Windows Vista for Starters: The Missing Manual

6.1. Opening Programs

Windows lets you launch ( open ) programs in many different ways:

• Choose a programs name from the Start All Programs menu.

• Click a programs icon on the Quick Launch toolbar (Section 3.9.4).

• Find a program using the Start menus Search box (Section 3.2.1.2).

• 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?