One of the things I found most interesting
when I started working with Windows 8 was that—even though I loved the
new look—I wasn’t sure where the windows
had gone! When you launch an app, it zooms to take up your full screen.
Similarly, even Internet Explorer 10 now runs in what developers are calling a modeless
window, which means you don’t have any of the familiar window borders
around the edge of the screen. Times, they are a-changing!
Switching Among Open Programs
Remember that you
can cycle through open programs by pressing Alt+Tab. A small message box
appears in the center of the desktop area showing you all your current
open programs. Each time you press Tab while holding Alt, Windows 8
moves to the next open program available on your computer.
Exploring a Program “Window”
Depending on the type of app you open, it
may appear in the Metro style or in the more traditional desktop style.
If the app you launch hasn’t yet been designed for Metro, you will see a
more traditional window with a title bar, scroll bars, and the like. If
the app has been designed for Metro, the app will open in a window-less
frame and fill your screen.
• Title bar.
The title bar of the window shows you the name of the file you’re
working on and the name of the application program in which it was
created.
• Window controls.
In the upper-right corner of the program window, you can find three
tools to change the state of the window. Minimize reduces the window to
the taskbar; Restore Down reduces the window to its previous smaller
size (or, if the window is already at a smaller size, it changes to
Maximize, which makes the window full size); and Close, which closes the
file and, if no other files are open for that program, closes the
program as well.
• Ribbon or menu bar.
The Ribbon is a feature common to legacy Microsoft programs, offering
the tools and options you need for working with various programs. You
may instead see a menu bar listing menu names close to the top of the
window. You can click a menu name to display a list of tools you can use
in your program.
• Scrollbars. Depending on the size of your file and the type of program you are using, you may see horizontal and vertical scrollbars
• Work area.
The work area of the window is the place where you write documents,
create worksheets, edit photos, and more. The file you open and work
with appears in the work area.
Checking Out a Metro App
Metro apps are designed to look and act
much different from a traditional window-style app. When you tap a tile
to launch an app that’s been designed for Metro, the app will launch
full-screen and you will navigate the program without the menu bars,
Windows controls, and tools you may be accustomed to in legacy programs.
Hopefully even though the experience is
much different from traditional programs, you will find it to be
intuitive and easy-to-understand.
• Full screen. As soon as you tap an app tile to launch the program, it opens full-screen on your display.
• Your data, center-stage.
The content of the app is really the main focus. You can tap a timeslot
or appointment (in this Calendar app) to display a screen on which you
can make calendar changes.
• App options within reach. You can easily swipe up from the bottom of the app to display the options available to you as you work with your information.
