This brief tour of using Windows with System Access is far from exhaustive. It is only designed to get your feet wet, so keep this in mind as we show you the basics of getting around.
The Start Menu is a system of menu items that Windows presents to help you find applications that you will want to use. To open the Start Menu from anywhere, tap the Windows key. This first area of the Start Menu is somewhat dynamic because it shows your most frequently used applications. As a result, your Start Menu will be different from the Start Menu examples in the System Access tutorials. If you want to use less frequently used programs, you can jump to the All Programs menu, whose hot key is P. If you want to move back to the Start Menu, you can tap either the Escape key or the left arrow key.
The Windows Desktop is also a frequently used area. When you first start your PC you will notice the Windows Desktop. At anytime you can move to the Windows Desktop by pressing either Windows+D or Windows+M. You use your arrow keys to navigate the Desktop or the first letter of the item you want as a hot key. For example the letter R takes you to the Recycle Bin.
Is anything lacking here? We might want to cover Explorer, Control Panel, and one or two other things. Though we're not doing a comprehensive Windows course, this section still feels a little short for the scope of its title.The System Tray shows programs running in the background, such as an instant messenger or anti-virus program. The easiest way to use the System Tray is to press Modifier+F11 to open System Access's System Tray dialog. You can then move between items by using the arrow keys or the first letter of an item, such as W for Windows Messenger. After selecting an item, repeatedly press Tab to move to the appropriate button so you can left click, double left click, or right click the item. Once you press Space to activate the button, the dialog will close.
Help balloons give you helpful messages about applications or the system's status. For example, if your network cable is unplugged, you will hear a popping sound that indicates that a help balloon has popped up. You will then immediately hear the contents of the help balloon's message. To click that help balloon if required you can press Modifier+B. This will click the message, and allow you to access settings, or information that pertains to the help balloon's message.