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Digital Maestro Magazine digitalmaestro.org
Windows 8 fundamentals
personalize Windows 8 Metro and Desktop What’s the difference? Working with Metro and desktop applications
The Surface Pen
My review and thoughts
One Note
for more than just notes
June 15, 2015
Digital Maestro Magazine Windows 8 Fundamentals Windows 8 and The Surface 3 I must admit that I do all my daily work on a MacBook Pro. I do run a virtualized version of Windows 8 through Parallels Desktop. This is how I produced most of the images and instructions for this issue. I did find that the experience through a virtual environment wasn’t as rich as it could be with a computer dedicated to running Windows. While developing the ideas for this issue, Microsoft released the Surface 3 at a reasonable price. I did go back and forth on the need to purchase this device and ultimately I made the decision to purchase it for professional reasons. Who am I kidding? I wanted to but it because it’s technology and a nerd like me couldn’t resist.
Surface much more than my iPad. The Surface is much more like a desktop or laptop computer. There are several web sites I need to access and could never access them with an iPad because it doesn’t support the technologies required by those sites. These technologies include Java and Flash in some cases.
I like the Metro interface but it does need a little more polishing. The applications I’ve use that are designed for Metro often come up short of what I would expect. The same applications on an iPad are better developed and provide several useful functions not found in the Metro versions. Most notable of these is the Evernote application.
I didn’t purchase the keyboard because its ridiculous to purI purchased the Surface 3 with 4 Gigabytes or RAM and 128 chase a keyboard that costs twenty percent of the Surface. Gigabytes of storage. I chose this version because in my I also didn’t think I would need one because I’ve become experience I’ve always found it best to purchase as much accustomed to using the keyboard on my iPad, and I was right, as I could afford. I couldn’t afford the Surface Pro top of the I didn’t need one. The virtual keyboard is very useful and I line but I could afford a Surface 3 with the specifications I really like the handwriting recognition option. Together with the stylus, I find that its very good a recognizing my horrible just mentioned. hand writing. I use it to take notes all the time now. I didn’t go for the least expensive because sooner or later I know I would realize I had made a mistake in purchasing this Ultimately I used the Surface 3 for all the instructions related to the tablet in this issue. I really like this machine and I’m model. It’s not that I don’t think the least expensive model isn’t good enough, but I know it would eventually not be good looking forward to the release of Windows 10. enough for my needs. I know the sort of work I expect to do on —Alex Reyes a computer and this is what lead me to the decision I made. My impressions of the Surface 3 are very good. The speed is very good and it responds very well. I went ahead and purchased the Surface Pen and I highly recommend getting it. It’s much lighter than my MacBook Pro. This is a plus because I often travel from campus to campus supporting technology. The tablet makes it easy for me to work on items or provide training without the need to find a table for my computer. The only tablet I’ve ever owned has been the iPad. So I can make those comparisons and I am finding myself using the
Windows 8 Introduction Windows 8.1 is the current version of the Windows operating system. Windows 8 took a departure from the traditional desktop and Windows start button or the Windows Orb in Windows 7. The traditional desktop was replaced by a tiled interface called The Start Screen. This Start Screen uses the Metro interface which uses squares and rectangles to represent applications. The goal was to make the interface compatible with both desktop computers and tablet devices like the Surface and Surface Pro. Applications don’t run very different under Windows 8 or 8.1. Some applications are built to work within the Metro interface. This means that they have a similar look and interact like the Metro interface. Applications that aren’t built for the Metro interface run like they did under Windows 7 or XP in the Desktop environment. Applications built for the Metro interface are designed to work with tablets and smart phones. These devices use finger gestures to manipulate applications and perform functions that are usually performed by a mouse on computers. Many people don’t care for the new Metro interface because they’ve been so used to the classic Start button and desktop that came out in 1995. To accommodate those that hated the Metro interface, Microsoft came out with Windows 8.1 where users could choose to start and run in the familiar environment of a desktop. Windows 8.1 only went part of the way because it didn’t offer the traditional Windows Orb to access applications. It replaced the start button with a Windows button that takes you back to the Start Screen interface. Windows 10 is just around the corner and it might be out as soon as I publish this issue. So, why not just wait for Windows 10 and create and issue for it? In our district we are currently rolling out Windows computers for all our third and seventh grade students. Those machines will be using Windows 8.1 and the plan is to hold off upgrading
the machines until Windows 10 has been tested with all our services and software. Until Windows 10 is rolled out, student and teacher machines, will be using Windows 8.1. Windows 8 is used on desktops, laptops and tablets. Most desktops and laptops use the traditional mouse to interact with the computer. Newer computers and tablets have touch screens. This difference means that you will interact slightly differently with the interface depending on the device. In the instructions I will provide steps for both types of interactions. I’ll let you know when you can tap or swipe and when you can click.
Digital Maestro Magazine The Start Screen The Start Screen is the first thing you see after logging in. The Start Screen has several boxes. These are called Tiles and each tile represents an application or service. Windows automatically displays a basic set of tiles the first time you sign into the computer or tablet. The tiles you see will depend on what kind of computer or tablet you purchased. Each distributor includes the Microsoft basic set of tiles and often adds its own set of tiles that represent additional applications or services from the manufacturer of the device. The Tiles on my computer might be a little different from those on your computer, but you should have all the common applications for Windows 8 and I will use those during the lesson so you can follow along. Windows 8 is available for both traditional computers and tablet devices. I’ll be making references to traditional computers because the computer is undergoing a change. With traditional computers most of the interaction is done with a keyboard and mouse. Computers on devices like smart phones and tablets use onscreen keyboards and screen gestures instead of a mouse. The difference between using a mouse and using gestures is significant and this is the reason why I will occasionally make references to traditional computers. Each tile has a color, an icon and text. Some Tiles are animated with text, pictures or both. These are called live Tiles. The Tiles are in a variety of sizes all over the Start Screen. There’s even a set of Tiles that is separate from another set. These Tiles are grouped by the space between them.
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The Start Screen has a background. In the upper right corner of the screen is your account name. In the lower left corner is an arrow pointing down. This arrow points to additional Tiles on a separate screen. Click or tap on the down arrow.
The additional screen of Tiles has several Tiles ordered alphabetically. There is a scroll bar at the bottom of the screen. Scroll to the right or swipe to the left to see additional Tiles.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Windows 8.1 Start Screen
When you reach the end of the Tiles listed in alphabetical order, there are even more tiles grouped into categories like Administrative Tools. These are categories related to the software installed on the computer. In my example you’ll see many more Tiles because I have several software applications installed. To return to the Start screen click on the up arrow or swipe down with your finger on a tablet.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Working With Tiles for Desktop We’ll be spending a great deal of time on the Start Screen so let’s personalize our experience. On a laptop or desktop, move your mouse over to either the top right or bottom right corner and pause a second. On a tablet, swipe your finger slowly from the right edge to the left.
At the top of the Personalize panel is a set of twenty themes. Click on any one of these themes. The Start Screen background will update.
As you perform one of these actions, a panel will appear with a set of five icons. These icons are called Charms. Click or tap on the Settings Charm.
The theme is automatically applied to the Start Screen. Below the themes are two color palettes. The background color palette is used to select a different shade of the background color provided by the theme. There is a check mark on the current shade. Click or tap on a different color shade. A settings panel will open. Click or tap on the Personalize option.
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Windows 8 Fundamentals
Working With Tiles
The background color of the theme updates automatically. We can also change the accent color in the theme. Click or tap on one of the accent colors and see how your changes affect the theme.
Below the background and accent shades is a color bar. Click or tap one of the colors in the bar to get a different set of color shades for the theme. We can always go back to the original theme settings by clicking or tapping on the theme icon. Adjust the theme and click or tap once outside the Personalize panel on the Start Screen background. This will save your theme and theme settings for the Start Screen.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Working With Tiles for Desktop In this example I will go over the process for customizing the Start Screen with a computer and mouse. In the next lesson I will go over the process for doing the same thing on a tablet device.
We can move, resize and remove tiles from the Start Screen. Let’s start by moving a tile. Click and drag a tile. As you drag the tile, the other tiles shrink a little and shuffle around to make room for the tile you are moving.
When you hover the mouse over the resize option, a sub menu of options will open with four tile size options. I’ll select the small size for the weather tile.
Release the tile when it’s in the new location.
The tile will resize and the other tiles will shuffle around to accommodate the new size. Move and resize other tiles as needed.
The tiles are in a variety of sizes. We can change the size of these tiles. In my example, I have a weather tile that is very large. I’d like that tile to be much smaller. To change the size of the tile, right click on the tile to get a contextual menu and select Resize.
Some of the tiles are animated. These are called Live Tiles. We can disable or enable the animation of these Tiles. Right click on a tile that is animated. I’ll right click on the Money tile.
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Windows 8 Fundamentals
Working With Tiles don’t have lots of RAM on your computer, it could run slower. Live tiles access information from the Internet and this consumes your bandwidth. If you are paying for Internet usage on your device this will eat away at the monthly allotment. I usually only keep one or two live tiles. These are the tiles for my email and calendar. Whichever tiles you choose to animate, keep in mind that they consume resources.
The contextual menu has an option to turn live tile off.
When live tiles are turned off, a static icon will be placed in the tile.
Not all tiles can be changed into live tiles. In this example, OneDrive does not have an option to enable it as a live tile. Live tiles are a great way to get updated information on your computer, but live tiles come at a cost. The computer or device needs to be working all the time to update these tiles and that causes a drain on resources. On tablets and laptops, this often drains the battery much quicker. If you   June 2015 Windows 8 Fundamentals  9
Digital Maestro Magazine Working With Tiles for Desktop Pinning and Unpinning Tiles
There are several tiles that are automatically setup as part of the Start Screen. Think of the Start Screen as a location to place your favorite applications or services. There is a way to remove tiles from the Start Screen. This is called unpinning. The process of unpinning tiles does not remove the program from your device. The tile is just moved from the Start Screen. It can be pinned to the Start Screen again at another time. To unpin a tile, right click on a tile and select the unpin from start option. The tile will be removed from the Start Screen and the other tiles will shuffle to fill in the gap.
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In my example, I’ve removed most of the tiles I won’t use regularly. By doing this, I have room for more tiles. I’m not implying that there is a limit to the number of tiles we can place on the Start Screen but the more tiles we place the more difficult it is to find what we need. As we add more tiles, the Start Screen can be scrolled to the right or left to view the additional tiles. It would be just like the application screen below the Start Screen. The point of the Start Screen is to have a location where you place your favorite or most recently used applications for easy access.
Windows 8 Fundamentals Moving tiles on a tablet is pretty much the same as moving tiles on a traditional computer, except that we have helpful menu options. These options take the place of using a mouse for contextual menus.
Working With Tiles hold on the Weather tile. Don’t move the tile just tap and hold until the screen fades and release the tile.
Tap and hold on a tile until it lifts from the Start Screen. The Start Screen will also fade a little.
The tile should have a check mark in the upper right hand corner. If you don’t see a check mark, tap on the tile once. A tool bar will open at the bottom of the screen with some options to customize the tiles. Move the tile into its new position and let it go. In this example I moved the OneNote tile so it switched places with the tile for my pictures folder. The tablet will remain in Start Screen edit mode. The Start Screen will remain faded and you will see some options available. We will return to these options later. Tap once on the Start Screen background. The Start Screen will return to its normal illumination.
In the last example we saw a customize button. We can customize our tiles appearance. For example we can make the tiles larger or smaller. Let’s tap and
To resize the tile, let’s tap on the resize button.
The tile can be large, wide, medium or small. Let’s tap on the medium option.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Working With Tiles for Tablet
The weather tile is now the same size as the Internet Explorer tile in this example.
We have some live tiles on our Start Screen. The weather tile is displaying the current weather information. If you find live tiles distracting, they can be turned off. Tap on the weather tile.
Let’s change the tile size one more time. Tap on the weather tile and tap the resize button. With the weather tile selected, tap on the turn live tile off button.
This time let’s select the wide size option.
The weather tile now has a static image instead of the live information. We can turn the live tile on by selecting the tile and tapping on the turn live tile on button. 12  Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Working With Tiles One Note One Note comes bundled with Windows 8. It’s a cloud based tool for taking notes or writing in general. It syncs with your cloud account through Microsoft. This means that your notes are available anywhere and on any device that supports One Note.
Not all tiles can be turned into live tiles. In this example, I’ve selected the OneNote tile. The options for this tile do not include the option to make this into a live tile.
The application is standard with all Windows 8 compatible devices like phones and tablets. If you don’t have a Windows device that’s okay. It’s also available for Android and Apple devices. It doesn’t cost anything to get the application for any of these devices. You can take traditional notes by using the keyboard or use the Surface Pen. With the pen you can write, draw, highlight and erase notes. Notes taken with the keyboard are placed in a text box. The text box can be resized and moved around. The pen can be used to annotate or highlight the text.
We can remove tiles from the Start Screen. I’ll remove the news tile by tapping on it and tapping the unpin from start button. This does not uninstall the news application. It’s still installed but the shortcut to it has been removed from the Start Screen.
One Note automatically recognizes when you want to use the pen or use the keyboard. Tap on the screen with the Pen and the pen tools are available. Tap once with your finger and the keyboard becomes available. Like the pen, tapping with your finger provides a set of tools to add images, tables, outlines, todo lists and insert documents.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Pin Apps To Start Screen for Desktop Windows 8 comes with several apps that are not on the Start Screen. All of these apps are placed on a separate screen. To view these apps and any app that is installed, click on the down arrow in the lower left side of the Start Screen.
Find an app to pin and right click on the tile. Select Pin to Start from the contextual menu.
You see several apps listed by the app name and grouped by the first letter of the app name.
The app is pinned to the Start Screen and you are taken to it.
The screen scrolls to the right with even more apps. When you reach the end of the apps that are grouped by letter, you will find other apps grouped into categories like administrative tools and software installations like Microsoft Office. On this screen you will see small tiles for Skype, Sports and the Windows Store. I removed Skype from my Start Screen but the application icon is here. I didn’t remove the Windows Store tile from the Start Screen and it’s also here. The apps are always here. Let’s pin an app to your Start Screen. 14 Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
We can repeat the process for each app we want to pin to the Start Screen. This can get a little tedious especially if you have several apps to pin. In this example I would like to pin several of my Microsoft Office apps.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Pin Apps To The Start Screen
I could pin one at a time, but I would have to switch back and forth between the apps section and the Start Screen. I could stay right in the Start Screen and add apps right from here.
I’ll type Word into the search box. The search isn’t case sensitive. Windows will try to guess what I’m looking for and provide a list of items that match my keyword. In this example Word 2013 tops the list.
On the right side of the screen is a magnifying glass icon. Click on this icon.
We can right click on the Word 2013 icon and select pin to start.
A search panel will open. Let’s search for the app we want to pin.
The Word 2013 app tile will be pinned to the Start Screen. The search panel will remain open so we can search for another app. June 2015 Windows 8 Fundamentals 15
Digital Maestro Magazine Pin Apps To Start Screen for Desktop To search for items you don’t always need to click the magnifying glass icon. We can just type what we want and the search panel will open automatically. I’ll start typing Excel.
Control clicking a tile places a check mark on the right corner. Let’s control click on another tile.
The search panel opens and begins to offer suggestions. I can now pin Excel. Notice that the applications are all pinned and grouped together. We’ll learn more about groups later.
A second application tile is now selected. I’ll repeat the process for the remaining Office applications I want to pin.
Pinning apps is easy and there’s an easy way to add several apps at once. In this example I want to pin all my Office apps. Let’s select one app by pressing the Control key on the keyboard and clicking on a tile. Once we’ve selected all the applications, right click on one of them to get the contextual menu. Select Pin to Start.
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Windows 8 Fundamentals
Pin Apps To The Start Screen
All the tiles we selected will be pinned to the Start Screen in their own group. Notice that Windows automatically grouped our recent pins together. Let’s explore tile groups next.
Windows Surface Pen The Surface Pen is a little expensive but I’ve found it to be a very useful device. The pen is both a mouse and a stylus for the tablet. The mouse aspect of the pen comes in very handy with non-metro applications. Tapping on the non-metro application menu options can be a little difficult and this is where the pen comes in very handy.
for seven seconds. A light on the side of the pen will blink to let You know the pen is in discovery mode. The pen has three buttons. The two buttons on the side work like the left and right buttons on a regular mouse. The button on the top of the pen works directly with One Note. Click on it once and One Note will open. Once One Note is open, you can double click the button while using any other application, and it will let you take a screen shot. Nifty!, I use this all the time. Most of the screen captures in this issue were taken using this method.
It uses blue tooth to communicate with the Surface and this helps with the pen’s accuracy. The pen needs to be powered to work with blue tooth So it comes with a triple A battery. I’m not sure how long the battery last. It mostly likely depends on the brand of battery and how The on-screen keyboard has an option where you can often you use the pen. display an area for handwriting. This is the perfect place If you buy the Surface and pen together it can be con- to use the pen. It recognizes both print and cursive. It nected while setting up the Surface and Windows. Make does a very nice job of recognizing my horrible hand sure you have the pen out and the battery in place. To writing. That says a lot! make sure it’s recognized, place the pen in discovery The pen is a little pricy, but if you plan to write or draw mode. Press and hold the button at the top of the pen on the tablet it’s an indispensable tool in my opinion.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Pin Apps To Start Screen for Tablet The Start Screen is a holding place for your favorite or most often used applications and services. Most of the applications installed on your device are not represented here but can be found in the apps section. To get to the apps section, swipe up to reveal the apps section below.
The application will be pinned to the Start Screen and placed in its own group. We will learn more about groups later. Let’s add another application.
Many of the apps are placed into sections based on the name of the application. The applications are listed alphabetically. We can pin any of these applications to our Start Screen. I’ll add the calculator application. Tap and hold the icon for a second. Don’t tap and release, because this will start the application. Tap the icon for a second then release.
A checkmark will appear to the right of the application title. The application is selected and we get a task bar appear at the bottom of the screen. Tap on the pin to start button.
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I’ll add the Reader application by following the same process. Tap and hold the application for a second then release. Tap the pin to start button.
This process is fine, but it can get a little tedious if we need to add several tiles at once.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Pin Apps To The Start Screen
We can add tiles without leaving the Start Screen. Tap on the search icon in the upper right hand corner.
A contextual menu will display next to the application icon. Select the pin to start option.
When the search box appears, we can search for any application installed on the tablet.
The application will be pinned to the Start Screen and the search box will remain open so we can search for anything else. Let’s search for Excel. Tap and hold the icon for a couple of seconds then select pin to start from the contextual menu.
Let’s search for Word. I’ll type word in the search box and Windows will help find the application by presenting suggestions to my keyword. When the application is visible, tap and hold the icon for a couple of seconds then release.
To hide the search box, tap anywhere on the Start Screen background. This process is much faster but what if we need to add several applications at once. Can we make the process faster? Okay, you’ve guessed the answer is yes.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Pin Apps To Start Screen for Tablet
Swipe up to revel the applications below the Start Screen. Tap on an application for a second then release.
In this example I’ve selected PowerPoint 2013. When we are in this mode we can select more than one application to pin. Let’s tap on another application.
I’ve selected several to pin. These would be all my Office applications. Tap the pin to start button.
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All the applications are pinned to the same group on the Start Screen. We’ll learn how to create and organize groups next.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Application Groups
Windows 8 uses groups to organize tiles. We can move tiles from one group to another by dragging and dropping them into a group.
I’ve also moved the Windows Store tile over.
I moved the large Windows Store tile out of the way for this next step. Above each group of tiles we have a title area. The title currently reads Name group but we can provide our own. Let’s click once in the title area and give our Office tiles a group name.
Groups are separated by some extra space between tiles. We could help ourselves a little by giving each group a name.
After typing Microsoft Office press the enter key to save the changes. Right click on the Start Screen background. A menu option called Name groups will display. Click on name groups.
The titles remain visible so you can update other group names. For this example I’ll just provide a name to the June 2015 Windows 8 Fundamentals 21
Digital Maestro Magazine Application Groups for Desktop Office tiles. To close the title bars click once on the Start Screen background.
This tile is now in its own group. We can now move all the tiles we want into this group. The group name for Microsoft Office is now visible and its easier for us to distinguish the groups.
We can create as many groups as needed. I’d like to group some of the tiles in the group on the left into their own group. To create a new group we need to drag a tile onto an empty area of the Start Screen. As you move the tile, look for a solid bar to appear between groups or at the edges of the Start Screen. This indicates that we can create a new group with this tile. Release the tile to create the group. I have a group of tiles for Microsoft Office on my start screen sandwiched between two other groups. I would like to create a group on the left side. We could move each tile over into a new group on the left but it’s much easier to select several tiles and create a new group with all the tiles we want in the group. 22 Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Press and hold the control key on your keyboard. Click one of the tiles. A check mark will be placed in the upper right corner. Repeat the process for all the other tiles.
Application Groups
A new group is created with the selected tiles. Notice that the group name remained with the previous group. This happened because we created a new group with only some tiles from the previous group. This is another way to create groups with all the tiles we want in the new group. If we had moved over all the tiles in the group, the name would have remained with the group.Let’s rename our groups.
I didn’t include the calculator application because I don’t want it to be included in the Microsoft Office group when I move it over.
Right click on the Start Screen and select Name groups. I’ll provide a name for the new Office group and remove the name from the previous group. To remove the name from a group, click on the ‘X’ in the group title box. Click on the Start Screen.
Click and drag one of the tiles over until you see the new group bar and release.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Application Groups for Tablet When we added tiles to our Start Screen they were automatically placed into a group. We can move tiles into groups and create groups of tiles. Tap and hold one of the tiles until the Start Screen changes.
After typing the name in the title box, tap once on the Start Screen background. Tap on the Start Screen background again to finish. The title for the Microsoft Office group remains visible. Let’s create a new group. We need to select a tile that will be in our new group. Tap and hold on a tile until the screen fades.
Above each group of tiles is a title box. We can provide a name for each group. To name a group, tap once inside the group title box. Keep holding the tile and move it between two groups. A vertical bar will appear when the tile is in an area that can create a new group. If we don’t want to place the new group between two existing groups, we could drag the tile to the edge of the left or right screen and when the bar appears we can release the icon to create a new group.
Let’s type a title for this group.
Once a group is created we can add more tiles to the group. We can remove a group by moving all the tiles out of that group. In this example, we can remove the group by removing the only tile and placing it into another group. 24 Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Application Groups
Tiles are always in groups, even if it’s a group of one.
The Microsoft Office group is now in a different location. Here we moved the People tile out of its own group and back into a group with other tiles. We can move a group from one location to another. To do this, we need to select all the tiles in the group.
Earlier we created a group with one tile. We can create groups with a set of tiles that belong to that group. I’ll select the calculator and reader tiles to move into a new group. I want to move the Microsoft Office group. First we need to select all the tiles in the group. After all the tiles are selected, I’ll tap and drag one of the tiles to the left of the adjacent group.
We now have a new group with the two tiles. Tap the Start Screen background to exit edit mode.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Working With Applications Windows 8 runs any compatible application. These applications fall into two categories. They include Metro applications, which are designed to be used on devices that use a touch interface like most tablets. Non-metro apps are designed to work with the traditional computer and mouse. They are not optimized to work with touch devices and gestures. Let’s look at a Metro designed application. I’ll open the weather app. The menu options for Metro applications are much larger to support tablet users.
The weather application will animate and open to full screen. Depending on the application, it might have additional menu options on the bottom of the application. To close the application, move your mouse back up to the top and click on the close icon. You can also drag the title bar down the screen.
Metro applications don’t have the traditional menus because they are difficult to use on touch devices. Move your mouse to the top of the screen and a title bar will display. On the right side of the title bar is the option to either minimize the application or to close the application. Metro applications have menu options of their own. Right click anywhere within the application. 26 Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
When I close the application, Windows 8 will return me to the Start Screen. Let’s open a non-metro application.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Working With Applications
Let’s open Word 2013. Word starts and the Start Screen is replaced by the Windows Desktop and a status box.
We can close Word by clicking the exit button in the upper right hand corner.
When non-metro applications open, you’re taken to Desktop mode. In Desktop mode the Start Screen disappears and the traditional desktop and task bar are revealed.
When a non-metro application closes, we remain in Desktop mode. To return to the start Screen click on the Start Screen button. You can also press the Windows button on your keyboard or tablet.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Switching Applications for Desktop We’re often using more than one application. For example, we could be using Internet Explore to browse the Internet, while listening to music and checking our email. In this lesson we will learn how to work with multiple applications in Windows 8. Let’s start Internet Explorer.
I’ll open the Music application. Now that I have three applications running, let’s switch between them. We can do this in one of two ways. We can press the Windows button to return to the Start screen and click or tap the application we want. There are two versions of Internet Explorer installed on your device. This version is designed for the Metro interface. The address bar is located on the bottom. There are a couple of ways we can switch to another application. The easiest way is to press the Windows key on your keyboard or tablet device. We can also click on the minimize button in the top right. You should get used to using the Windows key its much faster.
When we click or tap an application, we will return to the application and what we were working on when we switched away. Another way to return to open applications is to use the left corner to reveal the app switcher.
I’ll position the mouse arrow in the upper left hand corner. In a second the thumbnail for the last application I used will appear. I can click on this thumbnail and the application will display on my screen. Let’s open up email. Let’s open one more application. Press the Windows key to return to the Start Screen.
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Instead of opening the last application, move your mouse down the left side. We can see some tiles peaking out form the left edge.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Switching Applications The Taskbar
As you move the mouse down, thumbnails of all the open applications will appear. The thumbnail represents what is open in the application. If I want to open the Mail all I do is click the thumbnail. With Mail open, I can repeat the process to switch to another open application.
This time I see three thumbnails because the Mail application is open.
The Taskbar is available when running desktop applications. On a typical Taskbar you find options to adjust the volume for speakers, connect to a network and the current date and time. The Taskbar is where you can place shortcuts to commonly used programs like Internet Explorer and File Explorer. Windows 8 automatically includes File Explorer in the Taskbar. On the Taskbar you will also find icons to programs that are currently running. This provides and easy way to switch between programs. In Windows 8 we find programs that are running for both Metro and desktop. Clicking on a Metro application will take you into the Metro interface. You will need to click on the Desktop tile to return or select a Desktop application from the app switcher. The Taskbar includes options to add shortcuts to programs and it also includes Toolbars, which are grouped sets of icons. Pinning programs is fairly easy to do. Open an application like Word. When Word is open you will see the icon for Word in the Taskbar. Right click the icon, or on a tablet tap and hold for a couple of seconds and release. A menu will open with several options. One of the options is the option to pin the program to the task bar. Repeat the same process to unpin applications or programs.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Switching Applications for Tablet Switching between applications on a tablet is much easier because we can use swipes to access the running applications.
Swipe with your finger from the left edge of the tablet until you see a preview of an open application. Don’t swipe in all the way. Move in until you see some of the application and the app switcher and then move your finger back to the left slightly.
I’ll swipe in from the left, but instead of moving back to the left edge, I’ll keep moving to the right until I see the full preview of my next application. When I see this preview, I’ll release the application.
In my example Internet Explorer will open and replace the weather application.
You should see the application switcher appear with all the running applications. We can tap an application to open it full screen. I’ll tap the weather application. We can use the same swipe method to quickly switch between open applications.
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Windows 8 Fundamentals
Multiple Open Applications
Switching between applications is fine, but sometimes we would like to be able to see the content of more than one application at a time. In that case we can display the content of two or more applications side by side. With an application open, I’ll move my mouse to the top of the screen until I see the title bar. Click and drag down on the title bar. The application is placed on the left side of the screen. On the right side we have a location to place another open application.
Move half way down the screen. The application will float in a window. Let’s move this window over to the left.
Move your mouse over to the left corner to display the app switcher. Let’s open Internet Explorer. Click and drag out the thumbnail for Internet Explorer.
Move the window over to the left until a black divider appears. Release the window.
The tile will turn into a floating window. Move this window to the other side of the screen and release.
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Digital Maestro Magazine Multiple Open Applications for Desktop If we move the divider just a little, the application will display. I can open a non-metro application like Word 2013.
We now have two open applications separated by a divider. We can resize the screens by moving the divider either left or right. As we move the divider to the right we will see more of the left application and less of the right.
We can repeat the process to have three applications running. In this example, we see that the music application needs more space to properly display the content. In that case we would need to move the divider to the right to display more of the application. To be able to see more applications running on the same screen, you will need to have a display with a very high resolution. High resolution displays are more common on desktops and laptops. Most tablet devices have enough resolution to display two applications at once.
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When a non-metro application opens, we get the task bar at the bottom of the screen. We could click on the icons in the task bar to return to an application but that will just take us to that application without allowing us to have multiple applications open.
Move your mouse to the top left corner of the screen. You will see a thumbnail of the three applications we currently have open. Click on the thumbnail. 14 This will return us to the metro Interface and with our three applications running. With three running applications, we are quickly running out of screen space. We can switch out one application or another if the screen space is limited. Move your mouse cursor to the top left corner.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Multiple Open Applications File Explorer Managing the documents on your computer is handled through the File Explorer. A tile shortcut to File Explorer should be available on the Start Screen or you can find it in the Apps screen. File Explorer might also be pinned to your taskbar.
Move the arrow down to reveal the app switcher. Let’s drag out the Desktop thumbnail, which is Word 2013. Let’s replace the Music application.
File Explorer is not a Metro application. It opens in desktop mode with a ribbon on top and a sidebar on the left. The ribbon has options to move, copy or delete files. We can also create folders and any Office document from a pull down menu. You need to have Office installed for these options to be available. The sidebar provides easy access to common folders like the Desktop, Downloads and One Drive. It also includes access to network drives. When we select a folder or service, the ribbon changes to provide functions for the folder, document or service.
When the window for Word 2013 is floating over the Music application, release it.
The control panel is also available. In the computer control panel we have the usual options for connecting to a network, setting up hardware, uninstalling programs, creating accounts and personalizing the appearance of the computer. These settings are different from those used in Metro. They are specifically geared toward customizing your desktop environment. The view tab provides a variety of options for viewing your files. You can easily set the view to show large icons, or compact the list of files into list or detail views which provide more information about each file in the various columns.
Word replaced the location of the Music application. The Music application is still running and can be found in the app switcher.
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Tip: Click on blank space to select application for the space. June 2015 Windows 8 Fundamentals 33
Digital Maestro Magazine Multiple Open Applications for Tablet Working with multiple open applications is much the same as it is on traditional computers. The significant difference is that we use swipes. In this example I have Internet Explorer open. To make room for another application, I’ll swipe down toward the center of the tablet.
I can bring in another open application to fill the left half of the screen. I’ll swipe in from the left to reveal the application switcher. I’ll tap on one of the applications and it will open in the empty half of the screen. I’ll get a smaller preview of the application window. Let’s move this application to the right side of the screen.
We can also tap on the empty half and this will take us to the Start Screen and we can select an application.
As we move the window to the right side, we get a divider bar appear. When the divider appears, we can release the application window.
We now have the weather application and Internet Explorer running side by side. Depending on the resolution of your tablet, you might only be able to have two applications open at once.
Internet Explorer is now on the right half of our screen. We can use the divider to increase or decrease the amount of space given to Internet Explorer. Tap and drag the three dots left or right as needed.
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We can switch out applications by dragging them in from the application switcher. We can drag an application icon onto the left or right side as needed.
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Multiple Open Applications Continued from page 33 The detailed view automatically shows basic information about each file. This information includes the file or folder name, the date modified and the type of file. File Explorer provides options to add more columns. These columns include titles, tags and many more columns to satisfy the obsessive compulsive among us.
If you don’t choose and merely tap on the application, it will jump to the middle until you move it to one side or the other. I’ll go ahead and move the Windows store application to the left side.
One very useful section in the File Explorer is the location bar. This is located below the Ribbon. With the location bar its very easy to trace the location of your files so we can find them later or relocate them if needed. Speaking of the location of your files. The search box next to the location bar is very useful. The search box helps search for the file by its file name but it also helps by searching the contents of the file. The search results are automatically listed for you in the main section. The search result provides a preview of the file and some of the files contents. It also provides the directory location for the file. A nice feature of the search option is the availability to save your search results to recall them later. This is a real time saver when you need to find those files for that all important project. Another nice feature of File Explorer is the availability to select multiple files without the need to use optional shortcut keys. There are many people that would rather not have to learn keyboard commands like control, shift or option. No matter what view you select, there is always a check box option to the left of any file. The check box is invisible until you move your mouse pointer or Surface pen over the file. You can select one or more files simply by clicking on this check box for each file. This effectively Continued on page 37 June 2015 Windows 8 Fundamentals 35
Digital Maestro Magazine Closing Applications We can close Metro applications by revealing the title bar and clicking on the close button. There is another way to close these applications. Click and drag the title bar down the screen.
If we have multiple applications open, the space for the application we closed will remain open. We can close that space by moving one of the dividers in the direction of one of the applications.
The window will shrink and float on the screen. Keep moving the window down the screen.
We can’t close non-metro applications the same way. If we move the mouse to the top of the screen, we won’t get a title bar. To close the application we need to click the ‘X’ button.
Move it to the bottom of the screen and release. When we close the non-metro application we see the desktop appear in the split screen if we have more than one application showing like we do in this example.
You can also wait for the window to flip into a tile and release. 36 Windows 8 Fundamentals June 2015
Windows 8 Fundamentals
Closing Applications Continued from page 35 eliminates the need to learn short cut keys. This is very handy when using a tablet device like the Surface without a mouse attached. I’ve tried using my finger to select multiple files this way but it is a little difficult. I’ve found that using the Surface pen is much easier when working with files in File Explorer on a tablet.
Another way to close an application is from the app switcher. We can right click on an application and select close.
The Desktop in this example is showing as a running application. This is because Windows 8.1 sees the desktop as another application that is running. We can close the desktop too. We can close the desktop by treating it like a metro application. Move your mouse to the top of the desktop window then click and drag down. The desktop will change to a window as we move down. Keep moving down to the bottom until the windows gets smaller and release. At this point we have a blank space where the desktop used to be. Move the divider to the left until the left section is closed. You can also double click the divider.
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