| Searching |
| |
| Searching |
| |
Today's computers allow us to store a great deal of information. Because of this, we suggest you keep your information well-classified and organized so that finding it is an easy process.
Despite having the information well-clasified, it can happen that sometimes we cannot find a file or folder. When this occurs, we can resort to the Search function provided by Windows to locate the file or folder quickly.
|
 |
| |
| The search provided by Windows XP also allows us to search for hardware, a network, people in the directory, Internet pages, etc. We will further discuss this later |
| |
| Searching |
| 1. Click Start |
| |
| 2. Select on the menu Search. |
 |
| |
| The general search page will be displayed as shown below. |
 |
| |
If you look closely you will notice that it is the same window as the windows explorer, but instead of showing folders it shows the search companion.
If you are already in the explorer it is not necessary that you click on Start and then on the Search menu; simply click on  on the standard bar. |
| |
| First we need to choose one of the options presented, depending on what we are looking for. Images..., Documents..., Files..., Hardware..., Search Internet,
The first three search options are similar and we will see them now grouped into one. |
| |
| |
| |
| Searching Files or Folders |
| |
| By choosing All files and folders a screen will appear so that we can give more information on what we are looking for. |
 |
|
| |
| Searching for Files and Folder |
 |
| |
| In the first box we will put All or part of the file name that we are looking for, and then windows will show us files or folders that contain the characters that we have typed. The more detailed the name the more concise the search will be, thus facilitating the search. |
| |
| In the box A word or phrase in the file we can type the text that the file we are looking for should contain. It is not always convenient to use this box because this significantly slows down the process as it looks for that word or phrase in each file. |
| |
| In the box Look in we can indicate in which unit we wish to look for the file or folder. |
| |
| Click Search to start the search. In the event that Windows does not find anything, it will notify you in the window to the right with a message saying that the search has ended and that there are no results to show |
| |
| While it is carrying out the search, we can stop the search by clicking Stop, either because we have found what we were looking for or because we made a mistake on the search. |
| With the questions that follow we have the possibility of searching by the date it was last modified, size, and other advanced options, such as differentiating between capital letters or lower case letters. |
| |
| The search results will appear on the right side of the window.The operations we carry out on the files or folders found by the search are the same ones that we can do on any other file or folder. We can copy, delete, change name, etc... |
| In dealing with the Windows Explorer we can do the operations talked about in Unit 4 WindowsXP Explorer, that is to say that we can customize the results window, choose the fields we wish to see, choose the type of view, etc |
| |
| |
| Searching for Hardware |
| If your computer is connected to a network, this option will be useful since it will allow you to access the resources that are shared by other computers within the network. A printer that is connected to another computer, for example, can be used by your computer as long as you have the required permission. |
| |
| To use this option you need to do the following: |
| 1. Click Start. |
| |
| 2. Select the option Search. |
| |
| Once the window has opened choose Computers or people and then A computer on the network, and the next window will open up. |
| |
| |
| |
| Searching for People |
| |
If you have Outlook or another similar program it is probable that you have an address book, which is like an agenda. This option allows you to search for the name of a person in the address book.
1. Click Start.
2. Select on the menu Search.
|
 |
| Once the window is open select Computers or people and then People in your address book, the following window will open |
| |
 |
| |
| 3. On the box Look in: we need to indicate if we want to search in the address book of our computer or in the address book of other people through Internet, which will appear by clicking on the arrow to the right. |
| |
| Next we need to indicate some search criteria, such as name, the email address, the phone number, etc. If we enter various criteria it is necessary for them to coincide in order to show the result. |
| |
| Once entered we can click Find now to begin the search. |
| |
| If you wish to delete the search information that you entered to do another search, click Clear All. |
| |
| |
| Searching on the Internet |
 |
| |
| Display the Start menu and select the option Search on the Internet from the Search menu. Having done this, an Internet search page will open up, such as MSN Search or Surway.com, which will allow you to look for particular pages online. Simply type the address and click on search. |
| |
| The other option to search on the Internet is much less complicated. It consists of typing what you are searching for on the Address bar of Windows explorer and then clicking on the green arrow to the right. |
| |
| |
| |
| Recycle Bin |
| |
| The Recycle Bin |
| |
| The Recycle Bin is nothing more than a space on the hard disk reserved to store information that is deleted so that in the event of deleting a file or folder by mistake it is possible to retrieve it. By default the Recycle Bin restores files or folders to the place from where they were deleted. |
 |
| Example: If a file is deleted from D:\My Documents, when it is restored it will go to that folder. |
| |
The Recycle Bin will maintain the deleted documents until it is emptied.
To open the Recycle Bin place the cursor on Desktop and double-click on the Recycle Bin icon. |
| |
 |
| |
| The Recycle Bin window is similar to the Windows Explorer window, and they have similar options in common, such as customizing the window, views, etc.. |
| |
| Note: In the Recycle Bin attributes such as the original location of the file or folder before it was deleted will appear as well as the date and time when it was deleted. |
| |
| |
| |
| Restoring Files or Folders |
| |
| Restoring files or folders to their original location. |
| To restore all of the elements from the Recycle Bin click on the green arrow on the left side that says Restore all items |
| |
| If we only want to restore some of the elements: |
| |
| 1. Select the elements to be restored by clicking on them. If the elements are not in subsequent order, use the Ctrl key to select them or the Shift key if they are one below the other. |
| |
| 2. Once selected, a dialog box will appear on the green arrow on the left that will say Restore this item or Restore the selected items. |
| |
| The selected files will return to where they were located before deletion. |
| |
| If the right side of the Recycle Bin is not visible you can also restore from the File menu by choosing the option Restore. |
| |
| If you do not know where the files were before deletion, check before restoring on the route that is shown on the column original location because that is where it will save it. |
| |
| |
| Restoring Files or folders in a different location than their original location. |
| |
| 1. Select the elements to be restored. |
| |
| 2. Click on the elements with the right mouse button and the shortcut menu will be displayed; select the option Cut or (ctrl+X). |
| |
| 3. Locate the folder where you want the files to be restored; and click Paste or (ctrl+V). |
| |
| Deleting Files or Folders from the Recycle Bin |
| Before deleting any element from the Recycle Bin you need to realize that once it is deleted it cannot be retrieved or restored. |
| |
| If you want to delete any file or folder from the Recycle Bin follow these steps: |
| |
| 1. Select the Elements to be deleted. |
| |
2. Click on  ; this will delete the selected elements.
Hint: You can also do this by pressing the Delete button. |
| Warning: The selected files will disappear and cannot be restored. |
| |
| If a window appears asking if you are sure that you want to delete the selected file or folder click Yes if you are sure you want it deleted. |
| |
| |
| |
| Emptying the Recycle Bin |
| |
The elements that are deleted usually remain in the recycle bin and in time we need to empty it to free space or because we do not want to have those elements still there.
|
 |
| In order to do this, simply empty the Recycle Bin by clicking on the icon located on the left labeled Empty the Recycle Bin. |
| |
| A window will appear asking Confirm you want to delete these X elements? Where X is the number of elements currently in the Recycle Bin . Click Yes to empty it. |
| Hint: You can also empty the Recycle Bin from the File menu and select Empty the Recycle Bin. |
| |
| There is an even quicker way. Simply right click on the Recycle Bin icon and a menu with the option Empty the Recycle Bin. If you do it this way, you have to be sure that you want to empty the Recycle Bin since you will not be able to see what you are deleting. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Screen Configuration |
| |
| Configuring the Screen |
| |
Configuring the screen is important because sometimes we spend many hours in front of the screen, so we recommend spending a few minutes configuring our desktop so that it can be the most comfortable as possible.
The Display properties window will appear where we can change the configuration parameters.
|
 |
|
| Click with the right mouse button somewhere that has no icons on the desktop and select the option Properties from the shortcut menu that is displayed |
| . |
 |
| |
| The background or wallpaper |
| |
| To change the background or wallpaper, click on the tab labeled Desktop and choose a new background or wallpaper from the list that appears at the bottom left corner. |
| |
| If you are not sure what background goes with what name just highlight the name and a small representation of the background will appear as it would on the screen. |
| |
| Once the background has been selected you can choose how it will appear by clicking on Position. |
| |
| Here are the options: |
| |
| Centered: the image will appear in the center of the screen with its real size. |
| |
| Tile: the image will appear with as many images as necessary to fill the screen. |
| |
| Stretch: the image will appear once taking up the entire screen. |
| |
| It is also possible to have another image that does not appear on the list as background. Click on Browse... and look for the image you want as long as the format is compatible. For example .bmp, .jpg, .gif etc. |
| |
| Once the image and type of view have
been selected, Click OK. |
| |
| These are different different wallpaper category which you can select and set over screen. |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| The Screen Saver |
| |
The computer remains inactive a few minutes. It is recommended to have a screensaver to avoid having a still image on the screen too long because this can damage the monitor.
From the List, choose the screensaver you like best; a small preview is shown above.
With Preview you can see how it will look once in place. When you move the mouse or press a key the preview will end. |
 |
|
| |
| You can modify the time it takes for the screensaver to appear by adjusting the time on Wait. |
| |
| The Settings button allows us to customize the image that is used as the screensaver. |
 |
| |
| |
| Depending on the image, the properties we can change vary. |
| |
| Checking On resume, password protect you can place a password protection to keep someone else from working on your account. |
| |
| Once the screensaver is engaged it will only allow you back to the normal screen once you have entered the correct user password. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Screen Appearance |
| |
| How to customize the windows in Windows XP: |
| |
| Click with the right mouse button somewhere that has no icons on the desktop and select the option Properties from the shortcut menu that is displayed. |
| |
| The Display properties window will appear where we can change the configuration parameters. |
| |
 |
| |
| |
| Select the tab labeled Appearance on the Display properties window. |
| |
| On the Windows and buttons list select which style you want. |
| |
| Then select one of the Schemes offered to you from the Color scheme list. |
| |
| In the box Font size choose the the size of lettering that you like. |
| |
| Once all changes are done Click OK. |
| |
| |
| How to customize the windows with themes: |
| |
| A Theme is nothing more than a way to group the different characteristics that affect the appearance of WindowsXP by giving it a name. This way we can change the theme with a single click. |
| |
| Select the tab labeled Appearance on the Display Properties window. |
| |
 |
| |
| From the Theme list choose the theme you prefer. On the bottom part you can see how it will look. |
| |
| If you wish to save the changes, select My Favourite theme and click Save as... , then name it and Click OK.. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Post a Comment