FAQ
- How do I identify desktop items?
- How do I use the help system?
- How do I use the search system?
- How do I create a folder?
- How can I move, copy, delete, and rename files?
- How do I organize folders and documents?
- How do I create a document?
- Word Processing: How to cut, paste, highlight, and delete text; how to change fonts, change size or color of fonts?
- Word Processing: Change margins, alignment, indent and paragraph options or insert a table?
- How do I use spell check?
- How can I create, save, and print a Word Document?
- How do I switch between programs by using minimize and maximize?
- How do I create a database?
- How do I create an excel spreadsheet?
- How can I save a file or PowerPoint to the network and access it from another room in the
- building?
- How to properly shut down if your machine freezes?
- How do I make a shortcut on the desktop?How do I change desktop properties?
- How do I view contents of a floppy, CD, DVD, or USB disk, and eject disk when done?
- How do I use the basic features in Internet Explorer or Netscape?
- Know how to bookmark sites and organize bookmarks?
- How do I send basic emails and emails with attachments?
- How do I read and open basic emails and email with attachments?
- How do I forward and reply to an email message?
- How do I log in and use Perform HR?
- How can I go into the Perform HR system to enter in vacation or sick days?
- How do I join a listserv?
- How do I post a listserv?
- How do I add a printer?
- How do I toggle between printers?
- How do I troubleshoot printer problems?
- How to connect to wireless in different parts of the building. How to get guests in the building
- connected to wireless—the whole area of configurations on laptops?
- How can I back up to Hades each week?
- How to use Hades outside the building for staff that travel?
- How to back up materials for using outside the building… using “pen” like flash card devices for saving?
- What is the size limit on sending and receiving attachments in Outlook?
- How do I get help troubleshooting a computer problem?
- How do I get help with a cell phone problem?How do I get help with a printing problem?
- How do I get help with a phone problem?
- How do I identify desktop items?
Right-click on the Desktop icon, choose Properties. This will give you information about the icon. The General tab lists file size, location, and type of file. If the icon is a shortcut, clicking on the shortcut tab will tell you where the original icon is located. These all will help indicate what kind of item you’re looking at on your desktop.
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- How do I use the help system?
The help system is built into all Microsoft programs, and most other programs. Click on Help from the menu bar, or press the F1 key at the top left of your keyboard. You can type in a search word or phrase and the results will be displayed along the right side of your document, along with step-by-step directions.
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- How do I use the search system?
Click on the Start button and choose Search to find files and folders. You can narrow the search by choosing a specific category. For example, if you want to find a Word document, click on Documents on the left side of the search window. You’ll be offered more search criteria to help speed up the search.
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- How do I create a folder?
There are many ways to create a folder, here are two:
- Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop and choose New, then scroll down to choose Folder. Windows will create a new folder on your Desktop called New Folder. You can right-click and choose Rename. The folder label will become highlighted, type in your new folder name.
- If you are inside a folder and wish to create a folder inside that folder, click on File from the Menu bar, and choose New, then choose Folder. Windows will create a new folder named New Folder. You can create folders in your My Documents folder to organize your work
- How can I move, copy, delete, and rename files?
- To Move a file, open the folder where the file is currently located, and then open the folder where you want to move the file. You will want to see both these folders on your Desktop, so you may need to resize and/or move the folder windows. Right-click on the file that you want to move, and drag the file to the new location (keep holding down the right mouse button). When you have dragged the file to the destination folder, release the right mouse button and click with your left mouse button to choose move here. The file will disappear from the original folder and appear in the destination folder.
- To Copy a file, follow the directions listed above. This time, after you’ve dragged the file to the destination folder and released the right mouse button, left click to choose Copy here.
- To Delete. Right-click on the file and choose Delete. The file is moved to the Recycle bin, where it will remain until you empty the Recycle bin. Exception: files and folders deleted from a floppy disk or USB key are immediately deleted.
- To Rename a file, right-click on the file and choose Rename. The text will be highlighted; type in your new name. Press the Enter key.
- How do I organize folders and documents?
Open the folder, and right-click in any empty area of that folder. Choose Arrange icons by, and then choose how to sort: by name, size, type, or modified date.
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- How do I create a document?
- Right-click on any empty area on the Desktop, choose new, then select the type of file from the list.
- Open the program (Word, Excel, etc) then click on File and choose New
- Word Processing: How to cut, paste, highlight, and delete text; how to change fonts, change size or color of fonts?
In the Word document, highlight text by:
- To select a single word, double-click on the word
- To select an entire sentence, click three times on any word in the sentence
- To select just a few words from a sentence, or more than one sentence, click once just before the first character in the section of text to be highlighted, then keep holding down the left mouse button and drag across the text until you reach the end of the section you want to highlight.
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- Word Processing: Change margins, alignment, indent and paragraph options or insert a table?
- On the Formatting Toolbar displayed near the top of the Word window, if you hover your mouse above each icon, and small box will briefly display the name of the icon. So if you want to format some sentences into a list, highlight the text, and then click on the Numbering Icon. Each sentence will become a numbered item, and will be indented. To change the indent, click on the Decrease or Increase Indent buttons To change text from left-justified, which is the default, highlight the text, then click either the Center, Align right, or Justify button. To change paragraph options, click three times to select the entire paragraph, then right-click and choose Paragraph.
- On the Formatting Toolbar displayed near the top of the Word window, if you hover your mouse above each icon, and small box will briefly display the name of the icon. So if you want to format some sentences into a list, highlight the text, and then click on the Numbering Icon. Each sentence will become a numbered item, and will be indented. To change the indent, click on the Decrease or Increase Indent buttons To change text from left-justified, which is the default, highlight the text, then click either the Center, Align right, or Justify button. To change paragraph options, click three times to select the entire paragraph, then right-click and choose Paragraph.
- How do I use spell check?
By default, spell-checking is always running in Word. Misspellings are underlined with a squiggly red line. Right-click on the misspelled word and choose the correction. You can manually spell check by pressing the F7 key – this will also check the grammar.
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- How can I create, save, and print a Word Document?
- Open Word, click on File and choose new to create a new document. Or, click on the New Blank Document icon from the Formatting Toolbar.
- To Save, click on File, and then choose Save or Save As…. If this is a new document, choosing Save is the same as choosing Save As: a box will display and the first few words of your new document will be displayed as the File Name – you can rename as you wish. By default, Word saves documents to the My Documents folder. If you want it saved elsewhere, navigate to the new destination by clicking on the appropriate icon displayed to the left, or you can click on the navigation bar and choose from the drop down list.
- To print, save your document first, then from File on the menu bar choose Print. If you have more than one printer set up on your computer, or you want to print to a printer other than your default printer, click on the printer and a drop down list will appear – choose the desired printer. You can also choose the number of copies to print.
- A fast way to print is to click on the Printer icon from the toolbar, but this option sends it directly to the printer. You won’t have the opportunity to change printers or number of copies.
- How do I switch between programs by using minimize and maximize?
Up at the top right of each window, you see 3 buttons:
- One with an underline (minimize button) Click on this button to collapse the window to the TaskBar. To restore, click once on the item in the Taskbar
- One with a rectangle or overlapping rectangles (maximize button)
- If there are overlapping rectangles in the Maximize button, that means the window is opened as large as it can, and it completely fills your screen
- If there is only one rectangle in the Maximize button, that means you can still see your Desktop around the window
- One with an X. (close button) Clicking on this button closes the window, or if it’s a Program, it quits the program.
- How do I create a database?
Open up Access from the File Menu choose New. Along the right side, a column will be displayed, choose Blank database. The Save dialog box will be displayed, you will need to type a name and, if you don’t want it saved to the My Document folder, choose a different destination, and click on Save. Another box will displayed, choose how you want to create this database. Remember that Help is available from the top far right, or press the F1 key.
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- How do I create an excel spreadsheet?
Open up Excel; from the File Menu choose New. A new spreadsheet appears and you can begin entering data. Remember that Help is available from the top far right, or press the F1 key.
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- How to save a file or PowerPoint to the network and access it from another room in the building?
Save your file to your User folder on Hades on your computer. To access this file (or any file in your User folder or Departmental folder on Hades), launch Internet Explorer. Type in this address: http://hades.aea9.k12.ia.us/user if the file is in your User folder, or http://hades.aea9.k12.ia.us/departments if the file is in your Departmental folder. You will be prompted for your Username and Password. Type these in and click OK. Now a window will appear listing all the files and folders. Scroll until you find your file and click on the link to download or open.
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- How to properly shut down if your machine freezes?
If a program is locked up, wait 30 seconds and see if it responds. If it still doesn’t respond, press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete and click on the Task Manager Button. On the Application tab, if the non-responding program is listed, click to select and click on End Task. If the entire computer is locked up and you can not do anything, press and hold the power button on the computer for 7 seconds to force the computer to shut down. Then press the power button to start the PC back up.
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- How do I make a shortcut on the desktop?
As handy as the Start Menu is, it is often more useful to have the shortcuts to frequently used programs on your Desktop. You can copy any item from your Start Programs to your Desktop. For example, to put a shortcut to Word on your Desktop:
- Click on the Start button, choose Programs, then choose Microsoft Office, then right-click on Word. Keep holding down the right mouse button and drag to an empty spot on your Desktop. Release the right mouse button, and left click on Copy here. A shortcut of the Word Application icon will appear on your Desktop.
- Click on the Start button, choose Programs, then choose Microsoft Office, then right-click on Word. Keep holding down the right mouse button and drag to an empty spot on your Desktop. Release the right mouse button, and left click on Copy here. A shortcut of the Word Application icon will appear on your Desktop.
- How do I change desktop properties?
- Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop, choose Properties. You can change the Theme, Desktop, Screen Saver and Appearance by clicking on the tabs and choosing from the options.
- To change the resolutions (so everything looks bigger or smaller) click on the Settings tab and slide the bar. The higher the number of pixels, the smaller everything appears. The lower the number of pixels, the larger everything appears.
- How do I view contents of a floppy, CD, DVD, or USB disk, and eject disk when done?
For example, if you have a floppy disk:
- Insert disk into the floppy drive
- double click on My Computer,
- under Devices with Removable Storage, double-click on the 3 1/2 Floppy (A)
- a window will open, displaying the contents of the disk
- To eject, press the eject button on the right side of the drive
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- How do I use basic the features in Internet Explorer or Netscape?
Every browser features the same basic Menu buttons:
- Navigation buttons – arrows pointing to the left or right let you go back or forward
- The red X – stops the loading of a page
- Green arrows describing a circle – clicking on this refreshes a page
- House button – takes you back to your Homepage
- Know how to bookmark sites and organize bookmarks?
Websites that you visit frequently or you may want to visit again can be remembered by creating Favorites (in Internet Explorer).They are also know as bookmarks in other browsers.
To create a bookmark or Favorite:
- Type in the address of the site you want to visit.
- After the page was loaded completely, in Internet Explorer, click on Favorites from the Menu bar and choose Add to Favorites. It will create the favorite using the complete name of the page, you can rename using something more descriptive
- To create bookmarks in other browsers, click on Bookmarks from the menu bar and choose create Bookmark.
- You can also organize your bookmarks or favorites by creating folders and moving the bookmarks or favorites into the folders.
- How do I send basic emails and emails with attachments?
- Open Outlook, click on the New mail message icon on the toolbar, or press the Ctrl key and then the letter N
- Click on the To button and select the recipient’s name from the list displayed.
- To attach a file click on the paper clip icon, or click on Insert from the menu bar, and navigate to the file you want to send. Important: do NOT send large files –anything over 1 MB, and do NOT send attachments to more than three people
- In the subject line, type in a few words describing the content
- In the body of the message, type your message.
- Your you have finished your message, click on the Send button, or press the Ctrl key, then press the Enter key
- How do I read and open basic emails and email with attachments?
Open Outlook. In your Inbox, double-click on the message to open in its own window. If there is an attachment, there will be a paperclip displayed just to the left of the sender’s name. When you have the message open in its own window, the attachment will be shown just below the subject. Double-click on the attachment and open or save. Important: NEVER open any attachment that looks suspicious to you. When in doubt, DELETE!
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- How do I forward and reply to an email message?
In Outlook, double-click to open the message in its own window. Click on the Reply or Forward button. Type your reply and press the Ctrl key and the Enter key to send, or you can press the Send button.
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- How to log in and use Perform HR?
Open Internet Explorer and type in this address: www.aea9.k12.ia.us. Click on employee section link on left side. Type in user name (first initial last name) and your password. Now click on the orange Perform HR link in the lower center of the page. Type in your user name for HR, which is the birth month, birth date and last four digits of your Social Security number. For example, if your birth date was December 25th,and your social security number was 123-45-6789, your username would be 12256789. The domain is aea9, and your password is your HR password. It may not be the same as your network password. Click on the blue “forgot your password?” link if you can’t remember, and it will be emailed to you. Or you can type in this address to go directly to the HR site: https://performhr.net/clients/ (Be sure to bookmark this site)
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- How to go into the Perform HR system to enter in vacation or sick days?
Follow the directions listed in the article above. To request Time off, click on the Employee Time Off button. Here you will see the amount of time available. Enter in the amount (in hours) of time off requested, use the calendar to select the date(s), and select the appropriate reason. Comments are optional. Click on the Save button. It will automatically be sent to your supervisor for approval or denial.
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- How to join a listserv?
The AEA hosts several listserves, also known as mailing lists, which are excellent resources. To see these mailing lists, go to www.aea9.k12.ia.us and click on the Mailing List link on the left side. Follow the directions to subscribe to the desired mailing list.
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- How to post a listserv?
AEA staff moderate our hosted listserves (mailing lists) to insure appropriate content. If you want to send a message to one of our listserves, subscribe to it by following the directions (see article above). To send a message to all participants in that listserver (also known as posting) send an email to the listserve address.
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- How to add a printer?
Click on the Start button, go to Settings, and then choose Printers and Faxes. Click on the Add Printer wizard,
- If you are adding a local printer (one that is directly attached to your computer with a USB cable):
- XP is pretty good at detecting and setting up a local printer – all the user has to do is connect the printer, turn it on and follow the prompts. If your printer came with a CD, insert it, and follow the prompts.
- If you are adding a network printer:
- Click to select a network printer and click on Next.
- Click to select Connect to this printer (the middle choice) and in the name field, type in the name of the printer server. If you are in the Bettendorf office, you will type \\demeter\. If you are in the Clinton office, type in \\cli\. If you re in the Muscatine office, type in \\mus\ and if you are in Maquoketa office, type in \\maq\
- Once you type the last slash and the server name, a list of available printers will appear. Click to select the printer your want, and click on Next
- It will take a few minutes while the printer files are copied to your PC from the server. When the files have all been copied, you will be asked if you want to set this printer as your default printer. If yes, click Yes, if you don’t, click to choose No. Click on Next, then Finish
- If you are adding a local printer (one that is directly attached to your computer with a USB cable):
- How to toggle between printers?
If you want to print a file to a printer other than your default printer, click on File from the Menu bar, and choose Print. Click on the small black triangle displayed to the right of the printer name and choose the printer you want from the drop down list. Once that printer appears in the field, click on the Print button.
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- How do I troubleshoot printer problems?
Check to verify that the printer is turned on, and has paper.
- If this is a printer directly connected to your computer, open your Printer folder and make sure your printer is online. Right-click on the printer – is there a check before use offline? If yes, move your cursor to uncheck and see if that brings the printer back online.
- If this is a network printer, make sure you are on the network – can you check email or browse the Internet?
- How to connect to wireless in different parts of the building …. How to get guests in the building connected to wireless—the whole area of configurations on laptops?
On laptops using Windows XP, open My Network Connections and right-click on the wireless adapter; choose view available wireless networks. A window will appear with all available access points displayed. Click on the access points with the greatest number of signal bars displayed, and click on Connect. You may get a warning about connecting to an unsecured network. Click on Connect Anyway. After a few seconds, the status will display “connected”
- For Windows 2000, use the network card’s client software to scan for and join the available networks.
- For Macintosh, click on the airport card’s signal bars located in the upper right corner of the screen. Scroll down to select and join the network.
- How to back up to Hades each week?
- Open up the My Document folder. Re-size the window so the folder fills less than half of your screen.
- To re-size, move your mouse to the bottom right corner of the window. When it changes to a double-sided diagonal arrow, left-click and drag your mouse diagonally to the left. The window will grow smaller.
- Next open up your User folder on Hades and move the window so it is next to the My Documents window.
- In the My Documents window, right-click to highlight the file you want to back up
- Now, while holding down the right mouse button, drag the file to the Hades window, and release the button. Left click and choose Copy here.
- Open up the My Document folder. Re-size the window so the folder fills less than half of your screen.
- How to use Hades outside the building for staff that travel?
Starting in the fall of 2005, we have been installing AEA-VPN on Agency laptops. Use this VPN (stands for Virtual Private Network) to logon to the AEA network while connected to networks outside the AEA so you can access your User and Departmental folders and other Agency resources. To use the VPN, double-click on the AEA-VPN shortcut. If this is the first time you’ve used it, you’ll be prompted for your user name and password. Type this in, and click on Connect. A small black command window will appear. Once this disappears, you can use the VPN. After you are done, disconnect by double-clicking on the shortcut and choose disconnect.
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- How to back up materials for using outside the building… using “pen” like flash card devices for saving?
- Insert the USB key into a USB port on the PC
- If this is the first time you have plugged in this USB key, wait for Windows to discover and set up the hardware. Watch the messages that appear near the system tray.
- Open you’re my Computer, and under Devices with Removable Storage, double-click on the Removable Media Drive letter the represents the USB drive
- A window will open, displaying the contents of the disk
- Open the folder that contains the file(s) you want to copy, and re-size the windows so you can see both on your Desktop
- Right-click on the file(s) and drag to the USB-drive window
- Release the right mouse button and left click to choose Copy Here. Give the device time to copy the file
- Before removing a USB disk, let Windows know by right-clicking on the Removable Media Drive letter the represents the USB drive and choose eject. Now it is safe to manually remove the USB drive.
- What is the size limit on sending and receiving attachments in Outlook?
Email and Attachments – What You Need To Know!
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- See number 40.
- See number 40.
- See number 40.
- The AEA has an Online helpdesk which staff can use to report any Technology problem. It is available only from the AEA network. To use it while attached to school or home networks, you must first be logged on to the AEA-VPN.
To access the online helpdesk, launch Internet Explorer and type in the address (be sure to create a favorite once you get logged on): http://helpdesk.mb.aea9.org A network logon box will appear. Some users will be prompted for their AEA username (first initial, full last name) and password: Some users will see a logon box asking for a domain as well as username and password. For the domain, type in AEA9
NEVER check the box before “Remember my password”!! In addition to being a security risk, it will cause big headaches for you when your network password is changed.
After you click on the OK button, the menu page will be displayed. To open a new call, click on the Calls tab and Select New Call. A new window will be displayed.
In the Description field, please type a few words describing the problem. A minimum of 6 characters is required.
In the Details field, please type a more thorough description of the problem, including any error messages you are getting. The more details you provide, the faster a resolution can be found.
The user field should show your name. If you are submitting this on behalf of someone else, click and hold on the small black triangle to the right of the user box, and select the name from the list. Important: if you are submitting on behalf of another user, please type that in the details field. Click on the Submit button to send the call. A new screen will appear showing the details of your call. Click on the X box in the upper right corner to close this window. You can check the status of open calls by clicking on an underlined link displayed under Description.
Please do not enter ANYTHING in the Hardware field – you will get an error if you do, and will have to start all over.
A new window will be displayed showing details of the call. For this call, the location of the laptop is requested. To add information, click on the Add new action/information link
A new window will appear – type in the information requested, and click on the Save button. You will be taken back to the Call detail window, which you can close by clicking on the X box in the upper right corner.
After a call has been closed, a Knowledge Base article is created, and you can view these articles. Click on the Knowledge Base tab to access those articles.
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