Learning the Basics

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Starting a program

Starting a program from the Start menu

When you install a program, Windows usually puts an icon in the Programs menu. To start a program that has an icon in the Programs menu, follow these steps, which use the Windows Wordpad program as an example:

1Click Start, then point to Programs.

Windows 98 Second Edition displays the Programs menu, which lists programs and program groups. If your program is listed, go to Step 3, otherwise, continue with Step 2.

2Point to the program group, in this example, Accessories. Windows 98 Second Edition displays the Accessories menu.

3Click the program, in this example, Wordpad. Windows 98 Second Edition opens Wordpad.

To close the program, click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the program’s window.

Starting a program from Windows Explorer

If a program is not listed in the Programs menu, you can start it from Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer gives you a view of your computer’s contents as a hierarchy or “tree.” You can easily see the content of each drive and folder on your computer. To use this method, you need to know the file name and location of the program’s executable file (this file ends with .exe).

The following example opens Wordpad using its file name, wordpad.exe.

1Click Start, then point to Programs.

2Click Windows Explorer.

3In the left part of the window, under the C: icon, double-click the folder containing the program, in this case Program Files.