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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, October 29, 2006
In this Issue:
Special Feature: The Keyboard
This Week's Topic: Print Part of an Email
Websites of Interest: The Science of Cooking; This To That - Gluing 101; Find Law; Human Biology
Trick or Treat! Its Halloween!
Visit our website for links to great Halloween sites including pumpkin carving, costume design, recipes, trick or treat safety, and more. Take a look at some of the fun Halloween graphics we have.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/halloween.html
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Special Feature: The Keyboard
Question: There are many keys on my keyboard that I do not use and have no idea what they are used for. Could you give an explanation of some of the keys?
Answer:
The Universal keyboard, which comes with most computers nowadays, is also referred to as the QWERTY keyboard. That comes from the first six letters in the top alphabet row (the one just below the numbers, on the left side). While keyboards will have some keys in slightly different locations, your keyboard should have most of the keys described below.
ESC. The Escape key works similar to a Cancel button. In many cases, when you give a command and then change your mind, you can press the ESC key to cancel what you are doing, or escape out.
F1 though F12. The Function keys were widely used with DOS programs but are not so popular today since Windows uses a graphical environment and commands are given with a mouse. They provide different commands in Windows and in programs, depending on the program and current view. The F1 key, for example, will open the Help feature in most programs. If no programs are currently open, it will open the Windows Help feature.
PrtSc SysRq. Unless programmed by a particular application, the SysRq key does nothing in Windows or most applications. The Print Screen key copies the images and text that are currently on the display screen. This is called a Screen Shot. A screen shot can be pasted into a word processing document to use for instructions or pictures of a screen.
Scroll Lock. The Scroll Lock key allows scrolling of screen text up, down and sideways (using the arrow keys). The Scroll Lock key was used more in the days before large displays and graphical scroll bars.
Pause Break. The Pause Break key has no standard function assigned to it; it is used in different ways by different programs.
Tab. The tab key on a keyboard is used to move the insertion point to the next tab stop. In a word processing program, tab stops are usually set, by default, in 1/2 inch increments across the line. The Tab key can also be used to move from one input box to another on a web site.
Caps Lock. Press and release the caps lock key and every letter you type will display in capital letters. To go back to lower case, press and release the caps lock key again.
Shift. The shift key is used to capitalize a letter or type a symbol that appears on the upper half of a key. Hold down the shift, press the letter and the letter will display in uppercase. (Note: if caps lock is turned on, the Shift key will display a lowercase letter). The Shift key can also be assigned to perform keyboard shortcuts when used in conjunction with another key. For example, when you delete a file, if you hold down the shift key when you press delete, the file will bypass the Recycle Bin and permanently delete.
CTRL. The Control keys are located on either the left or both sides of the space bar. Holding the Ctrl key down and pressing other keys will give various commands. Here are some of the more popular ones:
Ctrl + A Select all text.
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + C Copy selected item.
Ctrl + F Open find box.
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + K Insert link.
Ctrl + N In most programs, opens up a new document.
Ctrl + O Open the Open dialog box.
Ctrl + P Open the Print dialog box.
Ctrl + S Open the Save dialog box
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + X Cut selected item.
Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl + Z Undo last action.
Fn. The Fn, or Function key, is generally found only on laptop computers. Because laptop computer keyboards come with fewer keys than standard desktop keyboards, many keys have multiple functions. The Fn key works in conjunction with other keys, like the Ctrl and Alt keys do, to give commands.
Windows. The Windows key is the key with the Windows logo, usually found to the left of the space bar, between the CTRL and Alt key (although the location can differ on some keyboards). Holding the Windows key down and pressing other keys will give various commands. Here are some of the more popular ones:
WINKEY Displays the Start Menu.
WINKEY + D Minimizes all windows and displays the desktop.
WINKEY + E Open Microsoft Explorer.
WINKEY + F Display the Windows Search Find feature.
WINKEY + L Lock the computer (Windows XP and above only).
WINKEY + M Minimizes all windows.
WINKEY + R Open the run window.
WINKEY + U Open Utility Manager.
Alt. The Alt keys are located on either the left or both sides of the space bar. Holding the Alt key down and pressing other keys will give various commands. Here are some of the more popular ones:
Alt + (letter) On the items on the menu bar in most programs, one letter is underlined. Hold down the Alt key and press that letter to open that menu. Example, Alt + f will open the File menu in most programs.
Alt + Tab Switch between open programs.
Alt + F4 Closes active open program.
Alt + Enter Opens properties window of selected icon or program.
Alt + Left Arrow In Internet Explorer, go back a page.
Alt + Right Arrow In Internet Explorer, go forward a page.
Space bar. Inserts a space between typed words. Pressing the Space Bar in Internet Explorer will scroll down on page. Shift + Space Bar will scroll up on the page.
Application. Usually located on the right side of the space bar, between the Alt and Ctrl keys, this key will display the context menu (right click menu) for the active program or selected item.
Enter. In a text-based program, the Enter key ends the current line and moves the insertion point down to the next line at the left margin. In a dialog box a selected button can be chosen by pressing the Enter key. (Selected buttons can be recognized by their darker borders)
Backspace. When typing or editing text, use this key to erase characters to the left of the insertion point.
Delete. When typing or editing text, use this key to erase characters to the right of the insertion point.
Insert. In a text-based program, the Insert key will toggle between insert and overwrite. In Insert mode, a character can be typed to the left of another character, pushing the existing character to the right. In Overwrite mode, a character typed to the left of another character will replace the character to the right.
Home. On the Internet, press the Home key to go to the top of the page. In a word processing program, CTRL + Home will move to the beginning of the document.
End. On the Internet, press the End key to go to the bottom of the page. In a word processing program, CTRL + End will move to the end of the document.
Page Up (PgUp). The Page Up key is used to move up one full screen.
Page Down (PgDn). The Page Down key is used to move down one full screen.
Up Arrow. In a text based program, the up arrow moves the insertion point to the line above its current position. Hold down the Ctrl key and press the up arrow to move to the previous paragraph.
Down Arrow. In a text based program, the down arrow moves the insertion point to the line below its current position. Hold down the Ctrl key and press the down arrow to move to the next paragraph.
Left Arrow. In a text based program, the left arrow moves the insertion point one character to the left of its current position. Hold the Ctrl key down and press the left arrow to move one word to the left.
Right Arrow. In a text based program, the right arrow moves the insertion point one character to the right of its current position. Hold the Ctrl key down and press the right arrow to move one word to the right.
Keypad Keys. Found on the right side of the keyboard, on desktop computers, the keypad keys can be toggled with the NumLock key. If you want to use the numeric keypad to display numbers, the Num Lock key must be on. If it is not currently on, press the NumLock key once to turn it on. (Most keyboards will have a light that turns on when NumLock is selected) Now, the numerical keypad will type numbers into the document. If you want to use the arrows on the keypad instead, press the NumLock key again. The light will go off; now you can use the keypad to maneuver the insertion point in your document.
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Today's Topic: Print Part of an Email
Question: I use AOL and want to print out just part of an email. How can I do it?
Answer:
AOL does not allow you do selective printing like you can in other programs but you can use Print Preview to determine which pages you would like to print.
Open the email you would like to print. Click File on the menu and then Print Preview. You will now see the email and the page numbers. Determine which page has the content you would like to print.
Click the Print button and put those page numbers in the Pages box in the Page Range area.
Click the Print button and only the pages you want will be printed.
Visit our newsletter archives to learn how to print in other email programs:
Print Part of a Page
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/050706.html
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Websites of Interest:
The Science of Cooking
At this website, you can learn a little scientific theory behind the art of cooking.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/
This To That - Gluing 101
Here is a useful website. Choose what type of materials you want to repair and This To That tells you the best glue to use.
http://www.thistothat.com/
Find Law
Visit this website for answers to many law questions. It is not meant to replace a lawyer, but at least you can educate yourself on issues before contacting an attorney.
http://www.findlaw.com/
Human Biology
Take a look at this website to learn about cardiology and neurobiology, infectious diseases and much more.
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/museum/ |
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