The next best thing to having your own private instructor guiding you through Windows 8 is this terrific book-and-online video training tool from Elaine Marmel. Fifteen self-paced lessons show you how to customize settings, work with Internet Explorer, connect peripherals, and handle maintenance and troubleshooting. The step-by-step print book makes detailed tasks less intimidating, while video tutorials available for download at the companion website really drive home concepts and reinforce the instruction as you learn.
You'll also get thoroughly up to speed on what's new in Windows 8 and how to get the most out of the new features.
- Features step-by-step instructions that make even the most complicated tasks easy to understand, while the video training enhances the content covered in the print book
- Includes 15 self-paced lessons with step-by-step instruction in Windows OS basics as well as new Windows 8 features
- Covers customizing the settings, working with Internet Explorer, connecting peripherals, handling maintenance and troubleshooting, and more
Windows 8 Digital Classroom lets you jump right into Windows 8 today with and start learning at your own pace.
Note: The supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file. These materials are available for download upon purchase
Table of Contents:
Starting Up About Windows 8 Digital Classroom 1
Upgrading or Starting With a New Computer 1
Windows 8 on Touchscreen Devices 1
About operating systems 1
Windows 8 versions 2
What’s New in Windows 8 5
Common Windows 8 Functions 7
System Requirements 8
Loading lesson files 8
Video tutorials 9
Additional Video Training & Windows 8 Resources 9
Lesson 1: Getting Started with Windows 8
Starting up 11
Signing in to Windows 12
Understanding Microsoft accounts and local accounts 14
Microsoft accounts 14
Local accounts 14
Registering an existing e-mail address as a Microsoft account 15
Using a Mouse and Keyboard 16
Getting back to the Start screen 17
Displaying the Charms bar 18
Switching among open apps 19
Displaying the Quick Link menu 21
Closing an app 22
Displaying the Desktop 23
Locking your computer 24
Zooming the Start screen 25
Getting Help 26
Shutting down Windows 8 30
Self study 34
Review 34
Lesson 2: Using Touch- Sensitive Screens and Tablets
Starting up 35
Determining whether your device supports Windows 8 touch gestures 36
Navigating Windows 8 native apps with gestures 38
Tapping 38
Displaying the App bar 38
Zooming 40
Scrolling 41
Displaying the Charms bar 41
Switching apps 41
Closing an app 42
Using the Desktop app with gestures 43
Double-tap 43
Tap and hold 43
Working with the touch keyboard 43
Displaying and hiding the touch keyboard 43
Using the touch keyboard in split mode 47
Writing vs typing 47
Traveling with your mobile device 52
Handling your device 52
Use password protection and data encryption 52
Consider a privacy screen 53
Invest in a laptop security device or mobile security program 53
If your device is stolen… 53
Safety and mobile computing 53
Public Wi-Fi is not safe 53
Use a firewall 54
Watch for secure sites 54
Plug in when you can 54
Use the VPN 54
Mobile computing and battery life 54
Choosing a power plan 54
Customizing a power plan 56
Creating your own power plan 57
Self study 59
Review 59
Lesson 3: Navigating and Customizing the Start Screen
Starting up 61
Reviewing navigation 62
Corner navigation 64
Redisplaying the Start screen 64
Searching 65
Working with tiles 68
Setting tile options 69
Displaying tiles in list format 71
Pinning and unpinning tiles 74
Rearranging tiles 77
Creating and managing tile groups 78
Working with the Charms bar 82
Self study 89
Review 89
Lesson 4: Working with Windows 8 Native Apps
Starting up 91
Working with the Windows Store 92
Visiting the store 93
Browsing through top apps 99
Rating an app 103
Viewing the apps on your device 106
Updating Windows 8 native apps 107
Running a Windows 8 native app 111
Searching for an app 112
Selecting from the All Apps list 113
Viewing the options for an app 114
Closing an app 115
Switching between Windows 8 apps 116
Snapping apps 118
Sharing information between Windows 8 native apps 121
Printing from a Windows 8 native app 124
Self study 125
Review 125
Lesson 5: Working with Desktop Apps
Starting up 127
Running Desktop apps 128
Getting to know the Desktop app 129
The Recycle Bin 130
The Taskbar 130
Pinned apps 130
The System Tray 131
Pinning and unpinning Desktop apps 133
To the Start screen 134
To the taskbar 135
To the Desktop 138
Viewing the contents of your computer 139
Working with the Recycle Bin 143
Deleting a file 144
Restoring a file from the Recycle Bin 146
Emptying the Recycle Bin 147
Customizing the Recycle Bin 148
Managing Desktop app windows 149
Exploring a Desktop app window 149
Resizing Desktop app windows 154
Moving a Desktop app window 155
Showing windows side by side 156
Switching between Desktop app windows 158
Using universal Desktop tools 159
Cut, copy, and paste 159
Printing 162
Self study 164
Review 164
Lesson 6: Using Files and Folders
Starting up 165
Navigating in File Explorer 166
Managing Files and Folders 169
Understanding and viewing file formats 169
Changing views 170
Creating a new folder 175
Selecting and deselecting files 179
Renaming files and folders 182
Moving files and folders 184
Copying files and folders 188
Zipping and unzipping compressed files 191
Deleting files and folders 195
Emptying the Recycle Bin 198
Working with Libraries 198
Creating a library 200
Adding folders to a library 203
Libraries and deletions 207
Searching for files in File Explorer 209
Self study 211
Review 211
Lesson 7: Surfing the Web
Starting up 213
Understanding the World Wide Web 214
Web browsers 214
Web pages 214
Web addresses 214
Websites 215
Links 215
The Two Versions of Internet Explorer 215
Using the Windows 8 native version of Internet Explorer 217
Navigating through web pages 217
Pinning a site 219
Browsing privately 221
Searching the Internet 223
Printing and sharing web pages 226
Changing your Internet settings 228
Switching to the Desktop view 230
Using the Desktop version of Internet Explorer 232
Navigating through web pages 232
Creating and managing favorites 234
Navigating using your site visit history 235
Searching the Internet 236
Browsing privately 236
Managing settings 239
Changing interface settings 239
Setting your home page 240
Adding a search engine 242
Setting your default browser 247
Housekeeping 248
Self study 251
Review 251
Lesson 8: E-mail and Contacts
Starting up 253
Running the Mail App 254
Meet the Mail app 255
Setting up an e-mail account in the Mail app 256
Changing Mail app settings 258
Receiving and reading mail 259
Creating and sending an e-mail 260
Searching through e-mail 262
Deleting e-mail 263
Using the People app 263
Importing contacts into the People app 263
Creating a contact 265
Self study 268
Review 268
Lesson 9: Networking with Windows 8
Starting up 269
The basics of networking 270
Networking and hardware 273
Setting up your router 275
Securing your wireless network 276
Connecting your router to the Internet 281
Connecting wirelessly to the router 282
Networking and sharing files 285
Setting up a HomeGroup 286
Changing the HomeGroup password 288
Connecting to a HomeGroup 291
Self study 295
Review 295
Lesson 10: Sharing Device Settings and Content
Starting up 297
Synchronizing Windows 8 settings across devices 298
The basics of cloud storage 305
Introducing SkyDrive 306
Using the Windows 8 native SkyDrive app 307
Adding a folder 308
Uploading files 310
Downloading files 314
Signing out of SkyDrive 318
Browsing with SkyDrive 319
Creating folders and documents 321
Uploading files 324
Downloading a file 328
Sharing files 331
Synchronizing and fetching files using the legacy Desktop SkyDrive app 335
Signing out of SkyDrive 340
Self study 341
Review 341
Lesson 11: Using Audio and Video in Windows 8
Starting up 343
Working with the Windows 8 Music app 344
Playing music 345
Buying music 348
Creating a playlist 349
Using the Windows 8 Video app 351
Working with Windows Media Player 352
Playing music 355
Playing a CD 355
Ripping music 355
Burning music to a CD 358
Creating and playing a playlist 361
Watching videos 366
Setting the default media player 369
Self study 371
Review 371
Lesson 12: Photos and Pictures in Windows 8
Starting up 373
The Windows 8 Photos app 374
Browsing your photos 374
Working with a photo 377
Searching for photos 379
Displaying photos by date 381
Adding photos to the Photos app 382
Using Windows Photo Gallery 383
Opening Windows Photo Gallery 386
Viewing pictures 388
Adding tags and captions 390
Rotate a picture 393
Resize a picture 394
Print a picture 396
Burn pictures to a disc 397
Self study 401
Review 401
Lesson 13: Customizing and Maintaining Windows 8
Starting up 403
Understanding how to change settings in Windows 8 404
Personalizing Windows 404
Personalizing the Start screen 404
Personalizing the Lock screen 408
Setting an account picture 410
Personalizing the Desktop 411
Date and time settings 415
Updating Windows 8 418
Setting notification options 421
Managing devices 424
Ending a misbehaving program 427
Uninstalling a program 428
Backing up your files 431
Turning on File History 431
Restoring files 434
Changing File History settings 435
System recovery options 436
Refreshing 436
Resetting 437
Using system recovery options 437
Self study 438
Review 438
Lesson 14: Keeping Your Computer Safe and Protecting Your Privacy
Starting up 441
Local user accounts and passwords 442
Creating additional user accounts 445
Changing a password 448
Using a picture password 450
Creating a PIN 452
Using the Windows Firewall 454
Optimizing privacy 456
Minimizing your Microsoft connections 456
Managing location tracking 457
Set up the Family Safety feature 461
Self study 463
Review 463
Lesson 15: Exploring Some Windows 8 Apps
Starting up 465
Native Windows 8 apps 466
Using the Weather app 466
Using the Maps app 471
Using the Travel app 475
Windows 8 Desktop Apps 478
Working with WordPad 479
Using the Snipping Tool 480
Recording your steps 483
Self study 485
Review 485
Appendix A: Upgrading to Windows 8
About Upgrading 487
The upgrade process 487
Upgrading from Windows 7 488
Running the Upgrade Assistant 489
Installing Windows 8 492
Appendix B: Windows 8 Touch Gestures
Touch gestures 499
About the Author :
Elaine Marmel is President of Marmel Enterprises, LLC, an organization that specializes in technical writing and software training. She has authored more than 70 books on various software topics.
Elaine Marmel is President of Marmel Enterprises, LLC, an organization that specializes in technical writing and software training. She has authored more than 70 books on various software topics.
