6.1. Opening Programs: All Versions Windows lets you launch ( open ) programs in many different ways: -
Choose a program's name from the Start All Programs menu. -
Click a program's icon on the Quick Launch toolbar (page 101). -
Double-click an application's program-file icon in the Computer Local Disk (C:) Program Files application folder, or highlight the applications icon and then press Enter. -
Press a key combination you've assigned to be the program's shortcut (page 146). -
Choose Start Run, type the program files name in the Open text box, and then press Enter. -
Let Windows launch the program for you, either at startup (page 20) or at a time you've specified (see Task Scheduler, page 606). -
Open a document using any of the above techniques; its "parent" program opens automatically. For example, if you used Microsoft Word to write a file called Last Will and Testament.doc, double-clicking the document's icon launches Word and automatically opens that file. What happens next depends on the program you're using (and whether or not you opened a document). Most present you with a new, blank, untitled document. Some, such as FileMaker and Microsoft PowerPoint, welcome you instead with a question: do you want to open an existing document or create a new one? And a few oddball programs, like Adobe Photoshop, don't open any window at all when first launched. The appearance of tool palettes is the only evidence that you've even opened a program. |