Obviously as a IT person I spend some of my nights and weekend helping family and friends with their PC issues. Seem like after Xmas this year many people rushed out to buy new PCs. To their surprise Windows 7 was no where to be found. This guide is to help people with some of the basics in Windows 8. I have been running the release version since it came out and the last two pre-releases prior to that. The OS seems as stable as Win 7 the only thing to learn is how to quickly navigate. When you learn the keyboard shortcuts you can navigate this OS with blazing speed.
The new interface is now referred to as the Metro interface, The modern interface, The Windows 8 interface, The Windows 8 Metro Interface or Live Tiles. I honestly have no idea what Microsoft wants to call it so I am going to just call it the Metro Interface(Microsoft will not be happy).
Charms

Microsoft introduced the term Charms with this version of Windows. You can get to the charms by using windows key + c. It will open the 5 icons on the right of your screen. The most important thing to remember about Charms is they are per application. If you select The search Charm while you are in the store it will search the store if you do the same while you are on your desktop it will search your PC.
Quick Charm Tips:
- Search the Store by windows + c in the store
- Open Classic Control Panel -> Charms on desktop – settings – control panel
Other Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts
I have had a few questions about navigating from people not on touch devices/monitors…. I will note some of the good ones below and spend some time on the following two MS pages for a full detailed list..
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/mouse-keyboard-whats-new
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/keyboard-shortcuts
- Windows Key + x –> Helpful tools (command prompt, computer management, run, control panel,device manger)
- Windows Key + p –> If you have multiple monitors this will help you configure them
- Windows Key –> back to metro
- Windows Key + Tab –> Bring up your metro apps on the left side.
- Windows Key + Q –> Search in your current app
- Windows Key + Z –> In a metro App this will bring up the bottom menu (I think they call it the context Menu)
One more tip… To log out, shutdown, put it to sleep just hit Ctrl Alt Delete then the button on the bottom right
I will put some more stuff together soon. If you want to make comments or have me add anything please use the google+ community site
Google+ Direct Link to Comments: Comments
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