Windows 10 For Seniors For Dummies. Peter Weverka

more. Tap the keyboard key, which is in the upper-left corner of any layout, to display the five options shown in Figure 1-6.

       Tap the Standard button (refer to Figure 1-6) to return to the standard layout from one of the other layouts.

       Tap the Narrow button to see a narrow keyboard suitable for thumb typing.

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

       Tap the Expanded button to view a keyboard with keys such as Tab, Caps Lock, and Shift that appear on a conventional keyboard.

       Tap the Handwriting button to view the handwriting layout, shown in Figure 1-8. This layout enables you to write with a finger or a stylus (a special pen). Windows converts your scribbles to block text (if it can make sense of your scribbles).

       FIGURE 1-6

       FIGURE 1-7

       FIGURE 1-8

The keyboard pop-up menu also offers buttons for widening or narrowing the keyboard on the bottom of the screen (refer to Figure 1-6).

Turn On Your Computer

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

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

      3 Enter your password and press Enter (or select the Submit button, the button on the right side of the password textbox). Soon the Windows 10 desktop screen appears, as shown in Figure 1-9.

       FIGURE 1-9

      

If you don’t see the Password text box, jiggle the mouse or press a key on the keyboard to wake up Windows 10.

      

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

      

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

      

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

Check Out the Start Screen

      1 Start your computer — if it isn't started already — and sign in to your user account. You'll see the Windows desktop screen (refer to Figure 1-9).

      2 Open the Start screen, as shown in Figure 1-10. Use one of these methods to open the Start screen:Mouse: Click the Start button (you’ll find it in the lower-left corner of the screen).Touchscreen: Tap the Start button.Keyboard: Press the key.FIGURE 1-10

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

      4 Scroll down the names of apps on the left side of the Start screen. You see an alphabetical list of all the apps that are installed on your computer, as shown in Figure 1-11, left. By clicking or tapping an app in this list, you can open an app. Scroll on the Start screen when you want to open an application but can’t find its tile. Under “Most Used,” the Start screen lists apps you recently opened. You can click or tap an app name on the Most Used list to open an app. While the Start screen is open, you can type the name of an app to open it. For example, to open the Weather app, type weather. A panel opens with the names of apps that include the word weather (you also see apps from the Microsoft Store and web pages with the word weather). Select the Weather app listing in the panel to open the Weather app.

      5 Scroll through the alphabetical apps list to Windows Administrative Tools, and then click or tap the down-arrow to the right of the name Windows Administrative Tools. As shown in Figure 1-11, middle, a list of apps appears under the Windows Administrative Tools heading.FIGURE 1-11 In the alphabetical apps list, some names are really headings, not apps. The down arrows tell you where the headings are. Click or tap a down arrow to see the list of apps under a heading. Rather than scroll through the alphabetical list to find an app, you can select a letter in the list and then select a letter in the pop-up list of letters that appears (refer to Figure 1-11, right). For example, to quickly get to the Weather app, select any letter and then select the W on the pop-up list.

      6 Notice the buttons in the lower-left corner of the Start screen. From top to bottom, these buttons are your image, Documents, Pictures, Settings, and Power, as shown in Figure 1-12. Rather than buttons, you can see button names on the Start screen (see Figure 1-12) by selecting the menu button in the upper-left corner of the Start screen.FIGURE 1-12

      7 Click or tap your image