Paul Thurrott - Windows 8 Secrets

Figure 8:Activate edge UIs by swiping in from the edge of the screen.

• Swipe app closing:You can close any Metro-style app by swiping down from near the top edge of the screen to the bottom of the screen, as in Figure 9. As you do, the app display will appear in a large thumbnail and that thumbnail will visually disappear as it is dragged to the bottom of the screen, and the app is closed.

Figure 9:Closing an app by swiping from the top of the screen.

Note that swiping down from past the top edge of the screen will trigger the app’s edge UI. To close the app, you must swipe down from near the top edge of the screen, but still on the app itself.

If you’re using Windows 8 on a more traditional PC with a mouse and keyboard, things work largely as before and even when you’re interacting with the Metro-style experiences and apps, you’ll discover that all of your previous PC experiences are relevant. There are two things you should know about, however.

First, Windows 8 introduces a wide range of new keyboard shortcuts, many of which utilize the Windows key that is now common on all PC keyboards. We discuss these shortcuts throughout the book as the need arises, but you can reference the appendix for a complete rundown of Windows Key keyboard shortcuts.

Second, Windows 8 provides support for the edge UIs mentioned previously to mouse users via new “hot corners” on the screen. Since these interfaces are so central to using Windows 8 effectively, we discuss them fairly extensively in Chapter 3 and then again in Chapter 4. But a quick overview is provided here.

• Start:Microsoft has removed the Start button in Windows 8 so that it can provide a more consistent Start experience that works with both the Metro and desktop environments. To toggle Start, you can tap the Start key on your keyboard, press the Windows key button on your Windows device, or mouse the mouse cursor into the lower-left corner of the screen. (Yes, this is one of those “hot corners” we just mentioned.) When you do so, the Start tip thumbnail, shown in Figure 10, appears. (Or, if you’re already on the Start screen, a tip for the previous experience appears.) Click this to return to the Start screen (or previous experience.)

Figure 10:It’s no button, but the Start tip works somewhat similarly to the old Start button.

• Back and Switcher:To access the previous experience, move the mouse cursor into the upper-left corner of the screen. A thumbnail of the previously used Metro app or other experience will appear, as in Figure 11. Click this to use that app. Or, move the mouse cursor down the left edge of the screen to display the new Switcher interface that lets you switch to any previously used app.

Figure 11:The Back tip

• Charms:If you move the mouse cursor into the upper-right or lower-right corner of the screen, you can display the new Charms bar, a set of system-level commands and capabilities. The Charms are shown in Figure 12.

• App commands:When you’re using a new Metro-style app, you can display its app bar by right-clicking any empty spot on-screen. An app bar is shown in Figure 13.

OK, that’s enough to get you started. Again, we cover these and other interactions you’ll want to know throughout the book as needed.

Figure 12:The Charms bar can be accessed via hot corners on the right side of the screen.

Figure 13:Metro-style apps offer more commands on hidden app bars.

Windows 8 is a strange new operating system that combines a completely new Metro environment with an evolved desktop environment. If you’re familiar with Windows Phone, you will at least understand the basics of Metro, since that type of user experience debuted earlier on Microsoft’s smartphone platform. But Windows 8 provides its own take on Metro, so even die-hard Windows Phone fans will find that there are some new skills to learn. For this reason, the book covers some background material related to the whys as well as the hows of Windows 8 before delving into specific apps and features.

This book covers everything you need to know to master Windows 8, from your pre-purchase considerations, to installing, upgrading, and understanding the new Metro user experience and the evolved desktop environment, and how the two sometimes intersect. From that point on, we dive deep into each of the new Metro apps that come with Windows 8 (or are at least core to the Windows 8 experience), as well as the new, more advanced interfaces for storage, backup and recovery, accounts and security, networking and connectivity, and, finally, those that are targeted specifically at businesses.

One important point about Windows 8 is that the Metro-style apps Microsoft is providing with the system will all be updated on an ongoing basis through the new Windows Store. This means that the app descriptions we provide here are, of course, essentially slice-in-time overviews of their features and capabilities. We fully expect that these apps will only improve over time, sometimes in profound ways, and that could lead to discrepancies between the descriptions and figures in the book and what you’re seeing on your own PC.

While it’s impossible to see the future, we will be covering any changes to Windows 8 over time at our respective websites, the SuperSite for Windows (winsupersite.com) and Within Windows ( withinwindows.com).

The structure of this book should help you easily find what you need to know. As noted before, we recommend starting with, and reading through, the first five chapters in sequence, if possible. This will give you a firm grounding in Windows 8.

From there, the book progresses through a series of chapters dedicated to the Metro-style apps and more advanced tools that make up the bulk of the Windows 8 upgrade. There’s no reason to read these chapters in order. Instead, treat Windows 8 Secrets as a reference guide, referring to it as needed as you explore your own PC or device. Alternatively, you could use the book as an early exploration tool to find out about new features before you dive in yourself.

The point here is simple: For the most part, this book doesn’t need to be read cover to cover. Instead, you can read it in the order that makes the most sense for you.

To use a Windows 8 PC or device, and thus Windows 8 Secrets , effectively, you will of course need a Windows-based PC or device, preferably running Windows 7—if you’re about to upgrade or migrate—or Windows 8. You will need a Microsoft account, formerly called a Windows Live ID, since Microsoft integrates with so many online services and utilizes a nice PC-to-PC sync functionality that relies on this account type.