Although the termdrag and dropsounds as if it’s straight out of a Sopra-nos episode, it’s really a nonviolent mouse trick in Windows XP. Drag-ging and dropping is a way of moving something—say, a picture of an egg—from one part of your screen to another.
Todrag, put the mouse pointer over the egg andhold down the left or right mouse button. (I prefer the right mouse button.) As you move the mouse across your desk, the pointer drags the egg across the screen.
Put the pointer/egg where you want it and release the mouse button.
The eggdrops, uncracked.
ABig Tip Dept.: If you hold down theright mouse button while drag-ging, Windows XP tosses a little menu in your face when you let go, asking if you’re sure that you want to move that egg across the screen. Always hold down your right mouse button when dragging.
AFor more mouse fun, see the sections, “Clicking,” “Double-Click-ing,” “The Mouse,” and “Pointers/Arrows” in this chapter and, if you’re not yet weak at the knees, the information on the parts of your computer in Chapter 2.
AStarted dragging something and realized in midstream that you’re dragging the wrong thing? Breathe deeply like a yoga instructor and press Esc. Then let go of your mouse button. Whew! (If you’ve dragged with your right mouse button and already let go of the button, there’s another option: Choose Cancel from the pop-up menu.)
Drivers
Although Windows XP performs plenty of work, it hires help when nec-essary. When Windows XP needs to talk to unfamiliar parts of your com-puter, it lets specialdrivers do the translating. A driver is a piece of software that enables Windows XP to communicate with parts of your computer.
Hundreds of computer companies sell computer attachables, from printers to sound cards to sprinkler systems. Microsoft requires these companies to write drivers for their products so that Windows XP knows the polite way to address them.
ASometimes computer nerds say that yourmouse driver is all messed up. They’re not talking about your swerving hand move-ments. They’re talking about the piece of software that helps Win-dows XP talk and listen to the mouse.
AComputer products often require new, improved drivers. The best way to get these new drivers is from the Web, usually on the Web site of the company that made the gadget. Sometimes, the Microsoft Web page itself will have the proper driver, too.
ANo Internet connection? If you send a begging letter to the com-pany that made your mouse, the comcom-pany may mail you a new, updated driver on a floppy disk. Occasionally, you can get these new drivers from the wild-haired teenager who sold you your com-puter. Find a computer guru to install the driver, however, or check out the section on installing drivers in Chapter 15.
AWindows XP comes with an aptly named program calledAutomatic Update. Described in Chapter 14, the program dials a special spot on the Internet, where a stethoscope examines your computer’s internal parts and inserts updated software where needed.
Files
Afileis a collection of information in a form that the computer can play with. Aprogram file contains instructions telling the computer to do something useful, like adding up the number of quarters the kids spent on SweeTARTS last month. Adata file contains information you’ve cre-ated, like a picture of an obelisk you drew in the Windows XP Paint pro-gram.
AFiles can’t be touched or handled; they’re invisible, unearthly things. Somebody figured out how to store files as little magnetic impulses on a round piece of specially coated plastic, ordisk.
(Yep, these are the disks I cover in Chapter 2.)
AA file is referred to by itsfilename. Windows lets you call files by a descriptive phrase, as long as it doesn’t total more than 255 char-acters.
AMany filenames have optionalextensionsof up to three letters that usually refer to the program that created them. For example, the Windows XP Paint program automatically saves files with the extension BMP. Microsoft realized that most people don’t care about file extensions, so Windows XP normally hides them when it’s displaying filenames.
AFilenames have more rules and regulations than the Jacuzzi at the condo’s clubhouse. For more information than you’ll ever want to know about filenames, flip to Chapter 11.
Folders (Directories)
Nobody would ever confuse a computer with an office. Yet, Windows XP tries awfully hard to extend the common office metaphor to your com-puter. Your monitor’s screen, for instance, is called adesktop. And, just like an office, Windows XP stores your files infolders.
No matter how hard Windows tries, though, storing files is never as easy. You can’t just open a file drawer and slide in last year’s tax returns. Trying to maneuver files into folders in Windows is like trying to snag the stuffed bear using the crane machine at the fair.
Because files and folders are such painful experiences, they’re explained fully in Chapter 11. In the meantime, just think of folders as separate work areas to keep files organized. Different folders hold dif-ferent projects; you move from folder to folder as you work on difdif-ferent things with your computer.
AA file cabinet’s Vegetables folder could have an Asparagus folder nested inside it for organizing material further. In fact, most folders contain several other folders in order to organize information even more. You need to be pretty fastidious around computers; that’s the easiest way of finding your work again.
ATechnically, a folder in a folder is a nestedsubfolderthat keeps related files from getting lost. For example, you can have folders for Steamed Asparagus and Raw Asparagus in the Asparagus folder, which lives in the Vegetables folder.