Differences Between
Windows 3.x and Windows 95

Groups & Icons vs. Programs & Shortcuts

In Windows 95, program groups and program items are no longer the primary way to launch applications. Program groups have been replaced with directories, and program items with shortcuts. Shortcuts work just as their name implies: a shortcut is an icon used to quickly access programs and documents. Shortcuts may be placed virtually anywhere in Windows 95. Many shortcuts can be found by clicking Start and then Programs. By doing so, a menu appears containing shortcuts for several Windows 95 applets as well as shortcuts for the programs that were installed on the system before the Windows 95 Setup was run; shortcuts were converted from the old program groups during Setup. To make changes to the shortcuts that appear on the Start Menu, simply right-click on the Start button, then click Open. The window that appears contains shortcuts and directory folders. Right-click on an icon and choose Properties to edit it.

Shortcuts may be placed in directory windows and even on the Windows 95 desktop. Shortcuts can be made to directories and documents as well as to specific programs. Following are two methods for creating a shortcut.

• Right-click the file or folder to which a shortcut is being created. Click Create Shortcut from the menu that appears. A shortcut now appears. This shortcut can be moved to another directory, to the Start Menu, or to the desktop.

• Right-click the file or folder to which a shortcut is being created. Click Copy from the menu that appears. Move to the desired location for the shortcut to appear. Right click on a spot (for example, a blank space in a directory window). In the menu that appears, click Create Shortcut. The shortcut now appears.

Shortcuts can be copied, renamed, and deleted like any other file type in Windows 95. A shortcut's large icon is always displayed with a small arrow in its lower left corner to indicate that it is a shortcut and not an actual file, directory, or program.

The File Manager vs. Windows Explorer.

Windows Explorer replaces the Windows 3.x Program Manager and File Manager. Explorer performs file management tasks previously performed in File Manager and allows these tasks to be performed in new ways.

One way to manage files is by double-clicking on the My Computer icon located in the upper left corner of the screen. When this is done, a window appears displaying disk drives, network connections (if running on a network), and icons for configuring Windows 95 for the hardware. To navigate the drive's directory folders, in order to locate files, double-click the appropriate disk drive or network icon. Right-clicking a file or folder icon displays a menu for performing the most common file management tasks, such as copy and delete. The menu bar gives an alternative method for performing these tasks and allows file and directory displays to be customized.

Another way to manage files is to launch the Explorer application. Launch the Explorer by clicking Start, clicking Programs, then clicking Windows Explorer. A two-pane window appears, similar to File Manager's display. In the left pane a branching tree displays the drives, folders, and other objects on the system. When a branch is expandable, a plus sign appears at the branch's intersection. Clicking on this plus sign expands the branch on the tree. Note that this tree is only a representation of the files and folders, not an exact model. For example, the Recycle Bin appears as a subdirectory of Desktop as well as appearing as a directory on each logical drive on the computer; Desktop itself is really a subdirectory of the Windows folder, although in Explorer all drives, folders, and objects appear to branch off from it. This is done to allow access to specific areas, such as the Desktop or Control Panel, more quickly than navigating through the many directories and files.

The Control Panel

To open the Control Panel under Windows 95, click Start, click Settings, then click Control Panel. Nearly all of the configuration settings for the computer are consolidated in the Control Panel. This varies from previous Windows programs (i.e. Windows 3.x) in which configuration settings were divided among the Control Panel, Windows Setup, Network, and sometimes separate applications were designed to configure a specific device. Display now allows all display settings to be configured in one place, including colors, fonts, resolutions, and screen savers. System displays all of the hardware devices recognized by Windows 95 and checks for possible conflicts between devices. Some of the additions to Control Panel in Windows 95 are: Accessibility Options, used to make the Windows environment easier to use under special conditions; Modems, used to determine the setting of the new universal modem driver; Multimedia, used to configure the multimedia devices used by the system; Add/Remove Programs, an installation utility designed to make installing and removing software easier; Add New Hardware, a similar utility for use when adding hardware to the computer; and Printers, used to install software drivers that allow printers to work with Windows 95.

Exiting Windows 95

Previously, when turning off a computer using Windows 3.x, Windows had to be exited in order for Windows to perform some simple housekeeping chores to safeguard data. Typically, the user would see a DOS prompt on-screen after Windows was completely exited. The computer could then be safely turned off.

In Windows 95 this process of exiting has changed. In Windows 95, when turning off the computer, click Start, then click Shut Down. Windows 95 verifies the exit and offers other options, such as restarting the computer and exiting into MS-DOS mode. While Windows 95 is shutting down, it displays a screen informing that it is doing so; when finished, the message "It's now safe to turn off your computer" appears. Under most circumstances, the computer should only be turned off after this message appears on-screen.

Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Two of the utilities that were included with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 are not part of the normal Windows 95 installation; however, they are on the Windows 95 CD and can be installed once Windows 95 has been setup on the computer.

Winchat

The new version of Winchat exists in the Other\Chat directory on the Windows 95 CD. To install it, use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, select the Windows Setup tab, and click Have Disk. Enter the drive letter and directory path and click OK. Put a check in the box next to Winchat and click Install to complete the installation.

Clipbook

Clipbook exists in the Other\Clipbook directory on the Windows 95 CD. Install it using the same method as used for Winchat.

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