How to be an Expert Computer User

Over the years I've watched hundreds of people try to use the systems I've built. In most cases the users have met with success and have been able to complete the task at hand. In some cases, however, when the users were confronted with something new, they would give up before even trying. In deeper analysis, I began to identify a series of behaviors that "expert" computer users employ in such situations that "beginning" computer users don't. This article is a list of those behaviors.

• save files early and often
• understand the difference between Save and Save As...
• work on copies when experimenting or when you need to do something you aren't sure you know how to do
• use a consistent naming convention for any document you create (manage your files)
• use an online dictionary when you need to look up a technical term
• take note of where you save things when working in a File dialog box (and use the previous tip if you don't know what a File dialog box is)
• Learn a few keyboard shortcuts: typing first few letters to go to an item in a list, for example