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Student’s Materials for IT Training Part 2 ZoomText Version

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Table of Contents:

Introduction

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Introduction

Welcome to Part 2 of the Introductory IT Course. In Part 1, we showed you some of the many things that you can do with a computer and introduced you to Windows, e-mail, word processing and the Internet.

Maybe you're already using the PC at home after having attended the first part of the course.

Much of the material in this part will not be entirely new to you. However, after Part 2 you should be able to manage on your own without your teacher's help.

In this part of the course, we will introduce more of the features available in ZoomText. We will also teach you some more about Windows, so that you will be able to manage your files and programs.

You will learn how to open and save documents in a word processor and find out more about e-mail and using the Internet. We will also show you how to access and use the online Help in a number of key programs and we will give you lots more useful keyboard shortcuts.

Have fun.

Session 1

This session covers some basic tasks in the Windows operating system, including launching and closing programs, searching for documents, and getting Help.

Remember to keep adjusting the magnification in ZoomText as needed. Low magnification gives you a better overall view of the interface; high magnification enables you to read the text in detail.

Aims

After this session you should be able to

Windows

ZoomText

Menus, icons and shortcuts

There are three different ways of operating programs:

Using the menu bar allows you to investigate all the options in a program. You'll find the basic options in the File menu.

For example, the File menu in Word, Notepad, and Outlook Express contains the following options:

You will always be able to operate a program using menus. So if you forget a keyboard shortcut, you can scroll through the menus until you find the command you need.

Gradually most users adopt shortcuts for the more common procedures in the programs. It saves time, provided you master the keyboard.

Launching programs from the Start menu

In Part 1, we used the Start menu to

Launching Notepad

Let's practise starting Notepad.

  1. Start the computer.
  2. Start ZoomText if it is not already running.
  3. Open the Start menu.
  4. Select the Programs submenu.
  5. Select the Accessories submenu.
  6. Select Notepad.
  7. Press Enter.

Using the menu bar

Check the title bar in the Notepad window.

Below the title bar you'll find the menu bar, which contains all the commands that you can use in the program.

Opening a menu

To open the File menu using the keyboard:

  1. Press the Alt key once. This will select the File menu without opening it.
  2. Press the down arrow to open the File menu.
  3. Press Esc twice to exit the menu.

To open the File menu using the mouse:

  1. Click the word File. The menu will open.
  2. Click somewhere outside the menu to close it again.

Investigating the File menu in Notepad

To select an option in the File menu:

  1. Press Alt to activate the File menu.
  2. Open it by pressing the down arrow.
  3. Scroll through the menu using the down arrow.
  4. Select the Exit option to close Notepad.
  5. Press Enter.

Now repeat the steps above only this time using the mouse instead of the keyboard.

Investigating the File menu in Microsoft Word

Now let's see what options are available in the File menu in Word.

  1. Open Word by selecting Start - Programs - Microsoft Word, then pressing Enter.
  2. Go to the menu bar.
  3. Open the File menu.
  4. Select the Exit option to close Word.
  5. Press Enter.

Closing programs

You can close a program in a number of ways:

The minimize, Restore and Close buttons

Figure 1: The Minimize, Restore, and Close buttons

Try opening and closing Notepad in all the different ways. Do it several times until you feel familiar with it.

Accessing Windows Help

Most programs include Online Help, where you can check how to do a particular task or learn about features of the software that you didn't know about. The Help system for the Windows operating system is available from the Start menu.

Try this

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Click Help.
  3. Find the Index tab.
  4. Type "restart computer" in the keyword field.
  5. Read the Help topic on restarting the computer.

Now see if you can find Help on

Using the My Documents folder

When you start saving your documents they are usually saved in a folder called My Documents. You can access this folder from the Start menu or by clicking the icon on the desktop.

The My Documents desktop icon

Figure 2: The My Documents desktop icon

To open the My Documents folder:

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Select the Documents submenu.
  3. Select the My Documents submenu and press Enter.
  4. Investigate the files in the document folder. Try to open one of them by selecting it and double-clicking or pressing Enter.

Using dialog boxes

Often your computer will ask you to make choices. It does this using dialog boxes. Each dialog box contains a title bar, some text that describes what it's for and options that you can select.

Shut down the computer. Read the questions in the dialog box that appears when you close down.

Scrolling a window

You can scroll a window in ZoomText by

Exercises

Scrolling the window

  1. Open a document from the My Documents folder.
  2. Scroll the document window using each of the following methods:

Find your preferred way of scrolling.

Changing zoom window types

As you know from Part 1, ZoomText allows the following zoom window types:

Ask your teacher for the keyboard shortcut that allows you to switch between zoom window types (it varies depending on the version of ZoomText you're running).

Practise changing the zoom window to see which display mode suits you best. Remember you can switch between different zoom window types depending on the task you're performing.

FAQs

How do I select the File menu in a program?

Answer: Either pass your mouse over the word "File" in the menu bar or press the Alt key.

How do I deselect the File menu?

Answer: Click outside the menu area or press Esc.

How do I close a program?

Answer: Either click the Close (X) button in the title bar or press Alt + F4.

How do I launch Windows Help?

Answer: Select Start - Help.

How do I open the My Documents folder?

Answer: Select Start - Documents - My Documents or click the My Documents icon on the desktop.

How do I scroll in a window?

Answer: Move the cursor to the bottom of the screen with the mouse or use Alt + arrow keys.

How do I increase the magnification?

Answer: Press Alt + numeric plus.

How do I decrease the magnification?

Answer: Press Alt + numeric minus.

How do I launch ZoomText?

Answer: Press Ctrl + Alt + Z.

Session 2

Today e-mail is the most common way of sending and receiving written information. It is a quick way of communicating. You do not need to buy envelopes and stamps and you can send your mail from your own home whenever you like.

Aims

After this session you should be able to

E-mail

ZoomText

Launching and closing Outlook Express

To launch the Outlook Express e-mail editor, Select Start - Programs - Outlook Express and press Enter.

Exercise

  1. Start Outlook Express.
  2. Close Outlook Express

Navigating the Outlook Express Window

The main Outlook Express window consists of a folder list and a message list. When the program first opens the focus will be on the message list. To scroll through your list of messages, use the down or up arrow or use the mouse and the scroll bar.

To change focus to the folder list, press Tab or by clicking a folder.

The most important folders are Inbox, Outbox and Sent Items. You can move between the folders using the arrow keys.

Creating a new message

You can create a new e-mail message using any of the following methods:

When you create a new message, the New Message window opens.

The first field in this window is the To field. This is where you type the e-mail address of the person you want to e-mail. E-mail addresses come in the format somebody@somewhere.com.

The CC field is where you type the e-mail addresses of people you want to copy on the message.

The Subject field should contain a brief description of what the message is about.

Once you've written an e-mail, click the Send icon on the toolbar or use the keyboard shortcut Alt + S.

Exercise

  1. Start Outlook Express.
  2. Create a new message in the following ways.
  1. Get a list of e-mail addresses of the other students in the class and your teacher.
  2. Write e-mails to the other students and your teacher.

Using reading tools

ZoomText offers a variety of tools for quick and easy reading of documents, web pages and e-mail. These include

DocReader

DocReader reads documents, web pages and e-mail in a special environment where text is reformatted for easier viewing.

DocReader presents text in a ticker tape or teleprompter format. It can automatically read through an entire document, or you can manually read by word, line, sentence or paragraph. As reading occurs, each spoken word is highlighted.

You can only use DocReader for reading. You can't use it to edit text.

To use DocReader:

  1. Open Outlook Express.
  2. Open a mail.
  3. Be sure that ZoomText is enabled.
  4. Start DocReader and read the mail.
  5. Press Enter to start reading.
  6. Press Enter again to stop reading.
  7. To exit DocReader press Esc. This will bring you back to Outlook Express.

Navigating in DocReader

You can stop DocReader by pressing Enter and have it repeat selected words or lines using the following key presses:

AppReader

Another reading tool, AppReader, was introduced in ZoomText version 8.0.

AppReader reads documents, web pages and e-mail, within the parent application. As you enter and exit AppReader your view of the document does not change, providing quick and seamless transitions between document editing and reading.

To use AppReader:

  1. Open the document, web page or e-mail that you wish to read.
  2. Start AppReader.
  3. To start and stop automatic reading, press Enter or click the mouse.
  4. To exit AppReader, right-click or press Esc.

Opening e-mail attachments

Often people attach files to an e-mail. These files can be text documents, pictures, music files and so on. Attachments are indicated by a paper clip icon in most e-mail programs.

To open an attachment:

  1. Launch Outlook Express.
  2. Find a message with an attached file in your message list.
  3. Open the mail.
  4. Double-click the attachment.
  5. You may be asked whether you want to open the file or save it to disk.
  6. If you select Open the file will open in the appropriate program.

Accessing Outlook Express Help

In most Windows programs you can open the Online Help by pressing the F1 key.

To open Outlook Express Help:

  1. Make sure you are in Outlook Express.
  2. Press F1 to start Outlook Express Help.
  3. Find the Index tabbed page.
  4. Find out what the Help says about reading attached files.
  5. Find out what an address book is.

Webmail

As well as using an e-mail program such as Outlook Express, you can send and receive e-mail on special web sites. These sites provide a service known as "webmail". Microsoft Hotmail is one such site.

FAQs

How do I start Outlook Express?

Answer: Select Start - Programs - Outlook Express or click the Outlook Express icon on the desktop.

How do I stop Outlook Express?

Answer: Select File - Exit or click the Close button on the title bar or press Alt + F4.

How do I create a new message?

Answer: Click the Create Message icon on the Outlook Express toolbar or press Ctrl + N.

How do I write the @ symbol?

Answer: On most English language keyboards, you type the @ symbol by pressing Shift + apostrophe.

How do I send and receive mail?

Answer: Click the Send and Receive icon on the toolbar or press Ctrl + M.

How do I open the Outlook Express Online Help?

Answer: Press F1.

How do I start reading in DocReader?

Answer: Press Enter.

How do stop reading in DocReader?

Answer: Press Enter.

How do I go to the previous line in DocReader?

Answer: Press up arrow.

How do I go to the next line in DocReader?

Answer: Press down arrow.

How do I go to the previous word in DocReader?

Answer: Press left arrow.

How do I go to the next word in DocReader?

Answer: Press right arrow.

Session 3

In this session you will learn the basics of Microsoft Word.

You will also learn how to open and save documents.

Aims

After this session you should be able to

Word

ZoomText

Creating a Word document

You can create a new Word document using any of the following three methods:

Figure 3: The New Blank Document toolbar icon

Closing a Word document

Once you have finished writing one Word document, it is a good idea to close it before opening or creating a new one. Working with several documents at a time can be confusing.

To close a Word document:

  1. Make sure that you are in Word by checking the title bar of the program.
  2. Open the File menu.
  3. Select the Close menu item. This option closes the document but leaves Word still running.

You can also close a document by clicking the Close Window (X) button on the far right of the menu bar.

The Close Window button with "Close Window" mouse over text displayed

Figure 4: The Close Window button

And you can close a document with the Ctrl + F4 keyboard shortcut.

Saving Word documents

One of the advantages of using a PC is the ability to save your work. You can save your document on the computer's hard disk and come back and read or edit it later.

To save a document from the File menu:

  1. Launch Word.
  2. Start writing a letter to someone you know.
  3. Click the File menu and select the Save option.
  4. The first time you save a document the Save As dialog box will open.
  5. Type a name for your document in the File name field and press Enter. The name of the file should now appear in the title bar in Word.
  6. Continue writing in the same document.
  7. Select File - Save. This time the Save As dialog box does not reappear. You have already told Word the name of the file and where it is stored.
  8. Close the document.

You can also save a document by clicking the Save icon on the toolbar.

Figure 5: The Save toolbar icon

And you can use the Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut.

Opening a Word document

To open a Word document:

  1. Click the File menu and select the Open option.
  2. The Open dialog box appears. This is similar to the Save As dialog box.
  3. Find the file you want to open In the list of files and double-click it.

You can also open a document by clicking the Open icon on the toolbar.

Figure 6: The Open toolbar icon

And you can use the Ctrl + O keyboard shortcut.

Using the spell-check

The spell-check feature in Word allows to find and correct words that have been spelt wrongly in your document.

To use the spell-check on a single word:

  1. Type the word "Londen".
  2. As soon as you press the spacebar, a red line appears below the word indicating that it is spelt incorrectly.
  3. Right-click the word.
  4. A menu appears with suggested correct spellings for the word. Click the word London on the menu and the spelling will automatically be corrected.

To spell-check an entire document:

  1. Press F7.
  2. In the Spelling and Grammar dialog box, you can choose to

Exercise

  1. Type a list of incorrectly spelt words.
  2. Correct them all using F7.

Selecting text

You will often have to select text in Word before performing a number of tasks, such as

There are a number of different ways of selecting text in Word.

Selecting text with the mouse

To select a line of text with the mouse:

  1. Open one of the your documents.
  2. Move the text cursor to the far left of the first line until it changes into a right-pointing arrow.

A right-pointing arrow

Figure 7: A right-pointing arrow

  1. Click the left mouse button. The line of text is selected.

Selected and unselected text

Figure 8: Selected and unselected text

To select any amount of text:

  1. Click to the left of the text that you want to select.
  2. Holding down the left mouse button, drag the cursor down the page.
  3. Release the left mouse button. The text is selected.

To select a large amount of text:

  1. Click to the left of the text that you want to select.
  2. Scroll to the end of the text you wan to select, press Shift and click again. The area between the two clicks has been selected.

Practise this in different documents.

Selecting text using the keyboard

You can also select text using the following keyboard shortcuts:

Select single letters: Shift + left/right arrow

Select a word: Ctrl + Shift + left/right arrow

Select to the end of the line: Shift + End

Select to the start of the line: Shift + Home

Select one line down/up: Shift + down/up arrow

Select the entire document: Ctrl + A

Exercise

  1. Open one of your documents.
  2. Practise selecting letters, words and lines using the mouse and keyboard shortcuts.

Formatting text

Once you have selected text you can format it by changing the font or the font size.

Being able to change the font size can be particularly useful if you want to print a document that can be read by people with low vision.

To format text:

  1. Open a document in Word.
  2. Select all the text.
  3. Say you want to change the font size to 24. You can use the font size combo box in the toolbar or you can use the Ctrl + Shift + > keyboard shortcut.
  4. Print the document on paper.
  5. Find out if you can make the letter readable on paper to you.
  6. Save the document.
  7. Close the document.

Exercise

  1. Create a new document.
  2. Type the names and e-mail addresses of your class mates.
  3. Increase the font size to 20 points.
  4. Print out the document.

OCR

A scanner is a piece of hardware that allows you to copy images and documents into your PC and store them electronically.

Often scanners save scanned documents as images and are unable to recognise the text that they contain.

However, optical character recognition (OCR) programs enable the PC to recognise the text in scanned documents. You can then import the text into Word or a text editor and read it through DocReader.

So a scanner with the appropriate software can be a useful tool if you have a vision impairment and want to read printed documents.

Accessing Help in Word

To use the Help in Word:

  1. Start Word.
  2. Press F1 to open Word Help.
  3. Find the Index tabbed page.
  4. See if you can find the Help topics on

Changing the font size in DocReader

You can change the font size in DocReader by increasing the magnification in the DocReader toolbar.

You can also increase and decrease the DocReader magnification using the scroll wheel on the mouse.

Accessing Help in ZoomText

To access Help in ZoomText:

  1. Press Alt + Insert to enable ZoomText.
  2. Press F1 to open ZoomText Help.
  3. Search for Help on the DocReader and AppReader tool.

Exercise

  1. Start Word.
  2. Open a new document and type some text in it.
  3. Save the document.
  4. Use spell-check.
  5. Print the document.
  6. Close the document.
  7. Open it again.
  8. Read the document in the DocReader.
  9. Select the text.

10) Increase the font size.

  1. Print the document again.
  2. Write a shopping list or a list of useful telephone numbers.
  3. Increase the font size.
  4. Print the document.

FAQs

How do I close a document in Word?

Answer: Click the Close Window button on the far right of the menu bar or press Ctrl + F4.

How do I create a new document in Word?

Answer: Select File - New, click the New Blank Document toolbar icon or press Ctrl + N.

How do I save a document?

Answer: Select File - Save, click the Save toolbar icon or press Ctrl + S.

How do I open a document in Word?

Answer: Select File - Save, click the Open toolbar icon or press Ctrl + O.

How do I select single letters?

Answer: Press Shift + left/right arrow.

How do I select a word?

Answer: Press Ctrl + Shift + left/right arrow.

How do I select to the end of the line?

Answer: Press Shift + End.

How do I select to the start of the line?

Answer: Press Shift + Home.

How do I select one line down/up?

Answer: Press Shift + down/up arrow.

How do I select the entire document?

Answer: Press Ctrl + A.

How do I run the spell-check?

Answer: Press F7.

How do I access Help in Word or ZoomText?

Answer: Make sure the program you want to access Help on is in focus then press F1.

Session 4

Following our introduction to the Internet in Part 1 of the course, you should know how to

If you do not remember any of these points, re-read the section on the Internet in Part 1.

Aims

After this session, you should be able to

Exercise

  1. Launch Internet Explorer.
  2. Close Internet Explorer.
  3. Open Internet Explorer again and type the following in the address field:
  1. Do a search on a subject that interests you.
  2. Check how many results you got.
  3. Investigate and read some of the results.
  4. Navigate back to the Google home page.
  5. Try searching for the following:
  1. See how the more specific you are when entering the search keywords, the fewer results you get.

Bookmarking web pages

If you find a web page that you know you will want to come back to, you can bookmark it.

Bookmarking a web page allows you to save its address in your browser so you can access it without having to type its address every time.

To bookmark a web page:

  1. Open the following web page:
  1. From the Favorites menu, select Add to Favorites.
  2. The EATT web site should now be listed in the Favorites menu.
  3. Close the browser.
  4. Open the browser again.
  5. Open the Favorites menu.
  6. Find the EATT bookmark and open it.
  7. Find more pages to bookmark.

Downloading files

Downloading refers to copying files or programs from the Internet to your computer.

The Internet is one of the most common ways of distributing software to users. Many of the programs that you'll come across on the Web are free.

One such program is Winamp, a free audio player.

To download Winamp:

  1. Go to the Google home page.
  2. In the Search field type "Winamp download".
  3. The first search result should take you to a page where you can download Winamp.
  4. Click the Begin Download link on the page.

Accessing Help in Internet Explorer

To open the Internet Explorer Help:

  1. Make sure you are in Internet Explorer.
  2. Press F1.
  3. Click the Index tab.
  4. Type "favourites" in the keyword field.

Copying text from a web page to Word

Sometimes it is convenient to be able to copy text from the browser to Word, especially if the text is surrounded by a lot of confusing links and graphics.

To copy and paste text from a web page:

  1. Open a web page that contains lots of links and menu options, for example a news page.

A page from the BBC News web site. The main body of text is in the middle of the page, with menus and quick links to the left and right and in a menu bar at the top of the page.

Figure 9: A news web page

  1. Select the text you want to copy using the techniques you learned in session 3.
  2. Copy the selected text using Ctrl + C.

The same BBC news page with the main body of text selected

Figure 10: A news page with the main body of text selected

  1. Open a new document in Word.
  2. Press Ctrl + V to paste the selected text into Word.
  3. Read the text using DocReader.

FAQs

How do I bookmark a web page in Internet Explorer?

Answer: Open the page you want to bookmark and select Favorites - Add to Favorites.

How do I read text on web pages with lots of sections, menus and links?

Answer: Copy the text you want to read from the web page into Word, then use DocReader to read it.

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