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Computer Systems Lab CS1000 |
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Once you are logged in, you should see something like `` vega1% '' in a window in the lower left corner of the screen. This is called your prompt and means that the computer is waiting for you to type a command. You'll more than likely have a different hostname than vega1, this is OK. All the things you see on your screen, as well as all the things you can do to manipulate the image of your screen is called your environment. This environment has been carefully designed to be the easiest to use during your introductory computing classes.
Your environment is capable of many complex things, many of which you will learn during the first couple weeks of class. One important feature of your environment is the interaction between the mouse movement and the cursor on the screen. You will discover that the cursor must be inside a window for you to be able to type or do anything in that window.
To create a window , you must use a pull down mouse menu. To see one of these menus, place the cursor on the background, outside of any windows, then press and hold down the left mouse button. This is known as the first mouse button. You will now see the Programs mouse menu. While still holding down the mouse button, move the cursor (which is now an arrow) down over the options. The options are hierarchical, so you must move the pointer to the right of the option to get the corresponding submenu. You can select an option by highlighting an option and releasing the mouse button. To create a window, you must select the Xterm option. Xterm is another name for a window. After a couple seconds, a window will appear. You can create as many windows as you like, but your screen may become crowded after a while. This is where the window manager comes in handy.
In the upper right corner of each window are two boxes. The second box from the right (the one with the small square in it) is known as the Iconify button. When you place your cursor over this key and briefly click with the first mouse button (left button), the window will disappear, but a square with the word xterm under it will appear at the upper right side of the screen. This box represents the iconified window. The window is temporarily closed, yet none of its contents will be lost. To deiconify the window, double click on the icon. The window will then appear on the screen again.
To move a window around on the screen, click and hold the mouse button on the grey bar across the top of the window. This bar is called the title bar. As you hold the mouse button, the cursor will turn into crossed arrows. If you move the cursor now, a segmented image of the window will move with the cursor. When you release the mouse button, the window will move to where the image was.
If you would like a different sized window, you can resize a window by placing the cursor on the border of the side you want to expand or shrink, so that it turns into an arrow and a line. Then, click and hold the cursor. Again the cursor changes to crossed arrows. You can now move the side in or out to adjust the size of the window. Once you release the mouse button, the window will stay as you adjusted it.
There may be cases where you would like to completely get rid of a window, not just iconify it. To do this, you must choose the Destroy option from the pull down menu on the left corner of the window. Then the window will completely disappear, never to be seen again. Note that any program running from within the window will also be destroyed. This is considered the rude way to end a process, and it is not recommended, as it does not allow the process to terminate properly. The destroy option should only be used as a last resort. Using the Close option eliminates a window more kindly, yet, to be absolutely safe, you should end all processes properly before closing or destroying the window.
Another feature of your environment is the ability to copy text between windows. You can grab some text by positioning your cursor over the first letter of a word, then pressing and holding down the first mouse button, moving to the right, highlighting the word. Once you release the mouse button, the word is stored in a memory buffer. You can empty this buffer to another place in the current window or a different window by pressing the middle mouse button. Remember that the second mouse button position on a two button mouse is both buttons.