Windows 8.1 Absolute Beginner's Guide

Make the most of your new Windows 8.1 device–without becoming a technical expert! This book is the fastest way to take control of Windows 8.1, and use it to create, connect, and discover…simplify and organize your whole life…learn more, play more, do more, live better! This book shows you how to do what you want, the way you want, one incredibly clear and easy step at a time. Windows has never, ever been this simple!   Who knew how simple Windows 8.1 could be?   This is the easiest, most practical beginner’s guide to using your new Windows 8.1 desktop, notebook, or tablet…simple, reliable instructions for doing everything you really want to do! Here’s a small sample of what you’ll learn:   •   Run Windows the way that’s easiest for you: mouse, touch, or keyboard •   Make the most of the Charms Bar and other new shortcuts •   Get online with Internet Explorer® 11 and master its new tools •   Retrieve up-to-the-minute news, sports, weather, and financial data •   Set up your home network, printer, and other devices •   Safeguard your personal information and keep it private •   Enjoy all your digital photos, videos, movies, and music •   Easily connect with anyone through email and the People app •   Discover and play new Windows 8.1 games •   Control your Xbox from Windows with Xbox® SmartGlass™ •   Manage even the most gigantic collections of data and media •   Automatically back up your data to the cloud •   Fix problems, protect against malware, and keep Windows working reliably  

Table of Contents:
Introduction    1 What Is an Absolute Beginner?    3 How This Book Is Organized    3 Conventions Used in This Book    4 Selects and Selecting    4 Special Elements    5 1  Your First Hour with Windows    7 Starting Up Windows    8 Signing In    9 Introducing the Start Screen    13 Returning to the Start Screen    14 Seeing Tiles off the Screen    15 Displaying All Apps    16 Using the Charms Bar    17 Using the Search Charm    19 Using the Share Charm    21 Using the Devices Charm    22 Using the Settings Charm    23 The Help and Tips App    24 Handling Special Startup Situations    25 Restarting Windows After a Problem    25 Waking Up Windows    26 Password Notifications    27 Exiting Windows    28 Signing Out of Windows 8.1    29 Locking Windows 8.1    29 Putting Windows 8.1 to Sleep    29 Shutting Down Your Windows 8.1 Computer    30 2  Interacting with Windows    31 Getting to Know the Windows 8 Interfaces    32 Using the Mouse in Windows 8    32 Using the Keyboard in Windows 8    34 Using Touch in Windows 8    35 Using the Virtual Keyboard    36 Using Windows Controls You Find on the Desktop    38 Window    38 Button    38 Option Button or Group    40 Text Box    40 Check Box    40 Windows 8 Toggle    41 List Box    42 Drop-Down List    43 Combo Drop-Down List    44 3  Organizing the Start Screen    45 Organizing All Those Tiles    46 Selecting a Tile    46 Moving a Tile    47 Making a Tile Bigger or Smaller    48 Adding a Tile to the Start Screen    49 Show More Tiles    50 Personalizing Tile Groups    51 Creating a Tile Group    52 Moving Tile Groups    54 Naming a Tile Group    54 4  Making Windows Your Own    57 Personalize the Start Screen    58 Personalize Your Account Picture    61 Personalize the Lock Screen    64 Setting a Lock Screen Slideshow    65 Lock Screen Apps    66 Personalizing the Desktop    67 Changing the Desktop Background    68 Changing the Mouse Pointers Used on the Desktop    69 Change the Desktop’s Color Scheme    71 Setting Up a Desktop Screensaver    71 5  Using Windows Store Apps    75 Learning Basic Windows Store Apps Info    76 Running Windows Store Apps    77 Starting a Windows Store App    77 Starting Additional Windows Store Apps    79 Stopping a Windows Store App (If You Must)    79 Using the App Bar to Change an App’s Settings    81 Managing Windows Store Apps    82 Using the App Switcher    82 Configuring App Switching with the Mouse    83 Switching to the Previous App    84 Showing Multiple Windows Store Apps on the Screen    85 Uninstalling Apps (If You Can)    89 Shopping at the Windows Store    91 Purchasing an App    93 Managing Your Windows Store Account    94 6  These Are a Few of My Favorite Apps    99 Email, Calendar, People    100 Maps    104 News    105 Sports    107 Food and Drink    107 Weather    108 Photographs    109 Reader    111 Music, Games, Video    113 Music    113 Games    115 Video    117 Additional Notable Apps    118 7  Setting Up Search, Share, and Notifications    121 Using Windows Search    122 Performing Search    123 Setting Search Options    124 Using Windows Share    127 Setting Share Applications    129 Setting Share Options    130 Fine-Tuning Notifications You Receive    132 8  Learning About the Windows Desktop    135 Introducing the Desktop    136 Getting to the Desktop    137 Returning to the Start Screen    139 Working with the Taskbar    139 Receiving Alerts and Notifications    140 Adding Toolbars to the Taskbar    142 Keeping the Desktop Organized    143 Automatically Line Up Icons on the Desktop    144 Arrange the Desktop by Icon Type    145 Change the Size of Desktop Icons    145 Hide All Desktop Icons    146 Displaying Special Icons on the Desktop    146 9  Working with Windows Desktop Programs    151 Introducing Windows Desktop Programs    152 Running Programs on the Desktop    154 Running Multiple Desktop Programs    154 Making It Easy to Start Your Favorite Desktop Programs    156 Saving Files to the Desktop    156 Exiting Desktop Programs    158 Working with Windows    158 Installing and Removing Programs    162 Installing Programs    162 Removing Windows Programs    162 10  Performing Easy Windows Configuration    165 The Control Panel    166 Setting Up Your Mouse or Touchpad    167 Mouse Settings    167 Touchpad Settings    170 Setting Up Your Keyboard    171 Changing Keyboard Settings    172 Personalize Language, Keyboard, and Date Formats    173 Setting Up Your Display    176 Adjusting the Resolution (Making the Screen Bigger or Smaller)    176 Setting Up Multiple Monitors    178 Adjusting Brightness    180 Setting Up Power Use    183 The Easy Method to Set Up Power Use    184 The Really Easy Method to Set Up Power Use    184 The Manual Method to Set Up Power Use    185 Customizing Corner Navigation    185 Setting Up Sound    186 Setting Up Your Speakers    186 Selecting Sounds for Windows Events    188 Ease of Access    190 11  Connecting to the Internet    195 Reviewing Important Internet Connection Basics    196 Learning About Internet Service Providers    196 Checking the Hardware Required to Connect    196 Learning the Internet Connection Services Typically Available    197 Understanding Routers for Internet Connection Sharing    199 Understanding the Network Adapter    200 Connecting to the Internet    201 Connecting to a Wireless Network    202 Connecting Where Free Wi-Fi Is Advertised    204 Connecting to Pay-as-You-Go Wi-Fi    205 Connecting to a LAN/Wired Network    205 Connecting After Upgrading to Windows 8    206 Connecting After You Restart Your Device    206 12  Surfing the Web    207 Figuring Out Which Browser to Use    208 Navigating to Websites    210 Entering the URL of a Site You Want to Visit    210 Searching the Web    211 Following a Hyperlink to Another Page    213 Revisiting a Site You Visit Often    214 Opening a Tabbed Site    215 Navigating Back and Forth    215 Enhancing Your Browsing    216 Zooming In and Out    216 Playing Videos and Music on the Web    217 Viewing Web Pages in the Desktop Browser    218 Pinning Websites to the Start Screen    219 Sharing Web Pages    221 Printing While You’re Web Browsing    222 Using the Desktop Browser    224 Creating Shortcuts to Websites    224 Opening All Links in the Desktop Browser    225 13  Managing Your Contacts    229 Introducing the People App    230 Connecting with Your Contacts    233 Setting Up Your Contacts    237 Linking to Facebook    238 Linking to Google, Outlook.com, and Exchange/Office 365    240 Linking to Twitter    241 Linking to LinkedIn    243 14  Setting Up and Using Email    247 Exploring the Mail App    248 Setting Up Your Email Accounts    250 Setting Up Your Google, Yahoo, AOL, or Outlook.com Account    251 Setting Up Your Exchange/Office 365/Outlook.com Account    252 Manually Setting Up an Email Account Using IMAP or EAS    253 Reading Your Email    255 Replying to a Message    256 Filing a Message in a Folder    258 Deleting a Message    259 Forward a Message    260 Mark a Message as Unread    261 Managing Junk Mail    261 Writing an Email Message    262 Addressing Your Message    264 Formatting Your Email Message    264 Attaching a Photo or Another File to Your Message    267 Checking Spelling in Your Message    268 Managing Your Inbox    268 Creating Folders    269 Flagging Messages    271 Printing Emails    271 15  Managing Your Calendar    275 Getting to Know the Calendar App    276 Controlling the Calendar View    277 Setting Calendar Colors    279 Synchronizing with Other Calendars    280 Connecting to Your Hotmail Account    281 Connecting to Microsoft Accounts    282 Connecting to Your Gmail Account    283 Adding Events to Your Calendar    284 16  Enjoying Your Digital Photos in Windows    291 Learning Photos App Basics    292 Accessing Pictures Stored on SkyDrive    293 Transferring Pictures from a Flash Drive    294 Browsing Through Your Photos    296 Working with Your Photos    298 Organizing the Pictures Library    301 Renaming Your Pictures    303 17  Sharing Your Windows Computer with Others    307 Windows 8 Users and Account Basics    308 Adding a New User    310 Adding a New User with a Local Account    311 Adding a New User with a Microsoft Account    312 Creating a PIN or Picture Password    316 Adding a PIN to Your Account    316 Adding a Picture Password to Your Account    317 Making Changes to User Accounts    319 Changing a User’s Type    320 Removing a User Account    321 Maintaining Security    322 Setting Password Policy    323 Using the Screensaver to Add Security    325 18  Sharing Files and Printers    327 Networking with Homegroup    328 Using the Windows Homegroup    329 Creating a Homegroup    330 Joining a Homegroup    332 Leaving a Homegroup    333 Troubleshooting Homegroup Connections    333 Setting Up Sharing    334 Disabling Sharing for Specific Files or Folders    336 Sharing Files and Folders Only with Specific Users    337 Sharing Your Printer    339 Seeing Stuff Shared by Others    340 19  Managing Files and Folders    343 Files and Folder Basics    344 Understanding Files    344 Understanding Folders    345 Exploring with File Explorer    347 Working with Libraries    348 Navigating the Folder Tree    351 Customizing the Content Pane    353 Exploring the Preview and Details Pane    355 Folder Options    357 Navigating Through Your Folders    360 Selecting Files and Folders    362 Selecting a Single File at a Time    363 Selecting Multiple Contiguous Files    363 Selecting Multiple Noncontiguous Files    364 Typical Files and Folders Tasks    365 20  Working with SkyDrive    369 Introducing SkyDrive    370 Adding Files to Your SkyDrive    373 Managing Files on Your SkyDrive    374 Viewing SkyDrive Status    376 Configuring SkyDrive File Storage    378 Saving to SkyDrive as Default    378 Managing Photo Storage Considerations    379 Synchronizing SkyDrive    380 Manage Metered Connections Considerations    382 Using SkyDrive from the Desktop    384 Offline Availability    385 21  Having Fun with Movies and Videos    387 Getting Started with the Xbox Video App    388 Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account    388 Adding Your Videos to the Videos Library    391 Moving Through the Xbox Video App    393 Shopping for Videos    398 Making a Purchase    398 Renting a Selection    399 22  Enjoying Music    403 Getting Started with the Music App    404 Learning What’s Where in the Music App    404 Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account    407 Loading Your Music into Windows 8    408 How to Link Your Music    409 How to Move Your Music    412 Browsing Through Your Music    412 Playing Music    414 Creating Playlists    415 Purchasing Music    416 Importing Music and Creating Music CDs    418 Importing Music from a CD    419 Creating a Music CD    421 23  Having Fun and Playing Games    423 Using Xbox LIVE with Windows 8    424 Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account    425 Controlling Xbox from Windows 8    427 Installing Xbox SmartGlass with an Xbox 360    428 Using Xbox SmartGlass    430 Learning the Xbox Games App    433 24  Safe Web Browsing    437 Understanding Internet Threats and Risks    438 Web Browsing Risks    438 Learning About Risky Attachments and Other Email-Related Threats    440 Learning Phishing Threats    441 Avoiding Virus Threats    443 Defending Yourself    444 Reviewing All-in-One Internet Defense Suites    444 Defending with Windows Defender    445 Checking Your Security Status at the Action Center    449 Using SmartScreen to Avoid Dangerous Websites    449 Covering Your Internet Tracks    451 Browsing Quietly and Invisibly with InPrivate Browsing    452 Using Windows Firewall    453 Managing All Your IDs and Passwords    455 25  Troubleshooting and Solving Common Problems    457 Handling Special Windows Startup Situations    458 Restarting Windows After a Problem    458 Messages You Might Receive While Signing In    459 Using the Troubleshooting Wizards    460 Using Task Manager to Close Unresponsive Programs    462 Understanding Refresh and Restore    463 Getting a Do-Over with Refresh    463 Restarting from Scratch with the Reset Option    465 Index    469  

About the Author :
Paul Sanna is a software professional and the author or co-author of two dozen computer books on topics such as Windows 2000, Internet Explorer, VBA, Windows security, and more. He has been writing about computers since his first literary agent said to him many years ago, “I didn’t know Boston University had an English program,” and “Have you heard of this Windows 95 thing?” Mr. Sanna has worked in the IT field his entire career, building software, selling high tech, helping customers understand how to be successful with technology, and helping to market breakthrough analytics technology. His home with his family is in Charlotte, NC. Go Gamecocks!   Alan Wright has worked professionally in and around IT for more than 10 years. He has provided enterprise-level support in the Detroit, Michigan, area and continues to provide software and hardware support for small businesses and residential users. He holds several certifications from CompTIA and Microsoft and enjoys working with technology and teaching others how they can make technology work for them. Alan has been the technical editor on other books from Que Publishing, including Using Windows 8 and Microsoft Project 2013 In Depth, and he co-authored Visio 2013 Absolute Beginner’s Guide. When not working with computers, he enjoys working on projects in his cabinet shop. Alan lives in northern Michigan with his wife, Pam, and their two children, Joshua and Jonathan.