Information Technology – Windows Operating System

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do you understand by Windows?
Answer:
Windows is an operating system that controls all parts of that computer system on
which it is installed.

Question 2.
What do you mean by Icons?
Answer:
Icons (or graphical pictures) represent applications, files and other parts of the
operating system. These are the main part of GUI which help a user to operate some
digital device in an easy way.

Question 3.
Explain taskbar.
Answer:
Taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. It includes Start
button, Quick Launch toolbar, Open Application toolbar, Notification area and Show
Desktop button.

Question 4.
Where is the title bar located?
Answer:

The title bar is the horizontal bar located at the top of a window. It displays the name
of the window or software program being used.
Question 5.
Define the Maximize button.
Answer:
The Maximize button in Windows is the middle button with square. It allows the user
to enlarge a window, usually making it fills the entire screen.

Question 6.
Name any three Windows accessories.
Answer:
Notepad, Paint, Calculator.

Question 7.
How do you start the Paint in your computer?
Answer:
To start the paint:
Click Start —> All Programs —> Accessories —> Paint

Question 8.
What is the use of Navigation Pane in folder window?
Answer:
Navigation Pane offers to access libraries, folders, saved searches and even the entire
hard disk pane, contents etc.

Question 9.
For what purpose, left clicking is often used?
Answer:
Left clicking is most often used to select or open a file/folder.

Question 10.
What is a Folder?
Answer:
A folder is a location or storage space where programs, files and other folders can be
located.

Question 11.
Explain Documents folder.
Answer:
Documents is a folder that stores user’s important files and folders that are used with
many of the programs running on your computer.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Explain Windows as a graphical user interface.
Answer:
Windows is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is developed, marketed and sold
by Microsoft.
It has pictures (graphics) that you use to communicate (interface) with the computer.
This type of system is popular because it is logical, fun and easy to use.

Question 2.
Start menu is a gateway to the applications. Describe it.
Answer:
The Start menu is a gateway to the applications that are present on your computer.
The left side of the Start menu lists programs, and the right side allows access to
common windows folders. It also provides access to Help and Support, Search and
Run options.

Question 3.
What is the significance of icons? Give the example of any three types of icons.
Answer:
Icons refer to graphic symbols that represent window elements. The three types of
icons are as follows- the application icon, the shortcut icon and the document icon.

Question 4.
List some main components of a default window.
Answer:
The main components of a default window are as follows:

 Title bar
 Menu bar
 Scroll bar
 Status bar

Question 5.
Discuss the features of Title bar.
Answer:
Title bar displays the name of the window or software program. This bar can
maximize, minimize, restore or close a window. It is also used to move a window
using any pointing device.

Question 6.
What do you mean by Menu bar?
Answer:
Menu Bar
It is situated below, the title bar. It contains various options such as File, Edit, View,
Tools and Help menu items. The menu bar can really help you in managing your
daily routine tasks. Sometimes menu bar does not display on the screen. To make it
appears on the screen, go to Organize —> Layout —> click on check mark Menu
bar option.

Question 7.
Define Status bar.
Answer:
The bottom line of any window is called Status bar in which an application can
display various kinds of status information such as current window’s state,
background tasks (such as printing, scanning etc) or other contextual information
(such as selection, etc).

Question 8.
How to create a sub-folder within a folder?
Answer:
Steps to create a sub-folder within a folder

 Step 1: Open the existing folder.

 Step 2: Right click on a blank area.
 Step 3: Point to New and then click the Folder.
 Step 4: A new sub-folder icon will appear in Folder (By default name as New
Folder)
 Step 5: Type the new name of sub-folder and press Enter.

Question 9.
Write the difference between copying and moving files/folders.
Answer:
Difference between copying and moving files/folders are as follows:

Copying Moving

Copy a file/folder is to make a duplicate copy Move a file/folder is to transfer the

of the selected file/folder and place at the target original file from the original location
location. to the target location.

It can be done when the original folder is taken It can be done when you drag a folder

to a different file or folder than the original. to a similar file or a folder.

Question 10.
Describe a Drive.
Answer:
Drives
A drive or disk drive is a hardware device in which you can store files and folders.
Disk drives are assigned by a letter (e.g. C, D, E etc.)
Your hard drive (the drive inside your Computer icon) is known as the (C:, D:, E: )
drive. Hard disk drive is the location where all files are stored in any computer.
In Windows, the name of hard drive start from C: drive because it is the first
available drive letter. The computer assigns A: and B: drives to floppy disks and
sometimes other removable media such as tape drives.

Question 11.
Write all the functions of Minimize button.
Answer:
The Minimize button is among the three buttons at the right end of the title bar. This
button has a small dash (or minus sign). It shrinks the window and places it on the
taskbar while leaving the program running. To go back to this window, click on
taskbar where it is shrinked.

Question 12.
What is a Restore button?
Answer:
After a window is maximized, the Maximize button changes to the Restore button.
It looks like two windows near one another. If you click the Restore button, the
maximized window shrinks to its previous size (the size before you maximized it).
Question 13.
GUI has become a standard way of how to users interact with a computer? Its one
feature is WYSIWYG.

 Give full form of both abbreviations used in the above paragraph.

 Write one other feature of GUI.

Answer:

 GUI Graphical User Interface WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get.
 GUI contains icons that represent files, folders and other applications.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Explain Graphical User Interface (GUI) with its features.
Answer:
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
It is a visual environment for representing programs, files and options with graphical
images such as icons, menus and dialog boxes on the screen. The user could select
and activate/deactivate these elements by pointing and clicking with a mouse or often
with the keyboard.
Features of GUI:

 A pointing device allows the user to identify and select the necessary commands
by moving the cursor to a certain location on the screen, e.g. Mouse, joystick etc.
 The object being manipulated remains visible on the screen before the
manipulation and after the manipulation.
 WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) means that a printed document is
exactly a copy of what you see on the screen.
 A GUI provides adequate messages and information from time to time
depending upon the application.
 Quality of reversal is the ability to revert the previous state of action.
 Icons represent files, folders and other applications.
 Dialog boxes, sliders, buttons, check boxes allow the user to inform computer,
what to do and how to do.
 Graphical display of the current actions informs the user regarding the current
action and a method to interrupt the same action by using graphical animation.
Question 2.
What do you mean by desktop? Explain the Components of Windows 7 desktop.
Answer:
When a computer is booted up and ready to use, then the screen we see is called the
Desktop.
Components of Windows 7 Desktop
Basic components of Windows 7 Desktop screen are as follows:

1. Start Button It is a tool by which you can open menus, start applications, files
and settings.
Taskbar It is located at the bottom of the screen which contains the Start button,
shortcuts to applications, date, time etc.
2. Date and Time Settings On the right side of the taskbar, you will see date and
time option, which is used to set date and time.

3. Desktop Background It is an image used as background of a GUI on a

computer screen. It is also called wallpaper.
4. Recycle Bin It is a container which contains deleted files, folders etc until, the ‘
are finally removed from the hard disk. If you want to restore the deleted
files/folders, you have to go to the recycle bin (by left clicking it twice) right
click on the document and choose Restore from the given options. After doing
this, the desired document will be restored on its original position.
5. Computer This folder is a source to retrieve all the information and resources
attached to the system. It allows the user to explore the content of his/her
computer drives as well as manage the computer files.
 6. Icons (or Graphical Pictures) It is a small graphical representation of a program
applications or tiles. When user click on icons, the associated program opens
(run). Icons are the main part of GUI in order to help a user to operate a
computer system or any digital device in an easy way. The three types of icons
are-the application icon, the shortcut icon and the document icon.
7. Aero It is a visual desktop experience, which provides an easy way to access
desktop.

Question 3.
What are shortcuts? Explain the steps to create shortcut.
Answer:
Steps to Create a Shortcut

 Step 1: Right click on the desktop or the area where you want to place the
shortcut. In the right click menu, point to New and then, select Shortcut.
 Step 2: The Create Shortcut wizard will open as shown below. You need to
select the path to the program, click on the Browse button to begin.

 Step 3: Navigate to the folder where the program is located and select it, click
the OK button.
 Step 4: Press the Next button to continue.
 Step 5: You need to enter the name of the shortcut in the ‘Type a name for this
shortcut:’ field and finally, click Finish button.

Question 4.
What are the some important programs of Accessories?
Answer:
Some important programs of Accessories are as follows:

 Calculator It offers advanced capabilities of a programming, scientific and

statistical calculator.
 Text Editor It refers to a simple Word processor application that is used to
create and edit text.
e.g. WordPad and Notepad.
 Paint It refers to a painting tool that is used to create drawings on a blank
drawing area or in an existing pictures.

Question 5.
Describe the basic operations of mouse button.
Answer:
Some basic mouse operations are as follows:

 Pointing Pointing to an item on the screen means moving a pointer to a certain

location. When you point to some object, a small box often appears, that
describes the item.

 Left clicking To click an item ,point to the item on the Screen, then press and
release the left button.Left clicking is most often used to select an item or to
open a menu
 Left Button-Double Clicking It is used to open the items on your desktop. To
double click an item point to the item on the screen and then click twice quickly.
 Dragging It is used to move files(or folders) to different locations and to move
window (or icons) around your screen. to drag an object, point to the object on
the screen, press and hold the left button, move the object to a new location and
 then release the button.

 Right Clicking It is usually used to display a list of operations that can be

performed with the associated item. Right click an item, point to the item that
you want perform and then, click the left button.

Question 6.
Which folder is used as a convenient place to store important files and folders of a
user?
Answer:
Documents is a folder that provides convenient place to store important files and
folders.
When a user saves a file, the file is automatically saved in Documents unless the user
has chosen a different folder or drive.
To reach Documents folder quickly, user can use Start menu or double click on the
Documents icon placed on desktop.

Question 7.
What is a File? Explain its functions.
Answer:
Files
These are the collection of information. In fact, almost all type of information is
stored into the files. There are many types of files stored in different formats
including operating system files, program files and your personal files. Different
types of files contain different types of information. Each file has a specific filename
and has a file extension that identifies the file type. (The filename and file extension
are separated by a period (•)).
e.g. A document created using WordPad might have the filename John.rtf.

Question 8.
Name the different filename extensions and specify, when they are used?
Answer:
Some common filename extensions are as follows:

 .docx – MS-Word document

 .rtf – WordPad document
 .txt – Notepad text file
 .eml – E-mail file
 .xlsx – MS-Excel file
 .htm – HTML file (Web page)
 .html – HTML file (Web page)
 .pptx – MS-PowerPoint presentation

Question 9.
Describe the various parts of the folder window.
Answer:
It is a location where you can store your files. You can create any number of folders
and even you can store a folder into other folders (sub-folders). Windows use various
folders to store and manage files. Various parts of the Windows folder are as follows:
 1. Navigation Pane Offers to access libraries, folder, saved searches and even the
entire hard disk, pane, contents etc.
2. Backward and Forward Buttons Used to navigate between previously used
and current folders.
3. Toolbar/Command Bar Used to perform some files related common tasks.
4. Address Bar Used to navigate directly to a different location from one
folder/directory to another.
5. Search Box Type a word or a phrase in the search box to look for an item in the
current folder or library.
6. Column Heading Use the column heading to change how the files in the file list
are organised.
7. File List This is the list of contents of the current folder or library.

Question 10.
Write the steps to rename and delete a folder.
Answer:
Steps to delete a folder

 Step 1: Locate your folder. ,

 Step 2: Right click on the folder icon.
 Step 3: Choose Delete option from the drop down menu.
 Step 4: A Delete Folder dialog box will appear asking, “Are you sure you want
to move this folder to the Recycle Bin?”
 Step 5: Choose Yes.
 Step 6: The folder is deleted and moved to the Recycle Bin.

Question 11.
Describe the concept of tiling and cascading windows.
Answer:
Tiling and Cascading Windows
Sometimes, moving and resizing multiple windows can create confusion. To keep
better track of multiple windows, try cascading or tiling the windows. In cascading,
windows are layered on the top of each other.
Steps to Cascade the Windows Across the Screen

 Step 1: Right click on the taskbar.

 Step 2: Click Cascade windows.
In tiling, windows are next to each other. Windows can be tiled horizontally or
vertically. If windows are tiled horizontally, they appear one above the another. If
windows are tiled vertically, they appear side-by-side.
Steps to Tile the Windows Across the Screen

 Step 1: Right click on the taskbar.

 Step 2: Click Show windows stacked (for tiling horizontally) or Show windows
side-by-side (for tiling vertically).