Consult your manual to read about the recommended shutdown procedure. Introduction Windows XP is an operating system that lets you use different types of applications or software. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: Discuss the parts of the Windows XP desktop Discuss the parts of the Start menu Locate the taskbar Locate the Recycle Bin Log off and switch users Restart and turn off the computer properly. The desktop contains: Start button : This is one of the most important tools you will use while working with Windows XP.
The Start button allows you to open menus and start applications. Taskbar : This is primarily used to switch between open windows and applications. Learn more about using the taskbar in a later lesson. Icons or graphical pictures : This represent applications, files, and other parts of the operating system.
Learn more about the Recycle Bin in a later lesson. In the example below, the Word program has been selected. To explore the Start menu: Click the Start button. Move the mouse pointer to each option, and view the various cascading menus. Click or roll your mouse pointer over All Programs. Move the mouse pointer to the right, and view other cascading menus. To exit the menus, click outside the menu area or press Esc on your keyboard. Understanding icons The small pictures on the desktop are called icons.
To open a program using an icon: Place your mouse over the icon. Text appears identifying its name or contents. Double-click the icon. Understanding the taskbar The taskbar is the small blue bar you see at the bottom of your desktop. Log off and switch users More than one person can use your computer. Very little is being given away about these new technologies at this point, but the GUI does look particularly easy to use, especially for the inexperienced user.
Whether the skinning capabilities will allow power users and professionals to do their jobs more efficiently is yet to be seen. Disadvantages of the new design The inevitable downsides of this idea are known to anyone who has already used WindowBlinds or a similar program to skin Windows.
In fact, potential negatives to skinning are familiar to anybody who has changed their Windows color scheme: Nonstandardized, third-party applications can often look terrible. No third-party applications are shown in the screenshots of the new Microsoft OS.
It is difficult to imagine how the floating toolbars of Adobe PhotoShop will comply with the rounded, semitransparent buttons of a customized Windows XP. While this conflict may not be a problem for some users, the new look may be troubling for new users migrating from earlier versions of Windows.
This timetable is much shorter than Windows enjoyed, and it looks as if the Release Candidates of XP are going to be the main point at which the big bugs are fixed, which could lead to reliability issues in the later releases. You may unsubscribe at any time.
By signing up, you agree to receive the selected newsletter s which you may unsubscribe from at any time. You also agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge the data collection and usage practices outlined in our Privacy Policy. What are you looking for? Preferences Community Newsletters Log Out. Written by Manek Dubash , Contributor. Recently-used programs move up the list in Windows XP, and the whole interface looks more sculpted and graphical -- although you can turn this off. You can also 'pin' favourite programs to the top of the application list.
The Taskbar itself is less cluttered because of two major changes, both of which will be appreciated by users of multiple applications. First, the OS now hides system tray icons deemed to be inactive -- that is, applications you haven't interacted for a while rather than those that aren't doing anything.
The other cause of Taskbar clutter is multiple documents opened by a single application, which leave you with tiny indecipherable tabs -- Word and IE are the culprits for most users. Now, rather than showing each Word document separately, you see a single Word button that offers a drop-down list of selectable windows, one for each document. You can select the one you want in the normal way or, as previously, right clicking allows you to close the application.
You can provide step- or task-specific help with a Help button. Wizards are also a good way to help set up the initial configuration of your application. Many applications use such a wizard to set up personalized configuration just after setup is completed, or on first use.
Such an initial wizard should also be made optional, if possible—if the user cancels at any point, the unspecified settings go to default values.
If you can make the wizard a bit graphical see the Use Pretty Graphics section , it makes the configuration task that much easier. This is the impression and feeling given by the text in your application. This can be anything from a simple tooltip, to an instruction label control. That is called proper text tone.
When dealing with non-technical or novice users, getting the message across takes on a different aspect. A good alternative is to specify what you want the user to do: "Select the folder where you would like to place these files. Providing a clear description of what you want the user to do also lessens the need for Help files, or at least lessens the details you need to include in Help files.
A very good suggestion from the Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines applies to any software. It states that the writer should keep the text conversational. The Guidelines defines this as, "Avoid words you wouldn't say to someone else in person. Sometimes you can't escape having a complicated UI. The best thing to do in such a situation is to make the experience as easy as possible for the user.
A sidebar consisting of link labels, or a TreeView for hierarchy-based navigation, suggests a sibling level navigation for the current dialog's task. It makes it very easy for the user to jump between steps of the process while knowing where he or she is.
If you go for a hierarchy-based navigation with TreeViews or other similarly complex navigation, a good utility for the user would be a breadcrumb control.
While Visual Studio does not ship with a built-in control for this yet, see Creating A Breadcrumb Control for information on creating one yourself. A breadcrumb control makes it easy to find the current location in relation to the hierarchy. Breadcrumb navigation can be easily merged into the header if the form has one. See the previous section on headers. Everyone loves applications with cool graphics—the majority does, at least.
While a UI with pretty graphics isn't a logical choice for all applications, it does help to make a nice impression and can be a pleasure to work in. Of course, the graphics should not impede productivity, but if used correctly, they can increase it! There does not have to be many graphics, nor do they necessarily require a lot of work.
A professionally designed splash screen or a header like the one we talked about earlier does the trick. If your budget allows, you can use nicely designed graphics for toolbars, wizards, and more. They make your app look pretty, and more professional, too. It is a subtle effect, but a professional look conveys confidence and stability. If you are a relatively small company creating retail applications, this is a key aspect to consider.
Always make a point to use professionally designed graphics. Royalty-free graphics are easily available and affordable. You can hire a designer as well. But if graphics aren't your forte, do not try it yourself. If you can't acquire or use professionally designed graphics, then it is better to not use them at all. For small graphics, you can always go for the icons and bitmaps that ship with Visual Studio The graphics that shipped with previous versions are not recommended!
Resizable windows are somewhat like to resolution-independent windows. Whether or not your application's UI is resolution-independent, it will fare better if it is resizable.
Of course, this would not apply to many scenarios, but is a good general-purpose rule. If your window deals with lists of any sort—especially ListViews—this becomes even more important. Resizing allows the user to look at more data at the same time. For example, we have an application where the user has to select an image from a large collection. The open dialog allows you to select a Thumbnail view, but the dialog is fixed size, and the thumbnail list shows only 4 thumbnails at a time.
If the collection has a hundred images, scrolling and looking—a repetitive task—can be quite tiresome and a decrease in efficiency. If the dialog is resizable, the user can make it as large as is comfortable or at least as large as the screen would allow, and be able to finish the task quickly. If your list has horizontal scrolling—like a detailed ListView or DataGrid—it is even more tiresome! Resizable windows are very helpful in such a situation.
Like the headers we talked of previously, sidebars and task panes are a wonderful way to provide extra functionality and utility commands. For example, the task panes in Office Word are very convenient, accessible, and non-intrusive. They also function asynchronously when connecting to online resources, providing the user with the option to multi-task. Creating a task pane or sidebar is as easy as creating a docking panel, with the option of putting a slick graphic on the top to act as a titlebar.
You can even use a colored Label control for that. The opportunities for task panes are many! If you have additional functionality and want to non-intrusively supply it to your user, there's no place like the task pane. You can also make task panes "Auto Hide" or collapse like the Visual Studio tool windows. Previously we saw how to make a custom message box.
If a message box in your application is going to be shown often to the user, then it can be prudent to add a check box that the user can select to disable that dialog from being shown in the future.
Such an option is especially good for more obvious messages. A familiar example of this is the Visual Studio Find dialog. When you search or replace text, Visual Studio shows a message box stating the results. But you are also given the option of disabling that message box. It can be really annoying if you have to hit Enter or click OK every time you search. Another cool thing that Visual Studio does is that even if the dialog is disabled, it still displays the results of that operation in the status bar.
Sometimes tooltips can save you a lot of time. Buttons, check boxes, and other controls can be ambiguous and the user may not be sure what to do. Tooltips provide the best form of context-sensitive Help in just a single line.
The user can quickly decide what to do without searching for anything in the Help file or opening another window. People often skip this in their applications. Make a point to add tooltips to all ambiguous controls—or to ALL controls if possible. Do not repeat the text of an accompanying label or that control's own text, but provide additional information about that control. The text should explain the function of the control in just a few words. The little things can annoy you, but ignoring them can impact the impression you make.
I once used an application made by an important person in the software industry that had its form's BorderStyle set to Sizeable, but the controls on the right side of the form were not anchored. Because of this, the application created by an industry heavyweight had a non-professional feel. These kinds of "little things" are the core of the overall impression.
Your application's UI and UX are what users will judge your application on—at least at first. If they see obvious bugs in your UI, they may perceive your application to be less powerful and effective. We have only touched upon a small portion human user experience.
As the user experience becomes simpler, effective, fun, and more user friendly, the task of creating that user experience becomes that much more complex.
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