Keyboard, Mouse, File Management, and more

This week’s installation of Computer Basics will cover tips on getting the most out of input devices (keyboard, mouse, trackpad, joystick, etc.), file management, and window basics. Not Windows basics, but window, as in what you see on the computer screen. Leaping forward!

Using the Keyboard

In every language, there’s a standard keyboard layout. That doesn’t mean you have to keep it that way, but if what you see on the key doesn’t match what happens when you press the key, you’re going to have trouble getting used to it. At first, you should keep the standard keyboard, and because this is a Basics series, we’re going to assume you’re doing that. You certainly don’t have to “learn to type” in order to use a keyboard well, but it does make everything much easier and faster. You can find a “learn to type” course without cost just by doing a search for “learn to type for free.” There are more options than I could name here, even some YouTube videos. The objective isn’t to become lightning-fast, but to get very familiar with where the keys are, so that even if you don’t ever “touch type,” you at least can hunt-and-peck quickly. However, there are some keyboard shortcuts you’ll want to memorize, and knowing where the keys for the shortcuts live will make this so much easier.

Some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts have mouse movements (icons to click on), so you may wonder why you would bother to use keyboard shortcuts if you can click on an icon and do the same thing. If you are typing on the keyboard and you have to take your fingers off the keyboard to move your mouse and click an icon, it uses extra time and it can be really frustrating if your mouse isn’t exactly where you think it is, if the cursor isn’t exactly where you think it is, and if you can’t get your hands back on the right keys quickly. I’ll give you a list of them, and here is the convention I’ll be using:

CTRL means use the Ctrl key (or “control” key)
+ means hold down the key before the “+” and the keyafter the “+” at the same time; for example CTRL+ S means hold the CONTROL key and the letter S at the same time
ALT means use the ALT key (or “alternate” key)
Fn means the Function keys, or on some keyboards, there’s a “Fn” key along the bottom row of keys that you have to hold if you want to invoke the Fn keys along the top of the keyboard, because on some laptops, those keys serve an additional function if you don’t hold the Fn key while selecting them.
Shift means hold the shift key while selecting the additional key

Here we go with the key combinations:

CTRL + C is the copy command
CTRL + V is the paste command
CTRL + X is the cut command
CTRL + S is the save command
When using most mail programs ALT + S is the send command
In most browsers, CTRL + W closes the current tab
The F5 key refreshes the browser tab
CTRL + T opens a new tab in a browser
CTRL + Shift + T brings back a browser tab that you just closed
ALT + Tab will bring up each of the open windows, one at a time; put your thumb on the ALT key, and each time you tap the Tab key, a different window will come to the front. On macOS, it’ll be Command + Tab.
CTRL + Tab will scroll through the tabs open in your browser. Shift + CTRL + Tab scrolls in reverse.
The Windows key + R will bring up the Run command, so that you can type in the name of a program you want to run. I use it to bring up Powershell or the Command Line.
CAPS LOCK will be the same as holding the Shift key down as you type, but it doesn’t “shift” the numbers to upper case.
Insert toggles what happens when you put your cursor in the middle of some text. If the Insert is triggered, which is the default, your typing will be inserted before where the cursor is located. If you tap that key, it changes to Overwrite, which will overwrite starting where your cursor is.
NumLock is something you may not see on all laptops, but it is in keyboards that have a number pad. NumLock means that if you tap the keys on the number pad, you’ll get numbers. If it’s not “on,” (You should have an indicator light letting you know it’s “on”), those keys will do what is written on them.
Bonus tip: I had to hunt this down several times before I finally printed a label and stuck it on my laptop. I use the F2 key in Excel a lot. It enables me to edit the contents of a cell without having to replace the whole cell contents. Sometimes I tap just the right key combination and the F2 stops being the “Edit” key. Fn + Esc (the Escape key) will lock it back in.

If you’re using a Mac keyboard (which you can also use with Windows and Linux computers), instead of looking for a CTRL key, you’ll look for a key that looks like a cloverleaf, and it’s called the “command” key.

Using the Mouse

Why would I need to include instructions for how to use a mouse? For one thing, if you use a mouse for a long period of time without taking breaks, your dominant wrist will start to hurt, and you could end up with a repetitive stress injury. So, first of all, take breaks. But also, try to get a mouse that feels good. I use the standard mouse for work, but I don’t use a mouse very much. For my personal computer, I have a mouse that is configured at a natural angle so that my hand sits at a 45-degree angle on the mouse.

A standard mouse has two buttons and a wheel on the top surface. Instructions will specify to use a “click,” or a “double-click”, or a “right-click.” We live in a right-handed world, and that’s not going to change anytime soon, so if you’re left-handed, you can configure your mouse to work in a mirror of a right-handed mouse, but a right-click going to be called a right click, even though for a left-hander, it’ll be a left-click. If someone says “click on ….”, you’ll use the button under your index finger, and you’ll only click once. If they say “double-click,” you’ll use that same button, but you’ll click twice. If they say “right-click,” you’ll use the button that’s not under your index finger. Normally, it will be under your middle finger, and you’ll only click once. When you’re trying to open a hyperlink in a document or on the web, you only need to click once on it.

The “click and drag” operation of a mouse is useful, but it will do different things in different environments. You’ll put the cursor over something, press the mouse button and hold it, and move your mouse. If the item is draggable, it will follow the cursor as you move your mouse. Not all objects can be dragged in this manner.

Early mice used a ball inside the bottom of the device that rolled against sensor-connected rollers, which translated the movement of the rollers into a location on the screen. Having a mousepad helped the roller ball move more smoothly and provide a smoother vier of the ball’s movement against the rollers. Today’s mice use lasers to map the movement, and they don’t require a mousepad. However, if the mouse is trying to work on a dark, shiny surface, the operation will be unpredictable. It may not even show up at all. All it takes is something opaque in any color for the mouse to work, as long as it’s not shiny.

You can adjust some mouse settings to fit your use. If you find that you have trouble double-clicking, you can go into the control settings for Mouse and adjust how fast a double-click should be. You can also adjust how fast the cursor moves when you move the mouse, and you can set it to show a “trail” of cursors as you move the mouse. Some people find that useful to help them keep track of where the mouse is.

Trackpads/Touchpads

The trackpad or touchpad (I’m just going to say “trackpad” from here on out) is the “touchy” area on a keyboard that lets you use mouse actions without using a connected mouse. It takes practice to use the trackpad without accidently touching your hand on it while you’re typing, and if you can’t get the hang of that, you can always connect a mouse to your computer and use that, and maybe disable the trackpad when a mouse is present.

The trackpad can also support gestures that either mimic mouse actions or mouse actions combined with key combinations. Here’s an example: You can “pinch” or “expand” your thumb and index finger to zoom in or out of a window, make it bigger or smaller. To do this with a mouse, you’d use the scroll wheel while holding a key, typically the CTRL key. You can two-finger tap (two fingers simultaneously) to simulate a right-click. Using four fingers and dragging down minimizes all windows, using four fingers and dragging up displays all open windows in small imitations on the screen. Play around and find out what all your system does with different gestures.

Navigating the Desktop or Home Screen

You should familiarize yourself with the desktop layout. You’ll see icons and shortcuts that will give you quick access to things you use most often. You can move the icons around and group them into sections, if that makes it easier for you to work, but certain updates may scramble them or rearrange them.

At the bottom of the screen (some Linux distributions put it at the top), you’ll see the Taskbar (Windows) or the Dock (macOS and Linux). It can hold program icons for programs you use most often, and even some documents. Also on the taskbar is the Start menu, and in some systems, a search bar. In the lower right of a windows system, you’ll see the System Tray. Its default configuration shows the date and time, battery status, network status, and sound output icon. You can click on the sound output icon and see where the system is currently going to output any sounds.

All of the operating systems offer you the option to change your desktop wallpaper and choose a “theme” for your computer. A theme is more than just the wallpaper, though. It includes things like the color scheme for the borders of dialog boxes (the boxes that pop up to ask your preference or authorization to continue with something), the default font for the system’s presentations in those boxes, the sizes of the icons on the desktop, dock, taskbar, etc., and, in the case of docs in macOS and Linux, how those icons in the doc behave (pop out, zoom to a larger size when you hover over them, etc.). You have options to personalize the computer no matter which operating system you’re using, so make it yours!

Running Programs/Applications

There are several different ways to start a program, and you’ll probably have a favorite, but it can be very useful to know several different ways to do it. I’ll give you several options in each of the operating systems.

Windows 10 and 11

Using the Start Menu: Click on the Start Button (the “Windows” icon on the taskbar, at the far left or closer to the middle), find the program in the list that pops up, and click on it to open it.
If the program is pinned to your taskbar, simply click once on it.
If you have a shortcut to it on your desktop (many programs place a shortcut on the desktop during installation, but you can also put one there yourself), double-click on it,
Search for it by pressing the Windows key, and in the search bar at the top of the window that opens, type the name of the program
Press the Windows key plus the R key, and type in the name of the program’s executable. (this is rarely the easiest way to run a program)
Find your way to the C:\Program Files\ <the name of the program> folder, open the folder, find the program file that ends in .exe, and double click on it (also not the easiest way).
Open a command line interface and type the name of the executable, using the full path.
Open task manager and run a new task.

macOS

Click on the program if it is in the Dock.
Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, find the program, and click to open it.
Press Command + Space, type the program’s name, and press Enter.
Open Finder, navigate to the Applications folder, and double-click the program icon.
Open Terminal, type the program’s name, and press Enter.
Click the Apple menu, go to Recent Items, and select the program.

Linux (Some of the options vary by distribution and desktop environment, but this gives you several options)

Click the application menu button, which is usually in the bottom left corner. Find the program, and click to open it.
If the program has a program shortcut on the desktop, double-click on it.
Use the desktop environment’s search function (e.g., GNOME’s Activities Overview, KDE’s KRunner) to find and open the program.
Navigate to the program’s installation directory and double-click the executable file.
Open a terminal, type the program’s executable name, and press Enter.
Set up custom keyboard shortcuts to launch specific programs. (This is advanced computer work, but it presents another option)
Press Alt + F2 (GNOME, KDE, XFCE), type the program’s name, and press Enter.

These methods cover the most common ways to open programs across different operating systems. There’s another way that works the same across the different platforms, and that’s to double-click on a document. The system will open the appropriate program to use it. There may be times when one method just doesn’t work, but another one may. It’s good to know several ways to do things. If none of them will open the program you want to use, try rebooting the computer. If you still can’t open the program, it has probably gotten corrupted, and you’ll need to reinstall it.

File Management

The file managers in all the different environments (Windows, macOS, and Linux) may have different names, but they all operate essentially the same. It’s a hierarchical system, with files and folders nested in each other, like you’d find in a physical file cabinet. You can create new files and folders, rename them, move them around by dragging into different locations, and delete them. If you delete a file or folder, it sits in the trash can or recycle bin until you empty it, unless your system is configured to empty the trash regularly. Don’t get in the habit of using the trash can as a storage location, that’s not what it’s for.

It’s helpful to try to keep your files and folders organized in some sort of system using broad categories. You can have multiple folders in each root folder. For example, in the Documents folder, you may have folders for Finance, Health Records, Auto Maintenance, and Household Repairs. It makes it so much easier when you’re looking for a file.

Closing Applications

You close a document by clicking the X in the upper right corner in Windows and the upper left corner in macOS. Linux distributions treat the buttons differently, but they will be either upper left or right, and closing will always be the X button.

On Windows and in most Linux distributions, if you have multiple documents open for a particular application, for example, multiple Word documents, you can close each document individually, leaving all of the others open, and closing that last open document closes the application. For your Linux distribution, if you still see the application’s menu bar at the top after you’ve closed all the open documents, the next paragraph applies to you.

On macOS and other Linux distributions, closing the document only closes the document, and the application remains running “in the background.” That is, it’s available for a quick launch of any documents within that application, but it won’t be up and displaying a blank document like it would when you first opened it. You can close the application by clicking on the name of the application in the menu bar, and selecting “Quit <application name>”.

How to Deal With Misbehaving Applications

If an application becomes unresponsive, use the Task Manager to force the close of the application. You can invoke the Task Manager in Windows by right-clicking in an empty space on the Taskbar or by pressing Ctrl-Shift-Esc, selecting the application, and selecting “End Task” in the upper right corner of Task Manager.

MacOS calls it Force Quit, and you can access it from the Apple Menu>Force Quit> select application name from the list. You can also invoke the Force Quit option by pressing Option-Command-Escape on macOS to close the application forcefully.

In Linux, you’ll need to search for System Monitor, KSysguard, or Task Manager, and you’ll find the process, right-click on it, and select “end process” or “kill process.” Alternatively, you can use the Terminal (look at the article on CLI for more information on how to use it), type in “xkill”, the cursor will change to a little “x”, and you just click on the window you want to force to quit.

Next up in the series will be using the Internet for various things. If you have any questions on this series, let me know in the comments below and I’ll answer as quickly as I can.