The omnipresence of Windows in the workplace presumes a general comfort level with the product. Yet time and again we encounter productivity roadblocks that are no more mysterious than the absence of general Windows skills.

A friend of mine who fields support calls for a medium-sized agency recently provided several examples of questions that regularly surface, and are often repeated by the same individuals. During one support call, a person was asked to minimize the active window. There was dead silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a sheepish, "I don’t know what you mean by that." Neither the term "minimize" nor "active window" was familiar. During another session, a caller was told to copy a file to the "My Documents" folder. The user did not know what a folder was, and had no idea how to copy a file from one place to another.

While these examples may seem funny, they’re not. Many people lack basic Windows skills, and that can have a huge effect on productivity. Discovering skill weaknesses is an important first step in understanding what kind of training you need in your agency.

Put yourself and your staff to the test by taking the "20-Question Challenge." Your quiz results and answer key will be available upon submitting.

1. Every program has this set of boxes in the top right of the window. What does the middle button do? 
1. Closes the program.
2. Maximizes the program and/or allows the user to resize the window.
3. Minimizes the program to a taskbar icon.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
2. You are copying a single file to a brand new diskette that you know has been properly formatted. You receive the error "diskette full," yet you know that there are no other files on the diskette. What is the most likely reason you received this error?
1. Your computer isn’t plugged in.
2. The file you are copying to the diskette is too large for the diskette capacity.
3. You don’t have permission to copy files.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
3. What does the command CTL+A do inside Word?
1. Adds a new page.
2. Starts a new document.
3. Selects and highlights all the text in the document.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
4. On most Windows toolbars, you will see various underlined letters, such as File, Edit. What do these underlined letters mean?
1. Nothing.
2. They make the words easier to read so you know where to click your mouse.
3. They represent keyboard alternatives to mouse commands.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
5. In Windows, what is the difference between a directory and a folder?
1. They are the same things.
2. A folder is the name of a file and a directory is the hard drive.
3. A directory can contain a folder but a folder cannot contain a directory.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
6. What is the difference between Save and Save As?
1. Save is typically used the first and subsequent times an item is used, overwriting the prior version. Save As allows the user to copy the revised document to a new file name, preserving the original document version.
2. There is no difference.
3. Save As forces the user to change the document name.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
7. You are trying to find an Excel file stored on your computer. You don’t remember what you named the file, but know you stored it somewhere on your C drive. Using the Find Files feature, how would you ask for just Excel worksheets?
1. You can’t.
2. Type the words Excel Files in the file name space of the Find Files dialogue box.
3. Click on the Advanced tab in the Find Files dialogue box. In the Of Type selection, choose Microsoft Worksheets.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
8. Someone sent you a document attachment in e-mail, and the sender told you that it was created in Microsoft Word. You are unable to open the document, yet you have always been able to open Word documents in the past. Which of the following is a reason?
1. Your computer can only open so many Word attachments a month and you reached your limit.
2. The document was created in a higher version of Word than is installed on your computer.
3. The document was created in a lower version of Word than is installed on your computer.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
9. You received a file called NAMES.ZIP. The sender advised that this was a list of names in an Excel worksheet, yet you cannot access the file in Excel. Why not?
1. The file is infected with the ZIP virus and should be destroyed.
2. The file was created in a higher version of Excel that you do not have installed on your machine.
3. The file has been condensed and needs to be unzipped before it can be used.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
10. You work in a network environment and access one of several network printers that are connected directly to the server. When you try to print, you receive a "printer offline" error message. Which of the following is NOT a cause?
1. You lost your network connection.
2. The cable connecting your computer to the printer is loose.
3. The printer is not receiving network commands.
4. The printer is turned off.
5. I don’t know.
 
 
11. You received an e-mail attachment named STRATEGY.PPS. What kind of file is this?
1. Printer driver.
2. Excel file.
3. Power Point Show.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
12. You have several programs open and maximized. How can you tell which one is the active window?
1. There is no way to tell.
2. The program title bar is a different color.
3. The program title bar says "Active Window."
4. I don’t know.
 
 
13. How do you select non-contiguous (not touching) items in a list using your mouse and keyboard?
1. CTL+CLICK.
2. ALT+CLICK.
3. SHIFT+CLICK.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
14. You want to copy a file to a diskette that already contains several other files. Where can you go to determine the remaining capacity of that diskette?
1. Windows Explorer.
2. My Computer.
3. Both A and B.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
15. You have located a file using Windows Explorer and now want to copy that file to a diskette. Which of the following describes a way to copy that file to the diskette?
1. Right click and drag the file to the diskette drive and choose Copy.
2. Select the file by clicking once on it, do CTL+C, then open your diskette drive and do CTL+V to paste.
3. Right click on the file and choose Send To, then select Floppy.
4. All of the above.
5. I don’t know.
 
 
16. CTL+B is the keyboard command for boldface text. To boldface a line of text in a Word document, you must first do what?
1. Position your cursor at the end of the document.
2. Select the text by clicking and dragging it, and then perform the command.
3. Position your cursor at the beginning of the sentence, then perform the CTL+B command.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
17. For the following, indicate which description below is accurate: C:\WINDOWS\DISPLAY.TXT
1. C represents the directory, WINDOWS represents the drive, and DISPLAY.TXT is the file.
2. C is the drive, WINDOWS is the file, and DISPLAY.TXT is the directory.
3. C is the drive, WINDOWS is the directory, and DISPLAY.TXT is the file.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
18. What is a printer driver?
1. A device installed on the printer to make it print faster.
2. The part of the printer that turns it on and off.
3. A program installed on your computer that enables your computer to communicate with the printer.
4. I don't know.
 
 
19. You try to access a file and are given the message that the file is "Read Only." What does this mean?
1. You can open and read the file, but you cannot make any changes to it.
2. You do not have permission to open the file.
3. You can open and read the file, but you can’t make changes and will not be permitted to save the file to a new name for your own use.
4. I don’t know.
 
 
20. Your office has instructions for a computer-related task posted on your intranet. You want to follow the instructions while performing the task. Without printing the instructions, how can you do this?
1. Use ALT-TAB to switch between applications.
2. Use the Taskbar and the mouse to switch between applications.
3. Resize the two programs so that both are on the screen at the same time.
4. All of the above.
5. I don't know.