computer. It;'s also a good idea to encrypt the name to remind you if it's an HD format movie, widescreen or standard format.
Movies can be saved (and burned) to DVD; it's a good idea to encrypt the name to remind you that this is the DVD version of the movie, not the saved copy.
If you want the computer to decide in what order your items should be placed in a movie, you can use AutoMovie to create the movie automatically. Once the automovie is created, you can edit it just as any other project.
Chapter 9 then reminds us how to close WLMM, to delete unneeded files, and log off and turn off the computer.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Chapter 8 summary
We're in the home stretch! Two short chapters to cover things they feel like they ought to mention, but don't want to -- or can't -- take too much time to cover.
Chapter 8 discusses digital still images and sound.
Chapter 8 discusses digital still images and sound.
- Windows Media Player organizes and plays audio and video files, downloads audio and/or video files from the Internet, and allows sound files to be copied (ripped) from audio CDs to the computer and copied (burned) from the computer to an audio CD or a portable media player.
- Windows DVD Maker can make a DVD from your pictures and video. You can import content from both Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Movie Maker.
- Windows Live Photo Gallery (bundled in Windows Live Essentials) can be used to view and edit pictures and to organize -- but not to view -- video clips.
- Windows Live Movie Maker (bundled in Windows Live Essentials) will be discussed in Chapter 9. It is used to edit video.
Commercial CDs and DVDs frequently have copyright-protection software preventing copying or ripping of sound or images. Other files are probably also copyrighted even though they may not have software preventing their reproduction. Photographs you take with your own camera are your property to be used as you see fit. The images that come with Win7 are allowed to be used, but Microsoft maintains copyright. A further discussion of copyright is WAY beyond the limits of this course.
When you connect your digital camera to your computer by USB cable, you can import your pictures and video to the computer using either Windows or Windows Live Photo Gallery. Conventional camera pictures need to be converted to digital, either by creating digital photos on an optical disc at the photo-processing lab or by scanning existing photographs onto digital media. If you import your images using Windows, the images are simply sent to the My Pictures (or My Videos) folder on the computer. If you use Windows Live Photo Gallery, that program opens and you can begin working with your images. WLPG allows you to apply tags as you import the images, making it easier to classify and find them. Your camera should be turned off before you disconnect it from the computer, and once you have imported your pictures you no longer need to have your camera connected to the computer. While your camera may turn off automatically after a period of inactivity, manual shut-down saves battery life.
You can create folders in WLPG; it also classifies pictures by date taken and by tags. Pictures are shown as thumbnails (miniature images of the picture); hovering over the thumbnail will pull up a live preview of the image. Right-clicking in an open area to the right of the pictures/videos will pull up a shortcut menu to add more information to the thumbnail such as date taken, date modified, file size, image size, rating, caption, file name, or all details. Properties can be changed on the Details view. The shortcut menu also has a Table of Contents command; the Table of Contents pops up similar to a navigation pane to organize the images in the file. ToC is a toggle; click it again to turn it off.
The Navigation pane selection determines in what order the pictures and videos are sorted; there is a button to change from Ascending to Descending and vice versa.
Pictures can be rated and the view can be restricted to a particular rating or to pictures not having a rating.
Groups of pictures will be assigned a name by WLPG; this name can be changed. The first picture in the group will have the group name; each following picture will be named Group Name; # where # is a three-digit sequential number (the second picture will be 002, etc.)
Tags can be created independent of a file in WLPG. For example, you can create the tag Vacation to classify all vacation pictures and videos. Dragging pictures and videos to a tag will assign the tag to them.
Pictures can be copied, can have the red-eye effect corrected, can be cropped (cut to a different size to show only part of a picture), and printed with WLPG. Color pictures can be rendered in various black-and-white effects, including Sepia (the sort of brownish black-and-white associated with the early 20th century). Changes can be undone by clicking Undo in the Fix pane.
WLPG can have options changed for various reasons, e.g. deleting originals to save space. However, once the originals are deleted you can't Undo to them.
You can order prints of your pictures online from WLPG. The printing company's website then takes over pricing and billing.
You can create a video of pictures on Windows DVD Maker, change the title of the DVD, select a menu style, change slide show settings, preview and burn a DVD. Tags can be deleted from the Navigation pane; this removes the tag wherever it is used but NOT THE PICTURES THEMSELVES. Deleting a photo or video from the gallery deletes the image but not necessarily the tags assigned to it.
Folders can be deleted from the gallery (which only removes the reference from the gallery) or deleted from the computer (which removes them from both the gallery and the computer).
Windows Media Player has preset library categories. When a media file is played, it will be added to the Player library unless it is on removable media. You can create a playlist of songs that you like. WMP files are categorized into Music, Videos, Pictures, and Recorded TV; whatever you last viewed when the program was closed will be the default when you open WMP again. WMP picks up images from all over your computer, not just the Pictures and Videos libraries.
You can use the Navigation pane to filter Player library listings according to artist, album or genre. You can also filter by rating. Files can be ripped from CDs, so long as the CD does not have copy protection. If the CD is not one that WMP has cover or track information on, it will come up as Unknown and Track X; you can edit the album and the tracks manually (but it's TEDIOUS!).
Clicking Play in the upper right-hand corner plays the CD. As with a physical CD player, clicking pause will pause playback. WMP will rip any tracks selected; to tell WMP not to rip a track, deselect the check box in front of that track. You can click and drag the icon of a ripped song to the playlist to add it to the playlist.
Clicking Burn in the upper right-hand corner switches WMP to Burn mode. Drag items from the List pane to the Burn list to create a list of tracks to burn. The blank CD in the burner must have room for more data and must not be finalized to burn more tracks to it. Click Start burn to start burning the songs onto the CD. After the CD has been burned, it ejects automatically and the Burn pane pops up again. It's a good idea to label a freshly-burned CD with either a paper label or a felt-tip pen as soon as possible so you don't have unlabeled burned CDs lying around your computer space. You can add images to the playlist using the Pictures category. If a playlist has files other than music files, you must burn a data CD rather than an audio CD. Playlists can be deleted. Songs can be deleted from the player library.
Chapter 8 then reminds us to empty the Recycle Bin and log off and shut down the computer.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Chapter 7 summary
Chapter 7 goes into advanced file searching, which (I believe) hasn't changed much since Win 3.1. There may be some keyboard shortcuts involved, though.
For one thing, Win7 permits a Search box to be installed on the Start bar. (Some of us with more recent iterations of WinXP had something similar that was labeled "Desktop Search" but actually could be used to search the entire computer.)
When you design a search (no matter what program or what widget is doing the searching), it's important to remember that the computer will search for what you tell it to search for. Unless the program is highly developed, the computer will make a distinction between searching for MCC, searching for McHenry County College, and searching for mchenry county college (and Mc Henry County College, for that matter; take it from a woman whose maiden name was Van Cleave!) We encountered the wildcard asterisk (*) in Chapter 3, and it becomes very useful here. Searching McHenry * would yield McHenry, City of; McHenry City Council; McHenry County College; and just about any permutation of McHenry something or another. The asterisk matches to any combination of characters (or no characters) after that space.
A file has various properties, and the Win7 search engine will match on any of those properties: all or part of a file name, a file type, a tag for a file, or various other file properties that might happen to match that sequence of characters.
Boolean operators allow us to refine the search a bit further. type: htm tells the search engine that we're looking for a hypertext markup document -- probably a copy of a webpage, type: rtf tells it we're looking for a Rich Text format document -- probably something we created on WordPad, although we can choose to use an RTF extension in most word processing systems. AND (or the plus sign) lets us connect two concepts: we can ask McHenry AND type: HTM to find HTM documents with McHenry as part of a property. OR (or the dash) lets us check for either (or both) of two concepts; McHenry OR RTF would find anything with McHenry in a property or RTF in a property (or both). NOT allows us to exclude possibilities: McHenry NOT City would find all files with McHenry as part of any property but will then exclude files with City as part of any property. The greater than (>) and less than (<) sign work as they do in mathematics (so does the equals sign (=) AFAIK) to allow us to ask for files date: < 11/23/2014 or for files size: > 10 MB. AND, OR, NOT all have to be typed in upper case, and only one can be used at a time. The quotation mark sets off an exact match string; "cynthia Heimsoth" would only match files with that exact property, not Cynthia Heimsoth, cynthia heimsoth, CYNTHIA HEIMSOTH or Cynthia heimsoth. (Or cynthiaheimsoth, for that matter.) Speaking of parentheses, they can be used to indicate bits of property that both must be present but not necessarily in the same order; (city McHenry) would match McHenry, city of (but not McHenry, City of!) or city of McHenry (but not City of McHenry). It's all a bit confusing, really!
If you know that you created a particular file after October 10, 2014, but before November 17, 2014, you can search for it by using date: > 10/10/2014 AND < 11/17/2014. (Note that you can't include an OR or a NOT or an additional AND; you'd have to give up one of your date markers to search on any other properties.)
At the end of a search list, there is a panel to "Search again in:". This enables you to narrow your search to the libraries, your homegroup, your computer, the Internet, the contents of a file, or to customize a particular search area. For example you use the Custom search to search in the Documents library because you know the file is a document stored in that library.
Win7 can have natural language searching turned on, a bit more like the searches we're used to doing on search engines. For example, using the natural language search checkbox, college final document would try to find a document containing "college" and "final" somewhere in the properties. To clear the search, click on the x in the right side of the search box (where the magnifying glass usually is). You can close the filter list and turn off natural language searching, then select the search terms out of the saved list in the search box to try searching with natural language turned off (basically, a Boolean search for a file having "college", "search", and "document" among its properties).
Once you have a file list, you can filter files by any of the file list headings; for example, by Type as Application or Screen saver. Unchecking the box for that filter restores the complete list. You can also sort by Date Modified by a date or a date range, or by Today, or Yesterday, or Last Week, or sort by Name alphabetically or select a range of letters (for example I - Z).
Making a folder indexed makes searching faster. In Control Panel, using either Large Icons or Small Icons, select Indexing Options. Click the Modify button to display the Indexed Locations dialog box. Drop down the list of folders on the drive you're looking at (C:/, for example), locate and select the folder you want to index, and click OK. You should see your selected file among the indexed locations. This permits searching within files for words or phrases.
Media files frequently have specialized properties which can be useful in searches. However, they don't discuss this in detail till page WIN447.
If you don't get the results you expect (particularly if no items match your search) you may need to refine your search by changing your keywords, expanding your search to other locations, including hidden and system files in your search, or search based on different parameters altogether.
Some files have tags. This is a convenient way to group files that deal with the same thing; for example, picture files that are landscapes can each be given the tag "landscape" to pull them out from pictures that aren't. Searching tags: landscape then pulls these tagged files out -- but not files tagged Landscape.
If you know who is on the computer as the Author of a file, you can search by the authors property. For example, if I want to find files I created at McHenry Public Library on DL02 (which are credited as authored by DL02), I can search authors: DL02 (but that won't find files I created at MCC or on DL01).
When searching by date, you can search on the date the file was created (datecreated:) or the date it was last modified (datemodified:). You can search by a date, a date range, or one of the defined ranges Yesterday, Earlier this week, Last week, Earlier this month, Earlier this year, or A long time ago.
When searching by file size, you can find files that are smaller than, equal to, or greater than a particular size. To do greater or equal or smaller or equal, you would need to compose an OR search.
To search a non-indexed location, click Search Again In: Custom to pull up the Choose Search Location box. Type your non-indexed location in the 'Or type a location here' box and Add it to the list of selected locations.
Picture files can have properties of Camera make:, Camera model:, Dimensions:, Orientation:, Date taken:, Width:, Height:, Flash mode:, and Rating:. Ratings are generally assigned by the owner of the computer.
Music files can have properties of Bit rate:, Artist:, Year:, Duration:, Album:, Genre:, Lyrics:, Track:, Year:, and Rating:. Again, ratings are generally assigned by the owner of the computer. The properties are not always set, and they can be set in a confusing manner.
Video files may have the properties of both pictures and music (because they have elements of each) as well as Title, Length, Frame width, Frame height, Data rate, Total bit rate and Frame rate. Commercial producers may also flag comments that identify the original producer of the video. The Title property of a video file is not necessarily the same as the file name!
Saved searches save the instructions on how to conduct a particular search. Microsoft provides two saved searches by default: Everywhere and Indexed Locations. You can then create a search in one of these windows and save that search as its own search. Deleting a saved search will delete the instructions, but deleting the results of that search will delete the files themselves -- be careful! Saved searches can be accessed under the Favorites listing of the Navigation pane. The Searches window is accessed by clicking your user name on the Start menu to open your personal folder. Saved searches can be deleted, and links can be deleted from the Favorites list.
There is also a search window at the bottom of the Start menu. Click the See More Results link to expand your search to other locations like the Internet. Property searches can be done at the bottom of the Start Menu, as can Boolean searches. You can remove a folder from the index -- and should, if you no longer need the file to be indexed, since it will slow down indexed searches.
Chapter 7 then reminds us how to delete unneeded folders and how to log off and turn off the computer.
For one thing, Win7 permits a Search box to be installed on the Start bar. (Some of us with more recent iterations of WinXP had something similar that was labeled "Desktop Search" but actually could be used to search the entire computer.)
When you design a search (no matter what program or what widget is doing the searching), it's important to remember that the computer will search for what you tell it to search for. Unless the program is highly developed, the computer will make a distinction between searching for MCC, searching for McHenry County College, and searching for mchenry county college (and Mc Henry County College, for that matter; take it from a woman whose maiden name was Van Cleave!) We encountered the wildcard asterisk (*) in Chapter 3, and it becomes very useful here. Searching McHenry * would yield McHenry, City of; McHenry City Council; McHenry County College; and just about any permutation of McHenry something or another. The asterisk matches to any combination of characters (or no characters) after that space.
A file has various properties, and the Win7 search engine will match on any of those properties: all or part of a file name, a file type, a tag for a file, or various other file properties that might happen to match that sequence of characters.
Boolean operators allow us to refine the search a bit further. type: htm tells the search engine that we're looking for a hypertext markup document -- probably a copy of a webpage, type: rtf tells it we're looking for a Rich Text format document -- probably something we created on WordPad, although we can choose to use an RTF extension in most word processing systems. AND (or the plus sign) lets us connect two concepts: we can ask McHenry AND type: HTM to find HTM documents with McHenry as part of a property. OR (or the dash) lets us check for either (or both) of two concepts; McHenry OR RTF would find anything with McHenry in a property or RTF in a property (or both). NOT allows us to exclude possibilities: McHenry NOT City would find all files with McHenry as part of any property but will then exclude files with City as part of any property. The greater than (>) and less than (<) sign work as they do in mathematics (so does the equals sign (=) AFAIK) to allow us to ask for files date: < 11/23/2014 or for files size: > 10 MB. AND, OR, NOT all have to be typed in upper case, and only one can be used at a time. The quotation mark sets off an exact match string; "cynthia Heimsoth" would only match files with that exact property, not Cynthia Heimsoth, cynthia heimsoth, CYNTHIA HEIMSOTH or Cynthia heimsoth. (Or cynthiaheimsoth, for that matter.) Speaking of parentheses, they can be used to indicate bits of property that both must be present but not necessarily in the same order; (city McHenry) would match McHenry, city of (but not McHenry, City of!) or city of McHenry (but not City of McHenry). It's all a bit confusing, really!
If you know that you created a particular file after October 10, 2014, but before November 17, 2014, you can search for it by using date: > 10/10/2014 AND < 11/17/2014. (Note that you can't include an OR or a NOT or an additional AND; you'd have to give up one of your date markers to search on any other properties.)
At the end of a search list, there is a panel to "Search again in:". This enables you to narrow your search to the libraries, your homegroup, your computer, the Internet, the contents of a file, or to customize a particular search area. For example you use the Custom search to search in the Documents library because you know the file is a document stored in that library.
Win7 can have natural language searching turned on, a bit more like the searches we're used to doing on search engines. For example, using the natural language search checkbox, college final document would try to find a document containing "college" and "final" somewhere in the properties. To clear the search, click on the x in the right side of the search box (where the magnifying glass usually is). You can close the filter list and turn off natural language searching, then select the search terms out of the saved list in the search box to try searching with natural language turned off (basically, a Boolean search for a file having "college", "search", and "document" among its properties).
Once you have a file list, you can filter files by any of the file list headings; for example, by Type as Application or Screen saver. Unchecking the box for that filter restores the complete list. You can also sort by Date Modified by a date or a date range, or by Today, or Yesterday, or Last Week, or sort by Name alphabetically or select a range of letters (for example I - Z).
Making a folder indexed makes searching faster. In Control Panel, using either Large Icons or Small Icons, select Indexing Options. Click the Modify button to display the Indexed Locations dialog box. Drop down the list of folders on the drive you're looking at (C:/, for example), locate and select the folder you want to index, and click OK. You should see your selected file among the indexed locations. This permits searching within files for words or phrases.
Media files frequently have specialized properties which can be useful in searches. However, they don't discuss this in detail till page WIN447.
If you don't get the results you expect (particularly if no items match your search) you may need to refine your search by changing your keywords, expanding your search to other locations, including hidden and system files in your search, or search based on different parameters altogether.
Some files have tags. This is a convenient way to group files that deal with the same thing; for example, picture files that are landscapes can each be given the tag "landscape" to pull them out from pictures that aren't. Searching tags: landscape then pulls these tagged files out -- but not files tagged Landscape.
If you know who is on the computer as the Author of a file, you can search by the authors property. For example, if I want to find files I created at McHenry Public Library on DL02 (which are credited as authored by DL02), I can search authors: DL02 (but that won't find files I created at MCC or on DL01).
When searching by date, you can search on the date the file was created (datecreated:) or the date it was last modified (datemodified:). You can search by a date, a date range, or one of the defined ranges Yesterday, Earlier this week, Last week, Earlier this month, Earlier this year, or A long time ago.
When searching by file size, you can find files that are smaller than, equal to, or greater than a particular size. To do greater or equal or smaller or equal, you would need to compose an OR search.
To search a non-indexed location, click Search Again In: Custom to pull up the Choose Search Location box. Type your non-indexed location in the 'Or type a location here' box and Add it to the list of selected locations.
Picture files can have properties of Camera make:, Camera model:, Dimensions:, Orientation:, Date taken:, Width:, Height:, Flash mode:, and Rating:. Ratings are generally assigned by the owner of the computer.
Music files can have properties of Bit rate:, Artist:, Year:, Duration:, Album:, Genre:, Lyrics:, Track:, Year:, and Rating:. Again, ratings are generally assigned by the owner of the computer. The properties are not always set, and they can be set in a confusing manner.
Video files may have the properties of both pictures and music (because they have elements of each) as well as Title, Length, Frame width, Frame height, Data rate, Total bit rate and Frame rate. Commercial producers may also flag comments that identify the original producer of the video. The Title property of a video file is not necessarily the same as the file name!
Saved searches save the instructions on how to conduct a particular search. Microsoft provides two saved searches by default: Everywhere and Indexed Locations. You can then create a search in one of these windows and save that search as its own search. Deleting a saved search will delete the instructions, but deleting the results of that search will delete the files themselves -- be careful! Saved searches can be accessed under the Favorites listing of the Navigation pane. The Searches window is accessed by clicking your user name on the Start menu to open your personal folder. Saved searches can be deleted, and links can be deleted from the Favorites list.
There is also a search window at the bottom of the Start menu. Click the See More Results link to expand your search to other locations like the Internet. Property searches can be done at the bottom of the Start Menu, as can Boolean searches. You can remove a folder from the index -- and should, if you no longer need the file to be indexed, since it will slow down indexed searches.
Chapter 7 then reminds us how to delete unneeded folders and how to log off and turn off the computer.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
User account?
I knew my problems with creating a user account were going to come back and get me. I'll see if I can make it to Lab A sometime next week, but part of the reason I'm doing Chapter 6 early is that my schedule is action-packed next week -- and the following week is Thanksgiving . . . oy . . .
Chapter 6 summary
Chapter 6 deals with Control Panel in Win7.
In order to change settings marked with a shield in Control Panel, you must have an Administrator Account; User Accounts are generally blocked from access to sensitive Control Panel functions (the menu may not even be visible).
The Control Panel can be displayed by category or by either large or small icons (more similar to previous versions of Windows).
The System and Security window controls Windows Firewall, the Windows Action Center, the System window, Windows Update, Power Options, Backup and Restore, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Administrative Tools, and sometimes NVIDIA controls.
The Windows Action Center displays recent security messages (marked by a blue flag in the Notification Area). It offers ways to modify security features on the computer including firewall settings, Windows automatic updating, virus protection, spyware/malware protection, Internet security settings, User Account Control settings and Network Access protection. Two arrows (one for security, one for maintenance) drop down expanded lists of selections and their current settings.
Windows Firewall provides protection against unauthorized use of your computer by monitoring and restricting information travelling between your computer and a network or the internet. It is automatically launched when Win7 launches. Using third-party software firewalls with Windows Firewall may cause unexpected effects; a decision should be made about which firewall should remain functional and which should be shut down.
The System window provides summary information about your computer such as its installed processor, RAM memory, computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, and Windows activation data. You can access Device Manager from here and update Win7 registration information. The Windows Experience Index link off this page shows the Performance Information and Tools window, which gives scores for the processor, RAM memory, graphics, gaming graphics and primary hard disk, leading to an overall score between 1 (pitiful) and 7.9 (da bomb) for your computer in Microsoft's opinion. This score helps in deciding whether your computer can support new hardware.
The Device Manager link leads to a list of hardware devices and provides means to analyze and troubleshoot hardware problems (the main difference here from previous versions of Windows is presentation, not content). Each device has a way to view its properties, and each property can be double-clicked for a status and driver summary.
Windows Update is turned on by default when Win7 is installed; it automatically searches for updates whenever your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Unlike previous versions, the updates are also automatically installed. There is also a way to view update history. Updates can fail, and failed updates can be retried manually from the update history. If Windows Update shows updates are available, they can be installed manually (particularly optional updates which are not installed automatically).
Chapter 6 skips over the Network and Internet window as this is discussed in Appendix C.
The Hardware and Sound Window is used to install devices, configure AutoPlay for devices, configure the mouse, scanners and cameras, connect to a projector, and many more matters dealing with connecting a peripheral to your computer. Normally, when you connect a peripheral to your computer Win7 will install and configure it automatically, but the Hardware and Sound window provides controls to installing a device manually or for changing the configuration after it is installed. There are detailed procedures for installing and deleting printers (local or network; Bluetooth and wireless printers are handled under the network selection), for changing the mouse button configuration, to adjust the mouse double-click speed, to turn on and use ClickLock (rather than having to click and hold to highlight a block of text, for example), to adjust the mouse pointer speed, to turn on Snap To if desired (Snap To causes a mouse pointer to go to the default button in any dialog box), and to display a pointer trail. You can also adjust AutoPlay settings for all media and devices inserted into your computer.
The Programs window replaces Program Manager in older versions of Windows. Uninstalling programs from the Programs and Features window means you don't have to recall whether the program has its own uninstall program or uses the Windows uninstaller. It removes all files (except user data files like documents or spreadsheets) from the computer. Unlike previous versions, you do not install programs from Control Panel; you install from an optical disc, flash drive, or download from the Internet.
The User Accounts and Family Safety window provides access to create, modify and delete user accounts and control what access each account has to the computer. We explored this a little bit in Chapter 1 -- those of us who had Administrator access, anyway! ^_^" Rather than shutting down the computer to log on as a different user, you can use the Switch User command to leave the current user in its present state and go to the desktop of a different user. Clicking Log Off will log off the current user and return to the Welcome Screen.
The Clock, Language and Region Window allows control of the date and time display in the Notification Area, including adding another clock to show time in a different time zone when you hover the mouse above the taskbar clock and modifying how the date is displayed. It seems reasonable that this also controls what language Windows speaks, but Chapter 6 is silent on this point.
The Ease of Access link on the CLR window provides access to accessibility tools such as magnifier, narrator, on-screen keyboard and high contrast views. A computer used by a blind person could be set to not have a display and to read all text. A computer used by a hearing-impaired person could be set to generate a visual warning when the computer makes a sound and to turn on captions (when available) when a program speaks or makes sounds. A computer used by somebody who is mobility impaired can be set to use the numeric keypad instead of the mouse to move the mouse pointer, click, double-click and drag, High Contrast is useful to people who are visually impaired because it makes a greater contrast between objects on the screen and therefore makes it easier for the person to read the text.
As always, Chapter 6 reminds us how to log off and turn off the computer.
In order to change settings marked with a shield in Control Panel, you must have an Administrator Account; User Accounts are generally blocked from access to sensitive Control Panel functions (the menu may not even be visible).
The Control Panel can be displayed by category or by either large or small icons (more similar to previous versions of Windows).
The System and Security window controls Windows Firewall, the Windows Action Center, the System window, Windows Update, Power Options, Backup and Restore, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Administrative Tools, and sometimes NVIDIA controls.
The Windows Action Center displays recent security messages (marked by a blue flag in the Notification Area). It offers ways to modify security features on the computer including firewall settings, Windows automatic updating, virus protection, spyware/malware protection, Internet security settings, User Account Control settings and Network Access protection. Two arrows (one for security, one for maintenance) drop down expanded lists of selections and their current settings.
Windows Firewall provides protection against unauthorized use of your computer by monitoring and restricting information travelling between your computer and a network or the internet. It is automatically launched when Win7 launches. Using third-party software firewalls with Windows Firewall may cause unexpected effects; a decision should be made about which firewall should remain functional and which should be shut down.
The System window provides summary information about your computer such as its installed processor, RAM memory, computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, and Windows activation data. You can access Device Manager from here and update Win7 registration information. The Windows Experience Index link off this page shows the Performance Information and Tools window, which gives scores for the processor, RAM memory, graphics, gaming graphics and primary hard disk, leading to an overall score between 1 (pitiful) and 7.9 (da bomb) for your computer in Microsoft's opinion. This score helps in deciding whether your computer can support new hardware.
The Device Manager link leads to a list of hardware devices and provides means to analyze and troubleshoot hardware problems (the main difference here from previous versions of Windows is presentation, not content). Each device has a way to view its properties, and each property can be double-clicked for a status and driver summary.
Windows Update is turned on by default when Win7 is installed; it automatically searches for updates whenever your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Unlike previous versions, the updates are also automatically installed. There is also a way to view update history. Updates can fail, and failed updates can be retried manually from the update history. If Windows Update shows updates are available, they can be installed manually (particularly optional updates which are not installed automatically).
Chapter 6 skips over the Network and Internet window as this is discussed in Appendix C.
The Hardware and Sound Window is used to install devices, configure AutoPlay for devices, configure the mouse, scanners and cameras, connect to a projector, and many more matters dealing with connecting a peripheral to your computer. Normally, when you connect a peripheral to your computer Win7 will install and configure it automatically, but the Hardware and Sound window provides controls to installing a device manually or for changing the configuration after it is installed. There are detailed procedures for installing and deleting printers (local or network; Bluetooth and wireless printers are handled under the network selection), for changing the mouse button configuration, to adjust the mouse double-click speed, to turn on and use ClickLock (rather than having to click and hold to highlight a block of text, for example), to adjust the mouse pointer speed, to turn on Snap To if desired (Snap To causes a mouse pointer to go to the default button in any dialog box), and to display a pointer trail. You can also adjust AutoPlay settings for all media and devices inserted into your computer.
The Programs window replaces Program Manager in older versions of Windows. Uninstalling programs from the Programs and Features window means you don't have to recall whether the program has its own uninstall program or uses the Windows uninstaller. It removes all files (except user data files like documents or spreadsheets) from the computer. Unlike previous versions, you do not install programs from Control Panel; you install from an optical disc, flash drive, or download from the Internet.
The User Accounts and Family Safety window provides access to create, modify and delete user accounts and control what access each account has to the computer. We explored this a little bit in Chapter 1 -- those of us who had Administrator access, anyway! ^_^" Rather than shutting down the computer to log on as a different user, you can use the Switch User command to leave the current user in its present state and go to the desktop of a different user. Clicking Log Off will log off the current user and return to the Welcome Screen.
The Clock, Language and Region Window allows control of the date and time display in the Notification Area, including adding another clock to show time in a different time zone when you hover the mouse above the taskbar clock and modifying how the date is displayed. It seems reasonable that this also controls what language Windows speaks, but Chapter 6 is silent on this point.
The Ease of Access link on the CLR window provides access to accessibility tools such as magnifier, narrator, on-screen keyboard and high contrast views. A computer used by a blind person could be set to not have a display and to read all text. A computer used by a hearing-impaired person could be set to generate a visual warning when the computer makes a sound and to turn on captions (when available) when a program speaks or makes sounds. A computer used by somebody who is mobility impaired can be set to use the numeric keypad instead of the mouse to move the mouse pointer, click, double-click and drag, High Contrast is useful to people who are visually impaired because it makes a greater contrast between objects on the screen and therefore makes it easier for the person to read the text.
As always, Chapter 6 reminds us how to log off and turn off the computer.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Chapter 5 summary
Chapter 5 deals with how to customize the desktop environment in Windows 7. While concepts are familiar, there are some more bells and whistles, including Aero.
Right-clicking an open area of desktop and selecting the Personalize command opens the Personalization window. If the sys admin permits, you can change your desktop background (wallpaper), sound choices, screensaver and "Windows color" (the color used for window titles and the command bar) from the defaults.
The intensity as well as the color of the Window titles and command bar can be modified, and custom colors can be mixed. Selecting the Advanced Appearance Settings link brings up the Window Color and Appearance dialog box. However, both sys admin restrictions and the use of Aero may render this non-functional.
The Sounds Personalization box is in a familiar format to users of previous versions of Windows, but there are a lot more (and a lot more interesting!) preset sound schemes. You can also import sound files to create a custom sound scheme.
Screen savers have evolved from being a means of protecting the CRT from burn-thru to a quick way to hide the desktop and have an attractive appearance when the computer is not being used. Photos from the Photo file can be imported to create a single slide or a slide show of images to be used as a screensaver, as well as more familiar screensavers from previous versions of Windows. The timing of the slide change, the order in which the slides are displayed, and the amount of time before the screensaver is invoked can all be modified. The selected screensaver can also be previewed.
Similar to previous versions, a customized Mouse Pointer may be selected by clicking the Change Mouse Pointers link. The selections include a mouse pointer customized to Windows Aero. Most mouse pointers are provided in various sizes. Using the Apply button allows a preview before deciding on a version. Custom schemes can be created and schemes can be deleted.
Clicking on a theme in My Themes applies that theme, and clicking on another (for example, the default that you should have saved before starting this chapter) will re-apply that theme.
Clicking on the Display link allows for settings to adjust text size globally, adjust resolution of images, adjust brightness of images, calibrate color, change display settings, connect the computer to a projector, adjust ClearType text, and set a custom text size in dots per inch (dpi). This is a bit more elaborate that what was available in WinXP, but is not that different. Advanced settings on the Adjust Resolution screen are best left alone if you don't know what you're doing.
Win7 is set up to only show the Recycle Bin on the desktop. The Change Desktop Icons link permits other icons to be put on the desktop (unlike Start Menu in WinXP) and icon appearance can be changed to a variety of thumbnails. You can also choose whether or not the theme will override your selection of desktop icons.
Desktop themes can be deleted (thank goodness!), as can desktop icons.
The taskbar can be customized, just as in previous versions of Windows. By default the taskbar is locked; it must be unlocked in order to make any changes. The taskbar can be moved from its default location at the bottom of the screen to the top or to either side. Shortcuts can be pinned to the taskbar. Pinned programs can be started by clicking the pinned image, rather than searching on the desktop or through the menus. Programs can also be unpinned from the taskbar. Like previous versions, you can set the taskbar to auto-hide when you're not actively using it. This is useful if you want to use the entire screen for a window.
By default, Win7 hides button labels and cascades buttons for multiple windows of the same program. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box allows for changing to individual icons and combining only when the taskbar is full or for always using individual icons. Note that labels only display if a program is running even when labels are activated. As with previous versions, the taskbar can be resized.
Win7 has a variety of toolbars that can be added to the taskbar. You can also create custom toolbars. Toolbars can have displayed or hidden titles. By default, toolbars display in a collapsed format; they can be expanded to full size by double-clicking the dotted vertical bar on the left side of the toolbar. Chapter 5 demonstrates the various uses of the Address toolbar by displaying the contents of a folder, displaying a web page, and searching on the Internet using the Address toolbar. Toolbars can be removed from the taskbar by right clicking the label to display a shortcut menu, selecting Toolbars, and clicking off the toolbar to be removed. To lock the taskbar once you're done modifying it, right-click an open area of the taskbar to bring up the shortcut menu and select Lock the Taskbar.
The notification area is on the right end of the taskbar and contains the date/time, various shortcuts to icons and indicators for your computer, and very probably a Show Hidden Icons indicator (a small upward triangle). The SHI reveals other shortcuts that are available but which the admin has decided should not be displayed openly in the notification area (sometimes for reasons of space, sometimes because not everybody would use the shortcut). Right-clicking an open area in the notification area brings up the shortcut menu with the Customize Notification Icons command. You can choose to show the icon and all notifications, hide the icon and all notifications at all times, or only have the icon show if there are notifications. There is also a link to Restore Default Icon Behaviors (thank goodness!).
As with previous versions of Windows, it is possible -- and a bit easier -- to customize the Start Menu. By default, the Computer command is a link on the Start Menu; you can ask it to display as a menu, or tell it not to display at all. (Similarly, the Control Panel, Documents, and Downloads can be modified.) You can select the number of recent programs to display in the Start Menu. The Use Default Settings button restores the defaults.
The Folder Options dialog box (off the Organize button on the Computer window) gives the option whether to open each folder in the same window or in its own window, Again, a Restore Defaults button restores the default of each folder opening in the same window. And Chapter 5 reminds us of how to log off and shut down the computer.
Right-clicking an open area of desktop and selecting the Personalize command opens the Personalization window. If the sys admin permits, you can change your desktop background (wallpaper), sound choices, screensaver and "Windows color" (the color used for window titles and the command bar) from the defaults.
The intensity as well as the color of the Window titles and command bar can be modified, and custom colors can be mixed. Selecting the Advanced Appearance Settings link brings up the Window Color and Appearance dialog box. However, both sys admin restrictions and the use of Aero may render this non-functional.
The Sounds Personalization box is in a familiar format to users of previous versions of Windows, but there are a lot more (and a lot more interesting!) preset sound schemes. You can also import sound files to create a custom sound scheme.
Screen savers have evolved from being a means of protecting the CRT from burn-thru to a quick way to hide the desktop and have an attractive appearance when the computer is not being used. Photos from the Photo file can be imported to create a single slide or a slide show of images to be used as a screensaver, as well as more familiar screensavers from previous versions of Windows. The timing of the slide change, the order in which the slides are displayed, and the amount of time before the screensaver is invoked can all be modified. The selected screensaver can also be previewed.
Similar to previous versions, a customized Mouse Pointer may be selected by clicking the Change Mouse Pointers link. The selections include a mouse pointer customized to Windows Aero. Most mouse pointers are provided in various sizes. Using the Apply button allows a preview before deciding on a version. Custom schemes can be created and schemes can be deleted.
Clicking on a theme in My Themes applies that theme, and clicking on another (for example, the default that you should have saved before starting this chapter) will re-apply that theme.
Clicking on the Display link allows for settings to adjust text size globally, adjust resolution of images, adjust brightness of images, calibrate color, change display settings, connect the computer to a projector, adjust ClearType text, and set a custom text size in dots per inch (dpi). This is a bit more elaborate that what was available in WinXP, but is not that different. Advanced settings on the Adjust Resolution screen are best left alone if you don't know what you're doing.
Win7 is set up to only show the Recycle Bin on the desktop. The Change Desktop Icons link permits other icons to be put on the desktop (unlike Start Menu in WinXP) and icon appearance can be changed to a variety of thumbnails. You can also choose whether or not the theme will override your selection of desktop icons.
Desktop themes can be deleted (thank goodness!), as can desktop icons.
The taskbar can be customized, just as in previous versions of Windows. By default the taskbar is locked; it must be unlocked in order to make any changes. The taskbar can be moved from its default location at the bottom of the screen to the top or to either side. Shortcuts can be pinned to the taskbar. Pinned programs can be started by clicking the pinned image, rather than searching on the desktop or through the menus. Programs can also be unpinned from the taskbar. Like previous versions, you can set the taskbar to auto-hide when you're not actively using it. This is useful if you want to use the entire screen for a window.
By default, Win7 hides button labels and cascades buttons for multiple windows of the same program. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box allows for changing to individual icons and combining only when the taskbar is full or for always using individual icons. Note that labels only display if a program is running even when labels are activated. As with previous versions, the taskbar can be resized.
Win7 has a variety of toolbars that can be added to the taskbar. You can also create custom toolbars. Toolbars can have displayed or hidden titles. By default, toolbars display in a collapsed format; they can be expanded to full size by double-clicking the dotted vertical bar on the left side of the toolbar. Chapter 5 demonstrates the various uses of the Address toolbar by displaying the contents of a folder, displaying a web page, and searching on the Internet using the Address toolbar. Toolbars can be removed from the taskbar by right clicking the label to display a shortcut menu, selecting Toolbars, and clicking off the toolbar to be removed. To lock the taskbar once you're done modifying it, right-click an open area of the taskbar to bring up the shortcut menu and select Lock the Taskbar.
The notification area is on the right end of the taskbar and contains the date/time, various shortcuts to icons and indicators for your computer, and very probably a Show Hidden Icons indicator (a small upward triangle). The SHI reveals other shortcuts that are available but which the admin has decided should not be displayed openly in the notification area (sometimes for reasons of space, sometimes because not everybody would use the shortcut). Right-clicking an open area in the notification area brings up the shortcut menu with the Customize Notification Icons command. You can choose to show the icon and all notifications, hide the icon and all notifications at all times, or only have the icon show if there are notifications. There is also a link to Restore Default Icon Behaviors (thank goodness!).
As with previous versions of Windows, it is possible -- and a bit easier -- to customize the Start Menu. By default, the Computer command is a link on the Start Menu; you can ask it to display as a menu, or tell it not to display at all. (Similarly, the Control Panel, Documents, and Downloads can be modified.) You can select the number of recent programs to display in the Start Menu. The Use Default Settings button restores the defaults.
The Folder Options dialog box (off the Organize button on the Computer window) gives the option whether to open each folder in the same window or in its own window, Again, a Restore Defaults button restores the default of each folder opening in the same window. And Chapter 5 reminds us of how to log off and shut down the computer.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Frustrated!
This was a very frustrating chapter. The Distance Learning computers at MPL are not set up with Windows Live Essentials, therefore they do not have Windows Live Mail installed. I'm thinking of adding the ersatz contacts to my Hotmail account and posting that; it can't be too different. I'm also taking a chance and trying to install WLE; 1) normally I would be in violation of Library rules but since part of this course is learning how to install software and modify the computer it should be permissible on a DL computer, 2) it's taking an awfully long time and I only have 45 more minutes, 3) well, if it works somebody should be able to do this class with a LOT less frustration.
Chapter 4 summary
In Chapter 4 we discuss personal information management and communication using Microsoft's Windows Live Essentials programs and features. Email and messaging are no longer bundled into Windows 7. Windows Live Mail (a drive-based email processor) and Windows Live Messenger are the two tools most used in this chapter. Internet Explorer is bundled with Windows 7 and interacts with WL Mail and WL Messenger to get the job done.
There are guidelines and cautions to using electronic communication. You need to determine what information you need and who has that information in a reliable form. You need to know whom you can trust. File attachments that you are not expecting to receive are very likely the basis of an invasion of your computer by either spyware or malware. Your form of communication should reflect the formality or informality of the situation; don't use chatspeak when emailing your boss, and consider whether text or email might be "overheard" and therefore not the best method of communication. Acquire email addresses and IM addresses (cell phone numbers etc.) for people with whom you expect to communicate electronically, and keep this information safe. Remember that a spam attack on your device could lead to them being spam-attacked.
Email is handled by drive-based programs like Windows Live Mail, Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird, and by Web-based email services like WL Hotmail, GMail, and Yahoo! Mail. Free Web-based email services sometimes have advertising in the email or on the page while paid services generally do not (except possibly for the ISP providing the paid service). Drive-based programs as a rule work only on one hard drive and cannot be accessed on another computer; web-based services can be accessed by a variety of computers. In some older cases, a blended system exists where the unread emails are stored on the Web but downloaded to the drive as they are read; when you access such a system from another computer it may not show the emails you already read on the first computer since they are now resident on the first computer's drive. (Very annoying if you use many computers in many places!)
The chapter runs us through installing WL Essentials, starting WL Mail, and an overview of the WL Mail window. It resembles MS Outlook in that there is a menu bar at the top, a navigation bar on the left side, a list of messages in the middle (or on the bottom), and a preview of the current message on the right (or above the list of messages).
Depending on settings, previewing the message may or may not mark it read (IIRC default is that the message is only marked read when it is opened). Double-clicking on a message opens it in a new window and marks the message as read (if it isn't already). Selecting a message and clicking the Print button will print the message, whether it has been read or not. Closing the window with the open message can be done by clicking the Close button on the title bar, by typing ALT, clicking File-Close or by clicking ALT-F4.
Click on the Reply button on the toolbar to reply to the current email. As usual, clicking Reply only sends back to the author of the email, clicking Reply All replies to everybody who received the email. Unless you tell WL Mail otherwise, a copy of the original message will be included below the reply. Type in the text of your reply in the message box and click Send. At one time it was possible to recall messages on some email systems, but this functionality either never existed or has been disabled in WL Mail; just as well, since you could only recall unread messages, and many people read their messages as soon as they are received.
Emails can be deleted by dragging the message to the Deleted Items folder, by right-clicking the message and clicking Delete on the shortcut menu, by pressing ALT and clicking Edit-Delete, by clicking CTRL-D, or by clicking ALT-E (Edit) and pressing D.
Clicking on the attachment icon will open an attachment to the email. It may open in a different program if it was composed in a different program. If you do not have the program the attachment was composed in, Windows may have a default set to open the attachment in a similar program, or it may prompt you to choose a program to open the attachment because it has no idea what to use. The attachment may be saved in the usual manner.
Emails can be composed on a plain window or on a Stationery form. If your recipient doesn't have the same Stationery strange things may happen to the formatting. You can also format your email after you type in in a plain window. Click the Attach button to find and attach an attachment to your email. Click Send to send your email.
WL Calendar serves similar purposes to a paper calendar or a personal data assistant in tracking appointments and schedules. The subject line allows input of the text to show on the calendar for the event. Start times, end times, locations, reminders and notes regarding the appointments can also be created. The Calendar can display by day, by week, or by month. Events can also be edited and deleted from the Calendar.
WL Contacts is an address list in WL Mail. You can call up a form to add information regarding a new contact. In past versions, emails you receive could create new contacts, I don't know if that functionality still exists; when it did you had only the person's email address and possibly their name if they were also using Windows Live/Outlook. Contacts can be edited and deleted.
Microsoft NewsServer controls internet newsgroup use for Windows Live Mail. Since there are other newsgroup clients, WL Mail will ask if MS NewsServer should be set as the default client. A list of newsgroups will be displayed; one can be selected to Subscribe to. Clicking Go To then closes the Subscriptions dialog box and opens a window displaying the articles in the selected newsgroup. Articles can be read, printed and posted. It is also possible to unsubscribe from a newsgroup. Chapter 4 then discusses how to close Windows Live Mail.
Internet Explorer permits you to subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds and Web Slices. RSS feeds give a quick way to see what is new on a particular website (in a headline format) without having to go to that website. A Web Slice is a portion of a webpage that can be viewed from the Favorites bar in IE. Chapter 4 runs through the details of how to subscribe to RSS, how to view RSS feeds in the Favorites center, how to modify feed properties, how to subscribe to a web slice, and how to view and delete a webslice.
Blogs are constantly updated commentaries on a web page, ranging from diary-like personal blogs to informational databases such as Wikipedia and iMDB. These databases are edited by their readers, with no certification of the objectivity of the information, though both iMDB and Wikipedia have flags for articles that are not sufficiently documented and that show too much of one side of a discussion. This Blogger series of posts, for that matter, is a blog, and my Blogger blog shows my personal side, just as the other blogs generated for this class show each student's personal side. (It would be interesting to see an instructor's blog as well, though that might make it way too easy to cheat!)
Chat rooms are areas (like mIRC) where people can send short messages to each other in real time. Unlike SMS text messaging, the contents of the chat room consist of conversation lines scrolling down the page, with all threads going on at the same time. It's a bit like a text transcript of Twitter, or Facebook without Group separation. (I remember getting headaches the first little while trying to figure out who was talking to whom!)
Mailing lists allow an individual to send the same email to multiple recipients at the same time. For example, if Rob used regular email, he could create a mailing list of the CDM130 Fall 2014 students and send out the Chapter announcements to all of us. (Fortunately, Compass does the same thing with more security.) Many times, if you find out somebody is giving something away on Facebook or on the Internet, you'll find that by putting your email address in to get the giveaway you've just joined somebody's mailing list. Bloggers also will have mailing lists to broadcast news of their latest posts.
The book defines social networks as single websites from which you can access blogs, wikis and other communication tools; I'm not sure I'd agree that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest quite fit that definition, but they certainly each use various aspects of the above to create interesting sites.
WL Messenger allows two people online at the same time to exchange real-time messages, very similar to SMS text messaging (which instant messaging predates). Chapter 4 shows how to start WL Messenger, how to sign in, how to add a contact to the contacts list, how to send an instant message, how to close the IM window, and how to delete a contact on the contacts list. (Contacts can also be edited.) Finally, Chapter 4 shows how to close WL Messenger and sign out.
And, in case you forgot, they tell you how to log off the computer and turn it off.
There are guidelines and cautions to using electronic communication. You need to determine what information you need and who has that information in a reliable form. You need to know whom you can trust. File attachments that you are not expecting to receive are very likely the basis of an invasion of your computer by either spyware or malware. Your form of communication should reflect the formality or informality of the situation; don't use chatspeak when emailing your boss, and consider whether text or email might be "overheard" and therefore not the best method of communication. Acquire email addresses and IM addresses (cell phone numbers etc.) for people with whom you expect to communicate electronically, and keep this information safe. Remember that a spam attack on your device could lead to them being spam-attacked.
Email is handled by drive-based programs like Windows Live Mail, Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird, and by Web-based email services like WL Hotmail, GMail, and Yahoo! Mail. Free Web-based email services sometimes have advertising in the email or on the page while paid services generally do not (except possibly for the ISP providing the paid service). Drive-based programs as a rule work only on one hard drive and cannot be accessed on another computer; web-based services can be accessed by a variety of computers. In some older cases, a blended system exists where the unread emails are stored on the Web but downloaded to the drive as they are read; when you access such a system from another computer it may not show the emails you already read on the first computer since they are now resident on the first computer's drive. (Very annoying if you use many computers in many places!)
The chapter runs us through installing WL Essentials, starting WL Mail, and an overview of the WL Mail window. It resembles MS Outlook in that there is a menu bar at the top, a navigation bar on the left side, a list of messages in the middle (or on the bottom), and a preview of the current message on the right (or above the list of messages).
Depending on settings, previewing the message may or may not mark it read (IIRC default is that the message is only marked read when it is opened). Double-clicking on a message opens it in a new window and marks the message as read (if it isn't already). Selecting a message and clicking the Print button will print the message, whether it has been read or not. Closing the window with the open message can be done by clicking the Close button on the title bar, by typing ALT, clicking File-Close or by clicking ALT-F4.
Click on the Reply button on the toolbar to reply to the current email. As usual, clicking Reply only sends back to the author of the email, clicking Reply All replies to everybody who received the email. Unless you tell WL Mail otherwise, a copy of the original message will be included below the reply. Type in the text of your reply in the message box and click Send. At one time it was possible to recall messages on some email systems, but this functionality either never existed or has been disabled in WL Mail; just as well, since you could only recall unread messages, and many people read their messages as soon as they are received.
Emails can be deleted by dragging the message to the Deleted Items folder, by right-clicking the message and clicking Delete on the shortcut menu, by pressing ALT and clicking Edit-Delete, by clicking CTRL-D, or by clicking ALT-E (Edit) and pressing D.
Clicking on the attachment icon will open an attachment to the email. It may open in a different program if it was composed in a different program. If you do not have the program the attachment was composed in, Windows may have a default set to open the attachment in a similar program, or it may prompt you to choose a program to open the attachment because it has no idea what to use. The attachment may be saved in the usual manner.
Emails can be composed on a plain window or on a Stationery form. If your recipient doesn't have the same Stationery strange things may happen to the formatting. You can also format your email after you type in in a plain window. Click the Attach button to find and attach an attachment to your email. Click Send to send your email.
WL Calendar serves similar purposes to a paper calendar or a personal data assistant in tracking appointments and schedules. The subject line allows input of the text to show on the calendar for the event. Start times, end times, locations, reminders and notes regarding the appointments can also be created. The Calendar can display by day, by week, or by month. Events can also be edited and deleted from the Calendar.
WL Contacts is an address list in WL Mail. You can call up a form to add information regarding a new contact. In past versions, emails you receive could create new contacts, I don't know if that functionality still exists; when it did you had only the person's email address and possibly their name if they were also using Windows Live/Outlook. Contacts can be edited and deleted.
Microsoft NewsServer controls internet newsgroup use for Windows Live Mail. Since there are other newsgroup clients, WL Mail will ask if MS NewsServer should be set as the default client. A list of newsgroups will be displayed; one can be selected to Subscribe to. Clicking Go To then closes the Subscriptions dialog box and opens a window displaying the articles in the selected newsgroup. Articles can be read, printed and posted. It is also possible to unsubscribe from a newsgroup. Chapter 4 then discusses how to close Windows Live Mail.
Internet Explorer permits you to subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds and Web Slices. RSS feeds give a quick way to see what is new on a particular website (in a headline format) without having to go to that website. A Web Slice is a portion of a webpage that can be viewed from the Favorites bar in IE. Chapter 4 runs through the details of how to subscribe to RSS, how to view RSS feeds in the Favorites center, how to modify feed properties, how to subscribe to a web slice, and how to view and delete a webslice.
Blogs are constantly updated commentaries on a web page, ranging from diary-like personal blogs to informational databases such as Wikipedia and iMDB. These databases are edited by their readers, with no certification of the objectivity of the information, though both iMDB and Wikipedia have flags for articles that are not sufficiently documented and that show too much of one side of a discussion. This Blogger series of posts, for that matter, is a blog, and my Blogger blog shows my personal side, just as the other blogs generated for this class show each student's personal side. (It would be interesting to see an instructor's blog as well, though that might make it way too easy to cheat!)
Chat rooms are areas (like mIRC) where people can send short messages to each other in real time. Unlike SMS text messaging, the contents of the chat room consist of conversation lines scrolling down the page, with all threads going on at the same time. It's a bit like a text transcript of Twitter, or Facebook without Group separation. (I remember getting headaches the first little while trying to figure out who was talking to whom!)
Mailing lists allow an individual to send the same email to multiple recipients at the same time. For example, if Rob used regular email, he could create a mailing list of the CDM130 Fall 2014 students and send out the Chapter announcements to all of us. (Fortunately, Compass does the same thing with more security.) Many times, if you find out somebody is giving something away on Facebook or on the Internet, you'll find that by putting your email address in to get the giveaway you've just joined somebody's mailing list. Bloggers also will have mailing lists to broadcast news of their latest posts.
The book defines social networks as single websites from which you can access blogs, wikis and other communication tools; I'm not sure I'd agree that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest quite fit that definition, but they certainly each use various aspects of the above to create interesting sites.
WL Messenger allows two people online at the same time to exchange real-time messages, very similar to SMS text messaging (which instant messaging predates). Chapter 4 shows how to start WL Messenger, how to sign in, how to add a contact to the contacts list, how to send an instant message, how to close the IM window, and how to delete a contact on the contacts list. (Contacts can also be edited.) Finally, Chapter 4 shows how to close WL Messenger and sign out.
And, in case you forgot, they tell you how to log off the computer and turn it off.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Chapter 3 summary
Well, I trekked in from the Blog Entry link on the Assignment chart, so we'll see if that gets things marked correctly regarding the blog. Or maybe Rob will review blog entries at the end of the semester.
Chapter 3 discusses files and file management. More review for those of us who are familiar with older versions of Windows.
The Computer Folder window is, more or less, Win7's version of File Manager. The top level deals with the hard disk drives and removable drives connected to the system (including, interestingly enough, my smartphone . . . ) To descend into subdirectories click the arrow to the right of the file name; a drop-down list will show subdirectories. Hovering over a file name will show a summary of the file; hovering over a directory will show how much space it has and how much space is not being used. A search box makes searching for files and folders much simpler than in WinXP.
To minimize all windows but the active window, grab the title bar of the active window and shake it. (By golly, it works!) All other windows will be minimized. This is a toggle command; shaking the title bar again will restore all windows. Right-clicking the toolbar will give options to cascade, stack, side-by-side (tile) the windows or minimize all windows and show the desktop. Right-clicking the toolbar again will undo the most recently selected command.
The Pictures library gives quick access to the pictures you have saved to your Win7 computer. It also stores bits of image like page borders, backgrounds, and splats. Much time and paper is spent discussing saving, viewing and changing the properties of a picture; it's basically the same as any other file. You can also view your Pictures as a slide show.
The Music library gives a place to store the sound files you would play on Win Media Player or any other sound file player.
Chapter 3 then discusses backing up files and folders, renaming folders, formatting optical discs for backup (DVDs! CDs are now too small!), creating an optical disc backup, ejecting the disc, restoring folders from backup (DVD or USB), and proper removal of the USB drive. (I need to show my husband this one! *sigh*) (By the way, at MPL I have a persistent problem that when I ask those computers to eject my USB drive it says the USB drive is still in use -- balderdash! -- and I end up shutting down the computer to get it to power cycle so I can remove my USB drive while the drive unit is down. Is there a more elegant work-around?)
Chapter 3 discusses files and file management. More review for those of us who are familiar with older versions of Windows.
The Computer Folder window is, more or less, Win7's version of File Manager. The top level deals with the hard disk drives and removable drives connected to the system (including, interestingly enough, my smartphone . . . ) To descend into subdirectories click the arrow to the right of the file name; a drop-down list will show subdirectories. Hovering over a file name will show a summary of the file; hovering over a directory will show how much space it has and how much space is not being used. A search box makes searching for files and folders much simpler than in WinXP.
To minimize all windows but the active window, grab the title bar of the active window and shake it. (By golly, it works!) All other windows will be minimized. This is a toggle command; shaking the title bar again will restore all windows. Right-clicking the toolbar will give options to cascade, stack, side-by-side (tile) the windows or minimize all windows and show the desktop. Right-clicking the toolbar again will undo the most recently selected command.
The Pictures library gives quick access to the pictures you have saved to your Win7 computer. It also stores bits of image like page borders, backgrounds, and splats. Much time and paper is spent discussing saving, viewing and changing the properties of a picture; it's basically the same as any other file. You can also view your Pictures as a slide show.
The Music library gives a place to store the sound files you would play on Win Media Player or any other sound file player.
Chapter 3 then discusses backing up files and folders, renaming folders, formatting optical discs for backup (DVDs! CDs are now too small!), creating an optical disc backup, ejecting the disc, restoring folders from backup (DVD or USB), and proper removal of the USB drive. (I need to show my husband this one! *sigh*) (By the way, at MPL I have a persistent problem that when I ask those computers to eject my USB drive it says the USB drive is still in use -- balderdash! -- and I end up shutting down the computer to get it to power cycle so I can remove my USB drive while the drive unit is down. Is there a more elegant work-around?)
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Summary of Chapter 2
In Chapter 2, we discuss how to open WordPad, create and edit a document in WordPad, move and rename a file, create and move a folder, store documents on an external USB drive, delete and restore shortcuts, files and folders with the Recycle Bin, and how to customize and rearrange gadgets.
WordPad is a very basic word processor. Win7's WordPad is slightly more sophisticated than in WinXP, but you still wouldn't want it as your only word processing software! I tried Word 13 in Lab B, and it makes my eyes cross. What was wrong with Word 03, or Word 10 for that matter?
The Documents Library was a learning curve for me when I first started working with Win7 at the library. Once I realized that it was mostly a reformat of my old familiar File Manager, it all fell into place. I do like the shortcuts on the left side of the page!
Win7 also emulates a web browser in having what resembles a URL locator bar -- the Address Bar. In previous versions, you had to know the document address -- E:/mcc/CDM130 Intro Windows/Chapter2.Activity1.Heimsoth.rtf, for example -- to use the Address Bar to find the document. Win7 treats each directory level as a drop-down list.
Shortcuts work pretty much as they did in previous versions. It is nice to be able to drag and drop shortcut icons onto the Start Button rather than having to hunt down the Add to Start Menu command.
I like the Gadgets -- one of the few things that makes me wish I could run Win7 at home. I played with these when I was working on a Win7 computer on assignment once.
And, as before, they show us how to put all our toys away and shut down the computer.
WordPad is a very basic word processor. Win7's WordPad is slightly more sophisticated than in WinXP, but you still wouldn't want it as your only word processing software! I tried Word 13 in Lab B, and it makes my eyes cross. What was wrong with Word 03, or Word 10 for that matter?
The Documents Library was a learning curve for me when I first started working with Win7 at the library. Once I realized that it was mostly a reformat of my old familiar File Manager, it all fell into place. I do like the shortcuts on the left side of the page!
Win7 also emulates a web browser in having what resembles a URL locator bar -- the Address Bar. In previous versions, you had to know the document address -- E:/mcc/CDM130 Intro Windows/Chapter2.Activity1.Heimsoth.rtf, for example -- to use the Address Bar to find the document. Win7 treats each directory level as a drop-down list.
Shortcuts work pretty much as they did in previous versions. It is nice to be able to drag and drop shortcut icons onto the Start Button rather than having to hunt down the Add to Start Menu command.
I like the Gadgets -- one of the few things that makes me wish I could run Win7 at home. I played with these when I was working on a Win7 computer on assignment once.
And, as before, they show us how to put all our toys away and shut down the computer.
Summary of Chapter 1
Chapter 1 is one of those boring chapters that people who have never worked with Windows before need, and most of us who have already used Windows skim over or skip completely. It discusses the differences between labeled versions of Win7, basic concepts of Win7 use (both familiar concepts like desktop and icon and more abstruse ones such as Aero, Aero Glass and Aero Flip 3D), how to launch Win7, the Win7 desktop, how to move around the desktop, open, close and resize windows, scrolling through windows, maximizing, minimizing, and restoring windows, possible pitfalls of double-clicking, moving windows, expanding folders to see subfolders and files in the Library, sizing a window by dragging, collapsing folders to hide the subfolders and files (in the Library), deleting icons and emptying the recycle bin, adding and removing gadgets to the desktop (sort of an app for a desktop computer), and launching and switching between programs. It also discusses Windows Help and Support in some detail, and discusses how to add, use and delete favorites. It then -- not surprisingly -- shows how to close Internet Explorer, Windows Help and Support, how to empty the Recycle Bin, and how to log off and turn off the computer.
For that I needed a book?
For that I needed a book?
IE? Really?
What is this love affair this course has with IE, and why do pages show up differently on IE than on other browsers anyway? I hate using IE because it is buggier and spammier than anything else out there. At least Google's subtle about their data tracking. . . .
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Summary Wed 10/22/14
I have managed to submit something for 1:4, even though I can't do 1:2. Oh, yeah, forgot about 1:3 but I should be able to do that, since I have admin access to the Lab E computer. And I checked out a copy of the textbook from the library, which will see me through the middle of November, and if I can renew it it will get me through the course. Yay!
Chapter1.Activity2
Okay, found my way to the Building E computer lab (there has to be an easier way in!). Submitted Assignment 4, working on Assignment 2. Even here, the screens don't look right, but I have to be able to do the assignment here.
And it zonks me anyway. Probably because I don't have a domain name. This is really getting frustrating.
And it zonks me anyway. Probably because I don't have a domain name. This is really getting frustrating.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Chapter 1 summary without book
Of course, since I haven't got the textbook, summarizing the first chapter is out of the question. Is there supposed to be sound on the slide show?
Chapter1.Exercise3 commentary (can't do exercise)
Aaaand . . . Exercise 3 needs the profile I can't create, and Exercise 4 hasn't got a button either.
UPDATE: I finally figured out how the Submit Assignment thing works. Weird, not how I would have programmed it; I wonder how the Any-Key crowd deals with it?
Chapter 1 in the MCC Atrium
I get to MCC and it's locked up tighter than a drum. Even the library is closed. How can an assignment be due before the college opens for the semester? I'm on an atrium computer, but it's not running Win7 (or it's strongly locked down; either way more useless than MPL for my purposes). Barnes and Noble wants a credit card for my book, which I have to buy before WIA will reimburse me for it. (I refuse to pay more for a paperback computer book that is probably already outdated than I paid for my hardbound chemistry textbooks back in the Dark Ages!) I have no textbook to summarize, and no computer that will allow me to create a new profile. Meanwhile WIA won't accept that I need an external hard drive for the course till they either see it in the syllabus or get a letter from the instructor (apparently the blurb in the catalog won't do). And I'm finally working again -- from 8 to 5 in Lincolnshire. Why did I want to go back to college anyway?
I have an event tomorrow, so I can't try the distance computers tomorrow, and by the time I get back to MPL they'll be closed. Argh!
Okay, let's try running Chapter 1 Assignment 1 again.
And I click Submit Assignment -- and nothing happens. ARGH!
I have an event tomorrow, so I can't try the distance computers tomorrow, and by the time I get back to MPL they'll be closed. Argh!
Okay, let's try running Chapter 1 Assignment 1 again.
And I click Submit Assignment -- and nothing happens. ARGH!
Chapter 1 Activity 3 and 4 rely on separate account
And I can't do Activity 3 or 4 till I get a separate account established. Murgh.
Update 10/26/14: I discovered that I can mess around with Gadgets on the DL computers, I just can't save anything.
Update 10/26/14: I discovered that I can mess around with Gadgets on the DL computers, I just can't save anything.
Chapter 1 Activity 2 on a locked down computer (MPL)
Chapter 1 Activity 2: Create a new User Account. Uh-oh. Can't do that at McHenry Library (at least not on the public computers!).
I'll have to try either the Distance Learning computers or go out to MCC (my machine at home is still running XP and 1) I can't afford new software, and 2) I'm not sure it can handle Win7; I got free Win8 but Microsoft says it won't run on my computer at home . . . )
10/22/14: According to the Win7 analyzer, my machine at home needs a lot more RAM and probably a new mobo since I already have as many memory cards as it will take. I don't have time for this . . .
10/22/14: According to the Win7 analyzer, my machine at home needs a lot more RAM and probably a new mobo since I already have as many memory cards as it will take. I don't have time for this . . .
Chapter 1 Activity 1
Okay. Chapter 1 Activity 1: take a Window Snip of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties Window. So far so good. Snipping Tool -- oh, okay, I've used that before. "Submit the file by clicking the Attachments button below." Huh? What Attachments button? That must be somewhere near the Any key . . . and I can't figure out how to link an attachment from my USB drive. Hm.
AHA! Found the Choose Files key!
AHA! Found the Choose Files key!
10/22/14: The Building E computers do have the button. I'm not sure why it doesn't show up in the Atrium or at MPL.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
First post
I logged into Canvas tonight and learned that distance education isn't what it used to be! I'd better get pulled together and get serious; first assignment due Sunday!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)