PROGRAMS

Using programs

In this article

• Starting a program
• Using commands in programs
• Creating a new document
• Saving a document
• Moving information between files
• Undoing your last action
• Getting help with a program
• Exiting a program
• Installing or uninstalling programs

Almost everything you do on your computer requires using a program. For example, if you want to draw a picture, you need to use a drawing or painting program. To write a letter, you use a word processing program. To explore the Internet, you use a program called a web browser. Thousands of programs are available for Windows.

Starting a program

The Start menu is the gateway to all of the programs on your computer. To open the Start menu, click the Start button. The left pane of the Start menu contains a small list of programs, including your Internet browser, email program, and recently used programs. To start a program, click it.

If you don't see the program you want to open but know its name, type all or part of the name into the Search box at the bottom of the left pane. For example, to find Windows Photo Gallery, type photo or gallery in the Search box. The left pane instantly displays search results. Under Programs, click a program to open it.

To browse a complete list of your programs, click the Start button, and then click All Programs.

Tip

• You can also start a program by opening a file. Opening the file automatically opens the program associated with the file. See Open a file or folder.

Using commands in programs

Most programs contain dozens or even hundreds of commands (actions) that you use to work the program. Many of these commands are organized under menus. Like a restaurant menu, a program menu shows you a list of choices. To keep the screen uncluttered, menus are hidden until you click their titles in the menu bar, located just underneath the title bar. For example, clicking "Image" in the Paint menu bar displays the Image menu.

To choose one of the commands listed in a menu, click it. Sometimes a dialog box will appear, in which you can select further options. If a command is unavailable and cannot be clicked, it is shown in gray, like the Crop command in the picture.

Toolbars provide access to frequently used commands in the form of buttons or icons. These commands usually appear in the program's menus, too, but toolbars let you choose a command with just one click. Toolbars typically appear just below the menu bar.

Clicking a toolbar button performs a command. In WordPad, for example, clicking the Save button saves the document. To find out what a particular toolbar button does, point to it. The button's name or function appears:

Creating a new document

Many programs allow you to create, edit, save, and print documents. In general, a document is any type of file that you can edit. For example, a word processing file is a type of document, as is a spreadsheet, an email message, and a presentation. However, the terms document and file are often used interchangeably; pictures, music clips, and videos that you can edit are usually called files, even though they are technically documents.

Some programs, including WordPad, NotePad, and Paint, open a blank, untitled document automatically when you start the program, so that you can start working right away. You'll see a large white area and a generic word like "Untitled" or "Document" in the program's title bar.

If your program doesn't open a new document automatically when it starts, you can do it yourself:

• Click the File menu in the program you are using, and then click New. If you can open more than one type of document in the program, you might also need to select the type from a list.

Saving a document

As you work on a document, your additions and changes are stored in your computer's random access memory (RAM). Storage of information in RAM is temporary; if your computer is turned off or loses power, any information in RAM is erased.

Saving a document allows you to name it and to store it permanently on your computer's hard disk. That way, the document is preserved even when your computer is turned off, and you can open it again later.

To save a document

• On the File menu, click Save. If this is the first time you are saving the document, you’ll be asked to provide a name for it and a location on your computer to save it to.

Even if you've saved a document once, you need to keep saving it as you work. That's because any changes you've made since you last saved the document are stored in RAM, not on the hard disk. To avoid losing work unexpectedly due to a power failure or other problem, save your document every few minutes.

Moving information between files

Most programs allow you to share text and images between them. For example, you can copy text or a picture from a webpage in Internet Explorer to a document in WordPad. When you copy information, it goes into a temporary storage area called the Clipboard. From there, you can paste it into a document.

Before you start moving information around, you should understand how to switch between the open windows on your desktop.

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Undoing your last action

Most programs allow you to undo (reverse) actions you take or mistakes you make. For example, if you delete a paragraph in a WordPad document accidentally, you can get it back by using the Undo command. If you draw a line in Paint that you don't want, undo your line right away and it vanishes.

To undo an action

• On the Edit menu, click Undo.
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Getting help with a program

Almost every program comes with its own built-in Help system for those times when you're confused about how the program works.

To access a program's Help system:

• On the Help menu of the program, click the first item in the list, such as "View Help," "Help Topics," or similar text. (The name of this item will vary.)
  – or –
  Press F1. This function key opens Help in almost any program.

In addition to program-specific help, some dialog boxes contain links to Help about their specific functions. If you see a question mark inside a circle or square, or a colored and underlined text link, click it to open the Help topic.

For more information, see Getting help.

Exiting a program

To exit a program, click the Close button in the top right corner. Or, on the File menu, click Exit.

Remember to save your document before exiting a program. If you have unsaved work and try to exit the program, the program will ask you whether you want to save the document:

• To save the document and then exit the program, click Yes.
• To exit the program without saving the document, click No.
• To return to the program without exiting, click Cancel.

Installing or uninstalling programs

You're not limited to using the programs that came with your computer you can buy new programs on CD or DVD or download programs (either free or for a fee) from the Internet.

Installing a program means adding it to your computer. After a program is installed, it appears in your Start menu in the All Programs list. Some programs might also add a shortcut to your desktop.

Install a program

You can do a lot with the programs and features that are included in Windows, but you'll probably want to install other programs.

How you add a program depends on where the installation files for the program are located. Typically, programs are installed from a CD or DVD, from the Internet, or from a network.

 To install a program from a CD or DVD

• Insert the disc into your computer and then follow the instructions on your screen.

 If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Many programs installed from CDs or DVDs will attempt to launch an install wizard for the program automatically. In these cases, the AutoPlay dialog box will appear and you can choose to run the wizard. For more information, see AutoPlay: frequently asked questions.

If a program doesn't begin to install, check the information that came with the program. This information will likely provide instructions for installing the program manually. If you cannot access the program's information, you can also browse through the disc and open the program's setup file, usually called Setup.exe or Install.exe.

To install a program from the Internet

1. In your web browser, click the link to the program.
2. Do one of the following:

• To install the program immediately, click Open or Run and follow the instructions on your screen.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
• To install the program later, click Save and download the installation file to your computer. When you are ready to install the program, double-click the file and follow the instructions on your screen. This is a safer option because you can scan the installation file for viruses before you proceed.

Note

• When downloading and installing programs from the Internet, be sure you trust the publisher of the program and the website that is offering the program.

Uninstall or change a program

You can uninstall a program from your computer if you no longer use it or if you want to free up space on your hard disk. You can use Programs and Features to uninstall programs or to change the program's configuration by adding or removing certain options.

1. Click to open Programs and Features.
2. Select a program, and then click Uninstall. Some programs include the option to change or repair the program in addition to uninstalling it. but many simply offer the option to uninstall. To change a program, click Change or Repair.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Note

• If the program that you want to uninstall is not listed, it might not have been written for this version of Windows. To uninstall the program, check the information that came with the program.

Install Windows updates

To have Windows install important updates as they become available, turn on automatic updating. Important updates can offer significant benefits, such as improved security and reliability. You can also set Windows to automatically install recommended updates, which can address non-critical problems and help enhance your computing experience. Optional updates are not downloaded or installed automatically. Read more about updates online.

If you do not turn on automatic updating, make sure that you check for updates regularly. For more information, see Turn automatic updating on or off and Change how Windows installs or notifies you about updates.

Working with files and folders

In this article

• What are files and folders?
• How Windows organizes your files and folders
• Understanding the parts of a folder
• Viewing your files in a folder
• Finding your files
• Copying and moving files and folders
• Creating and deleting files
• Opening an existing file

What are files and folders?

A file is very much like a typed document that you might find on someone's desk or in a filing cabinet; it's an item that contains a collection of related information. On a computer, examples of files include text documents, spreadsheets, digital pictures, and even songs. Every picture you take with a digital camera, for example, is a separate file, and a music CD might contain a dozen individual song files.

Your computer represents files with icons. By looking at a file's icon, you can tell at a glance what kind of file it is. Here are some common file icons:

A folder is little more than a container in which you can store files. If you put thousands of paper files on someone's desk, it would be virtually impossible to find any particular one when you needed it. That's why people often store paper files in folders inside a filing cabinet. Arranging files into logical groups makes it easy to locate any particular file.

Folders on your computer work exactly the same way. This is what a typical folder icon looks like:

Not only do folders hold files, but they also can hold other folders. A folder within a folder is usually called a subfolder. You can create any number of subfolders, and each can hold any number of files and additional subfolders.

How Windows organizes your files and folders

When it comes to getting organized, you don't need to start from scratch. Windows comes with a handful of common folders that you can use as anchors to begin organizing your files. Here's a list of some of the most common folders you can store your files and folders in:

• Documents. Use this folder to store your word-processing files, spreadsheets, presentations, and other business-oriented files.
• Pictures. Use this folder to store all of your digital pictures, whether you get them from your camera, scanner, or in email from other people.
• Music. Use this folder to store all of your digital music, such as songs that you copy from an audio CD or download from the Internet.
• Videos. Use this folder to store your videos, such as clips from your digital camera, camcorder, or video files that you download from the Internet.
• Downloads. Use this folder to store files and programs that you download from the web.

There are many ways to find these folders. The easiest method is to open the personal folder, which gathers all of your common folders in one place. The personal folder isn't actually called "personal"—it's labeled with the user name that you used to log on to the computer. To open it, click the Start button, and then click your user name at the top of the Start menu's right pane.

You can also find the Documents, Pictures, and Music folders in the Start menu, just below your personal folder.  Remember that you can create subfolders inside any of these folders to help you better organize your files. In the Pictures folder, for example, you might create subfolders to organize pictures by date, by event, by the names of people in the pictures, or by any other scheme that helps you work more efficiently.

Understanding the parts of a folder

When you open a folder on the desktop, a folder window appears. In addition to showing the contents of the folder, a folder window has a variety of parts that are designed to help you navigate around Windows or work with files and folders more easily. Here is a typical folder and each of its parts:

Folder Part	What it's useful for
Address bar	Use the Address bar to navigate to a different folder without closing the current folder window. For more information, see Navigate using the Address bar.
Back and Forward buttons	Use the Back and Forward buttons to navigate to other folders you have already opened without closing the current window. These buttons work in conjunction with the Address bar; after you use the Address bar to change folders, for example, you can use the Back button to return to the original folder.
The Search box	Type a word or phrase in the Search box to look for a file or subfolder stored in the current folder. The search begins as soon as you begin typing, so as you type B, for example, all the files that start with the letter B will appear in the folder's file list. For more information, see Find a file or folder.
Toolbar	The toolbar allows you to perform common tasks, such as changing the appearance of your files and folders, copying files to a CD, or starting a digital picture slide show. The toolbar's buttons change to show only the commands that are useful. For example, if you click a picture file, the toolbar shows different buttons than it would if you clicked a music file.
Navigation pane	Like the Address bar, the Navigation pane lets you change the view to other folders. The Favorite links section makes it easy to change to a common folder or start a search that you previously saved. If you often go to the same folder, you can drag that folder to the Navigation pane to make it one of your own favorite links. For more information, see Working with the Navigation pane.
File list	This is where the contents of the current folder are displayed. If you typed in the Search box to find a file, only the files that match your search will appear. For more information, see Tips for finding files.
Column headings	Use the column headings to change how the files in the file list are organized. You can sort, group, or stack the files in the current view. For more information, see Tips for finding files.
Details pane	The Details pane shows the most common properties associated with the selected file. File properties are information about a file, such as the author, the date you last changed the file, and any descriptive tags you might have added to the file. For more information, see Add tags or other properties to files.
Preview pane	Use the Preview pane to see the contents of many kinds of files. If you select an email message, text file, or picture, for example, you can see its contents without opening it in a program. The Preview pane is not displayed by default in most folders. To see it, click the Organize button on the toolbar, click Layout, and then click Preview pane.

Viewing your files in a folder

When you open a folder and see your files, you might prefer larger (or smaller) icons, or an arrangement that lets you see different kinds of information about each file. To make these kinds of changes, use the Views button in the toolbar.

Each time you click the Views button, the folder window changes the way it displays your file and folder icons, alternating between large icons, a smaller icon view called Tiles, and a view called Details that shows several columns of information about the file.

If you click the arrow next to the Views button, you have even more choices. Drag the slider up or down to fine-tune the size of the file and folder icons. You can see the icons change size as you move the slider.

Finding your files

When you need to find a particular file, you'll often know that it's located somewhere in a common folder like Documents or Pictures. Unfortunately, actually locating the file you want might mean browsing through hundreds of files and subfolders—not an easy task. To save yourself time and effort, use the Search box to find your file.

The Search box is located at the top of every folder. To find a file, open the folder that contains the file you are looking for, click the Search box, and start typing. The Search box filters the current view based on the text that you type. Files are displayed as search results if your search term matches the file's name, tags, or other file properties. Text documents are displayed if the search term occurs in any of the text inside the document. Your search looks in the current folder as well as all subfolders.

If you have no idea where to look for a file, you can expand your search to include the entire computer, not just a single folder. For more information, see Find a file or folder.

Copying and moving files and folders

Occasionally, you might want to change where files are stored on your computer. You might want to move files to a different folder, for example, or copy them to removable media (such as CDs or memory cards) to share with another person.

Most people copy and move files using a method called drag and drop. Start by opening the folder that contains the file or folder you want to move. Then open the folder where you want to move it to. Position the folder windows on the desktop so you can see the contents of both of them.

Next, drag the file or folder from the first folder to the second folder. That's all there is to it.

When using the drag-and-drop method, you might notice that sometimes the file or folder is copied, and at other times it is moved. Why is that? If you are dragging an item between folders that are on the same hard drive, then the items are moved so two copies of the same file or folder aren't created on the same hard drive. If you drag the item to a folder that's on a different hard drive (such as a network location, for example) or to removable media like a CD, then the item is copied. That way the file or folder isn't removed from its original location.

Creating and deleting files

The most common way to create new files is by using a program. For example, you can create a text document in a word processing program or a movie file in a video editing program.

Some programs create a file when you open them. When you open WordPad, for example, it starts with a blank page. This represents an empty (and unsaved) file. Start typing, and when you are ready to save your work, click File in the menu bar and then click Save As. In the dialog box that appears, type a file name that will help you find the file again in the future, and then click Save.

By default, most programs save files in common folders like Documents, Pictures, and Music, which makes it easy to find the files again next time.

When you no longer need a file, you can remove it from your computer's hard disk to save space and keep your computer from getting cluttered with unwanted files. To delete a file, open the folder that contains the file and then select the file. Press DELETE and then, in the Delete File dialog box, click Yes.

When you delete a file, it's temporarily stored in the Recycle Bin. Think of the Recycle Bin as a safety folder that allows you to recover files or folders that you deleted accidentally. Occasionally, you should empty the Recycle Bin to reclaim all of the hard disk space being used by your unwanted files. To learn how to empty the Recycle Bin, see Permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin.

Opening an existing file

To open a file, double-click it. The file will open in the program that you used to create or edit it. If it's a text file, for example, it will open in your word-processing program.

That's not always the case, though. Double-clicking a digital picture, for example, will usually open a picture viewer. To actually edit the picture, you need to use a different program. Right-click the file, click Open With, and then click the name of the program that you want to use.

Turn Windows features on or off

Some programs and features that are included with Windows, such as Internet Information Services, must be turned on before you can use them. Certain other features are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you don’t use them.

In earlier versions of Windows, to turn a feature off you had to uninstall it completely from your computer. In this version of Windows, the features remain stored on your hard disk, so you can turn them back on if you want to. Turning off a feature does not uninstall the feature, and it does not reduce the amount of hard disk space used by Windows features.

1. Click the Start button, click Settings, click Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. To turn a Windows feature on, select the check box next to the feature. To turn a Windows feature off, clear the check box.
3. Click OK.

Some Windows features are grouped together in folders, and some folders contain subfolders with additional features. If a check box is partially checked or appears dark, then some of the items inside the folder are turned on and some are turned off. To view the contents of a folder, double-click it.

Getting started with printing

In this article

• Understanding printer types and technologies
• Connecting a printer
• Making sure your printer is ready to print
• Print using Windows
• Print using a program
• Keeping track of your print jobs

You can print almost any document, picture, webpage, or file that you can view on your computer. If you're new to printing, this article can help you understand printer types, how to connect a printer to your computer, and common print options.

Understanding printer types and technologies

Printers are categorized by the way that they reproduce text and graphics on paper. Each type of printer offers different advantages.

Inkjet printers

Inkjet printers print by placing small dots of ink on a page to reproduce text or graphics. Inkjet printers can print in color or black ink. Although ink cartridges must be periodically replaced, inkjet printers are often purchased for home use because they can be relatively inexpensive. Some inkjet printers can reproduce high-quality pictures and detailed graphics.

Laser printers

Laser printers use toner, which is a fine, powdery substance, to reproduce text and graphics on paper. Laser printers can print in color or black ink, although color laser printers are usually more expensive. A laser printer that can print using only black ink is sometimes referred to as a monochrome printer.

Laser printers typically have high–capacity paper trays, so you don't need to add paper as often as you would for an inkjet printer. They also can print more pages per minute than most inkjet printers and can print more pages per cartridge. If you print in large volumes, this means that a laser printer can cost less for each page that you print.

Multifunction printers

Inkjet or laser printers that also allow you to fax, photocopy, or scan documents are referred to as multifunction printers. A single multifunction printer can more convenient to connect to your computer than multiple devices. You might also be able to use some features of a multifunction printer without turning on your computer.

What is DPI?   

DPI, or dots per inch, is a measure of a printer's resolution. DPI determines how clear and detailed your print results will be compared to what you see on the screen.

Resolution is the amount of fine detail that is visible in an image when it is printed or displayed on a computer monitor.

Connecting a printer

Some printers allow you to print without using your computer—for example, to print photos directly from a digital camera's memory card. However, connecting a printer to your computer allows you to print documents, files, pictures, webpages, and more. For more information about how to connect a printer, see Add or remove a printer.

When you add a printer, Windows will automatically install the software that allows it to work with your computer. You can add a printer using either a wired or wireless connection.

Wired printers

A wired printer is any printer that connects to a computer using a cable and a port on the computer. Most printers use a universal serial bus (USB) cable. When you connect a wired printer to your computer and power it on, Windows will automatically try to install the printer for you. If Windows can't detect the printer, you can find and add the printer manually.

Wireless printers

A wireless printer is any printer that connects to a computer using either Bluetooth or another wireless technology, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g.

Bluetooth technology uses radio transmissions to enable a printer to communicate with your computer over a short distance. To connect a Bluetooth printer, you need to add a Bluetooth adapter to your computer. Most Bluetooth adapters plug into a USB port on your computer. When you plug in the adapter and turn on the Bluetooth printer, Windows will try to install it automatically, or prompt you to install it. If Windows can't detect the printer, you can find and add it manually.

To connect a printer using a wireless technology other than Bluetooth, both your computer and the printer must first be connected to a wireless network. Check the information that came with your printer to see if it has a wireless network adapter. If not, you need to add one before you can connect the printer to your wireless network. To prevent interference between a wireless printer and your computer, try not to locate cordless phones or other wireless appliances near the printer. For more information, see Wireless networking: frequently asked questions.

Making sure your printer is ready to print

After you've added a printer, it's a good idea to print a test page to make sure that the printer is working correctly. A test page prints sample text and graphics in color or in black and white, depending on what type of printer you're using. It might also print information about the printer, such as the printer driver name and version, that can help you troubleshoot problems if the printer is not working correctly.

• Print a test page
• Troubleshoot printer problems
• Check ink levels on a printer

If you add one printer only, it becomes your default printer. This means the printer will be selected automatically when you print a document or file. If you add more than one printer, you can choose which printer to use by default. Choose the printer that you will use most often. See Change your default printer.

    Where’s the Print button?

   

    In most programs, the Print button is displayed as an icon on a toolbar. Clicking the Print button sends the print job to your default printer.   

       

Print using Windows

The quickest way to print a document or file is to print using Windows. You don’t need to open the file, choose print options, or change printer settings. Windows will print the document to your default printer.

1. Locate the file that you want to print.
2. Right-click the file, and then click Print. Windows will print it using your default printer settings.

Print using a program

To print using a program, open the document, picture, or file that you want to print. After you open the document in a program, you can choose print options.

Common print options

Most print options are located in the Print dialog box, which you can access from the File menu in a program. The options that are available to you will depend on the program and the printer that you're using. To access some options, you might need to click a "Preferences," "Properties," or "Advanced Options" link or button within the Print dialog box.

Common print options for a program include:

• Printer selection. Allows you to choose a printer from a list of printers that are connected to your computer.
• Page range. Allows you to print specific pages or sections of a document. To select individual pages or a sequence (range) of pages, you can typically type the page numbers separated by commas or hyphens. For example, if you type 1,4,5-7, only pages 1 and 4, and then pages 5 through 7, will be printed.

The Selection option allows you to print only the text or graphics that you have selected in the document. The Current Page option allows you to print only the currently displayed page.

• Number of copies and Collate. Allows you to print more than one copy of a document, picture, or file at a time. Use the collate option to print all pages in a document at once, in order, before printing more copies of the document.
• Page orientation. Also referred to as the paper layout, this option allows you to print content as a tall page (Portrait) or wide page (Landscape).
• Paper size. If your printer can print on more than one size of paper, this option allows you to select the paper size that you have loaded in the printer.
• Output or paper source. Also referred to as output destination or paper tray, this option allows you to specify which paper tray the printer should use. That way, you can load and store different paper sizes in each tray.
• Double-sided printing. Also referred to as duplex or two-sided printing, this option allows you to print on both sides of a sheet of paper. This option is only available if your printer supports it.
• Print in color or black in. This option is only available if your printer supports it.

Use print preview

To see what the print copy will look like before you print it, open the document in a program that offers a print preview. Print preview is typically located on the File menu for a program. You should be able to preview each page of the document. In some programs, you can choose print options in the preview mode, and then print directly from the preview. In other programs, you might have to close the preview, change the document or your printer settings, and then print it.

If you preview or print a document and it doesn't look the way you intended, you might need to edit the document or change your print options. For example, if only part of your document fits on the printed page, you might need to reduce the font size, decrease the margins, or change the page layout, and then try printing it again.

Keeping track of your print jobs

When you send a document or any other type of file to a printer, it becomes a print job. Some printers have a screen that will display a warning if a problem such as low ink or a paper jam occurs. Many printers display a message in the notification area on your computer. To troubleshoot problems, you can review any information displayed on your printer screen, refer to the information that came with the printer, or go to the printer manufacturer's website.

Using Windows, you can view the print queue to keep track of your print jobs. The print queue displays information about documents that are waiting to print, such as the printing status, document owner, and number of pages to print. You can use the print queue to view, pause, resume, restart, and cancel print jobs.

To view the print queue

1. To open the print queue, double-click the printer that you're using.

Tip

• If your print jobs are currently printing, you can open the print queue by double-clicking the printer icon in the notification area.

For more information about managing print jobs, see Pause or resume printing and Cancel printing.

Choosing print options

In this article

• Decide what to print
• Choose how the print copy should look
• Use print preview
• Print copies or print to a file

This article can help you get the print results that you want—from choosing what to print, to selecting from available print options for your documents, and then selecting a printer. The print options available to you depend on the printer and program that you're using.

Decide what to print

Before you send a print job to the printer, decide if you want to print some or all of the document or webpage. You might, for example, need to make a note of which pages to print or select part of a document before sending it to the printer. Here are common printing tasks to consider:

• To print only part of a document or file, make a note of the page numbers for each page that you want to print.
• To print part of a page or webpage only, select the content you want to print before printing.
• To print a specific page, click any place on the page before choosing print options for the document. The page that you clicked becomes the current page and you can print it by selecting that option in the Print dialog box.
•  

After you decide what to print, choose how the print copies should look, and then select a printer.

Choose how the print copy should look

To choose print options, you need to open the document, file, or picture that you want to print. Most print options are located in the Print dialog box, which you can access from the File menu in the program that you're using. The options that are available to you will depend on the program and the printer that you're using.

To access some options, you might need to click an "Options" or "Advanced Options" link, button, or tab within the Print dialog box. To find out more about print options for a program, refer to the information for the program.

Print options that are determined by your printer capabilities are called printing preferences, and can include double-sided printing, separator pages, color or image quality options, and staples. Like program options, printing preferences are displayed in the Print dialog box. Look for buttons labeled "Preferences" or "Properties." You can choose preferences each time you print a document or set default preferences to use for all documents that you send to a printer.

To set default printing preferences

1.  
2.  
3.  

    Print using Windows: a basic way to print   

    To print using your default printer and printer settings, locate the file, right-click it, and then click Print.   

       

Use print preview

To see what the print copy will look like before you print it, open the document in a program that offers a print preview. Print preview is typically located on the File menu for a program. You should be able to preview each page of the document. In some programs, you can choose print options in the preview mode, and then print directly from the preview. In other programs, you might have to close the preview, change the document or your printer settings, and then print it.

If you preview or print a document and it doesn't look the way you intended, you might need to edit the document or change your print options. For example, if only part of your document fits on the printed page, you might need to reduce the font size, decrease the margins, or change the page layout, and then try printing it again.

Print copies or print to a file

Once you know exactly what you are going to print, you can decide between printing copies or printing to a file.

Print a copy. If you purchased the printer, plugged it in to the computer, or installed it on a network, the odds are good that you already know which features the printer offers. You probably know, for example, if it prints in color or black ink, or both. You might know all the sheet sizes of paper that you can use in the printer, or if you can staple copies as they are printed. These are common printer features that can be easy to check by looking at the printer itself.

To see if other features such as watermarks, separator pages, and image control options such as resolution and light-dark contrast are available, you might need to refer to the information that came with the printer or contact the person who installed the printer on your computer or network.

If you've added more than one printer to the computer, your default printer is automatically selected when you want to print a document or file. Depending on the type of documents you print most often and how you prefer to print, you can select a printer each time or change your default printer. For more information, see Change your default printer.

Note

• If you are printing personal or confidential information, you might want to select a printer that requires you to be present and to enter a password on the printer before the document can be printed. For information about security features on a printer, refer to the information that came with the printer.

Print to a file. Windows offers two additional printer drivers that are displayed as printers in Control Panel and in your programs. These printers allow you to print to a file instead of printing to paper. You can print to a file when you want to send, share, or publish a document, or when you want to print it using another computer or a commercial printer.

Printing to a file is useful when you want to send a print job to a commercial printer, control how a document will appear in print, online, or on another computer, or add security features to a document before sending it or sharing it with other people. For more information about the printers that come with Windows, see these topics:

• Print to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer
• Print to file

Many print options depend on the printer. After you select one, you can choose more options for printing the document.

Frequently used print options

This table describes some frequently used print options. How each option is referred to can vary depending on the software publisher and the printer manufacturer.

Printing preference	Description
Double-sided printing	Also referred to as duplex or two-sided printing, this option allows you to print on both sides of the paper, regardless of paper orientation or source.
Orientation	Also referred to as the paper layout, this option allows you to position content on a vertical or horizontally placed sheet of paper, depending on how you intend it to be viewed.
Page range	You typically have four options for choosing the pages you want to print, including all pages in a document. To select individual pages or a sequence of pages, called a range, you can type the page numbers separated by commas or hyphens. For example, if you type 1,4,5-7, only pages 1 and 4, and then pages 5 through 7, will be printed. The Selection option prints only text or graphics that you have already selected in a document. The option Current or Current page prints only the page that you are viewing when you choose to print the document.
Staples	If your printer can staple copies as they are printed, you can typically find the stapling option in the advanced printing preferences. You might also be able to choose staples as a default printing preference. To see how, refer to the information that came with the printer.
Paper size (sheet size)	In many cases, if your printer has more than one paper tray or if it can print on more than one size of paper using a single tray, you can select the paper size that you want to use. After you choose the paper size but before you print, make sure that you load the correct sheets of paper in the printer tray, and then print the document. If you printer supports multiple paper trays, you might need to choose an output option or paper source.
Output or paper source	Also referred to as output destination or paper tray, this option allows you to choose paper from a specific tray in the printer on which you want to print. Many printers allow you store different sheet sizes, or different colors or types of paper, in individual trays. For example, you might load sheets of paper with customized stationery, a letterhead, or a watermark in one tray and load unmarked paper sheets of the same size in another tray. When you want to print on stationery, for example, you can choose the paper source, or tray, containing that paper.

Install a printer on a home network

The most common way to install a printer on a home network is to install it as stand-alone device on the network, and then add a connection to the printer on each computer that is on the network.

If you're not sure what type of network printer to install, decide if you want to:

• Use a wireless printer. These printers use a built-in wireless card and plug into a power source, not your network or computer. After you turn on the printer, you need to refer to the information that came with the printer to set up a wireless connection to each computer on a home network. Security options for wireless printing are determined by each printer manufacturer.
• Connect a printer directly to the network. To do this, you need to plug in the printer to your network hub or router. How to install these printers depends on whether the printer and your network device use an Ethernet, universal serial bus (USB), or another type of connection. You also need to refer to any installation information or tools provided by the printer manufacturer.
• Connect more than one printer directly to the network. To do this, your hub or router must be able to support more than one printer connection.

Working with digital pictures

In this article

• Getting pictures into your computer from camera or scanner
• Windows Photo Gallery and the Pictures folder
• Viewing your pictures
• Organizing and finding your pictures
• Fixing pictures
• Sharing pictures
• Printing pictures
• Backing up your pictures

Scanners- Scanners allow you to transfer pictures and photographs to your computer. A scanner 'scans' the image from the top to the bottom, one line at a time and transfers it to the computer as a series of bits or a bitmap. You can then take that image and use it in a paint program, send it out as a fax or print it. With optional Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software you can convert printed documents such as newspaper articles to text that can be used in your word processor. Most scanners use TWAIN software that makes the scanner accessable by other software applications.

Digital cameras allow you to take digital photographs. The images are stored on a memory chip or disk that can be transferred to your computer. Some cameras can also capture sound and video.

Photo editing and printing once required a darkroom or a professional photo lab—not to mention advanced training. But in the last decade, digital cameras and computers have revolutionized the field of photography, making it possible for anyone to edit and print photos at home. In this article, you'll learn how the tools in Windows can help you view, organize, edit, share, and print your digital pictures.

Getting pictures from your camera into your computer

Most digital cameras store pictures on a flash memory card, such as a Compact Flash or Secure Digital (SD) card. When you've filled a memory card to capacity with pictures, you'll need to import the pictures to your computer. Then you can erase the memory card and use it to take a new batch of pictures.

There are two main ways to import pictures:

• Connect the camera directly. You can import pictures by connecting the camera directly to your computer using a universal serial bus (USB) cable. With this method, your camera must be turned on, so importing pictures will use up some battery power. You'll also need to keep the cable handy if you import pictures regularly.

• Use a memory card reader. The fastest way to import pictures is to use a memory card reader that you purchase separately. Remove the memory card from your camera, slide it into the card reader, and then plug the card reader into your computer's USB port. Many computers have built-in card readers, allowing you to slide memory cards directly into the computer.

Whichever method you choose, Windows should automatically recognize your camera or card reader when you plug it into your computer.

1. In the Autoplay dialog box, click Import pictures using Windows. Windows will locate the pictures on your memory card.

2.                  After Windows locates your pictures, you're asked if you want to create a tag (a word or a short phrase that describes the group) for the pictures you're importing. If you do, type the tag name in the Tag these pictures (optional) box. If the pictures being imported don't have any single characteristic in common, skip this step. You can always add tags to individual pictures later (see "Organizing and finding your pictures" in this article).

3.                  As Windows begins importing your pictures, select the Erase after importing check box if you want to delete the pictures from your memory card after importing is finished. That clears space on the card so that you can take a new batch of pictures.

After your pictures are imported, they'll appear in Windows Photo Gallery.

Tip

• You can use a device called a scanner to convert conventional photographs into digital pictures.

Windows Photo Gallery and the Pictures folder

Windows Photo Gallery is a tool included with Windows that you can use to view, organize, edit, share, and print your digital pictures (and videos too). It opens automatically after you import a batch of pictures. To open it at other times, click the Start button, click Programs, and then click Windows Photo Gallery.

Windows Photo Gallery is designed to be used with the Pictures folder, the main storage location for pictures on your computer. Any pictures in the Pictures folder—which includes those you've imported—appear in Photo Gallery. To open the Pictures folder, click the Start button, click Documents, and then click Pictures.

Windows Photo Gallery provides a variety of options for viewing Windows Photo Gallery and the Pictures folder can do some of the same things. For example, you can view pictures, print pictures, and see a slide show of your pictures from either the Pictures folder or Photo Gallery. So, which one should you use?

In general, Photo Gallery is the best place to work with your pictures. It lets you see all of your pictures in one place and makes it easy to view them by date, tag, and other criteria. It also includes some features that the Pictures folder doesn't have, such as the ability to fix the exposure and color of a picture, crop it, and remove red eye.

Viewing your pictures

Windows Photo Gallery provides a variety of options for viewing your picture collection. When you first open Photo Gallery, you'll see all of your pictures and videos. To see only pictures, click the arrow next to All Pictures and Videos, and then click Pictures.

Working with thumbnails

Windows Photo Gallery displays your pictures as thumbnails—small versions of the full-sized pictures. To display as many thumbnails as possible, make Photo Gallery window fill your screen by clicking its Maximize button.

To change the size of thumbnails, click the Zoom button, and then move the slider up or down. You can make thumbnails smaller to quickly browse a large picture collection. Or, make thumbnails larger to see more detail in each picture. Changing the thumbnail size does not affect the full-sized version of the picture.

To return to the original view of medium-sized thumbnails, click the Default Thumbnail Size button.

At small and medium thumbnail sizes, pointing to a thumbnail displays a larger-sized preview, along with some information about the picture.

Rotate a picture

Vertical pictures might appear sideways in Photo Gallery. You can rotate these pictures to the

correct orientation by clicking the Rotate counterclockwise button or Rotate clockwise button.

View a picture at full size

To view a picture so that it fills most of the Photo Gallery window, double-click the picture. On the right side of the window, the Info pane displays information about your picture and allows you to add tags to it (see "Add tags to pictures" below).

To see the largest possible view of the picture, maximize the Photo Gallery window. You can also close the Info pane by clicking the close button in the top corner of the pane.

To zoom in on part the picture, click the Zoom button and move the slider up. While you're zoomed in, you can drag any part of the picture with the hand pointer to move the picture around. To return to the regular view, click the Fit to Window button.

To get back to the thumbnails view, click Back To Gallery.

See a slide show of your pictures

You can view your digital pictures as a full-screen slide show that runs automatically. You can also choose from a variety of slide show themes that include animation and other visual effects. Some themes display several pictures on the screen at once, as shown in the picture below.

To start a slide show, select the pictures that you want, and then click the Slide Show button at the bottom of Photo Gallery. If you don't select any pictures, the slide show will include all of the pictures in the current view.

While a slide show is running, you can pause it, adjust the speed, go forward or backward, and choose whether pictures are shown randomly or sequentially. To display the slide show controls, move the mouse over the bottom of the screen. If the controls are not displayed, right-click the slide show to display a menu.

To end a slide show, press ESC, or click Exit on the slide show controls.

Notes

• To see slide show themes, your computer must have a subscore of at least 3.0 in the Graphics category of the Windows Experience Index.
• Certain slide show themes are included only in Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Organizing and finding your pictures

If you use your digital camera regularly, you'll soon accumulate hundreds or thousands of pictures on your computer. When you need to find a specific picture in your collection, the tools in Windows Photo Gallery can help you.

Find pictures by date

Your digital camera labels pictures with the date they were taken. Photo Gallery uses this information to automatically organize your pictures by date. That way, you can browse your pictures by the year, month, or day they were taken.

To find pictures by date, click a year, month, or day under Date Taken in the Navigation pane (left pane) of Photo Gallery. You'll see all of the pictures taken in the time period that you select.

1. In the Navigation pane, under Date Taken, do any of the following:

• To see all of the pictures taken within a specific year, click the year in the Navigation pane.
• To narrow your selection down to pictures taken within a particular month, click the year, and then click a month.
• To narrow your selection down to pictures taken on a certain date, click the month, and then click a date.

2.                 

The pictures taken in the selected time period appear in Photo Gallery.

Tip

• You can use the Search box to further fine-tune your results by searching on such information as File Name and Rating to more easily find a specific picture in this time period. You can also create custom information called tags and attach them to your pictures to further refine the way you find and organize your pictures.

Add tags to pictures

You can use Windows Photo Gallery to add tags to your pictures—meaningful words or phrases that describe who or what is in the picture and where the picture was taken. Tagging your pictures makes them much easier to find in the future, because you can easily display all pictures that have a particular tag.

If adding tags to every picture sounds time-consuming, don't worry—you can add tags to a whole batch of pictures at once. For example, you could add a "Birthdays" tag to 20 or 30 pictures of a birthday party. To add tags to pictures, follow these steps:

1. In Photo Gallery, select the pictures that you want to tag. To select more than one picture, hold down the CTRL key while you click the pictures.
2. Click the Info button. The Info pane opens.
3. In the Info pane, click Add Tags, type the name of the tag in the box, and then press ENTER. The tag is added to all of the selected pictures. You can add as many tags as you want.

You don't need to type tags if you've already created them. (You can see the tags you've created by clicking the arrow next to Tags in the Navigation pane of Photo Gallery.) To add an existing tag to a picture, drag one or more pictures to the tag, as shown in the picture below.

Try to get in the habit of tagging your pictures immediately after you import them. That way, you won't end up with a backlog of pictures that need to be tagged.

Find pictures by tag

Once you've tagged pictures in Photo Gallery, it's easy to find them again. Just type the tag in the search box. All of the pictures with that tag appear. For instance, in the example below, typing Animals finds all of the pictures with a tag containing the word "Animals." If any pictures have the word "animals" in their file name, they'll also appear.

If you can't remember which tags you've created, click any tag in the Tags list to see all of the pictures with that tag.

Fixing pictures

It's not easy to take a perfect picture. That's why Windows Photo Gallery includes useful tools to touch up your pictures. To access these tools, select a picture, click the Fix button on the toolbar, and then click one of the following in the Fix pane:

• Auto Adjust. Automatically optimize the picture's brightness, contrast, and color.
• Adjust Exposure. Manually adjust brightness and contrast. See Adjust the brightness and contrast in a picture.
• Adjust Color. Manually adjust the color temperature, tint, and saturation. See Adjust the colors in a picture.
• Crop Picture. Trim your picture to remove distracting elements, focus on one part of the scene, or change its proportions. See Crop a picture.
• Fix Red Eye. Remove the appearance of red eyes caused by the flash reflecting off the eyes. See Remove red eye from a picture.

Experiment as much as you like, because you can always undo your changes and revert to the original version. For more information, see Tips for editing pictures.

Sharing pictures

Sharing your digital pictures means making them available for other people to view on their computers. The most common sharing methods are posting pictures on a website and sending pictures in email.

Photo-sharing websites

One way to share your digital pictures with others is to upload (copy) them to a photo-sharing website. Friends and family members whom you invite can visit the website and view your photo albums. Most photo-sharing sites allow you to share and store pictures for free. Note, however, that some sites will delete your pictures if you don't purchase prints or gifts from the site within a certain period of time. Be sure to check the site's policies.

Sharing pictures by email

Another way to share your pictures is by email. You can use Windows Photo Gallery to attach pictures to an email message. Photo Gallery can automatically compress them (reduce their file size) so that the email arrives more quickly and the pictures take up less space on the recipient's computer. The original pictures are not affected.

To send pictures by email, select the pictures in Windows Photo Gallery, and then click the Email button on the toolbar. In the Attach Files dialog box, select a picture size (the default size, medium, is usually okay), and then click Attach.

Windows opens a new email message in your email program, which is Windows Mail by default. (To change this, see Change the default email program.) The pictures you selected are attached to the message.

To send the picture, enter the email addresses of the recipients, type a subject, and write a brief message. Then click Send.

Tip

• You can also send pictures from the Pictures folder in an email message. Click the pictures that you want to send, and then, on the toolbar, click Email.

Printing pictures

This section discusses three main printing methods.

Using a home printer

If you have a printer at home, you can print your own photos. Inkjet printers and dye-sublimation printers can both produce high-quality color photographs when used with special paper. Many have built-in memory card readers and small LCD screens so that you can print pictures without using your computer.

You can print pictures from your computer in several ways. You can print a single picture, print multiple pictures on one page, or print a contact sheet (a grid of thumbnail pictures for easy reference).

To print pictures using Windows Photo Gallery, select the pictures that you want to print. On the toolbar, click Print, and then click Print. In the Print Pictures dialog box, choose your print options, and then click Print.

Ordering prints online

Home printers are convenient and allow you to make prints quickly. But if you want to save the expense and hassle of buying ink and paper, consider using an online photo printing service. These services allow you to upload (copy) your pictures to a website. From there, you can order prints in a variety of sizes and pay for them with a credit card. The completed prints are then mailed to your home or office.

One advantage of using online photo printing services is the variety of products they offer. Besides regular prints, you can order personalized T-shirts, greeting cards, calendars, mugs, posters, mouse pads, and more—all bearing pictures that you choose. In addition, these sites usually offer photo-sharing services (see "Sharing pictures" above).

You can also order prints directly from Windows Photo Gallery or the Pictures folder.

Getting prints from a retailer

If you want prints quickly and don't have a printer, you can take your camera's memory card to a store that offers digital photo printing services. Stores that offer these services include camera stores, large retail stores, and even some grocery stores and pharmacies. Some stores offer self-serve photo kiosks that let you edit, crop, and print your pictures in just a few minutes.

Working with the Pictures folder

The Pictures folder is a convenient location to store all of your digital pictures. Many graphic design and photo-editing programs use this location by default when you open or save pictures. It is also the default location to import pictures from your digital camera, scanner, or other media device.

You can use the Pictures folder to view and share your pictures. To see a larger view of a picture, click the picture, and then, on the toolbar, click Preview. You can use other buttons on the toolbar to print pictures, see a slide show of your pictures, and send pictures in e-mail.

Another place to work with your photos is Windows Photo Gallery, which includes powerful tools to help you find, organize, and edit your pictures.

Backing up your pictures

If you use a digital camera, you'll probably accumulate a collection of thousands of digital pictures in just a few years. These pictures hold precious memories and can't be replaced should your computer's hard disk fail. Therefore, it's important to back up your pictures by storing copies of them somewhere else. You could copy them to recordable DVDs or CDs, or to an external hard disk, or use an Internet-based file storage service.

Computers are used to keep records, analyze data, research, and manage projects. You can also use them at home, as source of information, digital albums to store pictures and entertainment units to play music & games.  Most important they are used as communication tools mainly through email, instant messaging and to make internet calls to others.