Chapter 4

Basic Desktop Window Mechanics

In This Chapter

arrow Understanding a window’s parts

arrow Manipulating buttons, bars, and boxes

arrow Finding commands on the Ribbon

arrow Understanding the Navigation Pane

arrow Moving windows and changing their size

The simplistic Windows Start screen comes with bold, oversized buttons, large letters, and bright colors that shout from the screen. They’re relatively easy to poke with a fingertip or mouse.

The Windows desktop, by contrast, comes with miniscule, monochrome buttons, tiny lettering, and windows with pencil-thin borders. The windows come with way too many parts, all with confusing names that programs expect you to remember. To give you a hand, this chapter provides a lesson in windows anatomy and navigation.

I’ve dissected each part of a window so you know what happens when you click — or touch — each portion. By all means, use this book’s margins to scribble notes as you move from the simplistic Start screen to the powerful yet complicated Windows desktop. ...

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