If the whole Start screen scrolls instead of the Calendar app’s tile moving, try dragging it in a different direction at first.
To close app, drag from here...
...to here Figure 1-19
Most of this book uses mouse-based terminology when giving instruc- tions as to what to do, but keep in mind that you can use a touchscreen instead of a mouse whenever you like. Just make the following mental translations:
✓ Click = tap.
✓ Double-click = double-tap.
✓ Drag = slide.
✓ Right-click = tap and hold for a few seconds, then release.
Summing Up
In this lesson, you learned the basic information you need to get started using Windows, such as how to start your computer safely and how to shut it down, how to get around the Windows 8 workspace, and how to use the mouse or a touchscreen. Here are the key takeaways for this lesson:
✓ You must sign into Windows 8 to gain access to its features. From the date and time screen, press the spacebar or swipe up on a touchscreen to access the Sign-in prompt.
✓ To sign out, from the Start screen, click your name in the upper-right corner and click Sign Out.
✓ To lock the computer, from the Start screen, click your name and click Lock.
✓ To restart or shut down, sign out and then press the spacebar. Click the Power icon and click either Restart or Shut Down.
✓ The Start screen replaces the Start menu from previous Windows ver- sions. To access it, press the Windows key on the keyboard.
✓ The desktop is similar to the desktop in earlier Windows versions.
To access the desktop, select the Desktop tile on the Start screen; if the desktop has been previously displayed, you can jump back to it quickly by pressing Esc.
✓ The Charms bar is new in Windows 8. To access it, move the mouse to the lower-right corner of the screen or swipe from the right edge.
✓ Basic mouse operations in Windows 8 are the same as in earlier Windows versions. Point, click, double-click, right-click, drag, and right-drag.
✓ Touchscreen navigation commands are new in Windows 8. They include tap, press and hold, pinch, stretch, slide, and swipe.
Know This Tech Talk
Charms bar: A vertical bar in Windows 8 that appears when you swipe in from the right side or move the mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the screen. It contains icons called charms, which act as shortcuts to some commonly used parts of Windows 8, including the Search feature and the Start screen.
Summing Up
charms: Icons on the Charms bar.
click: To press and release the left mouse button once.
desktop: The main interface of Windows 8, consisting of a colored or graphi- cal background, a taskbar, and one or more shortcut icons.
double-click: To press and release the left mouse button twice in quick succession.
drag: To press and hold down the left mouse button on an item, and then move the mouse.
lock: To password-protect a computer when you step away from it.
Microsoft account: A free Microsoft service on the Internet for authenticating computer users.
notification area: The area of the taskbar just to the left of the clock, holding icons for programs running in the background.
pinch: On a touchscreen, to touch two fingers in different spots and then drag the fingers together.
point: To move the mouse pointer over an item without touching any of the mouse’s buttons.
right-click: To press and release the right mouse button once.
right-drag: To press and hold down the right mouse button on an item, and then move the mouse.
sign in: To log onto the computer.
sign out: To log off of the computer.
Sleep mode: A low-power mode that shuts off power to all components except RAM.
slide: On a touchscreen, to touch down your finger or stylus and then slide it.
Start screen: The opening screen in Windows 8, consisting of a set of rectan- gular tiles representing programs and locations.
Know This Tech Talk
Start screen app interface: The part of the Windows 8 interface designed for tablet and touchscreen PC use. The Start screen uses the app interface, as do some of the new apps that come with Windows 8.
stretch: On a touchscreen, to touch two fingers to the screen together and then drag the fingers apart.
swipe: On a touchscreen, to slide a short distance in a certain direction.
system tray: See notification area.
tap: On a touchscreen, to press and release your finger or stylus once on an item.
Lesson 2
Running and Managing Applications
✓ Start and exit applications.
✓ Search for an application.
✓ Manage application windows.
✓ Install, repair, and remove applications.
2 . How do I switch between the apps that are running?
Switch your view over to page ... 42
3 . There doesn’t seem to be any way to exit from Windows 8 apps.
Au contraire! It’s just not an obvious way. See page ... 46
4 . How do I access a menu system in a Windows 8 app?
Try right-clicking. Then see page ... 50
5 . How do I resize a desktop application window?
Use the buttons in the upper-right corner. See page ... 54
6 . Is there a way to see more than one Windows 8 app at once?
Yes, you can do that. Snap them into place, as explained on page .... 55
7 . How do I uninstall an app I don’t want anymore?
Hint: it’s different for Windows 8 apps versus desktop ones.
See page ... 61
C omputers exist for one basic reason: to run applications. An application is a program that performs some useful function. For example, there are applications that create spreadsheets, play games, edit photos, and access e-mail, to name only a few. The applications installed on your PC determine the down-to-business tasks you can perform with it, as well as the entertainment options you have available (games, movies, music, and so on).
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to run applications on your Windows 8 com- puter, as well as how to find out what applications you have available to you.
You’ll also see how to control application windows, and how to install and remove applications.
Running Applications
After successfully signing into Windows (which you learned about in Lesson 1), you’ll probably want to run an application. Windows 8 supports two different types of applications.
✓ Desktop applications: Those that use the Windows desktop as their basis. These are the applications that you may have used in earlier Windows versions, such as Microsoft Word or Quicken. They have resizable windows (usually) and run with the desktop behind them. You can control them from the taskbar. Figure 2-1 shows an example of a desktop application.
LINGO
Desktop applications are tradi- tional-style applications designed to run on Windows 8 or earlier versions of Windows; they run on the Windows desktop in win- dows that are typically resizable.
Windows 8 apps are tablet-style applications designed specifically for Windows 8.
Figure 2-1
✓ Windows 8 apps: Those that are designed specifically for the new tablet- style interface. (Microsoft calls them apps, rather than applications.) Windows 8 applications run only under Windows 8. They run full-screen (usually); if your display resolution is at least 1366 x 768, you can option- ally snap them into taking up either one-third or two-thirds of the screen area, so multiple Windows 8 apps can be run side by side. Figure 2-2 shows an example of a Windows 8 app.
Although the applications are different once you get into them, they all start the same way. If a shortcut for the application appears on the Start screen, you can start the program from there. If a shortcut for the application appears on the desktop or the taskbar, you can start from there. And you can always find and start an application from the Apps list. The following sec- tions walk you through each of those possibilities.
Running Applications
Figure 2-2
Starting an application
The Start screen provides shortcuts for some of the applications installed on your computer. The default set of shortcuts on the Start screen is just a jumping-off point, though; you can customize the Start screen to show shortcuts for whatever applications you like. (See Lesson 3 to learn how to do that.) If the application you want to start appears on the Start screen, you just click or tap its shortcut. A single-click is fine; you don’t need to double- click to activate a shortcut on the Start screen.
The taskbar can also potentially hold shortcut icons for programs you want to run. Shortcuts that are attached to a location are pinned there.
For example, as you saw in Lesson 1, the task- bar has shortcuts for Internet Explorer and File Explorer pinned to it. You can pin your own favorite apps there, too, if you like. (Again, see Lesson 3.) To start a program that’s pinned to the taskbar, click or tap its icon there.
The desktop can also have shortcuts on it that open applications, or that open File Explorer to specific folder locations (like Recycle Bin, for instance).
Double-click an icon on the desktop to activate it. Note that, in this case, double-clicking (or double-tapping) is required.
LINGO
A pinned shortcut is one that is attached to a certain location, such as the taskbar or desktop.
Finally, if none of the aforementioned apply to the program you want to run, you can resort to using the Apps list, which is a more-or-less complete list of all the applications installed on your PC. In earlier Windows versions, this function was handled by the All Programs list on the Start menu. To access the Apps list, open the Charms bar (by pointing to the bottom-right corner of the screen or swiping in from the right side) and click the Search icon.
Alternatively, you can display the Start screen, right-click, and click All Apps.
In the following exercise, you will open four different applications, each using a different method.