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.Otherwise, you might delete a file that s important to the proper functioning ofWindows, which would make your computer perform erratically, or not at all!Finally, if you re in a program or dialog box, look to the upper-right corner of its window to see whetherthere s a button with a question mark on it.For example, the Date and Time Properties dialog boxshown in Figure 1-14 has one.(To open the dialog box, I double-clicked the current time in the lower-right corner of the screen.)Figure 1-14: A What s This? button, identified by a question mark (?), is available in this sample dialog box.The button with the question mark is called the What s This? button.As the name implies, it answers thequestion What the heck is that thing? that s likely to pop into your mind from time to time.To use thebutton, click it.The mouse pointer gains a question mark.Next, within the dialog box, click the itemyou re wondering about.An extra large ToolTip appears, giving you more information about the item.Unfortunately, the What s This? button isn t universally available.And not all items that you click willhave Help text associated with them.When the button is available, however, it can certainly come inhandy!page 19 Windows XP BibleTo Single-Click or Double-ClickBefore we close this chapter, I want to take you through your first complete practical use of the Startmenu, a dialog box, and some other features discussed in this chapter.Here you ll decide whether youwant to click or double-click icons to open them.To give it a whirl, follow these steps:1.Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of the screen.2.Click the Control Panel option.The Control Panel opens, looking something like Figure 1-15.Figure 1-15: The Control Panel, in Category viewIf you see a bunch of icons in your Control Panel, rather than the categories shown inNotethe figure, click Switch to Category View in the left pane of the window.3.Click Appearance and Themes.4.Click Folder Options near the bottom of the window that opens.The Folder Options dialog boxdisplays (see Figure 1-16).Figure 1-16: The Folder Options dialog box5.To make sure your open windows resemble the ones shown in this book, click Show CommonTasks in Folders to select that option (as in the figure).6.Under Click Items As Follows, choose either the Single-Click To Open.or Double-Click ToOpen option, depending on which you prefer.(I always use single click).7.If you opted for single-clicking, you can choose to have clickable items underlined all the time(consistent with your Web browser), or only when you point to them.8.Click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box.Your selections are saved and the dialogbox closes.You re back at the Control Panel window.Clicking the Close (X) button at the top of a dialog box closes the box withoutCautionsaving your changes.To apply the selections you ve made in a dialog box, click itsOK button.More on dialog boxes coming up in Chapter 2.page 20 Windows XP Bible9.To close the Control Panel window, click the Close (X) button in its upper-right corner.You reback at the desktop now.To test your selection, click any desktop icon.If it opens, you ve selected single-clicking.If it doesn topen, you must have selected double-clicking.In that case, try double-clicking any icon to open it.Toclose whatever window the icon opens, do the usual thing.Click the Close (X) button in the upper-rightcorner of the window.Logging Off, Shutting DownYour computer is not a TV.One of the most common mistakes newbies make when using a PC issimply to turn off the PC when they re done.This is not good because it doesn t give you, or yourcomputer, a chance to save any changes you made or any work you accomplished.The first thing youwant to do when you plan to shut down your computer or even just plan to walk away from it for awhile is save any work in progress.In this chapter, you haven t created anything, so there s nothingto save.But for future reference, bear in mind that anything left unsaved on your screen is likely to gobye-bye forever if you don t remember to save your work before shutting down your computer.Tip As you ll learn in Chapter 3, you can easily save your work at any time.In fact, it s agood idea to save your work every few minutes, just to make sure you don taccidentally lose it.You can end your session at the computer a few different ways.If you share this computer with others,and want to leave it on for them, you can just log off
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