TableofContentsChapter1

WelcometoWindows10

Chapter2

Beforeyouupgrade

WillIgetafreeupgrade?

SettingupaMicrosoftaccount

SystemRequirements

Compatibility

What’sGoingAwayChapter3

UpgradetoWindows10

UpgradethroughWindowsupdate

UpgradethroughMedia

DowngradetooriginalOSChapter4

Thedesktop

Time&Date

Actioncenter

Taskbaroptions

FileExplorer

Taskview&VirtualDesktop

NewFiles

Personalizethedesktop

Chapter5

StartMenu&Cortana

Accountsettings

Createadditionalaccounts

Syncyoursettings

Power&allapps

Customizestartmenu

Search&CortanaBasics

SetupCortana

ExploreCortana

CortanaHome

Cortana’sNotebook

Reminders

Openprograms&sendE-mail

Keepinmind

Chapter6

Settings

Systemsettings

Display

Notifications&Actions

Display

Notifications&Actions

Apps&Features

Multitasking

Power&Sleep

Storage

OfflineMaps

DefaultApps

Devices

Printers&Scanners

ConnectedDevices

Mouse&Touchpad

Typing

Autoplay

Network&Internet

Wi-Fi

VPN-DialUp-Ethernet-Proxy

Personalization

EaseofAccess

Chapter7

ControlPanel

PowerOptions

Sound

Programs

UserAccounts

CredentialsManager

AppearanceandPersonalization

SpeechRecognition

Top-SecretWindowsTrick

Chapter8

Protect,BackUp&MaintainYourPC

Privacy

Update&Security

WindowsDefender

SystemandSecurity

SecurityandMaintenance

WindowsFirewall

FileHistory

SystemImage

SystemDisc

Recovery

Reset

AdvancedStartup

BitLocker

ManageStorageSpaces

FreeUpDiskSpace&OptimizeDrives

CreatePartitions

Chapter9

InternetE-mail&theCloud

Browsers

InternetExplorer

Edge

Mail

TheCloud&OneDrive

FreeOfficeApps

MirrorOneDriveOnYourHardDrive

ManageStorage

Sharing

Chapter10

Apps&Programs

TheWindowsStore

Built-InApps&Programs

Paint

WordPad

Music

Photos

People

Calendar

AppBasics

SuggestedApps

Games

Drawing

Media

OfficeSuite

Social

Acknowledgments

WelcometoWindows10Now,ifyou’realittlenervousabouttacklinganewoperatingsystem,Iwantyoutotakeadeepbreathandletitoutslowly.We’vegotthis.I’vewrittenthousandsofstep-by-steparticlesthatexplaintechinregular,everydaylanguage.I’vealsohadtheopportunitytotalkwithhundredsofreadersandIknowthekindofquestionstheyhaveaboutanewoperatingsystem.Ipromisetoansweryourquestionsinstraight-forwardlanguage(notechno-babbleallowed)andtellyoueverythingyouneedtoknowtogetstartedwithWindows10.

Note:Duethenumberofcolorimagesthisbookmaydisplaybestinlandscapeformat.

ThisoperatingsystemmarksabigchangeinthewayMicrosoftdoesthingsandnotbecauseit’sdrasticallydifferentfromWindows7orWindows8.1.

Infact,thoseofyouwhothoughtWindows8wasn’tverymouseandkeyboard-friendlywillbepleasantlysurprisedwithWindows10.ButthisOSstillkeepsthebestfeaturesofWindows8aswell.Sowhat’sthebigdifference?

Windows10isafreeupgradeforthoseusingWindows7,Windows8,andWindows8.1–thefirsttime

Microsofthasofferedmillionsofpeoplefreeupgradestoanewoperatingsystem.TheupgradefromWindows8to8.1wasfree,butthatwasmorelikeinstallingaservicepack.Windows10isadifferentoperatingsystem.

Butdon’tworry,Windows10won’toverwriteyourdocuments,filesandprograms.Windows10isalsodesignedtobepartofwhatMicrosoftcallsOneWindows–asingleoperatingsystemwhereyoucanaccessprogramsandfilesacrossawidevarietyofdevices.Usingtheiruniversalapps,youcanopenandeditthesameWorddocumentonyourPC,WindowsPhone,TabletorevenyourXboxOnegameconsole.You’llevenbeabletoplaysomeXboxconsolegamesonyourcomputer,phoneortablet.YoucouldevendownloadappsforyourAndroidphoneandtabletoriPhoneandiPadthatwouldallowyoutoworkonthatsameWorddocumentandsaveittoyourfreeOneDriveCloudStorage,whereyoucanpickrightupwhereyouleftoff.

AnotherbigchangewithWindow10isthattherewillbeautomaticupdates.Sothere’slesschanceofyoumissinganimportantsecurityupdateorbugfix.

WhyisMicrosoftofferingthisupgradeforfree?It’sintheirbestinteresttohaveasmanypeopleaspossibleonthesameoperatingsystem.Atonepointthecompanyhad4separateoperatingsystemstosupport:WindowsXP,WindowsVista,Windows7andWindows8&8.1.That’scalledfragmentationanditmakesnotonlysecurity,butthedevelopmentofnewappsandservicesverydifficult.Withthemajorityofusersononeoperatingsystem,it’smucheasiertokeepthingssecureaswellasdevelopnewproductsandservices.Appleoperatesmuchthesameway.Theymaketheirmoneyfromrelativelyexpensivedevicesandofferfreeupgradestotheiroperatingsystemsthatmostpeoplechoosetotake.

Microsoftisonlyofferingthisfreeupgradeforoneyear.So,youneedtoupgradebyJuly29,2016togetitforfree.Thatdoesn’tmeanthatthoseofyouwhohaveupgradedwillhavetostartpayingin2016.Yourupgradeisgoodforthelifeofyourcomputer,justlikewhenyouinstallanOSfromadiscordownload.Butthosewhochoosenottoupgradebythenwillhavetopayaround$100iftheywanttoupgradetoWindows10.

WhileWindows10isintendedforuseacrossseveraltypesofdevices,thisguidewill

focusonWindows10onyourPC.

I’vebeenusingtheWindows10TechnicalPreviewforsometime,andletmetellyou,itisprettydarncool.There’sanacronymIliketousethatIcallBTST.ItstandsforBetterThanStarTrekandIuseitwhenIcomeacrosseverydaytechnologythatdoesthingsbetterthanthosecomputersandcommunicatorsintheStarTrekseriesandotherSci-Fimoviesofmychildhooddid.Well,Windows10isBTST.Infact,CaptainKirkandthegangcouldhavesavedthemselvesawholelotoftroublewiththisOS.

AreyoureadylearnaboutWindows10?Let’sgo!

BeforeYouUpgradeIfyoualreadyhavetheWindows10upgradeinstalledonyourcomputer,youcanskipthischapter.Ifnot,I’mgoingtocoverthebasicstomakesureyourPCisreadyfortheupgrade.

WillIGetTheFreeUpgrade?MostWindowsuserswillbeeligibleforafreeupgradetoWindows10.IfyouarerunningWindows7,

Windows8orWindows8.1HomeorProEditions,youshouldbeabletoupgradetoWindows10forfree.YouwillhavetotakeadvantageofthisofferbetweenJuly29,2015andJuly29,2016inordertogettheupgradeforfree.Afterthat,you’llprobablypayaroundahundreddollarsfortheupgrade.YourWindows10licensewillbegoodforthelifeofthatcomputer.

Ifyou’reusingtheHomeEditionofWindows7,8,or8.1–youwillupgradetotheHomeEditionofWindows10.Ifyou’reusingtheProedition,you’llupgradetoWindows10Pro.UsersoftheEnterpriseeditionarenoteligibleforafreeupgrade.

Manypeoplehaveaskedme,“WhataboutWindowsXPandVista?”Usersofthosesystemsaren’teligibleforthefreeupgrade.Theseuserscanalwayspurchasetheupgrade,butyouneedtomakesureitwillworkwithyourcomputer.

MicrosoftAccountIfyou’rerunningWindows8or8.1,youmostlikelyalreadyhaveaMicrosoftaccount.Ifnot,you’llneedtosetoneup.YouneeditnotonlyfortheupgradetoWindows10,buttomakefulluseofallofitsfeatures.IfyoualreadyhaveanOutlook.com,Hotmail,MSNorLiveMaile-mailaddressorevenanXboxLiveaccount,you’vealreadygotaMicrosoftaccount.Justloginwiththate-mailandpassword.

Ifnot,itonlytakesafewminutestosetoneup.

StartbygoingtoOutlook.com.You’llseealoginscreenwithanoptiontoSignupnow.ClickonSignupnow.

Filloutthebasicinformation,createapasswordandacceptthetermsofserviceandyou’vegotyourselfaMicrosoftaccount.

SystemRequirementsThesystemrequirementsforWindows10arebasicallythesameasWindows8.1.Soifyou’rerunning8.1,inalllikelihood,youaregoodtogo.

Thebasicrequirementsare:

Processor:1gigahertz(GHz)orfaster.

RAM:1gigabyte(GB)(32-bit)or2GB(64-bit)

Freeharddiskspace:16GB.

Graphicscard:MicrosoftDirectX9graphicsdevicewithWDDMdriver.

AMicrosoftaccountandInternetaccess.

TherequirementsarealmostidenticaltoWindows7,butthereisonedifference:YourprocessormustalsobeabletosupportPAE,NXandSSE2.

PAEgives32-bitprocessorstheabilitytousemorethan4GBofphysicalmemoryoncapableversionsofWindows,andisaprerequisiteforNX.

NXhelpsyourprocessorguardthePCfromattacksbymalicioussoftware.

SSE2isastandardinstructionsetonprocessorsthatisincreasinglyusedbythird-partyappsanddrivers.

CheckCompatibilityThequickestwaytocheckthecompatibilityofyourPCistoright-clickonthatlittleWindowsiconthatshouldhaveappearedinthelower-rightcornerofyourscreen.

ClickonCheckYourUpgradeStatus.

Thenclickthelittle3-lineiconatthetopleftofthewindowthatopens.

SelectCheckYourPC.

ItwillquicklycheckyourPCandletyouknowifthereareanyincompatibilityissues.

Evenifyouseesomeissueswithaprinterorotherprogram.Thatdoesn’tmeanitwon’tchange.ThemanufacturercouldadddriversforWindows10atalaterdate.

Sowhatifyoudon’tseethatupgradeicon?Itcouldbethatyoursystemisn’tuptodate.You’llneedtohaveallthenecessaryWindowsupdatesinordertoinstallWindows10.

Nowifyou’vealreadygottenthatlittleiconinthelower-rightcornerofyourcomputertellingyouthattheWindows10upgradeisavailable,you’reprobablygoodtogoandyoucanskipallofthisabouttheupdates.Ifnot,you’llhavetoinstallsomeupdates.

Ifyouaren’tsurewhichsystemyou’rerunning,openyourfileexplorerandchoosecomputerorThisPC.Right–clickonyourmaindrive–usuallytheCdrive.SelectProperties.

Awindowwillopenwithinformationaboutyouroperatingsystem,RAM,andprocessor.

Windows7Ifyou’rerunningWindows7,you’llneedtohaveinstalledtheWindows7SP1updatealongwiththefollowingupdates:

KB3035583

KB2952664

YoucaninstallanymissingupdatesbyclickingyourStartMenuandtyping“Windowsupdates”inthesearchbox.ClickontheWindowsupdatesiconintheresults.

You’llbetakentotheWindowsUpdatecenteronyourcomputer.You’llbeabletoseeifthereareanyupdatesavailableforyourcomputer.Ifthereare,youcanclicktoinstall.

Ifyou’rerunningWindows8.1,thefollowingupdatesmustbeinstalled.

KB3035583

KB2976978

ToinstallupdatesinWindows8.1,juststarttypingWindowsupdatefromtheMetro/ModernstartscreenorsearchforWindowsupdateintheSearchCharm.ThenchooseCheckforupdatesfromtheresults.

TheWindowsUpdatecenterwillopen.YouwilleitherseeavailableupdatesdisplayedoryoucanchooseChecknowtoseewhat’savailable.Youcanclickonanyavailableupdatestoinstall.

Thenyoucanjustclicktoinstallanyneededupdates.

Windows8Ifyou’rerunningWindows8,you’llneedtoupdatetoWindows8.1.Iwillwarnyounow,you’vegotalotofupdatingtodobeforeyoucanevengettothepointofupgradingtoWindows10.Butplease,dotheupdate.It’sworthitinthelongrun.

ToupdateWindows8to8.1,you’llneedtostartwiththeStartScreen.

ChoosethetilefortheWindowsStore.

Whenitopens,you’llseetheoptiontoupdatetoWindows8.1forfree.

Youshouldseethisscreen.

ClickortapDownloadtostarttheprocess.Thisdownloadtookmethreehoursonahigh-speedInternetconnection.

Onthebrightside,Iwasabletocontinueusingmycomputerduringthedownload.

AcoupleoftimesIwassurethatithadstalled,butitkeptgoing.Itjusttookalongtime.Whenit’sfinishedyou’llneedtostopwhatyou’redoingandrestartthecomputer.Duringtheconfigurationprocessitwillrestartseveraltimes.

You’llneedtoacceptthetermsofserviceandthereisaprettylongconfigurationsprocess.

AtleastMicrosoftbreaksitupbychangingthebackgroundcolorsasitloads.

Whenit’sfinished,you’llbeabletochoosebetweenExpresssettingsorcustomizingsettings.IwentwithExpress.

YouwillthenneedtologonwithyourMicrosoftAccountthatcouldbeyourOutlook.com,Hotmail,LiveMailorMSNe-mailaddressoranaccountyousetupwhenyoupurchasedWindows8.

Microsoftwillthensendasecuritycodetoyourcellphoneortoanalternatee-mailaddressthatyou’vesetupfortheaccount.You’llhavetoenterthatcodetoverifythatyou’retheowneroftheaccount.Ifyouhaven’tsetupalternatecontactinformation,you’llbeaskedforprovideit.However,ifyousignintoyourMicrosoftaccountbeforeyoustartthe8.1upgrade,thenyoumightnothavetoenterthesecuritycode.

Oncethesecuritycodeisentered,thisscreenwillappearexplainingthatSkyDriveisnowfrontandcenteronyourcomputer.

ClickNextandyouwillbetakentotheStartScreen.

Guesswhat?NowyouhavetorunallofyourupdatesforWindows8.1andgetthoseup-to-date.Thenyou’llfinallybereadyforWindow10.

BetterBackUpTheupgradetoWindows10shouldn’toverwriteanyofyourfilesorprograms.Butitisalwaysagreatideatobackupyourimportantfilesbeforeyoudoanykindofupgrade.Infact,allofyourimportantfilesshouldbebackedupjustincasenomatterwhat.

I’dsuggestcopyingphotos,musicanddocumentstoanexternaldriveorcloudaccountjusttobeonthesafeside.Andifyou’vegotyourdrivemirroredtoanexternalback-updrive,that’sevenbetter.

What’sGoingAwayInWindows10Forthemostpart,youshouldn’tloseanyprograms,files,photosordocumentswhenupgradingfromWindows7,Windows8,orWindows8.1toWindows10.Butyouwilllosesomefeaturesofpreviousoperatingsystems.

MediaCenterUsersofWindow7HomePremium,Window7Professional,Windows7Ultimate,Windows8ProwithMediaCenter,andWindows8.1ProwhouseMediaCenterwillprobablybedisappointedtoseethatitisremoved.ThisisnottobeconfusedwithWindowsMediaPlayer,whichisincludedinWindows10.MediaCenterallowedyoutowatchandrecordliveTVandalsoviewDVDmovies.

Windows7DesktopGadgetsDesktopGadgetswillberemovedwhenyouinstall10.

Windows7GamesSolitaire,Minesweeper,andHeartsgamesthatcomepre-installedonWindows7willberemoved.ButyoucangetfreeversionsofMinesweeperandSolitaireintheWindowsAppStore.

USBFloppyDriveSupportIfyou’reusinganexternalfloppydrivepluggedinviaUSB,it’snotgoingtoworkunlessyouareabletodownloadadriverfromthemanufacturer’swebsite.

WindowsLiveEssentialsOneDriveAppIfyouhavetheOneDriveappinstalledaspartofWindowsLiveEssentials,itwillbereplacedbytheintegratedversionofOneDrivethatshowsuplikeanotherdriveonyourcomputer.

Windows7DVDPlaybackIfyouwanttowatchaDVDmovieonyourcomputer,you’llneedtoinstallseparateplaybacksoftware.

Areweallnowfullyupdated,backed-upandreadytoupgrade?Wellcomeon,let’sdoit.

InstallYourWindows10UpgradeInthischapter,we’lltalkabouthowtoinstallyourfreeWindows10upgrade.Ifyou’vealreadyinstalled,feelfreetomoveontothenextchapter.

Therearetwowaystoinstallyourfreeupgrade.YoucaneitherdoitthroughyourWindowsUpdateormakeanISOinstallationdiscorUSB.

InstallThroughWindowsUpdateLet’sbeginwitheasiestway,installingthroughWindowsupdate.IfyoureservedyourcopyofWindows10,you’llreceiveanotificationatthee-mailaddressyousuppliedthatyourupgradeisreadytogo.

Ifyourupdatesaresettodownloadautomatically,you’llgetthisnoticethatyourupgradeisreadytoinstall.

Youcanchoosetostarttheupgradeimmediatelyorinstallitlater.

Ifyouaren’tsetuptoinstallupdatesautomatically,you’llneedtogotoWindowsUpdateandcheckforupdates.

Oncethoseupdateshavedownloaded,youshouldgetthenoticetostarttheupgrade.

Don’tstartthisupgradeunlessyoucandowithoutyourPCforatleastanhour.We’reinstallinganewsystemhere.Thistakessometime.

Ifyou’reusingalaptop,Iwantyoutoplugitin.Wedon’twantthebatteryrunningdownorrunningoutofpowerduringyourupgrade.

Youdon’treallyhavetodoanythingherebutwatchtheupgradebegin.Thisshotisalittleshaky,Itookitwithmyphone,sinceyoucan’tgrabascreenshotwhileyourPCisupdating.

Oncetheupdatesareconfigured,theupgradingwillbegin.

Thistooksometime.MyPCrestartedafewtimesbeforewegottotheend,about45minutesorsolater.

ThenmyPCwelcomedmebackandMicrosoftshowedmetheirnewtermsofservice.AfterIagreed,IhadtheoptiontouseExpressorcustomsettings.Iwentwithexpresssettings,becauseIcanalwaysgobackandcustomizemysettingslater.(Don’tworry,there’splentyofdetailsinthisguideonhowtodothat.)ButyoucanalwaysclickonLearnmoretofindoutmoreaboutyouroptions.

ThenextscreenwilltellyouaboutthePhotos,Music,Movies&TVandMicrosoftEdgeapps.Ifyouuseexpresssettings,they’llbeyourdefaultappsforthetaskstheyperform.Now,youcanalwaysgobacklaterandchangethedefaultappswithoutmucheffort.Again,don’tworry.Wegointoalotofdetailaboutthat.IjustclickedNexttogetstarted.

Windows10setsupyourappsandyou’reaboutreadytogo.

Nowforme,notonethingonmyPCreallychanged.Mydocumentsandmailwerefineandmyshortcutswerestillinthesamepositiononmydesktop.

Itwasapretty-simpleprocessforme.

InstallFromMediaYoucanalsochoosetodoamedia-basedupgradetoWindows10.ThatmeansyouburnaDVDormakeaUSBdrivethatwillinstallWindows10.Youcanalsogothisrouteiftheupgradeoptionhasn’tturneduponyourPCyet.

Ifyouwanttomakemedia,you’llneedaBlankDVDandDVDburner.TheDVDwillneedatleast4GBoffreespace.Oryou’llneedanemptyUSBdrivewithatleast4GBoffreespace.

You’llneedtousetheDownloadToolineitherthe32-bitor64-bitversion,dependingonyourPC.Youcandownloadthatbygoingto

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10TofindoutthatinformationforyourPC,typeSystemintoyoursearchboxandclickontheresultsinControlPanel.

Whenyoudownloadthetool,youcanchooseRuntostarttheprocessorSave,ifyouwanttogettoitlater.

AfteryouselectRun,youcanchoosetoUpgradethisPCnowandfinishtheupgradeoryoucanchoosetoCreateinstallationmediaforanotherPC.ThisgivesyouinstallationmediatousetoupgradeanotherPCoronetokeepasabackupforthisPC.

You’llthenchooseyourlanguageandoperatingsystem,basedonthesystemthatyou’reupgradingfrom.

ChooseWindow10Homeifyou’reupgradingfromthefollowingsystems:

Windows7Starter

Windows7HomeBasic

Windows7HomePremium

Windows8/8.1

Windows8.1withBing

Windows10Home

UseWindows10Proifyou’reupgradingfrom:

Windows7Professional

Windows7Ultimate

Windows8Pro

Windows8.1Pro

Windows8/8.1ProfessionalwithMediaCenter

Windows10Pro

YoucanchoosebetweencreatinganISOfile,burningaDVDoraUSB.

Whenthemediaiscreated,chooseFinish.

Onceyoucreateinstallationmedia,youcaninstallfromanISO,aUSBoraDVD.

YoucaneithermounttheISOandrunsetup.exefromitorputintheDVDortheUSBandrunsetup.exebyopeningthemediaandclickingonsetup.exe.

BothoftheseoptionswillupgradeaPCrunningWindows7,8,or8.1.

GoBackToPreviousOS

Onceyou’veupgradedtoWindows10,youdohaveanoptiontogobacktoyourpreviousoperatingsystemfor30daysaftertheupgrade.

Becautiouswithit,though.It’stemptingsometimeswhenwe’retryingsomethingnewtojustthrowupourhandsandgiveupthefirsttimewerunintosomethingunfamiliar.

Togoback,starttyping“Gobackto”inyoursearchbox.Clickontheresultsanditwilltakeyoutosystemsettings.

ThereyoucanchooseGobackto…thesystemyouupgradedfrom.Butyou’llonlyhavethatoptionfor30days.

But,Idon’tthinkyou’llbeinahurrytoheadbacktoyourpreviousoperatingsystemonceyoucheckoutallWindows10hastooffer!Areyoureadytostartexploring?Okay,let’sgo.

TheDesktopWelcometoyourWindows10desktop.

IfyouareaWindows7user,itprobablylooksprettyfamiliar.Ifyou’reaWindows8or8.1user,you’llnoticethatthecontroversialLiveTilesaren’tthere.Theyaren’tgoneandwe’llgettothemlater.

Thescreenpicturedbelowisknownasyourdesktop.It’swhereyoucanplaceshortcutstoprogramsanditisthefirstthingyou’llseewhenyoubootupyourcomputer.

Thebarthatrunsalongthebottomisyourtaskbar.It’swhereyouwillfindmanyhelpfulthingsandoperatesasthecontrolcenterforyourdesktop.Let’stakealookatthetaskbar.

Time&DateOnthelowerrightside,you’llseethedateandtime.

Clickortaponitandyou’llseeacalendarandanoptiontoAdjustDate&timesettings

ChooseDateandtimeandyoucanchoosetosetthetimeautomaticallyorchangeitmanually.Youcanalsochooseyourtimezoneandwhetherornotyouwanttoautomaticallyadjustfordaylightsavingtime.Youcanalsochoosetheformatforyourcalendar.

ActionCenterTotheleftofyourtimeanddate,youwillfindafeaturethatisbrandnewinWindows10:theActionCenterwhereyouwillreceivenotificationsforvariousprograms.Clicktheicontoopen.

Alongcolumnwillopenfromtheright,offeringnotificationsforthingsliketheSocialappandSkype.You’llalsoseealarmsandcalendareventsandnotificationsfromtheWindowsStore.ItoperatesmuchinthesamewaythatnotificationsforAndroidphonesandtabletsandiPhonesandiPadsdo.Youcanclickonthenotificationstotakeactiononthem.

YoucanquicklyaccessotherfeaturesfromActionCenter.Ifyouareusingaconvertibledevice,youcanactivatetabletmode.WhenyoubootupaWindows10deviceitwillrecognizeifthere’sakeyboardattachedandgointodesktopmode,buttherearesometimesonatouchscreendevicethatthetabletmodeispreferable.

ChoosingtheConnectoptionwillletyouconnecttootherdevicesanddothingslikestreammusicorplaygamesfromyourXboxOne.AllSettingsisaquickshortcuttoyourWindows10Settings.Locationletsyouturnofflocationservices.YoucanalsochoosetolocktheautomaticrotationofatabletoruseaVirtualPrivateNetwork,ifyouhaveoneavailable.

Nexttothat,you’llseethefamiliariconforaudio.ClickonittoadjustsoundlevelsonyourPC.

ClickontheNetworkicontoseethestrengthofyourconnectionandavailablenetworks.YoucanalsoclickonNetworkSettingstoaccessmoresettings.

ClickonthelittlewhitearrowthatpointsupwardstoaccesshiddeniconstocheckthingslikePCsecurity.

TaskbarOptions&CustomizationFindablankspotonyourtaskbarandrightclickforcustomizationoptions.IwouldleavethatcheckbesideLockalltaskbarsinplacefornow.Ifthat’snotthere,it’seasytoaccidentallymoveyourtaskbartothesideorevenshrinkitdownsosmallthatyoucan’tseeit.

ChooseTaskManagerandyou’llopenupthefamiliarWindowsTaskManagerthatallowsyoutoclosedownprogramswhentheygetstalled.YoucanalsoaccessitbytypingtheCtrl+Alt+DeletekeysandchoosingTaskManager.

Chooseitandyou’llseethiswindowlistingallactiveprograms.ThismaybemuchmorestreamlinedthantheTaskManageryou’reusedtoseeing.ClickonaprogramandchooseEndtasktoshutitdown.

Clickthatlittlearrowthatsaysmoredetailsandyou’llseealotmore.

Fromthiswindowyoucannotonlyseeallactiveapps,butalsoallactivebackgroundprocessesandhowmuchCPU,Memory,DiskandNetworkresourcestheyuse.This

informationcanbeveryhelpfulifyourcomputeriscrashingorslowingdown.I’mgoingtogothroughyouroptionshere,butyoucertainlydon’thavetogetintoallofthisifyoudon’twanttorightnow.Youdon’tneedtoknowitforbasicoperationandyoucanalwaysskippastitandcomebacktoitifyouneeditlater.

ChoosingthePerformancetabwillletyoucheckoutCPU,Memory,Disk,Ethernet&Wi-Fiusage.TheApphistorytabnexttoitwillgiveyoudetailsonhowmuchofyourresourcescertainappsuse.

TheStartuptabcanbeveryhelpfulifit’stakingyourPCalongtimetobootup.Itshowsyouwhichappsbeginautomaticallyatstartup.Ifyoufindthatappsthatyoudon’treallyneedarestartingautomatically,youcanhighlighttheappandchoosedisable.

IfyouhavemultipleusersforyourPC,theUserstabwillshowyouhowmuchoftheavailableresourceseachuserconsumes,whiletheDetailsandServicestabsofferin-depthinformationaboutthevariousprocessesrunningonyourPC.

ChooseShowtheDesktopandyou’llseeaclearviewofthedesktopwithoutanyoftheactiveprograms.SelectingShowwindowssidebyside,showwindowsstacked,orCascadeWindowswillgiveyoudifferingviewsoftheDesktop.

Here’sthesidebysideview:

Here’salookatstacked:

Belowisashotofcascade.YoucanundoanyoftheseviewsbychoosingUndofromthatsamemenu.

TheShowtouchkeyboardbuttonisusefulifyouhaveaconvertibledevice.Itletsyouknowifaphysicalkeyboardisactiveofifyou’reusinganonscreenkeyboardoranotherinput.Taskviewisareallyhandyfeaturethatwewillgettoinjustabit.

Choosesearchandyoucanchoosebetweenasearchbox,aniconforsearchordisablingsearchonthetaskbar.Iwouldleavethatsearchboxthere,itisgoingtobeveryhandy.

ChooseToolbarsandyou’llseeseveraloptions.

PickAddressandyouaddasearchboxtoyourtoolbarwhereyoucantypeinthenamesoraddressofwebsites.YourEdgebrowserwillautomaticallyopenandtakeyoutothataddress.Youcanalsoclickthedrop-downarrowtoaccessfrequentlyusedwebsites.

ChooseLinksandyou’llbeabletoclickadoublechevrontoseeyourfavoritebookmarksfromInternetExplorer.

NewToolbarallowsyoutoaddatoolbarfromafile,whilechoosingdesktopcreatesashortcutmenuwhereyoucanaccessdesktopprogramsbyclickingonadoublechevron.

OtheritemsyoumayseeonyourTaskbarareiconsforyourbrowsersandonethatlookslikealittleshoppingbagfortheWindowsStore.We’llgetintothoselateroninthisguide.

FileExplorerTheiconthatresemblesafilefolderisaveryimportantone.ThisisyourshortcutforFileExplorer.

Clicktoopenandyou’vegotaneasywaytonavigateyourfoldersanddrives.

ClickQuickaccessonthefarleftandyou’llseeFrequentfoldersalongwithRecentfilesdisplayedontheright.Youcandouble-clickthesefilestoopen.

ChooseDesktoptoseefilesfromyourDesktop.

ChooseDownloadsforaccesstothingsyouhavedownloadedtoyourcomputer.Downloadscanbee-Books,PDFs,files,photos,computerprogramsdownloadedoutsidetheWindowsstore–basicallyanythingyoudownloadcouldendupinthisfile.Ifyoucan’tfindsomethingyou’vedownloaded,alwayslookthere.It’sagoodideatomovethingslikeeBooks,PDFs,musicetc…tootherfilesfororganizationalpurposes.

Alsoontheleft,you’llseetheoptionforOneDrivecloudstoragelistedasifitwerejustanotherfileonthecomputer.Thesedocumentsandfilesareinstantlyavailablewithaclick.TheycanbeaccessednotonlyfromthisPC,butfromaphoneortabletoranotherPC.

ChooseThisPCandyou’llseefoldersforDesktop,Documents,Downloads,Music,PicturesandVideos,plusyourmainharddriveandanyadditionaldrivesorexternaldrives.

Listedunderthedrives,you’llseetheamountoffreespaceavailable.

Double-clickanyofthefolderstoopenandviewthecontents.

ClickNetworktoseeanynetworkedcomputersordevices.

AttheVerytopofthiswindowyou’llseefourtabs:File,Network,Share,andView.

ChoosetheFiletabandyou’llseetheoptiontoOpennewwindow.ThiswillopenanotherFileExplorerWindowandcanbeveryhelpfulifyouwanttodraganddropfilesfromyourCdrivetoanexternaldriveorcopyfilesfromonefoldertoanother.

Choosingcommandpromptwillopenawindowwhereyoucanexecutecommandsifnecessary.

Here’salookatthatWindow.I’dsteerclearofitunlessyouareverycomputerliterateorhaveveryspecificinstructionsonwhattodo.ThesameadviceholdstruewiththeWindowsPowerShelloption.It’sataskautomationandconfigurationmanagementframework.Butinthecourseoftroubleshootingsomeday,ifyouneedit–thisiswhereitis.

ChangefolderandsearchoptionswillofferyouavarietyofoptionsforcustomizingsearchesinFileExplorer.

UndertheGeneraltabyoucanchoosewhethereachfolderopensinthesamewindoworaseparatewindowandwhetheritemsopenwithasinglemouseclickoradouble-click.

NavigationPaneiswhereyouchoosehowfoldersdisplayinFileExplorer.Forexample,chooseShowlibrariesandyourlibraryfolderswilldisplayshowingCameraRoll,Documents,Music,PicturesandVideos.

UnderPrivacyyoucandecidewhetheryourrecentlyorfrequentlyusedfolderswillshowupunderQuickAccessandyoucanclearyourFileExplorerHistory.

UnderView,youcantackleanumberofadvancedoptionssuchaschoosingiconsorthumbnailsanddisplayingthefilepath.Ifyoumakechangesyoudon’tlike,youcanalwayshitrestoredefaultsbutton.

UnderSearchyouhavetheoptiontonotusetheindexwhensearching.Thismightmakeforamorethoroughsearch,butitwillbealotslower.Iwouldn’tchoosethatoptionunlessyouknowsomethingisthereandit’sjustnotcomingupinbasicsearchmode.

ClickingtheHometabandhighlightinglibraryorfolderoraniteminoneofthemwillgiveyoumultipleoptionsforthatitem.

Forexample,belowI’vehighlightedmyPicturesLibrary.IcanpinittotheQuickAccessmenu,copyit,deleteorrename.Theoptionswillvarydependingontheitemselected.

ChoosingtheSharetabwouldallowmetosharetheselecteddocumentviaappsthatpermitsharing,e-mailitusingane-mailclientliketheMailapporOutlook,Zipthefoldertocompressthecontents,burnittodisc,PrintorFax(assumingIhaveprinterandfaxoptionssetup.)IcouldalsochoosespecificpeopletosharewithviaOneDriveorsharepublically.

Advancedsecurityoptionsletsyouadjustspecificoptionsofafolderordocument.

TheViewtabiswhereyoucanadjusttheset-upofthenavigationpaneandchoosetohavefoldersdisplayedbyicons,lists,ordetails.

Herearethesamedocumentsdisplayedasmedium-sizedicons:

Andasdetails:

Youmaywishtohavesomethingslikephotosdisplayaslargeiconsandotherslikedocumentsdisplayedaslists.Whenyoudisplayasdetails,youdohavetheoptiontosortbyName,DateModified,Type&Size.Justclickonthecolumnheadtosort.

There’snorightwaytodoit,soI’dsuggesttryingouteachtofindwhichmethodworksbestforyou.Itcanallbechangedwithasimpleclick,soitissuper-easytoexperiment.

AlsoatthetopoftheViewwindow,youcanclickthedropdownarrowunderSortbyforabunchofdifferentoptionsforsortingfolders.There’snorightwaytodoit,sofeelfreetoexperiment.Youcanalwaysgobacktonameordatejustbyclickingonitinthemenu.

ThereareoptionsforresizingandarrangingthecolumnsinFileExplorerandforaddingcheck-boxestoselectedfiles.Youcanalsochoosetohidecertainitems.

SomeitemswillhaveaManageTabavailable.Here,whenIclickonthemainHardDrive,Igetthatoptionatthetop.HereIhaveaccesstoencryptiontoolsanddriveoptimizationandcleanup.

OneofthemostimportantfeaturesofFileExploreristhesearchoption.Whateveryouhaveclickedinnavigationpane,youcansearchinthesearchboxontherightofthewindow.IfIselectDownloadsIcantypesomethinginthesearchboxandonlysearchtheDownloadsfile.

IfIchooseDesktoporPicturesorMusic,Iwillonlysearchthosefolderswhenlookingfortheitem.It’sahugetime-saver.IcouldalsodecidetoChooseThisPCandsearchthewholecomputer.

IfIchooseaUSBFlashDrivepluggedintothePC,FileExplorerwillonlysearchthatflashdrive.

FileExplorermaybethemostvaluabletoolavailableonyourPC.Sotaketimetogetcomfortablewithitandyou’llhavebetter-organized,easy-to-findfiles.

TaskView&VirtualDesktopsHere’saneatlittlefeatureofWindows10,TaskView.ClicktheTaskViewicononyourTaskbar.

You’llgetaquickviewofallyouropentasks.Youcanswitchtasksbyclickingontheminthewindow.

Whenyou’reinTaskView,you’llnoticea+iconwithNewdesktopunderneathitinthelower-rightcornerofthepage.ThisiswhereyoucantakeadvantageofoneofthebestnewfeaturesofWindows10–addingvirtualdesktops.

Onceyouaddanewdesktop,itwilldisplayasDesktop2andyoucanswitchbackandforthbetweenthem.

Why add a new desktop? It could be a great way to get organized. If you use yourcomputerforbothworkandpersonaluse,onedesktopcouldhaveshortcutstoappsusedmostlyforworkandashortcuttoyourworke-mail.

Yourpersonaldesktopcouldhavegamesandyourhomee-mail.Ifyousometimeseditphotos,onedesktopcouldbereservedforpicturefoldersandphotoeditingappshortcuts.Orsay,you’redoingaprojectlikewritingabookaboutWindows10,oneofthosedesktopscouldbeexclusivelyreservedforthatproject.

Youaren’tjustlimitedtotwodesktops,youcanaddupto10virtualdesktops.Tonavigatebetweenthem,justclickthatTaskviewiconandselectthedesktopyouwant.

Yourdesktopswillallhavetosharethesamewallpaper,though.

Onethingyou’llnoticeisthatallofyouractiveprogramswillhavealittlehighlightunderthemonthetaskbar.

Justclickonthesehighlightedprogramstoswitchbetweenthem.

Totheleftofourscreen,we’vegotoursearchboxforCortanaandthereturnofthemuch-belovedStartButton.Bothofthosecertainlydeservetheirownchapter,sowe’llgettothatinjustabit.

NewFilesOnegreatquickshortcutforWindowsistoright-clickinablankspaceonthedesktoptocreateanewfile.Right-clickandselectNew.You’llseeoptionstocreateanewfolderorshortcutandalsoforthingslikedocuments,spreadsheetsandimagesdependingonwhattypeofappsyouhaveinstalledonyourPC

SelectFolderandabrandnewfolderwillappearonyourdesktop,allyouhavetodoisaddaname.

Choosesomethinglikeadocumentandtheprogramthatcreatesitwillopen.

PersonalizeTheDesktopChoosePersonalizefromthatright-clickmenuandyoucanhavealittlefunwithyourdesktop.

InthePersonalizationsettingswindowyou’llseeanavigationpanetotheleft.SelectbackgroundandyouhavetheoptionofaPicture,ColororSlideshowforyourdesktop.

ChoosePictureandyoucanselectfromtheimagesofferedbyMicrosoftorbrowsethecomputertoselectyourown.

Oncetheimageisselected,youcandecidehowyouwantittofitonthescreen.

Fromthedrop-downmenu,youcanselectfromseveraloptions.

Ifyourpictureisn’tverylargeordoesn’tfittheshapeofyourmonitorwell,you’llprobablywanttochooseTileorCenter.

You’llgetsimilaroptionsifyouselectSlideShow.

IfyouselectColor,youcanthenchoosecolorfromtheleftpanetomakefurtheradjustmentssuchasyouraccentcolor.YoucanalsochoosewhetheryourStart,taskbarandactioncenteraretransparentorchooseahighcontrastsetting.

ChooseLockscreenandyoucanpickanimageforyourcomputer’slockscreenandalsoselectappstoshowaquickstatus.Youmightseethetimeoryournumberofe-mailmessages.

SelectScreentimeoutsettingstoadjusthowlongitisbeforeyourcomputerlocksagainandhowlongittakesittogotosleep.Justclickthedrop-downarrowsforchoices.

ChooseScreenSaverSettingstopickascreensaverandchoosehowlongbeforeitbecomesactive.

SelectThemesandyoucanchoosefromaselectionofClassicThemeSettingsorGetmorefreeoptionsonline.MicrosoftrememberedthemesI’ddownloadedwhileloggedintomyMicrosoftaccountforothercomputersandtheywereavailableformehereaswell.

IthinkthatisaprettygoodoverviewofyourdesktopinWindows10.Nowit’stimetomoveontoyourbrandnewStartMenu.

TheStartMenu&CortanaTheStartMenuisback!Ifyou’reupgradingfromWindows7,itneverleft.ButformanyWindows8and8.1users,thisisbignews.Windows8and8.1didhavetheirownversionofaStartMenu,theSearchCharmthatswipedinfromtheright.Butitcouldbeachallengetoaccessifyoudidn’thaveatouchscreen.

InWindows10,youaccessitbyclickingtheWindowssymbolinthelower-leftcornerofyourdesktop.

You’llseeanewStartMenuthatlookslikeacombinationoftheWindows7StartMenuandtheWindows8StartScreen.

Let’stakeacloserlook.OntherightsideitlooksverysimilartotheWindows7StartMenu.Youseefrequentlyusedfiles,pluspoweroptions,thenewAllAppsbuttonandasearchbox.

Ontheright,youhaveliveTileswithshortcutsforappslikeMailandNews.LiveTilesupdatecontinually,soyoucanseethelatestbreakingnews,weatheroryourcurrentnumberofunreade-mailsataglanceinthetiles.

Thisisallcompletelycustomizable.Youdon’thavetohavetilesifyoudon’tlikethem.Youcanresizethismenutobesmallerorlarger.Thereareawholelotofoptionsandwe’llgettothoseinabit.

AccountSettingsAtthetopoftheStartMenu,yourusernamewillbedisplayed.Clickonceonitandyou’llseeoptionstoChangeAccountSettings,LockthescreenorSignoutofyouraccount.

ChooseChangeAccountSettings,andunderYourAccount,you’llfindoptionstosigninwithalocalaccount,changeyourprofilepictureortakeanewpictureifyourdevicehasacameraorloginwithanotheraccount.

ClickSign-inoptionstodecidewhenyouneedtosignintoyourWindowsaccount.

Ifyoudon’twanttohavetosigninagainwhenyourcomputergoestosleep,chooseNever.

ThisisalsowhereyoucanchangeyouraccountpasswordorswitchtoaPINinsteadofapassword.

Yournextoptionistochooseapicturepassword.ThisisonlyforusewithtouchscreenDevices.

Youselectanimageandthenyoudrawapatternonthatimageasyourpassword.Youcanchooseacombinationofcircles,linesortaps.Thesize,positionanddirectionofyourmovementsarepartofthepassword.

TheWorkaccessfeatureallowyoutoconnecttoanetworkatworkorschool.Thisisanotherfeaturethatmostofyouwon’tuse.

YoucanonlydothisifyouhavepermissionfromtheITpersonatworkorschool.PressConnecttobegintosetitup.

Enterthee-mailaddressyouuseforworktobeginthelog-onprocess.Butyouareexposingyourpersonalcomputertotherulesofyourworknetwork.Appscouldbedisabled,contentdeletedandyourschooloryourbosscouldhaveaccesstoyourinformationandcollectit.You’llhavetocheckwiththetechpeopleatschoolorworktofindoutwhattheirrulesare.

CreateAdditionalAccountsUnderFamily&otherusers,youcansetupadditionalaccountsonyourPCandplacerestrictionsonthoseaccounts.

UnderYourfamily,clickonAddafamilymembertobegin.Youcanaddupto10familymembers.

Choosewhetherornotyouwanttoaddachildoranadultaccountandthenentertheuser’sMicrosofte-mailaddress.

Iftheuserdoesn’thaveane-mailaddressyoucanclickThepersonIwanttoadddoesn’thaveane-mailaddress.

You’llthenbepromptedtocreateanewe-mailaccount.You’llnoticeIdidn’tusearealchild’sname.Iwentwithmycat.Ifyou’recreatinganaccountforakid,Iwouldn’tsuggestusingtheirrealnameorthenameofapetasausername.Youdon’twanttouseanythingthatwouldmakeitpossibleforstrangerstofindawaytofakefamiliarity.

Youcanthenentercontactinformationincasethere’saproblemwiththeaccount.Chooseeitheramobilephonenumberoranalternatee-mailaddress.Thisstepisimportantincasetheuserevergetslockedoutoftheaccount.

YoucanthenchoosewhetherornotthechildseesadvertisingorifMicrosoftusestheiraccountinformationtoprovidepersonalizedsearchresults.Whenyouclicknextattheend,you’reagreeingtotheMicrosoftserviceandprivacyterms.I’dtryjustclickingonthemandcheckingthemoutfirst.

Youcanalsoaddaccountsforotheruserswhoaren’tpartofthefamily.You’llfollowprettymuchthesameprocesstosetthemup.

YoucansetupanaccountsothatitcanonlyaccessoneapponyourPC.ClickSetupassignedaccess.

Thenchooseanaccount.

Selecttheaccount.

Thenyoucanselectoneapplikeagamefortheusertohaveaccessto.

ThisisespeciallyusefulifyoujustwanttoletachildplayonegamewithnochanceofanythingelseonthePCbeingdisturbedordeleted.

Onceyouaddusers,whenyouclickonyournameintheStartMenu,you’llseetheoptiontologontotheotheraccounts.

SyncYourSettingsSelectingSyncyoursettingswillallowyoutosyncsettingsbetweenWindowsdevicesthatareloggedonusingthesameMicrosoftaccount.Forexample,whenIfirstloggedontoWindows10,thelockscreenimagefrommySurfacetabletalsodisplayedonthelockscreenforthePC,anditremembersmyfavoritesinInternetExploreracrossmultipledevices.

OnceyouturnSyncsettingson,youcancontrolthemindividually.YourchoicesincludeTheme,Webbrowsersettings,Passwords,Languagepreferencesandaccessibilitysettings.Justslidethetoggletoturnthemoffandon.

Justbelowyournameandphoto,you’llseetheoptiontoeitherquicklylockyourscreenortologoutofyourWindowsaccountwithoutshuttingdownthecomputer.

Power&AllAppsYou’llalsohavequickaccesstoFileExplorerandyourSettingsfromtheStartMenu.

TowardsthebottomofyourStartMenu,you’llseeaPowerbuttonicon.

Clickitandyou’llseeoptionstoSleep,Shutdown,orRestartthecomputer.

BelowthatistheAllAppsicon.Clickheretoseealloftheprogramsonyourcomputer.Anappisaprogram,aprogramisanapp.Theyaren’tdifferentthingsinthissystem.

Ifyouhaveanewappinstalled,theword“New”willdisplaynexttoit.

Clickandyou’llseeanalphabeticallistofalltheapps(programs)onyourcomputer.Recentlyaddedprogramswillalsobehighlightedatthetop.

Movethescrollbardowntoviewyourapps.

Clickontheiconforanyprograminthelisttoopenit.

Right-clickforoptionslikepinningtotheStartmenuortaskbaroruninstalling.

ChoosetheBackarrowtoreturntotheStartMenu

Ifyouhoverthearrownexttoanappthat’spinnedtoyourstartmenu,you’llgettheoptiontoseeajumplistthatshowsrecentlyopenfiles.

Clickonaniteminthejumplisttoopenit.

CustomizeYourStartMenuTotherightofyouStartMenu,you’llseetileswhicharebasicallyjustlargeicons.ForthoseofyouwhoupgradedfromWindows8,thiswilllookfamiliartoyou.ThiswasthestartscreenfortheMetro/Moderninterface.Navigatethroughthembyusingthescrollbartotheright.

SomeofthesetilesarecalledLiveTiles,becausetheyareexactlythat–Live.Theycanupdatewithcurrentnewsorweather,recentlyuseddocuments,currentcalendarappointmentsforshowyouthenumberofe-mailmessagesorFacebooknotifications.Noteveryappwillhavelivetilecapability.

Youclickonthemtoopentheapp.Inthiscase,theNewsapp.

Here’showtopinonetothemenu.Finditinyourapplist,right-clickandchoosePintoStart.

Theapp’stilewillthenappearinyourlistoftiles.

FortheFacebookLiveTile,I’llreceiveliveupdatesaboutnotifications.

YoucanexpandtheStartMenuWindowbypositioningityourcursoratthetopedgeandwaitinguntilyouseeanarrow.Pullituptolengthenit.

Orpullouttowidenit.

Thesizeiscustomizable.Youcanchoosetohaveittakeupalotofthescreen.

Orjustalittlebit.

Youcanalsoadjustthesizeandpositionofthetilesonthemenu.Right-clickonatileandyoucanunpinitfromtheStartmenu.

TheSkypeappisnowgonefrommyStartMenu,thoughIcallstillfinditeasilyunderAllApps.

You’llalsofindtheoptiontoresizethetile.

Let’scheckoutwhatthevarioussizeslooklike.Here’sSmall.

Thisismedium.You’llnoticethatit’slargeenoughtodisplaysomeofthenotificationsintheFBLiveTile.

Wideislargeenoughtoseemoreofthenotifications.

Andlargelookslikethis.

ForsomeappssuchasCalendar,havingthelargersizeenablesyoutoseeeventswithouthavingtoopentheappfully.

Tomoveanapp,justclickonce,holddownanddragitwhereyouwantit.Thescreenwillgrayoutabituntilyougetitintoplace.

Clickintheblankspacenearthetopofthisareaandyou’llseeaniconmadeoftwolittlelines.

Youcanthentypeinanameforthatspecificgroupofapps.

Clickoffitafteryoutypeandthatlabelwillremainuntilyouchangeit.

MicrosofthasassignedsomelabelstoothersectionsofappslikeExploreWindowsorEverydayApps.Youcanchangethosetitlesjustbyclickingonthem.

HereI’vetitledasectionasOfficeAppsandthenaddedOfficeprogramslikeWordandExceltotheStartMenu.I’vegroupedthoseitemstogether.Youcouldchoosetodoitwithgamesorsocialmedia.Appscanbegroupedanywayyoulike.

Youcanalsoright-clickonanylivetileandturnthattileoffifyoudon’twantittobeconstantlyupdated.

Byadjustingthesizeofthetilesandmovingthemintoplace,youcancompletelycustomizethelookofyourStartMenu,puttingtheprogramsyouusemostrightwhereyouwantthem.

Remember:Ifyouwanttomovetheshortcuticonforaprogram(tile),justclickandholdandmoveitwhereyouwantittogoontheStartMenu.

Ifyouwanttoresizeitormakeitgoaway,justright-clickonit.Youcanmakeitbiggerorsmallerorchooseunpin.Choosingunpinwon’tdeletetheprogram,justremovetheshortcut.

SearchandCortanaSearchBasicsThequickestwaytofindanythingistousethesearchfunction.SeethatlittlesearchatthebottomleftofyourscreennexttotheStartButton?Wanttofindanapp,adocumentorsomethingonline?Juststarttypinginthesearchbox.

BelowItypedWordandsearchreturnedresultsforMicrosoftWordandWordPadunderapps.TherearealsoresultsunderSettingsandresultsintheWindowsStore.Justclickontheiconfortheresultyouwanttogothere.

IfIchooseMystuff,theresultsarenarrowedtosettingsandprogramsonmyPC.

IcansortthoseresultsbyMostRelevantorMostRecent.

Orchoosetoonlyseeonetypeofresultlikemusic,documents,appsorfiles.

NoticethatifI’mlookingforanapp,SearchwillalsospecifyifIt’sanappintendedmainlyfordesktopuselikeWordPad.

Orifit’samoretouch-friendlyWindowsapplikeFacebook.

IfIchooseWebforthesearch,SearchwilluseBingtosearchtheInternetinsteadofmyPC.

TheEdgebrowserwillopenwiththeresults.

CortanaNow,ifyou’dliketheabilitytosearchbyvoiceorjustwanttryoutacoolbitofnewtechnology,you’llwanttoturnonCortana.

“She”isyourpersonaldigitalassistantinWindows10.CortanaisthenameforthetechnologythatWindows10usestosearchforthings.CortanaisnamedafteranartificialintelligenceinthevideogameHalo.Sincethecharacterisfemaleandthisprogramusesafemalevoicetospeaktoyou,I’llcallher“she.”Inthegame,Cortanahelpssavethegalaxy.Ineverydayuse,shehelpsyoufindanythingyou’relookingfor,andsetupyourappointments,openprogramsandsende-mails.She’lleventellyouajoke.

Firstclickinthesearchboxandthenclickthelittlesettingsgearinthewindowthatopens.

SlidethetoggletoOnandCortanawillaskforpermissiontouseyourlocationandotherinformationtoassistyou.

YoucansearchbytypingthingsinorbytalkingtoCortana.Togetstarted,you’lltellCortanayourname.IfyouhaveamicrophoneforyourPC,youcanthenteachherhowtopronounceit.

Wanttofindanapp,adocumentorsomethingonline?JuststarttypinginCortana’ssearch

box.

Aslongasyouhaveamicrophone,youcanspeaktoCortanaaswell.Clickthemicrophoneicontotherightofthesearchboxorjustsay“HeyCortana.”(Youhavetoenablethe“HeyCortana”functionandwe’llgettothatshortly.)

Someofyoumayseeanerrorlikethiswhenyougotosetupyourmicrophone.

Iwentaheadandsetupmyoldmicrophonewithoutanyissues.Sodon’tgetscaredoff,ifyouseethis.

Whenyoupressthemicrophoneicon,Cortanawillletyouknowsheislistening.

IaskedCortanaaboutthe2015WorldCup.

SheopenedtheEdgebrowserwithresultsforscoresandschedules.

ExploreCortanaNowlet’stakeatourofCortanaandhowyoucanhelpherworkbetterforyou.

ThefirsttimeyouuseCortana,she’llaskwhatyou’dliketobecalledandifyou’dcaretoshareyourlocationinformation.Thishelpswithdeterminingthingslikelocalweather,trafficreports,andmovietimes.

WhenCortanaisopen,you’llseealistoficonsontheleftsideoftheWindow.Clicktheiconwiththreelinestoopenthemenu.

CortanaHomeClickHomeandyou’llseethesearchwindowforCortana.AsyouputeventsinyourcalendarandCortanalearnsyourinterests,you’llalsoseeeventsandnationalandlocalnewsdisplayedinthatwindow.Justclickonastoryoraneventtoseemore.

Scrolldownandyou’llseeotherinformation,suchasthelocalforecast.

Cortana’sNotebook

ClicktheNotebookiconandyou’llseealotofoptions.

ChooseAboutMeandyoucanmakechangestoyourprofilewithCortana.

ChoosechangemynametochangethenameCortanausestoaddressyou.

Typeinthename.

ThenteachCortanahowtosayit.

ChooseFavoriteplacesandyoucanaddlocations,suchashome,work,orfavoriterestaurants.Thiscanhelpwiththingsliketrafficalertsandgivingdirections.Justclickthe+signtoaddalocation.

ChooseConnectedAccountsandyoucanaddotheraccounts,likeanOffice365toCortana.

Next,let’sclicktheSettingsicon.Itlookslikeagear.ThisiswhereyouturnCortanaoffandonandwhereyoucanchangethenamethatsheaddressesyouby.Thisisalsowhereyoucanturnonthe“HeyCortana!”featurethatletsyouvoiceactivateasearch.

YoucanalsoteachCortanatoonlyrespondtoyourvoice.

Ifshehasn’tlearnedyourvoiceyet,chooselearnmyvoiceandyouwillhavetorepeatafewphrasestohelpherunderstandhowyouspeak.

Thisisalsowhereyou’lldecideifCortanacantakeinformationsuchasflightsorpackagesshippingtoyouinmessagesonyourdeviceandifshe’sallowedtogiveyoupersonalizedgreetingsandthoughtsinthesearchbox.

You’llalsohaveaseriesofcategoriessuchasEat&Drink,Events&Music.HereyoucandetermineifCortanacanmakepersonalizedsuggestionsandgiveyouupdatesonthetopicasshelearnsmoreaboutyou.

ChooseGettingaroundandyoucandecideifCortanacansendyoutrafficnotificationsaboutyourcommutetoworkorhome,ornotifyyouwhenit’stimetoleaveforascheduledappointment.

Clickonanyofthecategoriesandyoucangothroughandcustomizewhatyou’dliketosee.Oryoucanchoosetoturnthemoff,soyouwon’tbebombardedwithtoomuchinformation.

Withallofthese“cards”turnedon,IopenCortanaandseethis:

IfIscrolldown,I’llgetmoreinformationsuchassuggestedrestaurants.

AfterIturnoffnewsandfoodinformation,I’mleftwithjustweatherandmycalendarappointments.

SowhatkindofthingscanyouaskCortana?Here’stheresponsetoaskingthecurrenttemperature.

Icanalsoaskhertosetanalarm.

OthersuggestedtasksforCortanaarelookingupdirections,andaddingappointmentstoyourcalendar.Butmyfavoriteistoaskforajoke.

RemindersClickingthelightbulbiconletsyouaddreminders.

YoucanalsocreateonebytellingCortana“Createareminder.”

IverballytoldCortanatoremindmetomakepastasaladtonightat7:30p.m.

SheconfirmedthatIwouldbereminded.

RemindersareaddedtotheReminderlist.

AsyouuseCortanashe’llbecomefamiliarwithyourroutinesandinterestsandbeabletoshowyouremindersfromyourcalendar,informationaboutyourcommuteandnewsthatsuitsyourinterestsbeforeyouevenask.

OpenProgramsOneofthebestfeaturesisherabilitytoopenprogramsforyou.

IfIsay“HeyCortana,openFacebook,”TheFacebookappwillopen.

IfItellCortanatoopenanewWordDocument,Wordwillopen.IfIsay,“Hey,Cortana,Iwanttosendane-mail,”CortanaaskwhoIwanttosenditto.

Icanchoosetherecipient,thesubjectandevendictatethemessagebeforetellingCortanatosend.

ExperimentandhavefunaskingCortanadifferentthings.Somesuggestions,try“knock,knock”and“Openthepodbaydoors.”

CortanawillalsoworkinconjunctionwithyourWindowsphoneortabletandupcomingCortanaappsfor

AndroidandiPhones.Whentheseappsareavailableintheappstoreforyourphone,you’llbeabletotakeCortanawithyoueverywhere.

RememberKeepinmindthatwhetheryouuseSearchaloneorenableCortana,thisiswhereyoufindthingsquicklyinWindows10.

Needtofindaprogram,typeinthename.

NeedtofindasongonyourPC.Typeitin.

NeedtofindadocumentonyourPCorinthecloud?Typeitin.

WanttomakeachangeonyourPC.Typeitin.

Searchisyourone-stopshoptofindalmostanything.

Nowthatwe’vetakenalookatyourdesktopandyoursearchoptions.Let’smoveontosettings

SettingsSettingiswhereyou’llcontroleverythingonyourcomputerfromyourAccountstonotifications,toprivacy,toyourupdates.ThisisalsowhereyoucanmakemodificationstomakeiteasiertouseyourPCifyouhaveanytypeofvisualimpairment.

IfyoujustwanttogetstartedandgetfamiliarwithWindows10,youdon’tneedtostudythischapterindepth.Butlaterwhenyouhaveaquestionabouthowtodosomething,itsurewillcomeinhandy.Iwillsaythatifyouhaveanytypeofvisualormotorimpairment,you’llwanttocheckouttheEaseofAccesssection.Now,let’slearnwhatSettingscandoforyou.

We’vealreadytalkedaboutsomeadjustmentstosettingsaswelookedattheDesktopandStartMenu,nowlet’scheckoutallofyouroptions.

Toopensettings,clickyourStartButtonandchooseSettingsfromthemenu.

TheSettingswindowwillopen.

Fromhereyoucancontrol,Systemsettings,Devices,Network&Internet,Personalization,yourAccounts,Time&language,EaseofAccess,Privacy,andUpdates&Security.

SystemSettingsChooseSystemandyou’llbeabletocontroleverythingfromdisplaytonotificationstostorage.Let’stakealook.

DisplayThefirstoptionatthetopofthelistisDisplay.

Thisiswhereyoucanaddanadditionalmonitororadjustthemonitorsifyouhaveadualmonitorsetup.

Ifyou’dliketochangethedisplaysizeoftextorapps,justdragthesliderbarandyoucanincreasethesizeupto200%.

Here’sthestartscreendisplayedat100%

Belowisthedifferenceinthedisplaywiththesliderbarpulledallthewayto200%

Youcanalsochoosebetweenlandscapeorportraitorientationformonitors(ifforsomereasonyouneedonefacingtheotherway)ortoextendyourdisplaytomultiplemonitorsorchooseanotherscreenasyourmaindisplayscreen.

You’llfindanotherimportantoptionifyouclickAdvanceddisplaysettings.

Thisiswhereyoucansettheresolutionofyourmonitor.Usuallyyoushouldstickwiththerecommendedsettings,butifyou’reusinganoldermonitorwithyoursystem,youmayneedtochangethemforoptimumviewing.Justclickthedrop-downarrowforamenu

withmorechoices.

You’llfindwithmanyofthesesettingsthatonceyouclickapply,youwillhavetologoutandbackintoWindowsforthemtotakeeffect.

Notifications&ActionsThisisanimportantsettinginWindows10.BecauseIcantellyoufrompersonalexperiencethatifyouleaveallofyournotificationsettingsturnedon,itcangetalittleannoyingifyouhappentohavesocialmediaaccounts.

YourfirstoptionintheNotifications&actionsmenuistochoosewhatyouwantdisplayedunderQuickactionsinthenotificationcenter.

QuickactionscanbeopenedwithjustoneclickfromtheNotificationCenter.

Clickontheanyoftheiconstogetadrop-downmenuthatwillletyouselectQuickactions.

Belowthatiswhereyoucandecidewhichiconsappearonyourtaskbar.

Selecteditemsdisplayinthenotificationareaontherightsideofyourtaskbar.

Choosewhatyou’dliketoseebyslidingthebuttonofforon.

Belowthatistheoptionforturningsystemiconsofforon.

ThisiswhereyoucanshutoffcontroltothingslikeClockorVolume.Didyourvolumeicondisappear?Isyourclockgone?Checkhereandyou’llprobablyfindthey’vebeenturnedoff.

Nextyou’llfindyourNotificationsoptions.HereyoucanchoosewhetheryouseetipsaboutWindowsorreceiveappnotifications.YoucanalsodecideifyouwanttoseenotificationsonyourlockscreenincludingthingslikealarmremindersandincomingInternetcalls.Youcanalsochoosetoturnthemoffonlywhenyou’regivingapresentation.

Belowthatyou’llfindyouroptionstochoosewhichappssendyounotifications.HereI’vehappilyturnedoffthenotificationsformyFacebookapp,becausetheyweregettingtobealittlemuch.Youcanchoosetobenotifiedaboutappointmentsorincomingmail.Thereareavarietyofchoices,dependingontheappyouareusing.Turningoffnotificationsherewon’tshutthemoffwithintheapp.Itjustmeansyougetthemfromthenotificationcenter.

Apps&FeaturesThisiswhereyougotouninstallanapp.(Andinsomecasesmovethemtoanotherdrive.)

Youcanscrolldowntobrowseyourappsorsearchbyname.Youcanchoosetosortyourappsbysizeandalsoviewappsstoredonotherdrives.

Whenyouclickonanapp,you’llseetheoptiontoUninstallandsometimestheoptiontomovetoanotherdrive.IftheMovebuttonisgrayedout,youdon’thavetheoptiontomovethatapp.

MultitaskingMultitaskingiswhereyoucanchoosehowopenappsdisplayonyourscreen,andyoucanalsochooseoptionsforyourvirtualdesktops.

TabletModeIfyou’reusingadevicethatcanfunctionaseitheratabletorindesktopmode,youhaveseveraloptionshere.Youcanhaveitautomaticallyswitchtotouch-friendlysettingswhenyoudetachthekeyboardanduseitasatablet.Youcanalsochoosetohaveitrememberwhichmodeyouusedthedeviceinlast,andusethatagainwhenyousignin.Youcanalsodecideifthedeviceautomaticallyswitchesbetweentabletanddesktopmodeoraskswhichyou’dprefer.

Ifyou’reusingalaptoportablet,you’llalsohaveabatterysaveroption.

Power&SleepDoesyourdevicenodofftooquickly?Thisiswhereyou’llselectwhenyourlockscreencomesonafteraperiodofinactivityandalsowhenthePCgoestosleep.Justclickthearrowinthedrop-downmenuforavarietyofchoices.

StorageUnderStorage,you’llfindinformationaboutwhat’sstoredonyourPC.

You’llseehowmuchspaceistakenuponeachofyourdrives.

Clickonthatdrivetoseeexactlywhatistakingupthespace.

ScrolldowntoSaveLocationsandyoucanchoosewherenewapps,documentsandvideoswillsaveonyourPC.

OfflineMapsThisfeatureiswaymorelikelytobeusedontabletsorphones.Youcanchoosetodownloadmapsthatallowyoutosearchfordirectionswhenyouaren’tonline.YoucanalsotellyourcomputertoonlydownloadmapsonWi-Fiandnotonadataplanordecideifyouwantmapstobeautomaticallyupdated.

DefaultAppsThisiswhereyoucanchoosewhichappswillopenautomaticallytoperformcertaintasks.

Forexample,whenIchooseEmail,IhavethechoicebetweentheMailappthatcomeswithWindows10orthedesktopversionofOutlookthatIinstalledaspartofOffice.

ForplayingmusicIcanchoosebetweentheMusicapp,WindowsMediaPlayerortheVLCappIinstalled.

IfIchooseWindowsMediaPlayer,wheneverIclickonamusicfiletoplay,WindowsMediaPlayerwillopenbydefault.

AboutThisiswhereyouclicktolearnawealthofinformationaboutyourPC.

YoucanchoosetorenameyourPC.

YoucanalsoseewhichversionofWindowsyou’rerunningandfindinformationaboutyourprocessor,yourRAM,yoursystemtypeandPenandtouchoptionsforyourdisplay.

DevicesChooseDevicestomanageBluetoothandperipheralslikeprintersandyourmouse.

Printers&ScannersYourfirstoptionatthetopwillbePrinters&scanners.Thisiswhereyoucanaddprintersandmakechoicesaboutdownloadingdriversandupdates.

Clickthe+icontoaddaprinterorscannertoyourPC.

YourPCwillsearchforanydevicesthatareconnected,orsearchforawirelessprinter.

IfWindows10hasaninissuefindingyourprinter,itwillofferyousomeoptionstotrytoconnect.

ToremoveaprinteroraprintingoptionlikeSendtoOneNote,orPrintasPDF,justclickonthatoptionandchooseRemovedevice.

YoucanalsoselectadeviceandtellyourPCnottodownloaddrivers,infoorappsfornewdevicesifyou’reusingameteredInternetconnection.

YoucanalsoseeinformationaboutyourprinterintheControlPanelbyopeningDevicesandprinters.

Clickonanydevicetoseemoreaboutit.

ChooseAddadeviceorAddaprinteratthetoptoaddadeviceorprinter.

ClickingonSeewhat’sprintingwillshowyoutheprintqueue.YoucanalsoremoveadevicebychoosingRemovedevice.

ConnectedDevicesHereyou’llseealistofallthedevicesthatareconnectedtoyourPCsuchasspeakers,cardreadersandmicrophones.

Toaddadevice,justclickthe+icon.Toremoveadevice,clickonit,andchooseRemovedevice.

You’llalsofindtheoptiontonotdownloaddriversetc…relatedtothatparticulardeviceonameteredconnection.

Mouse&TouchpadThisiswhereyoucancustomizehowyourmouseandtouchpadrespond.

Youcanchooseeitheryourleftorrightmousebuttonasyourprimarybutton.

There’sanoptiontohaveourmousewheelscrollonescreenoronelineatatime.

Youcanevenchooseexactlyhowmanylinesitscrollsbyadjustingthesliderbar.

ClickAdditionalmouseoptionsforevenmorechoices.

TheMousePropertieswindowwillopen.

ClicktheButtonstabandyou’llfindoptionsforswitchingyourprimarymousebuttonandalsoforchangingthedouble-clickspeed.Ifyoufindthatyouhavedifficultydouble-clickingfastenoughtoopenthingssometimes,trypullingthatslidertowardsslow.Clicklockisahandyfeaturethatwillletyouhighlightordragsomethingyou’veselectedwithoutholdingdownthemousebuttonforalongperiodoftime.

ThePointerstabwillletyoucustomizethelookandcolorofyourmousepointer.

ClickonthePointerOptionstabforanoptiontochangethespeedofthepointer.YoucanalsoclickSnapToautomaticallymoveyourpointertoboxesthatneedtobechecked.Ifyouhavevisualissues,youcanchoosetoturnonpointertrails.Hidepointerwhiletypingmeansthepointerwillvanishwhileyouareactivelytyping.There’salsoanoptiontoshowthelocationofyourpointerwheneveryoupresstheCTRLkey.

ClicktheWheeltabtomakeadjustmentstoscrolling,andHardwaretoseeinformationaboutyourmouse.

TypingUnderTypingyoucanturnAutocorrectofforonandchoosewhetherornotmisspelledwordswillbehighlighted.

AutoPlayThissettingwilldecidewhathappenstomediaanddeviceswhenyouplugthemintoyourcomputer.TurnitonandyourUSBdrivewillopenimmediatelyandaskwhatyouwanttohappennext.IfyouputinaprogramDVD,itwillautomaticallystart.

Youhavespecificoptionsforremovabledrivesandmemorycards.

Foraremovabledriveyoucanchooseseveraloptions.Youcandecidethatnothingwillhappen,thefilefolderwillopentoviewfiles,oryoucanconfigurethedriveforbackup.

Formemorycards,youcandecidethatnothingwillhappen,fileswillopen,ormediawillautomaticallyplayinWindowsMediaPlayer.

Network&Internet

Thisiswhereyou’llmanageyourWi-Fiandotherconnectionsorsetupavirtualprivatenetwork.

Wi-Fiiswhereyoucanviewyournetworkconnections.

Wi-Fi

Thisisalsowhereyou’llbeabletoviewtheWi-Finetworksthatareavailabletoconnectto.

YoucanalsoviewthesenetworksbyclickingtheWi-Fiiconinthenotificationsareaofyourtaskbar.

Remember,justbecauseyoucanseeaWi-Finetworkdoesn’tmeanyoucanconnecttoit.Youcouldbeseeingyourneighbor’snetwork.Makesureyouconnecttoyourhomenetworkunlessyou’resomewherethatpublicWi-Fiisavailable.Andremember,justbecauseaneighbordoesn’tsecurehisornetwork,doesn’tmeanit’sagoodideatouseit.

Toconnecttoanetwork,clickonitsname.Ifthenetworkissecure,you’llbeaskedforthesecuritykeyorpasswordforyournetwork.Rememberwhenyoutypeitin,thatcapitalization,spacesandspellingcount.Alsodon’tmistakethenumeral0fortheletterO.

Checktheconnectautomaticallyboxtoremindamobiledevicelikealaptoportablettoconnectwheneveryouarewithinrangeofthatnetwork.

ChoosingAdvancedOptionswillallowyoutoseeinformationaboutyourwirelessadapterorwirelesscard.

Let’stakealookattheoptionsavailablewhenyouchooseManageWi-FiSettings.

TurnonWi-Fisenseandyourcomputerwillautomaticallyconnecttosuggestedopen

Wi-Fihotspots.Youcanalsoteachittoconnecttonetworksthatareusedbyyourcontacts.Youandyourcontactscanauthorizeeachothertoconnecttonetworksyoubothsharewithoutrevealingyourpasswordstoeachother.

Youcoulddothisforabusinesscontactoratafriend’shouse.Thisisoptional,butitcouldbeatimesaverifyouoftentakeyourlaptoportablettootherbusinessesortofriends’houses.

Manageknownnetworksnotonlyshowsnetworksyou’veaccessedwiththecomputeryou’reusing,butothernetworksyou’veaccessedwithdevicesusingothercomputersloggedontotoyourMicrosoftaccount.ClickonanetworkandchooseForgetifyou’dlikeWindowstoforgetthepasswordforthatnetwork.

Datausageshowsyouhowmuchdatayou’veusedinthelast30daysbrokendownbywirelessandwiredconnection.

SelectUsagedetailstoseewhichappsusethemostdata.

VPN

VPNallowsyoutoconnecttoavirtualprivatenetwork.

ItisanextremelysecurewayofconnectingtotheInternetandsomethingyoumaywanttoconsideriftightsecurityisapriority.YoucanusethisfeaturetologintoaVPNthat’sbeencreatedbysomeoneelselikeanemployer,oryoucansetupyourownserver.Butthat’snotsomethingI’dsuggestgettingintoifyouaren’tfairlytechsavvy.

Asyou’dexpect,Dial-upallowsyoutosetupanewdial-upconnection.

Ethernet

ChooseEthernettosetupawiredconnectionviaEthernet.Proxyallowsyoutosetupaproxyserver.Proxyserversarealittlemoretechnicalthanwe’llbegettingintointhisguide.

Personalization

Personalizationiswhereyoucanchoosethingslikeyourbackground,colorsandthemes.Wecoveredmostofthiswhenwewerelearningaboutthedesktop.Butthereareacoupleofthingswe’llcoverherethatwedidn’tgettobefore.

UnderLockscreenyoucanchooseanapptoshowdetailedstatusforonyourcomputerlockscreenandadditionalappstoshowaquickstatus.

Clicktheboxwiththe+symboltochooseyourapps.

Here,I’vechosentheCalendarappfordetailedinformationandFacebookandMailforquickstatus.

YourlockscreenwillthendisplayCalendareventsandnotificationsabouttheseappseventhoughyourPCislocked.

Thelastthingwe’llcoverunderPersonalizationistheStartMenuoptions.

YoucanchoosewhetherornottoshowmostusedappsorrecentlyaddedappsonyourStartMenu.

Here’salookattheStartMenuwiththoseitemsturnedoff.

YoualsohavethechoicetousethefullscreenStart,whichlooksalotliketheinterfaceforWindows8,butyoustillhavesearchatthebottomleft.

Inthismode,youclickamenuatthetoplefttoseetheStartMenuoptions.

YoucanalsochoosewhetherjumplistsappearforrecentlyopeneditemsintheStartMenu.

Withthatoptionturnedon,Icanright-clickanappandseerecentdocumentsinaprogramlikeWord.

WealreadycoveredsettingupAccountsandalsoalotaboutTime&language.

Region&languagesettingsallowyoutochoosealocationformorepersonalizedcontentandalsochoosealanguageforreadingandtypingonyourcomputer.

Speechoptionsallowyoutochoosethelanguageinwhichyou’llspeakwithyourdevice.ItalsohasasettingtohelpyourPCunderstandheavieraccents.

UnderText-to-speechyoucanchooseamaleorfemalevoiceforapps(Thisdoesn’tincludeCortana)andthespeedatwhichthevoicewillread.Thesesettingsareveryimportantifyouhavethescreenreaderturnedonunderaccessibilityoptions.Youcanpreviewhowthevoicewillsoundwhenyoumakeyourchoices.

UnderMicrophoneyoucansetupyourmicforspeechrecognition.

TheprocessissimilartotheonewewentthroughforCortana.

EaseOfAccessIfyouhaveissueswithavisualorhearingimpairment,Windows10offersyouseveraloptionstomakeyourPCeasiertouse.

First,let’slookatNarrator.Thisscreenreaderwillreadeverythingthat’sdisplayedonascreenincludingtextsandbuttons.YoucanturnNarratorOnorOff,orchoosetohaveitstartautomatically.Forexample,whentheNarratoristurnedon,ittellsmethatIaminSettings,EaseofAccessandreadsthebuttonoptions.ItalsoreadsoutcharactersasItypeandreadstextonthepagetome.

YoucanchoosebetweenthemaleMicrosoftDavidvoiceorthefemaleMicrosoftZiravoice.Therealsooptionsforadjustingspeedandpitch.

Youcanchoosewhetherornotthenarratorreadshintsaboutcontrolsorbuttons.Youcandecideifyouwantthenarratortoreadcharactersorwordsaloudasyoutype,orifyouwantittoreadatallwhenyoutype.Youalsohavetheoptiontoturndownthevolumeonotherappssotheydon’tdrownoutthenarrator,orwhetherornotyouwantaudiocues.Justslidethebuttonsoffandon.

Cursorandkeyssettingscanmakethecursorandinsertionpointfollowthenarrator.

There’salsoanoptiontoonlyactivatethekeysonatouchkeyboardwhenyourfingersareoffthekeyboard.

Forexample,NarratorwillreadnotonlythetextinthisWorldStartarticleintheEdgebrowser,butalsothebuttonstonavigatetovariousspotsonthepageaswellasthemenuoptionsforusingthebrowser.

WhenIworkonanimageinPaint,itwillreadaloudwhichtoolI’musing,whatsizeI’vechosentoresizetheimagetoandwhetherthewindowhasbeenscrolledup,down,rightorleftandhowmuch.

Narratorwillalsoletyouknowwhenit’sbeenturnedoff.Thisinanexcellentassistantforthosewithavisualimpairment.

Magnifierdoesjustwhatitsays,itmakesthingsbigger.

Turnitonandthescreenwillbemagnifiedbyuptomorethan1000%.Belowisat200%

Nowwhenyougetupintothehighermagnification,youstarttolosesomepictureclarity.Thisis800%.Justusethe+icontoenlarge,andthe–icontotakethesizebackdown.

Clickthedrop-downmenuunderViewsandyoucanchoosebetweenviewingthefull

screenorhavingthelensoverjustpartofthescreen.

ChooseInvertcolorsandyou’lldojustthatfortheareayou’remagnifying.

YoualsohaveoptionstostartthemagnifierautomaticallywheneveryouuseyourPC,andtohavethemagnifiereitherfollowyourmousecursororyourkeyboard.

Highcontrastgiveyouthechoicebetweenfourhigh-contrastthemes.

Youcancustomizethecolorsofthevariouselementsinthesethemesbyclickingonthemandchoosingfromacolorpalate.

TheClosedCaptionsfeatureenablesyoutoadjustthecolor,sizeandtransparencyofclosedcaptionswhentheyaredisplayedforvideosplayedonyourPC.

ChooseKeyboardandwe’vegotawholerangeofchoicestomaketypingeasier.

ToggletheOn-ScreenKeyboardtotheOnpositionforakeyboardthatyoucantypeonbyclickingwithamouse.

TurnStickyKeysonandyouwon’thavetotypeallthekeystogetherforkeyboardcombos.Forexample,insteadofholdingdownCtrl&AltwhilealsopressingDelatthesametimewhenyouwanttogettotheTaskManager,whenStickyKeysisturnedon,Icanpressthosekeysoneatatime,insequence,tostartTaskManager.It’sgreathelpforthosewithmobilityissues.

WhenToggleKeysisturnedon,you’llhearatonewhenyoupresskeyslikeCapsLock,NumLock,orScrollLock.

FilterKeyscansaveyoufrommistyping,byignoringrepeatedtypingofkeysandalsobymakingsoundswhenkeysarepressedtoletyouknowthatthestrokehasregistered.

Atonetimeoranother,we’veallaccidentallyusedashortcuttoturnsomethingofforchangeasetting.UnderOtherSettings,youcanchoosetobenotifiedwithasoundorawarningmessagewhenyouchangesomethingwithshortcutkeys.

ClickMousetoadjustthepointersizeandpointercolorofyourmousecursor.

UseMousekeystousethenumberkeypadtomovethemousecursoraroundwitharrowkeys,ortousetheCtrlandShiftkeystospeedupandslowdownthemouse.YoualsohaveanoptiontousethemousekeyswhenNumLockisselected.

LookunderOtheroptionstoturnoffWindowsanimations,adjustthelengthoftimenotificationsaredisplayed,andtoadjustthecursorthicknesswithasliderbar.

Ifyou’dprefervisualnotificationstosound,youcanselectwhattypeofvisualnotificationsyou’dprefer.

Alltheseoptionscanbeprettyconfusing,butthere’sasimplewaytodecidewhichonesworkbestforyou.

Justtype“letWindowssuggesteaseofaccesssettings”intothesearchboxandclickontheresult.

Awindowwillopenandyou’llanswerquestionsabouthearing,vision,andmobility.

WindowswillthenmakesuggestionastowhichAccessibilityoptionswillworkbestforyou.

Youcanthenputacheckbesidethechangesyou’dliketotryandthenclickapplytoputthemintoaction.

ChangeslikethesecanmakeitmucheasiertouseyourPC.

Inournextchapter,we’regoingtodiscusstheControlPanel.Whichiswhereyouadjustsettings.Iknow,wejustdidsettings–butMicrosoftinitsinfinitewisdomofferstwointerfacesformakingchangestoyoursystem.Mostlytheydothesamethings,butsometimestherearemoreoptionsavailableunderControlPanel.

ControlPanelLet’stalkaboutControlPanel.ItmaybethemorefamiliarwayforyoutoaccessWindowssettingsandit’sstillaroundinWindows10.ThisistheonethingIfindconfusingaboutthisoperatingsystem.Theyhavenewinterfacesforaccessingandchangingsettings,andMicrosoftalsoduplicatesthataccessbykeepingtheoldinterfacearoundaswell.Iknowtheywanttobeallthingstoallpeople,butsometimesitjustcausesconfusion.Hopefully,thisguidecanpreventsomeofthatconfusion.

JustaswiththeSettingschapter,youdon’thavetoknoweverythinginthischaptertofindyourwayaroundWindows10.But,incaseyouneedtomakethechangesItellyouaboutheresometime,itdoesn’thurttofamiliarizeyourselfwithwhatControlPanelcando.

Attheendofthischapter,I’mgoingtoteachyouasecrettrickthatletsyoucombineSettingsandControlPanelfunctionsinoneplace.

TofindControlPanel,justtypeitinthesearchboxandclickontheresults.

Awindowwillopenwithmanyofthesameoptionswe’rediscussedintheSettingschapter.

Clickonthemandyou’llseethesameoptionswithaslightlydifferentinterface.

You’llseewindowsliketheonebelowinsteadofthefullscreensthatweseeundertheSettingssection.

Ifwe’vealreadydiscussedanoptionintheSettingschapter,I’llreferyoubacktotherebutthereareafewofthemthatareexclusivetotheControlPanel.SecurityandBackupoptionsI’llsaveforourchapterdevotedtothattopic.

Solet’scheckoutControlPanel.We’llstartoffbychoosingSystemandSecurity.

I’mgoingtoskipovertheSecurityandMaintenancealongwithFirewallandSystem,becausewe’llcoverthoseinournextchapter.Let’sstartwithPowerOptions.

PowerOptions

WediscussedsettingapasswordwhenyourPCwakesupandchangingthesleepsettingsinpreviouschapters,soherewewilllookattheoptionstochangewhatthepowerbuttonsdo.

Choosefromadrop-downmenuhowyouwantthecomputertoreactwhenyoupressthePowerbutton.YoucanalsodothesamefortheSleepbutton.

IncaseyouwerewonderingaboutthedifferencebetweenSleepandHibernation,Sleepisapower-savingmodethatletsyourcomputerwakeupwithinafewsecondswhenyou’rereadytouseitagain.Hibernationisalsoapower-savingstate,mostoftenusedforlaptops.Hibernationputsyouropendocumentsandprogramsonyourharddriveandthenturnsoffthecomputer.Ifyoudon’tseeSleeporHibernationoptionsonyourdevice,itmaynotsupportit.

You’llalsoseeoptionsforPasswordProtectionandShutdownSettings.

Hardware&SoundNext,let’smovedownthelinetoHardwareandSound.

UnderSound,you’llfindseveraloptions.

Adjustsystemsoundwillallowyouadjustthesoundlevelforyourspeakersaswellasthevolumeforthingslikenotificationsounds.Justmovethesliderbartoadjust.

YournextoptionisChangesystemsounds.

Clickit,andthiswindowwillopen.

UsethePlaybackandRecordingtabstoswitchbetweenspeakersandmicrophones.

Selectadeviceandyou’llhaveoptionstoConfigure,SetDefaultorlookattheProperties.

UnderConfigure,Icanbothsetupandtestmyspeakers.IfyouhaveSurroundSoundspeakersoraQuadraphonicset-up,thiswillhelpyougetthemostoutofyourspeakers.

Propertieswillletyoumakeseveraladvancedchangestoyourdevice.Iwouldn’tgettoodeepintoplayingaroundwiththisunlessyoualreadyknowalotaboutaudiosetups.

Soundsgivesyoutheabilitytochangethesoundsassociatedwithdifferentactions,removesoundsorevencreateandsaveyourownsoundscheme.

Icouldchooseanactionlikeemptyingtherecyclebin…

…andchoosefromalistofavailablesoundsorbrowsetofindandaddmyownsoundfor

thenotification.

TheCommunicationstabwillallowyoutoadjustthevolumeonyouPCifyouuseittomakeorreceivecalls.YoucanautomaticallylowerormutethesoundofanythingelseonthePCwhileacallishappening.Thatwaynotificationsoundswon’tdrownoutyourcall.

PowerOptionsshowsupagainhere,withoneadditionaloption,thechoicetochooseapowerplantomanagehowmuchpoweryourPCuses.

Programs

Next,let’stakealookattheProgramsoptions.

We’vecoveredUninstallaprogramandIwouldnotsuggestgettingintoturningWindowsfeaturesonoroffunlessyouareveryfamiliarwithcomputers.What’smostlikelytointerestyouhereistheoptiontoRunprogramsmadeforpreviousversionsofWindows.

Clickitandawindowwillopenandtakeyoustep-by-stepthroughtheProgramCompatibilityTroubleshooter.

UserAccountsClickUserAccountsandyou’llfindCredentialManager.

ThisfeaturemanagesyoursavedpasswordsforthewebandyourPC.

Credentials

ManageWebCredentialsiswhereyou’llfindyourpasswordsandusernamesforonlineaccounts.

Clickthedrop-downarrownexttotheaccountandyou’llfindyourusernameandpasswordplusotherinformationabouttheaccount.Youcanalsoremovethecredential.Ifyoufindthatanoldpasswordorusernamekeepsauto-fillingonawebpage,youmayneedtocomehereandchangeit.

Thisisalsoagoodplacetolookifyouforgetapassword.

ClickWindowsCredentialsandyou’llfindtheinformationforyourMicrosoftaccounts.Youcanbackuporrestorethosecredentialsaswell.

Appearance&Personalization

Now,we’llcheckouttheTaskbarandNavigationoptionsunderAppearanceandPersonalization.

Awindowwillopenthatgivesyouseveraloptionsfortaskbarandnavigation.ClicktheTaskbartabforoptionstokeepthetaskbaralwayslockedinplace,soyoudon’taccidentallymoveit.Youcanalsomovethelocationofthetaskbartothetop,left,orrightsides,orevenchoosetoonlyhaveitappearwhenyouhoverthemousecursoroverit.

LastupinAppearanceandPersonalization,we’lltakealookatFonts.FontsarethevariousstylesoftypeusedtodisplaytextonyourPC.

HereyoucangetalookatthefontsinstalledonyourPCandevensearchforaspecialcharacter.

ClickingAdjustClearTypetextmaymakethingseasiertoreadonyourPC.

ClearTypeimprovesthereadabilityoftextonLCDscreens.Whenyouturniton,you’llbewalkedthroughtheprocessofmakingsureyourscreenisoptimized.

SpeechRecognition

SpeechRecognitionwillallowyoutocontrolyourcomputerbyvoice,evenifyoudon’thaveCortanaenabled.

Youcanstartprograms,openmenus,selectobjects,dictatetext,writee-mails…basicallyanythingthatcanbedonewithakeyboardandmouse.SelectStartspeechrecognitionandasetupwizardwillwalkyouthroughactivatingthefeatureandsettingupyourmicrophone.

TheTopSecretTrick:GodMode

NowI’mgoingtoteachyouthesecrettoaccessingSettingsandControlPanelfunctionsinoneplace.Thisiswhat’sknownasGodMode.I’vehadafewreaderstellmethatsomefolksmayfindthetermoffensive.ButIdidn’tnameitandyoucancallitanydarnthingyoulike.

Here’showtomakeitwork.

First,let’screateafolderonyourdesktop.Right-click,thenchooseNewfromthemenuandthenFolder.

You’llnowhaveyourbasicNewFolder.

RenamethefoldertoGodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}Iwouldsuggestyoucopy/pastethefilename,aswrittenabove.IfyouaresomeonewhowouldbebotheredbycallingitGodMode,youcanalterthatportionofthenametosaysomethingelse.

Forexample:CynMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C

Simplybycuttingandpastingthatname,youhavemademagic.Double-clicktoopenthe

folderandViola!

YouhaveeasyaccesstoallofyourSettingsandControlPaneloptionsinonehandyfolder.

Justdouble-clickonanyofthelistedsettingstoopenthem.

Nextup,we’lllookatwhatyouneedtoknowtosecure,backup,andmaintainyourPC.

ProtectBackUp&MaintainYourPCInthischapter,we’lllookatwhatyouneedtoknowtokeepyourPCsecure,well-maintained,andsafelybackedup.

Therearesomebigchangesinthisoperatingsystem,especiallywhenitcomestoupdates.First,let’sstartoutbylookingatyourPrivacyoptionsunderSettings.

Therearealotofthemhere.It’snotnecessarilythatthisOSusesmoreofyourinformationthanpreviousincarnationsofWindows,it’sjustthatyouactuallyhavecontroloverthatinformationhere.That’sagoodthing.

PrivacyWe’llstartwithGeneralprivacyoption.

FromhereyoucantoggleswitchesonorofftodeterminehowMicrosoftusesyourinformation.Youcanchoosetoletthemidentifyyouacrossapps.Thismeansthatappsthatfeatureadvertisingwilltargetadsspecificallytoyou.You’llgetadsinplacesthatfeatureadsnomatterwhat,butthiscouldhelpyouseethingsyoumightactuallycareabout.Nowyouaren’tgoingtoseeadsinpurchasedprogramslikeMicrosoftWord,butsomefreeapps,likegames,aread-supported.

TheSmartScreenFilterisdesignedtoblockpotentiallydangerouswebsites,whilelettingMicrosoftaccessyourlanguagelistallowsthemtotargetrelevantcontenttoyouinsearchresultsandadvertising.There’salsoanoptiontoletMicrosoftuseinformationabouthowyoutypeorwriteonyourdevicetoimprovetheirproducts.

Tooptoutofpersonalizedads,youcangotothislinkhttps://choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-outtochoosewhetheradsaretargetedtoyouwhenyouuseyourMicrosoftaccount.Now,optingoutwon’tmeanyou

nevergetanad,onlythattheywon’tuseyourpersonalinformationtotargetspecificadstoyou.

Locationsettingsallowyoutogetthecorrecttime,mapinformation,weatherandrelevantsearchresultsforyourPC.

Youcanalsodecidewhichprogramswillhaveaccesstoyourlocationbymovingthetoggleswitchesonoroff.

YoucangiveappsindividualpermissionstouseyourCameraornotturnonthecameraatall.AnexampleofanappthatwoulduseyourcameraisSkype.Ofcourse,thissettingonlyworksfordevicesthathavebuilt-incamerasorattachedwebcams.

YouhavesimilaroptionswithMicrophone.Remember,justbecauseanappcanusethemicrophone,doesn’tmeanitislisteningtoyou.Itjustmeansthatifyouchoosetospeakorvoicesearchorrecordsomething,youhavethatability.

Speech,inking,&TypingishowCortanalearnsaboutyou.Ifhelpsherunderstandthingslikewhattypeofcalendareventsyoucreate,yourhandwritingandtypingandwhichcontactsyou’relikelytosendsomethingto.

Youcanturnitoff,butyou’llalsobeturningoffdictation,andclearingwhatthesystem

alreadyknowsaboutyou.

Accountinfoiswhereyouallowotherappstoaccessyourname&photos,Contactsdetermineswhichappscanaccessyourcontacts,andCalendariswhereyoudecidewhichappscanviewyourcalendar.YoualsohavethatchoiceforMessaging.

Radioscontrolswhetherappscanautomaticallyusebuilt-inradioslikeBluetoothtosendandreceivedata.YoucanalsocontrolwhichappshavepermissionstouseBluetooth.TheOtherdevicesoptioniswhereyouenableyourPCtosyncwithwirelessdevicesandalsoconnectwiththingslikeyoursmartTV,tablet,Xbox,orprojector.

Backgroundappsdecideswhichprogramsyouallowtoruninthebackgroundwhenyouaren’tusingthem.Justslidethetoggleswitchtoturnthemoff.

Update&SecurityClickUpdate&securityandyou’lldiscoveroneofthebiggestchangesinWindows10.

UpdatesareNOToptional.Availableupdateswillbedownloadedandinstalledautomatically.

IfyouclickonAdvancedoptions,youcanchoosetobenotifiedsothatyoucanschedulerestartsforatimethatsuitsyou,ordecideifyouwantupdatesforotherMicrosoftproductswhenyouupdateWindows.

ClickViewyourupdatehistorytotakealookatrecentupdates.

WindowsDefender

WindowsDefenderisthebuilt-insecurityanti-virusandmalwareprogramforWindows.Thisisreal-timevirusprotection,soitisalwaysscanningthebackgroundtolookforproblems.Ifitdetectsmalware,you’llgetanotificationthatthe“threatsarebeingcleaned”inyournotificationcenter.

Youcanturnitofftemporarilyifitgivesyouaprobleminstallingwhatyouknowtobealegitimateprogram.Butitwillturnbackonautomatically.

YoualsohavetheoptionofsendingreportsaboutsecurityissuesandsamplesofMalwaretoMicrosoftfromyourPC.Thishelpsthecompanylearnmoreaboutsecurityproblems.

Youcanexcludecertainfilesfromsecurityscans,butthiscouldmakeyourPCvulnerabletoMalware.

ClickonUseWindowsDefenderatthebottomofthepagetogetabetterlookatWindowsDefender.

Fromthiswindowyoucanrunaquick,fullorcustomscanandviewthestatusofyourprotection,plusyoucanrunupdatesandviewyourupdatehistory.

TogettoWindowsDefenderquickly,justtype“WindowsDefender”inthesearchboxofyourStartMenuandclickontheresultortellCortana,“OpenWindowsDefender.”

Youcanalsoaddananti-malwareprogramlikeMalwareBytestoyourPCtobeefupyourprotection.Manypeopleprefertoaddthird-partyanti-virussoftwaretotheirPC.Microsoftdoesn’thaveagreatreputationforWindowsDefender,thoughsomestudiesshowthatifyoupairitwithanti-Malwaresoftware,itdoesaprettygoodjob.

Ifyouchoosetopurchaseandinstallanti-virussoftwarelikeKaspersky,Norton,or

McAfee,WindowswillautomaticallydisableWindowsDefender.

System&Security

Aswediscussedinthepreviouschapters,somefunctionsaresplitbetweenSettingsandControlPanelinWindows10,sowe’regoingtoswitchovertotheControlPaneltocheckoutsomemoresecurityoptions.

Toaccessthesesettings,justtype“ControlPanel”intoyoursearchboxandclickontheresultsortellCortanato“OpenControlPanel.”Onceitopens,chooseSystemandSecurity.

There’sagreatlittlefeatureunderSecurityandMaintenancethatletsyoudoasecuritycheck-uponyourcomputer.ChooseReviewyourcomputer’sstatusandresolveissues.

Awindowwillopenthatshowsanyrecentsecurityormaintenanceissueswithyourcomputer.Clickthedrop-downarrownexttoSecurity.

You’llseealistofyoursecuritysettings,suchasthestatusofyourfirewallandwhetheryouhavevirusprotection.It’sagreatsnapshotofwhat’shappeningwithyourPC’ssecurity.

ChoosethearrownexttoMaintenanceandyou’llseeasimilarsnapshotformaintenance.

ClickonChangeUserAccountControlsettings.

You’llopenawindowwhereyoucandecideifyouwanttobenotifiedifprograms/appswanttomakeanychangestoyourPC.Thedefaultsettingisthatyou’llreceiveanotificationwhenappsattempttomakechanges,butnotwhenyoumakechanges.Youcanampupthesecuritytoreceivenoticeseverysingletimeasettingischangedortonotreceivethematall.

Iwouldsuggeststickingwiththedefaultsettings.Remember,justbecauseanappwantstomakechanges,doesn’tmeanthat’sabadthing.Itcouldbeapplyingupdatesorsomethingelsenecessarytoworkwithyoursystem.Whatyoureallywanttolookoutforisunfamiliarappsmakingchangestoyoursystem.

Yournextchoiceisanextremelyhelpfulone:Troubleshootcommoncomputerproblems.

Hereyou’llfindassistanceforrunningprogramsmadeforpreviousversionsofWindows,settinguphardwareandsound,andconnectingtotheInternet.

Troubleshoot

TherearetwoveryusefulsettingsunderSystemandSecurityinthislist.FixproblemswithWindowsUpdatecanhelpyououtifyoufindthatyourupdatesaren’tinstallingproperly.

Clickitandawizardwillopenthatwalksyouthroughfindingoutwhatmightbecausingtheissues.

ChooseRunmaintenancetaskstoseeawizardthatwalksyouthroughbasicsystemmaintenancelikecleaningupunusedfiles.

Totheleft,you’llseetheoptiontoGethelpfromafriend.Beverycautiouswiththatoption,sinceitallowsremoteaccesstoyourcomputer.We’lltalkabouthowthatworksinjustalittlebit.

WindowsFirewall

UpnextunderthemainSystemandSecuritymenu,we’vegottheWindowsFirewall.TheFirewallkeepshackersfromgettingintoyourcomputer.It’sacrucialpartofyourPC’ssecurity.

ChooseCheckfirewallstatustomakesureeverythingisturnedonandyourPCisprotectedfromintruders.

ClickonAllowanappthroughthefirewallandyoucanadjustwhichappscancommunicatethroughyoursecurityprotection.It’simportantforappsliketheWindowsStore,yourbrowser,mail,andsocialmediatocommunicatetotheInternet.They’dallbebasicallyuselesswithoutit.

InthesesettingsyoucannotonlyadjustwhetheranappcancontacttheInternet,butalsowhereitcanmakethatcontact.YoucouldchangethesettingssothatcertainappscanonlycontacttheInternetonPrivatenetworks.I’dbecarefulplayingaroundwiththesesettingsunlessyoufeelprettytechsavvyorhavesomespecificinstructions.

UnderSysteminthemainControlPanelMenu,you’llseetheoptiontoAllowremoteaccess.Thismeansyouareallowinganothercomputertoaccessyourfiles.Now,therecanbelegitimatereasonstodothis.Youmayworkwithsomeoneoffsite,oryoucouldneedtolettechsupportforaparticularprogramlookatsomethingonyourPC.ButIwantyoutobeverycarefulwithhis.

Ifsomeonecallsyouupoutoftheblue,ore-mailsyouandsaystheyarefromMicrosoftorasecurityprovider,oryourbank,DONOTGIVETHEMACCESS!

Legitimatecompaniesdonotcoldcallaboutyourcomputerproblems.Also,don’tfallforpop-upsthatsayyouhaveanissueandneedtocallacertainnumber.

Ifyou’vepaidforsupport,haveatrustedtechorfriendyouwanttogiveaccess,orwanttosetthingsupsothatyoucanaccessaworkcomputerfromhome,orahomecomputerfromwork,thisiswhereyoudoit.

Ifyouchoosetoallowremoteconnections,you’llbeabletoselectwhichusersarepermittedtoaccessyourcomputerremotely.

Onceagain,becareful.Allowingatrustedfriend,relativeortechtoaccessyourcomputercanbeagreatwaytotroubleshoot.Allowingascammeraccessisarecipefordisaster.

FileHistoryBackingupyourimportantfilesisessentialandthat’swhereFileHistorycomesintoplay.FileHistoryofferscontinuousreal-timebackupofyourlibraryfileslikephotosanddocumentsaswellasyourdesktop,favoritesandcontacts.ItwillscanyourPCeveryhourlookingforchangesinthosefoldersandbackthemup.You’llneedadedicatedharddriveorflashdriveforthisbackup.Leaveitpluggedinallthetime.

UnderUpdate&SecurityunderSettings,you’llfindtheoptiontoBackupyourfilesusingFileHistory.

Togetitsetup,let’sheadbacktotheControlPanelandselectFileHistory.

Oryoucantypeitinyoursearchboxandclickontheresult.ThentheFileHistorywindowswillopen.

Tosaveyourfilehistory,you’llneedanexternaldrivelargeenoughtocopyyourfilespluggedintothemachine.Itcanbeapoweredexternaldriveorevenalargeflashdrive,dependingonthesizeofthefilesyouneedtosave.ThefirststepistoturnFileHistoryonbyclickingtheTurnonbutton.

Clickselectdrivetopickthedriveyouwishtouse.

Asyoucanseeintheimagebelow,Ihavethechoicebetweenanexternaldriveandaflashdrive.I’vechosenthelargerexternaldrive.

Iftherearecertainfoldersyoudon’twantbackedup,youcanchooseExcludefolders.

WhentheExcludefromFileHistorywindowopens,youcanclickAddtofindthefoldersyouwanttoexclude.

Awindowwillopenwhereyoucanchoosetheitemsyou’dliketoexcludefromFileHistorybackup.

ChooseAdvancedsettingformoreoptions.

Youcanchoosehowoftenyouwantthefilesbackedupanddeterminehowlongthey’llbesaved.

IfsomethinghappenstotheLibraryfilesonyourPC,chooseRestorepersonalfiles.

Youcangothroughthelistofbackupstofindthedatethatyouwishtorestorefrom,usingarrowsatthebottomofthewindow.

Thenchoosethefileorfilesyouwishtorestore.

Clickthegreenbuttonatthebottomtorestoreitemstotheiroriginallocation.

RightunderFileHistoryinyourControlPanel,you’llseeBackupandRestore(Windows7).

IfyouhavepreviouslybackedupyourfilesinWindows7,youcanrestorethemfromhereaslongasthatdriveispluggedintoyourPC.

SystemImage

ThisisalsowhereyoucancreateasystemimageorasystemrepairdiscforyourPC.

Asystemimageisanexactcopyofyourdrive.ItcontainsWindows,plusyoursystemsettingsandallyourprogramsandfiles.ItcanbeusedtorestoreyourcomputerifthedriveorPCeverfails.UnlikeFileHistory,youcannotpickandchoosewhatyourestorehere,it’sacompletesystemrestore.

You’llneedalargeexternaldriveormultipleDVDstodoasystemimage.Clickcreateasystemimagetostart.

Youcanthenchoosebetweenaharddisk,DVDsoranetworklocation,ifyourPCisnetworked.

Onceyouselectyourlocation,youcanclicknextandfollowtheinstructionsofthe

wizard.

SystemRepairDisc

Thisisalsowhereyoucancreateasystemrepairdisc.ThiscanhelpyougetyourPCworkingagainafteraseriouscrash.

OnceyouchooseCreateasystemrepairdisc,justputyourDVDinthedriveandchooseCreatedisc.

RecoveryOptions

Nowlet’sjumpbacktoSettingsandcheckouttheRecoveryoptionsunderUpdate&Security.

Reset

IfyourPCisn’tworkingquiteright,ResetthisPCyourfirstoptionandislessdrasticthanafullsystemrestore.Youcanchoosewhetherornotyouwanttokeepyourfilesandthenreinstallwindows.Evenifyoudochoosetokeepyourfiles,you’llloseyoursettingsandyourapps.Thatmeansyou’llhavetoresetanycustomsettingsandalsoreinstallanyapps.

AdvancedStartup

AdvancedstartupallowsyoutostartupthePCandhaveaccesstorepairandrecoveryoptions.

Whenyourestart,you’llhavetheoptionstoStartarecover,bootfromadisc,orRestoreWindowsfromasystemimage.

Now,let’sheadonbacktothecontrolpanelforsomemoresecurityandmaintenanceoptions.

BitLockerDriveEncryptionBackintheControlPanel,theBitLockerfeaturewillallowyoutoencryptbothyourharddriveandremovabledrives,givingthemanextralevelofsecurity.NotallPCscanuseBitLocker–yourdeviceneedstohaveaTrustedPlatformModulemicrochipbuiltin.

WhenyouenableBitLocker,youcanchooseeitherapasswordormakeaUSBkeythatmustbeinsertedinthePCinordertoaccessthedrive.YoucanalsouseBitLockertoGotoencryptexternaldrivesorflashdriveswithapassword.

Ifyou’regoingtoencryptyourdrives,youneedtokeepthatUSBkeyorrememberyourpassword.Really,unlessyouhavesomehighlyconfidentialinformationonyourPC,orareprettycomputersavvy,Iwouldn’tsuggestenablingBitLocker.

ManageStorage

ManageStorageSpacesallowsyoutosavefilestotwoormoredrivestoprotectfromdrivefailure.It’sprobablynotsomethingyou’duseathome.It’sreallydesignedforanetworkedPC.WorkFolderscanbesetuptoallowyoutoaccessmaterialsfromtheofficeathome.

FreeDiskSpace&OptimizeDrives

Last,butcertainlynotleast,wehaveAdministrativeTools.Thisiswhereyoucanperformmaintenancetaskstooptimizeyourharddiskandalsocreatenewharddiskpartitions.

ChooseFreeupdiskspaceandawindowwillopenthatletsyouselectthedrivetocleanup.Youcanalsojusttype”Freeupdiskspace”intothesearchboxandclickontheresult.

DiskCleanupwillthencalculatehowmuchspaceyoucanfreeup.

You’llseehowmuchspaceyoucansaveandbeabletochoosewhatyou’dliketodelete.

Defragmentandoptimizeyourdrivesletsyoumakethemostofyourdrivespace.

Youcaninspect,analyzeandoptimizeyourdrivesfromthiswindowandalsochoosetoschedulewhentheoptimizationhappens.

Choosebetweendaily,weeklyandmonthlyoptimizationschedules.

CreatePartitionsAnotheroptionyou’llfindunderAdministrativeToolsistheabilitytoCreateharddiskpartitions.

Apartitionallowsyoutodivideyourharddriveintosmallervirtualharddriveswhereyoucandothingslikerunadualbootofanothersystem.

CreatingaharddiskpartitioniskindoftrickyandIwouldn’tsuggestitunlessyoufeelprettydarntechsavvy.

Nowthatwe’vegotahandleonsecurityandmaintenance,let’smoveontotheInternet.Inournextchapterwe’lllookathowtogetonline,howtogetyourmailandhowtotakeadvantageofcloudstorage.

Internet,E-mail&theCloudThenumberonethingmostofususeourhomePCsforisgoingonlineandgettingoure-mail.Inthischapter,I’mgoingtocovereverythingyouneedtoknowtogetonlineandgetyourmail,plushighlightsomegreatbenefitsthatcomewithyourMicrosoftaccount.

DidyouknowthatyougetfreecloudstoragePLUSfreeonlineaccesstoMicrosoftOffice?That’saprettysweetdeal.

First,let’sdoalittlevocabularybuilding.AprogramthatyouusetoaccesstheInternetiscalledabrowser.ThemostpopularbrowseramongWindowsusersisInternetExplorer.OtherpopularbrowsersincludeChromeandFirefox.Plus,IknowtherearefewdiehardsouttherethatswearbytheAOLdesktop.

Inthischapter,I’mgoingtotalkaboutthetwobrowsersthatareincludedwithWindows10–InternetExplorerandthenewEdgebrowser.IfyouwanttodownloadChromeorFirefoxorAOL,youcanstilldothat–justheadonovertotheirrespectivewebpagesanddownload.

BrowsersInternetExplorer

We’llstartwiththefamiliarInternetExplorer.You’llmostlikelyrecognizethelittleEiconwiththehalothatyouclicktoopenit.

YoucantypeInternetExplorerintoyoursearchboxandclickontheresultorjusttellCortana“OpenInternet

Explorer.”

InWindows8,thereweretwoversionsofInternetExplorer–adesktopversion,andatouch-friendlyModern/Metroapp.InWindows10,we’vejustgotthedesktopversion.InternetExplorer11looksexactlythesameandshouldworkjustthewayitdoesinWindows7,8,and8.1.

OneverynicefeatureisthatifyoualreadyhaveaMicrosoftaccount,yourfavoriteswilltransfertoWindows10withoutyouneedingtodoathing.Myfavoriteseventransferredfromanothercomputerautomatically.

You’reprobablyfamiliarwithInternetExplorer,butI’llgiveyouaquicktour.Atthetopleftofthepage,you’llfindyourAddressBar.Thiscontainsthewebaddressthatyou’recurrentlyvisiting.

OnecommonerrorweseewhenfolksaretryingtofindapageisthattheyconfusetheAddressBarwiththeSearchBox.

Forexample,intheimagebelow,thewebaddressisGoogle.com,buttheterm“catstories”istypedintoGoogle’ssearchboxandtheresultsofthesearcharedisplayed.

Thearrowstotheleftoftheaddressbarallowyoutogobackandforthtowebpagesyoualreadyvisitedduringthecurrentbrowsingsession.

ClickthelittlemagnifyingglasstotheleftoftheaddressbartodoaBingsearch.(BingisMicrosoft’ssearchengine.)

Clickingthelittlecirculararrowwillrefreshthepage.

Nexttotheaddressbar,you’llseeyourtabs.Thetabletsyouknowwhichwebpageyou’revisiting.Ifyouopenmorethanonepage,youcannavigatebackandforthbetweenthepagesbyclickingthetabs.

Attheveryfarrightofthetopofthebrowserwindow,you’llseetheseicons.Clickthelittlehouseiconandyou’llbetakentoyourhomepage.

Right-clickthehouseiconandyou’llgetadrop-downmenuwithseveraloptions.

ChooseMenuBarandthefamiliarFile,Edit,View,Favorites,ToolsandHelpoptionwillappearatthetopofyourbrowser,justundertheaddressbar.

ChooseFavoritestoseeyourfavoritesdisplayedonamenubarunderneathyouraddressbar.

TheCommandBardisplayscommandslikehome,readmail,print,andyoursafetyoptionsatthetopofthepage.

StatusBaraddsabartothebottomofyourscreen.

Lockthetoolbarspreventsyoufromaccidentallydraggingthetoolbarstothesideorthebottom,whileShowtabsonseparaterowsmovesyourtabsunderneaththeaddressbar

insteadofbesideit.

ThelastoptiononthatmenuisAddorchangehomepage.Thisallowsyoutoselectwhichwebpageyourbrowseropensto.Gotothepageyou’dlikeforyourhomepageandclickonAddorchangehomepage.

Thenyoucansetthatpageasyourhomepage.Youcanalsosetmultiplepagesashomepages.They’llbedisplayedastabsatthetopofyourbrowser.Youcanjustclickthetabstonavigatebetweenthem.

ClickthestaricontoaddawebpagetoyourFavorites.Youcanselectfavoritesfromthismenuandalsocheckoutyourrecentbrowsinghistory.

Clickthegearicontothefarrightandyou’llgetadrop-downmenuthatlookslikethis:

ChoosingPrintisprettyself-explanatory,butinmostcasesthisisnotwhereyouwanttoprintawebpagefrom.Insteadofjustthearticleyouwanttoread,you’llgettheentirewebpage.It’sbettertolookforthewordsprinter-friendlyoraprinticonwithinthewebarticleyou’rereading.

ChoosingFilefromthemenugivesyouoptionsliketakingthebrowserfullscreenandsavingthepage.Rememberthatwhenyousavethepage,you’resavingawebarchivefilethatwillhavetobeopenedinabrowsertobeviewed.

TheZoomoptionwillletyouenlargethepageyouareviewingupto400%

SafetyiswhereyoucansetseveralsecurityoptionsforInternetExplorer.

DeletebrowsinghistorywillclearoutyourbrowsinghistoryinInternetExplorer.ChooseInPrivateBrowsingtostartanInternetsessionwherenocookies,temporaryInternetfilesorhistoryisstored.

TurningonTrackingProtectioncanpreventwebsitesfromstoringinformationaboutwhichpagesyouvisitandthelinksyouclick.

Toturniton,you’llhavetoclickTrackingProtectionandthenGetaTrackingProtectionListonlineintheAdd-onsmanagerthatopens.

YoucanthenaddoneofthestandardlistsfromAdblock.

YoucanalsoenableDoNotTrackRequests.Thisaskssitesnottotrackyou,butsitesmaychoosetoignorethoserequests.

ActiveXisatechnologythatallowswebsitestodothingslikeplayvideo,butitcanalsobeusedformaliciouspurposes.WithActiveXFilteringon,InternetExplorerwillaskyourpermissiontouseActiveX.Youcanthendetermineifyoutrustthesite.

Checkthiswebsitewillgiveaquicksecuritycheckofasiteyou’revisiting.WetalkedabouttheSmartScreenFilterinSettings.Ifyoucomeacrossawebsiteyouthinkisunsafe,youcanreportittoMicrosoftbyclickingonReportunsafewebsite.

Ifthere’sawebsiteyouvisitawholelot,youcanchooseAddsitetoApps.

ChooseAddwhenthepop-upwindowsopens.

Nowyou’llfindthesiteinAllApps.

YoucanthenchoosetopinthatsitetoyourStartScreenoryourtaskbarbyright-clickingonit.

ChoosingViewdownloadsgivesyoualookatthefilesyou’vedownloadedusingInternetExplorer.

Manageadd-onsgivesyoucontrolsoverToolbarsandsearchproviders.Whenyouclickonit,awindowliketheonebelowwillopen.Fromhereyoucancontroladd-onslikeFlash,ortoolbars,aswellasyourdefaultsearchproviders.

Everaccidentallyendupwithatoolbaryoudidn’twant,orhaveyoursearchproviderswitchedtosomethingelse?Thisiswhereyoucandisableunwantedprogramslikethat.It’salsowhereyoucandisableFlashifthere’ssometypeofsecurityconcern.

Justhighlighttheapplicationandthenchoosedisable.

IfyouchooseSearchProviders,you’llseethatMicrosoft’sBingisthedefaultproviderforInternetExplorerinWindows10.

YoudohavetheoptionofgoingtothebottomofthewindowandclickingonFindmoresearchproviders.

ClickingthiswillopenawebpageandallowyoutoaddYahoo!orGoogleSearch.

CompatibilityviewcanallowyoutorunsomesitesthatseemtobehavingdifficultywiththecurrentversionofInternetExplorer.Ifasitelooksodd,youmightwanttotrythisoption.

InternetOptionsmaybethemostimportantchoiceonthismenu.Firstup,you’llseeyourGeneraltab.Hereyou’llfindanoptiontochangeyourhomepageandtodecideifInternetExploreropenstoyourhomepage,orthelastpageyouwerebrowsing.Youcanalsodecideifallofyourbrowsinghistorywillbedeletedonexit.

ChoosetheSecuritytabandyoucanadjustthesecuritylevelforwebsites.

FromthePrivacytabyoucanmanagewhetherwebsitescanrequestyourlocationandturnonthePop-upBlockerforInternetExplorer.

ClickSitesunderSettingsandyoucanmanagewhichsitesareneverallowedtousecookiesandwhichsitesarealwaysallowed,byaddingtheiraddresstotheBlockorAllowlist.

UnderContent,youcanmakeadjustmentstoAutoCompletebyclickingSettings.

YoucanchooseexactlywhenInternetExplorercanfinishthingslikewebaddress,usernamesandpasswords.Andyoucanalsodeletepasswordsindividually,oryourentireAutoCompletehistory.

Finally,youcanchooseAboutInternetExplorerfromthemenutocheckwhichversionyou’rerunningandifyou’resettoupdatetothelatestversionautomatically.

MicrosoftEdgeNowthatwe’vereviewedthefamiliarInternetExplorer,we’lltakealookatthenewkidontheblock,

Microsoft’sEdgebrowser.EdgeisthedefaultbrowserforWindows10andisthebrowserMicrosoftconsidersthefutureofgoingonline.ThemainreasonInternetExplorerisstillsupportedandincludedinWindows10,isthatmanybusinessapplicationsdependonthatbrowser.

EdgeisthedefaultbrowserforWindows10,andIwouldthinktwicebeforechangingthat.WithoutEdgeasthedefaultbrowser,Cortana’sfunctionsarelimited.

TheiconforEdgeisalsoanE,butonethatlooksslightlydifferentfromInternetExplorer.

Edgeshouldbepinnedtoyourtaskbar,butyoucanalsofinditbytyping“Edge”intoyoursearchboxandclickingontheresultsortellingCortanato,“OpenEdge.”

Probablythefirstthingyou’llnoticeaboutEdgeishowcleanitlooks.

WhenyouopenEdgeforthefirsttime,you’llseeastartpagepopulatedwithnewsstoriesandlocalweather.Togotoawebpage,youcaneithertypethewebaddressorasearchtermintothesearchboxunder“Wheretonext?”

OryoucanskipopeningEdgealltogetherandjusttypeawebaddressintoCortana’ssearchboxandclickontheresulttoopenthepage.

Thepageyouwantwillopenandyou’llseeanaddressbaratthetop.TheforwardandbackarrowsaswellastherefreshiconarethesameasyoufindinInternetExplorer.

Theaddressbarremainsgrayedoutanddoesn’tshowthefullwebaddressofthesiteunlessyouclickonit.

Toopenanadditionaltabforanotherwebpage,clickthe+icon.

You’llhavethechoiceoftypinganaddressorsearchtermorchoosingfromthetopsites.

ClickonCustomizetochangewhatshowsuponanewtab.

Youcanchoosetohaveablankpage,topsites,orpickoutthetopicsyou’dliketoseeonanewtab.

Newtabscanlookverybusy:

Orjustbeblankpageswithasearchbox.

Forsomewebsites,you’llhaveanoptionofReadingView,totherightoftheaddressbar.Theiconlookslikeabook.

Here’sasiteintheregularview:

ThisiswhatitlookslikewhenyouclickonthebookicontoturnonReadingView.ReadingViewisalotlikeaprinter-friendlyversionofanarticle.It’sveryclean,withoutanythingclutteringupthescreen.

NexttotheReadingView,you’llseeastaricon.ClickittoaddawebsitetoFavorites.Youcanalsocreatefolderstohelpbetterorganizeyourfavoritesites.

Organizingsitesinfolderscanmakefavoritesitesmucheasiertofind,especiallyifyouhavealotofsitesbookmarked.

ThisisalsowhereyoucanaddstoriesyouwanttoreadlatertotheReadingListapp.I’lltalkmoreabouthowthatworksinourchapteronapps.Butbriefly,readinglistisaplacewhereyoucanstoreyourfavoritewebarticlestoreadlater.It’salmostlikecreatingyourownlittlemagazineorwebpagepopulatedwithonlythethingsthatinterestyou.

NexttothestariconistheiconforHub.Itlookslikethreestackedlines.Clickitandyou’llseeamenuthatallowsyoutodisplayyourFavorites,theitemssavedtoReadingList,yourhistoryintheEdgeBrowserandyourDownloads.ClickthestartoseeyourFavoritesdisplayed.Youcanseethatmineareorganizedinfiles,createdbytopic.

ChoosingReadingListshowsthewebarticlesthatI’vesavedtoreadlater.

TheHistoryiconlookslikeaclock.IfIclickit,IcanseewhichsitesI’vevisitedrecently.Clickingonanyofthesiteslistedwilltakemetothatsite.Ifyou’verecentlyvisitedasite

andcan’tquiterememberwhichoneitwas,thiscanbeawaytofindit.ClickingonClearallhistorywilldeletethatinformation.

ClicktheDownloadsarrowtoseealistofallfilesrecentlydownloadedusingtheEdgebrowser.Clickonthedownloadinthelisttoopenit.

SelectthePinicontokeepthepanewithyourFavorites,ReadingList,HistoryandDownloadsmenuopen,evenifyouclickoffofit.

AfeaturethathelpssetMicrosoftEdgeapartfromotherbrowsersistheabilitytomakeWebNotes.Clicktheiconandyou’llbeabletodrawortyperightonthewebpage,aswellasclipoutsectionsofthepagetosaveandshare.

Oncethisfeatureisactivated,you’llseeamenuatthetopofthepage.

ClickonthePentoolontheleftandyou’llhaveachoicebetweencolorsandthesizeofthelineofthepen.

Youcandrawonthescreenwithyourmouseorwithastylususingatouchscreendevice.BelowI’veusedamousetocirclepartofthetextonthewebpage.

NexttothePenistheMarker,whichallowsyoutohighlightitemsordrawonthepage.Therearealsooptionsforsizeandcolor.

Below,I’vehighlightedsometext.

TheEraserwillletyouclearallofyournotesorjustselectcertainpartstoremove.

Clickthetextballoonicontoaddatypednote.

Thentypeinwhatevertextyouwant.

SelecttheClipiconandyoucanchooseaportionofthescreentocopy.

Clickandholdthemouse,thendragtoselectthearea.

YoucanthenchoosetosaveyourWebNoteorShareitbyclickingtheiconstothetopfar-right.SaveallowyoutosendittoyourReadingList,FavoritesorOneNoteApp.

WhilethecircularShareiconallowsyoutosenditviae-mailorsocialmediaortoappslikeReadingListorOneNote.

ClickExittocloseWebNotes.

You’llfindthesameshareoptionsevenwithoutWebNotesopen.JustclicktheShareicon.

Tothefar-rightofthetopofthescreen,you’llfindaniconcomprisedofthreedots.Clickitandyou’llseefamiliaroptionsforyourbrowser.

ChoosingNewWindowwillopenwindowwiththeEdgebrowserinsteadofaddingatabtothewindowyoucurrentlyhaveopen.ANewInPrivatewindowwillgiveyouprivatebrowsingthatdoesn’tsavecookiesorhistory.Asyouwouldexpect,Zoommakesthescreenappearlarger.

ChooseFindonpageandatextboxwillopen.

Typethewordorwordsyouarelookingforinthebox.

Thewordorwordswillbehighlightedonthewebpage.

ChoosingPrintisprettyself-explanatory,thoughonceagain,becareful.Ifyoujustprintawebpage,you’llgetthewholepage.Ifwhatyouwantisthearticle,lookforaprinticonoraprinter-friendlyversion.ChoosingPintoStartwillletyouaddawebpageasaniconontheStartScreen.

ChoosingOpenwithInternetExplorerwillopenthesamepageinInternetExplorer.Thismaybehelpfulifyou’revisitingasitethatrequiresInternetExplorertofunctionproperly.

Last,butcertainlynotleast,onthismenuisSettings.

Atthetopofthemenu,you’llhaveachoicebetweenalightoradarkthemefortheEdgebrowser.

Herearetheirlooks,side-by-side,forcomparison.

Next,you’llhavetheoptionofshowingaFavoritesbaratthetopofthepage,orimportingfavoritesfromanotherbrowserlikeInternetExplorer.

HereiswhereyoualsohavecontrolofyourStartpagewithEdge.YoucanleaveitwiththedefaultStartpageorhaveitopenwiththelastpageyouwereusing.Youcanalsochooseaspecificpagethatyouprefer.

Chooseaspecificpageandyou’llbeofferedachoiceofMSN,BingoraCustompage.

ChooseCustom,andyoucantypeinthewebaddressofthepageyouwantforyourStartpage.

Yournextoptionisonewe’vealreadycovered:choosinghowtoOpennewtabs.Beneaththatyoucaneasilyclearyourbrowsingdata.JustclickChoosewhattoclear.

You’llhavethechoicetoclearyourhistory,cookies,cacheddata,downloads,andpasswords.SelectthedatayouwishtoremoveandchooseClear.

UnderReading,youcanadjustthelookoftheReadingViewwelookedatearlier.

Thiscanmakeabigdifferenceinthewaythingslook.Belowisthesamepagedisplayedwithanextra-largefontandadarktheme.

Andhereitiswiththedefaultthemeandasmallfont.

Next,wemoveontoyourAdvancedsettings.

Thisiswhereyou’llcontroleverythingfromPrivacytoAutoComplete.

Showthehomebuttondeterminesifyou’llhavealittlehouseiconthatindicatesyouwanttoreturntoyourStartpagenexttoyouraddressbar.Youhavetheoptiontoturnonyourpop-upblockerandtodisableAdobeFlashPlayerifyoudon’tfeelsafewithitrunningonyourbrowser.

TheCaretbrowsingoptionpermitsyoutoselecttextonawebpageusingyourkeyboard.Turninganyoftheseoptionsonoroffisassimpleasslidingthebuttonwithyourmouse.

YournextgroupofsettingsfocusonPrivacy.Here’swhereyoudecideifyouwantCortanatooffertosaveyourpasswordsforthethingsyoucommonlyenteronformslikeyouraddress.It’salsowhereyoucanchooseifyouwanttosendDoNotTrackrequeststowebsites.

IfyouclickonManagemysavedpasswords,you’llseealistofsitesforwhichyou’vechosentostorepasswords.

Clickonasite,andyoucanchangethestoredusernameorpassword.

Yournextgroupofsettingsaffecthowyousearch.

WhenHaveCortanaassistmeinMicrosoftEdgeissettotheOnposition,youcantypethesortofquestionsyou’daskCortanaintothestartsearchboxandyou’llgetimmediateanswers.

YoucanchoosetosearchintheaddressbarwithBingoraddanothersearchproviderlikeGoogle.ThatmeansyoucanjuststarttypingatopicorquestionintheaddressbarofEdgeandyou’llgetsearchresults.

ThenextgroupofsettingsallowyoutocontrolifEdgecanusecookiestohelpsitesloadfaster,orsavemedialicensestoyourdevice.Protectedlicensescanenableyouplayfileslikesongs,moviesandeBooks.YoualsohavethechoiceofallowEdgetorememberyourbehaviorandmakepredictiveguessesastowhereyouwanttogoorwhatyou’lldonext.Thiscanspeedupbrowsing.

YourfinaloptioninAdvancedSettingsiswhetherornotyouwanttoturntheSmartScreenFilterOnorOff.

ExpecttoseeextensionsfortheEdgebrowser,similartotheonesinChromeandFirefoxcomingalongsoon.

Thisisaleaner,cleanerBrowserthanInternetExplorer.It’salsoalotoffuntouseCortanatosearchtheInternet.Askhertofindmovietimes,recipes,newsaboutcelebrities,orinformationforschoolreports.She’llopentheEdgebrowsertotherelevantsearchresults.

ForthoseofyouwhouseChromeandFirefox,updatingtoWindows10shouldn’taffectthebrowsersyoualreadyhaveinstalledonyourPC.

MailWindows10comeswithitsowne-mailclientcalledtheMailapp.Ane-mailclientisaprogramthatdownloadscopiesofmessagesfromyoure-mailaccount.Youcanuseittodownloadmessagesfrommultipleaccounts.Forexample,aComcastaddress,aGmailaddressandanOutlook.comaddress.Youmaybefamiliarwithe-mailclientslikeOutlook,OutlookExpressandLiveMail.

Alotofyouprobablyaccessyourmailbygoingtoawebsiteandusingtheirwebmailbox.Forexample,here’swhatmyGmailboxlookslikewhenviewedintheEdgebrowser.

ThisiswhattheinboxoftheMailapplookslike:

ToopentheMailapp,justtype“Mail”inyoursearchboxandclickontheresultsortellCortanato“Openthe

Mailapp.”

TheMailappisonethatyou’llprobablyusefrequently,soI’dsuggestright-clickinginordertopinittoyourStartMenuoryourTaskbarforeasyaccess.

WithMailpinnedtoyourStartmenu,you’llbeabletoclickonitinstantlytoopentheapp.

Pinittothetaskbar,andit’sjustaclickawayatthebottomofyourscreen.

Ifyou’reusedtousingaclientlikeLiveMail,thisappmaylookalittlesparse.However,

ifyou’refamiliarwiththeMailAppinWindows8,thislookspretty-fullfeatured.

IfyoualreadyhaveaMicrosofte-mailaccountsetup,thisappshouldlinkyourighttoit.Ifyoudon’thaveane-mailaddresssetup,it’sreallyeasytoaddone.Justclickthegearsymbolatthebottomleftoftheinbox.

TheSettingspanewillopenontherightside.

ClickonAccounts.

ClickAddaccounttoaddadditionale-mailaccountstothisapp.

IfyouhaveanytypeofMicrosoftaccount(Outlook.com,Live.com,Hotmail,MSN),oraGoogle,Yahoo!oriCloudaccount,youshouldbeabletosetitupalmostinstantlyjustbyclickingonthetypeofaccount.

Justaddyoure-mailaddressforthataccountandyourpassword.TheMailappwillrememberit,soyouwon’thavetosignineverysingletimeyoulogonformail.

Thenchoosethenameyou’dliketousewhensendingmessagesfromthataccount.Youcanchoosedifferentnamesforeachaccountyouadd.

Thenyouraccountisfinished.AllyouneedtodoisclickDone!

Addingothertypesofaccountscanrequireafewmoresteps.

Ifitdoesn’trecognizetheaccountwhenyouenterthee-mailaddressandpassword,(thathappenedwhenItriedanaccountlinkedtomylocalISP)you’llneedtoselectAdvancedSetup.

ChoosebetweenExchangeActiveSyncorInternete-mail.Ifthisisahomeaccount,itwillalmostcertainlybeInternete-mail.Ifyou’reconnectingtoaworkaccount,itmaybeExchangeActiveSync.ForExchange,you’llneedtogettherelevantinformationfromyourITdepartment.

Homeuserscanclickinternete-mail.Putinyouraccountnameandthenameyouwishtousewhensendingmessages.

You’llthenputinthenameofyourincominge-mailserver.YoucangettheinformationfromyourInternetServiceProvider.Itmaybeonsomepaperworkthatcamewhenyoufirstsetupyourconnection,oryoucanprobablylookituponline.

MyISPmakesthatinformationavailableintheformofaPDFonline.Ifyoucan’tfindoneforyours,makesuretocallore-mailcustomersupport.

Onceyouhavetheinformation,it’sfairlysimpletocopyitintotheformforthee-mail.Youdon’thavetoknowwhatitallmeansyoujusthavetogetittyped(orcopy/pasted)exactlyright.

Nextchoosewhetherit’saPOP3orIMAP4.POP3standsfor–PostOfficeProtocol3.Thiskindofserverstoresyourincomingmessagesontheserveruntilyouuseane-mailclienttodownloadthemtoyourcomputer.Generally,thosemessagesarethendeletedfromtheserver.Youcanthenonlyaccessthosemessagesonthecomputerwhereyou’vedownloadedthem.

IMAP4standsforInternetMessageAccessProtocol.Thistypeofserverletsyouaccessyoure-mailwithoutdownloadingittoacomputer.Youcanread,editordeletethemessagesrightontheserverorchoosetodownloadthem.Themessageswillremainontheserveruntilyouchoosetodeletethem.Youcanaccessyoure-mailfromothercomputersormobiledevices.MoreandmorepeoplearemovingtoIMAPfortheconvenienceofbeingabletoaccesstheire-mailatanytimefromanydevice.Youcanonlychooseanoptionifit’sonethatyourprovideroffers.Soyou’llneedtocheckwithyourISPtoseewhatyouroptionsare.

Thenfillinyourusernameandpassword.

ForyourOutgoinge-mailserverandwhetherornotyouneedauthenticationorrequireSSL,you’llwanttofollowtheinstructionsfromyourISP.

Afteryouenteryourpasswordandchoosesign-in,youshouldbeabletosendandreceivemessagesfromthataccountusingtheMailapp.

Let’stakeatourofyourInbox.Thisisaverystreamlinedlayoutcomparedtosomewebmailapps.

Atthetopleft,you’llseeaniconthatlookslikethreestackedlines.ThisisyourMenuicon.

Clickit,andyourmenuoptionswillpopoutfromtheleftside.ClicktheMenuiconagaintocloseit.

ClicktheAccountsIconandyou’llbeabletoseewhiche-mailaccountyou’reviewing,andcanalsochoosetolookatanyadditionalaccountslinkedtotheapp.Clickontheaccountyouwishtoview.

ClickthefilefoldericontoviewtheInbox,Sent,andDraftfoldersforyouraccount.

ClickMoretoviewoptionsforDeleteditems,Junk&Spam

Thisisalsowhereyoucanaddorremovefoldersfromthatleftcolumn.Foldersthatappeartherearemarkedwithapinicon.

Right-clickthefileandchooseRemovefromFavoritestoremoveitfromthatcolumn.

Toaddafolderthatisn’tdisplayed,right-clickandchooseAddtoFavorites

NowtheDraftsfolderhasbeenremovedandSentfolderaddedtothefavoritesmenu.

YoucanalsorightclickonanyofthefoldersandchosetoPinthemtoyourStartMenu.

AniconthattakesyoudirectlytothatfolderwillthenappearonyourStartMenuandyoucanmoveitwhereyouwantitontheStartMenu.

Youcanleavethismenuopenwhileyouwork,orclickthatMenuiconagaintomakeitdisappear.Youcanalwaysaccessyouraccountsorfoldersbyjustclickingtheiconstotheleft.

Yourmessagesaredisplayedinacolumnontheleftsideofyourinbox.

Clickthedrop-downarrowbyAlltochoosetoseeonlyunreadorflaggedmessages.

Clickthesearchboxatthetoptosearchformessagesbysenderortopic.

Youcanchoosetosearchyourinboxonly,orallfoldersintheapp.

ClicktheSyncicontocheckformail.

TheiconnexttoSyncisforSelectionmode.

Clickitandcheckboxeswillappearnexttoyourmessages.Youcanthenselectmultiplemessagestodelete,movetoafolder,orflag.

Clickmoreandyou’llseetheoptionstoClearflaggedmessages,ormarkmultiplemessagesasreadorunread.

Clickonamessageanditwilldisplayinthereadingpaneontheright.

Onceyou’veselectedamessage,you’llhaveseveraloptions.Yourchoicesarelocatedattheverytopofthereadingpane.

YouhavethestandardoptionstoReply,ReplyAll,Forward,Delete,FlagandMarkasUnread.

YoucanalsofindDelete,FlagandMarkasRead,byhoveringtotheupper-rightofthemessageintheinbox.

Youcanalsoclickthethreedotstothefarrightforoptionstomove,arrowthroughthemessages,ortoprint.

ChooseZoomandyou’llbeabletoenlargethetextofyourmessageupto400%

TocreateaNewMessage,clickthe+iconintheupperleftofyourinbox.

Ablankmessagewillopeninthereadingpaneontheright.

StarttypingintheTo:section,andyou’llseeadrop-downlistofcontactsandsendersthatyou’vesente-mailto,orreceivede-mailfrom.

Totherightofthatline,youhaveoptionstoCc(sendacopytoadditionalsenders)orBcc(sendcopiestoadditionalsenders,butnothavethenamesofthoseindividualsvisibletotherecipients.)

Choosethatoption,andyou’llseeadditionallinesappearbeneathTo:

BelowthatisthebasicSubjectline.

Atthetopofthemessage,you’recomposing,you’llseethreetabs.ThefirstistheFormattab.Youcanchoosetomakethetypeinyourmessage,Bold,Italic,orunderline.Clickthedrop-downmenutoadjustfontsizeandcolor.Youcanalsoaddoptionslikestrike-through,subscript,andhighlighting.

Nextyouhaveoptionstocreatebulletpointsornumberedlists.Clickthedrop-downmenuforParagraphoptionsandlinespacing.

The next drop-down menu to the right, gives you a wide-array of Style choices forimprovingthelookofyourmessages.Ofcourse,that’sonlyifyou’reinterestedinplayingaroundwiththelookofthings.Youcertainlydon’thavetoapplyanystyleorfontchangesunlessyou’reinterested.

TheUndoandRedoarrowsletyouremoveorreapplyyourchanges.

ChoosetheInserttabtoAttachfilesorinsertTables,Pictures&Linksintoyourmessage.

ChooseTableandyoucanchoosefromavarietyofstylesandcolors.

Here’sanexampleofatableinamessage:

ClicktheOptionstabtochoosealanguageforyoure-mails,runaspellingcheck,andtodecideifyouwantproofingmarkstobevisiblewhileyoutype.Withproofingmarks

turnedon,spellingandgrammarmistakeswillbeunderlinedasyoutype.

Whenyourmessageisfinished,youcaneithersendordiscarditbyusingtheiconsatthetopright.

Remember,ifyouhaveCortanaactivated,youcanalsosendamessagebysaying,“Hey,Cortana,sendane-mail.”Aslongasthatpersonisinyourcontacts,youcanchoosethesender,thesubject,anddictatethecontent.Whenyou’refinished,justsay“send.”

Let’scheckoutwhattheiconsatthelowerleftofyourInboxcando.TheMailandCalendariconsletyouswitchbackandforthbetweenyourInboxandtheCalendarapp.(We’llcoveritinthenextchapter.)ThesmileyfaceallowsyoutosendfeedbackabouttheMailapptoMicrosoft.

ClickthelittlegearicontoopenSettings.

TheSettingsmenuwillpopopenontherightsideoftheinbox.

ClickonAccountsandyoucanedittheaccountsassociatedwithyourMailapp.Thisiswhereyoucanadjustserversettingsorpasswords.ChooseBackgroundPicturetochangetheimageyouseewhentomessagesareopen.

YoucanthenbrowseyourcomputerorOneDrivetoselectanimage.

ThatimagewilldisplaywhenyouopenyourInbox.

ClickonReadingtodecideifyouwantMailtoautoopenthenextiteminyourinboxandtochoosewhenyouwantanitemtobemarkedas“read.”Thisisalsowhereyoucanturnontheabilitytonavigatetheinboxwithyourkeyboard.

Let’stakealookatyourchoicesunderOptions.

QuickActionsiswhereyoucanenableswipingforyourfrequently-usedactions.Thisisforuseontouchscreendevices.

Signatureletsyouchoosenosignature,orwriteoneofyourown.

AutomaticReplieswillsendamessagetoeveryonewhoemailsyouoronlytoyourcontacts.Justtypeinyourmessage.

TheNotificationssettingdetermineswhetheryouarenotifiedofnewmessagesintheActionCenter,seeabanner,orarenotifiedwithsoundthatanewmessagehasarrived.

You’llnoticesomethingsmissingfromthisappthatyoumaybeaccustomedtoseeinginane-mailclient.Youcan’tcreatefoldersforyourmailhere.Now,ifyoucreatethefoldersinyourwebmailinterfaceonlineatOutlook.com,Gmail,orYahoo,thosefolderswillimporttothisappandyoucanusethem.

Youdon’tcreatecontactswithinthisapp,either.YouneedtousetheseparatePeopleapp.Althoughitwillrememberthepeopleyou’vee-mailedfrequentlywithyourvariouse-mailaccounts.

It’saleanerappbydesign,meanttofunctionequallywellacrosstablets,phonesandPCs.Ifyouwantsomethingmorefunctional,you’llhavetoturntoanothere-mailclient,likeOutlook.Ifyouwantafreeoption,there’sMozilla’sThunderbird,andIwasabletodownloadandinstallWindowsLiveMailfromMicrosoft’ssite.

Ifyoupreferawebmailinterface,youcanmakeyourmailboxeasytoaccessbyaddingashortcuttothatwebpage.

InInternetExploreryoucanjustgrabanddragtheaddressdowntoyourtaskbar.

Thenclickit,whenyouwanttoopenthatwebpage.

IntheEdgebrowserclicktheiconthatlookslikethreedotsandchoosePintoStart

Nowthatwe’vecoveredthebasicsofmail,let’sgetourheadsinthecloud.

TheCloudNothingseemstostrikeasmuchfearintotheheartsofthoseupgradingtheirWindowsoperatingsystemasthementionofMicrosoft’sOneDrivecloudstorageservice.

OnceyousignupforaMicrosoftaccountofanykind,youget15freegigabytesofcloudstorage.IfyouhaveanOutlook.com,LiveMail,MSN,orHotmailaccount,you’vealreadygotit.IfyoumadeaMicrosoftaccounttogetyourfreeWindows10upgrade,you’vealreadygotit.

DoyouhavetouseyourOneDriveaccount?Nope.Isitaneasywaytobackupandtransferfiles,youbetcha!OneDriveisintegratedcompletelyintoWindows10,soit’ssuper-easytosavefilesthere.

TocheckoutOneDrive,justtypeOneDriveintoyoursearchboxandclickontheresult.

OropenFileExplorerandchooseOneDrive.

AnotherwaytoviewOneDriveistogotoOutlook.comonyourbrowser.Loginusing

yourMicrosoftusernameandpassword.Whentheinboxopens,clickthelittlesquareofsquaresintheupper-leftcorner.

FreeOfficeApps

NotonlycanyouopenyourOneDriveaccount,you’llhavefreeaccesstoMicrosoftWord,Excel,PowerPoint,andOneNote.Youcanaccesstheseappsfromanybrowser,onanycomputer,andsaveyourworktoyourOneDriveAccount.

Theseappsarealsoavailableforyourphoneortablet.Thatmeansyoucanworkonthesamedocumentswiththesameprogramacrossmultipledevices.Here’swhatWordOnlinelookslike.NottoomuchdifferentfromWordonadesktop,isit?

IfyouhaveanyoftheseOfficeOnlineAppsopenintheEdgebrowser,youcanclicktheiconthatlookslikethreelittledotsintheupperrightofthebrowserandchoosePintoStart.

Thenyou’llalwayshaveitjustoneclickawayonyourStartMenu.

NopinningisnecessaryforyourOneDriveapp,it’salreadypartoftheoperatingsystem.Ifyougotosaveadocument,you’llseethatyouhaveanoptiontosaveitinyourOneDriveoranotherfolder.

Whenyougotolookforafiletoopen,youhavetheoptionofopeningfromyourOneDriveorfromotherfoldersonyourPC.

IknowalotofyouwillsaythatyouprefertokeepcopiesofyourfilesonyourPC.ThegoodnewsisthatyoucanduplicateyourOneDriveonyourPCandyou’llhavecopiesofyourfilesstoredbothonyourharddriveandbackedupinthecloud.

Whywouldyouwantcloudbackup?IfyourharddriveweretogobadoryourPCwerestolenorlostinafireorflood,allofyourimportantfileswouldbesafe.YoucouldaccessthemfromanotherPCoryourphone,andalsodownloadthemagainwhenyougetanewPC.ThereasonIlikecloudbackup,inadditiontobackinguponanexternaldrive,eventsthatcouldresultinyoulosingyourPCcouldalsoresultinthelossofyourbackupdrive.

Athiefcouldstealboth,afirecoulddestroybothetc…

MirrorOneDriveOnYourPC

Here’showtomirroryourOneDrivecloudaccountonyourPCharddrive.Let’slookforthelittlecloudicononthelower-rightsideofyourtaskbar.Youmayhavetohitthelittlearrowtoseeallofit.

Rightclickonthaticonandchoosesettings.

AwindowwillopenwithalotofoptionsformanagingyourOneDrive.We’llcheckallthemoutinalittlebit,butfirstwe’lllookathowtosyncyourfolders,sothey’reavailableonyourPC,evenifyou’reofflineatthetime.

SelecttheChoosefolderstabandthentheChoosefoldersbutton.

YoucanchoosetosyncallofthefilesandfoldersinyourOneDrivewiththePCyou’reusingorjustselectcertainfolders.Youcanstillaccessyourfoldersonlineordownload

thembyloggingintoyourOneDrive,butsyncingthefileswillstoreacopyonyourPC.

WhenyouchoosetosaveafiletoyourOneDriveacopywillbestoredbothinthecloudandonyourPC.Now,we’lltakealookatsomeofthoseotheroptionsyougetwhenyouopenthatSettingsWindow.UndertheSettingstab,youcandecideifyouwanttoautomaticallylogintotheOneDrivewheneveryoulogintoWindows.There’salsotheoptionofgivingyourselfpermissiontoaccessfoldersstoredonlyonthisPCremotelyusingOneDrive.

It’sunlikelythatyou’dneedtodothatunlessyouhappentobeusingyourPCinabusinesssetting.Anotherwork-relatedsettingistheabilitytoletotherscollaborateonMicrosoftOfficefileswithyou.

YoucanalsounlinkOneDriveandthensyncwithanotherOneDriveaccount.

ChooseAutosaveandclicktheboxnexttoPhotosandvideoifyou’dlikepicturesandimagesfromcameras,phonesandtabletstoautomaticallysavetoOneDrivewhenyouconnectthedevicetoyourPC.It’sagreatwaytobackup,butdokeepinmindthatphotosandvideoscantakeupalotofdrivespace.RightnowMicrosoftisofferinganadditional15GBoffreeOneDrivestoragededicatedtophotosandvideos.

ThePerformancetaballowsyoutochoosewhetherornotfilesareuploadedinbatches.IfyouhaveproblemswithyourInternetconnection,youmaywanttouncheckthisbox.

ClicktheAbouttabforinformationonthetermsofuse,privacy,andtogetonlinehelpwithOneDrive.

Let’scheckoutwhatelseyoucandowhenyouright-clickonthatlittlecloudicon.FromhereyoucanopentheOneDrivefolderorgotoOneDrive.com.

ManageStorage

ClickManagestoragetocheckouthowmuchOneDrivespaceyou’reusing,andtolearnhowtogetmorefreespace.Ihaveanadditional1TBofstoragethatcomesalongwithmyOffice365account.Youcanalsogetmorefreestoragebyreferringpeople,oryoucanpurchasemoreifyouneedit.

UndertheOptionssectiontotheleft,youcanchoosewhetherdocumentsarestoredinMicrosoftOfficeOpenXMLformatsorinOpenDocumentformat,aswellasifyouwanttoallowtaggingofphotosstoredtoOneDrive.ThisalsowhereyoucanviewthedevicesettingsbackupsofPCslinkedwiththisOneDriveaccount.

ClickonthatlittlecloudiconatanytimetoseewhenthelasttimeyourPCsyncedwithyourOneDrive.

SharingFiles

OneniftyfeatureofchoosingtosaveadocumentintheOneDriveishoweasyitistoSharefileswithothers.Especiallyafilethatmightbetoolargetoe-mail.Rightclick-onanyfilestoredonyourOneDriveandyoucanchoosetosharealinktothatfile.

Thatlinkgoestoyourclipboardandyoucanpasteitinamessageore-mail.ChooseSharewithandyoucanpickspecificcontactstosharethefilewith.

IfindthesharinginterfacetobebetteratOneDrive.com.Thereyoucanright-clickafile,chooseshare,andthenjusttypeinthenameofthepersonyouwanttosharethefilewith.Youcanalsochoosewhetherornottherecipientscaneditthefileorjustreadit.

Remember,sharingthosefilesdoesnotgivesomeoneaccesstoyourentireOneDriveortoyourcomputer.Itonlyallowsthemtoreadthefileyouchosetoshare.Plus,inWindows10,youhavetheoptiontoright-clickasharedfileandturnoffthesharing.

There’snotricktousingyourOneDriveaccount.Youjustsave(ordon’tsavetoit)likeanyotherdrive.Ifinditveryconvenienttobeabletoaccessdocumentsfrommyhomecomputer,workcomputer,tablet,andphone.

Upnext,we’llcheckouttheappsyou’llbeusinginWindows10.

AppsLet’sstartbytalkingaboutwhatanappactuallyis.Someusersgettheideathatappsaresomethingnewandstrange,butthat’snotthecase.Appisshortforapplicationwhichisthesamethingasacomputerprogram.Appsareprograms,programsareapps.

InWindows10,you’llseesomeapps,likePaint,describedasdesktopapps.Thatmeansthatparticularappisdesignedtoworkbestinadesktopenvironment,withamouseandkeyboard.

Otherapps,likeCalendararepartofMicrosoft’swhatMicrosoftcalls“universalapps.”ThatmeansanappcanworkonyourPC,tablet,phoneorevenyourXboxgameconsole.Itwilldisplaydifferentlydependingonthedeviceyouhappentobeusing,butthesamefunctionswillbethere.

ProbablythemostimportantappinWindows10,istheWindowsStore.ThisappallowsyoutodownloadbothappsthatyoupurchaseandfreeappsinstantlytoyourPCorotherdevice.

WindowsStoreIfyou’reupgradingfromWindows8,you’reprobablyfamiliarwiththeWindowsstore.Also,usersofiPhonesandAndroidphonesarelikelyfamiliarwiththeconcept.Tothoseofyouwhoarenewtotheideaofanappstore,let’scheckouthowitworks.

Toopentheappstore,justclickonthelittleiconthatresemblesashoppingbagonyourtaskbar.

Youcanalsotype“store”intoyoursearchboxandclickontheresult.

Ifyou’researchingforaparticularkindofapp,suchasasolitairegame,youcanalsotypeitintothesearchboxandgetresultsfromtheStore.

Here’swhattheStorelookslikewhenyouopenit.

TheWindowsStoredoesn’tjusthaveappsforyourPC,tabletorphone.Thisisalsowhereyoucanpurchasemusicandvideo.We’regoingtoconcentrateonappsforthisguide.Upatthetop,you’llseeamenuthatlistsHome,Apps&Games.

TheAppscategorywillfocusonnon-gamingapps,whileGameshowcasesthewidevarietyofgamesavailable.

Eachofthecategorieswillhaveasuggestedlistofappsforyoutocheckout.ClickonApptopchartstoseethemostpopularappsandonAppcategoriestoseewhatkindsofappspeoplearemostoftendownloading.

AsyouscrolldownthemainAppspage,you’llseealistingforthetopfreeapps.

Let’stakealookattheAdobePhotoshopExpressapp.First,youseethename.Thentheapp’suserrating,whichwillbebetweenoneandfivestars.Undertherating,youseetheprice.Inthiscase,it’sfree.

Clickonceontheapptoseemoreaboutit.You’llseescreenshotsoftheappandyoucancheckouttheuserreviews.

Forfreeapps,justclicktheFreebuttontoinstantlyinstall.

Thereareatonoffreeappsforgames,socialmedia,andjustabouteverythingelseyoucanthinkof.Therearesome“freeapps,”suchastheoneforNetflix,wheretheappisfree,butNetflixisn’t.You’llneedaNetflixsubscriptionifyouwanttowatchmoviesonit.

Paidappswillclearlyhavethepricelistedbelowthenameoftheapp.Ifyoupurchaseanapp,you’llhavetoenteryourcreditcardinformation.Butifyou’redownloadingfreeapps,youdon’tneedtosupplyanypaymentinfo.

Atthetoprightofthestoreisasearchboxwhereyoucantypethenameofanappyou’relookingfor.

Asyoutype,theStoreappwilloffersuggestions.

Toquicklybrowseappsbycategory,clickAppCategoriesontheApphomepage.

You’llhavealonglistofcategoriestocheckout.Clickonanycategorytobrowseitsapps.

Scrollfurtherdowntheapphomepageandyou’llseethattheStoreappalsooffers

collectionsofappsincategorieslikeworkandgames.

TherearesomanyGameavailablethattheyratetheirownsectionofthestore.It’ssuper-simpletogetgames.

Browseandfindagameyoulikeortypethenameofagameintothesearchbox.

ClickontheresultandthenclicktheFreebuttontodownload.

Itimedthedownloadofthisgame.Itactuallytook20wholesecondstodownloadandinstall.IcanopenitfromtheStoreifIlike.

ItwillalsoappearinmyStartMenuasaRecentlyAddedapp.

Ofcourse,itwillalsobelistedinAllApps.

ClickGamecategoriesontheGamehomepagetonarrowdownyoursearch.

Youcanchoosefromcardgames,casinogames,wordgames,boardgames,puzzles,andsomuchmore.Infact,ifyoulovegames,you’llbeplentybusywiththefreeselectionhere.

See,it’sprettysimpletousethestore.Now,ifyou’refamiliarwithGooglePlayandtheAppleAppStore,youmaybealittledisappointedbytheselectionhere.DespitehavingthecorneronthePCmarket,Microsofthasstruggledtopopulatetheirappstorewithsomeofthemorepopularapps.

IncludedAppsTheStoremaybeanimportantapp,butitiscertainlynottheonlyappincludedwithWindows10.Let’stakealookatsomeofappsthatcomepre-installedwiththeoperatingsystem.

First,familiarfavoriteslikePaint,WordPad,andNotePadarestillincludedinthesystem.They’realittlebitburiedonthesystem.YoucanfindthembyselectingAllApps.

ThenlookintheWindowsAccessoriesfolder.Youcanalsofindanyoftheseprogramsjustbytypingthenameoftheprogramintothesearchboxandclickingontheresult.

PaintPaintisasimple,butusefultoolforcroppingandresizingimagesaswellasdrawing.

WordPad

WordPadisaperfectlyserviceablewordprocessingprogram.Formostpeople,it’severythingyouneedtotypedocuments.Youhaveawidevarietyofformattingoptionsandcaninsertpictures,drawingsandobjects.

TheWindowsAccessoriesfolderisalsowhereyou’llfindCharacterMap,whichletsyouseealloftheletters,numbersandsymbolsassociatedwithaparticularfontandallowsyoutocopyspecialcharactersinthatfont.

ThisisalsohometoInternetExplorerandtheMathInputPanel.

UsetheSnippingTooltotakeascreenshotandeditit.

TheStepsRecorderisanamazinglyhandytoolthatletsyourecordwhat’shappeningonyourscreenanduseitlatertohelpdiagnoseproblems.

AlsointhisfileareWindowsFaxandScan,alongwithXPSviewer.FaxandScanallowsyoutosendandreceivefaxes,butyou’llneedafaxserverorafaxmodemtosetitup.

Anddon’tworry,youroldfriendCalculatorisstillonthejob.

YoucanfindCommandPromptinthereaswell.

Clickit,andyou’llopenthewindowbelow.Thiscanbeveryhandyforfixingerrors,butbeverycareful.It’snotsomethingtoplayaroundwithifyoufeelunsure.

AnotheroldfavoritestillonthejobinWindows10isWindowsMediaPlayer.

Useittoplayandorganizemusicandvideos.YoucanalsosynctootherdeviceslikeMP3players.

MusicWindows10alsocomeswithGrooveMusic.Toopenjusttype“Groovemusic”intothesearchboxandclickontheresultortellCortanato“openMusic.”(Onceyouhaveyourmusicintheapp,youcanjusttellherto“playmusic”andshe’lllaunchrightintoyourtunes.)

GrooveMusicwillimportandplayallofthemusiconthePCandallowyoutoorganizeitbyAlbums,Artist,andSong.Youcanalsocreateplaylists.AddsongstotheCortanaplaylistandwheneveryoutellherto“playmusic,”she’llplaythatlist.

YoucanalsopurchasesongsfromtheWindowsStoreandstreammusicifyouhaveapaidsubscriptiontoGrooveMusic.But,itfunctionsperfectlyfineasamusicplayerwithoutasubscription.

TheMoviesandTVapporganizesvideosthatyou’vepurchasedfromtheWindowsstoreaswellasyourpersonalvideos.

AnyvideossavedtoyourVideolibrarywillautomaticallyshowuphere.

Photos

WhenyouloadphotosontoyourPCortakeaphotousingyourdevice’scamera,youcanopenitinthePhotosapp.

TheapplooksabitdifferentthanitdidinWindows8andisprobablyawholelotdifferentthanthewayyou’reusedtoviewingimagesinWindows7.

Imagesareorganizedbydate.YoucanimportfromadevicebyclickingtheImporticonintheupper-rightcorner.

You’llfindtheSettingsiconinthelower-leftcorneroftheapp.

Hereyoucanchooseiftheappautomaticallyenhancesyourphotosandwhetherduplicatefilesareshownasasingleimage.ThisisalsowhereyoupickwhatimagesshowonthePhotosTileonyourStartScreen.Sinceit’saLiveTile,itcanrunalittleslideshowofrecentimages.

Youcanalsochoosefromwhichfolderstheappaddsimages,andwhetherornotitdisplaysimagessavedonyourOneDriveaccount.

Clickonanyimageandyou’llbeabletoshareit,makeaslideshow,ordosomebasicediting.

Theiconthatlookslikeamagicwandwillauto-enhanceanimage,whilethelittlepencilicongivesyoueditingoptions.

Thoseoptionsincludefilters,effects,rotatingtheimage,cropping,andfixingred-eye.Though,maddeningly,notresizing.Ifyouwanttodothat,you’llhavetoopenuppaint.

YoucanalsoplayyourvideosinthePhotosapp.

YoucanalsoseealistofyourphotosinthePicturesLibraryinFileExplorer.Ifyouclickonaphototoopen,itwillopeninthePhotosapp.

VoiceRecorderisasimpleappforrecordingaudio.

Clickonit,andyou’llseethisverysparsescreen.Clickthemicrophoneiconandspeakintoyourmictostartrecording.

Speakintothemicandhitthestopbuttonwhenyou’refinished.

Yourrecordingwillbesavedasafilethatyoucantrim,renameorshare.

People

InWindows10,yourcontactsappiscalledPeople.TheMailappdoesn’thavebuilt-incontacts,sothisistheappyou’llusefore-mailcontacts.It’salsohowCortanawillknowwhotoe-mailorsetanappointmentwith.Aswithanyapp,youcanfinditinAllApps,typethenameintothesearchboxortellCortanato“Open

People.”

Youcanaddcontactsmanually,justbyclickingthebig+symbolatthetopofthepage.

Youcanthenaddanimageofyourcontact,choosetheaccountyouwishtohavetheinformationsavedto,andaddotherinformationlikeaphonenumberoraddress,ifdesired.

ClicktheSaveiconontheupper-rightofthepagetosaveyourcontact.

Clickthemenuiconnexttothe+icontoopenSettings.

FromhereyoucanaddanaccounttoPeopleandalsogetSocialMediaappsinordertolinkyoursocialcontacts.Thisisalsowhereyou’lladjusthowcontactsaredisplayedandfromwhichaccountsyou’llseecontracts.

ClickAddanaccountandyoucanchooseadditionalaccountsfromwhichtoimportcontacts,includingGoogleandiCloudaccounts.

ForOutlook.com,Google&iCloudaccounts,it’sassimpleasenteringyoure-mailandpassword.Forotheraccounts,you’llneedadvancedsetup.

You’llmostlikelyuseInternetemail.

You’llneedtofilloutthemailserverinformation.JustaswithsettinguptheMailapp,you’llbeabletofindthatinformationfromyourISP.

Oncetheaccountisadded,yourcontactsfromthataccountwillbeimportedintoPeople.

Calendar

TheCalendarappisanice-lookingfull-featuredwaytokeeptrackofyourlife.

Youcanchoosetoseeaday,workweek,fullweek,ormonthdisplayed.Clickortaponthearrowstogoforwardandback.

Toaddanevent,youcanclickthe+iconintheupperleftcorner.

ThenaddyourinformationandchooseSave.

OrtellCortanathatyou’dliketocreateanevent.Here,I’lltellherthatI’mgoingtothemuseumonSunday.

Thaneventhasnowbeenaddedtomycalendar.

Youcanalsoimportyourcalendarsfromotheraccounts.JustclickthesettingsIconatthebottomofthecalendar.

ThenchooseAccounts.

YoucaneasilyimportMicrosoft,GoogleandiCloudcalendarsbyenteringyoure-mailandpasswordforthoseaccounts.

UnderCalendarSettings,youcanchoosethedayyourcalendarstarts,defineaworkweekandsetworkhours.Thisisalsowhereyoucanchoosebrightorlightcolorsforyourcalendar.

Alarms&Clocksallowsyoutosetalarms,timers,ordisplayaworldclock.

ClickAlarmandyoucansetanalarmforanytime.

Choosethe+buttoninthelowerrightoftheWindowtoaddanewalarm.

Youcanthennameyouralarmandselectatime.

Clickthedrop-downmenuunderRepeatstoselectdaysforyouralarm.

Youcanalsoselectsoundsandchooseasnoozetime.

ChooseWorldClocktoviewthetimesatvariousplacesaroundtheworld.

Clickthe+signinthelowerrighttoaddaclock.

Thenstarttypingthenameofthelocationyouwishtoadd.

Itwillbeaddedtoyourmap.

ChoosingTimerorStopwatch,allowsyoutosetupasimpleclockforeithertask.

SkypeismeanttobeanintegralpartofWindow10.

Theprogramallowsyoutomakefreevoiceandvideocallstoanyofyourcontacts.Of

course,you’llneedacameratomakevideocallsandmicrophoneifyouwanttomakeaudiocalls.ButyoucancallanyoneelsewiththeSkypeappforfree,anywhereintheworld.Itdoesn’tmatterifSkypeisontheirsmartphone,tabletorPC

Youcanalsomakecallstophonenumbers,butthosecallswillcostyou.Ihaveafriendwhoattendedherson’sweddingviaSkype.ShewasintheNetherlandsonherPCandafamilymemberheldupaniPadsoshecouldseetheeventandalsobeseenbyherson.

TheNewsappoffersthelatestheadlinesfromvarioussources.

YoucantailorthefeedtomeetyourinterestsandallowWindowstouseyourlocationtosupplylocalcontent.

IfyouownanXboxone–theXboxappwillletyoustreamcontentfromyourconsoleandevenplayXboxgamesfromyourPCwhilesomeoneelseinyourfamilywatchesamovieontheXbox.

Windows10alsofeaturesanimprovedMapsapp.

AndthereareFood,Money&Healthappsthatshowcaseusefulinformation.

Ifyouownasmartphone,you’llwanttotakealookatPhoneCompanion.

ThisapphelpsyousyncdatabetweenyourphoneandPC,andtherewillsoonbeaversionofCortanatorunonyourAndroidandiPhone.

AppBasics

Ofcourse,youcanstillpurchaseandinstallprogramsbydownloadingthemorusinginstallationdiscsifyourPChasaDVDdrive.

SomefolkscomplainedthatappscouldbedarnnearimpossibletocloseinWindows8.Fortunately,inWindows10,wearebacktothebasiccontrolstominimize,enlargeandclose,thatareusedinWindows7.

Tominimizeaprogram,justclickthelineiconintheupperleftside.Thatwon’tcloseit,justminimizetheapp.

TheprogramwillappearonyourTaskbarwithalittlehighlighttoindicateitopen.Justclickittomakeitfullsizeagain.

Clickthesquareicontomakeanappgofullscreen.

ClickingthedoublesquareiconwillmakeyourappWindowonlytakeuppartofthescreen.

And,asalways,clickingtheXwillclosetheapp.

RememberbackintheDesktopchapterwherewetalkedaboutthedifferentviewsforapps?Justright-clickonthetaskbartoseeyouroptions.

Here’sthesidebysideview:

Here’salookatstacked:

Belowisashotofcascade.YoucanundoanyoftheseviewsbychoosingUndofromthatsamemenu.

SuggestedApps

FreeGamesFromTheWindowsStoreAtthetopofmylistofgameswouldbetocheckouttheMicrosoftSolitairecollection.JustsearchforitbynameintheWindowsStoreorinyoursearchbox.

ItoffersKlondike,FreeCell,Spider,TriPeaks,andPyramidsolitairegames,andisfreeintheWindowsStore.

MicrosoftMinesweeperisanotherfun,classicgamethatyoucandownloadforfree.

PuzzleenthusiastsmayenjoyMicrosoftJigsaw.

Fornumbersfans,there’sSudokuPro.

Ifyoulikewordsearchgames,justenter“wordsearch”inthesearchboxoftheWindowsStoretofinddozensofresults.

Drawing

AgreatstepupfromtheincludedPaintprogramisFreshPaint,afunappthatallowsyoutomakebeautifulpictures.

Youcancreatefromscratchordomoreofapaint-by-numbersthing.

Ifyou’dlikesomethingwithPhotoshoptypeoptions,that’salsofree,youcanheadonovertoPaint.nettoinstalltheirfreesoftware.Itisabsolutelyfree,thoughyoudohavetheoptiontodonate.IdownloadedandcheckeditoutmyselfanditworkedfineformeinWindows10.http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

MediaPlayer

AprogramthatIhighlyrecommendisVLCMediaplayer.NeedtoplayadigitalfileoraDVD?Thissoftwareisyourfriend.BackwhenIworkedintelevision,weuseditoften.Youcandownloadthetouch-friendlyversionfromtheWindowsStorebysearchingVLC.EventhoughitsaysWindows8,itworksfinewith10.

Oryoucangetthedesktopversionbyheadingovertotheirwebsite.VLCallowsyoutoplaymusicandvideosinmanydifferentformats.IfMediaPlayercan’thandleit,VLCprobablycan.

OfficeSuiteIfWordPadandthefreeonlineMicrosoftOfficeappsaren’tenoughforyourneeds,considerdownloadingLibreOffice.Thisfullyfunctionalsuiteofsoftwareofferswordprocessing,spreadsheet,andpresentationsoftware.

Social

FacebookWindows10stillhassomethingofadualnature.Forexample,youcandownloadtheFacebookapp,whichwillintegratewithotherappsandcanbeopenedbyCortana.

OryoucanchoosetoaccessFacebookthroughyourbrowser.

TwitterisalsoavailableinappformforWindow10,butsofarthereisnoappforInstagram.

That’sabasiclookatwhat’savailableonWindows10andintheWindowsStore.FeelfreetoexploreyourincludedappsandtheselectionsintheWindowsstore.

Acknowledgements

Firstandforemost,Ihavetothankmyhusband.Hissupportandencouragementmeaneverything.

IhavetothankStevePerry,ourfounderandfearlessleaderatWorldStart.Hegavemethechancetobeatechwriterandhe’stheguywhotoldmetowritethisbook.

ThewonderfulreadersofWorldStart.comsuppliedquestionsandplentyoffeedback.

CrystalTeagueworkedhergraphicsmagictomakethisbooklookgood,andAudraDistlerprovidedvaluabletechsupportsettingupthecomputeronwhichweranthepreviewversionofWindows10.

I’dalsoliketotakeamomenttoacknowledgeadearfriendandformerco-workerwhopassedawayin2014.RickMorriswastheITguybackwhenIworkedatatelevisionstation.Hewasagruff,no-nonsenseguywithnotnearlyenoughtimeinthedaytotacklealltheproblemsthatwerethrownhisway.SometimeswhenIwashavingissueswithequipment,(andtherewerealwaysissues)he’dwritethephonenumberforsupportforthatparticularequipmentonaPost-Itnoteandhavemecalltechsupportorgivemesomeinstructionsontroubleshootingitmyself.

Ilearnedawholelot.Healsohadlittlepatienceforexplainingstufftopeoplewhodidn’tgetthelanguageanditbecamesortofmyjobtoexplainthecomplexitiesandquirksoftheeditingcomputerstothefolksinnewswhomightnotquitegetthejargon.SoIlearnedtwoskills:understandingtechno-babbleandtranslatingitintosimpleEnglish.

InhishonorIwillpasstheengineeringsecretthathetaughtme.Ithasservedmewellalltheseyears.Ifsomethingdoesn’twork,askyourselfthis:“Isitpluggedin?Isitturnedon?”Inmostcircumstancesoneofthesequestionswillsolvetheproblem.Ifthatdoesn’twork,turnitoffandunplugitforfiveminutes.Thatstepislikeamagictrick.Ifthatdoesn’thelp,cussitoutandthreatenit.Idon’tknowwhythisworks,butitworks.Machinesknowwhenyoumeanbusiness.

CynthiaMackley

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