Input: Information and programs are entered into the computer through Input devices such as the keyboard, disks, or through other computers via network connections or modems connected to the Internet. The input device also retrieves information off disks.

Output: Output Devices displays information on the screen (monitor) or the printer and sends information to other computers. They also display messages about what errors may have occurred and brings up message or dialog box asking for more information to be input. The output device also saves information on the disk for future use.

Processing: The CPU or central processing unit is sometimes called the Control Unit and directs the operation of the input and output devices. The Coprocessor or the Arithmetic-Logic Unit does arithmetic and comparisons. The memory or RAM temporarily stores information (files and programs) while you are using or working on them. The BIOS or basic input/output system controls the dialogue between the various devices.
Keyboard Layout and Data Entry

ENTER or RETURN – Moves the cursor down one line and to the left margin. Enter also process commands such as choosing an option in a dialog (message) boxes and submitting a form.

DEL or DELETE – Deletes the character at cursor and/or characters to the right of the cursor and all highlighted (or selected) text.

BKSP or BACKSPACE – Deletes the character to the left of cursor and all hightlighted text.

SPACE BAR – Moves the cursor one space at a time to the right

SHIFT KEY – Use the shift keys to type capital letters and to type the upper character on keys with two characters on them

CAPS LOCK – Locks the keyboard so it types capital letters (a light goes on when caps lock is on)

TAB – Moves the cursor five spaces to the right (number of spaces are usually adjustable). Tab moves to the next field in a form or table (Shift-Tab for previous field).

ESC or ESCAPE – Cancels a menu or dialog box

ARROW KEYS – Moves the cursor around document without changing text

FUNCTION KEYS or F KEYS – Access commands by themselves or in combination with the three command keys; CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT

Keyboard

Command or Special Keys

Command keys normally do nothing on their own but work in combination with other keys. Each piece of software uses the command keys differently though there is a move to standardize some functions. The Control key or Ctrl is often used to access commands. The Alternative key or Alt is often used to access menus. The Shift key is used to type CAPITAL LETTERS. As well the command keys are all used to move through documents and edit text faster and easier. As well many computers have Special keys design specifically for the particular computer. Apple computers have the Apple keys and Macs have Command keys. Many keyboards now have a Windows key specifically for Windows 9x and newer systems. Many older computers also have special keys used for a variety of different functions.

Some Notebook or Laptop keys are left out because of space limitations and they usually have a Special function key which allows other keys to double for the missing ones.
Basic Typing Rules

Place one space between each word, after a punctuation mark and at the end of a sentence. Always start a sentence with a capital letter. Use capitals for names, addresses, provinces and countries, places, organizations, businesses, associations, schools, colleges, universities, days of the week, months, holidays, nationalities, ethnic groups and languages.

Learning the keyboard is the first step to learning computers. Learning involves practice. It really is as simple as that. There are two kinds of typing.

The first is called Touch Typing. The Touch Typist uses the Home Keys (asdf for the left hand and jkl; for the right) and all the fingers on both hands as well as the thumbs for the Space Bar while typing. There are many commercial and public domain programs that are designed to teach this method.

The other method is some times called ‘Hunt and Peck’ or depending on finger strength ‘Search and Destroy’. This involves using one or more fingers on one or two hands to type. It is a perfectly acceptable way of using a computer and many people get along fine with this technique.

Using Software

As stated earlier software is anything created and/or stored on a computer or computer storage device (like a disk). The work that is produced using an application or program is also software and is usually referred to as a file or a document.
Files & Documents

Once you have typed or created a new document or file on your computer, you will have to decide what to do with it. You could print it right away using a Print command and then Exit or Quit your program without saving it, but most of the time you will want to Save your document for future use.

The computer saves its information on a disk, most often the hard disk, and the users determines where and when the file or document is saved.

Folders & Directories

On the disk are directories or collection of folders. These directories or folders could be compared to a filing cabinet. All files are stored in a directory. Most hard disks have many directories or folders and files can be stored in any of them.

Directories can have sub-directories and sub-sub-directories many levels down. The directory immediately below the current directory is called the child directory. The directory immediately above the current one is called the parent directory. The top of the directory structure is called the root directory.

When a user adds or installs a new program on the computer the installation process will usually create a new directory or folder to store the application’s files.

Users can create and delete directories or folders as the need arises. Older operating systems require that the directory be emptied of files before it can be deleted. When removing a directory always check before deleting it to make sure that it doesn’t contain files you need.

You can easily move files from one folder or directory to another using menu commands, drag & drop using the mouse or a file utility. It is important to understand your computer’s directory structure as a file can be misplaced if it is saved in the wrong directory.

One of the main problems new users have is creating a filing system. Modern operating systems address the ‘filing problem’ by automatically creating a (My) Documents folder. By saving files or documents in this folder you will always know where to look for your files. Create sub-folders within this folder for your main projects. Examples could be a separate folder for your correspondence called Letters or a folder for images called Graphics or Pictures. The main Documents folder can also be renamed to what every name you want it to be called. If your operating system doesn’t automatically create this folder simply create your own Documents folder to save your documents in.

Saving Files or Documents

In order to save a new document or file you must first choose the Save command. Most modern software place this command in a menu which you access with the mouse button or Alt key. Each file must be given a filename so it can be found easily the next time it is needed.

Computers using DOS 6.X or older followed the 8.3 rule: a filename can only be 1 to 8 characters long followed by a 1 to 3 character extension separated by a dot. Three character extensions are common because of this.

Modern operating systems allow computer users to use filenames up to 256 characters. Mac users, Windows 9X & NT/2000 and UNIX/LINUX (along with a few other) use long file names but names using over 32 characters get unwieldy. It is better to use a directory or folder to help describe them and keep common files together with shorter filenames.

Many modern software programs (applications) add their own extension to filenames. These extensions allow operating systems to recognize certain filenames and associate (match) them to the program that created it.

As well as choosing a filename, users must choose a directory and/or disk to store the file in. Make sure that you are consistent and use a logical structure. Once you are sure you know where the file is going to be stored press Enter on the keyboard or press the left mouse button over the word Save or Okay to store the document on a disk, in the directory with the filename you have chosen. Some software programs will automatically save files in specific directory that is created when the program is installed (default settings). You can easily changed these settings permanently using the applications Preferences or temporarily at the point of saving the file.

Some common rules are:

* All files are saved on a disk or storage device.
* A disk is usually broken up into directories and sometimes into partitions.
* A directory or folder is a way of keeping like files in a common area.

A partitioned disk, though physically a single disk, is treated like separate disks and given a separate drive letter (and/or name).

It is possible to save or move files anywhere that your computer can access. This includes disk (or other storage devices) on your computer, to any directory or sub-directory on your computer or on a network that your computer is connected to. Always make sure that you have chosen the correct directory and filename before pressing Enter or choosing Save.
Exit or Quit

It is important to Exit or Quit a program, application and the operating system before shutting off the computer. It is a good idea to Quit a program when you are finished with it as it takes up memory. Exiting a program should free up the memory that the program was using. Having a number of programs running simply uses up resources that may be needed in another project.

Exiting properly also saves the program settings so that when you return to the application many changes that were made will still be active.

Menu

Menus are the most common way of interacting or controlling your software. Though each program has it’s own menu, modern software developers have begun establishing some standardization in how they create their menus. Many programs have a menu called File which controls things like Opening, Saving and Printing your file and Exiting the program. Many also have an Edit menu which contains the main editing commands like Cut, Copy and Paste.

The items on the menu are Commands or the features of the program. You choose the command that you want with the keyboard, mouse, trackball or touchpad. Commands control the operation of the software.

Menu bars are usually positioned at the top of the screen and are accessed by moving the cursor to the menu and pressing the button (left button if there are two). This displays a pull down menu with a number of commands or features. Depending on how the program works either let go of the button and move to the command you want then press the button again to choose it or while holding down the button, move to the command and let go to choose it.

Menus can also be controlled through the keyboard. The most common way of accessing the menu through the keyboard is by pressing the Alt key and using the Arrow or Cursor Movement keys to move through the menu items, then pressing Enter to choose the item you want. Many menu items can also be accesses using Hot key combinations. One common keyboard combination is to first tap the Alt key and then press letter key for the command you want.

Menus are created in a hierarchy. Some menu items branch out to give even more choices. Some menu items open Dialog Boxes that allow you to choose from a number of different options.

Dialog boxes allow computer users to select different options. Some dialog boxes have 2 or more Tabs which can be clicked to choose more options. Once the options have been chosen press Okay to apply the options. Some dialog boxes have an Apply button which will apply the options that you have chosen without closing the dialog box. Choose Cancel to close the dialog box without applying the changes selected. Note that options set with the Apply button cannot be canceled this way.

Modern software places the most popular commands on a toolbar for easier access. Simply click the left mouse button over the menu item to access a particular command. These tool bars can usually be customized and often allow the user to move or Tear Off the menu and drag them to a preferred location or Dock on the screen. Menus can also be customized by adding or removing commands.

Windows has a context sensitive menu that is activated with the right button. When the right mouse button is click over an object on the screen or area of the screen, a specific menu with commands related to that object will be displayed. Click the left mouse button on the command to choose it.

Word Processing

A word processor is a program used to type documents. Documents can be saved, closed and the opened again to continue working on them.

The keyboard of a word processor is similar to that of a typewriter, but its capabilities extend far beyond the typewriter’s. For example, you don’t have to press the Return or Enter key at the end of every line – in word processing, the line “wraps around” when it reaches the margin you’ve set and allows you to continue typing without stopping, you only press Enter (or Return) when you want to start a new paragraph or insert blank lines. If you make a mistake while typing use backspace or delete to erase it.

There are many commercial word processing programs including Open Office Writer , Microsoft Word , Corel WordPerfect and others. Windows comes with WordPad to edit and format documents and NotePad to edit text. Mac OS X comes with TextEdit or SimpleText in previous version. Open Office is an Open Source office application that can be downloaded for free at openoffice.org.

Editing functions such as inserting, deleting, moving, and copying characters, words, lines, and even blocks of text are fast and easy with only a few keystrokes. Advanced programs will number pages, repeat material in the same place on every page automatically, and check the spelling of every word in your document. You print your document only after it looks exactly the way you want it to. Finally, copies of your documents can be stored on a disk, enabling you to retrieve, edit, and print them at any time.

The text appears at the cursor. Use the space bar to place spaces between words. Use backspace to erase to the left of the cursor and delete to erase to the right of the cursor. Use Enter (or Return) to move the cursor down a line.

Word processors allows you to type your text in Bold, Italics or Underline. This is useful when you wish to highlight some word or line in a document. To activate Bold, Italics or Underline click the icon button on the Toolbar, type the text that you wish to have highlighted then press Toolbar icon again when you are finished. The indicator on the Toolbar will appear highlighted as long as the highlight style is on.

The text can also be modified by changing the Font. A font is the shape and size of a character of text. The three main types are serif (with tails); sans-serif (without tails); and script (similar to handwriting). Text colours can also be changed.

Text can also be indented and tab settings added which modify where the text is placed on the page. Rather than press the space bar more than once set tabs where you want the cursor to move to.

The page can be modified by changing the margins, adding headers or footers (repeating text on each page), page numbering, graphic images and various other ways.

The Insert key toggles between Insert and Typeover. Sometimes an indicator on the bottom of the screen will display the typing mode you are in. Normally, any text after the cursor will be pushed across the screen (inserted) as new characters are typed in. With Typeover on the new character will just replace the old character at the cursor.

Editing text is quite easy once you get used to it. Select text that you want to modify with the mouse or by holding down Shift and using the arrow keys. Holding Control (CTRL) will select text one word at a time.

Once you have the text selected use Cut (Ctrl-X) to cut the text off the page and into a clipboard. Use Copy (Ctrl-C) to transfer a copy of the selected text to the clipboard. Use Paste (Ctrl-V) to paste the text into the document at the cursor. The Windows clipboard will only hold a single selection of text which is replaced with each new cut or copy.

If you make a mistake most modern programs have an Undo feature (Crtl-Z). Many also have a Redo feature.

Most word processors will check your spelling and many have thesauruses and will check your grammar. Don’t rely on the editing tools to replace a good proof reading though! (as this editor tends to do

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