chapter 1
Running Your
Desktop from Start
to Finish
Windows
desktop:
Almost everybody starts with
the desktop. It has a Start
button in the lower-left corner,
more icons along the taskbar at
the bottom, and larger icons
(possibly just the Recycle Bin
and Microsoft Edge) on top of
the desktop. The picture on the
desktop could look like just
about anything.
Changing the background
Right-click an empty
part of the desktop, or
tap and hold down, and
then choose
Personalize.
Windows Snap
The Snap feature is a
great way to improve your
productivity by sharing
many app windows in a
single screen. Different
layouts are available with
many sizes to choose
from, so you can get the
most from your favorite
apps when you are
working on specific tasks.
DISABLE PROGRAMS THAT
START AUTOMATICALLY
Windows 10 has a quick
way to disable auto-
starting programs. Right-
click the Start
button at the bottom left
and choose Task
Manager. Inside Task
Manager, click the
Startup tab.
Changing the background
*Right-click an empty
part of the desktop, or
tap and hold down,
and then
choose Personalize.
*You can use a default
windows wallpaper or
you could choose your
own personalize
wallpaper
Cleaning up useless icons
and programs
To get rid of most icons,
simply right-click them and
choose Delete or Unpin from
Start.
To get rid of the icons’
associated programs, try to
remove them the Settings
app way first: Click or tap
the Start button, the Settings
icon, Apps, Apps and
Features. See if the program
is listed. If so, click or tap it,
click Uninstall, and Uninstall
one more time, to confirm
your action.
Changing the mouse
*Click or tap Start, then the
Settings icon, Devices, Mouse
(or Touchpad).
*If you want to switch the
functions of the left and right
mouse buttons, change the
entry in the Select Your
Primary Button box.
» Hover your mouse cursor over an
Touching on the Taskbar icon to see what the program is
running
Some applications, such as File
Explorer, show each tab or open
document in a separate thumbnail.
Clicking a thumbnail brings up the
application, along with the chosen
tab or document. This nascent
feature is implemented unevenly at
this point.
» Right-click an icon, and you see
the application’s jump list.
Working with Files and Folders
A file is a named collection of A folder is a storage space, or
related information that is recorded container, where many files can be
on secondary storage such as placed into groups and organize the
magnetic disks, magnetic tapes and computer. A folder can also contain
optical disks. In general, a file is a other folders.
sequence of bits, bytes, lines or
records whose meaning is defined by
the files creator and user.
Using File Explorer
File Explorer can show you
the contents of a hard drive
— folders and files — or
a thumb drive or a CD/DVD
drive. File Explorer can also
help you look at other
computers on your
network, if you have a
network.
Recycling
To open the recycle bin
double-click the Recycle
Bin icon on the desktop.
To restore a file or
folder click the file or
folder, click Recycle
Bin Tools on the top,
and then click the
Restore the Selected
Items button.
Creating Shortcuts
» Right-click a blank area
on the desktop, and
choose New ➪ Shortcut.
» In the box, type the
name or location of the
program file, folder, drive,
computer, or Internet
address. Click Next.
» Give the shortcut a
memorable name, and
click Finish
Creating files and folders
1. Move to the location where you
want to put the new file or
folder.
2. Right-click a blank spot in
your chosen location.
3. Choose New and then the kind
of file you want to create.
Sleep in Windows 10
1. Click or tap the Start
button and then the
Settings icon.
2. Choose System and then
Power & Sleep
3. In the drop-down boxes at
the top, choose whatever
time you like.
chapter 2
Personalizing the
Start Menu
Modifying the Start Menu
Changing your picture
1) Open the Start menu, tap or click
your picture, and select Change
Account Settings.
2) At the bottom, choose Browse for
One, and navigate to the picture.
3) When you find the picture you
want, select it, and tap or click
Choose Image.
Resizing the Start Menu You can either adjust the
START MENU vertically or
horizontally.
Widen or squish the Start menu
by dragging the edges.
Changing Tiles on the Start Menu
Open the Start menu, and
right-click (or tap and hold
down) the tile you want to
change.
You can easily delete any
tile, and you can resize
many of them.
If you would like to put a
name above any of the
groups of tiles, simply click
and type it in the indicated
spot.
Forming and naming your groups Tap (or click) and drag your tiles
so similar tiles are in the same
group.
To give your groups names, click
or tap the existing name (which
may be Name Group) and type
over the name.
To move the group, click or tap
the name of the group, and drag
it anywhere you like on the right
side of the Start menu.
Click or tap and drag, and resize
the Start menu if you like.
Controlling the left-side lists These are the things you
can modify:
Show More Tiles on Start
Show App List in Start
Menu
Show Recently Added Apps
Show Most Used Apps
Show Suggestions
Occasionally in Start
Use Start Full Screen
Show Recently Opened
Items in Jump Lists on Start
or the Taskbar and in File
Explorer Quick Access
Choosing what folders appear on Start
These are the folders that
you can either show in the
START MENU or not:
File Explorer
Settings
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Videos
Network
chapter 3
Personalizing the
Desktop and
Taskbar
Changing the wallpaper
1) Click or tap the Start
button, the Settings icon,
Personalization. On the left,
select Background.
2) In the Background drop-
down box, choose Solid
Color.
3) Pick a color.
4) If you want to use a picture as your background,
in the Background box, choose Picture.
Click or tap the Start button,
Changing the theme the Settings icon,
Personalization. On the left,
choose Colors.
You can either o let Windows
choose an accent color for you
or choose your own accent
color
To put some transparency and blur
on the Start menu, taskbar, and
action center, turn on the
Transparency Effects slider.
To make (almost) all the apps
appear with white text on a black
background, select Dark for Choose
Your Default Windows Mode and
Choose Your Default App Mode.
Setting the screen resolution
Right-click any empty place on
the desktop, and choose
Display Settings.
Scroll down and click or tap the
Advanced Display Settings link,
at the bottom.
Setting the screen resolution
Click the Display Resolution
drop-down box, and choose the
resolution you want.
If you want to lock the
orientation of the display —
make it portrait all the time, or
landscape — change the Display
Orientation drop-down box.
Magnifier How to use Magnifier?
Click or tap Start, the Settings
icon, and Ease of Access. On the
left, choose Magnifier.
Slide the Magnifier setting to On
Putting Icons and
Shortcuts on the Desktop
To pin a Windows 10 app (UWP
app) to the desktop, find the
app in the Start ➪All Apps list,
click the link, and drag it to the
desktop.
Putting Icons and
Shortcuts on the Desktop
To create a desktop shortcut for
a drive, or another computer on
your network (even in a
homegroup):
a. Use File Explorer to navigate to the drive or
computer.
b. Right-click the folder or drive and choose
Create Shortcut.
c. When Windows says that it can’t create a
shortcut here, and asks whether you
want to place it on the desktop instead, click
Yes.
Windows 10 gives you several
Arranging icons on the simple tools for arranging icons on
desktop your desktop.
Sort: Choose Sort By, and then
choose an option to sort icons by
name, size, type (folders,
documents, and shortcuts, for
example), or the date on which the
icon was last modified.
Arrange: Right-click an empty place
on the desktop, and choose View, Auto
Arrange Icons. That is, have Windows
10 arrange them in an orderly fashion,
with the first icon in the upper-left
corner, the second one directly below
the first one, the third one below it,
and so on.
Align to a grid: Choose View, Align
Icons to Grid. If you don’t want to have
icons arranged automatically, at least
you can choose Align Icons to Grid so
that you can see all the icons without
one appearing directly on top of the
other.
Hide: You can even choose View, Show
Desktop Icons to deselect the Show
Desktop Icons option.
Delete: In general, you can remove an
icon from the Windows 10 desktop by
right-clicking it and choosing Delete
or by clicking it once and pressing the
Delete key.
Jump List
Jump lists may show your frequent
folders or files or recently opened
file history.
