WINDOWS 95- AN INTRODUCTION 8.1 INTRODUCTION Windows 95 is the upgraded version of Windows 3.

x series with lots of new features embedded into it. It is a complete paradigm shift from windows 3.x working environment. It is the entry point to a 32-bit operating/computing environment with less set of hardware requirements. It has more compatibility with other software as compared to its previous version and provides easy installation. It also runs most of the Windows 3.x and Ms-DOS programs. Windows 95 also provides flexibility to configure hardware, easy link to a network or setup a network, install and uninstall programs automatically. It also has lots of other useful features like easy Internet access, multitasking, and its most useful feature is long file names. 8.2 OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson you would be able to
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understand the difference between Windows 3.11 and Windows95. able to work on Windows95 appreciate the uses of Long file name appreciate the new look and feel of Windows95.

8.3 IMPROVED FEATURES OF WINDOWS 95 Graphical User Interface : As compared to Windows 3.x, Windows 95 provides user-friendlier interface to work on. Its improved graphical user interface makes learning and using Windows 95 more natural and easier for all types of users. It is more powerful, customizable and efficient. Start Button Introduction of START button in Windows 95 made life much simpler while there is a need to access multiple programs. It is the gateway of accessing most of the functionality available in the computer loaded with Windows 95. Just Click on the Start button anytime to start any programs, open or find documents, change windows settings, get Help, manage Files, maintain system, and much more.

Taskbar As the name suggests, the Task bar provides information and access to the entire task that has been currently activated by Windows 95. Using this one can keep a track of what all programs have been activated and switched between them.

Windows Explorer Windows Explorer is more or less acts as a File Manager for Windows 95, but with lots of new features. It is more efficient, faster and user friendly as compared to File Manager of Windows 3.x. Using Explorer one can easily browse through all the drives and network resources available and manage files.

Right Mouse Button Clicking on the right mouse button activates a pop-up menu in any programs so as to help in completing a task efficiently.

Long File Names As the Ms-DOS convention follows, non-of the file used in DOS environment should be more than 8 characters of primary name and optional secondary name (extension) of three characters. However Windows 95 has broken this barrier. Windows 95 supports long file names, maximum of 255 characters. It also allowed space to be used in between file name. This helps to make files and folders (directory/subdirectory) easier to organize and find.

Shortcuts As the name suggests, SHORTCUTS are the shortest way to access programs, files and other resources in Windows 95. Instead of going through the structural process of accessing a program, one can create "shortcuts" to access them. It creates links for easy access to files, programs, folders, and more.

Multitasking Multitasking allows the user to activate and accomplish more than one task at a time. For example, work on a document file in WORD programs, while copying file from other computer available in the network. With Windows 95, 32-bit computing environment, the user can do more than one task a time.

Easy Internet Access One of the most useful and entirely new features is Windows 95 easy access to Internet. It provides built-in Internet functionality to setup link and access Internet with less amount of

Hardware and Software requirement. It also provides connectivity software from Microsoft Network (MSN), CompuServe, and America Online.

It also improves the efficiency of working on Internet with applications that support the latest Internet technologies, such as ActiveX, Java, and streaming audio and video. Software Compatibility Windows 95 provides complete backward compatibility. It is easily compatible with applications developed for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x environment. It also supports the latest 32-bit technology. Most of the latest software packages are now built on Windows 95 operating environment. Great Gaming Platform Windows 95 support rich graphics, high quality audio and video. It also requires all most no editing of Config.sys files so as to support these technologies. All this is possible because of Windows 95 compatibility with latest and hottest technologies like Plug and Play, AutoPlay, and built-in support for MIDI and digital and surrounds video. Hardware Compatibility Windows 95 provides greater Hardware compatibility as compare to any other operating environment. It has flexibility of supporting hardware from different vendors. Its Plug and Play functionality allows to insert the hardware card into the computer and when the computer is turned on Windows 95 automatically recognizes and sets up the hardware.

Find Utility Find Utility of Windows 95 allows you to do searches by partial name, last modified date, or full text. In addition, you can save, rename, or view files from within the result pane, just like you can from Windows Explorer.

Help Windows 95 provides online help to accomplish a task. If the user is not sure how to perform a task, Windows 95 Help will provide structured process how to accomplish the task. Simply rightclick on any object in the user interface (icons) and you'll get relevant descriptions about that object.

(a) System Requirements

CPU Memory Hard Disk Space Display Operating System

Recommended 486/25 MHz-based system or more Recommended a minimum of 8-MB memory (RAM). Available free hard disk space of 40-45 MB. VGA or higher-resolution display MS-DOS

Peripheral/ Miscellaneous Compatible pointing device

(b) Windows Desktop Icons Icon Purpose My Computer Provides direct access to local drives, printers, Control panel, and the Dial-up Network utility. Network Neighborhood Access to shared resources on the machine and computers on local and wide area network. Recycle Bin Provides drag and drop facilities, deletion of file from folders in the machine and provides a second chance to recover files deleted from the hard disk. Inbox or Microsoft Outlook Universal in-box for all mail sources including faxes, mail, exchange, and others.
Windows 95 provides the flexibility of executing most of the DOS commands or DOS based program without going out of Windows 95 GUI. To use DOS prompt;

Microsoft Windows 98 operating system is designed to make the PC work better by improving computer performance and making it easier to access the Internet and keep it running in top form. With Windows 98, the PC "plays" better via support for the latest graphics, sound, and multimedia technologies, easy addition and removal of peripheral devices, and by bringing TV to the user's computer. This version of the Microsoft operating system builds on features introduced with Windows 95, and maintains the best support for older Windows-based applications and technologies. Specifically, Windows 98 allows the PC user to:
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Browse their computer and the Internet with Internet Explorer, giving them one-click access to Windows or the Web Communicate via Outlook Express e-mail, Microsoft Chat, NetMeeting conferencing, and Windows Media Player Work faster through performance improvements in getting started, shutting down, and in between

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Tune their computer through automatic maintenance and new help and support options Have fun with entertainment features involving TV, DVD, multimonitor support, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology that makes it easier to add and remove peripheral devices

PC users want to enjoy all the Internet has to offer--surfing the Web for information, shopping for products and services online, hanging out in newsgroups, and chatting with friends and family via e-mail. With the Internet features built into Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft has tried to make it easier to find the information needed, whether it's on the computer's hard drive, a local area network, or the Internet. Key improvements include the following:
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Web-Aware User Interface-lets the user access information regardlesss of its location. Information Delivery-brings the information to the user, rather than the user having to look for it. Smarter Browsing-the user doesn't have to "remember" Web addresses or file locations, Internet Explorer does it. Easy Internet Connections-helps the user find an Internet service provider or set up their existing account.

In addition, Windows 98 contains the following features carried over from Windows 95:
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Size/Color of Navigation Elements benefit users with low vision or color blindness because they can change the size, contrast and/or color of window titles, scroll bars, menu text, and other elements. In addition, the mouse pointer can be enlarged, animated, and made more high-contrast. Special Keys allow users with limited mobility to access an array of useful features in Windows. StickyKeys enable users who type with one finger or a head-or-mouth-stick to press two or more keys simultaneously. FilterKeys disregard keystrokes not held down for a specified length of time. ToggleKeys make the computer emit a beep whenever the Caps Lock, Num Lock or Scroll Lock keys are pressed. And SerialKeys let users control a PC using alternative or augmentative communication devices. Sound Enhancements in the form of ShowSounds and Windows Chat. ShowSounds allow applications to show captions for sounds whenever an application has added captions. The Windows Chat utility enables up to eight users to hold a conversation via networked computers, which is useful for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. User Profiles enable people to customize Windows with their own preferences and then retain that customization the next time they start the computer.

Application of Windows :

Single user applications can be developed with Microsoft Office products. Office applications can be developed using Word, Excel, Power Point, or Access. While easy to develop, they are generally limited to one or two users and exhibit significant limitations in an enterprise environment. For enterprise use, a better alternative to a Windows Application is an Internet Application.

Explain about MS Word, Working with header and footer, and mail merge.
Microsoft Word is a non-free commercial word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems.[1][2][3] Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS (1983), the Apple Macintosh (1984), the AT&T Unix PC (1985), Atari ST (1986), SCO UNIX, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows (1989). It is a component of the Microsoft Office system; it is also sold as a standalone product and included in Microsoft Works Suite .3 WHAT IS WORD-PROCESSING? Word Processor is a Software package that enables you to create, edit, print and save documents for future retrieval and reference. Creating a document involves typing by using a keyboard and saving it. Editing a document involves correcting the spelling mistakes, if any, deleting or moving words sentences or paragraphs. (a) Advantages of Word Processing One of the main advantages of a word processor over a conventional typewriter is that a word processor enables you to make changes to a document without retyping the entire document. (b) Features of Word Processing Most Word Processor available today allows more than just creating and editing documents. They have wide range of other tools and functions, which are used in formatting the documents. The following are the main features of a Word Processor i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Text is typing into the computer, which allows alterations to be made easily. Words and sentences can be inserted, amended or deleted. Paragraphs or text can be copied /moved throughout the document. Margins and page length can be adjusted as desired. Spelling can be checked and modified through the spell check facility. Multiple document/files can be merged. Multiple copies of letters can be generated with different addresses through the mailmerge facility.

(c) Some Common Word Processing Packages The followings are examples of some popular word processor available
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Softword WordStar Word perfect Microsoft word

9.4 IMPORTANT FEATURES OF MS-WORD Ms-Word not only supports word processing features but also DTP features. Some of the important features of Ms-Word are listed below: i. Using word you can create the document and edit them later, as and when required, by adding more text, modifying the existing text, deleting/moving some part of it. Changing the size of the margins can reformat complete document or part of text. Font size and type of fonts can also be changed. Page numbers and Header and Footer can be included. Spelling can be checked and correction can be made automatically in the entire document. Word count and other statistics can be generated. Text can be formatted in columnar style as we see in the newspaper. Text boxes can be made. Tables can be made and included in the text. Word also allows the user to mix the graphical pictures with the text. Graphical pictures can either be created in word itself or can be imported from outside like from Clip Art Gallery. Word also provides the mail-merge facility. Word also has the facility of macros. Macros can be either attached to some function/special keys or to a tool bar or to a menu. It also provides online help of any option.

ii. iii.

iv.

v.

vi. vii.

viii. ix.

x.

The Mail Merge Recipient dialog box creates an address list (.mdb) for the data file. In Microsoft Word, the maximum number of fields for the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box is 255.To create a new database from the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box, follow these steps: 1. Microsoft Word 2002 On the Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge Wizard. Microsoft Office Word 2003 On the Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.

Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Word 2010 On the Mailings tab, click Start Mail Merge, and then click Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard. Follow the steps in the Mail Merge Wizard to "Step 3: Select Recipients." This is where you set up your address list. 2. Click Type a new list. 3. Click Create. The New Address List dialog box appears. In this dialog box, type the address information for each record. If there is no information for a particular field, leave the box blank. By default, Word skips blank fields, so the merge is not affected if blank entries are in the data form. The set of information in each form makes up one data record. 4. After you type the information for a record, click New Entry to move to the next record. To delete a record, click Delete Entry. To search for a specific record, click Find Entry. To filter or sort your records, click Filter and Sort. Note If you want to customize your address list, click Customize. In the Customize Address List dialog box, you can add, delete, rename, and reorder the merge fields. 5. In the New Address List dialog box, click Close. 6. In the Save Address List dialog box, in the File name box, type the name that you want to give your data source, and then click Save. 7. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, make any changes that you want, and then click OK. You have now created a new address and are ready to move to the next step in the Mail Merge Wizard. This step is to write your letter. For more information about how to create a form letter, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 294683 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294683/ ) How to use mail merge to create form letters in Word 2002 and in later versions of Word If you need more than 255 data fields in your address list, Word cannot organize the data from the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box. Instead, you can set up your information as separate paragraphs in a Word document. The header record and each data record must end with a paragraph mark, which is the data record delimiter. Each field name in the header record and each field in the data record must be separated by a tab character or comma, which is the data field delimiter. If any of the data fields is empty, you must include a field delimiter to identify the empty field. If you are using an address list from a database or spreadsheet program, you can export this data to an ASCII text format, separated by commas or tabs. Or, you may be able to attach the database by using ODBC, DDE, or a converter. If you export your data to an ASCII format and Word does not automatically recognize the field and record delimiters, Word prompts you to select the delimiters when you first use the address list. When you set up an address list in this format in Word, you should use a paragraph mark as the data record delimiter and a tab character

or comma as the data field delimiter. In addition to the general rules for organizing an address list, the following rules also apply to address lists that are set up as regular text:
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Press ENTER to end each data record with a paragraph mark. Make sure that there are no extra paragraph marks between or following the data records. Word interprets any empty paragraphs (blank lines) as empty records. Use the same field delimiter in both the header record and the data record. For example, you cannot use tab characters in the header record and commas in the data records. Because text in data fields may include commas, it is preferable to use tab characters. If a data record does not include information for a specific data field, insert two tab characters or two commas to indicate the empty field. Do not insert a second field delimiter, if the data field is the last one in the data record. Enclose the data field in quotation marks if the data field contains any one of the following characters: o A tab character or comma, if you are using that same character to separate the fields o A line break or a paragraph mark o A character that you specified as the list separator character in the International section of Control Panel in Microsoft Windows If information in a data field contains quotation marks (" "), type the characters twice ("" ""). When information from the data field is merged, only one pair of quotation marks will be printed.

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Deciding when to use a separate header source

In most cases, it is convenient to list the field name for each data field in the first row, or record, of the address list. However, you may want to list the field names in a separate header source for the following reasons:
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You can use the same header row and field names to merge data from various sources without having to repeat or change the header row in each address list or change the merge field names in the main document. Sometimes an address list from another program does not include a header record, or field names in the header record do not match the merge field names in your main document. If you cannot modify or add a header record in the address list (for example, because the address list is read-only) you can use a separate header source that contains the field names that you specify.

Adding the "Mail Merge Open Header Source" button If you use a separate header source, you must specify both the header source and the address list before you can merge the main document with the address list.

To use a header source in a Word mail merge, you must add the Mail Merge Open Header Source button to your Mail Merge toolbar. To do this, follow the steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running.
Word 2002 or Word 2003

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Mail Merge. The Mail Merge toolbar appears. 2. On the Tools menu, click Customize. 3. On the Commands tab, select All Commands in the Category list. 4. In the Commands list, select and drag MailMergeOpenHeaderSource to your Mail Merge toolbar. 5. Click Close to close the Customize dialog box.
Word 2007

To use a header source in a Word mail merge in Word 2007, you must add the Mail Merge Open Header Source button to your Quick Access Toolbar. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. In Word, click the Microsoft Office Button. Click Word Options. Click Customization. In the Choose commands from dialog box, click All Commands. Click Mail Merge Open Header Source, and then click Add. Click OK.

Word 2010

To use a header source in a Word mail merge in Word 2007, add the Mail Merge Open Header Source button to your Quick Access Toolbar. 1. 2. 3. 4. Choose Options from the File tab. Choose Customize Ribbon. Under Choose commands from, replace Popular Commands with All Commands. Click Mail Merge Open Header Source, and then click Add. Note: You may need to add a new tab before adding the command to the Ribbon. 5. Click OK.

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Designing a header source

When you specify a header source, remember the following rules:

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The number of field names in the header source must equal the number of data fields in the address list. Field names in the header source must be listed in the same order as the corresponding information in the address list. Use the same field delimiter (either a tab character or a comma) for both the header source and the address list. If your main document already contains merge fields, use the same merge fields in your header source. If you do not do this, you must replace the merge fields in the main document to match the field names in the header source. After you specify a header source, you can edit it just as you edit the address list.

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Using a header record from another address list

If you have an address list that contains a header record, you can use it as a header source. For example, if you broke up your address list into several documents, you can specify the field names in the header record of the first address list. When you merge from other address lists that do not have a header record, specify the first address list as the header source. Then specify each of the remaining address lists in turn. Word ignores the data records from the first address list and uses only the header record. Back to the top

Types of data that you can use with mail merge

You can merge virtually any type of information from a mail-merge data source, including the following:
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Any text or numbers Graphics for which you have a graphics filter installed

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Note If the graphics are contained in an address list from a program other than Word, you must convert the file by using a file format converter. Objects created in programs that support object linking and embedding (OLE), such as Equation Editor Word fields that display a result, such as an {=} (Formula) field

To add information other than text or numbers to an address list that you created in Word, you must display the address list in a document window using the Open command on the File menu. Or, open the address list in the original program that created the document. Then insert the information in the appropriate column and row of the address list table. Back to the top

Types of data that you cannot use

You cannot merge text or graphics that are contained in a frame in the address list. However, you can position merge fields inside frames. When you merge the documents, the text and graphics from the address list are positioned in the frame.