Business Computing Tips
By Karen Fainges

Please forgive my log absence, I have not been the best. However,
all seems back on track now. To make up for lost time, here is a
guide to the very basics of computer usage in 5 parts.


Part 1 - The Basics.

The main thing to remember about computers is that they are smart
idiots that do what they are told, not what you want them to do.
For everything you do on the computer, you need to follow 3 main
steps.

First tell the computer what you want to work on. Normally that
is done with just a simple click in the area where you want to
work. For formatting and other similar tasks like tables though,
you need to highlight the area you want to work with first.
Then do the action

Then click away somewhere else on the page to tell the computer
you want to work on something else.

Computers are just big filing cabinets that hold information and
think very fast. To find the information, you have to open the
draw (or drive) look through the folders and chose the pages you
want. Below are a list of the names, actions and programs that
are most commonly used. Throughout this document, any terms in
capital letters are menu items that can be chosen from the menu.
But first:

COMMON MISTAKES

The most common mistake made is ignoring the three steps above.
Many times you may begin typing, only to realise that the writing
is not appearing on the screen. This normally means you have
forgotten to click on the work as per step one.

The other common error is for bits of work to suddenly disappear
or to move to somewhere else on the page. This can also happen
with toolbars and to a lesser extent, menus. This is caused by
forgetting to click away. The computer still thinks you want to
work on the things you just finished.

The easy way to fix both these problems is to choose EDIT, then
UNDO in your menu bar. That will undo the mistake and let you
start again. Moved tool bars and menus must be moved back again
by hand though. Move your mouse over the moved item until at one
corner or edge, the mouse symbol on the screen changes to either
a four headed arrow, or two vertical lines with arrows pointing
out from the sides. Then click your left mouse button, hold it
down and move your mouse to back where you want the toolbar. It
may take a couple of tries, as it can be fiddly. Just be
persistent.

*****************************************************************
"It has to be practical, it has to be cheap, and it has to work."
*****************************************************************