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Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

Course Designer and Acquisition Editor

Centre for Information Technology and Engineering

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University

Tirunelveli

Contents

CONTENTS

Lecture 1 1 Fundamentals of Computers Classification of Computers Input & Output Devices Memory & Operating System DOS Commands

Lecture 2 24 User Interface New Features of Windows 95 Desk Top Graphical Device Interface Dynamic Data Exchange Object Linking & Embedding Net Working.

Lecture 3 39 StartButton Programs Documents Setting Find Help Run Shut Down.

Lecture 4 49 Files & Folders Configuring Printers Installing Programs System Tools

Contents

Lecture 10 163 Working With Work Sheets Working With Ranges Types Of References Working With Formulas

Lecture 11 166 What to Print Producing Charts Using Template Using View Linking With Work Books About Formula Arrays.

Lecture 12 179 Pivot Table Using Scenarios To Perform What If Analysis Goal Seeking & Solver

Lecture 13 179 What is Power Point Auto Content Wizard Creating Presentation Using Design Templates Creating Blank Presentation Inserting Objects PowerPoint Views Saving & Printing Your Works Working With Colors & Transitions About Slide Show Timings Navigating During Presentation

Lecture 14 212 Introduction Terms and Definitions Database Tables Forms Query

Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

Reports Data Access Page Microsoft Access Project

Lecture 15 221 Introduction Starting FrontPage Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Controls FrontPage Fundamentals The Web and Web Pages FrontPage Server Extensions Creation your own WebPage

Lecture 16 235 Features Of Out Look Outlook Interfaces Using Calendars Using Tasks Using Notes-Binders

Lecture 17 256 Introduction Web Servers & Clients Looking at Internet Connections

Lecture 18 263 Intranet HTML Creating Html files using Office 2000 Create Hyper Links

Syllabus 273

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Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

Coverage Plan

Lecture 1

1.1 Snap Shot 1.2 What is a Computer 1.3 Fundamentals of Computers 1.4 Classification of Computers

1.5 Input & Output Devices 1.6 Memory & Operating System 1.7 DOS Commands 1.8 Short Summary

Introduction to Computers

1.1 Snap Shot

In this lecture you will learn the Fundamentals of computers and its Classification. You will learn What are the Input Devices and Output Devices, Memory Units, OS and some DOS Commands.

1.2 What is a Computer?

A Computer is a group of electronic devices used to process data. In the 1950s, computers were massive, special-purpose machines that only huge institutions such as governments and universities could afford. Primarily, these early computers performed complex numerical tasks, such as calculating the precise orbit of Mars or planning the trajectories of missiles or processing statistics for the Bureau of the census. Although computers were certainly useful for tasks like these, it soon became apparent that they could also be helpful in an ordinary business environment.

In the 1960s, modern computers began to revolutionize the business world. IBM introduced its System/360 mainframe computer in April 1964 and ultimately sold over 33,000 of these machines. As a result of the commercial success of its System/360, IBM became the standard against which other computer manufacturers and their systems would be measured for years to come.

In the 1970s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) took two more giant steps toward bringing computers into mainstream use with the introduction of its PDP-11 and VAX computers. These models came in many sizes to meet different needs and budgets. Since then, computers continue to shrink in size while providing more power for less money. Today, the most common type of computer you will see is called a personal or PC, because it is designed to be used by just one person at a time. Despite its small size the modern personal computer is more powerful than any of the room-sized machines of the 1960s.

1.3 Fundamentals of Computers

A system can be defined as a set of components that work together to accomplish one or more common goals. A Computer is nothing but a system accepting input from a user, process the same, and giving the output in the required format. In other words a computer is a machine , which can be programmed to compute. The characteristics of a computer are:

Introduction to Computers

where people get their drivers’ licenses. This state agency maintains offices in every major city in Texas, each of which has many employees who work at computer terminals. A terminal is a keyboard and screen wired to the mainframe. It does not have its own CPU or storage; it is just an input/output (I/O) device that functions as a window into a computer located somewhere else. The terminals at the Public Safety offices are all connected to a common database on a mainframe in the state capital. A mainframe computer controls the database that handles the input and output needs of all the terminals connected to it. Each used has continuous access to the driving records and administrative information for every licensed driver and vehicle in the state- literally, millions of records. On smaller systems, handling this volume of user access to a central database would be difficult and more time consuming.

No one really knows where the term mainframe originated. Early IBM documents explicitly define the term frame as a integral part of a computer: “the housing,… hardware support structures,… and all the parts and components therein.” It may be that when computers of all sizes and shapes began to appear in computer environments, the big computer was referred to as the main frame, as in the main computer, and that eventually the term was shortened to one word, mainframe.

Note :- The main difference between a super computer and a mainframe is that a super computer channels all its power into executing a few programs as fast as possible whereas a mainframe uses its power to execute many programs concurrently.

Micro Computers

Microcomputers are the smallest type of computers available and are popularly known as personal computers. Personal computers are small relatively inexpensive computers that are designed for individual users. In terms of cost, they can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over few thousand dollars. Personal computers are designed for word processing, accounting, desktop publishing and database management applications.

Personal computers first appeared in the late stage of 1970. One of the first and most popular computers was Apple 2, which was first introduced in 1977 by Apple Computer. During the late 1970s and early 1980s different new models

Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

and different operating systems started appearing daily. Then in 1981, International Business Machine (IBM) entered in the fray with the first personal computer called IBM PC. It became an overnight success and was the people's choice for personal computer. One of the few companies, which survive IBM's onslaught, is Apple Computer.

Today the world of personal computers is divided between Macintosh and Personal Computers. The principal characteristics of PC's are that they are single-user systems. But they can be linked together to form a network. In terms of power there is a great variation. At the high-end, the distinction between personal computers and workstations has faded where high-end models of Macintosh and Personal Computer offer the same computing power and graphics capability.

Mini Computers

When Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) began shipping its PDP series computers in the early 1960s, the press dubbed these machines minicomputers because of their small size compared to other computers of the day. Much to DEC’s chagrin, the name stuck.

The best way to explain the capabilities of a minicomputers is to say that they lie somewhere between those of mainframes and those of personal computers. Like mainframes, minicomputers can handle a great deal more input and output than personal computers can. Although some minis and designed for a single user, many can handle dozens or even hundreds of terminals.

A company that needs the power of a mainframe but cannot afford such a large machine may find that a minicomputer suits its needs nicely. The major minicomputer manufacturers include DEC, Date General, IBM, and Hewlett- Packard.

1.5 Input devices and Output devices

Computers would be useless if they did not provide a means to interact with users. They could not receive instructions or deliver the results of their work> Input delivers accept data and instructions from the user and output devices

Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

Alphanumeric keys comprise of alphabets, numbers and other characters. Special keys perform specific tasks such as Enter or Return key, Backspace key, Del key, Ins key, Shift key, Esc key etc.

The function keys are used to perform a set of operations in a single keystroke. In other words, they can be shorthand for a sequence of operations. Most programs use F1 function key for help operation.

Mouse

The mouse is now one of the most popular input devices. The mouse as the name suggests, is a small box with a round ball underneath and one or more buttons on the top. A cable attaches the mouse to the terminal or the computer. The mouse allows you to manipulate a pointer or an arrow on screen. As the mouse is rolled across a flat surface, the screen cursor too moves in that direction.

Output Devices

The function of an output device is to present processed data to the user. The most common output devices are the display screen, known as the monitor, and the printer. The computer sends output to the monitor when the user needs only to see the output. It sends output to the printer when the user needs a paper, or hard, copy. In addition, just as computers can accept sound as input, they can include stereo speakers as output devices to produce sound.

Some types of hardware can act as both input and output devices. One example is the touch screen, a type of monitor that displays buttons you can touch. The most common types of devices that can perform both input and output, however, are communication devices, which connect one computer to another – a process known as networking. Among the many kinds of communication devices, the most common are modem, which allow computers to communicate through telephone lines, and network interface cards, which let users connect a group of computers to share data and devices.

Introduction to Computers

Visual Display Unit (VDU)

The unit that resembles a TV screen is what is called as the monitor or commonly known as Visual Display Unit. Most monitors use a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) that looks like a television picture tube. There is a video controller that controls the formation of images. The video controller and memory together are called as the display adapter.

In the graphics mode, the display screen can be divided into thousands of picture elements or pixels. The number of pixels on screen determines the resolution of the monitor. In the text mode, the display adapters can display alphanumeric data and can be used to enter and retrieve letters, numbers and special characters.

Display adapters can be classified on the basis of

• Resolution
• Colour
• Display mode

The Monitors normally comes as 14", 15" or 17" in size.

Printers

Printers are a primary output device used to prepare permanent documents. Two printers commonly used with the PC are the dot-matrix printer and Laser printer.

Plotters

The graphic plotter can be used for high quality diagrams. A pen is mounted on an arm by motors along the paper up or down to makes contact with the paper. Positioning is done in the form of x and y coordinates. Different types of plotters use either a combination of paper and pen movements or only the pen moving on a fixed paper.

Introduction to Computers

• Random Access Memory (RAM)
• Read Only Memory (ROM)

There are certain essential functions that the computer must perform when it is switched on. For example, connections have to be established within the various components of the computer and its peripherals. A series of programs or micro programs are required to perform these low-level functions. These programs are hardwired onto the Read Only Memory (ROM) chips at the time of manufacture.

ROM is non-volatile that is when the computer is switched off, the data on these chips is not lost. When the machine is switched on, the memory, which is available to you, is called as Random Access Memory. The data can be read from and written to any location within RAM by specifying the relevant address. New data can be written onto any location, however, remember that any existing data at this location is overwritten.

Unlike ROM, RAM is volatile. When the power goes off, the data is lost. It is necessary to store the data that is important onto a secondary storage device.

Units of Storage

It is possible for a computer to function with just processing, memory input and output devices. To be really useful however it also needs a place to deep program, files and related data when it is not using them. The purpose of storage is to hold data.

It is helpful to think of storage as an electronic file cabinet and to think of RAM as an electronic worktable. When you need to work with a program or a set of data, the computer locate then in the file cabinet and puts a copy on the table. After you have finished working with the program or data, you put the new version into the file cabinet. There are three major distinction between storage and memory:

1. There is more room in storage than in memory, just as there is, ore room in a file cabinet than there is on a tabletop.
2. Storage retains its contents when the computer is turned off, whereas the programs or the data you put into memory disappear when you shut down the computer.

Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

3. Storage is much cheaper than memory.

The most common storage medium is the magnetic disk. A disk is a round, flat object that spins around its center. Read18 write heads which are similar to the heads of a tape recorder or VCR float above and below the disk near its surface.

The device that holds a disk is called a disk drive. Some disks are built into the drive and are not meant to be removed and other kinds of drives allow you to remove and replace disks. Most personal computers have a non removable hard disk. In addition, there are usually one or two diskette drives which allow you to use removable diskettes. Typically a hard disk can store far more data than a diskette can , so the hard disk serves as the computer’s primary filing cabinet. Diskettes are used to load new programs r data ont0 the hard disk to trade data with other users, and to make backup copies of the data on the hard disk. Because you can remove diskettes from a computer they are encased in a plastic or vinyl cover to protect then from fingerprints and dust. The first diskettes, commonly used in the late 1970s were 8-inch diskettes. Because the vinyl cover was very thin, the diskette was flimsy or floppy. Hence came the name of floppy disk. Next came the 5.25 inch diskettes that were common in the early PCs. Finally the 3.5 inch diskette with its hard plastic shell appeared.

Other types of storage devices include CD –ROM drives, tape drives, optical drives removable hard drives and man others. The CD-ROM drive is the most common type after the hard and diskette drives, Compact disks or CDs are aty0pe of optical storage device identical to audio CDs, that can store about 650MB or about 450 times as much information as a diskette. The type used in computers is called a CD-ROM, which stands for compact disk read only memory. The name implies that you cannot record over an audio CD.

Having looked at various ways of storing data and also devices that store it, let us look at the way the computer stores this data. The computer being an electronic device runs on electricity. It recognizes the flow of electricity in states of “on” or “off”. It in turn corresponds to the binary number system that has a base of two. Thus instead of 0-9, only the digits 0 and 1 are used.

Each alphanumeric character is now represented in a storage location as a combination of binary digits (0s and 1s) or bits to form a byte. A byte typically stores 8 bits. The higher units are called megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and petabytes.

Computer Fundamentals and Office Automation

I-O management, and controls the execution of the programs. Operating System is a must for all computers ranging from mainframes and supercomputers to small personal computers.

1.7 DOS Commands

DOS is nothing but one of the operating system. At the DOS prompt the user can enter a command. DOS command can be classified into two categories.

1. INTERNAL DOS COMMANDS
2. EXTERNAL DOS COMMANDS

INTERNAL DOS COMMANDS are commands, which are used frequently and are stored in the Random Access Memory of the computer. They are also referred to as MEMORY RESIDENT COMMANDS.

EXTERNAL DOS COMMANDS are commands, which are used less frequently and are stored on the DOS Diskette. The commands are also referred to as DISKETTE RESIDENT COMMANDS.

File organization under DOS:

DOS stores data on the secondary storage devices in the form of files. A file is a collection of data, which has a certain unique name and occupies a certain amount of space (in bytes) on the disk. Each file is differentiated from the other by the file name. Thus, not two file on the disk have the same filename.

There are some rules associated with naming of files. A file name has two parts

The primary name Extension name.

The primary name can be a maximum of 8 character and the extension name can be a maximum of 3 Characters. Some Common DOS Commands:

Introduction to Computers

The DIR command

The DOS directory command is used to display a list of files on a diskette. This command is an internal command. Format : Dir

When the dir command is typed at the prompt it will display a list of the files contained on the default drive along with the following information;

• the size of the file in “bytes”
• the data when information or instructions were last placed in the file.
• The time when information or instructions were last placed in the file.

Let us see an example:

A> dir

Volume in drive A is DOS Volume serial Number is 195E-79ec

COUNTRY SYS 17069 09-04-91 12: EGA SYS 4885 09-04-91 10:10a FORMAT COM 14986 09-04-91 11: KEY COM 32911 09-04-91 1:30P 23434324 BYTES 23434343433 BYTES FREE

The first 3 lines identifies the diskette in the A drive by printing its volume label and Volume serial Number. The fourth line on words the directory listing follows.

The first column in the listing lists the filename. The second column lists the extension name. The third column gives information on the size of the file in bytes. The fourth column gives the date of creation of the file or the date when the file was last updated. The fifth column gives the time of file creation or last updation.

The last line tells how many files there are in the diskette and how many bytes of free or unused space there is on the diskette.