Chapter 14. Working with desktop apps

In this section:

• Opening and closing desktop apps

• Using menus

• Using ribbons

• Formatting text

• Using the Clipboard

• Inserting objects

• Printing a document

• Saving a file

• Exploring other desktop apps

Everything today is about the newer, modular apps, those computer applications that are streamlined and that can be used to perform only the tasks you want and need and not much else. With apps, there aren’t any traditional interface elements to get in your way, like menus, tabs, ribbons, and on-screen customization and personalization options. These are the apps you’ve been learning about in the first half of this book.

However, there are still the familiar desktop apps. These are apps that open on the desktop, some of which you might already have experience with. Desktop apps include, but are not limited to, Notepad, WordPad, Paint, Sticky Notes, third-party software that you install from CDs and DVDs, and applications that you download from the Internet. Anything that opens on the desktop is a desktop app.

In this section, you’ll learn how to use the most common elements of some of the more familiar desktop apps, including how to use a menu, a ribbon, how to format text, and how to print and save files. You can use what you learn here to work with other desktop apps, all of which will have similar features and can be used in the same manner.

Opening and closing desktop apps

Desktop apps open in a window on the desktop. These types of apps typically offer full-featured tools accessible from menus, toolbars, ribbons, and tabs. Almost all desktop apps also offer the ability to save, print, and open documents. You open desktop apps by searching for them, or by clicking the related tile on the Start screen, or from the Apps view. You can have multiple desktop apps open at once, and you can reposition them in many ways. You close desktop apps by clicking the red x in the top-right corner of the app window.

Open and close desktop apps

1. At the Start screen, type Notepad.

2. Click Notepad in the results.

   

3. On the desktop, click the Start button.

   

4. On the Start screen, begin typing WordPad.

5. Click WordPad in the search results.

   

6. On the desktop, click the Start button.

7. On the Start screen, type Paint.

8. Click Paint in the search results.

   

9. Drag from any corner or the top edge of any of the three open apps to resize them.

10. Drag from the title bar of any of the three open apps to move them.

11. Click the x in each of the three app windows to close them.

    Alternatively, you could leave them open if you plan to work through the rest of the exercises in this section.

    

Tip

Click the – sign in the top-right corner of any window to minimize the window to the taskbar. Click its icon on the taskbar to restore it. Click the single square (or, if maximized, the double-square) to maximize and restore a window.

Tip

Click the down arrow on the Start screen (which appears when you move the cursor), to access Apps view. This view shows all of the available apps and desktop apps. You can then use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to locate the app you want to open.

Using menus

Menus have been part of desktop applications for a long time. You click a menu, and a list of commands appears. Click a command, and something else happens: a dialog box might be displayed offering a group of settings; a submenu might be displayed offering additional commands, or the applications might take an action, such as opening a new, blank document.

Use the File menu in Notepad

1. On the Start screen, type Notepad.

2. Click Notepad in the search results.

   

3. Click File.

4. Click commands to open a new document (New), open an existing document (Open), save a file (Save and Save As), and so forth.

5. Note the keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl+N opens a new documents; Ctrl+O opens an existing document, and so on.

   

Tip

Some desktop apps that have a menu bar have entries in their menus that include an arrow beside the menu option. This means that when you click that option in the menu, more options will appear. To continue, you’ll need to choose the option you want.

Tip

To hide a menu without selecting an option, click outside the menu or press the Escape key.

Using ribbons

Many robust desktop applications provide a graphical interface that groups like items together. Instead of a simple menu, tools are arranged on various tabs on a ribbon. For example, the ribbon generally includes a File tab that displays commands for working with files, such as Open, Save, and Print. There is usually a Home tab that offers the most commonly used editing tools, including Cut, Copy, Paste, Resize, Select, and so on, as applicable to the program. Most desktop applications that use a ribbon also offer a View tab on which you can use available tools to zoom, show rulers, view full screen, and so forth.

Explore the ribbon in Paint

1. From the Start screen, type Paint.

2. Click Paint in the results.

   

3. Click the File tab.

4. Move the cursor over Save As.

5. Note the options to save a file.

6. Click outside the options to hide them.

   

7. Click the Home tab and view the options.

8. Click the arrow under Brushes to see options.

   

9. Click the View tab.

10. Click Rulers.

    

Tip

In some programs, such as those in the Microsoft Office Suite, groups of tools, such as Font on the Home tab, include an additional symbol in the lower-right corner of the tab group. Clicking this opens a dialog box with additional options.

Formatting text

In most desktop apps you use, including Notepad and WordPad, you’ll need to enter text. After you enter text, tools are often available to format the text with color or by applying bold, italic, or underline effects, among others. Most formatting options are on a ribbon’s Home tab.

Format text in WordPad

1. On the Start screen, type WordPad.

2. Click WordPad in the results.

   

3. Verify that the Home tab is active.

4. Type a few words.

5. Click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the mouse across some of the text.

6. Click Bold.

7. Click Italic.

8. Click outside the selected text to deselect it.

   

9. Position your cursor in the line of text.

10. Click the Center option in the Paragraph group.

    

11. Click and drag to select all of the text again (shown on previous page).

12. Click the arrow beside the font size.

13. Click 72.

    

Tip

While on the Home tab, select some text and experiment with the different fonts available from the Font list in the Font group. Also, experiment with changing the font color.

Using the Clipboard

When you want to copy or move a piece of text, an object such as clip art, or something else, perhaps a picture from one location to another, you’ll use the Clipboard. This is a virtual holding area for text and objects that you cut (remove) or copy from a document. An item stays on the Clipboard until you paste it somewhere else. By default, the Clipboard holds only one item at a time, the last item you cut or copied. If you cut or copy several items, only the last item will be available for pasting.

Use Notepad with the Clipboard

1. With WordPad open and text entered, select some text.

2. Right-click and select Cut.

   

3. Click the Start button.

   

4. On the Start screen, type Notepad.

5. Click Notepad in the results.

   

6. In Notepad, right-click inside the document and select Paste.

   

Caution

The Clipboard is a temporary holding area. If you log off or restart your computer, what’s on the Clipboard will be lost.

Try This

Select and then cut some text. Then, use the key combination Ctrl+Z to “undo” the cut and put the text back. (The cut data will still be available on the Windows Clipboard.)

Inserting objects

In many applications, you can insert a graphic element like a photo or clip art (a collection of illustrations, photos, and animations that come with some applications, such as Microsoft Word). In highly robust applications, the command to do this might be on an Insert tab on the ribbon, and you might be able to insert additional items too, like tables, shapes, different types of word art, graphs, and so on. In WordPad, you can insert only a few things, and the options to do so are on the Home tab.

Insert a picture in WordPad

1. With WordPad open, click the Home tab.

2. Click Picture.

3. Click a picture to add. (You might have to double-click a subfolder to locate the one you want.)

4. Click Open.

   

Tip

In WordPad, you can also insert a drawing you’ve created in Paint, the date and time, and other WordPad documents, among other things.

Printing a document

You can access the Print command in almost all desktop applications. Most of the time, the command is available from the File menu or the File tab, as is the case with Notepad and WordPad. In some applications, you can select text and then right-click that selection to have the option to print in a drop-down menu, as you’ll see here in Internet Explorer. Finally, some applications also offer a Print Preview option so that you can see what the printout will look like before you actually print it. You’ll see Print Preview in WordPad and Paint, among other desktop apps. To print, you must have a printer installed and turned on.

Print a file from the Internet Explorer desktop app

1. From the desktop, locate the taskbar.

2. Click Internet Explorer.

3. Click inside the Address bar.

   

4. Type www.microsoft.com, and press Enter on the keyboard. (You might see results under the Address bar.)

   

5. Right-click any picture.

6. To print the picture, click Print Picture.

   

7. To print a webpage, right-click and empty area of the page and click Print.

   

Try This

In WordPad, type a few words. Click the File tab, point to Print, and note the three options: Print, Quick Print, Print Preview. Repeat with Notepad, and click File to access the one option: Print. Finally, open Paint. From the File tab, point to Print. Note the three options: Print, Page Setup, and Print Preview. Experiment as desired.

Saving a file

After you have entered some content in a document, created a graphic in an image editing program, created slides for a presentation, or otherwise generated some type of file, it’s a good idea to save the file on a regular basis so that you don’t lose your work. You can save a file to your computer’s hard disk or to external storage such as a USB flash drive or networked computer. When saving for the first time, you can give the file a name, choose a place to save the file, and choose a file format.

Save a file with Paint

1. With Paint open, click the Home tab.

2. In the Shapes group, click any shape shown.

3. Click and drag to draw the shape using your mouse.

   

4. Click Brushes.

5. Draw a design with the brush.

   

6. Click File.

7. Point to Save As.

8. Click GIF Picture.

   

9. Note where the file will be saved by default. You can select another folder or subfolder if desired.

10. Enter a document name. Untitled is the default name.

11. Note that GIF is listed in the Save As Type box. You can select a different file type if desired.

12. Click Save.

    

Tip

You can save a file to a computer on your network if you have the proper permissions to do so. Click Network in step 9 to locate a folder to save to.

Exploring other desktop apps

There are many desktop apps available in Windows 8.1. You can find them from Apps view, available from the Start screen. Each time you open a new desktop app that you’ve yet to experience, you’ll see familiar features, including menus and ribbons.

Explore other desktop apps

1. From the Start screen, click the down arrow to access the Apps view.

   

2. Click the arrow beside Apps.

   

3. Click By Category.

   

4. Locate the category Windows Accessories.

5. Click Calculator.

   

6. Note the three menus, and click each: View, Edit, Help.

   

7. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 4, and click Snipping Tool.

8. Click the arrow beside New.

9. Click Full-Screen Snip. (A snip is a screen capture.) You can minimize, close, or save the snip, as desired.

   

10. Note the resulting menu options: File, Edit, Tools, and Help. Explore as desired.

    

11. Repeat steps 1 and 2. Under Windows System, click This PC.

    

12. File Explorer opens. Note the ribbon’s tabs: File, Computer, and View. Explore as desired.

    

Try This

From the Apps view screen, open Control Panel, Math Input Panel, and Windows Defender. If you decide you prefer the Apps view over the Start screen, set it as the default in Taskbar Properties on the Navigation tab.

Caution

You won’t be able to see all of the menu options or the ribbon options in all cases and in all views. If you feel you’re missing out on something, maximize the window of the application. Also, look for a small arrow to the left of the blue question mark in the top-right corner of some desktop applications to maximize (or unhide) the ribbon. Finally, note that you’ll see additional ribbon options when you select specific things, such as pictures, documents, and so on.