Contents

• Objectives
• Before the Lab
• Lab Etiquette
• Getting Comfortable
• During the Lab
• Deliverables
• Reference Links

Objectives

The purpose of this lab session is to acquaint you with basic things you should know to do when using a computer to create documents or explore the web. You will learn how to interact with different elements of the Graphical User Interface (GUI). These include icons, windows, menus, files, folders, documents, and applications. The main activity of the lab will be to create a simple document about you and your interests. The lab covers the following topics:

• Start the computer
• Create an account
• Logging out of your account
• Use Notepad to create a text file
• Create directories (folders)
• Open a new file/an existing file
• Save files
• Locate a folder
• Close files and applications
• File types
• Internet basics
• Unix introduction and SecureCRT 

Before the Lab

Read through all of the lab instructions prior to your lab session. Fully understand the Lab Etiquette described below. Chapters 2 and 3 of the textbook provide useful background.

Lab Etiquette

Things you should do:

• You may place diskettes into the disk drive slot and place CDs on the CD tray.
• Feel free to ask the TAs any relevant questions.
• Log out and let someone else use your computer if you must leave for longer than 15 minutes.
• Protect your diskettes from moisture, dust and dirt, magnets and extreme temperatures.
• Feel free to interact with your fellow students, in turn, be helpful if those around you need your help. However, in the end, you must do your own thinking and your own work.

Things you shouldn't do:

• Smoking, food and beverages are not permitted in the lab.
• Don't use the CD tray as a beverage holder or bookshelf.
• Keep the volume down and don't play CDs unless you are using personal headphones.
• Don't stick things in holes. In the unlikely event that a CD or a diskette becomes stuck in the machine, ask the lab Teaching Assistant (TA) or a lab technician for help in removing it. 
• Don't touch the screen with pens, pencils, fingers or other objects.
• Do not power off machines manually. (i.e. do not use the power switch at the back of the machine). Logout from your current session and click the Shutdown button.
• Do not play games in the lab.
• Do not play, display or print any material that could be objectionable to fellow users. You are responsible for the sounds played, the pictures displayed and the pages printed on your computer or from your account.
• Do not give your password to anyone. You are responsible for your account and its use.
• Penalties will be administered for failure to comply with the lab courtesies. (You will be given the complete CS Undergrad Lab Policies handout in class. Be sure to read it carefully). Penalties for such academic misconduct could lead you to lose access to the lab and cause you to fail the course.

Getting Comfortable

You needn't be involved in heavy lifting to develop back, neck, shoulder or leg problems; try working at a computer day after day! Sitting too long in incorrect positions is one of the chief causes of aches and pains in your muscles and joints from computer work. Small strains that are hardly noticeable accumulate and can become unbearable.

Take note of the illustration and the following suggestions for maintaining proper posture when using a computer. Some of these may not feel as comfortable as your current posture. But after a while your muscles will be trained to the new position, and you'll feel comfortable again. Also, check with a computer or office store for specific ergonomic devices that may help you.
Sit directly in front of the keyboard and computer screen.
Situate the monitor so it will be 18" to 24" from your eyes and you have to look slightly down to see it.
Make sure your legs fit beneath the desk with your feet flat on the floor. Use a foot rest if necessary.
Adjust the chair seat height so your thighs are parallel to the floor with your knees at about 90° and slightly lower than your hips. Make sure your chair seat isn't too deep.
Use a work surface that allows your elbows to maintain about a 90° angle.
Sit upright, maintaining the natural curves of your back.
Make sure you have adequate lower back support.
Keep your shoulders relaxed. Don't slump forward.
Relax your wrists and keep them in a neutral position. Don't flex them up or down.
Keep your knees shoulder width apart or closer.

Web pages on this topic are at the end of the lab.

During the Lab

Start the Computer

Before you can begin to use the computer, you may need to turn it on. In addition, because you are working in a multi-user environment, you must also login. 

You must provide your username and password in the Login dialog box. Your username identifies you to the computer and can be shared with others. Your password protects your account and should be kept secret! If this is your first time logging on, you need to create an account.

Create an Account

Because you don't yet have a login id, at the log in prompt, type getacct.  Follow the instructions on screen.  You will be prompted to enter your student number and last name and will then be asked to create a password. The password should be 8 characters long.   Once this process is complete, you can log out, and use the username and password you have just created to log into the Windows environment. (Making a good password can be challenging! Check out the References section for more information on passwords.)

IMPORTANT: The login id assigned to you by 'getacct' then forms your UBC computer science email address, please make note of this. For example, if your login is "r2d2", then your new email address is "r2d2@ugrad.cs.ubc.ca", without the quotation marks.

Logging out of your account

Click on the left-bottom of the window, and choose ShutDown... , and choose Log off from the pop window, then click OK.

Note: Do not click any other option except log off.

Use Notepad to create a text file

A file is a collection of bytes stored as an individual entity. All data on disk is stored as a file with an assigned file name that is unique within the folder (directory) it resides in. A text file is a file that contains only characters meant for displaying and formatting text. Now we will create a simple text file using Notepad.

Open Notepad: click , , ,

Type the following information about yourself into the document:

• Name:
• E-mail address:
• Student number:
• Hobbies:
• Interests:
• Intended major:

After finishing all the input, click File from the menu bar, choose Save or Save as,

choose disk/drive Z in the Save in window, and click on the Create New Folder Icon , type lab0 and press enter.

There should be a folder called "lab0" now. Double click on this folder to open it and type lab0.txt as your File name. Then click Save.

Close the file by choosing File -> Exit, if it asks "Do you want to save the change?" Click Yes.

Find the "My Computer" icon on the desktop.  Double click on My Computer, find Disk Z, make sure there is a folder "lab0" that has a file lab0.txt in it. If not, you need to create the file again.

IMPORTANT: Please note Disk Z represents the storage space you are allocated with the creation of you computer science account. Aside from what you place in this space, administrative files will also exist (which you should not remove/alter).

Create directories (folders)

In a graphical user interface (GUI), a folder holds data, applications and other folders. Folders were introduced on the Xerox Star, then popularized on the Macintosh and later adapted to Windows and UNIX. In Unix, DOS and Windows 3.1 (an old Windows), a folder is known as a directory, and a subfolder (folder within a folder) is a subdirectory. (Folders aren't the only metaphor for arranging information, however! Check out the References section for more information on Flickr and tagging.)

Windows Folders:
Folders on the hard disk are pictured as manila file folders, but they are not fixed in size and can hold as much data as there is room on the entire disk.

You can use My Computer in future labs when you will need to create folders (directories).  As described above, double click the My Computer icon, double click Disk Z.  All file and folders that belong to your home directory will be displayed.  To select a directory to see its contents, double click on it.  To create a new directory, click on the File menu, select New, then select Folder and give your new folder a name.  To rename an existing folder, select it (by clicking on it once).  Once selected, you can do one of the following:

• click on File and select Rename

• press the right mouse button and select Rename from the shortcut menu that pops up

• press the F2 key

and enter the new name for your folder.  You can also use Windows Explorer to view, rename, or delete your files, as well as create new ones.  To open Windows Explorer click  Start  --  Programs  --  Accessories  --  Windows Explorer. 

Open a new file or existing file

Open a new file:

• Back in Notepad (and many other applications!), choose File from the menu bar, and choose New .

Open an existing file:

• Choose File from the menu bar, and choose Open
• If you want to open a document that was saved in a different folder, locate and open the folder.
• Double-click the document you want to open.

Tip: To open a document you've used recently, click History on the Places Bar in the Open dialog box.

Now, open the file lab0.txt you just created, and add more content by answering each of the questions listed below.  Each question will need to be started with a separate paragraph. Press the "Enter" key at the end of each paragraph. Don't worry about the format of the file; we will take care of it in later labs. Remember to save the file after finishing each paragraph. See the next section for how to save a document as you work.

Answer the following to add content to your lab0.txt file:

• How do you expect to use computers in your life and career? (Feel free to put many answers down, but separate them with blank lines.)

• How do you most often use computers now?

• What do you most want to learn from this course?

• What computer skills are you most interested in learning about?

Save files

• Save a new document: See Using Notepad to Create a Text File.
• Save a document as you work: When you are working on a document, it is a good habit to save your work often. Just go to "File" from the menu bar, and choose "Save" from the pop-down.
• Changing a document's name: Go to "File" from the menu bar, choose "Save As". Type the changed name in the "File Name" box, and Click Save.  This saves a new copy of the document with the new name.  The previous version of the file also still exists with its old name; it is not overwritten when you choose "Save As" and give it a new name.

• Save files to different directories: Go to File from the menu bar, choose Save As, choose the destination folder from the Save in box, type the new name you want in the File Name box, and Click Save.
• Save files or pictures from Web: Put the mouse cursor over the picture you want to save and click the right mouse button. Then, choose "Save picture as" from the pop-up menu. Now, you need to pick a name and location for the file as you have been doing above! (Tip: leave the dot and the part after it off, and the application will pick the right ending to the file name for you.)

  Get some practice doing that now by saving a picture from the undergraduate web site:

  • In Mozilla, Netscape or Internet Explorer, open a new web browser window by choosing File -> New -> Window
  • In the location field, type http://www.cs.ubc.ca/ugrad, point your mouse to the UBC logo at the top of the page, right-click, and choose "Save picture as". Save the picture into your Z:/lab0/ directory with the name title.gif.