Windows 11
Practical Guide

When you press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, a blue screen appears with these options:

• Lock — locks the screen (same as Win+L)
• Switch user — useful if multiple people use the computer
• Sign out — logs you out of your Windows account
• Task Manager — the one you want when something is frozen
• Change a password — lets you update your Windows login password

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager
2. Find the frozen program in the list — it may say "Not responding" highlighted in red or yellow
3. Click on it once to select it
4. Click the End Task button in the bottom-right corner
5. The program closes. Restart it normally after — your computer is fine.

Windows hides extensions for known file types by default. Microsoft does this because they're worried people might accidentally rename a file and remove its extension, leaving Windows unable to open it.

However, knowing your file extensions makes you a more capable user. They've been turned on for you. When you rename a file, Windows will warn you if you're about to change the extension — just click No to keep it safe.

When you double-click a file, Windows opens it in the default program for that type. But sometimes you need a different program — for example, just viewing a photo vs. editing it.

Right-click the file, then hover over "Open with" to see a list of programs that can open it.

• Use "Open with" any time you want a different program than the default
• To always use a specific program for a file type, click Choose another app and check Always use this app
• PDFs: Windows 11 opens them in Microsoft Edge by default, which works great for reading. For filling out forms, try Adobe Acrobat Reader (free)

Right-clicking on a file or folder opens a menu of actions. In Windows 11, common actions appear at the top. Click "Show more options" to see the full traditional menu.

All of these folders are stored inside:

But you don't need to type that path — they all appear in the left sidebar of File Explorer, labeled by name.

Every time you save a file, look at where it's being saved. Don't just hit Save and let it go wherever — make sure it ends up somewhere you'll find it again.

• In the Save dialog, the folder shown at the top is where the file will go
• If it's saving somewhere unfamiliar, navigate to Documents or Desktop first
• Give files clear, descriptive names so you can find them by searching later

1. Check Downloads first — most files from email attachments and the web land here
2. Check Documents — most programs save here by default
3. Use Windows Search: click the magnifying glass on the taskbar and type the filename (or part of it)
4. In File Explorer, use the search bar in the top-right to search the current folder

• Single click — selects a file
• Double click — opens a file or enters a folder
• Slow double click (one click, pause, another click) — renames the file in-place. Or press F2.
• Ctrl + click — select multiple individual files
• Shift + click — select a range (click first file, Shift+click the last)
• Ctrl + A — select all files in the current folder
• Drag selected files to a new folder to move them
• Hold Ctrl while dragging to copy instead of move

Check these off as you build them into routine. They'll feel automatic within a few weeks.

• ✓
  Every time I would type a password or link by hand — copy and paste it instead (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V)
• ✓
  When a program freezes, use Ctrl+Shift+Esc and Task Manager — not a full restart
• ✓
  Before clicking Save, look at where the file is going — make sure it's somewhere I'll find it
• ✓
  After downloading a file, check the browser notification and note exactly where it was saved
• ✓
  When something goes wrong, try Ctrl+Z before anything else
• ✓
  Use Alt+Tab to switch between programs instead of minimizing and finding them on the taskbar
• ✓
  Spend 5–10 minutes on GCF Global a few times this week