Chapter 5. Programs and Documents

• Launching Programs

• Switching Programs

• Exiting Programs

• When Programs Die

• Saving Documents

• Closing Documents

• The Open Dialog Box

• Moving Data Between Documents

• Filename Extensions

• Installing Software

• Uninstalling Software

When you get right down to it , an operating system like Windows is nothing more than a home base from which to launch applications (programs). And you, as a Windows person, are particularly fortunate, since more programs are available for Windows than any other operating system on earth.

But when you launch a program, you're no longer necessarily in the world Microsoft designed for you. Programs from other software companies work a bit differently, and there's a lot to learn about how Windows XP handles programs that were born before it was.

This chapter covers everything you need to know about installing, removing, launching, and managing programs; using programs to generate documents; and understanding how documents, programs, and Windows communicate with each other.