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Working with Windows Programs

Now that you know how to work with the graphical elements that make Windows 7 work, you're ready to work with programs. A program is software you use to accomplish a specific task, such as word processing or managing files on your computer. This tutorial shows you how to access your Windows programs (and to customize this access). It also shows you how to create and edit files in your programs, share information between programs, and what to do when a program is not responding.

Windows comes with several small programs, called Accessories, that are extremely useful for completing basic tasks, such as creating a written document or performing basic calculations. Windows 7 also provides a number of ways for you to resolve some common problems. For example, you can use older programs (designed to run on previous versions of Windows) on your Windows 7 computer by changing specific settings using the Accessories menu. You can run commands from a text-based interface (called a command line), and Windows provides an interface for quitting a program that has stopped responding without turning off your computer and losing information in other programs. Other special programs in Windows 7 are games. You can play games on your computer, or with other people over the internet.

In this tutorial:

  1. Starting and Exiting a Program
  2. Changing the Way a Program Starts
  3. Using Windows Accessories
  4. Creating a Document
  5. Editing Text
  6. Formatting Text
  7. Setting Paragraph Tabs
  8. Setting Paragraph Indents
  9. Previewing and Printing a Document
  10. Saving and Closing a Document
  11. Sharing Information Among Programs
  12. Inserting and Editing Information
  13. Linking and Updating Information
  14. Inserting Special Characters
  15. Calculating Numbers
  16. Running Commands
  17. Playing Games
  18. Snipping the Screen
  19. Running Older Programs
  20. Quitting a Program Not Responding