Customize your tiles
Make the most of your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed.
- Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
- Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
- Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
- In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles you'll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
- Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
- Resize any User tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
- If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
- Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
- In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.
Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts
Knowing
at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your
Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these
top Windows 8 shortcut keys.
- Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
- Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
- Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
- Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).
- Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
- Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
- Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
- Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.
Know your hot corners
The
corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to
different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each
of these corners.
Bottom Left-hand corner
The
bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen will allow you to access
the Start screen, if you're in the Start screen and have the
Desktop open, this corner will open the Desktop from the Start
screen.
Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner will open the power user menu.
Top-left corner of the screen
Moving
the mouse to the top-left corner and then down will display all
the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of
these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap
that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons
can also be right-clicked to close or snap.
Right-hand side of the screen
On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms.
Taking advantage of search
The
Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when
compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for
a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just
start typing what you're trying to find or want to run.
As
you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the
left-hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and
run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to
apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos,
Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a
file or program, click on the app you wish to use as the search.
For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected
the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY.
By
default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently
they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep
your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app
and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place
regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you don't
want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search
apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings
in the Charms.
Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressing Windows key + F.
Running two apps side by side
Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period)
to move that app to the right-hand side of the screen, pressing
the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and
pressing the same keys again will make it full screen. While an
app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded
into the available space on the screen. For example, in the
below picture, we've opened a browser window and have the People
app running to monitor our social networks.
Any
open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the
top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side
of the screen.
Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen.
Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768.
Windows 8 Task Manager
The
Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over
previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include
showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes,
which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage,
improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup
processes and their impact to system performance, and the App
history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources
an app has used over a period of time. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager.
Use a picture password to log into your computer
Windows
8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which
allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of
gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable
this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or
have a hard time with passwords.
- Open the Windows Charms.
- Click Settings and then More PC settings
- In the PC settings window click Users and then select Create a picture password
Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer.
Take advantage of Windows 8 apps
Windows
8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from
your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps.
People
Microsoft
touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand
how many people are using social networks today. In the People
feature you'll be able to connect your Windows computer to all
the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn,
and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app
and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in
Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening
in all your social networks.
Reader
The Reader app will give you PDF support right out of the box.
SkyDrive
The
SkyDrive app will give you access to the Microsoft cloud service
SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and
other files in the cloud and access or share those
files with any computer with Internet access.
Store
Take
advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the
thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is
found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store
app for any apps that you are trying to find.
Know the answers to common questions
Windows
8 is the biggest change to Microsoft Windows since the
introduction of Windows 95, which was released all the way back
in 1995. Since so many people have grown up with Windows, it can
be difficult to transition to a new way of doing things. Below,
is a short list of the most common questions previous Windows
users will have.
Know the Jargon
Knowing
all the new jargon introduced with Windows 8 will help improve
your familiarity with Windows 8 and make it a more enjoyable
experience.
