How to learn any application - Windows Tutorial

- [Instructor] I think one of the most important skills to develop when it comes to learning how to use any computer application is the skill of just exploring and not being nervous about clicking things. Many people who consider themselves non-computer people are often afraid of messing around in programs and worry that they're going to break something. Well, I'm here to tell you that when you're working in any application, there's pretty much no chance that you can irreversibly mess up that application. Now, there's a better chance you can mess up a document or a file that you're using in the application. But let me show you a quick trick. Just about every application has a command called, Save As. Located under the File menu. This allows you to save another copy of your document on your computer leaving the original document or file untouched. So here I can just save a copy of this. I'll just put it on my desktop. Click Save. And this gives you the freedom to experiment as much as you want with this copy of your file knowing that you have your original version sitting safe and sound on your hard drive. So really, the trick to learning any application is to embrace the idea of just playing around with it. Start by clicking the menus in the menu bar. Almost all applications have menus in common like File and Edit, which we'll talk about in an upcoming movie. The other menus are the ones that are usually unique to that particular application you're working in. So really take some time and explore what's available in those menus. Usually you'll be able to infer what the application is capable of based on the commands found in its menu bar. For example, here I'm working in Adobe Photoshop and under the Image menu you can see that most of these commands have to do with affecting the look of the photo. Menus with arrows next to them indicate more selections are available in a sub menu. And generally any menu that ends with ellipses indicates that selecting that menu item and will open up a window in which you'll be able to make additional selections. And that gives you yet another area of the application to explore and play around with. Also, know that you'll always find a cancel button in windows like this. Cancel lets you close the window without making any changes regardless of whether you click some buttons or menus in that window. Many applications also have numerous toolbars or pallettes in which you'll find several buttons and menus as well. Again, take some time to look over them and read their labels if they have labels to figure out what they do. You'll also find that most applications reveal additional information about their buttons when you place your mouse over them. These are often called tool tips. And again, this is a quick and convenient way to learn what a program is capable of. And as always, don't be afraid to try things out. Another feature I'll talk more about in an upcoming movie is the Undo feature which many applications have in common. Undo is almost always found under the Edit menu. And it lets you take back the last change you made to your file or project. So, if I'm just playing around with some of these tools and I ended up doing something like this, I can come up to the Edit menu and choose Undo to undo it. So, as you explore the application's menus and buttons, you'll really start to get an idea of the language of the application. How it works, how it's organized, and what you can or cannot do. The goal isn't to completely memorize every menu and button but more to just learn what's possible and to browse the names of the menu commands and buttons. So, when it does come time to actually do some work you'll probably remember seeing a command or a button that fits what you're trying to do and be able to find it again. Lastly, most applications have a Help menu in which you'll be able to find instructions for commonly used features or frequently performed tests. So be sure to look under help while you're exploring. So those are just some general tips you can follow to help you get better acquainted with any particular application you need to learn. Of course, I've only been speaking in very general terms here and it will take time to really learn any application in depth. But these tips will help you get your bearings and make any application feel a little less foreign and much more familiar when it comes time to actually do some work.