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. 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.
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.
11. Mastering 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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'.)
Or, if you're sure you'll never want to use an app again, choose 'Uninstall' to remove it entirely.
17. Apps and 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.
18. 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.
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