Running Programs
In this lesson, you will learn:
- Starting Programs
- Browsing for Programs
- Introduction to Program Shortcuts
- Data files that Open up Programs
Read to the bottom: Select "Checkpoint 8" under 'Next' and turn it in to your lab instructor.
The Lab Computers will not allow changes to be made that affect the operating system. This information is for instructional purposes only.
Starting Programs
The normal way too start a program is to click Start > Programs and choose the program from the list. However, not all programs are listed on the Start menu. Alternative methods for starting programs and opening documents are discussed here to help you understand the inner workings of Windows and its file system.
Alternative methods include:
- Browse through the folder hierarchy of your computer's file system until you locate the programs' executable file you need. Double click it.
- Create special Icons on the desktop for the programs that you use most and then Double click the icons.
- Double click the data file you want to open. The document loads in the workspace of the program that created it. For instance, if the program is a document, double clicking it will open the program in the word processing program that created it.
- Place the program shortcut in the Start-Up Folder to start it automatically when Windows boots up.
- If 'Run' is available, use the 'Run' Dialog box.
- Use the Command Line, locate the executable and execute the program from DOS.
Browsing For Programs
As you have seen by using Windows Explorer, browsing through the folders and drives to locate a program is fairly easy. As you search through the folder and directory structure, you will become more familiar with how things are organized on the disk. Double clicking the object opens the program that created the file, as well as the file itself. For instance, double clicking on Text 1.txt opens Notepad, (because that is the program that created it), and it also opens the Text file in the window.
As you can see, browsing and clicking on a file is one method of running programs. Even though it is tedious, it is usually sure to open the right program for you IF you know what you are looking for in the first place!
An Introduction to Program Shortcuts
The absolute fastest way of opening up any program files is with the Shortcut located either on the desktop or on the Start > All Programs menu. The Program usually installs the shortcut as an Icon on the Start menu for you, and sometimes even on the Desktop. It is nice having Shortcuts on the Desktop because it is much faster than clicking all of the cascading menus of Start > Programs > "My Program Selection".
Program shortcuts can be re-arranged by name. That is done by right clicking in the desktop area and selecting the 'Arrange' options. This arrangement will be exactly the same every time you start Windows. It makes it easy to remember where on the Desktop they are, especially as more and more programs are added.
Placing Program Shortcuts into their own folder is not always advantageous. The purpose of having the icons on the desktop is speed and simplicity. Clicking more than one time to open a program that you use frequently is counter productive and defeats the purpose of having the shortcut. In this case, folders are not always helpful. Unless you are organizing programs that are not used very often, like utilities, or you need the desktop space, there is very little point in adding another level of access. Shortcuts in Windows are a big topic and are discussed in a later lesson.
Data Files that Open up Programs
As outlined above, double clicking the data file you want to open will open the file in the program that created it. Different types of programs open different types of files. The type of program that will create or open the file is identified by the file extension, the letters after the dot in the file name. This is sometimes called dot 3 notation because most file extensions were limited to 3 characters after the dot.
There will be more at the next level on File Extensions and File Associations when you study the course on File Types.
Installing Software is a big subject, and is covered in higher beginning and intermediate courses.
If you have a project or would like to see something that is not here, send me an email. I would love to hear from you!!
