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Appendix A: Windows Tips

In this documentation we assume you have a basic knowledge of how to use your Windows operating system. This appendix briefly describes some techniques that are commonly used in the operating system interface and in applications.

A.1 Standard Buttons on a Window

Most windows have up to three buttons at the top right-hand corner, on the window's title bar. Buttons that can appear here are:

	Close	Closes the window and whatever is running in it.
	Minimize	Reduces the window to simply an entry on the task bar at the bottom of your screen. This saves spaces on the screen - the window and whatever is running in it are still there.
	Maximize	Expands the window to fill the screen. Other things on the screen are still there, but hidden behind this window.
	Restore	Reduces a window from full screen to occupy only part of the screen.
	Context Help	Changes the mouse pointer to a question mark. Clicking anywhere with this pointer brings up brief help on the item you've clicked on, instead of executing the function normally invoked by that item.

A.2 Changing Folder

Often when you need to select a file, you are presented with a dialog box showing all the files and folders that are in a particular folder. The dialog box is said to be open at this folder. Examples are the commonly used Open dialog box, shown in Figure A-1, and the Add Files to Project dialog box.

Figure A-1: The Open dialog box

Some or all of the following methods may have been implemented for moving around the hierarchy of folders:

To open a folder that is within the open folder, double-click it.
To move to the drive or folder containing the open folder, click .
To move to a drive or folder, type its path in the Filename field and click whatever button normally executes the function (for example Open or Add). If you end the path with the name of a file, this will execute the function.
To see a full list of the hierarchy of drives and folders, click the down arrow to the right of the Look In field, which displays the name of the open folder. You can then change folder by clicking the folder you want. Merely moving the mouse pointer changes the selection, so to close this list without changing folder, either check the highlight hasn't moved or click somewhere outside the list.

A.3 Manipulating Folders

In the kind of dialog box described in the section Changing Folder, you can usually carry out functions like creating folders, and renaming and deleting folders and files.

This means you can do these things from within whatever software you happen to be using, which is sometimes more convenient than going into another Windows session. For example, if you're using the IDE, and you want to create a folder, click Open on the IDE's File menu and do it via the Open dialog box. Then simply click Cancel to close the dialog box.

To create a new folder within the open folder, click .
For other functions, right-click the name of a folder within the open folder and use the popup menu.

A.4 Tree Views

Hierarchical data, for example a list of directories and their subdirectories, is often shown in a tree view. This is a list of the top level, with a "+" on the left of each item. Click the "+" to expand the entry to show the items immediately subordinate to it. The "+" then changes to a "-", which you click to compress ("close") that part of the tree again. Or click an item and type "*" (asterisk) on your numeric key-pad, to show all items subordinate to the item.

A good example is Windows Explorer (right-click My Computer on your desktop, and then click Explore), where the left-hand pane is a tree view showing the drives and folders on your computer.

A.5 Showing/Hiding File Extensions

In the lists of files shown in (for example) the Open dialog box or Windows Explorer, file extensions that Windows recognizes may not be shown. Instead, the file type may be indicated by an icon or a description. If you want to change your Windows settings so that these the extensions are shown, you can do so via Windows Explorer, as follows:

Right-click My Computer on your desktop, and then click Explore.
Click Folder Options on the View menu.
Click the View tab.
Make sure Hide file extensions for known file types has no check mark - click in the check box if necessary to delete it.
Click OK.

You can now close Windows Explorer.

If you have a dialog box open while you are doing this, you may have to close it and reopen it before you see the change.

A.6 Column Headings in a Container

Sometimes you see a list with several columns, with column headings on a gray background. In Windows such a list is called a container. Figure A-2 shows part of such a list.

Figure A-2: Part of a Container

Some or all of the following methods may have been implemented for rearranging the layout:

To make a column wider or narrower, click the line separating its column heading from the one to its right, and drag it to left or right. Note that columns can be reduced to nothing by doing this - if a column you expect is not present, drag the existing columns - you may uncover the missing one.
To adjust a column automatically to the width of its widest entry, double-click the line separating its column heading from the one to its right.
To see a list of columns in the table, right-click a column heading. Click entries in this list to include or exclude columns in the display.
To rearrange the order of columns, click a column heading and drag it onto another. The column will move to be immediately to the right of the one you dragged it onto.
To sort on a particular column, click that column's heading.
To reverse the order of entries, click the column heading of the field that the list is already sorted on. Small arrows by the column heading may indicate whether the list is in forward or reverse order.

A.7 Selecting Items in a List

Often you're presented with a list, and you need to select one or more items in the list before clicking a button to perform some action on the selected item or items. Examples are listboxes, the commonly used Open dialog box, shown in Figure A-1 above, and the Add Files to Project dialog box.

To select a single item you simply left-click on it, but in many cases you can also select multiple items. Some or all of the following methods may have been implemented:

Hold Ctrl while clicking multiple individual items. If you click any without holding Ctrl, you deselect all you've selected so far.
Click one item, then hold down Shift while clicking a second. This selects both and all in between.
Click the down arrow while holding Shift. This selects successive entries.
Type A while holding Ctrl. This selects the whole list.

A.8 Dropdown Lists

Sometimes you see a field with a down-arrow on the right. The arrow indicates a dropdown list, listing possible values you could enter into the field. Figure A-3 illustrates a field with a dropdown list, and Figure A-4 shows the same field with its dropdown list open

Figure A-3: A Field with a Dropdown List

Figure A-4: The Same Field with its Dropdown List Open

Some or all of the following methods may have been implemented for entering a value into the field:

Simply type the value you want.
Click the , then in the dropdown list click the value you want.
In the field, type the first letter of the value you want. The first value in the list that starts with that letter will be inserted in the field. In some implementations, you can type further letters to identify more closely the value you want; in other implementations, any subsequent letter you type replaces the earlier one and is taken as the first letter of the required value.

A.9 Popup Menus

Often if you right-click on a window or object on the screen, a menu appears showing functions that are appropriate for that window or object. This is called a popup menu or context menu.

A.10 Cut and Paste

In many applications, you can move an item as follows:

Highlight the item with your mouse. If it's a filename, a single click normally does this. If it's text, drag your mouse button along it to highlight the part you want.
If you want to copy the text, press Ctrl+C. If you want to move it, deleting it from its present position, press Ctrl+X.
Highlight the place where you want to put the item. If you want to insert the item, click there. If you want to replace existing text, drag your mouse pointer along the text to be replaced to highlight it.
Click Ctrl+V.

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+V are the shortcut keys for functions Copy, Cut, and Paste usually available on menus . It's usually quicker to use the shortcut keys. A few applications may use different shortcut keys for these functions.

You may find you can cut and paste text from the online version of this Getting Started book into the IDE. This can save typing when the book gives a path to enter into a field.

A.11 Drag and Drop

In many applications, you can move or copy an item by "dragging and dropping" it, or its icon in a list or tree view. You put your mouse pointer on it, then hold down the left mouse button while you move your pointer to the place you want to put the item. This is called "dragging" the item, and "dropping" it at the place where you release the button.

This might copy the item, giving you a copy in the new location but leaving the original where it was; or move it, deleting it from the original location. It depends on the application.

Often you can transfer an item between two lists or tree views in this way. A good example is Windows Explorer, where you can even have several copies of the same tree view, by opening Windows Explorer several times. You can drag a file to its new location in another copy of the tree view, if the whole tree view is too big for you to see both the source and target locations on your screen in one tree view.

Often you can operate on a group of items. You select them as described in the section Selecting Items in a List above, and then press down the left mouse button on any one of them and drag. Be careful not to release the button till your mouse pointer is on the target location, or you'll deselect them all.

A.12 Resizing and Docking Windows

The ways you can change the shape and size of windows, and reposition the panes within a complex window, are best shown through a short tutorial using the IDE.

Place your mouse pointer on the gray border at the top of the Output window.
The mouse pointer changes shape depending on where it is. It's not possible to illustrate the shape, as the shapes used depend on your Windows settings. On this border it has its standard shape (often an arrow). If it's lower, within the Output window itself, or higher, where the border of the Output window meets the border of the main pane above, it may be different.
Hold down your left mouse button, and drag it up and to the right.
An outline representing the Output window moves with the pointer. As the pointer crosses the right-hand border of the IDE, this outline changes shape.

Notice that the tip "Hold Ctrl to prevent docking" appears at the bottom of the IDE.
Release the mouse button.
The Output window attaches itself to the right-hand border. This is called docking.
Place your mouse pointer on the line dividing the left-hand border of the Output window from the border of the main pane, and drag it to the left till it's a convenient width.
Thus you can widen the pane in the usual way.
Place your mouse pointer on the gray border at the left of the Output window, and drag it to the right until it is outside the IDE.
This makes the Output window into a separate window outside the IDE. It is said to be undocked, or floating.
Put your mouse pointer on the title bar of the Output window, and drag it back to its original position so that it docks there.

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