Tutorial on getting started with Win 8

Tutorial on getting started with Win 8

Tutorial on getting started with Win8: Take the scare out of this new OS, DO NOT PANIC!

Tutorial on customizing your Win 8 installation:
When you open Win 8 for the first time you will be very startled. You will be presented with what is called the Metro Start Menu. This replaces the well know Windows Start Menu. Do not panic!

Note: This tutorial is generally for conventional PC (desktops and laptops) users, but most of the tips are transferable to touch screen users. Just substitute Swipe (Touch) for Click.

The method to go to the Desktop is as follows:

Click the Win Key + D

OR

Click on the Desktop Tile

You will now be on the familiar Desktop. Whew, that was a scary start. Everything will get easier from here on.

To go back to the Metro Start Menu simply click on the Win Key (Win)

You can access all your apps from here. Many will already be pinned to this Metro Start Menu . For any that are not found on this Metro Start Menu you can Right Click anywhere on this Metro screen. You will see a banner at the bottom of the screen with All Apps at the right side. This will open a screen with all installed apps that scrolls from left to right.

Whenever you install an app you will find tiles to that app on the Metro Start Menu.

This screen scrolls Left to Right. There are actually about 3 pages of apps on my PC, I can only display the first. The apps on the Left are the Metro apps you have probably heard so much about. Most of the remaining apps are conventional Legacy apps that open the

Desktop UI.

The remainder of this tutorial will be dedicated to the Desktop UI as this is where most of you will feel the most comfortable. All conventional PC’s (both desktops and laptops) with keyboards and a mouse will work on either the Metro UI or the Desktop UI, but most users of Win XP, Win Vista, or Win 7 will feel most comfortable initially on the Desktop UI.

Charms Bar

If you place you cursor in the Upper Right corner or Lower Right corner you will open a Charms Bar. You can access many of the user customizable functions from this Charms Bar.

Settings will take you to several areas of your PC to set options in Win 8. Play with these various settings until you feel more comfortable with them.

Devices does just as it sounds.

Start will take you to the Metro Start Menu

Share does just as it sounds

Search also does as it sounds

There is a separate Charms bar while in any Metro app, but that is beyond the scope of this tutorial.

Power Users Menu
To activate this menu move your cursor to the Bottom Left corner

OR

Select Win + X

This opens the Power Users Menu where you will access many of the System Controls and the Run and Search commands. Play with this a little to see how powerful it is.


TaskBar

This bar at the bottom of the screen is very powerful. It will be seen whenever you are on the Desktop UI.

You can pin items (almost any item) to this Taskbar. Commonly pinned items are shortcuts to browsers, email clients, folder, apps, etc.

To pin something to the Taskbar, Right Click on an item anywhere and select Pin To Taskbar. This will pin a shortcut to this item directly on the taskbar

Toolbars

Some specialized items can be pinned here. Let’s say you want to access all your apps without going to the Metro Start Menu. Easy as pie.

Right Click on an empty space on the Taskbar and select Toolbars, New Toolbar

This will open File Explorer (Renamed from Windows Explorer in all other versions of Windows)

Drill down to C: Driver, Users, “User Name”, AppData, Roaming, Microsoft, Windows, Start Menu, Programs

Click on Programs and choose Select Folder. You will see a new Toolbar on the Taskbar called Programs. You can click on the >> to open the entire Programs Tree to go to any app you have installed.

Like to set up a specialized Shortcuts folder in My Documents that I place shortcuts to my most commonly used apps. I then use the above procedure to create a Toolbar of this Shortcuts folder. Easy!

You will also see a Links Toolbar. This is actually the Favorites Bar in IE 10, but also will work if you use a different browser as your default browser.

Start Orb alternative

OMG, when you go to the Desktop, the Start Orb you are accustomed to is missing, OMG! Never fear, using the above procedure, you can create toolbars to any folder you wish, Favorites, Links, etc.

OR

There are several alternatives to the Start Orb you have grown accustomed to. The one I use is Classic Shell V 3.5.1. Once you install this app, it will give you a Win XP, Vista or 7 Start Orb with all the same functions except it is more customizable. Right Click the Classic Shell Start Orb and choose settings. Advanced mode gives many more settings to customize.

This tutorial will get you started on customizing your Win 8 installation so it’s not quite so scary.

I’m sure many additions will be placed here to aid you in your customization efforts. I hope this start will help you get over your initial shock!