WINDOWS® 11 SIMPLIFIED®

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Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

ISBN: 978-1-119-89308-0

ISBN: 978-1-119-89311-0 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-119-89312-7 (ebk)

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Trademarks

Wiley, Visual, the Visual logo, Simplified, Read Less - Learn More, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Cover image: © style-photography/Getty Images; Screenshot Courtesy of Paul McFedries

Cover design: Michael E. Trent

About the Author

Paul McFedries is a full-time technical writer. Paul has been authoring computer books since 1991, and he has more than 100 books to his credit. Paul’s books have sold more than four million copies worldwide. These books include the Wiley titles Teach Yourself VISUALLY Zoom, Windows 10 Portable Genius, Excel 365 All-in-One For Dummies, Excel Data Analysis For Dummies, Amazon Fire TV For Dummies, Alexa For Dummies, and Cord Cutting For Dummies. Paul invites you to drop by his personal website at www.paulmcfedries.com or follow him on Twitter @paulmcf.

Author’s Acknowledgments

It goes without saying that writers focus on text, and I certainly enjoyed focusing on the text that you’ll read in this book. However, this book is more than just the usual collection of words and phrases. A quick thumbthrough the pages will show you that this book is also chock full of images, from sharp screenshots to fun and informative illustrations. Those colorful images sure make for a beautiful book, and that beauty comes from a lot of hard work by Wiley’s immensely talented group of designers and layout artists. I thank them for creating another gem. Of course, what you read in this book must also be accurate, logically presented, and free of errors. Ensuring all of this was an excellent group of editors that included project editor Sarah Hellert, technical editor Doug Holland, copy editor Kim Wimpsett, and content refinement specialist Barath Kumar Rajasekaran. Thanks to all of you for your exceptional competence and hard work. Thanks, as well, to acquisitions editor Devon Lewis for asking me to write this book.

How to Use This Book

Who This Book Is For

This book is for the reader who has never used this particular technology or software application. It is also for readers who want to expand their knowledge.

The Conventions in This Book

Steps

This book uses a step-by-step format to guide you easily through each task. Numbered steps are actions you must do; bulleted steps clarify a point, step, or optional feature; and indented steps give you the result.

Notes

Notes give additional information — special conditions that may occur during an operation, a situation that you want to avoid, or a cross reference to a related area of the book.

Icons and Buttons

Icons and buttons show you exactly what you need to click to perform a step.

Tips

Tips offer additional information, including warnings and shortcuts.

Bold

Bold type shows command names, options, and text or numbers you must type.

Italics

Italic type introduces and defines a new term.

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started with Windows

To do something useful with your computer and with Windows, you need to learn a few basic tasks and techniques. These include exploring the screen, learning how to put your computer to sleep, how to restart and shut down your computer, how to connect to your network, and how to switch to a Microsoft account. You also need to learn how to work with apps, including installing them, starting them, and switching between them and arranging them when you have multiple apps running. This chapter also shows you how uninstall apps.

Explore the Screen

Explore the Start Menu

Start and Close an App

Connect to Your Wireless Network

Put Windows to Sleep

Restart or Shut Down Windows

Switch to a Microsoft Account

Install an App

Switch Between Running Apps

Arrange Running Apps

Uninstall an App

Explore the Screen

Before getting to the specifics of working with Windows, take a few seconds to familiarize yourself with the basic elements of the screen. These include the desktop, the Start button, and the taskbar. In most cases, the Start button and the taskbar are always visible. If you do not see them, move the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen.

M Desktop Icon

An icon on the desktop represents a program or Windows feature.

M Mouse Pointer

When you move your mouse, this pointer () moves along with it.

M Desktop

This is the Windows “work area” where you work with your programs and documents.

M Start Button

Click Start () to start programs and launch many Windows features.

M Search Icon

Click Search () to search for items on your PC or on the Internet.

M Taskbar Icons

You use these icons to launch some Windows features with just a mouse click.

M Taskbar

The programs you have open appear in the taskbar. You use this area to switch between programs if you have more than one running at a time.

M Notification Area

This area displays small icons that notify you about things that are happening on your computer. For example, you see a notification if an update to Windows is available.

M Time and Date

This is the current time and date on your computer. To change the date or time, click the time.

M Notifications

This icon tells you the number of notifications that you have yet to view. Notifications give you information about what your computer and its apps are doing.

Explore the Start Menu

To get the most out of Windows, you need to know the layout of the Start menu. As its name implies, the Start menu is your main Windows starting point. Most of the tasks you perform with Windows — such as running apps, searching your PC, working with your Microsoft account, and restarting or shutting down your PC — are launched via the Start menu.

This section gives you an overview of the Start menu. The tasks you can run via the Start menu are covered in the rest of this chapter and throughout this book.

M Start Menu

Click Start () or press to open the Start menu on the Windows desktop.

M User Account

This icon represents your Windows user account. Clicking this icon displays a menu of user account-related tasks.

M Power Icon

Click Power () to restart, shut down, or sleep your computer.

M Recommended

This area displays recently added apps as well as documents you have worked with recently. Click an item to launch the app or open the document. You can also click More to see a longer list of recent apps and documents.

M Pinned

This area displays apps that have been given a fixed position on the Start menu. Click an app’s icon to launch the app. You learn how to pin apps to the Start menu in Chapter 2.

M All Apps

Click All apps to see the full list of apps on your computer.

M Search Box

You use this text box to search for items such as documents, settings, or apps on your PC or on the Internet.

Start and Close an App

To perform tasks of any kind in Windows, you can use one of the apps installed on your computer. The application you use depends on the task you want to perform. For example, to surf the World Wide Web, you use a web browser application, such as the Microsoft Edge app that comes with Windows. To use an app, you select the one you want to run from the Start menu.

When you are done with an app, you should close it to reduce resources and keep the desktop uncluttered.

Start and Close an App

Start an App

Click Start ().

The Start menu appears.

If you see the app you want on the main Start menu, you can click the app icon and then skip the rest of these steps.

Click All apps.

The All Apps list appears.

Click the app you want.

To quickly navigate apps alphabetically, you can click any letter and then click the letter that contains the app you want.

If the app is in a submenu, you can click the submenu and then click the app icon.

The app runs.

Close an App

Click Close () or press  + .

Note: If the app asks if you want to save changes, click Yes to ensure you do not lose any work.

Windows closes the app.

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Is there an easier way to locate an app?

Yes, you can perform a search to locate it. Click Search () on the taskbar and then begin typing the name of the app. As you type, Windows displays a list of apps and other items that match the characters. When you see the app you want, click it to run the program.

How do I navigate the pinned apps?

The default Start menu has two pages of pinned apps. To navigate the pages, click Next Page () () and Previous Page () (not shown), which appear to the right of the pinned apps. See Chapter 2 to learn how to add your own pinned apps to the Start menu.

Connect to Your Wireless Network

If you have a wireless access point and your computer supports wireless networking, you can connect to the device to access your network. If the access point is also a router that is connected to the Internet, then connecting to the wireless network gives your computer Internet access, as well.

Most wireless networks are protected with a security key, which is a kind of password. To connect, you need to provide Windows with the key. However, after you connect to the network once, Windows remembers the key and connects again automatically whenever your computer is within range of the network.

Connect to Your Wireless Network

Click Network ().

Click Manage Wi-Fi Connections ().

Windows displays a list of wireless networks in your area.

Click your network.

If you do not see the list of wireless networks, you can click the B Wi-Fi switch to On ( changes to ) to turn on your computer’s wireless capability.

Note: For home use, the terms wireless and Wi-Fi are synonymous.

To have Windows connect to your network automatically in the future, click Connect automatically ( changes to ).

Click Connect.

If the network is protected by a security key, Windows prompts you to enter it.

Type the security key.

If you want to be certain that you typed the security key correctly, you can temporarily click and hold C Display Password Characters ().

Click Next.

Windows connects to the network.

The network icon changes from Disconnected (D ) to Connected () to indicate that you now have a wireless network connection.

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How do I disconnect from my wireless network?

To disconnect from the network, follow these steps:

Click Network ().

Click your network.

Click Disconnect. Windows disconnects from the wireless network.

Put Windows to Sleep

You can make your computer more energy efficient by putting Windows into sleep mode when you are not using the computer. Sleep mode means that your computer is in a temporary low-power mode. This saves electricity when your computer is plugged in, and it saves battery power when your computer is unplugged.

In sleep mode, Windows keeps your apps open. This is handy because it means that when you return from sleep mode, after you sign in to Windows again, you can immediately get back to what you were doing.

Put Windows to Sleep

Click Start ().

The Start menu appears.

Click Power ().

The Power options appear.

Click Sleep.

Windows activates sleep mode.

Note: To return from sleep mode, press your computer’s Power button.

Restart or Shut Down Windows

You can restart Windows, which means that it shuts down and starts up again immediately. This is useful if your computer is running slowly or acting funny. Sometimes a restart solves the problem.

Alternatively, when you complete your work, you could shut down Windows. However, do not just shut off your computer’s power because doing so can cause problems: If you have documents with unsaved changes, you may lose those changes; you also could damage one or more Windows system files, which could make your system unstable. Therefore, you should always follow the proper steps when shutting down your PC.

Restart or Shut Down Windows

Shut down all your running programs.

Note: Be sure to save your work as you close your programs.

Click Start ().

The Start menu appears.

Click Power ().

The Power options appear.

Click a command:

You can click Restart to shut down and then start your computer.

You can click Shut Down to turn off your computer.

Switch to a Microsoft Account

You can get much more out of Windows by using a Microsoft account. When you connect a Microsoft account to your Windows user account, many previously inaccessible Windows features become immediately available. For example, you can use the Mail app to access your email and the OneDrive app to store documents online. You can also download apps from the Microsoft Store, access your photos and documents anywhere online, and even sync your settings with other PCs for which you use the same account.

Switch to a Microsoft Account

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accounts.

The Accounts window appears.

Click Your info.

The Your Info window appears.

Click Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.

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Can I create a Microsoft account if I do not already have one?

Yes. When you get to the Sign In screen (shown later in this section), click Create one to open the Create Account window, type your email address, click Next, type a password, click Next, follow the prompts to complete the account, and then continue with step 10 later in this section.

Can I use a new email address for my new Microsoft account?

Yes, you can. In the Create Account window, click Get a new email address and then type the username you want to use with Outlook.com. Your new address will be username@outlook.com.

You do not need to use a Microsoft account to use Windows. Instead, you can use a local account, which allows you to log in to your PC, personalize settings, and use most Windows features. With a local account, you cannot install programs from the Microsoft Store if you are using Windows 11 Home. If you are using Windows 11 Pro, you can install only free programs from the Microsoft Store. To install any program from the Microsoft Store and to synchronize your settings across other Windows devices, you need to switch to a Microsoft account.

The Sign In window appears.

To create a new Microsoft account, you can click A Create one and then follow the instructions in the first tip earlier in this section.

Type your email address.

Click Next.

The Enter Password window appears.

Type your password.

Click Sign in.

Windows asks you to verify your current account password.

Type your password.

Click Next.

Windows asks if you want to use a PIN with your account.

Click Close ().

Note: See Chapter 11 to learn how to add a PIN to your account.

Windows connects the Microsoft account to your user account.

The next time you start Windows, you can use your Microsoft account email address and password to sign in.

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If I no longer want to use a Microsoft account with Windows, can I remove it?

Yes, but you will no longer see any personal data on the Start screen, you will not be able to access your files online, and your settings will no longer sync between PCs. To remove the Microsoft account, click Start (), click your user name in the lower-left corner, and then click Change account settings. In the Accounts window, click Your info, and then click Sign in with a local account instead.

Install an App

If Windows does not have an app that you need, you can obtain the app and then install it on your computer. You usually obtain apps from the Microsoft Store, which is an app that is preinstalled with Windows. Many Microsoft Store apps are free, but some require a payment using the credit card you have on file with your Microsoft account.

You can also install apps that are not available via the Microsoft Store. In this case, you obtain (and usually pay for) the app on the web and then download the app to your computer. However, it is important to only install apps that you obtained from a reputable and secure site.

Install an App

Click Start ().

Click Microsoft Store.

You can also click Microsoft Store ().

Note: You need a Microsoft account to install from the Microsoft Store, as described in the previous section, “Switch to a Microsoft Account.”

The Microsoft Store app appears.

Click Apps.

Microsoft Store displays the Apps screen, which enables you to browse apps by category.

Alternatively, if you know the name of the app you want to install, you can use the Search box to locate the app.

For each category, you can click See all to view all the apps in the category.

Click the app you want to install.

Click Free.

Alternatively, if the app is not free, you can click the price button, type your Microsoft account password, click Sign in, and then follow the prompts to complete the purchase.

Windows installs the app.

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How do I install software downloaded from the Internet?

To begin, click File Explorer (). The File Explorer program window appears. Click your Downloads folder. When the Downloads folder appears, double-click the file. The software’s installation app begins. Follow the installation instructions the app provides to install the downloaded software.

Keep in mind that if you saved the downloaded file in a folder other than Downloads, use File Explorer to find the downloaded file. Also, the downloaded software may be multiple compressed files. In that case, extract the files and then double-click the setup file. See Chapter 10 for more about File Explorer and compressed files.

Switch Between Running Apps

If you plan on running multiple apps at the same time, you need to know how to easily switch from one application to another. In Windows, after you start one application, you do not need to close that application before you open another one. Windows supports a feature called multitasking, which means running two or more applications simultaneously. You can switch from one program to another using the taskbar, the Task View feature, or the keyboard.

Switch Between Running Apps

Switch Apps Using the Taskbar

Windows displays a line under the icon of the current app. A

Position the mouse pointer () over the taskbar icon of the app you want to switch to.

Windows displays a thumbnail version of the app window. B

Click the app’s taskbar icon.

Note: An app does not have to be minimized to the taskbar for you to use the app’s taskbar icon.

Windows brings the app’s window to the foreground.

Note: If you can see part of the app’s window, you can also switch to the app by clicking its window, even if the window is in the background.

Switch Apps Using Task View

In the taskbar, click Task View () or press  + .

Windows displays thumbnails for each running app.

Click the thumbnail of the app you want to switch to.

Windows switches to the app.

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How can I switch between apps using the keyboard?

There are two methods you can use to switch between apps using the keyboard:

The first method is to press and hold and then press to see thumbnail versions of the open windows. Press until the window you want to work in is selected and then release .

The second method is to press  +  to open Task View. Use the arrow keys — particularly and — to select the thumbnail of the app you want to work with and then press .

Arrange Running Apps

You can make it more efficient to multitask apps by arranging the app windows on the desktop. There will be times when you want to view the content of multiple windows at the same time. For example, you might be surfing the web using Microsoft Edge in one window, but also want to watch the Mail window for incoming email. Rather than constantly switching between the apps, you can select a snap layout that makes both apps visible on the desktop. A snap layout is a predefined arrangement of two or more app windows.

Arrange Running Apps

Position the mouse pointer () over Maximize () in the upper-right corner of an app you want to arrange.

Note: If the app window is already maximized, hover over Restore () instead.

Windows displays a gallery of snap layouts. In this case, Windows is showing four different layouts. Depending on your screen size, you might see more layouts.

Note: The blank boxes in each layout show you how the app windows will be arranged on the desktop.

In the snap layout you want to use, click the box that represents the position you want to use for the current app.

Windows arranges the app window is the position you specified.

Position the mouse pointer () over Maximize () in the upper-right corner of another app you want to arrange.

Note: If the app window is already maximized, hover the mouse pointer () over Restore () instead.

In the snap layout you want to use, click the box that represents the position you want to use for the app.

Windows arranges the app windows in the snap layout you selected.

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Is there an easy way to switch to all the apps in an existing snap layout?

Yes. While the snap layout is in place, Windows groups the applications together. If you want to display the apps in that layout all at once, you can select the group.

To select an app layout group, hover the mouse pointer () over the taskbar icon of any app in the snap layout. In the thumbnail windows that appear, click the one labeled Group ().

Uninstall an App

If you have an app that you no longer use, you can free up some hard drive space and reduce clutter on the Start screen by uninstalling that app. When you install an app, the program stores its files on your computer’s hard drive, and although most programs are quite small, many require hundreds of megabytes of hard drive space. Uninstalling an app you do not need frees up the hard drive space it uses and removes its icon (or icons) from the Start menu (if it has any there) and the All Apps list.

Uninstall an App

Uninstall via the Start Menu

Click Start ().

Use the Start menu or the All Apps list to locate the app you want to uninstall.

Right-click the app.

Click Uninstall.

Windows asks you to confirm.

Click Uninstall.

Windows removes the app.

Uninstall via Settings

Click Search ().

Type uninstall in the Search box.

Click Add or remove programs.

The Apps & Features window appears.

Click More () to the right of the app you want to uninstall.

Click Uninstall.

Windows asks you to confirm.

Click Uninstall.

Windows removes the app.

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How can I uninstall the app that is taking up the most space?

Click Start () and then click Settings to open the Settings app. Click Apps and then click Apps & features. In the Sort By list, click Size. Windows sorts the apps from largest to smallest. Click the app you want to remove. Click Uninstall. Click Uninstall when Windows asks you to confirm. Windows removed the app.

CHAPTER 2

Customizing Windows

Windows comes with a number of features that enable you to personalize your computer. For example, you can change the appearance of Windows to suit your taste, including the Lock screen and the taskbar’s notification area. You can also change the way Windows works to make it easier to use and more efficient. For example, you can make your favorite or most-used apps easier to launch by pinning them to either the Start menu or the taskbar. In this chapter, you also learn how to change the theme, set up multiple monitors, control the volume, set the time zone, and much more.

Pin an App to the Start Menu

Open the Settings App

Change the Lock Screen Background

Choose a Lock Screen Status App

Customize Syncing Between Devices

Access an App’s Features

Pin an App to the Taskbar

Change the Theme

Adjust the Volume

Set the Time Zone

Configure Windows to Work with Multiple Monitors

Customize the Taskbar

Pin an App to the Start Menu

You can customize the Start menu for quick access to the apps you use most often. If you have an app that does not appear as an icon on the Start menu, you usually open the app by first navigating the Start menu’s apps list to locate the app, possibly negotiating one or more submenus along the way. For apps you use often, you can avoid this extra work by pinning their icons permanently to the main Start menu. After you have pinned an app, you launch it by displaying the Start menu and clicking the app.

Pin an App to the Start Menu

Click Start ().

Click All apps.

Right-click the app that you want to pin to the Start menu.

The app shortcut menu appears.

Click Pin to Start.

Click Back.

An icon for the pinned app appears on the main Start menu.

Note: To remove an app icon from the Start menu, click Start (), right-click the icon, and then click Unpin from Start.

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Can I move an app icon within the Start menu?

Yes, you can move any app icon to a different position within the Start menu. To move an icon, click Start (), press and hold the mouse button as you drag the icon to its new position, and then release the mouse button. You can also right-click the icon and then click Move to top.

Can I pin a folder to the Start menu?

Yes, you can pin several folders, including Documents, Downloads, and Pictures. Click Start (), click Settings, click Personalization, click Start, and then click Folders. For each folder you want to pin, click the folder’s switch to On ( changes to ). The icons for each folder appear on the Start menu to the left of the Power button ().

Open the Settings App

You can configure and customize many aspects of your Windows system using the Settings app. Settings is the Windows app that you use for customizing and tweaking your PC. Many of the sections that follow in this chapter, including changing the Lock screen background and adding an app to the Lock screen, are performed using the Settings app. Settings also offers a wealth of other options that you can use to customize your PC.

Open the Settings App

Open the Settings App

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

The Settings app appears.

Note: You can also open the Settings app by pressing   + .

Navigate the Settings App

Click a category.

The Settings app displays the category.

Click a subcategory.

The Settings app displays the settings for the subcategory.

Use the controls on the right side of the app window to modify the tab’s settings.

Windows puts the new settings into effect.

You can click A Back () if you need to return to the previous screen.

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If I know which setting I want to work with, is there a quick way to display it?

Yes, you can use the taskbar’s Search box, which enables you to quickly search for the setting that you want to work with. Click Search () and then use the Search box to begin typing the name of the setting you want.

For example, if you want to change the brightness level of your display, type brightness in the Search box and then click Change brightness level from the search results that appear. Note that related Settings items might also appear in the search results under the Settings heading.

Change the Lock Screen Background

You can make your Lock screen more interesting by changing the image that appears as its background. Locking your computer is a useful safety feature because it prevents unauthorized users from accessing your files and your network. If you find yourself looking at the Lock screen frequently, you might prefer to see something other than the default image. Windows comes with several system pictures that you can use, or you can use one of your own pictures.

Change the Lock Screen Background

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the previous section, “Open the Settings App.”

Click Personalization.

The Personalization settings appear.

Click Lock screen.

The Lock Screen settings appear.

Click the Personalize your lock screen and then click Picture.

Note: If you want to use a series of Microsoft Bing photos as the Lock screen background, click Windows Spotlight instead.

To use a default image, click the thumbnail of the picture that you want to use.

To use one of your own pictures, click Browse photos.

Click the picture that you want to use.

Click Choose picture.

The image appears the next time that you lock your computer.

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Is there a way to display different pictures on the Lock screen?

Yes, you can configure the Lock screen to display a slideshow of images from one or more folders. Follow steps 1 to 3 to open the Lock screen settings, click the Personalize your lock screen , and then click Slideshow. Windows adds your Pictures folder automatically, but you can also click Browse to add another folder. Use the options in the Advanced Slideshow Settings section to customize your slideshow.

Choose a Lock Screen Status App

You can configure your Lock screen to display the status of an app on your PC. By default, when you lock your PC, Windows displays the status of the Calendar app, so you see new Calendar notifications, such as an upcoming appointment. Windows displays the app’s detailed status, which means that the Lock screen shows more information from the app. For the Calendar app, the Lock screen shows the details of that event, including the event title, location, and time. You can customize your Lock screen to display the detailed status of a different app, such as Weather or Mail.

Choose a Lock Screen Status App

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the section “Open the Settings App” earlier in this chapter.

Click Personalization.

The Personalization settings appear.

Click Lock screen.

The Lock screen settings appear.

Click the Lock screen status .

Click the app for which you want to display its detailed status.

Note: If you do not want a detailed status, click None.

Windows puts the new setting into effect, and the app’s status appears on the Lock screen the next time that you use it.

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How do I lock my computer?

Click Start (), click your user icon in the lower-left corner of the menu, and then click Lock. You can also press  + . You can configure Windows to automatically lock the computer after it has been idle for a specified amount of time. Follow steps 1 to 3 to open the Lock screen settings, scroll down and click Screen timeout, and then click Screen and sleep. For each sleep setting, click and then click the number of minutes of idle time after which Windows sleeps (and therefore locks) your PC. If you have a tablet or notebook PC, be sure to set the sleep timeout both for when your PC is plugged in and when it is on battery power.

Customize Syncing Between Devices

If, besides your Windows desktop computer, you also have a Windows notebook and a Windows tablet, using the same Microsoft account on each platform means that Windows synchronizes data among them. Windows syncs customizations, such as backgrounds and themes; system settings, such as languages and regional settings; Microsoft Edge data, such as favorites and history; and app settings and more. This gives you a consistent interface across your devices and consistent data so that you can be more productive. However, if there are items you do not want to sync, you can customize the syncing process.

Customize Syncing Between Devices

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the section “Open the Settings App” earlier in this chapter.

Click Accounts.

The Accounts settings appear.

Click Windows backup.

The Windows backup settings appear.

Click Manage sync settings.

The Manage Folder Backup dialog box appears.

To stop a folder from syncing across your devices, click the folder’s Stop backup link and then click Stop backup (not shown) when Windows asks you to confirm.

Click Got it.

If you do not want Windows to sync your apps between devices, click the Remember my apps switch to Off ( changes to ).

Click the Remember my preferences ( changes to ).

For each type of preference you do not want Windows to sync between devices, click the preference check box ( changes to ).

The next time Windows syncs, it does not include the settings that you turned off.

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Why is the Passwords check box disabled in my version of the Remember My Preferences list?

This occurs when you have yet to verify your identity on your PC. Verifying your identity means having a confirmation code sent to the mobile phone number associated with your Microsoft account. To verify your identity, use the taskbar’s Search box to type actions and then click View recommended actions to keep Windows running smoothly. In the Security and Maintenance window that appears, you should see the message “Verify your identity on this PC.” Click Verify to the right of that message and then follow the instructions that appear for having the confirmation code sent to your mobile phone.

Access an App’s Features

Depending on the app, you might see a few tabs across the top of the window, as well as a Search box in the upper-right corner of the window. However, almost all the apps that come with Windows include a strip running down the left side of the window. This is the app menu, and it gives you access to a number of features, including commands, settings, and views. This menu shows only icons at first, but you can open the menu to display the names of each feature. You can then click the feature that you want to use.

Access an App’s Features

Display the Menu

Open the app that you want to work with.

Click Menu ().

The app menu expands to show the feature names.

Hide the Menu

Note: If you click a menu feature, the app automatically hides the menu. You need to manually hide the menu if you decide not to select a feature.

Click Menu ().

The app hides the menu.

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Do all apps use the Menu icon?

No. The so-called Modern apps that ship with Windows — including Mail, Calendar, People, Maps, News, and Weather — use the Menu icon (), as do some third-party apps. However, the so-called Desktop apps — including File Explorer, Paint, and WordPad — do not use this feature.

Are there more app features that I can access?

Yes, you can also display the Settings pane, which displays app-specific settings. The layout of the Settings pane varies between apps, but it usually includes commands for setting app preferences and options. To display an app’s Settings pane, click Menu () and then click Settings.

Pin an App to the Taskbar

Pinning an app to the Start menu, as described earlier in this chapter, is helpful because it puts the app just two clicks away. If you have an app that you use frequently, you might prefer to have that app just a single click away. You can achieve this by pinning the app to the taskbar. You can pin an app to the taskbar either from the Start menu or from the taskbar itself.

Pin an App to the Taskbar

Using the Start Menu

Click Start ().

Note: If the app you want to pin appears on the main Start menu, skip to step 3.

Click All apps.

Right-click the app you want to pin to the taskbar, the Maps app in this example.

Click More.

Click Pin to taskbar.

An icon for the app now appears in the taskbar.

Using the Taskbar

Launch the app that you want to pin to the taskbar.

Right-click the running app’s taskbar icon.

Click Pin to taskbar.

Click Close ().

An icon for the app remains on the taskbar.

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Can I change the order of the taskbar icons?

Yes. Click and drag a taskbar icon to the left or right and then drop it in the new position. Note that this technique applies not only to the icons pinned to the taskbar, but also to the icons for any running programs.

How do I remove an app icon from the taskbar?

If you decide that you no longer require an app to be pinned to the taskbar, you should remove it to reduce taskbar clutter and provide more room for other app icons. To remove a pinned app icon, right-click the icon and then click Unpin from taskbar.

Change the Theme

You can add visual interest to Windows by changing the theme. The Windows theme is a set of preferences that includes the desktop background image, the Windows accent color, and whether the interface and apps use light mode (bright colors that work best in daylight or a well-lit room) or dark mode (dark colors that work best at night or in a poorly lit room).

Rather than changing the entire theme, you might prefer to customize only the desktop background. In the Settings app, you can change the background to an image, a solid color, or a slideshow of your photos.

Change the Theme

Change the Theme

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the section “Open the Settings App” earlier in this chapter.

Click Personalization.

Settings displays the Personalization screen.

Click the theme you want to apply.

Windows applies the new theme.

Change the Desktop Background

In the Personalization screen, click Background.

Settings displays the Background screen.

Click the Personalize your background ( changes to ) and then click the type of background you want:

Picture: Displays an image as the background. Click a picture in the Recent Images section or click Browse a photo to select one of your photos.

Solid color: Displays a color as the background. Click a predefined color swatch or click View colors to create a custom color.

Slideshow: Displays a series of pictures as the background. Click Browse to select the folder that contains the images you want to use.

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Can I just choose either dark mode or light mode?

Yes. In the Settings app’s Personalization screen, click Colors, click the Choose your mode , and then click either Light or Dark.

What does the accent color do?

The accent color is the background color you see for selected option buttons, check boxes, and switches, as well as interface elements such as links and badges. To set the accent color, display the Settings app’s Personalization screen, click Colors, and then click a color. To show the accent colors on your app title bars and borders, click the Show accent color on title bars and window borders switch to On ( changes to ).

Adjust the Volume

While an audio or video file is playing, you can adjust the volume up or down to get its audio just right. If you are listening to media by yourself, you can adjust the volume to suit the music and your mood. However, if there are other people nearby, you will probably want to use the volume control to keep the playback volume low to avoid disturbing them. If you need to silence the media temporarily, you can mute the playback.

Adjust the Volume

In the taskbar, click Volume ().

The Volume window appears.

Click and drag the volume slider () to set the volume level that you want.

You can also click Mute () to mute the volume ( changes to ).

Windows sets the system volume to the new level.

Set the Time Zone

To ensure that your system clock is accurate, you should set the time zone to correspond to your location. When Windows configures your computer, it performs a number of chores, including setting the current system time and time zone. However, for the time zone, Windows defaults to Pacific Time in North America. If this is not the time zone used where you live, you must select the correct one to ensure that you have the accurate system time.

Set the Time Zone

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the section “Open the Settings App” earlier in this chapter.

Click Time & Language.

Click Date & time.

The Date & Time screen appears.

Click the Time zone and then click your time zone.

Windows adjusts the time to the new time zone.

Configure Windows to Work with Multiple Monitors

You can improve your productivity and efficiency by using a second monitor. To work with an extra monitor, your PC must have a second video output port that is compatible with the video input port on the monitor, as well as a cable to connect the ports. Many modern PCs and monitors use HDMI ports connected with an HDMI cable.

After you have connected your PC and the external monitor, you then need to configure Windows to extend the Start screen to both the main screen and the second monitor.

Configure Windows to Work with Multiple Monitors

Connect the second monitor to your PC.

Open the Settings app.

Note: See the section “Open the Settings App” earlier in this chapter.

Click System.

The System settings appear.

Click Display.

The Display settings appear.

Click this .

Click Extend these displays.

Windows asks you to confirm the display changes.

Click Keep changes.

Click the monitor that you want to set as the main display.

Click the Multiple displays ( changes to ).

Click Make this my main display ( changes to ).

Windows connects to the second monitor and uses the selected monitor as your main display.

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Why does my mouse pointer stop at the right edge of the left screen?

This means that you need to exchange the icons of the left and right monitors. To do that, click and drag the left monitor icon to the right of the other monitor icon (or vice versa).

How do I configure Windows to stop using the external monitor?

Follow steps 2 to 5 in this section to open the Multiple Displays list and then click Show only on 1. You can also usually revert to using just the original PC screen by disconnecting the monitor from your computer.

Customize the Taskbar

You can customize the items that Windows displays on the taskbar to ensure a particular item is always visible. Windows divides the taskbar into several sections, but the following two are customizable: the main taskbar, which is where you see default items such as Search and Task View; and the taskbar corner, which appears to the right of the main taskbar. For the latter, you have a choice of displaying an icon full-time in the taskbar corner or moving the icon into a hidden area called the taskbar corner overflow menu.

Customize the Taskbar

This area is the main taskbar.

This area is the taskbar corner.

Right-click an empty section of the taskbar.

Click Taskbar Settings.

The Settings app displays the Taskbar settings.

Click the Taskbar items .

Click the switch to On ( changes to ) for each icon you want to display in the taskbar.

Click the Taskbar corner icons .

Click the switch to On ( changes to ) for each icon you want to display in the taskbar corner.

Click the Taskbar corner overflow .

Click the switch to On ( changes to ) for each icon you want to display in the taskbar corner overflow menu.

Windows puts the new settings into effect.

You can click Show hidden icons () to see the icons in the taskbar corner overflow menu.

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Is there a way to put the Start button back on the left side of the taskbar?

Yes. Right-click the taskbar, click Taskbar settings, click the Taskbar behaviors , click the Taskbar alignment , and then click Left.

Can I configure the taskbar to hide when I am not using it?

Yes. If you would like a bit more vertical room for your apps, you can configure the taskbar to hide when you are not using it. Right-click the taskbar, click Taskbar settings, click the Taskbar behaviors , and then click Automatically hide the taskbar ( changes to ). To display the taskbar, move the mouse pointer () to the bottom of the screen.

CHAPTER 3

Surfing the Web

If your Windows PC is connected to the Internet, this chapter shows you how to use the Microsoft Edge web browser to navigate from site to site on the World Wide Web. You learn how to enter web page addresses, select links, open web pages in separate browser tabs, view pages you have previously visited, specify a different Microsoft edge startup page, and save your favorite sites. You also learn how to share a web page with other people, search for information on the web, and download files from the web to your Windows PC.

Open a Web Page

Open a Web Page in a Tab

Navigate Web Pages

Find Text on a Page

Navigate with the History List

Change Your Startup Page

Save Favorite Web Pages

Take Advantage of the Favorites Bar

Share a Web Page

Search for Sites

Download a File

Open a Web Page

Although you usually navigate web pages by clicking links, if you know the address of a specific page, you can type it into Microsoft Edge to display it. Every web page is uniquely identified by an address composed of four parts: the transfer method (usually https, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), the website domain name, the directory where the page is located on the server, and the page filename. The domain name suffix most often used is .com (commercial), but other common suffixes include .gov (government), .org (nonprofit organization), .edu (education), and country domains such as .ca (Canada).

Open a Web Page

Enter a Web Page Address

Click Microsoft Edge ().

Click in the address bar.

Type the address of the web page.

Press .

The web page appears.

If you find that Microsoft Edge cannot display the page, this is usually a temporary glitch, so click Refresh () to try loading the page again.

Select a Link

Position the mouse pointer () over a link ( changes to ).

Note: A link can be text or an image.

The Status area shows the link address.

Click the link.

Note: The address shown in the status bar when you point at a link may be different than the one shown when the page is downloading. This happens when the website “redirects” the link, which happens often.

The linked web page appears.

The web page title and address change after the linked page is loaded.

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Are there any shortcuts that I can use to enter web page addresses?

Yes. Here are some useful keyboard techniques:

As you type the address, Microsoft Edge shows a list of matching sites. If you see the site you want, click the site to load it without having to complete the address.

Most web addresses begin with https://. You can leave off these characters when you type your address.

If the address uses the form https://www.something.com, type just the something part and then press  + . Microsoft Edge automatically adds https://www. at the beginning and .com at the end.

Open a Web Page in a Tab

As you surf the web, you may come upon a page that you want to keep available while you visit other sites. That page may contain important information that you need to reference, or it might be a page that you want to read later.

Instead of leaving the page and trying to find it again later, Microsoft Edge lets you keep the page open in a special section of the browser screen called a tab. You can use a second tab to visit your other sites and then resume viewing the first site by clicking its tab.

Open a Web Page in a Tab

Open a Web Page in a Tab

Right-click the link you want to open.

Click Open link in new tab.

A new tab appears with the page title.

Click the tab to display the page.

You can also create a new tab by clicking New Tab ().

Close a Tab

On the tab you want to close, click Close Tab ().

Microsoft Edge closes the tab.

Close Multiple Tabs

Right-click the tab you want to keep open.

Click Close other tabs.

Microsoft Edge closes all other tabs.

Alternatively, you can click Close tabs to the right to close only those tabs that appear to the right of the tab you right-clicked.

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Are there any shortcuts I can use to open web pages in tabs?

Here are some useful keyboard techniques:

Press and hold and click a link to open the page in a tab.

Press and hold  +  and click a link to open the page in a tab and display the tab.

Type an address and then press  +  to open the page in a new tab.

Press  +  or   +  +  to cycle through the tabs.

Press  +  to close the current tab.

Press  +  +  to close every tab but the current one.

Navigate Web Pages

After you have visited several pages, you can return to a page that you visited earlier. Instead of retyping the address or searching for the link, Microsoft Edge gives you some easier methods.

When you navigate from page to page, you create a kind of “path” through the web. Microsoft Edge keeps track of this path by maintaining a list of the pages that you have visited. You can use that list to go back to a page. After you have gone back, you can also use that same list to go forward through the pages again.

Navigate Web Pages

Go Back

To go back one page, click Back ().

The page appears.

Go Forward

To go forward one page, click Forward ().

Note: If you are at the last page viewed up to that point, Forward () is not active.

The page appears.

Find Text on a Page

When you are reading a page on the web, it is not unusual to be looking for specific information. In those situations, rather than read through the entire page to find the information you are looking for, you can search the web page text for the data. The Find on Page feature in Microsoft Edge lets you to do that by enabling you to search through the current page text for a specific word or phrase.

Find Text on a Page

Click More ().

Click Find on page.

You can also press  + .

The Find on Page bar appears.

Type the word or phrase that you want to locate.

Microsoft Edge highlights the matching text on the page.

You can click Next () to cycle forward through the matches.

You can click Previous () to cycle backward through the matches.

When you are done, click Close ().

Navigate with the History List

Back and Forward ( and ) enable you to navigate pages only in the current browser session. To redisplay sites that you have visited in the past few days or weeks, you need to use the History list, which is a collection of the websites and pages you have visited over the past month.

If you visit sensitive places such as an Internet banking site or your corporate site, you can increase security by clearing the History list so that other people cannot see where you have been.

Navigate with the History List

Click More ().

Click History.

Note: You can also open the History pane by pressing  + .

The History pane appears.

You can click Recently closed to view a list of browser tabs that you have recently closed.

A list of pages you have visited appears, organized in reverse chronological order.

Click the page you want to display.

The page appears.

Click outside of the History pane.

Microsoft Edge closes the History pane.

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How do I clear my History list?

Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the History pane, click More options (), and then click Clear browsing data (or press  +  + ) to open the Clear Browsing Data dialog box. Click Browsing history ( changes to ). Click the other check boxes ( changes to ). Click Clear now to clear the History list.

How do I clear individual pages from my History list?

Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the History pane and display the day or week you want to work with. Hover the mouse pointer () over the page you want to clear and then click the Delete icon () that appears. Microsoft Edge removes the page from your browsing history.

Change Your Startup Page

Your startup page is the screen, web page, or collection of tabs that appears when you first start Microsoft Edge. The default startup page is a new tab, which displays a Bing Search box, a few recent links, and some suggested content. However, you can configure Microsoft Edge to open a specific web page as the startup page.

Change Your Startup Page

Click More ().

Click Settings.

The Settings tab appears.

Click Menu ().

The Settings menu appears.

Click Start, home, and new tabs.

The When Edge Starts settings appear.

Click Open these pages ( changes to ).

Click Add a new page.

The Add a New Page dialog box appears.

Type the address of the web page you want to use as your startup page.

Click Add.

If you want to open multiple pages at startup, repeat steps 6 to 8 as needed. See also the first tip.

Microsoft Edge displays the page (or pages) the next time you start the app.

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Can I get Microsoft Edge to load a specific group of tabs at startup?

Yes. First, open just the tabs that you want to always load when you start Microsoft Edge. Follow steps 1 to 5 and then click Use all open tabs. The next time you start Microsoft Edge, it will display the specified tabs.

How can I get Microsoft Edge to open with the pages I was using when I last closed it?

Follow steps 1 to 4 to open the When Edge Starts settings and then click Open tabs from the previous session ( changes to ). The next time you start Microsoft Edge, it redisplays the pages you had open in tabs the last time.

Save Favorite Web Pages

If you have web pages that you visit frequently, you can save yourself time by saving those pages as favorites within Microsoft Edge. This enables you to display the pages with just a couple of clicks.

You save favorite pages in Microsoft Edge by adding them to a special section of the app called the Favorites list. Instead of typing an address or searching for one of these pages, you can display the web page by clicking it in the Favorites list.

Save Favorite Web Pages

Save a Favorite Web Page

Display the web page you want to save as a favorite.

Click Add this page to favorites ().

The Favorite Added dialog box appears.

Note: You can also display the Favorite Added dialog box by pressing  + .

Edit the page name, as necessary.

Click the Folder and then click Other favorites.

Click Done.

Microsoft Edge saves the web page as a favorite.

Display a Favorite Web Page

Click Favorites ().

The Favorites pane appears.

Click Other favorites.

Click the web page you want to display.

The web page appears.

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Is there an easy way to organize my favorites?

Yes, you can create folders for storing related favorites. For example, you could create a folder for work, another for each of your hobbies, and so on. Follow steps 1 to 3 in the subsection “Save a Favorite Web Page,” click More, and then click New folder. Type a name for the folder, press , and then click Save to save the favorite in that folder.

How do I delete a favorite?

Click Favorites () to open the Favorites pane (or press  +  + ). Click Menu () and then click the folder in which the favorite is stored. Right-click the favorite and then click Delete.

Take Advantage of the Favorites Bar

You can use Microsoft Edge’s Favorites bar to provide easy one-click access to those websites that you visit most often.

One of Microsoft Edge’s most useful features is the Favorites bar, which appears below the address box. The Favorites bar is fully customizable, which means you can populate the Favorites bar with new buttons associated with the sites you visit most often. This section shows you how to display and populate the Favorites bar and takes you through a few Favorites bar customizations.

Take Advantage of the Favorites Bar

Display the Favorites Bar

Click More ().

Click Settings.

The Settings page appears.

Click Menu ().

The Settings menu appears.

Click Appearance.

Click the Show favorites bar and then click Always.

Microsoft Edge displays the Favorites bar.

Click Close () to close the Settings tab.

Add a Web Page to the Favorites Bar

Navigate to the page you want to add to the Favorites bar.

Click Add this page to favorites ().

Edit the page name, as necessary.

Click the Folder and then click Favorites bar.

Click Done.

Microsoft Edge adds the web page to the Favorites bar.

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Can I move or delete Favorites bar buttons?

Yes. To move a button, click and drag the button left or right and then drop it in the new position. To delete a button, right-click it and then click Delete.

How do I change the name of a button?

By default, Microsoft Edge uses the page title as the name of the Favorites bar button. If you do not like the default name or if you would prefer something shorter or more descriptive, right-click the button you want to edit, click Edit, type the new name, and then click Save.

Share a Web Page

If you come across a web page that you think one or more people would like to view, you can use the Microsoft Edge Share feature to let those people know about the page. You can share a web page with the contacts associated with your Microsoft account, or via several other Windows apps, including Mail, OneNote, and Twitter. You can also copy a link to the web page and paste that link into any app that accepts text.

Share a Web Page

Navigate to the page you want to share.

Click More ().

Click Share.

Microsoft Edge displays the Share Link pane.

Select how you want to share the web page:

You can click a contact from your Microsoft account to email the web page to that person.

You can click Find more people to select from your complete contacts list.

You can click an app.

Windows opens the sharing app, which is Mail in this example.

Fill in the sharing information required by the app (such as the recipient’s email address).

Share the web page (for example, by clicking Send).

Windows shares the web page.

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Can I share a link to the web page directly to another device?

Yes, as long as both your PC and the receiving PC have Nearby Sharing turned on. To activate this feature, click the Nearby Sharing in the Share Link pane and then click Everyone nearby. Alternatively, you can click Settings, click System, click Nearby sharing, and then click Everyone nearby ( changes to ).

Return to Microsoft Edge and follow steps 1 to 3 to open the Share Link pane. You should now see an icon for the other device. Click that icon and then, on the other device, click Open to load the web page into Microsoft Edge.

Search for Sites

If you need information on a specific topic, Microsoft Edge has a built-in feature that enables you to quickly search the web for sites that have the information you require. The web has a number of sites called search engines that enable you to find what you are looking for. By default, Microsoft Edge uses the Bing search site. You use the Microsoft Edge address bar to enter a word or phrase that is representative of the information you seek. Microsoft Edge passes the word or phrase to Bing, which then looks for pages that match your text.

Search for Sites

Click inside the address bar.

Microsoft Edge selects the current address.

Type a word, phrase, or question that represents the information you want to find.

Bing displays a few search phrases and websites related to what you have typed.

Press .

A list of pages that match your search text appears.

Click a web page.

The page appears.

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How can I get better search results?

Simple, one-word searches often return tens of thousands of hits, or matching sites. To improve your searching, type multiple search terms that define what you are looking for. To search for an exact phrase, enclose the words in quotation marks. If you want to find a page that includes one term or another, separate the two terms with the word OR (in capitals). If you want the results to exclude pages that contain a particular term, precede that term with a minus sign (–).

Download a File

Many websites make files available for you to use on your computer, so you need to know how to save them to your PC, a process known as downloading. After you have downloaded a file, you can open it on your computer as long as you have an app that can work with the type of file you downloaded. For example, if the file is an Excel workbook, you need either Excel or a compatible program. You can either open the downloaded file right away or open it later by displaying your downloaded files.

Download a File

Download and Open a File

Navigate to the page that contains the link to the file.

Click the link to the file.

Microsoft Edge displays the Downloads pane to show you the progress of the download.

Microsoft Edge downloads the file to your PC.

Click Open file.

If you want to see the file in its saved location, you can click Options () and then click Show in folder instead.

If you do not want to work with the file right away, you can click anywhere outside of the Downloads pane to close it.

View Your Downloaded Files

Click More ().

Click Downloads.

Note: You can also press  + .

Note: If you have just downloaded a file, you can also click Show all in the Information bar.

Microsoft Edge displays the Downloads pane (not shown).

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Is it safe to download files from the web?

Yes, as long as you only download files from sites you trust. If you ever notice that Microsoft Edge is attempting to download a file without your permission, cancel the download immediately because it is likely that the file contains a virus or other malware.

Even if you do not completely trust the source of a file that you want to download, Windows Defender will automatically scan the file for malware before downloading it. See Chapter 11 to learn more about Windows’ security features.

CHAPTER 4

Sending and Receiving Email

You can use the Mail app to work with your email account. In this chapter you first learn how to add your account to Mail. You then learn how to use Mail to send email messages; format your messages with fonts, colors, and other formatting; add file attachments; and save drafts of your messages. You also learn how to use Mail to receive and read incoming messages, send replies, forward messages to other people, open and save attachments, delete messages, and move messages to other folders.

Launch the Mail App

Configure Mail Settings

Configure an Email Account

Send an Email Message

Format the Message Text

Add a File Attachment

Save a Draft of a Message

Receive and Read Email Messages

Reply to a Message

Forward a Message

Open and Save an Attachment

Delete a Message

Create a Folder for Saving Messages

Launch the Mail App

The Mail app enables you to use an email account to exchange and manage email messages. Email is one of the most popular Internet services because it offers three advantages: universality, speed, and convenience. Email is universal because nearly anyone with Internet access has an email address. Email is fast because messages are generally delivered within a few minutes. Email is convenient because you can send messages at any time and your recipient does not need to be at the computer or online.

Before you can send or receive email messages, you must know how to start the Mail app.

Launch the Mail App

Click Start ().

Click Mail.

Windows opens the Mail app.

Configure Mail Settings

The Mail app comes with settings that you can configure to make the program suit the way you prefer to work. For example, you use the Mail settings to add one or more email accounts, as described in the next section, “Configure an Email Account.” You can also use the Mail settings to customize the Mail interface and configure options that control how Mail works. You do not need to configure Mail’s settings to use the app, but you should know how to access the settings if you find you want to change how the app works.

Configure Mail Settings

In Mail, click Settings ().

The Settings pane appears.

Click a category.

Mail displays the settings for the selected category.

Adjust the settings as needed (not shown).

Note: For example, you can click the Signature category to create text that Mail adds to the bottom of every message you send. You can click the Default Font category to customize Mail’s font.

Click anywhere outside of the Settings pane.

Mail saves your changed settings.

Configure an Email Account

Before you can send an email message, you must add your email account to the Mail app. This also enables you to use Mail to retrieve the messages that others have sent to your account.

You use Mail to set up web-based email accounts with services such as Gmail. Note, however, that if you are already signing in to Windows using a Microsoft account, then Windows automatically adds that account to the Mail app — so you need to follow the steps in this section only if you want to add another account to Mail.

Configure an Email Account

Note: If you are starting Mail for the first time and the app prompts you to add an account, skip to step 3.

In Mail, open the Settings pane.

Note: See the previous section, “Configure Mail Settings,” to learn how to display the Settings pane.

Click Manage Accounts.

The Manage Accounts pane appears.

Click Add account.

The Add an Account menu appears.

Click the type of account that you want to add, a Google account in this example.

Note: You can also other web-based email accounts such as Yahoo! or iCloud.

Note: How you proceed from here depends on the type of account you selected in step 4. The steps that follow apply to most account types.

Mail asks for your account email address.

Type your email address.

Click Next.

Mail asks for your account password.

Type your email password.

Click Next.

Mail asks for permission to access your account.

Click Allow (not shown).

Click Done (not shown).

Mail adds your email account to the Accounts pane.

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How do I change the account name?

If you have another name you prefer to use (for example, many people use the account’s email address as the name), follow steps 1 and 2 to open the Manage Accounts pane. Click the account you want to change, edit the Account Name text, and then click Save.

How do I delete an account that I no longer use?

To reduce clutter in the Mail app, you should remove any account that you no longer use or that is no longer active. Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the Manage Accounts pane, click the account you want to remove, and then click Delete account from this device. When Mail asks you to confirm, click Delete.

Send an Email Message

If you know the email address of a person or organization, you can send an email message to that address. Each address uniquely identifies the location of an Internet mailbox. An address takes the form username@domain, where username is the name of the person’s account, and domain is the Internet name of the company that provides the person’s email account.

When you send an email message, it travels through your email provider’s outgoing mail server. This server routes the message to the recipient’s incoming mail server, which then stores the message in the recipient’s mailbox.

Send an Email Message

In Mail, click New mail.

A message window appears.

Type the email address of the recipient.

To send a copy of the message to another person, you can click Cc & Bcc and then type that person’s email address in the Cc field.

Type a subject for the message.

Type the message.

Note: See the next section, “Format the Message Text,” to learn how to apply formatting to your message.

Click Send.

Mail sends your message.

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Can I send my message to several people?

Yes. Besides adding a single address to each of the To and Cc lines, you can also add multiple email addresses to both To and Cc. After you complete each address, press to confirm the address and then type the next address.

Can I send a copy to someone but not let the other recipients see that person’s address?

Yes, this is known as a blind carbon copy (Bcc, sometimes also called a blind courtesy copy). To include a blind carbon copy with your message, click Cc & Bcc to add the Bcc field and then use that field to type the person’s address.

Format the Message Text

You can add visual interest and make your message easier to read by formatting your message text. A plain email message is quick to compose, but it is often worth the extra time to add formatting to your text. For example, you can add bold or italic formatting to highlight a word or phrase. Mail supports a wide range of formatting options, including font colors, highlights, emoticons, bulleted lists, and numbered lists. All these formatting options have their place, but be careful not to overdo it, or you may make your message harder to read.

Format the Message Text

Format the Message Font

Select the text that you want to format in the message.

Click the font formatting that you want to apply, such as Bold (), Italic (), Underline (), or Color ().

For more font options, you can click .

Mail applies the font formatting to the text.

Format a Message Paragraph

Select the paragraph that you want to format.

Click the Paragraph Formatting .

Click the paragraph formatting that you want to apply, such as indents or alignment.

You can click Bullets () to convert the paragraphs to bullet points.

You can click Numbering () to convert the paragraphs to a numbered list.

Mail applies the paragraph formatting to the text.

Apply a Style

Select the text that you want to format.

Click the Styles .

Click a style.

Mail applies the style to the text.

Insert a Picture

Position the cursor where you want the picture to appear.

Click the Insert tab.

Click Pictures.

The Open dialog box appears.

Select the location of the picture.

Click the picture.

Click Insert.

Mail adds the picture to the email message.

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Can I adjust a picture that I have inserted in my email message?

Yes. Click the picture and then click the Picture tab. Click Rotate to rotate the image, or click Crop to crop unwanted portions of the image. You can use the sizing handles that appear around the image to adjust its size. If you are not happy with the new image dimensions, click the image, click the Picture tab, and then click Reset Size.

How do I set the message priority?

Setting the priority level of your message helps the recipient know how to handle your message. Click the Options tab and then click High importance () or Low importance ().

Add a File Attachment

If you want to send a document to another person, you can attach the document to an email message. A typical email message is fine for short notes, but you may have something more complex to communicate, such as budget numbers or a slideshow, or some form of media that you want to share, such as an image or a song. Because these more complex types of data usually come in a separate file — such as a spreadsheet, presentation file, or video file — it makes sense to send that file to your recipient as an attachment.

Add a File Attachment

Click the Insert tab in the message.

Click Files.

The Open dialog box appears.

Select the folder that contains the file you want to attach.

Click the file that you want to attach.

Click Open.

Mail attaches the file to the message.

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Is there a limit to the number of files that I can attach to a message?

There is no practical limit to the number of files that you can attach to a message. However, you should be careful with the total size of the files that you send. If you or the recipient has a slow Internet connection, sending or receiving the message can take an extremely long time. Also, many Internet service providers (ISPs) place a limit on the size of a message’s attachments, which is usually between 2MB and 20MB. In general, use email to send no more than a few small files at a time.

Save a Draft of a Message

If you cannot complete or send your message right away, you can save it as a draft and open it again later. As you work on an email message, you might find that you need to give it more thought or that you have to do more research. Rather than discard your work, you can close the message and Mail will save it for you automatically. Mail stores the saved message in your account’s Drafts folder. When you are ready to resume editing the message, you can open it from the Drafts folder.

Save a Draft of a Message

Save the Draft

Compose the message up to the point where you want Mail to save it.

Click Back ().

Mail closes the message and saves the message to your Drafts folder.

Open the Draft

In Mail, click More.

Mail displays your account folders.

Note: The folders you see — as well as the names of the folders — vary depending on the type of email account you are using.

Note: To learn how to create your own folders, see the section “Create a Folder for Saving Messages” later in this chapter.

Click Drafts.

Click the draft that you want to open.

Mail opens the message for editing.

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What are the other account folders used for?

Sent

Holds copies of outgoing messages that you have sent

Junk

Holds incoming messages that Mail has deemed to be unsolicited commercial emails, also known as junk mail or spam

Outbox

Holds outgoing messages that are in the process of being sent

Deleted

Holds messages that you have deleted from other folders

Receive and Read Email Messages

When another person sends you an email message, that message ends up in your email account’s mailbox on the incoming mail server maintained by your ISP or email provider. However, that company does not automatically pass along that message to you. Instead, you must use Mail to connect to your mailbox on the incoming mail server and then retrieve any messages waiting for you. By default, Mail automatically retrieves new messages as they arrive, but you can also check for new messages at any time.

Receive and Read Email Messages

Receive Email Messages

In Mail, click Expand ().

Click the account you want to check.

Click Sync this view ().

Mail checks for new messages.

If you have new messages, they appear in the account’s Inbox folder.

This bar appears beside messages that you have not yet read.

The symbol means that the message has an attachment.

Read a Message

Click the message.

Mail opens the message.

Read the message text.

You can also click Open message in a new window () to display the message in a separate window.

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Why do new messages sometimes appear in my Inbox when I have not clicked Sync this view?

For certain types of accounts, Mail supports a feature called push that can send new messages to your Inbox automatically. In this case, when the mail server receives a new message, it immediately sends the message to your Inbox without your having to run the Sync command. Note that this feature works if you are using an Outlook.com email account, a Gmail account, or a Hotmail or Live email address.

Reply to a Message

When a message you receive requires a response — whether it is answering a question, supplying information, or providing comments — you can reply to that message. Most replies go only to the person who sent the original message. However, you can also send the reply to all the people who were included in the original message’s To and Cc lines. Mail includes the text of the original message in the reply, but you might want to edit the original message text to include only enough of the original message to put your reply into context.

Reply to a Message

Click the message to which you want to reply.

Click Reply.

If you prefer to respond to all the message recipients, you can click Reply all instead.

Note: See the first tip for more information.

A message window appears.

Mail automatically inserts the sender of the original message as the recipient.

Mail also inserts the subject line, preceded by “RE:”.

Mail includes the original message’s addresses (To and From), date, subject, and text at the bottom of the reply.

Edit the original message to include only the text relevant to your reply.

Click the area above the original message text.

Type your reply.

Click Send.

Mail sends your reply.

Note: Mail stores a copy of your reply in the Sent folder.

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What is the difference between Reply and Reply All?

Click Reply to respond only to the person who sent the message; click Reply all to respond to the sender as well as any other addresses that the sender included in the original message’s To and Cc fields.

Should I edit the original message text in my reply?

If the original message is short, you usually do not need to edit the text. However, if the original message is long and your response deals only with part of that message, you will save the recipient time by deleting everything except the relevant portion of the text.

Forward a Message

If a message has information that is relevant to or concerns another person, you can forward a copy of the message to that person. You can also include your own comments in the forward.

In the body of the forward, Mail includes the original message’s addresses, date, and subject line. Below this information, Mail also includes the text of the original message. In most cases, you will leave the entire message intact so that your recipient can see it. However, if only part of the message is relevant to the recipient, you should edit the original message accordingly.

Forward a Message

Click the message that you want to forward.

Click Forward.

A message window appears.

Mail inserts the subject line, preceded by “FW:”.

The original message’s addresses (To and From), date, subject, attachments, and text are included.

Select or type the email address of the person to whom you are forwarding the message.

To send a copy of the message to another person, you can click Cc & Bcc and then enter that person’s email address in the Cc field.

If necessary, edit the original message to include only the text relevant to your forward.

Click the area above the original message text.

Type your comments.

Click Send.

Mail sends your forward.

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How do I view the text of a forward or reply after I have sent it?

When you send a forward or a reply (or an original message), Mail stores a copy of the message in the Sent folder. To view the message, click Expand (), click More to display the All Folders list, and then click Sent.

When I forward a message, is it possible to not include an attachment that came with the message?

Yes. After you click the message and then click Forward, the message attachment appears by default as part of the forwarded message. This is usually what you want, but you can remove the attachment by clicking Remove ().

Open and Save an Attachment

When a message comes in and displays the attachment symbol (a paper clip), it means that the sender has included a file as an attachment to the message. If you just want to take a quick look at the file, you can open the attachment directly from Mail. Alternatively, if you want to keep a copy of the file on your computer, you can save the attachment to your hard drive.

Be careful when dealing with attached files. Computer viruses are often transmitted by email attachments. See the tip at the end of this section for more information.

Open and Save an Attachment

Open an Attachment

Click the message that has the attachment, as indicated by a paper clip ().

The message attachment appears.

Click the attachment that you want to open.

The file opens in the appropriate program.

Note: Instead of opening the file, you may see a message that says “Windows can’t open this type of file.” This means you need to install the appropriate program for the type of file, which you can usually install from the Microsoft Store. If you are not sure, ask the person who sent you the file what program you need.

Save an Attachment

Click the message that has the attachment, as indicated by a paper clip ().

The message attachment appears.

Right-click the attachment that you want to save.

Click Save.

The Save As dialog box appears.

Click the folder where you want to store the file.

Edit the filename, if needed.

Click Save.

Mail saves the attachment to your PC’s hard drive.

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Why must I be careful when working with email attachments?

Email attachments are the most common way that nefarious users attempt to infect PCs with viruses and other malware. When you open such an attachment, the virus infects your computer and then, without your knowledge, uses your email program and your address book to send messages with more copies of itself attached. The nastier versions also mess with your computer by deleting data or corrupting files. Never open an attachment that comes from someone you do not know. If someone you know sends you an attachment unexpectedly, write that person back and confirm that they really did send the file.

Delete a Message

After you have used Mail for a while, you may find that you have a lot of messages in your Inbox folder. The more messages you have, the harder it becomes to find a message that you want and the more time-consuming it gets to navigate the messages. To keep the Inbox uncluttered and easier to navigate, you should delete any messages that you have already read and do not need to keep.

Note that when you delete a message, Mail actually sends it to the Trash folder. If you delete a message accidentally, you can retrieve it from the Trash folder.

Delete a Message

Delete a Message from the Inbox

Click the message that you want to delete.

Click Delete.

You can also click the Delete icon () that appears when you hover the mouse pointer () over the message.

Note: If you have a tablet PC, you can also delete a message by swiping to the left across the message.

Mail removes the message from the Inbox and moves it to the Trash folder.

Restore a Deleted Message

In Mail, click Expand ().

Click More.

Mail displays the folders list.

Click Trash.

Note: Depending on your email account, this folder might be named Deleted Items or Deleted instead.

Mail opens the Deleted Items (or Deleted) folder.

Right-click the message that you want to restore.

Click Move.

Mail displays a list of folders.

Click Inbox.

Mail restores the message to the Inbox folder.

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Can I remove a message permanently?

Yes, as long as you are sure you will never need to work with the message again, you can delete it permanently from your account. However, this operation is not reversible, so you really need to be certain that you no longer need the message.

Follow steps 1 to 3 in the subsection “Restore a Deleted Message” to open the Trash (or Deleted Items or Deleted) folder, right-click the message you want to remove, and then click Delete. Mail removes the message permanently from your account.

Create a Folder for Saving Messages

After you have used Mail for a while, you may find that you have a lot of messages in your Inbox. To keep the Inbox uncluttered, you can create new folders and then move messages from the Inbox to the new folders.

To help keep your messages organized, you should use each new folder to save related messages. For example, you could create separate folders for people you correspond with regularly, current projects, different work departments, and so on. By saving each message to the appropriate folder, you make it easier to find your messages in the future.

Create a Folder for Saving Messages

Create a Folder

In Mail, click Expand ().

Click More.

Mail displays the folders list.

Click Create new folder ().

You are prompted to enter the folder name.

Type the name of the new folder.

Press .

The new folder is created.

Note: If you see a message telling you the folder could not be created, it means your email account does not support folder creation via the Mail app.

Move a Message to Another Folder

In Mail, right-click the message you want to move.

Click Move.

Mail displays the list of folders.

Click the folder you want to use as the destination.

Mail moves the message.

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How do I rename a folder?

In the All Folders list, right-click the folder you want to rename and then click Rename. In the text box, type the new name and then press . You can rename only folders that you have created.

How do I delete a folder?

In the All Folders list, right-click the folder you want to remove and then click Delete. You can delete only folders that you have created. When you delete a folder, you also delete any messages stored in that folder.

CHAPTER 5

Getting Social with Windows

You can use Windows to manage your social life. You can use the People app to store contact information such as email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and birthdays. You can also work with contacts from other accounts, such as Gmail and iCloud, to help you keep track of your friends, family, and business contacts. You can use the Calendar app to schedule meetings, appointments, and other events. You can quickly and easily add recurring events, and you can get Calendar to remind when an event is coming up.

Create a Contact

Add Your Google Account

Add Your iCloud Account

View a Contact

Edit a Contact

Assign a Photo to a Contact

Add Extra Fields to a Contact

Filter the Contacts List

Combine Multiple Profiles for a Contact

View Your Calendar

Add an Event to Your Calendar

Create a Recurring Event

Add an Event Reminder

Create a Contact

You can easily store information about your friends, family, and colleagues, as well as send messages to them, by using the People app to create a contact for each person. Each contact can store a wide variety of information, such as a person’s first and last names, company name, email address, phone number, and street address.

If you already have contacts in a different account such as Google or iCloud, you do not need to enter those contacts manually. Instead, you can connect your other account to your Microsoft account, as described in the next few sections.

Create a Contact

Open the Mail app.

Note: See Chapter 4 to learn how to launch the Mail app.

Click Switch to People ().

The People app loads.

Click Add contact ().

The New Contact screen appears.

If you have multiple contact accounts, click the Save to and then click the account to which you want to save the new contact.

Type the contact’s name.

Click the Phone and then click the type of phone number that you want to enter.

Type the contact’s phone number.

You can click Add () to add another phone number.

Click the Email and then click the type of email address that you want to enter.

Type the contact’s email address.

You can click the Email to add another email address.

For information on how to enter an address, see the second tip in this section. For information on how to add other types of contact information, see the section “Add Extra Fields to a Contact” later in this chapter.

Click Save.

The People app creates the new contact.

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Is there an easy way to send an email to a contact?

Yes. Normally, you would use the Mail app, as described in Chapter 4. If you are already working in the People app, however, it is easier to click the person’s entry in the Contacts list to open the contact and then click the Email link beside the address you want to use.

How do I record a contact’s physical address?

With the new contact open for editing, click the Address and then click the label you want for the address. In the text boxes that appear, type the contact’s street address, city, state/province, zip/postal code, and country/region.

Add Your Google Account

You can add your Google account to Windows to access your Google contacts (as well as your Google calendar and email) from your Windows computer. To do so, you must provide Windows with your Google account login data.

After you add your Google account, you can use the People app to view your Google contacts, the Calendar app to view your Google events and appointments, and the Mail app to view your Gmail messages.

Add Your Google Account

Note: If you already added your Gmail account to the Mail app, as described in the section “Configure an Email Account” in Chapter 4, you can skip this section.

In the People app, click More ().

Click Settings.

The Settings screen appears.

Click Add an account.

Click Google.

The People app prompts you for your Google login data.

Type your Google email address.

Click Next.

Type your Google password.

Click Next.

The People app shows you what it will do with your Google data.

Click Allow.

Windows connects your Google account to your Microsoft account.

Click Done (not shown).

Windows syncs your Gmail contacts with the People app.

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Can I control what type of Google content appears in Windows?

Yes, you can configure the type of content to sync between Google and Windows and how often that content syncs. In the People app, click More (), click Settings, click Gmail, and then click Change mailbox sync settings. People displays the Gmail Sync Settings dialog box. Click the Download new content and then click how often you want Windows to sync your Google data. In the Sync Options group, use the Email, Calendar, and Contacts switches to toggle each type of content on or off.

Add Your iCloud Account

You can add your iCloud account to Windows to access your iCloud contacts (as well as your iCloud calendar and email) from your Windows computer. To do so, you must provide Windows with your iCloud account login data.

After you have added your iCloud account, you can use the People app to view your iCloud contacts, the Calendar app to view your iCloud events and appointments, and the Mail app to view your iCloud messages.

Add Your iCloud Account

Note: If you already added your iCloud account to the Mail app, as described in the section “Configure an Email Account” in Chapter 4, you can skip this section.

In the People app, click More ().

Click Settings.

The Settings screen appears.

Click Add an account.

Click iCloud.

The People app prompts you for your iCloud login data.

Type your iCloud email address.

Type the name you want to use with the iCloud account.

Type your iCloud password.

Click Sign in.

Windows connects your iCloud account to your Microsoft account.

Click Done.

Windows syncs your iCloud contacts with the People app.

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Can I control what type of iCloud content appears in Windows?

Yes, you can configure the type of content to sync between iCloud and Windows and how often that content syncs. In the People app, click More (), click Settings, click iCloud, and then click Change mailbox sync settings. People displays the iCloud Sync Settings dialog box. Click the Download new content and then click how often you want Windows to sync your iCloud data. In the Sync Options group, use the Email, Calendar, and Contacts switches to toggle each type of content on or off.

View a Contact

After you have added contacts and connected your other accounts to Windows, you can use the People app to view your contacts. The information that you see when you view a contact depends on how the contact was added to Windows. If you added the contact yourself, you see the information that you entered. If the contact was added by connecting another account to Windows, you see the data provided by that account. If you have many contacts, you can also use the People app’s Search feature to locate the contact you want to view.

View a Contact

View a Contact

In the People app, scroll the Contacts list up or down to locate the contact you want to view.

You can also click any of the letters that divide the Contacts list alphabetically. In the grid of letters that appears, click the letter you want to view.

Click the contact.

The People app displays the contact’s data.

Search for a Contact

Click in the People app’s Search box.

Begin typing the name of the contact you want to view.

People displays a list of contacts with names that match your typing.

When you see the contact you want to view, click the name in the search results.

The People app displays the contact’s data.

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Can I sort the Contacts list by last name instead of first name?

Yes. Click More () and then click Settings to open the People app’s Settings pane. In the Sort Contact List By section, click Last Name (or Surname) ( changes to ).

How do I delete a contact?

If you no longer need a contact, you should delete it from the People app to reduce clutter in the Contacts list. First, use either of the techniques outlined in this section to view the contact you want to remove. Either click Delete () or right-click the contact and then click Delete. When the People app asks you to confirm, click Delete.

Edit a Contact

If you need to make changes to the information already in a contact or if you need to add new information to a contact, you can edit the contact from within the People app. While editing a contact, you can modify the existing information, add new information to the contact, or delete existing information.

Edit a Contact

In the People app, click the contact you want to edit.

Click Edit.

People makes the contact’s fields available for editing.

Edit the existing fields as required.

To add a field, click the beside the field type you want to use and then type the data.

To remove a field, position the mouse pointer () over the field and then click Remove ().

When you complete your edits, click Save.

People saves the edited contact.

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Can I add other more detailed name data for a contact?

Yes, the People app offers multiple name fields: First Name, Surname, Middle Name, Nickname, Title, Suffix, Phonetic First Name, and Phonetic Surname. To specify any of this data, follow steps 1 and 2 to open the contact for editing and then click Edit () beside the Name field. In the Edit Name dialog box that appears, fill in the name fields as needed and then click Done.

Assign a Photo to a Contact

You can add visual interest to the People app and make it more useful by assigning photos to your contacts. By default, the People app shows just the contact’s initials as the image for each contact. If you have a photo of a contact, you can assign that photo as a replacement for the default image. Assigning photos not only improves the look of the People app, but it also helps you remember your contacts, particularly if they are business colleagues or similar acquaintances whom you do not see very often.

Assign a Photo to a Contact

In the People app, click the contact you want to work with.

Click Edit.

People opens the contact for editing.

Click Add photo.

A version of the Photos app displays your photos.

Click the photo you want to add.

People prompts you to choose the area of the photo that you want to use for the contact.

Click and drag the photo to set the area you want to use within the circle.

Click and drag any of the four handles to set the size of the circle.

Click Done.

People adds the photo to the contact.

Click Save.

People saves the edited contact.

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How do I change a contact’s photo?

Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the contact for editing and then click the existing photo to open the Photos app and see your photos. Click the new photo you want to use and then follow steps 5 to 8 to set the photo position and size and save your changes.

How do I remove a contact’s photo?

If you no longer want to use a photo for a contact, you can delete it. Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the contact for editing. Right-click the existing photo and then click Delete photo. People removes the photo from the contact. Click Save to preserve your changes.

Add Extra Fields to a Contact

The People app offers several other fields that you can add to a contact to store more data about that person or company. The default editing screen shows only a few field types: Name, Phone, Email, and Address. However, People also supports many other fields that enable you to store data such as the contact’s website address, company name, job title, and office location. You can also save personal data such as the names of the contact’s significant other and children and the contact’s birthday and anniversary. You can also add a Notes field to hold any other relevant data.

Add Extra Fields to a Contact

In the People app, click the contact you want to edit.

Click Edit.

People makes the contact’s fields available for editing.

Click the Other .

Click the type of field you want to add.

Fill in the data for the new field.

Repeat steps 3 to 5 to add extra fields as needed.

When you complete your edits, click Save.

People saves the edited contact.

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Is there a way to add a contact’s website without having to memorize a long address?

Yes, you can copy the address from the Microsoft Edge web browser. In the taskbar, click Microsoft Edge () and then navigate to the contact’s website. In the address bar, right-click the address, click Select All, and then either press  +  or right-click the selected address and then click Copy. Switch to the People app, follow steps 1 to 4 to add the Website field, click inside the field, and then either press  +  or right-click the field and then click Paste.

Filter the Contacts List

You can make a long Contacts list easier to navigate and manage by filtering it to hide certain contacts. For example, if you mostly use People to locate contacts for phone calling or text messaging, you can filter the Contacts list to hide all those contacts who do not have a phone number. Similarly, if you have multiple accounts added to the People app, you might find that this creates many duplicate entries. You can fix this problem by filtering the Contacts list to hide all contacts from a particular account.

Filter the Contacts List

Hide Contacts Without Phone Numbers

In the People app, click More ().

Click Filter contacts.

The Filter Contacts dialog box appears.

Click the Hide contacts without phone numbers switch to On ( changes to ).

Click Done.

People only shows those contacts who have at least one phone number.

Hide Contacts by Account

In the People app, click More ().

Click Filter contacts.

The Filter Contacts dialog box appears.

Click the account you want to hide ( changes to ).

Click Done.

People hides the contacts from the account you deselected in step 3.

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How do I remove an account from the People app?

If you find that you do not use the contacts from a particular account or if a particular account contains all or mostly duplicate contacts of another account, you might prefer to remove that account entirely instead of just hiding it. Note, however, that removing an account also removes that account’s email from the Mail app and its calendars from the Calendar app.

If you still prefer to remove the account, click More () and then click Settings. Click the account you want to remove and then click Delete account. When People asks you to confirm, click Delete.

Combine Multiple Profiles for a Contact

You can make your Contacts list more manageable and more useful by combining two or more contacts that are profiles of the same person. When you add multiple accounts to People, you might end up with the same contact listed two or more times. If those profiles contain different data — for example, one might contain personal information, whereas the other contains work information — you should combine them into a single profile for easier access. In many cases, People will suggest a contact to combine, but you can also search for a contact to combine.

Combine Multiple Profiles for a Contact

Combine a Suggested Contact

In the People app, click one of the profiles that you want to link.

If the People app has found a similar contact, you see that contact’s name in the Suggested section.

Click Combine.

If the suggested contact is incorrect, you can click See more and continue with the steps in the next subsection, “Locate and Combine a Contact.”

People asks you to confirm that you want to combine the contacts.

Click Combine.

People combines the contacts into a single profile.

Locate and Combine a Contact

In the People app, click one of the profiles that you want to link.

Click Find a contact to combine.

The Choose a Contact pane appears.

If your contacts list is long, you can use the Search box to locate the contact.

Click the contact you want to link.

People combines the contacts into a single profile.

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Can I separate a combined profile from a contact?

Yes. In some cases, you might find that you prefer to keep two separate profiles for a particular contact. For example, if you have separate business and personal profiles for a contact and both those profiles contain a great deal of information, you might find that the combined profile is too confusing or cluttered.

To separate a profile from a contact, click the contact and then click See more. In the Combined Contacts pane, click the Separate button under the profile that you want to remove. When People asks you to confirm, click Separate.

View Your Calendar

Windows comes with a Calendar app to enable you to manage your schedule. To create an event such as an appointment or meeting, or an all-day event such as a conference or trip, you select the date when the event occurs.

Calendar lets you change the calendar view to suit your needs. For example, you can show just a single day’s worth of events if you want to concentrate on that day’s activities. Similarly, you can view a week’s or a month’s worth of events if you want to get a larger sense of what your overall schedule looks like.

View Your Calendar

View Events by Month

In the Start menu, click Calendar (not shown).

Note: When you first start Calendar, if Windows asks if the app can use your location, click No.

Click Month.

Your calendar for the month appears.

Click and to navigate the months.

Note: On a touchscreen PC, you navigate the months by swiping up and down on the screen.

View Events by Week

Click Week.

To see just Monday through Friday, you can click the Week and then click Work week instead.

Your events for the week appear.

Click and to navigate the weeks.

Note: On a touchscreen PC, you navigate the weeks by swiping left and right on the screen.

View Events by Day

Click Day.

The events for a single day appear.

To specify the number of days you want to view, you can click the Day and then click the view you want, such as 2 day to see two days at a time.

Click and to navigate the days.

Note: On a touchscreen PC, you navigate the days by swiping left and right on the screen.

View Today’s Events

Click Today.

Calendar navigates the current view to show today’s date.

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Are there any techniques that I can use to navigate the calendar?

Yes, you can use the mini calendar that appears on the left side of the Calendar window. If you do not see the mini calendar, click Menu () in the upper-left corner of the Calendar window. Position the mouse pointer () over the mini calendar and then click and to navigate the months. (On a touchscreen PC, you navigate the months by swiping up and down on the mini calendar.) Then click the day you want to view.

Add an Event to Your Calendar

You can help organize your life by using the Calendar app to record your upcoming events — such as appointments, meetings, phone calls, and dates — on the date and time that they are scheduled to occur.

If the event has a set time and duration — for example, a meeting or a lunch date — you add the event directly to the calendar as a regular appointment. If the event has no set time — for example, a birthday, anniversary, or multiple-day event such as a sales meeting or vacation — you can create an all-day event.

Add an Event to Your Calendar

In the Calendar app, navigate to the date when the event occurs.

Click the time when the event starts.

Note: If you are currently in Month view, click the day the event occurs.

Type a name for the event.

You can click this and then click an icon that represents the event.

Type the event location.

Click More details.

Calendar displays the event details screen.

If the start date and/or time is incorrect, use the Start controls to select the correct start time.

If the end date and/or time is incorrect, use the End controls to select the correct end time.

Use the large text area to type notes related to the event.

Click Save.

Calendar adds the event to your schedule.

To make changes to the event, you can click it.

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How do I set up an event that has no set time, such as an anniversary or conference?

Any activity that has no set time or that takes up one or more entire days is called an all-day event. Examples include birthdays, anniversaries, conferences, trade shows, and vacations. To specify such an event, follow steps 1 to 4 to start a new event, click All day ( changes to ), and then click Save. The all-day event appears as a banner at the top of the date when you are in Day or Week view.

Create a Recurring Event

If you have an activity or event that recurs at a regular interval, you can create an event and configure it to automatically repeat in the Calendar app. This saves you from having to repeatedly add the future events manually because Calendar adds them for you automatically.

You can repeat an event daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. If your activity recurs every day only during the workweek, such as a staff meeting, you can also set up the event to repeat every weekday.

Create a Recurring Event

Follow the steps in the previous section, “Add an Event to Your Calendar,” to create an event and then click the event.

Calendar displays the event details.

Click Repeat ().

Click and then click the repeat interval that you want to use.

You might also be able to further refine your choice, such as choosing the specific day of the week for the Weekly interval.

If needed, use the End calendar control to select the last recurrence.

Click Save.

Calendar adds the future events using the interval that you specified.

Note: To edit a recurring event, click any occurrence to open that event. You can edit just that occurrence or click Edit series to edit every occurrence.

Add an Event Reminder

You can help make sure that you never miss a meeting, appointment, or other event by setting up the Calendar app to remind you before the event occurs. A reminder is a notification message that Windows displays at a specified time before the event occurs. By default, Calendar adds a 15-minute reminder to each event, but you can change that to a more suitable interval.

Add an Event Reminder

Follow the steps in the section “Add an Event to Your Calendar,” earlier in this chapter, to create an event and then click the event.

Calendar displays the event details.

Click the Reminder .

Click the length of time before the event that you want the reminder to appear.

Click Save.

Calendar saves the event and later reminds you of it beforehand, according to the time that you select.

CHAPTER 6

Performing Day-to-Day Tasks with Apps

You can use the apps that come with Windows to perform many useful day-to-day tasks. For example, rather than looking through menus and folders to find apps, settings, and files, you can search for them. Other useful tasks you can perform with Windows are writing a note, making a to-do-list, setting up and using Skype to make video calls, viewing locations on a map, getting turn-by-turn directions from your current location to a destination you specify, and looking up your local weather forecast and forecasts in other cities.

Search Your PC

Write a Note

Make a To-Do List

Configure Skype

Call Someone Using Skype

Display a Location on a Map

Get Directions to a Location

Check Your Weather Forecast

Check Another City’s Weather Forecast

Search Your PC

After you have used your PC for a while and have created many documents, you might have trouble locating a specific file. You can save a great deal of time by having Windows search for your document.

You can use the Search feature to look for apps, system settings, and documents on your PC, as well as websites on the Internet. If you are working with File Explorer, you can also perform document searches using the Search box in a folder window.

Search Your PC

Search from the Taskbar

Click Search ().

Click inside the Search box and type your search text.

Windows displays the top apps, settings, and documents with names that include your search text.

Windows displays other search results here, organized by category (such as Documents).

If you see the app, setting, or document that you want, you can click it.

To see results from a specific category, click a heading, such as Documents.

You can also click a category.

You can click the More to see extra categories, as shown here.

Windows displays the category items that match your search text.

Windows displays details and related tasks for the selected search item here.

Click the item you want.

Windows opens the app, setting, document, or website.

Search from a Folder Window

Click File Explorer ().

Open the folder you want to search.

Type your search text in the Search box.

As you type, Windows displays the folders and documents in the current folder with names, contents, or keywords that match your search text.

If you see the folder or document that you want, double-click it.

The folder or document opens.

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Can I restrict my folder searches to a particular file type?

Yes, you can tell File Explorer to search only one of more than 20 different file types, including documents, music, and pictures. In File Explorer, click inside the Search box and then click the Search options . Click Kind and then click the type of file you want to find.

Is there any way to tell Windows that I specifically want to search for settings?

Not directly, but the Settings app does have a search feature. Click Start (), click Settings, and then use the Find a Setting Search box to type a word or phrase for the setting you want.

Write a Note

You can use the Notepad app to create simple text documents for things such as to-do lists and meeting notes. Word processing programs such as WordPad, as well as powerful note-taking apps such as the OneNote app covered in Chapter 9, are useful for creating complex and lengthy documents, but they feel like overkill when all you want to do is jot down a few simple notes. For these more basic text tasks, the Notepad app that comes with Windows is perfect because it offers a simple interface that is easy to learn and use.

Write a Note

Start Notepad

Click Start ().

The Start menu appears.

Click All apps.

Click Notepad.

Notepad opens.

Write and Save a Note

Type your note text.

Click File.

Click Save.

The Save As dialog box appears.

Select the folder in which you want to save the file.

Type a name for the file.

Click Save.

Notepad saves the file.

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Can I create a temporary note?

Yes. If you just want to jot down a phone number, you can create the Windows equivalent of a sticky note by clicking Start (), clicking All apps, and then clicking Sticky Notes.

What is the difference between Notepad and WordPad?

Notepad is called a text editor, and you use it only to enter and edit text. WordPad is called a word processing program, and you use it not only to enter and edit text, but also to format that text with fonts, sizes, and colors; apply bulleted and numbered lists; insert images; and more.

Make a To-Do List

You can use the Microsoft To Do app to set up an electronic to-do list that enables you to keep track of tasks you have to perform or items you want to remember. The To Do app comes with several ready-to-use lists, but you can also create your own lists to track items such as household chores, goods to purchase, project tasks, trip preparation, and more. You can also get the To Do app to remind you when a task is due, and you can set up tasks that repeat at regular intervals.

Make a To-Do List

Start Microsoft To Do

Click Start ().

The Start menu appears.

Click To Do.

If your version of Windows does not have the To Do app pinned to the Start menu, you can click All apps and then click To Do.

The To Do app opens.

Create and Populate a New To-Do List

Click New list.

Rather than creating a new list, you can instead click one of the To Do app’s predefined lists and then skip to step 4.

To Do creates a new list and prompts you for a title.

Type the list title and press .

Click Add a task.

To Do creates a new task.

Type the task description and then press .

To Do adds the tasks and then creates a new task.

Repeat step 4 until your list is complete.

Note: When you complete a task, click the task’s Complete button ( changes to ).

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Can I get the To Do app to remind me to perform a task?

Yes. After you add the task, click the task to display a panel of task options. Click Remind me and then either click one of the preset times (such as Later day or Tomorrow) or click Pick a date & time to set the reminder date and time that you prefer.

Can I create a task that repeats at a regular interval?

Yes. After you add the task, click the task to display a panel of task options. Click Repeat and then click a recurrence interval: Daily, Weekdays, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. You can also click Custom to create a custom recurrence interval.

Configure Skype

You can use the Skype app to place calls to friends and family using your Internet connection. Unlike regular phone calls, Skype lets you place video calls, which means you hear and see the other person. If either you or the person you call does not have a video camera, then Skype also enables you to place voice calls over the Internet.

Although you can sign up for a Skype account separately, this is not necessary because Windows assigns you a Skype account automatically using your Microsoft account. This section assumes you are using a Microsoft account (see Chapter 1).

Configure Skype

Click Search ().

Type skype.

Click Skype.

The Welcome to Skype screen appears.

Click Let’s go.

If you have multiple Microsoft accounts, the Sign in With screen appears (not shown). Click the account you want to use with Skype.

The Choose Your Profile Picture screen appears.

Note: If you see the Update Your Profile Picture screen instead, you can skip to step 7 if you do not want to change your profile picture.

Click Upload Photo, use the Open dialog box (not shown) to select a photo, and then click Open.

Click Continue.

The Test Your Audio screen appears.

Speak normally into your PC’s microphone.

Skype automatically adjusts the microphone volume as you speak.

Click Continue.

Skype displays your PC’s camera feed.

Click Continue (not shown).

The Find Contacts Easily screen appears.

Click Go (not shown).

Skype completes the configuration and displays its main window.

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How do I change my profile picture?

Open Skype, click Menu (), click Settings, and then click Profile Picture. Click your existing profile picture, click Upload Photo, select a new photo in the Open dialog box, and then click Open.

Does Skype have the option to switch to darker colors when I use it at night?

Yes. To switch to Dark mode, open Skype, click Menu (), and then click Settings to display the Settings screen. Click Appearance and then in the Modes section, click Dark ( changes to ). To switch back to lighter colors during the day, open the Appearance tab and click Light ( changes to ).

Call Someone Using Skype

Once you have Skype set up on your PC, as described in the previous section, “Configure Skype,” you are ready to make and accept video calls. When you make a call, note that the other person has to accept the call before the conversation can begin. Similarly, when someone calls your PC, you can either accept or decline the incoming call. This means you do not have to answer a call if you are too busy or otherwise occupied.

Call Someone Using Skype

Initiate a Call

Click the Calls tab.

Click the name of the person you want to call.

If your list of Skype contacts is long, you can use this Search box to type the name of the person you want to call.

Click the type of call you want to make:

You can click Video Call () to make a video call.

You can click Audio Call () to make a voice call.

Accept a Call

This bar appears when Skype detects an incoming call.

Click Video ().

If you want to use voice only, you can click Audio (), instead.

To decline the call, you can click Decline ().

When you are finished with the call, click the Skype window to display the controls, and then click End Call () (not shown).

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Can I call multiple people at once?

Yes, you can add two or more people to any video or voice Skype call. Click the Calls tab, click +Call to open the New Call window, and then click each person you want to add to the call. When you are done, click the Call button to start the call.

Can I call someone who is not in my Skype contacts list?

Yes. Click the Calls tab, click +Call to open the New Call window, and then click Dial pad. In the dial pad that appears, enter the phone number of the person you want to call and then click Call ().

Display a Location on a Map

You can use the Maps app to display a location on a map. Maps is an app that displays digital maps that you can use to view just about any location by searching for an address or place name.

When you first start the Maps app, Windows asks if it can turn on location services, which are background features that help determine your current location and offer this information to apps such as Maps. For the best results with Maps, you should allow Windows to turn on location services.

Display a Location on a Map

Click Search ().

Type maps.

Click Maps.

The Maps window appears.

In the Navigation toolbar, you can click Zoom in () and Zoom out () to see more or less map detail.

You can click Show my location () to see your current location.

Type the address or the name of the location.

Click the location in the search results.

To see a list of matching locations, you can click Search () and then click the location you want.

Maps displays the location on the map.

Maps displays information about the location.

You can click Tilt () to tilt the map vertically.

You can click Close () to hide the location information.

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How does Maps know my location?

First, it looks for known Wi-Fi hotspots, which are commercial establishments that offer wireless Internet access. Second, if you are connected to the Internet, Maps uses the location information embedded in your unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Third, if your PC has a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, Maps uses this GPS data to pinpoint your location to within a few feet.

Can I turn off location services?

Yes. Click Start () and then click Settings. In the Settings app, click Privacy & security and then click Location. Click the Location switch to Off ( changes to ). If you only want to turn off location services for a particular app, click that app’s switch to Off instead ( changes to ).

Get Directions to a Location

Besides displaying locations, Maps also recognizes the roads and highways found in most cities, states, and countries. This means that you can use the Maps app to get specific directions for traveling from one location to another.

You specify a starting point and destination for a trip, and Maps then provides you with directions for getting from one point to the other. Maps highlights the trip route on a digital map and gives you specific details for negotiating each leg of the trip.

Get Directions to a Location

Click Directions ().

The Map Views list appears (see the tip in this section).

Click the travel method: Driving (), Transit (), or Walking ().

Note: Maps assumes that you want to start at your current location. If that is true, skip step 3.

Type the name or address of the location where your journey will begin.

Type the name or address of your destination.

Click Get directions.

Maps displays overviews of the available routes.

These boxes show the distance and approximate traveling time for each route.

Click Go for the route you want to take.

Maps zooms in on the route.

Maps displays the route instructions here.

Maps tells you how much time and distance are remaining to your destination.

Note: As you travel along the route, the instructions and the remaining time and distance change accordingly.

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Can I get traffic information as I follow the directions provided by Maps?

Yes. Before you start these steps, click the Map views and then click the Traffic switch to On ( changes to ) to see the current traffic conditions: •

Green means traffic is moving normally on that route.

Yellow means traffic is slower than normal.

Orange tells you that traffic is slow.

Red means traffic is heavy.

Check Your Weather Forecast

You can use the Weather app to view your city’s current conditions and five-day forecast. The Weather app takes advantage of several online weather resources to obtain up-to-the-minute conditions and forecasts.

The Weather app can check the forecast for a default location that you specify, or for your current location, which uses Windows location services to determine your location and display the forecast. If you would prefer to see the forecast for some other location, see the next section, “Check Another City’s Weather Forecast.”

Check Your Weather Forecast

Click Start ().

Click All Apps.

Click Weather.

The Weather app appears. The first time you start the program, Windows asks whether you want to allow the app to access your precise location.

Click Yes.

Weather displays your current location’s conditions and forecast.

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Can I stop the Weather app from using my location?

Yes, you can turn off location services for the Weather app. Click Start (), click Settings, click Privacy & security, and then click Location. Click the Weather switch to Off ( changes to ).

How can I see a particular city’s forecast when I start the Weather app?

If the city is your current location, then you see your forecast when you start the app. Otherwise, you need to make the city the app’s default location. To do this, open the Weather app, click Settings, click Default Location ( changes to ), and then type the name of the city in the text box.

Check Another City’s Weather Forecast

You can use the Weather app to view another city’s current conditions and five-day forecast. The Bing Weather service uses online resources to obtain up-to-the-minute information on the current conditions and weather forecasts for hundreds of locations around the world. If you are going to be traveling to another city or if you are simply curious about the weather conditions elsewhere, you can use Weather to look up the weather forecast for most cities around the world.

Check Another City’s Weather Forecast

In the Weather app, click Menu ().

The menu appears.

Click Favorites.

The Favorites screen appears.

Click Add ().

Type the name of the city whose weather you want to view.

As you type, Weather displays place names that match.

When you see the location that you want, click it.

Weather adds the location to the Favorites screen.

Click the location.

Weather displays the city’s current conditions and forecast.

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How do I switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius?

In the Weather app, click Menu () and then click Settings to open the Weather app’s Settings pane with the General tab displayed. Then click either Fahrenheit or Celsius ( changes to ).

How do I remove a city?

To remove a location from the Places screen, follow steps 1 and 2 to display the Favorites screen, right-click the city that you want to remove, and then click Remove from Favorites.

CHAPTER 7

Working with Images

Whether you load your images from a digital camera or a scanner, download them from the Internet, or draw them yourself, Windows comes with a number of useful tools for working with those images. In this chapter, you learn how to import images from a camera and from a scanner. You learn how to navigate your Pictures folder, view your images, and run a slideshow. This chapter includes a number of sections on enhancing photos and repairing photo problems, including adding effects, and cropping and rotating images. You also learn how to delete images.

Import Images from a Digital Camera

Scan an Image

Navigate the Pictures Folder

View Your Images

Start a Slideshow

Set an Image as the Desktop Background

Repair an Image

Add a Photo Effect

Crop an Image

Rotate an Image

Delete an Image

Import Images from a Digital Camera

You can import photos from a digital camera and save them on your PC. If your camera stores the photos on a memory card, you can also use a memory card reader attached to your PC to upload the digital photos from the removable drive that Windows sets up when you insert the card.

To perform the import directly from your digital camera, you need a cable to connect your camera to your PC. Most digital cameras come with a USB cable. After you have the digital photos on your system, you can view or print the images.

Import Images from a Digital Camera

Plug in your mobile device, camera, or memory storage card reader.

Note: If Windows displays a notification, click the notification and then skip to step 5.

Click File Explorer ().

Click This PC.

File Explorer displays a list of the devices attached to your PC.

Right-click your digital camera.

Click Import pictures and videos.

Note: If your device asks if you want to allow access to its photos, click Allow.

The Import Pictures and Videos dialog box appears.

Click Import all new items now ( changes to ).

Type a name to use for the import.

Click Import.

Windows imports the photos.

When the import is complete, File Explorer displays your imported photos.

Windows stores the imported photos in your Pictures folder in a folder named after today’s date.

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How can I import just some of the photos on my camera?

If you want to import only a subset of your photos, follow steps 1 to 5 to open the Import Pictures and Videos dialog box. Click Review, organize, and group items to import ( changes to ) and then click Next. You now see the camera photos grouped by date. Click Select all ( changes to ) to deselect all the groups. Click the check box ( changes to ) and type a name for each group you want to import, and then click Import.

Scan an Image

You can create a digital copy of a photo or other image by using a document scanner, or the scanner component of an all-in-one printer. The scanner copies the image to your computer, where you can then store it as a file on your hard drive.

You can use a scanned image in many ways. For example, you can scan a photo to email to friends or publish on a web page. You can also scan a logo or other image to use in a document.

Scan an Image

Turn on your scanner or all-in-one printer and position a photo or other image on the scanner bed.

Click Search ().

Type scan.

Click Windows Fax and Scan.

The Windows Fax and Scan window appears.

Click the Scan tab.

Click New Scan.

Note: If you see the Select Device dialog box, click the scanner you want to use and then click OK.

The New Scan dialog box appears.

Click the Source to select from where in the device the document will be scanned.

Click the File Type to select the file type you want to use for the scanned image file.

Click the Resolution to specify the scan resolution.

Note: The higher the resolution, the sharper the image, but the larger the resulting file.

Click Preview.

A preview of the scan appears here.

Click and drag the square handles at the corners of the rectangle to set the scan area.

Click Scan.

Windows Fax and Scan scans the image.

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How do I view a picture I have previously scanned?

Windows Fax and Scan displays your scans in the Scan tab. Also, Windows stores each image in the Scanned Documents folder in the Documents folder.

What other methods can I use to scan an image?

Scanners and all-in-one printers come with a Scan button that you can press to start a new scan. In Paint, click File and then click From scanner or camera. To access Paint, click Search () on the taskbar and click Paint from the search results.

Navigate the Pictures Folder

Before you can work with your images, you need to view them on your PC. You do that by using the Photos app to open the Pictures folder, which is a special folder designed specifically for storing images.

To get more out of the Pictures folder, you need to know not only how to open it, but also the basic techniques for opening any albums that you have stored in the folder.

Navigate the Pictures Folder

Click File Explorer ().

The File Explorer program window appears.

Click Pictures.

The Pictures folder appears.

Items with folder icons are subfolders.

Items without folder icons are individual images.

Double-click a subfolder.

File Explorer displays the subfolder’s images.

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Do I have to use File Explorer to navigate the Pictures folder?

No. Although File Explorer is often the easiest and fastest way to navigate the Pictures folder, it is not the only way. An alternative method is to use the Photos app, which you launch by clicking Start () and then clicking Photos. You can then use the commands that run across the top of the window to view the pictures by collection, by album, and so on. See the next section, “View Your Images,” for more information.

View Your Images

If you want to look at several images, Windows gives you two methods to navigate backward and forward through the images in the Pictures folder. First, you can use File Explorer to open an individual image for viewing in the Photos app and then navigate through the other images in the same folder. Second, you can use the Photos app directly to view your images by collection or by album.

View Your Images

View Individual Images

In File Explorer, open the folder that contains the images you want to view.

Note: See the previous section, “Navigate the Pictures Folder,” for details.

Double-click the first image that you want to view.

The image appears in the Photos app.

Click the right-pointing arrow () to scroll right.

The Photos app displays the next image from the album.

Repeat step 3 to continue viewing the album images.

You can return to the previous screen of images by clicking the left-pointing arrow () to scroll left.

You can also press to see the next image and to see the previous image.

View Images by Collection or Album

Click Start ().

Click Photos.

The Photos app appears.

Note: The first time you start Photos, you might see an introduction to the app. If so, click Next to run through the screens and then click Let’s go.

Click Collection.

Alternatively, you can click Albums to view your pictures by album.

Scroll down and up to view your images by collection or album.

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Is there an easier way than scrolling to find the image I want to view?

Yes, you can search for the image. In the Photos app, use the Search box to enter all or part of the image name. You can also enter the image location (the city or country where you took the photo) or an object within the image (such as water or a dog).

Can I view an individual picture in a collection or album?

Yes. Scroll to the image you want to view and then click it. You can then navigate through the images as described in the subsection “View Individual Images.” To return to the collection or album, click Back ().

Start a Slideshow

Instead of viewing your photos one at a time, you can view multiple photos by running them in a slideshow. A slideshow is a method for displaying multiple photos automatically without intervention. After you start the slideshow, it displays each photo for a few seconds and then automatically moves on to the next photo. You run the slideshow from within the Photos app.

Start a Slideshow

In the Photos app, display the collection or album that contains the photos you want to display in your slideshow.

Click the first image you want to display in the slideshow.

Photos opens the image.

Click See more ().

Click Slideshow.

The Photos app begins the slideshow.

Note: You can also start the slideshow by pressing .

Set an Image as the Desktop Background

You can set one of your photos as the image that appears as the Windows desktop background.

You can make your copy of Windows more fun and more personal by using one of your photos as the desktop background image. You normally set the desktop background via the Settings app. However, if you are already working in the Photos app, it is much easier and faster to locate the photo you want to use and then set that photo as the desktop background. You can also set the same photo or a different photo as the Lock screen background. See Chapter 2 for more about the Lock screen background.

Set an Image as the Desktop Background

In the Photos app, display the collection or album that contains the photo you want to use.

Click the image you want to set as the desktop background.

Photos opens the image.

Click See more ().

Click Set as.

Click Set as background.

The Photos app displays the image as the desktop background.

Repair an Image

You can use Photos to improve the look of digital photos and other images. When you open an image in Photos, the application bar offers a number of tools for repairing various image attributes.

The easiest way to repair an image is to use the Enhance Your Photo filter, which automatically adjusts an image’s brightness, color, and clarity. You can also correct any of these elements manually, as well as remove red-eye and hide photo flaws.

Repair an Image

Repair an Image Automatically

In Photos, display the image you want to repair.

Click Get creative with this photo ().

Click Edit.

Note: You can also select the Edit command by pressing  + .

Photos displays the image-editing tools.

Click Filters.

Click Enhance your photo.

Click and drag this slider until the image looks the way you prefer.

Photos enhances the image automatically.

Repair an Image Manually

In Photos, display the image you want to repair.

Click Get creative with this photo ().

Click Edit.

Photos displays the image-editing tools.

Click Adjustments.

Use the sliders to repair the image as needed.

Photos adjusts the image as you move the sliders.

Click this and then click Save.

Photos saves your changes.

If you prefer to leave the original as is, you can click Save a copy instead.

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How do I remove red-eye from a photo?

When you use a flash to take a photo from a person or animal, the light may reflect off the subject’s retinas, resulting in red-eye. To fix this, follow steps 1 to 4 in the subsection “Repair an Image Manually,” click Red eye, and then click each red eye.

Can I remove a small flaw in a photo?

Yes. Photos enables you to perform a spot fix, which replaces an element from the photo with colors from the surrounding area. To perform a spot fix, follow steps 1 to 4 in the subsection “Repair an Image Manually,” click Spot fix, and then click every part of the flaw until it is no longer visible.

Add a Photo Effect

You can enhance the look of an image by applying one or more of the effects offered by the Photos app.

The Vignette effect darkens the edges and corners of the photo, which adds a natural frame around the image and draws attention to the interior of the photo. You can enhance the look of a photo by applying a filter. Some filters lighten the photo’s colors to make the image stand out more, while other filters darken the image to create a moodier look. There are also several black-and-white filters you can apply.

Add a Photo Effect

Apply a Vignette Effect

In Photos, display the image you want to work with.

Click Get creative with this photo ().

Click Edit.

Note: You can also select the Edit command by pressing  + .

Photos displays the image editing tools.

Click Adjustments.

Click and drag the Vignette slider until the vignette is at the level you want.

Click this and then click Save.

Photos saves your changes.

If you prefer to leave the original as is, you can click Save a copy instead.

Apply a Filter

In Photos, display the image you want to work with.

Click Get creative with this photo ().

Click Edit.

Note: You can also select the Edit command by pressing  + .

Photos displays the image-editing tools.

Click Filters.

Click the filter you want to apply.

Click and drag the Filter intensity slider to set the intensity of the filter.

Click this and then click Save.

Photos saves your changes.

If you prefer to leave the original as is, you can click Save a copy instead.

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After I have applied one or more effects, is there an easy way to discard my changes and start over?

Yes, Photos offers several methods that enable you to remove all your adjustments and return to the original image. If you want to start over, the easiest method is to click See more () and then click Undo all. If you want to exit Photo’s editing tools, you can click either Cancel or Back () and then click OK when Photos asks you to confirm that you want to leave without saving your changes.

Crop an Image

If you have an image containing elements that you do not want or need to see, you can often cut out those elements. This is called cropping, and you can do this with Photos. When you crop a photo, you specify a rectangular area of the photo that you want to keep. Photos discards everything outside the rectangle.

Cropping is a useful skill to have because it can help give focus to the true subject of a photo. Cropping is also useful for removing extraneous elements that appear on or near the edges of a photo.

Crop an Image

In Photos, display the image you want to crop.

Click Get creative with this photo ().

Click Edit.

Note: You can also select the Edit command by pressing  + .

Photos displays the image-editing tools.

The Crop & Rotate tab is selected by default.

Photos displays a cropping rectangle on the photo.

Click and drag any edge or any corner of the rectangle to define the area you want to keep.

Note: Remember that Photos keeps the area inside the rectangle.

Click this and then click Save.

Photos saves your changes.

If you prefer to leave the original as is, you can click Save a copy instead.

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Is there a quick way to crop a photo to a certain size?

Yes. Photos enables you to choose a specific aspect ratio, which is the ratio of the photo’s width to its height. Common aspect ratios include square (same width and height), widescreen (16:9), and 3:2. Repeat steps 1 to 3 to display the cropping rectangle over the image. Click Aspect ratio. Click the ratio you want to use, such as Widescreen, 3:2, or 7:5. Continue with step 5 to save the cropping.

Rotate an Image

You can rotate and straighten an image using Photos. Depending on how you hold your camera when you take a shot, the resulting photo might show the subject sideways or upside down. To fix this problem, you can use Photos to rotate the photo so that the subject appears right-side up. You can rotate a photo either clockwise or counterclockwise.

Rotate an Image

Open the image you want to rotate.

Click Rotate () until the image is the way you want it.

Note: You can also rotate the image by pressing  + .

Photos rotates the image and saves your changes.

Note: To straighten an image, click Get creative with this photo (), click Edit, and then drag the Straightening slider left or right until your image is straight.

Delete an Image

The images that you create may not always turn out perfectly. A photo may be blurry, or an edited image may not turn out the way that you want it to.

When you are viewing an album or watching a slideshow, having a bad image can make the experience less pleasant. You can prevent that from happening by deleting an image you no longer want to work with or view. You can delete a single image or multiple images with a single command.

Delete an Image

Open the image you want to delete.

Click Delete ().

Note: You can also delete the image by pressing .

Photos asks you to confirm the deletion.

Click Delete.

Photos deletes the image.

CHAPTER 8

Working with Multimedia

If you are into movies, TV shows, or music, you will appreciate the Windows apps that help you play, organize, edit, and generally get the most out of your multimedia. This chapter gives you the details on all the Windows media apps. You begin by learning how to import videos from a digital camera. From there you learn how to use the Video app to navigate and play your videos. You then turn to the Music app, where you learn how to play a music CD, copy tracks from a music CD, navigate and your music, and create music playlists.

Import Videos from a Digital Camera

Navigate the Videos Folder

Watch a Video

Edit a Video

Make a Movie

Play a Music CD

Copy Tracks from a Music CD

Navigate the Music Folder

Play Music

Create a Playlist

Import Videos from a Digital Camera

You can import videos from a digital camera and save them on your computer. If your camera stores the videos on a memory card, you can also use a memory card reader attached to your PC to upload the digital videos from the removable drive that Windows sets up when you insert the card.

To perform the import directly from your digital camera, you need a cable to connect your camera to your PC. Most digital cameras come with a USB cable. After you have the digital videos on your system, you can view them.

Import Videos from a Digital Camera

Plug in your camera or memory storage card reader.

Note: If you see a notification, click the notification and then skip to step 5.

Click File Explorer ().

Click This PC.

File Explorer displays a list of the devices attached to your PC.

Right-click your digital camera.

Click Import pictures and videos.

Note: If your device asks if you want to allow access to its photos, click Allow.

The Import Pictures and Videos dialog box appears.

Click Review, organize, and group items to import ( changes to ).

To make sure your videos are imported into the Videos folder, you can click More options and follow the instructions in the first tip.

Click Next.

Windows displays the photos and videos that are on your camera and selects all of them for importing.

To turn off the selection for all items, click Select all ( changes to ) and then click Select all again ( changes to ).

If a group contains both photos and videos, click the group’s View all X items link (where X is the number of photos and videos in the group).

Videos are indicated with a filmstrip graphic.

Click each video that you want to import ( changes to ).

Type a name for each video import.

Click Import.

Windows imports the videos. When the import is complete, File Explorer displays your imported videos.

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How do I ensure my videos are imported into the Videos folder?

Follow steps 1 to 5 to open the Import Pictures and Videos dialog box and then click More options. Click the Import videos to and then click Videos. Click OK.

How can I get my imported videos to appear in the Films & TV app?

Click Search (), type films, and then click the Films & TV app from the search results. Click More options (), click Settings, click Choose where we look for videos, and click Add (). Click the folder that Windows created when you imported your videos, click Add this folder to Videos, and then click Done.

Navigate the Videos Folder

Before you can work with your videos, you need to locate them on your PC. You do that by using the Films & TV app to open the Videos folder, which is a special folder designed specifically for storing digital videos, movies, and TV shows.

To get more out of the Videos folder, you need to know the basic techniques for opening any videos that you have stored in it. If you are looking for commercial movies or TV shows, you can also use the Films & TV app to buy or rent a movie or to buy a TV show episode.

Navigate the Videos Folder

Click Search ().

Type films.

Click Films & TV.

Note: Depending on your location, the name of the app might be Movies & TV.

Windows opens the Films & TV app.

Click Personal.

Films & TV displays your videos.

Click Videos.

Videos that are not in subfolders appear in the All Videos section.

The Films & TV app displays the contents of your Videos folder.

If the Videos folder contains one or more folders, click a folder.

The Films & TV app displays the digital videos in the selected folder.

You can click Back () to return to the previous section of the Films & TV app.

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How can I get my Camera app videos to appear in the Films & TV app?

Open the Films & TV app, click More options (), click Settings, click Choose where we look for videos, click Add (), select the Pictures folder, click Camera Roll, click Add this folder to Videos, and then click Done.

How do I get movies and TV shows?

Follow steps 1 and 2 to open the Films & TV app, click Store () to open the Microsoft Store app, and then click the Entertainment tab. Click a movie or TV section heading (such as New Movies or Top-Selling TV Shows); locate the movie, TV show season, or TV show episode; click the price and then click an option in either the Buy or Rent section.

Watch a Video

After you know how to use the Films & TV app to navigate your Videos folder, as shown in the previous section, “Navigate the Videos Folder,” you can use the app to select and play a video that you have on your PC. The Films & TV app plays the video full screen on your PC, so you get the best viewing experience. When you have the video playing, you can pause and restart the playback, and you can use a special tool called the scrubber to quickly fast-forward or rewind the video to the spot that you want.

Watch a Video

Start a Video

In the Films & TV app, locate the video you want to play.

Click the video.

The Films & TV app begins playing the video.

Control the Video Playback

Click the screen.

The Films & TV app displays the playback controls.

You can click Pause () to stop and restart the playback.

You can click and drag the scrubber to rewind or fast-forward the video.

You can click the timeline to jump to that position in the video.

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How do I play a movie or TV show that I purchased or rented from the Windows Store?

After your purchase or rental has been downloaded to your PC, it appears in the Films & TV app. Click Start () and then click Films & TV to open the Films & TV app. Click the Purchased tab to see your purchases and rentals.

How do I play a DVD?

Unfortunately, Windows does not come with an app for playing DVDs, so you will need to obtain an app from the Microsoft Store. A good choice is Windows DVD Player, by Microsoft, which costs $14.99 in the United States. In the Microsoft Store app, search for the app named “Windows DVD Player.”

Edit a Video

You can use the editing features of the Photos app to edit and enhance a video. It is a rare video that comes out perfectly on the first take. For example, most videos have unneeded footage at the beginning and the end that needs to be removed — or trimmed — from the file. You might also want to enhance part of a video by drawing text on the video or adding a similar artistic touch. If there is a frame of the video that you want to preserve, you can save that frame as a JPEG photo.

Edit a Video

Open a Video for Editing in Photos

Click Start ().

Click Photos.

Windows opens the Photos app.

In the Search box, type video.

Under the Type category, click video.

Photos displays your videos.

Click the video you want to edit.

Photos opens the video for editing.

Note: Alternatively, open File Explorer (), right-click the video you want to edit, click Open with, and then click Photos.

Trim a Video

Click Edit & Create ().

Click Trim.

Photos opens the video trimming window.

Click and drag the left trim marker to set the new starting point for the video.

Click and drag the right trim marker to set the new ending point for the video.

To help determine the trim points, you can click and drag the scrubber () to set the video playback position.

Click Save a copy.

Photos trims the video and saves the trimmed version as a copy of the file with the text “_Trim” added to the filename.

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How do I draw on my video?

Click Edit & Create () and then click Draw. Move the video to the spot where you want your drawing to appear. Click a drawing tool to select it and then click the tool again to select a color and size. Click and drag (or use a digital pen) to draw on the video. Repeat as needed, click Save as, and then click Save.

How do I take a still image from a video?

Click Edit & Create () and then click Save photos. In the Save Photos window, click and drag the Current frame slider () to the frame you want to use and then click Save a photo. Photos saves the frame as a JPEG file with “_Moment” added to the filename.

The Photos app offers a number of video-editing and video-enhancement tools. For example, if you want to feature part of a video, you can show that part in slow-motion. To really make your video stand out, you can add sophisticated 3D effects such as falling leaves, fireworks, and rain. You can also add motion effects, animated text, and more.

If you want to combine multiple video clips into a single movie, you can use the Photos app’s Video Editor tool. For the details, see the next section, “Make a Movie.”

Add Slow Motion

Click Edit & Create ().

Click Add slo-mo.

Photos opens the video in the Slo-Mo window.

Click and drag the Select speed slider to set the playback speed.

Click and drag the left slo-mo marker () to set the new starting point for the slow-motion effect.

Click and drag the right slo-mo marker () to set the new ending point for the slow-motion effect.

Click Save a copy.

Photos adds the slo-mo effect and saves a copy of the file with the text “_Slomo” added to the filename.

Add 3D Effects

Click Edit & Create ().

Click Add 3D effects.

Click the effect you want to apply.

Click and drag the Start of effect marker () to set where you want the effect to begin.

Click and drag the End of effect marker () to set where you want the effect to stop.

Click Save a copy.

Photos prompts you to export the video to a new file.

Follow steps 2 to 6 in the subsection “Finish the Video” of the next section, “Make a Movie.”

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How do I add motion effects to my video?

Click Edit & Create (), click Add animated text, and then click Motion. In the Motion pane, click the motion effect you want to apply to the video. Click Save a copy and then follow steps 2 to 6 in the subsection “Finish the Video” of the next section, “Make a Movie.”

How do I add animated text to my video?

Click Edit & Create () and then click Add animated text. Set the playback position where you want the text to appear and then click and drag the Start of text and End of text markers. Type the text and then click an animated text style and layout. Click Save a copy and then follow steps 2 to 6 in the subsection “Finish the Video” of the next section, “Make a Movie.”

Make a Movie

The Photos app comes with a feature called Video Editor that enables you to combine two or more video clips — that is, two or more existing video files on your PC — into a movie. You can trim the clips, add captions and visual effects, create an opening title, apply background music, and much more. The result is a single movie file that you can play on your PC or share with friends and family.

Make a Movie

Start a Video Project

Click Search ().

Type video.

Click Video Editor.

Windows opens the Photos app and displays the Video Projects tab.

Click New video project.

Video Editor prompts you to name your video project.

Type a name for your video.

Click OK.

Video Editor creates your new project.

Add Video Clips

Click Add.

Click From this PC.

The Open dialog box appears.

Open the folder that contains the video you want to add.

Click the video.

Click Open.

Video Editor adds the clip to your project folder.

Repeat steps 1 to 5 as needed to add other video clips to the project folder.

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Can I add a photo to my movie?

Yes. In the subsection “Add Video Clips,” click a photo instead of a video file in step 4. When you add the photo to your movie’s storyboard (as described in the subsection “Populate the Storyboard”), Video Editor configures the photo to appear in the movie for three seconds, but you can change the duration to the time you prefer.

Can I add videos or photos using the Photos app instead of the Open dialog box?

Yes. In the subsection “Add Video Clips,” click From my collection in step 2. You can then browse your Photos app collections to choose the video or photo you want to add.

You build and edit your movie by adding one or more existing video files to Video Editor’s storyboard area. A storyboard is a timeline of your movie that shows thumbnails of each video clip in the order they will appear in the final file. For each video clip you add to the project, you can trim the clip, add a caption and other effects, and change the playback speed. You can also enhance your movie with an opening title and background music.

Populate the Storyboard

From the project folder, click and drag a clip and drop it inside the storyboard.

Alternatively, you can click the clip and then click Place in storyboard.

Repeat step 1 as needed to add your other clips to the storyboard.

Drag the clips left and right within the storyboard to get them in the order you prefer.

Click a clip and then use these commands to edit the clip.

Note: To learn how to edit a video clip, see the previous section, “Edit a Video.”

To view the results, you can click Play () to preview the clip.

To remove a clip, you can click it and then click Remove ().

Finish the Movie

Click Finish video.

The Finish Your Video dialog box appears.

Click the Video quality and then click the quality you prefer.

Click Export.

The Save As dialog box appears.

Select the location to which you want to export the movie file.

Edit the filename as needed.

Click Export.

Video Editor exports the movie file.

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How do I add an opening title to the movie?

In the storyboard, click Add title card. Click Text to specify the card text, style, and layout, and then click Done. Click Duration and then click the number of seconds you want the title to appear.

How do I add background music to the movie?

To add a preset music track, click Background music. (If you prefer to add your own audio, click Custom audio instead.) In the Select Background Music dialog box, click the music track you want to use, click and drag the Music volume slider to set the volume, and then click Done.

Play a Music CD

You can play music CDs in Windows Media Player. When you first insert an audio disc in your PC’s optical drive (that is, a drive capable of reading CDs and DVDs), Windows asks what action you want to perform with audio CDs, and you can tell it to play them using Windows Media Player.

The CD appears in the Now Playing window, and if you have an Internet connection, you see the name of each track as well as other track data. You can control some playback options using the Now Playing window, but you can also switch to the Media Player folder for more options.

Play a Music CD

Play a CD

Insert a music CD into your computer’s optical drive.

Windows displays an audio CD notification.

Click the notification.

Windows displays a list of actions you can take when you insert an audio CD.

Click Play audio CD.

Note: If you see the Welcome to Windows Media Player dialog box, click Recommended settings ( changes to ) and then click Finish.

The Windows Media Player Now Playing window appears and begins playing the audio CD.

Skip a Track

Click Next () to skip to the next track.

Click Previous () to skip to the previous track.

Pause and Resume Play

Click Pause ().

Windows Media Player pauses playback.

Click Play () (not shown).

Windows Media Player resumes playback where you left off.

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Can I change the CD’s audio levels?

Yes, Windows Media Player has a graphic equalizer component you can work with. To display it, right-click the Now Playing window, click Enhancements, and then click Graphic equalizer. To choose a predefined set of levels, click Default and then click a preset value such as Rock or Classical. Alternatively, you can use the sliders to set your own audio levels.

Can I display something other than album art during playback?

Yes. Right-click the Now Playing window and then click Visualizations to see a list of visualization categories. Click a category and then click the visualization you want to view.

You can use the playback buttons at the bottom of the Windows Media Player folder to control how a CD plays. For example, you can easily switch from one song to another on the CD. You can also use the Repeat feature to tell Windows Media Player to start the CD over from the beginning after it has finished playing the CD. Windows Media Player also offers the Shuffle feature, which plays the CD’s tracks in random order. If you want to learn how to import music from the CD to Windows Media Player, see the next section, “Copy Tracks from a Music CD.”

Stop Play

Click Stop ().

Windows Media Player stops playback.

If you click Play () after clicking Stop (), the current song starts over again.

Click Switch to Library ().

The full Windows Media Player window opens.

Play Another Song

In the details pane, double-click the song you want to play.

Windows Media Player begins playing the song.

This area displays the current song title, the album title, and the song composer (if one is listed).

Repeat the CD

Click Turn Repeat On ().

Windows Media Player restarts the CD after the last track finishes playing.

Note: To turn on Repeat from the Now Playing window, press  + .

Play Songs Randomly

Click Turn Shuffle On ().

Windows Media Player shuffles the order of play.

Note: To turn on Shuffle from the Now Playing window, press  + .

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Why does my details pane not list the song titles?

Windows Media Player tries to gather information about the album from the Internet. If it cannot ascertain song titles, it displays track numbers instead. To add your own titles, right-click each song title you want to change, click Edit, type your text, and press .

Can I keep the Now Playing window in view at all times?

Yes. You can configure the Now Playing window so that it stays on top of any other window that you have open on your desktop. Right-click the Now Playing window and then click Always show Now Playing on top.

Copy Tracks from a Music CD

You can add tracks from a music CD to the folder in Windows Media Player. This enables you to listen to an album without having to put the CD into your optical drive each time. The process of adding tracks from a CD is called copying, or ripping, in Windows.

You can either rip an entire CD directly from the Now Playing window or rip selected tracks using the full Media Player window. You can also use the tracks to create your own playlists and to create your own custom CDs.

Copy Tracks from a Music CD

Rip an Entire CD Using the Now Playing Window

Insert a CD into your computer’s optical drive.

The Now Playing window appears.

Click Rip CD ().

Windows Media Player begins ripping the entire CD.

Rip Selected Tracks Using the Full Media Player Window

Insert a CD into your computer’s optical drive.

If the Now Playing window appears, click Switch to Library ().

Windows Media Player displays a list of the CD’s tracks.

Click the CD tracks that you do not want to copy ( changes to ).

Click Rip CD.

Windows Media Player begins copying the track or tracks.

The Rip Status column displays the copy progress.

After each file is copied, the Rip Status column displays a Ripped to Library message.

The copy is complete when all the tracks you selected display the Ripped to Library status.

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How do I remove a track from the folder?

In the folder, click Music, click Album, and then double-click the album that you ripped to display a list of the tracks. Right-click the track that you want to remove and then click Delete.

Can I adjust the quality of the copies?

Yes, by changing the bit rate, which is a measure of how much of the CD’s original data is copied to your computer. This is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps); the higher the value, the higher the quality, but the more hard drive space each track takes up. Click Rip Settings, click Audio Quality, and then click the value you want.

Navigate the Music Folder

Before you can work with your songs and albums, you need to locate them on your PC. You do that by using the Groove Music app to open the Windows Music folder, which is a special folder designed specifically for storing digital music.

To get more out of the Music folder, you need to know the basic techniques for opening any albums that you have stored in it.

Navigate the Music Folder

Click Search ().

Type music.

Click Groove Music.

Windows opens the Groove Music app with the My Music tab selected.

Note: The first time you start Groove Music, the app adds any music you have in your Music folder, which can take a few minutes to complete.

Click a music category.

The music in that category appears.

Click a category item.

If the category item contains multiple subitems, Groove Music displays those subitems.

You can click Back () to return to the previous section of the Groove Music app.

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What if a song that I want to play does not appear in the Music folder?

If your song is outside the Music folder, the Groove Music app does not see it. Click Settings (), click Choose where we look for music, and click Add (). Locate and click the folder that contains your music and then click Add this folder to Music.

Are there easier ways to find music?

Yes. If you know the name of the artist, album, or song you want to play, type some or all of the name in the Search box, click Search (), and then locate the item in the search results. Also, if you played the song recently, it should appear in the Recent Plays tab.

Play Music

If you want to listen to music while using your PC and your PC has either built-in or connected speakers, you can use the Groove Music app to play tunes from your Music folder. You can listen to all the songs on an album, all the songs from a particular artist, or individual songs.

The Groove Music app offers several features for controlling the music playback. You can also play albums, artists, and songs in random order and play albums and artists repeatedly.

Play Music

Start Playing Music

Use the Groove Music app to display your music.

Note: See the previous section, “Navigate the Music Folder,” for details.

If you want to play every song in the item, you can click Play () and then skip the rest of the steps in this subsection.

Click the item that contains the music you want to play.

The Groove Music app opens the item and displays a list of songs.

Click Play all ().

You can also move the mouse pointer () over a song and then click Play ().

Control the Music Playback

When you play music, the Groove Music app displays the playback controls.

You can click Pause () to stop and restart the playback.

You can click and drag the scrubber to rewind or fast-forward the current song.

To control the volume, you can click and drag the slider.

You can click Next () to jump to the next song.

You can click Previous () to return to the beginning of the current song; click Previous () again to jump to the previous song.

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Is there a way to get an album to automatically start over from the beginning?

Yes, the Groove Music app offers a Repeat feature that automatically restarts the current album from the beginning as soon as the album ends. To activate this feature, start playing the album and then click Repeat ().

How do I play an album’s or artist’s songs randomly?

You need to activate the Shuffle feature, which plays the songs for the current album or artist in random order. To activate this feature, start playing the album or artist and then click Shuffle ().

Create a Playlist

A playlist is a collection of songs that represents a subset of your total music collection. A playlist can include audio tracks you ripped from a music CD, songs downloaded from the Internet, or music you have purchased.

You can use the Groove Music app to create customized playlists that include only the songs you want to hear. For example, you might want to create a playlist of upbeat or festive songs to play during a party or celebration. Similarly, you might want to create a playlist of your current favorite songs to play during a workout.

Create a Playlist

Create and Populate a Playlist

Click Create new playlist ().

Groove Music prompts you to name the new playlist.

Type a name for the new playlist.

Click Create playlist.

Groove Music adds the playlist to the Playlists section of the menu.

Locate a song that you want to add to the playlist.

Move the mouse pointer () over the song and then click Add to ().

Click the name of your playlist.

Note: You can also click and drag the song and drop it on the playlist.

Groove Music adds the song to the playlist.

Repeat steps 4 to 6 until you have added all the songs you want in your playlist.

Play a Playlist

Click the playlist.

Groove Music displays a list of the songs you added.

Click Play all () to listen to the playlist.

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How do I make changes to an existing playlist?

Click the playlist to open it. To change the playlist name, click Rename, type the new playlist name, and then click Rename. To change the song order, click and drag songs up and down. To remove a song from the playlist, right-click the song and then click Delete from playlist.

How do I delete a playlist?

Click the playlist to open it, click More (), and then click Delete. When Groove Music asks you to confirm, click Delete.

CHAPTER 9

Editing Documents

To be productive with Windows, you need to know how to work with documents, which can be text files created with Notepad, word processing files created with WordPad, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. In this chapter, you learn all the basic document tasks, including how to create, save, and open documents, as well as how to work with document text. You also explore OneNote notebooks, which are special documents that you can use to store text, images, lists, links, and much more. You learn how to add sections and pages, and how to insert text, images, and lists.

Create and Save a Document

Open a Document

Change the Text Font

Find Text

Replace Text

Insert Special Symbols

Make a Copy of a Document

Create a OneNote Notebook

Add Pages and Sections to a Notebook

Add Text Notes

Add an Image to a Notebook Page

Work with Notebook Lists

Create and Save a Document

When you are ready to create something using Windows, in most cases you begin by launching a program and then using that program to create a new document to hold your work. Many Windows programs (such as WordPad and Paint) create a new document for you automatically when you begin the program. However, you can also use these programs to create another new document after you have started the program.

After you create a document and make any changes to it, you must save the document to preserve your work.

Create and Save a Document

Create a New Document

Click File.

Click New.

The program creates the new document.

Note: In most programs, you can also press + to create a new document.

Save a Document

Click File.

Click Save.

Note: In most programs, you can also press + or click Save ().

Note: If you saved the document previously, your changes are now preserved. You do not need to follow the rest of the steps in this section.

If this is a new document that you have never saved before, the Save As dialog box appears.

Click Documents.

Note: In most programs, the Documents library is selected automatically when you save a document.

Windows opens the Documents library.

Click in the File Name text box and type the name you want to use for the document.

Note: The name you type can be up to 255 characters long, but it cannot include the following characters: < , ? : " \ *.

Click Save.

The app saves your document in the folder you specified.

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Why do I need to save a document?

As you work on a document, Windows stores the changes in your computer’s memory. However, Windows erases your PC’s memory whenever you shut down or restart the computer. Without saving, you would lose all the changes you have made to your document. Saving the document preserves your changes on your computer’s hard drive.

Do I have to save all my files to the Documents library?

No. You can create a subfolder within Documents. In the Save As dialog box, click New folder, type the name of the folder, press , double-click the new folder, and then follow steps 4 and 5.

Open a Document

To work with a document that you have saved in the past, you typically need to open the document in the program that you used to create it. When you save a document, you save its contents to your PC’s hard drive, and those contents are stored in a separate file. When you open the document using the same application that you used to save it, Windows loads the file’s contents into memory and displays the document in the application. You can then view or edit the document as needed.

Open a Document

Start the program you want to work with.

Click File.

If you see the document you want in a list of the most recently used documents on the File menu, you can click the name to open it. You can then skip the rest of the steps in this section.

Click Open.

Note: In most programs, you can also press + or click Open ().

The Open dialog box appears.

Click Documents.

Note: In most programs, the Documents library is selected automatically when you open a document.

If you want to open the document from some other folder, you can click Show (), click your username, and then double-click the folder.

Windows opens the Documents library.

Click the document name.

Click Open.

The document appears in the program window.

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Is there a more direct way to open a document?

Yes, there is. You do not always need to open the program first. Instead, use File Explorer to open the folder that contains the document and then double-click the document. Windows automatically launches the program and opens the document.

Is there a quick way to locate a document?

Yes, Windows offers a documents search feature, which is handy if your Documents library contains many files. On the taskbar, click Search (), click the Documents tab, and then use the Search box to type some or all of the document’s filename.

Change the Text Font

You can add visual appeal to a document by changing the font formatting. The font formatting includes attributes such as the typeface, style, size, or special effects.

A typeface — also called a font — is a distinctive character design that you can apply to the selected text in a document. The type style refers to formatting applied to text, such as bold or italics. The type size refers to the height of each character, which is measured in points; 72 points equal one inch. Special effects are styles that change the appearance of the text, such as underline and strikethrough.

Change the Text Font

Select the text you want to format.

Display the font options.

In WordPad, you can display the font options by clicking the Home tab.

Note: In many other programs, you display the font options by clicking Format in the menu bar and then clicking the Font command.

In the Font list, click and then click the typeface you want.

In the Size list, click and then click the type size you want.

For bold text, click Bold ().

For italics, click Italic ().

For underlining, click Underline ().

For color, click the Font color and then click a color.

The program applies the font formatting to the selected text.

Note: Here are some shortcuts that work in most programs: For bold, press +; for italics, press +; for underline, press +.

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How can I make the best use of fonts in my documents?

Use one or two typefaces to avoid the “ransom note” look.

Avoid overly decorative typefaces because they are often difficult to read.

Use bold only for document titles, subtitles, and headings.

Use italics only to emphasize words and phrases, or for the titles of books and magazines.

Use larger type sizes only for document titles, subtitles, and, possibly, headings.

In general, dark text on a light background is the easiest to read.

Find Text

In large documents, when you need to find specific text, you can save a lot of time by using the program's Find feature. In short documents that contain only a few dozen or even a few hundred words, finding a specific word or phrase is usually not difficult. However, many documents contain hundreds or even thousands of words, so finding a word or phrase becomes much more difficult and time-consuming.

You can work around this problem by using the Find feature, which searches the entire document in the blink of an eye. Most programs that work with text — including the Windows WordPad and Notepad programs — have the Find feature.

Find Text

Click Find.

In WordPad, you display the Editing options by clicking the Home tab.

Note: In many programs, you run the Find command by clicking Edit in the menu bar and then clicking the Find command or by pressing +.

The Find dialog box appears.

Click in the Find What text box and type the text you want to find.

Click Find Next.

The program selects the next instance of the search text.

Note: If the search text does not exist in the document, the program displays a dialog box to let you know.

If the selected instance is not the one you want, click Find Next until the program finds the correct instance.

Click Close () to close the Find dialog box.

The program leaves the found text selected.

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A search for a word such as the also matches larger words such as theme and bother. How can I avoid this?

In the Find dialog box, click Match whole word only ( changes to ). This tells the program to match the search text only if it is a word on its own.

A search for a name such as Bill also matches the non-name bill. How do I fix this?

In the Find dialog box, click Match case( changes to ). This tells the program to match the search text only if it has the same mix of uppercase and lowercase letters that you specify in the Find What text box.

Replace Text

You can make it easier to replace multiple instances of one word with another by taking advantage of the program’s Replace feature. Do you need to replace a word or part of a word with some other text? If you have several instances to replace, you can save time and do a more accurate job if you let the program’s Replace feature replace the word for you. Most programs that work with text — including the Windows WordPad and Notepad programs — have the Replace feature.

Replace Text

Click Replace.

In WordPad, you display the Editing options by clicking the Home tab.

Note: In many programs, you run the Replace command by clicking Edit in the menu bar and then clicking the Replace command or by pressing +.

The Replace dialog box appears.

Click in the Find What text box and type the text you want to find.

Click in the Replace With text box and type the text you want to use as the replacement.

Click Find Next.

The program selects the next instance of the search text.

Note: If the search text does not exist in the document, the program displays a dialog box to let you know.

If the selected instance is not the one you want, click Find Next until the program finds the correct instance.

Click Replace.

The program replaces the selected text with the replacement text.

The program selects the next instance of the search text.

Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have replaced all the instances you want to replace.

Click Close () to close the Replace dialog box.

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Is there a faster way to replace every instance of the search text with the replacement text?

Yes. In the Replace dialog box, click Replace All. This tells the program to replace every instance of the search text with the replacement text. However, you should exercise some caution with this feature because it may make some replacements that you did not intend. Click Find Next a few times to make sure the matches are correct. Also, consider clicking Match whole word only and Match case ( changes to ), as described in the previous section, “Find Text.”

Insert Special Symbols

You can make your documents more readable and more useful by inserting special symbols that are not available via your keyboard. The keyboard is home to a large number of letters, numbers, and symbols. However, the keyboard is missing some useful characters. For example, it is missing the foreign characters in words such as café and Köln. Similarly, your writing might require mathematical symbols such as ÷ and ½, financial symbols such as ¢ and ¥, or commercial symbols such as © and ®. These and many more symbols are available in Windows via the Character Map program.

Insert Special Symbols

Click Search ().

Type character.

Click Character Map.

The Character Map window appears.

Click the symbol you want.

Click Select.

Character Map adds the symbol to the Characters to Copy text box.

Click Copy.

Click Close () to shut down Character Map after you choose all the characters you want.

In your document, position the cursor where you want to insert the symbol.

In WordPad, you display the Clipboard options by clicking the Home tab.

Click Paste.

Note: In most programs, you can also run the Paste command by pressing +.

The program inserts the symbol.

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When I click a symbol, Character Map sometimes displays a “keystroke” in the status bar. What does this mean?

This tells you that you can insert the symbol directly into your document by pressing the keystroke shown. For example, you can insert the copyright symbol (©) by pressing  + . When you type the numbers, be sure to use your keyboard’s numeric keypad.

Are there even more symbols available?

Yes, dozens of extra symbols are available in the Character Map program’s Webdings and Wingdings typefaces. To see these symbols, click the Font list and then click either Webdings or Wingdings.

Make a Copy of a Document

When you need to create a document that is nearly identical to an existing document, instead of creating the new document from scratch, you can save time by making a copy of the existing document and then modifying the copy as needed. For example, you might have a résumé cover letter that you want to modify for a different job application. Similarly, this year’s conference agenda is likely to be similar to last year’s. Instead of creating these new documents from scratch, it is much faster to copy the original document and then edit the copy as needed.

Make a Copy of a Document

Start the program you want to work with and open the original document.

Click File.

Click Save as.

The Save As dialog box appears.

Click Documents.

Note: In most programs, the Documents library is selected automatically when you run the Save As command.

Windows opens the Documents library.

Click in the File Name text box and type the name you want to use for the copy.

Note: The name you type can be up to 255 characters long, but it cannot include the following characters: < , ? : " \ *.

Click Save.

The program closes the original document and opens the copy you just created.

The filename you typed appears in the program’s title bar.

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Can I use the Save As command to make a backup copy of a document?

Yes, Save As can operate as a rudimentary backup procedure. Create a copy with the same name as the original, but store the copy in a different location. Good places to choose are the OneDrive folder (see Chapter 10), a second hard drive, a USB flash drive, or a memory card. Remember, too, that after you complete the Save As steps, the backup copy will be open in the program. Be sure to close the copy and then reopen the original.

Create a OneNote Notebook

You can use the OneNote app to record and save miscellaneous bits of information, including text, lists, drawings, images, web pages, and tables of data. All of this is stored in a special file called a notebook. Within each notebook you can organize your data within sections, where each section is devoted to a particular subject. Each section is then divided into one or more pages, and you use these pages to enter your data.

Note that your Windows user account must be connected to a Microsoft account to use OneNote.

Create a OneNote Notebook

Click Search ().

Type onenote.

Click OneNote.

The first time you start OneNote, the app takes you through a few introductory screens (not shown). On each screen, click Next () to continue.

Click Get Started.

The OneNote app appears.

Click the screen.

Type a name for the notebook.

Click Create Notebook or press .

OneNote creates a new notebook and populates it with a single section and page.

You can click Hide Navigation () to hide the OneNote sidebar.

To name the section, you can right-click it, click Rename Section, and then type the name.

You can click here to add a title for the page.

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Can I create more than one notebook?

Yes, you can add more notebooks if you have data to keep separate. Click your notebook name, click Add notebook at the bottom of the OneNote window, type a name for the new notebook, and then click Create Notebook or press .

Can I delete a notebook?

Yes, but you cannot delete a notebook using the OneNote app. Instead, you must use the online version of OneNote. Log in to http://onedrive.live.com. Click Documents, position the mouse pointer () over the OneNote notebook, and then click the file’s check box ( changes to ). Click Delete in the OneDrive toolbar.

Add Pages and Sections to a Notebook

You can keep your notes organized and easy to find by taking advantage of OneNote’s pages and sections. Each OneNote notebook consists of one or more sections, which you use to break down the notebook’s overall topic or theme into smaller, more manageable subjects.

You can further break down each section into one or more pages, which are the OneNote items within which you add text, images, lists, and other data. You can add as many sections and pages as you need to keep your notes organized.

Add Pages and Sections to a Notebook

Add a Page

Click the section in which you want to add the page.

Click Add page.

OneNote adds a page to the section.

Type a title for the page and press .

OneNote sets the page title.

Add a Section

Click Add section.

OneNote adds a section to the notebook.

Type the section name and press .

OneNote sets the section title.

OneNote adds a blank page to the new section.

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How do I rename a section or change a section’s color scheme?

To change the section name, right-click the section tab, click Rename Section, type the new name, and then press . To change the section’s color scheme, right-click the section tab, click Section Color, and then click the color you want to use.

How do I delete a page or section?

To delete a page, right-click the page in the Pages list, click Delete Page, and then click Delete Page to confirm. To delete a section, right-click the section tab, click Delete Section, and then click Delete Section to confirm.

Add Text Notes

Once you have your sections and pages, your next step is to fill your pages with content. OneNote makes it easy to insert everything from simple text notes to pictures to entire files. All OneNote content appears inside a container, which is essentially a box that surrounds the content. After you have some content inside a container, you can move the container around on the page, edit or format the container content, and more.

Most page content consists of text notes, and OneNote makes it very simple to add text to a page.

Add Text Notes

Add a Text Note

Click the section you want to use.

Click the page you want to use.

Click inside the page at the position where you want the text to appear.

OneNote adds an insertion point cursor.

Type your text.

OneNote adds a container around your text.

When your text note is complete, click outside the container.

OneNote adds the text note to the page.

Size a Text Note Container

Position the mouse pointer () over the right edge of the container ( changes to ).

Click and drag the mouse pointer () right for a larger container, or left for a smaller container, and then release the mouse.

OneNote resizes the container and adjusts the text to fit the new size.

Move a Text Note Container

Position the mouse pointer () over the middle of the top edge of the container ( changes to ).

Click and drag the mouse pointer () to the position you want and then release the mouse.

OneNote moves the container to the new position.

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How do I format note text?

Select the note text you want to format and then click the Home tab to display the text note formatting options. You can click Bold (), Italic (), or Underline () to apply those font styles to the text. You can also click the Font formatting to apply the subscript, superscript, or strikethrough effect.

Add an Image to a Notebook Page

Although you will populate your OneNote notebooks mostly with text notes, you can also insert other types of content, including images. You can either insert an image file from your PC’s hard drive or, if your computer has a camera attached, take a photo and insert it directly into the page. As with text notes, OneNote adds an image to the page within a container that you can move and size as needed.

Add an Image to a Notebook Page

Click the section you want to use.

Click the page you want to use.

Click inside the page at the position where you want the image to appear.

Click the Insert tab.

Click Pictures.

Click From File.

If you want to add a photo using your PC’s camera, you can click From Camera instead.

The Open dialog box appears.

Click the image.

Click Open.

OneNote inserts the image into the page.

OneNote adds a container around your image.

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How do I add a title or caption to the image?

Adding a title or caption is a good idea, especially if other people will be viewing your notebook. To add a title to the image, press and then type the title above the image. To add a caption, double-click inside the space just below the image (but still in the image placeholder) and then type your caption.

Can I insert other types of files?

Yes, you can insert PDF files, text files, Microsoft Office documents, and more. To insert a file, follow steps 1 to 4, click File, select the file, and then click Open.

Work with Notebook Lists

Many OneNote notes consist of lists of items. If you have a list that does not require a particular sequence, you can add the items to a page as a bulleted list. If you have a list that does require a sequence, then you can add the items to the page as a numbered list instead.

One of the most common OneNote list types is the to-do list, which is a collection of tasks, each with a leading check box. When you complete a task, you activate its check box.

Work with Notebook Lists

Create a Bulleted or Numbered List

Click the section you want to use.

Click the page you want to use.

Click inside the page at the position where you want the list to appear.

Click the Home tab.

Click the type of list you want to add:

You can click Bulleted List () to create a list with bullets.

You can click Numbering () to create a list with numbers.

OneNote adds the list to a container.

Click inside the container and type your list items, pressing after each item.

When you are done, click outside the container.

OneNote adds the list to the page.

Create a To-Do List

Click the section you want to use.

Click the page you want to use.

Add the to-do list.

Select all the items in the list.

Click Tag as To Do ().

OneNote adds a check box to the left of each item.

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Are there other tags I can apply to text?

Yes. OneNote offers four other tag types: Important, Question, Remember for Later, and Definition. To apply one of these tags, select the text, click Home, click the to the right of Tag as To Do (), and then click the tag.

How do I create sub-bullets and subordinate numbered lists?

Select the bullet or numbered item that you want to convert. Click the Home tab and then click Increase Indent (). OneNote converts a bullet to a sub-bullet that uses an unfilled icon; OneNote moves a numbered item to a subordinate list that uses lowercase letters.

CHAPTER 10

Working with Files

This chapter shows you how to work with the files on your computer. These easy and efficient methods take you through all the basic file tasks, including how to select and preview files, how to change the file view, and how to copy, move, and rename files. This chapter also shows you how to create new files and delete files, as well as how to restore accidentally deleted files. This chapter also covers adding files to your online OneDrive and how to extract files from a compressed folder.

Select a File

Change the File View

Preview a File

Copy a File

Move a File

Rename a File

Create a New File

Delete a File

Restore a Deleted File

Add a File to Your OneDrive

Extract Files from a Compressed Folder

Select a File

Before you can use File Explorer to do any work with one or more files, you first have to select the files so that Windows knows which ones you want to work with. For example, before you can move files to a new location, you must first select the files you want to move. You can select just a single file, two or more files, a group of files, or all the files in a folder. Although you learn specifically about selecting files in this section, the technique for selecting folders is the same.

Select a File

Select a Single File

Click File Explorer ().

Open the folder containing the file.

Click the file.

Select Multiple Files

Open the folder containing the files.

Click the first file you want to select.

Press and hold and click each of the other files you want to select.

Select a Group of Files

Open the folder containing the files.

Position the mouse pointer () slightly above and slightly to the left of the first file in the group.

Click and drag the mouse pointer () down and to the right until all the files in the group are selected.

Select All Files

Open the folder containing the files.

Click See more ().

Click Select all.

Note: A quick way to select all the files in a folder is to press +.

File Explorer selects all the files in the folder.

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How do I deselect a file?

Depending on the situation, there are a few ways to deselect files:

To deselect a single file from a multiple-file selection, press and hold and click the file you want to deselect.

To deselect all files, either click See more () and then click Select none, or click an empty area within the folder.

To reverse the selection — deselect the selected files and select the deselected files — click See more () and then click Invert selection.

Change the File View

You can configure how Windows displays the files in a folder by changing the file view. This enables you to see larger or smaller icons or the details of each file.

You can choose a view such as Small Icons to see more files in the folder window. A view such as Large Icons or Extra Large Icons enables you to view images as thumbnail versions of each picture. If you want to see more information about the files, choose either the Tiles view or the Details view.

Change the File View

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the files you want to view.

Click View.

Windows displays the Layout gallery.

Click the view you want.

File Explorer changes the file view (this example shows Tiles view).

File Explorer displays a dot () beside the currently selected view.

Preview a File

Windows enables you to view the contents of some files without opening them. This makes it easier to select the file you want to work with because it means you do not have to run an application to see the file’s contents. Previewing the file is faster and uses fewer system resources. Windows previews only certain types of files, such as text documents, rich text documents, web pages, images, and videos.

Preview a File

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the file you want to preview.

Click View.

Click Show.

Click Preview pane.

Note: You can also press + to open the Preview pane.

The Preview pane appears.

Click a file.

The file’s contents appear in the Preview pane.

You can click and drag the left border of the Preview pane to change its size.

Note: When you are finished with the Preview pane, you can click View, click Show, and then click Preview pane (or press +) to close it.

Copy a File

You can use Windows to make an exact copy of a file. This is useful if you want to back up an important file by making an extra copy on a flash drive, memory card, or other removable disc. Similarly, you might require a copy of a file if you want to send the copy on a disc to another person. This section shows you how to copy a single file, but the steps also work if you select multiple files. You can also use these steps to copy a folder.

Copy a File

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the file you want to copy.

Select the file.

Click Copy ().

Note: A quick way to run the Copy command is to press +.

Windows places a copy of the file in a special memory location called the Clipboard.

Open the location you want to use to store the copy.

Click Paste ().

Note: A quick way to run the Paste command is to press +.

Windows inserts a copy of the file in the location.

Move a File

When you need to store a file in a new location, the easiest way is to move the file from its current folder to another folder on your computer. When you save a file for the first time, you specify a folder on your PC’s hard drive. This original location is not permanent; you can move the file to another location on the hard drive. This section shows you how to move a single file, but the steps also work if you select multiple files or move a folder.

Move a File

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the item you want to move.

Select the item.

Click Cut ().

Note: A quick way to run the Cut command is to press +.

Windows places the item in the Clipboard.

Open the folder to which you want to move the item.

Click Paste ().

Note: A quick way to run the Paste command is to press +.

Windows moves the item to the new location.

Rename a File

You can change the name of a file, which is useful if the current name of the file does not accurately describe the file’s contents. By giving your document a descriptive name, you make it easier to find the file later.

Make sure that you rename only those documents that you have created or that someone else has given to you. Do not rename any of the Windows system files or any files associated with your programs, or your computer may behave erratically, or even crash.

Rename a File

In File Explorer, open the folder that contains the file you want to rename.

Click the file.

Note: In addition to renaming files, you can also rename any folders that you have created.

Click Rename ().

Note: You can also run the Rename command by pressing .

A text box appears around the filename.

Type the new name you want to use for the file.

Note: If you decide that you do not want to rename the file after all, press to cancel the operation.

Note: The name you type can be up to 255 characters long, but it cannot include the following characters: < > , ? : " \ *.

Press .

The new name appears under the file’s icon.

Create a New File

You can quickly create a new file directly within a file folder. This method is faster, and often more convenient, than running a program’s New command. In Windows, you can create several different file types, such as a Bitmap Image (a drawing), Rich Text Document (a WordPad file), Text Document (a Notepad file), and Compressed (Zipped) Folder (which combines multiple files in a single file, as described in the section “Extract Files from a Compressed Folder” later in this chapter). You can also create a new folder.

Create a New File

In File Explorer, open the folder in which you want to create the file.

Click New.

Click the type of file you want to create.

If you click Folder, Windows creates a new subfolder.

Note: The New menu on your system may contain more items than you see here because some programs install their own file types.

An icon for the new file appears in the folder.

Type the name you want to use for the new file.

Press .

The new name appears under the file’s icon.

Delete a File

When you have a file that you no longer need, instead of leaving the file to clutter your hard drive, you can delete it. Make sure that you delete only those documents that you have created or that someone else has given to you. Do not delete any of the Windows system files or any files associated with your programs, or your computer may behave erratically or crash.

Delete a File

In File Explorer, open the folder that contains the file you want to delete.

Click the file you want to delete.

Note: If you need to remove more than one file, select all the files you want to delete.

Note: See the section “Select a File,” earlier in this chapter, to select multiple files.

Click Delete ().

Note: Another way to select the Delete command is to press .

Windows removes the file from the folder.

Note: Another way to delete a file is to click and drag it to the desktop Recycle Bin icon ().

Restore a Deleted File

If you delete a file in error, Windows enables you to restore the file by placing it back in the folder from which you deleted it. You can restore a deleted file because Windows stores each deleted file in a special folder called the Recycle Bin, where the file stays for a few days or a few weeks, depending on how often you empty the bin or how full the folder becomes.

Restore a Deleted File

Double-click the desktop Recycle Bin icon ().

Note: If you have a Touch PC, open File Explorer, tap the first in the address bar, and then tap Recycle Bin.

The Recycle Bin folder appears.

Click the file you want to restore.

Click See more ().

Click Restore the selected items.

The file disappears from the Recycle Bin and reappears in its original folder.

Add a File to Your OneDrive

If you are using Windows under a Microsoft account, then as part of that account you get a free online storage area called OneDrive. You can use the special OneDrive folder on your PC to move or copy any of your files to your OneDrive. This is useful if you are going to be away from your computer but still require access to a file. Because OneDrive is accessible anywhere you have web access, you can view and work with your file without using your computer. Note that your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders are automatically backed up to OneDrive.

Add a File to Your OneDrive

Move a File to Your OneDrive

In File Explorer, open the folder that contains the file you want to move.

Click and drag the file to the OneDrive folder.

As you drag, if you hover the file over OneDrive, File Explorer expands OneDrive to let you see your other OneDrive folders.

Drop the file on the OneDrive folder you want to use.

File Explorer moves the file to the OneDrive folder.

While the Syncing icon () appears beside the filename, it means OneDrive is uploading the file. When the upload is complete, you see the Synced icon () instead.

Note: If you see the Online icon () beside a filename, it means the file is available only on your OneDrive, not on your PC.

Copy a File to Your OneDrive

In File Explorer, open the folder that contains the file you want to copy.

Press and hold and then click and drag the file to the OneDrive folder.

If needed, you can hover the file over OneDrive to see your other OneDrive folders.

Drop the file on the OneDrive folder you want to use.

File Explorer copies the file to the OneDrive folder.

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How do I access my OneDrive online?

You need to open Microsoft Edge and navigate to the OneDrive site, http://onedrive.live.com. After you are signed in to your OneDrive, you can use it to create new folders, rename files, delete files, and more.

Can I create new documents using OneDrive?

Yes. As part of your OneDrive, Microsoft gives you access to the Office Web Apps, which are scaled-down, online versions of the Microsoft Office applications. To create a document using one of these programs, navigate to your online OneDrive, click New, and then click Word document, Excel workbook, PowerPoint presentation, OneNote notebook, Forms survey, or Plain text document.

Extract Files from a Compressed Folder

If someone sends you a file via email or if you download a file from the Internet, the file often arrives in a compressed form, which means the file actually contains one or more files that have been compressed to save space. To use the files on your computer, you need to extract them from the compressed file.

Because a compressed file can contain one or more files, it acts like a kind of folder. Therefore, Windows calls such files compressed folders, zipped folders, or Zip archives. You can view these files or extract them from the folder.

Extract Files from a Compressed Folder

View Compressed Folder Files

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the compressed folder.

The compressed folder appears as a folder icon with a zipper.

Double-click the compressed folder.

File Explorer displays the contents of the compressed folder.

Note: File Explorer is only displaying the contents of a compressed folder; it has not extracted the files. To extract the files, follow the steps in the next subsection.

Extract Compressed Folder Files

In File Explorer, open the folder containing the compressed folder.

Click the compressed folder.

Click Extract all.

The Select a Destination and Extract Files dialog box of the Extract Wizard appears.

Type the location of the folder into which you want to extract the files.

You can also click Browse and choose the folder.

If you want to open the folder into which you extracted the files, click Show extracted files when complete ( changes to ).

Click Extract.

Windows extracts the files.

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How can I create a compressed file?

Follow these steps:

Select the files and folders you want to store in the compressed folder.

Right-click any selected item.

Click Compress to ZIP file.

File Explorer creates the compressed file.

CHAPTER 11

Implementing Security

Threats to your computing-related security and privacy often come from the Internet. To protect yourself and your family, you need to understand these threats and know what you can do to thwart them. However, your privacy and the security of your data can also come under threat from someone simply using your computer while you are not around. To guard you and your family against such intrusions, you need to understand and use the various tools that Windows offers to secure your PC.

Understanding Windows Security

Check for Security Problems

Create a Picture Password

Sign In with a PIN

Set Up a Fingerprint Sign-In

Lock Your Computer

Configure Your PC to Lock Automatically

Browse the Web Privately

Understanding Windows Security

Before you get to the details of securing your computer, it helps to take a step back and look at the security and privacy tools that Windows makes available.

These tools include your Windows user account password, User Account Control, the ability to lock your PC, Windows Defender, Windows Defender Firewall, and the private browsing feature in Microsoft Edge. Taken all together, these features represent a defense-in-depth security strategy that uses multiple layers to keep you and your data safe and private.

User Account Password

Windows security begins with assigning a password to each user account on the computer. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing the system, and it enables you to lock your computer. For more information, see the section “Lock Your Computer” later in this chapter.

User Account Control

User Account Control asks you to confirm certain actions that could conceivably harm your system. When you are using your main Windows user account, which is your computer’s administrative account, you click Yes to continue; for all other accounts, you must enter the administrative account’s username and password to continue.

Locking Your PC

Protecting your PC with a password prevents unauthorized access, but what happens when you leave your desk? If you remain logged on, a person who sits down at your computer can view and work with your files. Instead of shutting down your computer when you leave your desk, you can lock your system. Anyone who tries to use your computer must first enter your password.

Windows Defender

Malware is a malicious software program that installs itself on your computer without your knowledge or consent. This type of program surreptitiously gathers data from your computer, steals your passwords, displays advertisements, and hijacks your web browser. To prevent malware from installing on your computer, Windows includes the Windows Defender program.

Windows Security

When your computer is connected to the Internet, it is possible for another person to access your computer and infect it with a virus or cause other damage; as a result, the Windows Security app comes with several features that monitor your system for threats and prevent intruders from accessing your computer while you are online.

InPrivate Web Browsing

The Microsoft Edge Explorer web browser normally collects data as you navigate from site to site. Most of this data is used to improve your browsing experience, but it can also be used to track your online activities. If you plan on visiting private or sensitive sites, you can turn on InPrivate browsing, which tells Microsoft Edge not to collect any data during your browsing session. For more information, see the section “Browse the Web Privately” later in this chapter.

Reset Your PC

Your computer contains a lot of information about you, including your personal files, your Microsoft Edge favorites, your email messages, and your Windows settings. If you plan on selling or donating your computer, you can use the Reset Your PC feature to securely remove your data while installing a fresh copy of Windows.

Check for Security Problems

The Windows Security app displays messages about the current state of your computer. In particular, it warns you if your computer has any current security problems. For example, Windows Security tells you if your computer does not have virus protection installed or if the Windows Defender spyware database is out of date. Windows Security will also warn you if your computer is not set up to download updates automatically and if important security features such as User Account Control are turned off.

Check for Security Problems

Click Search ().

Type security.

Click Windows Security.

The Windows Security app appears.

Review the messages in the Security at a Glance section.

A white X in a red circle indicates a security problem.

Click a message button to resolve the security issue, such as clicking Turn on if virus and threat protection (that is, Windows Defender) is turned off.

Click Open Navigation ().

Click a security category.

Windows Security displays more detailed security information related to that category.

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I am not seeing security notifications. How do I turn them on?

Security is a crucial issue for keeping your PC safe, so you should have all security notifications turned on. To ensure this, follow steps 1 and 2 to open Windows Security, click Settings (), click Manage notifications, and then set every switch to On ( changes to ) and click every check box ( changes to ).

Do I always have to open the Windows Security app to resolve security issues?

No. In almost all cases, you can resolve the issue directly without opening Windows Security. In the taskbar’s notification area, click Notifications () and examine the window that appears. If you see a security issue, you can click it to resolve the issue.

Create a Picture Password

You can make it easier to sign in to your Windows computer by creating a picture password. This is particularly true for a tablet PC. If you find that it is taking you a long time to sign in to Windows using your tablet’s touch keyboard, you can switch to a picture password instead. In this case, your “password” is a series of three gestures — any combination of a click, a straight line, or a circle — that you apply to a photo. Windows displays the photo at startup, and you repeat your gestures, in order, to sign in.

Create a Picture Password

Display the Sign-In Options

Click Search ().

Type sign.

Click Change the sign-in requirements.

The Settings app appears and displays the Sign-in Options screen.

Create a Picture Password

Click Picture Password.

Note: If you do not see the Picture Password option, it means your PC does not support this type of sign-in feature.

Click Add.

Windows prompts you for your account password.

Type your password.

Click OK.

The Welcome to Picture Password screen appears.

Click Choose picture.

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Is a picture password safe to use?

Yes. The biggest drawback is that it is possible for a malicious user to view and possibly even record your gestures using a camera. Unlike a regular text password for which the characters appear as dots to prevent someone from seeing them, gestures have no such protection.

Does the picture password replace my text password?

No. Your picture password is applied to your user account along with your existing text-based password. As you see in the next tip, it is not difficult to bypass the picture password and sign in using the text password, so you should still protect your PC with a strong text password.

In the same way that you should not choose a regular account password that is extremely obvious, such as the word password or your username, you should take care to avoid creating an obvious picture password. For example, if you are using a photo showing three faces, an obvious picture password would be a click on each face.

A good picture password not only uses all three available gestures, but also uses them in nonobvious ways. To ensure that you have memorized your picture password, you should sign out of your account a few times and then sign back on using the picture password.

The Pictures screen appears.

Click the picture that you want to use.

Click Open.

The How’s This Look screen appears.

Drag the picture so that the image is positioned where you want.

Click Use this picture.

The Set Up Your Gestures screen appears.

Click and drag (or, if you have a Touch PC, use your finger or a stylus) to draw three gestures.

Repeat the gestures to confirm.

Click Finish.

The next time that you sign in to Windows, you will be prompted to enter your picture password gestures.

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What happens if I forget my gestures?

At the sign-on screen, click Sign-in options and then click Microsoft account password () to sign in with your regular password. To get a reminder of your picture password gestures, follow steps 1 to 4 in this section, click Change, type your user account password, and click OK. In the Change Your Picture Password screen, click Replay. Click the picture to see each gesture.

Can I change my picture password?

Yes. Open the Change Your Picture Password screen as described in the preceding tip, choose a new picture, if necessary, and then run through your gestures.

Sign In with a PIN

You can make it easier to sign in and can enhance the security of your PC by using a Windows Hello PIN (personal identification number). A PIN makes it easier to sign in because most PINs use only four digits, which is much faster to type than a strong password that might have a dozen characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. A PIN enhances the security of your device because the PIN is a device-specific security measure. Unlike a password, which is sent to and stored on a server, your PIN is associated only with your device.

Sign In with a PIN

Display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen.

Note: To learn how to get to Windows’ sign-in options, follow the steps in the subsection “Display the Sign-In Options” of the section “Create a Picture Password.”

Click PIN (Windows Hello).

Click Set up.

Windows prompts you for your account password.

Type your password.

Click OK.

The Set Up a PIN dialog box appears.

Type your PIN twice.

If you want to use letters and symbols in your PIN, you can click Include letters and symbols ( changes to ).

Click OK.

The next time that you start your PC, you will be prompted to enter your PIN to sign in.

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What do I do if I forget my PIN?

At the sign-on screen, click Sign-in options and then click either Microsoft account password () to sign in with your regular password or Picture password () to sign in using gestures. Once you are signed in, display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen, click PIN (Windows Hello), and then click I forgot my PIN.

How do I stop using a PIN for signing in to Windows?

To remove your PIN from the sign-in options, display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen, click PIN (Windows Hello), click Remove, click Remove again when Windows asks you to confirm, and then enter your Microsoft account password.

Set Up a Fingerprint Sign-In

You can ensure that only you can access your PC and you can avoid the insecurity of using passwords and gestures in public by using your fingerprint to sign in to Windows.

If your PC comes with a built-in fingerprint reader or you have an external reader attached to your PC, you can use the Windows Hello feature to teach Windows your fingerprint and use it to sign in. Because your fingerprint is unique, this ensures that only you can access your PC. Also, if you are in a public place, you do not have to enter a password or use sign-in gestures that could be observed by a nearby snoop.

Set Up a Fingerprint Sign-In

Display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen.

Note: To learn how to get to Windows’ sign-in options, follow the steps in the subsection “Display the Sign-In Options” of the section “Create a Picture Password.”

The Settings app appears and displays the Sign-in Options screen.

Click Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello).

Click Set up.

The Windows Hello Setup dialog box appears.

Click Get started.

Windows prompts you for your account PIN.

Type your PIN.

Note: If you do not have a PIN, see the previous section, “Sign In with a PIN.”

Windows Hello prompts you to scan your fingerprint.

Briefly place your finger on, and then lift your finger off, your PC’s fingerprint reader.

Follow the prompts to repeat step 6 until the scan is complete.

Click Close (not shown).

The next time that you start your PC, you can click Sign-in options and then click Fingerprint () to sign in by placing your finger on the fingerprint reader.

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Can I use more than one fingerprint to sign in?

Yes, you can use as many of your fingerprints as you like. If you still have the final dialog box on-screen, click Add another finger. Otherwise, display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen, click Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello), and then click Add another.

How do I stop using my fingerprint for signing in to Windows?

To remove your fingerprint from the sign-in options, display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen, click Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello), and then click Remove.

Lock Your Computer

You can enhance your computer’s security by locking the device when you leave it unattended. Protecting your account with a password prevents someone from logging on to your account, but what happens when you leave your computer unattended? If you remain logged on to the system, any person who picks up your computer can use it to view and change files.

To prevent this, you can lock your computer. After your computer is locked, anyone who tries to use your computer will first have to enter your password.

Lock Your Computer

Lock Your Computer

Click Start ().

Click your user account.

Click Lock.

Windows locks your computer and displays the Lock screen.

Unlock Your Computer

On the Lock screen, press to display the sign-in screen.

Click inside the PIN text box.

Note: If you have not yet set up a Windows Hello PIN, then your password will be your default sign-in method instead of your PIN.

If you want to sign in using a different method, you can click Sign-in options.

Type your PIN.

Windows unlocks your computer and restores your desktop.

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How can I quickly access the Lock command?

If you need to leave your desk in a hurry, Windows offers a couple of quick methods for locking your computer. Probably the quickest way to lock your computer is to press  + . Alternatively, press  +  +  and then click Lock.

Configure Your PC to Lock Automatically

You can use Windows’ Dynamic Lock feature to automatically lock your computer after a connected mobile device is no longer in range.

The hard part of locking your PC is remembering to do it. If you are late for a meeting or other appointment, locking your machine is probably the last thing on your mind as you dash out the door. To ensure that some snoop cannot access your PC if you forget to lock it, you can configure Windows to lock automatically when a connected mobile device, such as your smartphone, is no longer within range of the PC.

Configure Your PC to Lock Automatically

Connect a Bluetooth Mobile Device

Press  + .

Note: You can also open Settings by clicking Start () and then clicking Settings.

The Settings app appears.

Click Bluetooth & Devices.

The Bluetooth & Devices screen appears.

Click Add device.

The Add a Device screen appears.

Click Bluetooth.

On your mobile device, make sure Bluetooth is turned on.

Windows begins looking for Bluetooth-enabled devices that are within range.

When your device appears, click it.

On your mobile device, check that this PIN number is displayed. In most cases, you also have to tap Pair on the device.

Click Connect.

Windows pairs with your device.

Click Done (not shown).

Activate Dynamic Lock

Display the Settings app’s Sign-in Options screen.

Note: To learn how to get to Windows’ sign-in options, follow the steps in the subsection “Display the Sign-In Options” of the section “Create a Picture Password.”

The Settings app appears and displays the Sign-in Options screen.

Click Dynamic lock.

Click Allow Windows to automatically lock your device when you’re away ( changes to ).

Windows now automatically locks your PC when you take your mobile device more than 33 feet away from your PC.

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Does my computer lock when it goes into sleep mode?

Yes, Windows is also configured by default to display the logon screen when your computer wakes up from sleep mode. To make sure this setting is activated, click Start () and then click Settings to launch the Settings app. Click Accounts to open the Accounts window and then click the Sign-in options tab. Click the If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign-in again and then click When PC wakes up from sleep.

Browse the Web Privately

If you visit sensitive or private websites, you can tell Microsoft Edge not to save any browsing history for those sites. If you regularly visit private websites or websites that contain sensitive or secret data, you can ensure that no one else sees any data for such sites by deleting your browsing history, as described in the upcoming tip. However, if you visit such sites only occasionally, deleting your entire browsing history is overkill. A better solution is to turn on the InPrivate browsing feature in Microsoft Edge before you visit private sites. This tells Microsoft Edge to temporarily stop saving any browsing history.

Browse the Web Privately

Click Start ().

Click Microsoft Edge.

Alternatively, you can click Microsoft Edge () if you see it in the taskbar.

Click More ().

Click New InPrivate window.

You can also activate InPrivate by pressing  +  + .

A new Microsoft Edge window appears.

The InPrivate indicator appears near the upper-right corner of the window.

Surf to and interact with websites as you normally would, such as the banking site shown here.

When you are done, click Close ().

Microsoft Edge closes the InPrivate window and turns off InPrivate browsing.

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What is browsing history?

Microsoft Edge maintains a list of the sites that you visit, as well as text and passwords that you have typed into forms, the names of files that you have downloaded, and cookies, which are small text files that store information such as site preferences and site logon data. Saving this history is dangerous because other people who use your computer can just as easily visit or view information about those sites. You eliminate this risk by visiting such sites using an InPrivate browsing session. To delete your browsing history, click More (), click Settings, click Menu (), click Privacy, search, and services, click Choose what to clear, deselect all the check boxes ( changes to ) except Browsing history, and then click Clear now.

CHAPTER 12

Making Windows More Accessible

If you have visual, hearing, or mobility challenges, you might find the default Windows setup to be frustrating, inefficient, or close to unusable. Fortunately, Windows offers a variety of tools and settings that are designed to make your computer more accessible. As you learn in this chapter, if you have visual issues, you can increase the text size, magnify areas of the screen, have screen text read to you, use a high-contrast color scheme, and apply a color filter. If you have mobility issues, you can make the keyboard easier to use, and you can control Windows using voice commands.

Increase the Text Size

Magnify Screen Areas

Have Screen Text Read to You

Change to a High-Contrast Theme

Apply a Color Filter

Flash the Screen During Audio Notifications

Make the Keyboard More Accessible

Control Windows Via Voice

Increase the Text Size

You can make most text you see on your computer screen bigger by adjusting the text size to a larger value. If you have a visual impairment — or if your eyesight is not what it used to be — the relatively small size of most of the text displayed by the Windows interface and by your apps can make it difficult to use your computer. To remedy this problem, Windows offers a setting that enables you to increase the size of most text you see on the screen, including the text in menus, title bars, and icons.

Increase the Text Size

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Text size.

The Text Size screen appears.

Click and drag the Text size slider () to set the text size you prefer.

This tooltip shows you the new magnification percentage.

This sample text shows you the new text size.

Click Apply.

Windows applies your new text size.

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I find the text cursor difficult to see. Can I make it bigger?

Yes, you can make the text cursor stand out more by both activating the text cursor indicator and increasing the text cursor thickness. Follow steps 1 to 3 in this section to display the Accessibility settings. Click Text cursor to open the Text Cursor screen.

Click the Text cursor indicator switch to On ( changes to ). Drag the Size slider () to set the indicator size and click a color swatch in the Recommended Colors section to set the indicator color.

Finally, drag the Text cursor thickness slider () to set the thickness of the cursor.

Magnify Screen Areas

You can use the Magnifier tool to zoom in on difficult-to-see areas of the screen. As you use Windows and your apps, you might find that although you can make out most of the items on the screen, the occasional icon, image, or text is too small to see clearly. You can increase the overall text size, as described in the previous section, “Increase the Text Size,” but that does not help you see nontext screen areas. A better solution is to use the Magnifier tool to temporarily zoom in on problematic portions of the screen.

Magnify Screen Areas

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Magnifier.

The Magnifier screen appears.

Click the Magnifier switch to On ( changes to ).

Windows displays the Magnifier window and zooms in on the screen.

Note: You can also activate Magnifier by pressing  + .

Set Magnifier’s zoom level by clicking the Increase () or Decrease () buttons as needed.

Note: When you no longer need to use Magnifier, either click the Magnifier switch to Off ( changes to ) or press  + .

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How do I use Magnifier?

When Magnifier is on, it automatically changes position in response to four screen cues: the movement of the mouse pointer (), the changing of the keyboard focus (when you press , for example), the movement of the text cursor, and the movement of the Narrator cursor (see the next section, “Have Screen Text Read to You”). You can also pan the screen by holding down  +  and pressing , , , or .

You can disable one or more of the Magnifier cues by following steps 1 to 4 to display the Magnifier screen, clicking View, and then, in the Have Magnifier Follow Me section, clicking each cue you do not want to use ( changes to ).

Have Screen Text Read to You

You can activate the Narrator accessibility feature to have screen text read to you. Narrator is an example of a screen reader, an accessibility tool for the visually impaired. If you cannot read the text on your PC screen or if you use a PC that does not have a screen, Narrator describes what is on each screen and reads aloud any text that appears on the screen.

Have Screen Text Read to You

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Narrator.

The Narrator screen appears.

Click the Narrator switch to On ( changes to ).

Windows starts Narrator and displays the Narrator Home window.

Note: You can also start (and stop) Narrator by pressing  +  + .

If you do not want to see Narrator Home each time you start Narrator, you can click Show Narrator Home when Narrator starts ( changes to ).

In the Narrator Home window, click Minimize (not shown).

Click the Voice to select a Narrator voice.

Click and drag the Speed slider () to set a speaking rate.

Click and drag the Pitch slider () to set a voice pitch.

Click and drag the Volume slider () to set a speaking volume.

Windows puts your Narrator settings into effect.

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Can I change the detail of Narrator’s screen descriptions?

Yes. The detail Narrator describes is based on the verbosity level. The lowest level is screen text only. Higher levels include more details about screen controls and text. Click the Verbosity level and then click the level you prefer.

You can also configure Narrator to supply more or less context for controls. Click the Context level for buttons and controls and then click the context level you prefer.

You can also control the types of items that Narrator speaks as you type, such as function keys and navigations keys. Click Have Narrator announce when I type and then click the check box for each item you want to hear ( changes to ).

Change to a High-Contrast Theme

You can make Windows and your apps easier to use by switching to a high-contrast theme. Contrast is a measure of the relative distinctness of two colors. Low-contrast colors are very similar and difficult to distinguish, while high-contrast colors are very different and easy to distinguish. In practice, if the colors of the text and background are low-contrast, the text is hard to read, particularly for people with poor eyesight. The solution is to switch to a high-contrast theme, which uses a color scheme where the text and background are readily distinguished, which makes the text much easier to read.

Change to a High-Contrast Theme

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Contrast themes.

The Contrast Themes screen appears.

Click the Contrast themes and then click the theme you want to use.

These thumbnails provide a preview of each theme’s color scheme.

Click Apply.

Windows applies the high-contrast theme.

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Is there a quick way to switch to the high-contrast theme?

Yes. Press left  + left  +  to toggle the high-contrast theme. When you use this shortcut to activate the high-contrast theme, Windows displays the High Contrast dialog box asking you to confirm. Click Yes to activate the high-contrast theme.

Can I customize a high-contrast theme?

Yes. Follow steps 1 to 5 to select a high-contrast theme and then click Edit. For each screen item — Background, Text, Hyperlink, Inactive Text, Selected Text, and Button Text — click the colored square to select a custom color. For Selected Text and Button Text, you can also select a background color. Click Save As, type a theme name, and then click Save and apply.

Apply a Color Filter

You can make screen buttons, images, text, and other elements easier to see by applying a color filter. If you suffer from red-green color blindness — either deuteranopia, where the eyes cannot process green light, or protanopia, where the eyes cannot process red light — or from blue-yellow color blindness (also called tritanopia), you can apply a color filter that makes these colors easier to distinguish. If you have trouble seeing all colors, you can apply a color filter that turns each color into its grayscale equivalent, which makes them easier to distinguish.

Apply a Color Filter

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Color Filters.

The Color Filters screen appears.

Click the Color filters switch to On ( changes to ).

Click the type of filter you want to apply ( changes to ).

Windows previews the color filter.

Repeat step 6 until you find the color filter that works for you.

Windows applies the color filter to all screen elements.

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Is there a quick way to apply the color filter?

Yes, but first you must activate the keyboard shortcut. Follow steps 1 to 4 to open the Color Filters screen. Click the Keyboard shortcut for color filters switch to On ( changes to ). You can now toggle your selected color filter on and off by pressing  +  + .

I find the Windows transparency effects make it more difficult to see certain screen items. Can I turn them off?

Yes. Click Start () and then click Settings to open the Settings app. Click Personalization and then click Colors to open the Colors screen. Click the Transparency effects switch to Off( changes to ).

Flash the Screen During Audio Notifications

You can help ensure that you do not miss alerts and other notifications by configuring Windows to flash the screen whenever it displays a notification that includes an audio component. All Windows notifications appear with a sound effect to catch your attention, while some Windows alerts are audio-only. If you have an impairment that prevents you from hearing the audio portion of these notifications, you might miss them. To help prevent this, Windows offers an accessibility feature that flashes the screen — that is, temporarily displays a high-contrast version of the screen colors — whenever an audio notification occurs.

Flash the Screen During Audio Notifications

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Audio.

The Audio screen appears.

Click the Flash my screen during audio notifications .

Click the screen element that you want Windows to flash.

Windows now flashes your chosen screen element whenever an audio notification appears.

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I hear well in one ear, but not the other. Is there anything I can do to compensate for this?

Yes. Many audio experiences in Windows are stereo, meaning separate audio channels are broadcast through the left and right speakers. This creates a better audio experience, but if you hear poorly or not at all in one ear, your audio experience will be diminished.

To work around this, you can configure Windows to combine the left and right audio channels so that you hear the same audio in both the left and right speakers. Follow steps 1 to 4 to display the Audio screen and then click the Mono audio switch to On ( changes to ).

Make the Keyboard More Accessible

If you have mobility or dexterity issues, you can make your computer keyboard easier to use by activating features designed to enhance keyboard accessibility. The Sticky keys feature enables you to press multiple-key shortcuts — such as  +  and  +  — one key at a time. The Filter keys feature configures Windows to ignore extra keystrokes caused by inadvertently holding down or repeatedly pressing a key. Finally, the Toggle keys feature tells Windows to play a sound when you press any one of the following keys: Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock.

Make the Keyboard More Accessible

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Keyboard.

The Keyboard screen appears.

Click the Sticky keys switch to On ( changes to ).

You can click Sticky keys to customize this feature.

Click the Filter keys switch to On ( changes to ).

You can click Filter keys to customize this feature.

Click the Toggle keys switch to On ( changes to ).

Windows puts the new settings into effect immediately.

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Are there shortcut keys I can use to activate these features?

Yes. To activate Sticky keys, press five times. To activate Filter keys, press and hold the right key for eight seconds. To activate Toggle keys, press and hold for five seconds. In each case, Windows displays a dialog box asking you to confirm. Click Yes.

Can I configure Windows to not show the dialog boxes when I activate these features via the keyboard?

Yes. Follow steps 1 to 4 to display the Keyboard screen of the Settings app. Click Notification preferences and then click Notify me when I turn on Sticky, Filter, or Toggle keys from the keyboard ( changes to ).

Control Windows Via Voice

If you have mobility or dexterity issues that make it difficult to use a mouse and keyboard, the Speech Recognition feature enables you to control Windows via voice commands. With Speech Recognition activated, you can speak commands into a microphone and Windows will execute those commands.

To use Speech Recognition, you need to connect a microphone to your PC. For best results, use a headset microphone rather than a microphone that sits on your desk. Also, it is best to use Speech Recognition in a relatively quiet room and to speak your commands as clearly as you can.

Control Windows Via Voice

Click Start ().

Click Settings.

Windows opens the Settings app.

Click Accessibility.

The Accessibility screen appears.

Click Speech.

The Speech screen appears.

Click the Windows Speech Recognition switch to On ( changes to ).

The Set Up Speech Recognition dialog box appears.

Click Next.

Follow the instructions on the dialog boxes that appear to set up your microphone and Speech Recognition.

Note: When Windows asks you to choose an activation mode, you can click Use voice activation mode ( changes to ) so that you can start and stop Speech Recognition using voice commands.

When complete all the dialog boxes, you can start controlling Windows via voice.

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What commands can I speak?

Say “Stop listening” to turn off Speech Recognition; if you are using voice activation mode, say “Start listening” to turn on Speech Recognition (otherwise, press  + ).

Windows recognizes terms such as click, double-click, right-click, and select; commands such as Save, Copy, and Close; and screen features such as Minimize, Scroll, and Back. Say “Open keyboard” to display the onscreen keyboard and then say “Press key” to press the specified key (such as “a” or “4”). You can also say specific nonalphanumeric keys, such as Backspace, Delete, and Enter.

Say “Show numbers” to overlay a number on everything in the current window that can be clicked. Say the number of the item you want and then say “Okay.”

Index

A

accent color, 41

accessibility

applying color filters, 262–263

changing to high-contrast themes, 260–261

controlling Windows with Speech Recognition, 268–269

flashing screen during audio notifications, 264–265

increasing text size, 254–255

keyboard, 266–267

magnifying screen areas, 256–257

Narrator feature, 258–259

accessing

app features, 36–37

Lock command, 247

OneDrive online, 229

account password, 234

accounts, 113

activating

Dynamic Lock, 249

Sticky keys, 267

adding

background music to movies, 177

captions to images in OneNote, 213

event reminders, 121

events to calendars, 118–119

extra fields to contacts in People app, 110–111

file attachments to email messages, 80–81

files to OneDrive, 228–229

Google account to People app, 100–101

iCloud account to People app, 102–103

images to notebook pages, 212–213

opening titles to movies, 177

pages to OneNote notebooks, 208

photo effects, 156–157

sections to OneNote notebooks, 209

slow motion to videos, 172

songs to Music folder, 185

text notes in OneNote, 210–211

3D effects to videos, 173

titles to images in OneNote, 213

video clips, 175

web pages to Favorites Bar, 63

adjusting

audio levels for CDs, 179

contact's photos in People app, 109

copy quality, 183

desktop background, 41

file view, 220

to high-contrast themes, 260–261

Lock screen background, 30–31

Narrator screen description, 259

picture passwords, 241

playlists, 189

profile picture on Skype, 131

section color schemes in OneNote notebooks, 209

startup page, 58–59

text font in documents, 196–197

theme, 40–41

volume, 42

albums, 151, 179

All Apps icon (Start menu), 5

all-day events, 119

animated text, in videos, 173

app icons, moving, 27

applying

color filters, 262–263

filters, 157

styles to messages, 79

Vignette effect, 156

apps. See also specific apps

accessing features, 36–37

arranging running, 20–21

checking weather forecast, 138–139

choosing Lock screen status, 32–33

closing, 7

displaying locations on maps, 134–135

To Do, 128–129

getting directions to locations, 136–137

installing, 16–17

locating, 7

Notepad, 126–127

pinning

to Start menu, 26–27

to taskbar, 38–39

searching your PC, 124–125

Skype, 130–133

starting, 6–7

switching between running, 18–19

uninstalling, 22–23

arranging running apps, 20–21

aspect ratio, 159

assigning photos to contacts in People app, 108–109

attachments, adding to email messages, 80–81

audio

changing levels for CDs, 179

flashing notifications on screen during, 264–265

automatic image repair, 154

B

background music, adding to movies, 177

Bcc (blind carbon copy), 77

Bluetooth mobile devices, connecting, 248–249

browsing, web, 250–251

bulleted lists, creating in OneNote, 214

C

Calendar app

adding

event reminders, 121

events, 118–119

creating recurring events, 120

viewing your calendar, 116–117

captions, adding to images in OneNote, 213

Cc (carbon copy), 77

CDs

changing audio levels for, 179

repeating, 181

Celsius, switching between Fahrenheit and, 141

Character Map program, 202–203

checking

for security problems, 236–237

weather forecasts, 138–139, 140–141

cities, removing from Weather app, 141

clearing History list, 57

Clipboard, 222

closing

apps, 7

tabs, 37

collection, viewing images by, 151

color, accent, 41

color filters, applying, 262–263

combining multiple profiles for contacts, 114–115

compressed folders, 230–231

computer

locking, 33, 246–247

unlocking, 247

configuring

email accounts, 74–75

Mail app settings, 73

PC to lock automatically, 248–249

Skype, 130–131

Windows 11 for multiple monitors, 44–45

connecting

Bluetooth mobile devices, 248–249

to wireless networks, 8–9

Contact list, filtering in People app, 112–113

contacts

adding extra fields to in People app, 110–111

assigning photos to in People app, 108–109

combining multiple profiles for, 114–115

creating in People app, 98–99

deleting in People app, 105

editing in People app, 106–107

hiding, 112–113

searching for in People app, 105

viewing in People app, 104–105

containers (OneNote), 210–211

copying

documents, 204–205

files, 222, 229

tracks from music CDs, 182–183

creating

bulleted lists in OneNote, 214

compressed folders, 231

contacts in People app, 98–99

default location forecast, 139

To Do lists, 128–129

documents, 192, 229

files, 225

folders for saving email messages, 94–95

Microsoft accounts, 13

numbered lists in OneNote, 214

OneNote notebooks, 206–207

passwords, 238–241

picture passwords, 238–241

playlists, 188–189

recurring events, 120

temporary notes, 127

to-do lists in OneNote, 215

cropping images, 158–159

customizing

accessing app features, 36–37

adjusting

desktop background, 41

Lock screen background, 30–31

theme, 40–41

volume, 42

choosing Lock screen status app, 32–33

configuring Windows 11 for multiple monitors, 44–45

high-contrast themes, 261

opening Settings app, 28–29

pinning apps

to Start menu, 26–27

to taskbar, 38–39

setting time zone, 43

synchronizing settings between devices, 34–35

taskbar, 46–47

D

dark mode, 41

Dark mode (Skype), 131

date (screen), 4

day, viewing events by, 117

default location forecast, creating, 139

Deleted folder (Mail app), 83

deleting

accounts from People app, 113

app icons from taskbar, 39

cities from Weather app, 141

contacts in People app, 105

contact's photos in People app, 109

email accounts, 75

email messages, 92–93

favorites, 61

Favorites Bar buttons, 63

files, 226

flaws in photos, 155

folders, 95

images, 161

Microsoft accounts, 15

OneNote notebooks, 207

pages in OneNote notebooks, 209

playlists, 189

red eye, 155

sections in OneNote notebooks, 209

tracks from library, 183

deselecting files, 219

desktop background, adjusting, 41

desktop background, setting images as, 153

Desktop icon (screen), 4

desktops, 4

detailed status, 32

details pane (Windows Media Player), 181

deuteranopia, 262

devices, synchronizing settings between, 34–35

digital cameras, importing from, 144–145, 164–165

directions, getting to locations, 136–137

disabling location services, 135

disconnecting, from wireless networks, 8–9

displaying

favorite web pages, 61

Favorites Bar, 62–63

locations on maps, 134–135

menus, 36

photo effects, 156–157

Settings app tabs, 29

documents

copying, 204–205

creating, 192, 229

finding text, 198–199

locating, 195

opening, 194–195

saving, 192–193

Documents folder, 193

domain, 76

downloading files, 68–69

draft messages, saving, 82–83

drawing, on videos, 171

DVDs, playing, 169

Dynamic Lock, activating, 249

E

editing

contacts in People app, 106–107

email messages, 87

pictures in messages, 79

video, 170–173

editing documents

adding

images to notebook pages, 212–213

pages and sections to OneNote notebooks, 208–209

text notes in OneNote, 210–211

changing text font, 196–197

copying documents, 204–205

creating

documents, 192

OneNote notebooks, 206–207

finding text, 198–199

inserting special symbols, 202–203

OneNote notebook lists, 214–215

opening documents, 194–195

replacing text, 200–201

saving documents, 192–193

email. See Mail app

events

adding to calendars, 118–119

all-day, 119

creating reminders for, 121

recurring, 120

external monitor, 44–45

extracting files from compressed folders, 230–231

F

Fahrenheit, switching between Celsius and, 141

Favorites Bar, 62–63

Favorites list, 60–61

File Explorer, 149. See also files

files

adding to OneDrive, 228–229

changing view of, 220

copying, 222

creating, 225

deleting, 226

deselecting, 219

downloading, 68–69

extracting from compressed folders, 230–231

inserting in OneNote, 213

installing when downloaded from Internet, 17

moving, 223

opening, 68–69

previewing, 221

renaming, 224

restoring deleted, 227

selecting, 218–219

Films & TV app, 165, 167

filtering Contact list in People app, 112–113

filters, applying, 157

Find feature, 198–199

finding

apps, 7

documents, 195

music, 185

text in documents, 198–199

text on pages, 55

fingerprint sign-in, setting up, 244–245

flashing screen during audio notifications, 264–265

flaws, removing from photos, 155

folders

creating for saving email messages, 94–95

deleting, 95

pinning to Start menu, 27

renaming, 95

searching from windows, 125

font, 78, 196

forgotten gestures, 241

formatting

message text, 78–79

note text in OneNote, 211

forwarding email messages, 88–89

G

gestures, forgotten, 241

getting started

closing apps, 7

connecting to wireless network, 8–9

installing apps, 16–17

putting Windows 11 to sleep, 10

restarting Windows 11, 11

screen, 4

shutting down Windows 11, 11

Start menu, 5

starting apps, 6–7

switching

to Microsoft accounts, 12–15

between running apps, 18–19

uninstalling apps, 22–23

Google account, adding to People app, 100–101

Groove Music app, 184–189

H

Hello feature, 244–245

hiding

contacts, 112–113

menus, 37

Taskbar, 47

History list

browsing, 251

clearing, 57

navigating with, 56–57

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https), 50

I

iCloud account, adding to People app, 102–103

images

adding

captions to in OneNote, 213

to notebook pages, 212–213

photo effects, 156–157

titles to in OneNote, 213

adding to movies, 175

applying filters, 157

assigning to contacts in People app, 108–109

cropping, 158–159

deleting, 161

importing from digital cameras, 144–145

inserting in messages, 79

navigating Pictures folder, 148–149

repairing, 154–155

rotating, 160

scanning, 146–147

setting as desktop background, 153

starting slideshows, 152

viewing, 150–151

importing

images from digital cameras, 144–145

videos from digital cameras, 164–165

Inbox folder (Mail app), 92

increasing text size, 254–255

InPrivate web browsing, 235

inserting

files in OneNote, 213

pictures in messages, 79

special symbols, 202–203

installing

apps, 16–17

software downloaded from the Internet, 17

Internet, installing software downloaded from, 17

J

Junk folder (Mail app), 83

K

keyboards

accessibility and, 266–267

switching between apps using, 19

L

light mode, 41

links

selecting, 51

sharing, 65

locations

displaying on maps, 134–135

getting directions to, 136–137

Lock command, accessing, 247

Lock screen

changing background, 30–31

choosing status apps, 32–33

locking computer, 33, 234, 246–247

low-contrast colors, 260

M

Magnifier tool, 256–257

Mail app

adding file attachments, 80–81

configuring

email accounts, 74–75

settings, 73

creating folders for saving messages, 94–95

deleting accounts, 75

deleting messages, 92–93

formatting message text, 78–79

forwarding messages, 88–89

launching, 72

opening attachments, 90–91

reading messages, 85

receiving messages, 84–85

renaming accounts, 75

replying to messages, 86–87

saving

attachments, 90–91

draft messages, 82–83

sending email messages, 76–77

maintenance. See troubleshooting

malware, 235

managing

music playback in Groove Music app, 187

video playback, 169

Windows 11 with Speech Recognition, 268–269

manual image repair, 155

maps, displaying locations on, 134–135

Maps app, 134–137

Menu icon, 37

menus

displaying, 36

hiding, 37

messages. See Mail app

Microsoft accounts, 12–15

Microsoft Edge web browser, 54, 58–59, 66–67, 235, 250–251

Microsoft Store, installing apps from, 16–17

monitors, configuring Windows 11 for multiple, 44–45

mono, 265

month, viewing events by, 116

mouse pointer (screen), 4

movies, 167, 169, 174–177

moving

app icons, 27

email messages between folders, 95

Favorites Bar buttons, 63

files, 223, 228

Start button, 47

text note containers in OneNote, 211

multimedia

copying tracks from music CDs, 182–183

creating playlists, 188–189

importing videos from digital cameras, 164–165

navigating

Music folder, 184–185

Videos folder, 166–167

playing

music, 186–187

music CDs, 178–181

watching videos, 168–169

music

finding, 185

playing, 186–187

music CDs

copying tracks from, 182–183

playing, 178–181

Music folder, navigating, 184–185

N

Narrator feature, 258–259

navigating

calendars, 117

with History list, 56–57

Music folder, 184–185

Pictures folder, 148–149

pinned mode, 7

Videos folder, 166–167

web pages, 54

note text, formatting in OneNote, 211

Notepad app, 126–127

Notification area, 4

Now Playing window (Windows Media Player), 181, 182

numbered lists, creating in OneNote, 214

O

OneDrive

accessing online, 229

adding files to, 228–229

OneNote app, 206–207, 208–209, 210–211, 214–215

opening

To Do app, 128

documents, 194–195

draft messages, 82–83

email attachments, 90–91

files, 68–69

Mail app, 72

Notepad app, 126–127

Settings app, 28–29

videos, 170

web pages, 50–53

opening titles, adding to movies, 177

organizing favorites, 61

Outbox folder (Mail app), 83

P

paragraph, message, 78

passwords, locking PC, 234

Passwords check box, 35

pausing music CDs, 179

PCs

locking, 234

resetting, 235

searching your, 124–125

People app

adding

extra fields to contacts, 110–111

Google account, 100–101

iCloud account, 102–103

assigning photos to contacts, 108–109

combining multiple profiles for contacts, 114–115

creating contacts, 98–99

editing contacts, 106–107

filtering Contact list, 112–113

viewing contacts, 104–105

photo effects, adding, 156–157

Photos app

adding 3D effects to videos in, 173

adding photo effects, 156–157

adding slow motion to videos in, 172

applying filters, 157

cropping images, 158–159

editing videos in, 170

opening Pictures folder with, 148

rotating images, 160

starting slideshows, 152

trimming videos in, 171

picture passwords, 238–241

pictures. See images

Pictures folder, 148–149

Pinned area (Start menu), 5

pinned mode, navigating, 7

pinning

apps to Start menu, 26–27

apps to taskbar, 38–39

folders to Start menu, 27

playing

music, 186–187

music CDs, 178–181

playlists, 188–189

points, 196

populating storyboards, 176

Power icon (Start menu), 5

previewing files, 221

priority, message, 79

profile picture, changing on Skype, 131

profiles, People app, 114–115

protanopia, 262

push, 85

R

reading email messages, 85

receiving email messages, 84–85

Recommended area (Start menu), 5

red eye, removing, 155

renaming

email accounts, 75

Favorites Bar buttons, 63

files, 224

folders, 95

sections in OneNote notebooks, 209

rented movie/TV show, 169

reordering taskbar icons, 39

repairing images, 154–155

Repeat feature (Groove Music app), 187

repeating CDs, 181

replacing text in documents, 200–201

replying to email messages, 86–87

Reply/Reply All option (Mail app), 87

resetting computer, 235

resizing text cursor, 255

restarting Windows 11, 11

restoring

deleted email messages, 92–93

deleted files, 227

resuming music CDs, 179

ripping CDs, 182–183

rotating images, 160

S

Save As command, 205

saving

documents, 192–193

draft messages, 82–83

email attachments, 90–91

favorite web pages, 60

notes, 127

scanning images, 146–147

screen, 4

screen areas, magnifying, 256–257

screen reader, 258–259

Search box (Start menu), 5

search engines, 66

Search icon (screen), 4

searching

for contacts in People app, 105

for settings, 125

for sites, 66–67

your PC, 124–125

sections (OneNote), 209

security. See Windows security

Security and Maintenance. See Windows security

selecting

files, 218–219

links, 51

Lock screen status app, 32–33

sending email messages, 76–77

Sent folder (Mail app), 83

separating combined profiles from contacts in People app, 115

setting(s)

images as desktop background, 153

Mail app, 73

message priority, 79

searching for, 125

synchronizing between devices, 34–35

time zone, 43

uninstalling apps via, 23

Settings app, opening, 28–29

setup, fingerprint sign-in, 244–245

sharing

links, 65

web pages, 64–65

shortcuts

for keyboard, 267

opening web pages in tabs, 37

web page addresses, 51

Shuffle feature (Groove Music app), 187

Shuffle feature (Music app), 181

shutting down Windows 11, 11

sizing text note containers in OneNote, 211

skipping tracks on music CDs, 179

Skype

configuring, 130–131

initiating calls on, 132–133

sleep mode, 10, 249

slideshows, starting, 152

slow motion, adding to videos, 172

snap layout, 20–21

songs, shuffling, 181, 187

special effects, 196

special symbols, inserting, 202–203

Speech Recognition, 268–269

spot fix, 155

Start button (screen), 4, 47

Start menu

about, 5

pinning apps to, 26–27, 38–39

pinning folders to, 27

uninstalling apps via, 22

starting

apps, 6–7

Skype calls, 132–133

slideshows, 152

video projects, 174–175

videos, 168

startup page, changing, 58–59

stereo, 265

Sticky keys, 267

still images, taking from videos, 171

stopping

fingerprint sign-in, 245

play of music CDs, 180

storyboards, populating, 176

style, applying to messages, 79

switching

between Fahrenheit and Celsius in Weather app, 141

to high-contrast themes, 261

to Microsoft accounts, 12–15

between running apps, 18–19

synchronizing settings between devices, 34–35

T

tabs

closing, 37

opening web pages in, 52–53

tags, OneNote, 215

Task view, switching apps using, 19

Taskbar

about, 4

customizing, 46–47

hiding, 47

pinning apps to, 39

removing app icons from, 39

searching from, 124–125

switching apps using, 18

taskbar corner overflow menu, 46

taskbar icons (screen), 4

text

changing font in documents, 196–197

finding in documents, 198–199

increasing size of, 254–255

replacing in documents, 200–201

text notes, adding in OneNote, 210–211

text passwords, compared with picture passwords, 239

themes

adjusting, 40–41

high-contrast, 260–261

3D effects, adding to videos, 173

time (screen), 4

time zone, settings, 43

titles, adding to images in OneNote, 213

To Do app, 128–129

to-do lists, creating in OneNote, 215

tracks

copying from music CDs, 182–183

removing from library, 183

skipping on music CDs, 179

traffic information, 137

transparency effects, 263

trimming videos, 171

tritanopia, 262

troubleshooting mouse pointer, 45

turning off transparency effects, 263

TV shows, 167, 169

type size, 196

type style, 196

typeface, 196

U

uninstalling apps, 22–23

unlocking computer, 247

User Account Control, 234

User Account icon (Start menu), 5

username, 76

V

video calls. See Skype

videos

adding slow motion to, 172

drawing on, 171

editing, 170–173

importing from digital cameras, 164–165

opening, 170

trimming, 171

watching, 168–169

Videos folder, 165, 166–167

viewing

calendars, 116–117

compressed folder files, 230

contacts in People app, 104–105

downloaded files, 69

file, 220

images, 150–151

previously scanned images, 147

sent email messages, 89

Vignette effect, 156

volume, adjusting, 42

W

watching videos, 168–169

Weather app, 138–141

weather forecasts, checking, 140–141

web browsing, 250–251

web pages

adding to Favorites Bar, 63

finding text on, 55

navigating, 54

opening

about, 50–51

in tabs, 52–53

saving favorites, 60

sharing, 64–65

web surfing

changing startup page, 58–59

downloading files, 68–69

Favorites Bar, 62–63

finding text on pages, 55

navigating

with History list, 56–57

web pages, 54

opening web pages, 50–53

saving favorite web pages, 60

searching for sites, 66–67

websites, searching for, 66–67

week, viewing events by, 116

Wi-Fi hotspots, 135

Windows 11. See also specific topics

controlling with Speech Recognition, 268–269

putting to sleep, 10

restarting, 11

shutting down, 11

Windows Defender feature, 235

Windows Hello feature, 244–245

Windows Hello PIN, 242–243

Windows Media Player, 178–181

Windows security

about, 234–235

browsing web privately, 250–251

checking for problems, 236–237

configuring PC to lock automatically, 248–249

creating picture passwords, 238–241

locking computer, 246–247

setting up fingerprint sign-in, 244–245

Windows Hello PIN, 242–243

wireless networks, 8–9

WordPad, compared with Notepad, 127

writing notes, 126–127

Z

Zip archives. See compressed folders

zipped folders. See compressed folders

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