Mail
The Mail app is an extremely simple mail
client that offers only the most basic functionality: sending messages,
responding to messages (Reply, Reply to All, or Forward), moving
messages to different folders (although you need to create new folders
online), and deleting messages.
To create a new message, click New (+) and
then use the screen that appears to fill in the message details. Click
Attachments to add a file attachment; click More Details to add a Bcc
field and a Priority list; and when the cursor is
inside the message field, you can right-click to see the available
formatting options, as shown in Figure . Click More to insert a bulleted or numbered list, as well as to undo or redo an operation.
Figure 4. Right-click when using the message field to see these formatting options.
You can also add other accounts to Mail.
Press Windows Logo+I (or display the Charms menu and click Settings)
and then click Accounts to open the Accounts pane. Click Add an
Account, click Hotmail, Exchange, or Google, and then fill in the
account details.
Maps
The Maps app is a simple mapping program.
Besides enabling you to peruse the map, the Maps app also offers the
following features, most of which require the app bar, as shown in Figure 5:
• Search for a location—Display the Charms menu, click Search, and then type the address or name of the location you want.
• Display your current location—In
the app bar, click My Location to have the map zero in on your present
location. (If this doesn’t work, see the steps that follow this list.)
• Get directions to a location—In the app bar, click Directions and then specify a starting point (the default is your current location) and a destination.
• Change the map view—In the app bar, click Map Style and then click Road View or Aerial View (that is, satellite view).
• Show current traffic conditions—In
the app bar, click Show Traffic to overlay traffic data on the map.
Routes shown in green have good traffic, whereas routes shown in shades
of orange have heavy traffic (the deeper the orange, the heavier the
traffic).
Figure 5. The Maps app and its app bar.
To get the most out of Maps, you should make sure your Windows 8 PC has the Windows Location platform turned on:
1. Press Windows Logo+W to open the Settings search pane.
2. Type location.
3. In the search results, click Location Settings. The Location Settings window appears.
4. Activate the Turn On the Windows Location Platform check box (it it’s not checked already) and then click Apply.
You also need to give Maps (and other apps)
permission to use your location. From the Start screen, press Windows
Logo+I (or display the Charms menu and click Settings), click Change PC
Settings, click Privacy, and then make sure the Let Apps Use My
Location switch is On.
