Getting started

One feature of Windows 95 tends to grow on you: its flexibility. Rather than a single, rigid way to do something, you often have a choice. You expect a computer to have hard and fast rules. In Windows 95, the rule often is that you must pick one of several means to do your job. Do not expect to learn procedures. Expect to learn the environment. That begins with starting an application program.

Icons for starting programs XE "starting programs" XE "starting:programs" were mentioned above. When programs are installed, the icons are put on the desktop if the operator grants permission. Double-clicking on an icon starts the program. If the icon is for an object, such as a word processor document, clicking starts the program and loads the object. It is not faster; one is done and then the other.

Start Button (left end of the taskbar) is another way to start a program, but it helps to know where you are going.

Point at the Start button, click the XE "start button menu" left mouse button once, and release it, displaying the Start button menu. Move the mouse pointer up to Programs. The Programs menu will soon appear, listing the program groups installed.

Move the mouse pointer to the right, then up or down, to highlight the program group in which you would expect to find your program. The menu for that group will appear. Move over there, click once on the program name, and the program will start. (In some cases there are program groups and sub-groups, causing an additional column to appear.)

Programs can be started with at least two more procedures, to be described later.