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Module 2 - Application of ICT

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Module 2 - Application of ICT

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCTION

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

MODULE 2

MODULE TITLE: APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)

1
© Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

This module is property of the Institute of Distance Education

March, 2016
University of Zambia
P.O. Box 32379
Lusaka
Zambia
Telefax: +260 211 290 719
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.unza.zm

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The University of Zambia (UNZA), Institute of Distance Education (IDE) wishes to thank
Mr. John Mulenga Chita for writing this module 2, APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)

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Module Introduction

Welcome to Module 2 on APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)
You may realize that the field of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has
evolved over time. This module will familiarize you with the way in which ICTs are used in
organizations to provide decision-relevant information and to enable you to understand how
systems are designed and implemented to meet organizational needs. You shall have a sound basis
for understanding the functioning of any information system you may encounter in practice, and
you should be able to relate its features to the conceptual enterprise framework presented in this
entire course. This should allow you to be informed consumers and users of information and
communication technologies.

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this module is to enhance participants’ understanding of the application of Information
Communication Technologies in business organizations.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a) Explain the importance of information within an organization and how ICTs help to
manage information.
b) Demonstrate the competition usage of the computer, Office Applications, the Internet and
Mobile Devices which include Tablets and Smart Phones (Android, Apple, etc.)
c) Describe various threats to organisations including measures that can be used to minimize
these threats
d) Explain how E-Business, the Internet and WWW has impacted on business functions
within and outside an organization particularly in relation to SCM, B2B, B2G and B2E
e) Explain the importance and growth of Integrated Information Systems, including
enterprise Resource Planning Systems such as SAP and PeopleSoft
f) Describe the different families of Information Systems and their relevance to various types
and levels of management within an organization.
g) Describe the future trends in ICT that will impact on strategic directions, business
decisions and change management.

Structure of the Module

As you can see from the table of content below, the module is divided into Twelve (12) units.
Each unit is in turn divided into several sub-units. Each unit has a core text and an exercise at the
end. You are required to read the text and thereafter attempt the exercise before proceeding to the
next unit.

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METHOD OF TEACHING
Four contact hours per week: 3 lectures, 1 seminar e-Learning

ASSESSMENT
Continuous Assessment 50%
One Assignment 10%
One Test 20%
One Laboratory (Practical) 10%

Final examination 60%

Prescribed Readings

1. Stair, R.M. & Baldauf, K.J. 2007, Succeeding with Technology: Computer System Concepts
for Real Life, 2nd edition, Thomson Course Technology, United States of America.
2. Long, L. & Long, N., 2004, Computers: Information Technology in Perspective, 11th edn,
Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

MODULE INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… iii

Module Aim …………………………………………………………………….. iii

Module Objectives ……………………………………………………………….. iii

Module Structure (Teaching methods) ..…………………………………………..iv

Prescribed Reading ……………………………………………………………….. iv

Time frame ……………………………………………………………………….. v

Study Skills …………………… ………………………………………………..... v

Need Help ………………………………………………………………………….vi

UNIT 01

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USAGE OF ICT& ENVIRONMENT FOR COMPUTERS ....................................................... 63
6.1 Computers at work ................................................................................................................................ 63
6.2 Usage of ICT in different sectors ........................................................................................................... 64
6.2.1 Potential Sectors with ICT usage ................................................................................................................ 64
6.2.2 ICT in Education.......................................................................................................................................... 64
6.2.3 ICT in Business/Trade and Commerce........................................................................................................ 65
6.2.4 ICT in Banking ............................................................................................................................................. 66
6.2.5 ICT in Medicine ........................................................................................................................................... 67
6.3 Health, Safety, and Environment for computers ................................................................................... 68
6.3.1 Work environment ..................................................................................................................................... 68
6.3.2 Computer related health problems ........................................................................................................... 69
6.3.3 Proper use of mouse, monitor, and key board .......................................................................................... 71
6.3.4 Reference postures .................................................................................................................................... 72
6.4 Protecting environment ......................................................................................................................... 73
6.4.1 Go paperless ............................................................................................................................................... 73
6.4.2 No Screen Saver ......................................................................................................................................... 73
6.4.3 Turn It Off ................................................................................................................................................... 73
6.4.4 Use a Flash Drive ........................................................................................................................................ 74
6.4.5 Fix Your Old Computer ............................................................................................................................... 74
6.5 Self Assessment Questions ..................................................................................................................... 74
UNIT 07

INFORMATION SECURITY AND LEGAL REGULATIONS ..................................... 75

7.1 Introduction to Information Security .................................................................................................... 75
7.1.1 Importance of Information Security........................................................................................................... 75
7.1.2 Possible attacks .......................................................................................................................................... 76
7.1.3 Security measures ...................................................................................................................................... 76
7.1.4 Forms of software threats .......................................................................................................................... 76
7.2 Hardware Threats .................................................................................................................................. 79
7.2.1 Power Faults ............................................................................................................................................... 79
7.2.2 Age ............................................................................................................................................................. 80
7.2.3 Incompatibilities ......................................................................................................................................... 80
7.2.4 Finger Faults ............................................................................................................................................... 80
7.2.5 Malicious or Careless Damage ................................................................................................................... 81
7.2.6 Data carriers ............................................................................................................................................... 81
7.2.7 Magnetic Zaps ............................................................................................................................................ 81
7.3 Computer Related Privacy Issues .......................................................................................................... 82
7.3.1 Exposure in browsing Web ......................................................................................................................... 82
7.3.2 Information that reveals you ..................................................................................................................... 82
7.3.3 Limiting the information collection ............................................................................................................ 82
7.3.4 Protecting your privacy .............................................................................................................................. 83
7.4 Computer Related Legal Regulations in Zambia .............................................................................. 83
7.4.1 ICT Policy formulation bodies in Zambia ................................................................................................. 84
7.4.2 Copyright and related laws ........................................................................................................................ 85
7.4.3 Data Protection Law in Zambia ................................................................................................................ 85
7.5 Self Assessment Questions ..................................................................................................................... 86

UNIT 8

INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS 7 .............................................................................................. 87

8.1 What is Windows 7? .............................................................................................................................. 87
8.1.1 Versions of Windows 7 ............................................................................................................................... 87
8.1.2 System requirements ................................................................................................................................. 88
8.2 Installing Windows 7 into your PC ........................................................................................................ 88
8.3 Basic Operations in Windows7 .............................................................................................................. 89
8.4 Windows 7 Interface .............................................................................................................................. 90
8.4.1 Desktop ...................................................................................................................................................... 90
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8.4.2 Start menu ................................................................................................................................................. 90
8.4.3 Task bar ...................................................................................................................................................... 91
8.4.4 Notification area ........................................................................................................................................ 91
8.4.5 Task buttons ............................................................................................................................................... 92
8.4.6 Desktop Icons ............................................................................................................................................. 92
8.4.7 Shortcut Icons ............................................................................................................................................ 92
8.4.8 Windows Gadgets ...................................................................................................................................... 92
8.5 Ending a Computing UNIT ................................................................................................................. 93
8.6 Working with Windows Programs ........................................................................................................ 94
8.6.1 Start a Windows program .......................................................................................................................... 94
8.6.2 Using Windows Accessories ....................................................................................................................... 95
8.7 Introduction to Windows 7 File System ................................................................................................ 96
8.7.1 The File System in general.......................................................................................................................... 96
8.7.2 The File Hierarchy and File management ................................................................................................... 97
8.7.3 What is a library? ....................................................................................................................................... 97
8.7.4 The System Root in Windows 7 .................................................................................................................. 98
8.7.5 Personal Areas in Windows 7 ..................................................................................................................... 99
8.7.6 File naming conventions ............................................................................................................................ 99
8.8 Storing and Managing Data .............................................................................................................. 100
8.8.1 Basic File/Folder Operations in Windows 7 ............................................................................................. 100
8.9 Windows 7 User Accounts ................................................................................................................... 106
8.10 The System Settings ............................................................................................................................. 107
8.10.1 The Control Panel ................................................................................................................................ 107
8.10.2 The Control Panel in Category View .................................................................................................... 107
8.11 Self Assessment Questions ................................................................................................................... 108

UNIT 9

INTRODUCTION TO WORD PROCESSING AND MS OFFICE 2007 ............................ 109

9.1 What is Word Processing? ................................................................................................................... 109
9.1.1 Characteristics and features of Word processing software ................................................................. 109
9.2 Existing word processing packages ..................................................................................................... 110
9.2.1 Open source word processors ............................................................................................................. 110
9.2.2 Commercial software ........................................................................................................................... 113
9.2.3 Online word processors ....................................................................................................................... 113
9.3 Improve your typing Skills .................................................................................................................. 114
9.3.1 Keyboard and its’ layout ...................................................................................................................... 115
9.3.2 Working with Computer Keyboard ...................................................................................................... 116
9.4 Introduction to MS Office 2007 ........................................................................................................... 117
9.4.1 What is Microsoft Office? .................................................................................................................... 117
9.4.2 History of Office Versions .................................................................................................................... 118
9.4.3 Microsoft Office 2007 .......................................................................................................................... 118
9.4.4 System requirements for Office 2007 .................................................................................................. 119
9.4.5 Programs Available in Office 2007 ....................................................................................................... 119
9.5 Self Assessment Questions ................................................................................................................... 119

UNIT 10

MICROSOFT WORD 2007 ............................................................................................................. 120

10.1 Getting started with Microsoft Office Word 2007 ............................................................................ 120
10.1.1 Start Microsoft Office Word 2007 ....................................................................................................... 120
10.1.2 Create a new Word Document – Method 1......................................................................................... 121
10.1.3 Create a new word document - Method 2 .......................................................................................... 121
10.2 Getting familiarized with the MSWord 2007 user interface............................................................ 122
10.3 Using MS Word Help ......................................................................................................................... 123
10.4 Some useful basic operations in MS Word ....................................................................................... 126
10.4.1 Changing the typing modes ................................................................................................................. 126
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10.4.2 Show/ Hide non-printable characters .................................................................................................. 126
10.4.3 Save your word document ................................................................................................................... 126
10.4.4 Close already opened word document and exit from Microsoft Word ............................................... 126
10.4.5 Opening an existing MS Word document ............................................................................................ 126
10.4.6 Displaying different views of a document ........................................................................................... 126
10.4.7 Previewing and printing a document ................................................................................................... 128
10.4.8 Secure your document from others .................................................................................................... 129
10.4.9 Save your document in a different file format .................................................................................... 130
10.4.10 Show/Hide ruler ................................................................................................................................... 130
10.4.10 Insert a page break .............................................................................................................................. 131
10.4.12 Insert date and time ............................................................................................................................ 131
10.5 Self Assessment Questions .................................................................................................................. 132
10.1 Write down two possible ways of starting MS Word. ......................................................................... 147

UNIT11

INTRODUCTION TO MS EXCEL 2007 ..................................................................................... 133

11.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 133
11.1.1 Start Excel 2007 ................................................................................................................................... 134
11.2 Microsoft Excel 2007 User Interface ................................................................................................. 134
11.3 Working with workbooks ...................................................................................................................135
11.3.1 Create a new workbook (Method 1) .................................................................................................... 135
11.3.2 Create a new work book (Method 2) ................................................................................................... 135
11.4 Working with a work sheet ................................................................................................................ 136
11.4.1 Delete a worksheet .............................................................................................................................. 136
11.4.2 Rename an existing worksheet ............................................................................................................ 136
11.4.3 Insert a new work sheet ...................................................................................................................... 136
11.5 Data entry techniques ......................................................................................................................... 137
11.5.1 AutoFill option ..................................................................................................................................... 137
11.6 Moving Data within a Workbook ...................................................................................................... 139
11.7 Defining data set as a Table ............................................................................................................... 140
11.8 Some useful tips .................................................................................................................................. 140
11.8.1 Displaying Different Views of an Excel sheet ....................................................................................... 141
11.8.2 Window Operations ............................................................................................................................. 141
11.9 Setting, Previewing, and Printing a document ................................................................................. 142
11.9.1 Setting/Clearing printing area.............................................................................................................. 142
11.9.2 Previwing and Printing your work ........................................................................................................ 143
11.10 Self Assessment Questions ............................................................................................................. 144

UNIT 12

INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 2007 ................................................. 145

12.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 145
12.2 Working with MS PowerPoint 2007 .................................................................................................. 145
12.2.1 Starting MS PowerPoint 2007 .............................................................................................................. 145
12.2.2 Creating a new presentation (Method 1) ............................................................................................ 146
12.2.3 Creating a new presentation (Method 2) ............................................................................................ 146
12.3 Getting Familiarized with MS Power point 2007 user Interface .....................................................147
12.4 Start your presentation ...................................................................................................................... 147
12.4.1 Starting with the first slide ................................................................................................................... 148
12.4.2 Inserting a new slide ............................................................................................................................ 148
12.4.3 Deleting a Slide .................................................................................................................................... 149
12.4.4 Open an existing presentation ............................................................................................................. 149
12.4.5 Change the slide view .......................................................................................................................... 150
12.4.6 Hiding the slides ................................................................................................................................... 150
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12.5 Adding more components to the slides .............................................................................................. 151
12.5.1 Adding text and images in a single slide .............................................................................................. 151
12.5.2 Adding hyperlinks ................................................................................................................................ 152
12.6 Formatting Presentations ................................................................................................................... 153
12.6.1 Inserting a text box .............................................................................................................................. 153
12.6.2 Insert WordArt ..................................................................................................................................... 153
12.6.3 Insert a Footer and Slide numbers ....................................................................................................... 154
12.7 Formatting backgrounds and layout ................................................................................................. 155
12.7.1 Change the background style using Ribbon ......................................................................................... 155
12.7.1 Change the background using Format Background menu ................................................................... 156
12.7.2 Change the Slide Layout ...................................................................................................................... 156
12.8 Applying Themes ................................................................................................................................ 157
12.8.1 Insert Themes in to all slides................................................................................................................ 157
12.8.2 Insert Themes in to Selected Slides ..................................................................................................... 157
12.9 Using Slide Master .............................................................................................................................. 157
12.9.1 Creating a Slide Master ........................................................................................................................ 157
12.9.2 Slide Master Tools................................................................................................................................ 158
12.9.3 Working with slide masters ................................................................................................................. 158
12.10 Self Assessment Questions ............................................................................................................. 160

UNIT 13

INTRODUCTION TO DATABASES AND MICROSOFT ACCESS 2007 ......................... 161

13.1 Introduction to Databases .................................................................................................................... 161
13.1.1 Hierarchical model ............................................................................................................................... 161
13.1.2 Network model .................................................................................................................................... 162
13.1.3 Relational model ..................................................................................................................................162
13.1.4 Object –Oriented model ...................................................................................................................... 162
13.2 Database Management System ............................................................................................................ 163
13.3 Basic terminology in Databases ........................................................................................................... 163
13.3.1 Database .............................................................................................................................................. 163
13.3.2 Object .................................................................................................................................................. 163
13.3.3 Table .................................................................................................................................................... 163
13.3.4 Field ..................................................................................................................................................... 163
13.3.5 Record .................................................................................................................................................. 163
13.3.6 Primary key .......................................................................................................................................... 164
13.3.7 Foreign key........................................................................................................................................... 164
13.3.8 Relationships .......................................................................................................................................165
13.4 Different Database Management Applications .................................................................................... 166
13.5 Introduction to Microsoft Access 2007 ................................................................................................ 166
13.5.1 Start Microsoft Access ......................................................................................................................... 166
13.5.2 Create a new database ........................................................................................................................ 166
13.5.3 User interface of MS Access 2007 ....................................................................................................... 167
13.5.4 Opening an Existing Database ............................................................................................................. 167
13.5.5 Closing an Existing Database................................................................................................................ 167
13.5.6 Objects available in Access 2007 ......................................................................................................... 167
13.6 Exploring Tables .................................................................................................................................. 168
13.6.1 Open a table in Datasheet view ........................................................................................................... 168
13.6.2 Open a table in Design view ................................................................................................................ 168
13.7 Exploring Queries ................................................................................................................................ 168
13.7.1 Opening a Query .................................................................................................................................. 169
13.7.2 Open a Query in design view ............................................................................................................... 169
13.8 Exploring Forms .................................................................................................................................. 170
13.8.1 Opening a Form ................................................................................................................................... 170
13.8.2 Open a Form in design view................................................................................................................. 170
13.9 Exploring Reports ................................................................................................................................ 171
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13.9.1 Opening a Report in the Layout view .................................................................................................. 171
13.10 Save your database in other formats ............................................................................................... 171
13.11 Encrypt with a password ................................................................................................................. 172
13.12 Decrypt the database ....................................................................................................................... 172
13.13 Self Assessment Questions ............................................................................................................... 173

UNIT 14

INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET ............................................................................. 174

14.1 The Internet: an introduction ......................................................................................................174
14.1.1 What is Internet? ................................................................................................................................. 174
14.1.2 The history of the Internet ................................................................................................................... 176
14.1.3 Differences between Internet and World Wide Web .......................................................................... 176
14.1.4 Introducing the Internet buzz words ................................................................................................. 178
14.2 Identifying facilities/benefits of Internet ............................................................................................ 180
14.2.1 WWW ................................................................................................................................................... 180
14.2.2 E-mail ................................................................................................................................................... 180
14.2.3 Chat .....................................................................................................................................................
180
14.2.4 Telnet ................................................................................................................................................... 180
14.2.5 VoIP...................................................................................................................................................... 1800
14.3 Connecting to the Internet ................................................................................................................... 181
14.3.1 Dial-up Connections ............................................................................................................................. 181
14.3.2 Landline ............................................................................................................................................... 182
14.3.3 T-lines ................................................................................................................................................... 182
14.3.4 Wi-Fi.....................................................................................................................................................182
14.3.5 Satellite ................................................................................................................................................ 183
14.3.6 Cell phones .......................................................................................................................................... 184
14.4 Self Assessment Questions ................................................................................................................... 185

UNIT 15

WEB BROWSERS & SEARCH ENGINES ......................................................................... 186

15.1 Web Browsers .....................................................................................................................................186
15.1.1 Introducing different web browsers .................................................................................................... 186
15.2 User Interfaces of Web Browsers ........................................................................................................ 190
15.2.1 Internet Explorer .................................................................................................................................. 192
15.2.2 Mozilla Firefox ..................................................................................................................................... 193
15.2.3 Google Chrome ................................................................................................................................... 194
15.2.4 Saving the contents opened from the web browser ........................................................................... 194
15.2.5 Downloading different contents from the Internet ............................................................................. 194
15.3 Search Engines ..................................................................................................................................... 198
15.3.1 Introducing different search engines ................................................................................................... 198
15.3.2 Finding information using search engines ........................................................................................... 201
15.3.3 Searching more efficiently in Google ................................................................................................... 201
15.4 Browser Customization ........................................................................................................................ 204
15.4.1 Setting up a Homepage........................................................................................................................ 204
15.4.2 How to set up a Proxy for Firefox 3?.................................................................................................... 205
15.4.3 Changing the ‘Content’ in Options ....................................................................................................... 207
15.5 Self Assessment Questions ................................................................................................................... 208

UNIT 16

INTRODUCTION TO THE E-MAIL ..................................................................................... 209

16.1 E-mail ..................................................................................................................................................209

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16.1.1 Snail mail Vs. E-mail ............................................................................................................................ 209
16.1.2 How e-mail works in brief ................................................................................................................... 209
16.2 More about E-mailing concepts ......................................................................................................... 210
16.2.1 E-mail clients ....................................................................................................................................... 210
16.2.2 The SMTP Server ................................................................................................................................. 211
16.2.3 The POP3 Server ................................................................................................................................. 211
16.2.4 The IMAP Server ................................................................................................................................. 212
16.3 Different e-mailing methods ..............................................................................................................213
16.4 Need of Email etiquettes ..................................................................................................................... 214
16.5 Using emails ......................................................................................................................................... 214
16.5.1 Email address ...................................................................................................................................... 214
16.5.2 Creating a free e-mail account ........................................................................................................... 215
16.5.3 Receiving e-mail .................................................................................................................................. 217
16.5.4 Sending e-mail ..................................................................................................................................... 218
16.5.5 Sending/receiving attachments ......................................................................................................... 219
16.5.6 Set up an Address Book Group for List Mailing in Yahoo .................................................................. 220
16.6 Security and risk in Internet .............................................................................................................. 221
16.6.1 Security settings in web browsers/e-mail client software ................................................................ 221
16.6.2 Taking precautions when using the Internet ..................................................................................... 222
16.7 Self Assessment Questions .................................................................................................................. 223
UNIT 17

CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN THE INTERNET ................................................... 224

17.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 224
17.2 Introduction to E-commerce ................................................................................................................ 224
17.3 The benefits of e-commerce ................................................................................................................. 225
17.4 Types of Electronic Commerce ............................................................................................................ 227
17.4.1 B2C – Business to Consumer................................................................................................................ 227
17.4.2 C2B – Consumer to Business................................................................................................................ 229
17.4.3 B2B – Business to Business .................................................................................................................230
17.4.4 C2C – Consumer to Consumer ............................................................................................................. 231
17.5 Basic Functions in the E-Commerce Site ............................................................................................. 234
17.6 What is e-learning? .............................................................................................................................. 237
17.6.1 Types of e-learning .............................................................................................................................. 237
17.6.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of e-learning ...................................................................................... 238
17.6.3 Traditional Classroom learning Vs. E-learning ..................................................................................... 238
17.7 Introduction to E-Government ............................................................................................................ 238
17.8 Introduction to E-entertainment ......................................................................................................... 239
17.9 Future of Internet ................................................................................................................................ 239
17.9.1 Top Ten Future Trends- The Internet by 2020 ..................................................................................... 239
17.10 Self Assessment Questions ............................................................................................................... 240

MODULE SUMMARRY ………………………………………………………………………………… 241

REFERENCES…………………………………………….………………………………………………. 241

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UNIT 01

Usage of ICT& Environment for Computers

Introduction:
This UNIT outlines the uses of computers in the day to day life and comprehensively model the
environmental effects as well as the physical impacts.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:

• Describe why the computers are used at places of work

• Identify the different sectors where the concepts of ICT are used
• Briefly describe what e-commerce, e-banking, and e-medicine are
• Describe the nature of the environment of a computer based work area
• Identify the health issues related to working with computers
• Describe how to protect our environment by bad effects from computers

1.1 Computers at work

You might have not seen a place of work without a single computer in use. The computer has
become such essential equipment for almost all places of work no matter if it is a small scale or
large scale company. Computer literacy in varying extents has become an essential item under
the qualifications required for most of the job vacancies. However, the utilization of computers
may vary from place to place depending on the nature of the business they perform.
When we consider the both private and government sector places of work in Zambia, following
can be considered as the typical uses of computers.
• Managing data – keep track of data about customers, products, demographics and other
information important to the business, uses secured mechanisms for storages.
• Maintain financial status – Keep track of the financial status of the company on an
annually, monthly or even day-to-day basis. Spreadsheet software is commonly used to
track expenditures, sales, and profit and losses. Accounting software provides a business
with even more assistance with financial matters, as it is used to do payroll, invoice
customers, prepare taxes and execute other essential functions. Companies can use their
computers to print checks for payroll and expenditures, and can form a direct link to the
company's bank account.
• Communication–Uses e-mails, publishes information on web, keeps in touch with stake
holders via social networks, conference meetings avoids the need of physical availability
of participants of the meetings,
• Networking- shares resources, common database of files accessible for authorized
members
• Research work – Investigate new products, improve the quality of the existing products
through effective research
• Audio and Video business presentation
15
• Process simulations- The processes allows you to see effect of changes, without having to
actually make those changes to your processes, can use to maximize the overall
confidence with the proposed changes without implementing
• Increase productivity through Industry specific software
Though the typical usage of computers at work has been summarized as above, there will be
many more answers to the question „What are the uses and advantages of computers in your
office? ‟ depending on the nature of work handled within the company/office of the person. So it
is not a marvelous fact that most of the organizations move towards automating the tasks with
the help of modern computers.

1.2 Usage of ICT in different sectors

We looked at the usage of computers in a typical office in the previous section. It was quite
difficult to list of uses as it is vast. However, it can be clearly identify the sectors where ICT is
now used in the Zambia and in the world, in general as listed below.

1.2.1 Potential Sectors with ICT usage

ICT can be potentially used in the following sectors. Note that the following list is given in
general but not specific to our country. Some of the sectors may be already familiar to you in
your everyday life.

• Education
• Heals care/medicine
• Agriculture
• Banking
• Business/trade and commerce
• Transport
• Manufacturing
• Travel and Tourism
• Environment
• Gender
• Culture
Following sections will give a brief to some of the above sectors with respect to usage of ICT.

1.2.2 ICT in Education

The usage of concepts in ICT in the education sector also varies on its application such as,

• ICT as a subject (i.e., computer studies)

• ICT as a tool to support traditional subjects (i.e., computer-based learning, presentation,
research)
• ICT as an administrative tool (i.e., education management information systems/EMIS)
• ICT as a medium of knowledge exchange

Accordingly, as a student who follows this Module, you are dealt with the above first category;
ICT as a subject. However, you will be able to get more familiar to use the computer for your
studies not only this Module but also the other courses you follow at OUSL by using your
computer as a tool to support your studies. This category is often referred to as e-learning. We
will be discussing deeply about e-learning in UNIT 25 in this course material. However, the
16
following description is given as it is worth to get a brief idea on what e-learning is before
proceeding to the next sections.

E-Learning

As per a definition given in an international journey, e-learning, sometimes termed computer

based training (CBT), internet-based training (IBT) or web-based training (WBT), includes all
forms of electronically supported learning and teaching, including educational technology. The
information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific
media to implement the learning process. Accordingly you can see that the term e-Learning is
really just an umbrella term which covers a wide set of electronic educational applications and
processes.
Mostly, the electronic technology used here is the use of computers with the accessibility to the
internet. You will be able acquire and develop your knowledge so that you will be able to
demonstrate the particular topic learned which proves that it has positively influenced in your
behaviors. You may consider the OUMoodle (http://ousl.nodes.lk/) which is the Learning
Management System used in the Open University as a major learner support tool.

The advantages of e-learning with respect to both teaching and the learning parties can be
considered as;
• Cost effective
• Saves time without sacrificing quality
• Minimizes travel cost
• Can be accessed from anywhere any time in the world
• Consistent course delivery
• Individual instruction

1.2.3 ICT in Business/Trade and Commerce

Nowadays, the business IT specialist applies ICT in their organizations to achieve their
commercial objectives. It makes them be quick, cheap, and more attractive to the client of their
business. One of the major applications of ICT in businesses is the existence of industries where
buying and selling of products or services done through internet or other computer networks.
This area is called Electronic Commerce or E-commerce. You will learn what e-commerce is
deeply in UNIT 25 of this material. However, again for your benefit, a brief description of
ecommerce is given below before moving on to the next topic.

Online shopping and electronic payments can be considered as the most famous examples of
ecommerce. In online shopping, the seller creates their sales outlet in the web while the buyer
brows and purchase products with mouse clicks. For an example, Amazon.com (See figure 1.1
below) is a famous online shopping destination where you will see the sale details of thousands
of goods and services.

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Figure 1.1: Interface of the Amazon shopping place (www.amazon.com)

Suppose that you need to buy a mobile phone online from amazon.com, there should be a
mechanism to make your payment online to the supplier. This mechanism is known as electronic
payments. Paying through your credit card is an example for an electronic payment. This type of
e-payments very effective and you do not need worry about the safety as the reliable shopping
destinations such as Amazon.com have taken sufficient safety measures.

1.2.4 ICT in Banking

Nowadays, for almost all operations in a bank are done with the help of the computers and the
internet or any other network. Basically, the banks store all their customers account details on
computers. This allows them to easily find out account information on their customers, and make
changes to their account balance easily, for things such as when money is put in and withdrawn
from the bank. Have you ever used an ATM card? Hopefully the answer is yes. Use of ATM
cards is one of the operations used in the banking sector with the ICT. You may know that you
can perform some of your banking activities without the physical movement into the bank. In
another words, you do your banking online. This facility is known as E-Banking.
You may visit https://www.commercialbk.com/comworks/default.asp (See figure 1.2 and 1.3
below) to access the online banking facility of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. You may
do banking with authorized access by logging to the site with your credentials.

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Figure 6.2: Online banking with Commercial Figure 6.3: Online Banking with Bank of
Bank PLC Ceylon

1.2.5 ICT in Medicine

ICT is used in many ways related to the Medicine sector. E-Medicine is one of such facility. E-
Medicine is an online clinical medical knowledge database with a collection of thousands of
articles, images, videos which support you to browse and get knowledge in any matter related to
the medicine field such as details of diseases, drugs, medications, health news, first-aid guides,
etc. Further, you can get the answers for your own health care related question as well.
eMedicineHealth (http://www.emedicinehealth.com, see Figure 1.4 below) is an example for
such online medicine database. These knowledge databases usually get updated regularly to
provide an updated knowledge to the client.

Figure 1.4: Interface of an e-medicine database

1.3 Health, Safety, and Environment for computers

Having read the previous units of this Module you might now have the feeling „what a vast
range of uses we get from out computers today‟. Computer, being such common equipment used
by people no matter a kid or an adult; did you ever think whether you are working in a good
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computer based environment? Did you ever think that there are specific guide lines to use your
computer with respect to its physical environment? How many hours do you spend a day in front
of the computer? You might not thought of these types of questions before.
Following sections discuss about the computer based good working environment and the facts
that you need to keep in mind and obey as a computer user.

1.3.1 Work environment

It is essential to maintain your best possible work environment to ensure the health and the
productivity of all computer users. You may think that you have arranged the furniture and the
computer equipment correctly, but still it may give health issues arise if the working environment
is poor. Following are the physical aspects that you need to consider with respect to a good
working environment.
• Working space
• Location of workstations
• Lighting
• Decor
• Atmospheric conditions
• Noise
• Housekeeping
A briefing of each above aspect is given below.

Working space
You must have enough space to perform your tasks safely and comfortably. The amount of
working space depends on the user, nature of work you do, and the devices and the furniture you
need to use. Everything should not be crowded. Sometimes, you get stressed or less productive
when the space is too compact. Therefore, you need to make sure that your work space gives you
a good comfortable posture and that you have easy access to and from the location of your
computer.

Location
It is important to think about the visual environment when locating your computer with other
peripherals. Here, the arrangement of lighting, the type of light fittings used, and the location of
the window are important to consider.
• The office layout should be planned around the position of light fixtures to prevent walls
or partitions blocking or creating shadows over the work area.
• If the user is sitting near photocopiers and printers they may be distracted by noise and
the heat generated by the other machines and also may get disturbed by the people who
are coming often to operate those other machines.
• Make sure that you have an easy access to hardware and power points. Well positioned
power points can prevent use of multi-plug boards and extra cable lying.
Lighting
You may use artificial to provide lighting, but it is better to go for a combination of natural and
artificial light. Some instances like using LCDs or if the user is an older person, then you may
require high level of lighting. Your lighting should be:
• Adjustable in direction and intensity level
• Does not produce excessive contrasts in different regions of your working area
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• Does not result in glare or screen reflections at nearby users. Glare may cause visual
discomfort and may cause headaches as well as reduces the performance of the user.
Decor
Too much of dark colors can create contrasts in brightness so that additional lighting is needed.
As a general rule the ceiling should be brighter than walls and walls brighter than the floor.

Atmospheric conditions
It is a known fact that people react strongly when they think the air is stuffy, stale or polluted and
may express this as general dissatisfaction with the environment. So your working area should be
well ventilated and have a comfortable temperature. You may use air conditioners to satisfy this
condition.

Noise
Noise in your working area (may be generated from equipment, ringing phones, air
conditioners/fans, people work close by) can make communicating and concentrating difficult,
and may be leading to stresses. Generally, the more complex a task, the lower a user’s tolerance
for noise is. So it is required assure that your work area is minimized with noise.

Housekeeping
Good housekeeping is promoting maintenance of good health and safety in your work place. So
the floors should be tidy and cleaned, environment should be dust free, and it is required to make
sure that the power cables do not present tripping hazards.

1.3.2 Computer related health problems

There are four potential health issues identified as associated with computer work. They are:
• Physical discomfort, pain, or injury
• Visual discomfort
• Stress
• Fatigue
These may often influence each other. Let us have a look at each issue separately.

Physical discomfort, pain, or injury

It may give several physical discomforts by working with computers. These may affect the parts
of your body like muscles, connective tissues, tendons, ligaments, joints, bony structures, the
blood supply, nerves and the skin.

If you are physically affected or about to affect you may get one or more symptoms as listed
below.

• Pain
• Fatigue
• Muscle discomfort
• Stiffness
• Burning sensations
• Weakness

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• Numbness
• Tingling

You may get these symptoms in different extents, and sometimes may get worsen gradually.
However, it is important to take corrective actions as soon as symptoms present. The small
changes you can make avoid bigger discomforts.
Following are two specifically identified health issues which come under the category described
above.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
The Carpal Tunnel is an area on the palm side of the wrist bordered on one side by the carpal
bones and on the other by the Carpal Ligament, a fibrous band. This structure is quite rigid. If the
space in between the structure gets shrink, the structures within the tunnel gets an increasing
pressure. Repetitive movement at the wrist, as occurs with prolonged use of a computer
keyboard can lead to inflammation in the carpal tunnel and the resultant painful syndrome.
Patients usually feel pain in the forearm area as well as numbness in the affected hand in the
thumb, index, long and radial half of the ring finger. This numbness often occurs at night. The
treatments vary from wearing wrist splints, anti-inflammatory medications, or surgeries.

Neck and Back Pain:

Poor positioning of the keyboard and monitor in relation to the user can lead to discomfort of the
neck and back. The monitor screen should be at a level such that the user can easily see the
screen with the head held at a comfortable and neutral position. If the head has to be constantly
turned or tilted in order to see the screen, this will lead to chronic aches and pains in the neck
area. This along with any eye strain that occurs can lead to tension headaches. The chair or
keyboard stand should be adjusted so that when sitting with the hands resting on the keyboard,
the elbows should be slightly above the wrists. The chair should have firm lumbar support and it
is important that the individual maintain good posture to minimize back strain.

Visual discomforts
The symptoms such as sore eyes, red eyes, watery eyes, dry eyes, blurring of vision and
headaches may say that you are about to a vision problem due to computer work. So it is
required to take following precautions to avoid such health issues.

• Adjustments to the work environment, such as lighting or window treatments to reduce

glare and minimize variations in light levels.
• Reducing visual stress from computer work through, for example, the use of rest or
alternate task breaks throughout the workday, or frequently looking into the distance to
reduce focusing fatigue.
• Adjustments to the work equipment, such as the location of the screen(s), keyboard,
mouse, paperwork and chair.
• Adjustments to computer software, such as ensuring that the font, font size and screen
display settings meet the visual needs of the user.
• Specific lenses to meet the unique demands of computer work, such as lenses that are
focused for the distance of the computer screen, lens designs that incorporate near and
intermediate focusing distances, and lens tints or coatings that may help to maximize
vision and comfort.
• A programme of optometric vision therapy. Some computer users may experience
problems with eye focusing or eye coordination that cannot be adequately corrected with
lenses but may be correctable in other ways.
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Stress
Stresses may cause due to problems at office or home. Some stresses are avoidable while some
are unavoidable. Following are some examples avoidable stresses as it is worth to identify them
as they can be avoided:

• Working for too many hours each week

• Working in a situation that is poorly set up for the work being done
• No performance feedback or only adverse feedback
A good support both from outside work and in the work place may strengthen the computer
user’s capacity to deal effectively with work stress. It is important to remember that for most
people work is good for health and wellbeing.

Fatigue
You may feel either physically, mentally, or emotionally fatigue due to bad computer use.
Common approaches for preventing fatigue and discomfort when using computers include
pauses, regular breaks, stretching and task variety, knowing deadlines and negotiate to get
achievable deadlines, break large tasks into small parts, have plans to achieve deadlines and
targets, etc.

1.3.3 Proper use of mouse, monitor, and key board

In addition to the little discussions made above on what we should do to prevent the health
issues, let us discuss more on prevention methods with respect to the devices you mostly use
such as the mouse, monitor, and the keyboard.
Mouse:

• Place the mouse in an easy reach zone so that the shoulders and upper arms can be
relaxed and close to the body while operating the mouse.
• Keep the wrist and hand in a neutral position, never bent.  Keep arm and hand in line
(See Figure 1.5 below)
• Use as little force as possible when clicking or dragging.
• Use alternative devices on the market such as graphic tablets and pens, touchpad, touch
screens, and foots witch-operated mice.
• Use mouse wrist supports to elevate the hand and wrist if feel better when using.

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Figure 1.5: Keep arm and hand in line Monitor

• Position the monitor so that you do not have to bend the neck up or down or twist the
neck sideways to view the screen.
• The top of the display screen should be at or slightly below eye level and at about 18" to
24" away from the face.
• The angle of the screen should be easily visible.
• Dark letters on a light background should be used to reduce eyestrain.
• Adjust brightness and contrast.
• Choose a monitor with good resolution for clarity of characters on the screen. The screen
refresh rate should be at least 60 Hertz to eliminate screen flicker.
• The screen should be cleaned of dust frequently to ensure the image is sharp. Keyboard

• Place your keyboard at approximately elbow height with the surface at a comfortable
angle.
• The hands and wrists should be held in a neutral position when typing: the wrists should
be straight and not be bent upward, downward or sideways. This position places the least
pressure on the tendons and nerves passing through the carpal tunnel.
• The shoulders should be relaxed, the upper arms should hang comfortably down along
the sides of the body and the elbows should not be cocked out away from the body.
• Wrist rests can be used to cushion and support wrists in breaks between typing based on
the recommendations of your doctor. However, they should not be used to support wrists
or hands while typing as this usually puts a bend in the wrist.

1.3.4 Reference postures

Following Figure 1.6 shows a range of acceptable postures that computer users may adopt as
starting positions to move in and around, but note that there is no uniquely correct posture that
would suit any user for an extended period of time.

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Reward Tilt Sitting upright Forward Tilt Standing

Figure 1.6: Reference postures

1.4 Protecting environment

Sometimes, we may not think that usage of computers may be harmful to the environment. But if
you use the computer smarter, intelligently, and in moderation you can prevent those harmful
effects from your computer. Some of such good practices are described below:
1.4.1 Go paperless
Printing every document sent to you not only uses up paper, but also ink and energy. Instead of
printing documents and filing them, try saving receipts and e-mails to your hard drive using a
PDF printer. This not only helps the environment, but can often be a lot easier to keep track of
than paper documents. Linux- and Mac-based systems come with this option by default;
Windows users can install a free program called PDF Creator.
1.4.2 No Screen Saver
Screen savers are mostly an outdated concept and few modern monitors will "burn" anymore. If
your computer is set to use a screen saver, it is using electricity unnecessarily. Consider instead
setting your computer monitor to turn off after a set period of time. This easily can be done in the
same window where you configure your screen saver.

1.4.3 Turn It Off

You don't need your computer on all the time. When you're not using it, turn it off. You might ask
the question from yourself don't want to close all your programs? You may suspend the computer
instead, which keeps everything open without the power usage. In Windows this is done by
clicking "Start," then "Shut Down," then "Suspend." Most laptops will suspend if you close the
lid.

1.4.4 Use a Flash Drive

Blank CDs are a cheap and easy way to move data, but are largely disposable. If you need to
move files from one computer to another without using a network, consider using a flash drive or
external hard drive instead of disposable CDs. If you still prefer CDs, consider buying re-
writable discs. Reusing is always a good idea if you care about the environment.

1.4.5 Fix Your Old Computer

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Think it is time to buy a new computer? Think again. Many computers, especially with Microsoft
Windows, get slower as time goes on, but that has more to do with software than hardware.
Simply reinstalling the operating system can give what seems like an old, slow computer a new
lease on life. Still not fast enough? Installing more RAM is cheap, impacts the environment less
and might be all you need. Try this before buying a new computer, which unnecessarily uses up
resources and energy, not to mention your money.

1.0 Self Assessment Questions

1.1 Using suitable examples, describe how computerization would help an organization to
perform more efficiently and effectively.
1.2 Briefly describe the following terms.
a. E-Commerce b. E-Banking c. E-Medicine
1.3 What are the advantages of e-learning with respect to both teaching and learning?
1.4 Briefly explain the nature of the environment that is preferable for a computer based working
area.
1.5 What are the four potential health issues associated with computer work? Give examples.
1.6 Describe how to protect the environment by harmful effects of computers.

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UNIT 02

Information Security and Legal Regulations

Introduction:
This UNIT gives an idea of legal regulation that covers the information security.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:

• Identify the types of computer threats that you may meet with the software and hardware of
your computers
• Take safety precautions to minimize threats to your computer
• Identify and solve privacy issues
• Understand what copyright is
• Avoid using computers illegally
• Understand the other legal regulations related to computers

2.1 Introduction to Information Security

Information security is the practice of defending information from unauthorized access, use,
disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction.
Wikipedia
In the other words, Computer Security is the protection of computing systems and the data they
store or access. Here, it is required to assure that your information are protected in terms of
Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability as illustrated in the Figure 2.1 below.

Figure 2.1: Information Security

2.1.1 Importance of Information Security

Information security plays a major role in your computing system, especially when the computer
is connected to the internet or any other network. Due to being attacked, an unprotected
computer can become infected or compromised within a few seconds after it is connected to the

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network. In the other hand it can be a case for the other computers which are available in its
network.

2.1.2 Possible attacks

Following is a list of attacks that may arise with your computer if not proper security measures
taken. In other words, following are the ways that your computer may behave due to being
hacked.
• Record keystrokes and steal passwords.
• Send spam and phishing emails.
• Harvest and sell email addresses and passwords.
• Access restricted or personal information on your computer or other systems that you
have access to.
• Illegally distribute music, movies and software.
• Distribute child pornography.
• Infect other systems.
• Hide programs that launch attacks on other computers.
• Generate large volumes of traffic, slowing down the entire system.

2.1.3 Security measures

The following steps can be followed to prevent being attacked.  Use good, cryptic passwords
that can’t be easily guessed. And keep your passwords secret.  Make sure your computer’s
operating system and applications are protected with all necessary security “patches” and
updates.
• Make sure your computer is protected with up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware
software.
• Don’t click on unknown or unsolicited links or attachments, and don’t download
unknown files or programs onto your computer.
• Remember that information and passwords sent via standard, unencrypted wireless are
especially easy for hackers to intercept.
• Look for “https” in the URL before you enter any sensitive information or a password
(The “s” stands for “secure”).
• Also avoid standard, unencrypted email and unencrypted Instant Messaging (IM) if
you’re concerned about privacy.

2.1.4 Forms of software threats

In the previous section (Section 2.1.2) you learnt what type of attacks may arise with your
computer. We call that the cause of such attacks could be due to a Computer Virus, a Worm, or
any other form of other harmful program. Let us discuss more about such software threats with
some examples.

What is a computer virus?

We all get affected by viral infection deceases it is difficult to find a cure for a viral infections.
Computer virus is a harmful computer program developed by a person that disrupts operations of
a computer in various ways. It can be either malfunction of a program or set of programs, it can
be a program which generates e-mails in thousands, it can be a program that damages important
files such as documents beyond recovery, a program just simply destroys the files system of
computer making it completely unusable or simply a harm less program which displays a
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message in a taskbar or a title bar. Definitely you need to know that computer viruses do not
infect any human being.
The Creeper virus was first detected on ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet in the early
1970s. Creeper was an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN in
1971. Creeper copied itself to the remote system where the message, "I'm the creeper, catch me if
you can!" was displayed. The Reaper program was created to delete Creeper.
A program called "Rother J" was the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" that is, outside
the single computer or lab where it was created. Written in 1981 by Richard Skrenta, it attached
itself to the Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and spread via floppy disk. This virus was created
as a practical joke when Richard Skrenta was still in high school. It was injected in a game on a
floppy disk. On its 50th use the Elk Cloner virus would be activated, infecting the computer and
displaying a short poem beginning "Elk Cloner: The program with a personality."

Common virus types

There are several types of computer viruses existing and basically they can be classified
according to different categories. First two categories are resident viruses and nonresident
viruses.

Boot Sector Virus

This type of virus affects the boot sector of a floppy or hard disk. This is a crucial part of a disk,
in which information on the disk itself is stored together with a program that makes it possible to
boot (start) the computer from the disk.
Examples of boot viruses include: Polyboot.B, AntiEXE.
Worms
Worms do not require user actions to spread, they move from system to system over networks on
their own. It increases network traffic, CPU utilization of computer thereby making systems
slow. Worms can do nasty actions such as creating unnecessary files inside system folders, steal
information from user’s computers and upload to web sites, provide unnecessary load in database
servers, infect files of selected file types like script files in web servers.
Examples: Confiker, PSWBugbear.B, Lovgate.F, Trile.C, Sobig.D, Mapson
Macro Viruses
Macro viruses infect documents created by Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint
and Access). Macro viruses infect to the files that are created using certain applications or
programs that contain macros. These mini-programs (MACROS) make it possible to automate
series of operations so that they are performed as a single action, thereby saving the user from
having to carry them out one by one. A valid macro performs useful job while illegal macro
might destroy important contents of a file when executed automatically.
Examples of macro viruses: Relax, Melissa.A, Bablas, O97M/Y2K.

The functionality of virus differs from one to another. Some will increase size of certain files
when infected. Some other viruses especially worms create files inside Windows or other folders
hiding their identity by naming them in irrelevant characters or with a name that is closer to a
required system file with hidden attributes. (e.g. lsass.exe is a valid system file whereas isass.exe
is virus file). Some viruses employ polymorphic and an anti-stealth technology which prevents
them from identified and erased by virus catching programs called antivirus programs.

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Other harmful programs
When people browse internet there are many web pages that displays a bogus question to user
saying that your computer is infected with some harmful program and do you wish to clean it
using their advertised program?. People are tempted to click on yes then the harmful program is
installed in the computer with user’s permission. Then it will always nag the user to buy the
program or slows down the computer, prevent from browsing some other sites especially
antivirus (virus cleaning program) vendor’s sites. These programs are called malware.

Common Methods of infection

Computer viruses can be infected using many methods. Before the popularity of computer
networks most of the computer viruses are written to spread through removable media like
floppies. Today most of the viruses being infected using removable media like thumb drives and
through networks and the Internet.
Today most of the computer viruses are designed to exploit some kind of an error (security hole)
or vulnerability of operating system or a program when it was programmed and try to sneak in to
computer system using the security hole.
Resident virus always runs on computers memory and runs automatically or trigged by an action
performed by user to infect or replicate itself to new locations or files. Nonresident viruses are
activated when user performs specific activity such as accessing floppy/removable media,
starting a specific program like Microsoft Word etc.
In a computer which is affected by a worm try to infect other computers through network. Worms
run automatically and scan network shares which are not password protected or having weak
passwords and try to infect the computer.
Trojan horses programs are distributed by some kind of fancy program such as screen saver
which is intended to do some other task. The danger of Trojan horse is that it tries to damage the
security of the computer from inside and open back door for other computer viruses to sneak in
to system.

Suspecting a Virus/malware present in your computer

There are several ways to find out that a computer virus or malware program is present in your
computer. One of the good symptoms is that your computer suddenly slows down after installing
a program downloaded from internet which gives you a good impression of that.
You can always press Ctrl, Alt and Delete and get the task manger by clicking on task manger
button of your computer if it is not displayed that means you are at a problem.
If you are able to get the task manager and in performance tab CPU usage is always reaching
100% without doing any useful task then you can suspect that some kind of virus or malware is
present in your computer.
If there are always nagging messages appearing and computer gets terribly slow down or does
unnecessary things like moving mouse automatically when you working with Microsoft Office
packages then you can suspect that a macro virus or some malware present.
If you cannot eject your thumb drive without any document or program open from that thumb
drive, you are definitely infected with a virus. If you cannot see the folder options from windows
explorer or you cannot show the hidden files using folder options, you can suspect that a
computer virus might be present.

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If you see that files are automatically created with unknown rubbish names it is a sign of virus
activity. If you cannot double click and access drives in My Computer it is also can be an activity
of a virus.

2.2 Hardware Threats

Though you manage and protect your data with proper use of software, your data may get lost or
damaged due to hardware problems. Really, Hardware is a common cause of data problems.
While you work, all of a sudden the power can fail, you can mistype, a repair technician can
accidently damages the data, or a magnets used closer to the PC without your knowledge can
damage disks. Likewise, hardware errors are of varying types and most of them are
unpredictable. But, some of them have solutions; unfortunately some do not. So, it is worth to
have a fair knowledge about the hardware threats to your PC and the solutions if any.
The following sections discuss the examples for possible hardware threats along with solutions,
if any.

2.2.1 Power Faults

Your PC may be busy writing data to the disk and in a sudden power may go out. Obviously, you
will be afraid if it lost your data. Your will be hurried to get know for sure if anything was
damages soon after the power is back. Usually, power faults can cause data problems,
particularly if they occur when data is being written to disk. Data in memory generally does not
get corrupted by power problems; it just gets erased if the problems are serious enough.

Some other similar power related problems are briefed below.

Brownout: Lower voltages at electrical outlets. Usually they are caused by an extraordinary
drain on the power system. Frequently you will see a brownout during a heat wave when more
people than normal have air conditioners on full. Sometimes these power shortages will be
“rolling” across the area giving everyone a temporary brownout. Maybe you’ll get yours just as
that important file is being written to disk.

Voltage Spikes: Temporary voltage increases are fairly common. Large motors or circuit
breakers in industry can put them on the electrical line. Sudden losses (ex; a driver hits a power
pole) can causes spikes as the circuits balance. An appliance in your home can cause a spike,
particularly with older wiring. Lightning can put large spikes on power lines. And, the list goes
on. In addition to current backups and integrity information for your software and data files,
including a hardware voltage spike protection device between the wall and your computer
hardware (don’t forget the printer and monitor) can be very helpful.

Frequency Shifts: While infrequent, if the line frequency varies from the normal 60 Hertz (or 50
Hertz in some countries), the power supply on the computer can be affected and this, in turn, can
reflect back into the computer causing data loss.
Solution: Consider using a Combined Surge Protector (CSP) and Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS). See Figure 2.2 and 2.3 below for a CSP and UPS used for PCs respectively.

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Figure 2.2: Combined Surge Figure 2.3: Uninterruptable Power
Protector for a PC Supply for a PC

2.2.2 Age
It is not an amazing thing that as computers age they tend to fails more often. Electronic
components are stressed over time as they heat up and cool down. Mechanical components
simply wear out. Some of these failures will be dramatic; something will just stop working.
Some, however, can be slow and not obvious. Unfortunately, it’s not a question of “if”, but
“when” in regard to equipment failure.
Solution: Keep an eye on the specials after three to five years.

2.2.3 Incompatibilities
You can have hardware problems on a perfectly healthy PC if you have devices installed that do
not properly share interrupts. Sometimes problems are immediately obvious, other times they are
subtle and depend upon certain events to happen at just the wrong time, and then suddenly
strange things happen.
Solution: Make a really good backup before installing anything (hardware or software) so you
can revert the system back to a stable state which should something crop up.

2.2.4 Finger Faults

Your fingers may make mistakes when using the keyboard and the mouse and they are too
frequent cause of data corruption. This commonly happens when you are intending to delete or
replace one file but actually get another.
If you are using a laptop computer or a notebook, another finger fault problem arises with
touchpads below the space bar. It’s very easy to brush the touchpad when you are typing away
and suddenly find yourself entering characters in a screen location very different from where you
were before you touched the pad.
Solution: Be careful and look up now and again to make certain your cursor is where you want
it.
2.2.5 Malicious or Careless Damage

Someone may accidentally or purposely delete or change a file on your PC when you’re not
around. If you don’t keep your PC locked in a safe, then this is a risk. Sometimes, you may not
detect that something has happened to your data while you are not around. Most of this type of
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damage is done unintentionally by someone you probably know. This person didn’t mean to
cause trouble; they simply didn’t know what they were doing when they used your PC. That may
be a person who is new to use computers.
Solution: Never run the computer as an administrative user and have guest accounts available for
others who use the computer. Keep up-to-date backups as well.

2.2.6 Data carriers

One possible source for computer infections is the Customer Engineer (CE), or repairman. When
a CE comes for a service call, they will almost always run a diagnostic program from CD. It’s
very easy for these CDs to become infected and spread the infection to your computer. Sales
representatives showing demonstrations via CDs are also possibly spreading viruses. Always
check your system after other people have placed their data carriers such as CDs, Portable Hard
disks, and USB pen drives into it. (Better yet, if you can, check their disk with up-to-date
antivirus software before anything is run.)
Solution: Insist on testing their CD/Pen drive/portable hard disk before use or make certain
they’ve used an up-to-date anti-virus before coming to your location.

2.2.7 Magnetic Zaps

Computer data is generally stored as a series of magnetic changes on disks. While hard disks are
generally safe from most magnetic threats because they are encased within the computer
compartment, the older technology: floppy disks are highly vulnerable to magnets. You may be
happy that Floppy disks are not now in use with your PC.
The obvious threat would be to post a floppy disk to the refrigerator with a magnet. Some of the
more subtle sources of magnetism include:

Computer Monitor: Don’t put floppy disks anywhere near the monitor; it generates a magnetic
field. (Generally applies to the older CRT displays.)
Telephone: When ringing, telephones (particularly older phones with a bell) generate a magnetic
field.

Solution: Stay away from magnets or sources of static of all kinds when working with a
computer.

Note: There are tools to assist in recovery from disk problems, but how do you know all the data
is OK? These tools do not always recover good copies of the original files. Active action
on your part before disaster strikes is your best defense. It’s best to have a good, current
backup and, for better protection, a complete up-to-date integrity-check map of everything
on your disk.

2.3 Computer Related Privacy Issues

2.3.1 Exposure in browsing Web

Sometimes, you may think that you are unidentified an unexposed to other users when you
browse web sites. But there may be a possibility of leaving information about you left behind.
However, you can reduce the amount of such information that reveals about you to other users

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by following some privacy policies. Next sections will discuss how to protect your privacy when
using Web.

2.3.2 Information that reveals you

The following information may be automatically sent to the web sites when you visit them.

IP address of your computer: the Internet Protocol address assigned to each computer on the
internet. It may be a static one which remains unchanged or it may be dynamic which changes
time to time as you access internet.

Domain name: the domain (division of internet) to which your user account associated with.

Software particulars: There is a possibility for an organization of identifying the operating

system used and the details of the web browser you use.

Details of pages visit: what pages and for how long you stay on a particular page, and the fact
whether you used a search engine to access that page can be identified

Other information: some non-critical information such as the web browsing pattern and some
critical information such as passwords saved in temporary memory also can be detected if the
web site uses cookies.

2.3.3 Limiting the information collection

You can follow the actions mentioned below in order to reduce the amount of information that
can be collect about you.
Pay special attention when supply personal data: If you don’t trust any site, don’t give your
personal data such as your credit card details, account details, passwords, etc.

Limiting cookies: the cookies can provide the store data about you to the attackers who access
your computer. You cannot limit it. But you can limit the use of cookies. Check and delete
cookies: All popular browsers let users view and delete cookies installed on their computer.
Methods vary by browser. For instance on Internet Explorer 8, go to the "Tools" menu, pull
down to "Internet Options" and under the "General" tab there are options for deleting some or all
cookies. There might be hundreds, so deleting all might be easiest. But the next time you visit a
favorite site, you may need to retype passwords or other login data previously stored
automatically by one of those cookies.
Adjust Browser Settings: Once you've deleted cookies, you can limit the installation of new
ones. Major browsers let you accept some cookies and block others. To maintain logins and
settings for sites you visit regularly, but limit tracking, block "third-party" cookies. Safari
automatically does this; other browsers must be set manually.
Browse safely: If you see that the site you access is suspicious, then immediately leave the site.
Keep your virus definitions updated. Scan your computer for spyware.

2.3.4 Protecting your privacy

To protect your identity and prevent an attacker from easily accessing additional information
about you, you are required to avoid providing certain personal information such as your birth
date, your phone number, and social security number online. Further, the following help protect
your privacy.

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Privacy Policy: You are advised to look for the privacy policy statement given in the sites before
you submit your information such as e-mail address, name, phone number, etc. Usually, the
privacy policy must state how the information they request are used and whether they are going
to distribute those data to other organizations, etc.
Encrypt the information provide: Many sites use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate to
encrypt the information you provide to that site so that other attacker or an organization cannot
access your information collected by the site. If the „https:‟ is available in place of „http:‟ in the
URL of the site you visit together with the „lock‟ icon as shown below, that indicates that your
information will be encrypted at the time of providing them.

Work only with trusted companies: When you do business with some sites, you are required to
assure that you trust them. You may answer yourself to the facts such as whether the company is
a reputed, well established one, is it providing assurance on privacy of information provided, is
there legitimate contact information provided that enables you decide that the company is a
trusted one.

Avoid using primary e-mail address: When performing online submissions, use an additional
e-mail address in place of your primary e-mail address to avoid accumulation of spam or
unwanted messages.

Avoid using Debit Cards for online purchasing: Your Credit card usually give the protection to
some extents. However, the Debit cards do not give such protection and they deduct charges
immediately from your account. So, if an attacker obtains your debit card details, they will
completely use your money in the account even without giving you a time to realize it.

Use Options in providing information: You might have found that some options are there with
certain web sites to make your work easy without concerning your security. Prompting an option
to remember your password is an example for such instances and such options may make your
data readily available for the attackers. We can take the privacy settings given to your account in
social networks such as Face book as another example. You can restrict the other parties
accessing your data by setting the privacy options to reduce the risk of attackers.

2.4 Computer Related Legal Regulations in Zambia

As a person who uses the computer and the internet, it is worth to get a considerable knowledge
in the legal aspects related to the computer using to be aware and prevent any illegal actions. The
following UNITs will brief you about the premier organizations/projects developed in Zambia on
this regard, the copyright law, and the data protection laws in the context of Zambian law.

2.4.1 ICT Policy formulation bodies in Zambia

ZICTA
The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) is an ICT Regulatory
body responsible for regulating the ICT Sector in Zambia. It falls under the Ministry of Transport,
Works, Supply and Communications and derives its mandate from the three Acts, the Postal Services
Act No. 22 of 2009, Electronic Communications and Transactions Act No. 21 and the Information and
Communications Technologies (ICT) Act No. 15 of 2009 to regulate ICTs, postal and courier services
in Zambia. As conferred in the ICT Act, ZICTA also referred to as “The Authority”.
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ZICTA is mandated to:
1. Regulate the provision of electronic communication services and products in Zambia

2. Monitor the performance of the sector including levels of investment and availability, quality,
costs and standards of electronic communication services

3. Administer the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) as well as electronic addresses

4. Disseminate information and promote the participation by the public in the provision of
electronic communication services

5. Provide for a national frequency and numbering plan

6. Set standards for the ICT sector

7. Promote competition in the sector and also regulate tariffs charged by operators offering
electronic communication services

8. Protect the rights and interests of consumers, service providers, suppliers and manufactures.

In addition to the ICT ACT, the Authority was in 2009, assigned to manage and administer two (2)
other pieces of legislation: Postal Services Act No. 22 of 2009 and Electronic and Communications
Transactions (ECT) Act No. 21 of 2009 The Postal Services Act expanded the Authority’s mandate to
cater for the regulation of Postal and Courier services.

The Electronic and Communications Transactions Act on the other hand provides for: The
development of a safe, secure and effective environment for the consumer, business sector and the
government to conduct and use electronic communication; Promotion of legal certainty and
confidence, as well as encouraging of investment and innovation, in the electronic communications
industry, and Facilitation of the creation of secure communication system and networks

As a regulator of ICTs, the Authority’s overall mandate is the maintenance of a delicate balance of the
interests of all stakeholders in the sector.

2.4.2 Copyright and related laws

Copyright is developed to protect the rights of the authors, performers, producers and
broadcasters. Existence of such right contributes the cultural and economic development of
nations. It gives a value to the author as well and they provide a widespread affordable access to
their product’s content to the public.

Need of avoiding copyright infringement

Any act violating the rights protected is called copyright infringement. Copyright is not only a
legal issue. If you use unauthorized file it may give security implications. To avoid the risk to
your computer you need to make sure that you have the permission to use any copyrighted
information, and only download authorized files.

Accessing internet and copyright infringement

When you use or distribute information without permission from the author you will be
performing actions causing copyright infringement. For an example you will be violating

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copyright if you download music, including an image on your website, pirating software owned
by another person. So it is required to get know that you have the permission to do so.

Occasions where you have permission to use other’s work

When you use web sites you might find some information such as an article, an application, a
chart, a video clip, etc. that you wish include into your web site or a document. Then you need to
search for information about permissions to use, download, redistribute, or reproduce. Most
websites have a "terms of use" page that explains how you are allowed to use information from
the site (see US-CERT's terms of use for an example). You can often find a link to this page in
the site's contact information or privacy policy, or at the bottom of the page that contains the
information you are interested in using.
There may be restrictions based on the purpose, method, and audience. You may also have to
adhere to specific conditions about how much information you are allowed to use or how their
formation is presented and attributed. If you can't locate the terms of use, or if it seems unclear,
contact the individual or organization that holds the copyright to ask permission.

2.4.3 Data Protection Law in Zambia

The legal protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal information
relating to them can be referred to as Data Protection. The Parliament of Zambia has passed
several legislation that cover data protection. Following are some examples. However, Zambia
needs more laws in the emerging new areas to attract new e-business throughout the world.
ZICTA has released some guidelines to be followed by government and private sector users
towards data protection.

Electronics Communication and Transactions Act 2009

The Electronic Communication and Transaction Act was passed in 2009 (Act No. 21) and it
became active on 31 st August 2009. This act enables to recognize and facilitate formation of
contracts, the creation and exchange of data messages, electronic documents, electronic records
and other communications in Electronic form in Zambia. Further, this act also provides
appointment of a certification authority and accreditations of certification providers.

Other Zambian legislation and regulations on ICT development

In addition to the acts described above following are some more acts passed by the Parliament of
Zambia and MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT which have significant
impact on the ICT development.

• National Information & Communication Technology Policy of April 2006

• Information and Communication Technology Act 2009.
You may refer to more details on above acts by following the link below.
http://www.zicta.zm

2.5 Self Assessment Questions

2.1 What is meant by Information Security?
2.2 Explain the possible attacks that may arise with your computer and how to prevent them.

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2.3 What is a computer virus?
2.4 Give two types of computer viruses with two examples for each type.
2.5 What is meant by malware?
2.6 Briefly explain the ways to find out that a computer virus or malware program is present in
your computer.
2.7 Discuss the examples for possible hardware threats to your computer along with solutions.
2.8 What are the functions and duties of following ICT policy formulation bodies in Zambia?
a. ZICTA b. MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

UNIT 3

Introduction to Windows 7

Aims:
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This UNIT introduces the learner to the Windows 7 operating system and get the learner familiar
to operate the computer through the Operating system Windows 7.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:

• Describe about the Windows 7 Operating System
• Identify and perform the basic operations in Windows 7 
Organize and work with your files

3.1 What is Windows 7?

Windows 7 is a latest public release version of Microsoft Windows. Windows 7 was released to
manufacturing on July 2009. Windows Server 2008 R2 was released at the same time. It is
redesigned with Windows Shell with a new taskbar. Windows 7 includes a number of new
features, such as advances in touch and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks,
improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot performance, Direct Access, and
kernel improvements.

3.1.1 Versions of Windows 7

1. Starter is the smallest version of the windows 7. Actually it is less waiting, less clicking,
less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Starter combines the latest in reliability and
responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows.
2. Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite
photos, videos, and music. And you can watch shows for free when and where you want with
Internet TV on Windows Media Center.
3. Professional is a great choice for home and for business. Using Windows 7 professional, You
can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data
easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to
company networks effortlessly and more securely with Domain Join. With all the exciting
entertainment features of Windows Home Premium.
4. Ultimate is the most versatile and powerful edition of Windows 7. It combines remarkable
ease-of-use with the entertainment features of Home Premium and the business capabilities
of Professional, including the ability to run many Windows XP productivity programs in
Windows XP Mode. For added security, you can encrypt your data with BitLocker and
BitLocker-To-Go. And for extra flexibility, you can work in any of 35 languages. Get it all
with Windows 7 Ultimate.

3.1.2 System requirements

Windows 7 requires the following computer hardware:
32 Bit 64 Bit

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 A Processor of 1 GHz or faster 32-bit  A Processor of 1 GHz or faster 64-bit
(x86) (x64)
 At least 1 GB of RAM memory A  At least 2 GB of RAM memory
 hard disk with at least 16GB space  A hard disk with at least 20GB space
available available.
 DirectX® 9 graphics processor with  DirectX® 9 graphics processor with
WDDM or higher driver WDDM or higher driver
 A DVD drive from which to install  A DVD drive from which to install
Windows. Windows.
 A monitor, keyboard, and mouse or  A monitor, keyboard, and mouse or
other pointing device. other pointing device.
Table 3.1: Windows 7 Requirements

3.2 Installing Windows 7 into your PC

The Windows 7 Setup Wizard guides you step-by-step through the process of installing Windows
7. When the installation is finished, you are ready to log on to Windows 7. Be aware that your
computer restarts several times during the installation process. Depending on the type of
installation you need to perform, either upgrade or clean, you will have to start the Windows 7
Setup Wizard in different ways. If you need an upgrade or clean install on a Windows version,
you simply start your computer and insert the Windows 7 installation DVD to start the Windows
7 setup Wizard. However, if you perform a clean install on a non-supported operating system or
a blank hard disk, you need to start your computer by inserting the Windows 7 installation DVD
into the DVD drive, which starts the Windows 7 setup Wizard. A clean install requires you to
select additional options as you step through the wizard, but the steps are basically the same.

Steps to follow:
1. Insert the Windows 7 DVD into your DVD drive, and then start your computer.
2. Select the language and click Next
3. Click Install now
4. Click “I accept the license terms” and click Next
5. Click the custom installation methods
6. Select the disk partition you want to install Windows 7 and click Next (New setup is
installing windows 7 into your system)
7. Please wait for finish
8. Enter user name and a computer name and click Next
9. Type a password and click Next
10. Enter the product key and click Next
11. Click „Ask me later‟ and click next
12. Set the system date and time and click Next
13. Select the computer location as a Home network and Click Next
14. After installing windows 7, you can logon it.

3.3 Basic Operations in Windows7

Let us have a look at the basic operations available with Windows 7. This knowledge will be
helpful to you to make working with your computer easy.
First, we will learn about some required fundamental skills before performing basic operations
available with your operating systems.
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Keyboard Operations

Enter: There is an Enter key in your keyboard. The command „Enter‟ means you to press the
Enter key.
Escape: Press the Esc key in your keyboard
Move: To move left to right or up to down use the arrow keys
Control key: There is button labeled „Ctrl‟ you can press any keys with this ctrl key. Example
Ctrl + C means press ctrl key and C button in the same time or (First press Ctrl
then C but not reverse order)

Mouse operations
Click: The click operation means you can move the cursor in to a particular place and press left
button in your mouse
Double Click: Click the mouse left button twice quickly/consecutively
Right click: Click the right mouse button
Drag: Move the courser with the left button
Drop: After dragging from one place to another palace you can release the left button.

Log on to your computer

The process of starting a computer UNIT is called logging on. When you start the computer,
Windows displays a Welcome screen containing links to each of the computer's active user
accounts. (If your computer is part of a domain, you will need to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to
display the Welcome screen.) You select your user account and, if your account is password
protected, enter your password to log on to the computer. See Figure 3.1 below for the login
interface. When logging on to a computer which is part of a domain, you will always enter your
domain credentials.

Figure 3.1: Windows 7 Login Interface for a single user

After a successful login, your desktop will be loaded. Figure 3.2 shows the screen layout of the
first user interface of the Windows 7. The Windows 7 system mainly contains three components
namely the desktop, start button, task bar & the system tray.

3.4 Windows 7 Interface

Let us have a look at the components of the Windows 7 Interface by means of the Figure 3.2
below.

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6

1 8

2 5 3 4

Figure 3.2: Windows7 User Interface

Brief descriptions of each component are given below.
No Name Brief Description
1 Desktop Work area on which you see your programs
2 Start Menu Let you open programs available in your computer
3 Task Bar Let you launch and monitor running programs
4 Notification area A portion of the taskbar that provides a temporary source
for notifications and status.
5 Task Buttons Currently opened programs/applications
6 Desktop Icons Icons that belongs to and leads you to important parts of
the computer
7 Shortcut Icons Easy way to access programs
8 Windows Gadgets Popular mini-programs
Table 3.2: Components of Windows 7 User Interface
3.4.1 Desktop
Windows uses your screen as a desktop, a work area on which you see your programs. The main
purpose of the Desktop is to hold shortcut icons that will help you work efficiently. The Desktop
is really just a folder inside the Windows folder, so it can hold anything that any other folder can
hold. It can be decorated with interesting textures or pictures.

3.4.2 Start menu

Clicking on the Start Menu brings up a list of shortcuts to start your programs. An item with an
arrow at the right, such as Programs or All Programs, will open another list. There can be
several levels of such lists. The start menu lists commands and additional menus that list most of
the programs that you can run on your computer.

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Figure 3.3: Start menu
Windows 7 has a new way to access additional folders on the start menu. Instead of program
menus displaying to the right side of the Start menu, each subsequent menu you select, such as
the Accessories menu, displays on top of the previous folder.

3.4.3 Task bar

Across the bottom of the screen we see the Taskbar. Normally it is in view all the time. The
Taskbar's main job is to show what applications are currently running. The left end shows the
Start button. The middle section of the bar shows a button for each open application. The right
end holds the Notification area. Other toolbars, such as Quick Launch, Address, Links, Windows
Media Player, may also display on the Taskbar.

Figure 3.4: Task bar

3.4.4 Notification area

The notification area, or tray, at the far right of the Taskbar is used to show icons for programs
that are awake and hanging around in the background, like the clock, anti-virus, and scheduling
programs. Such an icon lets you know for sure that the program is ready to do its thing when it is
needed. Some icons mean that there is something for you to do, like view a new email message
or download/install a new update. This notification area is sometimes referred to as the system
tray as well.

Figure 3.5: Notification

area
3.4.5 Task buttons
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Task buttons are the buttons on the taskbar that represent each program that is running. If a
program displays more than one window, more than one task button may appear. Each task
button displays the icon for the program and as much of the program name as can fit. Click a
window's task button to select that window-that is, to make that window active. You can also
right-click a button to see the system menu, a menu of commands that you can give regarding
that window, including opening and closing the window. If the taskbar gets too full to fit task
buttons for all the open windows, Windows groups the buttons together, with one button for each
application.

Figure 3.6: Task bar

3.4.6 Desktop Icons
Some icons lead you to important parts of the computer. A number of others of this type may
show on your desktop, depending on what has been installed. For example, the My Computer,
Recycle Bin, and Network icon are the basic desktop icons that can be seen in your desktop.

3.4.7 Shortcut Icons

A shortcut points to the file that runs a program, like MS Word, or to a document, like the web
page Astronomy Picture of the Day. A shortcut can be placed wherever you want to put it - on the
Desktop, in a folder, in the Quick Launch area. A shortcut may have a small arrow at the
bottom left of the icon.

Figure 3.7: Shortcut icon

3.4.8 Windows Gadgets
Gadgets, the popular mini-programs introduced in Windows Vista, are now more flexible and fun
in Windows 7. Based on the feedback of the user, you can stick your gadgets anywhere on the
desktop. By default, Windows 7 ships with nine Windows Gadgets. These include:

Calendar- A simple month, year, date, and day of week display in no

configurable orange. Nice touch: Click it and you'll see the full month view.

Clock-A decent clock with one major advantage over virtually every
downloadable clock gadget I've tried: You can set it to the time in any time
zone, not just the system time. Clock is configurable with 8 clock faces, some
of which are quite attractive.

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CPU Meter-This gadget features two simple analog-style dials measuring the
current CPU utilization and memory usage, respectively. Note that CPU Meter
is overly simple and can't differentiate between multiple CPUs or CPU cores.

Currency- A simple currency converter converts an amount of input currency

into target currency

Feed Headlines-This gadget is an RSS feed aggregator that links into the RSS
feeds you've subscribed to through Internet Explorer 7. It rotates through the
currently-unread feeds. If you click a headline, a pop-out window displays the
entire feed. Click the feed headline in the pop-out window, and the entire post
or article will be displayed in your default Web browser.

Picture Puzzle- A simple tile-based sliding puzzle game with 11 different images and timer.

Slide Show-A slideshow gadget that can be configured to display images in a

particular folder, with different transition types. A View button on the gadget
will open the currently displayed picture in Windows Photo Gallery.

Weather- A very handy and attractive weather gadget that can be configured for
any location worldwide.

Windows Media Center-The only new gadget in Windows 7, Media Center

provides a simple front-end to the Windows Media Center application. Click
any of its revolving set of links--Music, Pictures, Music + Pictures, Internet TV,
and many others--causes the appropriate experience to startup inside of
Windows Media Player.

3.5 Ending a Computing UNIT

To end a computing UNIT, on the start menu, click the Shutdown Options button to display a list
of ways you can pause or end your computing UNIT. Windows 7 provides six options to end
UNITs such as Switch user, logoff, lock, restart, sleep and shutdown as shown in the Figure 3.8
below.

Figure 3.8: Options to End a computing UNIT

Switch User
Allows you to change from the current user to another user without shutting down the computer,
45
Log Off
Allows you to log off from Windows and any network connections you have established.
Lock
Allows you to lock your computer so that users cannot access it, but it allows your programs to
continue running. This is handy if you are downloading a large file and you need to walk away
from your computer while it continues to download.
Restart
Shuts down Windows, and then reloads it (useful if your computer starts acting funny).
Sleep
Put the computer into a Sleep mode, which shuts down the hard drive and turns off the monitor
to conserve power consumption. Programs remain open and your documents are automatically
saved. When you awaken your computer, these devices turn back on.
Hibernate
Puts your computer into a power-saving mode that is similar to the Sleep mode, Hibernate is
available only if you use the advanced power settings in Windows.
Shut Down
Shuts down Windows, Windows displays a message when you can safely turn off the computer.
Don't turn off the computer until you see this message. Computers with advanced power
management shut off automatically.

3.6 Working with Windows Programs

A program is a software which you use to accomplish a specific task, such as word processing or
managing files on your computer. Windows comes with several small programs, called
Accessories that are extremely useful for completing basic tasks, such as creating a written
document or performing basic calculations. Windows 7 also provides a number of ways for you
to resolve some common problems. For example, you can use older programs (designed to run
on previous versions of Windows) on your Windows 7 computer by changing specific settings
using the Accessories menu. You can run commands from a text-based interface (called a
command line), and Windows provides an interface for quitting a program that has stopped
responding without turning off your computer and losing information in other programs. Other
special programs in Windows 7 are games. You can play games on your computer or with other
people over the internet.

3.6.1 Start a Windows program

The most common way to start a Windows program is to use the start menu, which provides easy
access to programs installed on your computer. Clicking the start button on the taskbar displays
the Start menu, which lists common and recently used programs and the all Programs submenu.
The figure 3.9 below shows the sub programs of the MS PowerPoint program which is a recently
used program. The All Programs submenu is the master list of every program on your computer.
If you start a program, such as your e-mail program, every time you start Windows, you can save
some time by adding the program to the Startup folder. When you’re done working with a
program, you should exit, or close it, to conserve your computer’s resources.

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Figure 3.9: Accessing recently used programs using start menu

3.6.2 Using Windows Accessories

Windows comes with several accessories, built-in programs that are extremely useful for
completing everyday tasks. One of the most useful features Windows offers is the ability to use
data created in one file in another file, even if the two files were created in different Windows
programs. To work with more than one program or file at a time, you simply need to open them
on your desktop. A program button on the taskbar represents any window that is open on the
desktop. When you want to switch from one open window to another, click the program button
on the taskbar. If you tile, or arrange open windows on the desktop so that they are visible, you
can switch among them simply by clicking in the window in which you want to work. The table
3.3 below lists some frequently used windows applications with a brief description on each.
Program Description
Calculator Performs arithmetic calculations
Internet Explorer Displays Web (HTML) pages
Notepad Creates, edits, and displays text only documents
Paint Creates and edits bitmap pictures
Sound Recorder Creates and plays digital sound files
Windows Calendar Manages appointments and tasks using personal calendars
Windows Contacts Stores names, addresses, and other contact information
Windows Defender Helps protect your computer from spyware and other harmful
intruders
Windows DVD Maker Burns pictures and videos to DVDs
Windows Fax and Scan Sends and receives faxes or scanned pictures and documents
Windows Live Sends and receives instant messages to online contacts; you need to
Messenger download the program
Windows Mail Provides e-mail, newsgroup, and directory services
Windows Media Center Provides entertainment options for digital and on-demand media

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Windows Media Player Plays sound, music, and video
Windows Meeting Provides an online place to share files, programs, or your desktop
Space
Windows Movie Maker Creates movies using audio and video files
Windows Photo Gallery Views, edits, organizes, and shares photos and videos
WordPad Creates, edits, and displays text, Rich Text Format, and Word
documents
TT T
Table 3.3: Common Windows Applications

3.7 Introduction to Windows 7 File System

3.7.1 The File System in general

A file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to
make it easy to find and access them. File systems may use a data storage device such as a hard
disk or CD-ROM and involve maintaining the physical location of the files. They might provide
access to data on a file server by acting as clients for a network protocol. There are two file
systems used by the windows such as FAT and NTFS (New Technology File System) file
systems.
The FAT (File Allocation Table) filing system, supported by all versions of Microsoft Windows,
was an evolution of that used in Microsoft's earlier operating system (MS-DOS which in turn
was based on 86-DOS). FAT ultimately traces its roots back to the short-lived M-DOS project
and standalone disk BASIC before it. Over the years various features have been added to it,
inspired by similar features found on file systems used by operating systems such as UNIX.

Older versions of the FAT file system (FAT12 and FAT16) had file name length limits, a limit on
the number of entries in the root directory of the file system and had restrictions on the
maximum size of FAT-formatted disks or partitions. Specifically, FAT12 and FAT16 had a limit
of 8 characters for the file name, and 3 characters for the extension. This is commonly referred to
as the 8.3 filename limit. VFAT, which was an extension to FAT12 and FAT16 introduced in
Windows NT 3.5 and subsequently included in Windows 95, allowed long file names (LFN).
FAT32 also addressed many of the limits in FAT12 and FAT16, but remains limited compared to
NTFS.
NTFS, introduced with the Windows NT operating system, allowed ACL-based permission
control. Hard links, multiple file streams, attribute indexing, quota tracking, compression and
mount-points for other file systems (called "junctions") are also supported, though not all these
features are well-documented.

Unlike many other operating systems, Windows uses a drive letter abstraction at the user level to
distinguish one disk or partition from another. For example, the path C:\WINDOWS represents a
directory WINDOWS on the partition represented by the letter C. The C drive is most commonly
used for the primary hard disk partition, on which Windows is usually installed and from which
it boots. This "tradition" has become so firmly ingrained that bugs came about in older versions
of Windows which made assumptions that the drive that the operating system was installed on
was C. The tradition of using "C" for the drive letter can be traced to MS-DOS, where the letters
A and B were reserved for up to two floppy disk drives. Network drives may also be mapped to
drive letters.

3.7.2 The File Hierarchy and File management

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File management is organizing and keeping track of files and folders, helping you stay organized,
so information is easily located. A folder is a container for storing programs and files, similar to a
folder in a file cabinet. As with a file cabinet, working with poorly managed files is like looking
for a needle in a haystack. It is frustrating and time-consuming to search through irrelevant,
misnamed, and out-of-date files to find the one you want. Windows 7 allows you to organize
folders and files in a file hierarchy, imitating the way you store paper documents in real folders.
Just as a file cabinet contains several folders, each containing related documents with dividers
grouping related folders together. So, the Windows file hierarchy allows you to organize your
files in folders, and then place folders in other folders. At the top of each hierarchy is the name of
the hard drive or main folder. This drive or folder contains several files and folders, and each
folder contains related files and folders. Please see figure 3.10 below for the File hierarchy
illustration.
Drive

Folder Folder File

File
File Folder
File File
File

….
Figure 3.10: File hierarchy

Note: You can explore the file structure of your computer as follows:
1. Click on Start
2. Select All programs
3. Select Accessories 4. Select Windows Explorer

3.7.3 What is a library?

Libraries are new in Windows 7. Libraries are where you go to manage your documents, music,
pictures, and other files. It is the location of your documents but more. You can browse your files
the same way you would in a folder or you can view your files arranged by properties like date
and type. In some ways, a library is similar to a folder. For example, when you open a library,
you'll see one or more files. However, unlike a folder, a library gathers files that are stored in
several locations. This is a subtle, but important, difference. Libraries don't actually store your
items. They monitor folders that contain your items, and let you access and arrange the items in
different ways. For instance, if you have music files in folders on your hard disk and on an
external drive, you can access all of your music files at once using the Music library.
What happens if you delete a library or the items in a library?
If you delete a library, the library itself is moved to the Recycle Bin. The files and folders that
were accessible in the library are stored elsewhere and therefore aren't deleted. If you
accidentally delete one of the four default libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos:
Please see figure 3.11 below), you can restore it to its original state in the navigation pane by
right-clicking Libraries and then clicking Restore default libraries. If you delete files or
folders from within a library, they're also deleted from their original locations. If you want to
remove an item from a library but not delete it from the location it's stored in, you should remove

49
the folder containing the item. When you remove a folder from a library, all the items in the
folder will be removed (but not deleted).

Figure 3 .11: Libraries in Windows 7

3.7.4 The System Root in Windows 7

By default, the Windows operating system is installed in the C drive which is also called the
System Root. It mainly consists of three folders namely Windows folder, Program Files folder
a n d Users folder The Windows folder contains operating system files, Program files folder
contains installed programs and Users folder contains user profiles. Other folders and files are
user files that are stored by users. Note that it is harmful for the computer system to change the
above three folders. See Figure 3.12 below

32 Bit O/S

System Root

Figure 3.12: The system root folder in Windows 7

3.7.5 Personal Areas in Windows 7
As you learnt above, the Windows 7 Operating System stores all user profiles (All user data) in
the Users folder in the system root drive (C :\) under the relevant user name. Following Figure
3.13 shows the User profile of the user named ‘Eranda’ who is the administrator of that computer
system. It contains some data folders such as My Documents, My Music, Desktop, Favorites, etc.
these are the personal areas of the user administrator.

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Figure 3.13: Admin User profile

Ex: If there is a user named DMCS, the desktop of the DMCS‟s path can be written as follows:

C:\Users\d mcs\Desktop
System root
User’s name

Note that, Administrator is the person who can manage your computer. If you are an
administrator then you can see the other users‟ profiles. Managing user accounts in windows 7 is
described in the next section.
Example: To see the user Saman’s desktop, click Saman folder in the Users folder and then click
the Desktop.
If you wish to format your C drive and re-install the operating system please backup your user
profile. After installing the operating system please create user by same name and copy your
profile in to document and setting folder. It saves your all personal data without any change.

3.7.6 File naming conventions

File naming conventions may differ based on the Operating System (OS) family. Following
section discusses the file naming conventions used in windows OS and it is compared with the
MS DOS OS.
In the windows file naming mechanism you have two components to file name. That is name
part and extension part.
NAME.EXT
Name part contains a descriptive name of the file and extension part shows what type of file it is.
Extension type also helps to specify the software that can be used to open the file.
In MSDOS operating system which is a command based operating system, the maximum number
of characters that can be used for file name is 8 and 3 for extension. Therefore we can say it is
8.3 file naming system used in MSDOS.
Visible numbers and alphabetical characters are allowed in file name. Special symbols (#,*,?, /,
space etc.) are not allowed for file name. The letter _ (underscore) is allowed to use in file
names. All file names are not case sensitive. For example, consider the names OSCAR, Oscar,
and Oscar to be the same.
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Therefore examples of valid and invalid filenames in MS DOS are,
Valid File Invalid File Names Reason For Invalidity
Names
Lisa.do_ ?mnd.exe ? is a special character
Priyal.dll #mal.tx # is a special character
Kumar.xls Kiranthi_.txt More than 8 characters for name
Sales.doc Junglebook.com More than 8 characters for name
Jinasena.tx $mahan.com $ is a special character
_desig.vbs Palitha P.yah Space is not allowed

Table 3.4- Valid & Invalid file names in MS DOS

Generally in windows you can give up to 255 characters including spaces to your file name.
Special characters are not allowed similar to MSDOS. For example valid file names in Windows
are,

Valid File names Invalid File names Reason For Invalidity

Kiranthi_Disanayake.txt ?mnd.exe ? is a special character
Priyal perera.doc #mal.tx # is a special character
Marketing Strategy Disa/perera.ppt / cannot be used in file name
Nov.xls
Sales Qty.doc ^for design.com ^ cannot be used in file name
Jinasena.txt $mahan.com $ is a special character
_desig.vbs

Table 3.5: Valid & Invalid file names in Windows

3.8 Storing and Managing Data

3.8.1 Basic File/Folder Operations in Windows 7

Organizing files/folders
As you learnt above, Windows 7 allows organizing your files and folders with your data in a
Drive other than the C: drive. The files/folders can be managed through the window you get
when you explore a particular location. This window will be similar to the Windows Explorer.
Following Figure 3.14 shows the basic components/areas of your file exploring window.

52
Back and Next buttons Path to the Click here to create Type here to search
to navigate within the file/folder named a new folder inside any file/folder within
folders ‘ICT Skills OUSL’ ‘ICT Skills OUSL’ ICT Skills OUSL

Tool to ‘Help’ on
organize Files/Folders
A file Sub folder Click here to change
files/folders
the options of the
file/folder view
Ex: To see with
large/small icons,
This is the ‘Detail’
Total no. of files view of file/folders
and folders

Figure 3.14: Basic areas in file exploring window

File/Folder Select operation

You can use mouse to select a single folder or file by clicking on it. If you want to select multiple
files which are close by one after another you can use mouse to encircle the files that you want to
select or press shift key and down or up arrows to select files in given direction.

Creating and Naming Folder

The keys to organizing files and folders effectively within a hierarchy are to store related items
together and to name folders informatively. Creating a new folder can help you organize and
keep track of files and other folders. In order to create a folder, you select the location where you
want the new folder, create the folder, and then lastly, name the folder. You should name each
folder meaningfully so that just by reading the folder’s name you know its contents. After you
name a folder or file, you can rename it at any time.
Steps to follow:
1. Open the drive or folder where you want to create a folder.
2. Click New Folder button on the toolbar OR Right-click on a blank area of the window,
and then click New Folder.
3. With the New Folder name selected, type a new name.
4. Press Enter.

53
Figure 3.15: Creating and naming a folder

Adding Properties and Tags to Files

When you create a file, Windows automatically adds properties to the files, such as name,
creation date, modified date, and size. These properties are important to Windows; however, they
may not be useful when you are searching for a file. You can add or modify common files
properties and create or modify custom tag properties (New!) to make it faster and easier to
locate files in the future. You can add or modify properties for most files. However, there are
some exceptions, such as plain text (.txt) or rich text format (.rtf) files. You can add or modify
properties using the details pane in an Explorer window (see figure 3.16 below), the details tab in
the properties dialog box, or in the Save As dialog box. If you want to remove some or all of the
property information in a file, you can quickly remove it using the properties dialog box.

Figure 3.16: Directly change properties of the file

Steps to follow:
1. Click the Start button, and then click Documents.
2. Click the file you want to add or modify properties.
3. In the details pane, click the tag you want to change, and then type the new tag. If the
Details pane is not available, right-click the file, click properties, click the Details tab.
When you are done, click Apply.
4. To add more than one tag, separate each entry with a semicolon.
5. To rate a file using the rating property; click the star that represents the rating you want to
give the file.
6. Click Save.
Copying a File/Folder

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Steps to follow:
1. Open the drive or folder containing the file or folder you want to copy.
2. Select the files or folders you want to copy.
3. Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Copy
4. Display the destination folder where you want to copy the files or folder.
5. Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Paste.

Moving a File/Folder
Steps to follow:
1. Open the drive or folder containing the file or folder you want to move.
2. Select the files or folders you want to move.
3. Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Cut.
4. Display the destination folder where you want to move the files or folder.
5. Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Paste.

Delete Files and Folders

Steps to follow:
1. Select the files and folders you want to delete.
2. Click the Organize button on the toolbar, and then click Delete.
3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion and place the items in the Recycle Bin.
4. On the desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin icon, and then click Empty Recycle Bin.
(Note: Your computer permanently removes the items.)

Restore Files and Folders

Imagine that you deleted a file/folder by mistake. Don’t worry! You can get it back from the
Recycle Bin into the original location where you had it, if you have not emptied the Recycle Bin.
Steps to follow:
1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop.
2. Select the item or items you want to restore.
3. Click the Restore this item or Restore all items button on the toolbar.
4. The restored file(s) now will be available in the original location

Create a Shortcut to a File or Folder

Steps to follow:
1. Open the drive or folder containing the file or folder for which you want to create a
shortcut.
2. Right-click the file or folder, and then click Create Shortcut.
3. To change the shortcut’s name, right-click the shortcut, click Rename from the shortcut
menu, type a new name, and then press Enter. 4. Drag the shortcut to the desired
location.4

Show or Hide Hidden Files and Folders Steps

to follow:
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1. Right-click the file or folder you want to hide or unhide, and then click Properties.
2. Go to the General Tab
3. Select or clear the Hidden check box under Attributes.
4. Click Apply
5. Select the option „Apply to this folder only‟ and confirm the above attribute change by
clicking OK
6. Click OK.
7. The files or folders appear transparent or hidden.

Figure 3.17: Show or hide folders

Compressing Files and Folders

You can compress files in special folders that use compressing software to decrease the size of
the files they contain. Compressed folders are useful for reducing the file size of one or more
large files, thus freeing disk space and reducing the time it takes to transfer files to another
computer over the Internet or network. A compressed folder is denoted by a zippered folder icon.
You can compress one or more files in a compressed folder by simply dragging them onto the
compressed folder icon. When a file is compressed, a copy is used in the compression, and the
original remains intact. You can uncompress, or extract a file from the compressed folder and
open it as you normally would, or you can open a file directly from the compressed folder by
double-clicking the Compressed File icon. When you open a file directly, Windows extracts the
file when it opens and compresses it again when it closes.
Steps to follow:
1. Select the files and folders you want to copy to a compressed folder.
2. Right-click one of the selected items, point to Send To, and then click Compressed
(Zipped) Folder.
3. To copy additional files or folders to the compressed folder, drag the files onto the
compressed folder.4

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Figure 3.18: Compress files and folders1
Searching Files

Windows provides several ways to find files and folders. There isn't one best way to search. You
can use different methods for different situations.
Use the search box on the Start menu
You can use the search box on the Start menu to find files, folders, programs, and e-mail
messages stored on your computer.
To find an item using the Start menu:
1. Click Start button.
2. Type a word or part of a word in the Search box.
3. Search results will appear as soon as you start typing in the Search box.

Search results

Search Box

Figure 3.19: Use the search box on the start menu

As you type, items that match your text will appear on the Start menu. The search results are
based on text in the file name, text in the file, tags, and other file properties.

Note: When searching from the Start menu, only files that have been indexed will appear in
search results. Most files on your computer are indexed automatically.
Use the search box in a folder or library
You're often likely to be looking for a file that you know is in a particular folder or library, such
as Documents or Pictures. Browsing for the file might mean looking through hundreds of files
and subfolders. To save time and effort, use the search box at the top of the open window.

57
Figure 3.20: Use the search box in a folder
The search box filters the current view based on text that you type. The search looks for text in
the file name and contents; and in the file properties, such as in tags. In a library, the search
includes all folders included in the library as well as subfolders within those folders.
To search for a file or folder by using the search box:

 Type a word or part of a word in the search box.

As you type, the contents of the folder or library are filtered to reflect each successive character
you type. When you see the file that you want, stop typing.

3.9 Windows 7 User Accounts

Windows 7 provides two main types of user accounts such as administrator and standard. For a
domain network computer, different account types (administrator, standard user, and restricted
user) provide similar permissions as the ones on a shared or workgroup computer.
The Administrator account is for the person who needs to make changes to anything on the
computer as well as manage user accounts. An administrator can install programs and hardware,
make system-wide changes, access and read all non-personal files, create and delete user
accounts, change other people’s accounts, change the own account name and type, change the
own picture, and create, change, or remove the own password.
T h e Standard user account is for the person who needs to manage personal files and run
programs. The standard user cannot install password for easy access and contains more
restrictions than the standard account.
The guest account is disabled by default and needs to be turned on. You can also create a user
group, which is a collection of user accounts that all have the same security rights. The most
common user groups are the standard user and administrator. A single account can be a member
of more than one group.
See Figure 3.21 below shows the main two types of user accounts: Standard user and
Administrator.

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Figure 3.21: Windows 7 User Accounts

3.10 The System Settings

3.10.1 The Control Panel

Windows 7 gives you the ability to customize your work environment (your computer’s desktop
and other settings) to suit your personal needs and preferences. You can adjust most Windows
features through the Control Panel, a central location for changing Windows settings. From the
Control Panel you can access the individual programs for changing the properties, or
characteristics, of a specific element of your computer, such as the desktop, the taskbar, or the
Start menu. Each icon in the Control Panel represents an aspect of Windows that you can change
to fit your own working habits and personal needs. For example, you can use the Display icon to
change the background picture or color of the desktop, or the Taskbar and Start Menu icon to
customize the taskbar and Start menu. Some Control Panel settings are vital to how you work
(such as the Date and Time, or the Language settings) and others are purely aesthetic (such as the
background picture, or which screen saver you use). The Control Panel also includes icons to
setup user accounts and maintain security, and setup and manage local-area, wide-area, and
wireless networks. You can access printers and faxes, add and remove programs and
automatically update Windows. You can also work with hardware, such as a scanner, digital
camera, modem, audio and speakers, mouse, and keyboard.
Note: Changing system settings through the Control Panel are described in the next UNIT.

3.10.2 The Control Panel in Category View

The control panel can be viewed in two ways namely in Small Icons,
in Large Icons, and by Category. In this course material we will be
mainly discussing the system settings that could be done through the
components of the control panel viewed by Category. Following are
the steps to view the control panel in category view and the Figure
3.21 illustrates the categories of the settings in Control Panel.
1. Click the Start button,
2. Click Control Panel.
3. In the View by options, select Category View.

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Figure 3.22: Control Panel category view2

3.11 Self Assessment Questions

3.1 Which versions/editions of Windows 7 have the following capabilities?

a. Create a Home Group
b. Support XP mode
c. Join a network domain
8.2 Which version of Windows 7 supports BitLocker? State the purpose of BitLocker feature.
8.3 What are the system requirements of Windows 7?
8.4 Briefly describe the six options available in Windows 7 to end a computing UNIT.
8.5 Name the accessories available with windows 7 to perform the following tasks.
a. To display, create, and edit text only documents.
b. To create movies using audio/video files.
c. Help to protect your computer from spyware and other harmful intruders.
3.6 Briefly describe the purposes of following components of the Windows 7 interface? a.
Start Menu
b. Task Bar
c. Notification area
8.7 What are Windows Gadgets? Name five gadgets available in Windows 7.
8.8 What is a file system? Briefly describe the file system used by Windows 7. 3.9
What are Libraries? Name four default libraries available with Windows 7.
8.10 State the advantages of using compressed files.
8.11 State whether the following are either valid or invalid file names in Windows. Give reasons
if invalid.
a. My sample file1.txt
b. *Saman_1.docx
c. Intro_21/03/2013.pptx
d. 123_saman.png

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UNIT 4

Introduction to Word Processing and MS Office 2007

Aims:

This UNIT introduces the user to the concept of an electronic word processing package and to
make the user proficient in the use of the Microsoft Office 2007.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT you can get idea about:

• What word processing is

• What the available word processers are.
• How to work with Keyboard to enhance the word processing skills.
• How to improve your typing speed.

4.1 What is Word Processing?

Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. In computers, a word
processor is a computer application used for the production, including composition, editing,
formatting, and possibly printing of any sort of printable material. In general, word processor is a
type of stand-alone office machine which was popular in the 1970s and 80s, combining the
keyboard text-entry and printing functions. Type writers were commonly used in offices before
the computers came more popular as a word processing device. At present, these type writers are
out of date and all these functions of the type writers are done by the computer and word
processing applications. Figure 4.1 shows a manual type writer and an electronic type writer.

Figure 4.1: Manual typewriter and electronic typewriter

Computer based word processor is a computer software that can be used to word processing. At
present there are thousands of word processing packages available all over the world. Compared
to others Microsoft word, OpenOffice.org Writer, KWord and AbiWord are some of the popular
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word processing packages. These packages contain their own characteristics and features. Some
common characteristics and features of the word processing packages are listed below.

4.1.1 Characteristics and features of Word processing software

There are some characteristics in word processing such as,
• Batch mailing, using a form letter template and an address database (mail merging)
• Index of keywords and their page numbers
• Table of contents with section titles and their page numbers • Table of figures with
caption titles and their page numbers
• Cross referencing with page numbers.
• Bibliographical References
• Maintain page numbers and footnote information
• Auto Correct
• Auto Complete
• Styles and Formatting
• Text Frames and Linking
Some popular word processing packages are briefly described below.

4.2 Existing word processing packages

There are several word processors available. These word processors can be categorized as
Free/open source software (FOSS), Commercial software, and Online Word Processors. Let us
look about each category.

4.2.1 Open source word processors

Open source software is free software which you can use freely. There are several Open sources
word processor; AbiWord, KWord, LyX, and OpenOffice.org Writer are most popular word
processors.

AbiWord
AbiWord is a free software word processor and it runs on Linux, Mac OS X (PowerPC),
Microsoft Windows, and other operating systems. AbiWord has a comprehensive language
database with multiple languages. It also has support for tables and footnotes, as well as a spell
checker and an advanced grammar checking system.
AbiWord is a package with several import/export filters, including HTML, Microsoft Word
(DOC), Office Open XML (DOCX)[2][3], OpenDocument (ODT) and Rich Text Format (RTF).
LaTeX is supported for export only. Plug-in filters are available to deal with many other formats,
notably WordPerfect documents. The native file format is .abw. You can freely download
AbiWord at http://www.abisource.com/download/

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Figure 4.2: AbiWord Interface

KWord
KWord is a frame-based word-processing and desktop publishing application and it is capable of
creating, demanding and professional looking documents. KWord is a word processor based on
frames. This can be used to place components in precise locations, as with many professional
Desktop Publishing applications. KWord can also handle huge amounts of texts and allows you
to do professional markup with ease. It has special features such as;
• Uses the standard ISO 26300 Open Document format.
• Paragraph style sheets (borders, alignment, spacing, indentation, bullet points, tab stops,
page breaks, and font type, style, color and size), together with a stylist to edit, add,
remove and update styles (a number of predefined styles are provided)
• A frame orientation, suitable for simple desktop publishing (DTP)
• Numerous preset as well as custom page sizes
• Multiple columns per page
• Headers and footers (including different first page headers/footers)
• Variables, such as page number, company name, user name, document summary, date and
time or a custom variable
• Tables
• Embedding of text frames, images and clip-art (.wmf and .svg files)
• Chapter numbering
• auto-generation of table of contents
• auto-correction and spell checking
• templates

You can freely download KWord on http://www.koffice.org/download/

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Figure 4.3: KWord Interface

OpenOffice.org Writer
OpenOffice.org Writer is a word processor component of the OpenOffice.org software package.
Writer is a word processor similar to Microsoft Word and Corel's WordPerfect, with some of
their features. As with the entire OpenOffice.org suite, Writer can be used across a variety of
platforms, including Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, IRIX and Solaris. Writer
is a free software, which is released under the terms of GNU Lesser General Public License.
Writer is capable of opening and saving documents in a number of formats, including the OASIS
Open Document Format 1.1 (its default format), Microsoft Word's DOC, DOCX, RTF and
XHTML. Writer provides a number of features not present in Word, including the ability to
export to the PDF format natively. It also includes a word completion mechanism for predictive
writing that is not available in Microsoft Word as of June, 2008.
Features include:

• AutoCorrect
• AutoComplete
• Styles and Formatting
• Text Frames and Linking
• Tables of Contents
• Indexing
• Bibliographical References
• Illustrations
• Tables
• Though OpenOffice.org Writer has a spell checker, it lacks a built-in grammar checker,
which is available only as an extension since version 3.0.
• Writer's mail merge functions, although substantially rewritten in 2.0, are still less
flexible than those of other word processors.

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Figure 4.4: OpenOffice.org writer Interface

4.2.2 Commercial software

AppleWorks, Texmaker, Word Perfect, and Microsoft Word are some popular commercial word
processors. In this section we consider only the Microsoft word 2007.

Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is Microsoft's word processing software. It was first released in 1983 under the
name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix Systems. The latest releases are Word 2013 for Windows and
Word 2011 for Mac OS X. Microsoft Word's native file formats are denoted either by .doc or
.docx file extension. Word has a built-in spell checker, thesaurus, dictionary and an Office
Assistant.

4.2.3 Online word processors

Online word processors are special type of word processors that can be run in online. This means
no needs any installation. You need to visit the website and use it. There are several online word
processors such as Zoho, gOffice, Writely, Ajax Write and ThinkFree. Zoho is one of the online
word processing package and you can use at http://www.zoho.com/

Figure 4.5: Online word Processor

Now you have some idea about what are the word processors available. Before starting the word
processing you are required to get an idea about followings.

 Good knowledge about Operating system and keyboard layout

 Good typing speed  Creative mind.
Rest of this UNIT gives more about computer keyboard and some tips for improve your typing
speed. This will be very useful for you.

65
4.3 Improve your typing Skills

4.3.1 Keyboard and its‟ layout

Keyboard is an input device that can be used to input the data. The keyboard layout is a map
where the letters available in the keyboard. Figure 4.6 shows common English and Sinhala
computer key board layout, use in computer keyboard. In your normal keyboard contain function
keys, character keys, control keys etc. These keys are used to do a lot of works. If you have a
sound knowledge about keys then you can work without using a mouse. It will be actually faster
than normal working using mouse.

Figure 4.6: English and Sinhala Computer Keyboard layout

Function Keys
Function keys are available in front of the keyboard. In this key layout there are 14 Function
Keys Such as Esc, F1, F2.. F13. These function keys are used to run Specific functions in your
Application. Example: F1 is used to show help, F2 is used to save your document etc.

Control Keys
There are three control keys such as Control key, Alt key and Shift key. The Control key is a
modifier. When pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation (for
example, Control-Alt-Delete).
Key combination Microsoft Windows/KDE
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+B Bold
Ctrl+U Underline
Ctrl+C Copy
Ctrl+V Paste
Ctrl+Esc Show start menu
Table 4.1: Special Operations
Alt key
The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change (alternate) the function of other pressed
keys. The Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example,
simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A,
the computer will perform an "Alt-A" function, which varies from program to program.

Character keys
There are two types of character keys such as letters and symbols. Letters have their own
meaning. But there are several symbols. Table 4.2 shows some symbols and its meanings.

Symbol Explanation
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~ Tilde
` Acute, Back quote, grave, grave accent, left quote, open quote
! Exclamation mark, Exclamation point, or Bang
@ At or At symbol
# Octothorpe, Number, Pound, sharp, or Hash
$ Dollar sign
% Percent
° Degree
^ Caret or Circumflex
& Ampersand or And
* Asterisk and sometimes referred to as "star".
( Open parenthesis
) Close parenthesis
- Hyphen, Minus or Dash
_ Underscore
+ Plus
= Equals
{ Open Brace
} Close Brace
[ Open bracket
] Close bracket
| Pipe, Or, or Vertical bar
\ Backslash or Reverse Solidus
/ Forward slash, Solidus, Virgule, or Whack
§ Section
: Colon
; Semicolon
" Quote, Quotation mark, or Inverted commas
' Apostrophe or Single Quote
< Less Than or Angle brackets
> Greater Than or Angle brackets
, Comma
. Period, dot or Full Stop
? Question Mark

Table4.2: Symbols

4.3.2 Working with Computer Keyboard

Now you are ready to work with the computer keyboard. It is required to improve following
skills.
• Basic knowledge about computer keyboard
• Improve your typing speed
• Ability to work with English, Sinhala or Tamil key layout
• Some basic idea about shortcut keys and other facilities
These skills are very important to work with word processing packages. As a first step there are
number of keyboard testing software available in the web. You can use these software and
improve your typing skills.

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Example 1: Improve English typing speed by using Typing Master
Typing Master is a professional typing tutor that helps you to double your typing speed. You can
freely download typing Master in the following URL http://www.typingmaster.com/.This
program provides you to complete introduction about computer keyboard and how it work with
best performance.

Figure 4.7: Screen layout of the Typing Master

It is strongly recommended you to use these programs and try to improve your typing abilities.
Many people use two or three fingers to work with keyboard. It is important that try to use at
least four or six fingers to typing. Typing Master is good assisting software for you. (Try to
complete two three lessons to improve your typing ability using this program).

Example 2: Working with computer without using a mouse

Now keep your mouse away from your desk. Don’t touch it, while finishing this lesson. Now try
to work with your computer without using a mouse. Try the following operations.
1. Open a program.
2. Close a program.
3. Copy or move some document.
4. Move to other applications.
5. Logoff your computer.

4.4 Introduction to MS Office 2007

4.4.1 What is Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office is a software that consists of different applications that perform different
activities. This software package is developed from the Microsoft Corporation, which is
available for the computers with either the Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X operating
systems. The windows based first office program was develop in 1990. The first version of
Office contained only Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. The current
versions are Office 2013 for Windows and Office 2011 for Mac OS. The windows based Office
2013 was launched on January 29, 2013. At present, it has introduced a number of programs
available with Microsoft Office packages. However, Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint and
Outlook Express are the common office programs.
4.4.2 History of Office Versions
Since 1992 Microsoft provides set of office packages. The table 4.3 shows year and the release
name of the Office packages for Windows O/S.

Year Name Description

1992 Office 3.0 CD-ROM version: Word 2.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0, Mail
3.0
1994 Office 4.0 Word 6.0, Excel 4.0a, PowerPoint 3.0
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1996 Office 97 published on CD-ROM
1999 Office 2000 Last version to support Windows 95, and last version that lacks
Product Activation
2001 Office XP Last version to support Windows 98, ME and NT 4.0. Improved
support for working in restricted accounts under Windows
2000/XP.
2003 Office 2003 Last version to support Windows 2000
2007 Office 2007 Broadly released alongside Windows Vista
2011 Office 2010 Introduced extended file formats
2013 Office 2013 Latest version to support Windows 8

Table 4.3: History of the Microsoft Office

In this course unit, we will be mainly working with MS Office 2007. Therefore, it is worth to
look at the features introduced / enhanced with MS Office 2007.

4.4.3 Microsoft Office 2007

The Microsoft Office 2007 system is the most recent version of Microsoft's
productivity suite. It was released to business customers on November 30,
2006 and was made available to retail customers on January 30, 2007
which was the same day of the formal launch to retail customers of
Windows Vista. Office 2007 contains a number of new features, new
applications and server-side tools.

Features
There are number of new features in Microsoft office 2007 namely User interface, Smart Art,
new File formats, User Assistance System, Collaboration features and Themes, Quick Styles etc.
Some of these features are described below.
New user interface: The new result-oriented User Interface (UI) is featured in the core
Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and the item inspector are used
to create or edit individual items in Outlook. Also, the default font used in this edition. Some of
the new component are describes below.
Office 2007 button: The Office 2007 button, which is located on the top-left of the window. It
replaces the File menu (Office 2003) and provides access to functionality common across all
Office applications, including but not limited to Opening, Saving, Printing, and sharing a file.
Users can also choose colour schemes for the interface.

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Figure 4.8: Office button in Microsoft power point

Ribbon: The Ribbon is a panel that houses the command buttons and icons, organizes commands
as a set of Tabs, each grouping relevant commands. Each application has a different set of tabs
which expose the functionality that application offers.

Figure 4.9: The ribbon on PowerPoint 2007

Contextual Tabs: Some tabs, called Contextual Tabs, appear only when certain objects are
selected. Contextual Tabs expose functionality specific only to the object with focus.
Live Preview: Microsoft Office 2007 also introduces a feature called "Live Preview", which
temporarily applies formatting on the focused text or object, when any formatting button is
moused-over. The temporary formatting is removed when the mouse pointer is moved from the
button. This allows users to have a preview of how the option would affect the appearance of the
object, without actually applying it.
Mini Toolbar: The new "Mini Toolbar" is a type of context menu that is automatically shown
(by default) when text is selected. The purpose of this feature is to provide easy access to the
most-used formatting commands without requiring a right-mouse-button click as necessary in
older versions of the software.
New File formats: Microsoft Office uses a new file format, called Office Open XML, as the
default file format. Word documents (without macro extensions) are now saved using a .docx
extension rather than the traditional .doc extension. Word 2007 can also save documents in the
old format so that they will still be usable in previous versions of Word. Open XML is based on
XML and uses the ZIP file container. According to Microsoft, documents created in this format
are up to 75% smaller than the same documents saved with previous Microsoft Office file
formats, owing to data compression. Also it will support to export the Portable Document Format
(PDF) in Office 2007.
User Assistance System: In Microsoft Office 2007, the “new help system” is the extensive use
of Super Tooltips which explains in about one paragraph what each function performs. Some of
them also use diagrams or pictures. These appear and disappear like normal tooltips, and replace
normal tooltips in many areas.
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4.4.4 System requirements for Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2007 needs minimum of following system requirements,
1) Computer and processor: 500 megahertz (MHz) processor or higher
2) Memory: 256 megabyte (MB) RAM or higher
3) Hard disk: 1.5 gigabyte (GB); a portion of this disk space will be freed after installation
if the original download package is removed from the hard drive.
4) Drive: CD-ROM or DVD drive
5) Display: 1024x768 or higher resolution monitor
6) Operating system: Microsoft Windows(R) XP with Service Pack (SP), Windows Server
2003 with SP1, or later operating system

4.4.5 Programs Available in Office 2007

The 2007 Microsoft Office system is distributed in several editions summary of the each edition
is given below.
Edition Packages
PowerPoint ,Word, Excel, OneNote

Outlook, Word, Excel

Outlook , Publisher, PowerPoint, Word,

Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access,
Publisher

Table 4.4: Several editions of MS Office

4.5 Self Assessment Questions

4.1 What is a word processor?

4.2 What is the advantage of using a computer as a word processor than using a type writer?
4.3 What are the features and facilities commonly available in a word processor?
4.4 What are the differences between an online word processor and a Commercial word
processor?
4.5 How do you improve your typing speed? Explain briefly.
4.6 What are the new features introduced in Office 2007?
4.7 What are the new features introduced in Word 2007?
4.8 Briefly explain the system requirements to install office 2007.
4.9 “Microsoft Office is a commercial office package”. Justify the above statement.

UNIT 5

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Microsoft Word 2007

Introduction:

To provide an introduction about Microsoft Office 2007

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT you will be able to get an idea about:

• What Microsoft Office Word 2007 is

• Word 2007 user interface
• Working with word 2007

5.1 Getting started with Microsoft Office Word 2007

Microsoft Office Word 2007 is one of the most sophisticated word-processing programs
available today. With Word 2007, it is easier than ever to efficiently create a wide range of
business and personal documents, from the simplest letter to the most complex report. Word
includes many desktop publishing features that you can use to enhance the appearance of
documents so that they are appealing and easy to read. In this lesson, we will be discussing about
MS Word 2007 to make you familiarized with it.

5.1.1 Start Microsoft Office Word 2007

This section describes how to start Word 2007. There are different ways to start Word 2007. By
default, MS Office is installed in C:\Program files\ Microsoft Office and short cuts are available
in the start menu. To start Microsoft Word you can use the Start button as follows,

Click Start button → All Programs → Microsoft Office → Microsoft Office Word 2007 OR

Double Click the above MS WORD icon on any place

5.1.2 Create a new Word Document – Method 1

After starting MS Word as given above, you can create a new word document.
Click Start button → click New (New document window will be appeared)

• Select the template : blank and recent

• Select blank document and Click create
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5.1.3 Create a new word document - Method 2
There is another method to create a new document.
• Click the mouse cursor in the location where you want to create the new document.
• Right click and get the short cut menu.
• Select New.
• Click Microsoft Office Word Document .
Shortcut menu

Figure 5.1: The Shortcut menu

• A new Word document will be created for you without a specific name.  Rename/give
a name for the created new word document.

Figure 5.2: Rename the created new document

 To Open Word, double click on the WORD icon.

Now you can see the Microsoft Word 2007 user interface with a new document.

5.2 Getting familiarized with the MSWord 2007 user interface

Before start working with Word 2007 you should be familiar with Microsoft Office 2007 user
Interface. Microsoft Word 2007 user interface is shown in figure 5.3. Word 2007 introduces
many new features and some of them were described in the previous UNIT. However this section
gives some of the useful tips that will be used to work with MS word 2007. Now you know that
ribbon is the most useful tool which is available in the Office 2007 package and it includes many
development tools with groups together. The „Text area‟ is the area you can enter your text.
Figure 5.3 shows some common tools and objects available in the Word 2007 user interface such
as Office button, Quick Access tool bar, Ribbon, Title bar and status bar etc.

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MS Word
Control box Help

Text Area
Scroll bar

Figure 5.3: Microsoft word 2007 user interface

Control box
There are three buttons in the right top corner in your Word 2007 window. The minimize
button is used to minimize your window and maximize button is used to maximize and close
button is used to close your current window.

Microsoft Office button

The Microsoft Office button is newly introduced in Office 2007. It shows all the basic actions in
your Word 2007 window such as New, Open, Save, Close etc.

Using this New button you can create a new word document.

Using this Open button you can open an existing word document.

Using this Save button you can save your document. The save as button can
be used to save your document as a new copy.

Using this Close button you can close the currently opened document without
closing the Microsoft Word 2007.

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Using this exit word button you can exit from your word program.

The Ribbon
The Ribbon contains all the tools available in the Word 2007. By default, the ribbon is consisting
of seven tabs namely Home, Insert, Page layout, References, Mailings, Review, and View. You
can click on each tab. Then the Ribbon will be appeared with the tools available under the
selected tab. The Figure 5.4 below shows the Ribbon in Home tab.

Figure 5.4: Microsoft Word 2007 Ribbon – Home tab

5.3 Using MS Word Help

The MS Office suite provides assistance for using its all applications such as MS Word, Excel,
Access, PowerPoint, etc. with a comprehensive Help menu. In MS Word interface, right under
the three control buttons you can see the Help menu with the icon shown below.

Figure 5.5: Help Menu icon

Click on the above Help menu icon or press F1 key from the key board to open the Word Help
window. Figure 5.6 shows the Word Help window.

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Type the key word
here to search for
help on that topic

Categories of
Help topics

Figure 5.6: Word Help window

Example: Imagine that you want to learn how to insert Page numbers into your document. So
you need to click on the help topic “Page Numbers” and then click on “Insert page numbers”.
Word Help will give you a very comprehensive description on how to insert page numbers with
some examples. From the same window, you can search for other related topics such as how to
remove page numbers, how to change the format of page numbers, etc. through the links given
there. See Figure 5.7.

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Description
on How to
insert page
numbers

Figure 5.7: Word Help on "How to insert page numbers"

Start entering text into your blank document

This activity describes how to enter a text into your document. Type the following text on your
created document.

Useful Hints:
• Type the Enter key to insert blank line within the two paragraphs.
• Use the Space key to insert spaces between two words.
• While you are entering data using the keyboard, use the Enter key only for inserting
paragraphs or to insert a new line.
• Use the Space Key only for Single spaces such as separating two words.
• Use the Tab key to set the position/indent of the text.

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Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital
circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the
hardware. Most computer hardware is not seen by normal users. It is in
embedded systems in automobiles, microwave ovens, electrocardiograph
machines, compact disc players, and other devices. A typical personal computer
consists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) and the following parts:
Mother board
Processor
Memories

After entering the text into your Word document you must save your document. Otherwise the
inserted data can get lost. (However MS Office provides auto recovery and auto saving facilities
to save your document. But we encourage you to save your document then and there as you type
it or change it)

5.4 Some useful basic operations in MS Word

5.4.1 Changing the typing modes

When you type using the key board, there are two key inserting methods available namely Insert
mode and the Overtype mode .Identify the button named Insert in the key board. By using this
button, you can change these modes in previous word packages such as word 2000 word 2003
etc. However, Word 2007 removes these insert button action and introduces new methods. To
change these modes, you can perform the following steps.

Right-click the status bar and then click Overtype to display the Insert mode status at the left
end of the status bar.

Insert mode
status

Figure 5.8: Changing the typing mode by Overtype Mode

To change the Overtype mode again click on the insert button. Then it replaces the mode into
Overtype. When you click again on overtype then it changes into insert mode.

5.4.2 Show/ Hide non-printable characters

Non-printing characters such as Enter, Tab etc. are not visible in the document, to show/hide
these characters,
1. Click Home tab.
2. Point Paragraph group.
3. Click the Show/Hide button.
5.4.3 Save your word document
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To save your Word document, there are several methods.
1. Click Microsoft Office button.
2. Then Click Save.
OR Click save button In the Quick Access tool bar (see figure 5.9 below)
OR Press Ctrl + S Buttons.
3. Then the File Save as window will be appeared.
4. Select the location to save.
5. Enter a file name.
6. Click Save.

Save Button in the

Office Button quick access tool bar

Save Option

Figure 5.9: Save a document

5.4.4 Close already opened word document and exit from Microsoft Word
To close your opened document, perform the following steps,
1. Click Office button.
2. Click Close.
To exit from Microsoft word;
1. Click Office button.
2. Click Exit button.

5.4.5 Opening an existing MS Word document

To open an existing known MS Word document, follow the steps given below;

1. Click Office button.

2. Click open (File opening window will be appeared)

In the File open window,

3. Find the location.

4. Select the file name.
5. Click Open.
5.4.6 Displaying different views of a document
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In Word, you can view a document in different ways such as print layout view, full screen
reading view and web outline view etc. A brief description on each view is given below.
• Print Layout view: This view displays a document on the screen the way it will look when
printed. By using this view you can see some elements such as margins, page breaks, headers
and footers, and watermarks.
• Full Screen Reading view: these view displays as much of the content of the document as
will fit on the screen at a size that is comfortable for reading. In this view, the Ribbon is
replaced by a single toolbar at the top of the screen with buttons that you can use to save and
print the document, access references and other tools, highlight text, and make comments.
You can also move from page to page and adjust the view.
• Web Layout view: This view displays a document on the screen the way it will look when
viewed in a Web browser. You can see backgrounds, AutoShapes, and other effects. You can
also see how text wraps to fit the window and how graphics are positioned.
• Outline view: This view displays the structure of a document as nested levels of headings
and body text, and provides tools for viewing and changing its hierarchy.
• Draft view. This view displays the content of a document with a simplified layout so that
you can type and edit quickly. You cannot see layout elements such as headers and footers.

By using the layout viewer (Bottom right hand on your MS Word window layout viewer will be
appeared). You can change the document view as you need. Click each view and see the
difference. Figure 5.10 shows the different views.
Print layout Out line view

Web layout Zoom in/ out and

Draft view level indicator
Full Screen reading

Figure 5.10 Different

layouts

5.4.7 Previewing and printing a document

After you create your document you can get a print by using a printer installed into your
computer. To print your documents, perform the following steps;  Click the Microsoft Office
Button, point to Print.

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Figure 5.11: Word 2007 Print options

There are three printing options available namely Print, Quick Print and print preview. Let us
see the differences among them briefly.

Print: if you click „Print‟ then the print dialog box will appear. (Screen shot in print dialog box
is given below; By using this dialog box you can select printer name, set number of copies and
set page range to print as you wish such as All : print all pages in your document Current: print
only the current page and Pages: range: 3 – 4 page range you wish to print. After selecting each
option click OK to print. Figure 5.12 shows print setup window.

Quick Print: you can directly print your document by using default print option. In this method
you can’t see the print dialog box.

Print Preview: Here the window's title bar indicates that the preview of the document and the
Print Preview tab appears on the Ribbon.

Figure 5.12: Print setup window

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Click here to close
print preview option

Figure 5.13: Preview of the document

By using Print preview you can preview your printout. Also it provides some facilities to change
your document as you wish.
You can exit from print preview option by clicking Close Print Preview button

5.4.8 Secure your document from others

You can encrypt your document so that others cannot access your document without the
password set by you. Use the following steps;
1. Click Office button.
2. Click Prepare.
3. Click Encrypt document.

4. Enter Encrypt password.

5. Re-enter the password to confirm.
6. Close your document.
7. Re-open the document.
(You are required to enter the password to open the document)

5.4.9 Save your document in a different file format

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Microsoft word provides several file formats. You may try saving your document using all file
formats available with Office 2007.
1. Click Office button.
2. Click Save As.
3. Enter file name „sample1‟.
4. Select save as type.
5. Click Save.

Following table shows file format and size of the sample files.

Figure 5.14: File format and Size of the sample size

When you work with windows office, following operations will useful to create the document
easily.

5.4.10 Show/Hide ruler

To Show/Hide ruler

1. Click View Tab.

2. Point out show/hide group.
3. Click ruler.
The Ruler will be useful to identify the current position of the
document you work with and to set the tab positions as you
wish.
5.4.11 Insert a page break

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To insert a page break,
1. Go to the place where you want break the content into a new page.
2. Click Insert tab.
3. Select Pages group.
4. Click Page break.
The rest of the document will be available in a new page.

5.4.12 Insert date and time

To insert a date and time
1. Move the cursor where you want to insert the date/time.
2. Click Insert tab.
3. Select Text group.
4. Select Date and Time.
Having followed the basic operations now you are familiarized with MS word. The next UNIT
will deeply discuss on creating Word documents.

5.5 Self Assessment Questions

5.1 Write down two possible ways of starting MS Word.

5.2 Name five features of the standard user interface of an office 2007 application.
5.3 Where do the facilities located together to open, close, and save documents in office
applications?
5.4 What is the purpose of having the “Help menu” in MS office applications? Which function
key will take you to the “Help” screen?
11.5 How could you secure your word document from other users? Write down the steps you
need to follow.
11.6 How could you save an existing document with a different name?
11.7 What is the difference between two options „Print‟ and „Quick Print‟ that you find when
taking a printout of your document?
11.8 Imagine that you place the insertion point in the middle of a paragraph and start typing, but
new text deletes the existing text. What could be the problem occurred here? How do you
fix it?
11.9 What is the default alignment on a MS Word document?
11.5 What do the red and green wavy lines under some words stand for?

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UNIT6

Introduction to MS Excel 2007

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT you will be able to get an idea about:

• The capabilities found in Excel 2007

• Excel 2007 user interface
• Working with Excel work books

6.1 Introduction

This UNIT extends the student’s knowledge and skills in Microsoft Excel to a high level.
Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Office Excel) is a spread sheet application written and distributed by
Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. A spreadsheet is a rectangular table (grid) of
information, often financial information. Excel has some features namely calculation, graphing
tools, pivot tables and a macro programming language called VBA (Visual Basic for
Applications). Excel is one of the most popular microcomputer applications to date.

Earlier version of Excel contained the program's more than 1,000 commands in a series of
menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes. And, as it turns out, there were some functions
that didn't appear by default on any of the menus or toolbars. In Excel 2007, there is only one
place to look for the tools you need to use it; the user interface Ribbon at the top of the program
window.
Table 6.1 summarizes some of the expanded data storage and other capabilities found in Excel
2007.
Description Excel 2007
Columns in a worksheet 16,384
Rows in a worksheet 1,048,576
Number of different colors allowed in a work book 4.3 billion
Number of conditional format conditions applied to a cell Limited by available
memory
Number of sorting levels of a range or table 64
Number of items displayed in an AutoFilter list 32,768
Total number of characters displayed in a cell 32,768
Total number of characters per cell that Excel can print 32,768
Total number of unique cell styles in a workbook 65,536
Maximum length of a formula, in characters 8,192
Number of nested levels allowed in a formula 64
Maximum number of arguments in a formula 255
Number of characters that can be stored and displayed in a cell 32,768
with a text format
Number of columns allowed in a PivotTable 16,384

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Number of fields displayed in the PivotTable Field List task pane 16,384
Table 6.1: Capabilities found in Excel 2007

6.1.1 Start Excel 2007

To start using Microsoft Excel, there are various ways that you can use.
i. Click Start All Programs Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
ii. If you are using My Computer or Windows Explorer, you can open the Program Files
folder in the C drive, then Microsoft Office, then Office, and double-click Excel.exe file
(Directly run the excel application).
iii. You can create an empty document on your desktop and use it to launch Microsoft Excel.
To do that, you would right-click an empty area on the desktop, position the mouse on
New Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet, type a name for the document, such as Time
Sheet, and press Enter twice.
iv. Double-clicking on any already created Excel file.

6.2 Microsoft Excel 2007 User Interface

Before start excel 2007 this is the best time to learn about office excel 2007 user interface. Figure
6.1 shows user interface of the excel 2007.
3 5
1 4

6 12
9 10
8
7

11 Figure 6.1: Excel 2007 user interface

No Name
1 Office button
2 Quick Access tool bar
3 Work sheet title
4 Ribbon
5 Control keys (Close | resize | Minimize )
6 Name box
7 A cell
8 Work sheet
9 Formula bar

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10 Scroll bars
11 Status bar
12 Insert Function Button
Table 6.2: Major components of the Excel 2007 user interface

6.3 Working with workbooks

6.3.1 Create a new workbook (Method 1)

After starting MS Excel you need to create a new workbook to start working with MS Excel.

1. Click Office button → click New (New document creation window is appeared).

2. Select template: blank and recent.

3. Select blank work book and Click Create.

6.3.2 Create a new work book (Method 2)

There is another method to create a new work book.
1. Click the mouse curser where you want to create the New document
2. Right click in the mouse and get short cut menu.
3. Select New.
4. Click Microsoft Office Excel work sheet.

Shortcut menu

5. Rename/give a name for the created new excel work sheet document.

6. To Open Excel, double click on the EXCEL icon.

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The workbook can contain several work sheets. By default it has only three (3) work sheets
namely sheet1, sheet2 and shee3.

6.4 Working with a work sheet

Now you are ready to work with work sheets. In this section we will discuss how to delete,
rename, or create a new work sheet in a work book.

6.4.1 Delete a worksheet

To delete a worksheet, follow the steps given below;
1. Right click on the sheet tab which is to be deleted.
2. Click Delete on the shortcut menu.

Figure 6.2: Delete a worksheet

6.4.2 Rename an existing worksheet

To rename an existing a worksheet, follow the steps given below;
1. Right click on the sheet tab.
2. Click Rename on the shortcut menu.
3. Give a new name for the work sheet.

6.4.3 Insert a new work sheet

1. Right click on „Insert Work sheet‟ tab.

2. A new work sheet will be created for you. Rename the created worksheet with a name
you desire.

Example: Create a new data sheet.

Create a new work book named “mysample1” then rename sheet1 as „mysheet1‟. Enter the
following values into the „mysheet1‟.

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Figure 6.3: Sample data for mysheet1

Entering the sequence January, February, March, and so on repeatedly can be handled by copying
and pasting the first occurrence of the sequence, but there's an easier way to do it: use AutoFill.

6.5 Data entry techniques

The following table summarizes the existing data entry techniques.

Method Action
AutoFill Enter the first value in a recognized series and use the fill handle to extend
the series.
Fill Series Enter the first two values in a series and use the fill handle to extend the
series.
AutoComplete Type the first few letters in a cell, and if a similar value exists in the same
column, Excel 2007 suggests the existing value.
Pick from Right-click a cell, and from the shortcut menu that appears, choose Pick
Dropdown List From Drop-down List. A list of existing values in the cell's column appears.
Click the value you want to enter into the cell.
Table 6.3: Data entry techniques

6.5.1 AutoFill option

To AutoFill, you enter the first element in a recognized series, grab the fill handle at the lower
right corner of the cell, and drag the fill handle until the series extends far enough to
accommodate your data.

Figure 6.4: AutoFill options

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Click the Auto Fill Options button to display a list of several actions. Some options in the list are
summarized in the following table.
Option Action
Copy Cells Copies the contents of the selected cells to the cells indicated by the Fill
operation.
Fill Series Fills the cells indicated by the Fill operation with the next items in the series.
Fill Copies the format of the selected cell to the cells indicated by the Fill
Formatting operation, but does not place any values in the target cells.
Only
Fill Without Fills the cells indicated by the Fill operation with the next items in the series,
Formatting but ignores any formatting applied to the source cells.
Fill Days, Changes according to the series you extend. For example, if you extend the
Weekdays, etc. cells Wed, Thu, and Fri, Excel 2007 presents two options, Fill Days and Fill
Weekdays, and enables you to select which one you intended. If you do not use
a recognized sequence, the option does not appear.
Table 6.4: AutoFill Options

Example: Enter data by using Data entry techniques

Use a new worksheet “mysheet2” and enter the following

Figure 6.5: Sample data

6.6 Moving Data within a Workbook

You can move a cell in a lot of ways, but the most direct method is to click the cell to which you
want to move. Then your selected cell becomes an active cell(s). (The active cell is the cell that
is currently selected and open for editing). Then copy it and paste it elsewhere in the workbook.
The Paste Options button appears next to data you copy from a cell and paste into another cell.
Clicking the Paste Options button displays a list of actions that Excel 2007 can take regarding
the pasted cells.

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Figure 6.6: Paste Option button

The options in the list are summarized in the following table.

Option Action
Use Destination Pastes the contents of the Clipboard (which holds the last information
Theme selected via Cut or Copy) into the target cells and formats the data using the
theme applied to the target workbook.
Match Pastes the contents of the Clipboard into the target cells and formats the
Destination data using the existing format in the target cells, regardless of the
Formatting workbook's theme.
Keep Source Pastes a column of cells into the target column; applies the format of the
Formatting copied column to the new column.
Values Only Pastes the values from the copied column into the destination column
without applying any formatting.
Values and Pastes the contents of the Clipboard into the target cells, keeping any
Number numeric formats.
Formatting
Values and Pastes the contents of the Clipboard into the target cells, retaining all the
Source source cells' formatting.
Formatting
Keep Source Pastes the contents of the Clipboard into the target cells and resizes the
Column Widths columns of the target cells to match the widths of the columns of the source
cells.
Formatting Only Applies the format of the source cells to the target cells, but does not copy
the contents of the source cells.
Table 6.5: Paste options
Example: Move Data on the workbook.

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Steps to follow:
1. On the “mysheet1” worksheet, select cells A1:C8.
2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the Copy button. Excel 2007 copies the
contents of cells A1:C8 to the Clipboard.
3. On the tab bar, click the mysheet2 sheet tab. The „mysheet2‟ worksheet appears.
4. Select cell G5.
5. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Paste. Excel 2007 pastes the values into
cells G5:I12.
6. Click the Paste Options smart tag and then click Keep Source Formatting. Excel 2007
retains the cells' original formatting.

6.7 Defining data set as a Table

Excel has always enabled you to manage lists of data effectively, enabling you to sort your
worksheet data based on the values in one or more columns.
Example: Define a table
You will create a data table from existing data, add data to a table, add a Total row, change the
Total row's summary operation, and rename the table.
1. Select cell A1.
2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table and then select a table style.
The Format as Table dialog box appears. Click Format as a table.

6.8 Some useful tips

Here, some operations are described which are identified as useful to work with Excel 2007 more
easily.
6.8.1 Displaying Different Views of an Excel sheet
In Excel 2007, you can view a document in three ways namely normal view, print view and
page break preview. By using the layout viewer (appearing next to the status bar, right bottom
on your MS Excel window) you can change Excel document view as you need. Click each view
and see the difference. The layout viewer is shown below.

Normal layout Page layout

Page break preview

Figure 6.7: Different Views of an Excel sheet

6.8.2 Window Operations

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By using MS Excel you can use/open more than one work books and you can work with several
windows simultaneously. Some window operations that will be useful when working with
windows are described below;

Figure 6.8: Multiple window operations

Switch to other Excel Document

Microsoft Excel 2007 supports multiple documents. Therefore you can use multiple Excel work
books in the same time. By default you can see only the active excel document and can easily
switch to other documents. To switch to other document
1. Click on the View tab on the Ribbon.
2. Point the Window group.
3. Click switch Windows

Close the current document window

Click the Close button, appearing at the right end of the Document window's title bar.

Maximize the window

Click the Maximize button, appearing at the right end of the Document window's title bar.

Freezing/Unfreezing panes
Imagine that you have entered data into your worksheet under different column headings and the
number of data rows entered is too high, such that it goes beyond the limit of a visible single
page. Obviously, to refer the data in lower rows you need to scroll down the page. When
scrolling down to the 2 nd page and onwards, you will lose the titles appearing as the column
headings. So, it will be terrible for you to read the data in the rows as you can’t see what the
meaning of that data under a particular column as the heading is not visible and you will have to
scroll up again to view the headings, come back to the row reading. Obviously this is a difficult
task for you.
In such cases, you can freeze the top row of the work sheet by keeping the top row visible while
scrolling through the rest of the work sheet. You can do the similar operation for the left most
columns as well such that it keeps both rows and columns visible while scrolling. Follow the
steps below to freeze or unfreeze the panes as explained above.

• Go to the View tab.

• Go to the Window group.
• Select the option among Freeze panes, Freeze row, freeze column, or Unfreeze panes as
you wish.

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6.9 Setting, Previewing, and Printing a document

6.9.1 Setting/Clearing printing area

Sometimes, though your worksheet is full of work done across the pages horizontally and
vertically you don’t need to have the entire working in the printout. It will reduce the paper
wastage as well. In such situations you can set the printing area by covering a particular number
of rows and columns. Follow the steps given below.
• Select the area to be printed by dragging and dropping the mouse over a rectangular area
across the rows and columns.
• Go to the Page Layout tab.
• Go to the Page Setup group.
• Select the options under Print area by clicking the down arrow.

6.9.2 Previewing and Printing your work

After you create your Excel document you can get a print of it by using a printer. To print your
documents follow the steps given below;

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, point to print.

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Figure 6.9: Word 2007 Print options and printer setup window

There are three options available namely Print, Quick Print, and Print Preview

Print: if you click „Print‟ then the print dialog box will appear. (Screen shot in print dialog box
is given below) By using this dialog box you can select printer name, set number of copies and
set page range to print as you wish such as All : print all pages in your document Current: prints
only the current page and Pages: rage: 3 – 4 page range you wish to print. After selecting each
option click OK to print.

Figure 6.10: Print Dialog

Quick Print: you can directly print your document by using default print option. In this method
you will not get the print dialog box as in the previous case.

Print Preview: Here the window's title bar indicates the preview of the document, and the print
preview tab appears on the Ribbon. The appearance of the document that will be in the printout is
displayed on the screen so that you can do the changes or give the command to proceed with
printing.

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Click he re to close
print preview window

Figure 6.11: Print preview window

By using print preview you can see a preview of your printout. Also it provides some facilities to
change your document as you wish. You can exit from print preview option by clicking Close
Print Preview button.

6.10 Self Assessment Questions

6.1 What are the advantages of using computerized Spreadsheets?

6.2 Define the following terms.
a. Spreadsheet
b. Worksheet
c. Workbook
6.3 Briefly explain the existing data entry techniques in MS Excel 2007.
6.4 What is meant by „Freezing panes‟ in an Excel work sheet?
6.5 How do you prevent other users making changes to your worksheet?
6.6 What is the feature that allows you to see, how your printed worksheet will looks like?
6.7 How do you print only a part of your Excel worksheet?

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UNIT 7

Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT you will be able to get an idea of:

• Introduction about MS PowerPoint 2007

• Working with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
• Creating better presentations
• Formatting presentations

7.1 Introduction

To provide an overview of the Microsoft PowerPoint 2007. Microsoft PowerPoint is a

presentation program developed by Microsoft. This is used to produce professional-looking
presentations. It is an application that comes with the Microsoft Office suit. Microsoft
PowerPoint runs on Microsoft Windows and the Mac OS computer operating systems. Microsoft
Power point 2007 introduced several new features. Some of these features are listed below,

• Get better results faster with a redesigned user interface.

• Create powerful, dynamic SmartArt Diagrams.
• Easily reuse content with Office PowerPoint 2007 slide libraries.
• Communicate with users across platforms and devices.
• Use custom layouts to assemble presentations more quickly.
• Accelerate your review processes.
• Dramatically modify shapes, text, and graphics with new tools and effects.
• Add more security to your Office PowerPoint 2007 presentations.
• Reduce your document sizes and improve damaged file recovery at the same time.

In addition to the MS PowerPoint, there are so many other presentation programs which are
computer software packages which can display information normally in the form of a slide show.
Apple Keynote, Corel Presentations, Google Docs (web-based), OpenOffice.org Impress (open
source), Slide Rocket are some examples for them.

7.2 Working with MS PowerPoint 2007

7.2.1 Starting MS PowerPoint 2007

Do you know how we can open Microsoft PowerPoint 2007? There are various ways to do this.
Let’s have a look at some of the common ways used to launch Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
• Click Start→All Programs→Microsoft Office→Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

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• If you are using My Computer or Windows Explorer, you can open the Program Files
folder, then Microsoft Office, then Office, and double-click power point icon.
• You can create an empty document on your desktop and use it to launch Microsoft power
point. To do that, you would right-click an empty area on the desktop, position the mouse
o n New→Microsoft Office power point presentation, type a name for the document,
and press Enter twice.
• Double-clicking the any power point file.

7.2.2 Creating a new presentation (Method 1)

After starting MS Power point, you need to create a new presentation.

Click Start button → Click New (New document creation windows will appear)

Figure 7.1: New document creation Window

• Select the template: blank and recent.

• Select blank presentation.  Click Create.

7.2.3 Creating a new presentation (Method 2)

In addition to the above method, you may follow the method given below as well to create a new
presentation file.
Go to the location where you want to create the presentation file (Ex. Inside the My PowerPoint
work folder in the E:\ drive)
1. Right click in the blank area of the location.
2. Select New.
3. Select MS PowerPoint presentation.

Figure 17.2: Creating a new presentation

7.3 Getting Familiarized with MS Power point 2007 user Interface

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1 2

4 6

Figure 7.3: Microsoft power point user interface

No Name Description
1 Quick Access Tool The standard quick access tool bar (can customize
Bar its items)
2 Ribbon The Standard ribbon for PowerPoint
3 Tabs Heading Tabs in the Ribbon
4 Slide/Outline pane Shows slides one under the other with the content
outline
5 Notes section Section for adding speaker notes
6 New Slide Currently working slide selected from the slide pane
Table 7.1: MS PowerPoint User interface components

7.4 Start your presentation

7.4.1 Starting with the first slide

In PowerPoint 2007 a Slide Layout named Title Slide always appears first. Assuming that the
presentation needs a title at the beginning the first slide, by default is called a Title Slide. The
title part in this slide appears as the main section of the screen.

Your screen will look like the image below.

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Place your cursor in the “Click to add title” box and click the left mouse button to start inserting
the text in this formatted text box, we simply enter (type-in) the title:

Example: “Introduction to Computers” assuming that you are going to present about Computers
to a group of students in a class.
Now, click in the second box “Click to add sub-title” and type the sub title to your presentation:
Example: Presented by: Mrs. C.M. CHITA
The Open University of Zambia

7.4.2 Inserting a new slide

Now it’s time to create the next slide in your presentation. To do this, we need to find the New
Slide button. At the top left of the screen, in the Home Tab you will see a New Slide “button”
which looks like the Figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4: Inserting a new Slide

Your new Slide 2 should look like the image below – even if you did not click the arrow.
The layout of the slides except the first one will look like the image shown below.

Figure 7.5: Layout of the second slide

Example:
Now click “Click to add title” box and type: “Parts of a Computer”.
Click in the “Click to add text” box and type:
Processor (type Enter)
Motherboard (type Enter)
Hard Disk (type Enter)
RAM
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Note that the items you type in the text area will be automatically displayed as a bulleted list. The
bullet can be customized as you wish. The Font properties also can be customized as you wish.
The steps will be same as what you followed to format your text in MS Word UNIT.

7.4.3 Deleting a Slide

To delete a slide, right click on the slide from the slide navigation pane at the left side of your
screen and select Delete Slide.

Figure 7.6: Deleting a Slide

7.4.4 Open an existing presentation

To open existing presentation, you have several options.
Locate and double click on any power point presentation file to be opened.

Click the Microsoft Office Button and Open then select the power point presentation you
looked for then Click Open.

7.4.5 Change the slide view

There are several ways to display your presentations namely as normal view, slide sorter, notes
page and slide show. Brief description of the each view is given below.

Normal View Slide sorter Slide show View

view

Figure 7.7: Slide Views

Normal View
Gives you a view of the entire slide as well as the “mini-previews” of each slide in the left area.
This is the one we have been using so far.

Slide Sorter View

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You can see small images of each slide. In this view you can left click-on a slide and, while
holding down the left mouse button, drag your slide to any position in your show that you
desire. This view assists you in arranging your slides in the order that you desire for your
presentation. This view is sort of like the old, round 35mm slide show trays where you pulled
out and stuck-in slides, in the order you desired.

Slide Show view

Anytime you want to view your presentation, click-on this button. If you click on it now, you
will see how the slide, on which you are working, will look. Give it a try if you desire. When
you are finished looking at your slide, tap the Esc button/key in the top-left part of your
Keyboard. This will take you back to the View in which you were working.

Figure 7.8: Slide show buttons

7.4.6 Hiding the slides
Sometimes you might want a slide to be included in a presentation but not in the slide show. You
can hide the slide using the following steps.  Go to “Slide” tab in the pane which contains
„Slides‟ and „Outline‟.
 Right-click the slide you want to hide and click „Hide Slide‟.

Figure 7.9: Hiding the slides

You will be able to see a hidden mark in the hidden slides as indicated in the image below.

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Figure 7.10: Hidden Mark

To show the slide which you have hidden earlier, right click and select „Hide Slide‟ again.

7.5 Adding more components to the slides

Let us start out with an example slide presentation to discuss more on components that can be
added into your slide.

7.5.1 Adding text and images in a single slide

Example: Insert a new slide into your presentation by Clicking on the New Slide tool and
selecting Two Content as the layout of the slide to be inserted as shown below.

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Figure 7.11: New slide with Two Content layout

1. Click in the top text box, Click to add title and type: Processor types 2.
Click in the left Text or Content Box, Click to add text and type: Intel (tap
Enter)

Intel Celeron (tap Enter)

AMD

Click here to add Smart Art

Click here to add Charts

Click here to add Tables

Click here to insert
a media clip
Click here to add
text Click here to add picture Click here to add Clip Art

Figure 7.12: Components of the Slide

3. Click in the right text box - Click insert picture from file.

Figure 7.13: Insert picture from file

4. Select a suitable picture saved in your computer and press insert. Now your Slide will
appear like this.

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Figure 7.14: A sample completed slide

7.5.2 Adding hyperlinks

In PowerPoint, hyperlink is used to connect one slide with another slide in the same presentation
or a slide in another presentation, an e-mail address, a Web page or a file.
You can create a hyperlink from text or from an object, such as a picture, graph, shape or
WordArt.
1. Select the text or an object that you want to hyperlink.
2. Click Hyperlink in the Links group of the insert menu.

3. Give the location of the document or website in the address field.

Figure 7.15: Selecting the location

4. Click OK.

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If the colour of the text has changed to blue and underlined then it means that it has worked
creating the link. Double check it by clicking the link.

7.6 Formatting Presentations

In this section, we will briefly describe some operations that can be used to format your
presentation slides such as modifying the fonts and change the background.

7.6.1 Inserting a text box

Text is the main part of your presentation. It represents anything of your presentation. You can
use textbox to represent the text.

Click Insert menu on the ribbon and click Text box on the Text group.

Figure 7.16: Insert a Text box

Place cursor to where you need to insert a new text box and type some text.

Note: You can format your inserted Text Box as similar to the steps you followed at MS Word.
7.6.2 Insert WordArt
To insert a WordArt, follow the steps given below.

1. Click WordArt icon in the text group of the insert menu.

2. Select suitable WordArt type and click.
3. Type some text.

Figure 7.17: Insert a WordArt

Note: Formatting the fonts and paragraphs will be similar to what we have learnt in MS Word.
Further, you can follow the same methods we have used in MS Word, when working with
bullets and numbered lists. Refer to the relevant sections we learnt under MS Word.

7.6.3 Insert a Footer and Slide numbers

To insert a footer and slide numbers, follow the steps given below:
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1. Click Header and Footer icon in the text group.
2. Click (tick off) Slide number and footer check boxes in the Header and Footer window.
3. Add some text in to footer area such as „Introduction to MS Power point‟.
4. Click Apply or “Apply to All”.

Note: You can insert Date and Time too to your slides using the above dialog box.

Figure 7.18: Insert header and footer window

7.7 Formatting backgrounds and layout

The background is the colour, texture, pattern, or image that is applied to the entire slide (or
slide master), on which everything else sits. It's important to understand the distinction between a
background and a background graphic because even though most themes contain both, they are
set up differently, and making the change you want to the overall appearance of your slides often
involves changing both.
To Change the background, follow the steps given below,
1. Right click on the any slide (Shortcut menu will be appeared).
2. Click Format background (Format background window will be appeared).
You have two ways to fill your slide background, such as fill effect of picture. To add colour
effect select fill and change the background colour as you wish.

Figure 7.19: Format Background

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Figure 7.20: Background selection Window

3. If you need to apply this effect on the all slide click Apply to all otherwise click Close.

In order to change the background style we can use two methods.

7.7.1 Change the background style using Ribbon

On the right side of the Design Tab/Ribbon you’ll see a Background Styles choice. Click the
down arrow to the right of Background Styles. The menu screen on the right will appear.

Figure 7.21: Select a Background style

7.7.1 Change the background using Format Background menu

Right click on the selected slide and click Format Background in the shortcut menu.
The Format Background menu screen will appear. Notice that there are several choices: Solid
fill, Gradient fill, and Picture or texture fill. Click and try out each.

7.7.2 Change the Slide Layout

When you change the layout, it will change the type and/or positioning of the placeholders on it.
To switch a slide to a different layout, follow these steps:
1. Select the slide(s) to affect.
2. On the Home tab, click Layout. A menu of layouts appears.
3. Click on the desired layout.
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7.8 Applying Themes

The structure of the slide including the background colours, artworks, fonts, text positions, etc.
will vary depending on the Theme you have applied in to your slide(s). For those who are
familiar with previous versions of PowerPoint, Themes are similar to the Design Templates. For
those using PowerPoint for the first time, we’ll show you how to use Design Templates on
individual slides, or on all of the slides in your presentation. If you are not on the Design
Tab/Ribbon, click the Design Tab. You will see the Themes Group.

Figure 7.22: Themes Group

7.8.1 Insert Themes in to all slides

Click the Design Tab. You will see the Themes Group, select suitable themes and click on the
selected themes.
7.8.2 Insert Themes in to Selected Slides
Click the Design Tab. You will see the Themes Group, select suitable themes and right click on
the selected themes. Click Apply to Selected Slides in the shortcut menu.

Figure 7.23: Insert Themes to selected slides

7.9 Using Slide Master

Let's review the relationship one more time between slide masters and themes. A theme is a set of
formatting spaces. Themes are not applied directly to slides-they are applied to slide masters,
which are then in turn applied to slides. The slide masters exist within the presentation file itself.
You can change them by applying different themes, but they are essentially "built in" to the
presentation file. When you change to a different theme for all of the slides in the presentation,
your slide master changes its appearance. You can manage the changes to be done for the
appearance of all slides using the Slide Master View. As long as all of the slides in the
presentation use the same theme, you need only one slide master. However, if you apply a
different theme to some of your slides, you need another master, because a master can have only
one theme applied to it at a time. PowerPoint automatically creates the additional master(s) for
you, and they are all available for editing in Slide Master View.

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If you later reapply a single theme to all of the slides in the presentation, you do not need
multiple masters anymore, so the unused one is automatically deleted. In addition to all this
automatic creation and deletion of slide masters, you can also manually create and delete slide
masters on your own. Any slide masters that you create manually are automatically preserved,
even if they aren't always in use. You must manually delete them if you don't want them
anymore. In the following sections, you will learn how to create and change slide masters
manually.

7.9.1 Creating a Slide Master

To create/change slide master, follow the steps given below,
1. Click View.
2. Click Slide master (Slide master view will be appeared).
3. Click insert Slide master/ Edit the slide master.
4. Click Close master view.

7.9.2 Slide Master Tools

There are several tools available in the slide master view. Brief description of each tool is given
bellow.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Figure 7.24: Tools available in the Slide master

No Name Description
1 Insert Slide master To insert slide master click here
2 Insert layout To insert new layout click here
3 Insert placeholder To insert place holder click here there are several
types such as continents, text, picture, smart Art etc.
4 Insert title and footers Click here to insert title and footer
5 Themes Click here to insert new themes
6 Edit themes Click here to edit themes such as colors, Fonts and
effects
7 Background style Click here to change background style
8 Page setup Click here to change the page setup
9 Close Master view Click here to close slide master view

Table 7.2: Tools available in the Master View

7.9.3 Working with slide masters

The easiest way to make the same change to all slides or slides that use a specific layout is to
change the slide master, also called the master slide. For example, imagine that you like a theme,
but want to change a specific design element of the theme. You may want a different bullet style,

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slide titles that are center-aligned instead of left-aligned, or an accent line under each slide title.
You can quickly make these changes and more by modifying the slide master.

Slide Master View

To View the Slide Master:

• Select the View tab.

• Click the Slide Master View command in the Presentation Views group.
The slide master view appears similar to normal view; however, in slide master view master
slides are displayed in the task pane rather than actual slides. The first thumbnail image in the
task pane on the left is the slide master that controls all the slides (See Figure 7.25 below). If you
want to make a change to all the slides in a presentation, you can do so by changing this slide.

Slide master that

controls all slides

Slide Master
Task Pane

Figure 7.25: Slide Master View

Changing all slides via slide master

Any change that you can make to a slide in normal view can be made to the slide master so the
change will be reflected on all the slides in the presentation. The following examples will show
how you can make these changes, and move from the Slide Master tab to other tabs on the
Ribbon while the presentation remains in slide master view.
To Insert a Picture on All Slides
1. Select the View tab.
2. Click the Slide Master View command in the Presentation Views group. The Slide
Master tab will appear.
3. Select the slide master for all the slides, if it is not currently selected.
4. Select the Insert tab.
5. Click the Picture command in the Illustrations group. The Insert Picture dialog box will
appear.
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6. Locate the picture file on the computer.
7. Select the picture file.
8. Click Insert. The picture will appear on the slide master.
9. Position the picture as you wish.

Figure 7.26: Changing Slides via Slide Master View

10. Click the Slide Show View or Normal View command at the bottom of the window to
exit slide master.
11. View and see the changes in the presentation slides.
(You will see that the picture has been inserted into all slides in the same location)

Note: Similarly, you can do the changes with the text, images or any other component in
the slides using the slide master as described above.

Making Changes to Specific Layouts

In addition to changing design elements on all slides, you can change design elements on slides
that use a specific layout. For example, you can apply different formatting to the Title and
Content or Section Header layouts. By customizing specific slide layouts, you have more control
over the slides and the presentation, as a whole.

7.10 Self Assessment Questions

7.1 What is PowerPoint? State the use of it.
7.2 State five new features introduced in MS PowerPoint 2007.
7.3 What are the available views to display the PowerPoint presentations? Briefly describe
them.
7.4 Which view is used to create and edit slides in MS PowerPoint?
7.5 In PowerPoint, what is the use of hyperlinks?

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7.6 How could you insert the date and time into your slides?
7.7 Describe the relationship between the slide masters and themes in PowerPoint?
7.8 How could you make a logo to appear on every slide in a presentation?
7.9 What is the default file extension for MS PowerPoint 2007 files?

UNIT 8

Introduction to Databases and Microsoft Access 2007

Introduction:

To provide an overview about Database Management Systems (DBMS) and introduce you to
one of DBMS: MS Access 2007

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT, you will be able to get an idea about:

• What a database is
• What a Database Management System is
• Microsoft Access 2007
• Creating a database using MS Access
• Working with MS Access databases

8.1 Introduction to Databases

A database is a structured collection of records or data. A computer database is a kind of software

to organize the storage of data. Databases help you organize this related information in a logical
fashion for easy access and retrieval. To develop a database, there are several models used such
as Hierarchical model, Network model, Relational model, Object-Oriented model etc. Though
discussing about these models in details is beyond the level of this course unit, for the sake of
completion, some models are briefed below.

8.1.1 Hierarchical model

In a hierarchical model, data is organized into an inverted tree-like structure. This structure
arranges the various data elements in a hierarchy and helps to establish logical relationships
among data elements of multiple files. Each unit in the model is a record which is also known as
a node. Each record has a single parent.

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Figure 8.1: Hierarchical Model
8.1.2 Network model
The network model tends to store records with links to other records. Each record in the database
can have multiple parents, i.e., the relationships among data elements can have a many to many
relationships. So this model is an expansion to the hierarchical structure, allowing many-to-many
relationships in a tree-like structure that allows multiple parents.

The network model provides greater advantage than the hierarchical model in that it promotes
greater flexibility and data accessibility.

Figure 8.2: Network Model

8.1.3 Relational model

The relational model for the database management is a database model based on relations. The
basic data structure of the relational model is a table where information about a particular entity
(say, a student) is represented in columns and rows. The columns enumerate the various
attributes (i.e. characteristics) of an entity (e.g. student name, address, registration _number).
The rows (also called records) represent instances of an entity (e.g. specific student).

We will be following the relational database model within this course and designing and using
such databases will be covered within the next two UNITs.

8.1.4 Object –Oriented model

In this Model we have to discuss the functionality of the object oriented Programming. It takes
more than storage of programming language objects. It provides full-featured database
programming capability, while containing native language compatibility. It adds the database
functionality to object programming languages. This approach is the analogical of the application
and database development into a constant data model and language environment. Applications
require less code, use more natural data modeling, and code bases are easier to maintain. Object
developers can write complete database applications with a decent amount of additional effort.

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But object-oriented databases are more expensive to develop.

8.2 Database Management System

A Database Management System (DBMS) is computer software designed for the purpose of
managing databases based on a variety of data models. A DBMS is a complex set of software
programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database.
DBMS are categorized according to their data structures or types, sometime DBMS is also
known as a Database Manager. Data management tasks fall into one of four general categories
as given below:
• Entering data into the database.
• Housekeeping tasks such as updating data, deleting obsolete records, and backing up the
database.
• Sorting the data: arranging or re-arranging the database’s records.  Obtaining subsets
of data.
There are several advantages in DBMS such as reduced data redundancy and inconsistency,
enhanced data integrity, improved security etc.

8.3 Basic terminology in Databases

These terms are used often in Database Management Systems, so you need to become familiar
with them before using the database management system, MS Access in this UNIT. A brief and a
simple description on some basic terms are given below.

8.3.1 Database
A database is an organized collection of the related information.

8.3.2 Object
An object is a component in the database such as a table, query, form, report, or macro, etc.

8.3.3 Table
A table is a group of related data organized in fields (columns) and records (rows) on a datasheet.
By using a common field in two tables, the data can be combined. Many tables can be stored in a
single database.

8.3.4 Field
A field is a column on a datasheet and defines a data type for a set of values in a table. For a
mailing list table might include fields for first name, last name, address, city, and telephone
number.

8.3.5 Record
A record is a row on a datasheet and do fields define a set of values. In a mailing list table, each
record would contain the data for one person as specified by the intersecting fields.

Let’s see some of the above items in the following table.

Table/Entity name: Employee

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8.3.6 Primary key
A primary key is used to uniquely identify each row in a table. It can either be a part of the actual
record itself, or it can be an artificial field (one that has nothing to do with the actual record). A
primary key can consist of one or more fields on a table. When multiple fields are used as a
primary key, they are called as a composite key.

8.3.7 Foreign key

A foreign key is a field (or fields) that points to the primary key of another table. The purpose of
the foreign key is to ensure referential integrity of the data.

8.3.8 Relationships
Two tables/entities in a database may relate to each other using one or more common attribute.
There are three types of relationships among tables namely, One-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-
many.

One to one relationship

Table A has a relationship to table B in that each entry in A has one and only one corresponding
entry in B.

For an example, think of a university database which maintains tables of data related to a
University. This database may contain tables as follows:

Table/Entity Description Attributes

name
Lecturer Stores data related to all lecturers of the Lecturer ID, Name, Sex,
university Faculty joined, Date joined
Faculty Stores data related to all faculties in the Faulty ID, Name, Location,
University Dean ID, Year established
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Student Stores data related to all students in the Student ID, Name, Age,
University Courses follow
Dean Stores data related to all Deans of the Dean ID, Name, Faculty ID,
University
Table 8.1: Tables in the University Database

Consider the two entities, Faculty and the Dean in the above university database. The data item
comes under the attribute Dean ID of the Science faculty is found in only one place of the Dean
table under the attribute Dean ID. In other words, the table Faculty has one and only one
corresponding entry in table Dean. In simple words, one faculty has only one Dean and one dean
is holding the deanship in only one faculty. Therefore, we say that the relationship between the
two entities Faculty and Dean is of type One-to-one. This relationship can be illustrated by a
diagram as follows.

Figure 8.4: One-to-one relationship

One-to-Many relationship
Table A has a relationship to table B such that many entries in B can refer to one entry in A.
Consider the above University database. Think of the relationship between the two entities
Faculty and Lecturer. Each faculty may have many lecturers but each lecturer is joined only in
one faculty. Therefore, we say that the relationship between the two entities Faculty and Lecturer
is of type One-to-many. This relationship can be illustrated by a diagram as follows.

Figure 8.5: One-to-Many Relationship

Many-to-Many relationship
Table A has a relationship to table B such that many entries to A can map to many entries in B.
Consider the above University database. Think of the relationship between the two entities
Lecturer and Student. Each lecturer teaches many students and each student is taught by many
lecturers. Therefore, we say that the relationship between the two entities Lecturer and Student is
of type Many-to-many. This relationship can be illustrated by a diagram as follows.

Figure 8.6: Many-to-Many Relationship

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8.4 Different Database Management Applications

There are several different database management applications which are not only meant for
entering and retrieving information but also they facilitate simultaneous updates and queries
from multiple users.

Some of the database management applications are listed below:

1. Oracle
2. MySQL/ SQL Server
3. Microsoft Access
4. IBM DB2
5. Sybase

8.5 Introduction to Microsoft Access 2007

Microsoft Office Access is a relational database management system which is a production from
Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user
interface and software development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office 2007 suit.

8.5.1 Start Microsoft Access

1. Click Start ->All programs ->Microsoft Office ->Microsoft Office Access 2007
OR
2. Double click the icon shown below found in any location (an Access file will be
created on that location).

Figure 8.7: Microsoft Office Access 2007 icon

8.5.2 Create a new database

After opening Access, you will be presented with the window shown below. Select Blank
Database in the New Blank Database category. Enter the database file name and select the path
where you want to save your database and click Create.

Figure 8.8: Select Database type

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Figure 8.9: Create a Database

8.5.3 User interface of MS Access 2007

By
Title bar

Office button

Ribbon with Home

Quick Access Tab selected
tool bar

Navigation Pane
to navigate
among all objects:
Tables, Queries, Document window
Forms, Reports,
etc.

default, Microsoft Access starts with the following user interface.

Figure 8.10: Microsoft Access 2007 user interface
8.5.4 Opening an Existing Database
When you start Access without opening a database, you will see the Getting Started with
Microsoft Office Access window. To open an existing database, follow the steps given below.

1. Open Microsoft Access 2007.

2. Select Local Templates.
3. Select one of the local template categories.

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Figure 8.11: Local Templates

For an example, we can use “Students” template.

4. Give a file name.
5. Click Create.

8.5.5 Closing an Existing Database

To close the already opened data base:
1. Make sure that you have saved all changes done.
2. Click Office button.
3. Click Close database.

8.5.6 Objects available in Access 2007

You can create tables, forms, reports, queries, macros, and modules in a Microsoft Access 2007
database. Some of the objects that will be discussing deeply within this course material are
briefed below.

Tables: Tables are the core database objects. Their purpose is to store information. The purpose
of every other database object is to interact in some manner with one or more tables.

Queries: Queries are database objects that locate specific information stored in a table and allow
you to view and manipulate the results. The results of a query can be used as the basis for forms,
reports, and data access pages.

Reports: A database object used to display table information in a formatted, easily accessible
manner, either on the screen or on paper. It can include items from multiple tables and queries,
values calculated from information in the database, and formatting elements such as headers,
footers, titles, and headings.
Forms: A form is a way to pass data into your Access tables.

8.6 Exploring Tables

Every Access object has two or more views. For tables, the two most common views are the
Datasheet view, in which you can see and modify the table's data, and the Design view, in which
you can see and modify the table's structure.

8.6.1 Open a table in Datasheet view

To open a table in datasheet view, follow the steps given below,
1. Either double-click its name in the Navigation Pane, or right-click its name.
2. Click Open.

Figure 8.12: Table in Datasheet view

8.6.2 Open a table in Design view

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To open a table in Design view:
1. Go to the Left navigation pane and right click on the name of the table to be opened.
2. Click „Design view‟.

After an object is opened, you can switch between views by clicking one of the View icons in the
lower-right corner of the program window, or by clicking the View arrow in the Views group on
the Home tab, and then selecting a view from the list. If you simply click the View button Access
switches between different views in a logical manner as it is not opting the user to select the
required view‟. If the current view is not the Design view, it switches to Design view. If you
click it again, the table switches to Datasheet view. When other database objects are active,
clicking the View switches between views in a similar manner.

Data Sheet view Design view

Pivot Table view Pivot Chart view

Figure 8.13: Design view of Student table

Note: More descriptive details on working with tables are given in the next UNIT (UNIT 20).

8.7 Exploring Queries

You can locate specific information stored in a table, or in multiple tables, by creating a query
specifying the parameters of the information you want to find.

8.7.1 Opening a Query

To open a Query,
1. In the Navigation Pane, click Queries (The database window displays all the queries that
have been saved as part of this database).
2. Right-click the selected query, and then click Open.

Figure 8.14: Opening a Query

8.7.2 Open a Query in design view

To open a Query in design view,

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1. In the Navigation Pane, Right click Queries.
2. Click design view.

Figure 8.15: Design View of a Query

Note: More descriptive details on working with Queries are given in the next UNIT (UNIT20)

8.8 Exploring Forms

A form is essentially a window containing controls that either display information to people or
accept information that people enter. Access provides a collection of standard Windows controls,
such as labels, text boxes, option buttons, and check boxes. With a little ingenuity, you can create
forms that look and work much like the dialog boxes in all Windows applications.
A form acts as a friendly interface for a table. Through a form, you can display and edit the
records of the underlying table, or create new records. As with tables and queries, you can
display forms in several views.
The three most common views are:
• Form view, in which you enter data.
• Datasheet view, which looks essentially like a table.
• Design view, in which you work with the elements of the form to refine the way it looks
and works.

8.8.1 Opening a Form

To open a Form, select a Form and Right Click on the mouse and then Click Open.

Figure 8.16: Opening a Form

8.8.2 Open a Form in design view

To open a Form, select a form and Right Click on the mouse and then Click Design view.

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Figure 8.17: Design view of a Form
Note: More descriptive details on working with Forms are given in the UNIT 21.

8.9 Exploring Reports

The different sections of a report such as header, footer, details, titles... can be formatted as you
wish such that the report gives your information taken from table(s) in a more readable and
attractive manner.
You can look at reports in four views:
• Design View, in which you can manipulate the design of a report in the same way that
you manipulate a form.
• Report View, where you can scroll through the information in the report without the page
breaks inserted when it is printed.
• Print Preview, in which you see your report exactly as it will look when printed.
• Layout View, which displays the data in the report (similar to Print Preview) but enables
you to edit the layout.
8.9.1 Opening a Report in the Layout view
To open a Report, select a report and right click on the mouse then click open.

Figure 8.18: Opening a Report

Note: More descriptive details on working with Reports are given in the UNIT 21.

8.10 Save your database in other formats

Microsoft 2007 basically supports with three database formats such as Access 2007 database
format, Access 2002-2003 database format, and Access 2000 database format.
To save Access database in other formats, follow the steps given below:
1. Click Office button.
2. Click Save As.
3. Select the suitable access database file format and Click.

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Figure 8.19: Save Database in another format

8.11 Encrypt with a password

You can secure your database by Encrypting with a password. Follow the steps given below.
1. Click Database tools.
2. Click Encrypt password (Set Database Password window will be appeared).

Figure 8.20: Set Database Password

3. Enter your password twice (the latter is to confirm your entry).
4. Click OK.

8.12 Decrypt the database

Once you encrypted your database, you can decrypt it by following the steps given below.
1. Open your database as exclusive mode.
2. Click Database tools.
3. Click Decrypt database (Unset Database Password window will be appeared as shown
here).

Figure 8.21: Decrypt Password

4. Enter your password.

5. Click OK.

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8.13 Self Assessment Questions

8.1 What is a Database? Briefly describe the four types of database models.
8.2 Briefly describe the following key components of relational database model.
a. Entity b. Attribute c. Relationship
8.3 What is Database Management System (DBMS)? State the advantages of it.
8.4 Give five examples for Database Management applications.
8.5 What is MS-Access? Briefly describe the objects available in MS-Access 2007.
8.6 What are the differences between a form and a report in MS Access?
8.7 When working with tables, what is the purpose of having “Datasheet view” and the “Design
view”?
8.8 Define the following terms.
a. Primary key b. Foreign key
8.9 Using suitable examples, define the possible types of relationships between two tables or
entities in a database?
8.10 What is the difference between the “Print Preview” and “Layout view” of an Access report?

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UNIT 9

Introduction to the Internet

Introduction:

Introduce Internet to the student.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:

• Define what Internet is

• List facilities/benefits of Internet
• Describe the ways to connect to Internet

9.1 The Internet: an introduction

Each day the number of Internet users is increasing rapidly and the Internet has indeed become
an integral part of our day-to-day life. The Internet can be compared to an Aladdin’s magic lamp
which fulfills your requirements. If you are new to the Internet then it’s time to get your hands
dirty and learn how you can use the Internet and get things done within seconds.

Let’s see some interesting quotes on Internet by some well-known personalities:

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
Bill Gates

The Internet could be a very positive step towards education, organization and participation in
meaningful society.
Noam Chomsky

A lot of things you want to do as part of daily life can now be done over the Internet.
Marc Andreessen

Whether you are a novice Internet user or an expert in handling the Internet services efficiently,
this would be an interesting learning experience.

9.1.1 What is Internet? The

Internet,
• is a global system of interconnected computer networks
• is a network of networks
• uses the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide 
is a product with no owner
Having considered the above key features, the Internet can be defined as the network of
networks which is interconnected with millions of computers all over the world including small
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domestic computers, academic, business and government networks. Internet connects these
different computers using TCP/IP. TCP/IP is the abbreviation for Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol.

Note: TCP/IP
TCP/IP is the communication protocol for the Internet. TCP/IP defines the rule
which computers must follow to communicate with each other over the
internet. Even though TCP/IP uses several protocols the two main protocols are
TCP and IP.

In other words, The Internet also can be described as massive data storage which is accessible to
anyone at any time which carries various information and services, such as electronic mail,
online chat, file transfer and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide
Web (WWW). Apart from these, there are some special features which are worth knowing
regarding the internet. Do you know who owns the Internet? The answer is that the Internet has
no owner. Another key fact is that the Internet is Multimedia-based and retrieving information
and giving information is cheap and fast. To accomplish these tasks, the Internet has large
number of servers.

To clearly understand the operations of the Internet, it’s essential to know the concept of
client/server. You have already learnt about this terminology under the UNIT on „Computer
Networks” within this course material. A client is an application or system that requests a service
from a server or access a service made available by a server. Apparently you may guess the
functionalities of the server from this. A server is a computer system which responds to the
requests made by the clients. Figure 9.1 shows the interaction between a client and a server.

Figure 9.1 Client - Server interaction

Although normally clients and servers communicate over a computer network, there are some
conditions where the client and the server reside in the same system. A client does not share any
of its resources instead it requests a server’s content or service function. Thus millions of clients
are connected to the servers to acquire these services. The transmission between the clients and
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servers takes place by a digital networking communication method called “ Packet switching”.
All the data which are to be transferred, regardless of its content, structure and type is grouped
into blocks called packets. A communication protocol called Internet Protocol (IP) is used for
relaying these network packets across the Internet.

Therefore in short, we can say that the internet is a client-server system which transmits data by
packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP).

9.1.2 The history of the Internet

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."
Gogh, Vincent Van.

Do you know that the Internet has a fascinating story behind it? Let's look at some of the key
events which took place in the history of the Internet.

In the 1960s computers were situated in different locations and the information stored in one
computer that could not be retrieved from a computer which is in another location. Sharing data
amongst different Universities was considered as a tedious task by the scientists and some
researchers who were involved in researches from different locations. In the late 1960s, some of
the far-sighted experts in the U.S. Department of Defense predicted that this could be a serious
problem if they encounter a natural disaster or an enemy attack in a particular location. They
initiated a project named ARPANET with the intention of establishing a computer network
nationally, so that they could withstand any destruction in a particular location because they can
easily retrieve the data from other locations.

ARPANET served as a test-bed for the new networking technologies. The primary goal of this
project was to create a computer network with multiple paths using telephone lines. The next
thing which was taken into consideration was that to allow people to share the resources in their
computers from remote locations.

ARPANET started with connecting the computer systems and databases of most business
institutions, schools and Government organizations from faraway places. Starting with only a
handful of users ARPANET expanded rapidly and spread widely. A host is similar to a network
server and it provides services to all the computers which are connected to it. At the beginning
there were four primary host computers. The number of hosts increased and this lead to a rapid
growth in the usage of the ARPANET. In 1973, people began to use ARPANET in Europe and
the usage of this network grew even faster. The National Science Foundation joined the project
in the mid-1980s expecting that the supercomputers‟ users can use ARPANET to obtain access.
They discovered that the existing network could not handle the load and created a new network
with higher capacity as a counterpart to the ARPANET. This led to a concept called the Internet.
The connection between ARPANET, NSF net and other network were collectively called as the
“Networked network” – being internetworked and the name the Internet derived from this
concept.

The system which was initiated to survive the nuclear war evolved itself to cater individuals who
use computers from home and of course to the business. This brought an astounding expansion
in the usage of the Internet. Today we see online advertisements, online order processing, online
buying and these have not only made our lives easy going but also had improved the quality of
living to a greater extent.

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9.1.3 Differences between Internet and World Wide Web
Although the Internet and www are blend with each other and we tend to use these two words
interchangeably in day to day life, they are technically different from each other.

Let’s imagine that we go to a restaurant to have a lunch. Usually every restaurant has a popular
dish which is popular and unique only to that particular restaurant. Sometimes we call that
restaurant by the dish name instead of the actual name of it . Wondering how is this related to the
Internet and the www! Let’s see the following explanations.

Figure 9.2: The Internet Hotel

Internet Protocols
Internet Refers to Description Internet
Protocol Services
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer A protocol for sending email Email
Protocol messages between servers

POP3 Post Office Protocol Used by local e-mail clients email

version 3 to retrieve e-mail from a
remote server over a TCP/IP
connection
FTP File Transfer Protocol This is used to transfer files Transferring
from one host to another host files
over a TCP-based network,
such as the Internet.

HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Defines how messages are World Wide
Protocol formatted and transmitted, Web(www)
and what actions Web servers
and browsers should take in
response to the wide range of
commands.

HTTPS Hyper Text Transfer Provides authentication of the World Wide

Protocol Secure web site and associated web Web(www)
server and protects against
man-in-the-middle attacks.

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VoIP Voice over Internet This enables people to use Online
Protocol the Internet as the chat(there are
transmission medium for exceptions)
telephone calls.

Table 9.1: The Internet Protocols

The Internet uses a variety of languages to transmit information from one place to the other.
These languages are called protocols. Using these protocols we can acquire the services from the
Internet. Each protocol has a specific functionality and www is considered to be the largest
service acquired amongst the services provided by the Internet. If we take the above analogy in
the hotel, we have seen in many hotels that even though there are so many dishes available, only
one of these dishes will be popular. Likewise although there are so many services available in
the Internet the most popular dish on the menu is www.

Internet is an interconnection of computer networks all around the world. In other words, it is the
hardware which forms the physical layer to these connections is what we refer to as the Internet.
Hence, the Internet comprises of network of computers, fiber-optic cables, copper wires and
wireless networks. But www is the software which is used to access the information from the
Internet. It consists of files, folders and the documents which are stored in different computers.
Now it is crystal clear to you that the www depends on the Internet to work.

9.1.4 Introducing the Internet buzz words

World Wide Web
WWW is a part of the Internet which functions using HTML. WWW operates under a protocol
called HTTP.

Browser
A browser is a computer software which can be used to view documents on the Internet. Web
browsers interpret HTML code and display images and text.
Search Engine
Search engine is an automated web-site which is programmed to search specified keywords and
give the websites and Internet based documents as a result.

Client
A computer which is capable of receiving the information from the server in the Internet is called
a client. A home PC is an ideal example for this.

Server
Client computers download files in the Internet from the Server. These servers are directly linked
to the internet and consist of a lot of documents.

Domain
The Domain is the top level identification string for a particular server (yahoo.com). There are
various types of domains. It can be categorized using one or more extensions.
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URL
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is a standard address format that constitutes a
reference to an Internet resource. Each URL starts with a protocol followed by a colon followed
by two slashes.
URLs are case sensitive and do not contain any spaces. URLs or web addresses can be broken
down into various components Access protocol, Service, Server, Domain and the country.

The structure of the URL is shown in the figure below.

Figure 9.3: Structure of the URL

There are several domains available in the web such as:

• edu = education institute
• com = commercial enterprise
• gov = government
• org = organization
• net = network provider
• mil = military
FTP
FTP is a standard Internet protocol which refers to the File Transfer Protocol. Using this protocol
we can transfer files from one computer to the other via Internet. This is the simplest way to
exchange files between computers on the Internet. FTP is an application protocol that uses the
Internet's TCP/IP protocols. FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page files from their creator
to the computer that acts as their server for everyone on the Internet. It's also commonly used to
download programs and other files to your computer from other servers. ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/

HTML

HTML is the abbreviation for Hyper Text Markup Language. The web pages are called hypertext
documents because when you click a word or a picture which is hyper linked you can go to
another location. From there you can jump to another webpage. This is made possible because
HTML allows the document’s author to embed hyperlinks.

HTTP
HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web. HTTP (Hypertext
Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and
other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. When the browser user enters file requests by
either "opening" a Web file (typing in a Uniform Resource Locator or URL) or clicking on a

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hypertext link, the browser builds an HTTP request and sends it to the Internet Protocol address
(IP address) indicated by the URL. The HTTP daemon in the destination server machine receives
the request and sends back the requested file or files associated with the request. Example
URL: http://www.yahoo.com

HTTPS
HTTPS stands for “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure”. This means that the data transferred
electronically is encrypted and cannot be accessed by unauthorized people. HTTPS provides
authentication of the web-site and related web server which is interacting with thus protecting
against Man-in-the middle attacks.

9.2 Identifying facilities/benefits of Internet

The Internet provides a wide spectrum of services which supports us in many ways. We’ll
discuss these facilities in detail now. The Internet not only enables you to look at the documents
and images but also you may listen to sound files and watch videos. You are not limited to a
small circle of facilities like obtaining information from the massive collection of data but you
can go beyond that and publish your own creations and others will be able to acquire those
without any problem. Hence transferring files from one place to other had made things easier for
those who live in geographically dispersed locations. This kind of global distribution of the
Internet is certainly an advantage for international communication.
Now let’s have a brief look at the different facilities available in Internet.

9.2.1 WWW
You don’t have to go to the library situated miles away and exhausted. The Internet had brought
a revolution in accessing information. Accessing the information is made simple and easy, now.
By surfing the web browser users can acquire the necessary information quickly and accurately.

9.2.2 E-mail
This is one the most frequently used Internet services. A mail can be sent by directly typing the
e-mail message using the keyboard or by attaching the files in the disk. E-mail system is
included in most Main frames, Mini computers and computer networks. Refer UNIT 24 for
further details.

9.2.3 Chat
Users can send and respond to messages in real time that is there is no waiting period between
sending and receiving messages as in e-mail. Usually this communication takes place within two
people, but there can be groups as well.

9.2.4 Telnet
Telnet is a network protocol which provides a bidirectional interactive text oriented
communication facility. You will be able to control the server and interact with the other servers
on the network. A telnet UNIT is commenced by logging into a server using a username and
password. This is well known to control Web servers remotely.

9.2.5 VoIP

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This is the abbreviation for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP systems allow voice data to travel
over the Internet thus by-passing the regular telephone service.

Now let’s have a look at some benefits of Internet in detail.

One of the main benefits of the Internet is that the communication is made easy. Not only has it
facilitated human interaction to become simple but also it has improved the quality of
communication to a greater extent. Sending emails, chatting, sending SMS through the Internet
and the usage of VoIP are some of the services provided by the Internet to upgrade the quality
communication.

Next benefit is the availability of an immense knowledgebase. Searching relevant information is

made easy by using www, News group and discussion groups.

File transferring using the FTP and advertising are some other well-known benefits.

9.3 Connecting to the Internet

Internet which is accessed by many people and businesses has now become the aspiration in the
commercial world. People have enhanced facilities like they can work while they are at home. So
it is apparent that the Internet had made things simple.

If you are willing to enjoy the facilities in the Internet the first thing you need to do is that you
need to have an Internet connection. There are several ways to obtain access to the Internet. The
way by which the users connect to the Internet is called the Internet Access. Are you keen to
know the different methods to connect to the Internet? Let’s discuss about them.

9.3.1 Dial-up Connections

Basic dial-up packages are used in some businesses. Several Internet Service Providers (ISP)
provide access to the Internet and they charge a fixed amount for such a service. This is
appropriate when we need the Internet access for a longer period.

Let’s see how we connect to the Internet in a Dial-up connection.

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Figure 9.4: Dial-up internet Connection

We can access Internet by using a modem and a telephone line. This type of Internet access
method is common in homes and small businesses. We can easily create this connection by
setting up an inexpensive account. Hence this type of connection saves money. More than that by
using the dial-up connection we can save a lot of time, and its quiet convenient. In addition dial-
up connections provides new services to the users.

9.3.2 Landline

Figure 9.5: Landline

This is also called as mainline or fixed line. The data is transferred through the solid medium
either through a metal wire or optic fiber. This has a significant difference from the mobile
cellular service. In a cellular line the medium used is air but the landline uses a solid medium.

Landline has some advantages when compared to a mobile cellular line. Landline cost less than
the mobile cellular line. Furthermore, landline has a better voice quality. We can use this in the
areas where we do not have the cellular service or where we need no mobility. Since the landline
cannot be interrupted without physical access, this is considered to be a more secure mode of
communication.

9.3.3 T-lines

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T-lines are telephone lines comprised of either fiber optic or copper wires that offer 24 individual
channels. Each of these channels supports data and voice transmissions at speed of 64Kbits per
second.
Some of the telephone companies offer some of these lines called fractional T-1 access.

9.3.4 Wi-Fi

Figure 9.6: The Wi-Fi technology

Wi-Fi is a technology where we can exchange data wirelessly using radio waves. This
technology band is owned by the Wi-Fi alliance.

Let’s have a look at some of the common applications of Wi-Fi.

Most of these applications are carried out using smart phones. Internet, playing games, VoIP
phone access, and network connectivity for televisions, digital audio player, cameras and DVD
players are good examples for such applications.
• Internet
• VoIP phone access
• gaming
• network connectivity for consumer electronics (Televisions, DVD players and digital
cameras)

9.3.5 Satellite

Figure 9.7: Satellite

Satellite is a specialized wireless receiver or a transmitter. Satellite is launched by a rocket and

placed in an orbit around the earth. Since this has a higher communication rate, it is expensive.
Satellites can be used to forecast the weather conditions, to telecast TV programmes and
broadcast radio programmes especially amateur radio programmes, Internet communications. We
are all well aware of the uses of Global Positioning System (GPS). A GPS Satellite is used by a
variety of people. The different uses of GPS are aiding in navigation for general aviation,

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surveying, providing emergency roadside assistance for automobiles and also for some
recreational activities. Most sophisticated system of GPS is that it shows your position in the
street map. The following figure shows an application of GPS, a vehicle tracking system.

Figure 9.8: GPS Vehicle Tracking System

9.3.6 Cell phones
Mobile phone is a long way electronic communication mechanism. There are lots of facilities
made available in a mobile phone. We can send text messages which are called SMS. We can
also send photos and videos using MMS. In addition using packet switching we can access
Internet and enjoy the facilities provided by the Internet such as email and search information.

You might have heard or used mobile phones with 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies. We can use
these phones to access the Internet. Mobile phones using 2G (Second Generation) technology for
data connection do not have an inbuilt modem. 3G which is more advanced finds
Application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access,
video calls and mobile TV. Some phones have a built-in dongle (using 3.2/7.2 HSPDA
technology) and you can find some basic functionalities of a computer in such phones. In
addition recent advancements in the mobile technology have made life easier. Today’s mobile
phones can have data connection with several other devices only by turning the phone into a
portable Wi-Fi hotspot.

The following table summarizes the different methods of Internet connectivity discussed above.
Method Advantage Disadvantage Best suited for

Dial-up • Low cost • Slow in speed Places where

Connecti • Safety • Unstable Internet access
ons • Availability • Need a phone line is needed for a
• Phone will be engaged longer period
when using the Internet

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Landline • Low cost  Can only be used in fixed Areas where
• better voice quality locations we do not have
• more secure mode of the cellular
communication service or
where we need
no mobility

T-lines • High speed  T-1 lines for a single Businesses that

• Flexible business would be very require a lot of
• Can be installed wherever costly. phone time,
a land line telephone can Internet
be installed activity and
general
uploading and
downloading.
Wi-Fi  No need for wires  Quality is Places where
 Very convenient to greatly the wiring is
access since it can be influenced by not possible or
accessed from any  the even
place. Connecting to environment unacceptable.
 Wi-Fi is easy (Simply limited radius of action
by turning on Wi-Fi)

Satellite  Available virtually  Sensitive to the heavy A remote

everywhere in the rainy day location -
regional serving area  Huge initial cost which does
- Coverage over a  Noise and interference not have
large geographical  Propagation delay terrestrial
 area Internet
Can be cheaper over access or the
long quality of
distances access
available,
is poor and
unreliable.
Cell  Instant Access  Lack of security Those who
phones everywhere  Small screen size travel around
 Portable  Incompatibility of and for
some web-sites personal
usage.
Table 9.2: Methods of internet Connectivity

9.4 Self Assessment Questions

9.1 What is the Internet? Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of the internet.
9.2 Briefly explain the interaction between a client and a server.
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9.3 What is meant by „Packet switching‟?
9.4 Briefly explain the functionality of TCP/IP.
9.5 What is meant by an „internet protocol‟? Briefly describe five of them.
9.6 Define the following terms.
a. Browser b. Domain c. URL
9.7 Briefly describe four facilities provided by the Internet.
9.8 What type of telecommunications hardware allow you to access the internet?
9.9 Briefly describe the Wi-Fi technology.
9.10 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using satellite as a method of internet
connectivity?

UNIT 10

Web Browsers & Search Engines

Introduction:

To give a brief idea on Web Browsers and Search Engines.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:
• Use a web browser to surf the Internet.
• Use search engines to find information on the Internet.

10.1 Web Browsers

You might have used web browsers like Internet explorer, Google chrome, Mozilla Firefox and
Netscape Navigator etc. to browse the Internet. A web browser is a software application which is
enabled to find hypertext documents and is used for retrieving, presenting and traversing
information in the World Wide Web. This application is stored in your computer’s hard disk.
Although the web browsers with graphical user interface are popular among the general public it

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is important to keep in mind that there are many text-based Web browsers too, which are used in
non-graphical operating systems.

The important feature of the Web is that they are created in a format known as hypertext which
enables them to be linked together. A large collection of data including text files, pictures,
sounds, movies and more can be accommodated by this Hypertext system.

Before launching your web browser you need to connect to the Internet. When you have
established the Internet connection, follow these steps to launch your browser.
1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar. You will see the start menu unveiled.
2. Click All Programs.
3. Click Internet Explorer or any other browser name installed in your computer.

10.1.1 Introducing different web browsers

Let’s see some examples of web browsers. See Figure 10.1 given below.

Figure 10.1: Common Web Browsers

Although there are different types of web browsers they have one functionality in common, they
all transfer hypertext. Browsers consist of a toolbar which comprises of various functions. Some
of these functions are listed below.
• Book mark your favorite webpage for future reference.
• The first page of a web-site is called Home page. You’ll be able to go back to the home page
while you are in some other page of that web-site.
• Print the required information from the web.
• Check the sites we have visited using History.
Now let us see how you can install the browser. We are going to show you Mozilla Firefox
installation procedure here. You can try out installing other browsers based on the experience
you gain here.

Check the system requirements to check whether your machine is compatible with the features in
the browser. You can check the system requirements in the Firefox website.

The System requirement for Firefox 20 is given below. We have only included the requirements
needed in a Windows operating system. If you are using any other operating system please visit
the following web link: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/20.0/system-requirements/

Windows Operating Systems

• Windows XP SP2
• Windows Server 2003 SP1
• Windows Vista

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• Windows 7
• Windows 8

Please note that while the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 can be
used to run Firefox 20, only 32-bit builds of Firefox 20 are supported at this time.

Recommended Hardware

• Pentium 4 or newer processor that supports SSE2

• 512MB of RAM
• 200MB of hard drive space

Now it is time to learn how we can install Mozilla Firefox to your computer.

Step 1: Visit the Firefox Download Page at http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ in any browser

(such as Microsoft Internet Explorer).

Figure 10.2: Firefox Download Page

Step 2: Click the download button as indicated in figure 10.2 and the setup file will begin to
download to your computer. Once the download completes, it is recommended that you exit all
your running programs before running the installation.

Step 3: Double-click the file to start the Firefox install wizard and click Run (See Figure 10.3).

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Figure 10.3: Firefox install wizard

Firefox setup will be downloaded to a temporary folder as shown in the Figure 10.4.

Figure 10.4: downloading Firefox setup

Figure 10.5: Internet Explorer- Security Warning Window

Step 4: A welcome screen appears. Click Next to continue.

Figure 10.6: Welcome Screen

Step 5: Read the License agreement and click on “I accept the terms in the License agreement”
and click “Next”.

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Figure 10.7: License Agreement
Step 6: The Setup Type screen appears. A "Standard" setup is selected by default (using the
custom option is only recommended for experienced users).

Figure 10.8: Selection of Firefox setup type Firefox

will now be installed.

Figure 10.9: Installation of Firefox

Step 7: Click on Finish. Now you will be able to see a Firefox shortcut button on your desktop.
Click on that and check whether it works.

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Figure 10.10: Completing the Firefox setup

10.2 User Interfaces of Web Browsers

Most of the web browsers have common user interface elements. The following figure (Figure
10.11) shows you the common interface of Mozilla Firefox. The important components are
labeled and each labeled component is briefly described in Table 10.1 below.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

Figure 10.11: User interface of Firefox

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No Name Description

1 Menus Provide various commands for using Firefox.

2 Browse Buttons Used when browsing the web. These include Back, Forward,
Refresh, Stop, and Home buttons.
3 Toolbars Used for navigation and bookmarking, among many other
functions.
4 Location Bar Text box for typing the URL of a web page.
5 Edit Bookmark Enable you to remove, name, move, or tag a bookmark.
Tools
6 Search Box Text box for typing a search term, with a menu of search engines to
select from.
7 Tabbed Pages Allow you to open multiple web pages at the same time and switch
between them by clicking on a tab.
8 Status Bar Shows the current status of the web page, such as security alerts.
9 Main Content Pane Shows the currently displayed web page.
Table 10.1: Important components of Firefox Interface We

are now going to look at some elements of well-known browsers.

10.2.1 Internet Explorer

Internet explorer is one of the commonly used web browsers. It has a friendly user interface. See
the following Figure 10.12. Search facilities are improved and you can search by clicking on the
search icon on the Toolbar.

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Figure 10.12: User interface of Internet Explorer
Let’s see the following table to identify the functionality of each icon in the main menu.
Menu item Description

File The properties of the web pages can be opened, saved or printed using this
icon.
Edit Cut, copy, paste, undo and find icons are included in this.
View The different ways in which the website can be viewed are included inside
this.
Favorites You can include the websites you visit regularly in the Favorites and return to
those sites regularly.
Tools You can view the sites you have visited using History. Furthermore you have
filtering certain sites. Popup blockers and Internet option enhances the
security risk and gives more added facilities.
Help Provides online support to those who are new to Internet Explorer.
Table 10.2: Functions of icons

10.2.2 Mozilla Firefox

This is an open source software. Different sites can be opened simultaneously in different tabs.
Additionally users can reopen the closed browser windows. This capability is called the UNIT
storage.
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Figure 10.13: Mozilla- Home
10.2.3 Google Chrome

Figure 10.14: Google Chrome

10.2.4 Saving the contents opened from the web browser

When browsing the Internet you might want to save some files in your computer. Let’s see how
we can save a web page with its‟ content so that you can refer to that later on.

To save web page in Mozilla Firefox:

1. Click on File.
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2. Select “Save Page As”.
3. Give the location where you want to save the particular file.
4. Click on Save.

To save web page in Internet Explorer

1. Click on File

(Note: If the File menu is not visible in the version of IE you use, just press the ‘Alt’ key
to view it. To permanently enable it now click in the VIEW option and choose toolbars menu
bar).
2. Select “Save Page”.
3. Give the location where you want to save the particular file.
4. Click on Save.

10.2.5 Downloading different contents from the Internet

We can browse images, audio files, video files and even more. Now let’s see how we are going to
download these different types of files from the Internet.
Some of the commonly downloaded file types are mentioned below.
1. A text document – tutorial, application form for a job/examination 2. A
Software
3. An audio – e.g.: music, speech
4. A video file – e.g.: movie, a TV programme

How to download a Text Document?

As a student you might want to download text documents like tutorials or assignments from a
web-site. People from different sectors use text documents by downloading the documents from
the Internet. These documents vary from a .txt format which merely consists of text, to pdf
format which comprises of images. Suppose you are a B.Sc. student of OUSL and you want to
download the Programme Guide for BSc Degree programme offered by the Faculty of Natural
Sciences. This is available in the Faculty of Natural Sciences page in the Open University web-
site. Let’s see how we can do this.

As shown in Figure 10.15, first go to the relevant page where you can find the text document.

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Figure 10.15: Locating the required text file

When you place the cursor on the hyperlink you will see a hand sign. This indicates that if you
click on it you will be linked to another webpage. Click on the text “Programme Guide
20122013” to open the text document. You will see the following web-page as shown in Figure
10.16. Click on “Save a Copy”. This is pointed by the arrow at the bottom.

Save a Copy

Figure 10.16: The required text file will be opened with the relevant reader software

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Then you need to give the location in your computer, where you want to save it and click “Save”
(Figure 10.17).

Figure 10.17: Saving a copy of the downloaded file

How to download a Software file?
Software can be downloaded and installed from the web. There are so many open source
software. Aren’t you interested to know how we can download software and install it in your
computer?

Downloading software is so much similar to downloading a text file. After downloading a file
you have to install it to start its performance. The installation process might vary for different
software. You need to pay attention to the instructions and proceed with it according to your
requirement.
We will show you how to download and install software, by using an example. AVG antivirus
software is freely downloadable and it prevents the computers from harmful virus attacks. Before
starting to download any software, prepare your computer to carry out the installation by reading
the installation guide carefully. The official web-site of AVG is shown in figure 10.18. You can
download the software by clicking the “Download” button.

Figure 23.18 : AVG Official web -site

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Figure 10.19: Downloading a Software
After that the installer file will start to download. When it is fully downloaded locate the installer
file and double click on it to open. Authorize the installer by clicking “ Yes” or “Run”. Read the
instructions and tailor the software according to your requirements.

In a similar way we can download music files, animations and video files and save them in the
preferred location in your computer.

Firefox Download Manager

To begin with, the download manager organizes downloads into active and completed ones,
which makes it easier to browse files and control transfers. The tiny buttons on the right "Pause",
"Retry" and "Cancel" enables the user to pause the download, download it again when necessary
and terminate download respectively (See Figure 10.20).

Play

Cancel

Figure 10.20: Downloading in progress

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Retry

Figure 10.21: Cancelled files at Downloading process

After installing double click on the file to open it. (Figure 10.22)
Double
click on
this to
open
the file

Figure 10.22: Opening a successfully downloaded file

10.3 Search Engines

Search engines, as its name implies, search and present a list of web-sites which are closely
connected to the key word in which we were seeking. There are so many search engines in the
web. We are going to see some of the popular search engines now.

10.3.1 Introducing different search engines

Google (www.google.com / www.google.lk)

Google is a popular search engine. There are a lot of improved features in it. As you can see in
the Figure 10.23 given below, searching is made easy by categorizing type of document you are
searching. If you are searching for an image of a computer, you can click on the images and type
the key word and get the images you desire so quickly. You do not have to view each and every
document and waste your time on searching. You can even search a specific file using the
advanced features. This would save your precious time and money.

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Figure 10.23: Interface of Google Search Engine

Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)

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Figure 10.24: Interface of Yahoo Search Engine

AltaVista (www.altavista.com)

Figure 10.25: Interface of AltaVista Search Engine

Ask (www.ask.com)

Figure 10.26: Interface of Ask.com

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Bing (www.bing.com)

Figure 10.27: Interface of Bing Search Engine

10.3.2 Finding information using search engines

We have dealt with some of the search engines in the previous section. We are going to use
Google search engine to demonstrate how you can find information using search engines.

Step 1: Type www.google.lk in the address bar and search. The Google home page given in
figure 10.23 will appear.
Step 2: Type the key words you want to find. Suppose you want to know how to play chess, so
all what you need to do is you have to type “How to play chess” and click “Google Search” or
click the search button.

Figure 10.28: Searching information with the keywords typed

Step 3: Now you can see the list of hyperlinks related to the keywords. Select the most suitable
one. You can search specifically for images and maps by clicking on “Images” and “maps”
respectively from the top.

10.3.3 Searching more efficiently in Google

You might know some of the techniques to search efficiently. But there are some others which
are lesser-known, and others are known but not often used.

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Now it is time to learn more about, or be reminded of, some of the best ways to get
exactly what you're looking for, and quickly.

1. Either/or
Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if
you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator -- or use the "|"
symbol.(Ex: Information | Technology.) this would search either information or technology or
both words together.

2. Quotes
If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes. [Information "communication technology"]
will only find that exact phrase. This will find pages that contain the word information and the
exact phrase "communication technology ".

3. Not
If you don't want a term or phrase, use the "-" symbol. Suppose you want to search information
about Mars which is one of the planets and you do not want to mix it up with Mars chocolate,
type as follows [Mars-chocolate] will return pages that contain only information regarding the

planet Mars (Note: Put a space before the minus sign but do not put a sign between the
minus sign and the word or phrase you want excluded).

4. Similar terms
Use the "~" symbol to return similar terms. [~flower -rose] will get you pages that contain
"flowers" but not "rose".
You can even use this as a mean of include as in this example:
Suppose you directly want to access Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
webpage in the Open University web site. Although you know the URL of the Open University,
you do not know the exact URL. What you can do is, type
www.ou.ac.lk~Mathematics and computer Science
Then see what happens. Yes, you will be directly given the web pages relevant to the Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science. Without wasting time by clicking links to access a
particular page, isn’t it easy to type the keywords in a website and search for it?

5. Wildcard
Google treats the asterisk (*) as a placeholder for 1 or more words – it can also be referred to as a
single or multiple word wildcard operator, because Google treats the asterisk as a placeholder for
any unknown term(s) for which it tries to find the best match(es).Google “fills in the blanks”
wherever there is an asterisk.
Here is an example:
You need to browse all the Power point presentations regarding the history of the Internet. You
can type,
“Internet History” * .ppt
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in the search bar. Now you can see all the links to the Power point presentations related to the
history of the Internet

6. Advanced search
If you can't remember any of these operators, you can always use Google's advanced search.
Click on “Advanced Search” to use the advanced search options. (Figure 10.29)

Figure 10.29: Advanced Search in Google

You can use these options to optimize your search. (See Figure 10.30 below)

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Figure 10.30: Advanced Search options

For further details regarding the Google Advanced Search

http://www.googleguide.com/sharpening_queries.html
Other than these there are some more features too to make searching an easy task. Try out the
things we have studied and search and find out the other techniques which can be used to make
your search more effective and efficient.

10.4 Browser Customization

10.4.1 Setting up a Homepage

The webpage that the browser loads when first opened is referred to as the homepage. You can
set your homepage to whatever webpage you like. But when the homepage you use is the
website you use on a regular basis, you can save quiet a lot of time. Here we are going to show
how you can set your home page in Mozilla Firefox. Try out and see how this can be done in
other web browsers such as Google chrome, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Suppose you want to have www.google.lk as your home page in Mozilla Firefox. Follow the
steps below:
1. Open Firefox, and click on Tools->Options.

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2. Go to “General” tab and type http://www.google.lk/ (You can use any URL you like to be
the home page to visit)

3. Click OK.
Now you will be able to see this web site whenever you open up the browser (Mozilla Firefox).

Steps to set-up home page in Internet Explorer

1. Open the web browser.
2. Select tools.
3. Click on Internet Options.
4. Select General button.
5. Insert the URL.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.

10.4.2 How to set up a Proxy for Firefox 3?

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Setting up a proxy for Firefox is pretty simple. Follow the procedure as mentioned below:
1. Open Firefox, and click on ToolsOptions.
2. Go to the Advanced Tab.
3. Under the „Advanced‟ tab section, click on Network.
4. Then under the “Connection” section, click „Settings‟ button – see Figure 10.31

Figure 10.31: Configure Browser Proxy

5. Click on the “Manual Proxy Configuration” button in the „connection setting‟ dialog box
as shown in Figure 10.32 below.
6. Now copy/paste the proxy address and port in their respective sections.

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Figure 10.32: Connection Setting Dialog Box
7. Click „OK‟.

10.4.3 Changing the „Content‟ in Options

The Content tab contains settings that allow you to change how Firefox handles certain content
on the internet. The only setting required on this tab is the Enable JavaScript option. This
setting must be enabled in order for MLS Listings (and other websites in general) to work
properly. Not having this setting enabled may cause problems.

If you are concerned about enabling JavaScript for security reasons, consider changing the
settings in the Advanced… consider the advanced Java Script Settings available as shown in
Figure 10.33 below.. Firefox allows you to disable some of the actions that JavaScript can
perform.

Figure 10.33: Changing Content

Hope you enjoyed in trying out these activities. Are you curious to know more services available
in the Internet? If yes, is your answer the next UNIT would provide details of more facilities
available in the Internet.
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10.5 Self Assessment Questions
10.1 What are Web Browsers? List five commonly used web browsers.
10.2 What do you call the first page of a web site?
10.3 Before installing a browser how can you confirm whether your machine is compatible with
the features in that browser?
10.4 State the use of following components in the user interface of a web browser.
a. Location Bar b. Search Box c. Main content Pane
10.5 When installing a web browser in your PC, what is the difference between two setup types
called „standard setup‟ and „custom setup‟?
10.6 What are Search Engines? Name three commonly used search engines.
10.7 How can you search for an exact phrase in Google?
10.8 What is the use of “Advance Search” in Google?
10.9 What is the function of wildcard operator when searching for information in Google?
10.10 What is the difference between “No proxy configurations” and “Manual proxy
configuration” in connection setting dialog box of the internet options of your browser?
10.11 What is the purpose of having the “content” tab in internet options of your browser?

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UNIT 11

Introduction to the E-mail

Introduction:

This UNIT provides an introduction to the e-mail.

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this UNIT the student will be able to:

• Create and use an e-mail account

• Describe the security and risks involved in Internet

11.1 E-mail

In the previous UNIT we dealt with one of the most important usage of the Internet. We are
going to discuss another here. It is all about the Electronic Mail or simply e-mail.

11.1.1 Snail mail Vs. E-mail

Before going into details about e-mails let us have a glance about what actually happens in a
regular postal mail.

Anyone can Only the relevant

send person can
access

Figure 11.1: Snail mail Vs. E-mail

Anybody can post letters to a particular person if they know his/her postal address. But only the
relevant who belongs to that particular address will receive the mail. We call such a postal mail
as „snail mail‟ because it usually takes several days or even weeks to reach the specified
location. Since the technology has advanced rapidly and we expect things to happen with a
single click, the electronic mail is the choice of the most.
A person can exchange his/her messages digitally through e-mail. E-mail has so many
similarities with the postal mail. Similar to a postal mail, e-mail too can be sent from anyone but
the mail will be received by the person who owns a particular e-mail address. Of course, you
would have used e-mail to convey messages to a person living in another part of the world. Let’s
discuss this in detail.
11.1.2 How e-mail works in brief

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The mails you send will be temporarily saved in your mail server. Email servers accept, forward,
deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online
simultaneously; they need connect only to an e-mail server, to send or receive messages. Mail
server is also used to mean a computer acting as a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) that is running
the appropriate software.
Sender

Mail Server

Internet

Receiver
Figure 11.2: Email operations across the Internet
Let us see a real world analogy to understand the basics of this connectivity. We have not dealt
the process in deep details here since it would be beyond the scope of this course.

Suppose John wants to send a mail to Caroline. He sends the mail to the MTA which is also can
be referred to the Mail Server. Then the message is routed from server to server through the
Internet. At last, Caroline receives the message from the Mail Server and reads it
(See Figure 24.3 below ).

SMTP POP3/IMAP
Amali Sanath

MTA MTA

Figure 11.3: Flow of the E-mail through the Internet

11.2 More about E-mailing concepts

11.2.1 E-mail clients

A n email client is a computer program used to access and manage a user's email. It is also
referred to as an e-mail reader or a Mail user Agent (MUA). It can refer to any system capable
of accessing the user's email mailbox, regardless of it being a mail user agent, a relaying server,
or a human typing on a terminal. In addition, a web application that provides message
management, composition, and reception functions of emails is also sometimes considered an
email client, but more commonly referred to as webmail.

Examples for some popular locally installed email clients:

• Microsoft Outlook
• IBM Lotus Notes
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• Pegasus Mail
• Mozilla's Thunderbird
• KMail in the Kontact suite  Evolution
• Apple Inc.'s Mail.

Examples for some popular web-based email clients:

• Gmail  Yahoo!
• Mail
• mail.com
• Lycos mail
• Outlook.com

Many internet service providers provide a webmail client as part of the email service included in
their internet service package.

11.2.2 The SMTP Server

When we send an email, our computer connects to our email service’s mail server. A server is a
centralized computer which manages a specific type of service. An email server for instance,
handles emails. The email server responsible for sending emails is called the SMTP (Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol) server. One SMTP server can pass on the mail to another SMTP server
and relay it to the destination through several hops.

Every email has the sender’s address (e.g. [email protected]) and the recipient’s in the To
Field (e.g. [email protected]). When an email is sent, the email client connects to the
SMTP server of the sender’s email service (e.g. mailserver.sendermail.com). The client transmits
the address of the sender, the address of the recipient and the content of the message.

The SMTP server goes to work at locating the whereabouts of the recipient. Using the recipient’s
mail ID (i.e. [email protected]) it locates the domain name – e.g.recipientmail.com.

Note: If the recipient’s mail ID had the same domain name as the sender, then the process would
be simpler. The SMTP server would have transferred the mail to its local outgoing mail server
(POP3 or IMAP).

Each domain name represents a unique Web address, called an Internet protocol (IP) address.
Think of it as postal addresses of the internet. The link between domain names to their IP
addresses is stored in the Domain Name Registry. The SMTP server then contacts the server
where the registry is kept (The DNS Server). The DNS server sends back the address to the
SMTP server.

The SMTP server then proceeds to hand over the email to the SMTP server of the recipient’s
email service (let’s call it mailserver.recipientmail.com). This SMTP server checks and confirms
that the mail addressed to [email protected] belongs to it and hands it over to its
counterpart, the POP3 server (or the IMAP server).

11.2.3 The POP3 Server

Post Office Protocol (POP3) servers are the servers that do the job of receiving mails. The
number ‘3’ is the version number of the protocol in use. POP3 servers have mail accounts (our
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email IDs). Each mail account is mapped to a username-password combination. Once the
message is handed over to the POP3 server, it is kept and stored in the mail account till the
recipient logs in and checks the mail.

11.2.4 The IMAP Server

An email client connects to the POP3 server and tells it to allow download of the email. Once
downloaded to the local machine, POP3 mailboxes do not retain a copy of the email. Thus, you
cannot check your emails from another PC as it has already been downloaded. To tack this
difficulty, IMAP was introduced. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol version) simply
retains a copy of the emails on the server. This allows you to access your e-mail from any
location with an internet connection.

The Following Table 11.1 differentiates POP from IMAP in terms of their advantages and
disadvantages.
Advantage Disadvantage

POP • Local Storage.

 Single Computer and Client.
When not connected, the user can still access
and read downloaded email. Despite the "leave-mail-on
server" enhancements of newer
• Server Saving. POP servers and clients, POP is
POP frees server disk space because it primarily designed for use with
downloads emails and attachments then deletes a single email client on a single
them from the server. computer. When implemented,
the "leave-mail-on-server
"feature forces the downloading
of the same emails multiple
times, taking huge bandwidth,
server resources and client disk
space on multiple machines.

IMAP • Multiple Client Support.  Server Intensive.

Messages can be viewed on any computer with Consumes server CPU and disk
an IMAP client. resources.

• Public and group folders.

Because they are on the server everyone can see
and use them.

• Configurability.
It has dozens of options based on all three mail
delivery models

Table 11.1: Advantages and Disadvantages of POP and IMAP

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11.3 Different e-mailing methods

First of all it is essential to know the anatomy of an email message. Basically email contains 2
parts: the header and the body.

In order to have a better understanding about the emails, let’s take a real life example. If you
want to send a letter to someone what will you do? Firstly, you’ll be writing the letter and then
put it into an envelope. Then you’ll write the recipient’s name and address on the envelope, and
then post it. The letter you write can be compared to the body and the envelope is comparable to
the header.

Sending an email is very much similar to this scenario but really with more advantages. You
don’t need a pen and a paper anymore. Documents are exchanged swiftly without any delays.
But you need a computer, internet connectivity and an email account and the recipient’s email
address to send an email.

We have already learnt that an email has two parts namely a header and a body. Let’s discuss this
in detail with the help of the following figure which shows a typical layout of an email.

Figure 11.4: Layout of an e-mail

We think that a clear understanding about the types of the header is very worthwhile. So let’s see
the different headers you need to be concerned about.
 To: This of course is obvious to all. Yes, it contains the email address of the person to
whom you are sending the mail.
 From: This contains the senders email address. Since most of the email clients fill the
senders email address in this field automatically, we need not have to worry much about
this field.
 Subject: In the subject field you are expected to write a short description about the
message you are going to write.
 CC: This refers to the Carbon Copy where you send mails to a main person and include
the email addresses of all the others here.
 BCC: BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy. This is like what we have discussed in the CC
but the main difference is that the name of the recipient would not appear in the message.
 Attachments: You attach a complete document in this field.

You’ll be simply typing your message in the body of your email. It is possible to change the
colour and the type of the text you have typed. In addition you may include emoticons in the
body of the email.

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11.4 Need of Email etiquettes

Do you know that similar to dining etiquette, we need to follow some etiquette when sending
emails which is important especially in business purposes?

'By requiring employees to use appropriate, businesslike language in all electronic

communications, employers can limit their liability risks and improve the overall effectiveness of
the organization's e-mail and Internet copy in the process'
- 'Writing Effective E-mail', by Nancy Flynn and Tom Flynn

Let’s have a look at the important email etiquettes which you can follow. The following table
11.2 shows the email etiquette and the reason for doing so.
Etiquette Reason

1. Message should be concise and to the Reading a long mail will give a boring
point. experience to the reader and it will be a
de-motivating fact too.

2. Be polite and courteous as you would be

face-to-face.
3. Avoid writing in CAPITALS. Typing in capital letters is considered as
SCREAMING and it is offensive.

4. The subject should be meaningful. If it is a short description of the mail you

are writing then it will give a brief idea
to the reader.

5. In order to make it clear break-up your Small chunks are better understood by
mails into paragraphs. the human brain than long paragraphs.

6. Make it more personal. It will draw more attention from the

reader.

7. Before sending your mail read your mail Because there is a chance for
again and again. improvement always, isn’t it?

8. Make sure whether the reader to whom Abbreviations like BTW (By the way)
you are sending the mail will and LOL (Laugh Out Loud) are certainly
understand the abbreviations and easier for you to type but sometimes it
emoticons you have used. might be difficult for the person who is
reading it.

Table 11.2: Email etiquettes

11.5 Using emails

11.5.1 Email address

An Email address has 3 parts in it. If we type an email address, it will be in the following format.

E.g.: username@hostname

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1 2 3

1:-The first part identifies the user. Usually case sensitive.

2:- The @ sign which comes in between
3:- The third part refers to the computer which stores mail for user. Not case sensitive.

11.5.2 Creating a free e-mail account

Creating an email account is a simple procedure and this can be done within few minutes. As an
example let us see how to create a yahoo mail account. Follow the steps given below.

Step 1: open your web browser (ex. Mozilla Firefox) and log on to the Yahoo web site
(www.yahoo.com)

Step 2: Click on Sign-up indicated by the arrow in the figure below.

Step 3: Enter the details in the allotted cages.

Step 4: After entering the details, click on “Create my account”.

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Step 5: Now select two secret questions and answer them.

In case if you lose your password you can use these questions to login to your account with a
new password. Make sure that the password is memorable.

Step 6: Type the code which is displayed in the cage provided as shown in the figure below.
Then click on “Done”.

Step 7: Now click on “Get Started”.

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Step 8: Now you have created an e-mail account successfully. You can see your user name
appearing in the top right hand corner. See the circled area in the figure below.

Click on Mail

Note: If you are interested in creating a Gmail account, please follow the link below:
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Gmail-Account

11.5.3 Receiving e-mail

First click on the Inbox to view the e-mails and click on each subject to open and view the mail
in full. Let’s use an example for this. Once you create a new email account you will be able to
see a welcome message in your inbox. Click on that to read the massage, as shown in Figure 11.5
below.

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Click here to
read the
email in full

Figure 11.5: First ever email to your Inbox

11.5.4 Sending e-mail
Please follow the steps below to send a basic email.

1. You can see a button called “Compose” at the left hand-side after the Inbox. Please
locate the exact location of „compose‟ as shown by a „hand sign‟ in Figure 11.6 below.
You need to click on it to send mails. You will see the web-page shown in Figure 11.7
next.

Figure 11.6: Compose Button

2. Type the email address of recipient.

3. Type the title/subject of your mail.
4. Type the entire content of the mail in the body section. You can make it lengthy as you
wish.
5. Make sure that everything is ok and Click on send button

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2
5 3

Figure 11.7: Composing email

Activity:
Ask your friend to send a message to you. Check your Inbox and send a reply to
your friend by clickingReply
on as shown below.

Similarly forward the same message received from your friend to another friend by
clicking on
Forwardbutton
. Reply Forward

11.5.5 Sending/receiving attachments

In addition to the basic content you type on the body of the email, you can attach a file along
with your email. This file can be of any format allowed by the particular e-mail client and the
size of the attachment will also be limited by the e-mail client. For an example, the Gmail does
not allow sending executable files (.exe files) as attachments as a security measure to prevent
potential viruses, also currently the maximum file size that can be attached with a Gmail is 25
MB.
Follow the steps below to send attachments:
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1. Click on the “attach” button as shown below or drag and drop the files to be attached
into that.

2. Select the file to be attached with the mail by locating the file correctly and click on
“Open” button.

3. You will see the selected file gets attached within few seconds or minutes. This depends
on the capacity and the speed of the Internet connection. Finally you can send your mail
along with the attachments by clicking on “send” button.

Number of
attachments

Size of the
attachment
Attached file

11.5.6 Set up an Address Book Group for List Mailing in Yahoo

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Do you send emails to more than one recipient often? Are the recipients often the same? Then
there is a more effective way to handle your tasks. Let us discuss how we can create a group for
list mailing from existing contacts in Yahoo:
1. Follow the Addresses link in the Yahoo! Mail Classic navigation bar.
2. Tick the checkboxes next to the address book entries you want to become members of
your mailing list.
3. Make sure Send Email is selected in the toolbar listing possible actions.
4. Click OK.
5. Under Add Contacts to a List, select Add contacts to a new list:
6. Enter a list name.
7. Click Compose.
Yahoo! Mail Classic automatically sets up a new mailing list containing the selected address
book entries.
With your groups set up and populated, you can now send messages to all members easily and
quickly.

To add contacts to a contact group:

1. Sign in to Yahoo! Mail.
2. Click the Contacts tab.
3. Check the box next to a contact to select it.
4. Click Assign to Lists.
5. Check the box next to one or more lists.
6. Click Done.

11.6 Security and risk in Internet

We are well aware that people all around the world enjoy the benefits of the Internet. We can
never reject the fact that our lives are made easy by the Internet because we have all been given
access to information and we can obtain information which we want from anywhere in the
world. Communication is made very easy not only among individuals but also amongst groups.
Internet had paved a way to a new era in the business world by making commercial transactions
simple and swift.

Although there are numerous benefits of the Internet there are also a handful of issues associated
with the Internet. The issues associated with the Internet are not only a problem which is talked
in terms for technical ground it has to be considered as a legal, social and cultural problem
between different countries. Different countries take different actions to encounter this problem.

Pornography, defamation and spam are regarded as the three common issues encountered by the
professionals as well as the beginners of Internet users. Every country is governed by certain
laws and legislations which are unique to that particular country. An act which is legitimate in
one country can be considered as an offence in another country. Since internet crosses the
national boundaries it is not abide by the law of one particular country. So this increases the
chances of materials which violates the law and order of a country, to flow easily into the
country. The Internet Service Providers play a key role in addressing these issues. We have to
look at the problems in different legal systems in order to address the major issues related to
implementation of law in spite of accessing.

11.6.1 Security settings in web browsers/e-mail client software

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Let’s see how you can change your security settings in your web browser. We assume that you
are using Mozilla Firefox as your browser. Follow the steps below:
1. Click on the Tools menu.
2. Click on Options.

3. Select Security Tab.

4. Change the security settings according to your usage and at the end click “OK”.

11.6.2 Taking precautions when using the Internet

Similar to any other resource, the Internet too can be misused or it even can bring harmful
contents to your computer disabling the functionality of your computer partially or completely.
We always know an old proverb which says that “Prevention is better than cure”. So we are
going to look at taking precautionary methods to a safe use of Internet.

• The first basic precaution a user should take is to back up the important files. This will
not prevent a security incident or hardware failure or the data stored on your computer
would probably be lost if the machine was stolen or destroyed by fire, but it may reduce
the impact to a greater extent.
• You need to have the updated anti-virus software in your computer and you have to scan
your computer, frequently. Moreover it is essential to scan the files you download from
the Internet.

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• Having a good password for the access controls to their network is considered to be more
important. Unlike backing up files, this action may prevent a security incident.
• Other types of information traveling across the Internet are sensitive user identifications,
and files whose content is sensitive to the user. Users should take one of two precautions,
either encrypt the information or don't send it across the Internet. Sensitive user
identifications such as address, phone number, personal data, and perhaps most sensitive
of all, credit card numbers should not be sent across the Internet unless they are encrypted
at the source before sending it to the Internet. For example if you are sending a sensitive
document containing personal information or sensitive work related information such as a
newly set examination paper, ensure whether this information is kept confidential, then it
must either be encrypted, or sent some other way.

11.7 Self Assessment Questions

11.1 What is a „mail server‟? Describe how to send an e-mail between two people.
11.2 What is an e-mail client? Name two types of e-mail clients with examples.
11.3 Define the following terms.
a. SMTP
b. DNS Server
11.4 What are the advantages of POP sever and IMAP server?
11.5 When sending an e-mail what is the difference between CC and BCC?
11.6 How can you attach a document to your e-mail?
11.7 List three e-mail etiquettes and give reasons for doing them.
11.8 What are the three parts of an e-mail address?
11.9 When creating an e-mail account what is the purpose of typing a given code in the cage
provided?
11.10 What is the purpose of “inbox” in an e-mail account?
11.11 Which button is used to send a copy of a received e-mail to someone else?
11.12 What is the purpose of having two buttons call “Reply” and “Reply All” in e-mail account?
11.13 When writing an email, contacts can be added from your address book or contact list or
their email address can be typed out. Give reasons for adding a contact is better than typing
out their address.
11.14 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mail.

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UNIT 12

Current and Future Trends in the Internet

Introduction:

This unit provides an introduction about e-commerce and e-learning, and identifies the benefits
and the future trends of the Internet

Aim and Objectives:

Having studied this you will be able to:

• Define what e-commerce is
• Describe the direct benefits of e-commerce and provide suitable examples
• Describe what e-learning is and the advantages of it
• Understand what would be the future trends of the Internet

12.1 Introduction

We are living in an era where we use computers to do major tasks quickly which took hours to
complete a couple of decades ago. Paper driven processes are replaced by electronic means.
Above all, the global access to information has made a revolution in all sectors. Information is
enriched and customized to serve target groups.
Here we are going to discuss about these current developments and the future trends of the
Internet.
Today, almost everything is reengineered into electronic means. The revolution in the Internet
had made an immense impact not only in our day-to-day life but also in the business process and
the learning environment. Businesses are transformed into e-businesses; learning is transformed
into e-learning etc. Because of this transformation, there is a significant change in the way we do
things. We are not doing different things but we are doing things in a different way, which is
more efficient and effective, aren’t we?

Now, let us see how we can use E-commerce and make our lives easy.

12.2 Introduction to E-commerce

Electronic commerce or E-commerce is a type of industry. This consists of buying and selling of
products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.
The quality of business transactions has improved with the usage of telecommunications and data
processing technology.
Before explaining what E-commerce is in detail, let us see some simple examples of how
Ecommerce is being used.
• Individual purchasing books on the Internet.
• Tourist booking a hotel room from another country over the Internet.

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• An organization buying computers using the seller’s interactive online system.
• A firm buying office supplies through an online auction.
• An individual transferring money from his account to his friend’s account using Internet
banking.
Here are some E-commerce technologies used by most of the business organizations.
• Mobile commerce
• Electronic funds transfer
• Supply chain management
• Internet marketing
• Online transaction processing
• Electronic data interchange (EDI)  Inventory management systems
• Automated data collection systems. etc.

Does e-commerce only mean buying and selling of goods and services over the
Internet?
No. It’s not limited to mere handling of business transactions. The e-commerce includes a

larger functionality consisting of a complete system of services which supports the sales
processes and provides total account management.

Modern E-commerce usually uses the World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's
life-cycle. It may also make use of a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices,
social media, and telephones as well.
E-commerce is commonly considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It mainly consist the
data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions. If you want to start
up a business, E-commerce would be useful to carry out your transactions in an effective and
efficient way. Let us examine some of the benefits of e-commerce both for the buyer and seller.

12.3 The benefits of e-commerce

It is apparent that there are numerous advantages of using E-commerce. Because of the
technological breakthrough the web had reached millions of people quicker when compared to
television, radio and telephone. Here, we are going to discuss some benefits of E-commerce to
the business worlds and to the consumers as well.
Some benefits of e-commerce are listed below.
Benefits to the Business organization/seller:
• Improved Productivity
• Streamlined Business Processes
• Opportunities for New Businesses
• Global market place
• Low start-up and running cost Benefits to the customer/buyer:
• 24/7 trading
• Search facilities Benefits to both:
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• Cost Savings
• Better Customer Service

Let us see the above benefits in detail.

Improved Productivity
By using E-commerce we can save a great deal of time. We can create, transfer and process a
business transaction easily using the electronic medium. Quite a lot of time that was spent in
entering and re-entering the data in the earlier decades is minimized. Human errors and
redundancy are eliminated which has led to an accurate data retrieval in quick time, ultimately
resulting in high productivity.

Cost Savings
Since we can communicate efficiently and since the time taken between the submissions of a
program for execution is quicker, it’ll be cost effective. Moreover, the businesses can reach out
the market so easily and this would also cut down the cost to a great extent. The transaction cost
too had plummeted down because of the usage of e-commerce.

Streamlined Business Processes

Most businesses have taken a step to reach the ultimate goal by using the maximum benefits
from e-commerce. This can be achieved mainly by adapting the internal business processes and
back end legacy systems.

Better Customer Service

Customers can communicate with the seller efficiently. They can go through the details of the
product and choose the better options which suit their requirement from home itself. On the other
hand, the seller is also benefitted by marketing the product and providing a better customer
service online which is much easier than dealing the customers directly in a busy business
environment.
Opportunities for New Businesses
Since the business over the Internet reaches the customers in the global arena, there will be better
opportunities for the business to expand and establish themselves amongst a wide range of
customers.

Global market place

The E-commerce web-site serves as a global market place because people tend to buy the
products not only from different parts of the country but also from different parts of the world.

24/7 trading
You can purchase items at any time. Only what you have to do is to place an order and the
product will be delivered to your home within a couple of days/week. This will be beneficial to
those who are working because they can buy products from home or wherever they are and
during whenever they want. Moreover, a person from Zambia can buy a product from America
without any trouble. You can purchase from anywhere around the world and during anytime you
want.

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Low start-up and running cost
You do not have to open a shop. Instead, all you have to do is to buy servers to build and
maintain your web-site online. This will cost less than the money that you would pay for rent
when you have a shop. Furthermore, it is not necessary to have a huge staff to maintain the
website. As a whole, it costs less than running a shop.

Search facilities
Most of the E-commerce web-sites have an efficient search facility where you can find the
required product without spending much time.

As shown in figure 12.1, there are numerous other benefits that can be gained by using
Ecommerce.

Figure 12.1: Benefits of E-commerce

12.4 Types of Electronic Commerce

The most common participants in e-commerce are the businesses, consumers and the
government. Based on the nature of the participants e-commerce can be subdivided into the
following:
• B2C – Business to Consumer
• B2B – Business to Business
• B2G – Business to Government
• C2C – Consumer to Consumer
• C2B – Consumer to Business  G2G – Government to Government  G2C, G2B, C2G
etc.
Let us discuss the four major types in detail.

12.4.1 B2C – Business to Consumer

B2C can be described as the business between companies and the consumers. Since the
revolution of e-transformation unfolded, consumer-business interaction was limited to a great
extent. In the past, consumers contacted the information officer to acquire business information.
But now this process has changed. Consumers as well as the information officer could gather
business information via the Internet. Consumers when they want to buy a product or a service
they can do it over an electronic network. This makes the business process much easier.
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We all know that there is a sudden explosion in the number of Internet users in the past few
years. Profits making companies thought of utilizing this opportunity to market and sell their
products. The business process in B2C is shown in figure 12.2.

Figure 12.2: Business to Customer E-Commerce (B2C)

Here are some examples of B2C

(a) Dell selling a laptop to a person in Zambia

(b) Amazon selling books to a person in Colombo (figure 12.3)
Amazon is one of the largest booksellers, joining the top ranks among the other leading
bookstores, in a short period of time. You can view large numbers of books, along with the extra
information, such as readers' comments. Although, there are a millions of books included in the
web-site, the books are not stored in the warehouse physically. This also can be called as “Virtual
Bookshop”.

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Figure 25.3: Amazon website (B2C)

A few E-commerce websites which are popular in Zambia are listed below
:
1. iBuy.lk
2. Tradenet.lk (B2B and C2C trading portal)
3. myTrader.lk
4. WoW.lk
5. Ikman.lk
6.
7.
8. www.me.lk
9. Anything.lk (Figure 25.4) etc.

Figure 25.4: Anything.lk page

A brief Note on E-banking

E-banking includes Internet banking mobile banking etc. E-banking offers value added
services that you do not normally enjoy at the banking counters. Most of the popular banks in
Zambia have introduced many fascinating facilities to their customers. Online access to any
of the account, transfer of funds to the customer’s own accounts or to the preferred accounts
of other Zambian banks, ability to bank online especially when they hold a joint account,
balance inquiry, inquiry about cheque book or request for new cheque book or stop payments
online, acquire visa card settlements, transactions and balances, Interest
& exchange rates and the ability to make payments of utility bills/scheduling bill payment
and
transfers on future dates are some of such facilities offered by the banks.

12.4.2 C2B – Consumer to Business

Consumer-to-Business (C2B) is a business model in which consumers create value, and firms
consume this value created by consumers. This is also called as a reverse auction or demand
collection model. Here the buyers are enabled to claim their own prices generating a demand
and the websites in turn gather bids and then offers the bids to the participating sellers.

Let’s look into the electronic commerce business model, in which consumers offer products and
services to companies and the companies pay them. Doesn’t it look like the reversal model to the
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traditional business model where companies offer goods and services to consumers (business-to-
consumer - B2C)?
The following figure 12.5 shows an example of C2B website – Priceline.com.

Figure 12.5: Priceline website

(C2B)

12.4.3 B2B – Business to Business

In this category, the companies do business with each other such as manufacturers selling to
distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often
negotiable.

Figure 12.6 shows the process of B2B.

Figure 12.6: Business to Business (B2B)

Figure (12.7) shows an example of B2B website.

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Figure 12.7: Cisco website (B2B)
12.4.4 C2C – Consumer to Consumer
In this category, consumer sells directly to another consumer. E-bay is one good example for
such kind of web. You can see this category if a consumer, who purchases jewelry, wants to sell
to another consumer via the Web. The following figure depicts the process of C2C.

Figure 12.8: Customer to Customer E-Commerce (C2C)

Following are some examples for C2C websites.
1. www.ebay.com
„eBay‟ is like a world's online marketplace; a place for buyers and sellers to come together and
trade almost anything. A seller can list any item on eBay. In an online auction, the bidding opens
at a price the seller specifies and remains on eBay for a certain number of days. Buyers then
place bids on the item. At the end, the buyer with the highest bid wins.

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Figure 12.9: eBay website (C2C)

2. www.ikman.lk
ikman.lk is a website where you can buy and sell almost everything. The best deals are often
done with people who live in your own city or in your own street. Buying and selling local
products to the local consumers is made easy. Further, ikman.lk has a wide selection of popular
second hand items all over Zambia, which makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for.
So if you're looking for a car, mobile phone, house, computer or maybe a pet, you will find the
best deal on ikman.lk.

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Figure 25.10
: ikman.lk website )(C2C

Are there any differences between

-business
e and
-commerce
e or can these
term
two
s
be used interchangeably?

Although these two terms are often used synonymously,

-business covers
e a broader area
which involves
business processes covering the entire value
namely
chainlectronic
e
purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling
customer service, and cooperating with business
.
partners

Figure25.11
: E-commerce as a-se
sub
t ofe-business

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12.5 Basic Functions in the E-Commerce Site

Here we are going to look at some features commonly seen in the e-commerce web-site taking
Dell as an example.

Catalog Display
Businesses use the product catalog to display and order products in the e-commerce website.
Products can be shown in a block view or list view, from which you can navigate to the product
details.
• Block View(B2C)
The block view format displays a detailed upfront presentation of catalog products. The
block view displays more information about a product at first glance for the customer
than the list view does. For example, you can display basic eye-catcher texts and
hyperlinks about product details, in the block view.

• List Views (B2B and B2C)

The list view format displays products in the catalog in a list in the B2B and the B2C
Web sites.

Let us assume that you want to buy a laptop from Dell for your personal use. So you need to
know the configuration of the laptops and you have to compare them with your requirements and
you can go for a machine which is within your budget. Here is how you can view such details. 1.
Go to www.dell.com (Figure 12.12)

Figure 12.12: DELL website (B2C)

2. Browse the details and the configuration of the laptops by clicking on “For Home” and then
selecting “Laptops and Ultra books” and clicking on “View details” as shown below.

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Click here

Figure 12.13: DELL Catalog Display in block view

3. If you want to buy you can select it and personalize it and follow the instructions to buy. See
the image given below.

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Click here Click here
Shopping Cart
A shopping cart is a piece of e-commerce software on a web server that allows visitors to a web
site to select items for eventual purchase.
Shopping cart which is also named as the shopping bag or shopping basket keeps track of the
items you have selected and allows customers to view the content of it, add new items or remove
items. To order an item you need to simply click on that item. The required details of the item
(price, product number, other identifying information) are stored automatically in the cart. It is
also possible to remove the unwanted items by unselecting the items before completing the
transaction. When you are ready to conclude the shopping UNIT, click of a button executes the
purchase transaction. Then it displays a screen that asks shipping and billing information and that
confirm the order. Some shopping cart software allows you to fill a shopping cart with purchases,
put the cart in virtual storage, and come back days later to confirm and pay for the purchases.
(Figure 12.14)

Figure 12.14: Typical shopping basket/Shopping Cart page

Transaction Processing
By clicking a checkout button the transaction processing occurs when the shopper proceeds to
the virtual checkout counter. This is the most complex part of the online sale. The e-commerce
performs the calculations like volume discounts, sales tax, and shipping cost at the transaction
processing stage. One of the important things is, at the checkout the customer’s Web browser and

189
the seller’s Web server switch into a secure state of the communication. Other calculation
complications such as provisions for coupons, special promotions, and time-sensitive offers can
be happen at this stage. Some shopping cart software designed for small and midsize companies
provide connections to accounting software so that Web sales can be entered simultaneously in
the company’s accounting system.

12.6 What is e-learning?

When you hear the word e-learning what comes first into your mind? You might be thinking of
an online learning process or a web-based learning. But e-learning comprises of distributed
learning, network or web-based learning.

Since the letter “e” stands for electronic, e-learning activities occur by electronic means. This can
be performed by individuals or groups, working online or offline.

There are plentiful value added services in the Internet. They are also called as the high level
services. All these services run on top of the basic protocols. E-learning is also a value added
service which contributes a lot to the education. E-learning can be described as any form of
technology enhanced learning mechanism.

E-leaning had paved a path to an easier way of teaching and learning. In the modern world
people give priority to jobs and don’t have much time to spend on education. Moreover, people
tend to choose their courses depending on their limited budgets. So the ultimate goal of
eLearning is to overcome the limitations such as time, distance and resources. Thus the
knowledge and skills are transferred via Internet, intranet, extranet, audio or video tape CD-
ROM or even it can be a satellite TV. The content can contain a text document, an image file or it
can be an animation, audio or video. It can be a self-paced learning or it can be led by an
instructor. As you can see there are different types of e-learning methods and we are going to talk
about this in the next topic.

12.6.1 Types of e-learning

E-learning can be applied partially or in some occasions education is completely based on it. In
blended learning face-to-face classroom UNITs are combined along with the computer mediated
activities. In contrast there are instances where the learning process absolutely relies on
electronic means. Such systems are supportive in non-face-to-face distant based education.

E-learning can be categorized based on some criteria. Some of such criteria are listed below:
• Underlying pedagogical assumptions
• Content model employed
• Size
• Distribution and level of network

E-learning has evolved in many ways in order to support a variety of users‟ needs. We can
classify the types of e-learning as follows:
1. Traditional e-learning
2. Rapid e-learning
a. Asynchronous
b. Synchronous

1. Traditional e-learning

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Traditional e-learning is described as a content which consists of an in-depth knowledge with a
great preparation and probably produced by an expert.

2. Rapid e-learning
This is classified into two.
a. Synchronous
In this type of e-learning, learner and the instructor have a set time where they have the internet
classroom. During this prescribed time, the students log in and they can contact and discuss
problems related to the subject.

b. Asynchronous
The content is based on one aspect which is liable to change. Users can log in whenever they
want to do so and can access information any time. Some of the examples of asynchronous
eLearning are CDs, DVDs, Networks, Intranet and Internet.

17.6.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of e-learning

It is apparent that e-learning has innumerous advantages not only to the learner but also to the
teacher. Let’s discuss some of these advantages now.

If we consider a student, e-learning is very flexible, convenient and more interactive. E-learning
is accessible from anywhere, during anytime and to anyone. This sort of availability is an added
advantage to the learners who are working. Furthermore, the E-learning materials make the
visualization easy and aid in delivering a better understanding. In the teacher’s perspective
updating the contents is made easier. If there is a change in the content he/she can modify it
immediately and changes will appear in all course contents all around the world. Both the learner
and the teacher need not have to spend time and money on travelling. Instead they can access
Internet from home and learn in a hassle-free environment.

Although e-learning provides countless advantages, it has some disadvantages as well. It is

difficult to customize the course contents according to the learners‟ requirement in e-learning.
Besides it requires an infrastructure to acquire the materials and carry out operations facilitated
by E-learning.

17.6.2 Traditional Classroom learning Vs. E-learning

Shall we compare a traditional classroom learning and E-learning to get a better understanding?
It is going to be interesting for sure!

Even though there are more advanced interactive animations and videos encompassed in the
ELearning activity some are of the opinion that there is no personal touch as in a classroom.

In a classroom learning the teacher will pay an individual attention towards each student. This
would motivate the students to a greater extent. Teachers too can observe the students‟ reaction
and assume whether they have understood what they have learnt. Students can get into groups
and do their activities as a team. Working in teams increases student engagement and this
collective work of committed individuals would ultimately give a completely different
experience to the students.

191
On the other hand, in a classroom there can be only limited participants and this requires a space
and regular time table.

12.7 Introduction to E-Government

E-Government is the digital interaction among the Government, citizens, and the commercial
institutions. We can say that E-Government is a generalized term for state sector
computerization. Information technology is applied to different public institutions with the
intention of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their service.

Legislature, judiciary and administration are some of the public services which can be upgraded
using ICT. This would add quality to the service to the general citizens, government agencies and
businesses.

12.8 Introduction to E-entertainment

If we see the websites worldwide there is a huge demand for entertainment services by almost all
age groups. This urge for innovative ideas for the purpose of entertainment had resulted in
flourishing abilities and creativity. What is more, this is considered to be one of the largest
industries online, internationally.

We have mentioned some online entertainments below which would take new dimensions:
• Online Radio
• Online TV
• Online movies
• Computer games
• Online News
• Online magazines

12.9 Future of Internet

As mentioned in the previous section, definitely, the e-entertainment is taking a new dimension
rapidly in the internet. In addition to that there are some other concepts which initiate and evolve
in the near future with the emergence of latest internet technologies. However, predicting of
internet is not an easy task. But for the sake of your knowledge and for the completion of this
UNIT some identified future trends in the internet as per the sources available on the web are
extracted for you as follows.
Source: http://readwrite.com/2007/09/05/10_future_web_trends

12.9.1 Top Ten Future Trends- The Internet by 2020

Take a minute to remember how different life was in 1991. If you wanted to call a friend you
would have to use a landline, because mobile technology was still many years away from hitting
the mainstream. If you wanted to send a written message to relatives overseas you would have to
use the post office. It will be quite a while before domain names like Hotmail become
synonymous with email technology. So much has changed in the last 20 years, but how will the
world be different in 2020?
You can guarantee that the most innovative and revolutionary changes will take place in the
digital sector. So what will the internet look like in 2020?
192
1. More Centralized
We can see this trend developing at the present moment. Facebook, Google and Microsoft are
becoming incredibly powerful on the internet. Every few months we hear the same story –
Microsoft has bought Skype, Google has acquired YouTube; and there is little sign of these
digital giants slowing down.

2. More Open Source Development

In response to the growing influence of the big digital firms, open source technology is expected
to rapidly increase as small-time developers become more and more sophisticated. Expect to see
hundreds of high quality open source software suites on the market by 2020.
3. The Internet Will Be Faster and Cheaper
Expect to see broadband rates decrease in the near future. Web hosting and dedicated servers
will be much cheaper as well.

4. Writing and Reading

On a more personal level, the influence of the internet by 2020 is expected to dramatically
change the way we read and write. Gone are the days of lengthy essay-like blog entries – a more
likely scenario is that shorthand will begin to dominate the online sphere. Twitter users are very
familiar with this phenomenon.

5. Lack of Online Anonymity

Because of the growing influence of hackers and websites like Wikileaks, it is likely that by 2020
the internet will be much more closely monitored.

6. More Wired Applications

By 2020, it is expected that almost every device will be wired to the internet – from microwaves
to sofas. Furthermore, more applications will be specifically designed to be net friendly.

7. Personal ID Number
With growing security concerns regarding online behavior, many security analysts predict that by
2020 some nations will have implemented a personal ID number for online users.

8. Mobile Internet
Mobile internet technology is very new, but many feel that by 2020 it will be the most popular
way to browse the web. Many sites will be specifically catered towards mobile devices.

9. More Processes Will Move Online

Although you can do your grocery shopping online, many people still prefer to buy their
groceries in person. This is expected to change by 2020, with more internet savvy customers
choosing to utilize online processes.

10. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has only just hit the mainstream with the recent release of Apple’s iCloud. By
2020 you can expect that millions of internet users will store all of their non-vital information on
the cloud.
193
The future is never easy to predict, but current trends are all pointing to a 2020 that is more
connected but more centralized.

12.10 Self-Assessment Questions

12.1 Define „e-commerce‟. What are the benefits of using e-commerce?

12.2 Briefly describe four types of consumer oriented applications of e-commerce.
12.3 To which e-commerce model that the Amazon.com belongs?
12.4 What is a product catalog? Differentiate Block View and List View.
12.5 Briefly describe the use of „shopping cart‟ with respect to e-commerce.
12.6 What is meant by „traditional e-learning‟?
12.7 Briefly describe the two categories of „rapid e-learning‟.
12.8 State the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning.
12.9 Using suitable examples, briefly explain the concept of „e-government‟.
12.10 What is meant by „cloud computing‟?
12.11 Explain the application of e-commerce in following fields
a. Banking
b. Entertainment
c. Shopping

MODULE REFERENCES

1. Mrs. C.Y. Munasinghe B.Sc. (OUSL); M.Sc. (Colombo): ICT Skills; (2013); http://www.ou.ac.lk

2. Alan Eardley, David Marshall, Rob Ritchie (1995): "Information Analysis", ACCA Textbook,
Certified Accountants Education Projects Ltd, London.
3. Leavitt, H.J. and T.L. Whistler ‘Management in the 1980s’, Harvard Business Review
November/December 1958. This is available in the Online Library.
4. http://WWW.opentuition.com/acca-notes

194
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