Use and Show the Desktop Applications in Windows 8

Introduction

In this article, we are going to describe how to show and use a Desktop Application. Windows 8 provides the user experience with the Metro UI. Windows 8 comes with the new features, Metro UI based applications, and Metro full-screen applications. The new Start button is available from the Charms Bar. With the Metro UI, Windows 8 provides an improved user experience. As part of the design change, the Start and All Programs user interface are no longer needed. The Start button has been one of the best images in Windows 8 for over sixteen years now. If you want to go to the Start button, it is just on the right and moves the cursor on the bottom-right corner; it looks a little different now. The Start button is available from the Charms Bar as shown below.

Windows 8 provides many desktop applications such as Metro Start Screen and Windows 8 search. These Windows 8 elements have been totally designed with the new Metro look and accompanied by some new and interesting features. Inspired from the Windows Phone 7 Metro UI, the Windows 8 start menu displays custom metro tiles and a list of defaults, which act as shortcuts to the Desktop, Control Panel, Windows Explorer, Windows Application Store, Internet Explorer, and other installed applications.

Windows 8 provides many applications. To launch the desktop, click the Desktop Tile, present underneath the video tile. In the Start button, you can open many applications such as Stores, Mail, Maps, Internet Explorer, Calendar, Video, Weather, Sky Drive, Desktop, People, Reader, and many others applications.

If you immediately open the Windows 8 Desktop, there is no Windows orb. When you press the mouse over the bottom-left corner of the screen and it shows the thumbnail preview of the start screen. If you click on the thumbnail, you can go to the Windows 8 Start Screen directly which allows you to launch a Metro application and pinned applications, and Windows Explorer shortcuts.

Metro UI

Windows 8 has many builtin Metro applications such as Calendar, Video, Mail and Desktop applications such as WordPad Snipping Tool. You can move the cursor on the right side and open the search option that you want. If you find an application (e.g. Win) from the application list and run from there.

Charms Bar or Windows 8 Start Search

The Charms Bar is a right-sidebar menu that gives system access to Search, System, Setting and basic action. Move your mouse to the bottom or top-right corner of the screen and use the Windows+C hotkey combination to access the Charms Bar. Show the Charms Bar by clicking the upper right corner. Select Applications from the list and type the application name (e.g. Win) at the search box. Select your application from the search result.

Desktop Switch List

The Windows 8 Desktop Switch List is available from the left sidebar which is hidden by default but when your mouse hovers over the top-left corner all Metro applications are shown. This left sidebar makes it easy to quickly navigate between all applications running in the background.

Windows 8 Sign Out

The Windows 8 Start Menu is designed to keep the need to access your PCs various element without having to open multiple Windows Explorer windows. By default it contains Internet Explorer, Desktop, Windows Explorer, Task Manager, Computer and other widgets; you can pin as many applications, folders custom widget as you want in Windows 8 Start Screen. Like the Windows 7 native application launcher, it lets you change the position of application tiles. The scroll bar present at the bottom will help you navigate through the Windows 8 Start Menu interface. When you click the user tile, it will let you log off or Sign Out, lock the screen, add a new user and change the user tile from the personalized window, where you can change the picture and color and apply other customizations.

Pin or Unpin Applications on Taskbar

Start the application and then right-click the application from the Taskbar to pin or unpin the application. Once you have pinned an application on the Taskbar, you can launch directly from the Taskbar next time.

Resources

Summary

In this article, we learned about Use and Show the Desktop Applications in Windows 8.