Windows 8 Tips & Tricks for Everyone

MUST-KNOW WINDOWS 8 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR EVERYONE

Windows 8 is full of features and surprises for the new and existing windows customer.  You are going to notice a lot of changes in the OS, they are not bad but few of them are immediately intuitive. The OS basically designed for touch control, so as a result many mouse and keyboard commands are feel like busted somewhere in the middle. But you don’t have to worry anymore just keep reading and we guide you how to get upper hand on Windows 8 beauty.

In better and efficient performance you need to know the shortcuts, tricks and tips. So if you are going to experience the Windows 8 with touch support. You can play on your own till we write a review on it but right now we are going to share you some Windows 8 hotkey commands that going to help you use the OS on your Desktop, Laptop and ultrabooks.

Employ the hottest hotkeys we know

In these key combinations, hold down the Windows key (normally located between Alt and Ctrl) and another key, as described on this list.[1]

• Press the Windows key to enter the tiled Start screen.
• The Windows key + M minimizes everything that's showing on the desktop.
• The Windows key + E opens Explorer for quick access to folders.
• On the Start screen, press the Windows key + D to instantly get to the desktop.
• The Windows key + Tab opens a list of currently running programs.
• The Windows key + Print Screen takes a screenshot and saves it in a Screenshots folder nested in your Pictures folder. 
• To take a screenshot on a Windows 8 tablet, simultaneously press the Windows button and the volume-down button on the tablet chassis.
• The Windows key + Q opens a global search menu. Type what you're looking for and where you would like to look.
• The Windows key + W opens a search in your system settings to quickly locate and change system properties.
• The Windows key + F opens a file and folder search.
• The Windows key + Pause opens the system properties page to show you a quick rundown of your specs.
• The Windows key + "," (that's the comma sign!) makes all current windows transparent, giving you a peek at the desktop as long as you hold down the Windows key.
• The Windows key + "." (the period) snaps a window to the right or left side (toggling each time you press ".").
• The Windows key + R prompts the Run command—useful for quickly launching apps and other routines with a command prompt.
• The Windows key + X opens the Quick Access Menu, exposing system functionality such as the Command Prompt, Disk Management, File Explorer, Run, and more. Alternatively, you can right-click on the bottom right corner of the screen to spawn the Quick Access Menu.
• The Windows key + I opens the settings menu, giving you quick access to the Control Panel, Personalization, and your Power button, among other features.
• The Windows key + O locks orientation on devices with an accelerometer.[2]

Zoom in tight

See all your tiles and groups at once with semantic zoom.

The Start Screen of the Windows 8 is just like you find the apps on your mobile device. The tiles are easy to see in small groups as well, but what if you have hundreds of apps installed? Most of them will be hidden from view and unless you want to do a lot of scrolling you might find them. Enter the new semantic zoom feature. If you are on a touch-support display, squeeze the Start screen with two fingers to receive a bird’s eye view of you entire screen contents. And this feature is also available to mouse and keyboard users (most of us). Simply hold the Ctrl button, and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

CATEGORIZE YOUR APPS

Start screen customization for the organized.

Start screen can become a mess if you keep collecting too many apps and other elements that been pinned to the screen as tiles, now you have to take full advantage of built-in organization tools that simply let you divide the apps into labeled groups.

First of all, drag all the tiles you want to assign to a single group to the far right hand side of the Start screen, the OS should sequester the tiles together. Once you are satisfied with your assembly, use semantic zoom that was described about to get the bird’s eye view of your system desktop. Now right-click on the group and select the “Name group” option on the left hand side of the bar that appears below. Type in the name and enjoy your newly organized Start screen.

CLOSE AN APPLICATION

Closing an app sound is not a bad thing, but you will quickly analyze that the close buttons are hard to find in Windows 8. That is because Microsoft encourages us to run multiple apps in the background where they take minimal resources and still be accessible at any time.

If you insist, you can close an app by dragging it down with your mouse or finger from the top of the screen all the way down to the bottom. When you drag, the app will minimize into a thumbnail and when you read the bottom of the screen it will disappear from the view. Alternately, you can still close the apps like an old method of Alt + F4 or through the Task Manager that can be called by Ctrl + Alt + Del.

USE CENTRALIZED, CONTEXTUAL SEARCH

Search for anything in any app from one place.

The Search function on the bar is packed with power, it help you search the directories on your Windows 8 machine but also the Windows ecosystem. Simply choose the bucket of data you want to sift through and it could be all your installed apps, you system settings, and your files, your emails, or even the external service like the Windows Store or Bing Maps just type the finding words and hit Enter. The Search will return the results, perfectly contextualized for the database you have addressed.

Hey, you don’t need to hit the Charms bar to access the Search. Simply from the Start screen, start typing and you will be beat to the text entry field for search queries. Yes that works!

ADJUST PRIVACY SETTINGS

Customize your privacy settings to your liking.

A lot of the apps use your personal information as default. Like your pictures and location and name. And just like me and most of the users out there, we may not be comfortable in trusting the machine with that much of sensitive data. So to adjust the settings, press the Windows key and I and go to the PC Settings, where you can select the Privacy option and personalize the settings for your personal data.

ADJUST SMARTSCREEN SETTINGS

Choose your own level of safety with SmartScreen.

SmartScreen warns you before running any of the unrecognized apps of file from the internet.  It’s actually helpful to be aware of the file type and source of the file, constant warning is little annoying. By default, you only need to have administrator permission, but this can easily be adjusted to just a warning or no indication at all. Type “Security” at the Start screen and find the “Check Security Status” in the Settings tab. From that point, you can adjust the various security settings which include the Windows SmartScreen.

BRING UP THE QUICK ACCESS MENU