Anything with an arrowhead pointing to the right is a link to a submenu. Menus can be nested. Saying "submenu" gets old after a while. A submenu is a menu that has a parent menu. A common notation for following a path of menus is to separate menus by a vertical bar. For example, the menu path to the Paint program can be described by: Start | All Programs | Accessories | Paint .

1. (f) Start Menu
2. (a) All Programs Command
3. (g) Start Button
4. (b) All Programs Submenu
5. (c) Accessories Command
6. (e) Paint Program Command, or Paint Program
7. (d) Accessories Submenu

1. (d) E-mail, Web browser, instant messaging, and FTP programs are examples of communications software.
2. (b) If a company cannot find software to meet its unique requirements, the company may use a programmer to develop tailor-made custom software.
3. (d) The arrowhead at the right edge of some menu commands indicates that a submenu of additional commands is available.
4. (a) The title bar of a document window usually displays the document's file name.
5. (b) A feature called "word wrap" allows users of word processing software to type words continually without pressing the ENTER key at the end of each line.
6. (c) When using spreadsheet software, a function is a predefined formula that performs common calculations.
7. (a) With database software, users can run a query to request specific data from the database.
8. (c) Page layout, which is a feature of Desk Top Publishing (DTP) software, is a process of arranging text and graphics in a document on a page-by-page basis.
9. (a) Training centers, educational institutions, and online magazine publishers all use multimedia authoring software to develop interactive applications.
10. (c) Integrated software is less expensive that a more powerful software suits.
11. (a) Computer Based Training (CBT) typically consists of self-directed, self-paced instruction on a topic.
12. (d) An e-mail program, which allows messages and files to be transmitted via a network, is integrated in many software suites, integrated software, and operating systems.
13. (b) A Volume Business ASP supplies prepackaged applications.
14. (d) Online Help is often context-sensitive, meaning that the Help information relates to the current task being attempted.

1. (e) clip art: Collection of drawings, diagrams, maps, and photographs.
2. (i) clipboard: Temporary storage location that contains items cut or copied in a document.
3. (a) voice recognition: Capability of a computer to distinguish spoken words.
4. (f) cell: Intersection of a row and column in a worksheet.
5. (b) record: Row in a database table that contains data about a given item.
6. (l) slide sorter view: Presents a screen view that helps to organize presentations.
7. (d) filters: Usually included in audio editing software to enhance audio quality.
8. (h) online banking: Offers access to account balances and provides bill paying services.
9. (g) specialist ASP: Delivers applications to meet a specific business need.
10. (k) distance learning: Delivery of education at one location while learning takes place at another.

1a. How is a serif font different from a sans serif font?

1b. How is font size measured?

Marshall Lee, Bookmaking: The illustrated guide to design/production/editing, 2nd Edition, R. R. Bowker Co. (1979). Pages 25-32, and 246.

Related terms of interest: 

2a. What is charting?

    Charting is the act of creating a chart. In Microsoft Excel, a chart is a set of plotted points (scatter plot), line plot, bar plot, or pie chart.

2b. How are line charts, column charts, and pie charts different?

3a. Why do professional designers and graphic artists use Desk Top Publishing (DTP) software instead of word processing packages?

    Text answer: Professional designers and graphic artists use Desk Top Publishing software because it supports page layout.

    Professional designers and professional graphic artists working in a professional environment to publish professionally (Wiley, Addison-Wesley, etc) works of enduring value (books and archival reference materials) do not prefer PC-based consumer retail market DTP.  They accept manuscripts using prescribed word processing packages, but translate the manuscripts into their own typesetting software early in the project phase.

    Desk Top Publishing software is used for page layout, which is necessary for producing visually appealing print documents.  Early versions of DTP permitted specification of columns, headers, footers, page number style and location, but not much else.  Page style could be redesigned ad hoc, page-by-page.  Desk Top Publishing software is WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get).  It fills the gap between professional publishers and office correspondence and report preparation. DTP is good for preparing camera-ready copy for locally reproduced print material (or perhaps magazine quality material like "Discovering Computers 2001") that does not need high quality professional typesetting. These are good products for preparing non-archival print material.  DTP adequately serves the need for home-grown advertisement, newsletters, and some newspapers.  One of the early DTP packages popular in the mid 1980s was Apple's PageMaker which ran on a MacIntosh.  It was accompanied by an equation editor called Expressionist.

    Professional designers and graphic artists working in the publishing industry use typesetting software. Examples include XML (http://www.w3.org/XML/), and the older SGML.  They accept electronic input from authors in a restricted number of formats, translate these into their own special software, and edit using their own languages.  Academic publishers of books and journals have a preference for using TeX, or its front end called LaTeX (see Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN) ftp.shsu.edu USA site), a language for typesetting that uses logical formatting rather than WYSIWYG formatting.  IEEE has changed from LaTeX to XML for publishing archives. Newspapers have their own special typesetting software.  If you are preparing something for publishing by a professional publisher, you need to contact them in advance to determine what format they accept.  They are usually rigid in their specifications (for good reasons).

    If you go to graduate school in engineering, science, mathematics, or statistics, you will write papers using one of the family of TeX-based software.  The LaTeX-based Scientific WorkPlace is a good front-end for easy preparation of TeX publications.  There are other good commercial TeX and LaTeX variants available, such as AMSTeX, RevTeX.  TeX and LaTeX are free, but difficult for a novice to use.  Using a commercial font-end is recommended.  Your university department professors will be able to provide you with good specific guidance.

    If you are going into Computer Science, you need to hear about TeX.  It was written by one of the preeminent computer scientists, Donald E. Knuth.  I also strongly recommend the following multi-volume series, The Art of Computer Programming, by Don Knuth:

3b. What is a color library?

    In our text, it means a standard set of colors used by designers and printers to ensure that colors will print exactly as specified. 

    A related term is "color palette" which refers to the colors you can select from when using a graphics editor.

4a. What are two disadvantages of using installed software?

4b. How can you access a Web application?

    Remarks:

5a. What is online Help?

Online Help is an electronic user manual.  The word "online" here is to distinguish an electronic user manual from one printed on paper.  Often, it can be used like a book index, a table of contents, or key-word searched to find the information you are looking for.  Like other types of reference material, you often need to try several key words before locating what you really needed to know.  It is MUCH cheaper to distribute documentation electronically and on CD than in printed form, and it is much easier to use. 

    One limitation is that it doesn't help when your computer is off or not working.  You need printed copies of the directions to use your rescue or startup disk.

    More recently, "Online Help" has been extended to link to the vendor's web site for help beyond that distributed with the software.  This is useful for finding information documented after the software disks were prepared for distribution.  This form of help also sometimes provides a method of asking the vendor questions not covered in any version of Help.  The limitation is that a vendor's site might not always be reachable.  For example, Microsoft's site was under a denial-of-use attack in January 2001, and was unavailable.

5b. How do FAQs and wizards help software users?

FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions.  This is a list of questions, usually with answers.  The easiest way to use a FAQ is to load it into your word processor and do a key-word search for the information you seek.  FAQs permit customers to find information more quickly than by waiting for a phone line into a customer service representative.  The customer service representative is good for taking information for less common problems, and getting an answer to you at a later date.

    Wizards are aids for performing a procedure that often ask you for selected inputs and then causes the needed actions to be taken. You will experience using Wizards in the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint labs.

1. a. How are creating, editing, and formatting a word processing document different?

    Creating a document is the act of opening a new file and inserting new material.

    Editing is the act of making changes, additions, and deletions to a file.

    Formatting is the act of establishing rules for governing the appearance of a document. This includes global formatting, such as style and location of page numbers, headers, footers, style and location of table of contents, bibliography, and index.  It also includes local formatting, such as use of font family and size, and bold, italic, and underline embellishments.

1. b.  What is the Clipboard and during which activity is it usually used?

    The Clipboard is an area of memory for temporary storage of objects in multiple formats.  When you delete, cut, copy text from a document, the contents are stored in the Clipboard for reuse.  You can paste the contents of the Clipboard into a document.  

    The clipboard contains up to the last 12 cut or deleted items.  From within Microsoft Word, you can choose View | Toolbars | Clipboard to get the Clipboard toolbar which allows you to select among up to 12 notes placed onto the clipboard.  You can sometimes view the first item on the clipboard using the Clipboard Viewer.  Start Clipboard Viewer by clicking Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Clipboard Viewer.  This viewer does not always display the clipboard contents.  You will need to remember what was on each clipboard note.

2a. What is a personal information manager (PIM)?

    A personal information manager (PIM) is a software application that includes an appointment calendar, address book, notepad, and other features to help you organize personal information.

2b. Describe some of the features that are available in a PIM.

    An appointment calendar allows you to schedule activities for a particular day and time.

    An address book permits you to enter and maintain names, addresses, and telephone numbers of customers, co-workers, family members, and friends.

    A notepad is used to record ideas, reminders, and other important information.

3c. What is page layout?

    Page layout is the process of arranging text and graphics in a document on a page-by-page basis.

4. a. What is an Internet e-mail address?

    Like an address on the envelope of a snail mail letter, an email address specifies the intended destination of an email message.  An Internet email address identifies the email server (located on the machine identified by the domain name) and user file (mailbox, identified by the user name) to which email is to be sent.

4. b. What two parts of an e-mail address are separated by the at (@) sign?

    The part of the email address preceding the at-sign (@) is the user name. The right part of the email address is called the domain name.

2. Terms in this question do not universally have the meaning given by our text. The definitions given in our text are appropriate to the office products marketed by Microsoft and its competitors.

a. What are the major advantages of a software suite?

    A software suite is a collection of programs packaged for retail sale for a particular application market, such as office productivity.  Among the desired attributes is file compatibility between the various programs in the package.  Often, the bundled price of the software is less than the sum of prices of individually purchased programs.  Microsoft Office is an example of such a product.

2. b. How is a software suite different from integrated software?

    Book answer: "In the office product line, unlike the software suite, individual applications in integrated software cannot be purchased separately."  Microsoft Works and AppleWorks are examples.  The text's version of integrated software is like a poor man's version of a software suite.  MS Works is cheaper and less capable than MS Office, and usually quite adequate for the home user.  It is not adequate for a small business user or the serious college student.

    History: MS Office versus PerfectOffice (now owned by Corel).

    Individual products were developed in isolation, such as Word Perfect, Lotus 1-2-3, dBase III, and Harvard Graphics.  These were collected together and sold as a package at a reduced (bundled) cost.  Initially, there were problems with importing files made in one application into another application.  As time marched on, the ability to import data from one application to another was implemented.  It was error-prone and unstable at first, but got better with additional releases.

    Microsoft, always alert for another way to make a profit, decided to enter the office productivity market too. Building on the experience of using the above individual applications, Microsoft planned application compatibility (integrated) from the start.

    By now, both the Microsoft and Corel products are world-class office productivity packages that perform well.

    In the more general context, software is considered "integrated" if it has file compatibility and similar user interface, and is written to allow smooth transition between a variety of common tasks.  Often, individual applications from integrated software CAN BE purchased separately.  An example is Orcad Release 9 by Cadence of Portland OR, which includes PSpice, the industry standard electronics simulation software.  Parts of Orcad can be purchased separately, but it is considered integrated software.  PSpice was developed by a university, and later modified with a nice front end and marketed by MicroSim.  It was bought out by Orcad. There are many other examples. Another example is LabView (National Instruments) and its related family of products.

5. b. How do tutorials help software users? 

    Tutorials are introductions to software that provide step-by-step instructions for getting you started in using an application.  Often, tutorials are presented immediately after you install major software.  Even if you are an experienced user upgrading your software, it is worth a few minutes to go through the tutorial to see what new has been added.

6. a. (Old Chapter #1) How is packaged software different from custom software?

Packaged software is designed to meet the needs of a wide variety of users.  Such software is sometimes called Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software.  You can purchase such software ready-made.

Custom software consists of one or more programs written for a specific customer application.  Such software can accommodate customer special needs, capabilities, organization, and policies.  Many features in COTS software originated in custom software and have been found to be generally useful to a wider market.

Custom software can perform needed tasks more efficiently than general purpose packaged software.  Disadvantages include: documentation and long term support is usually lacking, application changes usually require additional programming, and special training is required to use it.  Institutional needs usually change over time which generates a need to change custom software to meet new needs and implement new policies.

The copyright laws govern the category.  The difference is in the license!

    Public domain software is software for which the copyright has expired, or was produced by, for, or donated to government agencies, or the author who has the copyright privilege has declared it in the public domain.  Much software has been made available to the public through http://www.education.lanl.gov . Public domain material can be reproduced and resold at a profit without permission of the author.

    Shareware is governed by license and characterized (but not defined) by possession acquired outside the control of the copyright holder, with payment based on the honor system.  Often (but not always), such software may be used for a trial period for free, with payment due if use extends beyond the established trial period.  It is possible that a shareware license will require immediate payment before first use. An example is "1979 Book Of Common Prayer (Shareware Version)".  It can be downloaded from a website, but "If you use it, you are obligated to pay for it. The registration fee is $30.00, payable to Software Sharing Ministries."  Historically descendent from IBM Share, this is a way of people to provide and obtain low-cost, minimally supported software.  IBM Share consisted of software written by users of IBM computers (usually at university researchers).  The listing of available software and their owners was distributed by IBM.  Researchers contacted the owners to acquire the code.  A fee covered the cost of reproduction and shipping.

    Freeware is software with current copyright which is provided at no cost.  The license controls redistribution and resale rights.  A commonly used source of freeware is GNU Software Foundation software.  It uses a widely accepted license, which is termed "copyleft".  See  http://www.gnu.org  which is associated with M.I.T..  Academic research software is often in this category.  The key to ethical use of such software is acknowledging the source and author, and documenting changes.

    Freeware: http://freeware.sgi.com/