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Most software programs come with a user guide or reference manual. If there are no books included with the program, they might be in the form of a "text file" on the disk. To read the manual from the disk, you would either use your word processing program (explained in the next section of this tutorial) or use the built in "reader" if one is provided.
The beginning section of the manual contains the instructions for installing the program and setting it up for use. This process usually involves inserting disk #1 from the software package and running a command from that disk such as "install" or "setup." This starts a program that automates the procedure of copying the new software to your disk, configuring the program to your system, and setting it up for your use.
The installer program will prompt you when to insert each of the disks that came with the program. You might be asked some questions about how you would like the program set up or about the type of system you will be using the program on, such as, what type of printer will you be using or which hard disk to copy the program to, if you have more than one.
If you don't understand any of the installation steps, there is usually a way to access a built in "help" reference to guide you. It is a good idea to read the first section of the user manual before you install the program so you will be familiar with the process you are about to initiate.
The installation or setup program also adds the new program and it's icon to the "All Programs" section of your start menu, and sometimes additiionally places an icon to start the program on either the dasktop or the Quick Launch bar or both. After the software program is installed on your hard drive, you usually no longer need the original installatioin disks. Put them away in a safe place. If your hard drive should ever wear out or become damaged, you may need to reinstall the program.
Some programs that contain a lot of data files, such as an encyclopedia or a large clip art library, may give you the option to do a "Minimal installation." This places only the running part of the software on the hard drive and leaves the data on the CD. This method saves space on your built-in hard drive, but would require you to insert the CD each time you want to use the program. If it is a program you don't use much, it would be a good idea to do a minimum installatiion, as long as you don't misplace the CD!
Once installed, you launch the new program by opening he "All Programs" section of your start menu and clicking on the icon/menu entry for the new program. The program will run from your hard drive.
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