Windows 8 Microsoft s Operating System

Windows 8 Microsoft s Operating System Windows 8 is Microsoft s new version of their operating system. It is a totally redesigned version and is made to be used with touch screens and tablets as well as PCs. There is a completely new start-up and there are some tricks to learning to use it. Operating System sets up the computer and controls the basic operations so that it can be used; manages all the hardware and software on a computer; organizes the files Some of the new features of Windows 8 include: Windows 8 works with touch screens Two views: Start screen and Desktop The Start screen replaces the start menu Windows still opens to the desktop screen (figure 1). The Start screen (figure 2) has tiles that can link you to programs, folders, photos, people, apps or web sites. You can also change the view of the Start screen to view the Apps by name view (figure 3) by clicking the arrow located on the lower left side of the screen. Figure 1: Desktop view Figure 2: Start Screen view with App tiles. Click the down arrow in the lower left corner to view the Apps by name screen Page 1 of 15

Figure 3: Apps by name view- show apps installed on computer. To search for an app, start typing the name of the app and a list of apps will appear on the right (use the scroll bar to move left and right) You can also use the Search feature of the Charms bar (figure 4) to locate programs and files. You access the Charms bar by hovering the mouse in the upper or lower right corners of the screen. Click the magnifying glass icon to search. Signing In Boot the computer Click OK or press Enter to accept the FSD1 Acceptable Use Policy Figure 4: Charms bar The Lock Screen will come up with a picture and the date and time click anywhere on the screen or touch any key Page 2 of 15

The Login screen will open. Enter your district username and password press enter or click the login arrow (if you are asked to save username and password, select NO passwords should NEVER be saved on school computers) The Desktop will open by default. Notice the Start Button is missing from the lower left hand corner. The old Start button is where you accessed all programs on the computer. In Windows 8, you will need to switch to the Start Screen to access programs that are not displayed on the desktop. To Get to the Start Screen Click on the Start button (Windows Icon ) in the bottom left corner of the Desktop View OR Press the Windows Key on the keyboard (the button between Ctrl and Alt on the left side of the keyboard) The Start Screen will open Your username will be in the upper right hand corner if you click on it you can lock the computer or sign-out of the computer (not shut down) Lock Computer, Logging Off or Shutting Down From the Start Screen, left click on your name in the upper right corner a dropdown menu will open. You can lock the computer or sign out. OR Right click on the Start button choose Shut down or sign out and then choose the option you want OR Move the mouse to the top right corner of the screen and the Charms bar will display. Select Settings > Power, the select the option you want Page 3 of 15

The Desktop The desktop view (figure 5) is still the basic user interface with Windows 8. The desktop gives you the feel of the Windows 7 environment while the Start Screen allows you to organize files and use programs that are not on the desktop. Differences in Windows 8 o The Start Button is no longer used, but some of the most frequently used programs will already have shortcuts on the desktop. o Other Programs/Apps are accessed from the Start Screen (figure 6). o The My Computer icon and your home folder shortcut are no longer visible on the desktop. o You must use the Start Screen to create shortcuts on the Desktop and to pin programs to the Start Screen or taskbar for easy access. Start/Windows Tile Start Screen Figure 5: Start/Windows tile, taskbar Task Bar Open a File/Program/App from the Desktop Opening a file or starting a program on the desktop in Windows 8 has not changed. There are several ways to open a file o Double click the icon/shortcut to open o Right click the icon and select Open Page 4 of 15

Start Screen The Start Screen is the basic user interface in Windows 8 and still important in Windows 8.1. It looks and operates differently, so you need to learn how to navigate and set up the Start Screen. The apps are displayed on the Start Screen as Tiles and the Start Menu is no longer available in the desktop view. In Windows 8.1, they have returned a Start icon (Windows button) to the desktop view that gives some of the functionality of the Start Button. In order to work with programs efficiently, you must use the Start Screen features and know how to crate shortcuts on the Desktop and to Pin programs to the Start Screen or Taskbar. To access the Start Screen Click the Windows tile located in the lower left corner of the screen. The apps that appear on the Start Screen are called tiles. Since the Start Button is no longer used, you will need to know how to create shortcuts on the Desktop and to pin programs/apps to the Start Screen or the Taskbar. You can access all programs by clicking the arrow in the lower left corner of the screen. Figure 6: Start Screen with App tiles App Tiles App is short for an application software program. It gained popular use referring to a specialized program downloaded for mobile devices. Notice that the Start Screen already has App Tiles (figure 6) on it. Typically these apps have a narrow focus and only do one particular function. In the organization of Windows 8, App refers to programs designed for the Start Screen, the more singular purpose applications you can get through the Windows store and other software installed on your computer. Page 5 of 15

Opening an App There are several ways to open an app On the Start Screen, click on the app tile On the Start Screen, click the down arrow located near the lower left corner to display all of the Apps, scroll to find the app and click to open o To return to the Start Screen, click on the up-arrow found in the lower left of the All Apps screen o Use the scroll bar at the bottom or move your mouse off the right side of the screen to move the list of apps left and right On the Start Screen, start typing the name of the app this opens the search function; results are on the left and options on the right choose the app you want and click on it. For example, if you are looking for the calculator, start typing the word calculator and a list will appear. Click the word calculator and the it will open From the Desktop view, click the app icon on the taskbar From the Desktop view, double-click the app shortcut on the desktop NOTE: You can return to the desktop view by clicking the Desktop app on the All Apps Screen OR press the Esc key on the keyboard Closing an App Some Start screen apps are different than the traditional Windows apps. They open full screen and are not minimized or reduced. The desktop window is an app window; apps from the start screen open a different way. To close these apps: Method 1 On the Start Screen, move the cursor to the top center of the screen and it will change to a hand icon Left click and hold While holding the left mouse button, drag the app all the way down to the bottom of the screen and release The app will shrink and close; the desktop will re-appear Page 6 of 15

Drag to the bottom of the screen and the desktop view will open Method 2 On the Start Screen, move the mouse to the upper left corner and drag it down the edge to show the list of recent apps Right click on the app you want to close and click close Programs from the desktop open the old way and can be minimized and reduced. If programs are pinned to the Start screen, the desktop will open and the apps will open in a window. Some of these apps include MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., the calculator, File Explorer, Smart Notebook and many others. Snapping Apps to the side of the screen You can view two apps at the same time allowing you to switch between two apps easily or do two things at once. Open an app from the Start screen Move the mouse cursor until it changes to a hand or click and hold the dark blue title bar at the top of the app (program) Left click, hold and drag the app to the right or left and release. The app should now be displayed on half of the screen. Page 7 of 15

Click on the background of the empty side of the screen to go back to the Start tiles or click the arrow located near the lower left corner to view all Apps Open the second app To change which side is large and which side is small, left click, hold and drag the black line between the two panes. Close the app by moving the mouse pointer to the top center of the app and dragging to the bottom of the screen Move the mouse to the black space between the two apps until it turns to a sizing handle. Drag left or right to make one side larger or smaller Remember that the desktop works as an app so you can open the desktop with a desktop app on one side and a Start Screen app on the other. Page 8 of 15

Customizing and Organizing the Start Screen There are design changes that can be made to the Start Screen that include changing the background color and image, rearranging apps, grouping apps, and apps to the Start screen or taskbar. To make color changes: Go to the Charms bar on the right and click Settings. Access the Charms bar by moving the mouse to the top or bottom right of the screen. Click Settings The Settings pane will open. Click Change PC Settings in bottom right corner of pane The Personalize screen opens. Click the Lock screen option (picture) You can make changes to the appearance of the lock screen by selecting one of the picture options shown or you can browse to a different location to choose a different image. Page 9 of 15

Basic Navigating Windows 8.1 is designed to work with touch tablets and touch screen laptops. However, it is still easy to navigate without the touch features using hot corners, keyboard shortcuts and the Charms bar. Using Hot Corners To use a hot corner, you hover the mouse all the way in the corner of the screen. Different corners activate different short cut tiles or toolbars Lower Left Corner o When you are in an app hovering in the lower left corner brings up the Windows Icon Start Button ( ) left click the button to go back to the Start Screen. (If on the Start Screen it takes you back to the last used App.) o In the desktop view, the button is always showing on the left end of the taskbar. o If you right click on the Windows Icon it brings up a shortcut menu. This menu has links to some of the content that used to be under the Start button Control Panel, Search, Shut Down Upper Left Corner o Hovering in the upper left corner brings up a link to the previous app click it to go back to that app o If there are several apps open hover in the upper left corner and move the mouse down along the side of the screen; all the open apps will be shown and you can choose the one you want Upper or lower right corner o Hovering here and then dragging the mouse pointer up or down the right side opens the Charms bar; the Charms bar allows you to search for apps or files, adjust settings, manage devices and some other things Keyboard Shortcuts There are lots of keyboard shortcuts to help navigate quickly in Windows 8.1. A couple of basic shortcuts are listed below Alt+Tab lets you switch between open apps; works from both the Desktop view and Start Screen Windows button ( ) switches back to the Start Screen or most recent used App if on the Start Screen. Windows button+d swtiches to Desktop view Windows button +C opens the Charms Bar Page 10 of 15

Charms Bar Toolbar that allows you to access computer settings, search for apps or files, manage devices and more. You access the Charms bar by hovering the mouse in the upper or lower right hand corner. Search icon lets you look for files, apps, or settings on your computer OR you can go to the Start screen and start typing the name of the file or app that you are looking for. Share icon lets you copy and paste from an app (not the desktop) into another app Start icon switches to the Start screen or most recent app if you are on the start screen Devices icon shows hardware such as printers connected to computer Settings icon lets you access general settings for the computer and also the current app; this is what you use to find the control panel (from Desktop view), volume setting and the power button to shut down Customizing and Organizing Your Start Screen There are some design changes that you can make so that the Start screen suits your likes and needs better. These include changing the background image and color, rearranging apps, pinning apps to the Start screen and creating app groups. To make color changes: From the Start Screen go to the Charms bar and click Settings Click on Personalize at top of right pane Choose the design and color that you want Live Tiles - Some of the app tiles on the Start screen are called live tiles. This means that the tile will show upto-date information related to the content of the tile app on the tile. This information will change; how often depends on the app. Some types of tiles that have this feature include weather, news and sports apps. This can be distracting. To turn the live tile feature off: Right click on the tile The menu will appear at the bottom of the screen Click on the Turn live tile off button (To turn the live tile back on go through the same process but the button will now read Turn live tile on ) To pin an app to the Start screen: Find the app either start typing the name of the app on the Start Screen or click the arrow at the bottom left of the Start Screen and find the app you want Right click on the wanted app The menu appears at the bottom of the screen Click on the Pin to Start button Page 11 of 15

To remove a tile from the Start screen Right click on the tile The menu will appear at the bottom of the screen Click on the Unpin from Start button (This action will remove the tile from the Start screen but it will not delete the app from the computer. To do that you would click the Uninstall button) To make the app tile smaller or larger: Right click on the app The menu will appear at the bottom of the screen Click on the Resize button and choose the size that you want To move an app: Left click and hold on the app Drag the app to where you want it Release the click and the app will stay in its new location Tile Groups The tiles are arranged in groups. There are several things that can be done to manage these groups: tiles can be moved from one group to another; new groups can be created; groups can be named; the order of the groups can be changed To create a new tile group: Left click and hold an app you want in the new group Drag the app to the far right or left side of the screen a gray area should appear Drop the app to the outside of the gray area a gap should appear between the apps already there and the new group You can also add a new group between already existing groups by dragging the app to the space between existing groups until the gray area appears and then drop the app on the gray area You can now add other apps into the group by dragging and dropping into the new group. To name a group: Right click anywhere on the background of the Start screen Click Customize at the bottom right Click the mouse into the placeholder where it says Name Group the place holder will turn white and the cursor goes to the beginning of the line Type in a name for the group Click anywhere on the screen to keep the name Click anywhere again to return to the regular Start screen Forms new group Drop on gray line Page 12 of 15

To rearrange groups On the scroll bar at the bottom of the Start screen (you may need to move your mouse to the bottom to see it) click on the dash at the far right The apps will get smaller and you will be able to see the groups Put your mouse over the group you want to move Left click, hold and drag the group to the new position Click anywhere on the screen to return to the normal Start view Much of this customization can be done at the same time. Right click on an app tile and the options for that tile appear on the menu at the bottom. You can Unpin from Start (1), Uninstall (2), Resize (3), or Turn Live Tile on or off (4) NOTE: Unpin removes it from the Start screen but keeps it in Apps. Uninstall removes it from the PC To switch the app you want to customize left click on the one that is chosen and then left click on the new one you one to work with To name a group click in the name box and type the name (5) To go back to the normal Start screen click the Customize button or left click the background To access the Desktop from the Start screen or other apps: Go to Start and click on the Desktop tile Use the upper left corner navigation to go to the Desktop if it is open Left click the Start button (Windows icon button) if it was the last place you have been Page 13 of 15

Right click the Start button and choose Desktop On the keyboard holding the Windows Key ( ) and pressing the D key will always take you directly to the Desktop Start Button With Windows 8.1, Microsoft returned a Start Button with some of the functionality of the Start button in earlier versions. It shows in the bottom left corner on the desktop at all times and appears in other apps when the mouse is moved to that corner. When left clicked it takes you to the Start screen or the last used app (the Desktop serves as an app in this case. When right clicked it opens a short cut dialog box. This box has links for common tasks. These were added because of the frustration many were having with Windows 8. The commands at the bottom are the ones most likely for us to use. They include: 1. Control Panel opens the control panel which gives access to Devices and Printers, Mouse properties, Keyboard properties, Ease of Access Center etc. 2. File Explorer previously called File Manager shows all the files and folders on the computer 3. Search opens the search pane on the right so that you can search for programs, apps, files, folders, websites 4. Shut down or sign out as it sounds lets you shut down the computer 5. Desktop brings the desktop up on the screen Files Explorer / Files To access Files: Click on the File Explorer icon on the taskbar Page 14 of 15

Finding Programs/Apps The district s most frequently used programs will have shortcuts already on the Desktop. However other Programs/Apps are accessed differently than in the past. Shortcuts to these can be set on the Desktop, Start screen or taskbar. To find a program like the Snipping Tool or the Calculator you need to do a search. Again there are several ways to get to this: Right click the Start button and click Search and begin typing Snipping Tool Go to the charms bar and click Search and begin typing Snipping Tool Go to the Start screen and begin typing Snipping Tool Go to the all apps page and type Snipping Tool in the search box In each case the search screen opens and the results show on the right hand side panel or on the left if the full apps search screen opens There are several options at this point: To open the program left click on the link To add the program to the Desktop taskbar right click and then click on Pin to taskbar To add a shortcut to the Start screen right click and choose Pin to Start. To create a shortcut on the desktop: o Right click on the program o Click on Open file location o Right click on the program in the Windows Accessories window o Hover over Send To until choices come up o Click on Desktop (create shortcut) Resources: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/windows8 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to Page 15 of 15