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the desktop is an important part of
Windows 8 because it allows you to
organize all of your files and folders
and also run apps that aren't designed
to run on the Start screen if you're
upgrading from an earlier version you
probably already know how to get around
the desktop but keep in mind that since
there's no Start menu in Windows 8
you'll need to use the Start screen or
charms bar to access some of the
features
when you're on the Start screen you can
switch to the desktop by clicking the
desktop tile or by holding down the
Windows key on your keyboard and
pressing D the desktop includes the
desktop background also known as the
wallpaper and the taskbar at the bottom
of the screen
as you may already know Microsoft
brought back the start button with the
8.1 update and you'll use this to switch
to the Start screen the taskbar also
contains shortcuts to commonly-used apps
and settings such as the action center
and the sound volume to open an app you
can click the icon on the taskbar or if
there's a shortcut on the desktop you
can double click it if you don't see the
app you're looking for you'll need to
switch to the Start screen the Start
screen may not show all of your apps by
default if you are on a tablet swipe up
from the middle of the screen to view
all apps but if you're on a computer
just click the arrow at the bottom of
the screen when you found the app you're
looking for you can click it to open it
or you can add it to your taskbar by
right clicking it
and selecting pin to taskbar
this way it will be easy to find the
next time you want to open it to access
your files and folders you'll use a
specialized program called File Explorer
which was previously known as Windows
Explorer you can open it by clicking the
folder icon on the taskbar
or by double-clicking any folder on your
desktop if you want to navigate to a
different folder you can select a
different location on the left side of
the window
and once you find the file that you want
you can double click it
and it will open in the default program
for that file type now it's important to
note that some of the files open with
the Start screen apps by default in this
case it opened with the Photos app but
you can easily go back to the desktop by
pressing the Windows key + D on your
keyboard if you would prefer to open a
file with a different app you can
right-click the file go to open with and
select the app you want
and to close this I'm just going to
click the X in the upper right corner to
delete a file you can select it and
press the Delete key or you can click
and drag it to the recycle bin if you
are sure you want to permanently delete
the file right click the recycle bin and
select empty recycle bin these are just
the very basics of using the desktop and
all of these things will become very
natural to you as you get more practice
with Windows 8