Windows 8 is designed to be as easy to use as
possible, and one of the features that helps Windows 8 deliver on that
promise is the instant search, available from the Start menu. When you
want to find a specific item—whether that’s an app, a setting, or a
file—you can simply type the word or phrase you’re looking for. Windows 8
then displays a search results screen where you can further refine your
search and launch right into the app or file you want.
Once you find the app you want, of course, starting it is as simple as tapping or clicking the appropriate tile.
>>>step-by-step: Locating an App
If the app you’re looking for is already on
your Windows 8 PC, Windows 8 will find it. You can simply type a few
characters of the app’s name and you’ll be in business.
1. With
the Start screen displayed, type the first few characters of the name of
the app you’re looking for. The search results screen appears
immediately. If you’re using a touch device, swipe in from the right to
display the Charms bar and then tap in the search box. Your touch
keyboard will appear, and you can type the first characters of the app’s
name.
2. You can choose whether the result you’re looking for is an app, a setting, or a file.
3. You can also search within the apps in the Apps list on the right side of the screen.
4. Tap or click the app you want to launch when it appears in the results list.
Searching the Wider World
You can also use this
same search technique to search for apps in the Windows Store or find
settings or files within specific apps on your computer.
>>>step-by-step: Launching an App from the Start ScreenThe easiest way to start a program on your
Windows 8 computer is to simply scroll to the app you want on the Start
screen and tap or click the app’s tile.
1. Swipe or scroll through the apps on the Windows 8 Start screen.
2. Tap or click the tile of the app you want to start.
Launching an App on the Desktop
Some apps you add to Windows 8 may be available
both on your Start screen and on your desktop. This may often be the
case if you’re installing a legacy program—meaning a program that was
available before the advent of Windows 8—and it requests permission to
install a shortcut on your desktop.
1. From the Windows 8 Start screen, display the desktop by scrolling to the Desktop tile and tapping or clicking it.
2. Locate the icon of the app you want to start and double-tap or double-click it. The app launches and appears on your screen.
Gadgets Are Still Around, Too
You might be a bit
puzzled by all the Windows 7 features that are there just under the
surface of Windows 8 Consumer Preview. You can still add to your Windows
8 desktop all the gadgets you enjoyed in Windows 7 by tapping and
holding or right-clicking the desktop, pointing to or tapping Gadgets,
and choosing the gadget you want to add. Note that the gadget won’t be
visible on the Windows 8 Start screen, but it will be there waiting for
you any time you return to the desktop.
Adding Programs At Startup
Even
though the Windows 8 Start screen is a different animal from the
Windows 8 desktop (which resembles what you’ve seen in Windows 7), you
can still add apps you use regularly to your Startup folder if you like.
You may need to experiment a bit to see which apps work and which
don’t. Dropbox, for example, loaded fine during startup, but Windows
Paint (my old friend) gave me an error. To add an app to your Startup
folder, use Windows Explorer to locate the program file, copy it, and
paste it in your Startup folder. When you log in to Windows 8 the next
time, your program should be available on the desktop, ready to rock.
