DiscoverSkills A Guidebook For Windows 10 CreatorsUpdate

A Guidebook for
Windows 10
A quick guide to help you learn your way
around Microsoft’s latest operating system
John Lortz - DiscoverSkills.com

A Guidebook for
Windows 10
A quick guide to help you learn your way
around Microsoft’s latest operating system
Written by John Lortz

DiscoverSkills.com
Instructor materials
are available
for each of our computer
course offerings
Copyright © 2017
by John Lortz
11684 Meredith Ave
Omaha, NE 68164
jlortz@discoverskills.com
www.discoverskills.com
Book Revision 05102017
Who is this Guy, John Lortz?
Yes, I am a real person, and I live in the United States, Midwestern

town of Omaha, Nebraska. No, my office window does not look out
over a field of corn, but go about 10 blocks to the north, and you’ll find
one. And yes I did grow up in a small farming town… a very, very
small town of 600, and loved every minute of the 18 years.
Here in Omaha, I live with my wife Sue Leavitt (another
professional geek) and my son Jack (a want-to-be professional
baseball player), and lead a fairly common, Midwestern life.
For 15 years, until just recently, I was Director of Education and Technology for the Senior
Health Foundation (SHF), a non-profit that specialized in computer education for senior
citizens. There, I developed all the class curriculum, books, and videos, as well as created
and maintained the organization web sites, which included my current learning
site, www.DiscoverSkills.com. I also taught most of the senior technology classes and
workshops, with over 10,000 students passing through over 900 classes.
Because of the weak economy, SHF closed its doors at the end of 2010. But working for
SHF was a wonderful experience, both in forming lifelong relationships with my students,
and in learning how to teach and relay technical information in an understandable way.
That was always the challenge, and still is today.
Also during my time with SHF, I assisted other retirement communities in creating senior
training labs and setting up computer learning programs. I still contract and provide the
learning for one of those communities, the Computer Education Center at the Landing, in
Lincoln, Nebraska. This particular computer lab is state of the art, and we provide over 40
different class offerings from the very basic for those just getting started, to the more
advanced for those who want to learn eBay, Facebook, Photoshop editing, Smart TV,
YouTube, or PC maintenance.
Besides teaching, I continue to be an adjunct instructor at the College of St. Mary here in
Omaha. I’ve been teaching computer-science related classes there since 1988, including
web page design, database management, various programming and digital imaging classes,
and advanced business applications. Teaching at the college level has been a great balance
to teaching seniors technology, and by blending the methods used for each group, I think
I’ve come up with some great insights on technology learning.
On the writing side, I served as a freelance writer for Smart Computing, PC
Today and CPU magazines, where I published more than 30 articles on technology.
As for some odds and ends, I served on the Omaha Public Schools Internet Advisory
Committee, and acted as a volunteer video media advisor to Skinner Magnet School. I was
a featured speaker at the Nebraska AGPAM Conference, and I’ve presented at the national
AAHSA Annual Meeting. In addition, I was a keynote speaker at the Nebraska Society for
Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations conference, presenting ideas on Internet
marketing and Web page design.
I have a Master’s degree in Computers in Education, but to be honest, most of my initial
technical, geeky experience came from the five years I acted as the Director of Information
Systems for a small software development company here in Omaha. And following that
job, I did computer and network consulting for a few years, before ending up at SHF.
Whew… Ok, so I’ve talked a bunch about myself. The thing is, I’ve been blessed with lots of
great experiences working with technology and students who are interested in technology.
Although I never set out to be one, I guess you could say I’ve become a professional
technology educator. But along the way, I’ve also become a PC geek, networking geek,
web-video specialist, web site designer, and a bunch of other nerdy things that just went
with the territory that my life traveled through.
So, that’s it. That’s me. That’s who I am and where I’ve been. Oh, and hopefully, I’m not
done yet! Feel free to explore our sites and take in what we offer there. I also invite you to
visit our main learning portal, DiscoverSkills (www.DiscoverSkills.com). And if you have any
questions, feel free to shoot them my way.
I’ll even listen to YOUR life story, if you want to tell me!
DiscoverSkills.com is a technology learning portal created by John Lortz to assist

students of all ages in understanding and using computer, photography, and mobile
device technology. We do this through eBooks, video courses, and webinars.
For more information, email us at jlortz@discoverskills.com
or visit one of our Web sites.
DiscoverSkills (my main site) – www.discoverskills.com

My Learning Store – store.discoverskills.com
My YouTube Channel – www.youtube.com/discoverskills
My Twitter Feed – www.twitter.com/discoverskills
My Online Learning Portal – www.discoverskillsacademy.com
Detailed Contents
Section 1 – Introduction and Overview ____________________ 1
A Brief History of Windows ___________________________________________ 1
A Snapshot of Windows 10 ___________________________________________ 3
The First FREE Windows Upgrade ______________________________________ 4
Windows 10 Editions ________________________________________________ 4
Windows 10 – The “last version” of Windows? ___________________________ 4
Section 2 - All About Microsoft Accounts __________________ 6

Microsoft Account Features and Facts __________________________________ 6
How To Setup a Microsoft Account ____________________________________ 6
Switching to a Microsoft Account in Windows 10 _________________________ 8
Switching Back to a Local Account _____________________________________ 9
Section 3 – Windows 10 Desktop Basics __________________ 10

Step One – The Lock Screen and Login _________________________________ 10
Step Two – Overview the New Desktop ________________________________ 11
Step Three - Connecting to the Internet ________________________________ 12
A Wired Connection _________________________________________________________ 12
A WiFi Connection __________________________________________________________ 13
Step Four - Using the Start Menu _____________________________________ 14
User Account Button ________________________________________________________ 15
Most Used & Recently Added Apps _____________________________________________ 16
Optional Menu Buttons ______________________________________________________ 16
Power (Shut Down) Button ___________________________________________________ 18
All Apps ___________________________________________________________________ 18
App Tile Panel ______________________________________________________________ 20
Step Five – Working with App Windows and the Taskbar _________________ 21
What is a “window”? ________________________________________________________ 21
Windows Control Buttons ____________________________________________________ 22
Sizing and Moving Windows on the Desktop ______________________________________ 23
Working with Multiple Open Windows __________________________________________ 24
The Task View Button – A birds-eye view of your open windows ______________________ 25
More Desktop Open App Window Tricks _________________________________________ 26
Summarizing the Desktop Basics _____________________________________ 27
Section 4 - Adding More Windows 10 Desktop Features to your

Toolbox! ___________________________________________ 28
Search Box Basics __________________________________________________ 28
Changing Search Settings ___________________________________________ 30
To open the search settings if Cortana is OFF _____________________________________ 30
Using Cortana_____________________________________________________ 31
Setting Up Cortana (if you do NOT have the Anniversary Update) _____________________ 31
Using Cortana for Information _________________________________________________ 32
Using Cortana for Search _____________________________________________________ 33
Using Cortana to Interact with Other Apps _______________________________________ 34
Just “Chatting” with Cortana __________________________________________________ 35
The Search Box Menu and Customizing Cortana ___________________________________ 36
Using Your Voice with Cortana_________________________________________________ 37
The Taskbar Tray (Notification Area) and Action Center ___________________ 38
How the Tray Area Works ____________________________________________________ 39
Wi Fi icon _________________________________________________________________ 39
Notifications _______________________________________________________________ 40
Customizing the Tray Area and Action Center _____________________________________ 42
Virtual Desktops via the Task View button _____________________________ 45
Section 5 – Personalizing Windows 10 ___________________ 47

Accessing the Settings Window ______________________________________ 47
My Favorite Desktop Settings to Change _______________________________ 48
Set the Desktop Background / Colors / Lock Screen ________________________________ 48
Choose Which System Icons are on the Desktop ___________________________________ 49
Set the Screen Timeout and Sleep Settings _______________________________________ 49
Set Mouse Pointer Settings ___________________________________________________ 49
Set Desktop Icon Size and Arrangement _________________________________________ 50
Set Desktop Icon Sort Order___________________________________________________ 50
My Favorite Start Menu Settings to Change ____________________________ 51
Set What Appears on the Start Menu ___________________________________________ 51
Set Which Folder buttons Appear on the Start Menu _______________________________ 51
My Favorite Taskbar Settings to Change _______________________________ 52
Changing Taskbar Toolbars ___________________________________________________ 52
Changing Selected Taskbar Buttons _____________________________________________ 52
Moving the Taskbar _________________________________________________________ 53
Changing Ease of Access ____________________________________________ 53
Turning on Narrator _________________________________________________________ 53
Using Magnifier ____________________________________________________________ 54
High Contrast ______________________________________________________________ 55
Keyboard Ease of Access Settings ______________________________________________ 55
Section 6 – More Windows 10 Settings __________________ 56

Manage Your Apps_________________________________________________ 56
Setting Default Apps _______________________________________________ 57
What does “default apps” mean? ______________________________________________ 57
How do default apps get set? _________________________________________________ 57
Setting Your Own Default Apps ________________________________________________ 58
Setting Default Apps by File-Type ______________________________________________ 59
Setting Defaults by the App ___________________________________________________ 59
Setting AutoPlay Defaults ___________________________________________ 60
Performing Windows Updates _______________________________________ 61
Checking for Updates ________________________________________________________ 61
Setting Windows Update Options ______________________________________________ 62
Internet Safety Settings _____________________________________________ 62
Windows Firewall ___________________________________________________________ 63
Advanced Firewall Settings ___________________________________________________ 63
Windows Defender__________________________________________________________ 64
Setting Privacy Options _____________________________________________ 64
Setting Printer and Scanner Defaults __________________________________ 65
Windows Maintenance Tools ________________________________________ 66
Defragment and Disk Cleanup _________________________________________________ 66
The Task Manager __________________________________________________________ 66
Working with Your Accounts ________________________________________ 67
Adding a Family Member Account ______________________________________________ 67
Changing Your Account Type __________________________________________________ 68
Section 7 – Windows 10 Files & Folders __________________ 70

The First Step – Saving Your Work ____________________________________ 70
What is Saving? ____________________________________________________________ 70
What is really happening when you SAVE: _______________________________________ 71
More About Files ___________________________________________________________ 72
More About Folders – The Windows Documents Folder_____________________________ 73
Getting Back to the Documents Folder __________________________________________ 74
Summarizing Where You Are At ________________________________________________ 75
How Folders are Organized __________________________________________ 76
The Folder Tree ____________________________________________________________ 76
The File Pathway ___________________________________________________________ 77
The Windows 10 Folder Tree ________________________________________ 78
Accessing the Windows 10 Folder Window (File Explorer) _________________ 79
Opening a Folder Window in Windows 10 _______________________________________ 79
Navigating Folders with the Windows 10 Folder Window _________________ 81
Step One: Getting the Panes and View setup using the View Ribbon ___________________ 81
Step Two: Working with the Navigation Pane _____________________________________ 82
Step Three: Understanding How the Windows 10 Tree is Organized __________________ 83
Step Four: Using the Content Pane _____________________________________________ 85
Step Five: Also Using the Details and Preview Panes _______________________________ 86
Step Five: Using the Details and Preview Panes ___________________________________ 87
Step Six: Searching for Files ___________________________________________________ 88
Summary Example of Navigating the Folder Tree __________________________________ 89
Creating Folders and Copying / Moving Files ____________________________ 90
Creating Folders ____________________________________________________________ 90
Renaming a Folder __________________________________________________________ 91
Copying / Moving Files between Folders – Method One (Dragging) ____________________ 92
Copying / Moving Files between Folders – Method Two (Copy & Paste) ________________ 94
Selecting More Than One File at a Time _________________________________________ 96
Moving and Copying Entire Folders _____________________________________________ 98
Deleting Files and Folders ___________________________________________ 99
How to Delete a File or Folder _________________________________________________ 99
The Recycle Bin_____________________________________________________________ 99
Saving a File to a Newly Created Folder _______________________________ 100
A Glossary of Folder Window Ribbons ________________________________ 101
Home Ribbon _____________________________________________________________ 101
Share Ribbon _____________________________________________________________ 102
View Ribbon ______________________________________________________________ 102
File Ribbon (window) _______________________________________________________ 104
The Windows 10 Folder Window “Context” Ribbons ______________________________ 104
Section 8 – The “Core” Windows 10 Apps and the App Store 108
Edge Browser App ________________________________________________ 108
3 Ways to Navigate to Web Pages _____________________________________________ 109
Tabbed Browsing __________________________________________________________ 109
Add Favorites _____________________________________________________________ 110
The Hub _________________________________________________________________ 111
Web Note ________________________________________________________________ 111
Share____________________________________________________________________ 112
More ____________________________________________________________________ 112
More Edge Tips ____________________________________________________________ 113
Mail App ________________________________________________________ 113
Setting Up a Mail Account ___________________________________________________ 113
The Mail App Screen _______________________________________________________ 114
Composing a Message ______________________________________________________ 115
Reading Messages _________________________________________________________ 116
Calendar App ____________________________________________________ 117
Setting Up a Calendar Account _______________________________________________ 117
The Calendar Screen________________________________________________________ 118
Working with the Calendar Screen ____________________________________________ 118
Navigating the Main Calendar ________________________________________________ 119
Changing the Main Calendar View _____________________________________________ 120
Working with Calendar Events ________________________________________________ 120
Using the Microsoft App Store ______________________________________ 122
Accessing the App Store _____________________________________________________ 122
Navigating the App Store ____________________________________________________ 122
To Purchase an App ________________________________________________________ 123
Using the Account Menu ____________________________________________________ 124
Where Do I Go from Here? ____________________________ 125
Appendix A: A WiFi (Wireless Networking) Primer _________ 126
Appendix B: Helpful Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts ______ 131
Appendix C: Internet Safety Checklist ___________________ 132

Appendix D: The Anniversary Update ___________________ 134
What is the Anniversary Update? ____________________________________ 134
What the Update Includes _________________________________________ 134
Changes with Cortana _____________________________________________ 135
Settings (Cortana Settings) ___________________________________________________ 137
Notebook (Cortana Notebook) _______________________________________________ 137
The New Start Menu ______________________________________________ 138
Appendix F: Cortana Commands to Try __________________ 139

To “activate” Cortana _______________________________________________________ 139
Basic Commands __________________________________________________________ 139
Settings to can turn on and off________________________________________________ 139
Scheduling/Reminders (if you are using the Microsoft Calendar App) _________________ 140
Searching ________________________________________________________________ 140
Maps/Navigation __________________________________________________________ 140
Entertainment ____________________________________________________________ 141
Travel ___________________________________________________________________ 141
Random tips and tricks just for fun ____________________________________________ 141
Appendix G: The Creators Update ______________________ 142
Disclaimer, Terms of Use, & Trademarks ________________ 143

Section 1 – Introduction and Overview
In This Section
In this first section I’ll give you a quick overview of why Windows
Brief History of Windows
10 came about, the new features it has to offer Windows users,
Snapshot of Windows 10
and where things might be headed.
First Free Windows Upgrade
A Brief History of Windows Windows 10 Editions
Windows 10 – Last Version?
To help you understand why you see what you do with Windows
10, I think it helps to look back at the Windows timeline.
As I write this, we are very close to the 20th Anniversary of Windows 95. To give you some
perspective, Windows version 1.0 was released on November 10th, 1985, which may not
seem that long ago, but in “technology years” is almost an eternity!
I personally was not a Windows 1.0 user, but
instead was a “DOS” guy who preferred typing
commands on a keyboard versus clicking that
strange thing called a mouse.
My first experience with Windows came with
release of Windows 2.0 in 1987, and then
pushed ahead in 1992 as I began teaching
computer classes with Windows 3.1.
The early versions of Windows worked pretty
well, but during that time most experienced
computer users still preferred DOS and the speed that using the command prompt offered.
But then things changed.
On August 24th, 1995, Microsoft released an
entirely new version of Windows called
Windows 95, which for the first time gave us a
truly customizable “Desktop”, an easy way to
switch between open programs called the
“Taskbar”, and this great place filled with all
our program icons called the “Start Menu”.
Over 7 million copies of Windows 95 were sold
during the first few weeks of its release,
partially because Microsoft undertook a huge
marketing promotion, but also because the
Internet was booming in popularity as the
common person discovered email and the World Wide Web.
A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 1
I’ll bet that if you sat down in front of a computer running Windows 95, you would have no
problems using it. That’s because the 3 main features I mentioned earlier (the Desktop,
Taskbar, and Start Menu) haven’t really changed. Since 1995,
Microsoft has released 7 versions of Windows, each of which
included those features…
• 1998 - Windows 98
• 1999 - Windows 98se
• 2000 - Windows 2000 and Windows ME
• 2001 – Windows XP
• 2006 – Windows Vista
• 2009 – Windows 7
But then, on October 26th, 2012 we were all thrown for a loop!
In response to the massive popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets,
and with the ever increasing desire to stay constantly connected to the Internet, Microsoft
decided to make a big change with Windows with the release of a completely new version
called Windows 8.0.
The idea behind Windows 8.0, was to create a version of Windows that would look and
work the same on a computer, or tablet, or phone. And when you turned on a computer
running Windows 8, you saw….
✓ The Start Screen, a screen filled with colorful “tiles” that took the place of our
desktop icons, making it easier for touch devices to start programs.
✓ Apps, special programs that ran full-screen with no traditional Windows Control
buttons (minimize, maximize, close), again making Windows easier to use with
touch devices.
✓ No Start Menu, but instead an All Apps screen that once again, was easier to access
on touch devices.
These features, along with a host of others, were poorly accepted by traditional “mouse”
computer users, and over the next two years, realizing they had made big mistakes,
Microsoft began backtracking and giving us back some of our old Windows features. But as
hard as they tried, it just wasn’t enough.
And that leads us to Windows 10. In response to all those computer
users asking for their Desktop, Taskbar, and especially Start Menu
back, on July 29th, 2015 Microsoft released Windows 10.
And yes, they DID skip over the number 9, I think because they
wanted to distance themselves from the number 8!

A Snapshot of Windows 10
With Windows 10, Microsoft took what they felt was the best of Windows 8 and combined
it with the best of Windows 7. Here is short list of what I think are the most important new
features and facts:
➢ The Start Screen is gone (on the PC) and the traditional Desktop is back
➢ The Start Menu is back, but it’s a hybrid of the old
menu and new tiles
➢ The word “Apps” is now used for all the
software/programs on your computer, since Apps
now open in traditional windows on the Desktop
just like our old programs.
➢ We now have an “intelligent digital assistant”
named Cortana that helps you search your local
computer, search the Internet, manage your
calendar, and retrieve news and information.
➢ Microsoft has replaced the Internet Explorer
browser with a completely rewritten browser called
“Edge” (although Internet Explorer is still there with Windows 10).
➢ A new taskbar button called Task View displays a pop-up of all your open windows
and allows you to create multiple, virtual desktops.
➢ Another new button on the taskbar displays a new feature called the Action Center,
where you can view all your incoming Notifications.
➢ Microsoft has improved the
Windows 8 “core apps”, Mail
and Calendar, making them
faster and easier to use.
➢ There’s a feature called
Continuum – that detects
whether you are on a PC with
a mouse, or using a touch-
screen device. It then
automatically displays the
traditional Desktop or the
newly updated “tile” screen.

The First FREE Windows Upgrade
Windows 10 was a FREE upgrade to anyone who had a computer that was running
Windows 7 SP1 (Service Pack 1) or Windows 8.1, which is something that Microsoft has
never before done.
For those running an older version of Windows 7, or the older Windows 8.0, you could still
get the free upgrade to Windows 10 if you use the normal Windows Update utility (found
in the Windows Control panel) to upgrade your computer to the latest version.
Be aware that the free update was only available until July 29th, 2016 (1 year from the
original release date of Windows 10). Since then, to upgrade you must pay $119.
Windows 10 Editions
For home users, Windows 10 is available in two different editions. If you upgraded from
Windows 7(SP1) or Windows 8.1, you got the Windows 10 edition that is comparable to
what you originally had.
• If you had Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 8.1
you’ll got Windows 10 Home.
• If you had Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, or Windows 8.1 Pro
you’ll got Windows 10 Pro.
I could go into the detailed differences between Windows 10 Home and Pro here, but
honestly, almost all the features you see in Pro but not Home have to do with business
networking and management features not needed by the typical home user.
Windows 10 – The “last version” of Windows?

Let me end this overview section of the guidebook by gazing into
the crystal ball to see what might lie ahead for Windows.
At a conference a few months before the release of Windows
10, an executive from Microsoft made the announcement that
Windows 10 would be “the last version of Windows”.
Of course, as of the writing of this guidebook, Microsoft hasn’t
really explained what that statement means, but most tech
followers believe Microsoft is moving away from providing major
new versions of Windows and instead will be releasing regular
improvements and updates without bothering with versions.

In fact, with Windows 10 they have already
done away with the old routine of providing
updates or patches on the 2nd Tuesday of
each month (called Patch Tuesday), and are
now push out updates as they are needed.
They have also changed the Windows Update
process, so that you have NO CHOICE but to
get the updates. In the past, most home
Windows users had updates set to
automatically happen (which is the safest
thing to do), but geeks often turned that
feature off and did updates when they felt
like it.
Now you will get Windows 10 updates
whether you want them or not. Here is a
screenshot of the Windows Update setting
my computer. Notice that without any input
from me, and update is available and already
scheduled to happen.
Of course, no-one really knows what Microsoft

will do with Windows in the coming years. Although many home users ARE getting
Windows 10 for free now, and will probably get updates for free over the next few years,
Microsoft has to make money from us somehow.
So my guess is, at some point, another “new version” of Windows will appear that
Microsoft will make us pay for.
I guess we will see…
Ok, enough introduction, let’s get more into how to actually “use” Windows 10, starting
with how to login into your Windows 10 computer using a Microsoft Account.

Section 2 - All About Microsoft Accounts
The first time you run Windows 10, you will be lead you through In This Section
a setup process where you can choose to use a Microsoft MS Account Features & Facts
Account, or instead just login to your computer using a Local How to Setup a MS Account
Account. Switching to a MS Account in 10
Although I’m not a huge fan of having all kinds of accounts all Switching back to Local Account
over the Internet, having a Microsoft Account, especially if you
are a Windows 10 user, is a good idea, and provides you with some very worthwhile
benefits.
Microsoft Account Features and Facts

Here are some important facts you should know about having a
Microsoft Account.
• Accounts are FREE, and all you need to create one is an
email address (which becomes your ID) and a password.
o You can use ANY email address to setup an
account, you do NOT have to use a Microsoft
(Hotmail or Live Mail) address.
• If you already a user of Windows Live, Hotmail,
Outlook.com, OneDrive, Skype, or Xbox, you already
have a Microsoft account, and you can log into
Microsoft using that existing email & password.
• When you log into your Windows 10 PC using your Microsoft Account…
o You can get Apps from the Microsoft Store
o You can access and save your files and folders to OneDrive (your free cloud-
based storage space).
o If you have more than one computer or device running Windows 10, and use
the same account for both, your personalization settings and Microsoft App
information will automatically synchronize between those devices.
How To Setup a Microsoft Account

You can start the process of setting up a Microsoft Account from a
number of different places, including by going directly to
Microsoft.com on the web, or going into Account Settings on
your Windows 10 computer. In each case look for “Create” or
“Sign-up”.
Here’s how to setup an Account from inside of Windows 10 if you’re already
logged in using a local account:
• Click the START BUTTON at the lower left corner of the Desktop
• From the Start Menu, choose SETTINGS, then choose ACCOUNTS
• On the Accounts screen, click SIGN IN WITH A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT INSTEAD
• On the Make It Yours screen, choose CREATE ONE
• On the Let’s create your account screen, fill out
your information and click NEXT
• On the See what’s most relevant to you screen,
choose if you want Microsoft to personalize your
advertisements or send promotions and click
NEXT.
• On the next screen you’ll be prompted to enter
your “old password” for your local account (if
you had one). Then click NEXT.
• Finally, you’ll be asked by Windows 10 if you
would like to setup a PIN for your account,
making it easier to log in. You can choose SET A
PIN or SKIP THIS STEP. (I’ll talk about PINS on
the next page).
Once you complete this last step, Microsoft will setup your account as your new way to log
into your Windows 10 computer.
Then, all you have left is to check your email for a “verification message” from Microsoft.
Open that message and click the Verify button that you’ll see. This will take you to
Microsoft on the web, and once you login there using your new Microsoft ID (email) and
password, you’re all set!
Switching to a Microsoft Account in Windows 10
If you have been using Windows 10 with a Local Account (not logged into a Microsoft
Account), and already have a Microsoft Account, it’s easy to switch from Local to your
Account.
• Click the START BUTTON at the lower
left corner of the Desktop
• From the Start Menu, choose
SETTINGS, then choose ACCOUNTS
• On the Accounts screen, click SIGN IN
WITH A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT
INSTEAD
• On the Make it yours screen enter your
existing Microsoft Account email and
password, then click SIGN IN.
• You’ll then be prompted to enter your
“old password” from your local
account, and click NEXT.
• Next you’ll be asked by Windows 10 if
you would like to setup a PIN for your
account, making it easier to log in.
o A PIN is simply a 4+ digit
number that you can use
instead of your regular
password to log into your
Windows 10 computer.
o To setup a PIN, just
type the desired
number in the New
Pin and then Confirm
Pin box.
Tip - You can change your

PIN anytime by going to the
START BUTTON-> Settings->
Accounts-> Sign-In Options.

Switching Back to a Local Account
If for some reason you decide that you don’t want to use a Microsoft Account, you can
instead switch to using a “Local Account” on your Windows 10 computer.
• Click the START BUTTON at the lower left corner of the Desktop
• From the Start Menu, choose SETTINGS, then choose ACCOUNTS
• On the Accounts screen, click the Sign in
with a local account instead link.
• On the next screen you’ll be prompted to
enter your Microsoft password as a
security check. Enter it and click NEXT.
• On the Switch to a local account screen
you’ll be asked to enter a User Name and
a desired password and a hint, and
then click NEXT.
Tip - For Local Accounts,

you can choose NOT to
use a password by
leaving the Password
field blank when they ask
you to choose one.
• The last screen just informs you that

you’ll be logged out of your
Microsoft Account and that
some of your apps that
need information from
Microsoft might ask you to
log back in when you use
them. To finish the process,
click SIGN OUT and FINISH.
Tip - You can always re-

login to your Microsoft
Account by following the
directions on the previous
page.

Section 3 – Windows 10 Desktop Basics
In this section we’ll dive right into using the part of Windows 10
you’ll probably see the most of, namely, the Desktop! In This Section
Step 1– Lock Screen & Login
Learning the Desktop features is one of the best ways to really Step 2– Desktop Overview
take control of Windows 10, and gets you up and running quickly Step 3 – Connecting to the Net
so that you can access and use all your important apps (programs). Step 4– The Start Menu
What I’m going to do is take you through the Desktop in Steps, Step 5 – App Windows & Taskbar
starting with what you first see when you turn on your computer.
Step One – The Lock Screen and Login

The first thing you’ll see after your Windows 10
computer starts is the “Lock Screen”, which
displays the time and date.
Here you can see my Lock Screen, and the
picture I’ve chosen for the “background” (which
you’ll learn to change in a later section).
• CLICK the mouse or PRESS ANY KEY to
switch from the Lock Screen to the Login
Screen.
Next, you’ll see the “Login Screen”.
• If you are using a Microsoft Account (discussed in Section 2), you’ll see your name
and your email displayed, with a box to type in your Password (or PIN).
o If you have setup a PIN number to use for logging in in addition to your
Password (as
discussed in
Section 2), below
the box you’ll see
SIGN-IN OPTIONS.
Click this to
choose either
PASSWORD or PIN
for your sign-in.

• At the lower right corner of the Login Screen you’ll see buttons that you can click to
access certain important features that may be needed before you even log in.
Although these can be customized, you should see (from left to right)…
o Connect to Internet
o Ease of Access
o Shut Down
Step Two – Overview the New Desktop

The next step is to become familiar with the main features you’ll see on the new Windows
10 Desktop. Later in the guidebook, I’ll show you the details of using all these features, but
to get started, I just want to give you an overview.
Here’s a shot of my own Windows 10 Desktop with the features all labeled…
Desktop Shortcuts
Action Center
Start Button Task View Button
Notifications icon
Cortana (Search) Edge Browser Button
Network icon
Note – In the Anniversary

Update the Notification icon is
Taskbar Shortcuts Pinned to Taskbar
on the RIGHT of the Time/Date

Here’s a description of those labeled features:
• Start Button – Click this button and the Start Menu is Tip – Remember that
displayed, where you can find and start all the apps on Microsoft now calls all the
your computer. programs/software on your
computer, Apps.
• Search (Cortana) – Type everything from the name of an
App or a file, to what you want to find on the Internet in
this box, and a search will be performed. And if you activate it, this is also where you
communicate with Cortana, your digital personal assistant.
• Task View Button – Displays a pop-up view show all your open windows and allows
you to switch between them. Also includes the ability to create Virtual Desktops.
• Edge Browser Button – Windows 10 includes a completely redesigned browser
called Edge.
• Action Center – includes:
o Network icon – Click to attach to a WiFi network. Tip – If you would prefer to
o Notifications icon - Click the Notification icon and see the Tile Screen instead of
a panel of app notifications and quick access the Desktop, click the
Setting buttons appears. Notifications icon and then
the Tablet Mode button.
• Desktop Shortcuts – The traditional icons you double-
click to start your Apps.
• Shortcuts Pinned to Taskbar – Shortcuts appearing on the taskbar that you click
once to start an App.
• Taskbar – The bar across the bottom of the Desktop that holds the Start Button,
Search Box, Pinned Shortcuts, Network icon, Notification icon, and Time/Date.
However, it also holds a “lit-up App icon” for App window you open.
Again, we’ll get into the details of using each of these features as we continue…
Step Three - Connecting to the Internet

The next step in learning the basics of the Windows 10 Desktop is
making sure you’re connected to the Internet.
A Wired Connection
If you connect to the Internet using a wired-connection, then you’ve
probably already plugged the wire into your computer, and you’re
already connected.
For the most part, Windows 10 automatically detects and sets up
connections to the Internet that are wired, so there’s not much else you have to do.

A WiFi Connection
If you have WiFi (a wireless network) in your home, or if you have a laptop and you’re
visiting a place that has Public WiFi, the first time your computer is in range of the
network, you’ll need to follow these steps to make the connection…
• On the lower right corner of the Desktop, to the left of
the Time/Date on the Taskbar, you’ll see a WiFi icon.
CLICK the icon to display the WiFi Panel.
o The WiFi panel lists all the WiFi networks
detected by your computer (i.e. that you are
close enough to).
o Besides your own WiFi, you may see your
neighbors WiFi network appear on this list.
• CLICK on your WiFi and it will expand showing you a
Connect box.
o To connect to your network, click the CONNECT

button. Also click the Connect Automatically
checkbox if you want to have your computer
connect automatically in the future.
o Your home WiFi is probably “Private” which means
that when you click CONNECT, you’ll also be prompted
to enter your WiFi networks Password.
• Once connected, you’ll see the name of your WiFi
network with the word “Connected” beneath it.
• You’ll also see that the WiFi icon on the taskbar has
now lit-up, and if you mouse-over it, the name of the
network you’re connected to is displayed.
To learn more about WiFi networks, turn to Appendix A of

this guidebook where I’ve included
“A WiFi (Wireless Networking) Primer”.

Step Four - Using the Start Menu
Now that you’ve overviewed what you’ll see on the Desktop, and your computer is
connected to the Internet, it’s time to get into some important Desktop features. nd of
those features, none is more important than the Start Menu.
To see the Start Menu, click the Start Menu Button at the left side of the taskbar.
App Tile Panel
Show Menu Button
Most Used & Tip – You can actually

Recently Added RESIZE the Start Menu by
Apps moussing-over the top or side
edge. When you see the
double-headed arrow, drag
to change the menu height or
width.
User Account Button
OPTIONAL Menu Buttons
File Explorer Button
Settings Button
Power (Shut-Down) Button
Let’s continue by looking at the details of all these Start Menu features.

User Account Button
At the top of the side menu you’ll see the User Account Button, which appears as the
name of the person who is currently logged into Windows 10 (probably you), along with
their picture (or a small “avatar placeholder” if they don’t have
a picture).
• When you CLICK the button (the picture or name) you’ll
see a menu appear.
• Your Account– Click this option and the Accounts
Settings window displays with the Your Account option
chosen.
On the right panel, you can

scroll down and see information
about the current user and click
the various options to change
user settings.
Tip – I cover all the

important Settings options in
Section 5 and 7 of this
guidebook.
• Lock – Click this “lock” your

computer and have it display
the Lock Screen where you then
have to log back in to continue working.
This is handy if you need to temporarily walk away from your computer and don’t
want someone else accessing it.
• Sign out – If you are the only person using your computer, this option works almost
like Lock, and takes you back to the Lock Screen where you must log back in to
continue working.
The big difference is, if you have any open Apps when you choose Sign Out, they
will be closed. With Lock, all your open Apps will remain open

Most Used & Recently Added Apps
At the top of the Start Menu you’ll see Most Used & Recently
added Apps, which is a list showing you shortcut icons for the
Apps that Windows 10 notices you open and run the most
often.
• CLICK an icon to start that App
• An ARROW to the right of an icon means there is a
Jump List (a list of recently opened documents or files
by that App). Click the arrow to see the list.
o Here is an example of my Jump List for the
Notepad App.
Tip – If you’re wondering

how soon Windows adds a
shortcut for an App that you
often use, wonder on!!! I’ve
experimented opening a
program multiple times and
it’s still not on the list!
Tip – There is currently no

feature to add your own App
icons to the Most Used list.
• To remove an App icon from the Most Used list, RIGHT click the icon and choose
Don’t Show in this list.
o NOTE: If you decide to use this option, keep in mind there is no current way to
get it BACK on the Most used list again! That might change with future
Windows 10 updates.
Optional Menu Buttons

Just below the User Account button on the screen shot is the label “OPTIONAL Menu
Buttons” because you can actual turn OFF/ON the buttons that display here.
• From the Start Menu, choose SETTINGS
• In the Settings Window, choose PERSONALIZATION
• On the Personalization menu, choose START.
o On the right panel, click “Choose which
folders appear on Start”.
o On the screen that appears, click the
OFF/ON switch to display or hide the
Button on the Start Menu.
o Buttons you turn on will appear ABOVE
the File Explorer and Settings buttons.
By clicking the “Choose which folders appear on

Start” you can choose to turn off and on, other Start
Menu buttons to specific file folders.
Two buttons you might want to consider having

“turned on” for the Start Menu:
• File Explorer Button – Click this and a
Windows 10 “Folder Window” appears. Folder
windows are what you use to manage and work
with your saved files and folders.
o Because this is such an important topic, I
have an entire guidebook section (Section 8)
dedicated to the subject of working with Files
& Folders.
• Settings Button – Click this and the Windows

10 Settings window will display.
o The Settings window gives you a nice, clean menu for accessing the most
important options used to change the way Windows 10 works.
o We will discuss these settings later in the guidebook, in Sections 5 and 7.
I also like turning on the Documents button and the Pictures button, since it gives
me a one-click way to quickly get to my Documents folder and to my Pictures folder.

Power (Shut Down) Button
Next, beneath the Optional Menu Buttons you’ll see Power button,
which is basically what you use to Shut Down your computer.
• Sleep – Puts the computer into a “lower power state” which
turns off the monitor, but does not actually turn the
computer clear off. Once asleep, wake the computer up by
touching keyboard keys, or in some cases, pressing the
computer power button.
• Shut Down – Closes Windows and completely powers-

down your computer. Tip – If you have a
laptop/notebook computer,
• Restart – Closes Windows, completely powers down your
closing the display lid will
computer, and then immediately starts it back up again.
automatically put the
computer to Sleep, just as the
Sleep option does.
Depending upon your computer, you may have other options
besides the three I’ve listed here.
All Apps
The main part of the Start Menu is a scrolling list of all the
programs (apps) you have on your computer.
This list replaces what used to be called “All Programs” in
earlier versions of Windows, and displays a scrolling,
alphabetical menu of all the Apps (programs) on your
computer.
• CLICK an App icon to start that App
• “Folder” icons with Arrows on the right are “App
Groups”. Click that icon and the menu expands to show
the Icons in that group.

• To quickly jump down the menu, CLICK any “Letter Title” (the capitol letter at the
top of each alphabetical section)
o An Alphabet Grid is displayed. Click a letter and the App menu will reappear
and jump to that point in the alphabet.
• From the All Apps menu, if you RIGHT

Click on an App icon, you’ll get a pop-up
menu that includes these options…
o Pin To Start – Adds the Icon to the App Tile Panel

o More – Displays additional options
▪ Pin to taskbar – Adds the Icon to the Taskbar
▪ Run as Administrator – runs the app with the
highest level of user rights.
▪ Open file location – opens the app’s folder
o Uninstall – Completely removes the App
from your computer (be careful with this!)
• To Create a regular Desktop Shortcut
o Find the icon on the All Apps menu
o Drag it from the menu to the Desktop.
o A COPY of the icon is made, and the original shortcut remains in the menu.
Tip – Microsoft has always included a set of “utility programs” with Windows to help you get started in
using Windows in productive ways. These programs (now called Apps) used to be in a group called
Accessories.
They can now be found on the All Apps menu under “Windows Accessories”.
Apps here include WordPad, Paint, Sticky Notes, AND… Internet Explorer (which is STILL ON your
computer, but has been replaced by the new Edge browser).
App Tile Panel
The last component of the Start Menu is the panel
that appears on the right side, which I’m calling
the App Tile Panel.
• This panel represents “what’s left” of the
Start Screen from Windows 8.
• Tiles refer to the colored rectangles and
work almost exactly the same as App icons,
in that you CLICK them to start an App.
o For some touch-screen users, Tiles
are easier to tap and work with than
Icons, which is why you see them
here.
• You can RESIZE the panel by moussing-over
the top or right edge, and when you get the
double-headed mouse arrow, drag.
• The App Tile panel is organized into

sections called Groups.
o To change the TITLE of a group (such
as the top one, “Life at a Glance”), click
the Group name and the editing box will appear.
o You can change the Position of a Tile by dragging it up and down the Tile
Panel with your mouse.
o Notice that as you drag a tile, there are blank areas down the panel which
represent gaps between different groups.
o Create a new group section by dragging a tile beyond the end of the panel.
o If you drag one icon on top of another, you create an icon group (a single
button that has multiple icons inside of it.

• RIGHT CLICK a Tile to get these options…
o Unpin from Start – removes it from the panel
o Resize – lets you change the tile size
o Turn live tile off – if the App the tile represents is
“informational”, the “live tile” feature animates
the tile and you see information from the App. An
example of this is the Weather App.
Click “turn live tile off” to stop the animation.
o Pin to Taskbar – Click and the App icon is added to the Pin area of the
Taskbar (which we talk about in the Next Step…)
Tip – Although there’s not an actual option for “not displaying” the App Tile Panel, if
you Unpin all the tiles from the Start Menu, you can then Resize it to make it only show
the left side.
Step Five – Working with App Windows and the Taskbar

Now that you have a good handle on how to use the Start Menu to find your Apps and
open them, you next need to understand how those Apps open and work in their own
“window”.
What is a “window”?
Microsoft Windows is called “Windows”
because every App (program) you start,
opens in its own window.
Having each App in its own window lets
that App work separately from other
Apps that are open.
Notice in the screenshot here, there are
3 open windows on the Desktop.
• Notice that windows seem to “float” on the Desktop, and are positioned in “layers”,
with one window “towards you” on the screen, and the others “behind”.
• When you open an App window, a “lit-up icon button” for that App also appears on
the Taskbar at the bottom of the Desktop.

Windows Control Buttons
To help you manipulate them on the Desktop, each open window has a set of buttons on
the right side of the window Title Bar (the bar running across the top of the window) called
“Control Buttons”.
Although they sometimes look a bit different depending upon which
App you have open, they are basically the same. Here are
3 examples of Control Buttons from three different windows.
There are 3 main Control Buttons:
• Minimize – Click this button and the window will shrink completely out of view,
and only be visible as a lit-up button on the taskbar. (I’ll talk more about the
Taskbar in a bit)
• Maximize / Restore – When a window is NOT filling the entire screen (floating
on the Desktop), clicking this button will Maximize the window, making it fill the
screen. HOWEVER, when the window is already maximized, clicking this button
will Restore it “down” to a floating window again.
• Exit – Clicking this button closes the open window and the App inside of it. It’s
what you click when you a finished working with an App and want to Exit it.
Here is an example of how you might use those buttons as you work with an App:
• When you start the App, if the window is not filling the screen, click the Maximize
button and it will (why not use the entire screen as you work?).
• As you’re using an App, if you want to leave

it open but jump out to temporarily do
something else, click the Minimize button
to shrink it out of sight. When you are finished
outside the App, click the App’s “lit up button”
on the taskbar to have the App window
reappear on the Desktop.

• When you are completely finished using an App, click the Exit button
to quit, and the entire App window will close.
Sizing and Moving Windows on the Desktop

When an App windows is NOT Maximized (floating on
the screen), it can be sized and moved.
• Position your mouse over the edge of the
window, and when the cursor turns to
a double-headed arrow,
drag the mouse to size the App window.
• To move a floating App window, position

the mouse cursor on the window
“Title Bar” (the bar across the top of the
window), and drag.
Tip – Instead of clicking on the Control Buttons, another FAST way to Maximize a floating window is to
position your mouse cursor on the Title Bar, and drag straight up to the top of the Desktop. When your mouse
cursor touches the top, the floating window will seem to expand, and if you let go of the mouse button, the
window will Maximize.
To Restore a Maximized window, just put your mouse on the Title Bar and drag down.

Working with Multiple Open Windows
At some point, you’ll need to have more than one App (and therefore, App window) open
on your Desktop. For example, as you’re working on a document in your word-processor,
you might want to quickly check your email.
Depending upon your computer’s memory, can have as many open App windows as you
need on the Desktop.
Here is an example where I have
three open App windows floating
on the Desktop.
If you were to Maximize one of
these windows, it would fill the
screen and hide the windows, but
they would still be open.
Also keep in mind that all the
features I talked about earlier this
section (Control buttons, moving,
sizing, etc.) still work for each of
the open windows, however there
are some special facts to consider when you have more than one App window open:
• App windows float in their own “layer” on top of the Desktop. This means they can
be “in front” or “behind” each other, as you see in the above screenshot.
• When you click a floating
window, it “activates” that
window and brings it to
the forefront on your
Desktop.
This screenshot shows

how clicking the Calendar
App window above would
bring that App window to
the forefront.
• Each open App window also has a “lit-up icon button” on the Taskbar at the bottom
of the Desktop. To bring an App window to the forefront, simply Click its Taskbar
button.

The Task View Button – A birds-eye view of your open windows
Another way to work with multiple open App windows on the Desktop is to use the new
Windows 10 Task View button.
• When you click the

Task View button, a large
thumbnail image for each
open App window is displayed on the Desktop.
Click a thumbnail to bring that App window to the forefront
• Mouse over a thumbnail and you’ll see an “X” at the upper right corner you can click
to CLOSE that App window.
• You can open a new Virtual Desktop by clicking the New Desktop button at the
lower right corner of the screen. (I discuss this in Section 4 of the guidebook).

More Desktop Open App Window Tricks
To finish Section 3, I want to pass along some additional Desktop and window tricks that
aren’t absolutely necessary to use, but might be useful to some Windows 10 users who
spend a lot of time with multiple open App windows.
• Quick ½ Windows – If you drag a window by its Title Bar to either side of the
Desktop, so that the mouse cursor your dragging with touches the edge of the
screen, when you let go of the mouse button, the window will automatically fill ½
the screen.
Plus, the other open
windows will appear
as thumbnails on the
opposite side, and if
you click one, it will
enlarge to fill the
other ½ of the screen.
• Quick ¼ Windows – If you drag

a window by its Title Bar to the
upper left or right corner of the
Desktop and drop it, the
window will fill ¼ of the screen.
But I should note that as I write

this guidebook, this feature is
not fully functional since you
still have to manually size the
windows (using the method I
taught you earlier in this
section) to get them to exactly ¼
size of the screen.
• Shake to Isolate – If you mouse-over the Title Bar of a window, then drag your
mouse in a “shaking” movement, all the other open App windows will Minimize,
leaving only that window on the screen. Shake again and the other windows
reappear. (NOTE – you don’t have to shake very hard!)
• Alt + Tab to Switch Windows – As with previous Windows Version, pressing and
holding the ALT key on the keyboard, and then pressing the TAB key will display
thumbnails of all your open App windows (somewhat like the new Task View
button).
As you continue to hold ALT and press TAB repeatedly, you’ll see a box cycle around
the different thumbnails. Release ALT and whichever window is in the box will come
to the forefront.
• Peek Button – If you have open App windows on the

Desktop, and want to quickly Minimize all of them, move
your mouse to the lower right side of the taskbar, and
click the area just to the right of the Time/Date. All the
windows will Minimize.
Click the area again, and all the App Windows will re-appear.
Note that in previous versions of Windows, this button would “hide” the open
windows by just moussing over it. Now (unless this is something they plan on fixing)
it only works if you click.
Summarizing the Desktop Basics

This finishes our basic “Steps” tour of the Windows 10 Desktop. At this point, you should
have a pretty good grasp of the most important Desktop features…
• The Lock screen and logging in
• The main parts of the Desktop (Start Menu, Taskbar)
• Connecting to WiFi
• How to use the Start Menu to find your Apps
(programs)
• How to work with an open App window (Minimize,
Maximize, Restore, Exit, size and move)
• How to work with multiple open App windows
• How to use the Taskbar and Task View to switch between open App windows
Next, we’ll dive deeper into other features you can find on the Windows 10 Desktop.

Section 4 - Adding More Windows 10
Desktop Features to your Toolbox!
In This Section
In this section I’ll continue to add to what you know about the
Search Box Basics
Windows 10 Desktop, by showing you some additional features
Changing Search Settings
that are not necessarily “essential”, but certainly helpful and
Using Cortana
powerful if you decide to use them.
The Taskbar Tray & Action Center
Virtual Desktops via Task View
Search Box Basics

Although previous versions of Windows included a “search” feature, with Windows 10
Microsoft brings that feature to the forefront by placing it right on the Taskbar.
Just to the right of the Start Menu button, you’ll see a box that says “Ask me anything” or
it might say “Type here to search”.
• Click the box and a cursor will appear for you to

type.
o A pop-up search panel will also appear.
Before you type, it will contain news stories
from the Internet (actually, from the Bing
search engine).
o Type keywords or a phrase you want to
search for, and the results appear on the
panel. In this example I’ve typed “word”.
Notice that the search results include Apps

that match “word”, folder names, Apps from
the Microsoft Store, and even options in
Settings.
Click a result to open or go to it.

Find Results in Documents
After typing your search
word/phrase, you can click buttons
at the top of the panel to focus your
search on those areas.
Find Results in Apps Find Results in Web
• Find Results in Apps – Focuses the search to show Tip – Click “Filters” at the top
results that come from search the Apps on your computer. right of the window to see a
• Find Results in Documents - Focuses the search to list of “places” you can choose
show results that come from searching your Documents from to narrow your search
folder (and sub-folders). even more.
• Find Results in Web – Displays a list of search phrase

suggestions for what you typed in.
o Click a search phrase option and the Edge
Browser will open and do a search on that phrase
on the Bing Search Engine.
Tip – To change from using Edge as

the default browser, Click the Start
Button, then Settings, then System,
and from the menu, Default Apps.
Scroll down to Web Browser and
click. Then choose which browser you
want as the default.

Changing Search Settings
A couple of pages ago, I mentioned that the search box says “Ask me anything”. Why?
• In older versions of Windows 10, If Cortana (Microsoft’s Virtual Assistant) is OFF it
will say “Search the Web and Windows”.
• After the Anniversary Update of Windows 10, Cortana is automatically ON, which is
why it says “Ask Me Anything” (or it might now also say “Type here to search”.
I’ll go into details about Cortana in a moment. But first I want to teach you how to turn
Cortana off or on IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ANNIVERSARY UPDATE of Windows 10.
To open the search settings if Cortana is OFF

(ONLY available if you do NOT have the Anniversary Update)
• Click the Search Box on the Taskbar
• At the upper left side of the pop-up panel, click the GEAR icon
and you’ll see search settings you can change, including…
o Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders,
alerts and more – again, I’ll talk about Cortana in a
moment.
o Search online and include web results – turning this OFF
forces your searches to be only local and not on the web.
To open the search settings if Cortana is ON
(ONLY available if you DO have the Anniversary Update)
• Click the Search Box on the Taskbar
• At the upper left side of the pop-up panel, click the Notebook icon
(the icon for Cortana Settings). This displays a list of options that
let you change the types of information Cortana tracks and
displays.
• At the lower left side of the pop-up panel, click the Gear icon
and you’ll see a scrolling list of Cortana Settings you can
change, including…
o Hey Cortana – allows Cortana to always
listen for your voice to say “Hey Cortana”

Using Cortana
Cortana is the name that Microsoft has given to its new
Tip – Cortana comes from a hugely
Intelligent Personal Digital Assistant that’s included with popular video game on the Xbox
Windows 10.
called Halo, and was an AI (artificial
An intelligent personal digital assistant is basically intelligence) that assisted the Master
software that can perform tasks on your computer or Chief (a soldier in the video).
mobile device, based upon your interactions with it, your
location, and data that you’ve entered into other apps
(such as calendars, to-do lists, etc.) that the assistant can access.
Other examples of assistants include Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Google Now.
NOTE – With the Anniversary Update, Cortana has been permanently turned on and is
working, but only if you have logged in with your Microsoft Account. For more information about
the changes with Cortana, turn back to Appendix D in this book.
Setting Up Cortana (if you do NOT have the Anniversary Update)

If Cortana is NOT already turned on for your computer (and it IS with the Anniversary
Update)
• Click in the Search Box on the taskbar
• On the panel that appears, at the upper left, click the Gear icon.
• Click the Off / On Switch for “Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders,
alerts, and more”
When you do this, Cortana will be activated, but you still must
accept their Privacy statement, which basically says that
Cortana (Microsoft) will be collecting information as you do
searches and use Cortana.
Tip – You can manage what Cortana collects.

• Click the Search Box on the taskbar
• Click the Notebook icon
• Click Permissions
• Change the options that appear to limit
what Cortana tracks.

Using Cortana for Information
Once Cortana has been activated, there’s nothing special you
really have to do to take advantage of what she offers.
• The Search Box on the Taskbar will now read “Ask Me
Anything” instead of “Search the Web and Windows”.
• When you click the box to type a keyword or phrase,
the pop-up Search Panel will appear and Cortana will
display information that it’s gathered for you,
including…
o Calendar event reminders
o Current news events
o Local Weather
o Etc…
• As you scroll through the information there are small
arrows and icons you can click for more options:
o 3-dots (…) at top left corner displays
options
▪ “Hide” or “Don’t Show” turns
that information off
▪ Edit in Notebook takes you to
a screen where you can
control what’s displayed
o Up/Down-arrow at bottom-middle
expands a panel section.

Using Cortana for Search
If you type a keyword or phrase into the Ask Me
Anything box, Cortana will attempt to answer your
question, plus give you a list of common Internet
search phrases that match what you’re looking for.
Here, I’ve typed in “how tall is the Eiffel tower”.
o Cortana provides her answer at the top in the
blue area.
o If she has no answer, the top blue area will just
display your search word or phrase as a
clickable link to Bing.
o Cortana gives a list of search phrases under
Web, and clicking a phrase will open the Edge
Browser at Bing and do the search.
o After the panel appears, if you click the optional
buttons at the top (Find Results in Apps or Find
Results in Documents), it will search your local
computer using the word or phrase.
o If you click the Find in Web button at the top, it
will do a web search (at Bing) with the word or
phrase.
Cortana also supports “natural language” searches.

For example, you can type these types of search phrases into
the Search Box:
• “find all my pictures from july” and she does a search
of your local picture files dated from july.
• “find my documents about windows” and then click
the Results in Documents button, she does a search of
your documents and pulls up a list of any that includes
the word “windows”.

Here are some examples of other questions you could ask:
• While a song is playing ask, “What is this song” – Cortana listens and does a search
• “How many miles is 5.4km” – Cortana does the conversion
• Type in a math problem – Cortana does the calculation
• “weather in San Diego” – Cortana returns the current weather
• “directions to jupiter fl” – Cortana opens the Map App and
plots a course
Using Cortana to Interact with Other Apps

As I’ve mentioned, Cortana gets information from your Calendar
and Weather Apps, just to name a few.
Besides GETTING information, you can tell Cortana to ADD
information, such as to the Calendar:
• Here I’ve typed “add dentist appointment 4pm 9/15/15” in
the Search Box, and Cortana displays a filled-in scheduling
screen.
• Clicking the ADD button would add it to the Calendar App.
Or you can ask her to add Reminder:

• In this example, I’ve typed “remind me to call Bill Smith
tonight” in the search box, and Cortana displays a filled-in
Reminder.
• Clicking the Add button would add it to the Reminder List.

You can also have her interact with these Apps:
• Alarm App
o Example, type in “Set alarm for 5am
tomorrow”
• Email App
o Example, type in “Send email to susan
Leavitt”
Tip – If you type “help” in the

Search Box, Cortana will list the
different Apps she can interact
with.
Just “Chatting” with Cortana

Finally, if you just want to have a fun conversation, you can
simply talk to Cortana. Try some of these phrases with her:
• “Tell me a joke”
• “Tell me a story”
• “Sing me a song”
• “What is your birthday”
• “What do you look like”
• “What’s your favorite planet”
• “How old are you”
NOTE– Turn back to Appendix F of this book and you’ll find a

section called Cortana Commands to Try, for even more
examples of phrases you can say to Cortana and have her
respond to.

The Search Box Menu and Customizing Cortana
Earlier in this section, when you learned about Changing Search
Settings, you saw that if you click your mouse in the Search Box on the
Taskbar and the Search Panel is displayed, on the left you’ll see a
menu of icons.
If you click the “3-Line” button at the top, the menu icons will expand
and include titles.
• Home – displays the main information panel you normally see
when you click the Search Box.
• Notebook – takes you to options for customizing Cortana
(which I show below)
• Settings – Takes to options for changing Cortana
• Feedback – opens a screen for sending Microsoft feedback
about Windows 10
Let’s take a closer look at Notebook, and the options it has for
changing how Cortana works.
• About Me – Let’s you change the name Cortana uses for
you and edit your “favorites”.
• Reminders – Let’s you add reminders that you want
Cortana to alert you about.
• Connected Services – Let’s you connect various Microsoft
Accounts (if you have any).
• Music – Let’s you connect various music services.
• Skills – Let’s you connect other types of services.
• Permissions – Shows you a list of options for controlling
what Cortana can “see” about you.
• The rest of the menu consists of information categories,
and if you click one, you’ll see that you can turn Cortana
Off/On for that item.
Tip – When you get a chance, click through
these categories and turn off those that you
really don’t care about. This helps speed up
Cortana and you’ll see less “non-useful”
information!
Using Your Voice with Cortana
You may have noticed that to the right of the “Ask Me Anything” Search Box, there’s a
small Microphone icon.
If your computer is equipped with a microphone, you can click this icon
and then “talk” to Cortana instead of typing in your phrase or
question.
• Most laptop computers have built-in microphones, but for
desktop computers, you’ll probably need to purchase a mic
that plugs into the microphone input plug on your computer.
• To talk, click the microphone icon. You’ll hear a tone and the
Search Box says “Listening”.
• Speak your phrase and you’ll see it appear as text in the
Search Box.
You can also activate a feature called “Hey Cortana” as an

alternative to clicking the Microphone.
• With this feature turned on, Cortana is constantly
“listening” for your voice to say “Hey Cortana”, and
when you do, Cortana processes the next phrase
you say.
• To activate the feature in Windows 10
o Click your mouse in the Search Box, and when the Search
Panel appears, choose the Notebook menu icon at the upper left
o Choose Settings, and you’ll see the Off/On switch for Hey Cortana.
o The first time you turn on the feature, you’ll be asked to “train” Cortana for
your voice through a series of screens where you read pre-created phrases.
Tip – To adjust the microphone “levels”, RIGHT click the Speaker Icon in the Taskbar Tray area and
choose Recording Devices. In the window that appears, choose the microphone from the list and then click
the Properties button at the bottom right of the window. The next window that appears will have various
options for adjusting the microphone.

The Taskbar Tray (Notification Area) and Action Center
The Taskbar Tray (which is also known as the Notification Area), is on the far right side of
the taskbar, and consists of the Time/Date and a number of small icons.
Here’s an example of what it looks like. Although your computer should also have the icons
that I’ve labeled here, the other icons you see will be different for each computer.
Peek button
Volume icon
In the Anniversary Update the
location of the Notification icon has
changed and is now to the right of
the time/date. Otherwise everything
Show More arrow in the Tray works the same.
Time/Date
Laptop Power icon Notifications icon

In the screen-shots that follow you
Network icon still see it in the original location.
• Show More arrow – Click this and a small pop-up window displays additional
Tray icons (in the screenshot, the arrow has already been clicked) that won’t fit
on the limited Tray area.
• Laptop Power icon – You’ll only see this on laptop or notebook computers, and is
an indicator of whether the computer is using battery or plug-in power.
• Network (WiFi) icon – Displays how you are connected to a local network (your
Internet connection). It will either appear as a “Cone” (if you are connected by
WiFi) or a “Plug” (if you are connected by a physical cable).
• Notifications icon – New for Windows 10, this icon lights up (turns white) when
new Notifications from your Apps have arrived in the Action Center.
• Time/Date – Click to display a full-month calendar for reference purposes.

• Peek – Click to minimize all open windows, and then click again to restore them.
• Volume – Click to adjust the speaker volume.

How the Tray Area Works
The tray area and all of the icons you see there serves two important purposes:
1. It gives a quick way to access certain Windows Settings (such as Network,
Date/Time, and Volume)
2. It gives a quick way to access some of the important Apps that are constantly
running in the background (also called “Memory Resident Apps”).
There are 3 ways to use the icons you see:

• Mouse-over the icon and a pop-up box appears
giving you information about it. In the example here
I’ve moussed-over the icon for my Bitdefender anti-
virus App.
• Click the icon to display a pop-up window that

typically gives you access to some of the icon (App)
features. Here I’ve clicked the Laptop Power Icon and
there are options for changing power settings.
• RIGHT click the icon to display a menu of options

for that icon (App). In this example I’ve RIGHT
clicked the Network icon showing a menu with two
options.
Although most of the icons you see on your computer will be different than the ones
others see on their computer, there are a few that ALL Windows 10 computers will include,
and it’s important to know about them. I’ll explain those next…
Wi Fi icon
This icon lets you quickly connect to a WiFi network.
NOTE: I talked in detail about this button back in Section 3 of the book, but I’ll re-
summarize it here.

The first time you get within range of a new WiFi
network, in order to use that network you have to
“manually” connect to it.
When you click the WiFi icon in the Tray area, a pop-
up panel displays a list of all the available WiFi
Networks.
• Click a network name to display the options to
Connect or Disconnect from that network.
• CHECK the Connect Automatically button to
have your computer automatically connect to
the network next time you are in range.
• Click the CONNECT button to connect to that
network.
Notifications
This icon will “lite-up” when new “App
Notifications” have arrived, and clicking it will
display what Windows 10 calls the Action Center.
The Action Center has two parts:

• Notification Area – is at the top and
consists of a scrolling list of notifications
coming from various Apps on your
computer, including certain Windows 10
system apps.
• Quick Action Buttons – are at the bottom

of the panel, and give you access to certain
features that Microsoft thinks are
important to you.
NOTE: the number of buttons you see
here will vary with which “version”
of Windows 10 you have.
Let’s look at these two panel sections in more
detail.

Using the Notifications Area
Notifications are simply incoming messages from
Apps that need to tell you something.
Notifications might include Windows security
alerts, events from your calendar, new email
messages, Facebook updates, etc.
• Click a notification to jump to that App
for more details.
• Mouse-over a notification and on the
left you’ll see an “X” to clear it, and a
“down arrow” to display more options
for that notification.
• Click “Clear all” at the top right to clear
all the current notifications.
• RIGHT Click any notification, and choose
“Go To Notification Settings” to customize
the Action Center.
Using the Quick Action Buttons

These are all clickable buttons that either act as off-on switches, or jump you to a Settings
related window. Note that depending upon your particular computer, some of these
buttons may be missing or grayed out (nonfunctional).
• Click “Collapse” or “Expand” at the top right to display fewer or more button rows.
• Tablet Mode – switches between the
Windows 10 Desktop and the “classic” Start
Screen (tiles).
• Connect – allows you to connect to
Bluetooth and other types of wireless
devices, including Miracast. (Note that your
computer must support Bluetooth for this
button to work).
• Note – opens the OneNote App (which
comes with Windows 10) which can be used
for making a quick list or note about
something.

• All Settings – works just like the Settings option on the Start Menu in that it opens
the Settings App.
• Battery Saver – if running a battery powered laptop, lets you turn off or on special
battery saving features.
• VPN – takes you to the settings for VPN (Virtual Private Networking), which is a way
to connect your computer to other computers privately across a public network.
• Brighter – clicking this will cycle you through various monitor brightness levels.
• WiFi – an off and on button for your WiFi connection
• Quiet Hours – click to turn off all incoming notifications
• Location – click to turn off and on location services, which allows certain Apps to get
your location.
• Airplane Mode – click to turn off all wireless connections to your computer.
• Night Light – Changes your computer display to be more ergonomic for evening
hours (changes the color and intensity).
Customizing the Tray Area and Action Center

Windows 10 allows you to customize what icons, Notifications, and Quick Action buttons
you see in the Tray Area and Action
Center.
To do this customizing:
• Click the Start Button to
display the Start Menu
• Choose the Settings option to
display the Settings window
• Choose System from the
Settings window
• Choose Notifications & actions
from the System menu on the
left.
Tip – You can also get to this
System window by RIGHT clicking
a notification in the Action
Center, and then choosing Go To
Notification Settings.

The scrolling panel on the right contains a wealth of
options for changing Quick Actions, Taskbar icons,
System icons, Notifications, and which Apps can
display Notifications.
I’ll start at the top and work down…
• Quick Actions – Here you’ll see the buttons
you have in your Action Center. Click the Add
or remove quick actions link to see a list of
buttons you can turn off and on.
• Notifications - Shows a list of off/on

switches for getting various notifications
in the Action Center window.
• Get notifications from these senders –
shows a list of apps and lets you choose
which ones are allowed to show you
notifications in the Action Center.

Action Center Tip – Although I’ve spent some time talking about the Action Center, the Quick
Action buttons, and notifications that will appear, in all honesty, you’ll probably find that you don’t
really use the Action Center that often. In my own personal use of Windows 10, I rarely open the Action
Center. So don’t let all the options and buttons you see there, overwhelm you!
Let’s finish up our look at the Taskbar by looking at a brand-new Windows 10 feature that
you might find useful, if you like to have multiple windows open at the same time.
It’s called the Task View button.

Virtual Desktops via the Task View button
Back in Section 3 of the guidebook (specifically, it what I
called “Step 3”), you learned about the Task View button
on the Windows 10 Taskbar, and how clicking it will
display clickable
thumbnails of all
your open App
windows.
Here is an example
of where I have 3
open App Windows
and how
thumbnails are
displayed when I
click the Task View
button.
But now notice at

the lower right side of the screen that you see a “plus”
button called “New Desktop”.
• Click this button and a new “Virtual Desktop” will be
created. You’ll see the new desktop as a thumbnail called
Desktop 2 at the bottom of the Task View screen.
• Click Desktop 2
and you’re taken
to your new
Virtual Desktop.

The ability to create virtual desktops allows you to organize open Apps into groups (i.e.
onto different Desktops).
Once you’ve created a second virtual Desktop, here are some things you can do:
• To move back and forth between those virtual desktops, just click the Task View
button, and then the desired Desktop will appears as thumbnail at the bottom of
the screen.
• Move an open App window from one desktop to another by clicking the Task View
button, and then dragging the open App thumbnail down to the desired desktop
and dropping it.
• Close a virtual desktop by clicking the Task View button, moussing over a desktop
thumbnail, and clicking the “X” that appears at the upper left thumbnail corner.
o When you close a virtual desktop, any open App on that Desktop is merged with
the other still-open Desktop.

Section 5 – Personalizing Windows 10
As with past Windows versions, there is a wide array of In This Section
options for customizing how Windows 10 looks and feels. Accessing the Settings Window
Favorite Desktop Settings
In this Section I’ll cover the Personalization Settings that I think Favorite Start Menu Settings
you’ll find the most useful as you get started with Windows 10. Favorite Taskbar Settings
(Later, in Section 7 I’ll cover other important Settings that you Changing Ease of Access
might eventually want to check out.)
Accessing the Settings Window

As you learned back in Section 3 of the Guidebook, Windows 10 includes a newly designed
Settings window that is much easier to use than the traditional Control Panel found in
older windows versions (and still available in Windows 10).
• To get to the Settings window, click the Start Menu Button, and then the Settings
option.
The Settings window has 10 different
“categories” for changing the way Windows
looks and works.
Tip – To quickly find any Windows

10 setting, try typing keywords for
what you’re looking for in the
Search Box on the task bar. Also
notice that at the top of the Settings
window, there is a “Find a setting”
search box you can use.
When you click a category button, the settings category

windows that appear always work the same way:
• You click a settings option on the left menu
• You see the setting features you can change on
the right panel.

Rather than go through every one of these categories
Tip – When you have a free
and all the options they contain, I’m going to pick and
moment, open the above Settings
choose those options that a majority of users find useful
window and go exploring! Click on
as they start working with Windows 10.
each category to see what’s there.
To access all of the settings I talk about here you must I’ll bet you find some options that
first… are useful for how you personally
use Windows 10.
• Click on the Start Button to open the Start Menu
• Click on the Settings option
Tip – As you work with the Settings panel you’ll see clickable links to related settings you change.
These links often just jump you to another category in the Settings window that you also could have just
chosen yourself. The Bottom-line is… there are multiple ways to get to the same thing.
My Favorite Desktop Settings to Change
Set the Desktop Background / Colors / Lock Screen

In the Settings window click Personalization.
• On the left menu click Background
o On the right panel you’ll see various options
for changing how the background looks.
▪ Click the Background menu to
choose Picture / Solid Color /
Slideshow
▪ As you choose a background,
examine the other options that
appear down the panel.
• On the left menu click Lock Screen
o On the right panel you can change the Lock
Screen picture
o Down the right panel you can set what
information from certain Apps appears
on the Lock Screen
▪ Click an App button to choose the
App from a pop-up menu.

▪ The Detailed status app information will display on the Lock Screen
just below the Time/Date on the right.
▪ The Quick Status App icons will display as buttons on the lower right
side of the Lock screen, and you can click them to get information.
NOTE: At the time of this writing, the Quick Status App feature still
was not working correctly!!!
Choose Which System Icons are on the Desktop

As you use the Desktop you may be missing some of the
icons you’re used to seeing in older Windows versions
(such as the Recycle Bin or the Computer icon).
In the Settings Window click Personalization.
▪ On the left menu click Themes
o On the right panel, scroll down to the
bottom and click Desktop icon settings
o Checkmark the icons you want to display on
the Desktop
Set the Screen Timeout and Sleep Settings

You can set your computer monitor (screen) or your entire
computer to “sleep” after a certain period of inactivity, to
save power.
In the Settings Window click System.
▪ On the left menu click Power & sleep
o Use the drop down menus to set the time for
each option as you see fit.
Set Mouse Pointer Settings

If you find it hard to see your mouse pointer on the screen, there are options for changing
its size and color.
In the Settings Window click Ease of Access.

▪ On the left menu click Mouse
o Click the appropriate button to change
the mouse pointer size and color.
o Below those options you’ll see others for
using the keyboard numeric keypad to
move the mouse cursor.
Tip – For more Mouse settings,

from the Settings window choose
Personalization, then Themes from
the menu, and then click Mouse
Pointer Settings on the right panel.
Set Desktop Icon Size and Arrangement

Your probably already know that you can use your mouse to “drag” icons on the Desktop
to different positions. But you can also easily size them and arrange them.
On the Desktop, find a blank area and RIGHT click.
• On the menu that appears, choose
VIEW.
o Click Large, Medium, or
Small to change the icon
size.
o Click the Auto Arrange and
Align Icons to Grid to have
the icons line up in columns
on the screen.
Set Desktop Icon Sort Order

On the Desktop, find a blank area and RIGHT
click.
• On the menu that appears choose Sort By.
o Click Name, Size, Item Type or
Date modified to sort the icons.

My Favorite Start Menu Settings to Change
Set What Appears on the Start Menu

There are certain sections of the Start Menu that you can turn
off and on, depending upon what you like to see there.
▪ On the left menu click Start
o Click the Off / On switch for those options you
want to change.
o NOTE: If you turn On “Use Start full screen” the
Start Menu will display the App Tile Panel (the
Start Menu right panel) full-screen, similar to what
you used to see with Windows 8.
Set Which Folder buttons Appear on the Start Menu

Recall from Section 3 of this guidebook that you can customize which “folder”
buttons appear above the Power button.
▪ On the left menu click Start
o At the bottom of the right panel click the “Choose which folders
appear on Start” option.
o In the window that appears, click the Off /

On button for those buttons you want to
have available on the Start Menu.

My Favorite Taskbar Settings to Change
You were introduced to the Desktop Taskbar basics back in Section 3 of this guidebook,
and then again in Section 4 when you learned about the Taskbar Tray area, the Search
Box, and the Task View button. Action Center
Task View Button

Start Button
Edge Browser Button Notifications icon
Cortana (Search)
Shortcuts Pinned to Taskbar Network icon
Like the other parts of the Desktop, you can also customize certain things about the
Taskbar.
Changing Taskbar Toolbars

Point your mouse at a blank place on the Taskbar and RIGHT click
• On the menu that appears, choose Toolbars
o A submenu appears where you can click to turn off or on certain Taskbar
tools (such as Address).
o What you see here depends upon
the Apps installed on your
computer.
Changing Selected Taskbar Buttons

Point your mouse at a blank place on the Taskbar
and RIGHT click.
• On the menu that appears you’ll see
options for changing certain Taskbar
buttons and tools, including:
o Cortana – changes how the Search
Box displays
o Show Task View button – turn the
Task View button off and On
o Show touch keyboard button – displays a button that will display a desktop
keyboard when clicked.

Moving the Taskbar
Point your mouse at a blank place on the Taskbar and RIGHT click.
• On the menu that appears choose
Taskbar Settings (which takes you
Settings).
o Lock the taskbar – uncheck
and you can drag the Taskbar
with your mouse to different
sides of the screen.
o Auto-hide the taskbar –
check and the Taskbar will
hide unless you move your
mouse to it.
o Taskbar location on screen –
this drop-down menu lets
you click to position the
Taskbar at the top, sides, or
bottom of your screen.
Experiment with the other settings you see

here to customize the Taskbar even more.
Changing Ease of Access

Windows 10 includes an Ease of Access Settings category that includes options for turning
on and off certain features that can help better “see” the screen or even “hear” what’s
going on.
I won’t go into ALL the settings here, but will mention a few popular ones. Again, I
encourage you to explore and experiment with these on your own.
To display the Ease of Access window:
• Click the Start Button, and from the Start Menu choose Settings
• In the Settings window, choose Ease of Access
Turning on Narrator
The Narrator feature helps you “see” what is on the screen by reading out loud what you
have clicked on.
• In the Ease of Access window, click the Narrator menu option on the left.
o On the right panel, click the On / Off
Narrator button.
o When On, you can also choose:
▪ Start Narrator automatically
(without clicking a mouse on
something)
▪ The voice being used
▪ The Speed and Pitch of the voice
▪ What screen features are read
Using Magnifier
Magnifier is a nice feature for “zooming in” on
anything you see on the screen (including Desktop
items and even features in Apps).
• In the Ease of Access window, click the Magnifier menu option on the left.
o On the right panel, click the On /
Off Magnifier button.
o As soon as it’s on, your mouse will
be “glued” to a magnification
panel that zooms in on anything
you mouse over.
o You’ll also see a Magnifying Glass
icon on the screen that if clicked,
will display the Magnifier Control
panel
▪ Click PLUS or MINUS to zoom in or out
▪ Click “X” to close the magnifier

High Contrast
This feature allows you to quickly change the Desktop
Theme (colors, fonts, etc.) to a much higher contrast,
making it easier for some to see what’s on the screen.
• In the Ease of Access window, click the High
contrast menu option on the left.
o Under Choose a Theme, use the drop-
down to choose one of four different high
contrast themes.
▪ As you choose a theme, you’ll see it
previewed on the screen
▪ Click the APPLY button to make
that theme active.
Keyboard Ease of Access Settings

For those will difficulty using the keyboard, Ease
of Access includes a few settings that might make
your life easier.
• In the Ease of Access window, click the
Keyboard menu option on the left.
o Turns on the On-Screen Keyboard –
displays a clickable Desktop
keyboard.
o Sticky Keys – when two keys needs
to be pressed at the same time
(such as when using keyboard
shortcuts), turning this feature on
allows you to press one key at a
time instead.
▪ Note there are many other
options that display when
Sticky Keys is turned on.
o Toggle Keys – plays a sound when certain keys are pressed
o Filter Keys – turning this on displays a set of options helpful if you’re having problems
holding keys down too long.

Section 6 – More Windows 10 Settings
Back in Section 5 of this guidebook you learned about many of In This Section
the Windows 10 Settings that let you customize and Manage Your Apps
personalize the way Windows 10 works. Setting Default Apps
Setting AutoPlay Defaults
In this Section we will again head into the Settings window, Performing Windows Updates
but this time look at a few other Settings options that are Internet Safety Settings
important, but perhaps not used quite as often. Setting Privacy Options
To access the Settings window… Setting Printer/Scanner Defaults
Windows Maintenance Tools
• Click the Start Button to display the Start Working with Your Accounts
Menu
• From the menu, choose Settings.
For the rest of the Section, we will primarily be

starting from this window to access the settings we
want to discuss.
Manage Your Apps

Back in Section 3 you learned that you could Uninstall an
App while using the Start Menu.
• Click the Start Button to display the Start Menu
• On the All Apps menu, find the desired App icon.
o RIGHT click the icon
o Choose Uninstall to completely remove it
from your computer.
However, there’s another way to Uninstall an App that

also provides you with a bit more information.
In the Settings Window click Apps.

▪ On the left menu click Apps & features
▪ On the right panel you’ll see a list of all
your Apps appear.
o Type an App Name – lets you
search for an App
o Sort by:– a menu that lets you
change how the App list is sorted.
o Filter by: – lets you focus on only
those Apps on a particular hard
drive (if you have more than one
on your computer).
▪ Notice that for each App you can see
the amount of space it’s taking on your
hard drive, plus the date it was
installed.
▪ Clicking an App will expand to show the
Uninstall button. Click it to completely remove an App from your computer.
Setting Default Apps
What does “default apps” mean?

The word “default” in the computer world means “factory setting”, or in the case of
Default Apps, means the App that will be used if you double-click on a specific file type.
• For example, if you open a folder window and find a document you created, when
you double-click it, the “default app” for doing word-processor will open.
• As another example, if you open your Pictures folder and double-click a picture file,
your default photo viewing App will open.
How do default apps get set?

When you install a new App, it will typically make itself the default app for the types of files
it likes to open.
Sometimes it will ask you if it should become the default app, but other times it just goes
ahead and does it on its own.

• For example, when you install a browser app such as Firefox or Chrome, and then
start that App for the first time, you’ll often see a message appear on the screen
asking if you if you want to make it the “default browser”.
Setting Your Own Default Apps

Regardless of how they are set, you can always change which App opens when you double-
click a file to whatever App you would prefer to use.
In the Settings Window, Click Apps.
• On the left menu click Default Apps
• On the right panel, you can scroll down to see the default apps being used for the
main types of files on your computer, including…
o Calendar
o Email
o Maps
o Music Player
o Photo Viewer
o Video Player
o Web Browser
• To change the App or to choose one for a file that
currently has no default
o Click the current App or “Choose Default”
▪ A drop-down menu appears where
you can choose which installed App to
use.
▪ In this example, I’ve clicked EMAIL to
choose which email App should be
used.

Setting Default Apps by File-Type
On the previous page you saw that Windows 10 gives you a way to easily change the
default App for the most common file types.
However, you can also change the default App for less common or very specific file types.
In the Settings Window, Click Apps.
• On the left menu click Default Apps
• On the right panel, scroll down to the
bottom, and click Choose Default Apps
by File Type.
o A long list of file types will
display, and for each one you can
click the App button or “Choose
a default” button to change
which App opens that type of
file.
Setting Defaults by the App

Another way you can set a default App is
through a feature that lets you choose the App,
and then with a click have it become the default for any type of file it can open.
In the Settings Window, Click
Apps.
• On the left menu click
Default Apps
• On the right panel, scroll
down to the bottom, and
click Set defaults by App.
• In the window that
appears, your Apps are
listed on the left. Click one
and at the bottom you can
click “Set the program as
default” for it to take on all
of its file types.

Setting AutoPlay Defaults
When you plug-in a storage device (such as a flash drive, or camera media card, or
portable hard drive) to your computer, Windows 10 detects the device and then attempts
to “do” something with it.
In older versions of Windows, when you plugged something in, an Auto-Play window
would commonly pop-up asking you what you “wanted to do”.
With Windows 10, instead of the Auto-Play window appearing, it just decides on its own
what should happen.
HOWEVER… you can change what Windows 10 automatically does by changing the
AutoPlay settings.
In the Settings Window, Click Devices.
• On the left menu click AutoPlay
o On the right panel you can click a
drop-down menu for different types
of removable devices.
o Below you can see the menu that I
get when I click Choose a Default
under Removable Device.
• On my own computer, I have both the
Removeable drive and Memory card set to
“Open folder to view files”, since most
commonly I want to see what is on a
portable storage device like a
flash drive or portable hard
drive once I plug it in.

Performing Windows Updates
With past versions of Windows, Microsoft provided updates that fixed and enhanced the
program on the second Tuesday of each month, a day that most techs called “Patch
Tuesday”.
• With old Windows versions, you had a
choice of getting the updates
Automatically or having the chance to
choose if and when they happened.
• I always recommended to most of my
students that they Automatically get updates,
since the updates typically provide fixes that
enhance your computer security.
With Windows 10, Updates have changed a bit…

• Updates now happen anytime Microsoft decides to do them, not just once a
month.
• Updates are always done Automatically, you have no choice but to accept them.
This means that without any effort from you, your Windows 10 Updates have been set to
automatically happen, and there’s nothing more you need to do.
BUT… you can still go in and have your computer check for updates, and also make slight
modifications on how they are done.
So let’s take a look…
Checking for Updates

Anytime that you’d like, you can have your computer check to see if any Windows 10
updates are available.
In the Settings Window, click Update &Security.
• On the left menu, choose Windows
Updates
• On the right panel click Check for
Updates
o Your computer will contact
Microsoft to see if any updates
are available, and then display
what it finds out.
Setting Windows Update Options
As I mentioned, there are a few things you can “tweak” with regards to Windows Updates.
• On the left menu, choose Windows Updates
• On the right panel click Advanced
Options.
• Under Choose How Updates are
Installed:
o Give me updates for other
Microsoft products means
that if you have Office, those
apps will be updated with
Windows. (see below)
o Use my sign in info… means
that after an update and Windows
restarts, you won’t have to enter your username and password.
• ONE MORE SPECIAL NOTE - “Give me update for
other Microsoft products…”. Tip – Don’t worry if your computer
o This option should typically be checked since is not ON when an update is
it lets the update service also update your released. Microsoft will attempt to
other Microsoft programs (such as Word, update you next time your computer
Excel, etc.) when fixes and enhancements is up and running.
have been done.
Internet Safety Settings

In this age of the Internet, keeping your computer safe from hackers, viruses, and malware
is an important and ongoing necessity.
With that said, in Appendix C at the back of this guidebook I’ve included an Internet
Security Checklist that lists all the things you should consider when keeping yourself safe
online.
Off all those suggestions, the two that I emphasize the most are…
• Have an Anti-Virus program installed
• Have your Windows Firewall turned on

For Anti-Virus protection, refer back to Appendix C for a couple programs that I recommend
(although just about any Anti-Virus program is decent).
But let’s look at how to check your Windows Firewall here.
Windows Firewall
A “firewall” is normally a piece of software that stands between your computer and the
Internet, and only lets inbound data that you have specifically requested, though.
Windows 10 comes with a Firewall, that is automatically
Tip – You can also get to the
turned on, but it’s always a good idea to check it and make
Control Panel by RIGHT clicking
sure.
the Start Button and choosing
• Click the Start Button to see your All Apps menu. Control Panel from the menu.
• Scroll to Windows System, click it, and then choose
Control Panel.
o At the upper right, click VIEW BY and choose Small Icons.
o Click the Windows Firewall
icon.
o Choose Turn Windows
Firewall on or Off from the
left menu
• In the window that appears, you can
see if your firewall is on for both
Private (home) networks and Public.
Advanced Firewall Settings

Although I won’t get into details here, if you’d like to see your “advanced” firewall settings,
Microsoft now includes an App called “Windows Firewall with Advanced Security”.
• Click the Start Button to see the All Apps menu.
• Scroll to Windows Administrative tools, click it, and then choose Windows Firewall
with Advanced Security
• In the window that appears you can see and tweak all types of firewall settings.

Windows Defender
Tip – If you have an Anti-Virus or
Microsoft includes a free Anti-virus and Anti-malware Internet Security program loaded
with Windows 10 called Windows Defender. on your computer, Windows
Defender might be disabled since
your installed program is handling
• On the left menu, choose Windows Defender. malware. This is quite normal.
• On the right panel you’ll see options for Windows
Defender, including a switch to turn it off and on.
NOTE: As I mention in the TIP on the right, if you have an anti-virus program you do NOT
need to have Windows Defender turned on. Anti-virus programs interfere with each other,
so you only want ONE on at any given time.
Setting Privacy Options

Some of the Apps you have on your Windows 10 computer work using various types of
information that comes from other Apps or devices connected to your machine.
Since some of the information
that Apps want to gather and
use might be considered
“private”, Windows 10 gives
you the ability to prevent
Apps from getting to certain
things.
• In the Settings
Window, click Privacy.
• As you work down the
left menu, you’ll see
options on the right
panel for turning App
access to certain things
Off and On.
I’m not going to go through all

the Privacy settings here,
especially since many of the
Apps you might routinely use
need access to your information in order to work.
Still… I would suggest that you take some time and look through this window, just to see
what types of privacy settings are here.
Setting Printer and Scanner Defaults
Most Windows 10 users will probably have a printer and perhaps a scanner connected to
their computer.
Although Windows 10 fully supports “plug and
play” (which means that when you plug in a
scanner or printer, it will automatically attempt to
set it up), you may still want to setup some of the
“default” settings for the device.
The Settings window does have a category called
Devices.
• You can see this if you go to the Settings
Window, then click Devices, and then
Printers & Scanners.
• Click on one of the printers listed, and all you’ll see for options for:
o Open Queue – Click this to see the printer queue which is a list of what
documents are waiting to print (if any).
In this window you can also cancel a
print job that you’ve decided not to
print.
o Manage – Click this to see a window that
lists links to various printer features you
can access and change. Here is what I see
for my Brother laser printer.
o Remove device – Uninstalls the printer
from your computer.
When you click the Mange button and see a window
like I’m showing you here, there are some additional
things you might want to try.
• Print a Test Page – Prints a test page so you can
see if things are working Tip – Use the Printing
Preferences window to
• Run the Troubleshooter – Runs a diagnostic and tries to fix change the print quality
printer problems. of your ink jet printer to
• Printer Properties – Opens a window show details about your use less ink.
printer
• Printing Preferences – Opens a very useful window that lets you adjust important
printer settings including print quality, ink use, etc.

Windows Maintenance Tools
Defragment and Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 continues to include “utility programs” for
keeping your computer tuned-up, and especially your hard
drive.
Although you can get to these utilities from many different
places, one place you can go is to the All Apps menu.
• Click the Start Button to see the All Apps menu.
• Scroll down to Windows Administrative Tools and click.
• You will see a long list of utilities, including:
o Defragment and Optimize Drives
o Disk Cleanup
Tip – Although the Windows 10 Tip – If your computer has one of

tools I mention here are fine, I still the newer SSD (solid state drives),
suggest to students they should keep in mind they do NOT need to
get the FREE program called Glary be defragmented, and in fact,
Utilities (www.glarysoft.com) for you’ll reduce the life of your SSD if
performing computer you use defragment.
maintenance.
The Task Manager

There will always be times when you have an App that just decides to stop working (i.e.
locks up) to the point where you can’t even X it closed.
When that happens, your best bet is to start the Task Manager and “End” the App.
To start the Task Manger:
• Press and hold the CTRL key The famous 3-finger
• Next press and hold the ALT key salute!
• Finally, press and release the DEL key
On the screen you’ll see a menu appear. Click the Task Manager option.

There’s actually a lot of information you can get from the Task Manager window, but here
I’m just concerned with telling you out to shut off a misbehaving, locked up program.
• Under Apps on the left
menu, find the locked
App and select it.
• RIGHT click the App icon
and choose End Task.
• This should turn off the
program. If it doesn’t,
repeat this process
again.
Working with Your Accounts

Back in Section 2 of this guidebook I talked about how to setup a Microsoft Account.
Here I want to pass along about how to make some common changes to your account and
how you can have other family members use your Windows 10 computers by logging with
their own Microsoft Account.
Adding a Family Member Account

To add one or more family members to your Windows 10 computer as separate account
users:
• Click the Start Menu button and choose Settings
• From the Settings window, click Accounts.
• On the left menu, choose Family & other users
• ON the right panel click Add A Family Member

Next you’ll be taken through a series of screens to setup a new Microsoft account for the
person you want to add to your Windows 10 computer.
• You’ll enter an email address for that person
• They will be sent an “invitation” that
they must accept in order to log onto
your computer using that email address.
o Once they accept, they can then
log into your computer using
their account information.
Changing Your Account Type

When you log onto your Windows 10 computer, your “account type” determines what you
can access and how much you can change with regards to Windows 10 settings.
• Standard Accounts – Can use Apps and change
system settings that don’t impact other users of the Tip – In most situations, the main
same computer, or affect the security of the user of the computer should have
computer. an Administrator account and
everyone else a Standard account.
• Administrator – Has complete control over the This just saves you from having
computer and can make any changes and access all headaches down the road.
files that are stored there.
Once someone has been setup with an Account on your
Windows 10 computer, you can change their account type.
• Click the Start Menu to display All Apps, and scroll down and click on Windows
System and then Control Panel.
• In the Control Panel window, at the upper right corner, choose the VIEW BY
dropdown, and click Small icons.
• In the Control Panel window, find the User Accounts and click it.

Here are options in the above window that you might want to change…
• Change your account type – lets you choose between Standard or Administrative
account as your account type.
• Manage another account – lets you display all the users of your Windows 10
computer, and then manage their accounts.

Section 7 – Windows 10 Files & Folders
For the most part, the “folder system” in Windows In This Section
10 works the same way as it did in Windows 7 and Saving Your Work
even Windows 8. The biggest difference is in the How Folders are Organized
“folder tree hierarchy” which I think has become Windows 10 Folder Tree
more organized and simpler to navigate. Accessing the Windows 10 Folder Window
In this Section I’ll walk you through the folder Navigating Folders
system, including taking you through an Creating Folders and Copying/Moving Files
introduction to the entire concept of “files and Deleting Files & Folders
folders”. Saving a file to a new folder
A Glossary of File Folder Ribbons
The First Step – Saving Your Work
In a few pages we’ll get into REALLY seeing what files and folders are, and how Windows
10 lets you work with them. But for now, let’s take a look at where it always begins, and
that’s with Saving Your Work.
What is Saving?
Whenever you create something, such as a letter your typing in a word processor, if you
want to come back to that letter a day, week, or month later, you must SAVE it.
To understand what’s going on when you SAVE, let’s consider how a computer works and
the “Big Three” parts of your computer:
1. The CPU – (Central Processing Unit) is the “brain” of the computer. It is the
computer chip that runs all the program instructions and makes things happen on
the computer screen.
2. RAM – (Random Access Memory) is memory chips that temporarily hold the
instructions and data the CPU is “thinking” about and working with. Everything you
see on the computer screen is up in the computers RAM.
3. Hard Drive – this is the magnetic disc inside the computer where everything we
create is saved, so that when the computer is turned off, we won’t lose our work.
It’s also where all of our software is stored.

When it comes to
SAVING, it’s
Memory and the
Hard Drive that
are important.
Let’s see why
that’s true as I
walk you
through the
SAVING process
next.
What is really happening when you SAVE:

• As you use your computer, the CPU is working with data and instructions that are
temporarily in RAM (memory). Everything you see on the screen is in RAM,
including a letter you might be typing.
• If you were to type the letter, and then turn off your computer, your letter would
be lost because it’s in RAM and RAM must have power to work.
• To keep your letter, before you leave a program or turn off the computer, you must
SAVE it. When you SAVE, the CPU copies the letter from RAM down to the Hard
Drive.
• When you turn off the computer, the hard drive (which is magnetic) still has your
letter, safe and sound.
• When you turn on your computer later, and you want to see your letter, you OPEN
the letter, which means that the CPU goes to the Hard Drive, finds your saved letter,
and then copies it up into RAM so that you can see it.
So behind the scenes, SAVING means the computer is copying what you are creating (which
is in memory) down to the hard drive for safe keeping.

And to bring it around full-circle, when your creation is copied to the hard drive, it is SAVED
in a container we call a FILE.
And that FILE is saved into a compartment we call a FOLDER.
More About Files

As I just mentioned, your
creations (documents,
pictures, etc.) are saved to
the hard drive as Files. A File
is a single container that
holds one thing.
So, if you typed 4 different
documents (let’s say letters
to people), and then saved
each one, you would have 4
different Files.
Even if your document has multiple pages, all of the pages from that one document are put
into ONE file. For example, this book is over 60 pages long, and yet when I save it to my
computer it’s saved as just ONE file.
And files don’t have to just be “documents”. ANYTHING you Tip – File Name Extensions and
save, including pictures, spreadsheets, music, video, etc. is File Types
saved as a file. When you save a file, the program
So there are many, many different “types” of files in the you are using (such as WordPad)
saves the file as a special “type”
computer world. and puts a file-name-extension (a
When you save your work as a file, you must give the file a period and 3 letters) on the end of
the file name.
name.
For example, WordPad saves its
• You can use up to 255 characters files as a RICH TEXT file type and
puts the letters .RTF on the end.
• You can use spaces The point is, in order to open a file
you have saved later, you will
• You can use letters and numbers
normally need to use the same
program that it was created with.

More About Folders – The Windows Documents Folder
Now that you know that your work is saved as a File, let’s talk about WHERE it’s saved to.
Your computer storage devices (the Hard Drive, your Flash Drive, CD/DVD discs, and even
your Digital Camera Media Chip) are divided into “compartments” that are called Folders.
Folders allow us to keep our Files organized, rather than just having them all sitting in one
big place.
I’ll get into lots more detail about Folders a bit later. For now, let’s keep in simple.
Microsoft, the company that makes Windows, knows that a lot of folks don’t quite “get”
this Folder stuff. So they pre-create a special folder on our computer called Documents
(which in older versions of Windows is sometimes called MY Documents).
The great thing about Documents is that it’s very easy to find, because Windows gives you
icons for it in all kinds of different situations where you either want to SAVE a document
file you are working on, or want to OPEN a document file that you’ve already saved.
And for those who are working with Picture files, Microsoft gives you a special folder
called… you guessed it! Pictures.
And, to finish things off, they also give you a Music folder and a Video folder.
So let’s see an example of saving something to the Documents folder.

Let’s say you’ve opened up Microsoft WordPad, which is a simple word processor that’s
included with all versions of windows, and that you are creating some type of document.
Now let’s say you want to SAVE that document as a File for safe keeping.
• At the top left choose the FILE tab on the
Ribbon Bar and then click SAVE AS.
• The SAVE AS dialog box (window) opens
where you can give the file a name, and
then choose WHERE (what folder) it
should be saved into.

Here’s what the Save As window looks like…
• On the left side, mouse
over the This PC icon
and click the small arrow
that appears on the left.
• When the “tree”
expands, click
Documents.
• In the File Name box,
type in the name you
want to give the file.
• Click the SAVE button.
That’s it! Your file has now

been saved into the Documents
folder!
Getting Back to the Documents Folder

Once you start saving your Files to Documents, you’ll
obviously want to get back to them again. An easy way to do
this is right from the Windows 10 Desktop.
On the Taskbar, look for the File Explorer icon and click it.
You can also open a folder window using the
This PC icon.
• A Folder Window opens. On the left
navigation panel, scroll down and
find Documents and click it.
• On the right Content panel you
should see your saved file.
• Double-click the file to open it in
Wordpad.

Summarizing Where You Are At
In this section, the goal has been to give you an introduction to
the File and Folder concept, by first teaching you how to SAVE
something, and what SAVING means to do.
Here are the key points:
• As you work and create things on your computer, everything
you see on the screen is in the computer’s memory.
• To keep what you have created for later, you must SAVE it.
• When you SAVE, Windows copies what is in memory to the hard drive.
• When your creation is saved to the hard drive, it is saved as a FILE.
• The hard drive is divided into compartments called FOLDERS.
• Microsoft gives us special folders that are easy to find and therefore great places to
save our work: Documents, Pictures, Music, and Video.
As we continue, we’ll be greatly expanding upon

what you learned here.

How Folders are Organized
Now that you’ve learned the basics SAVING your work to the Documents folder, it’s time
to take the next step and learn how to create and work with folders of your own.
Remember, the reason we have folders in the first place is to keep our files (whether they
are documents, pictures, or other content) organized and easy to find when we need to
use them.
The Folder Tree

Windows folders are organized in a “hierarchy” or “tree-like” fashion. In fact, we often
refer to this folder organization as the Windows “folder tree” or “navigation tree”.
Here is a very simple example Root

of a possible folder
tree…
My
Documents MSOffice Windows
Pictures
Letters Finances Data System Command
Home Business
• Each labeled box represents a folder

• When a folder is “beneath” another folder, it is called a sub-folder.
• Notice that folders can go down many levels. In this example, there are three levels
of folders, which means we have folders beneath folders beneath folders!
• A single folder can contain an unlimited number of files, depending only on the
capacity of the storage device itself.

The File Pathway
When a file is in a folder and you want to open it or use it, you “navigate” to that file by
starting at the top of the folder tree, and working your way down to the folder that
contains the file.
The “path” that you take through the folders is called the “file pathway”.
For example let’s say that

Root
there is a file called
“Monthly Budget.doc” in
the Business folder.
My
Documents MSOffice Windows
The “pathway” to get to

this file would to
• Start in the Root Pictures
Letters Finances Data System Command
folder
• Go down to the My
Documents folder Home Business Monthly Budget.doc
• Then go down to
the Finances folder
• And finally go down and into the Business folder where you would find the Monthly
Budget file.
If this folder tree were on our computer’s main hard drive (the C: drive), we could write
the file path out in text form like this…
C:\My Documents\Finances\Business\Monthly Budget.doc
• The C: represents the main computer hard drive
• The first backslash represents the “root folder” of the C: drive
• The other backslashes are simply used to separate the folder names
So, in English, you would say the above like this…
“The file Monthly Budget.doc is in the Business folder, which is beneath the Finances folder,
which is beneath the My Documents folder, which is beneath the root folder of the C:
Drive.”
Believe it or not… you will sometimes still see the pathway to a file written out in text
form, as you see above. So it really IS worth learning about!
The Windows 10 Folder Tree
Now that you’ve experienced the “concept” of how folders are organized, let’s take a look
at how they are REALLY setup in Windows 10.
The Windows 10 Folder Tree looks conceptually like this:
Desktop
OneDrive UserTree This PC Libraries
Desktop Documents Downloads Music Music Video
• OneDrive – This folder directly syncs with your Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage.
• UserTree – This folder will actually be labeled with your username, and will display
the same subfolders as This PC, but also include user-specific items such as
Favorites and Contacts
• This PC – Your main tree branch that includes all of your “My” subfolders as well as
a list of storage devices (such as flash drives or
portable hard drives) connected to your computer.
• Libraries – If you have this tree branch, it’s a
throwback to Windows 7 which includes the same
subfolders you see under This PC.
Here is how the Windows 10 Folder Tree REALLY LOOKS in
a Folder Window:
o Notice the tree looks like an “outline” where
subfolders are “indented” beneath their parent
folders.
o The small arrows next to a folder indicate there
are MORE beneath it. Click the arrow to
expand/contract the tree.

Accessing the Windows 10 Folder Window (File Explorer)
Now that you’ve seen an overview of how the Windows 10 Folder Tree is arranged, let’s
focus on the “tool” that Microsoft gives you to manage and work with your files and
folders… The Folder Window (also called File Explorer).
Opening a Folder Window in Windows 10

On the Desktop, there are two icons that you can use to access
the Folder Window.
• File Explorer Button – This is on the Taskbar
• This PC Button – A shortcut on your Desktop
Regardless of which icon you choose, you’ll be taken to the Folder Window, which
Microsoft also calls “File Explorer”.
The Windows 10 Folder Window
Quick Access Address Bar Show/Hide

Toolbar Ribbon Tabs Ribbons (Bread Crumb) Ribbon button
Search Box
Navigation
buttons
Content Pane
Navigation Pane
Quick View Switch

• Navigation Pane – the panel on the left that contains the “folder tree”. You use it to
navigate to the folder that contains the file you are interested in.
• Content Pane – when you click on a folder in the Navigation Pane, the contents of
that folder are displayed in the Content Pane. Besides showing files, the Content
Pane also shows folders that are ONE LEVEL below the one you clicked on.
• Ribbons – across the top of the window, ribbons are “tabbed” panels that hold
buttons you can use to manipulate your files and folders.
• Ribbon Tabs – you click the tab of a ribbon to access it.
• Show/Hide Ribbon Button – click it to hide/display the ribbons at the top of the
window.
• Address Bar (Bread Crumbs) – a “text-way” to show where you currently are located
in the folder tree.
• Search Box – click here and type in keywords to help you find files or folders.
• Quick Access Toolbar – at the top of the screen, you can populate it with your
favorite ribbon buttons.
• Quick View Switch – click this to change your Content Pane view (how you are
looking at files). Is faster than going to the View Ribbon.
Here is an overview of how you’ll use the Folder window:

• In the Navigation Pane:
o Scroll down to find your folder
▪ To see sub-folders, click the small arrow next to a folder
o To display the contents of a folder, click on that folder.
o To create a new folder:
▪ Select the parent folder / Click New Folder on the Home Ribbon / give
it a name
• In the Content Pane:
o To work with a file:
▪ Select it / select features from the Home ribbon
• On the Ribbon:
o Notice all the options for working with your files/folders
o When you click a folder or file, also notice how certain ribbon buttons
become active.
o An important ribbon is VIEW, which allows you to change how you’re looking
at a folder

Navigating Folders with the Windows 10 Folder Window
I’ve already mentioned that the purpose of the Folder Window is to give you access to
your folders and files.
So as you can imagine, it’s important to learn how to use the Folder Window’s navigation
features to find the folder, and then file, you are interested in.
Let me step through the process of using the Folder Window
Step One: Getting the Panes and View setup using the View Ribbon
First, you should make sure the Panes
are set to your liking. I would suggest
that you have the Navigation Pane and
Content Pane visible, with the Preview
and Details panes off.
To set this:
o Click the VIEW tab at the top to
display the VIEW ribbon
o Click Navigation Pane button and
make sure Navigation Pane is
checked.
o Make sure the Preview Pane
and Details Pane buttons are
off
Also on the View ribbon:
• Change the Layout to whatever
makes sense for what you
are going to do.
• I often times start with
LIST view so that I can see
a birds-eye view of the
files/folders in the content
window
• On the other hand, if I’m
working with Pictures, I
usually set the view to
Large Icons, which display a
Thumbnail preview.
Step Two: Working with the Navigation Pane
The left pane, called the Navigation Pane is where you go to navigate up and down your
folder tree.
• Notice that when you mouse-over icons in
this pane, you sometimes see small
white/black arrows appear.
Selected
• White arrows indicate that there are
Folder
subfolders beneath a folder.
• When you click a white arrow, it “twirls”
and becomes black, displaying the
subfolders.
So as you move down, looking for a file in a folder,

you can expand and contract the tree by clicking
these arrows.
• Then, when you see the folder you’re
looking for, clicking on it “selects” it and the Tip – Make sure you understand
contents are displayed in the Content Pane on that the arrows to the left of a
the right (which we’ll look at in a moment). folder are a separate “button”
from the folder and folder title.
Working with the Navigation Bar So, when you want to expand the
tree, click the arrow. When you
Since we’re talking about navigating folders, let’s jump to the want to view a folder, click the
top of the Folder Window to the Navigation Bar and learn folder OR the folder name.
what’s there.
History Up Level
Refresh the View
Back / Forward Previous

Clickable Locations
Address Bar

Here’s how you can use the Navigation Bar options:
o When you jump from one folder on the tree to another, the Back and Forward
Buttons become active. Clicking those buttons takes you back and forth between
folders you have just visited (clicked on).
o The History arrow is a dropdown list of the recent folders you’ve visited. Clicking on
a folder in the list will take you there.
o If you think of the folder tree as being a hierarchy of folders and subfolders, the Up
Level button takes you up to the “parent” folder above the folder you are in.
o The Clickable Address Bar (which I also call the “Breadcrumb Trail”) not only shows
you the “text-path” of the folder you are in, but is clickable, and allows you to
quickly jump to any folder on that path with a click of them mouse.
o The Previous Locations button will not only show folders you’ve been in (like the
History arrow), but also show you web sites (in the form of web addresses or URLs)
you’ve recently visited.
o The Refresh button updates the display making sure you are looking at what is
REALLY in a folder.
Step Three: Understanding How the Windows 10 Tree

is Organized
As you practice using the Navigation pane on your Windows
10 computer, notice that the Windows 10 “folder tree”
seems to be very long.
Microsoft has added a lot of things to the tree, and in fact,
has included quite a bit of duplication.
On the right you’ll see a shot of the tree collapsed, except
for the “main parts”.
• Quick Access
o This is NOT really part of the folder tree,
instead it’s an area where you can PIN your
most commonly used folders.
o RIGHT click a folder icon, and you’ll see “Pin to
Quick Access”
o You’ll want to populate Quick Access with folders
that you use a lot, making it really easy to get to them (instead of having to
scroll down the tree to find them).
• Desktop
o This is where the real tree starts, but itself
is divided into many different sections.
o The two main sections that really have your
folders listed beneath them are…
▪ “User Tree” (Your Name) – in the
example here “John Lortz”.
▪ This PC
Now let’s expand the tree for both User Tree and This PC
and see what’s beneath them.
o Notice when you compare the two portions of the
tree, the “core” windows 10 folders are on both
parts.
▪ Documents
▪ Pictures
▪ Music
▪ Videos
o The other important
folders that you should
notice are…
▪ OneDrive (your
free cloud storage
space).
▪ Lexar (an
example of a
plugged in flash
drive.
So here’s how we will continue. Because of this duplication, I’m going to focus you on the
THIS PC part of the tree to help eliminate some of the confusion.
HOWEVER, you should still take some time to explore the rest of the tree on your own.
Step Four: Using the Content Pane
Once you have used the Navigation pane to find a folder, you’ll want to click on that folder
and select it, and they you’ll see what’s IN the folder on the right side of the window, in
the Contents Pane.
As the name suggests, the Content Pane shows you what’s “in” the folder you selected,
and can include both files which are directly in the folder, and folders that are “beneath”
(or subfolders of) the one you are in.
• In this pane you’ll see both files that are in the folder, and folders that are
“beneath” the one you are in.
• Notice that if you go to the Navigation Pane and expand the tree for a folder you
are looking at, you’ll see the same subfolders on
both the tree and in the Content Pane.
• In the Content Pane, you can tell that something is
a File (versus a Folder) because it will have an icon
that represents the program it was created by.
o In this example, the Class Notes folder (see
above) contains 5 files. It also has 3 sub-
folders.

• If you double-click a File, that File will
open in whatever program it is associated
with. (I talked about file associations in
Section 6 when you learned about setting
the Default App).
o So here, if I double-clicked “my life
story part 1”, Microsoft Word would
open and then open this file.
Another important feature when using the

Content Pane is adjusting the View.
• Click the View Tab at the top of the window, and the View Ribbon will be displayed.
o Clicking and of the buttons you see
here on the right will change the
way you’re looking at what’s in the
Content Pane.
o In the example here, I’ve clicked
Details, which shows the files in list
form with detailed information.
Step Five: Also Using the Details and Preview Panes

Tip – In the Detail View, you can
I’ll be spending more time with the Content Pane in a few click the column headings to
pages, when you start learning how to Copy/Move files quickly sort the files you see in
from one folder to another. different ways. Click once at the
sort is “ascending”, then click
again and it’s “descending”.
One of my favorite ways to sort is

by Date, which lets me quickly see
the latest files I’ve worked on.
Step Five: Using the Details and Preview Panes

Although you’ll not use them as much, besides the two main
panes (Navigation and Content), there are two additional
panes you can turn on from the View Ribbon.
• Details Pane – This pane appears on
the right side of the Folder Window and
displays detailed information about a
file or folder when you click (select) it in
the Contents Pane.
o In this example I’ve clicked the
“my new word document” file,
clicked on Details pane on the
View Ribbon, and now can see
the details on the right.
• Preview Pane – This pane also appears

on the right, but displays an actual
preview of the file you’ve clicked on.
o In this example, I’ve clicked the
“Excel Keyboard Shortcuts” file,
clicked on Preview pane on the
View Ribbon, and now can see
an preview of that file on the
right.

Step Six: Searching for Files
Our last stop in learning to navigate folders in the Windows 10 Folder window involves
searching for files or folders.
Recall that on the right side of the Address Bar, there is a Search Box.
Here’s how to use it…
• In the Navigation pane on the left, click (select) the folder you want to search.
o The search will happen for that folder as well as all folders beneath it.
• Click the Search Box, and type the keyword(s) for the file, then press ENTER.
o The search defaults to searching only file and folder names
• The results appear in the Content window, with the search keyword highlighted.
In this example, I clicked on the Class Notes folder, and then typed the word “my” into the
Search Box:
Also notice that when you click the Search Box, a new Search Tools Ribbon appears at the
top of the window.
This ribbon has a wealth of search options you can play with.

Summary Example of Navigating the Folder Tree
Let’s finish our discussion about navigating in the Folder
Window with an example.
I need to open a file I created called Excel Online Keyboard
Shortcuts so that I can print copies of it.
Here are the steps I would take…
• From the Windows 10 Desktop, click the File Explorer
button on the Taskbar to open a Folder window.
• On the left Navigation Pane, I click the arrow next to
This PC to expand the tree beneath it.
• Under This PC, I look for the Documents folder, and then click the arrow next to it
to expand the tree beneath it.
• I find the Class Notes folder, and click the Folder/Folder Name to select it.
• At the top of the window, I click the View Tab to display the View Ribbon.
• On the View Ribbon I click the LIST VIEW button.
• In the Content Pane on the right, I look for the Excel Online Keyboard Shortcuts file,
and finding it, I double-click it.
• My Adobe Reader program opens, and then opens the file so that I can view it and
print it.

Creating Folders and Copying / Moving Files
Now that you’ve learned to use the Folder Window to navigate your folders and find files,
let’s finally learn how to DO something useful, such as…
• Create your own folders
• Move and Copy files between folders
• Delete and Rename files
• SAVE AS from within a program to a newly created folder
Learning these skills is important because it allows you to organize your files into folders
and thus take control of KNOWING where your FILES ARE, so that you can find them when
you need them.
Creating Folders
The ability to create your own folders means you can REALLY keep things organized in a
way that makes sense to you.
As I’ve already mentioned, since Microsoft gives you some pre-created folders (such as
Documents) that are easy to find, it makes sense to create our own folders BENEATH those
pre-created folders.
For that reason, in our examples here, I’ll assume that we are going to make new folders
somewhere underneath the Documents folder.
Here are the steps in creating a new folder:

1. Open a Folder Window, and in the Navigation
pane on the left, navigate down the tree and
click (select) the folder you want to be the
“parent” of the one you are making.
o By “parent folder”, I mean the existing
folder that your newly created folder will
be underneath.
o Here, I’ve navigated down and clicked on
class notes in order to make a new folder
beneath it.
2. On the Home Ribbon, click the
NEW FOLDER button.

3. In the Content Pane on the right, a New Folder
will appear.
4. The name is highlighted, and all you have to do
now is go to your keyboard and type in the new
folder name.
5. Once you’ve finished typing the name, press the
ENTER key on the keyboard.
o In the example here, I’ve called the new
folder “handouts”.
o Notice that once you press ENTER after
typing in the folder name, the newly
created folder appears on the Folder tree
Tip – If you are a “right-clicking”

type of person, you can also create
a new folder by RIGHT clicking the
parent folder, and then choosing
NEW - >FOLDER from the pop-up
menu.
Renaming a Folder
You can easily rename a folder (which is especially nice if you accidently name a folder
“New Folder” by following these steps.
1. Find the folder in the Navigation pane on the left.
2. Click on the folder to select it.
3. RIGHT click the folder, and from the menu that appears choose RENAME.
o The folder name will be highlighted
o Simply type in a new name and press
ENTER.

Copying / Moving Files between Folders – Method One (Dragging)
Now that you know how to create your own folders, the next step is learning how to copy
or move files from one folder to another.
For example, let’s say that you have been saving all your files into the Documents folder.
But now, since you have so many files, they’ve become hard to find.
• As a solution, you can create your own folders beneath Documents, and then
organize the files in Documents by moving them to your new folders.
• This is a VERY TYPICAL scenario of what many of us do!
Before we start, keep in mind that what you’ll learn here applies to ANY SITUATION where
you are copying or moving files from one place to another, including…
• From one folder to another folder on the same hard drive
• From a folder on your hard drive to a folder on your flash drive
• From a folder on your digital camera media card to your hard drive
• Etc…
Also, as I walk through these steps I’m going to assume that you have ALREADY CREATED
the new folder you want to copy/move your files into (which you learned to do in the
previous section of the book).
Here are the steps

1. Open a Folder Window (by clicking the File
Explorer icon on the Taskbar, or double-
clicking the This PC icon on the Desktop).
2. Move down the Navigation pane on the left,
expanding the tree until you can see the
“target” folder.
o By “target” I mean the folder you want
to copy/move your files INTO.
o In my example, the folder is the
“handouts” folder underneath “Class
Note”.
o The goal here is to expand the tree so
that the target is visible!

3. Next, in the Navigation pane, go to the folder that contains the files you want to
move/copy, and click it (select it).
o In the Content Pane on the right, you should now see the files you want to
move or copy.
o In the example here, I’ve clicked on the Documents folder which is where the
files I want to copy/move are located.
4. If necessary, scroll back up or down the Navigation pane tree until you can “see”
the target folder.
o But do NOT click on any other folder, otherwise you’ll no longer see the
Contents of the folder your files are in!
5. In the Content pane on the right, point your mouse at the file you want to
move/copy, and RIGHT click and drag the file over to the tree, dropping it on top of
the target folder.

o As you drag the file with the RIGHT mouse button, and move across the
Folder window to the left Navigation pane, you’ll see that folders become
highlighted when you drag the file on top of them. This is how you can tell
you have the right folder before you “drop” the file.
6. As soon as you drop the file, a menu will appear.
o Copy Here – copies the file, leaving a copies
in both the target folder and source folder.
o Move Here – moves the file, so that it is
now only in the target folder.
o Cancel – completely cancels the operation
to let you start over.
The reason that a menu appears when you drop the file is because you’re using the RIGHT
mouse button to drag instead of the LEFT.
Copying / Moving Files between Folders – Method Two (Copy & Paste)
Because some Windows 10 users might find the “dragging method” cumbersome, I want to
pass along a second method of getting files from one place to another.
• Copy & Paste is a Windows feature that allows you to…
o Select something (picture, text, file, etc.)
o COPY it to the “Windows Clipboard”
o Go to the new place you want to put it (a document, email, folder, etc.)
o PASTE it into the new place.
You can use Copy & Paste in all types of situations, but here, we’ll use it to copy a file from
one folder to another.
1. Open a Folder Window (by clicking the File Explorer icon on the Taskbar, or double-
clicking the This PC icon on the Desktop).
2. In the Navigation Pane, go to the folder that contains the files you want to
move/copy, and click it (select it).
o In the Content Pane on the right, you should now see the files you want to
move or copy.

o In the example here, I’ve clicked on the Documents folder which is where the
files I want to copy/move are located.
3. Click on the file you want to move/copy (which will Select it).
4. RIGHT click the file, and from the menu that appears choose COPY.
o The file is now on the Windows Clipboard.
o In the example above, I RIGHT clicked on the file and you can see the menu
with COPY on it.
5. In the Navigation pane on the left, go to the target folder and click on it to select it.
6. RIGHT click the folder and choose PASTE from the menu that appears.
o The file will be copied to the target folder.
o To make sure that it got there, in the Navigation pane click on the target
folder, and examine the Content pane on the right.
7. IF YOU WANT THE FILE MOVED… In the Navigation pane, go back to the source
folder, and find the original file in the Content pane on the right.
o RIGHT click the original file, and from the menu, choose DELETE.

Selecting More Than One File at a Time
For both methods of copy/paste I just covered, we focused on just ONE file.
But many times, you want to copy/move multiple files at the same time. And the great
news is, Windows 10 lets you do that by using two keys on the keyboard…
Using the CTRL Key

• The CTRL Key allows you to select different files in a folder at the same time.
• Go to the source folder on the Navigation tree, and select it so you can see the files
you want to work with in the Content Pane.
• From the VIEW ribbon choose LIST view so you
can more easily see all the files at once.
• Click to select the first file in the Content pane.
• Hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard (it’s on
either side of the Spacebar).
o While holding CTRL, click on each of the
other files you want to select
o As you do, all the files will remain
selected.
• When finished, release the CTRL key and the files
will still remain selected.
• Continue with the Copy or Move methods that
were described on the previous few pages.
o If you are going to use the RIGHT click and
drag method, all you have to do is drag ONE Tip –Be careful as you have CTRL
of the selected files and all of them will ride held down and click files. If you
along. accidently move the mouse as
you are clicking, Windows thinks
you are clicking and dragging and
will DUPLICATE the selected files
into the folder you’re working in.

Using the SHIFT Key
• The SHFIT Key allows you to select files that are next to each other in a folder.
• From the VIEW menu choose LIST view so you can more easily see all the files at
once.
• Click to select the first file.
• Move to the last file in the list
• Hold SHIFT and click the file.
• All the files between those two files will
be selected.
• When finished, release the SHFIT key
and the files will still remain selected.
• Continue with the Copy or Move
methods that were described on the
previous few pages.
o If you are going to use the RIGHT
click and drag method, all you
have to do is drag ONE of the
selected files and all of them will
ride along.
Choosing ALL the Files in a Folder

• From the VIEW menu (Windows XP) or VIEW button (Windows 7) or VIEW ribbon
(Windows 8) choose LIST view so you can more easily see all the files at once.
• Hold the CTRL key and then press the A key on the keyboard.
• This will select all the files in a folder.

Moving and Copying Entire Folders
Although I’ve been talking only about moving and copying files in this section, you can also
move or copy entire FOLDERS using the same techniques we’ve already discussed.
• You can RIGHT click and drag a folder from the Content Pane over on top of a folder
on the Navigation Pane, and the folder you’re dragging will become a subfolder of
the one on the Navigation Pane.
• You can also RIGHT click and drag a folder from one place on the Navigation tree to
on top of a folder on the same tree, and again, it will become a subfolder.
• You can COPY and PASTE a folder from one place to another, just as you copied and
pasted files.
A Special Note about Copying & Moving in Windows 10

If you’ve examined the Home Ribbon at the top of the Folder
Window, you may have noticed that when you click a file, two
buttons light up that look like they might be great for doing
Copy and Move operations.
Although I still prefer using the two methods we talked about in
this chapter to copy and move files, if you are a Windows 10
user you might want to try these buttons.
• Select the file or files you want to
move or copy
• Go to the Home ribbon
• Click either Move To or Copy To
buttons
o In the drop-down menu,
choose one of the pre-
selected folders, or to
browse for a folder, choose
“choose location”.
o In the window that appears,
Navigate down the tree to
the target folder and click
the COPY or MOVE button.

Deleting Files and Folders
How to Delete a File or Folder

This section wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t talk about how to delete files and folders. The
truth is, there are LOTS of ways to do this with Windows 10.
But here are the most common ways:
• Select the file(s) or folder(s) you want to delete
o Press the DELETE key on the keyboard
o OR RIGHT click the selected item and choose DELETE
o OR if it’s visible at the top of the screen, click the DELETE button
It’s as simple as that! Just keep in mind that if you delete a Folder, EVERYTHING in the
folder and ALL FOLDERS BENEATH it will be gone.
The Recycle Bin

Whenever you delete a file or folder from the Folder Window, it is temporarily
placed into the Recycle Bin.
• The Recycle Bin icon is on the Desktop.
• When you double-click and open it, you see just another Folder Window.
The purpose of the Recycle Bin is to give you a chance to Restore (recover) a file or folder
that you have accidently deleted.
What you should NOT do is use the Recycle bin as a place to “put” files/folders that you
think you MIGHT want to delete. In other words, do NOT use is as a regular folder.
But if you do delete something accidently, here’s how you can get it back.
o Open the Recycle bin
o In the Contents pane, find the item you want to restore, and select it.
o Click the RESTORE button on the ribbon
o The item will be placed back into the folder it was deleted from. If the folder no
longer exists, it will be recreated automatically.
Every now and then you should “empty” the trash, just to clear out the Recycle bin. When
you do, be aware that any file or folder that’s there will be permanently deleted.
• RIGHT click the Recycle bin icon
• Choose Empty Recycle Bin

Saving a File to a Newly Created Folder
Back towards the beginning of this section, when you were learning about the “big 3”
pieces of equipment, and why you had to SAVE things, we talked about SAVING a
document we might create in word-processor like WordPad into the Documents folder.
Since you learned to create new folders in this Section, I thought it might be good to quickly
review the saving process here, but save to a newly created folder.
Here are the steps…
• In the program you’re using, click the File menu/ribbon button, and then choose
SAVE AS.
• In the SAVE AS window, on the left Navigation pane expand the tree until you can
see your newly created folder, and click to select it.
o In my example below, this is the “handouts” folder under the “Class Notes”
folder.
• Type in a file name
• Click the SAVE button.
The important thing to notice is that the folder tree you see in the SAVE window is exactly
the same as the one you saw in the Folder Window.
A Glossary of Folder Window Ribbons
Because the ribbons are a big part of using the Folder Window in Windows 10, I wanted to
include a section that mentioned a bit more about ribbons, and gave you examples of the
ribbons you’re most likely to see.
As we look at each ribbon, keep this in mind:
• If a button is not “lit up”, it only means that it’s not currently available for whatever
you might have selected below on the Navigation or Content Panes.
• Notice that the buttons are organized on a ribbon, in sections. You can see the
section name at the bottom edge of the ribbon.
• I won’t talk about EVERY button, just the most important ones.
• Almost all of these ribbon buttons work AFTER you have selected a file or folder.
• You should take some time and examine what’s available on each ribbon.
Home Ribbon
By far, you’ll find yourself using this ribbon the most, since it has the most commonly used
file and folder commands and features.
• Copy / Paste / Cut – These are the three standard buttons for doing Copy & Paste.
• Move to / Copy to – When a file is selected, these buttons would allow you to COPY
or MOVE that file to a different folder. This is something new to Windows, but
although it might be something worth trying, in this book we’ll still do our file COPY
and MOVE operations the old fashion way (which I cover in the next Chapter).
• Delete / Rename – Let you delete or rename the selected file or folder
• New Folder – Creates a new folder beneath the currently selected folder in the
Navigation tree.
• Select All – Lets you quickly select all the files in the selected folder.
• Select None – Another new button, unselects all the files in a folder.
• Invert Selection – Selects the OPPOSITE of which files you currently have selected.
Share Ribbon
The Share ribbon provides quick ways to share your files in various ways, including burning
them to CD or DVD.
• Email – After choosing one or more files, this button automatically opens your email
program (if it’s setup correctly) and attaches the selected files.
• Zip – A “zip” file is a special type of file created for sending multiple files across the
Internet, compressed together into one file. If you select one or more files, then
click Zip, a new compressed file containing those selected files will be created.
• Burn to disc – If you have one or more files or folder selected, clicking this button
will automatically burn them to a blank CD/DVD in your Writeable CD-DVD drive.
• Print – If you have one or more printable files selected (pictures or documents), this
button will send them to the printer. If it’s pictures you have selected, a special Print
Photo window will open showing you additional options.
View Ribbon
The View ribbon is the modern-day version of the View Menu found on older versions of
Windows. On this ribbon, you can change the way the Folder Window is displaying files.
• Navigation pane / Preview pane / Details pane – These three buttons allow you to
turn off and on the panes of the Folder Window. We’ll look at them in more detail in
just a moment.
• Layouts Section– The layout section includes all the “view” options that you used to
see in the View menu of previous Windows versions. Clicking any one of these (List,
Large icons, etc.) changes the way you are viewing the files/folders in the Content
Pane.
• Sort by – Allows you to change the sort order of the files in the folder you are
viewing.
• Show/Hide Section – Here you find checkboxes for turning off and on certain folder
window features. I would recommend that you have File Name Extension checked,
since this lets you see the “type” of file.
Before leaving the View menu, I wanted to look back at the Pane
section in more detail.
• The Navigation Pane buttons displays a menu where you can
turn off and on, the Navigation pane.
• The Preview Pane button displays the preview pane to the
right of the Folder Window. This pane shows you a visual
preview of any file that

you select in the
Content Window.
For example, in this

screen shot I have a
picture selected in the
Content Pane, and it’s
displayed on the right.
• The Details Pane button

displays detailed
information about the
file you have selected in
the Content Pane.
In the example here, I

again have a picture
selected, but now you
see details about it
instead of a preview.
File Ribbon (window)
The File tab does not display a ribbon,
but instead displays a File window.
For my own personal use, there aren’t

many features I use in this window, but
let me at least point out a couple that
YOU might find useful.
o Open New Window – Let you open a completely new, separate File Folder
window, letting you have more than one folder window open on the screen
at a time.
o Frequent Places – Lets you quickly jump back to a folder you were viewing in
the past.
The Windows 10 Folder Window “Context” Ribbons

The next set of ribbons are the ones that show up only when certain files or folders are
selected, and are therefore called “context” ribbons.
Search Tools Ribbon

This ribbon appears
when you click in the
Search box at the
upper right of the
Folder Window.
It allows you to
customize your search
by…
o Date Modified – Only find files/folders that were last modified on or after a certain
date.
o Kind – Only look for certain types of files (picture, document, music, etc.). This
feature works by looking at the files extension.
o Size – Only look for files of a certain physical size. I routinely use this feature to look
for files that are taking up a lot of space.
Picture Tools Ribbon
This ribbon only appears when you
have a Picture file chosen, and has
some simple tools for working with
that picture.
o Rotate left/right –
rotates the selected
picture. NOTE that this
will change the original
picture.
o Slide show – Starts on on-screen slide show of the pictures in the current
folder.
o Set as background – Sets the currently selected picture as the Desktop
background.
Music Tools Ribbon

This ribbon only appears when you have an
audio (or music) file selected, and includes
controls for playing that file or creating a
“playlist” of music files.
Video Tools Ribbon

This ribbon only appears when you have a
video file selected, and like the Music Tools
ribbon, has controls for playing the video or
adding it to a playlist.
Application Tools Ribbon

This ribbon only appears when you have an
executable file (.exe) selected. It’s another
ribbon that you probably won’t spend much
time with, but it does offer some features for
when you want to “run” a program you have,
for example, downloaded.
Compressed Folder Tools Ribbon
This ribbon only appears when you have an archive (.Zip) file selected. If you select the file
on the Navigation tree, it will also display a list of EXTRACT TO folders (folders you can
select to place the contents of the archive file into).
Drive Tools Ribbon

This ribbon appears when you
select a storage device under
computer (C: drive, USB drive,
etc.).
o BitLocker – Allows
you to password
protect a drive or USB
Flash drive.
o Optimize – Click this to run what used to be called “defragment” on the
selected drive.
o Cleanup – This button cleans temp files off the selected drive.
o Eject – This button is used to eject and safely remove a USB drive.
This PC Ribbon
This ribbon appears when you have This PC selected in the Navigation Pane. Again, this is a
ribbon you probably won’t spend much time on, although you might find the System
Properties button useful for display information about Windows and your Computer.
Network Ribbon
This ribbon appears when you have selected Network in the Navigation Pane. It provides
some quick ways to get to your local network information. But from a Files and Folders
perspective (the focus of this book), you won’t be using this ribbon.
Section 8 – The “Core” Windows 10 Apps
and the App Store
In This Section
In this Section I’ll help you get started with some of the “core” Edge Browser App
Apps included with Windows 10. We won’t go into massive details Mail App
about the Apps here, but you’ll learn the essentials needed to at Calendar App
least get started. Using the MS App Store
And at the end of the section, you’ll learn how to get even MORE
Apps from the Microsoft Store.
Edge Browser App

Microsoft’s new browser is completely redesigned and replaces Internet Explorer. Here’s
what it looks like…
Hub (Favorites, Reading List, Books, History, Downloads)
Set Tabs Aside Add New Tab

Tabs
Tab Thumbnails Share
Address / Search Bar Reading View Web Note
Add to Favorite
Back – Forward - Refresh More Menu
Tip – When you first start the Edge Browser,

you may be at the “Edge Start Page”, which
is a special page showing you news and
information, plus a box labeled “Where To
Next” that you can use to do a web search.
3 Ways to Navigate to Web Pages
As with all browsers, there are three ways you can jump from one web page to another in
Edge:
• Type a web page address (URL) onto the Address Bar
o At the top of the Edge window you’ll see the Address Bar.
o To type an address, click your mouse on the current address, and the cursor
will appear for you to type.
o NOTE: The Address Bar can
also be used to do a Quick
Search. Instead of typing
an address, just type in
keywords.
• Click the Edge Back / Forward Button
o Just to the left of the Address Bar, you can click the left and right arrows to
move Back and Forward between pages you’ve
already visited. Tip – You can add a Home
Button to the Edge navigation
• Click a Link on the page you are currently visiting
bar. Click the More Menu, then
o As you view a web page, you’ll see “links” to Settings, then Advanced
other pages in the form of Settings, and choose Show
▪ Highlighted or underlined text Home Button
▪ Graphical buttons and icons

▪ Pictures
o Almost anything can be a link. You can tell if something is a
link by moussing over it, and your mouse will turn to a pointer-
hand.
Tabbed Browsing
Most modern browsers support “Tabbed Browsing” which is where you can have multiple
browser windows open within a browser at the same time. Edge goes even farther by
including a “tab set aside” feature.
With Edge, you’ll see the Tabs at the top of the screen.
In this example there are 4 tabs open, each on a different web page.
• To create a new tab yourself:
o Click the Add New Tab button (plus sign) at the right side of the Tab area.
o OR With any link you see on a page, the link and
choose OPEN IN NEW TAB.
• To close tabs, just click the “X” at the right side of the tab.
• To hide (set aside) your tabs without closing them click the Set These Tabs Aside
button. To see the tabs you’ve set aside, click the Tabs You’ve set Aside button.
o As you view Tabs you’ve set aside, click a tab to re-open it.
o You can also click the X on a tab icon to close it.
Add Favorites
Favorites (also called bookmarks) are a way for you to keep a list of your favorite web sites
and then use that list to easily return to those
sites.
To create a Favorite:
• Go to the web page you want to favorite
• Click the Favorite button (star) on the
Address Bar…
o In the pop-up window, confirm the name
you want to call the Favorite
o Click the Create In dropdown menu and
choose which Favorite folder to save to.
o Click Create new folder if you want to
create a new favorites folder.
o Click the ADD button to save the favorite.
• At the top of the pop-up, you can also choose
the Reading List button instead of Favorite.
o Reading List is like a Favorite except that
it is a single list you add a web page to
with a single click and very little effort.
You’ll see how to get back to Favorites next.
The Hub
o To access the Hub, click the Hub button
to the right of the Favorites (start)
button.
The Hub is what Microsoft calls its new
window for quickly accessing…
• Favorites – The pages you “star”
• Reading List – The alternative to
Favorites you can choose in the
Favorites pop-up window
• Books – A book reader for reading
books you purchase at the Windows
Store.
• History – The pages you’ve visited
• Downloads – Files you’ve downloaded
from the Internet
To get to each of these sections of the Hub,
click the appropriate button at the top of the
window.
Web Note
Click this button and a “screenshot” is taken of
the page you’re on, and drawing tools appear at
the upper right side of the screen.
• You can draw and annotate the page
• When finished, there is a SAVE button that
lets you save the page and your drawings
as a picture.
• When finished you can also click the SHARE button to share the annotated picture
using other apps (such as Facebook) you might have installed on your computer.
• The Web note pages are saved as a Favorite that you can return to by opening the
Hub and accessing the Favorite list.
Share
As you look at a page, clicking the Share
button opens a panel of Apps that you can
share the page to.
• The Apps that appear on the Share
panel depend upon which Apps you
have installed in Windows 10.
• In the example here, I can share to Email, Twitter, and
Facebook, along with a few other places.
More
This final button displays a menu
that includes:
• New Window – opens
another browser window.
• New InPrivate Window –
opens a new browser
window where your
browsing history and
cookies are not kept.
• Zoom – a way to magnify the page
• Print – print the web page
• Find on page – page search feature
• Pin this page to Start – takes the current page and pins
it as a Tile on the Start Menu
• Settings – which displays a pop-up panel of other Edge
settings, including Choosing a Theme, Favorites bar
off/on, setting a Starting Page, and Clear Browser Data.
o The Settings menu also has a View Advanced
Settings option with a few useful things, including
turning off/on the Home button, blocking pop-
ups, saving passwords, and changing the search
bar Search Engine to something other than Bing.
More Edge Tips
Tip – Internet Explorer is still
o Add a HOME button – More Menu -> there! You can access it either by
Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Show going to the Edge “More” menu,
home button or by going to the Start Menu - >
All Apps, and then to Windows
▪ After you turn on the Home button
you can set your home page (next Accessories.
tip).
o Change your home page - More Menu -> Settings -> Advanced Settings ->
Show home button, and then type in a URL
o Change your Start page - More Menu -> Settings -> Open With -> A Specific
Page or pages, and then type in your URL
o Show Favorites Bar – More Menu -> Settings-> Show Favorites Bar
o Get More Information from Cortana -> on a web page, highlight a
word/words by dragging, then RIGHT click the highlight and choose Ask
Cortana.
Mail App
The Mail App that comes with Windows 10 has been streamlined and improved from the
days of Windows 8. To access it, go to the Start Menu and click the Mail App Tile.
Setting Up a Mail Account

When you first start Mail, it will look for existing Mail accounts and allow you to choose or
set one up. You’ll have to walk through the setup steps before you can use your account.
The first step involves choosing your account service.

Once you do, all you do for the setup is enter the
email address and password for that account.
The Mail App Screen
Checkbox On/Off Message Options
Message List
New Message
Expand Folder Tree
Selected Message
Main Folder Menu
Content
Calendar
Mail
Contacts Settings
Let’s work through the screen and at the same time learn how to use the
Mail App
• Main Folder Menu – Click this button to show or hide a folder tree
of the account and main mail folders
o Note that clicking the MORE button at the bottom of the
folder tree expands another panel that has even MORE
details about the mail folder tree.
• Expand Folder Tree – Expands the main tree to show all subfolders
(and is the same thing as the MORE button just mentioned above).
• Bottom Menu:
o Mail – Takes you to this the Mail App
o Calendar – Takes you to the Calendar App. The Mail App and the
Calendar App are often tied together into the same account. This is especially
true if you’re using Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Outlook.
o Contacts – Opens panel showing you all your contacts, where you can view
their information and also edit and add contacts.
o Settings – Displays a side panel of Mail specific settings. Some of the features
you can change here include:
▪ Adding New Accounts
▪ Change message “reading” options
▪ Change the signature line
Composing a Message
• New Message – Click the
NEW MAIL button to start a
new message.
Here are some important
facts….
o The composition
window works like
most email programs
since you can type and
format your message
using the toolbar at the
top.
o BUT… one difference is the Tabs at the top that take you to other features…
▪ Format – the main toolbar with text formatting features
▪ Insert – includes options for attaching files and other objects
▪ Options – includes options for spell check and message priority
o As you type an
address in the TO:/CC:/BCC: boxes
it will display a dropdown list of
contacts you can use.
o You can also click the CONTACTS button
(small person with a plus sign) to view
your contact list and add their address.
Reading Messages
• Message List – Shows a summarized list of messages for the chosen folder (such as
Inbox).
o Clicking a message displays it on the Content
panel at the right.
o Moussing over a message displays option
icons at the upper right corner
o RIGHT click a message to get a quick menu
o If you drag a message to the left panel
the detailed folder tree pops-out and you can
drop the message into a new folder.
• Checkbox On – This turns the message list into a checkbox list,
making it easier to delete or move a group of messages at one
time.
• Message Content- Click a message on the list and see the message on the right
Content panel
• Message Options – As you read a message in the Content panel, at the top is a
menu of things you can do…
o Reply – send a response to this message, the TO box is automatically filled in
o Reply All – reply to the sender and anyone else who also got the message
o Forward – send the message on to someone other than the sender
o Archive – removes the message from the Inbox. The message is only visible
from the All Mail option on the folder tree.
o Delete – puts the message in the trash
o Set Flag – Flags the message making it easier to find.
o More… - Additional options including:
▪ Mark as unread
▪ Move to another folder
▪ Print
▪ Zoom
Calendar App
The Calendar App that comes with Windows 10 works closely with the Mail App since it
typically draws information from the same “account”. In fact, initially setting up the
Calendar is the same process as you saw with the Mail App.
Setting Up a Calendar Account

When you first start Calendar, if you have not yet setup a Mail account, you’ll have to walk
through the same setup steps as I told you about with Mail.
However, if you have an existing Mail account

setup, the Calendar will attempt to draw information
from that account.
o For example, if you have a Gmail account, Calendar will attempt to pull from your
Google Calendar (which is also part of your account with Google).
AS AN ALTERNATIVE… on the first setup screen, instead of connecting Calendar to an

existing account (such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail), there is a button that says “Ready To Go”.
o Click this button and a new Calendar will be created with your existing Microsoft
Account that you’re logged into Windows 10 with.
o You can always add another Account to the Calendar App later, through the Settings
menu.
Once you have your account setup, the first thing you’ll need to learn is how to navigate to
different dates on the Calendar, and how to change the Calendar views. Then we’ll take a
look at how to enter and edit events.
The Calendar Screen Jump to Today
Expand/Collapse Panel Calendar Views
Month Navigation
Mini-Calendar
Navigation
Account Calendar
List
Mail Contacts
Settings Events
Calendar
Working with the Calendar Screen

The left panel has buttons and features that let you work with accounts and what
information is displayed on the main calendar.
• Expand / Collapse Panel – this button expands or hides the left side panel that
contains the Mini-Calendar and the Account List.
• Account Calendar List – shows the list of one or more calendars that belong to an
account.
o Clicking a calendar toggles its events on/off on the mail calendar
o RIGHT click a calendar to change its color
• Bottom Menu:
o Mail – Takes you to the Mail App
o Calendar – Takes you to this Calendar App. The Mail App and the Calendar
App are often tied together into the same account. This is especially true if
you’re using Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Outlook.
o Contacts – Opens your contacts list.
o Settings – Displays a side panel of Calendar specific settings. Some of the
features you can change here include:
▪ Adding New Accounts
▪ Change Calendar features:
• First day of week
• Working Hours
• Calendar colors
▪ Change weather settings
Navigating the Main Calendar

As you start using the Calendar App, the first thing to learn is
how to navigate to different dates. There are different ways to
do this…
• Mini-Calendar – a clickable month calendar that assists
you in “jumping” the main calendar to a specific day.
o Clicking on a day in the mini-calendar jumps the
main calendar to that date
o Mini-Calendar Navigation arrows– these up and
down arrows move you through months forward
and backward.
• Month Navigation buttons – up and down buttons that
take you to the previous/next month of the main
calendar.
• Jump to Today button – click and you jump the main calendar back to the current
day
Changing the Main Calendar View
At the top of the main calendar are buttons for changing how the calendar is displayed.
• Calendar View buttons:
o Day – click and get a menu where you can choose to view 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6
days on the main calendar.
o Work Week – displays Monday through Friday
o Week – displays Sunday through Saturday
o Month – displays the entire month
Working with Calendar Events

To create a new event:
• Position the mouse on the desired
day and click
o A pop-up window appears
where you can enter event
information
o If you have the Week or Day
view displaying when you
click to make an event,
clicking on a time of day will
fill in that time automatically.
o Click More Details and the
screen expands to show the
full details of the event.
o At the top right of the Details Screen, click
the Repeat button and you can schedule a
reoccurring event.
• You can also create a new event by clicking the

New Event (Plus) button on the main calendar
screen.
o Clicking that button takes you immediately
to the even details screen.
NOTE: One thing the Calendar App cannot yet do is print.

Hopefully, for those who like to print their calendars out,
Microsoft will be providing us an update in the future.
Using the Microsoft App Store
Although Windows 10 includes a good number of Apps, at some point you’re going to want
to do something that you don’t have an App for.
In the old days, you’d have to head down to the local computer store, fork out $40 or more
dollars, bring home a box with a disc in it, and spend the next hour installing your new
program.
But not anymore! Now that Windows 10 truly supports the concept of “Apps”, getting
new ones is just a click or two away, at the Microsoft App Store!
Accessing the App Store

You actually use the “App Store app” to access the Microsoft Store.
• On the Taskbar, the Store icon looks like a
small shopping bag. Click it to open the Store.
• Note that in order to use the Microsoft Store
you do need a free Microsoft Account (which I
talk about back in Section 2 of this guidebook.
Navigating the App Store

To move around in the
Store…
• Scroll up and down
to see featured
categories, and then
click SHOW ALL on
the upper right of a
row to view the
contents of those
categories.
• When you see an
App that interests
you, click it to
display a detail
window.
o In this
example, I’ve
click the icon
for Solitaire
HD, and I’m
looking at the
details screen.
• Detail screens typically

include:
o A Description
o A User Rating
o Screenshots of the App
o A “People Also Liked” list of related Apps
o A Purchase button which can be labeled…
▪ Get – the app is completely free to install
(but it may have in-app purchases)
▪ Buy (or a price) – if the app costs something
▪ Launch – if you already have the App installed
▪ Install – if you already own the App but don’t have it installed
• You can also do a keyword search for an App using the Search box at the upper
right side of the screen.
To Purchase an App
As your browsing, all you have to do to purchase an App is click the Purchase Button. Here
are some important facts about making an App purchase…
• If the App is Free, it will automatically start to download to your computer from the
Store.
• If the App has a Price, after you click the Purchase button you’ll be taken to a
payment screen to enter in how you want to pay.
• Once the purchase is complete, and the App has downloaded, New Apps appear on
the Start Menu under Recently Added, and will also be added to your All Apps
menu.
• Once you’ve purchased an App it will always remain in your Library.
o If you decide to remove it from your computer, it can still be downloaded
again later, for free since you already “own”it.
Using the Account Menu

At the top right side of the Store App you’ll see a small
Profile Picture of your account.
Click this and you’ll see an Account menu:
▪ Downloads and Updates – lets you check to see if
any Apps have updates, and then download them
▪ Settings – Let’s you change Store settings including
how App updates are done.
▪ My Library – displays your complete library of Apps
▪ Redeem a code – lets you use a gift card
▪ View Account – takes you online to view your
Microsoft Account.
▪ Payment Options – takes you online to view how
you are setup to make payments for Apps
▪ Purchased – shows a list of all your Purchased apps
▪ Send Feedback – lets you send a comment to Microsoft.
Tip – I personally think the ability to visit the

Microsoft Store and with a few clicks, download and
install an App on your computer is one of the
greatest features of Windows 10.
Compared to the old way of installing software, it

makes the process a ton easier!
Where Do I Go from Here?
I’ve covered a lot of things in this book, so it would be very easy for you to be
overwhelmed, especially since Windows 10 has a lot of features that go beyond all
previous Windows versions.
But don’t be too hard on yourself! Just learn the basics of navigating first, so that you can
find the Apps you need to run. Then start experimenting with some of the new Apps.
Anyway, I’ll continue to be here to help you out as much as I can.
First of all you can visit my web site, www.DiscoverSkills.com, where you can find listings of
over 40 different classes we offer in the Lincoln, NE, area.
And if you don’t live near Lincoln, the DiscoverSkills site also has computer technology
eBooks, video tutorials, and webinars that you can take advantage of right from the
comfort of your home computer.
And of course, we always love to hear from you, not only if you need questions answered,
but also just to hear about what you might be using the computer for.
So feel free to drop me a note. The address is… jlortz@discoverskills.com
Take Care!
Appendix A: A WiFi (Wireless Networking)
Primer
Although the focus of this book is Windows 8, I felt it was important to add this section
that discusses wireless networking since it’s becoming so common in the home
environment, and is the way that many people connect to the Internet.
I’m not going to get into great detail about WiFi here, but just want to give you the basic
facts about how it works and what you typically run into when you have WiFi at home.
Wireless technology is part of our lives
Not a day passes that most people don’t
use some type of wireless connection to
communicate or to control something.
Examples include cell phones, mobile
devices (smartphones), wireless headsets,
remove controls, and of course, wireless
networking in our homes, and WiFi access
in public places.
Wireless Networking and the Frequency

Spectrum
Wireless Networking (sometimes called Wi-Fi)
is really nothing more than radio signals being broadcast and received, just like your
regular radio or television set.
• With the proper equipment, it’s possible to place data (audio, video, bits of
information) on the electromagnetic waves that make up a radio signal.
• Your broadcasting device and your receiving device must be on the same “frequency”
(or the same “cycle” as measured in hertz).
• AM Radio is broadcast in several frequency bands
• Long wave (153KHz to 279KHz) which is not available in the Western
Hemisphere because of atmospheric conditions.
• Medium wave (530KHz to 1710KHz) which is what we use for AM Radio
• Short wave (2300KHz to 26100KHz) which is divided into 15 broadcast bands,
and is used by shortwave devices, Police, and CB radio
• FM Radio spans from 87.5MHz to 108.0MHz which is part of what we call the VHF
spectrum of frequencies (30MHz to 300MHz).
What about Wi-Fi Frequency?
It operates on two separate radio bands
• The 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n Wi-Fi standards operate in the 2.4GHz band.
• The older 802.11a standard operates in the 5GHz range, as does the latest (as of
this writing) standard called 802.11ac.
• NOTE: cordless phones share the same bands, which is why they sometimes cause
interference with Wi-Fi networks.
What are the WiFi Standards?

A standard group called IEEE developed a standard for wireless networking called the
802.11 standard in 1997. Since then, newer, faster standards have been developed. Here
are the most common standards the home user typically sees:
802.11b – was the first standard that popularized wireless networking. It runs at a 2.4GHz
frequency, and transmits at about 11Mbps (which is much slower than a wired network,
which is typically transmitting at 100Mbps). Also, the signal is omnidirectional, so you can
put a transmitter in a central point and put receives all around it.
802.11a – Operates at 5GHz, and transmits at 54Mbps. It has a directional signal, and so
the equipment must be line-of-sight. This standard never became popular because of that.
802.11g – this standard was ratified in June of 2003, and works in the 2.4GHz spectrum,
but can operate at 54Mbps. Since 802.11g and 802.11b are totally compatible with each
other, this standard became quickly popular.
NOTE: Since 802.11b and g both run at 2.4GHz, which is the same as most cordless phones,
microwave ovens, and walkie-talkies, there commonly an interference problem. In fact,
because of these interference problems, the 802.11g standard often only operates at the
level of the 802.11b standard.
802.11n –this is currently the most popular standard, which builds on the b and g
standards by adding MIMO (input/multiple output) and OFDM (orthogonal frequency-
division multiplexing). What these two provide is increased data broadcast simultaneously.
Runs at both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz, so has lower interference than b and g. Is backward
compatible with other standards.
802.11ac – the latest standard which will probably become more popular over the next
few years. It’s 3 times faster than 802.11n and even faster than most home wired
networks. But since it’s new, equipment that supports it is still expensive.
Setting Up a Wireless Network
Your home Internet connection
probably looks something like
the diagram to the right.
• You pay a monthly fee
to an Internet Provider
(ISP) who runs a cable to
your house.
• The cable connects to a
Modem which in turn is
connected to a
computer.
• For Wi-Fi, instead of
being connected to a
computer, the modem is
connected to a Router.
• The Router sends the
Internet signal via radio
waves out to any device that has a wireless adapter.
o Most desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets have built-in
adapters for Wi-Fi
o If you have an older computer that does not
have an adapter, you can purchase a small USB
adapter which plugs into your computer, giving
it Wi-Fi capability.
• The router signal range is typically from 200 to 300 feet,

depending upon how your house is constructed and what other radio signal
generating devices you might have.
Although the address is a bit long, here is a link to a short CNet How-To video on setting up
a wireless network at home.
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7390_1-6213817-3.html
Wireless Security – Public Networks
As convenient as wireless networks are, they also open you up to new security threats
since you are now communicating with other computers through a radio signal that can
easily be picked up by other computers and wireless-ready devices within range of the
router.
Before I talk about securing your home wireless network, let me mention something about
using your notebook computer in a public WiFi area (such as Panera’s, McDonalds, a
motel, etc.).
Public WiFi networks are just that… PUBLIC. This
means that when you connect, you are suddenly
connected to anyone else who happens to be
using that network. This also means that if
someone had the know-how, they could actually
access your computer through the WiFi network,
and do just about anything they wanted.
To stay secure in a public WiFi area:
• Have your Windows Firewall turned on. This
should prevent anyone from hacking onto
your computer.
I talked about Firewalls in the earlier section entitled Staying Safe on the Internet.
• Don’t access sensitive sites or type sensitive information onto a web page when
you are connected to a public network. In a public network, you have no control
over how the network connection is being established behind the scenes. It would
be possible for someone to intercept your unsecure transmissions and hijack
whatever they contain. It probably will never happen, but why take a chance.
For this reason, don’t access your bank accounts or other sensitive accounts from a
public WiFi connection.
Now that we’ve discussed Public WiFi, let’s talk about securing your wireless network at
home.
Wireless Security – Your Home Network
To setup your router for Wi-Fi, you must first directly connect a computer to it (using a
cable) and use that computers browser to pull-up a special setup screen that is built-into
the router.
One very important part of this setup screen will be the wireless network security.
NOTE: All routers come with instructions that walk you through setting them up, including
properly setting the network security. Be sure to carefully read these instructions.
Here are the key security options you should look for when you setup your routers
security:
• Change your SSID – Service Set Identifier (also called BSSID or ESSID) – This is a
unique code that identifies your network. Each device you want to connect to the
wireless network must be configured to recognize this code to attach to the
network. You should ALWAYS change this code from what the manufacturer has set
it to, by default.
Make sure you choose a long SSID code. Most let you have up to 32 characters or
numbers.
• Disable SSID broadcasting – Most routers transmit their name (SSID) publically
every few seconds, which makes it easier for new devices to connect to the Wi-Fi
network as they roam.
However, broadcasting the SSID also makes it easier for hackers to discover it which
brings them one step closer to hacking your network. Disabling it in the router
setup means a device has to know the SSID name and have it manually entered the
first time you connect.
• Turn on WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) or better yet, turn on WPA or WPA2 (Wi-
Fi Protected Access) – WEP, WPA, and WPA2 are all standards for encrypting and
securing a wireless network. Enabling this on your router means that a device can
only connect to it if it has the proper credentials (password/passcode).
• For even higher security, set up a MAC (Media Access Control) filter – A MAC
address is a 12-digit hexadecimal code that identifies each hardware device of a
network. If your network supports MAC address filtering, you can configure your
access point to recognize only those devices that have a specified MAC address.
• Enable the router Firewall – most wireless routers include firewall capability (NAT
– network address translation) and / or true firewall packet inspection.
Appendix B: Helpful Windows 10
Keyboard Shortcuts
As you’ve seen in various places in this guide, knowing some of the keyboard
shortcuts that are available can be a big time saver.
First of all, some of the most useful shortcuts are done in combination with
the Windows (WIN) key. This key is typically found just to the left of the
Spacebar, and has a Windows logo on it.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some shortcuts you might find useful.
• Display the Start Menu WIN key alone
• Talk to Cortana WIN + C
• App Search WIN + Q
• File Search WIN + F
• Open Settings WIN + I
• File Explorer WIN + E
• Logout to the Lock Screen WIN + L
• Control a 2nd Monitor WIN + P
• Cycle Through Open Apps WIN + TAB
• Task View WIN + TAB
• Turn on Magnifier WIN + (plus key)
• Snap window left or right WIN + left/right arrow key
• Maximize or Restore window WIN + up/down arrow key
• Peek at the Desktop WIN + comma
• Save a Screen Shot to My Pictures WIN + PRN SCRN
• Close Current App ALT + F4
Appendix C: Internet Safety Checklist
Install a good Internet Security Program
Modern Internet Security programs include an anti-virus program, firewall, and anti-malware
program, which protects you from the most common internet threats.
MY FAVORITES: Kaspersky’s Internet Security (www.kaspersky.com) & BitDefender
(www.bitdefender.com)
Install a Free Malware Scanner and run it once a week.

Although your anti-virus program also protects you from malware, it’s not a bad idea to run a
malware scanner once a week, just to add a bit more security.
MY FAVORITE: Malwarebytes (www.malwarebytes.org)
Make sure your Firewall is up and running

Your Windows Firewall is automatically set to run, but it’s a good idea to check it now and then
(through the Control Panel) and make sure all is well.
Make sure your Windows Updates are happening

Windows updates, which come once a month from Microsoft, typically include security fixes for
Windows problems hackers could potentially exploit. Visit your Control Panel and make sure
Windows Updates are set to automatically happen.
Update Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Java

Although when new versions come out, it’s not a bad idea to update ANY software you might
have, the most important are those used as you browse the Internet, which include the Adobe
programs and Java (if you have it). When the small update pop-up appears down by the Windows
notification area for these programs, click it.
Make sure you create strong passwords online

Don’t use common words or names, use upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special
characters, and make them at least 8 characters long.
FAVORITE METHOD: Take the first letter of each word of a phrase/song lyric, make certain letters
numbers (S=5, L=1, etc.), add your favorite number and a special character to each end.
Only enter private information on web pages that are secure

Make sure you see “https://” and a padlock on the browser address bar at the top of the page.
Never click a link in an email that seems to be from your bank
If you need to visit the site of a financial institution (bank, PayPal, etc.), open your browser and
type in the address yourself.
Never click on a “fix your computer” or “security warning” banner
or pop-up ad as you are browsing the Internet
Over 95% of the time, these are just ads or browser redirects that will take you to a site where
there’s potential for getting malware. ALSO… never trust “fix your computer” phone calls!
Only download from reputable web sites

And when you do, make sure you do NOT accidently click “advertising wrappers” that many
legitimate sites now put “around” the download button for ad-making-money purposes.
Always make backups of your important files

If your computer does ever become infected, the only fix might be to completely wipe off your
hard drive and re-setup your computer. If that happens, a backup of your important documents,
pictures, etc. will be essential to get you back up and running.
Appendix D: The Anniversary Update
What is the Anniversary Update?
In the first week of August, 2016, Microsoft released what they called the Windows 10
Anniversary Update. The intent was that the update would be pushed out to all Windows
10 users within a few weeks.
However, because there were problems with the update (lockups, web-cams no longer
working, etc.), Microsoft delayed the update timetable so that many users did not get the
update until November of 2016!
If you do not yet have the update, it will eventually be installed automatically.
However, you can also force it to happen, although I would personally just wait!!!
• Open the Start Menu
• Choose SETTINGS
• On the Settings window, choose Update and Security
• On the Update window choose the CHECK FOR UPDATES button and follow the
screen prompts.
Although there weren’t any major changes to how Windows 10 looked with the update,
I’ve created this Appendix to help guide you through what WAS changed, including the two
items that did change the most… the Windows Start Menu and Cortana.
What the Update Includes

Later in this section I have specific information about the changes to the Start Menu and to
the Cortana Settings.
Here is a list of the other important changes that are much less noticeable, but are still
there.
• Edge Browser Extensions - Early on, the Edge browser was a bit slow and sparse in
terms of going beyond just basic browsing, and very few users were abandoning
their Chrome or Firefox browsers to use Edge. But with every Windows update,
Edge has been getting better, and with the Anniversary Update Edge now has
extensions you can get from the Windows App Store, and Edge is even more closely
integrated with Cortana.
• Windows Hello - This will only work for the Windows Store for now, but in the
future will let you use your face (with a web cam) or fingerprint (using a fingerprint
scanner on some tablets and phones) to log into your computer or to other online
sites. Is this more secure? Only in that it verifies you are really you using your
computer hardware.
• A Dark Theme - The update now includes a new Windows theme (colors, icons, etc.)
that tones down the now “brighter” theme, displaying a darker, and for some,
easier to see desktop.
• Windows Ink - For those with a Surface Pro 9 or newer (which includes a pen), the
Windows Ink Workspace that comes with the Anniversary Update provides a
collection of ink specific apps that allow you to use the pen to take notes, draw, etc.
Other smaller improvements:

o Click the date on the right of the taskbar to see both a calendar AND events
from the calendar (if you use it).
o On the Action Center panel (which appears when you click the Notification
button) notifications are now better organized.
o Microsoft App Store is redesigned with large top boxes to take you to featured
apps. But the store still doesn’t have near as many apps as the Apple or Google
app stores.
o The Battery Saver feature in Settings has been improved to give you more
options in saving your battery life, if you have a laptop or mobile device.
o Windows Update now lets you set “active hours” where you control which hours
of the day Windows can reboot to install changes.
o More options from the old Control Panel now appear in the new Settings App.
o Improved WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Changes with Cortana

Cortana is now more integrated into Windows 10, which means that it “watches what you
do” even more. You still need to be logged into a Microsoft Account to use Cortana, but
once you do, it is automatically turned on (i.e. there is no longer a Cortana OFF/ON switch).
Refer back to page 31 of the book for the main discussion on Cortana.
To access Cortana, click your
mouse in the Ask Me
Anything box on the
Taskbar…
Expand Menu
When you do, the Cortana Panel
will appear with potentially
useful information, but also with Home
an icon-menu on the left side
you can use to access Cortana Notebook
Features.
Expand Menu – Click this to see
the menu icons change to show menu
descriptions.
Home – Click to display the
Cortana information panel. Information
Notebook – Click to display

options for changing how Cortana gathers
and provides you with information.
Information – the Cortana Cortana Settings
information panel.
Cortana Settings – Click to Feedback
display options you can change
about how Cortana works.
Feedback – Click to give Microsoft comments and
feedback about Windows 10.
When you click the EXPAND MENU button, you can see the full
menu instead of just the icons, which is helpful when you’re first
learning about these menu options.
Tip – In all honesty, to me the Feedback option seems pretty worthless,

since I’ve never gotten the impression that Microsoft really listens to end-
users with any consistency. However, in the past few years many critics
have noted that Microsoft is really trying to be more open to suggestions.
Let’s focus in on the two options that have to do the most with controlling Cortana.
Settings (Cortana Settings)

Click the Settings icon and you’ll get a new
scrolling menu of options in the Cortana panel.
Here are the ones you’ll find the most useful:
o Hey Cortana – Turn this on and Cortana
wakes up whenever you say “Hey Cortana”
into the microphone (instead of having to
click the microphone icon). Note you can
also choose to have Cortana only respond
to your voice in the options below.
o Lock Screen – Turn this on and Cortana will
respond from the Lock Screen, before
you’ve even logged into your computer.
o Taskbar Tidbits – Turn this on and Cortana
will pass along information via the Cortana
panel that it thinks you might like to know.
o History View, Device History, and Search
History – Turning these 3 options on gives
Cortana more privileges to watch what
you’re doing and learn to be more helpful.
More
Notebook (Cortana Notebook)

This option displays a panel full of topics that Cortana can be
instructed to track and provide information about.
The top part of the menu (About Me, Reminders, etc.) are general
controls for how Cortana works.
The bottom part of the menu give you specific control over various
topics.
Tip – If you plan on using Cortana (and I think you SHOULD give it a try),
you’ll want to explore the Notebook menu to see what you can customize.
More
The New Start Menu
Back on page 14 of this book I describe the Start Menu and how to use it. With the
Anniversary update, there’s been a change to the Start Menu that at first might seem
confusing, but is really pretty easy to understand.
Now when you click the Start Menu button, instead of seeing the old Start Menu,
you’re immediately taken to the All Apps menu (see below). At the top of the All
Apps menu, you’ll still see the Most Used icons.
But now the main Start Menu options are in the form of icons at the lower left side
(User Account, File Explorer, Settings, and Power).
Clicking the Expand Menu button at the top will show you the text descriptions of those
buttons.
Other than this, the menu works just as it did before the update, and I’ll refer you back to
page 14 to learn more about the Start Menu.
App Tile Panel
Expand Menu
Most Used Apps
Tip – You can actually

RESIZE the Start Menu by
moussing-over the top or side
All Apps Menu edge. When you see the
double-headed arrow, drag
to change the menu height or
User Account Button
width.
All
File Explorer Button Apps
Scrol
Settings Button l
Dow
Power (Shut-Down) Button n
Appendix F: Cortana Commands to Try
Although Microsoft has not published a complete list of Cortana commands, lots of folks on
the Internet have published phrases they have found to work. In fact, if you visit Google
and type in “what can I say to Cortana”, you’ll be amazed at all the information you find!
In any case, here is a short list of commands that I’ve put together from many different
Internet sources and trying a few things myself.
To “activate” Cortana
• Click the Search Box on the Taskbar and type in a question
• Click the microphone icon to “talk” to Cortana
• If you have 'Hey, Cortana' enabled, simply say "Hey, Cortana," followed by your
question.
Basic Commands
• Ask about the weather. Ex- "What's the weather like?" or "What will the weather be
like in two days?" or "Is it going to rain tomorrow?"
• Start a program or open a website. Ex- "Launch Microsoft Word" or "Open
Google.com”
• Hear Cortana read the news headlines. Ex- "Show me top headlines."
• Take a note in OneNote. Ex- "Take a note" or "Note it down."
• Draft an email. Ex- "Write an email to [contact] saying [message]."
• See texts or emails from a specific person. Ex- "Show me emails from Timmy."
• Perform simple calculations. Ex- "What's 35 times 16?" or "What's 23 minus two?"
• Perform conversions. Ex- "What is five miles in kilometers" or "How many teaspoons
in a cup?"
• Define a word. Ex- "What's the definition of ‘prefabricated’?" or "Do you know what
‘omnipotent’ means?"
Settings to can turn on and off

• Turn on/off Wi-Fi.
• Turn on/off Bluetooth.
• Turn on/off Airplane Mode.
Scheduling/Reminders (if you are using the Microsoft Calendar App)
• See your calendar events at a glance. Ex- "What’s my schedule look like today?" or
"What do I have on the calendar next week?" or "When is my dentist
appointment?"
• Add an appointment to your calendar. Ex- "Add dentist appointment to Monday at 3
p.m." or "Schedule phone call with Jerry tomorrow at 3 p.m."
• Move an appointment. Ex- "Move my dentist appointment to Friday."
• Set up reminders based on time, person, or location. Ex- "Remind me to phone Jerry
at 2 p.m." or "Remind me to ask about vacation time when I talk to Jerry" or
"Remind me to take out the trash when I get home." Reminders can be one-offs or
recurring (e.g., every Wednesday), and location-based reminders require a mobile
device.
• Set an alarm. Ex- "Set an alarm for 6 a.m." or "Wake me up in an hour."
• Show me my alarms.
• Ask about major holidays. Ex- "What day is Christmas?" or "When is Labor Day?"
Searching
• Find pictures, videos, documents, etc., on your device from a specific time frame.
Ex- "Find pictures from last week" or "Find documents from June 2015" or "Find
videos from last week."
• Search files by name. Ex- "Can you find a document called ‘Windows 10 handout’?"
or "Can you find a picture called 'planting flowers'?"
• See basic search results, such as information about public figures, companies,
places, and pop culture in Cortana's windows (without opening a browser window).
Ex- "How tall is the Empire State Building?" or "Who is the CEO of Microsoft?" or
"When was the Hoover Dam built?"
Maps/Navigation
• Where am I?
• Show me driving/public transit/walking directions to [location/landmark].
• How long will it take me to get to [location]?
• What is traffic like on the way to [location]?
• Show me a map of [location]. Ex- "Show me a map of downtown Omaha," or "Show
me a map of the area around the White House."
Entertainment
• Look up a sports score. Ex- "What was the score of the last St. Louis Cardinal game?"
• Find the run time of a movie. Ex- "How long is Lord of the Rings: Return of the
King?"
• Control music in the Groove app. Ex- "Play [artist/song/genre/playlist/album]," or
"Shuffle the music."
• Limited control over music in other apps. Ex- "Pause song" or "skip track."
• Identify the song that's playing. Ex- "What is this song?"
Travel
• Track flight status (from your mail/messages). Ex- "Is my flight on time?"
• Get a five-day forecast for any location. Ex- "How's the weather in Chicago?"
• Translate a word or phrase into a different language. Ex- "How do you say 'dog' in
French?" or "How do you say 'how are you' in German?"
• Convert currency. Ex- "What's 400 dollars in Euros?" or "What's 1,000 yen in US
dollars?"
• Find the current time in another city/country. Ex- "What time is it in Denver?" or
"What time is it in London?"
• What are the seven wonders of the world?
Random tips and tricks just for fun

• Ask Cortana about her origins, aka Halo. Ex- "Do you love Master Chief?" or "Tell me
about Halo 5."
• What's up?
• Tell me a joke.
• What do you think of Windows 10?
• What do you think of Google?
• Who's better, you or Siri?
• Sing me a lullaby/Sing me a song.
• Rock, paper, scissors.
• Play the movie game.
• Heads or tails?
• Roll a die/dice (one die) or roll dice (two dice).
Appendix G: The Creators Update
In April of 2017, Microsoft released another “big” update to Windows 10 called the
Creators Update. Although it was released on April 11th of 2017, many Windows 10 users
were still waiting for the update to automatically install by early May.
In any case, unlike the Anniversary Update from 2016, the Creators Update didn’t really
change the Windows Desktop or Start Menu, but instead focuses on changing more
background features and Settings.
Throughout this book, I’ve included new screenshots from the Creators Update, but here
are some of the specific items that changed:
• Improved Privacy Settings – Microsoft is making it easier to see and choose your
privacy settings in the Settings App.
• Cortana is even more integrated into Windows 10 – Cortana is now accessible even
from the Lock Screen, and is more integrated with the various Microsoft apps.
• Improved Edge Browser – There are now more extensions (addons that expand
how Edge works), including a new e-book store and reader feature, and improved
features relating to how you can use tab browsing.
• Better Gaming – There’s a new Game Mode feature that optimizes how Windows
10 works for gaming.
• Improved Windows Defender – If you use it, there’s now an improved Windows
Defender Security Center that gives you more information about your security.
• Improved Start Menu – Don’t let this scare you! It just means you can now group
App tiles into a tile folder to organize them. Clicking a tile folder displays a drop-
down menu with the apps in that tile folder.
• Action Center Expanded – The Action Center (which you display by clicking the
Notification Button on the right side of the taskbar) now includes volume and
brightness sliders.
• General App Improvements – The Mail, Calendar, Maps, and Paint apps all have
tweeks and improvements. In particular, the Paint program now includes 3D
features.
To see if you have the update, (1) click on the Type Here to Search (or Ask Me Anything) box
on the taskbar and type WINVER. (2) From the Search Panel that appears, choose the
Winver icon. (3) In the pop-up window that appears, you’ll see the Version and Build
number. The creators update is Version 1703.
Disclaimer, Terms of Use, & Trademarks
The author and publisher of this Book and any accompanying materials have used their best
efforts in preparing this Book. The author and publisher make no representation or warranties
with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this
Book. The information contained in this Book is strictly for educational purposes. Therefore, if
you wish to apply ideas contained in this Book, you are taking full responsibility for your
actions.
The author and publisher disclaim any warranties (express or implied), merchantability, or
fitness for any particular purpose. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to
any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages
arising directly or indirectly from any use of the material in this Book or accompanying
materials, which is provided “as is”, and without warranties. As always, the advice of a
competent legal, tax, accounting, computer, or other professional should be sought. The
author and publisher do not warrant the performance, effectiveness or applicability of any sites
or software listed or linked to in this Book.
All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or any
other implied or explicit purpose.
All products, sites, and software mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. They are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such
companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any
trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this Book.

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A Guidebook for

John Lortz - DiscoverSkills.com

Written by John Lortz

Yes, I am a real person, and I live in the United States, Midwestern

DiscoverSkills.com is a technology learning portal created by John Lortz to assist

DiscoverSkills (my main site) – www.discoverskills.com

Section 2 - All About Microsoft Accounts __________________ 6

Section 3 – Windows 10 Desktop Basics __________________ 10

Section 4 - Adding More Windows 10 Desktop Features to your

Section 5 – Personalizing Windows 10 ___________________ 47

Section 6 – More Windows 10 Settings __________________ 56

Section 7 – Windows 10 Files & Folders __________________ 70

Where Do I Go from Here? ____________________________ 125

Appendix A: A WiFi (Wireless Networking) Primer _________ 126

Appendix B: Helpful Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts ______ 131

Appendix C: Internet Safety Checklist ___________________ 132

Appendix F: Cortana Commands to Try __________________ 139

Appendix G: The Creators Update ______________________ 142

Disclaimer, Terms of Use, & Trademarks ________________ 143

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 2

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 3

Windows 10 – The “last version” of Windows?

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 4

Of course, no-one really knows what Microsoft

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 5

Microsoft Account Features and Facts

How To Setup a Microsoft Account

Tip - You can change your

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 8

Tip - For Local Accounts,

• The last screen just informs you that

Tip - You can always re-

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 9

Step One – The Lock Screen and Login

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 10

Step Two – Overview the New Desktop

Start Button Task View Button

Note – In the Anniversary

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 11

Step Three - Connecting to the Internet

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 12

o To connect to your network, click the CONNECT

To learn more about WiFi networks, turn to Appendix A of

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 13

App Tile Panel

Show Menu Button

Most Used & Tip – You can actually

User Account Button

OPTIONAL Menu Buttons

File Explorer Button

Power (Shut-Down) Button

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 14

On the right panel, you can

Tip – I cover all the

• Lock – Click this “lock” your

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 15

Tip – If you’re wondering

Tip – There is currently no

Optional Menu Buttons

By clicking the “Choose which folders appear on

Two buttons you might want to consider having

• Settings Button – Click this and the Windows

A Guidebook for Windows 10 – Copyright © John Lortz – DiscoverSkills (www.discoverskills.com) Page 17