User's Manual

Glossary
98 TuneUp Utilities 2006
Dial-up network
This Windows function allows computers to create or access networks by means
of modems, ISDN adapters and DSL modems, for example. This function is also
used to access online services.
DLL
Acronym for “dynamic link library”. DLLs are special program routines that are
not loaded from the program library until they are actually needed. This reduces
the amount of main memory occupied by a program.
Drag and drop
This method of interaction in Windows (originally developed by Apple) allows,
for example, part of a text document to be marked with the mouse, after which it
can be pulled into a different window by clicking the selected text with the left
mouse button and releasing the button when the pointer is over the desired
location. The selected text is then inserted at the location of the mouse pointer.
This is called dragging and dropping, and is the easiest way to exchange data
between programs or to move objects within a user interface.
Driver
A program that integrates peripheral devices into the system so that they can
function properly.
FAT
Short for “File Allocation Table”. The operating system stores the exact
locations of all files on a disk in this file.
File allocation table
Called FAT for short, this is a special file that is used by the operating system to
store all information about the exact location of all files on a disk.
File attribute
The attributes that can be assigned to a file depend on the operating system. MS-
DOS, for example, supports the following attributes: archive, read only, system
and hidden.
File extension
A suffix at the end of a file name, located after the dot. Many programs identify
the file type by means of this extension, for example files with the extension
“.doc” are normally associated with Microsoft Word.
File format
A specification of how texts, images, etc. are stored in a file. Depending on the
file format, images can also be stored with alpha channels. Some formats also
compress image or music contents.