It All Starts with the Right Software
So lets get started

From time to time, you will probably purchase or download new software for your computer. This page gives a few suggestions about installing the programs and learning how to use them.

Downloading

Most websites that provide downloadable software make it available as a "self-extractable exe" file.  After you have downloaded the file, you double click on it, and the software decompresses the software and installs it.  All you have to do is specify in which folder you want the software to reside. Go with the recommendation of the software.

A few sites might still use the older technology of "zip" files that require that you use special software to decompress the files and install them. Windows XP has the ability to decompress the zip files. Just double-click the files to tell Windows XP to decompress them.

Software via CD

Software purchased from stores will probably come on CD or or optical disks. You can easily install the software on your Windows system.

1. Put the CD disks containing the new software into the appropriate drive.
   
   
2. Most Install CDs have software to automatically activate the install procedure. If not, Windows XP has an icon called Add-Remove Programs that allows you to easily install new software. This icon is in the Control Panel which is in My Computer. Double-click on the Add-Remove icon to activate the install procedure.
   
   
3. The install procedure will check the CD ROM drives to find your software. It will then load a SETUP procedure.
   
   
4. The SETUP procedure will ask you several questions that are more or less self explanatory. One of the questions may be which folder should be used to contain the new program, and SETUP will probably suggest a particular name recommended by the software company. Go with that suggestion.
   
   
5. After the program has been installed, a new window that contains the icon for the program will probably appear on your desktop. If not, create a shortcut for that icon, and place the shortcut on your desktop or in a folder (right-click the icon and drag it to your desktop). This will allow you to run the program without having to click on the Start icon and navigate through all the Start menus. After you have created the shortcut, X the window containing the icon to close the window.

Learning New Programs

• Begin learning the program by studying the Menu bar, which is a control bar. Click on each entry in the bar and read the resulting menu(s). The File, Edit, Window, and Help entries are basically the same for all Windows programs. Other entries are unique with the program you have purchased.
  
  
• Keep in mind that the Menu bar contains menu entries for all functions that can be performed by the program. Become very familiar with the Menu bar.
  
  

• If the program contains icon or tool bars underneath the Menu bar, study the icons. Position the mouse cursor over each icon and wait a second or so for a small window to appear that contains the name of the icon. The tool bar contains icons for functions in the Menu bar that are used frequently.
  
  
• If the program has other tool bars, study them. They allow you to use other functions that are also used frequently.
  
  
• After you have reviewed the various tool bars, begin experimenting with them to see what they do. Play with the program and learn by discovery what it can do for you.

You will find that you can learn new software without having to take a class about it. Most software programs come with a users manual of some type that will answer many of your questions. The Help entry in the Menu bar is another source of help.

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© Copyright 1996, 2010 Allen Leigh