Some Key Terms

Access runs on the Windows operating system. We'll be using Microsoft Office Access 2003 (which we'll just call "Access 2003" in the rest of this book), which runs on Windows 95 or any later version of Windows. We assume that you already know how to start Windows, log in, and use the mouse; from there, we'll teach you everything else that you need to know to get started.

There are some key terms you should know. Understanding the distinctions between these various actions will help you follow the numerous step-by-step examples in this book on your own computer.

• Press By itself, usually refers to a key on the keyboard. When we tell you to press F11, it means to press and release the F11 key on the top row of the keyboard. To press Alt-F, hold down the Alt key and press and release the F key before letting go of the Alt key.

• Point Move the mouse on the desk to move the pointer onscreen. The tip of the arrow should be on the item to which you are pointing. To open a menu or an icon, you point to the item you want.

• Click Press and release the primary mouse button once. Usually this will be the left mouse button, though if you're a leftie you may have changed this. You use click to select commands and toolbar buttons , as well as perform other Windows tasks .

• Double-click Press and release the primary mouse button twice in rapid succession. Double-clicking opens an icon or launches an action.

• Right-click Press and release the right mouse button once. You often right-click to display a shortcut menu.

• Drag Hold down the mouse button and drag the pointer across the screen. Release the mouse button. Dragging is most often used for selecting text.

• Drag and Drop Point to the item that you want to drag and hold down the primary mouse button. Now you can move the mouse to drag the item around the screen. When you've dragged the item to the location where you'd like to drop it, release the mouse button.