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What follows is a collection of beginner tips, as well as selected Annoyances.org topics, appropriate for beginning Windows users.

Right-click on everything ... You can't really do any damage with the right mouse button in Windows, because it's designed only to show a context menu (a list of options appropriate for the selected object). One of the options is usually Properties, which gives you access to lots of settings and information.

Your mouse tells you what's happening ... Look closely at your mouse cursor while you're moving it around - it's not always an arrow. For example, when you're dragging a file, Windows gives you a clue as to what's going to happen when you drop it depending on what's currently underneath the cursor.

Help is near ... Pressing F1 in most situations will either display detailed instructions or brief descriptions of the controls. The help has a search feature, too, allowing you to find desired information by typing in a keyword.

Explorer is called Explorer for a reason ... Don't be afraid to browse your hard disk. Look in all your folders, and try all the programs in the Start Menu. Explore!

Use Shortcuts ... A shortcut is a little file that lets you open a program without having to find the program on your hard disk. You can make a shortcut for any program, document, drive, or folder by draging and dropping the icon onto the destkop with the right mouse button. See the next section for another use for shortcuts.

Edit your Start Menu ... You can fully customize your start menu - don't bother with the Taskbar Settings, though. Open the Windows Explorer, and open the Start Menu folder under your Windows directory. All the files and folders inside the Start Menu folder are mirrored in the actual Start Menu. You can drag-drop program icons into the start menu folder, just as easily as making new folders by using the right mouse button.

The Desktop is a folder ... The desktop is a folder (aka directory) on your hard disk, just like any other. It's located under your Windows directory (usually C:\Windows\Desktop\), and can contain files, folders, and shortcuts. The desktop is a good place to store newly downloaded files from the internet, email attachments, and other "recent" files.

ZIP files ... You'll notice that Windows Annoyances, among other sites on the World Wide Web, allow you to download various types of software. More often than not, this software is compressed into a ZIP file. A single ZIP file can contain an entire directory of files, while only occupying a fraction of the disk space. This definitely helps to reduce download time, but you'll need to obtain the program used to deal with such files. DOS users can use PKZip, and Windows users can use WinZip to extract ZIP files.

Maintenance ... Windows comes with two maintenance utilities, Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter. Scandisk is used to find and correct many types of errors on your hard disk, and Disk Defragmenter is used to "optimize" your files (rearrange them so they aren't broken up). Using each of these on a regular basis (such as once a week) will not only improve performance, but will decrease the likelyhood of a disk crash or other loss of important data.

Drivers are important ... A driver is a software program that's used to help your computer work with a particular piece of hardware, such as a sound card or scanner. Many problems and errors in Windows are caused by buggy or outdated drivers. If you're having trouble, make sure you contact the manufacturer to see if they have any newer drivers for your hardware.

If you are familiar with Windows, the terms used in this help file will be familiar to you. If you have not used Windows before, or would like a refresher course on Windows terms, please read this section to become familiar with some common Windows terms.

Left mouse button refers to the left button on your mouse.

Pointer refers to the arrow-shaped cursor on the screen.

Choose means to move the pointer to an object, menu, command, tool, or button and press the left mouse button. This term is synonymous with click.

Select means to mark an item with the selection cursor, which can appear as a highlight, a dotted rectangle, or both. You select an item by clicking on it once with your mouse, or by using the Tab or arrow key to move the cursor to the item. Double-click means to press the left mouse button twice rapidly.

Right-click means to press the right mouse button.

Drag means to hold down the left mouse button, move the pointer to another location on the screen, and release the mouse button.

However, for those who are finding too much trouble with our traditional desktop PC's, there are other solutions.

Instead of using a computer, you use an Etch-A-Sketch. There are many sound reasons for upgrading your computer to an Etch-A-Sketch:

1. No OS (operating system) problems.
2. No technical glitches keeping work from being done.
3. No more wasted time reading and writing emails.

Q. My Etch-A-Sketch has all of these funny little lines all over the screen.
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. What's the shortcut for Undo?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. How do I create a New Document window?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. How do I set the background and foreground to the same color?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. What is the proper procedure for rebooting my Etch-A-Sketch?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. How do I delete a document on my Etch-A-Sketch?
A. Pick it up and shake it.

Q. How do I save my Etch-A-Sketch document?
A. Don't shake it.

Any errors or suggestions? ... ... everything's working?

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