Computer Basics
All about windows

Local Contents

 Concept #3: Windows
 That Windows / windows confusion.
 The Parts of windows
 Scrolling
 Where are the scroll bars
 If the Scroll bars are white....
 Using the Keyboard to Scroll through a window
 Three mouse scrolling tactics
 Getting a different view of your window
 Icon View
 List View

Concept #3: Windows

Windows are views into ó whatever!

There are different kinds of windows. Some windows display the contents of documents; others show the contents of volumes (i.e.: hard drives, floppy disks, etc.). Folder or sub-directories windows show what's in folders.

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That Windows / windows confusion.

Bill Gates, the somewhat famous head of Microsoft corporation, crated the Windows OS because it had windows. (Note the capitalization.) But, when you say "window" and refer to a visible thing on a computer screen that shows information, Macintoshes have had windows since 1984.

This is confusing. But that's how it is.

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The Parts of windows

Windows is another area where there are similarities and differences between Macintosh and Windows operating systems. Keeping with our pattern, we'll show similar parts here and then send you off to our Windows and Mac specific documents for the differences.

All windows have common elements (title bars, resize boxes, close boxes, etc.)

Please click on these links below to see the specific explanation for the kind of computer you want to learn about. Note that the control areas of windows is one of the areas that particularly differs between Macs and Windows. W very much encourage you to take a look at both of these links.

Macintosh windows characteristics.

Windows windows characteristics. (Confusing, ain't it?)

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Scrolling

If you have a windows that is too small to display all of the contents of that windows you can "scroll" through the window.

In the case of a directory window, you may be able to make the window large enough to show its contents by dragging the resize box in the lower right hand corner of the window. If that window has too many items in it (or they're spread all around) then you may need to use the scroll bars to move vertically and horizontally through the windows.

In the case of a document window, it's easy not to have a window big enough to see the whole documents. How can you get, as an example, an 80 page document all to display on a screen?

So the scroll bars allow you to move around through your document. Here's how they work:

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Where are the scroll bars?

In almost all cases, scroll bars are against the right and lower edges of windows. As illustrated here:

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If the Scroll bars are white....

...And by that we mean the arrows are grayed out or missing and there's no elevator...then it means that the window, in its current shape and size, is big enough to show all the information (e.g.: icons, typing)!

Using the Keyboard to Scroll through a window

You can move through a document using the scroll bars or the keyboard. Here are the two most common ways to use the keyboard:

Using the Arrow keys

On almost all computer keyboards you'll find arrow keys (sometimes called cursor keys). By typing the UP or DOWN arrow keys you can move through the document.

Page Up and Page Down

On almost all computer keyboards you'll find PageUp and PageDown keys (sometimes abbreviated). By typing these keys you can move through the document. Note that "Page" is a misnomer. These keys move you one screenful at a time, not one page at a time.

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Three mouse scrolling tactics

Line by line

You can move line by line by clicking on the up or down arrows at the end of the vertical scroll bar. The horizontal scroll bar has left and right arrows.

Using the "elevator" to get around where you want

Every scroll bar also has an "elevator" within it. It may be small and at the top or at the bottom or in the middle area. It may grow or shrink showing, proportionately how much of the document you have left to scroll through. But it'll be there, somewhere in some size!

You may press and drag the elevator to move, proportionately, through the document. So, whether the document is 2 or 200 pages long, dragging the elevator half way will take you halfway through the length of the document.

NOTE: The elevator is not it's right name. But 'tis apt and so we use it!

One Screenful at a time

Clicking in the gray area above or below the elevator moves you one screenful at a time. (A very useful tactic that lots of pretty experienced computer users don't know about!)

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Getting a different view of your window

When you look at the contents of a directory window (that is, a window with icons of files and folders, not a document window with your edits), you can change how you see those icons. The two basic views are "as icons" or "in a list". Whichever kind of view you choose, you can sort the items by various criteria.

Icon View

This view allows you to see icons of folders and files primarily as icons, that is, with little other information. You can arrange or move icons about easily in this view.

This sample illustration is from a Windows OS directory window in View-Large Icons view.

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List View

You can also view the same exact contents of a directory window in a List view. This shows the icons but also orders the icons (often by name but you can sort the list in other ways) and shows more information about them.

HOT TIP: If you're in a directory window you can type the letters of the beginning of the file or folder name and jump to that location. You can also use tab and shift tab to move through the alphabet....

This particular sample illustration is from a Windows OS directory window in View Details view.

In order to change views, you need to know how to use menus. Which brings us to menus...
 

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