PC Advanced with Windows 8 Mercer County Library System Brian M. Hughes, County Executive Action 1. Start Screen Technique The Windows 8 Start Screen which is an extended version of the Start Button s menu from previous versions of Windows, displays rows of tiles. To scroll through the entire Start Screen, use the scroll wheel on the mouse, or click on the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen, and drag left to right. The Start Screen is an app launcher. To open any app in the Start Screen just click on its tile. If you open a program, and want to return to the Start Screen, just click the Windows key on your keyboard. To move a tile to a different area of the Start Screen, you click on the tile and drag it to the desired location. To leave the Start Screen, and go to your Desktop, just click on the tile for Desktop. 2. Charms Bar The Charms Bar can be accessed by pointing your mouse at the top or bottom right hand corner of your screen. The Charms Bar will appear in a strip on the right side of your screen. You move your cursor along the right side of the screen to access any of the commands in the Charms Bar. The Charms Bar has five icons: Search for anything on your computer programs, documents, settings, email, etc. Share send selected information to email or social network Start return to Start Screen Devices options for devices connected to computer Settings change settings for an app or for the entire computer; turn off your computer. 2015 PC Advanced Page 1
3. Working with Live Tiles Some of the tiles on the Start Screen are Live Tiles; they update automatically to show you the weather, your email, the news, or sports information. To turn off a live tile, you right click on the tile, then select turn live tile off. 4. Personalize the Start Screen To personalize the Lock Screen, you open the Charms Bar, then click on Settings. At the bottom of the menu, select Change PC settings. In the Personalize screen, you can choose from several Lock Screen pictures by clicking on the one you prefer. If you click on Account Picture, you can click Browse, and then choose any picture from your Pictures library as your account picture. To personalize the Start Screen, you open the Charms Bar, click Settings, and then click Personalize. In Personalize you can choose from 20 different Start Screen pictures, and at the bottom of the screen adjust the colors. This will change the background picture on your Start Screen. 5. All Apps Windows 8 has replaced the All Programs feature in the Start Button with Apps. To access Apps, you click the arrow near the bottom of the Start Screen (right above the scroll bar). This will open up a multiscreen display of every program and app on your computer. You scroll through this list by using the scroll wheel on your mouse, or using the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen. You can open any of these programs by clicking on them. You can pin any of these apps to either the Taskbar or Start Screen by right clicking on them and selecting Pin to Start Screen or Pin to Taskbar. You can remove a program from the Start Screen by right clicking on it, and selecting Unpin from Start. 2015 PC Advanced Page 2
6. The Windows Store To install a program to the Start Screen, you must get the program from the Windows Store, which has thousands of programs, some of which are free, and some for which you must pay. To access the Windows Store, you click on its tile. Then popular Apps will spread across the screen. You can browse the popular and new apps by clicking on Top Paid, Top Free, or New Releases. To search for an app, open the Charms Bar, click on the magnifying glass, and type in a keyword. If you click on an app, you can read a description, and a list of features. You can get user reviews. Click install to put an app on your computer. 7. Personalize your desktop background and themes Right click on the Desktop then click on Personalize. From the Personalize menu you can select a theme that will change the Desktop Background, windows color, sounds, and screensaver for your computer. You can also manually change each of those items by clicking on Desktop Background, windows color, sounds, or screensaver at the bottom of the personalize menu. You can click on Change Desktop Icons and alter the desktop icons. 8. Change your taskbar s appearance Right click on a blank area of the task bar and then click on properties. Place a check mark next to autohide the taskbar if you want to hide the taskbar. Mouse over the taskbar to view it after you autohide it. To make the taskbar and its icons smaller, place a checkmark next to use small icons. Click the pulldown arrow next to taskbar location on screen to change the taskbar s location. You can locate it at the bottom of screen, left, right, or top. Uncheck lock the taskbar and you can manually drag the taskbar to the bottom, left, right, or top of screen. 2015 PC Advanced Page 3
9. Use Libraries to access your Files and Folders To open the Documents, Pictures, or Music libraries, click the folder icon on the task bar then click Documents, Pictures, or Music. Documents library. The folder where all your text-related files spreadsheets and presentations can be organized. the Documents library are stored in this folder. Pictures library. Organize and arrange your digital pictures here. the Pictures library are stored in this folder. Music library. Organize and arrange your digital music downloaded songs or music saved from an audio CD here. the Music library are stored in this folder. Videos library. Here you can organize and arrange your videos - from your digital camera or video files. the Videos library are stored in this folder. 10. Jump Lists Jump Lists are lists of recently opened items, such as files, folders, or websites, organized by the program that you use to open them. You can use a Jump List to open items, and you can also pin favorites to a Jump List, so you can quickly get to the items that you use every day. To open a Jump List Right-click a program icon on the Windows 8 taskbar. You can also use Jump Lists on the taskbar to close an item or unpin the program from the taskbar. You can also drag an item from a Jump List to copy it to another location. 2015 PC Advanced Page 4
11. Peek & Preview When you open multiple windows on the desktop, it is easier to use this feature to view the different screens before opening a particular document or program. Peek lets you preview other open windows without clicking away from the window you're currently working on. To preview open files 1. Point to a program icon on the taskbar that has open files. 2. Point to a thumbnail. All other open windows temporarily fade away to reveal the selected window. To preview a different window, point to a different thumbnail. To restore your desktop view, or return to your current file, just move the pointer away from the thumbnail. 12. Snap You can use Snap to arrange windows side by side when comparing two documents or when copying data from one file to another. To use Snap (arrange windows side by side) Drag the title bar of a window to the left or right side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears. Release the mouse to expand the window. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with another window to arrange the windows side by side. To return the window to its original size, drag the title bar away from the top of the desktop and then release. 2015 PC Advanced Page 5
13. Control Panel To access the Control Panel, open the Charms Bar, click Settings, then select Control Panel. Click on System & Security --Action Center Review your computer s status Restore your computer to an earlier time --Windows Firewall Turn Windows Firewall on or off --System View basic information about your computer Windows Experience Index --Windows Update Turn automatic updating on --Backup and restore --Administrative Tools Free up disk space Defragment your hard drive Hardware and Sound Troubleshoot your printer Add a device Programs Uninstall a program User Accounts Create a new account Clock, Language, and Region Add another clock on your taskbar: Click on the Date & Time tab, and then click on Additional Clocks. 14. Accessories Folder Calculator Once the Calculator is open, click View and then select the mode you want. Sticky Notes Use multiple Sticky Notes to jot down your notes. Right-click Sticky Notes to see all the available colors. 2015 PC Advanced Page 6
Snipping Tool Use the Snipping Tool to capture any object on your screen. 15. Help & Support You can access Help & Support by pressing F1, OR by opening the Charms Bar, clicking on Settings, and then selecting Help. Help & Support will answer most questions regarding the use of Windows 8, everything from Getting Started, Sound, Internet, Security, and System Information. If you cannot find an answer to your question, you can contact Microsoft help and support Online. Contact information is found under contact support in the Help & Support window. Help & Support has a table of contents, which you can access by clicking on the blue book under the Help & Support title bar. You can search help by typing a query in the search bar at the top of the Help & Support Window. 2015 PC Advanced Page 7