This time I'll be talking about Windows 95 exclusively, but I'll still continue to cover Windows 3.1 and Windows NT. So, if you aren't using Windows 95, I'm not abandoning you, I'll be covering them in later issues. If you are one of those who took the plunge and bought Windows 95, you've probably noticed a major change in the way Windows looks.
The Windows 95 interface is dramatically different than the earlier versions of Windows. Gone are the familiar Program Manager and File Manager (well, not actually, if you upgraded, they are still there, just not as the default. We'll talk about them in later issues.) The first thing you'll notice is a gray bar running across the bottom of the screen. This is known as the taskbar and it shows programs that are running in a window or minimized. However, some programs that are running as background tasks may not appear on the taskbar. To see all the programs that are running, hold down on <Ctrl><Alt><Del> and a window will appear showing all the programs. The <Ctrl><Alt><Del> combination has changed from the earlier versions of Windows also.
On the right side of the taskbar, you'll see the time and a speaker (if you have a sound card) and, at times, other icons as well. If you double-click on the speaker, a window will appear which allows you to change the volume levels of the sound card. Many icons that appear in this area will bring up a window when double-clicked. On the left side of the taskbar is a button with Start as the label. This allows you to access programs, program groups, settings, and even allows you to log off (if you're on a network) or to exit Windows 95 and shut down the computer. The reason for the Start button in Windows 95 is to keep the desktop from being cluttered with lots of program groups. Of course, there are ways to add the more-used groups and items to the desktop and I will talk about that in a little while.
If you click on the Start button, a menu will appear. At the top of the list is Programs which contain all of the program groups and items. If you either click on Programs or hold the mouse pointer on Programs for a while, you'll see all the program groups or items in the next menu. You navigate throughout the Start menu for all your selections. You'll notice that you can't find the Control Panel in the Main group anymore. Control Panel is located on the desktop itself, inside the My Computer item, and also in the Settings menu, which is listed as the third item from the top. In the Settings menu, you can also modify how the menus in the Start button are configured. You can also change the settings of the taskbar as well.
While the Start menu provides access to all of the program groups, it can be quite a slow process for the items that you use the most. It would be much more convenient to have the most used program groups or programs on the desktop. There are many ways to add items to the desktop. The first is to right-click on the desktop, which brings up a menu for the desktop. Then, you can add either a program group or program to the desktop. You can also drag and drop items from the Windows 95 Explorer, in the same manner you could add items to program groups in Program Manager from File Manager in Windows 3.1. These are the most common ways to add items to the desktop.
Another change you'll notice in Windows 95 is in the titlebar of each open window. In the left side of the titlebar, the applications icon and name is left justified. Over on the right side, there are 3 items. The first two are the familiar minimize and maximize/restore items. But the third is a new item, the close box. This item closes the application as if you chose, File, Exit off the menu, or if you hit <Ctrl><F4>. This does take some getting adjustment, since it is where the maximize/restore was in Windows 3.1. However, once you learn to use it, you may find it a much easier way to close down applications.
So, even though there are some dramatic changes to the interface, there is no need to panic! Pretty much, everything is still there, but it works in a slightly different manner. And even though the changes seem extreme at first, as you work with Windows 95, you'll find that they really are only slightly different than the previous versions of Windows. I certainly haven't covered all there is to cover about the Windows 95 interface, but this is a basic overview of some of the changes. There are many other items that are best discovered through exploration of the Windows 95 interface.
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