Windows® 7 for Dummies®

Chapter 3. Basic Windows Mechanics

In This Chapter

• Understanding a window's parts

• Manipulating buttons, bars, and boxes

• Finding and using menus

• Understanding the new Navigation and Preview Panes

• Paging through a document in a window

• Filling out forms

• Moving windows and changing their size

This chapter is for curious Windows anatomy students. You know who you are — you're the one who sees all those new buttons, borders, and balloons scattered throughout Windows 7 and wonders what would happen if you just clicked that little thing over there.

This rather gruesome chapter tosses an ordinary window (your oft-used Documents folder, to be precise) onto the dissection table. I've yanked out each part for thorough labeling and explanation. You'll find the theory behind each one and the required procedures for making each piece do your bidding.

A standard field guide follows, identifying and explaining the buttons, boxes, windows, bars, lists, and other oddities you may encounter when you're trying to make Windows 7 do something useful.

Feel free to don any protective gear you may have lying about, use the margins to scribble notes, and tread forcefully into the world of Windows.

Dissecting a Typical Window

Figure 3-1 places a typical window on the slab, with all its parts labeled. You might recognize the window as your Documents library, that storage tank for most of your work.

Figure 3-1. Here's how the ...