Finally, the new Windows Store integrates content as well as apps. You can purchase and stream TV shows, movies, and music from the Windows Store to your Windows 10 devices.
Wrapping Up
Windows 10 is by far the most significant change in the Microsoft operating system ecosystem, potentially rivaling the shift from DOS to Windows in the early days of the PC.
This chapter scratched the surface of what's new in Windows 10. Some of the topics, such as HoloLens, Surface Hub, and Windows 10 IoT are not covered in detail in this book. Instead, we focus on helping you understand how to interact with and get the most from Windows 10 on your PCs and tablets. Where appropriate, we cover mobile devices and the key features that Windows 10 brings to these devices.
Your next step is to dive into Windows 10 and become familiar with the user interface. Chapter 2, “Navigating the Windows 10 Interface,” helps you do just that. So, turn the page and dive in!
Chapter 2
Navigating the Windows 10 Interface
IN THIS CHAPTER
Introducing the Windows 10 interface
Using the Start menu
Using the Action Center
Using the taskbar
Working with Windows 10 apps
Getting to the desktop
If you've been using previous versions of Windows for a while, you're no doubt familiar with the Windows desktop and how to work with Windows and Windows applications. If you've been using Windows 8.x, you'll find the transition to Windows 10 easy. If you're new to Windows 10, however, you may find the Windows 10 interface very different. Gestures such as swipe, tap, tap and hold, slide, and so on may be foreign concepts. Fortunately, Windows 10 uses many of the same general gestures and actions you find on other touch-based devices. So, the Windows 10 interface should feel familiar to you.
If you don't have much experience with touch interfaces, this chapter gets you up to speed. You learn to navigate through the Windows 10 interface, use modern Windows apps, and even work with that familiar Windows desktop! Armed with some basic concepts, you'll be navigating the Windows 10 interface like a pro in no time.
If you've been using Windows 8.x for a while and are new to Windows 10, this chapter helps you understand the changes that Microsoft introduced in Windows 10. These changes make Windows 10 easier to use, particularly for those of us who missed the Start menu in Windows 8.x.
Introducing the Windows 10 Interface
The interface introduced in Windows 8 and fine-tuned in Windows 8.1 represented a shift toward touch-based interaction with the Windows operating system and applications, driven in large part by the growth of the tablet and handheld device markets. Although Windows 10 continues that touch-based focus, the Windows 10 interface is not only about touch; it's also about simplification and putting data and applications within easy reach. In addition, Microsoft has melded the positive aspects of the new interface with the Start menu familiar to users of Windows 7 and earlier versions.
Figure 2.1 shows the Windows 10 logon screen, which you use to log in to the device. Although Chapter 3 explains how to log in and out of Windows, we cover it briefly here. Windows displays a list of user accounts available on the device (see Figure 2.1) with the most recently used account shown in the middle of the display. To log in with the most recently used account, just tap or click in the Password box, type the password for the account, and press Enter or tap the arrow key beside the Password box. To use a different account, tap (touch or click) on a user in the list at the left corner of the display, enter the password for that user account, and then press Enter or tap (or click) the arrow icon to the right of the password field.
Figure 2.1 The Windows 10 Logon screen.
If the device is locked but your account is logged on, Windows displays the logon screen shown in Figure 2.2. This is nearly identical to the logon screen in Figure 2.1, except only the currently logged on account is shown. As when logging on, just type your password and then press Enter or tap the arrow key.
Figure 2.2 The Windows 10 Lock screen.
After you log in, you see the Windows 10 desktop, shown in Figure 2.3. The desktop should be familiar to you, regardless of which version of Windows you have used previously, because the desktop is a key feature of all previous versions of Windows. However, the Windows 10 desktop is a little different from the others.
Figure 2.3 The Windows Start menu and desktop.
The first difference is the Start menu. To open the Start menu, click the Windows button at the left edge of the taskbar. As shown in Figure 2.3, the new Windows 10 Start menu is a melding of the Start menu found in Windows 7 and the Start screen found in Windows 8.x. On the left are frequently-used apps, settings, and folders, and on the right are tiles for apps. You can start an app just by clicking or tapping on its tile or in the list at the left of the Start menu.
Before we dig deeper into the Windows 10 interface and its elements, let's look at the gestures and actions you can use within the interface.
Working with Gestures and Mouse Actions
There are a handful of touch-based gestures you'll use with Windows 10, along with mouse-based alternatives for use on non-touch devices (or when you have a mouse connected to a touch device). The following list summarizes Windows 10 gestures, along with corresponding mouse actions.
● Tap/Left-click: Touch a finger to the object you want to select, and then remove your finger from the screen. With a mouse, left-click the object (point to it, click the left button, and then release the button).
● Tap and hold/Click and hold: Put a finger on the object you want to select, and hold your finger there. Tap and hold is typically followed by another gesture, such as sliding. For example, to relocate a tile on the Start screen, you tap and hold the tile, and after a check mark appears at the top right of the tile, you can slide it to a new location. The equivalent mouse action for tap and hold is left-click and hold.
● Swipe: Slide your finger across the display, left, right, up, or down. For example, to view the tiles at the right side of the Start screen if they're off-screen, swipe from right to left.
● Slide (drag)/Click and drag: After you've selected an object, you can slide it on the display. Tap and hold to select the object, and then simply slide your finger across the screen to move the object. The mouse equivalent is to click and drag
the object.
● Swipe from the edge of the screen inward: There are a handful of tasks you can accomplish by swiping from the edge of the display in toward the middle of the screen. For example, swiping from the left edge lets you switch between apps. Swipe from the right edge to display the Action Center. Slide up from the bottom or down from the top to view options for the current app. The mouse equivalent varies depending on the task. To view options for the app, right-click the app.
● Pinch: Place two fingers on the screen and move them apart or toward each other to zoom in or out, respectively.
Using