Glossary

A password is a string of characters used for authenticating a user on a computer system. For example, you may have an account on your computer that requires you to log in. In order to successfully access your account, you must provide a valid username and password. This combination is often referred to as a login. While usernames are generally public information, passwords are private to each user.

Most passwords are comprised of several characters, which can typically include letters, numbers, and most symbols, but not spaces. While it is good to choose a password that is easy to remember, you should not make it so simple that others can guess it. The most secure passwords use a combination of letters and numbers and do not contain actual words.

Just like you can paste a note on a sheet of paper, you can paste data into a document on a computer. The paste function can be used to paste copied data into text documents, images, Web browser address fields, and just about any place where you can enter data. However, to paste data, you first need to copy it to the "Clipboard," which is a temporary storage area in your system's memory, or RAM. This is done by first selecting the data you want to copy and then choosing "Copy" from the program's Edit menu.

Once you have data copied to the Clipboard, you can paste it within the same document or within a different document in the same program. You can even paste copied data into a document within a different program. However, you can typically only paste data into a document with the same kind of data. For example, you cannot paste an image into your Web browser's address field or an audio file into image editing program.

To paste a copied piece of data, select "Paste" from the Edit menu in the program you wish to paste the data in. Text documents or programs with text fields will typically paste the data wherever the flashing cursor is. You can also use the keyboard shortcut "Control-V" for Windows or "Command-V" for the Mac OS to paste the data. The reason the "V" key is used is because the "P" key is usually reserved for the "Print" shortcut and "V" is right next to the "C" key, which is used for copying. So it might not be that intuitive at first, but it makes sense when you think about it. =)

For more information about copying and pasting, view the Help Center article.

Personal computer. Generally refers to computers running Windows with a Pentium processor.

Portable Document Format, a format presented by Adobe Acrobat that allows documents to be shared over a variety of operating systems. Documents can contain words and pictures and be formatted to have electronic links to other parts of the document or to places on the web.

A single-user computer containing a central processing unit (CPU) and one or more memory circuits.

A measure of memory or storage capacity and is approximately a thousand terabytes.

The term "pixel" is actually short for "Picture Element." These small little dots are what make up the images on computer displays, whether they are flat-screen (LCD) or tube (CRT) monitors. The screen is divided up into a matrix of thousands or even millions of pixels. Typically, you cannot see the individual pixels, because they are so small. This is a good thing, because most people prefer to look at smooth, clear images rather than blocky, "pixelated" ones. However, if you set your monitor to a low resolution, such as 640x480 and look closely at your screen, you will may be able to see the individual pixels. As you may have guessed, a resolution of 640x480 is comprised of a matrix of 640 by 480 pixels, or 307,200 in all. That's a lot of little dots.

Each pixel can only be one color at a time. However, since they are so small, pixels often blend together to form various shades and blends of colors. The number of colors each pixel can be is determined by the number of bits used to represent it. For example, 8-bit color allows for 2 to the 8th, or 256 colors to be displayed. At this color depth, you may be able to see "graininess," or spotted colors when one color blends to another. However, at 16, 24, and 32-bit color depths, the color blending is smooth and, unless you have some kind of extra-sensory vision capability, you should not see any graininess.

Computer hardware or peripherals that come set up with necessary software so that when attached to a computer, they are recognized by the computer and are ready to use.

A plug-in (also "plugin") is software add-on that adds extra features and capabilities to an application. Typically, plug-ins are stored within a subdirectory of the application folder. When the application is opened, the plug-ins are loaded into the program.

Plug-ins are available for a wide variety of programs, including Web browsers, graphic editors, and audio and video applications. Web browser plug-ins often enable specific types of media to be viewed directly in the browser. Plug-ins for graphics, audio, and video applications may add extra editing tools or filters to the program. While some programs include preinstalled plug-ins created by the developer, many plug-ins are developed by third-party companies.

Stands for "Portable Network Graphic." This format was designed as an alternative to the GIF format (which has been plagued by copyright issues). Like GIFs, PNG files are lossless, meaning they don't lose any detail when they are compressed. They support up to 48-bit color or 16-bit grayscale and typically compress about 5% to 25% better than GIF files. However, they do not support animations like GIFs do. A format similar to PNG, called MNG, is currently under development, and will support animations.

File extension: .PNG