How to learn the basics of computer programs

Some people have a phobia of learning new computer programs. They may first come across a program like Excel, Photoshop, Acrobat, or Visio in a tight job deadline and get a bad first impression of both the program and their abilities. But under calmer circumstances almost anyone can learn the basics of almost any program.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• legal copy of the software you want to learn
• Internet
• desire to learn

1. The first, and most important step is to want to learn the program. Some people are forced into using a program by their jobs or a class, but would be fully content to have someone else do it all. First decide if you want to learn the program because it will take some off hours patience to learn effectively.
2. Next obtain a legal copy of the program you want to learn if you don't have one already, and install it on your computer. Then go to "file", "new" and open a fresh new file. By starting with a brand new file you can do whatever you want in it. This should alleviate the fear you might have with an important work document that your entire team collaborated on.
3. Some programs may come with a built in tutorial, but if they don't then you can start browsing the help sections. Most programs have a help section in the top menus. Just start browsing around in them to see what you can pick up.
4. Next, explore the top menus of the program. See what the different options are. You may need to first type something on the page, cell, or layer before you can use the features in the menu. Again, you are typing something from scratch so you don't need to worry about, "what if I do something and mess it up?" If you "mess it up" you can first use the built in "undo" feature to backtrack your previous steps. "Where's the undo feature?" you ask. Go back to step 3 and see how much you have learned about finding information in the program my friend. Here's a tip, type "undo" in step 3.
5. If you want some free tutorials you can also go on the Internet and search for them in a search engine. Make sure your antivirus and antispyware is up to date before you download any tutorials off the Internet. But a lot of web pages will have instructions right on the page without you needing to download anything.
6. Something else you can do is go to a bookstore and browse the books they have on the program you are trying to learn. Once you become more familiar with the program you can browse the books for concepts you want more detail than the built in help menu gave you. Of course, feel free to buy the book if you like it that much. The publisher will appreciate that.
7. If you really want to get crazy you can even keep a journal of what you learn as you learn it. That may seem a little too in depth, but at times it beats struggling to remember something you know you once figured out how to do.
8. Classes at your local college or technical school can be a final step to advance your skills. I put this one last because it may not be mandatory for the amount you want to know about a program. But having learned some of the basics through the steps above will give you a head start should you decide to take a class.

Tips & Warnings

• If you make a journal of what you learn in Word, or any other word processing program, you can take screen shots by using the print screen button on your keyboard. After you press the print screen button you can "paste" it into your word processing program.