Paul McFedries - Windows 11 Simplified

Desktop Icon

An icon on the desktop represents a program or Windows feature.

Mouse Pointer

When you move your mouse, this pointer ( ) moves along with it.

Desktop

This is the Windows “work area” where you work with your programs and documents.

Start Button

Click Start( ) to start programs and launch many Windows features.

Search Icon

Click Search( ) to search for items on your PC or on the Internet.

Taskbar Icons

You use these icons to launch some Windows features with just a mouse click.

Taskbar

The programs you have open appear in the taskbar. You use this area to switch between programs if you have more than one running at a time.

Notification Area

This area displays small icons that notify you about things that are happening on your computer. For example, you see a notification if an update to Windows is available.

Time and Date

This is the current time and date on your computer. To change the date or time, click the time.

Notifications

This icon tells you the number of notifications that you have yet to view. Notifications give you information about what your computer and its apps are doing.

Explore the Start Menu

To get the most out of Windows, you need to know the layout of the Start menu. As its name implies, the Start menu is your main Windows starting point. Most of the tasks you perform with Windows — such as running apps, searching your PC, working with your Microsoft account, and restarting or shutting down your PC — are launched via the Start menu.

This section gives you an overview of the Start menu. The tasks you can run via the Start menu are covered in the rest of this chapter and throughout this book.

Start Menu

Click Start( ) or press to open the Start menu on the Windows desktop.

User Account

This icon represents your Windows user account. Clicking this icon displays a menu of user account-related tasks.

Power Icon

Click Power( ) to restart, shut down, or sleep your computer.

Recommended

This area displays recently added apps as well as documents you have worked with recently. Click an item to launch the app or open the document. You can also click Moreto see a longer list of recent apps and documents.

Pinned

This area displays apps that have been given a fixed position on the Start menu. Click an app’s icon to launch the app. You learn how to pin apps to the Start menu in Chapter 2.

All Apps

Click All appsto see the full list of apps on your computer.

Search Box

You use this text box to search for items such as documents, settings, or apps on your PC or on the Internet.

Start and Close an App

To perform tasks of any kind in Windows, you can use one of the apps installed on your computer. The application you use depends on the task you want to perform. For example, to surf the World Wide Web, you use a web browser application, such as the Microsoft Edge app that comes with Windows. To use an app, you select the one you want to run from the Start menu.

When you are done with an app, you should close it to reduce resources and keep the desktop uncluttered.

Start and Close an App

Start an App

Click Start( ).

The Start menu appears.

If you see the app you want on the main Start menu, you can click the app icon and then skip the rest of these steps.

Click All apps.