Mastering Windows 8 in 15 minutes.

[lagers1]

Hi.

I am new to the forum . I joined today having put a new laptop to work yesterday, the 1st time I had seen Windows 8.
Needing to do some work quickly, I didn't really have time then to mess around with Windows 8 and preferred to look at in in detail later so I figured out this workround.

There's nothing revolutionary here.. just a statement of the obvious for anyone facing the windows 8 desktop for the 1st time and needing to get some urgent work done, leaving Windows 8 for later.

From the Windows 8 tiled desktop page, press the windows key on the keyboard.
This will take you to what appears to be a Windows 7 desktop but this screen, too, has no start button.
Move the cursor into the top right hand corner of the screen and a menu opens on the right side, the top item being "search".
Click on this and type "computer" in the box.
A new screen opens offering a link to click to "my computer".
Click on this and the familiar "My computer" page opens showing C drive, D drive etc.
Right click on C drive and click "send to desktop-create shortcut.
Then drill down through C drive, right clicking and adding short cuts to the "windows 7 style" desktop of every folder you would go in to from the old type start button.
You can now work from this "Windows 7" environment until you have time to study the Windows 8 interface.
The "Windows" key on the keyboard toggles backwards and forwards between the "windows 7 "style desktop and the windows 8 desktop.
I really see no need to roll back the software from windows 8 to windows 7 using this workround.
Hope this helps someone.

 

[stealth2920]

Or you can install the Windows Shell and have the best of both worlds. I personally have my computer boot to the desktop and if I want the metro screen I can just go to the lower left corner and load that. Works great so far.

 

[Coke Robot]

You can also simply pin Desktop apps and items to the Start Screen, so it just becomes a full screen start menu.

 

[AC]

Or, you can be like me, and drop W8 for Ubuntu/Windows 7.
Kidding, I recommend using Classic Shell or Start8.

 

[lagers1]

Thanks guys. Wasn't aware of Start8 but I have downloaded it and for less than 5 bucks, it's a good investment.

If I'd known about it in the 1st place , I wouldn't have had to figure out my workround above!

 

[nixmith86]

Or you can install the Windows Shell and have the best of both worlds. I personally have my computer boot to the desktop and if I want the metro screen I can just go to the lower left corner and load that. Works great so far.

I was thinking that would be handy, how do you get it to boot straight into the desktop mode? Is it a feature of windows shell or can anyone do it?

Nic

 

[AC]

Or you can install the Windows Shell and have the best of both worlds. I personally have my computer boot to the desktop and if I want the metro screen I can just go to the lower left corner and load that. Works great so far.

I was thinking that would be handy, how do you get it to boot straight into the desktop mode? Is it a feature of windows shell or can anyone do it?

Nic

The only way I know is to put the desktop tile top left in Metro, and when you are logging in, hold down enter.

 

[lagers1]

Having used windows 8 for a few days now, I have now come to the conclusion that the one thing you can't do with Windows 8 is to put random shortcuts on the windows 8 desktop, for example, a shortcut to a large Excel file you are creating over a period of days for easy access later. I don't think there's a way to create a metro style tile of a single Excel file.
I appreciate these can be placed on the Windows 7 style desktop which is one click of the windows key away but isn't having to use 2 desktops with Windows 8 making it rather pointless for the pc user though I can see why tablet users will like Windows 8.
Has anyone found a way to do this?

 

[stealth2920]

Or you can install the Windows Shell and have the best of both worlds. I personally have my computer boot to the desktop and if I want the metro screen I can just go to the lower left corner and load that. Works great so far.

I was thinking that would be handy, how do you get it to boot straight into the desktop mode? Is it a feature of windows shell or can anyone do it?

Nic

There is a setting in Shell that you can check to bypass the metro screen entirely.

 

[jimbo45]

Having used windows 8 for a few days now, I have now come to the conclusion that the one thing you can't do with Windows 8 is to put random shortcuts on the windows 8 desktop, for example, a shortcut to a large Excel file you are creating over a period of days for easy access later. I don't think there's a way to create a metro style tile of a single Excel file.
I appreciate these can be placed on the Windows 7 style desktop which is one click of the windows key away but isn't having to use 2 desktops with Windows 8 making it rather pointless for the pc user though I can see why tablet users will like Windows 8.
Has anyone found a way to do this?

I think if you create a shortcut with the excel command that opens your file then it should work. You'll see a tile with your command on the metro start screen. Just double click it.

You need the command that causes EXCEL to open with a specific file --I'm sure it can be done via some script.

The otherway is just to save your EXCEL file to the DESKTOP -- then when in desktop just double click on it. File explorer (used to be windows explorer) will just open it automatically with EXCEL so long as file type is one of the excel formats..

Cheers
jimbo

 

[lagers1]

Jimbo Thanks-I'll try it out.

 

[Atomic77]

An answer to a lot of your questions is the update called Windows 8.1.