Computer Terminology and quick Tips

COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY AND QUICK TIPS:

Ø Acrobat Reader: The key combinations [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [+] and [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [-] turn the displayed page into landscape or portrait formats.

Ø ACTIVE-X Technology for adding extra features to an application such as a web browser. Components are usually Downloaded automatically.orwith minimal user interaction.

Ø ADD-IN Extra features available in most Microsoft applications, usually need installation from the original CD-Rom.

Ø ADSL Transmits digital information at broadband speed on phone lines.

Ø BANDWIDTH A measure of the maximum amount of data that can be transferred over a connection at once.

Ø BETA Software application or system still in development.

Ø BLOG A blog is an online journal or news site.

Ø BLUETOOTH A technology that allows devices to communicate with each other wirelessly.

Ø BROADBAND A fast internet connection, such as ADSL.

Ø BROWSER A program, such as Internet Explorer, used to navigate the internet.

Ø Browser: Quickly jump to the next slash or dot with [Ctrl] + [right/left arrow] to change a URL in the address bar.

Ø BROWSER; Quickly jump to the next slash or dot with [Ctrl] + [right/left arrow] to change a URL in the address bar.

Ø BROWSING using a web browser application to look at websites on the internet.

Ø CELL A spreadsheet page uses rows and columnsto split a page into cells.

Ø CLIPBOARD Part of a PC’s memory used by Windows to store information cut or copied in an application.

Ø DELETING SHORTCUT NAMES: for a blank character, type “0160″ as the symbol name on the numeric keypad while keeping the [Alt] key pressed.

Ø DESKTOP Background ‘area on screen where files and icons appear.

Ø DESKTOP: If the cursor jumps to the default button in dialog fields, activate it with ‘Control panel | Mouse / Pointer options’.

Ø Desktop: Keeping the [Ctrl] key pressed, you can select several icons in the taskbar to simultaneously close programs with a context command.

Ø Desktop: Right-click on icons and deactivate ‘Fix taskbar’ to pull them on the taskbar.

Ø Desktop: You can hide or show all desktop icons with ‘Arrange icons by Show desktop icons’ context command.

Ø DHCP Dynamic host configuration protocol.A service on a router or supplied by an ISPthat gives computers IP addresses.

Ø DIALOGUE BOX: A small window that pops up to display or request information.

Ø DOMAIN NAME: The name used to identify a site on the internet: in www.computeractive. co.uk, the domain is ‘computeractive’.

Ø DOWNLOAD: Process of transferring files onto your PC from another computer.

Ø DRIVER: A program that allows Windows to communicate with a peripheral device.

Ø DUAL BOOT: the ability to boot your computer using one of two different operating systems.

Ø E-MAIL: A system of sending notes between computers via the internet.

Ø ENCRYPT: To scramble data it can only be read by the sender and authorised recipient. INTERNET A global network that links millions of computers, using phone and cable links.

Ø ETHERNET: Network that allows PCs to be linked together.

Ø Exc el / Word: The fastest way to zoom in or out in a table or a worksheet is to keep [Ctrl] button pressed, and scroll the mouse wheel.

Ø Exc el: In the header or footer, enter the ‘&’ symbol twice as ‘&&’—Excel otherwise interprets this as control symbol for functions.

Ø EXCEL/ WORD; the fastest way to zoom in or out in a table or a worksheet is to keep [Ctrl] button pressed, and scroll the mouse wheel.

Ø EXCEL: Press [F6] for automatic recalculation of a table and for updating the cell link reliably at the same time.

Ø EXCEL: You can activate and deactivate the special table view with formulae shown in the cells with [Ctrl] + [#].

Ø Excel: You can find settings to rotate text within a cell in the ‘Alignment’ tab of the ‘Format cells’ dialog.

Ø Explorer: ‘explore.exe /e’ as the target of the ‘Windows Explorer’ link starts the Explorer in the directory view. the parameter ‘/n’ shows only the task area.

Ø EXPLORER: Open ‘Edit’ and place the cursor on ‘Undo’. the status bar displays the last completed action.

Ø Explorer: When you set the view as ‘View | Thumbnails’, you can rotate pictures of many formats with a single command in the context menu.

Ø Explorer: You can hide or view the filename in the thumbnail view when you keep the [Shift] key pressed when clicking on ‘View | Thumbnails’.

Ø explorer: You can hide or view the I filename in the thumbnail view when you keep the [Shift] key pressed when clicking on ‘View | Thumbnails’.

Ø explorer; when you set the view as ‘View | Thumbnails’, you can rotate pictures of many formats with a single command in the context menu.

Ø FAT 32: A 32-bit version of File Allocation Table, which keeps track of files and helps locate them. Windows 95 used a system called Fat16, Windows 98 and ME used Fat32 that allows, among other things, long filenames.

Ø FIREFOX: To move a paragraph, place the cursor in it, keep [Alt] + [Tab] pressed and use the arrow keys.

Ø Firefox: You can get rid of unnecessary tabs faster on right-clicking the active tab and then clicking ‘Close other tabs’.

Ø Firefox: You can open a link in a new tab, when you use the middle mouse click to directly click the link in the Firefox browser window.

Ø FIREWALL: A system that prevents unauthorised access to a computer over a network, such as the internet.

Ø FLOPPY DISK: A small, rigid square of plastic used to store data. inside the case is a circular magnetic disk (the floppy bit).

Ø fsrefox: You can open a link in a new tab, when you use the middle mouse click to directly click the link in the Firefox browser window.

Ø GB: (Gigabyte) A measurement of storage capacity usually for hard disks. 1 Gb is equal to 1,024Mb (megabytes).

Ø GPRS: (General Packet Radio Service) A mobile phone standard that provides an ‘always on’ connection with speeds up to 150Kbit/s (existing GSM phones manage 9.6Kbit/s).

Ø GRAPHICS CARD: the pa rt of a PC that displays the image you see on a computer’s monitor.

Ø HARD DISK: A high-capacity disk drive fitted in almost all PCs and used to store both applications and the documents and files they create. Hard disks are so-called because they use rigid magnetic disks to store data.Hard disk storage capacity is measured in gigabytes.

Ø HARDWARE: describes the physical components of a computer,such as the monitor and keyboard.

Ø ICON: A small image used by Windows to identify a file or application.

Ø INTERNET EXPLORER: With [Ctrl] + [+] you can increase the display size of a website, and also reduce it with [Ctrl] + I-]. by using the combination, [Ctrl] + [O], you can set it to 100 percent.

Ø Internet Explorer: With [Ctrl] + [+] you can increase the display size of a website, and also reduce it with [Ctrl] + [-]. by using the combination, [Ctrl] + [0], you can set it to 100 percent.

Ø INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) ADDRESS: A computer’s IP address is similar to a phone number in function.

Ø INTERNET: An global network that links millions of computers, using phone and cable links. Users connect to server computers,which act rather like a local phone exchange. A modem connects your PC to the server from home,allowing you to become part of the internet.

Ø KB: Measure of storage capacity. Equals 1,024 bytes.

Ø Kbits/sec: Kilobits per second.which is a measure of data transfer.

Ø LAN: Local-area network. describes two or more computers connected to share resources.

Ø LED: Light Emitting Diode. A low-power electronic device that emits light when an electric current is passed through it.

Ø MAILBOX (or Inbox): The folder in your email application that stores your incoming messages.

Ø MANAGING USER ACCOUNTS: for quick access to user accounts, press [Windows] + [R] in Vista or XP, then type “control userpasswords” and press [Enter].

Ø MAXIMIZING WINDOWS EXPLORER: Delete the “Link favorites” bar in Explorer by moving the separators for the “Folder” toolbar rightto the top.

Ø MB (megabyte): A measurement of storage capacity, usually for computer memory. 1 Mb is equal to 1,024Kb (kilobytes).

Ø Mbits/sec Megabits per second.A measure of data transfer speed.

Ø MEDIA PLAYER 11: Attach the ‘/Task NowPlaying’ parameter to the link of the player to directly start in the ‘Now Playing’ mode.

Ø MEGAPIXEL: A measure of the level of detail recorded by digital cameras; one megapixel means an image made from one million tiny dots (pixels).

Ø Messenger: If you are not allowed to or you do not want to install an instant messenger program, you can also chat on www.meebo.com.

Ø MICROSOFT WORD: Several selected objects can be positioned at an equal distance from the margin by navigating to ‘Print layout | Align’.

Ø MODEM: A device that enables two computers to communicate with each other over a telephone line.

Ø MONITORING THE SYSTEM: Open “Start Run” and start the “eventvwr.msc” command—now you can control how users log on and off.

Ø MOTHERBOARD: the main circuit board inside any PC into which every other component connects to and communicates through.

Ø MP3: A standard for compressing digital audio.the sound quality of an mp3 file is close to that of CD audio but only needs a fraction of the storage space.

Ø MPEG4: A standardfor compressing digital content that maintains very high quality.

Ø NETWORK: A way of connecting several computers and printers so they can share data.

Ø NOTIFICATION AREA: An area on the bottom of a screen that shows which programs are always running in Windows.

Ø NTFS: A secure and reliable file system used by Windows NTand XP.

Ø Open Office: Enter ‘bt’ and press [F3]— the inserted dummy text is outstandingly suitable to test new formats.

Ø OPEN OFFICE: To protect your work, open “Tools I Options Load/Save General’ and enable ‘Always create backup copy”.

Ø Open Office: To protect your work, open ‘Tools | Options | Load / Save | General’ and enable ‘Always create backup copy’.

Ø OPERATING SYSTEM: Governs the way the hardware and software components in a computer work together.

Ø OUTLOOK 2007: Make more space in the navigation area by pulling the crossbeam as low as possible and thereby reducing the size of the buttons.

Ø Outlook: For not archiving an e-mail, open it and click ‘File | Properties | do not archive this item’’.

Ø OUTLOOK: for not archiving an e-mail, open it and click ‘File | Properties | do not archive this item”.

Ø OUTLOOK: You can directly open the Outlook address book with [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [B]. Double-click on a contactto get detailed information for it.

Ø Outlook: You can directly open the Outlook address book with [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [B]. Double-click on a contact to get detailed information for it.

Ø PAINT SHOP PRO: With ‘File | Settings | File links’, you can determine which file types are linked to Paint Shop.

Ø PARTITION: Aharddisk can be split into partitions.each section istreated by Windows asthough it were a separate hard disk.

Ø PATCH: A software file or collection of files that fixes problems with an existing software application by making minor changes to the program.

Ø PDF: Portable Document Format. A file format developed by Adobe that allows formatted pages of text and graphics to be viewed and printed correctly on a variety of machines, without the original author having to worry about the recipients.PDF pages created with Adobe Acrobat need to be read with the free Acrobat Reader application.

Ø PHISHLNG: A form of internet fraud that tries to trick you into revealing personal details.

Ø PROCESSOR: the chip thatisthe’brain’ofaPC.

Ø QUICKLY STARTING PROGRAMS: for displaying the quick start bar, right click on the task bar and activate “Toolbar | quick start” in Vista or XP”.

Ø RADIO BUTTON: A method of selecting an option in an application dialogue box. Only one button in the control group can be selected.

Ø REFRESH RATE: Measured in Hertz (Hz) the number of times per second that the image on your monitor is redrawn.

Ø REGISTRY: A file integrated into Windows that stores information on all hardware and software installed on your PC.

Ø RESOLUTION: The amount of detail shown in an image, whether on screen or printed.

Ø ROUTER: A device used to connect more than one computer together and/or to the internet as an alternative to a modem.

Ø SERVER: A computer on a network that stores shared information.

Ø SLIDER: A control that enables you to change a setting by clicking and dragging’a slider switch.

Ø SOFTWARE: any program that tells hardware how it should perform, including operating systems such as Windows, word processors, DTP applications and games.

Ø SPAM: Junk email sent to large groups of people offering such things as money-spinning ideas, holidays, and so on. Named after the Monty Python Spam song.

Ø SPYWARE: Software installed (usually surreptitiously) to monitor and report back on a computer’s use.

Ø System: Increase or decrease the size of graphics in the ‘System performance’ tab of the Task Manager by double-clicking on the images.

Ø SYSTEM: Keep the [Shift] key press when calling up a program from the start menu – it then remains open for further tasks.

Ø System: Open ‘Start | Run | msconfig | Boot.ini’ and activate the ‘/noguiboot’ option to switch off the XP logo which appears while booting.

Ø system: Open ‘Start | Run | msconfig Boot.ini’ and activate the ‘/noguiboot’ option to switch off the XP logo which appears while booting.

Ø SYSTEM: With the ‘defrag.exe c:’ command, you can defragment drives directly from the command line instead of using properties.

Ø system: You can disable error reporting by navigating as following: ‘Start | Control panel | system | Advanced | Error reporting’.

Ø System: You can disable error reporting by navigating as following: ‘Start | Control panel | system | Advanced | Error reporting’.

Ø system: You can open another parallel instance of the registry editor with ‘Start] Run’, followed by the ‘regedit-m’ command.

Ø System: You can open another parallel instance of the registry editor with ‘Start | Run’, followed by the ‘regedit –m’ command.

Ø System: You can start a program through ‘Run’ with administrator rights by pressing ‘[Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter]’.

Ø Task Manager: You can double-click on the gray border around the Task Manager window to hide or display the command and tab lines.

Ø TASKBAR: the bar that runs along the bottom of the screen inWindows.

Ø TOOLBAR: A strip of icons across the top of most Windows applications.

Ø UPnP: Universal Plug and Play.A standard for simple sharing of music and video between PCs and network devices.

Ø UPS: Uninterruptible Power Suppiy.A device that sits between a computer and its main supply to provide a (usually brief) emergency power supply in the event of a power cut.

Ø URL: Uniform resource ‘ locator. the unique address of a web page.

Ø USB: Universal Serial Bus A standard which allows quick and easy connection of external peripherals such as scanners and printers to your PC. It supports plug and play, and devices can be added or removed with your PC switched on.

Ø USING PHOTOS AS THE WALLPAPER: Right-click the Vista desktop and select your own image file through “Properties” “Desktop background | Browse”

Ø VIRUS: A malicious computer program designed to cause at best annoyance and at worst, damage to computer data.Viruses usually spread from computer to computer by email.

Ø Vista Desktop: You can start or stop the Aeroglass effect in Vista directly from the command line with ‘net start uxsms’ or ‘net stop uxsms’. You can also create a batch file if you wish too.

Ø vista desktop; You can start or stop the Aeroglass effect in Vista directly from the command line with ‘net start uxsms’ or ‘net stop uxsms’. You can also create a batch file if you wish too.

Ø Vista: Turn off transparency with a rightclick on the desktop, ‘Personalization | Window Color and … | Enable transparency’.

Ø VISTA: Type ‘slmgr.vbs-dli’ in the search field of the start menu to check the activation status of Vista.

Ø WAN: Wide Area Network-a bigger network to which your PC or LAN is connected.

Ø WIFL: the 802.11b or 802.11g standards for wireless networking devices.

Ø WIZARD: An automated online assistant’designed to guide you through a potentially complex process.

Ø Word: Insert the symbol for copyright with [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [C], and for trademark with [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [T].

Ø WORD: Insert the symbol for copyright with [Ctrl] + [Alt]+[C], and for trademark with [Ctrl] + [Alt]+[T].

Ø WORD: the quickest way to hide the table grid is to place the cursor in the table and press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [U].

Ø Word: The quickest way to hide the table grid is to place the cursor in the table and press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [U].

Ø WORD: To remove prominent empty space, select the text and format it one after the other as ‘center-aligned’ and then ‘mfr -aligned”.

Ø Word: To remove prominent empty space, select the text and format it one after the other as ‘center-aligned’ and then ‘left -aligned’.

Ø Word: You can display/hide invisible control characters, fixed change of paragraph, for instance, by using [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [8].

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