Windows 8 – Close an app, shut down your PC, and more

Here is a recent post from the Microsoft “Getting to know Windows” Site:
Settings with shut down options showing

Some things you’ve done before are now in new places. Here’s how to do some of those common tasks.

Using Windows

Search:

Whenever you want to search for something, use the Search charm. From there, you can search:

  • The app you’re in (for example, find a specific app in the Windows Store)
  • Another app (for example, quickly look up something on the web with Internet Explorer)
  • Your entire PC (find an app, setting, or file)

Use Start:

The Start button and menu from previous versions of Windows have been replaced with the Start screen. Start is your new home base. You can open apps (both apps you install from the Windows Store and desktop apps), websites, contacts, and folders. Or, you can just glance at the tiles to get the latest headlines, updates, and info.

Here are the quickest ways to return to Start:

  • With touch, swipe the right edge of your screen, and then tap the Start charm.
  • With a mouse, move the pointer into the lower-left corner. When Start appears, click in the corner.
  • With a keyboard, press the Windows logo key Windows 8 - Windows logo key.

Use the desktop:

  • On Start, tap or click Desktop.
  • If you’re using a keyboard, press the Windows logo key Windows 8 – Windows logo keyWindows 8 - Windows logo key+D.

Open Control Panel:

There are a few different ways to find and change your settings: Control Panel, PC settings, and by searching. Many of the common settings were moved into PC settings, so try checking there first.

Here’s how to get to PC settings:

  1. Open the Settings charm.
  2. At the bottom, you can change the settings shown here (network connection, volume, brightness, notfications, power, and keyboard) or tap or click Change PC settings for more options.

Here’s how to open Control Panel:

  1. Open the Search charm.
  2. Enter Control Panel in the search box, tap or click Apps, and then tap or click Control Panel in the results.

Here’s how to find individual tasks or settings:

  1. Open the Search charm.
  2. Enter a word or phrase into the search box, and then select from the list of results on the left. What you’re looking for might be in either Apps or Settings, so check both options. They’re listed on the right under the search field.

Get to Help and Support:

You can find help about Windows in general, or for specific apps. Here’s how:

  • When you’re using the desktop, you can find help about how to use Windows. Open the Search charm, enter Help, and then tap or click Help and Support.
  • When you’re on the Start screen, you can find help about rearranging and adding things to Start. Open the Settings charm, and then tap or click Help.
  • When you’re in an app, you can find out how to use and customize that app. Open the Settings charm, and then tap or click Help. (Some apps might put help in other locations, so check the company’s website if you can’t find help in the Settings charm.)

Turn off or shut down a PC:

In Windows 8 and Windows RT, there’s really no need to shut down your PC completely—put it in sleep mode instead. This uses very little power, your PC starts up faster, and you’re instantly back to where you left off. You don’t have to worry that you’ll lose your work because Windows automatically saves it and turns off the PC if the battery is too low. For most laptops and tablets, sleep is the default shutdown mode so all you need to do is close your lid or press the power button. If it isn’t, you can change that.

Here’s how to set sleep mode as the default:

  1. Open the Search charm, enter power, tap or click Settings on the right, and then tap or click Power options.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • If you’re using a desktop or tablet, tap or click Choose what the power button does and under Power button settings, select Sleep, and then tap or click Save changes.
    • If you’re using a laptop, tap or click Choose what closing the lid does. Then, next to When I close the lid, choose what you want your laptop to do, both for when it’s running on battery and when it’s plugged in, and then tap or click Save changes.

If you’re getting on an airplane or don’t plan to use your PC for a while, you might want to turn your PC completely off. Here’s how:

  1. Close any desktop apps you have open–this will prompt you to save your work.
  2. Open the Settings charm.
  3. Tap or click Power, and then tap or click Shut down.

Using apps

Print:

If you can’t find a Print command in an app, check the Devices charm or press Ctrl+P. You’ll see a list of printers that have been added to this PC and work with that app. (Note that some apps don’t support printing.)

If you need to add a printer, here’s how:

  1. Open the Settings charm, and then tap or click Change PC settings.
  2. Select Devices, tap or click Add a device, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

See all apps (programs):

  • On Start, open the app commands, and then tap or click All apps.
  • If you’re using a keyboard and know the name of the app, you can go to Start and start typing it. This automatically searches all of your apps.

Install apps:

You can install apps using the Windows Store, from media, such as a DVD, or download them from the Internet.

To get the most out of your apps and the Windows Store, make sure you’ve connected your Microsoft account.

Add an account to an app:

You’ll get the most out of the Mail, Calendar, and People when they can work together with your existing accounts. Here’s how:

  1. If you don’t have a Microsoft account set up, do that first.
  2. In the app, open the Settings charm, and then tap or click Accounts.
  3. Tap or click Add an account.
  4. Tap or click the type of account you want to add, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Change settings in apps:

For apps that don’t run in the desktop, open the app, and then open the Settings charm. This is where you can find app-specific settings and do things like change preferences, find help, and add accounts. You’ll also find common PC settings at the bottom, like volume, brightness, and shut down.

Close an app:

Apps you install from the Windows Store don’t slow down your PC, so you don’t need to close them. When you’re not using an app, Windows will leave it running in the background and then close it eventually. It’s still a good idea to close desktop apps when you’re done using them, particularly before shutting down your PC.

Here’s how to close the app you’re using:

  • With touch or a mouse, drag the app from the top of the screen to the bottom.

Here’s how to close an app you were using recently:

  • With touch, swipe in from the left edge without lifting your finger, and then push the app back toward the left edge. You’ll see the apps you’ve used recently, plus Start. Drag the app you want to close from the list to the bottom of the screen.
  • With a mouse, move your pointer into the upper-left corner and then move it down the left edge. You’ll see the apps you’ve used recently, plus Start. Right-click the app you want to close, and then click Close.

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Windows 8 – Customize the Start screen

Here is a recent post from the Microsoft “Getting to know Windows” Site:

Just like you had a Start menu in Windows 7, you have a Start screen in Windows 8 and Windows RT. It has all of the info you care about in one place. You can just glance at the tiles to get the latest headlines, real-time updates, and info, or you can open apps, websites, contacts, and folders.

Here are the quickest ways to get to Start:

Windows - Swipe in from the right edge and tap Start With touch, swipe in from the right edge of your screen, and then tap Start.
WIndows 8 - Move your pointer to the upper-right, move it down, then click Start With a mouse, move your pointer to the upper-right or lower-right corner, and then move it up or down and click Start. (Or, point to the lower-left corner, and click Start when it appears.)
You can also press the Windows logo key Windows 8 - Windows logo key on a keyboard.

So arrange Start any way you want it, and put your favorite apps, people, and websites front and center. Here are a few options you can try.

Create tiles for your favorite people and places

A tile is an app or content (like a website, contact, or folder) that you can open from the Start screen. So if you have a website that you visit every day or people that you chat with all the time, you might want to create tiles for them on Start so you can get to them quickly.

When you come across a website, contact, or folder that you want to add to Start, here’s how:

  • To pin a website or contact from an app, open the app commands and tap or click Pin to Start.
  • To pin a folder, open it in File Explorer, press and hold or right-click it, and then tap or click Pin to Start.

Pin or unpin apps

Some apps that are installed on your PC might not be pinned to Start. But you can always pin them if you want them there. On the Start screen, open the Search charm, select the app you want to pin to open its commands, and then tap or click Pin to Start.

And if there are apps you don’t use, you can unpin them from Start. On the Start screen, select an app to open its commands, and then tap or click Unpin from Start. If you unpin an app, it’s still installed on your PC, so you can always find it again with the Search charm.

Rearrange and resize tiles

To move a tile, drag it up or down, and then drag it anywhere you want it. (You don’t need to press and hold.) You can arrange the tiles any way you want. Put similar tiles together, group all your favorites, or create a “Work” group for the apps for your job.

Here’s how to name a group of tiles:

  • Touch the Start screen with two or more fingers, and then pinch them toward each other to zoom out. (If you’re using a mouse, click the Zoom button Windows 8 - The Zoom button.)
  • Select the group of tiles you want to name, and then tap or click Name Group.

If a tile isn’t fitting in the spot you want, you can make it larger or smaller. Just select the tile on the Start screen to open the app commands, and then tap or click Larger or Smaller. (Some tiles can’t be resized.)

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Service Pack 2 released for Microsoft Office 2010

Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2010. This will be the last service pack for this version of office. Those using Office 2010 should download this service pack as it contains many fixes and improvements for Office 2010.

How to obtain and install the service pack

Method 1: Microsoft Update (recommended)

Note In addition to the products in the Office 2010 suite, the service pack 2687455 also updates Microsoft Project 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010, and Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010.

To download the service pack from Microsoft Update, go to the following Microsoft website:

You can opt in a computer to the Microsoft Update service, and then register that service with the Automatic updates to receive the SP2 update. Microsoft Update will detect which products that you have installed, and then apply all updates to the products.

Method 2: Download the SP2 package from Microsoft Download Center

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download SP2 for Office 2010 - X32Download the Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 32-bit package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

For more information about a complete list of all released SP2 desktop packages, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2687521 List of all Office 2010 SP2 packages

Overview of Office 2010 SP2 improvements

The following are the key areas of improvements that are offered by SP2:Excel 2010 SP2

  • Improves the overall stability, performance, and compatibility with other versions of Excel. For a more detailed list of specific issues that the service pack fixes, please download a version of the workbook that is available below.
  • Fixes issues in which the performance of Excel decreases, and Excel file sizes become larger when additional built-in styles are copied during the duplication of data between different Excel instances.
  • Fixes an issue in which data validation lists that contain comma signs (,) are broken in an .xlsx or .xlsb file. This issue occurs when you set the user locale to a location that does not use comma signs (,) to separate the lists. For example, Germany uses semicolons (;) to separate the lists. When you set Germany as the location, data validation lists that contain commas are all broken.
  • Fixes an issue in which an .xlsx file created in Microsoft Office 2013 that contains an App bound to a table is corrupted on save. Additionally, it addresses the issue in which all Agave formulas in the workbook sheet are removed from the file.

Outlook 2010 SP2

  • Fixes the issue regarding the message size of certain long email messages. Additionally, it fixes an issue that occurs when you perform a spell check before you send an email message.

PowerPoint 2010 SP2

  • Improves the quality of videos in a presentation after the videos are optimized or compressed by PowerPoint.
  • Fixes issues that occur when you co-author a presentation with other users at the same time.
  • Fixes an issue in which Mozilla FireFox crashes when you try to view a presentation in PowerPoint Web App on a Mac computer that has Microsoft Silverlight 3 or Silverlight 4 installed.

Word 2010 SP2

  • Fixes issues regarding bookmarks, fields, track changes, templates, tables, object wrapping, autocorrect options, and email addresses. Additionally, it fixes general reliability issues that occur when you post a blog entry on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 and Microsoft Office 365 blogs.

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