The Lock screen is the screen that
appears before you sign on to Windows 8 (or, if your PC has multiple
user accounts, it’s the screen that appears before you select which
account to sign on). You have three ways to invoke the Lock screen:
• Turn on or restart your PC.
• Sign out of your user account (by clicking your user account tile and then clicking Sign Out).
• Lock your PC (by clicking your user account tile and then clicking Lock, or by pressing Windows Logo+L).
In other words, the Lock screen
comes up relatively often when you use Windows 8, so you might as well
get the most out of it by customizing it to suit how you work. The next
three sections take you through these customizations.
Customizing the Lock Screen Background
If you use the lock screen frequently, you
might prefer to view a background image that is different from the
default image. To choose a different lock screen background, follow
steps 1 to 4 to display the Lock Screen tab and then click one of the
default images:
1. Display the Charms menu and then click Settings to display the Settings pane. (You can also press Windows Logo+I.)
2. Click Change PC Settings. The PC Settings app appears.
3. Click Personalize.
4. Click Lock Screen. The PC Settings app displays the Lock Screen tab, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Use the Lock Screen tab to customize the background image displayed on the Lock screen.
5. Choose a new
background image either by clicking one of the supplied images or by
clicking Browse and then using the file picker screen to choose an
image from your Pictures library.
Note
Another way to apply one of your own
images as the Lock screen background is to launch the Photos app,
display the image you want to use, right-click the screen, and then
select Set As, Lock Screen.
Controlling the Apps Displayed on the Lock Screen
When you
lock your PC, Windows 8 displays the Lock screen, which includes the
current date and time, an icon that shows the current network status,
and an icon that shows the current power state of your computer (that
is, either plugged in or on battery). By default, Windows 8 also
includes Lock screen icons for apps that have had recent notifications.
For example, the Mail app shows the number of unread messages, the
Messages app shows the number of new text messages, and the Calendar
app shows upcoming appointments. The Lock screen also shows any new
notifications that appear for these apps.
If you lock your computer frequently, you can
make the Lock screen even more useful by adding icons for other apps
that support notifications. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Display the Charms menu and then click Settings to display the Settings pane. (You can also press Windows Logo+I.)
2. Click Change PC Settings. The PC Settings app appears.
3. Click Personalize.
4. Click Lock Screen. The PC Settings app displays the Lock Screen tab.
5. Under Lock Screen Apps, click +. Windows 8 opens the Choose an App window.
6. Click the app you want to add to the lock screen.
7. Under Choose an App to Display Detailed Status, click the icon (or click + if no app is currently selected).
8. Click the
app you want to use. Windows 8 puts the new settings into effect, and
the apps appear in the Lock screen the next time you use it.
Disabling the Lock Screen
The Lock screen is one of those innovations
that seems like a good idea when you first start using it, but then
quickly loses its luster the more you come across it. In the case of
the Lock screen, the problem is that it forces you to take the extra
step of dismissing it before you can sign on:
• Regular PC—Press any key or click the screen
• Tablet PC—Swipe up
If you’ve had to perform this extra task one
too many times, and if you don’t find the Lock screen all that useful
anyway, you can disable it. This means you don’t see the Lock screen
when you start or lock your PC. Instead, Windows 8 takes you directly
to the sign-on screen.
Follow these steps to disable the Lock screen:
1. In the Start screen (or the Run dialog box; press Windows Logo+R), type gpedit.msc and then press Enter. The Local Group Policy Editor appears.
2. Open the Computer
Configuration, Administrative Templates, Control Panel, Personalization
branch. The Personalization policies appear.
3. Double-click the Do Not Display the Lock Screen policy. The policy details appear.
4. Click Enabled.
5. Click OK. Windows 8 puts the new policy into effect.
