Note: The three-part "How To Use VIN" course can be taken live (on the first three Wednesday nights of each month), or you can do it as self study. (To sign up for the course, email Nate@VIN.com, and tell him you'd like to learn how to use VIN.)

The information presented below in text form can now be viewed in a movie! Just click on the link for a presentation of Computer Basics.

This session of the "How To" course has several objectives:

• Become familiar with common computer terminology
• Learn how to manipulate computer windows on your computer screen
  Resize windows
  Move windows around your screen
  Learn how to view multiple windows on your computer screen at the same time and how to move back and forth between them (window jumping)
• Become familiar with VIN Unity and the Conference Room windows
• Learn how to take a Web Tour
• Learn how to take a VIN Poll

COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY

CLICK AND DRAG
Click and drag is a term frequently used to describe an action commonly performed when working with computers. It is usually performed when you want to move an object on your computer screen. It consists of four actions.

• Move the cursor (usually an arrow as in Figure 1) over a movable object on your computer screen
• Click and hold down the left mouse button while the cursor is over the object
• While still holding the left mouse button down, move the cursor around the screen
• When you've moved the object where you want it to be, release the left mouse button

Clicking and dragging an object will move that object wherever you move your cursor. There are only a few objects on your screen that you can click and drag, and sometimes they can only be clicked and dragged in specified directions.

TASK BAR
Unless you use a Macintosh computer, you should have a bar that runs across the bottom of your screen with a Start button on the far left. This is your TASK BAR. It shows you what programs/applications/windows you have open on your computer at this moment. Each open program shows up as a button on the TASK BAR. Each button is labeled with the program's name and a program icon on the left side. Figure 2 is an example of a TASK BAR showing four programs currently open (four buttons on the TASK BAR in addition to the START button on the left side).

TASK BAR buttons not only tell you what programs/windows are open (even if you can't see that program/window on your screen), but also allow you to access them. Clicking on a program's TASK BAR button causes that program window to come to the front of your screen, allowing you to work in that window.

If you access the VIN Unity program using the Internet Explorer program (highly recommended, since most of these instructions are based on using Internet Explorer access), you should have a button on your TASK BAR that looks similar to the button on the far right in Figure 2.

If you are on America Online (AOL) and access VIN Unity directly using AOL's internal browser (without using an outside browser program like Internet Explorer), there will be no VIN Unity button on your TASK BAR. You will only see an AOL button, just like the second one to the right of the START button. This is one of many reasons why we strongly recommend that you use Internet Explorer when accessing VIN Unity.

If you have a large number of programs open, there may not be enough room on your TASK BAR to show all of them clearly. Sometimes the buttons are so small, you can only see the program icon; there is not enough room to see the program name. If you place your cursor over the button, a little pop up window will appear showing you the full name of the program/window (Figure 3).

If you have several windows open using the same program, they may be consolidated into one button on your TASK BAR. The button will have the program icon on the left, the number of windows open using that program, and the program name (Figure 4A). If you click this kind of button, a pop up window will appear listing the windows currently open using that program (Figure 4B). If you click on one of the windows listed, that window will come to the front of your screen.

WINDOWS COMPONENTS
Usually when we talk about windows, we are talking about a framed area on your computer screen that displays a program or file you have opened. All windows have at least a TITLE BAR and a FRAME around them.

Title Bar/Frame
The TITLE BAR is usually a colored line at the top of the window that identifies which program/file the window is for. The frame is a thin line that goes all around the window's border, setting the limits for what you can see in the window at any one time.

Figure 5A is a picture of the VIN Unity Conference Room Lobby window, where the VIN How To sessions are held. The orange TITLE BAR at the top identifies this window as the Conference Room Lobby window, and the window FRAME shows you the current limits of the window size.

The Conference Room Lobby TITLE BAR is fairly basic. It simply identifies the window. Most title bars, like the one for the VIN Unity program (inside which the Conference Room Lobby window is located), have FUNCTION BUTTONS located on the far right. Figure 5B shows the top of the VIN Unity window with three FUNCTION BUTTONS on the far right of the title bar. Though different windows will have different numbers of FUNCTION BUTTONS on their title bars, these three are the most common.

Figure 5C is a close-up of the three FUNCTION BUTTONS in Figure 5B. The one on the far left is the MINIMIZE/RESTORE button. The center one is the MAXIMIZE/RESTORE button. The one on the far right is the EXIT/CLOSE button.

Menu Bar
Many windows have a MENU BAR beneath the TITLE BAR. Figure 6 is a sample MENU BAR from AOL. MENU BARS allow you to access functions that can be performed in that window. Each option on the MENU BAR represents a group of similar functions. Clicking on a MENU BAR option displays a drop down menu listing that group of functions.

Figure 7A is a sample drop down menu of AOL's Edit functions. Each option listed is an editing function that can be used inside AOL's window. All functions that are available for use show up in black text. If a function were not available, it would be in lighter text, as in Figure 7B.

Different windows will have different MENU BAR options, depending on what kind of functions can be performed in that window. The VIN Unity MENU BAR in Figure 8 has only two standard options - the Options and Help function groups.

Most VIN windows don't have a standard MENU BAR. Instead, most have a NAVIGATION BAR just below the VIN logo, as in Figure 9. Instead of window function groups, the NAVIGATION BAR lists links to other major VIN areas such as the VIN Message Boards, the VIN Search window, the VIN Library, etc. Clicking on one of these options will open up the window for that VIN area.

SCROLLBARS
Some windows have more content in them than can be displayed in one screen. If this happens, a SCROLLBAR usually appears inside that window. Depending on where the unseen window areas are located, scrollbars can appear on the right side of the window frame, the bottom of the frame, or in both areas. Figure 10A shows the VIN Rounds window with a SCROLLBAR on the right side.

A SCROLLBAR consists of a directional arrow button on either end and a slide that moves on a track between the buttons (Figure 10B).

There are three ways to use scrollbars to see the rest of a window's content.

• Click on a directional arrow button to "scroll" the window's contents in the direction of the arrow.
• Click and drag the slide in the direction of either arrow button. The window's contents will scroll in the direction you move the slide.
• Click on a portion of the track between an arrow button and the slide. The window's contents will scroll in larger increments in the direction of that arrow button.

MANIPULATING COMPUTER WINDOWS

RESIZING WINDOWS
There are two ways to change the size of a window on your screen: you can use the function buttons on the window's title bar, or portions of the window's frame.

Using Title Bar Function Buttons to Change a Window's Size
Title bar function buttons allow you to change a window's size in 3 ways:

• Shrink or minimize the window until it is no longer visible on your screen
• Enlarge or maximize the window until it fills the whole screen
• Restore the window to its original size before it was minimized or maximized

Minimize Button
For most program windows, clicking on the MINIMIZE button will shrink that window until it exists only as a button on the task bar at the bottom of your screen (Figure 2). You will not be able to perform any functions in a minimized window, but clicking on its task bar button will restore the window to its previous size before it was minimized.

If the window you are closing is open inside another larger program window, using the MINIMIZE button will sometimes shrink the smaller window down to a small title bar inside the larger program window (instead of to a button on your task bar). Figure 11A is an example of the AOL Download Manager window after it has been minimized inside the larger AOL program window.

Figure 11B is an enlargement of the minimized Download Manager window itself. Notice that the MINIMIZE button (left button in Figure 11B) has changed from a "_" to a double box. The double box icon indicates that this button is now functioning as a RESTORE button. Clicking on a RESTORE button will return the window to its previous size (in this case, to the size it was before the window was minimized). As with windows minimized to task bar buttons, you will not be able to perform any functions in this kind of minimized window until it has been restored to its previous size.

Maximize Button
If you click on a window's MAXIMIZE button, that window will increase in size until it fills your entire screen. You can still perform functions inside a maximized window, but you will not be able to see any other windows on your screen at the same time. You will also not be able to move a maximized window around your screen (since it already fills the whole screen), and you will not be able to use a maximized window's frame to change the window's size (the frame is no longer accessible when a window fills the whole screen).

Figure 12A is a non-maximized Unity window (using Internet Explorer) on a computer screen. Notice that there is unused screen space around the Unity window and its frame is still visible.

Figure 12B is the same Unity window, but it is now maximized so that it fills the entire screen and its frame is no longer visible.

If you look at the FUNCTION BUTTONS on the title bar of a maximized window, they will now look like Figure 12C. Notice that the MAXIMIZE button (middle button in Figure 12C) has changed from a single box to a double box. The double box icon indicates that this button is now functioning as a RESTORE button. Clicking on a RESTORE button will return the window to its previous size (in this case, to the size it was before the window was maximized).

Exit/Close Button
The EXIT or CLOSE function button will also change the size of your window - it will close it completely! You would need to reopen that window to be able to access it again.

Using the Frame to Change a Window's Size
Function buttons can only allow you to change a window to three different sizes - the largest it can be, the smallest it can be, and back to the size it was before it was maximized or minimized. Using a window's frame allows you to adjust that window's size to anything between its largest and smallest sizes.

To resize a window using its frame, first make sure that the window is not maximized. If the middle function button looks like the one in Figure 13A, the window is maximized. Click on the middle restore button to restore the window to its un-maximized size. The middle button should turn into the maximize button (as in Figure 13B) once the window is no longer maximized.

Placing your mouse pointer/cursor over the sides, top, or bottom of a window's frame will change the cursor into a double-headed arrow, as in Figure 14A. Click and drag your mouse in the direction of either arrow to change the window's size in that direction. Release the left mouse button when the window is the size you want it. Clicking and dragging a frame's sides allows you to change that window's horizontal size. Clicking and dragging a frame's top and bottom allows you to change that window's vertical size.

If you place your cursor over a window frame corner, it will turn into a diagonal double-headed arrow as in Figure 14B. Click and drag your mouse in any direction, and you can change the vertical and horizontal size of the window at the same time.

There are limits to resizing a window by its frame. You cannot extend the window beyond the edges of your screen or, if the window exists inside another program's window, you cannot extend the window beyond the frame of the window it sits inside. You cannot shrink a window so that it disappears completely.

Making a window smaller may also mean that you will no longer be able to see all of that window's content. If this happens, a scrollbar will appear to allow access to other areas of the window you can't currently see.

MOVING WINDOWS AROUND THE SCREEN
To be able to move a window around your screen, you must first make sure that the window is not maximized. There is no place to move a maximized window, since it fills the whole screen.

Move your cursor over the title bar of an un-maximized window as in Figure 15. Click and drag the title bar in whatever direction you'd like the window to move. The entire window will move in the direction you move your mouse.

VIEWING AND USING MULTIPLE WINDOWS AT THE SAME TIME
The ability to see more than one window at a time and move from window to window without having to close any applications/programs is an important skill to master if you are:

• Taking VIN CE courses
• Taking How To Use VIN courses
• Attending Sunday VIN Rounds

For VIN CE courses and Sunday Rounds, it allows you to be able to see both a window with lecture/course materials (such as pictures and graphs) and the VIN Unity conference window (where the instructor will be "speaking"). For How To Use VIN classes, it allows you to be able to see the window for the VIN area being discussed (Message Boards, Library, etc) at the same time the instructor is telling you about that area in the VIN Unity conference window.

Viewing two windows at the same time
The following steps use the VIN Unity conferencing as an example, but you can resize and move any two windows to be able to simultaneously view them.

• Open a window to the VIN Unity Conferencing window for the How To Use VIN classes. You can do this by clicking on the Rounds option (Figure 16A) on VIN's navigation bar. This will display the VIN Rounds window. If you used Internet Explorer to access VIN, check your task bar. You should see a VIN Rounds button (as in Figure 16B) there.

          

  In the VIN Rounds window, find the listing for Wednesday's How To Use VIN class (under "Current Rounds Schedule") and click on the Click Here link (Figure 17).

  

  This will open the VIN Unity window with the Conference Room Lobby window inside it (Figure 18A). Once this window is open, look at your task bar. If you are using Internet Explorer, you should see a VIN Unity button there (Figure 18B).

          

  Resize the VIN Unity Room window so that it takes up half your screen - either the upper or bottom half.

• Click on the VIN Rounds task bar button. The VIN Rounds window should now be on top of all other windows on your screen. Remember, any time you lose sight of a window, check your task bar. If the window's button is on the task bar, the window is still open. Just click on its task bar button to make the window visible again.
• Resize the VIN Rounds window so that it takes up the other half of your screen not occupied by the VIN Unity window.

Now you have two windows visible at the same time on your screen. Figure 19 shows the VIN Unity window above the VIN Rounds window.

Moving between windows on your screen
To be able to work in a program window, that window must be "active". Usually that means that it will be the window in the front of your screen. You can also tell if a window is active by the color of its title bar. Inactive window title bars are usually a muted color, often gray or tan. Active window title bars are usually a brighter color. When you have two windows visible at the same time, you need to check the windows' title bars to see which window is active. In Figure 19, the VIN Unity window is active. It has the brighter color (blue). The VIN Rounds window is inactive. It has the muted color (tan).

There are several ways to activate an inactive window. They all involve moving from the active window to the window you want to activate. This is known as "window jumping". The title bar of the window you jump to will change to the brighter "active" color.

There are several ways to window jump:

• Use task bar buttons - Click on a program's task bar button to activate it.
• Use the cursor - Move your cursor over the window you want to activate, and click on it (left mouse button). This is only possible if some portion of the window you want is visible on your screen.
• Use the ALT and TAB keys (figure 20) - Hold down the ALT key. Click on the TAB key. A display will pop up showing all program windows currently open on your computer. While holding the ALT key, click the tab key to move between icons. When you have selected the program you want to jump to, release the ALT key. The program's window you selected will now be visible and active.

VIN UNITY/CONFERENCE ROOM LOBBY

VIN UNITY WINDOW
The VIN Unity window works a little differently than other windows.

1. Windows that exist inside the VIN Unity room window (such as the Conference Room Lobby, Coffeehouse, and CE windows), do not allow you to change their size using their frames. The only area that allows you to change these windows' sizes is the triangle dot pattern in the lower right hand corner (Figure 21A). Moving your cursor over this area will change it into a diagonal double-headed arrow (Figure 21B), which you can use, to change the vertical and/or horizontal size of the window.

   

2. Active windows inside the VIN Unity window have orange title bars (Figure 22A). Inactive windows have blue ones (Figure 22B).

   

3. Title bars for windows inside the VIN Unity window rarely have all three function buttons common to most windows. The Conference Room Lobby window has no function buttons (Figure 23A). Other windows have at most two function buttons - minimize and exit/close buttons (Figure 23B).

   

4. When windows inside the VIN Unity window are minimized, they appear only on the menu bar of the VIN Unity room. Figure 24 shows what you would see on the VIN Unity menu bar if you had minimized a private chat window. You would need to click on this area of the VIN Unity menu bar to be able to restore a private chat window.

VIN CONFERENCE ROOM LOBBY WINDOW
A VIN Conference Room is actually a chat room. It allows multiple people to view information and interact at the same time. VIN has several different Conference Rooms. There is the Conference Room Lobby seen below (where the How to Use VIN classes, Virtual Coffeehouse, and Sunday VIN Rounds are held), the VIN Conference Room for CE courses, and others.

Chat rooms have features other windows don't have (Figure 25).

• INPUT LINE/TYPING BOX - This is the area to enter any text that you want others to see. Click your cursor in this area, type in what you want to say, then click the SEND button to the far right of the INPUT LINE.
• DIALOG BOX/WINDOW - This is the area in which all text sent from the Lobby INPUT LINE will appear.
• USER/CHAT LIST - This area shows everyone present in the "room". Everyone on the USER LIST will be able to read whatever appears in that Conference Room's DIALOG BOX.

USER LISTS also allow you to interact privately with other persons in the room. If you click on a name on the USER LIST, the name will be highlighted and a drop down menu will appear, as in Figure 26A. Clicking on the "Talk in private" option will open a new window, as in Figure 26B. The new window's title bar indicates the person you selected for the private chat. You type text in the input line and send it just as you would for the Conference Room, but anything you enter in this input line will appear in this window's private dialog box. No one except you and the person identified in the window's title bar will see it.

If you have a private chat window open, "PRIVATE CHAT" will appear on the VIN Unity window menu bar, as in Figure 26C.

If you think you have a private chat window open, but you cannot find it inside the VIN Unity window, check the menu bar. If any private chat window is still open, you should see PRIVATE CHAT there. Clicking on the PRIVATE CHAT option will open a drop down menu (Figure 26D) with a list of all persons with whom you are having private conversations. Clicking on a person's name on the list will make that private chat window visible again. If a person's name is not on the list, their private chat window is no longer open.

WEB TOUR

A WEB TOUR is a tool that CE course instructors and How To Course instructors use to show visual aids to all participants in the VIN Unity classroom. This is used a LOT in CE courses - showing class participants pictures, graphs, etc. It is simply an online slide show! When an instructor issues you a WEB TOUR, a small window will appear on your screen asking if you wish to open the web tour site (Figure 27). The title bar identifies the person sending the WEB TOUR. To open the web tour site, click on Yes. This will open the window for the web tour site indicated by the web address inside the web tour invitation (http:______). To return to VIN Unity, simply click on the VIN Unity button on the task bar.

VIN POLL

Occasionally you will be asked to answer a POLL in VIN CE classes or Sunday Rounds. A window will appear on your screen with a question and potential responses (Figure 28). The title bar will identify the person presenting the POLL. To take the POLL, click on the letter that matches your response, then click the Send button. Once the POLL has been finished, the person requesting the poll will often present the results in another window that will open on your screen.