Windows® 10 For Seniors For Dummies®

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015945225

ISBN 978-1-119-03859-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-03868-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-03867-2 (ebk)

Introduction

Windows 10 is the latest generation of Microsoft’s operating system, the master program that makes a computer useful and provides support to other programs, including word processors, photo viewers, and web browsers. Much as an education equips you to read a novel or play a game, Windows 10 equips your computer to perform a wide range of activities. You can use Windows 10 and other software (or apps) to read or write a novel, play games or music, and stay in touch with friends and family around the world.

As Windows has evolved over the past 30 years, so have computers — the hardware. Today, you can buy a computer as small as a paperback book, and even such a little computer is unimaginably more powerful than (and a fraction of the cost of) computers just 10 years ago. The hardware consists of the screen, as well as optional components such as a keyboard and a mouse.

You don’t need much time with a computer to conclude that there has to be an easier way to do things. At times, computers seem overly complex and inscrutable. Have you used a cellphone lately? Or a TV remote control? Why are the controls on every microwave oven different? Why does every new tool offer countless options you don’t want that obscure the ones you do want? Well, I don’t have the answers to those questions, but I do have step-by-step instructions for many tasks you want to perform using Windows 10.

After many years of working with computers, I find that they reward patience, curiosity, and a little methodical exploration. Seniors, in particular, know that learning never really stops and that learning new things keeps one young, at least figuratively. By the end of this book, you may be a multitasking computerist performing virtual gymnastics with Windows 10. On the other hand, if this book helps you do only one thing — use email, browse the Web, or enjoy photos or music — that one useful thing may be all you need.

About This Book

Age is just a number. This book is intended for anyone getting started with Windows 10 who wants step-by-step instructions without a lot of discussion. The Get ready to … bullets at the beginning of each chapter lead you to practical tasks. Numerous figures with notes show you the computer screen as you progress through the steps. Reading this book is like having an experienced friend stand behind you as you use Windows 10 … someone who never takes control of the computer away from you.

Windows 10 is a work in progress. Microsoft updates the Windows 10 operating system from time to time to make it more secure and agreeable to the people who use it. (Chapter 3 explains how to check for updates to Windows 10.) Because the operating system is continuously updated, the screen shots you see in this book may not exactly match what you see on your screen.

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses certain conventions to highlight important information and help you find your way around:

Different methods for performing steps: In general, you can complete a step in three ways. I list the choices as follows:

Mouse: If you have a mouse, follow these instructions.

Touchscreen: You may be able to touch your screen to perform tasks.

Keyboard: Keyboard shortcuts are often the fastest way to do something.

tip When you have a choice between these methods, experiment to determine which is easiest for you.

Tip icons: Point out helpful suggestions related to tasks in the step lists.

Bold: I use bold for figure references and also when you have to type something onscreen using the keyboard.

tip Many figures have notes or other markings to draw your attention to a specific part of the figure. The text tells you what to look for; the figure notes help you find it.

Website addresses: If you bought an ebook, website address are live links. In the text, website addresses look like this: www.dummies.com. See Chapter 6 for information on browsing the Web.

Options and buttons: Although Windows 10 often uses lowercase in options and on buttons, I capitalize the text for emphasis. That way, you can find a button labeled Save Now, even though onscreen it appears as Save now.

How to Read This Book

You can work through this book from beginning to end or simply look at the table of contents or index to find the instructions you need to solve a problem or learn a new skill whenever you need it. The steps in each task get you where you want to go quickly, without a lot of technical explanation. In no time, you’ll start picking up the skills you need to become a confident Windows 10 user.

Technology always comes with its own terms and concepts, but you don’t need to learn another language to use a computer. You don’t need any prior experience with computers or Windows. Step-by-step instructions guide you through specific tasks, such as accessing the news or playing a game. These steps provide just the information you need for the task at hand.

Foolish Assumptions

I assume that you have a computer and want clear, brief, step-by-step instructions on getting things done with Windows 10. I assume also that you want to know just what you need to know, just when you need to know it. This isn’t Computers 101. This is Practical Windows 10. As an old friend of mine said, “I don’t want to make a watch; I just want to know what time it is.”

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided into four parts to help you find what you need. You can read from cover to cover or just jump to the page that interests you.

Part I: Getting to Know Windows 10. In Chapter 1, you turn on the computer and get comfortable with essential parts of Windows 10, such as the Start screen, as well as how to use a mouse, touchscreen, or keyboard. Explore features of Windows 10 apps in Chapter 2. To customize Windows 10 to work better for you, turn to Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, you create and modify user account settings, such as passwords. Discover the desktop, how to manage windows, and how to customize the desktop in Chapter 5.

Part II: Windows 10 and the Web. Use the Web to stay current and keep in touch. Turn to Chapter 6 to use Edge to browse the Web. Send and receive email in Chapter 7. Turn to Chapter 8 to explore a handful of apps that can help you stay in touch with friends and improve your well-being.

Part III: Having Fun with Windows 10. If you haven’t been having any fun until now, I’ve failed you. Expand your tools and toys in Chapter 9 by connecting to Microsoft Store to install new apps. In Chapter 10, you enjoy photos on Windows 10 and put your own photos on the computer. If you want to listen to music and watch a video, see Chapter 11.

Part IV: Beyond the Basics. In Chapter 12, you learn about the care and feeding of Windows 10, which requires a little maintenance now and then. Find out how to connect a printer and other hardware, such as a mouse and a second screen, in Chapter 13. Do you appreciate the saying “a place for everything and everything in its place”? Chapter 14 is where you organize your documents. You back up your files to insure against loss and refresh Windows 10 when it gets cranky, all in Chapter 15.

Beyond the Book

A few Windows 10 topics I wanted to cover didn’t make it into this book. I just didn’t have room for them, so I made room elsewhere. You can find the following content online:

Cheat Sheet: The Cheat Sheet tells you how to choose the default program for opening different types of files, handle app windows on the screen, open a second desktop on the screen, and change your computer’s password. Find the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/windows10forseniors.

Web Extras: Go online to www.dummies.com/webextras/windows10forseniors to find articles about handling notifications, uploading and downloading files to OneDrive, and customizing the Quick Access toolbar in File Explorer.

Where to Go from Here

Scan the table of contents or the index for a topic that interests you most. Or just turn the page and start at the beginning. It’s your book.

Part I

Getting Started with Windows 10

webextra Visit www.dummies.com for more great content online.

Chapter 1

Getting in Touch with Windows 10

Get ready to . . .

Tell Your Computer What to Do

Move the Mouse

Touch the Screen

Use a Keyboard

View the Virtual Keyboard

Turn On Your Computer

Check Out the Start Screen

Shut Down Your Computer

Start Again on the Lock Screen

With Windows 10, Microsoft created a new version of Windows, its flagship operating system (the master program for any computer). You can use Windows 10 on a wide range of devices, from a smartphone to a big-screen TV/entertainment system: One size fits most. You can not only use the same programs with a range of hardware but also access the documents you create (such as photos and email — files and data, to nerds) from any Windows- based computer, giving you extraordinary freedom of choice and mobility.

Although countless companies create programs you may use, Microsoft attempts to make similar functions consistent across different programs. For example, opening a document or emailing a photo to a friend involves the same steps regardless of the programs you use. You don’t have to learn a different way of doing common tasks in each program. This consistency will serve you well when using Windows 10 and other new programs.

In this chapter, you start your computer and work with the Start screen, the dashboard for Windows 10. You explore options for using the Start screen with your hardware (the computer and related devices). Then you exit Windows 10 and go right back in for more.

tip The easiest way to get Windows 10 is preinstalled on a new computer. If your current computer runs Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, you can upgrade to Windows 10, although an older machine may lack newer functions, such as a touchscreen.

Tell Your Computer What to Do

How do you get Windows 10 to do what you want it to do? You can command a computer in many ways, depending on your equipment (hardware). For example, a desktop computer has different options from a handheld phone. You may have any or all of these choices:

Mouse

Touchscreen

Keyboard

Another device for controlling Windows is a touchpad, which is commonly found on a laptop keyboard. You move your finger on the touchpad to move the pointer on the screen.

If you have a computer with more than one of these devices, you might use one device exclusively or, more likely, vary your choice according to the task. Use whichever technique is easiest for you, but don’t be afraid to experiment. In the next few sections, you discover the ins and outs of using all these methods of controlling Windows 10. Then you’re ready to turn on your computer and use these methods.

tip In the steps throughout this book, choose or select refers to using a mouse, the touchscreen, or a physical keyboard. Drag refers to using a mouse or a finger.

Move the Mouse

For many years, computers have had a mouse, which is a soapbar-sized device that you move across a desk with your hand. Move the mouse and note how the arrow called a mouse pointer moves across the computer screen. A mouse has two or more buttons; some also have a scroll wheel between the buttons.

The following terms describe methods for using a mouse with Windows 10. In each, move the mouse first to position the pointer over a specified item before proceeding:

Click: Move the onscreen arrow-shaped mouse pointer over a specified item and press and release the left mouse button: that’s a click (sometimes called a left-click to distinguish it from a right-click).

Right-click: Press and release the right mouse button to display available functions. Note that the word click by itself means use the left mouse button.

Drag: Press and hold down the left mouse button, and then move the mouse pointer across the screen. When you want to move an object, you drag it. Release the mouse button to release the object.

tip Watch for the word click to indicate using a mouse button and roll to indicate using the mouse wheel.

Touch the Screen

A touchscreen, as the name says, enables you to touch the screen to tell your computer what to do. You typically use one finger or two, although touchscreens may allow you to use all ten digits. In some cases, you can also use a special pen called a stylus instead of your finger. Tablet computers and some smartphones have touchscreens. Touchscreens are less common on desktop or laptop computers, but that situation is changing. Not sure what type of screen you have? When you have Windows 10 running, give the screen a poke with your index finger to see what happens.

The following terms refer to ways you interact with a touchscreen:

Tap: Briefly touch the screen. You select an object, such as a button, by tapping it.

Drag: Touch and hold your finger on the screen, then move your finger across the screen. You move an object, such as an onscreen playing card, by dragging it.

Swipe: Touch and move your finger more quickly than with drag. You can swipe your finger across the screen from any of the four sides of the screen to display options and commands. You swipe pages to move forward or back. You may see the word flick instead of swipe. Some people insist that a flick is faster or shorter than a swipe, but let’s not get caught up in that.

Pinch and unpinch: Touch a finger and thumb or two fingers on the screen. Move your fingers closer to each other to pinch and away from each other to unpinch. Generally, a pinch reduces the size of something on the screen or shows more content on the screen. An unpinch (an ugly word) zooms in, increasing the size of something onscreen to show more detail.

tip Watch for the words tap, swipe, or pinch to indicate using your finger. Touch actions are often called gestures.

tip See the upcoming section “View the Virtual Keyboard” if your computer doesn’t have a physical keyboard, as is often the case with a touchscreen.

Use a Keyboard

A typewriter-like keyboard is a traditional device for controlling a computer and is especially useful when you must enter a lot of text. Special key combinations, called shortcut keys, are often the quickest way to do anything (though they require some memorization).

The following keys are particularly noteworthy. No offense intended to fans of keys not noted here. Although you won’t use all these keys immediately, you’ll find it helpful to locate each one on your keyboard.

tip Press indicates that you use the keyboard (physical or virtual) for the specified key or sequence of keys (just as click indicates a mouse action and tap indicates touch). Combinations of keys are not pressed simultaneously. Instead, press and hold the first key in the specified sequence, press the second key, and then release both. (I explain exceptions to this method as necessary.)

: Called the Windows key, this key is usually located on either side of the spacebar, which is the largest key. works by itself, as you’ll soon see, and also in combination with many other keys. Throughout the book, I specify these combinations where you might use them. There will be a quiz later. (Kidding! No quizzes.)

Tab: Press the Tab key to highlight an item. Press Tab repeatedly to skip items you don’t intend to select.

tip The keyboard can be used to select objects but is less direct than using touch or a mouse.

Arrow keys: Press the arrow keys to move the cursor or selection of an object in the direction the keys point (left, right, up, or down). In some contexts, Tab and the right arrow do the same thing. Sorry to be vague, but context matters at times.

Enter: In most cases, the Enter key on the keyboard chooses a selection, much as clicking or tapping do. However, you may need to use the Tab key or an arrow key to select an item before pressing the Enter key.

Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys: These keys are used with other keys for commands. For example, press Ctrl+C to copy selected text or an object. (That is, while pressing and holding down the Ctrl key, press the C key — no need to press Shift for an uppercase C. Then release both keys.) The Shift key is used with another key for uppercase.

Backspace: As you enter text, each press of Backspace erases the character to the left of the cursor.

Delete: As you enter text, each press of the Delete key erases the character to the right of the cursor. On some keyboards, this key is labeled Del.

Function keys: All keys function, but Function keys are labeled F1 through F12. You don’t use these much in this book, but you should locate them. Laptops often have a separate Function Lock key to turn these keys on or off.

Page keys: Locate the Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys for future reference. Use these to move the screen, a page, or the cursor. (On some keyboards, the Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys work as numbers when the Num Lock key is activated.)

View the Virtual Keyboard

Windows 10 can display a virtual keyboard onscreen. This feature is vital for devices that have a touchscreen and no physical keyboard. With a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard appears automatically when the cursor (a blinking vertical bar) indicates that you can enter text in a box. If the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear automatically, you may also see a separate box floating above or below the text box. Tap that floating box to display the keyboard. To type using the keyboard, simply tap or click a letter, number, or symbol key.

Here are the different types of virtual keyboards:

The standard layout (also called QWERTY) appears automatically (see Figure 1-1). The Enter key changes depending on the context.

The uppercase layout, shown in Figure 1-2, appears when you tap the Shift key on the standard layout.

The numbers and symbols layout, shown in Figure 1-3, appears when you tap the &123 key on the standard layout. Tap the &123 key again to return to the standard layout.

The control keys overlay (see Figure 1-4) appears on five keys on the standard layout when you tap the Ctrl key. The Ctrl keys are used in common tasks, such as copying (Ctrl+C) or moving (Ctrl+X) selected text. The overlay disappears automatically after you tap one of the control keys (A, Z, X, C, or V).

The smiley layout, shown in Figure 1-5, appears when you tap the smiley face key. Tap the smiley face key again to return to the standard layout. (Smileys are also called emoticons or emoji.)

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Figure 1-1

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Figure 1-2

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Figure 1-3

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Figure 1-4

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Figure 1-5

But wait! There’s more. Tap the keyboard key, which is in the lower-right corner of any layout, to display the four options shown in Figure 1-6.

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Figure 1-6

Tap the standard button (shown in Figure 1-6) to return to the standard layout from the split or handwriting layout. (More on those two layouts next.)

Tap the split button to view the split keyboard layout, shown in Figure 1-7. This layout is handy for typing with your thumbs while holding two sides of a tablet.

Tap the handwriting button to view the handwriting layout, shown in Figure 1-8. This layout enables you to write with a finger or a stylus (a special pen). Printing usually works better than script.

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Figure 1-7

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Figure 1-8

tip If your touchscreen doesn’t come with a stylus, you can buy one and use it instead of your finger for improved precision.

Turn On Your Computer

Push the power button briefly and release it. Every computer has a power button. (When we can no longer turn them off, the machines win.) If you have a desktop computer tower, the power button is probably on the front of the tower. Otherwise, you might have to feel around the front and sides of the screen or near the hinges of a laptop. Typically, your computer will beep, some buttons will light, and the screen may flash a logo or a message that disappears before you can read it. (Just let that go.) Soon, you will see the first Windows 10 screen.

Turn on any separate hardware (such as a monitor, speakers, or a printer).

tip The remaining steps in this section occur only when your computer is set up for the first time.

The first time you turn on your computer, a series of Windows Setup screens appears. Accept the defaults or change them appropriately and then select the button labeled Next.

Select Install Now. (Note the option to Repair Your Computer, used if something goes wrong in the future.) The screen displays Setup is starting.

If you see a message asking you for a product key (a mix of 25 letters and numbers found on the back or bottom of your computer or on related paperwork), type those characters (hyphens are inserted automatically) and then select Next.

tip If your computer doesn’t have a keyboard, as is the case with many tablet computers, see the preceding section, “View the Virtual Keyboard,” for information on how to type onscreen.

On the License Terms screen, select the check box next to I Accept the License Terms. Feel free to be the first person ever to read the terms before agreeing to them. (If you refuse to accept the terms, you can’t use Windows 10.) Then select the Next button. You may see an indication of the Windows 10 installation progress. Your computer may restart during this process, as well.

On the Personalize screen, select a background color for the most common screens. When you make a selection, the screen background changes to reflect your choice. Preview as many choices as you like.

In the box under PC Name, type a short, simple name for your computer, but don’t use spaces. The name can be based on location (such as office) or computer brand (such as Dell) or something more creative (Firefly, perhaps). This name is visible on a network, if you have one. Select Next.

tip You can return to a previous screen (perhaps to confirm or change a selection) by selecting the Back button (an arrow in a circle, near the top-left corner of the screen). The Next button will move you forward again.

If a wireless Internet connection is available, you are prompted to select a connection and then enter the network password. For now, select Connect to a Wireless Network Later. See Chapter 4 for information on connecting to a network.

On the Settings screen, select the Use Express Settings button for the easiest setup. If you choose the Customize button instead, you’ll have to work through several screens of options.

tip If this is the first time that Windows 10 has started on your computer, you must create a user account, even if no one else will use the machine. See Chapter 4 for details on creating and changing user accounts.

If you have an Internet connection, you see the Sign In to Your PC screen. (If you don’t have an Internet connection, skip this step.) If you see the Sign in Without a Microsoft Account option, select it. You see a screen summarizing the differences between a Microsoft account and a local account. Select the Local Account button. (You use a Microsoft account in Chapter 4.)

In the User Name box, type a short and simple name. Your user name appears throughout the system, from the login screen to the Start screen to the location containing all your documents. Use a simple, clear name. Your first name is just fine.

In the Password box, type a password. A password is an optional security measure. If you enter a password when you create your user account, that password is required each time you start the computer. If someone other than you tries to start your computer, he or she will have to know (or guess) the password to get into your files. (Don’t put your password on a note stuck to the computer or nearby.)

tip For home computers, passwords may be unnecessary unless you need to keep someone else in the house out of your business. Laptop users should always create a password, however, because it is easy to lose a laptop — don’t make it easy for a thief to use your computer.

In the Reenter Password box, type the same password again.

In the Password Hint box, type a hint to remind yourself — and no one else — what your password is. Do not type the password itself here, or a hint such as my first name.

tip I use my phone number as the hint. That way, if my computer is lost, someone might see my phone number and contact me. (I’m an optimist.)

Select the Finish button. The screen may briefly display Finalizing your settings. An animation demonstrates that you can move your mouse to any corner or, if you have a touchscreen, swipe from any edge. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The color of the screen and the text onscreen change a few times to keep you mesmerized as setup finishes. Your PC will be ready in just a moment. Prepare to be awed. Behold, the Windows 10 desktop screen, shown in Figure 1-9. (Your screen may look different from the one in this figure and those throughout the book.)

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Figure 1-9

Check Out the Start Screen

Start your computer — if it isn’t started already — and sign in to your user account. You’ll see the Windows desktop screen.

Open the Start screen, as shown in Figure 1-10. Use one of these methods to open the Start screen:

Mouse: Click the Start button (you’ll find it in the lower-left corner of the screen).

Touchscreen: Tap the Start button.

Keyboard: Press the key.

Examine the Start screen and note the colorful rectangular icons called tiles. These tiles represent available apps (short for application programs, an older term for programs or software). By clicking or tapping an app tile, you can open an app. After you start to use the app tiles, they may display changing information, such as the current weather. (See Chapter 2 for information on using individual apps.)

Select All Apps in the lower-left corner of the Start screen. You see an alphabetical list of all the apps that are installed on your computer. By clicking or tapping an app in this list, you can open an app. Select All Apps when you want to open an application but can’t find its tile on the Start screen.

tip Under “Most Used,” the Start screen lists apps you recently opened. You can click or tap an app name on the Most Used list to open an app.

tip While the Start screen is open, you can type the name of an app to open it. For example, to open the Weather app, type weather. A panel opens with the names of apps that include the word weather (you also see apps from the Microsoft store and web pages with the word weather). Select the Weather app listing in the panel to open the Weather app.

Scroll through the All Apps list to Windows Administrative Tools, and then click or tap the down-arrow to the right of the name Windows Administrative Tools. As shown in Figure 1-11, a list of apps appears under the Windows Administrative Tools heading.

tip In the All Apps list, some names are really headings, not apps. The down arrows tell you where the headings are. Click or tap a down arrow to see the list of apps under a heading.

tip Rather than scroll through All Apps list to find an app, you can select a letter in the list and then select a letter in the pop-up list of letters that appears (refer to Figure 1-11). For example, to quickly get to the Weather app, select any letter and then select the W on the pop-up list.

Click the Back button to close the All Apps list.

Click or tap your name in the upper-left corner of the Start screen. As shown in Figure 1-12, you see a drop-down menu with commands for changing account settings (see Chapter 3), locking your screen (see “Start Again on the Lock Screen,” later in this chapter), and signing out in a favor of another person who shares your computer (see Chapter 4). Who would think that clicking your name would open a drop-down menu?

Click or tap the Power on the Start menu. As shown in Figure 1-13, you see a pop-up menu with commands for putting your computer to sleep, shutting down your computer, and restarting your computer. Later in this chapter, “Shut Down Your Computer” looks into the options on this pop-up menu.

Click or tap the Start button, or press the key. Doing any of these actions when the Start screen is open closes the Start screen. You can also close the Start screen by clicking anywhere on the desktop when the Start screen is open.

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Figure 1-10

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Figure 1-11

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Figure 1-12

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Figure 1-13

Shut Down Your Computer

When you have finished using your computer for a while, you may want to shut down Windows 10. Begin by displaying the Start screen:

Mouse: Click the Start button.

Touchscreen: Tap the Start button.

Keyboard: Press the key.

Click or tap Power on the Start menu (see Figure 1-13).

Available options appear in a pop-up box. Some or all of the following options appear:

Shut Down: This option exits Windows 10 and saves power by turning the computer off. In exiting Windows 10, Shut Down closes any apps that are currently running.

Sleep: This option reduces the computer’s power consumption without exiting Windows 10 or closing apps. As a result, when you wake the computer by moving the mouse or touching the screen or the keyboard, everything is exactly as you left it: apps and documents are open, if they were open before Sleep.

Hibernate: This option combines Sleep and Shut Down. Hibernate records which apps are running but also completely shuts down the computer. When you start the computer, Windows 10 opens all programs you were using, just as Sleep does.

tip Hibernate and Shut Down are equally green options — they save the same amount of power. Sleep is a little less green but saves time if you are returning to the middle of a task.

Restart: Temporarily shuts down Windows 10 and turns it on again. Use Restart when Windows 10 asks you to or when Windows 10 is misbehaving.

tip You can also shut down your computer by using the Start button. Move the pointer over the Start button and right-click. A pop-up menu appears. Select Shut Down or Sign Out on the pop-up menu, and then select an option (Sleep, Shut Down, Hibernate, or Restart).

Choose Shut Down to turn off the computer.

tip On most computers, pressing the power switch also shuts down the computer. On a laptop, closing the lid may shut down the laptop or put it in sleep or hibernation mode.

tip For a desktop computer, consider using a power strip to plug in the computer, the monitor, and the printer. After you shut down or hibernate the computer, turn off the power strip to save power.

Start Again on the Lock Screen

Turn on your computer. Every time you turn on your computer, the Lock screen appears. As shown in Figure 1-14, the Lock screen displays the time, day, and date along with a photo. (You discover how to change this photo in Chapter 3.)

Dismiss the Lock screen with one of these methods:

Mouse: Click anywhere, roll the wheel toward you, or drag the entire screen up.

Touchscreen: Drag the entire screen up.

Keyboard: Press any key.

If you don’t use a password, wait briefly for the Start screen to appear. If you use a password, enter it with a physical or virtual keyboard. Then press Enter or select the arrow next to the password box to display the Windows desktop screen.

Take a break before reading Chapter 2.

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Figure 1-14

Chapter 2

Using the Start Screen and Apps

Get ready to . . .

Open the Weather and Travel Apps

Switch among Open Apps

Close the Weather and Travel Apps

Use the App Bar

Add a Location in Weather

Change App Settings

Search for a Desktop App

Arrange and Group Apps on the Start Screen

Ask Questions of Cortana

The Windows 10 Start screen appears when you select the Start button in the lower-left corner of the screen or you press the key. It provides access to just about everything you do with Windows 10.

The Start screen is home to numerous programs, or apps (short for applications). An app performs a function or displays information. For example, the Weather app offers weather reports (surprise!) and the Travel app lets you check on a flight and plan a trip. Apps can be simple or more complex, such as the Money app for stock tracking.

Apps appear on the Start screen as tiles. A tile, which may be square or rectangular, displays the app’s name and symbol or icon. A tile that displays changing information is called a live tile. An open app typically covers the screen, hiding other apps that are open. However, some apps can be displayed side-by-side with a function called snap.

Two categories of apps are available:

Windows 10 apps are modern looking and rich with information. They are designed to work with touchscreens as well as with a mouse. Weather and Travel are the first two such apps you use in this chapter. (The News, Sports, and Money apps function similarly to the Travel app, each with a unique focus.)

Desktop apps always open with the desktop behind them. Most desktop apps don’t have the look or consistent functions of Windows 10 apps. Desktop apps may not respond to touch as reliably as Windows 10 apps.

You select an app to use in one of two ways:

Mouse: Move the mouse pointer over an app tile. Click the left mouse button to select the tile and open the app.

Touchscreen: Tap the app tile with one of your fingers.

In this chapter, you open, close, and use some of the apps that come with Windows 10. You also switch between apps and the Start screen and switch directly between two apps. You find out how to search for apps not shown on the Start screen. You discover how to organize the Start screen by rearranging tiles into groups. Finally, you can try out Cortana, the robotic Windows digital assistant.

See Chapter 9 for information on getting new apps from the Windows Store.

tip Although some steps are specific to one app, most of the steps you follow in this chapter can be repeated in any app.

Open the Weather and Travel Apps

Select the Start button, as shown in Figure 2-1. Selecting this button opens the Start screen, also shown in Figure 2-1.

You can also open the Start screen by pressing the key.

Use the mouse or a finger to select the tile labeled Weather. The Weather app opens, as shown in Figure 2-2. It shows the current temperature and weather forecast for your default location. Select the Show Options button (see Figure 2-2). As do most apps, Weather has a Show Options button in the upper-left corner. Select this button to expand the app bar and see the names of options on the app bar. Select the button again to collapse options on the app bar.

tip The first time you open the Weather app, a Welcome screen appears. It asks whether you want to show temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius and what your default location is. By default location, the Weather app wants to know where you live, or, if you’re a vagabond, where you spend the majority of your time. Enter a city or town name in the Search box, and from the menu that appears as you type, select the name of the town or city that you call home. You can always change these settings by selecting the Settings button in the app bar and choosing options on the Settings screen. (See “Change App Settings,” later in this chapter.)

Switch back to the Start screen using one of these methods:

Tap or click the Start button.

Press the key.

tip Focus on the method you think is easiest. However, keep in mind that alternative methods of controlling your computer are always available.

On the Start screen, check to see whether the Weather tile is displaying current weather information, as in Figure 2-3. The Weather app has a live tile. As with the News app and the Money app, the Weather tile app on the Start screen displays changing information.

Switch back to the Weather app by selecting its tile with the mouse or your finger. The Weather app reappears.

Switch back to the Start screen.

Select the Travel tile (look for a suitcase icon). The Travel home screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-4.

tip If the Travel tile doesn’t appear on your Start screen, select All Apps to display app names in alphabetical order, and then scroll in the list of apps to the Travel app tile and select it.

Scroll to the right for an overview of the Travel app, which offers travel ideas and travel news. Use these techniques to scroll:

Mouse: Drag the scroll box at the bottom of the screen to the left or right. If your mouse has a wheel, you can also turn the mouse wheel to scroll.

Touchscreen: Swipe the screen to the left or right.

Switch to the Start screen by selecting the Windows button or pressing the key. Note that the live Travel tile (if it appears on your Start screen) shows changing destinations.

On the Start screen, select the Weather tile. Switch back and forth between the Weather app and the Start screen a few times to get comfortable with switching between an app and the Start screen.

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Figure 2-1

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Figure 2-2

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Figure 2-3

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Figure 2-4

Switch among Open Apps

Open the Weather app, as in the preceding section.

Switch to the Start screen and open the Travel app.

Switch to Task view, as shown in Figure 2-5. In Task view, thumbnail versions of all open apps appear on the screen. You can switch to Task view with one of these methods:

Mouse: Click the Task View button on the taskbar (refer to Figure 2-5).

Touchscreen: Swipe from the left edge of the screen or tap the Task View button.

Keyboard: Press +Tab.

Select the Weather app to switch to it. Task view offers one way of switching between apps. Use the Task View method to switch between apps when many apps are open onscreen. Seeing tiles for all open apps makes switching from one app to another easy.

tip Chapter 5 explains how you can open a second desktop on the screen and in so doing keep some of your open apps on one screen and some of your open apps on another. When you’re running many apps, opening a second desktop is a great way to be able to switch quickly from one app to another.

Select the Travel app icon on the taskbar to switch to the Travel app (refer to Figure 2-5). The taskbar is located along the bottom of the screen. Whenever you open an app, Windows 10 places its icon on the taskbar. You can select an icon on the taskbar to switch to an open app.

tip Some icons appear permanently on the taskbar. For example, the File Explorer icon is always on the taskbar regardless of whether File Explorer is running. Chapter 5 explains how you can pin your favorite apps to the taskbar. Pinning an app to the taskbar places an icon there so that you can open an app quickly.

Press Alt+Tab and continue to hold down the Alt key after you press Tab. A window showing thumbnails of all open apps appears onscreen, as shown in Figure 2-6. While holding down the Alt key, press the left- or right-arrow key to select the Weather thumbnail, and then release the Alt key. The Weather app appears onscreen. Pressing Alt+Tab is yet another way to switch between open applications.

tip Chapter 5 demonstrates techniques for moving windows onscreen, changing the size of windows, and snapping windows to the side of the screen.

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Figure 2-5

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Figure 2-6

Close the Weather and Travel Apps

On the Start screen, select the Weather app if the Weather app isn’t already open.

Close the Weather app (any open app) with one of these methods:

Mouse: Click the Close button (the X) in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Touchscreen: Tap the Close button (the X) in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Keyboard: Press Alt+F4.

tip You don’t have to close apps. However, having unneeded apps open makes switching between apps more of a challenge because of unneeded thumbnails in the app switcher.

On the Start screen again, select the Weather app tile to reopen the Weather App. Notice the Weather app icon on the taskbar along the bottom of the screen.

Display the context menu on the Weather app icon and choose Close Window on the context menu, as shown in Figure 2-7. Use one of these techniques to display the context menu on a taskbar icon:

Mouse: Right-click the icon.

Touchscreen: Touch and hold the icon until a rectangle appears around the icon, and then release your finger.

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Figure 2-7

tip To close an app that is frozen (an app that is unresponsive), press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. The Task Manager opens. It lists all apps that are currently running. Select the app you want to close and then select the End Task button.

Use the App Bar

From the Start screen, open the Travel app.

The app bar contains functions specific to the current app. Display the app bar by selecting the Show Options button. In some cases, the Travel app being one of them, choose App Commands on the drop-down menu after selecting the Show Options button. Figure 2-8 shows the app bar in the Travel app.

tip The app bar may appear across the top of the screen, the left side of the screen, or in both locations.

In the Travel app, the app bar leads you to travel-specific functions. Select the Flights button on the app bar, which then disappears. Your browser opens so that you can investigate flight destinations.

Display the app bar in Travel again. Then select the Hotels button. Again, your browser opens, and this time you go to a website for investigating and booking hotel rooms.

Display the app bar again and take notice of the Home button. Wherever you travel in an app, you can return to the app home screen by selecting this button.

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Figure 2-8

tip In most apps, you can select the Back button (an arrow in a circle) to return to the previous screen you viewed. The Back button is found in the upper-left corner of most screens.

Add a Location in Weather

From the Start screen, open the Weather app if it isn’t already open. With the Weather app on the screen, select the Show Options button to expand the app bar and see the option names. As shown in Figure 2-9, the Weather app bar appears on the left side of the screen.

Select the Places button on the app bar. The Places screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-10. Your screen will show a different live tile.

Select the Add Favorite Places tile, which looks like a plus in a square. The Add to Favorites screen appears.

Type a location name, such as a city, in the box under Enter Location, as shown in Figure 2-11. As you type, matching location names appear below the box. If you see the location you want, select that name to add a tile for that location to the Places screen. No need to click the Add button, unless your location does not appear automatically.

tip You can add other locations by repeating Steps 3 and 4.

Select the tile for the location you added. The Weather app displays full information for the location you selected.

tip You can switch among multiple locations by using the Places button on the app bar.

Return to the Start screen. Your new favorite location does not appear on the Weather tile — yet. Select the Weather tile to return to the weather app. You see your new favorite location, as shown in Figure 2-12. In addition to the app bar on the left side of the screen, an app bar for the selected location appears along the top of the screen.

Select the Pin button at the top of the screen (refer to Figure 2-12). Selecting this button adds a tile for the current location to the Start screen. (If you don’t see the Pin button, repeat Steps 2–5 to add a favorite location.)

Return to the Start screen. The original Weather tile appears, as well as the new tile. You may have to scroll downward to see the new Weather tile.

Select the new Weather tile to open the app with that location.

Display the app bar for Weather, which is shown in Figure 2-13. Select the Unpin button at the top of the screen to remove the tile for the current location from the Start screen. If the Unpin button doesn’t appear, repeat Step 7.

Return to the Start screen. The location you unpinned no longer appears.

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Figure 2-9

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Figure 2-10

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Figure 2-11

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Figure 2-12

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Figure 2-13

tip Add locations for friends, family, and travel destinations and pin these new locations to the Start screen. See the section “Arrange and Group Apps on the Start Screen,” later in this chapter, if you want to group these tiles.

Change App Settings

On the Start screen, select the Weather tile if the Weather app isn’t open already.

In the Weather app, select the Settings button on the app bar. The Settings screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-14. Settings is the last option. If you have trouble locating it, select the Show Options button, the topmost button the app bar, to see the buttons on the app bar.

tip It may be hard to remember whether you need the Settings panel or the app bar to do something. In general, functions on the app bar are used more frequently than those on the Settings panel. When in doubt, guess — that’s how discoveries are made.

Choose whether to show air temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Choose a Launch Location option. The Always Detect My Location option tells the Weather app to note by way of your Internet connection where you are currently and give the weather report for that place. Select Default Location and enter the name of the place where you live if you want to receive weather forecasts for that place.

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Figure 2-14

tip Select Privacy Statement in the Settings window if you’re interested in how Microsoft collects data about you when you use Weather and other apps made by Microsoft. Your browser opens to a web page clotted with legalese and other obfuscations. You may have noticed that ads appear in the Weather app. Starting on this web page, you can keep the ads from displaying by opting out of ads.

tip Changes to settings take effect immediately. You don’t have to save or activate your changes.

Search for a Desktop App

Open the Start screen: Click the Windows button in the lower-left corner of the desktop or press .

In the Search the Web and Windows box (you find it to the right of the Windows button), type calc (the first four letters of the word calculator). The Search panel appears on the left side of the screen, as shown in Figure 2-15. The Search panel lists app names, program names, settings, files, and web pages with the term you entered. You can search for just about anything from the Search the Web and Windows box.

tip Select My Stuff at the bottom of the Search panel (refer to Figure 2-15) to narrow your search to items on your computer; select Web to narrow your search to things on the Internet.

Type ulator to finish typing the word calculator. The Search panel lists only items with the complete word calculator in them, including the Calculator app.

Select the Calculator app to open it on the desktop, as shown in Figure 2-16. To perform a calculation, select the buttons on the screen or use a keyboard.

Return to the Start screen: Click the Windows button in the lower-left corner of the desktop or press .

Type calculator again in the Search the Web and Windows box. Again, the Search panel appears, and the Calculator app appears at the top of the Search panel (refer to Figure 2-16).

Display the context menu on the Calculator app and choose Pin to Start on the context menu. (If Unpin from Start appears on the context menu, the Calculator tile is already on the Start screen; disregard this step.) Use one of these techniques to display the context menu:

Mouse: Right-click Calculator in the Seach panel.

Touchscreen: Touch and hold Calculator in the Search panel until the context menu appears, and then release your finger.

Open the Start screen and note where the Calculator tile appears. You can open the Calculator by selecting this tile.

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Figure 2-15

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Figure 2-16

tip To remove a tile from the Start screen, display its context menu and select Unpin from Start.

Arrange and Group Apps on the Start Screen

You can rearrange tiles on the Start screen by dragging them to different places. On the Start screen, drag the Calculator tile to a different location. As you move the tile, other tiles move out of the way, like a game of Dodge Tile.

To start with, the Start screen places tiles in one of two groups: Life at a Glance and Play and Explore. You can find these group names at the top of the start screen. Tap or click the words Play and Explore to change the name of the Play and Explore group. A text box appears, as shown in Figure 2-17. Enter a new name here (or keep the old name) and press Enter.

Create a new group for Calculator by dragging the Calculator tile to the right of all the other tiles. Drag Calculator as if you were dragging it off the right side of the Start screen. Two horizontal lines appear after you stop dragging, as shown in Figure 2-18, left.

Tap or click the two vertical lines and you see a text box, as shown in Figure 2-18, middle. You just created a new group with Calculator as the only tile.

Type a name for the group into the text box, as shown in Figure 2-18, right. You can change the name at any time by repeating Steps 3 and 4. To remove the name, select the X to the right of the text box. Create groups to organize app tiles on the Start screen.

Use one of the following methods to open the context menu on the Calculator tile:

Mouse: Position the pointer over the tile and right-click. (A left click would open the app.)

Touchscreen: Swipe slightly down or up on the tile. (A direct tap would open the app.)

Change the size of the Calculator tile. On the context menu, select Resize and then select the Wide option on the submenu, as shown in Figure 2-19. (The options you see on a touchscreen are the same, but are arranged differently on the context menu.) As well as the Wide, Medium, and Small options, Windows 10 provides a Large option for some tiles.

tip Choose the Large or Wide resize option for apps you use often. The larger the tile, the easier it is to find on the Start screen.

Locate a tile on the Start screen that doesn’t need to be there. Then select the tile and select Unpin from Start on the context menu to remove the tile from the Start screen. (See Step 6 if you need instructions for displaying the context menu.)

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Figure 2-17

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Figure 2-18

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Figure 2-19

tip The Start screen becomes more useful and personal when you eliminate tiles that you don’t need and arrange tiles to suit your sense of order.

Ask Questions of Cortana

Click or tap in the box on the left side of the taskbar. As soon as you click or tap, a “digital assistant” called Cortana springs to life, as shown in Figure 2-20, left. Cortana can respond to questions you ask with your voice.

tip To start using Cortana for the first time, select the I’m In! button, read the privacy statement that appears, and select the I Agree button (or select No Thanks if you change your mind about using Cortana). Then follow the onscreen instructions for setting up Cortana.

tip To use Cortana, your computer’s microphone must be up and running. Turn to Chapter 13 if the microphone on your computer isn’t connected or working properly.

Select the Microphone icon and say aloud, “Tell me a joke.” As you say these words, they appear in the text box, and if all goes right, Cortana recites a joke. As well, the words of the joke appear on the screen, as shown in Figure 2-20, right.

Say the words “Hey, Cortana” and then ask, “What is the weather in Chicago?” Instead of selecting the Microphone icon to alert Cortana that you want to ask a question, you can say the words “Hey, Cortana.” Cortana gives you the weather in Chicago.

tip Ask questsions of Cortana while the word Listening appears in the box. Seeing this word tells you that Cortana is prepared to field a question.

Select the Microphone icon and ask aloud, “Where is California?” In this instance, Cortana can’t answer directly, so your browser opens to the Bing search engine, as shown in Figure 2-21. The question “Where is California?” has been entered in the Search box, and the results of the search point to information about California. Regardless of whether Cortana can answer a question, you can always select the Search More Results on Bing.com link in Cortana to open your browser to the Bing website and conduct a search there (refer to Figure 2-20, right).

Return to Cortana and scroll down the screen by dragging the scrollbar or swiping downward. On the basis of questions you’ve asked, Cortana provides newspaper articles and other information that it thinks are of interest to you. You can click or tap an article to open it on your browser.

Cortana can remind you to attend events and appointments. Say the words “Hey, Cortana” and then say, “Remind me to eat lunch today at 12:15.” As shown in Figure 2-22, left, Cortana presents a reminder screen. As long as you begin by saying “Remind me,” Cortana can record reminders like this. Say “Yes” or select the Remind button.

On the App bar, select the Reminders button (the light bulb) to go to the Reminders screen, as shown in Figure 2-22, right. You see the reminder to go to lunch.

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Figure 2-20

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Figure 2-21

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Figure 2-22

tip If you change your mind about using Cortana, select the Settings button. On the Settings screen, turn Cortana off.

Chapter 3

Adjusting Windows 10 Settings

Get ready to . . .

Access the Settings Screen

Personalize the Lock Screen

Choose an Account Picture

Check for Important Updates

Make Windows 10 Easier to Use

Customize the Start Menu

Out of the box, Windows 10 is showy and colorful. If you don’t like that look, however, you can change the photos and colors you see on the screen. Adjusting Windows 10 settings can also make Windows 10 easier and more fun to use. When you’re ready, you can dive in and make Windows 10 yours.

In this chapter, you personalize the Lock screen. You see this screen many times a day, so it should please you. You also choose a picture to identify your account on the Start menu. This chapter also explains how to make your screen easier to see and enable features such as Narrator, which reads aloud content from the screen. Finally, you discover how to customize the Start menu.

Many people leave Windows 10 largely as they found it. Some love to tweak, tinker, and tune. How far you go in personalizing Windows 10 is up to you — it’s your computer, after all.

tip See Chapter 4 for information on changing passwords and other User settings.

Access the Settings Screen

Starting on the desktop, click or tap the Start button (or press the key).

Choose Settings on the Start menu, as shown in Figure 3-1 (your Start menu may look different).

tip Turn to Chapter 1 if you need help opening an app on the Start menu.

The Settings screen appears, as shown in Figure 3-2. The Settings screen is the starting point for changing the settings here, there, and everywhere on your computer.

One at a time, select each icon in the Settings screen, starting with System, to see the options available. Select the Back button (the square with the left-pointing arrow, located in the upper-left corner of the screen) to return to the Settings screen.

On the Settings screen, enter the word printer in the Find a Setting box (located in the upper-right corner of the screen; refer to Figure 3-2). As soon as you enter the word, the Settings screen shows you a list of settings that pertain to printers. You can select a setting on the list to open the dialog box where the setting is located.

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Figure 3-1

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Figure 3-2

tip Windows 10 offers many different settings. Locating them can be a chore. Often the easiest way to find a setting is to enter its name in the Find a Setting box on the Settings screen.

Personalize the Lock Screen

On the Settings screen, select Personalization.

On the Personalization screen, select Lock Screen. The Lock Screen Preview screen opens. On the Background menu, choose Picture, as shown in Figure 3-3.

tip The Lock screen is the first screen you see when you start Windows 10.

Just above the Browse button, select each thumbnail photo, one at a time. The larger preview photo changes to show the thumbnail you selected. Select a photo that’s different from the one you started with. (You can always change it later.)

tip You can use the Browse button to select one of your own photos from the Pictures folder. See Chapter 10 for information on adding photos to this folder and its subfolders.

tip Rather than see one image on the start screen, you can see a slide show of images in your Pictures folder. On the Background menu, choose Slideshow.

Return to the Start screen. Select your account name in the upper-left corner of the Start screen to display the menu shown in Figure 3-4, and then select Lock to display the Lock screen.

tip You can lock your computer anytime by pressing +L.

The photo you selected in Step 3 appears on the Lock screen. Display the Password screen as follows:

Mouse: Click anywhere.

Touchscreen: Swipe up.

Keyboard: Press any key on the keyboard.

Enter your password, if you have one. The Windows desktop screen appears.

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Figure 3-3

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Figure 3-4

Choose an Account Picture

On the Settings screen, select Accounts. See “Access the Settings Screen,” earlier in this chapter, if you need help opening the Settings screen. Your current Account picture appears in the Accounts screen, as shown in Figure 3-5. (If you haven’t selected a picture yet, your picture may just be an outline.)

tip Your account picture appears on the password screen and the Start screen.

To choose one of your photos, select the Browse button. The contents of your Pictures folder appears in the Open dialog box. From here, you can select the Up button to access any folder on your computer or select a subfolder to open. When you find the picture you want, select it and then select the Choose Picture button. Or select Cancel to return to the previous screen without changing your account picture.

tip See Chapter 10 for information about adding photos to your Pictures folder.

If you have a built-in or attached camera (called a webcam), select the Camera app under Create Your Picture. The Camera app opens with a preview of what your camera sees. See Chapter 10 for information on taking pictures with a webcam.

tip You may be able to use another app to select or create a picture. Select the app under Create Your Picture.

Return to the Start screen to see your new account picture. To return to the Start screen, click or tap the Start button or press on your keyboard.

tip The easiest way to access the Accounts screen and change your account picture is through your account name. In the upper-left corner of the Start screen, select your name and then select Change Account Settings, as shown in Figure 3-6. Voilà! The Accounts screen appears, with Your Account selected.

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Figure 3-5

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Figure 3-6

Check for Important Updates

To check for updates to Windows 10, select Update & Security on the Settings screen. See “Access the Settings screen,” earlier in this chapter, if you need help getting to the PC Settings screen.

On the Update & Security screen, select Windows Update. The Windows Update screen appears, as shown in Figure 3-7.

tip If you don’t mind typing, you can get to the Windows Update screen by typing windows update in the Search box located on the taskbar.

The Windows Update screen informs you when Windows 10 last checked for updates and whether any were found. Select the Check for Updates button to find out whether any updates are available and update Windows 10 on your computer.

You may see a message that one or more updates will be downloaded and installed automatically. You do not have to do anything to install these updates — the update process is automatic. Return to the desktop to let Windows 10 manage updates automatically.

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Figure 3-7

tip You can select the Advanced Options button on the Windows Update screen to choose how Windows 10 installs updates and get a history of updates that Windows 10 has made to your computer.

tip Installing an update seldom takes more than a few minutes. You can use your system during the update process. If the update process requires that you restart your computer, you see a message on the Windows Update screen and the Lock screen. If you don’t restart when required, Windows 10 will automatically restart within two days of the first notification.

tip For information on other updates and maintaining Windows 10, see Chapter 12.

Make Windows 10 Easier to Use

On the Settings screen, select Ease of Access, as shown in Figure 3-8. (See “Access the Settings Screen” for help.) The Ease of Access screens offer many ways to make your computer, mouse, and monitor easier to use.

Choose Narrator settings (refer to Figure 3-8) to have content on the screen read aloud. These settings are for people who have difficulty reading. After turning on the Narrator switch, you choose voice, speed, and pitch settings to determine what the narrator’s voice sounds like.

Choose Magnifier settings to enlarge what is on your computer screen. These settings are for people who have difficulty seeing. When Magnifier is turned on, the Magnifier toolbar appears onscreen. (Click or tap the magnifying glass icon to see this toolbar, if necessary.) Click or tap the plus sign on the Magnifier toolbar to zoom a portion of the screen for easier viewing, as shown in Figure 3-9. Click or tap the minus sign to see the screen at normal size.

tip Without turning the Magnifier switch on, you can magnify the screen. Press +plus key to zoom in using Magnifier. Press +minus key to zoom out using Magnifier.

Choose High Contrast settings to alter the screen in a way that might make seeing text easier. These settings are also for people who have difficulty seeing. After you choose a theme, you can choose a color for text, hyperlinks, disabled text, selected text, button text, and backgrounds. Click Apply after you make your choices. Choose None and click Apply if you want to return to the default Windows 10 contrast settings.

Choose Closed Captions settings to control how subtitles appear in audio and video presenations. Choose Font settings to describe what you want the text in the captions to look like. Choose Background and Window settings to describe what the box where the captions appear looks like. The Preview box shows what your choices mean in real terms.

Choose Keyboard settings to type without using a physical keyboard. This onscreen keyboard uses the layout of a conventional keyboard. However, most people find that the standard Windows 10 virtual keyboard is more flexible. See Chapter 1 for information on the virtual keyboard layouts.

Choose Mouse settings to change the size and color of the mouse pointer. As shown in Figure 3-10, Windows 10 offers mouse pointers of different sizes and colors. Choose the combination that tickles your fancy.

The Other Options settings control various and sundry items:

Play Animations in Windows controls whether Windows apps start and close with an animation sequence. If you prefer not to see animation sequences when an app is launched or closed, turn this switch to the off position.

Show Windows Background controls whether images can appear on the Start screen. If this switch is off, images don’t appear on the screen, and you can’t choose an image in the Personalize panel. (See the next section in this chapter, “Customize the Start Menu,” for more information.)

Show Notifications For controls how long certain pop-up messages appear before disappearing. These notifications are sometimes called tooltips or toasts (because of the way they pop up). By default, notifications disappear after five seconds, which usually isn’t enough time to read a long notification. Note that notifications disappear when you move the mouse or select another option. I suggest that you try 30 seconds for the delay.

Cursor Thickness controls the width of the vertical blinking line that appears when you can type text. The box on the left under this heading displays the current cursor (without blinking). To try a different thickness, drag the selection box to the right. (You might try a cursor thickness of 2 or 3 pixels.)

The Visual Notifications for Sound options make parts of the screen “flash” when they are activated. These options are meant for the hard of hearing.

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Figure 3-8

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Figure 3-9

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Figure 3-10

tip More Ease of Access settings are available through the desktop. The settings are easiest to access by pressing +U (for usability). In the Ease of Access Center, as shown in Figure 3-11, you can choose many access settings.

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Figure 3-11

Customize the Start Menu

On the Settings screen, select Personalization. See “Access the Settings Screen,” earlier in this chapter, if you need help opening the Settings screen.

On the Personalization screen, select Start. The Start screen opens, as shown in Figure 3-12. This screen offers ways to customize the Start menu and the Start screen.

Under Start, drag the sliders to On or Off to choose what you want Windows 10 to display on the Start menu:

Occasionally Show Suggestions in Start: Places the names of apps and files on the Start menu that Windows 10 believes you want to see there.

Show Most Used Apps: Places the names of programs you use most often on the Start menu. The names of these programs appear under the “Most Used” heading.

Show Recently Added Apps: Places the names of apps you recently acquired on the Start menu. The names of these apps appear under the “Recently Added” heading.

Use Start Full Screen: Makes the Start screen cover the entire desktop, rather than a portion of the desktop.

Show Recently Opened Items in Jump Lists on Start or the Taskbar: Allows you to quickly open folders, files, and windows from the Start menu and taskbar. When you move the pointer over an app or program on the Start menu, an arrow appears; select the arrow to see a menu of items you can open. When you move the pointer over an icon on the taskbar, thumbnail windows appear so that you can choose which window to open.

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Figure 3-12

tip You can list the apps you like best at the bottom of the Start menu next to the Power and All Apps commands. On the Start screen, select the Choose which Folders Appear on Start link. The Customize List window opens. A new screen with a list of popular apps appears. Select the apps whose names you want to see on the Start menu.

Chapter 4

Working with User Accounts

Get ready to . . .

Connect to the Internet

Create a New Microsoft Account

Switch from a Local to an Existing Microsoft Account

Add a User Account

Create a Password

Change or Remove Your Password

Create a PIN

Change Your Pin

Delete a User Account

Windows 10 seeks out an Internet connection automatically from the moment you start it. More often than not, you connect to the Internet using a wireless or Wi-Fi connection. For this reason, if you start a laptop or tablet in a coffee shop or library, you may see a notification that one or more network connections are available. That’s convenient.

A computer without an Internet connection is an island, if not a paperweight. Connecting to a network, however, opens a door to your computer — and malefactors try to push through that door to access your computer. Windows 10 has a firewall that monitors and restricts traffic in and out. Don’t be afraid of connecting to the Internet, but be aware of the risks and be careful to to connect to a network that seems trustworthy. In Chapter 1, you create a local user account. You need a Microsoft Account to take full advantage of Windows 10 features such as the Microsoft Store for apps (see Chapter 9), OneDrive for online storage, and synchronizing settings between computers. In this chapter, you create a Microsoft Account and choose a secure method for logging in to your account. You also discover how to switch from a local account to a Microsoft Account. To control access to your computer, you find out how to use a password, a shorter personal identification number (PIN), or even a personal photo to unlock your computer.

tip If other people use your computer, you may want to create more than one user account. When each person who uses the computer has a separate account, you can keep data, apps, and settings tidy and private.

Even if you’re the only one using your computer, you may want more than one account. For example, if you create a new local user account, you can experiment with the new account — changing the look and function of Windows 10 — without affecting your first account.

tip Many of the steps in this chapter involve entering text, such as your name. If you don’t have a physical keyboard, use the virtual keyboard, which is covered in Chapter 1.

Connect to the Internet

On the Windows desktop, look to the network connection icon to see whether your computer is connected to the Internet. This icon is located to the left of the time and date readings in the lower-right corner of the screen, as shown in Figure 4-1.

tip Select or choose options by moving the mouse pointer and left-clicking or by tapping a touchscreen with your finger.

Select the Network icon. The Networks panel appears on the right side of your screen, as shown in Figure 4-2, and lists all available network connections. There may be no connections or dozens.

tip If you see Not connected and No connections available, you may be out of luck. Check your computer documentation to see whether your PC has wireless capability and whether you need to turn on a mechanical switch.

tip If your computer is near a router (DSL or cable) and you don’t have wireless capability, connect your PC and the router using an Ethernet cable, which is thicker than a phone line, with wider connections.

Select a connection. Note that not all displayed connections are accessible or desirable.

tip If you’re not sure that you can trust a connection, you might want to forego a connection — better safe than sorry. (Unsafe wireless connections can be used to eavesdrop on your activities, though that scenario is rare.) However, if an available connection sports the name of the establishment you’re in or near, such as a restaurant or a coffee shop, the connection may be safe. The same is true of connections at libraries, airports, and many other public spaces.

tip After you select a connection, the selected tile expands and displays the Connect Automatically check box, as shown in Figure 4-3. If you trust the connection and might want to use it again, leave the check box selected. Otherwise, deselect the check box. To continue, select the Connect button.

You may be prompted to enter a network security key (a series of characters), which limits access to those who know the key. See Figure 4-4. The key protects that network and its users. If you’re using a hotel’s connection, you can obtain the key from the front desk. If you don’t know the key, select Cancel. Otherwise, enter the key (dots appear as you type) and select Next.

tip If the connection is public and open, you won’t be prompted for a key. Open connections are common in libraries, coffee shops, and other places many people come and go.

tip If you have access to your router, which is a kind of network device connected to the phone line or cable TV, the router may have a button you can push to connect without using the security key.

If you entered the correct key or none was required, you may see this message: Do you want to turn on sharing between PCs and connect to devices on this network? The term sharing refers to allowing computers access to your files or to a device, such as a printer. You should share at home but not in a public location. Choose one of the following:

No: This option prevents you from connecting directly with other computers and protects your computer from networks in public places. You’ll still have Internet access.

Yes: This option enables you to share documents and devices between your computers on a home or office network.

tip If you’re not sure about which option to choose, go with No.

When a Wi-Fi connection is established, Connected appears next to the network name in the Networks panel, as shown in Figure 4-5. The connection name and signal strength appear as well. The connection strength (but not the name) appears next to the time and date in the notification area in the lower-right corner of the screen (see Figure 4-5).

tip If you selected the Connect Automatically check box (in Step 4), the connection will be used anytime it is available. If you move your computer to another location out of range of this network (usually a few hundred yards), you will have to repeat these steps to connect to another network.

To turn off or disconnect the network connection, display the Networks panel again (Steps 1–2). Select the connected network (refer to Figure 4-5) and then select the Disconnect button. (If you disconnect this network, reconnect before continuing.)

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Figure 4-1

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Figure 4-2

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Figure 4-3

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Figure 4-4

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Figure 4-5

tip Most of the time, you’ll stay connected. When you shut down the computer or move the computer far enough away from the connection, it disconnects automatically.

Create a New Microsoft Account

Follow these steps to switch your Windows 10 user account from a local account to a Microsoft Account and in so doing create a Microsoft account:

On the Start screen, select your name in the upper-left corner of the screen. In the pop-up menu that appears (see Figure 4-6), choose Change Account Settings. The Settings app opens to the Accounts screen. Your account information appears with Local Account under your name, as shown in Figure 4-7.

tip If you see don’t see Local Account, you already have a Microsoft Account and don’t need to follow these steps.

Select the Sign In with a Microsoft Account Instead link. If you have a password, enter it and select Next. The Make It Yours screen appears. To create a new account, select the Create One! link.

On the Let’s Create Your Account screen (see Figure 4-8), type your first and last names in the appropriate boxes.

In the Email Address box, type the email address you want to use for this account. Microsoft will send notices about the Microsoft Account to the address you enter.

In the Password box, type a password. Dots appear instead of what you type. Use at least eight characters including at least two uppercase letters, two lowercase letters, two numbers, or two symbols. No spaces are allowed.

tip Your password should be easy enough for you to remember and type, but not easy for someone else to guess. Don’t use the names of any family members (including pets). A good password can be difficult to create, so try this trick: Think of a memorable phrase or lyric. Next, use the first letter from each word, capitalizing some of those letters. Then substitute some letters with numbers (for example, 3 for the letter E or the number 0 for the letter O). Don’t put your password on a sticky note near your screen.

If your country or region is not preselected, select your country.

Select the month, day, and year of your birth. (You can lie, but be sure to remember your response.)

Review your entries. Select the Next button. The Add Security Info screen appears, as shown in Figure 4-9.

In the Phone boxes, select your country again, and then enter your phone number, including the area code. If you have to reset your password, Microsoft may use this number to confirm your identity.

tip If you have an alternative email address, you can enter it instead of a phone number. Click or tap the Add an Alternate Email Instead link and enter the email address. An alternative address enables you to receive email from Microsoft in case you can’t access the account you’re setting up.

Review your entries and select the Next button.

On the See What’s Most Relevant to You screen, shown in Figure 4-10, select the first check box if you want to allow Microsoft to monitor your online activity so that it can target online advertisements to your screen based on your user profile and history of surfing the web.

If you don’t want to receive promotional offers and surveys, select the check box to remove the check mark from the second check box.

Select the Next button. The Enter Your Old Password screen appears. Enter the password to your local account, if you had a password. Then click Next. Congratulations! You just created a Microsoft Account.

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Figure 4-6

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Figure 4-7

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Figure 4-8

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Figure 4-9

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Figure 4-10

Switch from a Local to an Existing Microsoft Account

Follow these steps to switch your Windows 10 user account from a local account to your existing Microsoft Account. On the Start screen, select your name in the upper-leftt corner of the screen and then choose Change Account Settings from the pop-up menu that appears (refer to Figure 4-6). The Accounts screen opens. Your account information appears with Local Account under your name (refer to Figure 4-7).

tip If you don’t have a Microsoft Account already, see “Create a New Microsoft Account,” earlier in this chapter.

tip If you don’t see Local Account under your user account name, you’re already signed in with your Microsoft Account.

Select the Sign In with a Microsoft Account Instead link. The screen shown in Figure 4-11 appears. Type the email address of your Microsoft Account as well as the password. Then select the Next button.

Confirm the Security verification data. When you set up your Microsoft Account, you chose how to receive the code you need to activate your Microsoft Account. Select Next.

The Enter the Code You Received screen appears. Open your email service and obtain the code. It arrives in an email from the Microsoft Account Team. Enter the code and choose Next until you come to the Switch to a Microsoft Account on This PC screen. Select the Switch button. Note your account name and associated email address on the Accounts screen.

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Figure 4-11

Add a User Account

You already have the only user account you require on your computer. However, you may want to create an account for someone in your household or as a practice account. Select your name on the Start screen. Choose Change Account Settings from the menu that appears (refer to Figure 4-6). The Settings app opens to the Accounts screen.

On the left, select Family & Other Users. On the right, select Add Someone Else to This PC. The How Will This Person Sign In screen appears.

tip If you can’t select Add an Account, return to the Start screen. Select your name and choose Sign Out. On the Sign In screen, choose the account you created in Chapter 1.

At the bottom of the How Will This Person Sign In screen, select the link called The Person I Want to Add Doesn’t Have an Email Address.

tip If you know you want a Microsoft Account instead of a local account, jump to “Create a New Microsoft Account” or “Switch from a Local to an Existing Microsoft Account,” earlier in this chapter.

On the next screen, (it’s called Let’s Create Your Account), go to the bottom of the screen and click or tap the Add a User without a Microsoft Account link.

On the next screen (see Figure 4-12), enter the user name in the first box. Use the person’s first name, last name, first and last name, initials, nickname — something easy to remember and type.

tip You are not required to use a password with a local account, which makes signing in easy. However, without a password, anyone can use the computer and access information you might want to protect.

In the Password box, enter a password. Dots will appear for each character you type.

tip For suggestions on creating a good password, see the tip in Step 5 in the section, "Create a New Microsoft Account,” earlier in this chapter.

In the Reenter Password box, type the same password exactly.

In the Password Hint box, type a reminder that only you will understand.

tip For laptops or other portable devices, consider using your phone number with area code as the hint (if you’re sure you don’t need a real hint). The hint appears when someone tries and fails to enter login information. By including your phone number, you might help an honest person return your lost, stolen, or misplaced device to you.

After completing all the available boxes, choose the Next button. You may see an error message if you left a required field empty, your passwords don’t match, or the user name already exists on this computer. If you do see an error, correct your mistake and choose Next again.

In the Accounts screen, the new user name appears under Other Users, as shown in Figure 4-13.

Return to the Start screen. In the upper-left corner of the screen, select your user name. Notice that the new user name appears on the drop-down menu. You can switch between accounts by selecting a user name on the drop-down menu. To sign out of an account, choose Sign Out.

In the drop-down menu, select the new user name to switch to that account.

A screen appears with the new user name. If you used a password on the new user account, type that password in the box and select the onscreen right arrow or press Enter.

tip The first time you sign in as a new user, you have to wait a moment while apps are installed for the new user. Soon the generic Start screen appears. (Any settings you changed in your account do not transfer to other accounts.)

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Figure 4-12

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Figure 4-13

tip For information on personalizing the Lock and Start screens for the new account, see Chapter 3.

Create a Password

On the Start screen, select your name. From the drop-down menu that appears, choose Change Account Settings (refer to Figure 4-6). The Settings app opens to the Accounts screen.

tip If you already have a password, see the section “Change or Remove Your Password.”

On the left, select Sign-in Options.

If you don’t have a password but want one, select the Add button under Passwords.

tip The buttons available under Sign-in Options depend on your current setup. You may see buttons that enable you to create, change, or remove a particular setting.

In the Create a Password screen, shown in Figure 4-14, enter a password in the New Password box.

tip For a local account, the password can be any length. See Step 5 in the "Create a New Microsoft Account” section for suggestions about creating a good password.

In the Reenter Password box, enter the password again.

Enter a hint to remind yourself — and no one else — about your password.

Select Next. If any error messages appear, correct the entries and select Next again.

The final Create a Password screen indicates that you must use your new password the next time you sign in. Select Finish.

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Figure 4-14

Change or Remove Your Password

On the Start screen, select your name, and then choose Change Account Settings. On the left side of the Accounts screen, select Sign-in Options.

If you want to change your password, select the Change button.

tip If you don’t have a password but want one, see the preceding “Create a Password” section.

On the Change Your Password screen, enter your current password and then select the Next button.

On the next Change Your Password screen (see Figure 4-15), enter the new password.

tip To remove your current password and use no password, leave all boxes blank. However, especially if you have a laptop that you carry with you, going without a password isn’t recommended. Without a password to safeguard it, anyone can get into your laptop.

For a local account, the password can be any length. Microsoft Account passwords must be between 7 and 16 characters and sufficiently complex, as determined by Windows 10.

In the Reenter Password box, enter the password again.

Enter a hint to remind yourself — and no one else — about your password. Then select Next. If any error messages appear, correct the entries and select Next again.

The final screen indicates you must use your new password the next time you sign in. (This message appears even if you left the password blank, in which case you won’t need any password.) Select Finish.

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Figure 4-15

Create a PIN

A PIN (personal identification number) has two advantages over a password. One, a PIN consists of numbers, so it’s easier to remember and enter, especially with a virtual keyboard. Two, you don’t press the Enter key with a PIN, making it even faster to use. (I use a PIN on my home computer.) On the Start screen, select your user name and then choose Change Account Settings.

On the Accounts screen, select Sign-in Options. Select the Add button under PIN.

tip If you have a PIN but want to change or remove it, see the section “Change Your Pin.”

tip You can’t create a picture password or PIN if you don’t have a regular password. See the section “Create a Password.”

On the next screen, enter your current password and then select OK.

On the Set Up a PIN screen, shown in Figure 4-16, enter digits in the first box. Reenter those digits in the second box. Select OK. The next time you sign in, enter your PIN.

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Figure 4-16

tip On the sign-in screen, you can switch to a password screen, even if you have a PIN. This feature enables you to sign in in case you don’t remember your PIN.

Change Your PIN

Select your name on the Start screen and then choose Change Account Settings. On the Accounts screen, select Sign-in Options.

tip If you don’t have a PIN but want one, see the preceding section, “Create a PIN.”

Select the Change button.

Enter your current PIN in the Change Your Pin screen.

Enter a new four-digit PIN in the first box.

In the Confirm PIN box, reenter your new PIN. (A message appears if the PINs don’t match.)

Select Finish. The next time you sign in, enter your new PIN.

Delete a User Account

Before you delete a user account, make sure that the user of that account is signed out. Then sign in to the administrator account, which is the one you created in Chapter 1.

Select your name on the Start screen and then choose Change Account Settings. On the Accounts screen, select Other Family & Other Users (see Figure 4-17).

Select the account you want to delete. Then select the Remove button.

In the Delete Account and Data window, select the Delete Account and Data button.

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Figure 4-17

tip Take heed of the onscreen warning. Deleting a user account removes the user’s data, including all documents, music, and other files. If you’re not sure which option is best, choose Cancel.

Chapter 5

Getting Comfortable with the Desktop

Get ready to . . .

Check Out the Desktop

Change the Date or Time

Explore the Parts of a Window

Resize a Window

Arrange Some Windows

Snap a Window

Open a Second Desktop

Choose a Desktop Background

Pin Icons to the Taskbar

Stop Apps with the Task Manager

The desktop is Grand Central Station as far as Windows 10 is concerned. Sure, you can open applications from the Start screen (Chapter 2 explains how), but with a few simple modifications, you can open applications from the desktop as well. When you’re running more than one application, you can go to the desktop and quickly switch from one application to another. In fact, in Windows 10, you can create a second “virtual” desktop for one set of open applications (applications that pertain to leisure, let’s say), and when the boss isn’t looking, you can switch to the second desktop to play games or chat with friends.

One key feature of the desktop is the taskbar, a strip along the bottom of the screen that shows icons for desktop programs. The taskbar can be used to run and switch between desktop programs. Most programs on the desktop run in windows, as opposed to the full-screen nature of Windows 10 apps.

In this chapter, you get acquainted with the desktop, the taskbar, and windowed apps. You change the date, time, and time zone, as needed. You resize and reposition windowed apps, and discover how to “add a desktop” for a second set of open applications. You select a background for the desktop and make some desktop apps more convenient to use by pinning them to the taskbar. Finally, you work with the Task Manager, which lets you end any app — desktop or Windows 10.

tip The desktop originated when using the mouse was the most common method for selecting objects (touchscreens were nonexistent). Therefore, on the desktop, a few tasks are easier to do with the mouse than with touch or keyboard.

tip This chapter is an introduction to the desktop. See Part IV to dive a little deeper into desktop functions, such as organizing documents.

Check Out the Desktop

Go to the desktop (if you aren’t already there) by using one of these techniques:

On the Start screen, select the Desktop tile. With the Start screen open, you can also display the desktop simply by clicking or tapping the Windows button (it’s located in the lower-left corner of your computer screen).

Press +Tab.

Right-click the Windows button and choose Desktop on the pop-up menu that appears.

Your desktop has a picture in the background. Examine your desktop for icons — small pictures that represent either programs, which perform functions, or documents, such as letters and photos. You select an icon to run a program or open a document. The Windows 10 desktop displays an icon for the Recycle Bin, where deleted documents go. The Recycle Bin may be the only icon on your desktop, or you may see others. See Chapter 14 for information on using the Recycle Bin.

The area at the bottom of the screen is the taskbar, shown in Figure 5-1. From left to right, the taskbar offers these amenities:

Windows button: Selecting this button opens the Start screen. (Click or Tap the button a second time to close the Start screen.)

Search the Web and Windows box: You can enter a search term here to look for Windows settings, applications, files on your computer, and information on the Internet. See Chapter 2 for information about using this part of the taskbar to ask questions of Cortana, the talking digital assistant.

Task View icon: Selecting this icon brings up thumbnail images of applications currently running on your computer. You can select an application thumbnail to switch to an application. You can also select New Desktop to open a second desktop (see “Open a Second Desktop,” later in this chapter, for more information).

Icons: Some icons appear on the taskbar automatically. Very likely, your taskbar has icons for Microsoft Internet Explorer and File Explorer. You can select these icons to open Internet Explorer and File Explorer. When you open an application, Windows 10 places its icon on the taskbar.

Icon tray: The icon tray displays icons for programs that run automatically when your computer starts. The date and time are to the right of the icon tray.

tip You can use the taskbar to switch between programs by selecting the icon for the program you want to use.

Select an icon in the icon tray to open the associated program. (Refer to Figure 5-1 if you aren’t sure where the icon tray is located.)

tip You select items on the desktop or in the taskbar by clicking with the mouse or tapping the touchscreen. To some extent, you can use the Tab and arrow keys, but that’s an awkward method.

tip If you have a touchscreen, note the taskbar icon for the virtual keyboard. See Chapter 1 for information about using the keyboard.

Right-click over an icon or tap and hold until a small box appears, and then release. A context menu appears with options specific to the icon you selected. Select anywhere else on the desktop to dismiss this menu. Repeat this on a few different areas of the screen to see how the context menu changes.

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Figure 5-1

Change the Date or Time

Select the date and time displayed in the taskbar. A calendar and clock pop up, as shown in Figure 5-2.

If the date or time is incorrect for your location, select the Date and Time Settings link. The Settings screen opens. Select Time & Language. You see the Date & Time, window, shown in Figure 5-3, left.

Windows 10 determines the correct time and date from the Internet, and your computer should show the right time and date, but if it doesn’t, turn off the Set Time Automatically option and select the Change button. You see the Change Date and Time screen (see Figure 5-3). Select the correct date and time in this screen. Change the time by using the little triangles that point up (later) or down (earlier) or by entering the specific hours and minutes. Select Change to keep your change or Cancel to ignore your change.

Back in the Date & Time window, select your Time Zone from the drop-down list, if necessary. Turn the Adjust for Daylight Saving Time option on or off as appropriate.

To change the format with which the time and date are displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen, select the Change Date and Time Formats link in the Date & Time window. Then, in the Change Date and Time Formats window (see Figure 5-4), choose how you want the date and time to be displayed on your computer screen.

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Figure 5-2

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Figure 5-3

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Figure 5-4

Explore the Parts of a Window

In the taskbar, select the File Explorer icon (it looks like a folder). File Explorer opens, as shown in Figure 5-5.

tip File Explorer enables you to view your computer storage, such as hard disks, and folders, which are used to organize your documents. See Chapter 14 for information on using File Explorer.

Explore the example window in Figure 5-5, starting at the top left:

Quick Access toolbar: The Quick Access toolbar gives you fast access to common operations, such as creating a new folder. This toolbar is not present in all windows and may feature different functions, depending on the window.

Title bar: The title bar, which is the top line of the window, lists the name of the file or folder that is currently open.

tip The title of the window in Figure 5-5 is This PC, the location File Explorer is focused on when you open File Explorer.

Minimize: The Minimize button shrinks or hides the window’s contents. The program that the window contains is still running and open, but the window is out of sight. You’ll still see the program’s icon in the taskbar. Select the Minimize button when you want to ignore a particular window but aren’t actually done with it. To restore the window, select its icon in the taskbar.

Maximize/Restore: The Maximize button (the button with a single square) fills the screen with the contents of the window. Select the Maximize button to hide the desktop and other open windows, to concentrate on one window, and to see as much of the window’s contents as you can. The Restore button (the button with two squares) is the name of the button that appears after you select the Maximize button; it replaces the Maximize button. Select the Restore button to return the window to its previous size, which is between maximized and minimized. (Press +up-arrow key to maximize, and +down-arrow key to restore or minimize.)

Close: The Close button is the button with the X in the top-right corner of the window. Select the Close button when you are done with the window. Close is also called Quit and Exit. (Press Alt+F4 to close the current window or the desktop itself. This keyboard shortcut works for Windows 10 apps, as well.)

Ribbon: The Ribbon is a toolbar that provides access to many functions organized as groups within tabs. The tabs appear across the top of the Ribbon. The first time you run File Explorer, the Ribbon is hidden (collapsed). Display the Ribbon by selecting the caret symbol (^) on the far right, next to Help (the question mark). Select the caret again to hide the Ribbon. You can also press Ctrl+F1 to toggle the Ribbon on and off. (Leave the Ribbon visible for this chapter.) The tabs remain in view and function the same. Although Ribbons vary between programs, most Ribbons have File and View tabs. To use a tab, select its name to display its functions, and then select the item you want to use.

tip The Ribbon can help you discover new functions.

Contents: The bulk of the window contains the program or document you’re using. File Explorer displays locations on the left and objects in that location on the right.

Status bar: Along the bottom edge of the window, some programs display information about the window or its contents in a single-line status bar. File Explorer lists how many files are in the currently open folder and how many files (if any) have been selected.

tip Scan the edges of windows. Often, important information and functions are pushed to these edges around the main content area.

Select the Close button (the X) to close File Explorer.

tip Although the Quick Access toolbar and the Close button work on a touchscreen, they are small targets. You may find a stylus more accurate when dealing with smaller elements.

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Figure 5-5

tip See Chapter 2 for information on finding other desktop programs, such as the Calculator.

Resize a Window

To resize a window, open File Explorer by selecting the folder icon in the taskbar. (Refer to Figure 5-5.)

If the window is maximized (fills the screen), select the Restore button to make the window smaller.

Use one of these methods to resize the window:

Mouse: Move the mouse pointer to the right edge of the window until the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, called the resize pointer. Click and drag the edge of the window, using the resize pointer. (To drag, click and hold down the mouse button while you move the mouse.)

Touchscreen: Drag the right edge of the window.

tip Drag left to shrink the window and right to expand it.

Resize the window’s width and height at the same time by dragging a corner of the window (see Figure 5-6). If you want a challenge, try resizing the top-right corner without accidentally selecting the Close button.

Resize the window’s width or height by dragging any of the four sides.

tip You may want to resize a window to show only what you need to see, nothing more. Practice resizing from any side or corner.

Leave the window open as you go on to the next task.

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Figure 5-6

Arrange Some Windows

On the desktop, select and open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking or double-tapping its icon. The Recycle Bin contains deleted files and folders. It appears in another File Explorer window. See Figure 5-7.

tip Double-click by clicking the left mouse button twice, without a pause. Double-tap by tapping twice in quick succession.

If File Explorer isn’t still open from the preceding section, open it by selecting the folder icon in the taskbar. You now see two overlapping windows on the desktop (refer to Figure 5-7), one titled This PC and the other titled Recycle Bin.

tip The window in front of the others is called the active window. All other windows are inactive. Note that the title bar of the active window is a different color from the title bar in any inactive window. Selecting anywhere in an inactive window makes it active and moves it to the front of the others.

Drag the Recycle Bin title bar (avoiding the buttons on the left and right ends) to move that window a little.

Drag the This PC title bar (again, avoiding the buttons on both ends). The This PC window moves in front of the Recycle Bin as you move it. Move both windows so that you can see a little of each, as in Figure 5-8.

Practice moving both windows. Arranging windows helps you see and do more than one thing at a time. Use the techniques from the preceding section, “Resize a Window,” to see as much as you can of both windows at one time.

tip If you can’t see the title bar of the window you want to move, move the other window to uncover the hidden title bar.

Leave both windows open for the following task.

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Figure 5-7

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Figure 5-8

Snap a Window

Drag one of the windows you worked with in the preceding section to the left edge of the screen. When the mouse pointer or your finger reaches the left edge of the screen, you see an outline on the screen, as shown in Figure 5-9. When you release the mouse or your finger, the window resizes automatically to fill the left half of the screen, as shown in Figure 5-10. This procedure is called snap. (To snap a window using the keyboard, press +left arrow to snap a window to the left; press +right arrow to snap a window to the right.)

After you snap the first open window, the second open window appears in thumbnail form (see Figure 5-10). Tap or click this second window thumbnail to make it fill, or snap to, the right side of the window.

tip When two or more windows are displayed side by side like this, they are called tiled windows.

Drag either window by the title bar away from the edge of the screen. The window returns to its previous size.

Drag the window you moved in Step 3 to the upper-right corner of the window. When the mouse pointer or your finger touches the corner of the screen, you see an outline on the screen, but this time the outline occupies the upper-right corner of the screen. And guess what? When you release the mouse pointer or your finger, the window snaps to the upper-right quadrant of the screen. In this way, by snapping windows to the corner of the screen, you can tile four windows on your screen, not two windows.

tip You can maximize a window by dragging it to the top edge of the screen. Dragging a window to the top is the equivalent of selecting the Maximize button (see the section “Explore the Parts of a Window,” earlier in this chapter).

Drag the title bar of each open window away from the side of the screen so that neither window is “snapped.” You’ll need these open windows if you want to move on to “Open a Second Desktop,” the next topic in this chapter.

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Figure 5-9

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Figure 5-10

Open a Second Desktop

If File Explorer and Recycle Bin aren’t open on your desktop (because you didn’t follow the previous exercise in this chapter), open those programs now.

Select the Task View button on the taskbar. As Chapter 2 explains, you can use this button to switch between open application windows. After you select the Task View button, thumbnail versions of open windows appear on the desktop. At this point, you can select a thumbnail to go to a different application, but don’t do that just yet.

tip You can press +Tab to select the Task View button.

Notice the New Desktop button that appears after you select the Task View button. Select the New Desktop button now. As shown in Figure 5-11, two desktop tiles appear at the bottom of the screen. The desktop tiles are labeled “Desktop 1” and “Desktop 2.”

Select Desktop 2. You see a brand-new, pristine desktop. Congratulations; you are now in Desktop 2. Create a second (or third or fourth) desktop when you want to keep the first desktop from getting crowded with too many applications or to better organize your work. For example, if you are using applications for your work and using other applications for leisure purposes, put the work applications on one desktop and the leisure applications on another. This will help you find the application you want to work with.

While you are on Desktop 2, open the Photos app. Having just one application on the desktop makes working with that application a little easier.

Select the Task View button again. You can see, on the Desktop 2 tile, the Photos app.

Move the pointer or your finger onto the Desktop 2 tile, and when the Close button appears (refer to Figure 5-11), click or tap the Close button to close Desktop 2. The Photos app that you opened on Desktop 2 now appears on Desktop 1, the only open desktop. When you close a desktop, all its open applications move to the desktop that is still open.

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Figure 5-11

Choose a Desktop Background

Select the Windows button to open the Start menu. Then, on the Start menu, choose Settings to open the Settings window.

Select Personalization. Then, in the Personalization window, select Background (if it isn’t already selected). The Background screen, as shown in Figure 5-12, is the place to go to choose a background for the Windows desktop.

tip You can use the Personalization window to customize many aspects of the desktop. The more time you spend on the desktop, the more worthwhile this personalization may be.

In the Personalization window, select Picture on the Background menu (see Figure 5-12).

Select any photo to make that photo the desktop background. The background changes immediately. To see the entire desktop, minimize the Settings window. Restore the Settings window by selecting its icon in the taskbar or by repeating the preceding steps.

tip To use a photo of your own as the desktop background, select the Browse button and choose a photo in the Open dialog box.

On the Background menu, choose Solid Color to experiment with making a solid color the desktop background. After you choose Solid Color, a color palette appears in the Personalization screen (see Figure 5-12). Select a color in the color palette. The background changes immediately. What do you think of having a color background? You can minimize the Settings window to get a good look at your new desktop background.

Choose the background you like best — a picture or a color — on the Personalization screen and then close the Settings window.

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Figure 5-12

Pin Icons to the Taskbar

On the Start screen, select the All Apps button. The All Apps button is located in the lower-left corner of the Start screen.

Scroll to the Calculator tile, as shown in Figure 5-13.

Use one of these methods to display the shortcut menu on the Calculator tile:

Mouse: Right-click the Calculator tile.

Touchscreen: Swipe the Calculator tile down or up slightly.

Select Pin to Taskbar on the shortcut menu. Doing so places the icon for Calculator in the desktop taskbar for easy access. The Calculator icon appears in the taskbar, as shown in Figure 5-14.

tip Press +D to go directly to the desktop at any time.

Repeat Steps 1 and 3 and then select Unpin from Taskbar.

tip A fast way to remove an icon from the taskbar is to right-click it and choose Unpin This Program from the Taskbar on the shortcut menu.

Switch to the desktop. The Calculator icon is gone.

tip You can pin desktop apps to the Start screen in addition to or instead of the desktop. Windows 10 apps can be pinned only to the Start screen.

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Figure 5-13

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Figure 5-14

tip Pinned icons have a killer feature: jumplists, which are short menus of tasks and documents specific to the pinned app. To see the jumplist of a pinned app, right-click its icon in the taskbar or tap and hold on the icon until a small box appears. Try that with the File Explorer icon in the taskbar. Not all desktop apps have jumplists.

Stop Apps with the Task Manager

On the desktop, select Task Manager from the taskbar context menu (shown in Figure 5-15) using one of these methods:

Mouse: Right-click over an empty area of the taskbar and select Task Manager from the context menu.

Touchscreen: Tap and hold an empty area of the taskbar until a small box appears; then release. Select Task Manager from the context menu.

Keyboard: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to display the Task Manager directly.

The Task Manager lists any running apps — both desktop apps and Windows 10 apps. Select an app, also referred to as a task. Note that the End Task button is now available, as shown in Figure 5-16. You don’t have to end this task, but you could. Any of the tasks in the Task Manager window can be ended without consequences.

tip Be careful about ending an app used to create something (for example, a word-processing app) because you could lose data you haven’t saved before ending the task. Use the Task Manager to end tasks that you can’t end otherwise, such as a frozen or locked app or one that seems to slow down everything.

Select the More Details option. The Task Manager expands and displays detailed information about every process running on the computer. There’s more to Task Manager, although you may not need all of its capabilities. Select Fewer Details to return to the simpler version.

Close the Task Manager.

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Figure 5-15

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Figure 5-16

Part II

Windows 10 and the Web

webextra Visit www.dummies.com/extras/windows10forseniors to see how to handle notifications, the pop-up windows that Windows 10 throws on the screen when you least expect them.

Chapter 6

Finding What You Need onthe Web

Get ready to . . .

Browse the Web with Edge

Open Multiple Pages in Separate Tabs

Search for Anything

Bookmark and Revisit Your Favorite Websites

Explore Edge Features

Work with the Reader App

The World Wide Web — or, simply, the web — provides quick access to information and entertainment worldwide. One part library, one part marketplace, and one part soapbox, the web makes everything equidistant: From down the block to halfway around the world — even out into space — everything is a few clicks or taps away. News, shopping, and the electronic equivalent of the town square await you.

You explore the web using a web browser, a program designed to make browsing the web easy, enjoyable, and safe. In this chapter, I show how you can use the Edge browser to step beyond your computer into the global village.

You browse web pages, which are published by governments, businesses, and individuals — anyone can create web pages. Each web page may consist of a few words or thousands of words and pictures. A web page is part of a larger collection called a website, which consists of a group of related web pages published on a topic by an organization or individual. Companies and individuals create websites to organize their related pages.

Pages and sites on the web have some common characteristics:

Unique addresses, which are formally called URLs (URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, in case you’re ever on Jeopardy!).

Connecting links that move you from page to page when you select them. These links (also called hypertext links or hyperlinks) often appear underlined and blue. Pictures and other graphic images can also be links to other pages. Exploring the web using links is easier than typing URLs.

In this chapter, you use Edge to browse the web. To get the most out of browsing, you juggle multiple sites simultaneously and find out how to bookmark your favorite websites. You find out how to search for almost anything, make use of some nice features in Edge, and use the Reader app to examine a PDF file.

tip Edge is by no means the only browser. Microsoft invented Edge to coincide with the release of Windows 10. You are hereby encouraged to test-drive other, more established browsers, namely Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.org) and Chrome (www.google.com/chrome/browser).

Browse the Web with Edge

Open Edge by selecting its tile on the Start screen or its icon on the taskbar. Edge opens to the start page, as shown in Figure 6-1. This page presents websites and news stories that Microsoft thinks are of interest to you based on your browsing history. If you haven’t used Edge yet or haven’t used it very often, you don’t have a browsing history to speak of, and the websites and news stories you see here probably look quite tepid. (Later in this chapter, “Explore Edge Features” explains how to choose what web pages you see when you start Edge.)

tip When you start Edge, you may see an error message if you’re not connected to the Internet. If so, see Chapter 4 for information on connecting. See “Bookmark and Revisit Your Favorite Websites,” later in this chapter, for instructions about choosing a home page.

Note the address box at the top of the Edge screen (refer to Figure 6-1). In the address box, type www.dummies.com. As you type, search suggestions appear in a drop-down menu. Either select www.dummies.com in the search suggestions or press Enter. The web page for the Dummies Press appears, as shown in Figure 6-2.

tip If you don’t have a keyboard, see Chapter 1 for information on using the virtual keyboard.

Select a link on the page with a click or a tap. Where are the links? Just about everywhere. When you move the pointer over a link, it changes from an arrow to a hand — that’s how you can tell where the links are.

Select the back arrow (or press Alt+left arrow) to return to the preceding page. This arrow is located in the upper-left corner of the screen (refer to Figure 6-2). Select the back arrow to backtrack and revisit pages.

Select the forward arrow (or press Alt+right arrow) to move forward to the page you visited in Step 3. The forward arrow is next to the back arrow (refer to Figure 6-2). The browser remembers the pages you visit to make it easy to go forward and back.

tip To zoom in and make a web page look bigger, press Ctrl+plus sign. To zoom out, press Ctrl+minus sign.

Select the Add to Favorites or Reading List button in the upper-right corner of the screen. After you select this button, a panel appears, as shown in Figure 6-3. Select the Add button to add Dummies.com to your Favorites list. Later in this chapter, “Bookmark and Revisit Your Favorite Websites” explains how to go to your favorite websites by selecting sites on the Favorites list.

tip You can change the text in the Favorites panel before you select the Add button. However, there’s usually no need to change the text unless it’s overly long or unclear.

tip Browsing the web consists of entering addresses, following links, going forward and back, and revisiting your favorite websites. Relatively simple activities that can absorb hours.

Keep Edge open if you want to go on to the next topic in this chapter.

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Figure 6-1

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Figure 6-2

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Figure 6-3

Open Multiple Pages in Separate Tabs

Open Edge if it isn’t already open.

Go to the Google website at www.google.com. You can get there by typing www.google.com in the Address box and pressing Enter.

Select the New Tab button (or press Ctrl+T). This button is located to the right of the rightmost tab, as shown in Figure 6-4. top. The Where to Next? web page appears, as shown in Figure 6-4, middle. What’s more, a new tab (not coincidentally called New Tab) appears at the top of the screen.

On the new tab, enter www.dummies.com in the address box and press Enter. You open the Dummies website on the second tab, as shown in Figure 6-4, bottom. Now two websites are open in Edge. Google.com is open on the first tab; Dummies.com is open on the second. Notice the web page names on the tabs.

tip To close a tab, select its Close button (the X) or make sure that you are looking at the page you want to close and press Ctrl+W.

Select the first tab, the one with the name Google. You return to the Google website.

tip Browsing in multiple tabs allows you to keep one page open while visiting another, perhaps to compare information or to follow a different thought.

tip The keyboard shortcut for switching between tabs is Ctrl+Tab.

Select the X on the Dummies.com tab to close that particular tab. Close tabs when you want to reduce clutter and simplify switching between open tabs.

tip The keyboard shortcut for closing the current tab is Ctrl+W. (W? Long story.)

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Figure 6-4

Search for Anything

With Edge open, select the address box and then type travel. A list of websites with the word travel appears, as Edge attempts to match what you type with a page that you have browsed. (Ignore this list for this exercise, but take advantage of it later.) Select Bing Search on the right side of the address box or press Enter.

tip You can search the Internet from the Start screen without opening Edge. In the Search the Web and Windows box on the left side of the taskbar, type a search term. The Search panel lists items pertaining to the search term you entered, including ideas for web searches. Select a web-related item to search with Edge.

A search results page appears, as shown in Figure 6-5. The results come from www.bing.com , which is the default search engine for Edge. A search engine is simply a website that provides links to Web pages that match your search. (That definition, however, ignores the complex process going on behind the scenes.)

Scroll down the page of search results. Select any link you want to follow. If you get to the bottom of the page, select Next to see more search results.

tip Some of the “search results” are advertisements. In Bing searches, the results at the top of the page and the right side of the page are paid for. Be careful of these advertisements. They are designed to sell you something, not to provide information.

Return to the previous screen by selecting the back arrow (or pressing Alt+left arrow).

Select the address box and type travel new mexico (no capitals needed). As you type, potential matches for your terms appear in the drop-down list. If you see an item matching the search you want, select it in the list. Otherwise, press Enter.

tip Different search engines turn up different results. Other search engines include Google (www.google.com), Ask (www.ask.com), and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com). To use one of these search engines when exploring the web, enter its address in the address box.

Note the tabs at the top of the Bing page, below the search box. The first tab is Web, which contains the results you see by default. Additional tabs vary with the search. Select each of the tabs, which may include any of the following:

Images displays pictures matching your terms.

Videos displays clips and snippets related to your search terms.

Maps will help you get there.

News displays search results from recent news, instead of all the results of the broader web.

Explore presents a hodgepodge of feature articles and articles about how to use Bing.

Leave Edge open if you want to move on to the next topic.

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Figure 6-5

Bookmark and Revisit Your Favorite Websites

Open Edge, if it isn’t already open, and go to your favorite website on the Internet (or if you don’t have a personal favorite, go to mine: www.google.com/advanced_search). If you’ve spent any time on the Internet, you soon find websites that you want to visit again and again. Rather than memorize the addresses of these websites, you can add them to your Favorites list to make revisiting them quite easy.

Select the Add to Favorites or Reading List button (it’s shaped like a star). The Favorites panel opens, as shown in Figure 6-6. Use this panel to describe the websites you want to revisit, and store their names in the Favorites panel (you’ll take a look at the Favorites panel in Step 4).

Before selecting the Add button to add your favorite website to the Favorites list, consider doing the following:

Enter a shorter, more concise, more descriptive name in the Name text box.

Open the Create In menu and select a folder name to store the website in a folder. (Step 8 explains how to create folders of your own.)

To verify that the website you are currently visiting has been added to the Favorites list, select the Hub button, select the Favorites button in the Hub panel, and look for your website in the Favorites panel, as shown in Figure 6-7.

Select the Back button to go to the website you visited previously. This button is located in the upper-left corner of the screen. Next, select the Hub button and, in the list of bookmarked websites, select the website you bookmarked in Step 3 (refer to Figure 6-7). Your favorite website opens on the screen.

tip Don’t hesitate to bookmark a website that you expect to revisit. Unless you bookmark it, you might not be able to find it again.

tip To remove a website from the Favorites list, display the Favorites list, move your finger or the pointer over the website’s name, display the context menu, and select Remove.

The Favorites bar appears below the address box (I show you how to display it in Step 7). Merely by clicking or tapping a website name on the Favorites bar, you can go straight to a favorite website without having to open the Favorites panel. Go to a favorite website and select the Add to Favorites or Reading List button. The Favorites panel opens (refer to Figure 6-3). On the Create In menu, choose Favorites Bar and then select the Add button.

To display the Favorites bar, select the More Actions button and choose Settings on the drop-down menu. In the Settings panel, choose Show the Favorites Bar, as shown in Figure 6-8. Any website you really, really like is a candidate for the Favorites bar.

tip You can import your favorite websites from another browser. In the Settings panel (refer to Figure 6-8),select the Import Favorites from Another Browser link. Then, in the Import Favorites panel, select the Import button.

Select the Hub button and then select Favorites to open the Favorites panel (refer to Figure 6-7). From here, you can manage websites that you have deemed your favorites:

Reorder the websites and folders: Drag a website or folder up or down in the Favorites panel until it lands in the right place.

Remove a website (or folder): Display the folder or website’s context menu (right-click or touch it with your finger). Then choose Remove.

Create a folder: Display the context menu by right-clicking an existing folder or touching an existing folder. Then choose Create New Folder on the context menu, scroll to the bottom of the Favorites panel, and type the folder’s name.

Rename a website (or folder): Display the context menu, choose Rename, and enter a new name.

tip Folders can be a big help in organizing and finding bookmarks in the Favorites panel. If you’re the type who likes to bookmark websites, give some thought to creating folders to store your bookmarks.

Leave Edge open if you want to move on to the next topic.

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Figure 6-6

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Figure 6-7

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Figure 6-8

Explore Edge Features

Go to your absolute favorite web page so that you can pin this web page to the Start screen. Select the More Actions button (it’s located in the upper-right corner of the screen) and choose Pin to Start on the drop-down menu.

Close Edge and then go to the Start screen and select your favorite web page’s tile. By selecting this tile, you do two things at one time — you start Edge and open it to your favorite website. Isn’t that convenient?

Select the Hub button, and in the panel, select the History button. As shown in Figure 6-9, the History panel opens. This panel offers the means to backtrack to websites you visited in the past hour, the past day, or the previous week.

Scroll to the bottom of the History panel to delve into ancient history and see websites you visited some time ago. Select a website to open it in Edge.

tip To erase your browsing history and remove all web page names from the History panel, select the Clear All History link (refer to Figure 6-9).

Steps 3 and 4 demonstrated how Edge keeps track of web pages you visited, but what if you resent this kind of snooping? You can browse the web without letting Edge keep a historical record of the websites you visited. To browse in private, select the More Actions button and choose New InPrivate Window in the drop-down menu. Edge opens a second, “InPrivate” window, as shown in Figure 6-10. Websites you visit privately are not recorded in the History panel. Close the InPrivate window for now (or browse a while and then close it).

tip You can tell when you’re browsing privately because the word InPrivate appears in the upper-left corner of the Edge window (see Figure 6-10).

When you start Edge, you see the start page, which offers websites and news stories that Microsoft thinks you will like (refer to Figure 6-1). You can, however, decide for yourself what you want to see when Edge starts. Select the More Actions button and choose Settings on the drop-down menu. The Settings panel opens, as shown in Figure 6-11. Under Open With, tell Edge what you want to see first thing:

Start page: Contains websites and news stories that Microsoft thinks you will like based on your browsing history (refer to Figure 6-1).

New tab page: You see the Where to Next? Page with an address box and links to popular websites (refer to Figure 6-4).

Previous pages: You can see web pages that you were reviewing the last time you closed Edge.

A specific page or pages: Open the drop-down list and choose Custom. Then enter the address of the web page you want to see and select the Add button (the plus sign). You can enter more than one web page to open more than one when you start Edge.

Close Edge or proceed on your own to explore the Internet. May all your adventures on the Internet be happy ones.

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Figure 6-9

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Figure 6-10

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Figure 6-11

Work with the Reader App

Open Edge if it isn’t already open.

Type www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf in the address box and press Enter. A U.S. government web page opens, showing a W-4 tax form. You can read this form in the Reader app after you download it.

tip If you see the message Make Adobe Reader My Default PDF Application, select Cancel. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a program often used to open these documents on computers other than Windows 10.

Save this PDF file to your computer with one of these methods:

Right-click and choose Save As on the context menu.

Hold your finger on the screen until Save As appears on the context menu.

In the Save As dialog box, save the file to the Downloads folder and select the Save button.

Open the Reader app and select Browse on the Reader screen. In the Open dialog box, go to the Downloads folder, select the fw4 file, and tap or click the Open button. The W-4 form opens in Reader, as shown in Figure 6-12.

In Reader, select the app button in the upper-left corner of the screen and choose App Commands (or press +Z) to display the app bar (refer to Figure 6-12).

Select the Two Pages button on the app bar to display two pages simultaneously. Select One Page to see just one page at a time. Continuous displays the largest size text and less than one page at a time.

In the Reader app bar, select Find, which enables you to search a document for text. Type dependent and then select the magnifying glass or press the Enter key. Every instance of matching text is highlighted. Select Next or Previous to move through the document. Select Results to display a list of matching items in context (useful for long documents). Select Close to end the search.

Display the app bar one more time and then select More, which displays the following functions:

Rotate is useful if the document is not rotated correctly.

Info displays information about the document, including who created it and when, as well as the document length. Permissions indicate what functions are available, with printing being the most important.

To print this document, select Print. The Print dialog box opens. Select your printer and then select the Print button (or select Cancel). For information on installing (and using) a printer, see Chapter 13.

tip Some documents are quite long, requiring more than one page of paper. Be certain that you want to print.

Close the Reader app.

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Figure 6-12

Chapter 7

Emailing Family and Friends

Get ready to . . .

Use the Mail App

Write an Email Message

Format Email

Send Files and Pictures

Read and Respond to Incoming Email

Change Mail Settings

Add an Email Account to Mail

Email has largely replaced the notes and letters of previous centuries. Every day, billions of email messages circle the globe, conveying greetings, news, jokes, even condolences.

Email also provides a way to send and receive attachments, such as documents or photos. Who needs faxes or postcards?

The Mail app gives you access to email using your Microsoft Account. Your Microsoft Account can be associated with an email address from any email service provider, including Microsoft’s own Hotmail (www.hotmail.com), Live (www.live.com), Outlook (www.outlook.com), or Xbox (www.xbox.com). You can also use email services such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) and Gmail (www.gmail.com) without having a Microsoft Account. However, you have to access non–Microsoft Account email using a web browser or an app other than Microsoft’s Mail app. See Chapter 6 for information on browsing the web.

In this chapter, you use the Mail app for email. You compose, format, and send email, files, and pictures, You also discover how to respond to incoming email.

tip If you don’t have a physical keyboard, see Chapter 1 for information on using the virtual keyboard.

Use the Mail App

For email on Windows 10, select the Mail tile on the Start screen. The Mail app opens. If you’re not currently signed in using a Microsoft Account, enter your email address and password on the Sign In screen that appears and then select Sign In. (See Chapter 4 for information on creating a Microsoft Account.)

tip The first time you use the Mail app, you are invited to “add your accounts.” In other words, Windows 10 offers its help linking an email account you have to the Mail app. Select the Add Account button and follow the onscreen instructions for making an email account available to the Mail app. See “Add an Email Account to Mail,” later in this chapter, for more information.

When you start the Mail app, you land in the Inbox folder. If you haven’t used your Microsoft Account for email, you probably don’t have any messages in your Inbox folder. Who would have written you already? You may, however, see a message or two from Microsoft.

On the Inbox screen, select the Expand/Collapse button, as shown in Figure 7-1. The Folders panel expands and you can see the names of all your folders in the Folders panel. In the Mail app, email is kept in folders. The numbers beside the folder names tell you how many unread email messages are in each folder.

Select any of the following folders in the Folders panel and then select the Expand/Collapse button to return to the Mail panel:

Outbox: When you send email, it moves to the Outbox until it has been processed, which may be instantaneously. If you’re not connected to the Internet, email waits here until you establish a connection, and then it is sent.

Inbox: Email you have received but not moved elsewhere appears here, including both read and unread email.

Archive: The Mail app provides this folder for email that you want to keep on hand for archival purposes.

Drafts: As you compose email (next section), you can save your message as a draft until you are ready to send it.

Junk: Messages are moved here — either automatically or by you — instead of the Inbox, if they are suspected of being, well, junk. The more common term for unwanted email is spam. (It’s a long story.) You may want to check this folder occasionally to see whether a message was misfiled here.

Sent: Copies of the email you send are stored here, appropriately enough.

Trash: Self-explanatory? You can move deleted messages out of the Trash folder if you change your mind about deleting them.

tip You may see other folders in the Folders panel besides the folders described here. If you linked the Mail app to an email account with other folders, those folders are also listed in the Folders panel.

Proceed to the next section, “Write an Email Message.”

tip To search for stray email messages, select the Search button (refer to Figure 7-1). Selecting this button displays the Search box. Type the content you’re searching for in the Search box, such as a subject, sender, or something in the message.

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Figure 7-1

Write an Email Message

To compose an email message in the Mail app, select the New Mail button (it looks like a plus sign) in the upper-left corner of the screen. (It doesn’t matter which folder you’re in when you select this button.) The Compose screen appears, as shown in Figure 7-2.

In the To box, type an email address. If the Mail app recognizes the address because you’ve sent email to or received email from the person to whom you’re addressing your message, a pop-up box appears so that you can select the person’s address without having to type it. Press the Tab key, touch the screen, or use the mouse to move to the next option.

tip To send email to more than one person at one time, select the Cc & Bcc button (located to the right of the address line). Then type a recipient’s address in the Cc box (and the Bcc box as well, if you want to send a blind copy without revealing you’ve done so). (Once upon a time, CC stood for carbon copy, and then it became courtesy copy.) Technically, it makes no difference whether you use additional To addresses or the CC.

Enter a few words in the Subject box describing your message’s content or purpose.

Select below the Subject line. Type your message. Avoid all caps — purists consider caps to be SHOUTING! No need to press Enter as you approach the end of the line — this isn’t a typewriter.

tip Some people start a message with a salutation, such as Hi Peter, but many people do not. Some people sign email using their initials. Email can be as formal or casual as you choose to make it.

tip Words underlined with a red squiggle aren’t recognized by Windows 10 and may be misspelled. Right-click or tap and hold to see a pop-up menu, and choose Proofing on the menu. You see a list of suggested spellings. Choose the correct spelling if it is on the list. You can also go to the Options tab and select the Spelling button there.

When you’re ready to send the message, select the Send button (you’ll find it in the upper-right corner of the Compose window). If you decide not to send the message, select the Discard button.

tip Email you compose but haven’t sent yet is kept in the Drafts folder. You can postpone writing a message and finish it later by going to the Drafts folder and opening your message there. To go the Drafts folder, select the Show Folders button (if necessary) and then select Drafts in the All Folders panel.

If you select the Send button, your message is sent and you return to the folder you were in at the beginning of Step 1.

Repeat from Step 1 as needed.

tip Mail puts a signature at the bottom of email messages: “Sent from Mail for Windows 10.” If you don’t like this signature or want to put your own signature at the bottom of all the emails you send, select the Settings button on the bottom of the Folders panel. The Settings panel opens. Select Options, scroll to the Signature area of the Settings panel, and either turn off signatures or enter a signature of your own.

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Figure 7-2

Format Email

If you want to add bold, italics, or even color to email, select the text you want to fancy up in the Compose window, as shown in Figure 7-3. If no text is selected, your formatting will apply to the word in which the cursor (the blinking vertical line in the content) is located.

Mouse: Click and drag the mouse pointer over the text you want to select.

Touchscreen: Tap and drag over the text you want to select.

Keyboard: With the cursor at the beginning of the text you want to select, hold down the Shift key as you press the right or down arrow to select text. Release the Shift key only after you have completed your selection.

tip To apply formatting to one word, double-click or double-tap that word to select it and display the app bar in one step.

tip The keyboard shortcut to select all text is Ctrl+A. No mouse or touchscreen method is quite so complete.

Using the commands on the Format tab, select from the following formatting options:

Bold: Bold is used for emphasis to make text stand out.

Italic: Although italic can also be used for emphasis, it may be harder to read than normal or bold text.

Underline: Because links are usually underlined automatically, you may want to avoid underlining text that isn’t a link.

Font Formatting: Open this drop-down menu to change the font, font size, or color of text. The menu also offers the means to highlight, strike-through, superscript, and subscript text.

List: Choose Bullets or Numbering to create a list.

Styles: Choose a style from the drop-down menu. A style applies many formats simultaneously. Heading 1, for example, enlarges the text and turns it blue.

tip See Chapter 1 for information on using the virtual keyboard’s emoticons.

tip To create a hyperlink, go to the Insert tab and select the Link button. Then enter the address destination of the hyperlink in the Address box that appears. See Chapter 6 for more information about hyperlinks.

When you finish formatting the text, select the Send button.

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Figure 7-3

Send Files and Pictures

To send a file or picture with your email message, go to the Insert tab. As shown in Figure 7-4, the Insert tab offers tools for sending files and pictures.

Select the Attach button to send a file. The Open dialog box appears. Locate and select the file you want to send and then select the Open button in the dialog box. You can send more than one file with an email message. In the Compose window, files you want to send appear as thumbnails under the heading “Attachments” (see Figure 7-4). Click the X button on a file if you change your mind about sending it.

To send a picture with an email message, place the cursor where you want the picture to be. Then select the Pictures button on the Insert tab. The Open dialog box appears. Select the picture and then click or tap the Insert button.

tip You can format pictures before sending them. Click or tap a picture to select it in the Compose window. The Picture tab appears. Using the tools on this tab, you can rotate, crop, and resize pictures.

When you have finished attaching your files and pictures, select the Send button to send them on their merry way.

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Figure 7-4

Read and Respond to Incoming Email

On the Start screen, select the Mail tile. The Mail app opens to the Inbox folder.

Select a message under the Inbox heading. The content of that message appears to the right, as shown in Figure 7-5.

tip To make sure that the Mail app displays all the messages you’ve received at your email provider, select the Sync button. This button is located in the Folders panel to the right of the provider’s name (see Figure 7-5).

After you read the message, you can respond to or forward it if you want. Select the Reply or Reply All button to reply; select the Forward button to forward the message. Selecting any of these buttons starts a new message (refer to Figure 7-2) that includes the text of the original message. The subject line is automatically RE: [the original subject] (in the case of replies) or FW: [the original subject] (in the case of forwarded messages). Complete your message and select the Send button.

tip Reply All sends your response to all the other recipients, if a message is addressed to more than one person. The Reply option sends your response only to the sender. Select Forward to send the selected message to someone else. You can add your own text or remove portions of the forwarded message in the process.

tip See the sections “Write an Email Message” and “Format Email,” earlier in this chapter, for more information on composing an email message.

Select any message in the Inbox category. Note the following options for managing messages:

Delete: Use this option to delete the message.

Set Flag: Use this option to place a flag icon next to the message in the Inbox so that you remember to deal with the message later on. You can swipe right to flag a message.

Mark Unread/Read: Use this option if you want the message to appear unread (marked with a horizontal blue line in the Inbox). Some people do this with messages they want to deal with later.

Move: Use this option to move the selected email from one folder to another. To access the Move option, select the More button, the three dots on the right side of the toolbar. After you select Move on the More drop-down menu, select a folder in the Move To panel to move your email.

tip If you add email accounts from providers such as Gmail, you may see additional categories or options. See the section “Add an Email Account to Mail” at the end of the chapter.

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Figure 7-5

Change Mail Settings

In Mail, display the Settings panel, shown in Figure 7-6. To display the Settings panel, display the Folder panel and select the Settings button (you’ll find it in the lower-right corner of the Folder panel). The Settings panel appears on the right side of the Mail screen.

Select Accounts to open the Accounts panel.

On the Accounts panel, select the email account with settings that need a change. The Account Settings dialog box appears (see Figure 7-7, left).

Negotiate the Account Settings dialog box and select the Save button:

Password: Enter the password of your email account here so that you don’t have to enter it each time you collect email from the account.

Account Name: The name of the email service provider. You can change this, if you want. I might use Peter’s email.

Change Mailbox Sync Settings: Click or tap here to open the Sync Settings dialog box (see Figure 7-7, right) and change how and when the Mail app collects email. Skip to Step 5 if you choose this option.

Delete Account: Deletes the email account. The Mail app is no longer associated with the account after you delete it.

In the Sync Settings dialog box (see Figure 7-7, right), choose settings and select the Done button:

Download New Email: If you don’t want email constantly streaming into your Inbox, you can change this setting to every 15 or 30 minutes, Hourly, or Daily.

Download Email From: You can limit how far back to download messages to your computer. This setting isn’t relevant in a new email account.

Your Name: Enter the name under which you want your emails to be sent.

Sync Options: Turn this setting to Off only if you don’t want to the Mail app to receive email from the account.

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Figure 7-6

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Figure 7-7

Add an Email Account to Mail

If you have another email address, you can add it to Mail. For example, follow these steps to add an existing Gmail account to Mail. In Mail, display the Settings panel (refer to Figure 7-6) and then select Accounts.

In the Accounts panel, select Add Account.

tip Many people have more than one email address. Your Internet service provider probably gave you an email account, and you may have another through work or school. However, this feature isn’t for everyone.

In the Choose an Account dialog box, select the service with which you have an email account. If your service doesn’t appear here, select Other Account. If you have a Gmail address (or you just want to see what’s next), select Google.

On the Connecting to a Service screen, enter your Gmail address and password in the appropriate boxes. Then select Sign In. Select the Back button if you don’t want to continue.

The next screen informs you how your Gmail account will connect with the Mail app. Scroll to the bottom of this screen and select the Accept button.

Select Yes in the Remember to Sign-In Info screen so that you don’t have to enter your password when you download emails from Google. The name of your newly created account appears in the Accounts panel. Select the Done button in the All Done screen.

Select the Accounts button on the Folders panel, as shown in Figure 7-8. The Folders panel shows you the names of your accounts. You can switch to a different account by selecting its name in the Folder panel.

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Figure 7-8

tip See the preceding section, “Change Mail Settings,” for the steps to review or change settings for your newly added account.

Chapter 8

Exploring Apps for Your Daily Life

Get ready to . . .

Add Contacts to the People App

Delete a Contact

Add a Birthday or Anniversary to the Calendar

Search and Explore with the Maps App

Improve Your Health with the Health & Fitness App

Track Stocks and Bonds with the Money App

Tweak Quick Status Settings

This chapter describes a handful of apps that the average Joe or Jane might use every day. It shows how to store contact information — names, email addresses, phone numbers, and the like — in the People app so that you can find this information quickly. You also use the Calendar app to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, and other events.

This chapter delves into the Maps app, showing you how to use it to get directions and to look up hotels and restaurants when you’re on the go. You see how the Health & Fitness app can make you healthier and fitter, and how you can track stocks and bonds with the Money app.

Finally, this chapter demonstrates how to make the Lock screen indicate whether you’ve received email.

Add Contacts to the People App

On the Start screen, select the People app.

If you haven’t signed in already using your Microsoft Account, the Sign In screen appears. Enter your Microsoft Account email address and password, and then select Sign In.

tip You need a Microsoft Account to use Mail, Calendar, and People. When you sign in to one, you’re signed in to all three apps. See Chapter 4 for information on creating a Microsoft Account.

What you see first in People depends on whether the app found contact information associated with your Microsoft Account. You may see familiar names or an invitation to connect to other services. For now, add one new contact manually. (You connect to other services later.) Display the New Contact screen by selecting the New Contact button, as shown in Figure 8-1.

Much of the information on the New Contact screen (shown in Figure 8-1) is optional. Enter the information that you want access to throughout Windows 10, not just in the People app. (For example, think about what you want to access in Mail.) You can enter any person’s name and information you want, but let me suggest the following:

Save To: Ultimately, you may link multiple accounts using the People app. Which account do you want this new contact associated with? For now, only one option may be available.

Name: Enter the contact’s full name.

Personal Email: Select Personal Email and notice the three email categories — Personal, Work, and other — on the pop-up list. Choose a category and enter the contact’s email address.

Mobile Phone: Select Mobile Phone and note the many categories of phone numbers — Home, Work Company, and so on — on the pop-up list.

Note the following buttons with plus signs. Select each in turn to see the available options. Add data as you please:

Email: Add up to two more email addresses.

Phone: Add up to seven more phone numbers!

Address: Add up to three mailing addresses.

Other: Options include Job Title, Significant Other, Website, and Notes, a box for free-form notes.

When you’re done, select Save to add this contact (or select Cancel to throw away the new contact). The added contact appears on your list of contacts. Select the person’s name to see his or her contact information, as shown in Figure 8-2.

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Figure 8-1

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Figure 8-2

tip Select the Edit button (it looks like a pencil) to edit a contact’s information. After you select the Edit button, the Contact screen appears so that you can edit away.

Delete a Contact

Open the People app if the People app isn’t already open.

In the Contacts list on the left side of the screen, select the name of the contact you want to delete. Especially if your list of contacts is a lengthy one, it pays to go through the list from time to time and delete the names of people you are no longer associated with.

tip On the People screen, select a letter or type a name in the Search box. Selecting a letter scrolls the contact list to names with the letter you selected. After you type a name, press Enter to search. Matches appear on the left. Select the person whose contact details you want.

Select the More button, shown in Figure 8-3. Selecting this button opens a drop-down list.

Select Delete on the drop-down list.

In the dialog box that asks whether you really want to do it, select the Delete button (refer to Figure 8-3).

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Figure 8-3

Add a Birthday or Anniversary to the Calendar

To see the calendar and add events, open the Calendar app from the Start screen, as shown in Figure 8-4. You may see events and appointments from services you connected to in People or Mail.

On the Calendar app bar located along the top of the screen (refer to Figure 8-4), select each of the following formats:

Day: This format displays a single day with a box for each hour. Select arrows near the top of the screen to scroll back or forward one day at a time. Scroll up and down to see more hours in the day.

Work Week: The current work week (Monday through Friday) appears. As with the Day format, scroll up and down to see different hours and use the arrows to move forward or back a week at a time.

Week: The current week appears. Scroll or use the arrows to go from hour to hour or week to week.

Month: The current month appears in the classic month layout. (Depending on the size of your screen, you may have to scroll to see this format.) Today is highlighted with a different color. Use arrows near the top to move forward and back a month at a time.

tip Select the Today button on the Calendar app bar to go immediately to today’s date on the Calendar.

The Calendar offers two ways to add an event, the short-but-cursory way and the slow-but-thorough way:

Short but cursory: Click or tap the day on which the event is to occur (in the Month format) or the hour and date on which it is to occur (in the Day or Week formats). You see the pop-up window shown in Figure 8-5. With luck, this little window is all you need to describe the event. Type the event’s name, and if it isn’t an all-day event, deselect the All Day check box (if necessary) and use the start time and end time menus to describe when the event starts and ends. You can also type the event’s location. Select the Done button when you finish describing the event (or select the More Details button to open the Details screen and go to Step 4).

Slow but thorough: Select the New Event button (refer to Figure 8-4). The Details screen appears, as shown in Figure 8-6. Move on to Step 4.

Under Details, enter or (or change) any of the following data for the event:

Event Name: Describe the event in one to three words. The description you enter will appear on your calendar.

Location: If listing the location will help you get to the event on time, by all means list it. The location, like the event name, appears on the calendar.

Start and End: Select the calendar icon, and on the pop-up menu that appears, choose the day on which the event begins and then the day on which it ends.

Hours/All Day: If this isn’t an all-day event, deselect the All Day check box, if necessary. Then use the drop-down menus to describe when the event will occur.

tip If the event is one that recurs, you can schedule it on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis on the calendar. Weekly staff meetings, birthdays, and anniversaries are examples of recurring events. Select the Repeat button on the app bar along the top of the screen to schedule a recurring event. Then, using the Repeat options that appear in the Details screen, describe how often the event occurs, when it occurs, and when it will cease occurring.

Event Description: Describe the event in detail if you think it’s necessary. Should you wear the tux or zoot suit? The ball gown or the formal dress? This is the place to record your thoughts on the matter.

Optionally, use the commands on the app bar at the top of the screen to further describe the event:

Show As: Choose an option on this menu if you share your calendar with someone, such as a receptionist, who may schedule you for other events. You can declare yourself free, tentative, busy, or out of the office.

Reminder: How far in advance of the event do you want Calendar to display a notification? Choose None, 5 Minutes, 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes, 1 Hour, 1 12 Hours, 1 Day, or 1 Week.

Private: Select this option to prevent this event from appearing on a shared or public calendar. The event remains visible on your own screen.

When you’re done, select the Save & Close button. (Select the left-pointing arrow beside the word Details if you don’t want to create an event.)

On the calendar, your event appears on the specified date and time.

To edit an event, select it on the calendar. The Details screen opens. Add or change any detail.

tip To delete an event, open it in the Details screen and select the Delete button select the Delete button (a trash can).

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Figure 8-4

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Figure 8-5

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Figure 8-6

tip If your Microsoft Account is connected to a third-party service such as Gmail, events from that service appear on your calendar. Display the Settings panel and select Accounts. You see a list of accounts. Select the account, and in the Account Settings screen, select Change Mailbox Sync Settings. Then, on the Sync Settings screen, choose whether to sync the calendar on the third-party service with the calendar you see on the Calendar screen.

Search and Explore with the Maps App

Select the Maps app on the Start menu to open the Maps app. Use this app to locate places and to get driving or walking directions.

Select the Menu button to expand the app bar and get a better idea of what the options for searching and exploring are. Then, on the app bar, select Search. The Search panel appears, as shown in Figure 8-7. It lists items you already searched for, if you searched already. You can select an item on the list to revisit it.

Type de young museum in the Search box. As you type, options appear in the Search panel. Select the de Young Museum in San Francisco. As shown in Figure 8-7, the Maps app shows you where the de Young Museum is located; it also provides some information about the museum.

Select the Zoom Out button (or press Ctrl+minus sign) on the app bar in the map. Then select the Zoom In button (or press Ctrl+plus sign). The tools on the app bar can help you read the map better (refer to Figure 8-7).

In the Maps app bar, select Directions. With the cursor in the From box, select de Young Museum in the search results to enter the de Young Museum in the From box. In the To box, type haight-ashbury and then select Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California in the search results. The Maps app gives you driving directions between the two locations and tells you how long the drive will take. Rather than enter a search term, you can enter street addresses if you know the address of the place you want to go.

Are you walking, not driving? In that case, select the Walking icon at the top of the Search panel to get directions for walking between the two locations.

tip Select the Print icon in the search results to print the map and directions that are currently onscreen.

On the app bar, select Search and then select Restaurants in the Search panel. You see a list of restaurants on the map, as shown in Figure 8-8. You can select the name of a restaurant to find out more about it. You can select the word Directions under a restaurant name to get directions for going there.

Select the Back button as many times as necessary to retrace your steps through this little tour of the Maps app. You can always select the Back button to backtrack and go to the previous screen.

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Figure 8-7

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Figure 8-8

Improve Your Health with the Health & Fitness App

Select the Health & Fitness app on the Start menu. This app aims to improve your health and well-being. It offers exercise regimes, advice about eating well, a means to self-diagnose illnesses, and methods for tracking your diet and workouts.

Select the Show Options button in the upper-left corner of the screen, and choose App Commands from the drop-down menu. You see the app bar shown in Figure 8-9 along the top of the screen.

Using the app bar, select buttons to explore the Health & Fitness app. See whether any of this stuff interests you:

Exercises: Fashion an exercise regime by choosing what type of exercises you want to do, how strenuously you want to exercise, and what parts of your body you want to exercise.

Workouts: Describe the type of exercise you want to do and what you want to focus on, and then choose a workout — a series of exercises designed to fulfill your exercise goals.

Nutrition A–Z: Read about different kinds of diets and look into reference materials pertaining to food.

3D Human Body: Educate yourself about the human body and how it works, as shown in Figure 8-10.

Symptom Checker: Point and click to describe symptoms of ill health, discover what is causing the symptoms, and explore treatment methods.

Trackers: Get help tracking your workouts, your diet, and your general health.

Articles: Read articles pertaining to health and fitness.

[picture]

Figure 8-9

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Figure 8-10

Track Stocks and Bonds with the Money App

Select the Money app on the Start screen. As shown in Figure 8-11, top, the Money app offers opportunities to research financial markets, investment opportunities, and much else pertaining to the root of all evil. Select the Show Options button to display the option names on the app bar.

Select Markets on the app bar to go to the Markets screen and get a summary of recent activity in the world’s leading stock markets.

Select Watchlist on the app bar to open the Watchlist screen, as shown in Figure 8-11, middle. From here, you can maintain a list of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to track their performance.

On the Watchlist screen, select Add a Favorite (the plus sign). On the Add to Watchlist screen (see Figure 8-11, bottom), type the ticker symbol or name of the security you want to track, and then select an option from the list that appears. The stock, bond, or fund you select is added to the watchlist, and you return to the Watchlist screen.

To investigate the performance of a security, select its name in the Watchlist (select the name of the security you’re most interested in). A screen similar to the one in Figure 8-12 opens. From here, you can take a hard look at the security to see whether it’s worth keeping or investing in.

Select the Pin to Start button. Selecting this button places a tile for this security on the Start screen. Open the Start screen now and look for the security you just “pinned.” You can click the security’s tile to open Money to the screen where the security’s performance is tracked. Pin a security to the Start screen when you’re keen to know how it’s performing.

tip To remove a security from the Start screen, return to the screen in Money where it is tracked and select the Unpin from Start button.

Close the Money app (or rummage around a while longer to see what else it has to offer).

[picture]

Figure 8-11

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Figure 8-12

Tweak Quick Status Settings

Quick Status settings appear on the Lock screen to show you what’s what. To change these settings, open the Start screen and select Settings. On the Settings screen, select Personalization. On the Personalization screen, select Lock Screen.

tip See Chapter 3 for information about the Lock screen settings.

Scroll to the bottom of the Lock screen settings to the Choose Apps to Show Quick Status item, as shown in Figure 8-13.

Some apps can display quick status information on the Lock screen. For example, Mail displays the number of unread messages in the Mail app. To add an app to the Lock screen, select one of the plus signs and choose an app name on the pop-up menu.

To change one of the current apps, select its icon and then choose a different app on the pop-up menu.

To remove an app from the Lock screen, select it and choose Don’t Show Quick Status Here on the pop-up menu.

Return to the Start screen.

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Figure 8-13

Part III

Having Fun with Windows 10

webextra Visit www.dummies.com/extras/windows10forseniors for information about storing files on OneDrive, uploading files to OneDrive, and downloading files to OneDrive.

Chapter 9

Exploring the Microsoft Store

Get ready to . . .

Explore Apps and Games by Category

Search for an App or Game by Name

Install a New App or Game

Examine Your Apps and Games

Rate and Review an App or Game

Add Billing Information to Microsoft Store

You can do many things with Windows 10, such as send email, browse the web, play games, and look at photos and videos. You can read the news and chat with family and friends. All these functions and more involve computer programs. Back in the day, such programs were called applications. Now, we call them apps.

Windows 10 comes with a few apps installed, such as the Weather and Travel apps. (See Chapter 2 for information on using these two apps and apps in general.) To obtain other apps — free or otherwise — you use the Microsoft Store.

To install an app from the Microsoft Store, you need a Microsoft Account. See Chapter 4 for information on setting up a Microsoft Account.

Microsoft tests and approves all apps in the Microsoft Store. For quality and security reasons, you can install Windows 10 apps only from the Microsoft Store.

In this chapter, you peruse the apps and games in the Microsoft Store, including those already installed on a new machine. You install a new game, discover how to manage the apps and games you own, and see how to rate and review an app or game. Finally, you find out how to make sure that the Microsoft Store can receive payments in case you want to buy an app or game.

Explore Apps and Games by Category

On the Start screen, select the Store tile.

Look over the Store home screen, as shown in Figure 9-1. The home screen shows top-rated and free apps and games, as well as apps and games that Microsoft thinks you will be interested in based on your previous purchases, if you made any. Notice the navigation bar along the top of the screen (see Figure 9-1). It offers five choices: Home, Apps, Games, Music, and Movies & TV. Wherever your travels take you in the Store, the navigation bar appears along the top of the screen so that you can return to the home screen or redirect your search for apps, games, music, or movies and TV shows.

tip You can also navigate in the Store by selecting the Back button in the upper-left corner of the screen. Selecting this button returns you to the previous screen you were looking at.

Select Apps on the navigation bar to go to the Apps screen, and then scroll toward the bottom of the screen. As you scroll downward, you see the familiar categories — apps that Microsoft recommends for you, top free apps, best-rated apps, and so on. If the apps in a category interest you, you can scroll the apps in the category to the left to see more of them:

Mouse: Click the arrow button on the right side of the category.

Touchscreen: Swipe to the left.

At the bottom of the Apps screen, you see the categories shown in Figure 9-2. Now you’re getting somewhere. These categories are very useful for finding apps that are worth installing on your computer. Take a moment to look over the app categories:

Books & Reference: Read and research.

Business: Analyze business data.

Developer Tools: Make your software work better.

Education: Study the stars, languages, or piano, or prep for the SAT.

Entertainment: Check out apps that don’t fit the other categories, such as those for drawing.

Food & Dining: Locate eateries, as well as rate and review restaurants.

Government & Politics: Learn more about the government and its workings.

Health & Fitness: Want to get in shape? There’s an app for that.

Kids & Family: Discover family-activity apps and apps for children.

Lifestyle: If you think entertainment is a vaguely defined category, check out lifestyle.

Medical: Get medical information.

Multimedia Design: Be creative with photos and video.

Navigation & Maps: Get there faster.

News & Weather: Keep current.

Personal Finance: Track your spending and investing.

Personalization: A catchall category if ever there was one.

Photo & Video: View, edit, and share photos and videos.

Productivity: Send email and create schedules.

Security: Keep your computer and data safe.

Shopping: Put the world’s catalogues at your fingertips.

Social: Connect to friends and family.

Sports: Follow your favorite sport or team. (Yeah, cricket!)

Tools: Manage your computer.

Travel: Get you there and back.

Utilities & Tools: Check out apps for your computer.

You may see other categories, as well.

tip Is the app you want educational or entertainment? Will it make you productive or is it a tool? The category to which an app is assigned is determined by the app developer. In some cases, it’s not clear why an app is in one category and not another. So it goes.

Select the Education category. As shown in Figure 9-3, a Browse screen with educational apps appears. In the Refine list on the left side of the screen, select Top Free to see apps you can install for free. Then select Best-Rated to see apps that users have given the highest ratings. The Refine options are there to help you find apps. They are available wherever you travel in the Store app.

Select Games on the navigation bar and scroll to the bottom of the Games screen. You pass the familiar “top-rated” and “top free” categories. On the bottom of the screen are categories you can select to browse by category. The Games screen works just like the App screen.

Return to the Store home screen using one of these methods:

Back button: Click or tap the Back button as many times as necessary to return to the home screen. This button is located in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Navigation bar: Select Home on the navigation bar (refer to Figure 9-1).

tip Did you see an app you want to acquire as you completed these steps? If so, skip to “Install a New App or Game,” later in this chapter.

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Figure 9-1

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Figure 9-2

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Figure 9-3

Search for an App or Game by Name

On any Store screen, click in the Search box. This box is in the upper-right corner of the screen, as shown in Figure 9-4.

Type mahjong in the Search box and press Enter. As shown in Figure 9-4, apps and games with the word mahjong in their names appear in the Results window. (If you scroll to the bottom of the Results window, you’ll see albums and songs pertaining to mahjong as well. Who would expect that?) The Results screen tells you how many apps and games match your search. After this initial search, you can turn the search in different directions:

Refine the search: Select Apps or Games in the Refine list to narrow the search results to apps or games.

Show all apps or games: Select a Show All link to see only apps or games on the screen.

Scroll the apps or games: Click a left arrow button or swipe to the left to scroll the apps or games horizontally.

Select Games in the Refine list to see games with mahjong in their titles, as shown in Figure 9-5. Notice that the Refine list has changed. Now you can select a category in the Refine list to narrow the search results to games in a particular category.

Scroll to Mahjong Deluxe in the search results. Then select this game on the Results screen, as shown in Figure 9-5.

Proceed to the next section, “Install a New App or Game,” or return to the home screen.

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Figure 9-4

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Figure 9-5

Install a New App or Game

In the Store, display the Mahjong Deluxe Free screen. (See the section “Search for an App or Game by Name” for details.)

The screen shown in Figure 9-6 appears. This (and any) game or app screen has lots of information. Start at the top:

tip The Back button (left-pointing arrow in a circle) next to the game’s name takes you back to the previously viewed screen.

On the top half of the screen, note the following:

The Install/Price button (don’t click it just yet), which lists the cost of the app or game

The average rating in stars (five stars is the best)

A description of the app or game

tip For more details about the app or game, select the More link below the description.

Screenshots that show what the app or game looks like onscreen

To read reviews by users, scroll down. You see the reviews that Microsoft deems most useful.

For additional information, including the age rating and the game or app’s category, scroll down to the bottom of the screen.

Select the Install/Price button (refer to Figure 9-6) to download and install Mahjong Deluxe Free. Because the game costs nothing, the button reads “Free.”

If you’re not already signed in, enter your Microsoft Account email address and password on the screen that pops up. Then select Sign In.

tip Many apps are free. Before you buy an app, see the section “Add Billing Information to Microsoft Store.”

tip If you purchase an app, you are buying a license to install that app on up to five machines using the same Microsoft Account. The Microsoft Store will track how many times and on which machine the app is installed.

The download indicator appears in the upper-right corner of the screen (refer to Figure 9-6) and a progress bar shows the game being downloaded and installed. When the installation is complete, This product is installed appears below the description of the game or app.

tip Installing an app may take a few seconds or a few minutes. You can do anything while an app installs — except use the app.

tip If you don’t see This product is installed, the app may still be installing. If after a few minutes you still don’t see this message, select the Install/Price button again.

To play Mahjong Deluxe Free or to use any game or app after you install it, select the Start button. You may see the recently installed app on the Start menu under Recently Added, as shown in Figure 9-7. If you don’t see it there, start your game or app the conventional way — by choosing All Apps on the Start menu and looking for the game or app in the alphabetical list (refer to Figure 9-7). If you haven’t used an app yet, the word New appears below its name, as shown in the figure. Select the game or app’s tile on the Start menu to open the game or app.

tip To play Mahjong Deluxe Free, select the Play button (the right-pointing triangle). Select Green Dragon to play. Choose the first game. Select uncovered tiles with matching symbols from any of the stacks onscreen to remove pairs of tiles. Have fun!

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Figure 9-6

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Figure 9-7

tip You can move the Mahjong Deluxe tile to the Start screen. See Chapter 3 for information on rearranging tiles on the Start screen.

Examine Your Apps and Games

To see which apps and games you have, select the User button. This button is located to the left of the Search box, as shown in Figure 9-8. A drop-down menu appears after you select the User button. This drop-down menu is the place to start when examining, updating, rating, and uninstalling apps and games.

Choose My Library on the User drop-down menu (refer to Figure 9-8). The Library screen appears, as shown in Figure 9-9.

Scroll to see which apps you have or select a Show All link to open a window that lists only your apps or your games. For each game or app, you see an icon, the name of the game or app, and its purchase date (even for free apps and games). Last, a downward-pointing arrow indicates whether the app or game has been successfully installed. If you don’t see this arrow, the app or game isn’t installed on your computer.

tip How can you have an app or game you haven’t installed? If you sign into more than one computer using your Microsoft Account, you might install an app or game on one machine but not another.

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Figure 9-8

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Figure 9-9

Rate and Review an App or Game

On the Library screen (refer to Figure 9-9), select the Mahjong Deluxe Free app. If you don’t have this app, see the section “Install a New App or Game,” earlier in this chapter, or substitute any app you have installed.

As shown in Figure 9-10, go to the Rate and Review This App section of the Mahjong Deluxe Free window and select the number of stars you want to give this game. (Select the first star on the left for the lowest rating, on up to the last star on the right for the highest rating.)

tip Every app and game has a Rate and Review option. You can also select Write a Review on the details screen for that app in the Microsoft Store.

tip You can rate or review only apps and games that you’ve installed, and you must be signed in with your Microsoft Account. To rate or review a preinstalled app or game, install the app or game to associate the app with your Microsoft Account.

The Write a Review screen appears (refer to Figure 9-10). In the Headline box, type a summary or overview of your comments, such as Great app or Needs work.

In the Tell Us box, say what you will, up to 500 characters, including spaces and punctuation. Be helpful, if possible. Select the Submit button when you’re done with your review (or Cancel to abandon your review).

tip Your comments may help another person decide whether to install an app. In addition, the app’s developer may use customer feedback to fix problems or add features.

tip Your Microsoft Account name and picture, if you have one — but not your email address — appear with your review.

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Figure 9-10

Add Billing Information to Microsoft Store

To add the billing information necessary to buy apps, select the User button (refer to Figure 9-8) and select Purchased on the drop-down menu. Your browser opens to your Microsoft Account and you land on the Payment & Billing page.

tip See Chapter 4 for information on creating a Microsoft Account.

Scroll through the screen to make sure that the information here is accurate. If you are not being billed to the correct credit card or you want to change the credit card to which you are billed, scroll to the bottom of the screen and select the View Payment Options link.

For security purposes, Microsoft asks you to enter your password on the next screen. Enter your password and select the Sign In button.

tip You may be asked on the next screen to verify who you are by submitting a security code. Provide the necessary information for Microsoft to contact you and select the Send Code button. After the code arrives by email or in a text message, enter it in the screen that asks for a security code.

Select a payment method and do the following:

Select your credit card type.

tip You must fill out all parts of this form except for Address Line 2.

Enter your credit card number in the box provided. Don’t enter dashes or spaces.

Under Expiration Date, select the month (MM) and year (YYYY) your card expires.

Enter your name as it appears on your credit card.

Under CVV, enter the three- or four-digit verification code from your credit card. (Select What’s This? for an illustration of the location of this code on your card.)

In the Billing Address section, do the following:

Enter your street address, city, state, and ZIP code.

Select your Country/region.

Under Phone Number, enter your area code in the first box and the remainder of your number in the second box.

When you’re ready to continue, select Next.

If any of your data is incomplete or invalid, the form remains onscreen. Look for indications of a problem. Review each entry before selecting Submit.

If your information was accepted, you return to the Your Account screen. Under Payment and billing info, note your credit card type, the last four digits of your number, and the expiration date.

Chapter 10

Taking Photos and More

Get ready to . . .

Take Photos (and Videos) with Your Computer

Choose Camera Settings

Copy Photos from Your Camera

View Photos with the Photos App

Print Photos Using the Photos App

Edit Photos Using the Photos App

Windows 10 makes enjoying digital photos easy. You can pick and choose photos to look at or display a group of photos in a slide show. You set a favorite photo to be your Lock screen background so that you see it every time you start Windows 10. In this chapter, you see how to do all these things.

If you have a printer, you can print photos for yourself or to send to someone. Even black-and-white prints of color photos may be nice.

Of course, if you want to take your own photos, nothing beats having a digital camera. Copy photos from your camera to your Pictures folder for viewing and sharing. Or use the Camera app with the built-in camera found in many laptops and tablets.

In this chapter, you use the tools that come with Windows 10 for working with and editing photos. You may want the additional features of a digital photo organizer and editing program. If so, check out Digital Photography For Seniors For Dummies, by Mark Justice Hinton (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) for detailed steps on organizing, editing, and printing photos as well as on using a digital camera.

Take Photos (and Videos) with Your Computer

Select the Camera app on the Start screen. If you don’t have a webcam, the app screen displays Please connect a camera. If you don’t have a built-in webcam, or the resolution of the one you have is too low, you can easily add a webcam. Simply plug the camera into your computer — it’s that easy.

tip You can choose from many good webcam models. Generally, get the highest video resolution you can afford, because you’ll probably use the camera for video chats. Consider the size of the camera, its attachment to your computer, and whether it has a microphone (you definitely need a microphone).

tip For instructions about opening apps such as the Camera app, visit Chapter 2.

The first time you use the Camera app, the screen displays Let Windows camera access your location? Select Yes to continue. (If you don’t want to continue, don’t choose No unless you never expect to use this app. Instead, simply switch back to the Windows desktop.)

The Camera app opens, and there’s a good chance you recognize the face staring back at you. Very likely the face isn’t wearing dark glasses like the debonair guy in Figure 10-1. To take a photo, smile and then click or tap the Camera button. You may hear a shutter click. Your photo is placed automatically in a folder called Camera Roll in the Pictures folder.

If you see a Change Camera option, select that option. Many tablets and laptops have two cameras, one that faces you and one that points in the opposite direction. Switch to the camera away from you when you want to use your computer for something other than a self-portrait. Take another picture — they’re free. Select Change Camera again to switch back to see yourself.

Select the Settings button located in the upper-right corner of the Camera window (refer to Figure 10-1). A panel appears with two options: Self Timer and Settings. Select Self Timer. The Self Timer panel opens. Choose a Delay option — 2, 5, or 10 seconds — to pause before photos are taken, and then select the check mark at the bottom of the window. You return to the Camera screen. Select the Camera button (refer to Figure 10-1) to take another photo. A countdown timer appears, giving you a few seconds to compose yourself. To turn off this feature, return to the Self Timer panel and select the X button (not the check mark).

Select the Video button (refer to Figure 10-1). Nothing happens until you click or tap the button a second time, at which point you’re in moving pictures. A counter indicates the length of the video. Short is sweet in video. You can speak, too. Click or tap the Video button to stop the video. As with photos you take with the Camera app, videos are saved initially in the Camera Roll subfolder of the Pictures folder. Select the Video button again to turn off the video function and return to taking still photos (with the next click or tap).

Leave the Camera app open to explore the Camera settings, which I explain next.

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Figure 10-1

Choose Camera Settings

If the Camera app isn’t open, open it now. Then select the Settings button located in the upper-right corner of the Camera window (refer to Figure 10-1). A panel appears with two options, Self Timer and Settings.

Choose Settings. The Settings panel opens, as shown in Figure 10-2. From here, you can tell the Camera app how to take photos and videos.

Under Press and Hold Camera Button, choose what happens when you hold down the Camera button rather than click or tap it. The Video option creates a video; the Photo Burst option creates a series of snapshots; the Disabled option turns this feature off.

Under Photos, decide how you want to take photos:

Aspect ratio: These options determine whether you shoot narrow (the 4:3 option) or widescreen (the 16:9 option) photos.

Framing grid: These options help you aim the camera. For example, the Crosshairs option places crossing lines in the center of the screen so that you know where the center of your photos will be.

Under Videos, decide how you want to take videos:

Video Recording: These options determine how many pixels appear in your videos across the screen horizontally and vertically. A pixel is one point of color. Suffice it to say, the more pixels in the setting, the larger the video screen is.

Flicker Reduction: These options reduce the flickering that can occur when video is taken under fluorescent light. Consider choosing an option other than Disabled if you are filming indoors. The 50 Hz (hertz) setting applies to the U.S. and Canada, where the AC (alternating electrical current) runs at 50 Hz; the 60 Hz setting applies to rest of the world.

Digital Video Stabilization: This option helps prevent blurring in videos. Turn it off only if you want blurring.

Return to the Camera app by clicking or tapping the Camera app screen.

Return to the Start screen. See the section “View Photos” to see and maybe edit the photos you just took.

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Figure 10-2

Copy Photos from Your Camera

If your digital camera came with a cable, connect that cable to the camera, connect the other end of the cable to a USB port on your computer, and turn your camera on. If your laptop or tablet has a built-in card slot, you can take the memory card out of the camera and insert it in that slot.

tip If your computer doesn’t have a built-in card slot, consider buying a small memory card reader that plugs into your computer and works with your camera’s memory card. You don’t need a multicard reader, just a reader with a single slot the size of your camera card. I consider a card reader more convenient than using a cable.

tip The techniques described here for importing photos from a camera also apply to videos. Follow these steps as well to copy videos from your digital camera to your computer.

Windows 10 detects your camera and may briefly display a notification indicating Tap to choose what happens with this device. If you’re quick enough to tap or click this notification, Windows 10 displays your choices, as shown in Figure 10-3. Select Open Device to View Files, if that option is available, to open File Explorer to the photos on your camera, as shown in Figure 10-4 (top). Then skip to Step 4. If you didn’t catch the notification in time or you didn’t see the notification, continue to Step 3 to import photos another way.

tip See Chapter 3 for information on increasing the time a notification remains onscreen.

Select the File Explorer icon on the taskbar to start File Explorer. Then look for and select your camera in the Folders panel on the left side of the screen (refer to Figure 10-4, top). Your camera is located under This PC in the Folder pane.

tip See Chapter 14 for detailed information about using File Explorer.

In File Explorer, select the photos you want to copy from your camera to your computer. Depending on your camera setup, the photos may be in a subfolder (refer to Figure 10-4, top). Use these techniques to select the photos:

Hold down the Ctrl button and click or tap photos to select them individually.

Press Ctrl+A to select all the photos in a folder.

Copy the photos you selected so that you can paste them into a folder on your computer. Use one of these techniques to copy the photos:

Press Ctrl+C.

On the Home tab in File Explorer, select the Copy button.

In File Explorer, select the folder where you want to copy your photos.

tip If you want to be able to view and edit your photos with the Photos app, select the Pictures folder or one of its subfolders, as shown in Figure 10-4 (bottom), and copy the photos there.

tip Organizing photos can be a challenge. If you dump more than a few dozen photos into the Pictures folder without using folders, finding a specific photo later will be difficult. Using folders with unintelligible names doesn’t help, either. Most of my folder names are based on the year and month (such as 2015–06) or the subject, such as Luke the Lovehound.

Paste the photos into the folder you selected in Step 6. Use one of these techniques:

Press Ctrl+V.

On the Home tab in File Explorer, select the Paste button.

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Figure 10-3

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Figure 10-4

tip If you often import photos from a digital camera or memory card, you can speed the process by telling Windows to open File Explorer immediately when you attach your camera or memory card to your computer. On the Start menu, choose Settings and type autoplay in the Find a Setting box. In the Search Results panel, select AutoPlay Settings. The AutoPlay window opens, as shown in Figure 10-5. In the Memory Card and Camera sections, choose Open Folder to View Files (File Explorer).

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Figure 10-5

View Photos with the Photos App

To see photos on your computer, select the Photos app on the Start screen. The Photos screen opens to the Collection window, as shown in Figure 10-6. It shows the contents of the Pictures folder (and its subfolders) on your computer. Your screen will look different.

If you don’t see any pictures, skip to one of the following sections:

If you have a digital camera, see “Copy Photos from Your Camera.”

If your computer has a built-in camera or a webcam, see “Take Photos with Your Computer.”

tip The Photos app shows photos you keep on OneDrive. To decide for yourself whether to show photos from OneDrive, select the Settings button. The Settings window opens. Turn off the Show My Photos and Videos from OneDrive option. Chapter 15 explains OneDrive.

If you see pictures, scroll down to see more photos. Photos are presented by the dates on which they were taken.

tip You can take a screenshot — a picture of the current screen — by pressing +Print Screen. (A touchscreen or mouse equivalent is not available.) The screen dims slightly to indicate the capture, which is stored automatically in the Screenshots folder in your Pictures folder. Use this technique to create your own documentation of problems or something you want to see again later.

Select any photo to display it in the Photos app window, as shown in Figure 10-7. Scroll through the photos by selecting an arrow on the left side (to go back) or right side (to go forward) of the screen or by clicking or tapping the right edge or left edge of the screen. You can also press the PageDown key (forward) or PageUp key (back).

Click or tap anywhere on your photo to display the app bar (see Figure 10-7). Select the Slide Show button. The photos appear in succession. Stop the slide show by clicking or tapping a photo.

tip Select the More button on the right side of the app bar to see names on the buttons. Selecting this button also displays some new commands — Copy Print, Set As Lock Screen, and File Info. By selecting File Info, you can see each photo’s name, when it was taken, and its file size.

Zoom in and out on a photo using one of these methods (repeat to zoom in or out more):

Mouse: Click the plus sign in the lower-right corner to zoom in. Click the minus sign to zoom out.

Touchscreen: Touch two fingers on the screen. Move your fingers apart to zoom in. Pinch your fingers closer together to zoom out.

Keyboard: Press Ctrl+plus sign (actually, press the equals sign — no need to press the Shift key) to zoom in. Press Ctrl+minus sign to zoom out.

tip Zoom in to see part of a photo made larger.

tip Use the Delete button in the app bar to delete a photo. See Chapter 14 for information on undeleting files.

Select the arrow on the left side of the app bar to return to tile view. In this view, you can see more than one photo.

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Figure 10-6

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Figure 10-7

tip The Photos app offers many options for editing photos. See the section “Edit Photos Using the Photos App,” later in this chapter.

Print Photos Using the Photos App

In the Photos app, select one photo using a click or tap to display the photo at full screen.

Click or tap near the top of the screen to display the app bar, and then select the More button on the right side of the app bar (refer to Figure 10-7).

Select Print. The Print window appears, as shown in Figure 10-8. Select your printer.

tip If you have a printer but it doesn’t appear in the list, you may not have selected a photo or you may have two or more photos selected. The Photos app doesn’t have an option for printing more than one photo at a time.

Select a printer. Note the preview. Select the Print button.

tip Here’s a handy keyboard shortcut that works in any app: Press Ctrl+P to open the Print window straightaway.

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Figure 10-8

Edit Photos Using the Photos App

You can use the Photos app to change a photo, including making it smaller. In the Photos app, click or tap one photo for full-screen viewing.

Display the app bar (refer to Figure 10-7). The right side of the app bar offers tools for editing photos: Enhance, Edit, and Rotate.

tip Sometimes when you import photos from a digital camera, they arrive askew because the photographer turned the camera the wrong way when shooting. You can correct this error by selecting the Rotate button. Selecting this button turns the photo by 90 degrees. Keep selecting the button until the photo turns right-side-up.

tip The Photos app touches up your photos automatically. This is why the Enhance button is selected automatically on the app bar. To see what your photo looks like without being auto-enhanced, deselect the Enhance button. If you prefer that your photos not be auto-enhanced, return to the Collection window of the Photos app, select the Settings button, and turn off the Automatically Enhance My Photos setting.

Select the Edit button on the app bar. The Editing window opens, as shown in Figure 10-9. This window offers many tools for touching up photos. To edit a photo, select a retouching method on the left side of the screen and then choose options on the right side. For example, when you select Light on the left side of the screen, the right side offers commands for changing the Brightness, Contrast, Highlights, and Shadows in your photo.

Many photos can be improved by cropping, which involves cutting out distracting elements and keeping just part of the photo. You might crop a photo to concentrate on its most important part. To crop, make sure that the Basic Fixes method is selected on the left side of the screen and then select the Crop button. A box appears on the photo to indicate which parts will remain after cropping, as shown in Figure 10-10. To adjust the crop area, drag a corner of the box. As well, you can drag the photo itself to adjust the photo’s placement.

tip Selecting the right area can be awkward. To start over, select the Cancel button or press Esc.

Select Apply. The selected area is all that remains, as shown in Figure 10-11. If you crop a very small area, you may want to zoom in to see the results.

tip You can undo each step by selecting the Undo button.

If you want to save the changed photo, select the Save button.

Besides cropping photos on this screen, you can adjust the brightness and color of your photograph, as well as apply special effects. Select Light, for example, and you can adjust the brightness and contrast.

Using the Filters method, you can take advantage of preset edits to photographs. After you select the Filters, filter presets appear on the right side of the screen. They offer the chance to change the light and color of a photograph in one fell swoop. Select the last preset, for example, to change your photo to black and white. Select Update Original if you want to save the edits you made to a photograph; press Esc or select Cancel if you decide not to keep your edits.

tip Windows Photo Gallery is a great tool for viewing, organizing, editing, and printing photos. Search the Store for the latest photo apps. See Chapter 12 for information on installing Windows Photo Gallery.

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Figure 10-9

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Figure 10-10

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Figure 10-11

Chapter 11

Enjoying Music and Videos

Get ready to . . .

Play and Copy Music from a CD

Listen to the Music App

Create and Manage Playlists

Watch Videos

Burn a CD

The term media on computers refers to something other than text. Audio and video are examples of media. Audio is a catchall term for music and other sound files, such as books on CD. Video includes files you can shoot with your digital camera as well as Hollywood blockbusters.

The delivery of music has come a long way from Edison’s wax cylinder or even vinyl LPs. Nowadays, music is entirely digital. The Music app lets you play your music collection and makes it easy to explore new music. Use Windows Media Player to play audio CDs, to copy audio files to your computer, and to burn songs onto a CD.

The Movies & TV app is similar to the Music app, but is for video instead of music. You can use either app to buy new media as well as play what you have.

In this chapter, you play a CD, copy CDs to the your computer for easier access, and burn a CD. You also explore the Music and Movies & TV apps.

tip You’ll need a different app to play DVDs. Search Microsoft Store for Media Center or for a DVD player app. See Chapter 9 for more information on Microsoft Store.

tip Popular alternatives for music or videos include Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, and YouTube. All these are accessible through the web browser. Search Microsoft Store for related apps.

Play and Copy Music from a CD

If you have a CD or DVD disc drive or slot on your computer, insert a music CD, label side up for horizontal drives. (Vertical drives are less predictable.)

Windows 10 detects your CD and may briefly display a notification indicating Tap to choose what happens with audio CDs. (You can also click the notification.) If you’re quick enough to tap or click the first notification, Windows 10 displays your choices, as shown in Figure 11-1. Select Windows Media Player and then skip to Step 5.

tip See Chapter 3 for information on increasing the time a notification remains onscreen.

If you missed the notification, go to the desktop and select the File Explorer icon (which looks like a folder) in the taskbar.

On the left side of File Explorer, select This PC and then select the drive below Local Disk C:. You may see the words Audio CD or DVD Drive.

On the Ribbon, select the Manage tab under Drive Tools. Then select AutoPlay. As shown in Figure 11-1, the notification from Step 1 reappears (and stays onscreen until you select something). Select Windows Media Player, unless the Music app is available, in which case select the Music app and skip to the next section.

If you see the Welcome to Windows Media Player screen, select Recommended Settings and then select Finish. The Windows Media Player plays your music. Switch back to the Windows desktop. The music continues to play.

tip Don’t confuse Windows Media Player with another Microsoft app called simply Media Player. Media Player is for playing audio, not copying audio files or burning audio files onto CDs.

For access to more options, select Switch to Library, a small button under the X in Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 11-2.

Note the following controls at the bottom of the Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 11-3:

Shuffle: Select this button to turn on shuffle, which randomly mixes the tracks you play. Select again to turn off shuffle, and the tracks play in the order in which they appear onscreen.

Repeat: Select this button to play all the tracks again after all have played. Select again to turn off the repeat function.

Stop: Select to stop playing.

Previous: Select this button to skip to the previous track. Select and hold to rewind to an earlier point in the track.

Play/Pause: Select the button with two vertical lines to pause play mid-track. Select the same button (now with a triangle pointing to the right) to resume playing from the point you paused.

Next: Select this button to skip to the next track. Select and hold to fast-forward through the track.

Mute/Unmute: Select this button to silence the player. Although the track continues to play, you won’t hear it. When Mute is on, a red circle with a slash appears next to the speaker icon. Select the button again to hear the track.

Volume: Drag the slider to the left to decrease or to the right to increase the volume of the track. Your speakers may also have a manual volume control. Windows 10 has a separate volume control in the taskbar, as well.

Now Playing: You select this button, which is located far to the right of the toolbar, to reduce the player to a small size (refer to Figure 11-2).

To copy the CD tracks to your Music library, select Rip CD.

tip Be sure to refer to this as ripping a CD around your younger friends. But not the youngest, because they think CDs are way passé and MP3s rule. (MP3 is an audio file format common to portable digital music players and music downloads.)

tip If you’re going to rip a lot of CDs, select Rip Settings⇒Rip CD Automatically and Rip Settings⇒Eject CD After Ripping. Just inserting the CD will copy files to your Music library as it plays the CD. Audiophiles should choose Rip Settings⇒Audio Quality⇒192 Kbps (Best Quality).

When the copying process finishes, remove your CD. To play this music in the future, start Windows Media Player and choose Artist, Album, or Genre under Music. You can also play anything in the Music library using the Music app. See the next section, “Listen to the Music App.”

tip Pin the Windows Media Player to the taskbar for easy access: Click the right mouse button over the icon in the taskbar, or tap and hold until a box appears and then release. On the menu that pops up, select Pin This Program to Taskbar. You can also search for Windows Media Player on the Start screen. See Chapter 2 for information on pinning apps to the Start screen.

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Figure 11-1

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Figure 11-2

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Figure 11-3

tip If your music CD doesn’t play automatically the next time you insert one, you can tell Windows 10 how to handle audio CDs. On the Start screen, click or tap Settings and then type play CDs on the Settings screen. In the Search Results panel, select Play CDs or Other Media Automatically. The Control Panel opens to the AutoPlay settings. Scroll to the CDs section, and on the menu next to Audio CD, choose Play Audio CD (Windows Media Player). Then select Save. Switch back to the Start screen. Remove your CD and then reinsert it. This method for changing AutoPlay may be helpful for other media types or devices.

Listen to the Music App

Select the Music app on the Start screen. The Music app home screen appears, as shown in Figure 11-4. The Music app enables you to play songs that you ripped (copied) from CDs, songs that you purchased from iTunes and other music purveyors, and playlists that you created from songs you own.

tip If you see Can’t sign in, you’re not connected through a Microsoft Account. You’ll still be able to do the steps in this section, though. You need to sign in only to buy music.

Initially, the Music app recognizes music files kept in these folders on your computer: C:\Users\Public\Music and C:\Users\ Your Name \Music. Maybe you keep your music files in other folders. To tell the Music app where your music files are, tap or click the Show Menu button to display menu options and select the Settings button (refer to Figure 11-4). In the Settings screen, select the Choose Where We Look for Music on This PC link. The Build Your Collection dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 11-5. Select the Add Folder button, choose a folder in the Select Folder dialog box, and tap or click the Add This Folder to Music button. Then select Done. Repeat these instructions to add all the folders where you store music files.

To find the song you want to hear, click the Show Menu button to display search options (refer to Figure 11-4). Now you’re getting somewhere. Choose an option to conduct your search and select any search result for the next step:

Search: Type the name of an artist, album, or song in the Search box. As you type, suggested matches appear below the Search box. For now, ignore these suggestions (but take advantage of them in the future to save typing). Instead, select the magnifying glass or press Enter. Search results appear.

Albums: A list of albums appears. Scroll to find an album.

Artists: A list of artists appears. Scroll to find an artist and select the artist’s name to view his or her songs.

Songs: A list of songs appears. Scroll to find a song.

tip If the search results list is a long one, you can narrow your search with the Filter and Sort options (refer to Figure 11-4). Filtering narrows the search results to songs on your computer, songs on OneDrive, and other criteria. Sorting arranges the results in alphabetical order, date-added order, or by genre, artist, or album.

Select a song or album in the search results. Note the following options (not all of which may appear on the current screen):

Play: Plays the song. Notice the controls at the bottom of the screen for pausing the song and controlling the volume (refer to Figure 11-4).

Play (Album): Plays the songs on the album, starting with song 1.

Add To: Opens a pop-up menu with playlists, and you can add the song to one of those playlists (see “Create and Manage Playlists,” the next topic in this chapter).

Explorer Artist: Opens a screen with other songs you own by the same artist. Click the back arrow to return to the Results screen.

tip You can listen to music as you conduct a search. To return to the song or album that is currently playing, select the Now Playing button.

Check the volume level on your speakers. Tablets and laptops often have physical volume controls — look around the edges. To adjust volume levels using Windows 10, select the Speakers icon on the right side of the taskbar. A volume slider appears, as shown in Figure 11-6. Slide the control to adjust the volume. Select the speaker icon on the right side of the slider to mute or unmute all sounds. Select anywhere in the Music app to dismiss the volume slider.

Switch back to the Start screen. The Music app continues to play. The Music tile on the Start screen displays the album art and title of the current song. Select the Music tile to return to the app.

Leave the Music app open if you care to discover how to create a playlist, the next topic in this chapter.

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Figure 11-4

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Figure 11-5

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Figure 11-6

Create and Manage Playlists

Create a playlist with the Music app to play your favorite songs — songs from different artists — one after the other. After you create the list, you select it in the Music app to play it. To create a playlist in the Music app, select the New Playlist button on the left side of the screen (refer to Figure 11-4). You see the Name This Playlist dialog box, shown in Figure 11-7. Enter a descriptive name for your playlist and select Save.

The Music App has buttons to add songs to a playlist. Next time you’re listening to a song or album and you think, “I like that song; it should be on a playlist,” do one of the following to add the song to a playlist, as shown in Figure 11-8:

Add a song: Select a song’s Add To button and select a playlist on the pop-up menu that appears.

Add all the songs on an album: Select the Add To button below the album name and select a playlist on the pop-up menu.

tip See “Listen to the Music App,” earlier in this chapter, if you need help finding and listening to music on your computer.

To play the songs on a playlist, select the name of the playlist on the left side of the screen. The playlist opens, as shown in Figure 11-9. Select the Play button to play the songs in order from first to last. Of course, you can select any song on the list and select its Play button to play it.

To change the order of songs on a playlist or remove a song, click or tap the Select button. This button is located on the right side of the screen (its name changes to Cancel after you select it; refer to Figure 11-9). Check boxes appear beside song names. Select a check box to select a song and then do the following to move or remove it:

Change the order of songs: Select one of the Move buttons to move the song higher or lower in the list.

Remove a song: Select the Remove from Playlist button.

Select the Cancel button (refer to Figure 11-9) when you finish rearranging the playlist.

tip To delete a playlist, open it. Then select the More button and select Delete on the pop-up menu.

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Figure 11-7

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Figure 11-8

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Figure 11-9

Watch Videos

Select the Movies & TV app on the Start screen. Microsoft designed this app for watching movies purchased at the Microsoft Store and for watching home-made videos. To watch videos, select the Videos button on the app bar. The Video screen appears, as shown in Figure 11-10. Use the Video screen to watch videos.

Unless you store your videos in the C:\Users\ Your Name \Videos folder, you don’t see any videos. You see the message “Tell us where to look for videos.” To tell the Video app where you store your videos, either select the Tell Us Where to Look for Videos link or select the Settings button (you’ll find it in the lower-left corner of the screen) and select the Choose Where We Look for Videos link on the Settings screen. You come to the Build Your Collection screen. Select the Add button, and in the Select Folder dialog box, select the folder where videos are stored and then select the Add This Folder to Videos button. Repeat these instructions to add all the folders where you store videos.

To play a video, select it on the Home screen. It appears in the video player screen, as shown in Figure 11-11. Along the bottom of this screen are controls for pausing, playing, and changing the volume level. Drag the slider below the video screen to rewind and fast-forward.

Select the Back button (refer to Figure 11-11) to return to the Movies & TV home screen.

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Figure 11-10

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Figure 11-11

Burn a CD

Burning a CD means to copy songs from a computer to a CD. Burn a CD so that you can play the songs on your car’s CD player or pass along your favorite songs to a friend. To burn a CD, start by opening Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 11-12.

tip Earlier in this chapter, “Play and Copy Music for a CD” explains Windows Media Player in detail.

Create a playlist so that Windows Media Player knows which songs to burn to the CD. To create a playlist, drag song titles from the music collection on your computer to Unsaved List on the right side of the screen (refer to Figure 11-12). Use these techniques to locate songs and enter them in the playlist:

Browse for songs: Select Artist, Album, or Genre on the left side of the screen. A list of artists, albums, or genres appears. Scroll the list and make a selection so that the song titles appear in the Title column. Then drag a song into Unsaved List.

Search for songs: Enter a search term in the Search box. Then make a selection so that the song titles appear in the Title column and drag songs into Unsaved List.

After you assemble the songs, drag their names up or down in the list to put the songs in the order you want.

Select the Save List button, type a name for the list (refer to Figure 11-12), and press Enter. The names of playlists you create appear under Playlists on the left side of the screen. To listen to a playlist, select its name and click or tap the Play button at the bottom of the screen.

tip You can edit a playlist. While the list is playing, drag to change the order of songs, place more songs on the list (follow Step 2), or remove songs from the list by right-clicking and choosing Remove from List.

After you create a playlist, you can burn it to a CD. With Windows Media Player open, insert a blank CD in your computer’s CD or DVD drive. Then select the Burn tab, as shown in Figure 11-13, and drag a playlist from the left side of the screen to Burn List on the right.

Note on the right side of the screen whether there is enough disk space to burn all the songs on the list, and if there is enough space, select the Start Burn button. It can take a few minutes to burn a CD. When the job is complete, your computer ejects the CD. I suggest playing it to see whether the songs copied correctly to the CD. While you’re at it, label the CD by writing on it with a felt-tip pen. Label the top of the CD, not the bottom.

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Figure 11-12

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Figure 11-13

Part IV

Beyond the Basics

webextra Visit www.dummies.com/extras/windows10forseniors to discover how to customize the Quick Access toolbar in File Explorer.

Chapter 12

Maintaining Windows 10

Get ready to . . .

Explore System Information

Check Your Security and Maintenance Status

Install a New Program on the Desktop

Remove Desktop Programs

Control Startup Apps

Speed Up Your Computer

Protect Your Computer with Windows Defender

Windows 10 is a bit like a car. To make it run well, you have to maintain it.

Windows 10 uses the Security and Maintenance screen to keep you informed of issues that pertain to your computer’s health. The screen divides issues into Security and Maintenance sections. The Reliability Monitor can help you pinpoint problems with hardware and software.

Machines such as toaster ovens aren’t getting any smarter. Your computer, however, can be programmed to do something it’s never done before. To make your computer capable of doing new things, you install new programs. On the other hand, your computer may have some programs that you’ll never use and wouldn’t miss. You don’t have to get rid of them, but doing so is easy enough and frees a little space on your computer.

In this chapter, you work with the Security and Maintenance screen to check your computer’s health status. You also install a program on the desktop and, optionally, uninstall one. This chapter also shows how to make your computer work faster by controlling the startup apps, defragmenting your hard disk, and deleting unnecessary system files. Finally, you discover how Windows Defender can protect your computer against spyware, viruses, and other foreign invaders.

Explore System Information

On the desktop, type system in the Search box. This box is located on the left side of the taskbar. The Search panel appears.

Select System-Control Panel in the Search panel. The System window shown in Figure 12-1 appears. This screen is chock-full of information and functions. Note each of the following areas onscreen:

Windows edition: Of course, you have Windows 10. However, Windows 10 comes in two primary editions: the Home edition, which you are likely to have, and the Pro edition, for computer professionals. You may find information here about so-called Service Packs, which are large collections of updates to Windows 10.

System: This section displays details about your hardware, including the processor, the amount of installed memory (RAM), and other details.

Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings: This information pertains to your network, if you have one. If a computer can’t connect to a network, the problem is often related to the name of the Workgroup (a network). The Change Settings function lets you change the Workgroup name to match other computers on the same network. See Chapter 14 for information on networks, including workgroups and homegroups.

Windows activation: In an effort to control software piracy involving bootlegged copies of Windows 10, each copy of Windows 10 must be activated. Odds are that you activated your copy the first time you started your computer. If you don’t see Windows is activated in this section, select the adjacent link.

tip Don’t be alarmed by the System information and options. If all goes well, you don’t have to use most of what you find here. Some familiarity with this screen will be useful, however, if all doesn’t go well later.

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Figure 12-1

Check Your Security and Maintenance Status

In the System window (refer to Figure 12-1), select Security and Maintenance in the lower-left corner. The Security and Maintenance window appears, as shown in Figure 12-2.

tip Another way to open the Security and Maintenance window is to type Security and Maintenance in the Search box on the Windows taskbar.

Note any message displayed under Review Recent Messages and Resolve Problems. Ideally, you see No issues have been detected by Security and Maintenance. If you see a message concerning a specific problem, select that message for more information.

Select the Security heading in the Security and Maintenance window. That section expands to detail security functions. Every option should display On or OK. Here’s a brief description of each item under Security:

Network Firewall: The firewall scans Internet traffic and blocks activity from programs that don’t have explicit permission to use Internet access. When you install a program that uses the Internet, you may be asked to approve the connection the first time. The safest practice is to reject online connections that you don’t initiate or recognize.

Virus Protection: Having virus protection for your computer is essential. Windows Defender provides antivirus protection, although you can install some other antivirus program.

Spyware and Unwanted Software Protection: If this service is on, you have basic protection from malicious software provided by Windows Defender.

Internet Security Settings: These settings pertain to your browser. The default settings may be adequate. To learn more, see the following tip.

tip I recommend Using the Internet Safely For Seniors For Dummies by Nancy Muir and Linda Criddle (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) as a guide for helping you deal with online security confidently.

User Account Control (UAC): This function notifies you of programs that try to make changes to your system and requires that you confirm any such changes. In particular, UAC lets you know when a program tries to run or install software that may be malicious. When in doubt, say No or Cancel to UAC messages.

Windows SmartScreen: This function blocks you from downloading programs, except through the Microsoft Store, as well as files capable of changing your system maliciously.

Microsoft Account: This one tells you whether your Microsoft Account is set up properly.

Select the Maintenance heading to see what that section includes. Functions under Maintenance consist of the following:

Check for solutions to problem reports: This setting is on, allowing Windows 10 to regularly check for solutions to problems it uncovers. (In Step 5, you will run the Reliability History report from this part of the screen.)

Automatic Maintenance: Your computer automatically performs critical updates, security scans, and diagnostics each day.

tip If your computer is in a guest room or bedroom, you may want to change the Automatic Maintenance setting to run maintenance tasks at some time other than the default 3:00 a.m. Your computer may actually wake up at that hour for maintenance (although, if your computer is connected to a power strip, you can turn off the power strip and prevent your computer from turning on automatically in the middle of the night). If the computer can’t run maintenance at the appointed hour, it will do so at the next opportunity.

HomeGroup: A homegroup is a network that allows you to share files and printers between two or more computers. See Chapter 14 for information on networks, including homegroups.

File History: See Chapter 15 for information on using the File History option, which is off by default.

Drive status: Drives are hard disks inside or attached to your computer. Your documents, photos, and Windows 10 itself are stored on one or more drives. Ideally, the drive status is All drives are working properly. See Chapter 15 for information on backing up and restoring files.

Device software: If a device on your computer needs a driver or other type of software to run properly, you are alerted here. Select Install Device Software to install the software.

tip The Security and Maintenance window is a troubleshooting tool, so you should check it if you have problems running Windows 10.

Under Check for Solutions to Problem Reports, select View Reliability History. As shown in Figure 12-3, the Reliability Monitor screen graphs your computer’s stability and indicates hardware and software problems, including those you may not be aware of. On this screen, red circles indicate critical events such as computer crashes; blue circles are information about software installation and updates; and yellow triangles indicate warnings about noncritical events (something that didn’t crash the computer). Select a day in the graph to display details in the lower portion of the screen.

tip Reviewing the Reliability Monitor screen helps you distinguish between a one-time glitch and a recurring or worsening problem.

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Figure 12-2

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Figure 12-3

Install a New Program on the Desktop

You can install software that you download from the web or from a CD or DVD for use on the desktop. (Windows 10 apps must be installed through the Microsoft Store.) In this set of steps, you install Windows Photo Gallery, my favorite free program for editing photos. To install Photo Gallery, open your browser and enter get.live.com in the address bar. (See Chapter 6 for information on using the Edge browser.)

tip If a website offers to install a program automatically, look at that suggestion with suspicion. It may be legitimate or it may be malevolent. Decline downloads from sources that you don’t know and trust already.

Select the Learn More link under Photo Gallery. On the Photo Gallery page, select the Learn More button.

On the Windows Essentials Download Options web page, scroll to and select the English (United States) link (or select the link that describes your favorite language).

Your browser displays a message at the bottom of the browser window, as shown in Figure 12-4. Select the Run button. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, select the Yes button to indicate that you want to download and install the program.

The Windows Essentials screen appears, as shown in Figure 12-5, top. Select Choose the Programs You Want to Install. On the Select Programs to Install screen, deselect everything except Photo Gallery and Movie Maker (one option), as shown in Figure 12-5, bottom. Then select Install.

tip Generally, if the installer for a program offers Express or Custom installation options, choose the Express option to let the installer set up the program without further input from you. The Custom or Advanced Settings option allows you to specify where to install the program and, perhaps, which parts of the program to install.

A moving bar indicates the progress of the installation, which should take a few minutes. On the screen that indicates installation is done, select the Close button.

tip Many programs try to connect to the Internet for updates during installation or when you run the installed program. The first time you run a program, you may be asked whether you want to register the program or configure some aspect of the program. Go with the default (assumed) responses, if you’re not sure.

To run Photo Gallery, go to the desktop, type photo gallery in the Search box, and select the Photo Gallery tile in the search results. The Service Agreement screen appears. Select the Accept button. Photo Gallery opens on the desktop. If you see the Sign In with Your Email Address screen, enter your Microsoft Account email address and password, select Remember My ID and Password, and then select Sign In. (Or select Cancel.)

As does the Photo app, Photo Gallery displays photos from your Photo Library.

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Figure 12-4

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Figure 12-5

tip To install a program that comes on a CD or DVD, insert the program disc into your computer’s disc drive or tray, label side up (or, if your computer has a vertical disc slot, insert the disc with the label side facing left). The AutoPlay dialog box appears. Select the option to run Install or Setup. User Account Control may ask whether you really want to run this program. (Windows 10 tries to keep you from installing software unintentionally by asking for confirmation.)

Remove Desktop Programs

Unlike Windows 10 apps from the Microsoft Store, desktop programs are installed and uninstalled directly through the desktop itself. To see which desktop programs are installed, open the Control Panel. Type control panel in the Search box (it’s located on the left side of the taskbar) and select Control Panel in the Search panel.

tip Most of the functions covered in this chapter are part of Control Panel, which presents many functions for tweaking your computer setup. A fast way to access Control Panel is to right-click the Start button and choose Control Panel on the pop-up menu.

In the Control Panel window (shown in Figure 12-6), under Programs, select Uninstall a Program. (You don’t have to uninstall anything; you can simply see what the option offers.)

The Programs and Features window lists desktop programs, not Windows 10 apps. Initially, these programs are sorted by name. You may want to see the date you last used each program because a program you haven’t used in ages may be a safe one to remove. (Otherwise, skip to Step 5.) Use one of the following techniques to display the date last used:

Mouse: Move the mouse pointer over any column heading, such as Name. Click the right mouse button.

Touchscreen: Tap and hold down on any column heading, such as Name. When a box appears around your fingertip, lift your finger.

On the context menu that appears, select More. In the Choose Details window (shown in Figure 12-7), select Last Used On and then select the OK button. The Last Used On column appears to the right of all the other columns.

tip Unfortunately, Last Used On may be blank. In fact, even if you just used Photo Gallery in the previous section, nothing appears in the Last Used On column.

To change a program, select it. For this example, select Windows Essentials, as shown in Figure 12-8. You don’t have to uninstall Photo Gallery, but if you do, you can follow the steps in the preceding section to reinstall it.

Select the Uninstall/Change button (it’s located above the list of program names). The Windows Essentials screen offers options to Remove One or More or to Repair All. Some programs offer the Change option to change the program as well. Repair or Change may be useful for a desktop program that you want to keep but isn’t running as expected. Select Remove One or More Windows Essential Programs or Cancel. If you select Remove, select Photo Gallery and Movie Maker on the next screen and then select Uninstall. (Your photos are not removed.)

If you uninstalled Photo Gallery or another program, it will no longer appear in the Programs and Features window or on the Start screen.

tip Just because you can uninstall a program doesn’t mean you should. You can simply ignore programs you don’t use. Look at a program’s name, publisher, and date installed to determine whether you actually use a program. You may recognize a program you installed recently, as opposed to one installed before you got your computer. If you find that it’s more productive to remove large programs than small ones, repeat Steps 3 and 4 to group by size.

tip Before you uninstall a program that you may want to reinstall later, make sure that you have a copy of it on a CD or DVD (or that you know where to download it from the Web again). You have no undo option when you uninstall a program.

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Figure 12-6

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Figure 12-7

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Figure 12-8

Control Startup Apps

Startup apps are applications that start running when you turn on your computer. You might be surprised by how many startup apps run in the background without your knowing it. Occasionally you install new software or download a program from the Internet and discover that it runs automatically whether you like it or not. Sometimes the number of startup apps slows the computer down. To see which apps start running automatically when you turn on your computer, start the Task Manager with one of these techniques:

Keyboard: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager on the blue screen.

Desktop: On the Desktop, enter task in the Search box and then select the Task Manager tile on the menu that appears.

Select More Details in the Task Manager window and then select the Startup tab, as shown in Figure 12-9. This is the list of applications that start when your computer starts.

Use one of these techniques to open your browser, go on the Internet, and find out what one of these startup applications does:

Mouse: Right-click an application and choose Search Online.

Touchscreen: Tap and hold down the name of an application. When a box appears around your fingertip, select Search Online.

Notice the Startup Impact column in the Task Manager. Applications with a high impact may be slowing down your computer. If you decide that one of these applications is unwanted or is slowing you down, disable it. (Don’t worry, you can enable it later on very easily, as I explain shortly.) Disable a startup application with one of these techniques:

Mouse: Right-click the application and choose Disable.

Touchscreen: Tap and hold down the name of the application and choose Disable.

tip To enable a startup application in the Task Manager (refer to Figure 12-9), display its shortcut menu and choose Enable. The Status column in the Task Manager tells you whether a startup application has been disabled.

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Figure 12-9

Speed Up Your Computer

Computers are like people — they tend to slow down with age. However, Windows 10 offers a couple of administrative tools that can make your computer work faster. To find out what these tools are, go to the desktop and type administrative tools in the Search box. Then select the Administrative Tools tile to open the Administrative Tools area of the Control Panel, as shown in Figure 12-10.

Select Defragment and Optimize Drives. The Optimize Drives screen opens, as shown in Figure 12-11. When you save a file, the new data you recently added gets placed on the hard disk wherever Windows 10 can find room for it. Consequently, a file is stored in many different places. If you’ve used your computer for a long time, files become fragmented — the bits and pieces are spread all over the disk and your computer has to work hard to assemble all the pieces to open a file.

Select the C drive and then select the Optimize button. Windows 10 optimizes your hard disk by moving the bits and pieces of files so that they are stored next to each other on the hard disk. It can take a few minutes or a few hours to optimize a hard disk, but no matter, because Windows 10 conducts this activity in the background and you can go on to do other tasks.

Return to the Administrative Tools screen (refer to Figure 12-10) and select Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 12-12. It tells you how much disk space you can make available on your hard disk by removing unnecessary files.

Select the types of files you want deleted, and then select the Clean Up System Files button. A message box appears as the files are deleted from your computer.

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Figure 12-10

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Figure 12-11

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Figure 12-12

Protect Your Computer with Windows Defender

In the Search box on the left side of the taskbar, type windows defender and then select the Windows Defender tile in the Search panel. The Windows Defender app opens to the Home tab, as shown in Figure 2-13. Windows Defender identifies and removes viruses, spyware, and other malefactors from your computer.

The Home tab tells you whether virus and spyware definitions are up to date. If they aren’t up to date, go to the Update tab and select the Update button.

tip If for some reason you want to turn off Windows Defender (and I can’t imagine why anyone would do that), select the Settings button. Doing so opens the Settings app to its Update & Security screen. From here, you can turn off the Real-Time Protection setting, which disables Windows Defender.

Windows Defender performs “quick scans” in the background each time you run your computer. From time to time, to make sure your computer is thoroughly clean of viruses and spyware, run a full scan. Choose the Full option on the Home tab and then select the Scan Now button (refer to Figure 12-13).

A full scan can take a long time as Windows Defender examines all the files on your computer for viruses and spyware. You can do other tasks on your computer while the full scan is running. If Windows Defender finds a bad actor, the file with the virus or spyware is quarantined so that it won’t harm your computer. When the full scan is complete, a screen like the one in Figure 12-14 appears. It tells you how many files were examined and whether “threats were detected.”

If “threats were detected,” go to the History tab, select the Quarantined Items option, and select the View Details button to see what the threats were. Then select the Remove All button to remove infected files from your computer.

Close Windows Defender.

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Figure 12-13

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Figure 12-14

Chapter 13

Connecting a Printer and Other Devices

Get ready to . . .

Trust USB Plug and Play for Hardware

See All Devices

Connect a Printer or Other Device

Access Device Options on the Desktop

Calibrate Your Touchscreen

Every computer has a screen. Most computers, other than tablets, also have a keyboard and a mouse or other pointing device. You can add a mouse to a laptop that lacks one or replace the keyboard or mouse that came with your computer. Add a printer or a scanner to extend your computer’s functionality.

For any hardware add-ons — which tech folk call peripherals — Windows 10 has a trick up its sleeve. Thanks to plug and play technology, which automatically identifies add-on devices, connecting new devices to your computer can be quite easy.

In this chapter, you explore the devices connected to your computer, as well as options available for those devices. You find out how to access devices connected to your computer and also calibrate a touchscreen to make it work better for you.

Trust USB Plug and Play for Hardware

You may find many kinds of add-on devices useful:

A printer lets you, well, print documents and photos. Your choices for printers include black and white versus color, and inkjet versus laser printer. A multifunction printer also works as a copier, scanner, and fax machine.

A digital camera captures photos that you can copy to your computer to enjoy and to share with others. See Chapter 10 for information on working with photos.

A scanner enables you to make digital images of old photos or documents so that you can view them onscreen.

An external hard drive stores backup copies of your files. See Chapter 15 for information on adding a hard drive to your computer.

An additional or replacement pointing device (your mouse is a pointing device), including a trackball or a pen with a tablet, may be more comfortable to use than what came with your computer. Switching between pointing devices helps you avoid repetitive stress. A wireless mouse eliminates the hassle of dealing with a cord. Some people like to add a mouse as an alternative to their laptop’s built-in touchpad.

A microphone is crucial for communicating by voice with your computer, through speech recognition, or with your friends over the Internet. A combination headset with microphone may produce the clearest sound.

A video camera (or webcam) is essential for video phone calls à la the Jetsons. See Chapter 10 for information on using a webcam.

The majority of these devices connect using USB (Universal Serial Bus) technology. When you connect a device to your computer using a USB cable to the USB port (see Figure 13-1), the device identifies itself to the computer. This identification process is called plug and play. Ideally, you connect your device, and it simply works.

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Figure 13-1

Windows 10 uses a device driver to communicate with an add-on device. The driver is really a program that tells Windows 10 how to run the device. When you connect a device, such as a printer, Windows 10 looks for a driver (in this case, a printer driver). That driver may be built into Windows 10, come on a disc that’s packaged with the device, or need to be downloaded from the Internet, either automatically by Windows 10 or manually by you.

tip Every computer has at least a couple of USB ports. Some are in the front, and others are in the back of the computer and harder to reach. If your computer doesn’t have enough ports, you can add more by buying a USB hub, which is a small box with two to four USB ports. If a port is hard to reach with a device’s cable, you can buy a USB extension cable. Office supply stores may have hubs and cables.

tip Bluetooth is a wireless technology for adding devices to your computer. If your computer has Bluetooth, you can use Bluetooth as well as USB to add some devices, especially a microphone or headset.

See All Devices

Choose Settings on the Start menu. The Settings window opens. Choose Devices to open the Printers & Scanners category of the Devices window, as shown in Figure 13-2, top. Note the printers and scanners (if any) that are connected to your computer.

Select the Connected Devices category in the Devices window, as shown in Figure 13-2, bottom, and scroll down the screen to see all your devices. Devices listed may include your monitor, speakers, headphones, keyboard, mouse, and more. Devices shared through your homegroup or network also appear here. For information on adjusting device settings, see the “Access Device Options on the Desktop” section, later in the chapter.

tip Some, but not all, devices display information below the device name. A network device may display Offline (not accessible) or it may display nothing if it is accessible. A printer may display Ready or it may display nothing if the printer isn’t ready.

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Figure 13-2

tip You are unlikely to need the Add a Device button because most devices are added automagically (that’s a word nerds like to use). However, if you select Add a Device, Windows 10 scans for additional hardware. No harm in doing so.

Connect a Printer or Other Device

Take your printer out of the box. Keep all the packing material together until you know you won’t need to return the printer. Arrange all the components for easy access. In addition to the printer, you’ll probably find ink cartridges or a toner cartridge, a power cable, and a CD with printer software. Read the setup instructions that come with your printer.

tip Some of these steps apply to other devices, such as a mouse, a webcam, or a microphone. Printers often have more packaging and require more assembly than other devices.

Remove all tape from the printer. Most printers ship with the print mechanism locked in place to prevent it from moving during shipping. Look for brightly colored tape, paper, or plastic indicating what you need to move or remove to release the print mechanism.

Put the printer within cable length of your computer. Insert the ink or toner cartridge before you turn on the printer for the first time. Place some paper in the paper drawer or tray. Connect the printer to the power supply. Plug the printer cable into the printer and into the computer.

tip Your printer may have come with a disc with a printer driver and other software. You don’t need that disc unless Windows 10 fails to correctly install a driver automatically.

Turn on the printer. You may see some informational messages as Windows 10 handles the configuration.

To confirm that your printer is installed properly, see the preceding section, “See All Devices.”

Access Device Options on the Desktop

For more control over device setup, enter devices and printers in the Search box on the taskbar. Then select Devices and Printers to display the window shown in Figure 13-3.

tip You can open the Devices and Printers window (see Figure 13-3) from the Connected Devices category of the Devices window (refer to Figure 13-2, bottom). To do so, scroll to the bottom of the Connected Devices category and select Devices and Printers.

The Device and Printers window shows the devices attached to your computer, including the computer itself, the display (or monitor), external add-on devices (such as a hard drive, flash drive, or memory card), and the mouse.

tip Most of these devices also appear in the Connected Devices category of the Devices app. However, you’ll find options under Devices and Printer that aren’t available in the Devices app, such as settings for devices.

tip Windows 10 automatically installs the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. This device doesn’t print but does create files that you can print later using a real printer. For example, if you’re in a coffee shop and want to print a web page or an email message, you can use this device and then open the file it creates when your computer is connected to a printer. (That file will open in Reader.)

Double-click or double-tap the device you want to examine. This action opens the device’s properties in a window with options or in a smaller box with limited information and options. (Older devices have more limited information.) Figure 13-4 shows information about a printer. When you’re finished reviewing the information or selecting available options, return to the previous screen using one of these methods:

If a small box is open, close it.

If a full-screen dialog box is open, select the back arrow or select Devices and Printers near the top of the window.

Display the context menu of options for your printer (or any device) using one of these methods: Click the right mouse button, or tap and hold until you see a small box appear under your finger and then release. Select Printer Properties from the context menu. (Oddly, the menu also has a separate Properties option — be sure to select Printer Properties instead.)

In the Properties window, select the Print Test Page button. Another window opens indicating A test page has been sent to your printer. Select Close.

tip If a test page doesn’t print, check that both ends of the cable are plugged in properly and make sure the printer is turned on. Try to print a test page again. For more help, contact the printer manufacturer or the store where you bought the printer, or search the Web.

tip If you’re having problems with any device, select the Troubleshoot option on the context menu to open a guided troubleshooting program that will walk you through options for resolving problems with the device.

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Figure 13-3

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Figure 13-4

tip The top of the Devices and Printers window has the Add a Device and Add a Printer button, but you need to use them only if Windows 10 doesn’t automatically detect and install your device. With USB and plug and play, most devices install automatically.

Calibrate Your Touchscreen

If you have a problem accurately selecting objects on your screen using touch, you can calibrate your screen alignment. In this case, calibrating means to help Windows 10 understand what constitutes a tap on the screen. On the Start screen, type tablet pc. Then select the Tablet PC tile in the Search results panel.

In the Tablet PC Settings window, select the Calibrate button, as shown in Figure 13-5. User Account Control may ask you to confirm that you want to run the Digitizer Calibration Tool. If so, select Yes.

tip If your touchscreen is badly calibrated, you may not be able to tap the Calibrate button. In that case, plug in a mouse to make the selection, and then continue using touch.

The screen displays lines around its perimeter, forming a box near the edge of the screen and a second box inside the first about half an inch from the edge. Lines connect these boxes near each corner. The result is 16 intersections. Starting at the upper-left corner, use your finger or a stylus to tap each intersection, which displays two short black lines forming crosshairs. As you touch each intersection, Windows 10 measures your touch and adjusts touch settings accordingly. After each touch is recorded, the crosshairs move to the next intersection to the right. (If the crosshairs don’t move, tap the previous intersection again.) As the crosshairs move, tap the highlighted intersection, left to right, down, and then left to right again. The process takes much longer to read about than to do.

tip If Windows 10 doesn’t recognize your touch, it won’t continue with the process. The screen says Right-click anywhere to return to the last calibration point. What if you don’t have a mouse? Tap and hold until you see the little box under your fingertip, and then release — that’s the touch equivalent of a click of the right mouse button.

After you have selected each of the 16 calibration points in turn, a box pops up asking whether you want to save the calibration data. Select OK unless you think something went wrong. In that case, select Cancel.

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Figure 13-5

tip It’s unlikely but possible that you can’t continue to the end of the process. If so, the screen says Press the Esc button to close the tool. What if you don’t have a keyboard? In that case, press and hold the Windows button (with the four-part Windows logo) on the tablet edge as you also press the power button, and then release both. On the next screen, select Task Manager. In the Task Manager window, select Digitizer Calibration Tool, and then select the End Task button. (Makes one yearn for an Esc key.)

Chapter 14

Organizing Your Documents

Get ready to . . .

Find a Misplaced File

Add a Location to Quick Access

Use File Explorer for Easy Access to Files

Create a Folder to Organize Your Files

Use Check Boxes to Select Files

Add the Undo Button to File Explorer

Move a File from One Folder to Another

Rename a File or a Folder

Delete a File or Folder

Get Back a File or Folder You Deleted

Create a Homegroup

Join a Homegroup

All the data inside your computer is stored on a disk. Your computer has a primary disk, formally called the internal hard drive. You may see this disk referred to as the C: drive. (The terms drive and disk are interchangeable.)

The contents of a disk are organized into individual files. When you save a document, you create a file on a disk. Many other files on the disk belong to the programs you use, including the thousands of files that make up Windows 10.

Disks also are organized into folders, which are containers for files. For its own files, Windows 10 has a main folder that contains dozens of other folders (called subfolders). Inside or below that user account folder, Windows 10 creates more folders to help you organize your files by type. For example, by default all your photos go into the Pictures folder, and all your documents go into the Documents folder.

In this chapter, you search for files and explore your disk, folders, and documents. You work with File Explorer as you create new folders to organize documents and move files from one folder to another. You also copy files from your hard disk to other disks to take with you or give to other people. File management is much more exciting than it may sound so far. Finally, this chapter explains how to create and join a homegroup so that you can share your files with others over a home network.

Find a Misplaced File

To search for a misplaced file, begin in the Search box. This box is located on the left side of the taskbar. Type the name of a document or photo you have on your computer. The search results panel appears, as shown in Figure 14-1.

Initially, the search panel shows settings, apps, files, websites, and web search opportunities in the search results.

tip If you don’t see the document or photo you want, narrow the list of items by selecting My Stuff or Web in the search panel (refer to Figure 14-1). My Stuff narrows the search to items on your computer; Web opens a web browser so that you can search the Internet.

To open a file, select it in the search results and select OK. If more than one application on your computer is capable of opening the file, you may see the How Do You Want to Open This File? dialog box, as shown in Figure 14-2. Select an application to open the file.

tip The How Do You Want to Open This File? dialog box offers a means of telling Windows 10 to always open files of a certain type with a particular application. In Figure 14-2, for example, the dialog box lists applications that can open JPG files (JPG is a type of graphics file). In this case, if I wanted to always open JPG files with the Photo Gallery app, I would select the Always Use This App to Open check box and then select Photo Gallery in the dialog box.

Close the app that opens the file by using one of these methods:

Click or tap the Close button (the X located in the upper-right corner of the screen).

Press Alt+F4.

tip Strictly speaking, if you find what you’re looking for, stop looking. (No extra charge for pearls of wisdom.) In this case, however, keep looking because doing so reveals important information about how files are organized and how you can take control of that organization.

On the desktop, select the File Explorer icon (the yellow folder) in the taskbar. File Explorer opens. Note the Ribbon, which is the collapsible toolbar at the top of the window, as shown in Figure 14-3.

tip On the Ribbon, tools are grouped by tabs, which in File Explorer consist of File, Home, Share, and View, as well as other tabs that appear based on the selection. Tabs are further divided into sections, labeled below the related tools. (Note, for example, the Clipboard section on the Home tab.) To expand the Ribbon, select the up arrow at the far right of the tabs. Collapse the Ribbon by selecting the down arrow. Select a tab to display its tools, regardless of whether the Ribbon is expanded or collapsed.

Select This PC on the left side of the File Explorer window, and then select the box labeled Search (probably followed by This PC), below the Ribbon and to the right. Type the same search term you used in Step 1. As you type, File Explorer displays any matching files, highlighting the text that matches. Figure 14-4 shows the results of a search on my computer using the search term sierra.

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

tip If the search results include too many files, making it hard to see the one you want, type more of the filename in the Search box. The number of matching files should decrease as you type more text in the box.

The focus of a search — where File Explorer searches — determines what files and folders are found. In Step 6, you selected This PC, making all the files on your computer the focus of the search. Accordingly, Windows 10 searched for files and folders throughout your computer. To change the focus of your search to the Pictures folder, select the Pictures folder in the Navigation pane. Then select the box labeled Search and enter your search term again. The search results focus on files in the Pictures folder.

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Figure 14-1

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Figure 14-2

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Figure 14-3

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Figure 14-4

tip You can use Search Tools in the Ribbon to refine a search, as needed. Start a search and then select the Search tab. In the section labeled Refine, select Date Modified and then select a time period ranging from Today to Last Year. Select Kind to limit the search to specific types of files. You can even select by size and other properties.

Add a Location to Quick Access

If you frequently access a specific location using File Explorer, you might want to add that location to the Quick Access section of the navigation pane for easy access. The Quick Access section is located at the top of the navigation pane. It lists folders in alphabetical order that you visit frequently. Windows 10 places some folders in the Quick Access folder list automatically, including the Documents folder and the Pictures folder.

Display the Quick Access folders. To do so, click or tap the right-pointing arrow next to Quick Access in the navigation pane, as shown in Figure 14-5.

Select a folder that you access frequently. For example, if you’re currently working on files you keep in a folder called My Work, select that folder in the navigation pane.

On the Home tab, select the Pin to Quick Access button (refer to Figure 14-5). The name of the folder you selected in Step 3 now appears in the Quick Access folder list. Notice the pin beside its name.

Select your folder in the Quick Access folder list. Next time you want to get to this folder, you can get there quickly by selecting Quick Access in the navigation pane and then selecting your folder.

tip To remove a folder from the Quick Access list, select the folder you want to remove. Then right-click the folder and choose Unpin from Quick Access on the shortcut list.

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Figure 14-5

Use File Explorer for Easy Access to Files

On the desktop, select the File Explorer icon in the taskbar if File Explorer is not already open. The right side of Explorer is called the content area. The left side of Explorer is called the navigation pane and contains folders. Explorer starts with its focus on your Quick Access and This PC folders, and on your C drive and Network drives (if your computer is connected to a network).

tip The keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer is +E.

On the left, select Music, then Pictures, and then Videos, while noting the files in the content area on the right. Many Windows 10 apps store files by default in the Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders. Select the Documents folder again.

To create a practice document that you can use in later sections, select the Home tab in the Ribbon. In the New section, select New Item and then select Text Document, as shown in Figure 14-6. (If you don’t see this option, make sure that the Documents folder is selected.) An empty text document is created and the words New Text Document are highlighted so that you can type a new name. Type practice file. (You’ll rename this file in a later section.) Feel free to repeat this step to create additional items for practice, such as Microsoft Word Documents or Bitmap Images.

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

Select the View tab in the Ribbon. In the Layout section, select each option, such as Extra Large Icons and Large, Medium, and Small Icons. If you see a downward-pointing triangle on the right edge of the Layout options, select that triangle to display even more options. Try them all, if you like.

tip Certain layouts are better for certain purposes. For example, photos are easier to recognize as Extra Large Icons than as a List. Figure 14-7 shows my documents using the Details view, which includes the date the file was modified.

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Figure 14-6

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Figure 14-7

tip The more time you spend in File Explorer, the more worthwhile it is to explore the Ribbon as you need it.

Create a Folder to Organize Your Files

In the File Explorer navigation pane, select the Documents folder.

On the Home tab, select the New Folder button. An icon for the new folder appears in the content area on the right, with the name New folder next to it and already selected (see Figure 14-8).

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

Type practice folder as the new name. Don’t move the cursor or mouse before you start typing. Your new text will replace the highlighted text automatically. Press the Enter key to make the new name stick. (If you have a problem naming the folder, see the “Rename a File or a Folder” section, later in this chapter.)

Open your new folder by double-clicking or double-tapping its icon. Notice that the content area is empty.

To return to the Documents folder, select Documents in the navigation pane.

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Figure 14-8

tip Don’t worry too much about creating folders, because the folders that Windows 10 provides may be all you ever need. As you accumulate more files, however, placing them into other folders can help you stay organized. In the Documents folder, for example, you might create a subfolder called Finances for files related to income, expenses, and investments, and another subfolder called Family for family-related documents. Which folders and subfolders to create and how to name them depends entirely on your own sense of order.

Use Check Boxes to Select Files

In File Explorer, you select files to move, copy, rename, or delete. You can add a check box to make selecting multiple files easier. In Explorer, select the View tab and then select the Options button. The Folder Options window appears. Select the View tab (in the Folder Options window, not in the Explorer Ribbon), as shown in Figure 14-9. Scroll through the Advanced Settings box until you see Use Check Boxes to Select Items, and then select that check box. Select the OK button.

Select the Documents folder (or any folder that contains more than one file). To select a file, click or tap the area to the left of the filename. (You won’t see the check box until you select it with a tap or a click, or hover over it with the mouse pointer.) Repeat to select additional files. If you want to deselect a file, select the check box again to remove the check mark. Close the window after you’ve seen how these check boxes work. Figure 14-10 shows two selected files.

tip If you want to select only a single file, you can select anywhere on the filename. You use the check box when you want to select more than one file at a time.

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Figure 14-9

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Figure 14-10

tip The Home tab has other methods for selecting. Select All does just what it says — selects all objects in a folder or library. Select None works similarly. Invert Selection switches the selection. For example, if I chose Invert Selection in the context of Figure 14-10, the two selected files would be deselected and all the other files would be selected. Sometimes it’s easier to select the files you don’t want and then invert the selection.

Add the Undo Button to File Explorer

You can add a button to File Explorer to undo an action, such as moving, renaming, or deleting a file. Above the Home tab, select the rather small down-pointing arrow to display the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list, as shown in Figure 14-11.

Select the Undo option from the drop-down list. The Undo button, which sports a blue arrow curving to the left, appears immediately to the left of the arrow you clicked in Step 1. You can undo most — but not all — actions in File Explorer by clicking or tapping this button immediately after the action. (Time isn’t the issue. You can do something and then undo it a year later if you don’t do anything in the meantime.)

tip The keyboard shortcut for undo is Ctrl+Z. This shortcut works regardless of whether the Undo button is on the screen.

tip You may be able to undo a series of actions by repeating the undo function.

Select the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button again. Note that you can also add the Redo button, which, as you would expect, undoes the undo. All the other options appear also on larger buttons on the Home tab, so you don’t need to add them to the Quick Access toolbar.

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Figure 14-11

Move a File from One Folder to Another

You can move files to organize them. For this exercise, select the Documents folder in File Explorer. Select one of your documents.

tip To move more than one file at a time, see the section “Use Check Boxes to Select Files.”

On the Home tab, select the Move To button, as shown in Figure 14-12.

If you see the location you want in the drop-down list, you can select that location. However, for practice, select Choose Location. A window opens, showing every possible location, as shown in Figure 14-13. Select Documents and then select the practice folder I tell you how to create in the section “Create a Folder to Organize Your Files,” earlier in this chapter. (You can also select the Make New Folder button and name that folder.) Finally, select the Move button.

tip Unless you move many files or large files, you may not see any indication that the move was completed.

In Explorer, select the folder to which you moved your file. There it is!

tip Note that the Copy To button in File Explorer works similarly, except that the original file stays where it is and a copy is created in the new location.

tip Use these same steps to move a subfolder from one folder to another. However, don’t move folders that Windows 10 creates.

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Figure 14-12

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Figure 14-13

tip You can move a file in a single step. Click and drag or tap and drag the file to the desired folder. When the file is over the folder, release the mouse button or lift your finger. Although this method can make moving easier, it can also make moving a file to the wrong destination easier. Double-check that the file ends up where you want it before going on to other things.

Rename a File or a Folder

You can change the name of any file or folder you create. (Don’t rename files in the Windows or Program Files folders.) For this exercise, select the Documents folder in File Explorer. Then select one of your files.

tip To rename more than one file at a time, see the section “Use Check Boxes to Select Files,” earlier in this chapter. On completion of the rename operation, the files you selected will share the name you provide; each file will have a unique number added to the name, starting with (1).

On the Home tab, select the Rename button. In the content area, the current name of the file or folder is selected, as shown in Figure 14-14. If you type anything while the text is selected, you erase the current name, which is convenient if the new name is completely different from the old name. If you want to keep most of the current name and edit it, select inside the name or press the left- or right-arrow key to move to the place in the name where you want to type new text.

Type the new name, which can be more than 200 characters long (although a dozen characters may be more than enough). You can capitalize letters and use spaces and dashes, but you can’t use slashes or asterisks, which Windows 10 reserves for other purposes.

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

When you’ve typed the new name, press the Enter key to finish the process.

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Figure 14-14

Delete a File or Folder

You can delete any of your files that you no longer need. (Don’t delete files in the Windows or Program Files folders.) For this exercise, select the Documents folder in File Explorer. Then select one of your files.

tip To delete more than one file at a time, see the section “Use Check Boxes to Select Files,” earlier in this chapter.

On the Home tab, select the X on the Delete button.

tip The keyboard shortcut to delete the selected file is the Delete key (surprise!).

A confirmation dialog box appears and asks whether you really want to delete the file, as shown in Figure 14-15. Here’s your chance to change your mind, if you want. However, for this exercise, select Yes in the dialog box to delete the file.

tip If you don’t see a confirmation dialog box like the one in Figure 14-15, tell Windows 10 that you want to see this dialog box when you delete files and folders. Select the bottom third of the Delete button to display the drop-down list and then select Show Recycle Confirmation.

Select another file, and then select the X on the Delete button. The Delete File confirmation window appears. This time, select No to cancel the operation.

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Figure 14-15

tip You can permanently delete a file, in which case it will not be sent to the Recycle Bin. Select the file, select the bottom of the Delete button, and then select the Permanently Delete option.

Get Back a File or Folder You Deleted

Normally, when you delete a file or folder, Windows 10 moves the object to the Recycle Bin. Objects remain in the Recycle Bin indefinitely, allowing you to restore something you deleted long after you did so. To open the Recycle Bin, go to the desktop and double-click or double-tap the Recycle Bin icon. The Recycle Bin opens, as shown in Figure 14-16.

If many files or folders are listed in the Recycle Bin window, type the name of the item you want in the Search box in the top-right corner of the window. If any files match what you type, they appear in the content area.

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

To restore a file or folder to its original location, select the file or folder in the Recycle Bin window. On the Manage tab, select Restore the Selected Items (refer to Figure 14-16). The selected file or folder returns to the folder it was in before it was deleted.

tip If Windows 10 needs disk space, it will automatically clear out the oldest files in the Recycle Bin first. If you want to get rid of everything in the Recycle Bin, select the Manage tab and then select Empty Recycle Bin. After you empty the Recycle Bin, you can’t undo your action.

tip Don’t select the Restore All Items button, because doing so puts every single item in the Recycle Bin back in its original location. Most of the files in the Recycle Bin are probably files that you really meant to delete. Choosing this command would be like dumping the trash can on your living-room floor to find a penny you threw away.

tip See Chapter 15 for information on backing up and restoring files.

[picture]

Figure 14-16

Create a Homegroup

On the Start screen, type homegroup. On the search results screen, select HomeGroup – Control Panel. This opens the HomeGroup screen in the Control Panel.

tip A homegroup is a simple network, which is a connection between two or more computers for the purpose of sharing resources, such as an Internet connection, files, printers, and storage. One user on a network creates a homegroup that other users join, if they choose. Users can share files stored in these folders: Pictures, Videos, Music, and Documents. They can share printers and other devices, as well.

Select the Create a Homegroup button and click or tap Next on the following screen.

For each folder and device that you want to share, choose Shared or Not Shared on the drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 14-17.

tip Folders and devices shared in the homegroup will appear in File Explorer and other places where you save or open files.

Click Next. The Use This Password screen appears, as shown in Figure 14-18. The password required by other users to join your homegroup appears in the box. When people want to join your homegroup, they need this password. “Write down this password,” the screen suggests.

Select the Finish button.

Open File Explorer. In the navigation pane on the left, select Homegroup and then select your name. You see items such as folders and printers that you share with the homegroup, as shown in Figure 14-19, top. If others have joined your homegroup, you see their names as well. You can select a name to see which items other members share with the group.

Select Homegroup in the navigation pane, as shown in Figure 14-19, bottom. Then select the HomeGroup tab if it isn’t already selected. This tab offers buttons for managing your homegroup:

Share Libraries and Devices: Opens the Sharing screen (refer Figure 14-17) so that you can redefine which folders and devices you share with the homegroup.

Change Homegroup Settings: Opens a Control Panel screen from which you can change the password, leave the homegroup, and choose advanced settings.

Start Troubleshooter: Starts a troubleshooter for fixing problems with the homegroup.

View Password: Shows you the homegroup’s password. Go here when someone wants to join the group and needs the password to do so.

tip To leave a homegroup, go to the Homegroup tab and select the Change Homegroup settings button. The Change Homegroup Settings screen opens. Select the Leave the Homegroup link. On the Leave the Homegroup screen, select Leave the Homegroup.

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Figure 14-17

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Figure 14-18

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Figure 14-19

Join a Homegroup

On the Start screen, type homegroup. On the search results screen, select HomeGroup – Control Panel. You come to the HomeGroup screen in the Control Panel. If the owner of another PC in your household has already created a homegroup, the screen tells you as much. It says that another person “has created a homegroup on the network.”

tip You can also join a homegroup by selecting Homegroup in the navigation pane of File Explorer.

Select the Join Now button and select Next on the following screen. You see the Share screen (refer to Figure 14-17). On this screen, declare which folders and which devices you want to share with others in the homegroup, and click or tap the Next button.

On the following screen, enter the password to the homegroup and then click Next. If all goes well, you are admitted to the homegroup, and you can select the Finish button.

tip The person who created the homegroup can give you the password. If that person doesn’t remember it, he or she can select the View Password button on the Homegroup tab (refer to Figure 14-19, bottom) to see what the password is.

Open File Explorer and, under Homegroup in the navigation pane, select the name of the homegroup you joined. The content area shows you the names of folders and devices shared by members of the homegroup. Select a folder or device to access it.

Chapter 15

Backing Up and Restoring Files

Get ready to . . .

Add an External Hard Drive or Flash Drive

Copy Files to or from a Flash Drive

Turn On File History

Restore Files with File History

Reset a Misbehaving Computer

Some of your files — photos and documents — are priceless. If you accidentally delete a treasured file, what can you do but cry? You can insure your well-being by creating copies of your documents and photos.

The best insurance involves storing copies of files on devices separate from your computer. Such devices include the following:

Flash drive and memory card: Carry your files when you’re away from your computer by storing them on a portable storage device. For example, you can store files on a USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive), which is about the size of a disposable cigarette lighter, or a memory card, which is the size of a postage stamp and is most often used in laptop computers and digital cameras. Common capacities for flash drives and memory cards range from 2 to 64GB.

tip A gigabyte (GB) of storage can hold thousands of files, but you’ll be amazed by how quickly you can fill that space.

External hard drive: This type of drive has a much higher capacity than a flash drive, making it ideal for backing up all your files — the best insurance. Affordable external hard drives range from 500GB to 3TB.

tip A terabyte (TB) of storage is equal to a thousand gigabytes, which should be enough room to back up everything on your computer.

Network drive: If your computer connects to a home network, you may be able to copy files to other devices on the network. For example, you can use a large-capacity network drive to back up files from more than one computer.

OneDrive: Your Microsoft Account comes with gigabytes of free storage in the cloud (on the Internet). Anything stored in OneDrive is duplicated on additional computers you log in to with the same Microsoft Account.

tip OneDrive provides storage but not a backup (duplicate). If you delete a file from OneDrive, any copies stored on linked computers are also deleted.

In this chapter, you copy files to a flash drive to transport between machines or as an ad hoc backup. You also use the Backup function, which automatically copies files as a backup. Consider this scenario: You write a letter to a friend and save it to your Documents folder. Later that day, you delete part of the letter and save it again, replacing the original document. The next day, you wish you still had the deleted text. The Backup function comes to your rescue because it saves versions of files; you can recover the latest version or an earlier version of a file. As I wrote this book, I saved it hundreds of times — the Backup function could save every version, allowing me to roll back to an earlier copy, to before I had made some big goof. (That’s purely hypothetical, of course.)

Finally, in this chapter you explore the Reset function, a tool you may need if you have problems with your computer. The Reset function reinstalls Windows 10 but preserves your personal data.

Add an External Hard Drive or Flash Drive

Before you attach a flash drive or hard drive to your computer, consider the following options that Windows 10 automatically offers for using the newly attached disk:

Configure This Drive for Backup uses the new drive for the File History function and is best suited to large-capacity drives, at least 500GB. See “Turn On File History,” later in this chapter.

Configure Storage Settings opens the Settings app so that you can configure the storage settings on your computer.

Open Folder to View Files displays the contents of the disk in File Explorer on the desktop. You select this option to copy files to or from the drive you’re attaching.

Take No Action dismisses the notification.

tip Notifications appear for the amount of time specified in PC Settings. If the notification disappears before you can select it, you can redisplay it by removing and then reinserting the drive or USB cable.

Locate an unused USB port on your computer. A USB port is a small rectangular slot on the front or back of a desktop computer or along any edge of a laptop or tablet computer. USB ports are often marked with a symbol that looks like a trident, as shown in Figure 15-1.

tip If a USB port is hard to reach, you can buy an extension cable from any office supply store. You can also buy a hub, which adds ports to your computer.

If you’re using a flash drive, insert it into the USB slot. USB fits one way only. If you’re using an external hard drive, plug it into a power source, if one is required, and then connect a cable to the USB port. Turn on the external drive, if it has a separate power switch. (Flash drives and some external hard drives don’t have separate power supplies or switches.)

Windows 10 displays a notification to Tap to choose what happens with removable drives. (You can click the mouse instead of tapping.) If you select the first notification, a list of choices appears, as shown in Figure 15-2. If you know which action you want to take, you can select that action. Otherwise, select Take No Action or wait until the notification disappears on its own.

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Figure 15-1

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Figure 15-2

Copy Files to or from a Flash Drive

To copy files or folders to a flash drive, insert the flash drive into one of your computer’s USB ports.

tip Laptops, like cameras, often have a slot for a memory card. Want to turn your memory card into a flash drive? Simply buy a device called a dedicated or single-purpose memory card reader. Strictly speaking, a multipurpose card reader also works, but multicard readers cost more and are often larger than single-card readers. In addition, a dedicated memory card reader doesn’t need a cable to connect a camera to a computer. You can just download your pictures to your hard drive from the card.

If Windows 10 displays a notification (refer to Figure 15-2) when you insert the flash drive or memory card, select Open Folder to View Files, which will open File Explorer on the desktop. If File Explorer doesn’t open automatically, go to the desktop and then select the yellow folder icon in the taskbar.

tip The keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer is +E.

In File Explorer, navigate on the left to the folder that contains the files you want to copy. See Chapter 14 for information on navigating in File Explorer. Select the folder.

On the right side of File Explorer, select the folder or file you want to copy. If you see a check box to the left of each object you want to copy, you can select each check box to copy multiple files simultaneously. (If you don’t see check boxes next to files, see Chapter 14 for information on enabling this function for file selection.)

tip To select every object on the right simultaneously, use the Select All button on the Home tab. You can also select the files you don’t want to copy and then use the Invert Selection button on the Home tab; deselected files become selected and vice versa. You can select files in other ways as well.

tip The keyboard shortcut to select all files in File Explorer is Ctrl+A.

In the Ribbon, select the Home tab and then select the Copy To button, as shown in Figure 15-3. Select Choose Location from the menu that appears.

tip You can move files if you want them gone from their original location. To do so, select the Move To button. Follow the remaining steps, but substitute the word Move for Copy.

In the Copy Items window, under the This PC heading, locate the flash drive or memory card. The drive will not be Local Disk (C:), where Windows 10 resides. You can spot it by looking for the word Removable. Select the removable flash drive or memory card to which you want to copy the files, as shown in Figure 15-4, and then select the Copy button. If the files copy quickly, you may not see any indication of progress; otherwise, a progress bar is displayed until copying is complete.

tip If you select your user name in the Copy Items dialog box, you may see OneDrive listed in the expanded list. Files you copy to OneDrive are automatically copied to the cloud and to linked computers.

If you copy a file that is already on the destination disk, the Replace or Skip Files window appears, as shown in Figure 15-5. (Perhaps you’re copying a newer version of a file you copied before.) Note the available options:

Replace the File in the Destination: Selecting this option replaces one file with another. Be certain that you don’t need the replaced file (as you might if you want to keep different versions of files).

Skip This File: Selecting this option does nothing with this file.

Compare Info for Both Files: Selecting this option opens another window in which you can select files on the left to replace those on the right, and select files on the right to keep. Selecting the same file on the left and right creates a second file with a number added to the name, such as my file (2). This option enables you to have the original and the new file.

Select one of the previous options. If you selected Compare Info for Both Files, select the files to replace or skip, and then select the Continue button. You may or may not see a progress indicator, depending on how quickly the files are copied.

Confirm that the copy worked by navigating on the left to the location you selected as the destination in Step 6. If the files are there, congratulations; you’re done. If not, try Steps 4 through 6 again.

Remove the flash drive or memory card you inserted in Step 1. You’re good to go.

tip If you have files or folders that you’d be devastated to lose, follow the steps in this task to create backup copies of those items on a portable storage device. Then keep that device in a safe place.

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Figure 15-3

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Figure 15-4

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Figure 15-5

tip To copy files from a flash drive or memory card, follow these same steps but select the flash drive in Step 3 and the folder or other destination to which you want to copy or move files in Step 6.

Turn On File History

To enable Windows 10 to create backup copies of your files, first make sure that an external drive such as a hard drive or flash drive is connected to your computer. Then select the Start button and choose Settings on the Start menu.

In the Settings window, select Update & Security. Then select Backup in the Update & Security window. A Back Up Using File History screen opens, as shown in Figure 15-6. Which screen you see depends on whether you have told Windows 10 where you want to keep backup copies of your files.

tip Another way to access the Back Up Using File History screen is to select Configure This Drive for Backup when you attach an external hard drive.

tip File History stores information on an external drive or a network location. After you turn on File History, it will automatically create copies of your documents and photos on the drive you identify. If you lose, delete, or change your mind about changes to a file, you can restore the backup copy created by File History following the steps in the “Restore Files with File History” section, later in this chapter.

If necessary, tell Windows 10 where to keep backup copies of your files. (If your screen looks like Figure 15-6, bottom, Windows 10 already recognizes where your backup drive is located; skip to Step 4.) Select the More Options link (see Figure 15-6, top), and in the Backup Options window, select See Advanced Settings. The File History window opens. It lists the external drives connected to your computer. Select the Turn On button. Then close the Settings app and repeat Steps 1 and 2 to return to the Back Up Using File History screen (see Figure 15-6, bottom).

Turn on the Automatically Back Up My Files setting (see Figure 15-6, bottom) if this setting isn’t already turned on. Windows 10 starts copying files to your hard drive.

Select More Options to tell Windows 10 which folders to back up and how often to back up the folders. The Backup Options screen opens, as shown in Figure 15-7. By default, Windows 10 saves copies of files every hour, but you can change this and other file history settings, as follows:

Back Up My Files: This option controls how frequently File History checks for new or changed files. I recommend that you select Every 10 Minutes to minimize the chances of losing new or changed documents.

tip When you go on vacation, consider disconnecting the external drive and storing it in a fireproof safe or a safe deposit box. The drive is your insurance against theft or destruction.

Keep My Backups: By default, File History keeps copies of your files forever. This option allows you to limit how long copies are kept. Leave this set as Forever.

Back Up These Folders: File History provides a laundry list of folders to back up.

To remove a folder, select it in the list. The Remove button appears. Select this button. Folders you remove are added to the Exclude These Folders list at the bottom of the Backup Options screen.

To add a folder, select the Add a Folder button. Then select the folder in the Select Folder dialog box.

Back Up to a Different Drive: Select the Stop Using Drive button and repeat Steps 1 through 3 to choose a different external drive for keeping backup copies of your files.

[picture]

Figure 15-6

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Figure 15-7

Restore Files with File History

In the Search box on the taskbar, type file history. On the search results screen, select File History – Control Panel. File History opens on the desktop.

Select the Restore Personal Files link. You see a screen similar to the one in Figure 15-8.

tip The most recent backup versions created by File History appear in the window. To see other versions of backups, select the left-pointing arrow at the bottom of the window. To return to the most recent backup, select the right-pointing arrow.

tip Don’t select the Restore button until you select the specific file(s) you want. Otherwise, all files will be restored simultaneously.

tip Generally, you want to restore the most recent version of a file. However, if you want to restore content that you changed prior to the most recent version, browse to an earlier backup.

If you know the location of the file you want to restore, you can open that location with a double-click or double-tap. If you’re not sure of the location, select the search box in the upper-right corner and type the document name. Matching results appear as you type. Select the file you want to restore.

tip On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.

Select the Restore button. If you restored a file you previously deleted, you can close File History. Skip the remaining steps.

If the Replace or Skip Files window opens (refer to Figure 15-5) in the preceding step, a version of the file exists in the original location. If you’re sure you want to restore the previous version of the file, you can choose Replace the File in the Destination Folder. However, to see additional options, select Compare Info for Both Files. The File Conflict window appears.

In the File Conflict window, consider the following selections:

Select files on the left to replace files in the destination with the backup files. (This is the same as selecting Replace on the Replace or Skip Files screen.)

Select files on the right to cancel restoring those files. (This is the same as selecting Skip on the Replace or Skip Files screen.)

If you select the same files on both sides of the window, File History will leave the original as is and restore the backup version with the same name plus (2), allowing you to have both versions. (You need this option only if you’re uncertain about which version you want.)

tip If you’re restoring multiple files at the same time, you can select different options for each: replace one, skip another, and have File History create a copy for another. That’s a lot of choices in one little window.

Select Continue, and Windows 10 completes the operation based on your choices in Step 7. The location of the restored files opens in File Explorer.

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Figure 15-8

Reset a Misbehaving Computer

Glitch happens. The computer misbehaves, a program crashes, or the machine becomes unexpectedly slow. If your computer is misbehaving, try resetting it. Click the Start button and choose Settings. In the Settings window, select Update & Security. In the Update & Security window, select Recovery.

tip Before you reset your PC, see Chapter 12 for information about updating and maintaining Windows 10. Updating Windows may resolve some problems.

tip The Reset function should leave your data alone and unchanged. However, consider following Steps 1–4 in the section “Restore Files with File History” to confirm that your external drive contains all your files. Better safe than sorry.

Under Reset This PC, select the Get Started button, as shown in Figure 15-9.

tip The Reset function doesn’t remove apps installed through the Microsoft Store but does remove any apps you installed any other way. This safety feature is based on the assumption that something you installed from some other source is causing a problem. Be certain that you either don’t need a desktop app or you have the materials necessary to reinstall a desktop app, such as Microsoft Office. Windows 10 will create a file on the desktop after the fact, identifying the programs it removed.

In the Choose an Option dialog box, select Keep My Files. (Or select Cancel, if you’re just exploring this feature and don’t want to continue with it.)

Reset runs, and your computer will restart at least once. When the reset process is complete, the Lock screen appears. Sign in as usual. If you see a file named Removed Apps on the desktop, double-click or double-tap it to open that file in your browser. The removed apps are listed. If you’re aware that one of these apps created a problem, don’t reinstall it.

tip Don’t be intimidated by the Reset function — it’s easy, quick, and worthwhile if it makes a problem computer run better.

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Figure 15-9

About the Author

Peter Weverka is the best-selling author of many For Dummies books, including Office 2013 All-in-One for Dummies, as well as four dozen other books about various topics. Peter’s humorous articles and stories (not related to computers, thankfully) have appeared in Harper’s, SPY, and other magazines for grown-ups.

Dedication

For Tuppins and Harry

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thanks to Mark Justice Hinton for writing the first edition of this book. Much of Mark’s work lives on in this edition. I would also like to thank Amy Fandrei at Wiley for giving me the opportunity to write this book and Susan Christophersen for editing it. Thanks as well go to Russ Mullen, the technical editor, who made sure all instructions were accurate.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei

Project Manager, Development Editor, and Copy Editor: Susan Christophersen

Technical Editor: Russ Mullen

Editorial Assistant: Claire Johnson

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Production Editor: Kinson Raja

Cover Image: Stock.com/c_bell

To access the cheat sheet specifically for this book, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/windows10forseniors.

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