IT 111:

INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Instructor: Mr. Mwalongo M, R
Assistant Lecturer
Office No. AB 12 (CIVE-Admin Block)
E-mail: [email protected]
 LECTURE # 5

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER
APPLICATIONS
 BASIC COMPONENTS OF GRAPHICAL USER
OPERATING SYSTEMS
o
A Graphical User Interface(GUIs) is a way to
communicate what you want to a computer
application (or computer operating system) using
graphical symbols rather than typing the instructions
in.

o
GUIs let you work with picture-like items (icons and
arrows for example) to tell the computer what you
want from it.
CONT...
 Most GUIs have the following basic
components:
 a start menu with program groups
 a taskbar showing running programs
 a desktop
 various icons and shortcuts.
START MENU
 Change your settings, Shutdown or restart the
computer, Most used list, Search for programs, files
or folders.
 TASKBAR
The taskbar displays information such as the currently running
applications. You can also add quick-launch icons to the taskbar for
your favorite applications.
To attach a program to the taskbar, right-click the program icon and
select Pin to taskbar.

ICONS AND SHORTCUTS

In graphical user interfaces, icons point to files
and folders. The appearance of the icon
indicates its type. Files and folders, for example,
have different icons.
DESKTOP
 The desktop typically contains icons for controlling
the computer and launching applications.

 yg

 Windows desktop | Linux desktop

 OVERVIEW OF FILE ORGANIZATION
o Every operating system or program uses a file management
system to organize and keep track of files.

o A file is (1) a named collection of data (data file) or (2) a

program (program file) that exists in a computer’s
secondary storage, such as a hard disk or CD/DVD.
ORGANIZING FILES: DIRECTORIES/FOLDERS, SUB FOLDERS, &
PATHS
o The operating system’s file system arranges files in a
hierarchical manner, first into folders (also called
directories ) and then into sub folders (subdirectories).
o The top- most folder/directory is called the root directory;
a folder below another folder is called a sub
folder(subdirectory).
 CONT...

Directories/folders, subfolders, and files

 CONT...
o To find a particular file in an operating system’s file system,
you type in the file’s pathname. The path is the route
through the file system.
o A simple example of a pathname in Windows is Root
Directory C:
o C:\mydocuments\termpaper\section1.doc
o “C” refers to the hard disk (the root directory)
o “ mydocuments” is the main (or primary) folder, the parent
folder to “termpaper,” which is a sub folder;
o “section 1” is the name of the file (file name); and “doc” is a
file extension that indicates what type of file it is ( .doc 5
document) .
o (In Unix-based operating systems and the Mac OS X
operating system, the path names use a forward slash [ / ]
instead of a backward slash [ \ ] .)
 TYPES OF FILES
o Files are categorized into Data and Program file.
o Data Files contain data, such as words, numbers,
pictures, or sounds.
o They include document, spreadsheet, or database
data, which are processed by program files.
o Data files don’t instruct the computer to do anything;
they are there to be acted on by program files.
o Data files are given names— file names.
o File names also have extensions, or extension names,
usually three or four letters added after a period
following the file name. For example, the .doc
o Extensions are usually inserted automatically by the
application software.
 CONT...
o Some well-known types of data files are the following:
o Document files: Created by word processing programs,
these data files consist of documents: reports, letters,
memos, and the like. The file names often end with .doc or
.docx.
o Workbook files: Created by electronic spreadsheets, these
data files usually consist of collections of numerical data
such as budgets, sales forecasts, and schedules. The file
names for Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files end with .xls
or .xlsx.
o Graphics files: Some important ones have extension
names .bmp, .tiff ( tif. ) , .gif, .jpeg, and .png.
o Audio files: The extension names you’re most apt to
encounter are .mp3, .wav, and .mid.
o Animation/video files: Common file extensions
are .qt, .mpg, .wmv, .avi, and .rm.
 CONT….
Program Files
 Program files are files containing software instructions

that execute, or run, when the program is opened.

Examples are word processing or spreadsheet
programs, which are made up of several different
program files.

 Thetwo most important program files are :

 Source program files
 Executable files.
 WORD – PROCESSING
o
Word processing involves the creation and editing
of documents.
o
Word processing software allows to use computers
to create, edit, format, print, and store text
material. The best-known word processing program
is Microsoft Word.
o
It also offers such additional features as creating,
formatting, importing illustrations, printing, and
saving.
o
Opening a Microsoft word by double-clicking the
icon or selecting it from the Start menu.
SOME WORD PROCESSING FUNCTIONS IN
MICROSOFT WORD
SPELLING CHECKER

Formatting document
 SPREADSHEET
A spreadsheet is a computer application for
organization, analysis, and storage of data in tabular
form.
 A spreadsheet file is called a workbook. A workbook’s

grid arrangement of columns, rows, and labels is called

a worksheet.
 So, for example, when you open the Excel spreadsheet

program, it loads an empty workbook file consisting of

three blank worksheets for you to use. The worksheets
have columns, rows, and labels.
 Open Excel by double-clicking the icon or selecting it

from the Start menu

CONT….
 POWER POINT
o PowerPoint is a presentation program that allows you
to create dynamic slide presentations. These
presentations can include animation, narration,
images, videos, and much more.

The PowerPoint interface

o When you open PowerPoint for the first time, the Start
Screen will appear.
o From here, you'll be able to create a new
presentation, choose a template, and access your
recently edited presentations.
o From the Start Screen, locate and select Blank
Presentation to access the PowerPoint interface.
CONT...
CONT...
Basic Parts of Power point
A. File Menu and Backstage View
When you click the File menu, you see the Backstage view
that contains all the creation, save, share, and print
options for your presentations
B. Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)
Is a customizable toolbar placed by default above the
Ribbon, here you can add icons for your often used
commands. The QAT can also be placed below the
Ribbon.
C. Ribbon
The Ribbon has tabs which in turn contain groups of
buttons for various options, some groups also contain
galleries (for example galleries for Themes and Theme
CONT...
D. Slides Pane
Located on the left side of the interface, the Slides pane
shows thumbnails of all the slides in the open
presentation.
Note: If the Slides pane is not visible, click the Normal
button in the View tab of the Ribbon.
E. Slide Area
Displays the active slide.
F. Task Pane
The Task Pane contains more options and appears when
you choose an option in one of the Ribbon tabs. For
example if you click the Format Background button within
the Design tab of the Ribbon, the Format Background task
pane opens
 REFERENCES/TEXT BOOKS
o
Williams K.B Sawyer (2014) Using Information
Technology, A practical Introduction to Computer and
Communications. McGraw-Hill Companies, U.S.A.
o

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-graphical
-user-interface-gui-definition-components-examples.ht
ml
o
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/students-digital-skills/1-introdu
ction-to-the-use-of-computers/1-1-computer-functiona
lity/operating-system-and-user-interface/
o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreadsheet
o
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/powerpoint/getting-start
ed-with-powerpoint/1/
o
https://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/
learn/interface/2016/powerpoint-2016-interface.html