in the lower-right corner of your screen, or press Ctrl while you rotate the wheel button on your mouse.
The five charms—Search, Share,
Start, Devices, and Settings—are always available on the right side of
your screen. Here’s how to open them:
If you're using touch, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and then tap the charm you want.
If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right
or the lower-right corner of the screen, move up or down, and then click
the charm you want.
Go online and browse the web
Whether you're working, playing games,
listening to music, or catching up with friends, you'll want to be
online and connected. Here’s how to connect your PC to the Internet.
Join a network
The first step to getting online is joining a network. Here's how:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Settings.)
Tap or click the wireless network icon
or the wired network icon
.
Tap or click the network you want to connect to, and then tap or click Connect.
Get to the web
Once you’ve joined a network and have an
Internet connection, you can get to the web right from the Start screen
by tapping or clicking the
Internet Explorer tile (if you don't have it, you can
download Internet Explorer for free). If you're using another browser, such as
Mozilla Firefox or
Google Chrome, you'll see a tile for your browser on your Start screen.
You
can also get to the web from the desktop. On the Start screen, tap or
click the Desktop tile, and then you'll notice an icon for your browser
pinned to your taskbar.
Internet Explorer from Start
When you open Internet Explorer
from the Start screen, the navigation controls, including your
favorites and the Address bar, stay out of the way so you can focus on
the website you're visiting. You can show the controls at any time by
swiping up from the lower edge of the screen or right-clicking the
screen.
Internet Explorer from the desktop
To open Internet Explorer from the desktop, on the Start screen, tap or click Desktop, and then tap or click the Internet Explorer button on the taskbar. When you open Internet Explorer from the desktop, you’ll see the Address bar at the top of the browser.
Connect your Microsoft account
A Microsoft account is your email address and a password. When you use your Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 8 or Windows RT PC, it's your key to free online storage, mobile entertainment, thousands of apps in the Windows Store, and connecting your devices and accounts seamlessly. If you already use services like Xbox, Outlook.com, or MSN, you've already got a Microsoft account.
After you connect a Microsoft account, you can do a lot with it: get apps, play Xbox games with friends, play music in the Music app, and add your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to the People app so you get updates from the people you care about in one place.
Apps from the Windows Store
Get apps from the Windows Store, and use them on up to five PCs running Windows 8 or Windows RT. You need a Microsoft account to get apps from the Store.
Link your Outlook.com, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts to the People app, and you'll see your friends' contact info and status updates in one place.
Link accounts to your Photos app to see your SkyDrive, and Facebook photos all from one app.
Connect a Microsoft account now
You can choose to sign in to your PC without a Microsoft account, but you need a Microsoft account to fully experience all these benefits. When you first set up your Windows 8 or Windows RT PC, you have the option to sign in to your PC with a Microsoft account.
If you're not sure if you've already connected a Microsoft account to your PC, here's how to find out:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Users.
If you see a button under your account that says Sign in with a Microsoft account, you haven't connected a Microsoft account to your PC yet.
If you haven't connected a Microsoft account to your PC yet, you can do it now:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Users, tap or click Sign in with a Microsoft account, and then follow the instructions.
Add an account picture to go along with your sign-in info.
After you set up your Microsoft
account, you can set an account picture to go along with your sign-in
info. This will help personalize your account and distinguish it from
any other people that are used on the same PC.
By the way, here’s how to change your account picture:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Personalize, and then tap or click Account picture.
Depending on your PC, you
can upload a favorite picture as your account picture or you can take a
new photo or video clip to associate with your account. The account
picture is there to reflect that your account is unique to you, so make
it your own!
More than one Microsoft account
If you have more than one
Microsoft account and want to decide which one to make your primary account, follow the steps in
this guide (English only).
If you're a gamer, for example, you might want to use your
Xbox Live ID, or if there's an email address you use the most, you might want to use that. We'll help you decide.
Personalize the Start screen
Start is the heart of your PC, and you can customize it so
it’s just the way you want it. You can pin your most used and loved
apps, websites, friends, files, and folders to your Start screen, so you
can get to them quickly. If you’ve used previous versions of Windows, think of the Start screen like your old Start menu, but the Start screen shows you a lot more.
Some
of the tiles on your Start screen will update automatically, so you can
see things like the weather and status updates from your friends at a
glance. You don't have to open the apps to get the information you're
looking for.
Move tiles around
You can arrange the tiles on your Start screen
in whatever way makes the most sense to you—put similar tiles together,
group all your favorites, or create a "work" group for the apps you use
for work.
To move a tile, drag it up or down, and then drag it
wherever you want.
Create a new group of tiles
You can create a new group of tiles by dragging one tile to
an open space. When a gray bar appears, release the tile—this will
create a new group, and you can drag more tiles to it.
After you’ve grouped your tiles together, you can name the group.
Here's how:
Touch the Start screen with two or more fingers, and then pinch them toward each other to zoom out.
(Or, if you’re using a mouse, click zoom
in the lower-right corner of your screen.)
Swipe down on or right-click a group of tiles to select it, and then tap or click Name group.
Resize a tile
You can make tiles larger or smaller. To do this, swipe
down on or right-click the tile to select it, and then tap or click Larger or Smaller. (Note that some tiles can’t be resized.)
Remove a tile
To remove a tile from the Start screen, swipe down on or
right-click the tile to select it, and then tap or click Unpin from Start.
(The app will still be available when you search, and you
can re-pin it later if you decide you want it back on your Start
screen.)
To uninstall an app and remove it from your PC, select the tile, and then tap or click Uninstall. It will no longer be available when you search, and you’ll have to reinstall the app if you want to get it back.
Some apps can't be uninstalled.
Change the Start screen colors
You can change the background and color of your Start
screen. The background only appears on Start, but the color you pick
appears in a few other places, too—like the charms and the sign-in
screen.
Here's how:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Personalize, and then tap or click Start screen.
Choose the color and background combination you like best.
You can see the changes immediately, so you
can play around with backgrounds and colors as much as you want before
settling on one.
Change your lock screen
You can also personalize your lock screen with a favorite photo.
Here's how:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Personalize, and then tap or click Lock screen.
Choose an existing picture, or tap or click Browse to search for a picture on your PC.
You can also add apps to your lock screen to get updates when your
PC is locked. For example, you can add the Calendar app so you'll be
able to see at a glance if you have an appointment coming up, or add the
Mail app to see if you have a new message.
Touch
Use two apps at the same time
App commands
With touch, swipe up from the bottom edge or down from the top edge, and then tap the command you want.
Mouse
Use two apps at the same time
App commands
With a mouse, right-click within the app, and then click the command you want.
Work in the familiar desktop
Windows 8 and Windows RT
have the new Start screen, but they also still have the familiar
desktop, where you can do everything that you’re used to doing with Windows.
You
can get to the desktop from the Start screen by tapping or clicking the
Desktop tile (it shows your desktop background), or by using the
keyboard shortcut
Windows logo key (
+D).
Pin your desktop apps
If you use an app frequently, you can pin it to the taskbar on your desktop. Here's how:
On the Start screen, tap or click Desktop.
Open the app you want to pin.
When you’re running an app from the desktop, you’ll see it in the taskbar.
Press and hold or right-click the app in the taskbar, and then tap or click Pin this program to taskbar.
Now your app will always be available in one tap or click from the taskbar.
Pin a folder from the desktop to the Start screen
If you use certain folders frequently and want to be able to quickly get to them, you can pin them to your Start screen.
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
Enter File Explorer in the search box, tap or click Apps, and then tap or click File Explorer.
Browse to the folder your want, or use the search box in the upper-right corner.
Press and hold or right-click the folder, and then tap or click Pin to Start.
When
you go back to Start, you’ll see a tile for the folder you pinned on
the Start screen. Tap or click it, and the folder will open in the
desktop.
Personalize the desktop
All of the personalization settings you're
familiar with, including themes, desktop backgrounds, sounds, and
colors, are still available, and you can customize your desktop just the
way you want.
On the Start screen, tap or click Desktop.
Press and hold or right-click an open area on the desktop, and then tap or click Personalize.
If you don't see something you like, you can download more themes, or even
create your own.
