Controlling your computer
Computer
basics (interactive exercises)
GUI basics
Windows 95 basics
Mouse problems
Mouse adjustments
Monitor adjustments
Browser adjustments
Using the Internet
Sites for seniors
Finding
things 1
Finding
things 2
Finding
things 3
Internet costs
Assorted questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How to contact me
A GUI is a graphical user interface. It's when your computer has colors and pictures - not just text. Most home computers have GUI interfaces - Apple, Windows, whatever.
A GUI makes computer use easier in many ways, but there are a couple of non-intuitive things in all of them.
Focus
GUIs show a lot of programs and controls at the same time. However you only have one set of controls - just one keyboard, just one mouse. So you have to set focus on what you want to control.
Focus is shown differently in different parts of your system. It is usually highlighted in blue, but as the OK buttons show, it can be shown in other ways.
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Things
to remember:
1. No item can be activated unless it has focus. New computer users often have trouble with this, e.g. they can't get Netscape to start by pressing Enter because the focus is set somewhere else.2. Mouse devices set focus and activate at the same time. Therefore proficient mouse users have fewer problems with GUIs than users who switch between mouse and keyboard.
Windows and focus
Items with focus are not only highlighted, they are brought forward as well.
This can be startling to new users because the window with focus may completely obscure the unfocused window.
The taskbar, at the bottom of the screen in Windows 95, shows open programs as tabs with pictures. This informs users of what programs are open.
Something
to remember
Look at your taskbar from time to time, especially if your program suddently disappears. Usually a disappearning program has just been minimized, and can be recovered in the taskbar.