Basic Computer Operations

Input: Information and programs are entered into the computer through Input devices
such as the keyboard, disks, or through other computers via network connections or
modems connected to the Internet. The input device also retrieves information off disks.
Output: Output Devices displays information on the screen (monitor) or the printer and
sends information to other computers. They also display messages about what errors may
have occurred and brings up message or dialog box asking for more information to be
input. The output device also saves information on the disk for future use.
Process: The CPU or central processing unit is sometimes called the Control Unit and
directs the operation of the input and output devices. The Coprocessor or the Arithmetic-
Logic Unit does arithmetic and comparisons. The memory or RAM temporarily stores
information (files and programs) while you are using or working on them.

Keyboards
The keyboard is one of the main ways a user will interact with a computer. Being able to
effectively use a computer keyboard is an essential skill for successful computer use. By
effectively using a computer keyboard we not only mean "being able to type" but also
understanding special functions and keystrokes that may be required for you to interact
with the computer systems on campus and complete certain tasks efficiently.
Here are some of the primary keys in a keyboard:
ENTER – Moves the cursor down one line and to the left margin. Enter also process
commands such as choosing an option in a dialog (message) boxes and submitting a form.
DEL or DELETE – Deletes the character at cursor and/or characters to the right of the
cursor and all highlighted (or selected) text.
BKSP or BACKSPACE – Deletes the character to the left of cursor and all highlighted text.
SPACE BAR – Moves the cursor one space at a time to the right
SHIFT KEY – Use the shift keys to type capital letters and to type the upper character on
keys with two characters on them
CAPS LOCK – Locks the keyboard so it types capital letters (a light goes on when caps lock
is on)
TAB – Moves the cursor five spaces to the right (number of spaces are usually adjustable).
Tab moves to the next field in a form or table (Shift-Tab for previous field).
ESC or ESCAPE - Cancels a menu or dialog box
ARROW KEYS – Moves the cursor around document without changing text FUNCTION
KEYS or F KEYS – Access commands by themselves or in combination with the three
command keys; CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT
ALT KEY - A computer key that you press together with another key so that the other key
does something different from what it usually does. You can also refer to this key simply as
Alt.
CHARACTER SET - A complete set of letters, numbers, or symbols that can be used by a
computer.
CONTROL KEY - A key on a computer keyboard that is used in combination with other
keys for doing particular operations. This key is usually marked ‘Ctrl’.
NUMERIC KEYPAD - The part of a computer keyboard to the right of the main keys that
has keys with numbers on them.
SHIFT KEY - The key that you press on a computer keyboard when you want to write a
capital letter.

Basic Typing Rules

Place one space between each word, after a punctuation mark and at the end of a sentence.
Always start a sentence with a capital letter. Use capitals for names, addresses, provinces
and countries, places, organizations, businesses, associations, schools, colleges,
universities, days of the week, months, holidays, nationalities, ethnic groups and
languages.
Learning the keyboard is the first step to learning computers. Learning involves practice. It
really is as simple as that. There are two kinds of typing.
The first is called Touch Typing. The Touch Typist uses the Home Keys asdf for the left
hand and jkl; for the right) and all the fingers on both hands as well as the thumbs for the
Space Bar while typing. There are many commercial and public domain programs that are
designed to teach this method.
Useful Keyboard Shortcuts:
Ctrl+Alt+Delete: This combination of keystrokes has a couple of different functions.
Typically it is used at the main Windows screen to bring up the area from which you can
log on to the computer network. It can also be used to lock the computer, log off, or change
your password.
Ctrl + C: Copies whatever item has been selected. The item is placed on the clipboard
(which is a temporary memory area) so that it can be pasted elsewhere.
Ctrl + X: Cuts the item that has been selected by the user and puts it on the clipboard so
that it can be pasted elsewhere. This function differs from copying in that cutting removes
the item from the original location after the paste is completed.
Ctrl + V: Pastes the item that has been copied to the clipboard to a new location identified
by the user.
Ctrl + Z: Undo -- This function will reverse the last action that you have made.
Ctrl+A: These two keys will select all text or other objects.
Ctrl+B: Bold highlighted text.
Ctrl+E: Center text.
Ctrl+F: Open find window.
Ctrl+I: Italicize text.
Ctrl+N: Create a new page or document.
Ctrl+O: Open a file in most programs.
Ctrl+P: Open a print window to print the page you're viewing.
Ctrl+S: Save the document or file.
Ctrl+T: Create a new tab in an Internet browser or adjust tabs in word processors.
Ctrl+U: Underline selected text.
Ctrl+Y: These keys will redo any undo action.
Ctrl+Esc: Open the Windows Start Menu.
Alt + 0153: ™ Trademark
Alt + 0169: © Copyright
Alt + 0174: ® Registered
Alt + 172: ¼ One fourth fraction
Alt + 171: ½ One half fraction
Alt + 0190: ¾ Three fourth fraction
Alt + 165: Ñ Tilde I Capital
Alt + 164: ñ Tilde i Small
Alt + 8369: ₱ Peso sign

Pointing Devices
There are many different types of pointing devices that you may encounter when using a
computer, but each performs the same main functions which are:
1) to point the cursor to a location on the monitor,
2) to click,
3) to drag and
4) to select something.
Useful Pointing Device Functions:
Left Single Click: Refers to clicking once on the left mouse button. This action is typically
used to place the insertion point (flashing line) in a document to indicate where you would
like to begin typing. It can also be used to select something such as an image, icon, window
or other item on the screen.
Left Double Click: Double clicking is accomplished by quickly pressing the left mouse
button twice while pointing to an item. Double clicking can be used to launch a program (if
pointing to an icon on the desktop or start menu), open a folder (from within Windows
Explorer or My Computer), open a file, or select an entire word from within a document.
Right Click: Right Clicking is typically used to bring up a shortcut menu of common
options associated with a particular item. For example if you were to position your mouse
pointer over an icon on the desktop and click the right mouse button once, a small menu
containing options would appear. To carry out one of these options, you would then need to
point your mouse pointer to the item of your choice and click on it using the left mouse
button.
Scroll: Scrolling changes the view on the computer screen by moving the text and graphics
that are displayed up and down or left and right. Scrolling can be accomplished using the
scroll bars on the right side or bottom of a window. To scroll, you would position your
mouse over the scroll bar (for example the scroll bar on the right), hold down the left mouse
button and move the mouse in a downward motion. This would scroll the view down. Many
computer mice also possess a scroll wheel that is found between the left and right mouse
button. The scroll wheel can be used to scroll the view up and down.
Drag: Dragging is used to select an area of the computer screen. For example, if you would
like to select many icons on the desktop or many lines of text in a document, you could
accomplish this by clicking the mouse in the upper-left corner of the area that you would
like to select, hold down the mouse button and moving your mouse in a downward-right
motion until all of the desired items were selected. Dragging can also be used to move items
such as words in a document, icons on the desktop, or files in Windows Explorer. To
accomplish this, you would click once on the individual item to select it (with the left mouse
button), hold down the mouse button and move the mouse until the pointer is hovering
above the new desired location. This action is known as "drag-and-drop".

Printing
There are basically three types of printers that you may encounter when completing your
work. It is important to understand the differences and uses of each.
The three main types are the following:
Laser Printer: The majority of printers that you will be using on campus are Laser printers
as they are typically used in places that need to handle mass or frequent printing. SUNY
Broome provides access to laser printers in each of the labs on campus. The printers are
connected to the network, which means that one printer can be shared among all
computers in the lab. While color laser printers do exist, the ones you will be using in the
labs on campus only use black toner.
Inkjet Printer: Inkjets are typically the most affordable printers that you can purchase and
are frequently produced for home or small office use. In addition to their affordability, inkjet
printers allow for color printing. The cost of color ink cartridges, however, can become quite
pricey, particularly if the printer is used to print mass volumes. You will most likely only
encounter inkjet printers in classes that require color printing and not in the computer
labs.
All-in-One Printer: The All-in-One printer is also a very popular printer for the home or
small office as it is capable of not only color printing, but also faxing, copying or scanning.
It can be a very handy device and that typically can be found at very affordable prices.

Scanning
A Scanner is an electronic device that captures documents, photographs, and other printed
material and saves them as digital files. The scanner is similar to a copier in that the
original item to be scanned is placed on a flat bed of glass under a cover and a moving
beam of light captures the image. The difference lies in the output. While a copier scanner
produces a paper duplicate of the item copied, the scanner produces digital output.
In order to successfully scan an item, you will need:
1) a scanner
2) specialized scanning software that works with the scanner and
3) a storage location in which you will be saving your scanned digital files.