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P1 Tech Helpdesk: Demystifying the desktop

P1 Technology Helpdesk with Tech Help Correspondent John Rivera

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Any novice computer user has certainly heard “geek-speak” terms such as ‘modem,’ ‘application,’ ‘software,’ ‘executable,’ and so on. Today, I hope to help you understand a little about the ‘desktop’ and the ‘applications’ on it.

When you were hired, your hiring Lieutenant (or HR department) told the IT folks to set up a computer account profile in your name. This profile is called a “Roaming” profile – roaming means that whichever computer you log into, you have the same capability from one PC to another.

You probably sat at a computer station and watched it “boot up” in a sequence of screens before you saw the familiar Windows screen.

The “Boot Up” sequence is usually comprised of three or four screens:
• The first screen starts (initializes) the keyboard, mouse, other equipment
• The second set of screens set up the software that runs in the background while you’re on the computer
• The last screen is the log on screen with your name and a space for your password
• As your computer is logging you in, you’ll probably see a black screen that disappears after a second or so – this screen is your profile being recognized by the computer network
• Once you’re logged into your account you find the last screen – this is your “desktop”

Once your profile is authenticated you see a “Desktop” with some familiar “Application (Software) Icons” such as Outlook, Word, Excel, etc. Icons are actually shortcuts to the software you’re selecting. You can make a shortcut for any program onto your desktop:
1. Select the program, right click, and scroll down to “Send”
2. Highlight Send and you will see several options. Choose the one that says “Send to Desktop”

Alternatively, you can scroll down to “Create Shortcut.” This will just make a shortcut in the Program menu and will put a number 2 in parenthesis next to the name of the program. You can then highlight that particular “Shortcut” with a left click, hold the click and drag it onto your desktop.

Be advised that these instructions also work for specific documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and any other digital information stored in your computer. Know also that you may not have the appropriate privileges on your profile to be able to do these functions. When in doubt, ask.

Not all computer networks or computers are built the same. You may not see the familiar Microsoft Office Icons to which you’re accustomed so finding “Word” may seem tricky. Here is an easy tip that will make you look like a computer genius.

• Click the “Start” button then click the “Run” button. You should see the picture below
• In the open text box type winword.exe and the Microsoft Word application will open along with a new document
• The same instructions work for Excel and Outlook.

MSFT Apps: intermeshed and interoperable
The Microsoft Office Suite gives the user the ability to import and export information from one application within MS Office without the necessity of converting the data. MS Word and MS Outlook will be the applications you will probably use the most. I will explain some of the main functions of MS Outlook.

Outlook is often set by the IT guy to be tailored to each individual and uses the computer account set up for you by your IT department. Along with MS word and your particular incident report generator it is one the applications you will use the most in your career.

First and foremost; Outlook sends and receives e-mail. As you open the application you see a window that has several sections. One of the sections is the Navigation Pane, typically found on the far left side of the screen. This pane is has several buttons, including Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, etc. (This pane can be shortened by going to the top of the pane with the cursor until you see the two way arrow and shortening or lengthening the pane. As you shorten the pane you will see the icons that shortened from the pane go into a quick launch pane).

Within the Navigation Pane you have a folder list. This is where you see folders including Inbox, Sent Mail, Deleted Items, Drafts, etc. You can “right click” the Inbox folder and add subfolders to it. For example, I have folders labeled for Traffic, Municipal Court, Subpoenas, and etc.

Press the Calendar button and you’ll see a typical calendar that can be changed from a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly calendar. Within the calendar you can schedule reminders to be sent to yourself via reminder from several weeks to several hours in advance.

You just right click to the day and select New Appointment and insert subject, location, duration, and notes if you wish. You can also send the appointment to another recipient’s email address within your Outlook contacts. Meetings can be arranged the same way as setting up an appointment.

Once the appointment has been made, a reminder will appear on your desktop even if Outlook is not running.

The Contact button will already have all the contacts (e-mail addresses) you need within your department. You can add a new address by going to the Contracts button and adding the contact.

The Task button could be used for scheduling tasks like training, patrol, overtime, etc. To schedule the task is much like scheduling an appointment but the task feature shows you the percentage of task completion. A reminder can be sent to yourself much like a reminder for an appointment.

The Notes feature is one I use to save work-related web sites along with user names and passwords. To insert a new note just select the “New” button and type. Once you close the particular note Outlook will save the note as the first line typed. For example if you type www.policeone.com with your username and password on the note and close it will name the note as www.policeone.com. Note: if you type the full web address Outlook will automatically link to the address if selected. This feature is prominent in all Microsoft Office applications.

A feature many don’t know exists within Outlook is the Out Of Office Assistant. Once this feature is selected it can be used to tell people trying to email that you’re away (vacation, court, training, etc). To select this feature simply choose Tools from the options at the top of the Outlook screen, then Out Of Office Assistant from the “pull-down” menu. With Out Of Office Assistant you can type a message indicating why you’re out and your expected return date – be advised that you must check the “Out Of Office” box to start the feature. This feature is beneficial because it will let others sending you email know not to expect an immediate return message.

There are many more features within Outlook that can be utilized for your benefit. I suggest practicing some of the more advanced features on your personal computer at home; this way if anything gets sideways it won’t affect your work email.

If you need help or want instructions with any feature in Outlook or MS Office, just go to Help or press F1 on your keyboard. You can usually type the question or phrase and the Help will give you a listing of solutions that you may have to scroll through to come close to your request.

Stay Safe and keep the rubber side down.

John Rivera presently works as a Patrol Officer in Bremerton, Washington.  John started his Police career as a volunteer Reserve Officer in Bremerton and previously worked in several security and Police jobs as well as serving as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy.

Prior to the start of his Police career, John was a Network Administrator and Systems Engineer at several IT companies in Washington.  John says: "On top of the experience I’d accrued by repairing my own PCs, I earned a Computer Programming Degree and worked for approximately two and a half years in the industry. I wasn’t the help desk guy everyone hates to call because of all the “geek-speak” someone typically gets when they call tech support. I made it a point to speak plainly enough so they could understand what I was saying."

If you have a specific technology question for John, please feel free to email him by clicking here.