Windows 8 apps aim to be simpler than
old-style Windows applets, which means it's goodbye to menus, complex
toolbars and many interface standards. There will usually be a few
options available on the App bar, though, so if you're unsure what to do
then either right-click an empty part of the screen, press Windows+Z or
flick your finger up from the bottom of the screen to take a closer
look.
9. Launch apps from the desktop
Windows 8 doesn't
provide any obvious way to launch apps straight from the desktop, but
this is actually surprisingly easy to set up.
Right-click on an
empty part of your desktop, select New > Shortcut, and type Explorer
Shell:AppsFolder in the "Location" box. Click Next, enter a name - "All
Programs", for instance - and click Finish. Double-clicking that
shortcut will open a folder listing all your installed programs,
including the apps, and you can launch whatever you like.
10. See what's running
If
you launch a Windows 8 app, play with it for a while, then press the
Windows key you'll switch back to the Start screen. Your app will
remaining running, but as there's no taskbar then you might be wondering
how you'd ever find that out.
You could just press Alt+Tab, which shows you what's running just as it always has.
Holding
down the Windows key and pressing Tab displays a pane on the left-hand
side of the screen with your running apps. (To see this with the mouse,
move your cursor to the top left corner of the screen, wait until the
thumbnail of one app appears, then drag down.)
And of course you
can always press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to see all your running apps in the Task
Manager, if you don't mind (or actually need) the extra technical
detail.
11. Close an app
Buying Guide
20 best laptops in the world
Windows
8 apps don't have close buttons, but this isn't the issue you might
think. Apps are suspended when you switch to something else so they're
only a very minimal drain on your system, and if you need the system
resources then they'll automatically be shut down. (Their context will
be saved, of course, so on relaunching they'll carry on where you left
off.)
If you want to close down an app anyway, though, move the
mouse cursor up to the top of the screen. When it turns from the regular
mouse pointer to the icon of a hand, hold down the left mouse button
and drag it down the screen. Your app should shrink to a thumbnail which
you can drag off the screen to close it.
If that's too much hassle, then simply pressing Alt+F4 still works.
And
when all else fails then press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch Task Manager,
right-click something in the Apps list and select End Task. Beware,
though, close something you shouldn't and it's easy to crash or lock up
your PC.
12. Hide the taskbar
If you run Windows 8 on a
tablet then it makes sense to keep your taskbar on the left, where it
takes minimal space and is best placed for easy thumb access. Switch
your tablet to portrait orientation, though, and you'll suddenly find
the taskbar grabs much more valuable screen real estate.
It doesn't have to be this way, however - not if you install Surface Taskbar Helper.
This neat tool enables you to set the taskbar to "auto hide" based on
its current orientation, so for instance you can always show it in
landscape view, but hide it in portrait, which is a very flexible way to
get the most out of your display space.
13. Master Internet Explorer in Windows 8
Click
the Internet Explorer tile from the Start menu and you'll launch a
full-screen version without toolbars, menus or sidebars, which like so
much of Windows 8 may leave you initially feeling lost.
Right-click
an empty part of the page or flick your finger down from the top of the
screen, though, and you'll find options to create and switch between
tabs, as well as a Refresh button, a 'Find' tool and the ability to pin
an Internet shortcut to the Start page. Click the spanner icon and
select 'View on the desktop' to open the full desktop version of
Internet Explorer.
14. Spell check
Windows
8 apps all have spellcheck where relevant, which looks and works much
as it does in Microsoft Office. Make a mistake and a wavy red line will
appear below the offending word; tap or right-click this to see
suggested alternative words, or add the word to your own dictionary if
you prefer.
15. Run two apps side by side
Windows 8 apps
are what Microsoft calls "immersive" applications, which basically means
they run full-screen - but there is a way to view two at once. Swipe
from the left and the last app you were using will turn into a
thumbnail; drop this and one app displays in a sidebar pane while your
current app takes the rest of the screen. And you can then swap these by
swiping again.
16. Run as Administrator
Some
programs need you to run them with Administrator rights before they'll
work properly. The old context menu isn't available for a pinned Start
screen app, but right-click one, and if it's appropriate for this app
then you'll see a Run As Administrator option.
17. Make a large app tile smaller
You'll
notice that some Windows 8 apps have small live tiles, while others
have larger tiles that take up the space of two tiles. Right-clicking on
a Windows 8 app's Start screen tile will display a few relevant
options. If this is one of the larger tiles, choosing 'Smaller' will cut
it down to half the size, freeing up some valuable Start screen real
estate.
18. Uninstall easily
If you want to hide an unused
app for now, select 'Unpin from Start'. The tile will disappear, but if
you change your mind then you can always add it again later. (Search
for the app, right-click it, select 'Pin to Start'.)
And, if you're sure you'll never want to use an app again, choose 'Uninstall' will remove it entirely.
Of
course, if you like to try out lots of apps then uninstalling them one
at a time can get a little tedious. If that becomes a problem, give Windows App Boss a try - it enables you to select multiple apps and remove them all at once.
19. Customise app privacy
It
is worth keeping in mind that by default Windows 8 apps can use your
name, location and account picture. If you're not happy with that, it's
easily changed. Press Win+I, click More PC Settings, select Privacy and
click the relevant buttons to disable any details you'd rather not
share.
The new Task Manager also includes a History feature that
tracks the CPU time used by every application. If you're wondering what
someone's doing most of the time on their Windows 8 system, launching
Task Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and clicking the App History tab
will give you an idea. But if you don't want someone doing the same to
you, clicking App History > Delete Usage History will clear all the
figures.
20. Show administrative tools
Experienced
Windows users who spend much of their time in one advanced applet or
another are often a little annoyed to see their favourite tools buried
by Windows 8. Microsoft has paid at least some attention, though, and
there is a way to bring some of them back.
Open the Charm bar by
flicking your finger from the right-hand side of the screen and select
'Settings' then 'Tiles'. Change 'Show administrative tools' to 'Yes' and
click back on an empty part of the Start screen. And it's as simple as
that. Scroll to the right and you'll find a host of new tiles for
various key applets - Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, Task Scheduler,
Resource Monitor and more - ready to be accessed at a click.
If you like your PC to boot just
as fast as possible then the new Windows 8 lock screen may not appeal.
Don't worry, though, if you'd like to ditch this then it only takes a
moment.
Launch REGEDIT, and browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
(create the Personalization key if it doesn't exist).
Click
Personalization in the left-hand pane. Right-click in the right-hand
pane, select New > DWORD Value, and give it the name NoLockScreen.
Double-click
your new NoLockScreen value, set it to 1, click OK, and when you next
reboot it the lock screen will have gone. If you decide to restore it
for some reason, set NoLockScreen to 0 or delete it entirely.
22. Install anything
Most
mobile platforms recommend you only install apps from approved sources
to protect your security, and Windows 8 is the same: it'll only allow
you to install trusted (that is, digitally signed) apps from the Windows
store.
If this proves a problem, though, and you're willing to
take the security risk (because this isn't something to try unless
you're entirely sure it's safe), then the system can be configured to
run trusted apps from any source.
It's all done via a single
Registry key, too. Just launch REGEDIT and set the value of the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx\AllowAllTrustedApps
key to 1.
23. Pin app contents to the Start screen
It's
easy to pin apps to the Start screen (right-click, select "Pin"), but
you don't have to stop there. Many apps also enable you to pin
particular content for easy access later.
If you want more ideas
for your upcoming holiday in Rome, for instance, you could open the
Travel app, right-click, select "Destinations" and choose the "Rome"
tile. And then repeat those steps every single time you revisit the
page. Or, alternatively, right-click your preferred Destination tile,
select "Pin...", and you'll be able to access it directly from the Start
screen.
Similarly, if you use the Mail app with multiple accounts
then just open these, and you can right-click to select separate live
tiles for each one - much more useful.
24. Log in automatically
WARNING: Your account will lose admin privileges as a result of this step
Of
course even if you remove the lock screen, you'll still be forced to
manually log in every time your system starts. This can also be resolved
at speed, though, using much the same technique as in previous versions
of Windows.
Hold down the Windows key, press R, type 'netplwiz' and press Enter to launch the User Accounts dialog.
Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" box and click OK.
Enter
the user name and password of the account that you'd like to be logged
in automatically, click OK, restart your system and this time it should
boot directly to the Start screen.
25. Use six apps at once
Launch
a Windows 8 app and it appears full-screen, which is fine on a small
tablet but not so impressive when you've got a 27-inch widescreen
monitor to fill.
Toolbox for Windows 8 helps out, though, by
bundling 12 common apps in a single package. You get a Facebook client,
browser, calculator, weather app, clock and more. And instead of always
appearing full-screen, you can run and interact with two, three, four,
even six of these tools, all at the same time.
26. Replace the Start menu
If Windows 8's search and navigation tools still leave you pining for the regular Start menu, installing the free Classic Shell will replace it with something very similar.
Install
it and you get the standard menu of your installed programs, for
instance, along with Search and Run boxes, the Recent Items menu, and
Windows 7-type shutdown options. And it can make Windows 8 boot directly
to the desktop, too.
Classic Shell doesn't entirely ignore the
modern UI world, though. A menu of installed apps enables you to launch
them from the desktop, and you can alternatively switch to the Start
screen with a click.
27. Learn Windows key shortcuts
Win : switch between the Start screen and the last-running Windows 8 app
Win + C : displays the Charms: the Settings, Devices, Share and Search options
Win + D : launches the desktop
Win + E : launches Explorer
Win + F : opens the File Search pane
Win + H : opens the Share pane
Win + I : opens Settings
Win + K : opens the Devices pane
Win + L : locks your PC
Win + M : minimises the current Explorer or Internet Explorer window (works in the full-screen IE, too)
Win + O : toggles device orientation lock on and off
Win + P : switch your display to a second display or projector
Win + Q : open the App Search pane
Win + R : opens the Run box
Win + U : open the Ease of Access Centre
Win + V : cycle through toasts (notifications)
Win + W : search your system settings (type POWER for links to all power-related options, say)
Win + X : displays a text menu of useful Windows tools and applets
Win + Z : displays the right-click context menu when in a full-screen app
Win + + : launch Magnifier and zoom in
Win + - : zoom out
Win + , : Aero peek at the desktop
Win + Enter : launch Narrator
Win + PgUp : move the current screen to the left-hand monitor
Win + PgDn : move the current screen to the right-hand monitor
Win + PrtSc : capture the current screen and save it to your Pictures folder
Win + Tab : switch between running apps
28. Boot desktop apps faster
While
you can still set up desktop apps to load when Windows 8 starts, they
don't have the priority they once did. Quite the opposite, in fact -
Windows 8 delays their launch to ensure everything else starts more
quickly. This can make the system more responsive as your system boots,
but if you're switching straight to the desktop then it may slow you
down, so it may be worth turning off the delay, just to see if you can
spot any improvement.
Launch REGEDIT and browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize.
Create the Serialize key if it doesn't exist, and select it in the left-hand pane.
Right-click
in the right-hand pane, create a new DWORD value called
StartupDelayInMSec, and leave it set at zero (or, if a value is already
there, set it to zero).
Restart and the desktop apps will now
launch more quickly. Try three or four test boots to see if there's any
improvement, and if not, delete the StartupDelayInMSec value to restore
the default settings.
29. Launch programs fast
What you need to know Windows Phone 8
If
you're a fan of keyboard shortcuts and don't like the idea of scrolling
through app tiles to find the program you need, don't worry, Windows 8
still supports a useful old shortcut. Which is perfect if, say, you're
looking to be able to shut down your PC with a click.
Launch the desktop app, right-click an empty part of the desktop and click New > Shortcut.
Browse to the application you'd like to launch here. Or for the sake of this example, enter shutdown.exe -s -t 00
to shut down your PC, or shutdown.exe -h -t 00
to hibernate it, and click Next. Type a shortcut name - 'Hibernate', say - and click Finish.
Right-click
the shortcut, select Pin to Start and it should appear on the far right
of the Start screen - just drag the tile wherever you like.
30. Take intelligent screengrabs
If
a Windows 8 application is showing something interesting and you'd like
to record it for posterity, then hold down the Windows key, press
PrtSc, and the image won't just go to the clipboard: it'll also be
automatically saved to your My Pictures folder with the name
Screenshot.png (and then Screenshot(1).png, Screenshot(2).png and so
on).
You might hope that pressing Win+Alt+PrtSc would similarly
save an image of the active window, but no, sadly not. Maybe next time.
31. Default to Photo Viewer
Double-click
an image file within Explorer and it won't open in a Photo Viewer
window any more, at least not by default. Instead you'll be switched to
the full-screen Windows 8 Photos app - bad news if you thought you'd
escaped such hassles by using the desktop.
If you'd like to fix this, go to Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs and select Set your default programs.
Scroll down and click Windows Photo Viewer in the Programs list.
Finally,
click 'Set this program as default' if you'd like the Viewer to open
all the file types it can handle, or select the 'Choose default' options
if you prefer to specify which file types it should open. Click OK when
you're done.
Windows 8 now uses Internet Explorer's
SmartScreen system-wide, checking downloaded files to ensure they're
safe. This is a very good thing - a report by NSS Labs revealed that IE10 blocks more malware than any other browser - but if you have any problems then it can be tweaked.
Launch
Control Panel, open the Action Centre applet, and click Change Windows
SmartScreen Settings in the left-hand pane. Here you can keep the
warning, but avoid the requirement for administrator approval, or turn
SmartScreen off altogether. Make your choice and click OK to finish.
33. Set up Windows 8 File History
Windows
8 includes an excellent File History feature, which can regularly and
automatically back up your libraries, desktop, contacts and favourites
to a second drive (even a USB flash drive - just connect it, and choose
'Configure this drive for backup using File History' from the menu).
To
set this up, go to Control Panel > System and Security > File
History. Click Exclude Folders to help define what you're saving,
Advanced Settings to choose the backup frequency, Change Drive to choose
the backup destination, and Turn On to enable the feature with your
settings.
And once it's been running for a while, you can check on
the history for any file in Explorer by selecting it, choosing the Home
tab and clicking History.
34. Use VHD - enhanced
Windows
7 added support for creating and attaching virtual hard drives in
Microsoft's VHD format. Now Windows 8 extends this with the new VHDX
format, which improves performance, extends the maximum file size from 2
to 16TB, and makes the format "more resilient to power failure events"
(so they shouldn't get corrupted as easily). Launch the Computer
Management Control Panel applet, choose Disk Management, and click
Actions > Create VHD to give the format a try.
35. Pool storage spaces
If
you have multiple hard drives packed with data then you'll know that
managing them can be a hassle. But that's all about to change with a new
Windows 8 feature, Storage Spaces.
The idea is that you can take
all your hard drives, whether connected via USB, SATA or SAS (Serial
Attached SCSI), and add them to a storage pool. And you can then create
one or more spaces within this pool, formatting and accessing them as a
single drive, so you've only one drive letter to worry about.
What's
more, the technology can also maximise your performance by spreading
files across multiple drives (the system can then access each chunk
simultaneously). There's an option to mirror your files, too, so even if
one disk fails your data remains safe. And if your Storage Space begins
to fill up then just plug in another drive, add it to the pool and you
can carry on as before.
Yes, we know, this is just a
consumer-friendly take on RAID. But there's nothing wrong with that, and
it looks promising. If you'd like to read up on the technical details
then the official Windows 8 blog
has more, and you can then create and manage your drive pool from the
new Control Panel\System and Security 'Storage Spaces' applet.
36. Enable virtual machines
Install
Windows 8 and you also get Microsoft's Hyper-V, enabling you to create
and run virtual machines (as long as you're not running in a virtual
machine already). Launch OptionalFeatures.exe (press Windows Key and R
and type it in to run), check Hyper-V and click OK to enable the
feature. Then switch back to the Start screen, scroll to the right, find
and click on the Hyper-V Manager tile to begin exploring its
capabilities.
37. Smart search
When you're in the mood to
track down new Windows 8 features relating to a particular topic, you
might be tempted to start by manually browsing Control Panel for
interesting applets - but there is a simpler way.
If you'd like to
know what's new in the area of storage, say, just press Win+W to launch
the Settings Search dialog, type "drive", and the system will return a
host of related options. That is, not just those with "drive" in the
name, but anything storage-related: BitLocker, Device Manager, backup
tools, disk cleanup, and interesting new features such as Storage
Spaces.
This Search feature isn't new, of course, but it's easy to
forget how useful this can be, especially when you're trying to learn
about a new operating system. So don't just carry out specific searches,
use the Apps search to look for general keywords such as "privacy" or
"performance", and you just might discover something new.
If you'd like to change your
lock, user tile or start screen images then press Win + I, click 'Change
PC settings' and choose the Personalize option. Browse the various tabs
and you'll be able to choose alternative images or backgrounds in a
click or two.
And in theory you'll also be able to define apps
that will display their status on the lock screen, although the app must
specifically support this before it'll be accessible from your
Personalize settings.
39. Schedule maintenance
Windows
8 can run common maintenance tasks - software updates, security
scanning, system diagnostics and more at a scheduled convenient time,
which is good.
Unfortunately it doesn't actually ask you what time
is convenient, instead just setting it to 3am and allowing the system
to wake your computer (if hardware and circumstances permit) to do its
work. Which isn't so good.
To change this, launch Control Panel,
click System and Security > Action Centre > Maintenance. You can
now click 'Start maintenance' to launch any outstanding tasks right now,
while selecting 'Change maintenance settings' enables you to choose a
more convenient time, and optionally disable the feature's ability to
wake up your computer if that's not required.
40. Restore the Windows "Updates are available" alert
If
you've set up Windows 8 to check for Windows updates but enable you to
choose whether to download and install them, then of course it's very
important that the system tells you when updates are available. And it
does this - but only in the logon screen. The "Updates are available"
system tray icon has disappeared, so if you don't log off or restart
your PC regularly then no matter how important Microsoft's latest
security patches might be, you won't hear about them.
As with many
other Windows 8 issues, though, it's not taken long for other
developers to fill the gap, and there are now several free tools that
can help. Install a copy of the Windows Update Notification Tool or the Windows Update Notifier and the "Updates are available" alert will be restored to your system tray.
41. Close apps easily
Closing
a Windows 8 app can sometimes be awkward. You have to drag or swipe
down from the very top of the screen right to the very bottom - which
might be quite some distance - and if you don't quite swipe all the way,
the window just reappears and you have to start again.
The solution? Get Windows to close the app without you having to travel quite so far. It works like this.
Launch
REGEDIT, browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Switcher,
and create new DWORD values called MouseCloseThreshold and
TouchCloseThreshold.
These define how far mouse and touch users
will have to drag the app before they can drop and close it. Start by
setting each value to the maximum 1000, reboot, and you'll find you can
now drop the window maybe only half way down the screen and still have
it close correctly, which is much quicker and easier.
You may
also be more likely to close apps accidentally, of course. If this
happens, reduce the value of the relevant Registry key a little (the
minimum value is 1, setting it to 0 prevents that method of closing at
all), reboot and try again. Or delete the keys if you have problems with
this and would like to restore the default settings.
42. Set a picture password
Windows
8 enables you to create a picture password, where you choose an image,
then draw on it in a combination of taps, lines and circles - only
someone who can reproduce this pattern will be able to log on. Select
Win + I > More PC Settings > Users > Create a Picture Password
to give this a try.
43. Hibernate or Sleep
You
won't necessarily see either Hibernate or Sleep in the Windows 8
shutdown dialogs, but if that's a problem then you may be able to
restore them.
Launch the Control Panel Power Options applet (powercfg.cpl) and click 'Choose what the power buttons do' in the left-hand pane.
If
you see a 'Change settings that are currently unavailable' link, then
click it, and if Windows 8 detects that your PC supports Sleep and
Hibernate options then they'll be displayed here. Check the boxes next
to whatever you'd like to use, click Save Changes, and the new options
should now appear in your shutdown dialogs.
44. Simplify search
By
default Windows 8 includes every bundled app in its Search results. If
you'll never want to use some of these - the Store app, say - then
select Win + I > Change PC Settings > > Search, choose which
apps you don't want included, and your search list will be more
manageable in future.
45. Save bandwidth
Set up lots of
live tiles on the Start screen and you could find they're using a lot of
network bandwidth, which could perhaps become a problem if you're
running a slow or metered connection. But Windows 8 does offer one
option that might help.
Click your network connection on the
taskbar (or the Start Screen Charms bar), right-click your network
connection in the list and select "Set as metered connection" (you'll
only see this with wireless adaptors). Windows will then limit what
individual live tiles can do, while also downloading only priority
Windows updates, and applying a few other restrictions. Right-click the
connection again and select "Set as unmetered" to change it back.
46. Touch keyboard
By
default the Touch keyboard will try to help you out by, for instance,
playing sounds as you type, capitalising the first letter of each
sentence, adding a period if you double-tap the spacebar, and more. If
any of this gets in your way, though, you can turn the relevant feature
off: just go to Win + I > Change PC Settings > General and
customise the keyboard to suit your needs.
47. Sync and privacy
One
very useful Windows 8 feature is its ability to synchronise your
settings with other PCs and devices. So if you've set up your new Windows Phone
device with your contacts, email details and so on, then use the same
Live account on Windows 8 and it'll import them for you: very
convenient.
Of course that may not always be a good idea. If
several people use a device then you may not want your website passwords
to be synced, for instance. In which case you'll want to hold down the
Windows key and press I, then click Change PC Settings > Sync Your
Settings and disable anything you'd rather not share.
Windows Explorer in
Windows 8 features a Quick Access toolbar immediately above the menu,
providing easy access to options such as 'New Folder', 'Minimise',
'Undo' and more.
This is customisable, too - click the arrow to
the right of the default buttons, in the Explorer window caption bar,
and choose whatever options you need. And you can include add any other
ribbon option on the Quick Access Toolbar by right-clicking it and
selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
49. Try the advanced menu options
If
you need to run the command prompt as an Administrator then your
instant reaction will probably be to reach for the Start menu. Before
becoming annoyed a microsecond later when you remember it's no longer
there.
It's good to see that Microsoft has provided a simple
alternative, then - just click the File menu in Explorer and click Open
command prompt > Open command prompt as administrator.
And
while you're there, make note of the other advanced new options also on
that menu: you can open a new window in a new process, open Explorer,
and even delete your Recent Places and Address Bar histories with a
click.
50. Show all folders
The
default Windows 8 Explorer view doesn't show all the usual drives and
folders - Control Panel, Recycle Bin and so on - in the left-hand
navigation pane. It certainly keeps the display simple, and if you want
to see all your drives then you can just click Computer, but if you
prefer to see everything upfront then it only takes a moment. Click View
> Options, check 'Show all folders' and click OK.
51. Mount ISO files in Windows 8
Need
to take a closer look at an ISO file? Right-click it in Explorer, click
Mount and you can view it as a virtual drive, launch the files it
contains, or add more if you like.
52. Open new file types
If
you find a file type that none of your applications can handle, then
right-click on the file in Windows Explorer and choose Open With. You'll
see a 'Look for an app in the Store' option, which enables Windows 8 to
use an automated search tool to find and highlight an app for you.
You can also click 'More Options' to see currently installed programs and apps that may be able to open the file.
53. Restart Explorer
If
Explorer locks up for some reason, then regaining control is now very
easy. No need to close the process any more: simply press Ctrl+Alt+Esc,
select Explorer in the list, click Restart and Windows 8 will handle the
rest.
