Starting

This chapter explains Windows 3.1. Most of this chapter’s explanation also applies to Windows 3.11, which is similar but slightly fancier. If you’re using Windows 3.0, do yourself a favor: switch to Windows 3.1, 3.11, or 95.

Prepare for Windows

Before putting Windows 3.1 or 3.11 into your computer, you must buy MS-DOS (version 3.1 or higher), a hard drive, and other good hardware:

Windows requires a fast CPU: a 286, 386, 486, or Pentium. The advanced parts of Windows require a 386, 486, or Pentium.

Windows 3.1 (or 3.11) requires at least 1M of RAM. To run Windows fast and without hassles, you need 4M. Some Windows programs require 8M.

Windows requires a graphics video card: Hercules, CGA, EGA, or VGA. To run Windows pleasantly, get a VGA card and VGA color monitor; otherwise, the screen’s display is crude and slow.

Since Windows comes on high-density floppy disks, get a high-density floppy drive! Otherwise, you must mail the high-density floppy disks back to Microsoft and exchange them for low-density floppy disks.

Buy a mouse! Without a mouse, you must use awkward keystrokes that are hard to remember.

This chapter assumes you’ve bought enough software and hardware to run Windows well: MS-DOS 3.1 or higher, a hard drive, a 386 or 486 or Pentium, 4M of RAM, a VGA color monitor, a high-density floppy drive, and a mouse.

Turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A. Windows 3.1 comes on a set of floppy disks; you get six 3½-inch disks or seven 5¼-inch disks. When you see the C prompt, put Windows Disk 1 into drive A and type "a:".

The computer will display an A prompt. Type "setup". The computer will say "Windows Setup", then pause, then say "Welcome to Setup". Press ENTER twice.

The computer will say, "Please insert Disk 2." Insert it into drive A and press ENTER. (If you’re using 5¼-inch disks, the computer will then say, "Please insert Disk 3." Insert it and press ENTER.)

The computer will say, "Please type your full name." Type your name. (At the end of your name, if your copy of Windows is owned by your company, press TAB and then type your company’s name.) At the end of all your typing, press ENTER twice.

When the computer tells you, insert additional disks and press ENTER.

After you’ve inserted Disk 6 and pressed ENTER, the computer will say "Select a printer". You’ll see an alphabetized list of printers. Tap the down-arrow key several times, until your printer appears on the screen and is blue. Press ENTER twice. (If you’re using 5¼-inch disks, the computer will then say, "Please insert Disk 7." Insert it and press ENTER.)

The computer will look for programs on your hard disk. If the computer pauses at a program and waits for your response, tap the down-arrow key several times until the program’s name is blue, then press ENTER.

On the screen, you’ll see buttons labeled "Run Tutorial" and "Skip Tutorial". Choose "Skip Tutorial" by pressing the S key.

The computer will say, "Windows is now set up." Press D.

You’ll see a C prompt, like this:

C:\WINDOWS>

Turn off the computer, so you can start fresh.

Run Windows

Here’s how to start using Windows 3.1 (or 3.11).

Turn on the computer, without any disks in the floppy drives. (For details, read "Prepare to operate" on page 94. For free help, phone me anytime at 617-666-2666.)

If the computer says —

C:\>

type "win" so the screen looks like this:

C:\>win

At the end of typing "win", press the ENTER key.

Program Manager window

If you see the Main window (or another small window), do this: while holding down the Ctrl key, tap the F4 key. That makes the small window disappear, so the only window on the screen is the Program Manager window.

Position the mouse & move the arrow

Read about these topics on page 96.

Choose from a menu

New...

Open

Move...

Copy...

Delete

Properties...

Run...

Exit Windows...

In that menu, the bottom choice is "Exit Windows". If you choose "Exit Windows", the computer will stop using Windows.

Try it! Click "Exit Windows" (by moving the arrow there and then tapping the left button). You’ll see this window:

If you want to exit from Windows, click "OK" (by moving the arrow there and then clicking). If you do not want to exit from Windows, click "Cancel" instead.

That whole procedure for exiting from Windows can be summarized in one sentence:

Choose "Exit Windows" from the File menu, then click OK.

After you’ve exited from Windows, the screen will turn completely black. Then the computer will say:

C:\>

That symbol, which is called the "C prompt", means you can safely turn off the computer. Then if you wish, turn off the computer!

Try that procedure! Notice it involves these three steps.…

To choose a word (such as "File") from a menu bar, you can use three methods:

Mouse method: by using the mouse, click the word you want.

Arrow-key method: move to the menu (by tapping the Alt key), move to the word you want (by pressing the right-arrow key several times, if necessary), then press ENTER.

Underlined-letter method: move to the menu (by tapping the Alt key), then type the word’s underlined letter (for example, type the F in "File").

The mouse method is the simplest. Use the other methods if your mouse is broken or missing or makes your flesh crawl.

New...

Open

Move...

Copy...

Delete

Properties...

Run...

Exit Windows...

To choose a command (such as "Exit Windows") from a pull-down menu, you can use the same three methods:

Mouse method: by using the mouse, click the command you want.

Arrow-key method: move to the command you want (by pressing the down-arrow key several times), then press ENTER.

Underlined-letter method: type the underlined letter (for example, type the x in "Exit Windows").

That window warns that you’re about to exit from Windows and asks you whether you’re sure. If you’re sure you want to exit from Windows, click "OK"; otherwise, click "Cancel".

To communicate with the computer, press one of the buttons. To press a button, you can use two methods:

Mouse method: by using the mouse, click the button you want.

ENTER method: to press the highlighted button (which is usually "OK"), press ENTER; to press a different button instead, move to it (by pressing the TAB key several times) so the button is highlighted, then press ENTER.

Here’s a short cut: to press the "Cancel" button, just press the Esc key (which means "Escape and Cancel").

Resize a window

The symbol for maximum is 5 (a triangle pointing up).

The symbol for minimum is 6 (a triangle pointing down).

The symbol for normal is v (a pair of balanced triangles).

If a window is normal, its top right corner contains the symbols 6 and 5 . Using your mouse, click 6 to make the window become minimum; click 5 to make the window become maximum.

If a window is maximum, its top right corner contains the symbols for minimum and normal. Click one of those symbols to make the window change size.

Try it! Make the Program Manager’s window become maximum, minimum, and normal again.

Drag

For example, try this experiment. Make the Program Manager’s window be minimum, so it’s just an icon. Point at the icon (by using the mouse), then hold down the mouse’s left button, and while you keep that button down, move the mouse. As you move the mouse, the icon moves. You can drag the icon anywhere on the screen! Try it! Here’s the rule: if a window is minimum (so it’s just an icon), and you want to move it to a different part of the screen, drag it.

A normal window is a rectangle. To change its width, drag its right-hand edge. To change its height, drag its bottom edge. To change its width and height simultaneously, drag its bottom right corner.

Try it! Make the Program Manager be a normal window, then change its width and height by dragging its edges and bottom right corner.

Scroll arrows

Here’s another series of experiments to try.

Make the Program Manager be a normal window (so it fills about half the screen). You’ll probably still see those icons in the Program Manager window.

When you see a partial view, you see arrows near the window’s corners. By clicking the arrows, you can shift your view. To see icons farther to the right, click the right-arrow. (To see icons even farther to the right, click the right-arrow again. To see icons very far to the right, click the right-arrow repeatedly — or point at the right-arrow and then hold down the mouse’s left button awhile.) To see icons farther to the left, click the left-arrow; to see icons that are higher, click the up-arrow; to see icons that are lower, click the down-arrow.

Accessories

While tapping the left button twice, make sure the mouse remains still. Don’t let the mouse jiggle, not even a smidgin! While double-clicking, your desk should be like Christmas Eve, where "not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse".

The following accessories are the most useful.

Clock

The clock normally shows the correct time. (If the clock’s time is wrong, here’s how to reset it: exit from Windows, then give the "time" command from the DOS prompt.)

The clock also shows the date.

The clock keeps on ticking — silently. If you want to put yourself into a trance, watch the analog clock’s second hand move. (It’s better than counting sheep.)

If you want the clock to be larger, maximize its window by clicking 5 . Then the clock will fill the whole screen. That’s how to turn your entire $2,000 computer into a $2 clock! But hey, it’s a high-tech clock! To freak out your friends, hide the keyboard and system unit under the desk, so your friends see just the screen displaying the analog clock.

If you want the clock to be tiny, minimize its window by clicking 6 . Then the clock will be a tiny icon. Even though it’s tiny, it still runs! Though it’s too tiny to show the seconds, it still shows the correct hour and minutes.

Make the Clock window be normal or maximum. In the Clock window’s top left corner, you’ll see a square containing a horizontal bar:

Calculator

Warning: if your version of Windows was created before 1995, the computer has trouble subtracting numbers that end in ".01". For example, if you compute 2.01 minus 2, the correct answer is .01, but the computer mistakenly says 0 instead.

Write

While you’re typing, you see the symbol ¤. That symbol appears at the end of what you’ve typed; that symbol marks the end of your document.

right-arrow right to the next character

left-arrow left to the previous character

down-arrow down to the line below

up-arrow up to the line above

END right to the end of the line

HOME left to the beginning of the line

PAGE DOWN down to the next screenful

PAGE UP up to the previous screenful

Ctrl with right-arrow right (to the next word or punctuation symbol)

Ctrl with left-arrow left (to the beginning of a word or punctuation)

Ctrl with PAGE DOWN down to the screen’s bottom line

Ctrl with PAGE UP up to the screen’s top line

Ctrl with END down to the end of the document

Ctrl with HOME up to the beginning of the document

Let’s use that menu bar.…

Here’s how to make a phrase be bold and underlined (like this). Choose Bold from the Character menu. Choose Underline from the Character menu. Type the phrase. Then choose Regular from the Character menu.

Then say what to do to the phrase. For example, choose one of these activities:

To underline the phrase, choose Underline from the Character menu.

To make the phrase be bold, choose Bold from the Character menu.

To italicize the phrase, choose Italics from the Character menu.

To delete the phrase, press the DELETE key.

To replace the phrase, just type whatever words you want the phrase to become.

To copy the phrase (so it appears twice), do this:

while holding down the Alt key, click where you want the copy to appear.

To move the phrase (so it appears just in the new location), do this:

while holding down the Alt and SHIFT keys, click where you want the phrase to appear.

Method 1: point at the phrase’s beginning, then drag to the phrase’s end.

Method 2: click the phrase’s beginning; then while holding down the SHIFT key, click the phrase’s end.

Method 3: by using your keyboard’s movement keys (such as the up-arrow, down-arrow, left-arrow, and right-arrow keys), move to the phrase’s beginning; then while holding down the SHIFT key, use the movement keys to move to the phrase’s end.

Method 4: to select just one word, double-click in the middle of it.

Method 5: to select a sentence, click in the middle of the sentence while holding down the Ctrl key.

Method 6: to select a whole line, click the screen’s left edge, left of the line.

Method 7: to select a whole paragraph, double-click the screen’s left edge, left of the paragraph.

Method 8: to select the whole document, click the screen’s left edge while holding down the Ctrl key.

Here’s how to center a title you typed previously: click anywhere in the title, then choose Center from the Paragraph menu. Here’s how to uncenter a title you typed previously: click anywhere in the title, then choose Normal from the Paragraph menu.

Then invent a name for your document. The name must be short: no more than 8 letters. For example, the name can be "jennifer" or "al". Type the name you wish and press ENTER.

That makes the computer copy the document onto the hard disk. For example, if you named the document "jennifer", the computer will put in your hard disk’s WINDOWS subdirectory a file called "JENNIFER.WRI", which means "JENNIFER created by the WRIte program".

Afterwards, if you change your mind and want to do more editing, go ahead! Edit the document some more. When you finish that editing, save it by choosing Save from the File menu again.

Before the computer obeys New, Open, or Exit, it checks whether you saved your document. If you didn’t save your document, the computer asks, "Save current changes?" If you click "Yes", the computer copies your document’s most recent version to the hard disk; if you click "No" instead, the computer ignores and forgets your most recent editing.

Paintbrush

Move the mouse pointer to the screen’s middle. Then drag (move the mouse while holding down the mouse’s left button). As you drag, you’ll be drawing a squiggle.

For example, try drawing a smile. To do that, put the mouse pointer where you want the smile to begin (at the smile’s top left corner), then depress the mouse’s left button while you draw the smile. When you finish drawing the smile, lift the mouse’s button. Then draw the rest of the face!

At the screen’s bottom, you’ll see 28 colors: red, yellow, green, etc. To draw in one of those colors instead of in black, click the color you want.

At the left side of the screen, you’ll see many icons. One of the icons is a diagonal line. Click it. Put the mouse pointer in the screen’s middle, where you want the line to begin, and drag to where you want the line to end.

At the left side of the screen, you’ll see two icons that are rectangles. Click the left rectangle.

Put the mouse pointer in the screen’s middle, where you want the rectangle’s top left corner to be. Drag to where you want the rectangle’s opposite corner.

At the left side of the screen, you’ll see an icon that’s a can of spray paint. Click it. Put the mouse in the screen’s middle, where you want to begin spraying, and drag!

Then drag across the part of your drawing that you want to erase. The part you drag across will become white.

For example, if you click the thickest line, everything you draw will be very thick. Your squiggles, lines, and rectangles will all be very thick — as if you were using a brush that’s very thick and wide. The eraser will be thick and wide too, and so will the nozzle on the can of spray paint.

Then invent a name for your document. The name must be short: no more than 8 letters. For example, the name can be "jennifer" or "al". Type the name you wish and press ENTER.

Afterwards, if you change your mind and want to improve the drawing, go ahead! When you finish making improvements, save them by choosing Save from the File menu again.

Unfortunately, the typical printer can’t print colors. It prints black-and-white instead.

Instead of printing a dark color (such as blue), the printer will print black. Instead of printing a light color (such as yellow), the printer will print white.

If you say New, Open, or Exit without saving your drawing, the computer asks, "Save current changes?" If you click "Yes", the computer copies your drawing to the hard disk; if you click "No" instead, the computer ignores and forgets your recent drawing efforts.

Close

When you finish using the accessories, close the Accessories window by double-clicking its control box.

Main window

Make the Program Manager window be normal.

Here’s how to use the icons that are popular.

File Manager

To manipulate the files on your hard disk, double-click the File Manager icon.

In the Directory Tree window, you’ll see the names of your hard disk’s subdirectories. The names are in alphabetical order.

By using your keyboard’s up-arrow and down-arrow keys, move the cursor to the subdirectory that interests you. (For example, try moving the cursor to the WINDOWS subdirectory.) Then press ENTER.

You’ll see the names of your files in the subdirectory. The names are in alphabetical order. Move the cursor to the file that interests you (by using the mouse).

For example, try moving the cursor to a file you invented, such as JENNIFER.WRI.

Then say what to do to the file. Choose one of these activities:

To delete the file, press the DELETE key. Then press ENTER twice.

To peek at the file, press ENTER. When you finish peeking at the file, double-click the file’s close box.

Control Panel

To change how Windows acts, double-click the Control Panel icon.

Here’s how to use icons that are popular.

The computer will say what it thinks the date and time are. If the computer is wrong, click the part of the date or time you want to change.

To the right of where you clicked, you’ll see an up-arrow and a down-arrow. To make the date or time later, click the up-arrow; to make the date or time earlier, click the down-arrow.

When the date and time look correct, click "OK".

You’ll see this list of color schemes:

Windows Default

Arizona

Black Leather Jacket

Bordeaux

Cinnamon

Designer

Emerald City

Fluorescent

Hotdog Stand

LCD Default Screen Settings

LCD Reversed - Dark

Mahogany

Monochrome

Ocean

Pastel

Patchwork

Plasma PS

Rugby

The Blue

Tweed

Valentine

Wingtips

Press your keyboard’s HOME key (to make sure you’re at the top of the list). Tap your keyboard’s down-arrow key several times, until you reach your favorite color scheme. Then press ENTER. All the screen’s colors will change and become your favorites!

Click the word "Setup". At the screen’s bottom left corner, you’ll see a list of font cartridges. (To see the bottom of the list, click the scroll arrow next to it.) Click the cartridge you bought. Click "OK". Click "Close".

Close

When you finish using the Main window, close it by double-clicking its control box.

Dig deeper

To understand software housecleaning fully, read the MS-DOS chapter first. Here it is.…