Master Windows 8 in a day by Future PLC

Master Windows 8 in a day

MASTER WINDOWS 8 IN A DAY

Master Windows 8 in a day Windows 8 is the best version of Windows ever released. Find out how easy it is to get to grips with, and how it’ll change the way you look at your PC e’re going to take a leap of faith here and assume you’ve used at least one version of Windows before. There aren’t many people who are completely new to it these days. Even to a veteran like you though, Windows 8 might seem a little intimidating. Things have definitely changed graphically – the Start screen is a big, colourful sign that says as much – but you’ll be surprised how similar it is under the skin. Once you’ve gotten used to a few layout changes, we’ll teach you a few insider tricks that’ll make your time at your PC faster, more efficient and more satisfying.

MASTER WINDOWS 8 IN A DAY

Start here

Don’t be afraid of the Start screen, embrace it. It’s a powerful addition to the fastest Windows yet

any new Windows 8 users make a core mistake when faced with the Start screen: they think the Windows they know and love from previous versions is gone. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Start screen is everything the old Start menu was, and more besides. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or right-click an area of empty space and an All Apps icon will appear. Click this and you’ll see an alphabetised list of everything you have installed, including apps that run directly in the Start screen – we’ll call these modern apps – and those that run on the classic Windows desktop (which we’ll call desktop apps). This is a far more convenient way to find programs than the old Start menu, which often ended up cluttered with folders. If you’ve bought a new laptop with Windows 8 installed, you might find

The Start screen does much more than the old Start menu, and it’s easy to master

that the manufacturer has seen fit to install its own apps, and put them in a prominent place. It’s entirely possible that you might want to use some of these, but you’ll probably want to shift them into a less obtrusive space on your Start screen. Just zoom out of the standard Start screen view by pinching your fingers on the touchscreen or multi-touch touchpad, or by pressing [Ctrl]+[-] together. You can move any named icon group around by clicking and holding its name, then dropping it where you’d like it to go. Note that you can do this with your own icon groups, too, and you can give them names by right-clicking while zoomed out and selecting ‘Name group’. When zoomed in, you can shuffle your individual icons around in the same manner.

that runs through the Start screen, within the desktop version, and even within Google Chrome. Just go to ‘Tools > Create application shortcut’ to add the shortcut to your desktop, then pin it to the Start screen as before. If you’d like fine control over the desktop shortcuts that have been added to the Start screen, open up an Explorer window on the desktop and type appdata into the address bar. Dig around in ‘Microsoft > Windows > Start menu > Programs’ and you’ll see all the desktop apps (and web shortcuts) currently linked on the Start screen. You can remove shortcuts from the Start screen by right-clicking (or touching and holding) and choosing ‘Unpin from Start’. This won’t remove them from the All Apps section.

Go custom

Find a shortcut

The Start screen can feel a little like a closed shop. There’s no obvious way to create custom tiles, for example, but it’s there. Just open the desktop, find a shortcut you’d like to add, right-click it and select ‘Pin to Start’. You can do this with folders full of shortcuts, too. You can also pin links to websites on the Start screen. This is possible within the special version of Internet Explorer 10

Before we leave the Start screen, there are several shortcuts it pays to know. Pressing the [Windows] key on its own from anywhere will bring up the Start screen, and tapping it again will take you back to the app you were using before – this includes the desktop, which is treated as if it were an app of its own. While it might feel a little odd, you’ll certainly get used to it. If you still don’t like it, try using [Windows]+[D] to jump to the desktop! App switching is easy – [Windows]+[Tab] will jump between running apps (again treating the desktop as an app of its own), while [Alt]+[Tab] gives you fine control, allowing you to select anything open on your desktop (as well as items open within your Start screen).

Go straight to All Apps Open the desktop, right-click (or touch and hold) an area of empty space, and select ‘New > Shortcut’. In the text box, type explorer shell:::{2559a1f8-21d711d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0} and click ‘Next’. Give the shortcut a name – All Apps will do – and click ‘OK’. This creates a link to the All Apps page of the Start screen. Try dropping this on the left-most edge of your Taskbar for a quick and easy Start button replacement if you’re missing it.

Shortcut to success We’ve covered keyboard shortcuts and gestures elsewhere in this issue, but there’s one classic shortcut that solves a problem many people have with Windows 8: shutting down. You might already know that pressing [Alt]+[F4] closes an app quickly, but did you know that pressing it on the desktop brings up a handy shut down dialog? Make sure none of your apps have focus if you don’t want to close them.

Custom Start menu Got a number of desktop apps you want to launch regularly? Can’t stand the thought of cluttering up your Taskbar? Get around the problem by making your own toolbar. Just create a folder somewhere on your hard drive and fill it with shortcuts to the apps you want to launch. Right-click the Taskbar, select ‘Toolbars > New Toolbar’ and select the folder you just created. Right-click your Taskbar, unlock it, and you can put the new toolbar wherever you like.

Work fast

With Windows 8 and the Windows Store, you’ll get more done than ever before

icrosoft’s core modern apps, when snapped to either edge of the screen, can be valuable accompaniments to everything you do on the desktop. App snapping is an underutilised feature of the Start screen, but it can be really powerful. To snap an app, move your mouse to the top of the screen, hold your left mouse button, and drop the app on either side of the screen. You can do this on a touchscreen by slowly dragging from the left or right edge. Once your apps are snapped, you can adjust their priority by dragging the bar between them. Bring up Mail – it takes a couple of seconds – and snap it to the right edge. You now have a constant, easy to see view of your inbox that doesn’t feel distracting or awkward on a widescreen device. There are third-party apps that make this functionality even more

App snapping is an underutilised feature of the Start screen, but can be powerful 10

useful. The modern Twitter app, for example, is excellent when docked, giving you a beautifully formatted view of your main Twitter feed. You could use a calculator in there, a work timer, Microsoft’s excellent OneNote, or any tool that improves your workflow. Dedicating that specific screen space means less room for the desktop, yes, but it also means you can’t ignore or cover over that helpful app. If you’re using multiple monitors, even better – that modern app can stay open on one screen while you work on another.

Multi-screen madness

There are a few tweaks to consider if you’re using multiple monitors. Our favourite is the option of using your Taskbar on more than one screen, which makes desktop app switching much easier. Just bring up the Search charm and search for ‘Taskbar’ to find the relevant settings page; you’ll only see the check boxes you need if you have multiple monitors active. And here’s an underappreciated shortcut: you can move modern apps from screen to screen with [Windows]+[Page Up] or [Page Down]. This moves the Start screen too; we’ve known many people who’ve used reboots or clever

monitor plug/unplug sequences to achieve this result on a docked laptop, so it’s an important tweak.

Efficiency is key

Working efficiently isn’t just about embracing Windows’ features, though. It’s about bending them to your will, and adjusting your surroundings for a better experience. Take your Start screen and adjust it, as we’ve covered previously, concentrating on the apps you use most and the ones that serve a particular purpose. Remove those you won’t use and group those you will. Clean up your desktop Taskbar, reduce it down to the core apps and set it to auto-hide (the option is in your Taskbar properties) so it’s not distracting you. You can’t clock-watch if the clock isn’t there by default, and you can bring it back up in a flash. If your Taskbar is well organised and you know where your icons are, you can use one of Windows’ most useful shortcuts: [Windows]+[Number key] launches the app, or switches to the window in that position on the Taskbar. Combine this with [Windows]+[D] (which minimises your open windows) and [Windows]+[Tab] or [Alt]+[Tab] for task-switching, and you’ll have a fast, efficient workspace.

TRY THESE

Desktop companion apps

Twitter

Skype

FREE What better to help you work than a stream of distracting 140-character burbles from friends and celebrities?

Windows 8 Cheat Keys

FREE If you’re taking your first forays into Windows 8, this is a great reference to have by your side.

OneNote

FREE Turn your most brilliant thoughts into scribbles and jotted notes that you can see whenever you need them.

FREE It might seem like the biggest distraction of all – the app of choice for the serial procrastinator – but hear us out. Skype is absolutely the perfect docked companion. It’s your window into chat, having replaced Microsoft’s dedicated Messenger tool, which means your friends, family and colleagues are only a click away. If you buy some credits, you can use Skype to send SMS messages, so you won’t distract yourself by constantly checking your smartphone. And if you’re not in a specific chat with someone, the app shuts itself off and lets you get on with your work. No more excuses!

Wikipedia

FREE Brilliant for speedy fact-checking. Just don’t keep clicking the links and going further down the rabbit hole.

Windows snap You don’t just have to snap modern apps – desktop windows can also be snapped to either edge of the screen, giving you unprecedented power in organising your workspace. Just grab the window, move your mouse to the edge of the screen you’d like to snap it to, and it’ll automatically resize to fill 50 per cent of your desktop area. Drag it away and it will pop back to its original size. To quickly fill the desktop with your app, drag it to the top of your screen.

Windows 8 has parental controls built in, letting you keep an eye on your kids and making sure they stay safe online

Life

Get inside

Want to find out more about what makes your PC tick? Windows 8 has all the answers

indows 8 might look simple, but it’s the most advanced version of Windows yet. To get a feel for this, open the desktop and start the Task Manager by hitting [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Esc]. At first it looks clean and seemingly bereft of options, with just a list of your currently running apps (both desktop and modern). Double-click an app to switch to it, or right-click to see a short list of options. ‘Always on top’ will force a desktop app to stay on top of others, which is very useful when you’re doing complex work. Click an app and hit [Del] to close it instantly. This is super quick for modern apps, but it may take a little longer for desktop apps – and make sure you’ve saved your work first! Clicking ‘More details’ at the bottom of the window shows the Task Manager in all its glory. If you’re not very tech savvy, you shouldn’t have to

worry about any of this, but there’s a lot to find out about the workings of Windows if you’re curious. The first page, Processes, shows you your running programs – a big list of the processes working in the background of your PC, and Windows’ own internal services at the bottom. If you want to, and if you don’t mind crashing Windows, you can stop these within the right-click menu, but we’d leave well alone just to be safe. The rest of the tabs in the Task Manager show you all kinds of other information. The most interesting is Performance, which gives you graphs of all of your device’s core systems and their status over time. Click any of the smaller graphs on the left to expand them into the main window. If you want to keep tabs on a particular graph, for instance, to see how much network throughput you’re getting

when copying a large file, right-click the graph and select ‘Graph summary view’. Now just resize the window and place it wherever you like.

Family friendly

It’s worth pointing out a few of Windows 8’s other insider features. There’s a modicum of malware protection built in with Windows Defender, and File History looks after your files and saves different versions as you make changes. Family safety is now built into Windows too, so when you make a new user account and designate it a child account, you can put access restrictions in place and instigate strict monitoring procedures. Windows 8 will even make sure you know what your kids are up to by sending you regular status update emails (if you choose to receive them). To find out more about these desktop apps, and to start using them, just search for them on the Start screen (or hit [Windows]+[I] from anywhere) and get stuck in. The great thing about Windows 8 is that it’s incredibly accessible. With search such a central component, finding anything you want is quick and easy. There are more ways to find out what’s going on, more ways to change the way it works, and all the classic tricks and tips are applicable too. A quick jaunt through Windows 8’s core is all you need to master it, arming you with the tools to take your knowledge further. You’re better equipped now; so go explore and see what else you can find within the world of Windows 8. n

Task Manager Plus Love the Windows 8 Task Manager? You can get a whole lot more information using Process Explorer, which is part of the Sysinternals Suite recently purchased by Microsoft. Grab it from http://bit.ly/G1ydL if you’re interested, but beware – it’s a pretty hardcore app, and not for the faint-hearted. If you’re prepared to grit your teeth and wade in, you can use it to find security issues, rogue programs and problems that Task Manager can’t uncover.

Secret Start menu Move your mouse to the bottom left corner of the desktop – it has to be the exact corner pixel – then right-click. Here you’ll find an awesome Start menu analog that’s perfect for advanced users, with links to everything from the command prompt to computer and disk management tools. You could get to these by other means, certainly, but we find ourselves coming back to this menu time and time again.

Defragment for speed Windows has always had defragmention tools – defrag for short – and Windows 8 is no exception. Defragging speeds up your hard drive by reordering data, which can sometimes be scattered far and wide, into logical order. The Windows 8 tool also supports SSD drives, although it performs a different procedure, optimising the drives to reduce the amount of wear and prolong their life. Search for defrag on the Start screen to get started.

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