The Desktop
The large area that is the upper part of the screen is called the Desktop. Sometimes (to keep you confused!) people may use the term Desktop to refer to everything you see on the monitor after Windows has gotten started.
The main purpose of the Desktop is to hold shortcut icons that will help you work efficiently.
The Desktop is really just a folder inside the Windows folder, so it can hold anything that any other folder can hold. It can be decorated with interesting textures or pictures. We'll discuss how later.
The Taskbar
Across the bottom of the screen we see the Taskbar. Normally it is in view all the time. The Taskbar's main job is to show what applications are currently running.
The middle section of the bar shows a button for each open application. Each button shows an icon with a label that shows the program and the current document, when there is room to see it! The icons and labels for the tasks adjust in size to fit the space on the Taskbar. So if you have several programs running, you may not see much of each one's taskbar icon, as in the illustration which is sized for this small window.
The Taskbar also holds the Start menu button at the far left and the Notification Area at the far right. Other toolbars, such as Quick Launch, Address, Links, Windows Media Player, may also display on the Taskbar.
In WinXP and Windows Vista you may see double chevrons or an arrow on the Taskbar when there are too many items to show in the allowed space. When you click the chevrons, a menu list appears or the space will expand to show the hidden items. In WinXP and in Windows Vista you can choose to group icons from the same program. For example, if you have 7 Word windows open, you will only see 1 button on the Task Bar that shows there are 7 Word windows. Clicking the button's arrow opens a list of the grouped windows.
The Start Menu
Clicking on the Start Menu brings up a list of shortcuts to start your programs. An item with an arrow at the right, such as Programs or All Programs, will open another list. There can be several levels of such lists.
In WinXP and Windows Vista, above the All Programs link is a list of often used programs. Above that is a list of programs that you want to remain in view, no matter how often you actually use them.
In Windows Vista the All Programs link works a bit differently. Clicking on All Programs changes the area directly above to show folders and shortcuts in a folder tree display instead of as cascading menus. Double click a folder to see the shortcuts and other folders inside it. At the bottom of the list, the Back arrow will return you to the original list.
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