Exploring QBasic's Menu Bar
Computers are stupid and so is QBasic. You can sit at your desk and stare at QBasic's main screen as long as you like, but until you give it a command, it'll just sit and stare back. Worse, you'll always be the first to blink.
As in many computer programs, you can use your keyboard or your mouse to give commands to QBasic by selecting entries from the menu bar at the top of the screen. To select commands with your keyboard, first press the Alt key. Notice that the first letter of each menu title lights up, and a black box appears around the File menu title. The black box indicates the menu that will open when you press Enter.
To select the menu you want, use the left and right arrows to move the black box. When the box is on the menu you want, press Enter to open the menu.
When the menu appears, use the up- and down-arrow keys to highlight the command you want. Press Enter to activate the highlighted command.
Using a mouse to select menu commands is a little easier. Place the mouse pointer over the menu title and click the left mouse button. When the menu drops down, click the command you want to issue.
Don't fret about what all the menu commands do. You'll learn most of them later. For now, how about using the File menu to have a little fun?
Cool Stuff
You can open any menu instantly by holding down the Alt key while pressing the first letter of the menu's title. For example, to open the File menu, press Alt+F. This type of keystroke is called a shortcut key.