Basic Computer and Windows Terms
1. APPLICATION: another
word for a program or
software.
2. BOLD: A font style that
makes letters and words
darker.
These words are bold.
These words are not.
3. CENTRAL PROCESSING
UNIT: where all of the
information you put into the
computer is stored.
4. CLICKING: Pointing to
something on the screen
and then pushing the button
on the mouse is called
clicking.
5. CURSOR: The line or
arrow that follows your
mouse movement.
6. DESKTOP: The screen
you see first when your
computer turns on.
7. DIALOGUE BOX: A
window that pops up and
asks you questions.
8. DISK DRIVE: The place
where you put your disk so
that you can save files on it.
9. DISKS: Where you save
your work, like recording on
a video tape.
10. DOCUMENT: Anything you
create in Microsoft Word is
called a document.
11. FILE: a piece of
computer information such
as a document or part of a
computer program.
12. FOLDER: Just like a file
folder in a filing cabinet, a
file is where documents
(letters, spreadsheets, etc.)
are kept.
13. FONT: The way letters
and words look.
14. FORMAT: Changing the
way that text looks on the
page.
THIS is formatted.
This is not formatted.
15. HARDWARE: All the
parts of the computer that
you can touch: the monitor,
CPU, printer, mouse, and
keyboard.
16. HARD DRIVE: the place
inside your computer where
programs and files are
stored.
17. HIGHLIGHT/SELECTING:
Click and drag across a
word or sentence to
highlight it. When it is
highlighted you can make
changes to it.
18. ICON: Symbols or
pictures that you can click
on to perform an action.
Each program has its own
icon.
19. ITALICS: A font style
that slants words to the
right.
20. KEYBOARD: Like a
typewriter, it’s where you
type and enter numbers. It
is one way to tell the
computer what you want it
to do.
21. MENU BAR: The words at
the top of the screen. Click
on these words and you
see menus of other things
you can do.
22. MENU: A list of other
things you can do. You see
a menu when you click on
one of the words on the
Menu Bar.
23. MICROSOFT WORD: A
word-processing program
for typing letters, resumes,
school papers and more.
24. : MONITOR: Your
computer’s screen
25. MOUSE: The tool you
can use tell the computer
what to do. For example
you can open programs and
files by clicking or double
clicking.
26. OPEN: A command on
the File Menu that brings
files onto the screen so that
you can see them.
27. POINT: The size of text.
12 point
16 point 24 point
28. PROGRAMS: Another
word for software or
applications.
29. SCREEN SAVER: A
design on the screen that
turns on if you don’t use
your computer for a few
minutes.
30. SCROLL BARS: The bars
on the sides of the screen
that allow you to move up
or down the page.
31. SPREADSHEET:
Organizes information into
rows and columns and
often uses math and
numbers.
32. TOOL BARS: The bars
across the top of the screen
that have icons you click on
to do different things.
