At the bottom of the Start menu are some buttons. From left to right in Figure 2-3, they are Standby (circle), Lock (lock), and Shut Down (arrow).

Figure 2-3: The Standby, Lock, and Shut Down buttons appear at the bottom of the Start menu.

• Standby: Puts the PC in low power mode and turns off most components; click the mouse or press a key to wake it up again.
• Lock: Locks the PC against unauthorized access; you must type your password to unlock it.
• Shut Down: Opens a menu with several shut down options, including Switch User, Logoff, Lock, Restart, Sleep, and Shut Down.

Searching the Start Menu

Also at the bottom of the Start menu is a Search bar. You can use this to search for a program if you don't know exactly where on the Start menu it's located. Suppose you want to use the Calculator, but you aren't sure where it is. You can begin typing calculator in the Search box, and the list of shortcuts narrows down to show only those that match. For example, after you type C, the list narrows down to programs that have at least one word in them beginning with that letter, as in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4: You can find a program on the Start menu with the Search bar.

Performing Other Searches

You can also search for files, folders, and Outlook items (e-mail messages, tasks, contacts, and so on) anywhere on your system. To perform a general search, select Start > Search. A Search window opens. Type a word in the Search box and press Enter, and all files that are related to that word appear. "Related" is rather loosely defined; the file might have that word in its title, as a keyword, or in its content, or if you typed a number as the search term, it might be that size or be created on that date. Figure 2-5 shows a sample Search Results window.

Figure 2-5: Search for files or folders using the Search command from the Start menu.

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For more complex search capabilities, click the Advanced Search button to open the Advanced Search pane at the top of the window, as shown in Figure 2-6. From here, you can specify criteria more precisely, such as limiting the search to certain file types or certain dates.

Figure 2-6: Search for files or folders using the Advanced Search options.

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Next, explore Windows Vista's Computer window.