In this video, we're going to go over the basics of navigating through Windows 8, and
we'll also talk about using the Charms Bar to access your settings and other options.
The first thing you're going to see is the lock screen, and you can click to go to the
log in screen. If you want to log in as a different user, you can click the back arrow.
Otherwise, type your password, and then press Enter.
The Start screen will appear by default. In Windows 8.1, you can actually change this
so that it boots straight to the Desktop, just like earlier versions of Windows. We'll
show you how to do this at the end of this video.
If you'd like to go to the Desktop, you can either click the tile that says "Desktop",
or hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press D. And here you can manage your
files and folders the way that you would in earlier versions of Windows.
To go back to the Start screen, you can press the Windows key on your keyboard, or the Start
button in the lower left corner.
At this point you may want to explore some of the built-in apps, for example, the Travel
app.
You can switch back to the last app that you just used by clicking in the upper left corner,
or by pressing Alt-Tab. When you're done using the app, you can click the close button in
the upper-right corner, or if you're using a tablet, just drag the app down to close
it.
If you have several apps open at once, you can switch between them by hovering in the
upper-left corner, and then moving the mouse down and selecting the app that you want.
To view two apps at once, you can just click the top of the app, drag to the left or right,
and then select the other app that you'd like to see.
Whether you're viewing the Start screen, the Desktop, or an app, you can use the Charms
bar to access several different options. Just hover the mouse in the lower right or upper
right corner of the screen. Each of these icons is called a "charm".
The Search charm lets you find apps, files, and settings on your computer. However, a
simpler way to search is to go to the Start screen and type the name of the file or app
that you're looking for.
The Share charm is basically a copy and paste feature that lets you send information (such
as a photo or web address) from one app to another.
The Start charm is just a different way to switch to the Start screen.
The Devices charm will show you the printers and other devices that are connected to your
computer. The Settings charm lets you access settings
for the current app, as well as general settings for your computer.
If you're looking for the Control Panel, you can get to it by switching to the Desktop,
then going to the Settings charm and clicking Control Panel.
Earlier I mentioned that Windows 8.1 lets you boot straight to the Desktop instead of
the Start screen. To do this, go to the Desktop, Right click the taskbar and select Properties.
A dialog box will appear, click the Navigation tab, then select the box next to 'when I sign
in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of start'. Now logging in
brings you straight to the Desktop.
So those are all the basics of navigating with Windows 8.