Menus, buttons, scroll bars, and checkboxes are examples of controls that you have with your mouse or keyboard. These controls allow you to select commands, change settings, or to operate with Windows. This section describes how to recognize and use the controls that you encounter often using Windows.
Using menus
Most contain dozens or even hundreds of commands (actions) that you use to work program. Many of these commands are organized under menus. Like a restaurant menu, a program menu shows you a list of choices. To keep the net screen, menus are hidden until you click on the titles in the menu bar, located just below the title bar. For example, clicking on "Image" in painting from the menu bar displays the Image menu:
To choose one of the commands in a menu, click it. Sometimes a dialog box appears, where you can select other options. If a command is unavailable and can not be clicked, it is shown in gray, as the crop in the picture.
Some elements of menu commands are not at all. Instead, they open other menus. In the next image, pointing to "Zoom" opens a sub-menu. Pointing to "Custom" from the submenu opens yet another sub-menu.
If you do not see the command you want, try to look at another menu. Move your mouse pointer along the menu bar and menus open automatically, you do not need to click the menu bar again. To close a menu without selecting a command, click the menu bar or any other part of the window.
Recognizing menus is not always easy, because not all menu controls are similar or even appear on a menu bar. So how can you spot them? When you see an arrow next to a word or picture, you're probably looking for a menu of control. Here are some examples:
Tips
If a shortcut is available for order, it is next to the command.
You can use the menus using your keyboard instead of your mouse. See using your keyboard.
Use the scroll bars
When a document, web page or image exceeds the size of its window, scroll bars appear to allow you to see information that is currently out of sight. The following image shows the elements of a scroll bar.
To run a scroll bar:
Click the up or down arrows to scroll through the window content up or down in small steps. Hold the mouse button to scroll continuously.
Click an empty area of a scroll bar above or below the box to scroll up or down a page.
Drag a scroll up, down, left or right to scroll the window in that direction.
Tip
If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can use to scroll through documents and Web pages. To scroll down, roll the wheel back (toward you). Scroll up, roll the wheel forward (away from you).
The assistance of command buttons
A command button executes a command (do something) when you click it. You'll most often see them in dialog boxes, which are small windows that contain options for completing a task. For example, if you close Paint a picture without saving it first, you might see a dialog box like this:
To close the photo, you must first click Yes or No button. Click Yes and save the image changes you made, click No and removes the photo and discards any changes you've made. Clicking Cancel rejects the dialog and returns you to the program.
Tip
Pressing ENTER does the same thing as clicking a command button is selected (indicated).
Outside the dialogs, command buttons vary in appearance, it is sometimes difficult to know what is a button and what is not. For example, command buttons often appear as small icons (pictures) without any text or rectangular. The photo below shows a variety of command buttons:
The surest way to determine if something is a command button is to rest your pointer over it. If it "lights" and is framed by a rectangle, you discovered a button. Most buttons also display a text on their function when you point at them:
If a button turns into two parts when you point to it, you discovered a fraction of a button. By clicking on the main part of running a command button while clicking the arrow opens a menu with more options.
Using buttons
Option buttons allow you to make a choice between two or more options. They appear frequently in dialog boxes. The photo below shows three buttons. The "Flip vertical" is selected.
To select an option, click a button. One option may be selected.
Use check boxes
Checkboxes allow you to select one or several options. Unlike buttons, you are limited to a choice, checkboxes let you choose several options at the same time.
To make check boxes:
Click an empty box to select or "turn on" this option. A check mark appears in the square, which indicates that the option is selected.
To disable an option, clear (remove) the boat by clicking on it.
The options that currently can not be selected or authorized are shown in gray.
The cursors
A slider lets you adjust a setting along a range of values. It is as follows:
A cursor along the bar shows the value currently selected. In the example above, the cursor is positioned midway between slow and fast, which indicates an average speed of the pointer.
To drive a cursor, drag the cursor to the value you want.
Using text boxes
A text box allows you to enter information such as a search term or password. The image below shows a dialog box containing a text box. We Entered "ours" in the text box.
A vertical line called the blinking cursor indicates where the text you type will appear. In the example, you can see the cursor after the "r" of "bear". You can easily move the cursor by clicking on the new post. For example, to add a word before "bear", first you move the cursor by clicking before "B."
If you do not see the cursor in the text box, it means that the text box is not ready for your contribution. Click on the box first, then start typing.
Text boxes that require you to enter a password usually hide your password that you type, if someone else is looking at your screen.
The assistance of dropdowns
Dropdown menus are similar. Instead of clicking on an order, if you choose an option. When closed, a drop-down list shows only option currently selected. Other options are hidden until you click the control, as indicated below:
To open a drop-down list, click it. To choose an option from the list, click the option.
Using the list boxes
A list box displays a list of options you can choose. Unlike a drop-down list, some or all options are visible without having to open the list.
To choose an option from the list, click it. If the option you want is not visible, use the scroll bar to scroll up or down. If the box has a text box above, you can type the name or the value of the option.
Using tabs
In some dialog boxes, options are divided into two or more tabs. Only a tab or a set of options can be considered at a time.
The currently selected tab appears before the other tabs. To switch to another tab, click the tab.
