MS Windows is a graphical operating system and GUI based developed by Microsoft Corporation. It allows users to view and store files, run the software, play games, watch videos, and provides a way to connect to the internet. It was released for both home computing and professional works.
Microsoft Windows was first announced by Bill Gates on November 10, 1983. Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, which had been introduced two years earlier. The product line evolved in the 1990s from an operating environment into a fully complete, modern operating system over two lines of development, each with their own separate codebase.
The MS-Windows is the most common operating system in the world. It is the world's largest selling OS for PCs. There are many Windows version available in the market. I provide Windows version their period given below:
Years Versions
1985 Windows 1.0
1987 Windows 2.0
1990 Windows 3.0
1993 Windows 3.1
1995 Windows 95
1997 Windows 97
1998 Windows 98
2000 Windows 2000, Me, NT
2002 Windows XP-I
2003 Windows XP-II
2004 Windows XP-III
2006 Windows Vista
2009 Windows 7
2012 Windows 8
2015 Windows 10
2021 Windows 11
Features of windows:
- Allows the user to interact with the computer (through the keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc.).
- Controls the storage of data (images, files, music).
- Controls hardware attached to the computer such as webcams, scanners and printers.
- Helps to open and close programs (word processors, games, photo editors, etc.), and gives them part of the computer’s memory to allow them to work.
- Controls what access to a computer different users have and the computer's security.
- Deals with errors and user instructions, and issues simple error messages.
- Promotes multitasking by allowing the user to do several things on the computer at once – for example, watch a video while writing a letter.
Advantage of windows:
Let us see some advantages:- Desktop as well as tablet-friendly OS.
- Switch between applications is very easy.
- Not much technical knowledge is required to operate windows.
- Windows OS is the dominant OS and enjoys more than 90% of Market share
- MS windows have a great support community and it also has the largest number of applications.
- Microsoft provides a powerful set of Enterprise focused Operating System, Applications and the services making it the most dominant player in the OS market.
- More gaming.
Components of windows:
Windows consists of the following components:
• Desktop:
The desktop is the very first screen we see after windows start. Here, we can see folders like My Computer, Documents, etc. It is the main working area of many of your computer operations. You keep your special files on the desktop so you can access them easily and it gives access to other important functionalities as well such as search bar, taskbar, and file explorer.
• Taskbar:
The taskbar is a simple row at the very bottom of the screen where all currently opened files or applications are listed. It helps you select what you want to keep opened and what you want to close.
• Start Menu:
By clicking the start menu, in the bottom left corner of the screen, a vertical window consisting of the recently opened applications and saved locations will pop-up. Although the Start Menu was a major component of Windows before Windows 8, It was removed from Windows 8 and then brought back in Windows 10. Some start menu items given below:
All programs: All Programs command is the most important function of the Start menu. It’s the master list of every program on your computer. We see all programs that installed in a computer.
Pictures: Pictures is a folder in the Microsoft Windows operating system that is used to store picture files. By default, when any picture is created or added to a Windows computer, they are saved in the Pictures folder.
Documents: The Documents folder is a component of the user profile that is used as a unified location for storing personal data. By default, the Documents folder is a folder in the user's profile that is used as a default storage location for saved documents.
Music: Pictures is a folder in the Microsoft Windows operating system that is used to store picture files. By default, when any picture is created or added to a Windows computer, they are saved in the Pictures folder.
Games: This folder tries to act as your central repository for games in Windows. All the Windows games are found there as well as most of the third-party games you install. However, not all games you install might be found there as they might not be integrated with this feature of Windows.You can add games to this panel.
Control Panel: You can use Control Panel to change settings of Windows. These settings tools control nearly everything about how Windows looks and works, and you can use them to set up Windows so that it's just better using computer for you.
Devices and Printers: Device and Printers gives you a simple way to access and manage external devices (including printers, scanners, faxes, cameras) connected to your computer. From there you can see how many documents are in the printing queue, can set the paper size for printing, add or delete a printer, set a default printer or add & remove other devices etc.
Default programs: A default program is the program that Windows uses when you open a particular type of file, such as a music file, an image, or a webpage. For example, if you have more than one web browser installed on your computer, you can choose one of them to be the default browser directly.
Help and support: Windows provides a help system that most software developers use to provide immediate help to the users of their Windows applications. The help is displayed by pressing F1 or selecting the Help menu in the application. The help windows can remain on screen so that you can try things out better works while you read the instructions.
• Maximize/Minimize/Close Buttons:
These buttons are located at the top right corner of our opened documents, and the area used to close, minimize or maximize the document window. They help us jump from one task to another fast and let us decide either we want to close an application or resize it’s area on the screen or just hide it for a few moments.
• My Computer:
This is a system icon. When we double click on My Computer, We find ourselves looking at a window where we can navigate between Computer Drives and Control Panel tools. It also gives us access to different drives on our computer and the data which lies in those drives.
• My Computer Right Click Menu:
When we right-click on My Computer or any other file or folder, We get a menu where we can look into different options related to that specific file, for example, Properties, etc.
• Recycle Bin:
This is a system icon. When we delete a file or folder, It goes into the Recycle Bin from where It can either be restored or permanently deleted from the Computer. Once, a file or folder is deleted from the Recycle Bin, It is very difficult to recover it again. Therefore, the utility of the recycle bin is very essential to use properly if you deal with important documents and files on a day to day basis.
• Shortcut:
A shortcut creates a button or icon which typically is located on the Desktop. By clicking on this Shortcut, We can quickly open the document or application of which it is a shortcut. It helps us save the tedious task of going to the main directory again and again and saves our time.
• Mouse Functions:
The mouse is an input device which is essential in the working of a computer. It performs several important functions on Windows like Scrolling, Right and Left Clicks, etc. It performs another very important function of modern windows which is pointing towards different things and giving special instructions whenever needed.
• Highlight:
When we have opened a document, we can easily highlight the required portion of our document by using Mouse. It is essential for documents and helps keep track of useful information.
• Copy/Cut/Paste:
These options are one of the most essential components of Windows. The copy is used to copy a portion of a document from one document to another or a file or folder from one location to another. The paste is used to paste the copied item on the desired location. While Cut is used to move an item to our desired location in the Computer.
• Toolbar:
The toolbar is a simple row where we can see different options to customize the look of our opened window. It has two types, Formatting Toolbar, and Standard Toolbar. The standard toolbar consists of options like new documents, save a document, etc. While Formatting Toolbar consists of options like font size, font type, etc.
• Drag/Drop:
Dragging an object means to move an object (file or folder) from one location to another and when we reach our desired location, then we can drop the object to that location. It is one of the most used features of windows as you have to move files from one location to another.
• File Extensions:
File extensions are used to define the type of the file. For example an image file will have an extension of .jpg, .jpeg and a Word document will have an extension .docx, .xls, .txt etc. You could have different types of extensions and these extensions help you decide the type of software that will be used to access these files.
• Multitasking:
The term Multitasking means to run more than one file or application on Windows at the same time. It is a very important component of Windows which saves our time as well as allow us to perform more tasks at the same time.
• Virtual Keyboard:
A virtual keyboard is a software through which we can see a keyboard on our screen and use it by our Mouse. It is mostly used in the cases when your keyboard is not working properly or you use windows on a touch device.
• Disk Drives:
Disk Drives are drives used to store applications and files. Hard Drives and Floppy Drives are used for this purpose. They are very important for your instructions as well as your hardware to work properly.
• Defragmenting Hard Drives:
Defragmenting a Drive means to erase all the data from that drive. It is also another important component of windows as users need to clean up their hard drives from time to time and it also comes as a built-in utility.
Types of icon:
System Icons:
System Icons are displayed along left edge of screen. These icons are created automatically by windows during its installation. Example of some system icons are My Computer, Recycle Bin, My Documents, Internet Explorer etc.Shortcut Icons:
These are the icons with small arrows in the lower left corner. A shortcut icons provides easy access to some objects on our systems, such as a program, a document or a printer. The shortcut icons only contain information about the location of the object but not the object itself.
1- Shut down:Choosing to shut down your computer will begin the process of turning your computer off. If you have any programs open, you will be asked if you want to force close them, and normally be given a short amount of time before they are automatically closed and the computer turned off.If you are working on documents, or something that requires you to save your progress, it will not be saved when you allow the programs to be force closed. Therefore, when you shut your system down, it is a good idea to save all work before you actually do so.2- Log off:Logging off will cause all of your open programs to be closed and will bring you to the Windows login screen. You will then be able to log in as another user if there are other profiles on your computer.The key here is that logging off is just like shutting down. Your programs will be closed without any changes made being saved. You will get a warning about this before your computer logs you off, but it is a good idea to save your work before you log off.3- Switch Users:Switching Users is similar to logging off, in that when you press this option you are taken to the Windows login screen and able to log in as a different user. The main difference here is that your programs will not be closed, remaining open.If you have more than one user who uses your computer, and each has their own profile, switching users is a good option. However, if one user decides to shut down the computer, all other programs, regardless of which user has these open, will also be closed. So, it is always recommended to save your work before switching users in case you lose your work.4- Restart:Restarting your computer is similar to shutting it down. All open programs are closed and your computer shuts down, before restarting after a couple of seconds. You are then taken to either the login screen (if you have more than one user), or directly to the main desktop.Again, it is a good idea to save your work before you restart.5- Sleep:This is sometimes called standby mode, and is similar to pausing a tv show or movie. When you put the computer to sleep, all programs and processes are halted but remain open – stored in the computer’s memory. When you wake the computer up, all processes and programs will be open and usable pretty much right away.Putting your computer to sleep is ideal if you are going to step away from your computer for a short amount of time, but it generally isn’t a good idea to let your computer sleep for more than a few hours, as your computer may crash. Note: When you put your computer to sleep, any work done since you last saved is not saved, rather it will remain on the screen and open instead.6- Hibernate:Hibernate is similar to sleep mode. The main difference is that all programs and work are saved. The computer essentially turns off, with some components such as the memory still switched on. When you wake your computer from hibernation, all programs you had open will reopen in the same state you left them. This is ideal for if you are not going to be using your computer for an extended period of time, yet want programs to remain open.The different versions of shutdown have their uses, but whichever you choose, it is always a good idea to save your work regularly just in case something goes wrong. If you would like to learn more about the versatility and features of Windows, please contact us today.
Important key stroke:
Here is a list of commonly used short-cut keys that can provide an easier and quicker method of using computer programs:
List of basic computer shortcut keys:
- Alt + F: File menu options in the current program.
- Alt + E: Edits options in the current program.
- F1: Universal help (for any sort of program).
- Ctrl + A: Selects all text.
- Ctrl + X: Cuts the selected item.
- Ctrl + Del: Cut selected item.
- Ctrl + C: Copy the selected item.
- Ctrl + Insert: Copy the selected item.
- Ctrl + V: Paste the selected item.
- Shift + Insert: Paste the selected item.
- Home: Takes the user to the beginning of the current line.
- Ctrl + Home: Go to the beginning of the document.
- End: Go to the end of the current line.
- Ctrl + End: Go to the end of a document.
- Shift + Home: Highlight from current position to beginning of the line.
- Shift + End: Highlight from current position to end of the line.
- Ctrl + (Left arrow): Move one word to the left at a time.
- Ctrl + (Right arrow: Move one word to the right at a time.
- Alt + Tab : Switch between open applications.
- Alt + Shift + Tab: Switch backward between open applications.
- Alt + Print Screen: Create screenshot for the current program.
- Ctrl + Alt + Del: Reboot/Windows task manager.
- Ctrl + Esc: Bring up the start menu.
- Alt + Esc: Switch between applications on the taskbar.
- F2: Rename selected icon.
- F3: Start find from the desktop.
- F4: Open the drive selection when browsing.
- F5: Refresh contents.
- Alt + F4: Close current open program.
- Ctrl + F4: Close window in program.
- Ctrl + Plus Key: Automatically adjust widths of all columns in Windows Explorer.
- Alt + Enter: Open properties window of selected icon or program.
- Shift + F10: Simulate right-click on selected item.
- Shift + Del: Delete programs/files permanently.
- Holding Shift During Boot up: Boot safe mode or bypass system files.
- Holding Shift During Boot up: When putting in an audio CD, will prevent CD Player from playing.
- Windows key: Appearing start menu.
- Windows key + I: Open Settings app.
- Windows key + E: Open File Explorer.
- Windows key + A: Open Action center.
- Windows key + D: Display and hide the desktop.
- Windows key + L: Lock device
- Windows key + M: Minimize window.
- Windows key + Shift + M: Maximize window.
- Windows key + V: Open Clipboard bin.
- Windows key + Period (.) or semicolon (;): Open emoji panel.
- Windows key + PrtScn: Capture full screenshot in the "Screenshots" folder.
- Windows key + Shift + S: Capture part of the screen with Snip & Sketch.
- Windows key + Left arrow key: Snap app or window left.
- Windows key + Right arrow key: Snap app or window right.
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