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Learning New Software - The Menu Bar is Your Friend
I hate to brag, but there's one talent that I have that amazes everyone. OK, everyone meaning every computer user and computer geek that I know. And before you say anything, I do know some people that are not computer geeks. Just because I am writing this article on a Friday night when I should be out in the party district of Atlanta...
Ooops, I'm definitely losing my train of thought here. The talent that I am speaking of is that I learn new pieces of software very quickly. I can grab a new piece of software in the morning, install it during a coffee break, and know how to use the basic features by lunch. A few tacos and hours later, I can have several of the advanced features down pat.
This drives many people crazy, especially since I do this most of the time without reading printed software manuals.
Shhhh ... here's a secret. Now I'm going to tell you one of the ways I learn software so quickly. I use the menu bar.
Most pieces of software have a menu bar. It's that little line of text right near the top of the window (or at the top of the screen for you Mac users) that contain words such as "File", "Edit", and "Help". With 98% of the software on the market (yes, I made that statistic up), you can perform every software-related function by clicking on items in the menu bar.
Before I continue, I must tell you to make sure you do any experimentation on a new document or one that you are using for experimentation. Standard disclaimers apply.
1. The beginning...
When you click on a menu bar option, more options pop out from the option that you selected. If you select another major heading, such as selecting "Edit" from "File," the previous options disappear and new options appear relating to editing. By clicking on all of the major headings, you can see just about all of the features available in the software.
2. Use the arrow keys and watch the status bar
If your application has a status bar on the bottom of the window, then here's a great tip that may work for you. Instead of using your mouse to navigate the menus, use the arrow keys (read the tips elsewhere in MalekTips for more information). It's quite simple - to choose between master menu bar options, use the left and right arrow keys. To choose between options in the menus that pop up from the main menu bar, use the up and down arrow keys. Why do this? Well, while you are navigating the menus, text may appear in the status bar. This text should describe the function of the menu option that is currently selected. By using the cursor keys instead of the mouse, you can see quick synopses of the functions that you can perform with your software.
3. Connect the dots
Normally, when you click on one of the menu options that pop out from the menu bar, you immediately perform a function. When the option, however, ends with an ellipsis (three dots), the software is telling you that selecting the option will instead bring up a dialog box or window. This is like the software telling you, "ok, I know you want to perform this function, but first, I need a little more information from you." If you plan on experimenting with learning software, try these menu options first.
4. Menus and submenus and sub-submenus, oh my.
If you see a menu bar option with a miniature arrow pointing right, clicking on that menu bar option brings up more menu bar options (sub-submenus) related to the option that you selected (whew!) For example, in some versions of Microsoft Word, if you choose the "View" menu, a menu option called "Toolbars" will appear. Selecting the "Toolbars" option (which has an arrow pointing right), brings up another submenu where you can select the types of toolbars to display.
5. I can't do that?!?
Every now and then you will see menu options that are grayed. You can not select these options, at least for now. Most of these options are only appropriate in certain sections of the application or when you are performing some other functions. Don't worry about these options for now - keep on experimenting with the options that you can select.
6. Checkmate
Some menu bar options actually relate to program options that you can turn on or off. You will know that this is the case if you select a menu bar option and nothing appears to happen. If you go back to the menu bar option and you see a check (or you see a blank space where a check previously existed), you should now realize that you turned a program option on or off.
In summary, this is just a basic overview of how to use menu bars. I did not cover menu bar shortcuts and program-specific menu bar features. I just wanted to show you that, by using the menu bar, you could see much of what your software can do. Don't be afraid - experiment with your software. I've seen people about ready to spend $50 for software, when the features found in said package could already be found in another program already on the system.
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