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
in 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 the charms bar to access some 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 task
bar 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 task
bar 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're 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've 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. That 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 files open with 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 Windows+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 into the Recycle Bin. If you're 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.