Top 10 Windows 8 tips
Customize your tiles:
Make the most of
your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located,
and what is listed.
1. 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.
2. Use your mouse
wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
3. Any Desktop
shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the
icon and choosing Pin to Start.
4. 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.
5. Create a
new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile
to a speed bump.
6. Resize any User
tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
7. If there is a
tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
8. Show admin
applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click
Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
9. 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.
2. Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
3. Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the
screen.
4. 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).
5. Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
6. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found
in Charms.
7. Press and hold
the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
8. 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.
2.
Click Settings and
then More PC settings
3.
In the PC settings
window click Users and then select Create a picture
password
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.
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.
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