Windows10 for beginners

Windows10
Everythingyouneedtoknow
togetstartedwithWindows10 For
PCsand
Surface
Pro
MasterthenewStartMenu
GettoknowMicrosoftEdge
100%independent Essentialapps
NEW

WithWindows8,wesawaradicaldeparturefromanyWindowsoperatingsystemwe
knewinrecenttimes.TheStartmenuwasgoneanditmostlyworkedoffatiled-based
systemratherthanthedesktop.Therewasanoutcryfromuserswhowereadverse
tochange,butMicrosoftlistened,andWindows10seesthereturntoasystemwe
allknowandlove.TheStartmenuisback.Butthetiledsystemisn’tredundant,ithas
beenintegratedintotheStartmenu,andyoucanviewyourappsinaStartscreen
mannerifyouwantto.Windows10alsoseestheintroductionofyourown,voice-
poweredpersonalassistant,Cortana.Youcanask‘her’whattheweatherwillbe,or
askhertotellyouajoke.That’snotall,MicrosofthaveretiredInternetExplorer,and
introducedMicrosoftEdge,annotatewebpages,createreadinglistsandbrowsethe
internetinstyle.GoforthanddiscoverexactlywhatWindows10hastooffer.
Enjoythebook.
Welcometo
Windows10

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Windows 10 for Beginners © 2015 Imagine Publishing Ltd
Windows10

6 Windows 10 for Beginners
Contents
Settingup
22 Upgrade to Windows 10
24 Connect to Wi-Fi
26 Create an account with
Microsoft
28 Create a user account
30 Add a password to protect
your account
32 Improve your security
34 Change the desktop image
36 Personalise the Start menu
38 Customise your PC’s settings
to suit your needs
42 Use Control Panel to manage
your system settings
46 Set up the Windows firewall
48 Set up Windows Defender
Gettingstarted
52 Master the new Start menu
54 Start using multiple desktops
56 Learn to use Task Manager
58 Use the Notifications centre
60 Customise your application
notifications
62 Change your default programs
64 Switch between applications
66 Arrange your windows with a
snap
68 Look to the future with
Universal apps
70 Introducing Cortana, your
personal assistant
72 Use voice search with Cortana
74 Set up and add contacts
8
Theultimate
guideto
Windows10
84
Browse
the web
22
Upgrade
Windows
76 Set up an email account
78 Send an email with
attachments
80 Get to grips with the
Calendar app
82 Add an event to your Calendar
84 Get to know Microsoft Edge
86 Bookmark a site with Edge
88 Pin a site to the Start menu
90 Clear browsing history
92 Make notes and more on Edge
Browser
94 Add a web site/article to your
Reading list
96 Browse the Windows Store
98 Download an app
100 Explore the Maps features
102 Find your way with Maps
104 Upload, share and sync with
Microsoft’s OneDrive

Windows 10 for Beginners 7
“Incredibly, 2015
marks 30 years
since the first
commercial release of
Microsoft’s Windows”
108 Understand the Skype
interface
110 Experience a video call in
Skype
112 Import photos from your
camera
114 Edit your photos
116 Make home movies with
Windows 10
120 Utilise the integrated
Xbox app
122 Download new media
124 Add music to your library
126 Create, format and edit with
Microsoft Word
130 Complete difficult tasks with
Microsoft Excel
134 Create sophisticated
presentations in minutes
Thenextstep
138
Essential
Windows
apps
126
Microsoft
Word
116
Make a
movie
66
Snap
Windows
102
Get
directions

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Ultimateguide

I
ncredibly, 2015 marks 30 years since the first commercial release of
Microsoft’s Windows. Through a myriad of ground-breaking iterations, the
operating system continues to redefine how users interact with not just PCs
but tablets, smartphones and even games consoles too. Apt then that in this
anniversary year we welcome the latest release since Windows 8 almost three
years prior. Windows 10 promises a unified experience across modern devices,
unveiling a raft of new features alongside some old favourites. Fans will be
heartened to find classic desktop staples, most notably the iconic Start menu,
returned in versatile style. This time, users are encouraged to customise Windows
to blend popular aspects of Vista and Windows 7 with the touch-screen
optimisation of Windows 8. The Start screen is banished to let Live Tiles and
legacy Metro apps live happily within new virtual desktops. Tighter integration
with Windows Store for software distribution, Cortana for spoken word
assistance and a brand new Edge web browser all make for exciting reading. So,
with so much to discover, join us on a tour of Windows 10’s best bits. Familiarise
yourself with essential desktop features, explore interfaces, learn shortcuts, and
even source accessories for Microsoft’s most anticipated release to date.
The
ultimate
guideto
Windows10Discover everything you need to know about the
brand-new operating system
“It promises a unified experience
across modern devices”

Ultimateguide
Desktop
Cortana
In the early formative years of GUI computing,
Windows defined the desktop paradigm.
This background space, populated by icons
and windows would come to form a familiar
’home’ to millions of users. While Windows
8 moved away from a desktop focus,
Windows 10 places it back at the forefront
of PC interaction. Again, you can customise
wallpapers and decorate with shortcuts,
while the traditional taskbar resides below.
The Start menu also returns, while seamless
integration of the Cortana voice assistant and
Action Center for notifications also arrives.
Rather neatly too, Metro apps now behave
more respectfully to the new desktop when
launched. Rather than filling the screen
completely, such apps are now windowed
and resizable to make usage more versatile.
Similarly, the new Task View button opens an
array of virtual desktops for extending your
workspace and improving workflow. Add to
this instant access to the new Edge browser
and Xbox Live connectivity for delivering
unparalleled online performance and you
have a desktop full of powerful features.
The evolution of smartphone technology
has made voice operation more prevalent.
Introduced within Windows Phone 8.1,
Cortana is Microsoft’s intelligent personal
assistant, responding to naturally spoken or
typed commands. That identical functionality
is now integrated into the desktop, called
upon via the taskbar search bar or indeed
with the “Hey Cortana” command. Cortana
then searches your PC for files, folders or apps
and performs tasks like calendar reminders or
sending emails. It uses Bing search technology,
so you can ask for weather reports, sports
scores or web searches just as you would a
friend. By using Cortana this way and telling
’her’ about working habits, interests, favoured
locations and quiet times, this addition grows
in awareness. With settings for addressing you
by name, vocal training and turning Cortana
off altogether, it really is like having a real PA.

PowerButton
The power button with
options for Sleep, Shut down
and Restart is moved back to
the top of the menu
Searchbar
The search bar
finds installed
apps, folders and
documents, but
also allows you to
run apps directly
Startmenu
This left area pins popular
system locations, places,
most-used apps and indeed
a list of all apps below
StartmenuOut with the new, and in with the old, the Start menu is back!
Windows 8’s removal of the Start menu in
favour of the Start screen was a bugbear for
veteran users. The lingering expectation for
clicking that familiar Windows icon to launch
popular programs made losing this popular
feature jarring for some. Happily though,
Windows 10 not only places the Start Menu
back into the left corner of the desktop
taskbar, it also offers greater flexibility over its
function and behaviour. By default, the ’new’
Start menu accommodates not only typical
desktop apps and places, but also Live Tiles for
Windows 8-style favourites. Crucially though,
the Windows 10 Start menu allows Live Tile
functionality to be switched off completely,
along with unpinning Metro apps such as Mail,
Weather, Store and so on. Alternatively, users
can opt to view the Start menu full-screen,
providing the best of both worlds for those
wanting retro or more modern modes of
operation. Either way, general customisation
extends to colour settings and a dedicated
properties checklist for pinning only the most
useful system locations. All in all then, the Start
menu is back and better than ever, and we
couldn’t be more glad!
LiveTiles
The right side pins Live
Tiles or Metro apps, with
re-arrangement just a case
of clicking and dragging
“Windows 10 places the Start menu
back into the left corner”

Ultimateguide
Verticalscrolling
Quite simply, this minor
tweak makes viewing
lengthy listings much
more in keeping with
Windows convention
TopCategories
Links to Home, Apps
(non-game), Game,
Music and Movies & TV
keep general navigation
more intuitive
Downloads,AccountandSearch
Check pending downloads, your
Microsoft account profile and indeed
search directly for a desired app
Applistings
Apps are itemised by
categories and picks,
providing full details
and reviews as you
click through
Windows 8 ushered in a new way to download
and install apps on your PC and supported
devices: the Windows Store. For the launch of
Windows 10, the Windows Store was given
a Beta facelift, which was made accessible as
part of the OS’s technical preview.
So, although the new design is subject
to ongoing changes, when you click that
shopping bag taskbar button or Start menu
tile, we think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Most notably, the general layout from the
’Home’ page throughout is much cleaner and
more organised, with a carousel of latest and
featured apps along the top. Here you will
also find links to core Apps, Games, Music and
Music & TV categories, as well as quick access
to download queues, your account profile and
the search bar.
What’s more is that scrolling is now vertical,
as opposed to purely horizontal, and far easier
to browse personal picks, top charts and best-
rated apps. With more than 206,000 listed
as of April 2015, these intuitive and cosmetic
changes should go a long way to delighting
both contributing developers and Windows
app fans alike!
Check out the interface below and
familiarise yourself with it.
Microsoft’s marketplace for adding apps receives a welcome revamp
WindowsStore

As part of Windows 10’s renewed emphasis on desktop interaction,
users can now spawn multiple instances known as Virtual Desktops.
This essentially allows you to widen your workspace beyond the
confines of a single monitor. By clicking the Task View taskbar
button you can view the current desktop list, adding as many as
you wish. Open apps and windows can then be dragged and
dropped into active desktops or entirely new ones, with handy
shortcuts available for organising and navigating. This ability to
dedicate desktops to specific applications should offer significant
gains in workflow productivity.
Revolutionising system security, Windows Hello is Windows 10’s
new login technology extending Microsoft Passport. Alongside
a unique four-digit pin for general sign-in, individual users can
be recognised by more personal physical features. Supported
peripherals, such as an IR camera and fingerprint sensor, are
required, allowing you to scan the face, iris or fingertips. Such
wholly unique biometric data can be used to not only access
Windows 10 but also make purchases on the Windows Store and
beyond. Initialised via Settings>Account>Sign-in options, the
system prompts you to train the selected recognition type.
Codenamed Project Spartan in development,
Microsoft Edge is a brand new web browser
for Windows 10. Built from the ground up
and unveiled in January 2015, Edge actually
replaces Internet Explorer as the default
browser across Windows 10 platforms. For
many, this moving away from an iconic, albeit
often maligned, browser is of most interest
and brings some innovative features. Here,
Edge reinvents the online experience, allowing
users to share annotated pages with Web
Notes. A new ’Hub’ panel collects reading lists,
favourites, visit history and downloads, while
Cortana integration keeps searches simple.
IE’s successor promises to perform faster than
the rest.
Multipledesktops WindowsHello
Edge
“It reinvents the
online experience”

Ultimateguide
Along with Cortana, the Action Center makes
the leap from Windows Phone into Windows
10. Many then will already know that this is
where to expect notifications, but in some
ways, Action Center arrives to form a crucial
core to Microsoft’s new OS. Housed in a fly-
out panel on the right side of the desktop,
live slide-in notifications are archived here for
important events in real-time. From here you
can review system, app and communication
events, and simply mouse over before clicking
‘X’ to dismiss. Utilising ’Windows everywhere’
to sync the experience over your multiple
devices, Action Center ensures all your
Windows notifications are shared across PC,
tablet or phone.
Action
Center
The tried and trusted method for browsing your PC’s contents
for so long lives on in Windows 10. Windows Explorer, known
more recently as simply File Explorer, remains a key fixture for
hierarchically browsing not just local files and folders but also
connected drives, network places and OneDrive cloud storage.
Essentially still a familiar panelled window showing folder trees
to the right and thumbnail previews to the right, File Explorer by
default shows a useful ’Quick Access’ view. Here you’ll find items
presented within customisable smart categories, and hopefully
providing rapid access to those documents, photos or media you
cherish most.
Groupings for files or folders tagged as ’Favourites’, ’Frequent
folders’ and indeed ’Recent files’, are all shown here for more
convenient navigation. As with most things in Windows 10, Folder
Options here can be customised via View>Options, giving you
choices about how your File Explorer history is best represented. It
allows you to use your system how you want.
WindowsExplorer
“Shared across PC,
tablet or phone”
“The tried and trusted
method for browsing your
PC’s contents”

Update&Recovery
Important options for keeping
Windows 10 current and
updated have been moved
here from the Control Panel
System&Devices
Find crucial settings for
the current Windows 10
system and any devices or
peripherals connected
Searchforasetting
If you cannot find a
certain setting, simply
enter a description in the
Search bar
SettingsThe way users customise and set up device preferences is changing in Windows 10
If you asked veteran Windows users about
where to find the most crucial settings for
their system, most would say Control Panel.
This was always the traditional home for
configuring every aspect of the OS, offering
several layers of complexity based on how
advanced and deep users wanted to go.
Control Panel still exists in Windows 10, but
it is tucked away in favour of a new ’Settings’
app that can be found on the left-hand side
of the new Start menu. Offering a more
streamlined top-level view, icons relating to
System, Devices and Network & Internet can all
be located here.
Beyond popular preferences on power
management, displays, peripherals and Wi-Fi,
users can then personalise how Windows
10 looks and general accessibility or privacy
levels. Designed universally for devices
beyond merely the PC, these basic settings
can be expanded using the search bar in
the top right. Here, more advanced options
housed within Control Panel can be queried
more rapidly.
Conversely, you’ll also find common ’quick
actions’ for popular settings at the bottom of
the Action Center notifications panel.
Take some time to explore the Control
Panel settings; it can make it much easier
to find what you are looking for when
you come to change your settings
at a later date.
Personalisation&Accounts
Set options for exactly how you
would prefer Windows 10 to look,
while controlling access to
system accounts

Ultimateguide
Alt+Tab
Not a new shortcut for Windows 10, but useful
for switching between open windows across all
Virtual Desktops
Alt
+1,2,3…
Using a number key with the
Windows one allows you to launch
programs pinned to your task bar
1
The rise of Windows in the formative years of mainstream home
computing really went hand in glove with the mouse. The Graphical
User Interface (GUI) and its Windows, Icon, Mouse and Pointer (WIMP)
paradigm liberated users a little from their keyboards. However, both
peripherals very much remain standard for desktop PCs and even in
virtual form on touch devices.
With Windows 10 harnessing next-gen forms of input alongside
predominantly the pointer, lest we forget the usefulness of the
keyboard for system shortcuts. These quick key combinations
still represent the fastest form of performing interface actions for
most, with Windows 10 ensuring its myriad of new features can
be accessed this way. In this section we delve deep into the many
available, and focus on those that users will want to learn first. Along
with outlining the key combos themselves, we’ll explain what each
does and the applied context.
+I
Get rapid access to the settings
where core settings for your
device can be found
I
+A
Remember ‘A’ for Action Center because this
handy little shortcut is used to open your
Windows 10 notifications
A
+S
Use this keystroke to initiate a Cortana search
with keyboard selected as input method instead
of speech
S
+Left/Right
Windows 10 allows window snapping vertically or within a 2x2
grid. This combination snaps the current window to the screen
left or right
+L
This useful keystroke instantly locks your
Windows 10 device on cue when you may
wish to leave it unattended
L
“Performing interface
actions quickly”
KeyboardshortcutsRead up on your keyboard combinations to unlock faster
access among Windows 10’s notable new features
+Ctrl+D
Use this shortcut to open or spawn
a new Virtual Desktop and be
switched to it
DCtrl
+Ctrl+D
Use this shortcut to close the current
Virtual Desktop when working with
more than one
F4Ctrl
+Tab
With this shortcut you can quickly
launch the Windows 10 Task View
for organising your Virtual Desktops

Ctrl+A
Windows 10 now has shortcuts for the Command Prompt,
enabled via Properties. This combo selects current line
text or all text
Ctrl A
Ctrl+C,Ctrl+Insert
This pair of shortcuts copies the selected
text to the system clipboard
C
Insert
Ctrl
+Up/Down
This combination will snap the current
window to the screen top or bottom
+E
Use from the desktop to open
Windows Explorer and browse
your system files rapidly
E
Alt+Spacebar
Still working in Windows 10, this old shortcut
allows you to minimise, maximise or close the
current active window
Space
Alt+F4
When on your Windows 10 desktop, this
keystroke opens the Power dialogue to
shut down, restart, sleep or switch user
+D
This shortcut minimises all
windows within the current
desktop space
D
+Q
Use this combination instead
to initiate a Cortana search
with speech input
Q
+Ctrl+Left/Right
While working with multiple Virtual Desktops,
alternate arrow keys switch between the
previous or next desktop
Ctrl
Ctrl+V,Shift+Insert
Use this pair of Command Prompt shortcuts to paste
the copied text from the clipboard to the cursor
V
Insert
Ctrl
Ctrl
Alt
Alt F4

Ultimateguide
EssentialaccessoriesDetailing those extra products and peripherals required for squeezing the
most power out of Windows 10
With support for Windows 8.1 and higher, this official Microsoft
product transforms your Surface tablet into a desktop device. Beyond
a 48-watt power supply input for charging while you work, it features
two USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5mm connectors for
audio input/output. A Mini DisplayPort for external monitors facilitates
HD video output up to a whopping 3840x2600 DPI resolution making
this the ideal way to enjoy Windows 10 when not on the move. For an
RRP of £164.99/$256, this 800g accessory even offers pen storage!
Two of the latest handsets in the Microsoft Lumia
range for 2015 are both primed for Windows 10. Each
earmarked as among the first for the free OS upgrade,
the phones offer an ideal midrange price point for
experiencing Windows Phone. Bundled with 8.0MP
and 13.0MP cameras respectively, both phones come
in a selection of four
vibrant colours and
boast 8GB of device
storage plus 30GB via
OneDrive. Quad-core
1.2Ghz processors
and 4G LTE Network
support ensure fast
performance and
snappy response
times when using
Cortana and all your
favourite apps.
Powered by the Microsoft Health app and a web-based dashboard,
Microsoft Band is predominantly a fitness assistant. Wearable around the
wrist, the £169.99/$265 device doubles as a watch while tracking heart
rate, sleep habits and running distances with GPS mapping. Additionally
though you’ll find tiled apps for previewing Email and managing
calendar alerts, along with receiving notifications on calls, text messages
and social media. Working in conjunction with Windows Phone and
offering Cortana support, users can surely expect further integration with
Windows 10 going forward.
Surface3DockingStation
MicrosoftLumia
640&640XL
MicrosoftBand
“Transform your
tablet into a
desktop device”

Available for Surface 2, Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3
devices, these magnetic snap-on covers integrate a
QWERTY keyboard with a full row of function keys.
Ideal then for accessing those new Windows 10
shortcuts and media controls, you’ll also find a built-in
trackpad for more finely navigating the new desktop.
While folded, the keys neatly disable and, when closed,
forms a robust cover protecting your Surface screen
from harm. If that wasn’t enough, all are available in a
range of desirable colours!
Available from stockists such as Amazon and
Dabs.com, this digitalPersona USB fingerprint reader
is a great example of an affordable biometric device.
In truth, any supported reader is ideal for unlocking
the next-gen security features of Windows Hello.
With Windows 10 now able
to learn and recognise
fingerprints, faces and even
the distinctive pattern
of your Iris, expect
peripherals such as
this to become more
commonplace. In the
meantime, however, be
sure to check manufacturer
websites for latest drivers
and whether Windows
10 support is forthcoming
before purchasing.
PC gaming disciples should rejoice at the embrace of Xbox gaming
services within Windows 10. The new OS delivers a dedicated Xbox app
to the desktop providing access to your gaming history, Xbox Live and
indeed the ability to stream console titles to PC and tablet alike. But to
truly harness the entertainment potential here you’ll likely want to use
the very same Xbox controllers and peripherals too. Well the good news
is, you can, and whether you own
the console or not, the superb
Xbox One wireless controller
with chat headset is fully
compatible with Windows
10. You will require a special
USB dongle adapter with a
Bluetooth receiver,
however, at an additional
cost of around $25/£15.99,
which Microsoft
announced availability for
later this year.
Very much a Windows device for the future, this is Microsoft’s much
touted move into the realm of virtual reality headsets. Compatible with
Windows 10 and built to fit seamlessly into the product family, this
immersive peripheral blends the real world with Augmented Reality.
Producing a striking 3D holographic image for rendering gaming, home
entertainment and general computing applications, the device tracks
head movements to spatially map a virtual world. With release date and
price yet confirmed, the HoloLens made a
show-stopping appearance during E3 2015,
with Minecraft demo wowing the crowds.
SurfaceTypeCover
digitalPersona
U.are.U4500Reader
XboxOneWireless
Controller&Adapter
MicrosoftHoloLens

Settingup
The first things
to do when
you get your
Windows 10 PC
“One way to get Windows 10
is through Windows Update. It
will automatically download”
26
Create an
account
22
Install
Windows
36
Edit your
Start Menu
22 Upgrade to Windows 10
Take your Windows 8 laptop up a gear
24 Connect to Wi-Fi
Get onto the internet on your laptop
26 Create an account with
Microsoft
Access your user area
28 Create a user account
Let guests use your PC
30 Add a password to protect
your account
Use added security on your PC
32 Improve your security
Utilise Windows 10’s new features
34 Change the desktop image
Customise your background picture
36 Personalise the Start menu
Change the colours and move tiles
38 Customise your PC’s settings
to suit your needs
Edit the way your computer works
42 Use Control Panel to
manage your system
settings
Get to know the hub of your PC
46 Set up the Windows firewall
Protect your PC from viruses
48 Set up Windows Defender
Save your PC from attacks

42
Use Control
Panel
30
Set a
password
34
Change the
wallpaper
30
Password
protect

Settingup
T
here are different ways to install
Windows 10, which means you might
not see every screen in this tutorial.
Just focus on the ones that appear.
One way to get Windows 10 is through
Windows Update. It will automatically
download, then ask if you want to install it.
You can do so immediately, but if it’s not
convenient, the installation can be put off until
a later day or time. It is best to do it when you
have an hour to spare, rather than 10 minutes
before you have to rush out. It takes time
to upgrade and there may be questions to
answer along the way, so it is best to sit with
the computer rather than leave it alone.
Another way to upgrade is to install it
from a DVD disc. A DVD can be made by
downloading a Windows 10 disc image, right
clicking it and selecting Burn disc image. This
writes it to a DVD-R in the DVD-Rom drive.
There are options to purchase a DVD too. The
main image shows it installing from a disc.
Before you install Windows 10, make sure
you back up any important files, such as those
in the Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music
folders on your PC.
UpgradetoWindows10
Discover how you can upgrade your old version of Windows or make a clean start by
erasing everything and install Windows 10 from scratch
Upgrade
Windows7or8
Make sure you’re up to
date with the latest version
Acleaninstall
If the hard disk drive is full, you will
not be able to upgrade Windows.
Starting the PC with a DVD enables
a clean install to be performed, but
remember that the disk drive is
erased, so take care.
“One way to get Windows 10 is
through Windows Update”
Gethelp
If you are not sure which option is best,
click the Help me decide link to get
more information. The top option is
best for most people
Upgradeoption
When installing from a DVD disc, there
is an option to upgrade an old version
of Windows, but Windows must be
running to use it
Progressindicator
Unlike the upgrade process in the
step-by-step guide, the progress
when installing from DVD is
shown at the bottom. This is just
the start
Acleaninstall
This option is for expert users and
enables the disk drive containing
the old version of Windows to be
erased. It is useful for a fresh start

04:Takeabreak
Windows 10 begins to install and this is the
really dull part. Take a break, stretch your
legs or grab a coffee.
07:Useexpresssettings
Click Next and then on the next screen, click
Use Express Settings. (There is a Customise
settings option, but ignore it.)
05:Checkprogress
Watching percentages crawl from 0 to 100%
is not much fun, but occasionally check that
the installation has not stalled.
08:Choosedefaultapps
Clicking Next uses the default settings for
photos and the web. There is a hard-to-see
option to choose your own default apps.
06:ReturntoWindows
As this is an upgrade, a user account already
exists from Windows 7. With a clean install
you are asked to create one.
09:Useit
Settings and software are migrated to
Windows 10 during the upgrade and the
desktop appears at last. It is ready to use.
01:Startinstalling
Use Windows Update or run setup.exe from
a Windows DVD. Select to download and
install updates during the installation.
02:Checkalliswell
Before Windows 10 installs, Setup checks
the PC is capable of running it. If it is not, a
message appears telling you why.
03:Confirmyou’reready
This is your last chance to change your mind
and back out. If you are sure you want to
proceed, click Install.

Settingup
A
computer without internet access is
like a car without wheels, and it is not
much fun. After installing Windows 10,
you should connect to your home Wi-Fi as
soon as you can so that you can get online. If
you travel with a laptop you will also want to
make use of the many free Wi-Fi hotspots at
cafes, hotels, airports and train stations.
Windows 10 has given wireless networking
a makeover with new menus, buttons and
icons. You might find this a bit confusing at
first, but once you have familiarised yourself
with the new features, it becomes very easy
to select and connect to wireless networks.
Laptops provide a keyboard hotkey to turn
Wi-Fi on or off, such as F10 or F12. Make sure
that Wi-Fi is switched on.
Getting online is very straightforward, and
Windows automatically looks for networks in
your area wherever you may be. It can show
not only your home network, but also your
neighbour’s too, so take care when choosing
a connection. If you find that you cannot
connect, it may be because you accidentally
selected the wrong network, entered the
password incorrectly, or have tried to connect
to a private network.
ConnecttoWi-Fi
Internet access is an essential feature these days, and most of us can’t get by without it.
Here we show you how to connect to a wireless network
“Windows 10 has given wireless
networking a new look”
01:Viewthenetworks
Mouse over the wireless network icon at the right side of the taskbar
and a message appears indicating if you have a connection and if
connections are available. Click the icon to view the networks that
are within reach of the computer. Wait for them all to appear.
02:Selectanetwork
There may be several networks listed and they might have obscure
names. Click the network you want to connect to and there is an
option to connect automatically. If this is your home or work Wi-Fi,
tick it before clicking the Connect button below the name.

03:Enterthepassword
Some wireless networks are open and have no security, but most do
and your home Wi-Fi network should be secured with a password. If
prompted to enter the network security key, enter the password. It is
often printed on the back or base of home routers.
04:Checkyou’reconnected
Are you on the wireless network? Do you have internet access? Let
the mouse hover over the Wi-Fi icon at the right side of the taskbar
and a message pops up indicating the Wi-Fi name and connection
status. Click the icon to see which network you are connected to.
Networkingknow-how
Familiarise yourself with all of
the Wi-Fi features
Securityissues
Most wireless networks are protected by
encryption so that unauthorised people
cannot access them. You need to know
the network password in order to connect
to a protected network. If you cannot
remember the password for your wireless
network, you may find that it is printed on
the base or the back of the wireless router.
Some routers have a button to connect
computers and devices. Press it and click
Next without a password in step 3 of the
guide and it will connect automatically.
Networkingicon
There are three things you can do
with the networking icon: Mouse
over it for status messages, click it
to connect to Wi-Fi or right click for
a menu
Networkmessages
Click a network to connect to it.
Take note of any security messages
that appear, such as with public
networks. Connecting automatically
is optional
On/offswitches
There are two switches at the
bottom of the networking panel.
Wi-Fi turns Wi-Fi on/off, and Flight
Mode turns off all connections,
including Bluetooth
Networklist
The networking panel has a list
of networks within reach of the
computer. You may not be able
to connect to them all; some may
belong to neighbours

Settingup
T
here are two types of user accounts
in Windows 10: a local one or a
Microsoft one. With a local account,
you have a username and password to log
in to the computer. Your details are kept on
the computer, and internet access is not
required. This type of account is common with
Windows XP, Vista and 7. If you have upgraded
from Windows 7, for example, your Windows
10 account is probably local.
A Microsoft account enables extra features
in Windows 10 that aren’t available to people
with a local account, such as OneDrive online
storage, Office web apps, an Outlook email
address, apps in the Windows Store, and
synchronised settings across computers.
If you have a local account, open a web
browser on any computer running any version
of Windows and go to the outlook.com
website. Click the link to create an account and
fill in the form. You can sign in to Windows
10 with your email address and password. If
you have a new computer or if you perform a
clean install of Windows 10, you’ll be asked to
create a Microsoft account. This is where our
tutorial starts off.
CreateanaccountwithMicrosoft
Set up a Microsoft account to use with Windows 10, and
make sure you get all the benefits of the extra features
Howtocreatea
Microsoftaccount
Set up an account for Windows
AMicrosoftaccount
Windows is becoming increasingly
difficult to use without a Microsoft
account and you will be locked out
of certain features without one. You
can get one before you upgrade to
Windows 10 if you don’t have one.
“A Microsoft account enables extra
features in Windows 10”
Enteryouremail
Create an account at the
outlook.com website and you can
use it in Windows 10. Enter your
email address in this box
Createanaccount
If you don’t have an email account
or if you want a new one, click the
link here to create an outlook.com
email address
Completetheform
There are many more form fields
to fill in down here. Scroll down
and enter all the information that is
requested. It is straightforward
Addapassword
Think of a complex password for
security that contains letters, mixed
upper and lowercase, and numbers.
Use at least eight characters

01:CreateaMicrosoftaccount
If you already have a Microsoft account, simply enter your email
address and password. If you don’t, click the ’Create one’ link.
02:Enteryourdetails
Enter your name and email address, or click the ’Get a new email
address’ link. This creates a free Outlook email account.
03:Enteraname
When creating a new outlook.com email account, just enter the
name you want to use in the box. Do not forget it!
04:Addapassword
Email addresses must be unique, so try to think of one that isn’t likely
to be used. Enter the password you want to use.
05:Giveyourphonenumber
Enter your mobile phone number. If there is ever a problem with
your Microsoft account, this will help to solve it.
06:Addanotheremailaddress
A link at the bottom of the screen enables you to add an alternative
email address instead. Click it and enter the address.

Settingup
F
or computers that will be used in homes
and shared among family members,
Windows allows you to create separate
accounts for everyone. There are several
advantages to creating multiple accounts on
a computer, as each person will have their
own Documents, Photos, Videos and Music
folders, and they are private. By storing each
person’s files on their own account, they will
never become muddled. You can have your
own web browser bookmarks separately from
your partner or child. It is also possible to place
restrictions on children’s accounts and limit
what they are able to do or even when they
are allowed to use the computer.
A big change in Windows 10 is that each
user must have an email account. If you do not
have one, then you will be asked to create one.
Everyone, even children, must log in to their
Windows 10 account with an email address
and password. Windows 10 has tightened up
security and this means that accounts are now
more secure than ever, but it also means that
when setting up user accounts, you have to
jump through several security hoops to get
one working. Here’s how to do it.
Createauseraccount
Create new user accounts for your partner, your children, or
other users of your Windows 10 computer
Createanewuser
What’s needed for a new user?
Adultvschildaccounts
Adult and child accounts are created in the
same way but the difference is the powers
granted to each. An adult account has the
power to limit what a child account can do
using Windows Parental Controls, such as
using the internet and software.
“It is possible to place restrictions on
children’s accounts”
Createanemail
If the user does not have an email
account, click this link and you will
be able to create one. Free accounts
are provided by outlook.com
Familyandfriends
Select ‘Family & other users’
within Settings>Accounts to
create a new account. You can
add as many accounts to the
computer as you need
Pickapassword
Not only must you enter a password,
it must be a complex one or you’ll
see the red text below. It must be
eight or more characters in length
Emailaddress
If you click the Next button without
entering an email address, you
cannot proceed and red text below
will say “This information is required”

01:GotoAccounts
Go to the Start menu and click Settings. Select Accounts in the
Settings window. This is where user accounts are created.
02:Familyandothers
Ignore ‘Your account’ on the left and select ‘Family & other users’. On
the right, you can add a family member or someone else.
03:Addyourfamily
Creating an account is identical for family, other users, adults and
children. Enter their email address or click the link below.
04:Theyareinvited
If the user does not have an email address, you must create one.
Once the email is entered, the person will be sent an invitation.
05:Pendinginvitations
Back at the main screen you can see that the new user is ‘Adult,
Pending’. They are not yet fully accepted as a user.
06:Accepttheinvitation
The new user must log into their account on the PC, open the Mail
app, check their Inbox and click the Accept Invitation link.

Settingup
I
f you share your PC with others, adding
a password prevents them from logging
into your account. It also protects your data
if your device is stolen. There are two types of
user account in Windows 10. Microsoft would
– naturally – like you to log in using your
Microsoft account, which allows you to access
features like OneDrive and your Outlook email
without having to link your account. If you do
this, you’ll already have a password set up.
If you’d rather not link your Microsoft
account, Windows 10 allows you to use what
it calls a Local account instead, what you
may be used to with Windows 7 and older
OSs. Although you’re prompted to create a
password for this account, it’s not compulsory.
If you skipped this step, but change your mind
later, follow our guide, which reveals how to
quickly and easily add the password you need.
Once your account is protected, you can
use two ways of logging into your account
without having to remember the password.
First, click the Add button under PIN to
associate a numerical PIN number with your
account. Second, create a picture password,
which works best on touchscreen devices.
Addapasswordtoprotect
youraccount It’s critical that you secure your Windows account
using a password. Here’s how to do so
“Adding a password prevents others
from logging into your account”
Picturepassword
Sign in using your
touchscreen or mouse
Chooseastrongpassword
Simple passwords may be easy to
remember, but they’re also easy to guess
or hack. To make your password strong,
use a mixture of letters and numerals –
consider substituting letters with similar-
looking numbers (so ‘5’ for ‘s’ or ‘9’ for ‘g’,
for example).
Replay
Should you forget your password,
click Change under Picture
Password, enter your account
password and then click the Replay
button for a handy reminder
Chooseyourpicture
The picture you select will be shown
in place of your log-on screen. You
can select a picture from your own
collection to use – something easy
to create gestures with
Setgestures
Each picture password contains three
gestures, which can be a mix of circles
or lines drawn in a specific direction, or a
simple tap somewhere on-screen
Confirmyourpassword
Before you can set (or change) your picture
password, you’ll need to provide your
account password – a handy security
measure should anyone try to hijack your PC

01:Accesssettings
Click the Start button to open the menu. From here select Settings
from the left-hand menu to open the main Settings window.
02:Locatepasswordoption
Select the Accounts option. When the main Accounts screen
appears, choose Sign-in Options from the list on the left.
03:Choosepassword
Click the Add button under Password. Enter a strong, but memorable
password – see the box for hints. Retype it in the Re-enter box.
04:Setpasswordhint
Type a hint to help you should you ever forget the password. Make it
cryptic, so only you can guess it. Click Next followed by Finish.
05:Testpasswordworks
Click the Start button, select Power and choose Restart. When the
log-on screen appears, click your name and enter your password.
06:Updatepassword
Return to the Sign-in Options screen and click Change should you
ever need to update your password to a new one.

Settingup
W
indows 10 offers a raft of
improvements that greatly refine
and improve the user experience,
but behind all of this is a set of security
features that will help to keep all of your
important personal data secure.
Windows Hello in particular is a hugely
impressive feature that lets you use accessories
to sign in using facial recognition or your
fingerprint, and the level of security included is
enterprise grade to make you feel more secure
than ever.
Alongside a regular check for the latest
security updates and using common sense
in all aspects of your computing, these new
features add another layer that will go a long
way in stopping others accessing the data
stored on your PC.
They are new and will become more
accessible over time, but the potential alone
should be enough for any Windows user to
want to upgrade as quickly as possible.
We will highlight the main new features
and also offer some general security advice,
but our recommendation would be to take
full advantage of every security feature that is
available in Windows 10.
Improveyoursecurity
Windows 10 is the most secure Windows version yet
and includes many useful and efficient features
“Windows Hello in particular is a
hugely impressive feature”
01:Wide-rangingsecurity
Keeping your computer secure relies on you understanding and
taking the time to use what is on offer. You can see almost all of the
settings you need in the main Settings panel, but we would suggest
going to Accounts first to start building your secure set up.
02:Dealwithaccounts
In the Accounts section you will be able to set up a PIN to replace
your main account password for accessing some apps. You can
then choose a picture password if you so wish or spend some time
exploring the highly secure world of Windows Hello.

03:Thelockscreen
You can choose to display information on your lock screen, but you
should be careful not to include apps that show data you don't want
others to see. Even though Windows 10 is very secure, common
sense will go a long way when using any computing system.
04:Unobtrusiveupdates
Always let the latest updates install as soon as they are released
because they will often include stability fixes and security updates
to keep your entire system secure. If you set them to run early in the
morning, they will not interrupt your daily Windows workflow.
Thevarioussecurity
optionsforyou
From PINs to pictures
Fortheenterprise?
The most secure aspects of Windows 10, which
mainly fall in the Windows Hello feature, will be
designed for enterprises such as governments and
very large corporate organisations. Potentially,
however, the relevant accessories will become
available and bring the ultimate security options
to us all. The fact that Windows 10 contains all of
the software hooks necessary is the ideal start and
we may soon all be able to look forward to a much
more secure Windows experience every single day.
AsimplePIN
You will need to set up a PIN number
to use the new security features in
Windows 10. If you only use the PIN,
it is much quicker
WindowsHello
Windows Hello lets you sign in using
your face or fingerprint if you have
the required equipment. It is a big
leap forward in Windows security
Othersecurityfeatures
You still need to ensure that you
always install the latest Windows
updates to make sure that the
entire system is secure
Useaphoto
Signing in with a favourite photo is
great fun to use, but you have to be
careful how you use it to maintain a
secure login

Settingup
W
indows 10 comes with a sleek,
user-friendly design, but you can
easily customise your OS to suit your
own tastes and preferences. There are several
ways to do this, but the easiest and most
obvious solution is to change the image that is
displayed on the desktop.
A small collection of images can be found
on the disk drive, and Microsoft has bundled
a few to get you started. You don’t have to
stick with the preset images though; you can
use your own photographs taken on a digital
camera or mobile phone, and even download
wallpaper images from the internet to use as
your desktop background.
If you have a collection of photos and
would like to use them all, you do not have
to manually change them every day or every
hour as there is a built-in slide show facility
that automatically swaps them. You just pick a
folder to display and the photos automatically
appear on the desktop, changing every so
often to the next one in the series. It is a great
way to view your photos while you work or
play, and you'll never have to worry about
getting bored of seeing the same image.
Changethedesktopimage
Give Windows 10 a makeover and replace the desktop
background image with one of your own
Backgroundoptions
Change the look of the desktop
Slideshows
The Slide Show option shows all the
photos in a folder. To control what
is displayed, use Explorer to create a
folder, such as PictureBackgrounds,
and copy your favourite photos to it.
Then select it for the slide show.
“You can use your own photographs
taken on a digital camera”
Backgroundmenu
The Background menu enables
you to choose from Picture, Colour
or Slide Show, giving you a choice
of different background options
Personalisationsettings
This section of the Windows 10
settings has several options and
Background is just one of them. It
lets you change the desktop photo
Photofitoptions
If the photo does not exactly fit the
screen, there are options to tile it,
stretch it, centre it and so on. Choose
how to display it here
Selectaphoto
There is a small collection of
thumbnail images here and these
are photos that you can select for
the background. Click your favourite

01:GotoPersonalise
Right-click an empty part of the desktop and a menu is displayed.
Click Personalise at the bottom to go to the background settings.
02:Selectthebackground
Background is automatically selected from the left toolbar.
Underneath ‘Choose your picture’, select the image you want to use.
03:Pickacolour
If you find that photo backgrounds are too distracting, select Colour
in the Background menu and then choose your favourite colour.
04:Chooseaphoto
The bundled images are good, but if you want to pick your own, click
Browse under the picture thumbnails and select one on disk.
05:Fitthephoto
The photo you choose might not be exactly the same size as the
desktop. Go to the ‘Choose a fit’ menu and select an option.
06:Showyourslides
Go to the Background menu and select Slide Show. You can then
browse the disk drive and select a folder of photos to display.

Settingup
Afullycustomisable
Startmenu
You can change every single aspect
Takeyourtime
The Start menu is a part of Windows
that you use all of the time, so it
makes sense to customise it to fit
your exact needs. Take some time to
make it work perfectly with the apps
and shortcuts you use most often.
Changethebackground
In Settings, you can either let the
system choose a matching colour
from your desktop background or
select a preferred colour yourself
Handyshortcuts
The shortcuts within the left-
hand column are completely
customisable. You can choose
exactly what is accessible from
within this column
Thetileorder
Tiles can be dragged and dropped
in to any position, at which point
the surrounding tiles will move out
of the way
T
he Start menu in Windows has
changed a lot as each new version
has been released. In Windows
10, we finally have a solution that can be
anything you want it to be thanks to the
customisation tools. You can change the look
of the background and also quickly move
tiles around so they are in the most accessible
positions. You also have the ability to change
the system shortcuts.
The Start menu can be very large, like the
style used in Windows 8, or you can make it
as minimalist as the visuals used in Windows
7 and before, giving you the chance to use
whichever style you prefer. We will cover the
major changes you can make and explain
how they can be activated, but you should
also take time to see what other areas can be
manipulated if something is not quite right.
It is likely that no matter what change
you want to make, you will be able to adjust
everything to your liking. The Windows Start
menu has finally come of age following a
series of unusual decisions, and we now have
a system that can be all things to all people. It
truly is one of the highlights of Windows 10.
PersonalisetheStartmenu
You can make the Start menu work in a way that
suits you with just a few simple tweaks
“You will be able to adjust everything
to your liking”
Managelivetiles
Live tiles can be turned off to
work as normal icons and you
can also resize them so that you
can see more information

04:Livetiles
Right-clicking on a live tile will let you either
make it a standard icon or turn back on the
live content.
07:Dealwithshortcuts
Right-click any item in the left-hand column
next to the icons to remove them or pin
them to another area.
05:Accessfurthersettings
Right-click anywhere on the desktop and
select Personalise to bring up a panel of
extra settings that will affect the Start menu.
08:Customisethelist
Click Settings in the left-hand column and
then ‘Customise list’ to quickly select the
listed shortcuts that will appear.
06:Changethecolours
Click ‘Choose a colour’ to see a panel to
choose from. Some of these colours are
quite bright, so choose wisely.
09:Afullmenu
In Settings, enable the ‘Use full-screen Start
when in the desktop’ option to show the
Start menu above everything else.
01:Clicktheicon
When you click the bottom-left icon, the
Start menu appears. It includes your most
used apps and useful settings by default.
02:Theright-click
Right-click on any icon in the Start menu
to unpin it. You can also resize many icons
using the small menu that appears.
03:Draganddrop
Click and hold any icon and then move it to
a new position. The nearby icons will move
to fit around it automatically.

Settingup
W
indows 10 is easily customised,
as there are lots of settings that
can be modified. These can
make the interface, such as the desktop,
windows, icons and other visual elements,
more attractive or easier to see; you can add
and configure devices like printers, modify
the mouse for left-handed use, change the
Start menu, show or hide animations and
backgrounds, change the mouse cursor and
much more.
Settings should be one of the first
places to explore after upgrading your
Windows PC or buying a new one with
Windows 10 pre-installed.
The way that settings are customised
has changed from Windows 7 to 8 to 10.
This guide takes you on a tour of the most
important sections in Settings, and shows
some of the ways Windows 10 can be
modified and customised. Windows 7
used the Control panel to customise the
PC’s settings. It is still there in Windows 10, but
you will use it less because there is a brand-
new interface.
It is unlike Windows 8 too. Windows 10
Settings are accessed from the Start menu.
Just click the link to open the window. This
has settings organised into groups that
make it easy to find the item you want,
and each group has sub-groups with more
settings. The new interface is quick and easy
to use.
CustomiseyourPC’ssettings
tosuityourneeds
Change the way your PC looks and works to make sure you get the
best out of it and that it is easier to use
Makethesettingsmoreuseful
Put your own stamp on
your PC
Customisethedesktop
Click Desktop Icon Settings in
the main Settings window and
you can choose which icons you
want to appear on the desktop,
like Computer and Recycle Bin
Personalisationsettings
Go to Settings>Personalisation and
there are several different sections.
The Themes section is all about
the look and sound of Windows.
Customise the settings
TheControlPanel
PC settings are divided between the Settings app
accessed from the Start menu and the old Control
Panel. It is a bit confusing and difficult to tell where
a particular setting will be. You might need to
check both places.
Setthesound
Click Advanced sound settings and another window
opens that enables you to select the sounds to use
for various system events or turn them off
Mousepointerthemes
Click Mouse pointer settings in the main window
and this opens. Use it to select an alternative set of
mouse points. Pick your favourite in the list

05:Viewothersettings
Select ’Other options’ in the last step and you can choose whether
animations are played, if the background is displayed and more.
06:Personalisesettings
Return to the main Settings screen and click Personalisation then
Colours. Customise the colour and transparency settings.
03:Settextsize
Click ’Advanced sizing of text and other items’. The Control Panel
opens and the size of text for various items can be set.
04:Pickapointer
Return to the main Settings screen and select Ease of access, then
Mouse. Here you can choose the pointer size, colour and buttons.
01:ChangeDisplaysettings
Click Start>Settings and then System. In the Display section, change
the size of text, apps and other items, and the brightness with sliders.
02:Selectscreenresolution
In the last step, click Advanced display settings. The screen resolution
can be selected and there are links to more display settings.

Settingup
11:Adjustsystemicons
Continuing from the last step, click ’Turn system icons on or off’.
Choose the ones you want to see and those you want to hide.
12:TweakSnapfeatures
Return to Settings>System>Multi-tasking. The Snap settings size app
windows automatically. Use the switches to turn them on/off.
09:Setupthemouse
Go to Settings>Devices>Mouse & touchpad. You can switch the
mouse buttons and set the lines to scroll with the mouse wheel.
10:Notificationsandactions
Go to Settings>System>Notifications & actions. Choose the items
you want on the taskbar and turn notifications on or off.
07:CustomisetheLockscreen
Lock Screen under Personalisation enables you to select the image
to use for the Lock screen and get fun tips when you start up.
08:Viewothersettings
Select Start to view settings such as occasionally showing app
suggestions, showing recently opened items and full screen display.

13:SetSleepsettings
When laptops run on battery power, choose
when to turn off the screen and enter sleep
mode in the Power & sleep section.
14:Tabletpreferences
Tablets like the Surface and laptops with
touch screens can use Tablet Mode. Turn it
on or off here and keep it this way.
15:Choosethedefaults
Certain apps are always used for certain
tasks. Default apps lists them, and clicking
one lets you change it to another app.
Settingsfordevices
Make sure you configure
the hardware settings
Defaultsettings
Default settings are those that
are used when none is specified.
For example, if you click the Print
button in an app, the default printer
is used. Set the default devices to
make using the computer simpler
and easier.
Relatedsettings
This link down at the bottom
under Related settings opens
Devices and Printers in the
Control Panel. It has many
more settings and options
Addadevice
If you have just bought
a new printer, scanner
or other device and it
has not automatically
appeared, click this
button to set it up
Deviceoptions
The Control Panel has useful features that are
hidden on the right-click menu. For example, right
click a printer to make it the default
Printers&scanners
If you have any devices like a printer, scanner,
webcam, and other gadgets, go to Printers &
scanners in the Devices section of Settings

Settingup
W
hen you want to change the
settings on your Windows PC
or Surface, you’ll need to go to the
Control Panel. This can be anything
from reviewing system security by checking
out the Windows Firewall or Windows
Defender settings, to creating and modifying
network connections or an incoming VPN
connection. From here you can also adjust the
appearance by applying themes and change
how text looks, or add and remove user
accounts, enable the Guest account or change
account types.
Control Panel is also incredibly useful when
you install new hardware, and all of the Ease
of Access/Accessibility settings reside here to,
allowing such options as high contrast or
big font, or going a step further and using
voice recognition.
Control Panel is your one-stop shop to get
your computer configured exactly as you want
it. Lets look at some of the most frequent tasks
you may carry out.
UseControlPaneltomanage
yoursystemsettings
Sometimes you may need to change something about your computer
– Control Panel is your first stop
“Control Panel is also incredibly useful
when you install new hardware”
Systemandsecurity
Check system info or
security settings
Checkfirewallstatus
Here you can see the status
of the firewall on different
networks – but make sure you
add and remove firewall rules
and exemptions quickly
Reviewandresolve
From this link you can very quickly
and easily check existing or
potential security issues on your
computer with the included tools
Vieweventlogs
Sometimes when your applications crash or you
have other issues, it’s always worth checking the
Application and System logs in the Event Viewer.
These will usually give you detailed information
that you can use to troubleshoot issues.
Freediskspace
This is a shortcut to the Disk Cleanup wizard. It
allows you to clean up system and other files
without having to know their exact location
ManageBitLockerencryption
Encrypt your system drive or external USB
sticks for greater security for your files on
the move. The wizard makes it easy

05:Signinprocess
Click Add User. You can use a Microsoft account email address or a
local account. Selecting a local account will make you choose again.
06:AddaUser
Type a username, password and password hint that will be used for
this user each time they try to use the computer.
03:Manageanotheruser
To be able to add another user, we need to follow the ‘Manage Other
Account’ link. Alternatively, look at your own account settings here.
04:Otherusers
Select the ‘Add a new user in PC settings’ link. This will start Windows
10 PC Settings on the correct screen to manipulate users.
01:Getsetup
From Control Panel, hit the User Accounts and Family Safety heading
link. These will bring up more user settings.
02:VisitUserAccounts
In User Accounts and Family Safety, select the User Accounts
heading. This will show the currently logged-in user's preferences.

Settingup
11:Checkapppermissions
Under ‘App and website accounts’ you will find a list of apps and
websites that are allowed to use your Microsoft account credentials.
12:Disconnectyouraccount
There may be a time where you want to change to a local account
rather than a Microsoft Account. Follow this wizard to do so.
09:Verifyyouraccount
By hitting Your Account from the PC Settings interface, you can
verify your Microsoft account, using a small wizard to do so.
10:Changeyourpicture
You can change your account’s picture either by browsing for an
existing image or, if you have one, using the webcam.
07:Useradded
The user is now added! You now have confirmation and the option
to turn the account into a child’s account.
08:Addedtouserlist
Your user will now appear in the list of users. By selecting a user you
can change their account type from Standard to Administrator.

13:Managecredentials
You can manage the credentials for local
servers under the Credential Manager from
the ‘Manage your credentials’ link
14:Deleteanaccount
If it’s gone wrong, or you don’t need a
user account any more – log on as another
account and visit Manage Accounts.
15:Userdeleted
Select the user and press the ‘Delete this
User’ link. You can delete or keep the files
that user had once the account is gone.
Appearanceandpersonalisation
This is the place to
change your looks
Customisewhatyousee
When you’ve been using Windows for a while
and have everything you’d normally use
installed, you can find that your notification
area can get a little bit cluttered showing
things you don’t want or need. Change display
settings here.
Single-clickordouble-click
Want your desktop experience to be
more like the web or just prefer a single
click? You can change that here
Changethetheme
Themes are a quick way
of changing everything
in a matching,
harmonic way through
background, font,
colours and sounds.
There are many themes
to choose from
Usescreenreader
Screen reader is a useful utility that will make a
voice read out whatever is on screen. While an
accessibility option, it has all kinds of uses
Adjustscreenresolution
You can quickly get to the screen resolution
settings here – this allows you to change the
resolution or display scaling for more space

Settingup
E
very new release of Windows improves
the security of the computer, but even
though there is more protection than
ever, malware and hackers will still try to
gain access to your computer to steal files,
or infect it with a virus. You need to be aware
of the possible security threats and make sure
that Windows is fully protected.
One of the ways in which you can increase
the security of the computer is by using a
firewall. It prevents unauthorised people and
software from accessing your files and the
Windows system from the local network
or the internet. Windows Firewall blocks
incoming connections – in other words,
troublemakers on the network or internet –
while allowing software on your computer, like
a web browser, to work normally.
It can be used at home on your private
wireless network to help boost security. It is
much more important if you use a laptop
or Surface tablet at a public Wi-Fi hotspot. It
prevents people around you from accessing
your computer. With the firewall enabled, you
will be more relaxed and less worried about
security threats, as the firewall deals with them
behind the scenes.
SetuptheWindowsfirewall
Increase the computer’s security by turning on Windows Firewall to block malicious
hackers and unwanted malware
“It prevents unauthorised people and
software from accessing your files”
01:Findthefirewall
You can browse the settings to track down the location of the
Windows Firewall, but there is an easy way to find it. Just ask
Cortana. Click in the search box in the taskbar and enter ‘firewall’.
You can click either Windows Firewall or Check firewall status.
02:Checkthestatus
Windows Firewall will probably be enabled by default, but this
should not be assumed and it is best to check the status. It is turned
off on this computer for both private and public Wi-Fi networks. A
quick fix is to click the Use Recommended Settings button.

03:Configurethefirewall
Click the link on the left, Turn Windows Firewall on or off. This screen
appears and you can turn on Windows Firewall. There are two
settings, one for private and one for public networks. At least turn on
the public one. Also tick the boxes so that you receive notifications.
04:Allsecure
This is what Windows Firewall should look like when your computer
is protected from network hackers and other threats, Everything is
green to indicate that it is OK – compare it with the red in step 2.
There is an Advanced Settings link on the left, but that is for experts.
Checkthefirewall
settings
Is your PC protected? Check here
Publicvsprivatenetworks
You may be wondering why there are public and
private networks each with their own firewall
settings. This just makes life easier. At home you are
on a private network that locks out unauthorised
people with a password. You might want to share
files among other computers or tablets you own,
connect to a wireless printer, and so on. Turning off
the firewall makes this task easier. In a public place
you don’t want to share files, printers and so on, so
the firewall is on for increased security.
Wirelessconnections
Are you connected to a public or
private network? The heading tells
you. If it is wrong then incorrect
firewall settings may be used
Recommendedsettings
Clicking this button applies the
recommended settings for the
firewall. It is perfect for novices who
want to avoid technical details
Restoredefaults
If you have made a lot of changes to
the firewall settings and think you
have messed it up, click this link to
undo everything
On/offswitch
Click this link to turn the Windows
Firewall on or off. It enables you
to set both the public and private
networks separately

Settingup
E
ach new version of Windows is more
secure and provides better protection
from malware, spyware and adware
on the internet than previous versions.
Windows 10 is much better than XP, Vista,
and 7, but this is no reason to be careful
about security. It is equally important that
you employ security software on Windows to
protect it from malware and hackers that are
on the internet.
Microsoft provides a basic security program
called Windows Defender for people who do
not yet have third-party protection. It is not
the best security and you should consider
installing one of the many alternatives from
companies like Bitdefender, Avira, AVG and
others as soon as you can, but for the moment
this will do while you are setting up Windows
10 and exploring its features.
Windows Defender offers real-time
protection, which means that as files are
saved to disk, such as downloads, and as soon
as programs are run, they are checked for
possible malware. It watches over the system
making sure that everything is okay, and it will
alert you if it discovers anything wrong, such
as a malicious program.
Here we will show you how to ensure this
security software is enabled, and how to
use it to scan the computer for malware and
unwanted software. With Windows Defender
watching behind the scenes, you can be
assured you are protected from the worst
threats that are out there on the internet.
Remember to check out third-party security
software as soon as you can though.
SetupWindowsDefender
Make sure that your computer is safe and secure from malware by
enabling Windows Defender’s protection
Gettoknow
WindowsDefender
Familiarise yourself with the
program interface here
Securitysoftware
Do you need to buy security software
when you have Windows Defender?
Yes. Third-party security suites offer
superior protection against threats on the
internet. They detect more malware and
protect you in more ways than Windows
Defender can.
Customscans
Select the Custom scan option
and this window is displayed.
Select the folders you want to
scan for malware by ticking the
boxes, then click OK
Defender’sstatus
Look here to see the current status
of Windows Defender. Real-time
protection should be on and the
virus and spyware definitions
should be up to date
Scanningoptions
A quick scan checks just the most obvious
places malware lurks. A full scan takes an
hour or more, but only needs to be run
once a week
Settingsandoptions
If the status messages say that
protection is off, click the gear icon to
go to Settings. You can then enable real-
time and cloud-based protection

01:EnableWindowsDefender
Click Start>Settings, then go to Update & Security. Select Windows
Defender. Make sure all options are turned on.
02:FindWindowsDefender
Go to the Start menu and click All Apps. Scroll down the list to the W
section and expand Windows System. Click Windows Defender.
03:Checkthemainwindow
Defender appears and there are three tabs across the top, and three
scan options on the right. The green tick shows everything is OK.
04:UpdateDefender
Defender uses a virus definitions database that’s frequently updated.
Make sure you have the latest by clicking Update on the Update tab.
05:Scanthecomputer
Return to the Home tab and click the ‘Scan now’ button to check the
PC. Quick scans should be done daily and full scans weekly.
06:Viewtheresults
Defender should look like this afterwards with a green tick and no
threats found. If malware is detected, it will be removed.

Gettingstarted
52 Master the new Start menu
It’s back! Get to know its new look
54 Start using multiple
desktops
Streamline your user experience
56 Learn to use Task Manager
Keep an eye on your system
58 Use the Notifications centre
Keep all your alerts in one place
60 Customise your application
notifications
Adjust which alerts you see
62 Change your default
programs
Select which programs open file types
64 Switch between applications
Get to know the shortcuts
66 Arrange your windows with
a snap
Use Windows’ Snap feature on apps
68 Look to the future with
Universal apps
Link your devices’ apps
70 Introducing Cortana, your
personal assistant
Get talking to your PC
72 Use voice search with
Cortana
Find out information with Cortana
Everything you need to get up
and running with Windows 10
74 Set up and add contacts
Add your contacts to your PC
76 Set up an email account
Get your emails on your device
78 Send an email with
attachments
Send images and documents
80 Get to grips with the
Calendar app
Take a tour of the calendar
82 Add an event to your
Calendar
Create events and invite friends
84 Get to know Microsoft Edge
Explore Windows’ brand-new web app
86 Bookmark a site with Edge
Never lose your favourite sites
88 Pin a site to the Start menu
Add your favourites to the Start menu
90 Clear browsing history
Make space by clearing the internet
92 Make notes and more on
Edge Browser
Utilise Edge’s unique features
94 Add a web site/article to
your Reading list
Make a list of what you want to read
96 Browse the Windows Store
Buy and download apps to your device
98 Download an app
Install apps on your PC
100 Explore the Maps features
Find out what Maps has to offer
102 Find your way with Maps
Get directions with Windows
104 Upload, share and sync with
Microsoft’s OneDrive
Save your files to cloud storage
72
Talk to
Cortana
86
Bookmark
sites
56
Task
Manager
“You can
zoom right out
and see the
whole world”
64
Switch
apps

84
Microsoft
Edge
76
Set up email
accounts
66
Windows
snap
52
Master the
Start menu

Gettingstarted
T
he Start menu is a staple of Windows;
a part of what techy types call the
‘traditional desktop metaphor’. The
idea is that you’re pulling out a drawer on
your desk, accessing everything you don't
already have laid out on top. It makes it easier
to organise your system and locate programs
when you need them.
So the uproar that occurred when Windows
8 got rid of the Start menu in favour of a
screen full of apps was understandable. The
way of using computers that people had
grown so used to had changed, and it wasn’t
for the better. Microsoft were trying to push
the interface for their new phones and tablets,
which while fine for touch devices, was not so
great for the traditional mouse and keyboard.
Thankfully, Microsoft listened to everyone’s
complaints and the Start menu has returned in
Windows 10, albeit with some upgrades. The
good parts about the ‘Metro’ interface from
Windows 8 such as the live tiles that gave you
constant updates from your feeds now live
within the menu, allowing you a quick glance
at some of them when you go to find another
program. Let us show you around.
MasterthenewStartmenu
It’s back and better than ever; find out how to best make use of
Windows 10’s Start menu to make the Windows experience better
TheStartmenu
interface
A tour of the new menu
“The Start menu has returned, albeit
with some upgrades”
Hands-freeStartmenu
You can operate the Start menu
almost entirely using the keyboard.
The Windows button will open it
up, as it's always done, but using the
search feature and the arrow keys
allows you to navigate it manually.
Oldoptions
Programs, Settings and access to
File Explorer in the bottom-left
are the important remains of the
original Start menu
Username
This is here just so you remember
who you are – it also links into all
your online Microsoft accounts
such as OneDrive and any other
online services
Lifeataglance
The live tiles from mobile Windows
versions give you more information about
what's going on, along with quick links to
social media and some other programs
Searchthesystem
The search bar in Windows has been
around for a little while, but it's the
unsung hero of working really quickly
when you're on your PC

01:Findit
The Start menu is back in the place it used to be, in the far left of the
task bar at the bottom of the screen.
02:Anewlook
All the usual functions of the Start menu are now on the left, with
programs and the shutdown menu accessed via the buttons there.
03:Alphabeticalapps
The programs are now organised alphabetically, rather than
completely randomly in folders with other non-useful info.
04:Searcheverything
The search bar at the bottom will not only search your local files and
programs, but also search the internet for anything else relevant.
05:Personalassistant
The Cortana button brings up Windows’ voice control. She gives you
relevant information, and you can ask her to search for things.
06:Searchsettings
The gear icon that appears during a search and when using Cortana
allows you to tweak how they work, such as removing online results.

Gettingstarted
I
f you’re familiar with other operating
systems, you’ll be pleased to see that
Windows 10 has embraced the virtual
desktop as a core part of the experience.
Basically, it’s like having an entire row of
desktops side by side, but you can only see
them one at a time through the window of
your screen. You can move sideways between
them and, crucially, take your applications with
you and drop them wherever you please.
They’re a great way to organise your
activities by using different desktops for
different things and they can also help you
keep a more sane-looking desktop. Using
Alt+Tab to switch applications becomes far less
useful the more applications you have open,
because you're tapping Tab several times
rather than just clicking an icon in the taskbar.
So instead you simply spread out groups of
applications across several different desktops.
Keep your groups sensible, like having all of
your social media feeds together or all of your
video-editing tools in one place, and Windows
10 will become a pleasure to work in as you
slide from one screen to the next, splitting
distractions and organising workspaces.
Startusingmultipledesktops
Take control of your desktop by arranging your applications across
several side-by-side virtual spaces that you can switch between
Gettoknow
TaskView
Make multitasking easier for yourself
“Move sideways between them and
take your applications with you”
Shortcutstoremember
As well as use Windows+Tab, you can also
hold Windows+Ctrl and then hit the left
and right arrow keys to switch desktops.
+Ctrl+D creates a new desktop, while
+Ctrl+F4 will close down a desktop and
shift its contents to the next one along.
Taskbar
If you choose Show All in the
multitasking options then apps
across all desktops will be shown
here. Click an app that's on
another desktop to switch straight
onto it
Indicator
Running apps have this grey line
beneath them, while docked but
closed apps don't. It's a more
useful indicator if you don't
display apps from every desktop
in the taskbar
Carousel
This carousel at the bottom can only fit
seven desktop thumbnails side-by-side, so
if you have more than that then use these
arrows to scroll along
Desktops
According to Microsoft, there is no
defined limit for the maximum number
of desktops that you can have. Try and
be sensible with all that power

01:OpenTaskView
Your desktops are shown at the bottom of Task View. To bring it up,
click its taskbar icon (beside the search bar) or hit +Tab.
02:Createadesktop
You’ll already have Desktops 1 and 2 – click to switch between them.
Now click New Desktop at the lower-right to create a third.
03:Moveapplications
Try dragging one of the application thumbnails at the top onto one
of the desktop thumbnails at the bottom to move the application.
04:Moveandcreate
To save a little time, you can also combine the previous two steps by
dragging an application thumbnail onto the New Desktop button.
05:Previewyourdesktops
You don’t need to switch to another desktop to see its apps. In Task
View, hover your mouse over a desktop to preview its contents.
06:Customisesettings
To see all of your apps across every desktop inside your taskbar and
Task View, go to Settings>System>Multi-tasking>Virtual desktops.

Gettingstarted
T
he humble Task Manager is one of
the most powerful tools for keeping
your PC under control. Giving you
information about what’s going on in your
system, what processes are running, how
much RAM or CPU power they’re using, overall
resource usage, and the list goes on. It’s a great
tool for finding where things might be going
wrong and maintaining everything.
The new version in Windows 10 is
better than ever before, giving more easily
processable information, along with separate
tabs and graphs for the different available
resources such as RAM, CPU and networking.
With Windows 10 being very new, not
everything will work as well as it once did.
With new software on old hardware, it will
run fine most of the time, but there will
be the odd glitch that may catch you out.
Having access to and understanding how
Task Manager works means you can figure
out exactly what’s going wrong, and seek
out a solution or just stop using the program
altogether. We’ll show you around the latest
version of the Task Manager, and give you a
good start in making your way around it.
LearntouseTaskManager
This new operating system comes with a brand new Task Manager
that has a better layout than ever
Themanyfaces
ofTaskManager
A tour around the Task Manager
“It’s a great tool for finding where
things might be going wrong”
Endprocesses
You can end processes the
same way as you could before
– if something is giving you
trouble, just right click on it
and end the process. If it keeps
being a nuisance, search the
internet to see if there’s a fix.
Performancegraphs
Keep track of overall performance
over time to see how your system
handles certain tasks, such as
playing games or watching films
Processes
Keep an eye on the resources your
programs are using in case they
get out of control
Start-upprocesses
Find out what should launch at start
up, and whether or not it actually
did. You can even disable start up
for specific processes
Anillustratedhistory
Find out exactly how long certain
processes have been running, how
much data they’ve used and other
resource usage here

01:FindTaskManager
There are two ways to bring up Task Manager: Ctrl+Alt+Del will bring
up the option to access it, but we like to right click on the task bar.
02:Seetheprocesses
The basic view lists all the running processes and is the default tab in
the task manager. You can filter it by memory, name or CPU.
03:Overallperformance
The graphs are back, telling you just how much of your resources are
being used, and now with more information.
04:Historyofprograms
The app history tab is relatively new, giving you information collated
since Task Manager was opened on an app.
05:Runningservices
Services are different from program processes, as these are the core
parts of the system that let other parts work.
06:Keepinview
The option to have the Task Manager open on top of other apps
allows you to keep better track of what’s going on.

Gettingstarted
T
he Notifications centre in Windows 10
is, essentially, the same as the one you
had on the Windows Phone 8.1. It’s
also the same thing you might have seen in
other operating systems too, like Ubuntu and
OS X: a quickly accessible panel that shows
you all of your notifications and provides some
useful options.
Notifications are the little messages that
pop up as you go about your business,
appearing in the lower-right corner of your
screen to inform you of some completed
task, new message or reminder that you’ve
set previously. If you don’t deal with them
as they come in, they will stack up quietly
in the background, waiting for you in the
Notifications centre.
By making it easy for you to check all your
updates at one time and in one place, the
Notifications centre will speed up the way you
work with Windows. And as well as that, it
provides some links to options that you might
frequently use, such as the Location settings if
you have a Surface laptop or the ’All settings’
link. Surface users will also benefit from being
able to quickly access the Notifications centre
by swiping it across from the right edge of
the screen, much like you would a notification
centre on any smartphone.
It’s simple to get started with the
Notifications centre, but don’t worry if you
can’t see much inside it yet – you’ll need to
start using a few different applications for a
while before you start seeing any notifications.
Once you do, they’ll quickly become
indispensable to you.
UsetheNotificationscentre
See your system and application notifications all in one place,
and access quick links to common tools
Usingthe
Notificationscentre
Get to know the one-stop shop
System-onlynotifications
If you don’t need to know about every
single Facebook and Twitter message
that comes in, because you prefer
using your smartphone, just disable the
notifications for those things and keep
the Centre for system messages instead.
Moreactions
Some notifications will let you do a
little bit more with them inside the
Notifications centre – click this little
drop-down icon if you see it
Shortcuts
If you click to interact with a
notification, it will open up the
relevant application and take you
to where you need to be
Quickactions
If you pre-configure things like your
Virtual Private Network or Windows
10 mobile devices, these quick links
become much more useful to you
Groupclear
If you have a lot of notifications from one
app, dismiss all of them at once without
affecting other notifications by clicking
the group name to reveal this cross

01:Openthepanel
Click the Notifications centre icon in your taskbar – it’s just beside the
time and looks like a message bubble. A panel opens from the right.
02:Dismissnotifications
Your notifications are listed by type. To dismiss them, use the crosses
that appear when you select them or click ‘Clear All’ at the top-right.
03:Usequickactions
At the very bottom of the panel you’ll see four tiles – these are your
quick actions. Click Expand to reveal more.
04:Customisequickactions
Click the ‘All settings’ tile and choose ’Notifications & actions’ from
the System settings menu. Click the tiles at the top to change them.
05:Changetaskbaricons
You can also click ‘Select which icons appear on the taskbar’ below
the tiles to display or hide certain system features and applications.
06:UseTabletmode
In the Notifications centre, click the ‘Tablet mode’ tile at the bottom.
Now you can open the panel by swiping from the right edge.

Gettingstarted
N
otifications can be streamlined
sources of useful information or
constant meaningless distractions,
depending on how you set them up. Just like
your smartphone, if you install and use a lot of
different apps and let every one of them shout
about everything it wants whenever it wants,
your notifications centre will soon become a
thick mire of messages, slow to slog through
and far less useful to you. Left untamed,
notifications can become very demanding of
your attention.
Instead, you can customise your settings
and reduce the volume of notifications you
receive, making sure only the most relevant
come through and reducing the clutter.
Once you‘ve done this, you can almost use
your Notifications centre like a to-do list that
automatically populates itself with new tasks.
The way to do this is with both the
Windows 10 Notification centre settings
and the settings within each of your apps,
although the individual settings for each app
may or may not be present. But they can all be
controlled through the Windows 10 settings.
We'll start by looking at your apps.
Customiseyourapplication
notifications Get reminders from the apps you care
about and disable the ones you don't
Makesettings
insideapps
Go inside apps for better control
“Left untamed, notifications can become
very demanding of your attention”
Cortananotifications
During the Windows 10 Preview with Joe
Belfiore, Cortana was shown to display
notifications over the smart search field
on the taskbar (see bit.ly/1HFATcw). This
feature couldn't be confirmed at the
time of writing, but keep an eye out.
Search
You can find anything using this
search field, whether that's the
Windows 10 notification settings
screen or an application you‘ve
installed. Remember to use it
Menu
This menu icon at the top left
of an application window will
show you its Settings option.
Notification settings, if available,
will be somewhere in here
Appsettings
Once you‘ve found an application‘s
notification settings, you can make much
more detailed changes to the kinds of
notifications that the app will show
Notifications
If you didn‘t dismiss a notification when
it appeared on screen, but instead
closed it using the cross, it will appear in
the Notifications centre

01:GotoSettings
To change your application notifications, you can either go to the
main Settings menu or in-app settings. Let's do the former.
02:OpenSystemSettings
Click the Start menu, choose Settings and then System. Alternatively,
type ‘Notifications’ into the search field and click the first hit.
03:Seenotifyingapps
Click ‘Notifications & actions’. Apps that use notifications will be listed
on the right-hand side once they have shown you a notification.
04:Disableallappnotifications
To stop seeing notifications from apps, switch the toggle under
Notifications to off. This won't stop system notifications, though.
05:Disablenotificationsperapp
To be more selective and turn off notifications from particular apps,
switch the main toggle to On and toggle listed apps individually.
06:Changeadvancedsettings
Some apps will enable you to make more selective options at this
main system settings screen. Click Advanced to show extra options.

Gettingstarted
O
nce you are up to speed with your
new system and have installed some
new applications, you’ll want to start
customising your program associations to
make sure they run when you want them to.
This will make life much easier for you as you
come to rely more and more on your setup for
specific things.
If you have the applications that you
have chosen to use for particular things run
automatically whenever you click on the files
that you want to use them with, then you are
able to get straight to your task with just
a double-click.
You might, for example, be a fan of the
new Music and Video apps, and be happy
to leave them as the default applications for
everything music and video-related. But what
if you have a few obscure .rmbv files in your
video collection, which you like to run in the
trusty VLC application? In this case, it’s just
a simple case of customising the program
associations so that everything is related to
the Music and Video apps except the .rmbv
files, which you instead associate with VLC. You
browse through your media folders, find the
files, double-click to run, and then watch your
videos in different programs, depending on
their file types.
Changing your associations as you go is as
simple as right-clicking a file, choosing ’Open
with’ and then making sure you click the
‘Always use this app’ tickbox when you pick
a program. If you ever need to see all of your
default associations and make changes to
them, just follow the steps below.
Changeyourdefaultprograms
Make sure your favourite apps are the ones that start
running whenever you open a file
Setprogram
defaults
Choose your associations individually
Reset
If you make a few too many
individual changes to your default
program associations, you might
want to reset them all so you can
start afresh. Head back to ‘Default
apps’ like in step 3 and scroll down
to find the grey Reset button.
Extensions
All the file types that the program
can open are listed here,
organised alphabetically by their
file extensions. Use the tickboxes
to enable/disable associations
individually, or ‘Select All’
Setassociations
In step 6, you can click ‘Choose
defaults for this program’ to
instead go through the file types
for that program individually,
giving you much finer control
Currentdefault
If you start customising your application
defaults individually then you might start
to lose track of them. Check your current
defaults for a file type in this column
Save
Once you’ve finished making your
settings, click this Save button and then
the OK button on the next page to make
sure you enact these changes

01:GotoSettings
To change the default applications for all of your file types at once,
you need to head to the Settings area. Click Start>Settings.
02:OpenSystemSettings
All of the settings to do with your default and installed applications
are kept under the System area at the top-left. Open it up.
03:Seeyourdefaultapps
Go to ‘Default apps’ by selecting it from the sidebar. Under each
category of app listed on the right, you’ll see your default app.
04:Setnewdefaultapps
Scroll to an application type, like web browser, and click the app
beneath. Choose an application to use as your new default.
05:Choosebyfiletype
At the bottom click ‘Choose default applications by file type’. This is
useful for creating exceptions to the rules created in step 4.
06:Choosebyapp
Now click ‘Set defaults by app’. Pick an app and click ‘Set this
program as default’ to make that true for everything it can open.

Gettingstarted
T
he ability to quickly and intuitively
change between different tasks as you
use your computer is a fundamental
part of the experience, and there are a
number of tools built into Windows 10 to
help you move between and manage your
running applications effectively.
Foremost among these is the familiar
taskbar, where you can click on the icons of
your running programs to switch to them, and
there’s also the traditional keyboard shortcut
for cycling through programs. But as well as
the taskbar and the tidiness of your on-screen
windows, there’s a new feature in Windows 10.
Virtual desktops have been added to
Windows 10, meaning that you can create and
move between new screens – your wallpaper,
your desktop files, but with only the programs
you choose to keep inside that virtual desktop
– and you can arrange your apps as you
see fit. Say you’re working and have several
windows open, then it’s lunch time. You can
easily switch to a fresh desktop and check up
on your favourite sites while you take a break.
Later, just switch back to your other desktop
and pick up right where you left off.
Switchbetweenapplications
Windows 10 makes multitasking easier by introducing multiple desktops, so
you can arrange things perfectly
“Virtual desktops have been added
to Windows 10”
01:Switchtoanotherapp
To change your active application to another that’s running, hold
down Alt, then hit Tab, and keep on tapping Tab to cycle through the
programs. When you release Alt, you’ll switch to the selected app;
while its still held, you can select or close apps using the mouse.
02:Switchtoanotherdesktop
Now try holding and hitting Tab. You’ll bring up the new Task
View, with your apps at the top and your desktops at the bottom.
You can use Tab or the mouse to select apps, but you don’t need to
hold down. Read more on page 54.

03:Usethewindows
As well as these keyboard shortcuts, you can easily switch between
your apps simply by clicking on their windows or taskbar icons. Also
remember you can hover over an application’s taskbar icon to reveal
a preview, and close the app using the thumbnail’s cross.
04:Searchforapps
If your desktop is a bit of a mess of open windows or you prefer
to use your keyboard for most things, you can switch to another
application by using the smart search field in the lower-right corner
of the screen. Type an app, hit Enter and it’ll switch right over.
Multitaskingtips
Get to know your shortcuts
Switching
This is your selection indicator –
when you tap Tab to cycle through
your open applications, the white
outline will move from left to right
(then loop)
Predictivesearches
When you begin to search for the website
of your choice, a menu list will try to
guess what you might want. As you make
progress with typing your parameters, the
predicted information will become more
direct and targeted. Notice that it changes
dynamically with each letter added in the
bar. If your desired website is located in this
list, move to the required site and click on it
to access it. The new website will load.
Fullscreen
To hide all of the windows and
just focus on one thing at a time,
you can click this to enable full-
screen mode, if it’s supported.
Alt/ +Tab will still work
Closingapps
While you’ve got Alt held down to
display these thumbnails, you can
mouse-over the top-right corner to
show this cross, which you can click
to close the app
TaskView
As well as pressing Windows+Tab to
bring up Task View, you can click this
button. It’s always the first icon, just
beside the search field

Gettingstarted
T
he latest version of Snap available in
Windows 10 is even more logical and
easy to use than the previous versions.
You are now able to work with four apps at
once when they are snapped to each corner
of the display and with the right monitor, three
apps side by side is even possible. One of the
main benefits of Snap is that it is so easy to use
and this should help you a lot when you are
busy dealing with multiple apps in separate
windows. A quick keyboard command or
mouse drag will have all of the apps you
are using in the right order ready for you to
continue working.
If you are unaware of how Snap works,
please follow our quick four-step tutorial
here, because the benefits of this very simple
feature are truly immense. Snapping can
greatly impact the way you work in Windows
10 and make you much more efficient than
ever before. It is completely invisible until
you need to use it and will quickly become
a feature that feels second nature every time
you put it to use, which should be multiple
times a day. It’s time to start snapping your
favourite apps into position, so let’s get
started now.
Arrangeyourwindows
withasnap Multitask in style and keep the apps you use most often
visible all of the time
“Snapping can greatly impact the way
you work in Windows”
01:Draganddrop
When you have two or more windows (apps) open, all you need to
do is drag one to the right or left-hand side to bring up the Snap
feature. You should see the window you moved taking up half of the
space and the other open apps displayed as large thumbnails.
02:Usetwofullapps
All you now need to do is click one of the other thumbnails to display
two apps, which take up half of the screen each. You can drag each
window if required by clicking and holding the thin bar in the middle
of the screen. You should now be able to multitask easily.

03:Createaquadrant
You can now create a quadrant with four open apps by selecting
each individually and using the Windows key plus one of the arrow
keys to snap it into place. It takes a while to get used to, but once you
know how you’ll be snapping apps to specific locations in an instant.
04:OpenSnapsettings
Open the Settings and then type ‘Snap’ in the top right-hand box
to see which options can be set up automatically. You can choose
for the system to automatically respond to drags or leave it to work
manually. Each option clearly displays what it is designed for.
Ahighlyvisualinterface
Snap works very logically
throughout its operation
Clickonthebars
To quickly move windows
and snap them to particular
areas, simply click and hold
on the very top bar of each
running app
Automatethesettings
You should only need to tweak
the Snap settings once and then
let the software do the work for
you. We suggest enabling as many
automated settings as possible
Therearefewlimits
If you are using a very high-resolution display,
you will likely be able to snap three windows side
by side, but on most displays a maximum of four
apps in a quadrant is possible. Also, snapping is
not just confined to standard apps; it works with
universal apps, web apps and almost anything
else that runs in a window. Snapping should help
you take full advantage of a larger screen and save
you lots of jumping between apps, which just
wastes time.
Dragtoresize
The lines between the windows are
difficult to see, but when found you
can use a mouse or your finger to
quickly resize each panel
Worktoyourscreensize
You will be able to judge the
optimum size for each window
when working in your Windows
screen. Four may be too many for
smaller screens

Gettingstarted
T
he Store app within Windows 10
will look familiar if you have used
previous versions of the operating
system because many of the apps, including
the universal offerings, will work as they
normally would. The difference now is that
Microsoft has put in a lot of work to make life
easier for developers, which should mean a
greater variety of apps available for you.
An app developer can now build 80 per
cent of the code, which can then be used
over multiple devices such as tablets, desktop
PCs and phones. This means that all they
have to do is tweak the final 20 per cent to
ensure complete compatibility, which should
make the Windows platform more desirable
to develop for. Apps are such a driver for all
platforms these days and convenience is just
as crucial for a developer as it is for the user.
This change offers benefits all round, because
the end user experience will feel consistent no
matter what device an app is being used on.
You have to do very little to use a universal
app, but it is likely that they will stand out
due to their consistent quality. It’s time to
understand universal apps, so read on to find
out more.
Looktothefuturewith
Universalapps Universal apps could make Windows more
successful than ever before
“Universal apps will stand out due to
their consistent quality”
01:Searchforassociatedapps
When you open the Store app and search for new programs, there
will often be no indication that an app is universal. You will need to
search on your Windows phone as well to see if an associated app is
present, but even then they could be different builds.
02:Auniversalexample
Adobe Photoshop Express is a good example of a truly universal
app. The developer has gone to great lengths to ensure that the app
works almost identically on a PC as it does on a phone or tablet. The
only differences will come from the display size that you are using.

03:Lookforthemobilealternative
Searching for ‘Adobe Photoshop Express’ on a Windows phone will
bring up the mobile version. It is made by the same developer and
the majority of the code should be the same on every version. You’ll
experience great consistency from the first time you use it.
04:Stayoblivious
If you want to know more about Windows 10 universal apps, head
to blogs.windows.com, but for most of us there is no need. Simply
knowing that more universal apps will be created in the future
brings the hope of a better experience for every Windows user.
Universalappsjustwork
Universal apps offer a superb
user experience
Thenewplatform
The universal app platform is at the heart of
Windows 10, which is important for a number of
reasons. It means that the APIs are available for
third-party developers to hook in to and, as such,
should mean apps that work perfectly within the
wider operating system. Edge – Microsoft’s new
internet explorer – is a very good example and
a quick play with it highlights just how smooth
and powerful the universal app platform is. The
future for Windows is looking very bright.
UsetheStore
By far the best place to download
universal apps is via the Store app. It
will include them as soon as they are
released and updated
Justanapp?
When you search for apps in the Store,
you will not always be able to spot a
universal app as they have no indicator.
This may change in the future
Standarduniversalapps
Many of the default Windows
apps now share similar code and
are designed to offer a similar
experience across all kinds of
Windows devices
Aclevermove
Microsoft has been very clear as to
why universal apps are important.
They may not appear to be now,
but they most certainly will be

Gettingstarted
C
ortana is the name of the personal
assistant in Windows 10. You can talk
to Cortana like she is a real person and
she will answer back, provide information you
request, make appointments and reminders,
and even tell jokes. It is a brilliant feature that is
not only useful, it's fun too.
Cortana is a feature of the search box next
to the Start button to the left of the taskbar.
Click in this box and type in something you
want to find on the computer or the internet,
and Cortana will display the results in the
panel that pops up. You can also talk to
Cortana, by clicking the microphone button
at the right side of the search box or simply
saying “hey, Cortana.” Cortana then starts
listening and interpreting what you say.
The best way to get to know Cortana is
to spend some time talking to her. Ask her
whatever you want and see what she says.
IntroducingCortana,your
personalassistant
Cortana is your personal helper that can find information, set reminders and more
“You can talk to Cortana like she is a
real person”
ExploreCortana’s
settings
Choose the Cortana features
you want
Voicerecognition
Voice recognition technologies have been in
Windows for some time, but Cortana takes it
to a new level. With little or no training, it can
tell what you are saying and respond with
actions and information. It is amazing.
Themenu
These buttons provide access
to Cortana’s features. Click the
second one down and then click
Settings to customise the way that
Cortana works
She’sallmine
Cortana can respond to anyone
or just you. Select ‘To me’ below
‘Respond’ and then train Cortana
to recognise your voice and
no one else’s
Searchandmic
If “hey, Cortana” is switched off,
you must click the microphone
icon to speak to Cortana. You can
also type in your questions
IsCortanalistening?
Cortana can listen all the time and this
enables you to simply say “hey, Cortana”
whenever you want to ask her a question or
set a reminder

04:TrainCortana
Cortana is very good at recognising what
you say, but the first time you talk to her you
may be asked to read this sentence.
07:Addareminder
Here is a more serious use. Ask Cortana to
remind you to go to the dentist tomorrow or
any other event.
05:Askaquestion
If you want to know what the weather will
be like tomorrow, just ask a question like:
“Hey Cortana, will it rain tomorrow?”
08:Speakthetime
Cortana will ask you what time the
appointment is and you can say 10am,
2.30pm, or whatever the time is.
06:Jokesandmore
Experiment with Cortana by asking a variety
of questions. For example, you can ask
Cortana to tell you a joke.
09:Confirmtheevent
Cortana will ask if the event and time is
correct and whether she should remind you.
Just say “yes” and it’s done.
01:WelcometoCortana
Cortana sometimes pops up and asks what
she can do for you. She listens to what you
say and you can type in questions.
02:Cortana’ssuggestions
Here is another of Cortana’s attempts to
start a conversation. There is a weather
forecast and some of the latest news stories.
03:Viewthemenu
Click the notebook icon on the left to
display a list of topics. Clicking them enables
you to turn them on or off.

Gettingstarted
C
ortana is a new personal assistant that
is built into Windows 10 and it can
make executing actions and finding
information much easier than it used to be
with previous versions of Windows. It is able
to recognise your voice and interpret what you
are saying, then fetch information, open web
browsers and display search results.
When you ask Cortana for information,
sometimes the results are displayed within
the Cortana panel itself. With other questions
Cortana will open a web browser window to
show search results from Bing. Cortana may
even open a special window to show search
results. What you see will depend on the
question you ask and the information you
want to know.
It can be quite entertaining using Cortana
for the first time and you should try asking her
lots of different questions to get a feel for how
this feature works. There are some examples
here showing how Cortana can be put to
use, but there are many more ways in which
she can be useful. Just ask and Cortana will
reply or show you web search results with the
answers you seek.
UsevoicesearchwithCortana
Cortana can fetch information and perform web
searches for you. All you need to do is ask
Findinformation
withCortana
Ask Cortana anything and she’ll respond
“It can be quite entertaining using
Cortana for the first time”
Cortanasettings
Bing is used to provide the results
for many of the searches and you
can customise the results. Click the
Notebook icon on the left-hand side
and then click Settings. Scroll down
to the bottom for the Bing options
like SafeSearch.
Trackinformation
The results of this search will
change over time and Cortana has
provided a link to stay updated
with this information. It is another
great feature
Viewtheresults
Cortana was asked about share
prices and has responded
by displaying the current
price, a chart and other useful
information. It’s a neat display
GotoBing
If you do not see the information you are
looking for, or if you want more detailed
information, click this link to go to the
Bing website
Hey,Cortana!
To perform a search, say “Hey, Cortana!”
or click the microphone. The results of
voice are different to the results shown
when you type a question

01:Getdirections
If you want to go somewhere, but don’t know the route, just ask
Cortana. Click the microphone icon and say “Get directions to…”
02:Viewtheroute
In this case Cortana has opened a separate window on the desktop
to display the route directions. Click the car, bus or man (walking).
03:Getcurrencyrates
If you are going to be travelling abroad and want to know the
current exchange rate, say “Hey, Cortana, what is 25 pounds in…”
04:ViewBingsearchresults
In this case Cortana has opened a web browser window and entered
the question you asked. You can see the exchange rate.
05:Exploretheweb
You can explore the web using Cortana and you can ask questions
like “Hey, Cortana, what is the capital of Australia?”
06:ViewinformationfromBing
Once again, Cortana has passed on the query to Bing and a web
browser window opens to show lots of useful information.

Gettingstarted
S
imilar to Windows 8.1, the new
Windows 10 operating system provides
you with an old favourite in the form
of a People app, the main source for adding
or managing your contacts. A contact could
include an email address, phone number,
birthday and work/home address.
In fact, the People app is more of a team
player, as it works with the pre-installed Mail
and Calendar apps (covered on pages 76
and 80). So you shouldn’t be surprised if you
launch the People app and discover it has
found your Mail account (and possibly others)
and populated the interface with contacts
already. This is not a bad thing, as importing
contacts is a real time saver. This is something
we will quickly showcase in the guide, but
check out the Mail app guide on page 76 for
additional tips on how to add an account.
However, for the most part we will show
you how to add contacts, edit existing ones
and manage the interface. Please note the
guide may differ to your machine, as our
example has the account set up. We will
assume you have added an account, as the
app requires one to save default contacts.
Setupandaddcontacts
We will show you how to use the People App to set up, edit and
manage your contacts all in one place on Windows 10
“Importing contacts from other
accounts is a real time saver”
Managingyour
contacts
All your contacts will be listed
in an intuitive interface
Searchcontacts
By default, the People app will
list any contacts from your linked
accounts. You can use the search
box or click on the header letter,
eg ‘A’, to find the contact you want
Share/deletecontacts
You can also share/delete your
contact via the ‘…’ option. Sharing
depends on the apps you have
installed on your computer
Linkingcontacts
Once a contact has been selected,
you can use the link icon at the top
of the page to join two contact
profiles together
Editingcontacts
If you make a mistake or decide that the
imported contacts are messy, you can edit
these by selecting the contact and choosing
the pencil symbol at the top
UtilisingthecontactInfo
Depending on what information is added to
the contact, you can use the front page to click
on options from the right pane. From here,
you can launch a Map view of the address or
compose an email directly to the contact.

04:Drop-downboxes
Fill in the contact details. You can click on
the drop-down options next to Phone, Email
and Addresses to fine-tune proceedings.
07:ImportGoogleaccount
For arguments sake, select Google from the
list. After keying in your username/password,
scroll to the base to Accept the connection.
05:Findcontact
Once finished, click the Save icon at the top.
Now you can use the Search box or select a
category letter to help find the contact.
08:Editimportedcontact
Click Done and select the top back button.
Once contacts are imported, you can select
one and use the pencil icon to edit it.
06:Importcontacts
Click on the ‘…’ icon in the top left and
choose Settings. From here select the
option Add An Account.
09:Filteraccounts
From the main interface, click the Showing
All option at the top and from here you will
be able to filter which accounts are shown.
01:Manuallyaddcontacts
On the main interface, click the ‘+’ icon at the
top. Note: If you need to choose an account,
for now choose your Microsoft account.
02:Addaphoto
From the resulting page, click Add Photo
and then browse your Photos app for a
suitable image using the left icon options.
03:Cropandsave
Now select the image and with your mouse
re-size the picture to suit and click on the
tick icon to finish.

Gettingstarted
W
ith the launch of Windows 10,
Microsoft's aim has been to have
universal apps that work across
multiple devices. One of the apps that
supports this is the Mail app. So if you own
a smartphone running Windows 10, then
changes made in Mail on one platform will
appear on the other and vice versa.
Mail works in tandem with the People and
Calendar app (for contact info and events).
This is why when you first load the Mail app
it may already list any accounts you have
set up previously, eg from the People app
(page 74). It will almost certainly also list the
Microsoft account that you used when you set
up Windows or created an online account to
access the Store (page 96).
For now though, we will guide you in how
to add a new Gmail account (as an example) to
the app, as one that is separate from your
primary Microsoft account.
The guide on page 78 will show you how to
send emails. Note you will need your account
username/passwords or possibly additional
information to set up this account. If you are
stuck, please ask your Internet Service Provider.
Setupanemailaccount
This guide showcases how to set up an email account
using the default Windows 10 Mail app
MailInterface
See all your emails in one
place in the Mail app
PintoStart
Another useful feature of the Mail app
is that it allows you to attach folders to
the Start button. For example, you can
right click the Inbox and choose ‘Pin to
Start’. You will then be able to access it by
selecting the icon from the Start menu.
“Mail works in tandem with the
People and Calendar app”
Viewingyouremails
Just like any modern email client, the Mail
app will list your emails on the left and the
contents can then be opened and viewed
in the right reading pane
Accessingyourfolders
If you have added an IMAP email account
(such as Gmail) then you can use the ‘More’
icon to view additional folders attached to
the email content
Customiseyourbackground
Via the settings icon in the bottom-
left corner, you can customise the
background of your Mail app to add a
personal touch
Addingaccounts
The settings icon is also where you can add
additional accounts to the Mail app. These
added accounts can then be managed from
one central source

04:Enterpassword
After clicking Next, enter your password
and Sign In. Then scroll to the bottom and
choose Accept to authorise the account.
07:Customisefeatures
You can also customise your name and
toggle to sync your contacts and calendar.
Click on Done and then Save to finish.
05:Changesyncsettings
When it's connected, click Done and select
your newly created account. Then choose
‘Change mailbox sync settings’.
08:Switchyouraccount
At the Inbox, select the primary account (in
this case Outlook) via the top left corner and
choose the Gmail account to view emails.
06:Controldownloads
Select the drop-down next to ‘Download
email from’. This allows you to control how
many emails are sent to the app.
09:Selectanemailtoview
With the account switched, you can select
an email. This will then allow you to view the
contents in the right-hand pane.
01:Readytogo?
When you first launch the Mail app, it will list
any accounts that can be used. Click ‘Ready
to Go’ and head to the main interface.
02:Addinganaccount
From the main Inbox, select the Settings cog
in the bottom-left corner, and then from the
right menu choose Accounts.
03:Makingachoice
Select Add Account, and from the resulting
list choose Google. When prompted, enter
your email address.

Gettingstarted
I
n our previous guide on page 76 we
showcased how to set up an Email
account. In particular, we demonstrated
the ease in which you could attach a Google
account so you could view existing emails.
While we did not cover a lot of the
interface’s features per-say this guide aims to
address some of the omissions with a look at
how to send emails with attachments.
By attachments we mean documents (one’s
that you may have created in Microsoft Word),
photos (your favourite images) or even PDF’s
(Adobe). Attaching the additional content
to an email can be a great way to enhance
communication with the recipient.
Additionally we will also take a look at
how to customise your email signature ie the
signature that goes at the base of the email
(by default this is set to ‘Sent from Mail for
Windows 10’).
The interface works like most email clients
so you should not have any problems
following this guide or adapting it to your own
needs. Additionally, if you know how Microsoft
Office works you can also apply similar
formatting techniques to add font changes to
the text – check out the box-out for some tips.
Sendanemailwithattachments
Now that you have your Mail account set up, we will guide you in how to send emails
with attachments
“Attaching additional content can be a
great way to enhance communication”
01:Customiseyoursignature
With the email account open click on the Settings icon via the
bottom-left corner and choose Options from the right pane. Look for
the signature field box and remove the contents and add your own
custom signature. Once finished, click the back icon at the top-right.
02:Composeyouremail
Back at the main interface, click on the + New Mail icon to compose
your email. Enter the recipients address in the To section and
underneath add a subject. In the body section key in additional
comments. Once this is done select the Insert menu at the top.

03:Attachfiles
From the Insert menu you will need to click on the Attach icon and
this will bring up a folder view. Now by using your mouse you need
to browse to the location of your files, such as the Pictures folder for
photos. When you have found the file you want select it and Open.
04:Sendtheemail
Your email attachment will now appear under the main body and
you can either click the X in the corner to remove it or choose Attach
once more to add additional files (just repeat Step 3). Once you are
ready click the Send icon via the top right to finish.
NewMailInterface
Composing/Attaching files via
the Mail App
Attachingmultiplefilesatonce
In the main tutorial we showed how to attach
files, but this was in a single step process i.e.
one file at a time. However, just like standard
Windows File Explorer functions you can utilise
the keyboard/mouse to attach multiple files
at once. For example if you hold the keyboard
Ctrl key down while you select each file with
your mouse you can attach multiple files.
Alternatively you can select one file and then
press the Shift key and down/up cursor keys to
highlight a larger batch!
Attachfiles
All manner of files can be attached
to an email such as photos,
documents and in some cases
videos if the files are not too big
Addformatting
Just like Microsoft Office products you
can add additional formatting to your
emails. Just select your text and use the
Format and drop down tabs to suite
Cc&Bcc
Next to the To field box you can
select the Cc & Bcc option to add
additional recipients. This is a better
way to send email to more than
one person
Theplusicon
You can compose emails quickly
using the ‘+’ icon from the Mail app
interface. This process is similar to
other email clients

Gettingstarted
I
f you have already read the Mail and
People app guides then you will be aware
that the Calendar app is designed to work
alongside them, allowing you to access
contacts and email.
In fact the Calendar app even has a shortcut
to launch the Mail app directly from the main
interface. What this means is that there should
be a familiarity with how you use the app,
especially as Windows 10 is designed to filter a
common theme through the all of its default
apps. It also saves time having to re-input
account details if you want to tap into your
Google calendar for argument’s sake, as when
you use the Mail or People app the account
will already be available in the Calendar app
ready to go.
For this guide we are not going to showcase
how to add events, as this is being handled in
a separate guide on page 82. Instead what we
will be doing is simply giving you an overview
of what features you are likely to encounter
when you first launch the app itself. This will
include the interface, some of the settings
options and some of the key icons that can be
used to maximise the effectiveness of the app.
Let’s get started.
Lookatthefeaturesofthe
Calendarapp The Windows 10 calendar offers a clean, intuitive
interface for keeping track of your schedule!
“The Calendar app provides a quick
way to switch between your views”
01:Addanaccount
When you first launch the app you are given the option to add an
account. This could be a Microsoft account or you could use your
iCloud Calendar. However, to save time note how the app has pulled
over the accounts we set up previously in the other tutorials.
02:Adjustthelayout
Click ‘Ready to go’ to access the main interface. You will now see on
the far left your monthly snapshot and beneath this all the calendars
pulled from your account(s). On the right you’ll find the events. You
can manipulate the view by selecting one of the tabs.

03:Viewyourevents
Use your mouse to scroll through events or hover the cursor over
one to get a snapshot of what is inside. You can also select ‘More
details’ for an enlarged view. With multiple calendars you can click
on the latter account’s colour icon (left panel) to hide/show entries.
04:Changethesettings
Click the cog icon at the bottom to access the accounts (to add/
remove them) or adjust calendar settings. The latter allows you to
set your preferred work week days/time and adjust the event colour
brightness. Thus you can use the calendar for business and pleasure!
Calendarinterface
An overview of the Calendar app
Accessingyourmail
As we mentioned earlier the Calendar app
integrates with some of the other core apps
such as Mail. In fact if you look at the bottom of
the interface there is a handy Mail and Calendar
icon set. Clicking on the Mail icon will intuitively
launch the app in a slightly smaller-sized
Window (unless it’s been maximised). This allows
you to view the emails in your account and then
a press of the Calendar icon will switch instantly
back to the Calendar app. Windows 10 adds a lot
of these intuitive task-switching options!
Calendartabs
The Calendar app provides a
quick way to switch between your
different views (Day, Month, etc), so
you can hone in on what matters
Removethemenu
If you click on the menu icon via
the top left it will hide the monthly
snapshot view and calendar, allowing
you to focus on what’s important
Displayedaccounts
The Calendar app supports other
calendars as well, such as Google
and iCloud. You can use the
dropdown boxes in the left panel
to minimise them or select an
account colour box to hide events
from view
Accounteventcolours
As your calendar starts to fill up
there may be multiple events
happening, but thankfully each
account has its own colour so you
know which account it belongs to

Gettingstarted
O
n the previous pages, we took a look
at what to expect from the Windows
10 Calendar app. In this guide we take
things a step further by showing you how to
actually add events to your Calendar app.
What’s useful is the events support a
number of different account types – for
example, you can add events to Google or
iCloud. Better still, any events you add will be
viewable on other devices that you own, such
as smartphones and tablets (as long as they
are logged into the same accounts).
Another useful feature that you get
when setting up events is the ability to set
reminders. The latter will usually pop up
before the event takes place.
Additionally you can invite other users to
access your events, and this is where it helps if
you have set up contacts in your People/Mail
app – mainly because the email addresses will
be instantly available as you start to type.
All of the above will be shown in the
guide below. Please note: in this example we
have added several account types already to
provide you with the best possible look at
how the multi-account events work.
AddaneventtoyourCalendar
In this guide we showcase how to add an event to your
Windows 10 Calendar
QuickEvents
Adding Quick Events to
the Calendar
Repeatinganevent
When creating an event you can also use the
Repeat option. This allows you to set which
days of the week the event should take
place. For example, if you do sports on a
particular day this feature will mean you only
have to set the event up once!
“When creating an event you can
also use the ‘Repeat’ option”
Keyininfo
The Quick Event is a small box that can
be used to fill in the event name and
start/stop days. Also you can set your
preferred account
Selectyourday
As well as using the New Event icon you can
also select a day directly from the Calendar
to add a Quick Event
Getinvited
If you add an event and invite someone to
join they will receive an email taking them
to a website. From here they can choose
whether to accept the event or not
Moredetails
The Quick Event also provides a More
Details icon, which allows you to add
further information that we showcased
in the tutorial

04:Setyourtime
If the event is not All Day, remove the tick
next to the box and click in the start box and
use the dropdown to select your time.
07:Optional:inviteothers
From here type in an email address for the
person you want to share the event with or
pick the address from the list.
05:Chooseyouraccount
Now use the box below the start and end
day/times to pick which account you want
the event to be stored in.
08:Setstatus/reminders
Click Show As to set your status or optionally
select the Reminders box and use the
dropdown to set an event reminder.
06:Optional:addextras
Select the description field box and type in
a description for your event. Once finished,
click the field box under the People header.
09:SavingtheEvent
Once you have finished click on Send. The
event will now appear in the calendar app
and the invite(s) will be sent.
01:Newevent
Once the Calendar app loads, the quickest
way to add an event is to click on the New
Event icon at the top-left of the screen.
02:AddingDetails
Next start by adding a name for your event,
such as ‘Work on assignment’ and then use
the space below to key in the location.
03:Setstart&enddate
Below the location click on the calendar icon
in the date field to pick your preferred start
date. Repeat this process for the end date.

Gettingstarted
M
icrosoft Edge, or Project Spartan as
it used to be known, is technically
Microsoft’s replacement to Internet
Explorer, though the latter is still available to
access via the Settings option, which we will
cover in the guide.
As web browsers go, Microsoft Edge has a
lot to offer. The standout feature has to be its
annotation tool, which it calls web notes.
While we will be talking about this on a
subsequent guide, web notes allows you to
draw on the screen with either your finger (for
those blessed with touch-screens) or a mouse.
With the above you can annotate a
webpage by pointing to an article headline, or
cut pages out to stick in other apps. All of this
has large scope for social/business interaction.
Microsoft Edge is also a lot faster than
previous versions at rendering web pages,
and with features such as a reading list for
accessing web content later on, and a reader
view for stripping away distracting ads, these
are just some of the benefits of the browser.
Again, we talk about these individual
features on separate tutorials. For now, this
guide is more of an overview of the features
and how to access them.
GettoknowMicrosoftEdge
In this guide we will be showcasing what to expect when using
Microsoft’s latest web browser
“Cortana has managed to integrate
itself into the Edge Browser”
01:Changethestartpage
When you start Edge, it will usually bring up a splash page, which
may not always be appropriate. Click the ‘…’ icon at the top-right
corner and head to Settings to choose how the web browser should
start. You can also control how tabs should open.
02:Enterawebaddress
Enter web addresses or carry out a search request via the top URL
bar. Press the ‘+’ near the current web page to open a new tab (and
enter a new address). Or click the ‘x’ in the corner to close a tab, or
long press it with a left mouse click to drag it to a new position.

03:Usespecifictools
Under the ‘…’ icon are useful tools. You can find text on the page,
print or open an InPrivate window (browse a site without tracking
cookies). You can also launch the current web page in Internet
Explorer. Or head to Settings>Advanced to add a Home icon.
04:Chooseanoption
The top row of icons allow access to the Reading view, add pages to
Favourites/Reading list, or provide options for managing the latter
and viewing downloads. The note and share icons are great for
annotating/sharing your web pages with others.
WorkingwithEdge
Edge offers plenty of functions
CortanaIntegration
Believe it or not, Cortana (Windows 10 virtual digital
assistant) has managed to integrate itself into the Edge
Browser, and it provides a useful feature for those
interested in discovering words on the page. For example,
if you highlight a word and then right click it, you can
choose the option ‘Ask Cortana’. From the resulting box-
out (which appears on the right) you sometimes have the
option to click on a play icon to hear the word spoken
(or view a definition). Additionally, you have the ability to
search/access supporting article(s).
DeveloperTools
The Developer Tools are more
useful for those who like to create
or maintain web pages, as it helps
identify problems
InPrivatewindow
Like most modern browsers, you
now have the option to browse in
private, as web pages you visit will
not be tracked
AdvancedSettings
Via the ‘…’ icon you can also
explore the Settings>Advanced
Settings to turn on pop-up
blockers and add a Home-
screen icon
Findtextonthepage
The Find option, when
activated, will appear just below
the URL bar, and allow you to
quickly find items on a page

Gettingstarted
S
imilar to most modern browsers,
Microsoft Edge (or ‘Edge’ for short)
allows you to quickly bookmark web
pages as ‘favourites’ so you can access them
later. The main benefit of doing this speaks
for itself, but imagine you have a project
that requires plenty of research. Instead of
re-entering your web page(s) or viewing
search results from Google every time you
want to access the same content, you can add
the pages to your Favourites folder (accessed
from the browser’s Hub menu) and retrieve
them later without going through the same
hassle. However, what’s useful with Edge is
that you can create custom folders, so you
could create one called ‘Research’ and add the
pages you want to this instead.
We will showcase the above processes
in our tutorial below, including how to add
favourites to a Favourites bar (located under
the main URL input box), which makes it even
quicker to access the saved pages. Make sure
you also check out our boxout for a useful
tip on how to import favourites from other
browsers. This is a useful option if you happen
to have a lot of favourites already saved in
browsers such as Google Chrome or Firefox.
BookmarkasitewithEdge
Saving your favourite web page(s) so you can quickly access
them later is pretty straightforward with Edge!
“Edge provides the ability to import
favourites from other web browsers”
01:Bookmarkapage
Enter the URL or do a Google search for a page you want to add.
Once the page loads, browse to an article and click on the star icon
at the top. From here you can give the bookmark a name and then
choose where to add the bookmark, ie the Favourites folder.
02:Createafolder
Alternatively you can choose ‘Create a folder’ and in the space
provided give it a unique name, ie ‘Great Sites’, and then click Add.
You should now see the top star icon has turned yellow. By clicking
the star again you can amend the details or remove it.

03:AccesstheFavouritesbar
You can also save bookmarks to the Favourites bar, but in order to
access it you need to enable it. For this click on the ‘…’ icon in the
top-right and head to Settings. Next toggle the Favourites bar to 'on'.
Now any bookmarks can be accessed at the top of the web browser.
04:Manageyourbookmarks
If you want to manage your bookmarks at a later date, click on the
Hub icon in the top-right corner (next to the favourites star). From
here you can access your bookmarks directly by clicking on them or
you can right-click the bookmark/folder to rename and delete it.
Alookatfavourites
Adding and managing bookmarks
is easy with Edge!
Importingfavourites
Microsoft Edge provides the ability to import favourites
from other web browsers, as long as the browser is
installed on the same computer. For example, if you
have a ton of favourites saved on Google Chrome you
can access the ‘Import favourites’ option via the Hub
icon at the top of the interface. Once you select the
browser(s) you want to import from, just click on Import
and after a moment your favourites will then appear
under the Favourites bar (as long as you have enabled
it – see step 3 of the main tutorial).
Controlwithastar!
Once a web page has been
bookmarked it will appear as a solid
yellow star at the top. Any time you see
the icon you can click this to amend it
Launchingwebpages
When you want to view a website/page
that has been saved as a bookmark all you
need to do is select this from the Hub icon
and it will display in the main browser view
Bookmarkmanagement
Via the Hub icon you can
manage the bookmarks and
the folders you have created.
This can include deleting and
renaming them
Favouritesbar
The Favourites bar offers an
even quicker way of accessing
your saved Bookmarks. You just
have to enable the option via
the Settings menu

Gettingstarted
W
e won’t go into too much depth
about the Windows Start menu,
as this is covered on page 52, but
let’s just say the tile system has the ability
to incorporate more than just applications.
With Microsoft Edge, the latest browser to
replace Internet Explorer, you can now pin
your favourite websites/pages to the Windows
Start menu as well.
Once the web page is in the Start menu,
you can then manipulate the tile to a certain
degree. For example, you can manage how
much space it takes up by adjusting its size
and group it under specific headings
(basically do most things as you would with a
normal tile).
What’s also useful is the icons change
depending on what you pin. However, the
task of pinning to the Start menu is the core
focus of our guide here.
It’s just a simple feature, but one that could
save you a lot of time when you need to
access web content – instead of heading to
the Edge browser and then typing the URL in
or accessing it from the favourites bar, you can
just select it from the Start menu and away
you go.
PinasitetotheStartmenu
Another way to access your favourite website or
specific page is via the Windows Start menu
“You can now pin your favourite
websites to the Windows Start menu”
01:FindingtheURLtopin
Once you have launched Microsoft Edge, you first need to key in a
URL or access a page from the favourites bar/folder (see page 86 for
adding bookmarks). Once the page is loaded and appears on screen,
click on the ‘…’ icon at the top right and choose ‘Pin to Start’.
02:Findpinandresize
Click on the Windows Start menu and scroll to view the pin. You can
drag the tile (long press with left-click) to a new position or adjust the
size by right-clicking and selecting ‘resize’. Note, if the tile is small, you
can discover what the icon is by hovering your cursor over it.

03:Launchinganddeleting
When you want to view the website, you just have to click on the
pin from your Start menu – just like you would an app. However, to
delete the pin, you need to right-click on the title and choose the
option ‘Unpin from Start’. The tile will now be removed.
04:Groupingpinstogether
In Microsoft Edge, pin multiple pages to the Start menu. Next, click
on the Smart menu and click and drag each tile so they are next to
each other. Next, click on the field box above to create your own
group. This is useful for organising your browser pins.
PinningtoStart
Pinning is easy with Windows 10
ChangingTiles
Standard websites/pages will appear
in the Start menu along with the Edge
logo, and you can hover over the tile to
view the name. However, certain types
of content do reflect a change in tile
style. For example, if you pin a video
from YouTube, it will appear with the
YouTube icon alongside a small play
symbol in the corner, so as soon as you
click the tile it will launch in a new tab
and start to play the video.
Pinningoption
Once a site has been loaded, the ‘Pin
to start’ option is only a few clicks
away. Just head to the ‘…’ icon to
find it in there
Webpagesandcontent
Pretty much anything you launch
on the web browser, be it a YouTube
video, your admin login page or
standard site, can be pinned
GroupingPins
A better way to utilise the web tiles
is to organise them into groups. This
way you can separate them away
from the default apps
PositionedintheStartmenu
Pinned web pages will appear in
the Start menu as a tile – just like
they would from an app. You can
therefore apply some level of control
over them

Gettingstarted
I
nternet history has caught out many
people over the years. Back in the late
Nineties when people started going online
en masse, it wasn’t at all obvious that a record
of what they had been browsing was available
for other users to see. Soon, once everyone
had discovered this feature, clearing internet
history became a priority.
In today’s technology-driven society, it’s
common knowledge that the history feature
exists. It can be very useful for going back to
interesting websites, or that item you wanted
to buy but inevitably forgot to bookmark. But
the ’Private Window’ modes that won’t record
anything can be even more handy. They are
perfect for browsing Amazon without tipping
anyone off to what kind of birthday gift you’re
looking at getting.
Clearing the history may still be needed
though, in case you forgot to hit incognito
perhaps, and the new Microsoft Edge browser
does allow you to do this – only it’s a little
more hidden than before.
So, after a hard day of surprise holiday
shopping, you are able to use this option to
clear your data, and your surprises will remain
as such!
Clearbrowsinghistory
Don’t live on the edge worrying about your browser
data; clear it now to avoid any ruined surprises
“You can manually click Clear to erase
your browsing history”
01:Lookforit
In older versions of Microsoft’s browser, such as Internet Explorer,
you could access your history from the top bar. To access the history
settings these days, you must hit the three-dot icon in the top-right
corner; this is the main menu button.
02:Gotosettings
Here’s where all the basic tool menu options live. What we’re
interested in is the Settings option right down at the bottom. Here
lies lots of settings options that you might want to view and change,
such as the default Home page, for example.

03:Locatethehistorysettings
The settings menu is laid out like Google Chrome, with a minimalist
set of options that give you the basics of what you need to customise
your experience. The history settings are known as ’browsing data’,
so click on ‘Choose what to clear’ under ’Clear browsing data’.
04:Chosewhattowipe
Manually click Clear to erase browsing history, cookies (identifiers
that let websites recognise you), and any leftover downloaded data
that was used when you last browsed the web. You can wipe much
more, but you still need to Clear once you’ve made your selections.
Wipeyour
browsingrecord
It’s quite quick to clear history
Differenthistories
Microsoft Edge is the browser used by the ’Metro’ system, a
quick browser that’s part of the mobile Windows experience.
We’ve shown you how to wipe the history in that browser,
but if you’ve been using Internet Explorer or any other
browser, you’ll need to wipe their histories individually,
otherwise you might get caught out. Each browser has its
own method of allowing you to wipe its history, but they can
all be found in the settings under history or browser data.
Therightmenu
Everything is held in the menu,
which is accessed by clicking on the
three-dot icon at the top-right corner
of the browser
Differentchoices
There are many things that your
browser might keep track of during
your stay on the internet, but it’s best
to only delete what you need to
Anysite
You can wipe the history for Edge
from any site, although it’s best to
have left whatever site you don’t
want to have any record of
Deletethemall
The magic grey Clear button at the
bottom will get rid of all of the stuff
you would like to see gone from
your history

Gettingstarted
O
ne of the most exciting features to
come out of the new Edge stables is
the ability to take web notes, which is
an excellent productivity tool to have.
So, imagine you’re on a web page and
see an interesting paragraph from an article
that you can’t wait to show someone in your
remote office. In the past, you could copy and
paste a link to the article and email it. However,
on the remote side, they would still need to
find (by searching through the page) exactly
which part of the article you were referring to.
With Edge, you can use Web Note to draw
an arrow with your finger or mouse that points
to the exact point you want your colleague to
look at. Alternatively, you could highlight an
area of text and make a text note on the page.
Finally, you could cut a section of the article
out and paste it into Microsoft Word before
sending it to your colleague via email!
Microsoft has complemented Edge further
by allowing you to share the page with
OneNote, which comes with Windows 10.
So, you can take a screengrab with all the
annotations attached. Once in OneNote, you
can add additional notes.
We’ll talk you through most of the options
in this guide, but for the OneNote step you’ll
need the app installed and to be logged in
with your Microsoft account.
Makenotesandmoreon
EdgeBrowser
Annotating websites or specific pages is a hot new feature of Microsoft’s Edge Browser
AlookatWebNotes
See just what a powerful tool
Web Notes can be
ClipandcopySections
A feature not explored in the tutorial is the clip icon
(scissor symbol). By selecting this you can use your
left mouse button to drag a box over an area on
the page (that you want copying) and when you
release the button it will automatically copy it to
your clipboard. You can then paste the clip into a
compatible app, such as Microsoft Word.
Hidenotes
When you retrieve your web note
you can click on the ‘Hide notes’
option via the top left to prevent
the annotations from appearing
Showoriginal
If you have the web note you can
also click on the ‘Go to original
page’ option to see what the web
page looks like in real-time
Shareicon
As well as the Save icon you can use
the Share icon to send a web-note
screenshot to another app
Revealmore
If you have web notes on the page
you can click on the small icon to
expand the contents inside

04:Highlighttext
Click the highlighter icon and again to pick a
colour/size. With the left mouse button, click
and hold over words/sentences to highlight.
07:SavetoOneNote
When finished, click the Save icon. Choose
‘OneNote’ and click ‘Send’. Open the
document in OneNote to add more info.
05:Addanote
Select the ‘Add a typed note’ icon and using
the left mouse button, click near the drawn
arrow and type in your text.
08:Savetofavourites
Alternatively, you can click on ‘Save’ and
choose ‘Favourites’, then select ‘Add’. Now
select the ‘Exit’ option.
06:Manipulatethenote
Click on the screen to add more notes. Or
select the top-left corner of a note to drag it
to a different position or hide/reveal it.
09:Retrievethenote
You can find the saved web note by clicking
on the Hub icon and choosing Favourites.
Locate/select the web note to open it.
01:AccessWebNotes
At the top-right corner of the page you
want to annotate, click the pencil-and-paper
symbol to go to the note interface.
02:Drawanarrow
Click on the far-left Pen icon. Click again to
choose pen colour/size. Using your mouse,
left click and hold down to draw an arrow.
03:Erasemistakes
Select the rubber symbol. With the left
mouse button click/hold, then swipe across
to remove the offending part(s) and re-do.

Gettingstarted
S
imilar to its competitors, Microsoft has
implemented a Reading list function
into its Edge web browser, which allows
you to save web articles for reading later on.
You may be thinking what is the difference
between this and bookmarking a web site/
article? This can be answered by simply
saying there are similarities, but a reading list
is a bit like an RSS news feed, where you have
items that you may not want to keep hold of,
but still want to read later on when you get
back home.
So, in other words, they are less of a
permanent solution compared to a bookmark.
With a reading list you won’t have tons of
items cluttering up the interface (if you
remove them, that is).
Also, with Microsoft Edge, the Reading list
will sync to other Windows 10 devices you
own, such as a Windows phone or tablet –
so you can start reading on one device and
continue later on another. The fluidity of the
whole process is wonderful.
However, for this tutorial, we will quickly
showcase how to save a web article to your
Reading list and also how to remove it once
you are done with it.
Addawebsite/articletoyour
Readinglist With Microsoft’s Edge browser, you can save web
articles in a Reading list to view at a later date
“The Reading list will sync to other
Windows 10 devices you own”
01:Addawebsite
First, launch Microsoft Edge and browse to a specific website (using
the URL bar at the top). Next, find an article that you want to read
later. Once this is done, click on the star icon at the top of the page
and select the ‘Reading list’ tab.
02:AddtoReadinglist
From the resulting page, you can give the article a custom name if
you wish (just highlight the existing text and start typing in the name
field box). Once this is done, you then need to select ‘Add’ at the base
of the page. The web article will now be saved for accessing later.

03:Viewandremove
When you want to view the saved web article at a later date, you first
need to click on the ‘Hub’ icon at the top of the browser and from
here select ‘Reading list’. You can then click on the thumbnail to
open the page or right-click and choose ‘Remove’ to delete it.
04:Addingwebnotes
At the top of the screen, click on the ‘Make a Web Note’ icon and
use our guide on page 92 to see how to annotate a web page. Once
finished, you can click on the ‘save’ icon and add the annotated
article to your Reading list.
Readingarticleslater
Pressed for time? Add to your
Reading list
Changingthethumbnail
Depending on the website and the
article in question, you will usually
find that when adding an article to the
Reading list, it pulls over the default
thumbnail image. In some cases,
you may be able to change this. For
example, you can hover your mouse
over the thumbnail and with a left-
click scroll through the images that are
available and use one of these instead.
Not a major option, but one that can
help you customise the Reading list.
Thumbnailimage
With the Microsoft Edge browser,
most of the articles added to
the Reading list will pull over the
corresponding thumbnail image
Startoadd
To add a website or article to your
Reading list, you just need to click on
the star icon – like you would when
adding a bookmark
Removingarticles
Anything you add to the Reading
list remains until you remove it.
Thankfully, this can be done quickly
with a right-click mouse function
Automaticallygrouped
As you start to add content to
the Reading list, it will group it
automatically, for example added
today or last week

Gettingstarted
M
icrosoft has developed the Windows
10 operating system so it will be the
last OS you’ll ever see or need.
Windows 10 is now being deployed as
a service model, which means that the
operating system will evolve over time, and
features will be updated as and when they
come out. Upgrading will no longer be
required in the traditional sense.
At the core of the service model is its new
Windows Store, which Microsoft hopes will
eradicate the issues from previous attempts.
The previous Windows 8 Store was a bit
cluttered, and there was some room for
improvement. Thankfully, in Windows 10,
Microsoft has learned from its mistakes and
made it easier for developers to create and
port apps to the Windows platform. You’ll also
find universal apps in place, which will work
across devices, such as Windows 10 tablets,
smartphones and desktop PCs, so watch as
the store adapts and grows over time.
You will also find a lot more continuity
running throughout the store, so whether
you buy music, games or films, the interface
remains the same, which makes life easier
when buying and navigation is concerned.
However, in this guide we will simply be
taking you on a tour of the new look. In
subsequent guides, we will be focusing on
downloading apps and music.
Our only stipulation is due to the evolving
nature of the store (especially when universal
app supports takes off). The version that you
see here may be different by the time you
read this.
BrowsetheWindowsStore
Microsoft’s exciting new store in Windows 10 aims to inject a universal
appeal for multi-device owners
Visitthe
WindowsStore
A quick run through of the new Store
UseCortana
If you want to look for items in the Store without
actually launching it, then you can use Cortana
(Microsoft’s virtual digital assistant). For example,
type ‘batman’ into the universal search bar –
near the Start menu – and Cortana will return
any results it finds, including those from the
Windows Store.
Categoryselection
At the top part of the Store you
can pick from popular category
choices such as Apps, and then
drill down sub-category headers
to refine your choice
EvolvingStore
The store will change as Windows
10 evolves, due to the universal
app support that runs across the
Xbox One, tablet and smartphone
versions of Windows 10
Searchingforitems
The search bar is still one of the quickest
ways to look for items within the Store.
Returned results will usually yield more
options to help look for what you want
Continuity
The key with the new Store is the
continuity that runs throughout,
thus whatever section you go into,
the pages looks familiar

04:Browsespecificapps
From the front interface click App
Categories. Now use the left section to
browse for apps in specific categories.
07:Search
Click on the top-right search box, type, then
press Return. Results will be shown. You can
refine the search further via the left options.
05:Refineyoursearch
To fine tune what you want to search for,
you can also use the top tabs and pick from
either Apps, Games, Music or Films & TV.
08:Viewitems
Once you find an item you want to look
at, like a film or app, you can click on the
thumbnail to view additional information.
06:Scrollasbefore
The interface remains the same as the front
page, so use the options below and scroll
through the page just as you did before.
09:Lookatyouroptions
Next to the search box, click the small circle.
This will open up your account-specific
options, such as ‘My Library’.
01:Viewthesections
The Home page displays the most popular
sections. Use your mouse/finger and scroll
down the page to view additional items.
02:Viewmorechoices
Try hovering your mouse over the edge of
each section to reveal an arrow. This will
allow you to scroll through more choices.
03:Showalltheapps
Click on the ‘Show All’ icon to reveal all the
apps in that section. When you have done
this, click the back button at the top left.

Gettingstarted
I
n the past, the number of apps in the
Windows 8 Store was plentiful, but
perhaps not diverse enough. The
Windows infrastructure also made it a bit
tricky for developers to code for the platform.
However, the new Store has improved, and
soon you will be able to download a range
of apps that are usually found on the iOS
and Android platforms – primarily because
Windows 10 has made it easier to port these
apps across.
Additionally, a really useful function of
the new Windows Store comes from its
universal app support, which is covered
back on page 58. What this will mean is an
app supporting the universal nature could
effectively run on any of the Windows 10
devices, like Xbox One, tablets, Hololens
and smartphones.
So, don’t be surprised if the Store changes
throughout its lifetime as more features and
universal apps are added.
The only stipulation for this guide is you
will need a Microsoft account in order to
download apps to your device. Additionally,
you’ll need a credit card attached to it in order
to purchase items.
Downloadanapp
Check out how you can download an app straight to your
Windows 10 desktop PC
“The majority of Windows 8 apps are
already compatible with Windows 10”
01:Findyourapp
Once the Windows Store launches, click ‘App categories’ below the
featured items. Select either a category sub-header from the left
side, or we selected ‘Top free’ to get a broader view of apps. You can
also use the Search bar at the top to find apps quicker.
02:Shareyourfind
Once you have found an app, click on the thumbnail. On the next
page, click ‘More’ to find additional info about the app and look at
user reviews. If you click the ‘Share’ icon, a list of supported sharing
apps will appear on the right. Select one to share the app’s location.

03:Downloadapps
To download the app click on ‘Free’ to initiate the download. If
you want to download a paid-for app, click on the price icon and it
will prompt you to sign in with your Microsoft account to confirm
payment. Once this is done it will download as per the free app.
04:Managethedownload
From the top right of the screen click on the small account icon and
choose ‘Downloads’. This will allow you to manage the downloading
of the apps. Alongside this you can choose ‘Check for updates’ to get
new features/fixes for existing apps.
AppStoreinterface
Take a quick look at the App
Store interface
Accessappsyoualreadyown
One of the great features of the new OS is
that the majority of existing Windows 8 apps
are already compatible with Windows 10. As
a result, you may have several apps in your
library that you can download without having
the hassle of searching for them. The trick is to
click on your small account icon (next to the
search bar) and choose ‘My Library’. In here
it will list all of the compatible content you
have purchased from the new and older store.
Simply use the downward icon next to an app
to start the download process.
AccountSettings
If you click on your small account icon
and head to ‘Settings’ you can also find
additional options for controlling how
updates are downloaded
Sharingyourfind
You can use the Share icon to tell
others about a particular app. The
link will take them straight to the
store location on their own machine
Reviewsandphotos
At the base of an app there
will usually be screenshots and
reviews to read. Reviews are more
important for paid-for apps, so you
know if the app is any good before
purchasing it
Downloadprogress
Once you click on an app to
download, it will show a small
progress bar underneath. After it has
finished downloading, it will install
and you can access the app via the
Start menu

Gettingstarted
O
nce you start using Maps in Windows
10, you will wonder how you ever
managed without it before. The
general mapping detail is very accurate, and
everything that you need to see is presented
in perfect detail, so that you will always
understand exactly what you are looking at.
Add to this a selection of realistic views and a
set of impressive features that will prove useful
over and over again, and you will be able to
leverage all of the advanced functionality in
just a few clicks.
You are able to view large areas using the
standard view, or choose the satellite view for
added realism, and you can then search for
specific establishments, such as coffee shops,
using natural language.
Whether you are using it on a desktop PC or
smartphone, there is no doubt that Windows
Maps is pushing the boundaries of what to
expect on a modern system. The 3D cities are
simply beautiful, and when you fly over them
it really does feel as if you are getting a bird’s-
eye view of the entire area.
We will highlight the most impressive
and important features, and also quickly
touch on how to use them here. Every part
of the system is naturally easy to use, and
the learning curve is shallow, but a little help
should get you working with the advanced
mapping features immediately.
Remember that Maps is built in to the
system, it is completely free, and it also
includes useful features such as traffic
monitoring. You really have nothing to lose by
trying it out.
ExploretheMapsfeatures
The Maps app in Windows 10 is visually impressive,
accurate and fun to use. It’s a complete solution
Advanced
Windowsmapping
You can do anything in Maps
Partofasystem
Maps works in conjunction with
other Windows 10 apps, such as
Internet Explorer, and with your
contacts. You can see a contact’s
location with a click and also click
hyperlinks to find where a place is. It
works best as part of a wider system.
What’shappening?
The current traffic conditions are
displayed using colour codes,
which is handy. It takes a second
to spot any potential delays in an
upcoming journey
Search
Type in a location, such as a place
of interest or an exact address
(including the postcode) in the
search bar, and it will bring up
appropriate results
GotoBing
If you do not see the information you are
looking for, or if you want more detailed
information, click this link to go to the
Bing website
Simplemenus
The simple menu options let you choose
the map styles, the amount of detail on
screen, and also the level of zoom. It all
works perfectly

01:Checktheoptions
When you open Maps, you will be shown your own location and the
surrounding areas. Notice the options on the left of the screen.
02:View3Dcities
Click the 3D building icon on the left and select one of the cities
listed. You will see a gloriously detailed view of the city.
03:Checkthetraffic
While viewing a map, click the layers icon on the right and select
‘Traffic’ to see the current situation near to you.
04:Searchforanything
In the top-left search bar, type in anything you like to immediately
be presented with a list of results to navigate to.
05:Checkthereviews
For establishments you search for, an average review rating should
be shown on the left. Click it to read each individual review.
06:ClickStreetview
When viewing some locations, you will see a Street view option. Click
it to explore the area as if you were really there.

Gettingstarted
W
indows 10’s updated Maps app
is based on Microsoft’s recently
redesigned Bing Maps service, and
can provide you with all the key tools you
need to find out where you are, learn how
to get to where you want to be, and learn
more about your surroundings.
You can browse the map manually (double-
click to zoom into a spot), or search for a
specific place. Maps supports business and
public building names, streets and postcodes
to take you to the exact place you want to be.
It offers two basic map views: ’road’ works
in a similar way to your car’s atlas, revealing an
easy-to-read view of streets and roads, while
’aerial’ provides a more detailed overview,
complete with satellite photos of buildings
and other landmarks. Maps can also display a
pseudo 3D view of your surroundings, which
you can rotate and tilt.
The app can also be used to plot your next
move. You can get turn-by-turn directions
whether you’re in a car, using public transport
or walking.
Look out too for the Nearby button, which
allows you to track down useful local places of
interest, from the practical (hospitals, parking
and banks) to the fun and frivolous (places
to see, restaurants and shopping). And finally,
check out the 3D Cities feature. This lets you
tour selected world locations in true (rather
than pseudo) 3D – it’s of more practical use for
those travelling abroad. Southampton is the
UK’s sole representative so far, but it’s still a fun
way to explore new places without leaving
your desk.
FindyourwaywithMaps
Discover where you are, where you want to go and what to do
when you get there
Getacclimatised
withMaps
Master the Maps user interface
Tweakyourpreferences
Click the Settings button to switch units between
imperial and metric, select your preferred mode
of transport, download (or update previously
downloaded) maps for offline access, set
search and privacy settings, and choose map
background colour for turn-by-turn directions.
Menu
Navigate different parts of the
app from here. Options are: Map,
Search, Directions, Favourites and
3D Cities. Click the hamburger
button to reveal more detail
Interactbuttons
Use these buttons to add the
selected location to a Favourites
list, share it with other apps, view
nearby places of interest or pin it to
the Start menu
Mapcontrols
These buttons let you reset your view to
north, switch between 2D and 3D views,
jump to your current location, switch
views and zoom into and out of the map
Managetheview
Click and drag on the map to move
your position. Right-click and drag
to alter your field of view and the
direction you’re looking in

04:Browsenewlocation
After the map zooms in to this new location,
you should see useful information, such as
contact details or a street-level view.
07:Viewtrafficupdates
Maps will reveal current blackspots (click
Map views and select Traffic if this isn’t the
case). Look out for roads marked in red.
05:Getdirections
Click the Directions link and enter your start
point into the A box. You’ll be given turn-by-
turn directions to follow by car.
08:Makechanges
Change your mode of transport to public
transport or walking; public transport gives
you a number of real-time options to follow.
06:Followdirections
Click on a specific part of the route and
Maps will zoom in to show you a detailed
view to help you make your way.
09:Viewtraveldetails
Once you’ve selected a time to travel, Maps
will lay out in detail the route, trains and
buses you’ll need to follow, including times.
01:AccessMaps
Click the Start button and select All apps>
Maps, or type ‘maps’ into the Search box to
open the app.
02:Sethomelocation
The first time you launch Maps, you’ll be
asked if you want it to use your current
location. Allow this to pinpoint your spot.
03:Findplaces
If you’re looking for somewhere in particular,
type all or part of its name – including
postcode or address – into the Search box.

Gettingstarted
W
e’re in a time where everyone has
access to excellent cloud storage
options to store some of or all
of their personal data. Microsoft has its
own cloud storage entitled OneDrive that’s
available on Windows 10 by default.
In this guide we’ll cover how to get the
software working in Windows 10, and make
the most of it on the desktop and in the
browser. It’s a really good idea to get it set
up, as having access to cloud storage is more
important in today’s world than ever. It makes
sharing files easier, allowing collaboration on
work, as well as being an essential back up for
important files that would be terrible to lose if
your computer broke. These files can then be
accessed from your phone or other computers
if you’re out and about. It’s an excellent way to
live and work with your computer, and it’s free,
so you might as well get started.
Upload,shareandsyncwith
Microsoft’sOneDrive
Learn how to make the most of Microsoft’s cloud storage, OneDrive, in Windows 10
“These files can be accessed from
your phone or other computers”
Findyourwayaround
Online and offline and
everything in between
Othercloudstorage
Just because OneDrive is built into
Windows 10, it doesn’t mean you can’t use
Dropbox or Google Drive. The apps still
work just as well as they did before, but
OneDrive is a lot more integrated.
Addfiles
Simply drag and drop or copy and
paste files to the folder to start
the uploading process – no extra
actions required
Offlinefiles
See all the files that are synced
to your local computer, indicated
with a green tick. A blue circle will
indicate that it’s syncing
Uploadfiles
You can also manually upload files
to OneDrive that can then sync back
to your PC, which is great if you’re
working remotely
Onlinefiles
The OneDrive browser interface is
nice and clean, housing any and all
files from multiple PCs that you may
have uploaded

04:Filestosync
If you already have a OneDrive account, you
can choose which folders to sync. Be aware
of the amount of hard drive space you have.
07:Onlineview
On www.onedrive.com, you have a layout
similar to your own file system, with the
folders and files within them present.
05:Seeyourfiles
You can access the local OneDrive to see
what’s in there, and whether it’s synced to
the cloud. Copy files into here to sync.
08:Sharefiles
Right-click on any file or folder and go
to Share. You’ll then be asked to confirm
whether or not to share the folder.
06:Goonline
To start sharing a file or folder, right-click on
it and choose ‘View on OneDrive.com’ to
access the online version.
09:Shareaddresses
Once you’ve confirmed you want to share it,
send it via email to people who want it, or
grab a direct link for them to use.
01:FindOneDrive
OneDrive is in the Start Menu for you to
find – you can either browse to it in the
programs, or search for it
02:Signin
You’ll need to give Microsoft your account
details again to access your free storage; it
only asks the first time though
03:Choosethelocation
By default, a OneDrive folder will be set up,
but you can choose to use an existing file for
OneDrive synced files, or create a new one.

Thenextstep
108 Understand the Skype
interface
Learn what’s what within Skype
110 Experience a video call in
Skype
Talk to your friends face-to-face
112 Import photos from your
camera
Save your snaps to your device
114 Edit your photos
Use Windows new editing features
116 Make home movies with
Windows 10
Utilise Windows Movie Maker
120 Utilise the integrated Xbox
app
Download with the Xbox app
122 Download new media
Get songs, films and more
Learn your way around Windows
10’s other essential apps
124 Add music to your library
Import music to Media Player
126 Create, format and edit with
Microsoft Word
Make your Word docs more interesting
130 Complete difficult tasks with
Microsoft Excel
Utilise Excel’s functions and charts
134 Create sophisticated
presentations in minutes
Add transitions, animation, formatting
and more in Powerpoint
“Skype never gets
in the way, even
when you are
using other apps”
124
Add
media
126
Microsoft
Word
112
Import
photos
114
Edit your
photos
110
Chat with
Skype

120
The Xbox
app
134
Powerpoint
tips
116
Make
movies

Thenextstep
I
t is likely that you have heard of Skype, but
it’s also possible that you are not aware of
the advantages it offers. Perhaps the most
obvious is the ability to save you money, as
you can speak to people around the world for
free every single day. You can also share files,
converse using text or just enjoy the advanced
audio quality the service offers.
The interface is as simple as you could
wish for and it never gets in the way of what
you need to do, even when you are using
other apps. It is worth remembering, though,
that video calls and even audio calls can use
high levels of bandwidth at times, but aside
from that the software is more than efficient
enough to work smoothly on lower-end PCs
and phones. You can use Skype anywhere
you have an internet connection and on
almost any device you have, which gives it
the potential to replace all other technologies
for talking, texting and video chats. If you are
going to be using Skype extensively, however,
we would advise you to invest in a good
quality microphone. We will now show you
the main benefits the app offers and also
provide some tips on using them correctly.
UnderstandtheSkypeinterface
Skype can easily become your dominant form of communication no matter
what Windows device you are using
“Skype never gets in the way, even
when you are using other apps”
ThesimpleSkype
interface
Make Skype work for you
Skypeeverywhere
You do not need to be sat in front of a computer
to use Skype. You can make and receive calls
from a Windows phone and tablet as well, and
potentially dispense with standard voice and
mobile calls altogether.
Groupchats
Skype has the potential to make
conference calling a thing of the
past thanks to the group chat
feature. It is hugely beneficial
Usefulguides
When you first start using Skype,
you will be guided through the
features via simple text-based
panels. They really do work well
Handyoptions
The limited options are more than
enough to let you make Skype work
exactly as you want it to. The interface
does not need tweaking
Yourfavourites
You can set up your favourites to be
displayed front and centre throughout
your Skype experience. Photos will be
included if they have been uploaded

04:Addacontact
Click the bottom-right icon made up of
three dots and then select ‘add contact’. You
can now search the directory by name.
07:Haveaconversation
Conversations can be held over audio, video
or by text. You can use two at the same time
for a more immersive experience.
05:Makeacall
All of your main contacts will be displayed
using handily large tiles. You can simply click
any one of them to initiate a message or call.
08:Sendanyfile
You can send files to people you are talking
to by clicking the ‘+’ icon while chatting and
then selecting it within File Explorer.
06:Initiategroupcalls
If you want to set up a group conversation,
click the middle icon and then select the
participants. You’ll see if they are available.
09:Savemoney
Skype is revolutionary. It allows you to talk
to people on the other side of the Earth and
all for free.
01:Downloadtheapp
Skype is available for free from the Windows
Store and should work perfectly as it is also
owned by Microsoft.
02:Signin
You should sign in with your Microsoft
account, but you can also use a separate
account and merge the two if you like.
03:Getsomehelp
Each panel will offer useful information
about what it displays. Help bubbles also
appear as you activate each one.

Thenextstep
I
f you want a truly personal experience, a
video chat will make the distance between
you and loved ones disappear in an
instant. Skype is perfect for this task because
you can initiate a video chat by clicking
one icon. The interface is so simple that the
visuals of the participants always dominate
the experience. You’ll be able to see and hear
each other, and with enough bandwidth, the
experience will feel exceptional the whole
way through. It offers an experience that will
soon turn you away from mere audio or text
conversations, as they will feel far too shallow
in comparison.
If participants are connected to the internet,
the call will be free and should work just as
efficiently as traditional calls do.
We’ll show you how to initiate a call and use
the minimal features within the app, including
sending files, adding new people to the chat
and much more. The feature set covers every
possible need you may have, and has the
added benefit of being extremely easy to
understand. Skype is capable of many things,
but arguably it is video calling that sits atop all
of the other features, and deservedly so.
ExperienceavideocallinSkype
Skype works best when used for personal video chats
with those who are far away
Enjoymorepersonal
conversations
Skype lets the participants stand out
“The feature set covers every possible
need you may have”
Powerfulhardwareandsoftware
To make the most of your video conversations,
you will need to ensure that you have enough
bandwidth available and that you are using a
decent camera. Most webcams will offer a good
quality experience.
Fullscreen
The other person will see you in
full screen and you can also see
yourself in the small panel to
check your appearance
Beprivate
With these two icons you can
quickly turn off your camera and/
or microphone when you need to
protect your privacy
Seeyourlovedones
It almost feels as if the person you are
talking to is in the same room as you
when you video chat on Skype
Domorethings
This icon lets you send files, add new
people to the chat and send quick text
messages. It is extremely useful

01:Startacall
Locate the contact you want to call first and then send them a
message to see if it is convenient to have a video chat.
02:Clickthecamera
You will see a video camera icon. Click it to initiate a video call, which
should start immediately. Now wait for the screen to change.
03:Makeitvisual
The screen will fill with the person you are calling and your image
will be shown in the bottom right-hand corner.
04:Turnyourselfoff
At any point, you can click the left-hand icon to turn your camera off.
Your moving image will be removed from the bottom panel.
05:Checkextrafeatures
Click the ‘+’ icon to send files or an instant message immediately. You
can also add new participants and display the dial pad.
06:Gotomute
The microphone icon can be clicked to mute what you are saying.
This is useful if you need to speak privately to someone else.

Thenextstep
I
n Windows 10, the process of importing
all of your favourite snaps is remarkably
easy. There are a few methods you can
use to move your photos over, but we will
stick with a tried and tested one that should
work no matter what PC you are using. It
uses File Explorer and the Photos app to
transfer all of your photos and manipulate
them as required.
It is likely you will repeat the process many
times if you take a lot of photos, so we would
recommend you use the auto-delete feature
to free up space. Photos from high-end digital
cameras can take up a lot of space, so you
will need to manage your Windows space
accordingly. Some time spent reviewing which
photos to discard will save you a lot of space
and ensure you can enjoy your best snaps
without having to trawl through hundreds of
images. Importing them can help to organise
your folders, so you’ll always be able to locate
those snaps from Spain 2012 if you need to.
A lot of effort has been put in to ensuring
that commonly used processes are as easy to
complete as possible, and importing photos is
no exception.
Importphotosfromyourcamera
Importing photos is easy in Windows 10 and you can
manage the process in different ways
Importcamera
photossimply
Import with File Explorer and Photos
“Importing all of your favourite snaps is
remarkably easy”
Moveanddelete
When you are importing photos, the option to
‘Erase after importing’ is useful because it means
that you can simply move all of your photos over
and free up space on your camera expansion card
in one swift movement.
Aconnectedcamera
When you connect your camera
using a USB cable, it will appear
in File Explorer immediately. You
can now right-click it and choose
‘Import...’ to continue
UsePhotos
Right-click on any imported photo
and then choose ‘Open with’. You
can now select ‘Photos’ as the app
of choice and make it the default
option for all images
Openingandediting
When you double-click any photo, the
Photos app will open, which you can
use to edit and completely change the
appearance and fix any problems
Logicalsteps
Complete each of the logical steps and
choose what exactly to import. Once
you have finished, you should now wait
for the import process to complete

01:Timetoconnect
Connect your camera to your Windows device and it should be
recognised immediately. Open File Explorer, where it will be listed.
02:Starttheimport
Right-click the camera drive and click ‘Import photos and videos’. If
the card is large, it may take some time to see every photo.
03:Reviewandorganise
You will now see two options. Ideally you should select ‘Review,
organise...’ to see exactly what should be imported to your device.
04:Selectgroups
Many cameras will break the photos down into groups. Tick the ones
you want to import and then click ‘Import’ at the bottom.
05:Youmustwait
You now need to wait until the import process is completed. If you
try to stop it at any point, the process will be terminated.
06:Enjoythephotos
Each photo can now be opened in the Photos app and edited, or
simply viewed as a slideshow for your pleasure.

Thenextstep
T
he Photos app in Windows 10 enables
you to browse the photos on the disk
drive as well as view and edit them. It is
worth getting to know this app because it has
some great features. For example, you can fix
many common photo flaws such as exposure.
Images can be brightened or darkened, the
contrast can be increased or decreased and
the saturation adjusted for perfect pictures.
There is a tool to straighten photos that
have been taken at an angle as well as a tool
to fix red-eye. There are also special effects;
you can turn photos into black and white
masterpieces, or simulate aging and fading
with various filters and the vignette tool.
It’s fun experimenting with the tools
and effects, and when you have finished
enhancing a photograph, it can be saved to
disk. There is an icon to save it as a copy, which
is useful because then you have the original to
return to if you change your mind.
There is a ‘Share’ button, so you can share
your photos with your friends and relatives.
You do need to have social media apps like
Facebook installed for this to work, but they
are free in the Windows Store.
Edityourphotos
Use the Windows Photos app to browse, view and edit your digital camera
and phone photos
“It’s fun experimenting with the tools
and effects”
Usethetools
inPhotos
Learn to use the Photos interface
Uploadyourphotos
Getting photos from your phone onto your
computer is really easy and all you need to do
is install the OneDrive app for iOS or Android.
This automatically uploads photos to OneDrive,
which can be accessed on your PC in Explorer.
Toolcategories
These icons represent categories
of tools. Select one and then look
to the panel on the right-hand
side to see the tools it contains
Editingtools
The tools in the selected category
will appear here. With these tools,
click them, then click and drag
the handle round the circle that
appears to use them
Saveacopy
A photo can be saved, but it is best not
to overwrite the original. Use this icon
and a copy of the photo will be saved
with a new name
Sharebutton
Photos contains no sharing facilities
itself, but instead it relies on third party
apps. Download Facebook and similar
social media apps to use it

04:Openaphoto
Select a photo and it will be loaded into
Photos and automatically resized to fit the
window. Click the edit button (pencil).
07:Usefilters
Select ‘Filters’ on the left and down the
right-hand side will be a strip of thumbnails.
Click each one to apply the effect.
05:Phototools
Down the left side of the screen are
categories of tools; when one is selected,
the tools appear on the right.
08:Trytheeffects
Click ‘Effects’ on the left and on the right
will be a couple of interesting tools. Use
‘Vignette’ to fade the edges of the photo.
06:Straightenphotos
If an image slopes to one side, select ‘Basic
fixes’ on the left and ‘Straighten’ on the
right. Click and drag the control.
09:Selectivefocus
Choose ‘Selective focus’ on the right and
a circle appears on the image. Drag the
handles to blur or sharpen the image.
01:UseExplorer
Any photo you see in an Explorer window
can be opened in Photos. Right-click it and
select ‘Open with, Photos‘.
02:StartwithPhotos
You can also go to the Start menu, click All
apps, scroll down to P and click Photos to
open the app without a photo.
03:Browseyourphotos
If you open Photos on its own, you can then
browse the photos on the disk and view
thumbnail images of them.

Thenextstep
W
indows Movie Maker makes
piecing together your home
movies easy, while also offering
you a lot of great tools to make your videos
look amazing. Whether you have experience
editing video in Windows or not, you’ll
soon find yourself importing video footage,
organising and editing it down, adding voice-
over narration and music, and then exporting
it and sharing it online, all within Windows
Movie Maker.
Once footage has been imported into the
software, it will be your job to edit it down to a
length that you are happy with. Then through
the use of the different tool tabs you can start
to get creative with your footage, adding
transitions and more.
To get started with Windows Movie
Maker, download the software for free
from windows.microsoft.com/en-us/
windows-live/movie-maker. Then when
you're ready, follow along with these simple
steps to make your first movie.
Makeyourownmovieswith
Windows10
Import, edit and publish your home movies with Microsoft’s own
Windows Movie Maker
“Each individual item in your edit
is adjustable”
WindowsMovie
Makerinterface
Learn how to navigate
the software
Adjustyourinterface
As well as being able to increase
the size of your footage
thumbnails, you can move the bar
dividing the timeline and monitor
window to make it larger
Tabs
Each tab contains a series of useful
tools. The largest variety of tools
can be found in the Home tab,
which lets you edit clips, add audio,
titles and Auto Movie Themes
AutoMovieThemes
In the Home tab select a thumbnail from the Auto
Movie Themes selection to automatically add
stylistic transitions and title animations to your
movie. This is the best way to get a good look for
your film in no time at all.
Playhead
As you play through your movie the
playhead will show you where you are in
the timeline. Any cuts made or content
added in the timeline will happen
wherever the playhead is positioned
Timeline
The timeline is where all your footage is
stored and is where you’ll be doing your
editing. Footage, audio, transitions and
effects can be added and edited within
the timeline window

05:Splitaclip
In the top toolbar click Edit. With a point in a clip selected using the
playhead, click Split to cut a clip at that point.
06:Trimaclip
With a clip selected, click on the Trim tool. Beneath the monitor
window, drag the start and end bars inward to shorten a clip.
03:Processthefiles
Video thumbnails will appear in the library window. A clock icon will
appear over the thumbnails while the files are being processed.
04:Previewfootage
Clips are separated by a film reel icon. Click on a clip to select it and
click anywhere on that clip to view it.
01:SetupWindowsMovieMaker
Open Windows Movie Maker, click the Project tab and pick an aspect
ratio that matches your footage, which will likely be widescreen.
02:Addfiles
Locate the folder that contains the video files you want to edit. Most
video formats are compatible with the software.

Thenextstep
11:Addmusic
Click ‘Add Music’ and browse for an audio track. Select it and click
Open. The track will be added starting where the playhead rests.
12:Editaudio
Move the playhead to a position you want to split the audio at.
Double-click the audio and click Split.
09:Addaudio
In the Home tab you’ll also be able to add music, narration and audio
to a movie. Added audio will appear underneath the thumbnails.
10:Recordnarration
Under the home tab select Record Narration. Hit the record button
and the video will begin playing while you record a narration over it.
07:Addtitles
Set the playhead to the beginning of your movie and click Home in
the toolbar, then click Title to add a title card.
08:Modifyyourtitle
Add the title you want then in the toolbar select a font, colour and
duration, as well as a starting transition for the title.

13:Removesplitclips
Once a clip has been split you can select the
section you don’t want and press Delete to
remove it from the timeline.
14:Addeffects
Click on the Effects tab in the toolbar. With
a clip or clips selected, click on an effect to
apply it to the selection.
15:Exportyourmovie
Under the Home tab click ‘Save Movie’, title
your movie and click Save to export it as a
viewable and shareable video file.
Exportsettings
Exporting in Windows
Movie Maker
Advancedexportsettings
When exporting a video you will sometimes
have to choose between file size and quality,
depending on how you want to output your
movie. An MP4 format with a H264 Codex
will give you a low file size with a high-
quality image.
Customexport
Click here to set up a custom
export where you can choose
a file format as well as other
options such as file size
Exportoptions
Browse through the
subheadings to find a
category that matches
what you want to
output your movie
to. This can include
exporting for iPhone,
Android, tablets, TVs
and more
SaveMovieoptions
Click here to display advanced export options for
your movie. By default movies will be exported in a
high-quality MP4 format
Instantupload
Click on any of the icons that represent online
streaming services to log in to an account and
upload your video directly to the internet

Thenextstep
I
n 2001, Microsoft diversified from its
traditional Windows OS and released a
games console. However, it was only when
its Xbox Live Gold service launched in 2002
(a paid-for subscription service) that it truly
transformed the way people played. Now
you could play games with individuals across
the globe, without needing to be sitting next
to them.
However, unlike on the consoles, Microsoft
is offering a subscription-free Xbox Live service
on Windows 10, which is integrated within the
OS and its dedicated Xbox App. On top
of this the Xbox One is also getting Windows
10. This means you will be able to play
cross-play games (ones that pit PCs against
consoles) and you even have the ability
to stream games from the Xbox One to
your Windows 10 tablet or PC. Even if you
don’t own an Xbox One, there are plenty of
features that PC owners can use, as we’ll
show you.
You’ll need a Microsoft account, but you can
log in with a separate Xbox account via the
app’s Settings option (logout/log back in) if
you have one.
UtilisetheintegratedXboxapp
Like it or not, Xbox Live is now an integral part of the Windows 10
infrastructure, and it lets you play across PC and Xbox One machines
“You can stream Xbox One games to
your PC via the Xbox App”
Downloadclips
You can view clips on your PC
Theimportanceofshortcuts
When you bring up the game bar and hover
your mouse over the icon(s) it will also display
the corresponding Windows shortcut. You can
use these directly to perform a function instead
of bringing up the game bar all the time.
Openthefolder
After the clip has been
downloaded you can use the ‘On
this PC’ tab and Open folder option
to view the clip in File Explorer
Playandslide
After your gaming clips (videos) are
recorded you can play them back
and use the slider to adjust the
start position
Trimfootage
The Game DVR option also allows you
to quickly trim selected video clips – by
removing the start/end points – using an
intuitive slider system
Renameordelete
By selecting the clip you can also rename
or delete it. The latter will save you from
having to delete the clip manually by
searching for it on your PC

04:Setrecordingoptions
From the resulting screen you can set
recording options. However, make a note of
the top ‘Game bar’ Windows shortcut.
07:Recordforlonger
Via the game bar you can also press the
large record icon to start longer recordings.
Press the button again to stop it.
05:Takeascreenshot
Launch a game from My games. Press the
game bar shortcut (Win + G simultaneously).
Pick the middle icon to take a screenshot.
08:Accessrecordings
Now head to the Xbox App, select Game
DVR and choose the On this PC tab to access
recordings and screenshots.
06:Capturegameplay
Alternatively bring up the game bar and
choose the first ‘Record that’ icon to capture
gameplay for your set amount of minutes.
09:Viewyourfootage
Next click on a thumbnail to view the
screenshot or video. To play the latter just
click on the corresponding play icon.
01:Addgames
From the Xbox App, select the My games
option via the left menu. Next choose ‘Add a
game from your PC’.
02:Selectagame
A list of games/apps will appear. Select the
games you want to add (keep clicking to
select more) and then choose Add selected.
03:GotoGameDVR
Select the Settings menu option – found via
the left panel – and choose the Game DVR
tab at the top. Toggle this to On.

Thenextstep
W
e have already covered a basic
overview of the interface and
features of the new Windows Store,
as well as how to download apps. Here, our
core focus is on downloading new media, and
by this we mean music. Rather than covering
Film and TV as well, focusing on the music side
of things will tie in nicely with the ‘Add music
to your library’ guide that’s on the following
pages, which focuses on the new Groove
Music app.
We’ll mostly showcase the Music section
of the Store, and how easy it is to find your
preferred music. It is equally easy to navigate
through films and TV shows too.
On top of this we will look at how to
preview music before purchasing (which is a
system used on all the popular music clients
such as iTunes and Amazon Music). Of course,
the process of buying singles or albums will
also be covered.
Like most of the services and apps
running on Windows 10, we recommend that
you log in with your Microsoft account,
as this will allow you to purchase music and
take full advantage of what the Store has
to offer.
Downloadnewmedia
Take a look at how you can download your favourite
music from the Windows Store
“The album or individual tracks can be
previewed for a number of seconds”
01:Browseformusic
Launch the Windows Store and click the dedicated Music tab at the
top. You can then browse for music by either scrolling up/down the
page or left/right across the page. However, for now, click on the
Show All option next to Top Albums.
02:Browsebygenre
In the next section you’ll be able to whittle your selection down by
clicking on a Genre option from the left pane. For example, choose
Rock/Indie. This will present more choices, broken down into your
favourite class of music. Pick an album by clicking on a thumbnail.

03:Previewsongs
With the album loaded you can click on the Preview button under
the album title to hear a selection of the tracks. Alternatively, use
your mouse and hover over an individual track. A play button will
appear next to the song title. Click on it to hear a preview.
04:Purchasemusic
Either click on the price icon below the album title (to purchase the
whole album) or click on individual track prices via the list beneath.
It will then ask you to log in to your Microsoft account. Follow the
instructions to purchase. The music will start to download.
Browsetheinterface
Purchasing music is straightforward
via the Windows Store
Playonotherdevices
If you purchase music from the Windows
Store on your desktop PC, you will be
associating that purchase with your Microsoft
account. What this means is that you will be
able to download and play the same music
on other Windows 10 devices, such as the
Xbox One and Windows phone and tablet,
as long as you sign in to the same Microsoft
account. Vice versa, this also means that any
music that is purchased on your smartphone
can be downloaded straight to your Groove
Music app.
Morefromtheband
To the bottom right of the album or
music singles, you can find a section
that will provide you with more choices
from a particular band/artist
Previewmusic
The album or individual tracks can be
previewed for a number of seconds
by clicking on the play icon next to
the album art or track name
Clicktobuy
You can purchase music by simply
clicking on the price icon next to
either the album title or individual
music tracks
Searchbar
You can also use the top search bar
to look for music from an artist or
band. This will usually gleam results,
which you can refine further

Thenextstep
W
ith Windows 10, Microsoft has
released the new Groove Music
app. You can download and use
it for free, but you also have access to an
optional subscription-based service called
Groove Music Pass. Similar to Spotify, the pass
will allow you to stream or download (offline
playback) from millions of tracks for the life of
the subscription.
This guide focuses on the other ways of
getting your music into your library, rather
than looking at the pass.
One great feature is the ability to tap into
your free online cloud-based storage service,
OneDrive, which has been updated to support
music. You can copy and paste music into
the OneDrive folder from your computer or
onto the OneDrive wesbite at onedrive.com.
Once transferred/uploaded, the music will
be accessible on any device, as long as it’s
logged in to the same Microsoft account We
recommend that you use the Groove app
with a Microsoft and OneDrive account
already set up.
In this tutorial, we will showcase how to
tap in to the OneDrive account and also how
to change the app’s default folder location
for adding music. By default, the app pulls
all music from the standard music folder
automatically, so don’t be surprised if you
have loads of albums/playlists waiting for you
from the get go – after all, iTunes uses the
same folder!
Note that the Groove Music app supports
the following file formats: MP3, M4A (AAC)
and WMA.
Addmusictoyourlibrary
In this guide we quickly showcase how to add music to your
Groove Music app’s library
Yourmusiclibrary
Take a look at the music library
PintoStart
Once you have added your music to your library,
a useful feature is the ability to add albums to
the Windows Start menu for faster playing. You
simply right click on an album thumbnail and
choose ‘Pin to Start’.
Notificationandactions
Notifications can also display in the
app’s interface, and usually they
will provide useful info or shortcuts
to setting adjustments
Settings
The Settings menu is where you
can adjust the default folder
location and choose options, such
as restore missing album art
Thumbnailimages
Once music has been added to your
library – via the default folder(s) – it
will display in the interface with
attractive thumbnails
Filtering
If you have music coming in from
streamed or OneDrive sources, you
can use the Filter option to instruct
the app what to display

04:Removeafolder
Select the folder and click ‘Add this folder
to Music’. Remove the default location by
clicking the ‘x’ in the corner. Select Done.
07:AddtoOneDrive
Use Windows 10’s File Explorer to locate the
OneDrive>Music folder. Here, copy/paste
your music so other devices can access it.
05:Downloadfromdevice
In Settings, toggle the ’Automatically
download songs…’ option to On to pull
over purchases from other devices.
08:Removeduplicates
While music uploads, toggle the
’Automatically clean up duplicate tracks’
option to On in Settings under OneDrive.
06:Restorealbumart
Look under the Media Info header and
toggle this option to On to allow the app to
restore any missing album art automatically.
09:Filtermusic
Click on Albums via the top-left panel. Use
the Filter option to set what music source
will display in the app.
01:Logintoyouraccount
Launch Groove Music and click the top-left
menu icon to expand it. Choose Sign In and
then log in to your Microsoft account.
02:Changefolderlocation
Click on the Settings icon and from the
options click on ‘Choose where we look for
music on this PC’.
03:Addafolder
Click on the ‘+’ icon. Navigate through the
left panel options with your mouse to a
folder you want the app to scan for music.

Thenextstep
M
icrosoft Word is a legendary piece
of software, and in the latest
version Microsoft has concentrated
heavily on making sure that all of the
features are easily accessible and as
efficient as possible. The software feels
smoother to use than ever before and you
only need to access the extra features when
absolutely necessary.
As with all software that is given a new
update, and in particular titles that you
have used for many years, there will inevitably
be a learning curve. You will notice that the
biggest change in the latest version is the
ability to read your document in a variety of
ways, and you really can check every single
pixel to ensure that your work looks as good as
it reads. The powerful nature of the software
has been cleverly hidden behind a basic
interface, and the end result is an app that you
will enjoy using whenever you need to create
a new document. In this tutorial we will show
you just how to get more from Word.
Makethemostofthenew
versionofMicrosoftWord
Microsoft has stripped away all of the complexity to make Word
easier to use than ever before
“Ensure that your work looks as good
as it reads”
Thebeauty
ofWord
Word now works
consistently over devices
Everysinglechange
Whether you change the
formatting, colours or orientation
of your text, all of your changes will
be precisely displayed within the
clean interface
Justoneapp
When you download Word on a
tablet, PC or phone, it will work
very similarly on all of your devices.
Consistency is key in the latest
update of the software
Mobileordesktop
The mobile version of Word is designed for
touch screens, but works exceptionally well on
full desktop PCs thanks to the simplicity of the
interface. We would advise to try the mobile
version first as it still contains the major features.
Timetofocus
You will always be able to focus on the
subject matter of what you are writing.
Never before has Word felt so much like
a real piece of paper
Unobtrusivemenus
The menus and options are cleverly
hidden away and will only come in
to your focus when you actually start
using them

05:Insertcomments
Use the same procedure by selecting Insert>Comment to add your
own notes as you progress through a very long document.
06:Seeeverypixel
You can zoom in using View>Page Width to see every part of your
document in great detail. It really does help a lot.
03:Insertimages
Click the Insert option at the top and then choose Pictures. Now
select one from your computer and then drag the edges to resize.
04:Addhyperlinks
To link to a web page from any word, select it and choose
Insert>Link, and then type in a web address. It’s so simple.
01:Chooseatemplate
When you first open Word and select New, you will see a selection of
useful templates to work with. Select any one to start.
02:Amendthesections
Each template includes some useful advice for each visible section,
which will get you off to a flying start. You can change any section.

Thenextstep
11:Addcoloursandhighlights
You can experiment with colours and highlights to add personality
to your document. The icons at the top show what is available.
12:Countyourwords
Click Review>Word Count to see the word and character counts with
and without spaces. This also works for selected text only.
09:Adjustthetextsize
Select any text with the mouse or your finger and then click Home
followed by the number to increase or decrease the text size.
10:Changethefonts
Click within the font name box to see the available list. You can now
experiment to see which one looks best in your document.
07:Createtables
You can insert tables if you wish by using Insert>Table. This lets you
create great-looking professional documents in seconds.
08:Leaveformattinguntillast
The best way to start is to simply type and leave the formatting for
afterwards. Gather your thoughts then do the fancy stuff after.

13:Adjusttheview
Click View>Read to see your work in a
traditional two-pages layout. This makes it
much easier to analyse your document.
14:Playwithlighting
The Sepia and Inverse views under the main
View menu let you read in different lighting
conditions without straining your eyes.
15:Useyourimagination
Everything from posters to task lists to
professional documents can be created in
Word. The only limit is your imagination.
Buildandreviewyourwork
Visual cues works
perfectly in Word
Checkasyougo
The accurate representations of your
formatting are useful, but you can also
check word and character counts as you
progress. At every single point, you can
review each part of your document to save
lots of rework later.
Obvioushighlights
Highlights are particularly
useful if you are dealing
with educational texts
or very long documents.
They can be added and
removed in an instant
YourWordfiles
Your Word documents
can be stored online or
on your device and the
process for choosing
which is very easy.
Using both options
adds more security
Traditionalformatting
Headings, titles, subtitles and so much more are
easily accessible at any time if you prefer to produce
your documents using traditional styling
Trackyourchanges
Any changes you make will be marked with a
small bar to the left if you turn the feature on.
This lets you move back in time at any point

Thenextstep
P
erhaps more than any other software,
Microsoft Excel dominates the area in
which it resides. If you need to create a
spreadsheet, Excel is the solution for millions of
people and is now practically a standard. You
will struggle to find a better program for your
charting and table needs.
Building complexity in a simple interface
is difficult, but here we have a brilliant
example which will suit both beginners and
experienced spreadsheet users. As we show
you some of the most important features,
you may feel that it is all very easy to use,
but our main advice would be to spend time
investigating all that it can offer as your needs
grow in complexity. It is flexible enough to let
you reach your preferred level and complete
enough to let you reach for the stars as your
experience increases. The potential uses for
Excel are completely unlimited and to view
is as a solution which only deals with tables
of numbers would be to miss out on the
available flexibility.
Completedifficulttaskswith
MicrosoftExcel
Excel is a beast of an app and one that lets you complete complex
tasks while still being logical and easy to use
“The potential uses for Excel are
completely unlimited”
Number,coloursandgraphs
A logical spreadsheet
interface throughout
Numbersareimportant
At the heart of any spreadsheet
will be the numbers that you
input and the formats you assign
to them. It won’t take long to
learn how
Formulasforeverything
Don’t be scared by some of the
formulas available. They are
designed to cater for specialist tasks
as well as every day needs
Exceleverywhere
The latest version of Excel is available on a
Windows PC, tablet and phone plus the iPhone
and Android phones. You can even use it
on a Mac so you will have no excuse not be
organised and up to date all of the time.
Mind-readinghelp
The help available in Excel uses the spreadsheet
you are working on to guess what you need help
with. It is extremely clever and informative
Automaticgraphs
You can create professional-looking graphs simply
by selecting a table of data and making some minor
tweaks to the visuals.

05:Dealwithcurrencies
Select some cells and click the lightbulb icon. Type ‘Currency’ and
then select the currency you want to assign to the selected numbers.
06:Chooseachart
With the cells highlighted, click Insert and then Chart. Now select any
of the charts by clicking the thumbnail image.
03:Anautomatedsum
Select all of the numbers and the cell below them, and then click the
icon shown. Click Sum and they will be added up immediately.
04:Formatthecells
You can now use the icons at the top to change the colour of the
numbers in the cells or to add formatting such as bold and italics.
01:Goforblanks
When you first open Excel, double-click the Blank Workbook to
begin. It will show a simple grid with no data on it at all.
02:Inputsomedata
Enter some numbers in a column anywhere in the sheet to get
started. You can now do a lot with this simple example.

Thenextstep
10:Anexampletemplate
You can now explore some of the more
complex templates such as Personal Budget.
Graphs can help make sense of the data.
13:Useformulas
If you have a need to deal with specialist
formulas, it’s likely that everything you need
will be available under the Formulas tab.
11:Dealwithdays
Calculating times and dates is easy. Enter
two dates into your spreadsheet and then
click Formulas>Date & Time>Days.
14:Clearcomments
Clicking Review followed by Comment
when a cell is highlighted lets you add a
quick note, shown by a small red triangle.
12:Startandend
Click the starting date cell and then the
ending date cell as requested, and you will
be show the number of days between them.
15:UseSmartArt
SmartArt is available in the Insert menu and
can be used to add visual flair to the data
that you have included in your spreadsheet.
07:Anautomatedchart
The chart will automatically use the data in
the selected cells to populate your chart.
The end results is very professional.
08:Seethedata
When you click a graph, you will see the
data it has been built from highlighted. Edit
the data and the graph will change too.
09:Addsomemeaning
If you highlight descriptions as well as
numbers before inserting a chart, they will
be included to add meaning to the data.

16:Sheetsanywhere
Your created spreadsheets will display with
all calculations and formatting intact no
matter what device you view them on.
17:Saveonexit
If you close a spreadsheet at any time, the
last position should be saved automatically
to ensure you never lose any of your work.
18:Alternativeuses
The Calendar template highlights just how
diverse spreadsheets can be. They can be
used to calculate dates as well as numbers.
Usesandstorage
You can use Excel
for anything
ExcellentOfficevalue
You no longer need to spend a
fortune for Office because you can
either use the mobile versions for
free or pay a low monthly fee to use
the online version, which includes
the full downloadable applications.
Pre-madetemplates
Many useful templates are
available to open and tweak
with your own data. They
can greatly speed up the
spreadsheet building process
Yourrecentfiles
All of your recent
spreadsheets will be
displayed in the left-
hand column, whether
they are stored online
or on your device
Multipleuses
Everything from calendars to timetables to
home finances can be managed in Excel. You
can also download example templates from
many sources online
Ablanksheet
It is advisable to start off by working
with a blank spreadsheet. This will
let you get to grips with the basic
features within Excel

Thenextstep
I
t used to be that creating presentations
felt like a chore. Adding images and text
required a certain level of knowledge
before you even started and the more
complex the presentation became, the harder
it was to handle.
PowerPoint today has been designed to
let you work on a blank canvas and all of
the tools included are as easy to use as
possible. We will take you through the creation
of a simple presentation and also touch on
the more sophisticated features. The focus
on ease of use and the fact that the content
you are creating always dominates the
visuals are what makes PowerPoint so usable
today, but some knowledge is useful to get
you started.
Whether you want to create a flyer or
need to walk through a process for work,
PowerPoint will help you build a new
presentation. It will also help you when you
are actually presenting, thanks to some clever
tools that only you can see.
Createsophisticated
presentationsinminutes
Presentations can be fun to build, and the end results will surprise
you time after time
“PowerPoint is designed to let you
work on a blank canvas”
Youcanseeitall
Presentations are
displayed in real-time
Dealingwithslides
You can add and remove slides in
this column. Also, moving them
within the group simply requires
clicking and holding each one
Usefulthemes
Don’t be afraid to experiment with
the included themes. They are very
subtle and can change all of your
presentation components with just
one click
Trytobeoriginal
The themes and templates in PowerPoint are
extremely useful, but where possible try to use a blank
template and create a presentation from scratch.
Originality is key within an app that is so well known
because the templates will soon start to look familiar.
Thehardwork
If time is a problem, let the included
templates do much of the hard work
for you. You may be surprised at how
professional they look
Seeyourchanges
Every change you make and every word
you type is displayed within the main
screen so that you can see exactly how it
will look in the final presentation

05:Tryatheme
Click the Themes icon and select one from the grid. Try to look for
something that complements the subject matter.
06:Shrinkthoseboxes
When dealing with text over backgrounds, you will want to shrink
the text boxes so that the text fills up the entire area.
03:Formatthetext
Select the text you have just added and, with the Home tab selected,
change the colour of the text of the size accordingly.
04:Takeyourtime
Spend some time experimenting with the changes until the text
looks exactly as you want it to. Select the text box to move it.
01:Startsimple
Click New and you will see a selection of templates appear. Choose
the Blank Template and you will be presented with a blank screen.
02:Obviouscues
Some very obvious instructions are included in the two main boxes.
So, double-click each and enter some text of your choice.

Thenextstep
11:Dealingwithtransitions
When you click the Transitions tab, you will be given many options.
Try to use one that is not too dynamic, or stick with none.
12:Addsomenotes
The View option lets you add notes to each slide which come in
handy if you need to physically present your work.
09:Spinaround
No matter what you insert in your slide, look for the hook icon and
drag it to change the angle of the object in question.
10:Insertapicture
When you select Insert followed by Pictures a dialogue will appear to
let you select a saved image from your device.
07:Addaslide
Click Insert followed by New Slide to bring up a new blank slide to
work on. It will be displayed in the left-hand column.
08:Addsomeshapes
You can now use the Insert option to include a shape in your slide.
Take note of the colour options in the top bar.

13:Experimentalittle
When you have your content completed,
you can now experiment with new themes
and colours to see which ones work best.
14:InsertsomeSmartArt
The SmartArt feature will automate much of
the content you want to include and adds
much professionalism to the end result.
15:Beconsistent
If you can stick with just one theme, the
end result will look and feel much more
consistent. Try to always be subtle.
TheextraPowerPointfeatures
PowerPoint helps you
at every step
Keepitsimple
When creating a presentation, try to keep it
as simple as possible. Transitions, colourful
objects and the like are very impressive,
but if you overuse them the end result
is likely to hide the main message your
presentation was designed for.
Handynotes
Notes let you confirm to
yourself exactly what each
slide represents and you
can also use them during
the actual presentation
process as a prompt
Colourchoices
Many of the built-in
object colours can
be changed with one
click. The options are
designed to fit the
overall theme of your
slide design
Pop-upmenus
When you choose a feature, often a new menu will
appear dedicated to what you are working on at the
time – a very clever touch
It’scompletelycustomisable
Every object you insert in to a slide can be
customised in a variety of ways by simply clicking
it. It’s like moving objects in the real world

Essentialapps

Apps
Essential
Windows
Get the most out of your Windows 10
PC with these must-have apps
E
very modern computer
operating system worth its salt
comes with a built-in online
app store these days, and
Windows 10 is no exception.
The excellent Windows Store that takes
pride of place in your Start Menu is ready
to take you gently by the hand and lead
you through an exciting and enticing
assortment of apps spread around 20
different categories. You can download
them to your computer (in a lot of cases
completely free of charge) and enjoy them
for a multitude of different purposes.
In this feature we carefully go through
each category in the Windows Store and
hand-pick five of the very best apps to help
you get the most out of your PC. As you
will soon discover, there most definitely is
something for everyone and buying and
downloading the apps is a quick and easy
process that involves setting up a payment
method and clicking on the price. Whether
you’re looking to use your Windows 10
system for gaming, entertainment or even
as an educational tool, there’s sure to be
several apps out there for you. Now, let’s
roll out the software…

Essentialapps
Books&Reference
5 essential apps
The app provides an extensive
online bookstore and some effective
tools to help you read on your PC,
bookmark pages, make notes and change the
display. Cloud syncing means your collection is
always available and you can pick up on your
PC where you left off on your smartphone.
Kindle
Developer: AMZN Mobile
Through this app, OverDrive delivers
a online library service through
which you can borrow ebooks and
audiobooks. It also features a neat reading
interface that has all of the options you need
to personalise your reading experience.
OverDrive – Library eBooks
& Audiobooks
Developer: OverDrive, Inc
If you’re a big comic book fan, and
you’re looking to read some of the
best, older comics that you just can’t
find, or the new releases you can’t get to the
shops to get, then this is the perfect app for
you, offering comics in multiple formats for
your enjoyment.
Comix
Developer: ObjectSpaces
This app provides the gateway
through which you can discover or
get re-acquainted with thousands
of classic novels, plays and other great
works of literature. All of the books can be
downloaded and read through an intuitive
interface packed with options.
Free Books – 23,469
Classics to go
Developer: App Force One LLC
The NOOK app provides a huge
amount of digital content. There are
over three million e-publications to
download and enjoy, as well as over a million
free books. The swagger extends to over
1,000 magazines and newspapers too.
NOOK – Books, Magazines,
Newspapers
Developer: Barnes & Noble
Slowly but surely, folks are ditching their
old-hat paperbacks and making the leap
to digital eBooks – and why not? The
benefits are plain to see – you can browse
and purchase new books on the move, you
can carry your entire book collection around
with you everywhere and it helps protect the
trees that otherwise would have been felled
to make the paper. What’s more, eReaders
come packed with options that allow you
to personalise your reading experience by
changing the font, the colour of the page
and the brightness of the screen. You can also
bookmark as many pages as you want, add
your own notes and get all of your settings
synced across devices so that you can start
reading on one device and then continue on
another later on.
Here we introduce some of the best
eReader apps in Windows Store, as well as
other cool apps and reference tools that you
can download to your computer.
Read digital books and reference guides on your PC
“You can carry your entire book collection
around with you everywhere”
Borrow new ebooks through the OverDrive app Your own virtual comicbook store…
You’ll never be stuck for new reading material thanks to the NOOK app…

Business 5 essential apps
This app converts money into any
world currency. Enter the amount,
then scroll through the long list of
currencies to choose one. Your most-used
currencies are stored and the exchange rates
can be updated at any time. Ideal for those
doing business abroad or importing items.
Currency Rates Converter
Developer: Kirsanov
This is a simple task management
app that makes it easy for you to
monitor and stay on top of your
to-do lists and appointments. A simple
interface makes it easy to track your
productivity and will ensure you never miss
an important meeting again.
Task Manager Free
Developer: Delaire Damien
Enter data, such as the type of job
you’re after and your local postcode,
and the app will trawl all of the job
sites and relay all of the roles that match your
criteria. It takes a lot of the legwork out of job
hunting, giving you more time to polish your
covering letter for the application.
getHired
Developer: AppSplice
This task management app is based
around David Allen’s theory of GTD
(Getting Things Done) that is aimed
to bring the best out of entrepreneurs and
creative professionals. It features seamless
cloud sync across all platforms and a tidy
interface for monitoring your goals.
Chaos Control
Developer: Tarasov Mobile
This cloud computing service
provides 5GB of free storage space
and makes it easy to access and
edit your files and share content quickly and
conveniently with your work colleagues. With
so many cloud services on offer, why not use
them all?
Box
Developer: Box, Inc
The Business category in the Windows Store
throws up a very broad range of apps that
can assist you in your working life. These
include numerous cloud storage services,
most of which offer up to 5GB of cloud
storage absolutely free, so sign up to as many
as you can to utilise the services to transfer
your files and share them with other people to
collaborate on.
You will also discover various news apps
that cater specifically for the business market.
Then there are task management apps to
help ensure that every day in the office is a
productive one, along with apps to help you
search for a new job if you fancy a change in
career or are just desperate for employment
of any kind.
So, whatever your business is, take time
to trawl this section of the Store and you’ll
undoubtedly find a cluster of cool apps
to help you climb a rung or two up the
employment ladder.
Improve your productivity with apps
Enter your job criteria and getHired will do all of the legwork for you
Convert your money into any currency in the world Chaos Control is a task manager for driven pros

Essentialapps
Education
Why not learn something new today? Or
why not seek out the tools to help inspire
and teach other people? This is the beauty of
the Windows Store – you can find all of
the tools you need to learn new skills and
capture the imagination of other people. For
example, you can explore the outer reaches
of our Solar System without ever stepping
outside, you can paint a masterpiece without
getting paint on the floor, or you can look up
and learn the meanings of new words
without losing your train of thought. But that’s
merely the tip of the gigantic iceberg because
there are also apps to help you compose
flashcards, apps that make complex sums
seem easy and even apps to make getting
around your PC much easier. Better still, many
of these brain-enhancing apps are totally free,
so there really is no excuse not to open your
mind to these gems.
Learn new things with educational apps
5 essential apps
Explore the heavens and click on
stars to find out more. You can also
enjoy tours of all of the planets and
see eye-popping views of our universe. The
amount of detail is staggering and although
it lacks the wow-factor of similar apps for
phones, this is still an impressive free offering.
Star Chart
Developer: Escape Velocity
Apps such as this take the mess
and stress out of painting. A wide
selection of colours, brushes and
colouring tools are supplied, while there’s an
enchanting sparkle effect as paint is applied.
Kids of all ages will be able to unleash their
inner creativity with this must-have freebie.
Paint Sparkles Draw
Developer: TabTale
This app provides an impressive
research tool for helping you
understand how we live and
function. Through in-depth information
and illustrations you can learn about about
digestion, blood circulation, reproduction
and much more.
Systems Of Human Body
Developer: HiFi Aptech bapu
Learning is made fun with this simple
app. Through the intuitive interface
you can configure which operations
you wish to practice – from addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division – and
set time and error limits for kids to adhere to.
The more they get right, the more problems
will be made available.
Math Games
Developer: Jujuba Software
This app is designed to help children
under the age of 12 learn basic maths
and improve their understanding
and skillset. With a wide range of simple
and engaging games, this provides hours of
covert learning masquerading as enjoyment.
iMath
Developer: SoonLearning.com
Learn about the processes that determine how we function with Systems Of Human Body
Explore the wonders of the universe on your desktop Kids will be enchanted by the effects and features
“All of the tools you need to learn new skills
and capture the imagination of others”

Entertainment
It’s not all work, work, work you know!
Your Windows 10 PC is also a perfectly able
entertainment system that you can use to
watch HD movies, stream live TV and generally
kick back, relax and have fun with. The
Entertainment section of the Windows Store is
full of curiosities to keep you enthralled, such
as sophisticated painting apps, apps to give
your desktop a seasonal theme and apps to
help fuel your hobbies. The Entertainment
section of the Store is also packed full of great
free apps to help keep the kids entertained
while you attend to other things.
This is certainly one of the more varied
sections in the Store, which throws all manner
of random and obscure apps together, and is
a great place to shop for curiosities to help you
leave the office well behind.
Forget work – let these apps entertain you
5 essential apps
Already hugely popular across a wide
range of devices, Sketchbook Express
provides an elegant and intuitive
drawing and painting interface into which you
can sketch out anything, from design plans to
epic works of art. It’s packed with features to
help you realise your artistic vision.
Sketchbook Express
Developer: Autodesk Inc
For cinema-goers, this app provides
an essential guide to what’s on and
where, plus at-a-glance info on films.
Click on one to see the rating and running
time, read a plot synopsis, get local show
times and watch the trailer. You can also visit
the store to buy/rent movies to watch in-app.
Flixster
Developer: Flixster
This app is equipped to play FLV,
F4V, MKV, VOB, MPG, SWF and
MP4, amongst others, thanks to
embedded video and audio codecs. It also
comes with many of the modern perks, such
as remembering the last files that you played
and keeping track of the point you watched
up to so that you can carry on watching.
FLV Player
Developer: Ice Cube Soft
Unless you’ve been living under a
rock for the last couple of years, you
should have noticed that memes are
all the range. And with the help of the Meme
Generator, you can create your own to share
with your friends.
Meme-Generator
Developer: Naveen CS
If you are a Netflix subscriber then
this app allows you to log into your
account and watch streamed movies
and TV shows on your PC. The Netflix service
has grown in stature over the past year or so
and now boasts some cracking products to
view on demand.
Netflix
Developer: Netflix
Stream a vast range of movies and TV shows with Netflix
Get informed about the latest cinema releases Watch all types of video format with FLV Player
“This is certainly one of the more varied
sections in the Windows Store”

Essentialapps
Finance
In our current dour economic climate, careful budgeting
matters more than ever and so apps that can help you better
manage your finances virtually pay for themselves.
In this section of the Windows Store you can find apps that
deliver up-to-the-minute financial news, apps for internet
banking, apps to convert currencies and apps to help you
monitor your stocks and shares.
As you will soon discover, though, the majority of the apps
on offer are designed to help you get your finances in order,
monitor your incomings and outgoings, and set yourself
budgets to ensure that you stay safely in the black.
As is always the case, many of the best apps are completely
free or at least present the most essential features for free
(requiring paid-for upgrades to unlock additional content) so
you can grab yourself a bargain, which is the first step towards
getting your bank account in order.
Keep track of money matters
Stay on top of your finances with Spending Tracker Start earning Bitcoins through your PC Convert more than 150 different global currencies
Monitor your cash with Money Watcher
5 essential apps
With an intuitive
interface, this
app lets you
quickly log your incomings
and outgoings, then
track them over time. It
provides all the tools you
need to stay on top of
your finances. Extra
features, such as Dropbox
backups and the option to
export transactions, require
an upgrade to the paid-for
Pro version.
Spending Tracker
Developer:
MH Riley
Easy Mortgage
Calculator
Developer:
Surly Industries LLC
If you are thinking
about getting
on the property
ladder and need to make
quick-fire calculations to
work out how much you
need to borrow, over what
time period and at what
interest rates then this app
allows you to do just that.
It also features mortgage
rates which are updated on
a daily basis.
This app provides
a convenient
currency converter
that supports nearly 150
monetary units and major
precious metals. Get the
current rates and view their
history and charts. You can
also prioritise the order of
the items displayed and
share the content. If you
deal with global currencies,
this free app is a must-have.
Currency
Converter +
Developer:
Bessonov Kirill Through this app
you can let your
computer make
you money in the form of
Bitcoins, which can then
be exchanged for real-
world currency. Bitcoin
miners perform complex
calculations known as
hashes and each hash has a
chance of yielding Bitcoins.
Best used in conjunction
with a pool, this app could
make you money.
Bitcoin Miner
Developer:
GroupFabric
This app makes
it easy to
monitor your
financial incomings and
outgoings, manage all of
your expenses and create
budgets. Every penny that
you track can be easily
categorised and added to
your expenses and all of
the files that you create can
be easily exported to other
apps, such as Excel. An
efficient accounting app.
Money Watcher
Developer:
Ecsolvo Technologies

Food&Dining
5 essential apps
Browse over 300,000 delicious
recipes from a range of sources and
pick dishes by categories such as
starters, main courses, etc. All the recipes can
be easily printed or shared and the interface is
easy to use – just enter keywords and possible
matches will be relayed in seconds.
So CookBook
Developer: Slow Sense
This offers a fast track to the award-
winning food site epicurious.com
and allows you to search over 30,000
professionally created recipes from top chefs.
You can save favourites and share them with
friends, as well as read recipe reviews from
fellow Epicurious members.
Epicurious
Developer: Conde Nast
Through a simple, yet stylish
interface, this app lets you take notes
of all your favourite recipes to store
in one place and helps you plan out your
meals for the week, prepare your grocery list
and share your top tips and dishes with your
friends and family.
My Kitchen Diary
Developer: ModernApp Technologies
If you’re off the sauce or just fancy
a healthier alternative then this app
provides over 200 alcohol-free drink
recipes to suit all tastes. A simple interface lets
you browse by keyword or category and you
can save your favourite recipes to refer back
to quickly and easily whenever you need to.
Alcohol-Free Drink Recipes
Developer: Caplottier
If you want to entice your kids into
the kitchen and open their minds to
cooking and preparing food then
this app provides a selection of simple recipes
to help them get started. There are several
sections to pick recipes from and they range
from cakes to fruit smoothies – delicious.
Cookbook for Kids
Developer: Calicowind
You only have to switch on your television
to realise how popular cookery is these
days, with kitchen programmes dominating
the schedules, top chefs enjoying celebrity
status and whole channels dedicated to
cooking good food. The fact of the matter
is that absolutely anyone can cook and the
Windows Store is stacked full of apps to inspire
you to get creative in the kitchen, regardless of
whether you’re an expert or a beginner.
There is certainly no shortage of recipe apps
that provide ingredient lists and simple step-
by-step instructions to help you through every
stage of the process and these extend to all
styles of cooking – very helpful if you’re using
a Windows 10 tablet.
There are also apps dedicated to sweet
treats, healthy menus, and exciting and exotic
tipples – with or without alcohol.
Many of these apps also come with videos
that make it even easier to rustle up what is
being prepared on screen – just make sure
you don’t spill any of the ingredients on your
keyboard or screen!
Serving up tasty treats for the kitchen
Search for culinary inspiration through CookBook Get your kids inspired to cook with Cookbook for Kids
Rustle up healthy, alcohol-free tipples with this handy app

Essentialapps
Games
Forget the latest blockbusters – there is enough gaming
gold in the Windows Store to keep even the most avid of
gamers engrossed for weeks on end. Whether it’s puzzle
games, physics-orientated games or level-grinding role-playing
games, there really is something for everyone and a lot of it is
free to download and play. Often the only downside to free
apps is the inclusion of pop-up ads, but you can try most
games out with a free version that may exclude a lot of the
content and then upgrade to the paid-for version later on. If
you’re hot on your Xbox Achievements then game apps you
buy through the Store often throw up accolades to add to
your score – perfect if all of the TVs in the house are being
used. So explore the free and paid-for game sections and you’ll
undoubtedly find some bargains to help you to while away a
week or two.
Play around with these apps
Can you defy the elements and get it in the gold? Be king of the wild frontier in Six GunsBecome a fruit ninja with this addictive game
Hill Climb Racing is much harder than it looks…
5 essential apps
This simple game
invites you to hit
several targets
from varying distances.
You have to take into
consideration the wind
direction and speed as
well as the distance when
aiming your bow and the
only real goal is to beat
your previous high score. To
add variety, there are a few
locations and you even get
to shoot on horseback.
Longbow
Developer:
Driftwood Software
Hill Climb Racing
Developer:
Fingersoft
The simple aim
is to get as far as
possible in a 4x4.
The only control is via the
acceleration and braking
pedals: you have to
quickly learn when best
to use these in order to
keep your vehicle horizontal
on the curvy terrain.
You’re set challenges and
there are coins to grab
for upgrades, plus fuel to
keep going.
Intense first-person
shooting action
very much from
the Call Of Duty mould,
Modern Combat makes
for a cracking multiplayer
experience and also boasts
a fairly decent single-player
mode. With stunning visuals
and a satisfying sense of
action, you’ll come away
clenched of teeth and
pumping the air.
Modern Combat
5: Blackout
Developer:
Gameloft If you want to be
able to chop fruit
and fast, then
Fruit Ninja is definitely the
game for you. Simple in
concept and in play, all you
have to do is swipe at the
fruit that appears on your
screen and it cuts in half.
You get scored for your
speed. But be careful of
the bombs, they’ll put an
explosively swift end to
your game play.
Fruit Ninja
Developer:
Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd
This third-person
shooter tosses you
into a huge Wild
West world whereby you
can undertake missions,
play against your friends
or just casually explore the
land filling gringos with
lead. The graphics look
crisp and enticing and the
gameplay cleverly mixes up
puzzles and all-out shooting
action to great effect. It
absorbs hours though!
Six Guns
Developer:
Gameloft SA

5 essential apps
This app tracks the past two decades
of presidential elections. Explore
complete state-level data for the
popular and electoral totals via an interactive
map. There isn’t much else to it, but the app
is easy to use and a handy reference tool for
those interested in US politics.
U.S. Presidential Elections
Developer: Silver Dollar Software
With the recent passing of South
Africa’s first black president, this app
provides an insight into the life of the
legend, charting his early years, his political
career and more. Aside from bios and news
feeds, it also offers an assortment of Mandela
quotes and some desktop wallpapers.
Inside Nelson Mandela
Developer: Mpondo Ndamase
This app provides a decent info
source for matters relating to the
European Union. All major topics are
covered, such as politics and economy and it’s
all well presented through a tidy interface. If
you have even the slightest interest in the EU
then this app is well worth checking out.
EU
Developer: Ferro
Though pulling its content from
howstuffworks.com, this app
is nevertheless an intriguing
playground for conspiracy theorists that is
packed full of thought-provoking content
across a wide range of topics. It’s just a shame
that the presentation is severely lacking.
Stuff they don’t want you to
know
Developer: Paubus
Through this app you can browse,
download and read through a
collection of over 300 official and
public US Army Field Manuals that cover
a wide range of topics such as survival,
medicine, combat operations, weapon
systems and military intelligence.
Amy Field Manuals
Developer: TechSeed LLC
Government
This is by far the most curious of all of the
Windows Store sections. Mainly US-centric,
the Government section throws up a variety
of apps that range from teaching you the US
Constitution and the Bill of Rights to telling
who’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. There
is also a real-time tracker for the world’s
population (you’ll be alarmed at how quickly
it clocks up new arrivals before your eyes, to
such an extent that you can almost feel the
Earth’s crust creaking!) and plenty of armed
forces apps that teach you about the work that
the Navy and the Air Force carry out across
the world. You will also find apps dedicated to
significant politicians such as Nelson Mandela
and Barack Obama, as well as party policies
and environmental issues. So while you
probably won’t come to this section looking
for anything in particular, you’ll be surprised
what you discover.
A strange section full of surprises
“Mainly US-centric, the Government section
throws up a variety of apps”
Get into Europe with the EU appSee which presidents charmed which states
Learn about the legend with Inside Nelson Mandela

Essentialapps
With the excess of the Eighties and the
self-indulgence of the Nineties distant
memories, getting fit and staying in shape
is undoubtedly the new rock ‘n’ roll and
the Windows Store is full of apps to help
you drastically alter your lifestyle and
craft yourself a brand new body. The clear
majority of apps available in this section
focus on workouts and provide all of the
information, guidance and, in some cases,
videos to help you plan out a fitness regime
and have fun sticking to it. And it’s not just
your body that is catered for either, with
plenty of apps available that help you sharpen
your mind by eating right and getting a good
night’s sleep. If you intend to make this the
year that you kick those bad habits, you’ll find
all of the motivators you’ll ever need here.
DevelopyourownfitnessplansandchallengeotherstoundertakethemwithActiveFitness
5 essential apps
You can use this
one-stop solution
for all your health
monitoring needs. Create
a profile for each member
of your family and track
their diet, exercise and
medication. For specialised
needs – such as to monitor
blood, glucose, weight and
blood pressure – you can
activate the relevant tracker.
If you need a little
ambient noise
to help you relax
and get a good night’s
sleep, this app provides
24 different scenes and
83 sound effects. You can
enable and disable sounds
within a scene to suit your
needs, to get the perfect
ambient combination to
ease you into a slumber.
If you want to
know what makes
up the human
body then this app will
blow your mind. Boasting
the latest 3D technology,
this app lets you take a tour
of your skeletal structure,
muscles, connective tissue,
veins, arteries, nerves and
much more besides.
Active Life
Developer:
Antara Software
Sleep Bug
Developer:
Panzertax
Essential
Anatomy 3
Developer:
3D4MedicalThis fitness, health
and activities
tracking app
doubles as a social network.
The real beauty is that you
can import and export data
to other fitness apps such
as Strava and RunKeeper.
Develop your own personal
training plans, share your
activities and track your
progress on leaderboards.
While this app
won’t help you
train your brain, it
does provide an insight into
the type of food you should
eat to help give your brain
power a boost. All of the
more beneficial food types
can be found via the main
menu; click on one to find
out more about its benefits.
Active Fitness
Developer:
Summit Data Corp
Improve
Brain Power
Developer:
Chaithanyaa
Improve your well-being
Health&
Fitness
“The clear majority
of apps available in
this section focus
on workouts”
Setthesceneforyourperfectnight’ssleep Findoutwhatfoodsstimulateyourbrain…

Lifestyle
Seeing as most of the apps in the Windows Store
undoubtedly enhance your lifestyle in some way, what
can you possibly expect to find in this section of the Store?
Whatever it is you’re thinking of, it probably won’t include
burning fireplace simulators, personal makeover apps and the
teachings of Bruce Lee. What you’ll no doubt be expecting
are endless journal-writing and horoscope apps. Well, they’re
certainly all here in abundance, but the point we’re making is
that there are plenty of unexpected apps to discover here too,
such as ones to help you read palms and learn about various
breeds of dog. It’s an eclectic mix and you will really have to
trawl through a lot of junk to unearth the true gems, but we
can help to give you a head start by outlining five of the best
lifestyle-related apps right here.
A wide range of apps to explore
“It’s an eclectic
mix and you will
really have to trawl
through a lot of
junk to unearth the
true gems”Find your dream home with Rightmove Store your precious moments with Story of My Life
Get all the benefits of a real log fire except for the shovelling of ash (and the heat)
5 essential apps
This app provides
a simple interface
into which you
can write your memoirs.
Add extra substance to
your words by attaching
photos and video. You can
password-protect your
journals and search for
significant entries. More
features, such as cloud
syncing, are promised with
forthcoming updates.
Story of My Life
Developer:
CyberPhone
Burning Fireplace
Developer:
Inphonite
This log fire
simulator is just
that: a moving,
crackling indoor fireplace
that can be used to
enhance the mood as the
winter nights draw in.
So while you can’t toast
marshmallows on it, this
can still provide the
missing vital ingredient
during those cosy nights in
on the sofa.
If you’re obsessed
about getting a
good night’s sleep,
this app lets you keep track
of how much you’re getting
and observe patterns. It
provides tools to view daily,
weekly and monthly stats
and entering info is quick
and easy. You can even
rate your sleep out of five
to track how the duration
affects the quality.
Sleep Tracker
Developer:
Vakrilov
If you are wanting
to get into the
market for a new
abode then the Rightmove
app lets you search through
thousands of properties to
help you find your dream
home. You can check out
photos, see what amenities
are in the local area and
even browse a floorplan to
get a feel for the size.
Rightmove
Property Tracker
Developer:
Rightmove Group Ltd Don’t want to
waste your
money on a
alarm clock that takes up
a socket or runs out of
batteries? Well this app
allows you to use your
device as exactly what it
says on the tin, a digital
nightstand. Check the time,
set alarms, and even get
weather updates without
any effort whatsoever.
Digital Nightstand
Developer:
227 Studios

Essentialapps
5 essential apps
Need a new playlist? Not sure where
to start? 8tracks has over a million
playlists ready and set to go for you
to chose from depending on your mood or
situation. Going to the gym? They have a
playlist for that. There’s no adverts so you can
listen uninterrupted for hours.
8tracks
Developer: 8tracks
Listen to music, sports and news
from every corner of the globe. With
over 60,000 radio stations and two
million on-demand programs, you simply
search for what you want to listen to and the
app will toss out a range of possibilities that
can be instantly streamed to your computer.
TuneIn Radio
Developer: TuneIn
This app allows you to browse
and play thousands of tracks from
the popular SoundCloud service.
Whatever your musical preferences you’ll
find a variety of music on offer and plenty of
exclusive tracks from some of the world’s best
artists. Dive in and start exploring.
Clouder!
Developer: Nicollet Fabien
This app turns your PC into a virtual
guitar that you can strum and shape
chords on, just like a real one. It’s a
good reference tool for getting used to the
various notes on the fretboard and although
it’s obviously not a patch on a real guitar, it
still provides plenty of enjoyment.
Play Guitar!
Developer: Davilovick
Shazam makes it easy to discover
new music. If a tune is playing in
the background, click on ‘Touch to
Shazam’ and within seconds the app will
identify the song and artist and provide
options to buy it, share it, watch the video
and get the lyrics. Modern-day witchcraft!
Shazam
Developer: Shazam Entertainment
Get new playlists with 8tracks
Explore great new music through Clouder!
Turn your PC into a virtual guitar and get strumming
TuneIn Radio lets you listen to whatever you want
Discover new music through Shazam’s service
Music&Videos
There are some supreme music-related
apps available in the Windows Store that
can deliver exactly what your eyes or ears
crave within seconds. Old favourites such as
VEVO, TuneIn Radio and Shazam are present
and correct (and still highly recommended by
us), but what about actually making music?
Through apps you can turn your PC into a
virtual guitar, keyboard or a fully functioning
recording studio or DJ mixing booth and let
your sonic creativity flourish. The possibilities
are endless as there are a wide range of paid-
for and free apps to help you explore and
discover new music and get those strange
noises in your head recorded and mixed into
Ibiza’s next dance craze (perhaps). If it’s the
enjoyment rather than the creation of music
that your crave, though, then you’ll find an
endless array of apps through which you can
enjoy all of the latest pop videos.
Listen to music and make your own
“You can turn your
PC into a virtual
guitar, keyboard or
a fully functioning
DJ mixing booth”

5 essential apps
Over 200 meteorologists and ultra-
local TruPoint technology ensure
accurate weather reports. Tiles
are provided that sit on your Start screen to
present the essential info, but much more
detail is available when you click to launch the
app. It’s still free and improving all the time.
The Weather Channel
Developer: The Weather Channel
This provides an excellent means
to read breaking news stories via a
simple interface. By scrolling through
the front-end, you can click on the stories for
more info, while categories help you find the
news you want. You can also watch videos
and get links to further reading.
BBC News Feed
Developer: KungFu3
If you wish to read unabridged
news, The Onion will no doubt
already be on your news radar. This
app provides access to the last bastion of
unbiased, reliable and definitive news within
an interface that has all of the charm of a
classic British broadsheet.
TheOnion
Developer: The Onion
This tidy app brings you the latest
breaking news and top stories
together with live Sky News TV
to provide a well-rounded perspective of
what’s going on in the world. The interface is
suitably loud and brash, but there is certainly
no knocking the content.
Sky News
Developer: British Sky Broadcasting
With access to the largest global
network of real-time weather
sensors to get the most accurate
info available, WeatherBug is ideal for getting
detailed reports and forecasts. You can also
save locations that you regularly frequent to
find out what the conditions currently are.
WeatherBug
Developer: WeatherBug
Get the weather delivered to your desktop
If you want unbiased news then sniff out TheOnion
The WeatherBug delivers accurate weather reports
Read interesting stories through the BBC News Feed
Get the latest news delivered straight to your desktop
News&Weather
Whether it’s current affairs or specialist
news, you can get it beamed straight to
your desktop through a rich assortment of
apps available from the News & Weather
section. This cuts out the need to fire up
Internet Explorer and then navigate to your
chosen news source – you simply launch the
app from your Start screen and the news will
be up before you can even flick the kettle
on. As the name suggests, this section of the
Store also features an impressive assortment
of weather apps. These provide new and
imaginative ways of delivering reports and
forecasts for your local area as well as other
at-a-glance information that could prove
useful in determining how you dress to go out
on a particular day.
Here are our favourite News & Weather
apps, at least two of which will ensure you are
never ill-prepared for a downpour ever again!
Keep on top of current affairs and forecasts
“This section of the
Store also features
an impressive
assortment of
weather apps”

Essentialapps
Photo
With the advent of smartphones with
built-in high-resolution cameras, everyone
fancies themselves as the next big duke in
the world of photography. However, scrolling
through your camera rolls will no doubt reveal
the odd less-than-perfect pic that is in need
of some urgent doctoring if it is to saved at
all. Enter the Photo section of the Windows
Store. Here you will be spoilt for choice with a
wide array of photo-editing apps that you can
use to straighten and crop images, balance
the colours, reduce red-eye and much more
besides. You will also find apps to present
your pictures in attractive collages before
sharing them with other people, and apps
that provide varied selections of filters that you
can apply to give them a particular look. The
options are endless, as is the fun you will have
pimping your pictures and showing them off
to an admiring audience.
Create and edit stunning pictures
5 essential apps
This easy-to-use
suite provides
a surprisingly
powerful set of editing
tools to help you enhance
your photos and apply a
wide range of effects and
borders to make them
stand out. For a free app,
this is certainly one of the
best packages out there for
casual snappers.
If you want to give
your photos some
extra lift then
this app helps you create
fantastic-looking collages
of your best images to
display them in new and
imaginative ways. With
over 100 collage templates
to choose from, you will
find something here to suit
all occasions.
If you wish to start
the day inspired,
this app will help.
It automatically downloads
beautiful background
images from Bing straight
to your machine, which you
can then set as wallpapers.
The offerings are incredible
and there are hundreds to
browse through.
Fotor
Developer: Chengdu
Everimaging Science
Phototastic
Developer:
Thumbmunkeys
Daily Beautiful
Pictures
Developer:
Hongsong LiThis app provides
a private place
whereby you
can view and share your
photos and videos with
friends and family. Through
a simple interface you
can create a group library
that other people can
contribute to and you can
monitor the activity and get
notifications for new posts.
Editing photos has
never been so fun,
fast and cool. Via
its flashy interface you can
crop, straighten, rotate and
flip your photos, remove
red-eye, auto-fix the colour
levels, adjust the brightness
and exposure, and tweak
the contrast and clarity to
make your pictures perfect.
Adobe Revel
Developer:
Adobe Systems Inc
Adobe Photoshop
Express
Developer:
Adobe Systems
Make your photos fabulous with Adobe’s editing tools
Arrange your images into attractive collages
Tweak your pictures to perfect with Fotor’s simple set of editing tools
Sort through stunning Bing images

Productivity
Productivity is an area where we can all
improve in our working lives and there is
certainly no excuse for slacking off as far as
some of the offerings in this section of the
Windows Store are concerned. The main
theme in the Productivity section tends to
be cloud storage services that you can access
through the respective app; set up an account
quickly and easily, then upload your files to
free allocated storage space in order to share
them with colleagues for group collaboration
purposes. But that’s not all, because you will
also find handy utility apps that can help you
out in virtually every area of your work and
enable you to motor through your working
day. To get you started, we have even picked
out a useful app to help you get to grips with
Windows 10 and learn some shortcuts.
Improve your workflow and efficiency
5 essential apps
This app for the
popular cloud
service enables
you to access all your files,
upload and download
them, as well as rename,
move and preview them.
If you have a lot of stuff
stored in Dropbox, the built-
in search engine helps you
find what you want quickly
by entering keywords.
This useful app
lets you stick
notes, to-do lists
and reminders to your
Start screen so that they’re
always there to remind you
of the important things
you need to do. Like your
standard Start screen
tiles there are two sizes to
choose from and plenty of
colours to jazz them up.
If you want
your PC to
double
up as an alarm clock
or you just need to set
yourself alerts then this
free app is more can
capable. The display also
features a barrage of
useful information such
as exchange rates and the
current weather.
Dropbox
Developer:
Dropbox
Sticky Tiles
Developer:
Mirmit Kavaiya
Alarm Clock HD
Developer:
Antara Software
Evernote helps
you remember
things across all of
your devices. For example,
write a note or reminder on
your phone (via its Evernote
app) and then access it
through this app on your
PC. Everything is auto-
synced and pretty much
anything can be added,
including pictures and files.
This is a very
versatile note-
taking app into
which you can record
pretty much anything.
You can make lists, draw
and write, take pictures,
scan documents and
whiteboards and more. You
can also ‘share’ content to
the app, ensuring that no
important thoughts are lost.
Evernote Touch
Developer:
Evernote
OneNote
Developer:
Microsoft Corp
Get alerts and essential info delivered to your phone
Stay organised with Sticky Tiles
Evernote ensures that you never have to worry about forgetting anything again!
Get your thoughts down with OneNote

Essentialapps
Security
Security has always been a big issue with
PCs, since they are vulnerable to all manner
of malicious malware. Fortunately, there are
hundreds of ways to protect your computer
and all of your important files, as well as secure
all of your passwords to make your machine
completely unhackable.
There are even apps that patrol your social
networks to ensure that nothing malicious is
making it from Facebook or Twitter onto your
machine. A little diligence can go a long way
to preserving the well-being of your computer,
so make sure that you take time out to shop
around in this section and find the right app
that meets your security requirements – there
are certainly enough to choose from.
As always, five of our favourites are
highlighted in the essential apps section.
Keep your computer safe
Store your information securely in one place Scan your files with Total Virus Scanner
“There are hundreds of ways to protect your
machine and all of your important files, as
well as secure all of your passwords to make
your machine completely unhackable”
5 essential apps
Bitdefender Insight delivers a wide
variety of security news so that you
can stay up to date. If you use any of
Bitdefender’s antivirus solutions on your PC,
this app lets you see the current security status
and run tasks such as scan, update and fix
important issues detected on your computer.
Bitdefender Insight
Developer: Bitdefender
Manage all your passwords securely
in this app, which encrypts them
all (using AES-256) with one master
password. It also lets you back up and restore
encrypted passwords to OneDrive and helps
you to create new ones. This is a very useful
app to aid your online security.
Password Padlock
Developer: GkcSoft
The password and data management
service offered by LastPass stores all
of your logins securely so you can
access accounts and services from anywhere.
It lets you auto-fill logins and view your stored
sites and notes in an easy-to-search vault. All
the info you store is also synced to the cloud.
LastPass
Developer: Lastpass
This app is an online file scanner that
is designed to give you a heads-up
as to whether any of your files are
affected by forms of malware (such as viruses,
Trojans or worms). Any undesired content
will be flagged up but be aware that this app
doesn’t cure the files.
Total Virus Scanner
Developer: Alota Solution
If you want to use your webcam as a
security camera then this handy app
not only allows you to do that, but
also allows you to set sensitivity controls so
that your camera starts recording whenever
there is motion, however slight. Great for
extra security piece of mind in the house.
Motion Capture
Developer: YTL
Manage and encrypt your essential passwords and back them up for safekeeping

Access the Google Play Store through your PC with Store9
Grab yourself a bargain thanks to eBay’s interface Get the best deals on Amazon products with OrchidThe Yellow Pages lives on in a digital format…
5 essential apps
This app provides
instant access to
the Google Play
Store. Why? Because it can
be cool to browse the store
on the bigger screen rather
than on the small screen
confines of your Android
device. You can purchase
and download any apps
that you like the look of
and the content will be
synced to your device. Not
essential, just handy.
eBay helps people
to flog unwanted
items, grab some
bargains and even create
their own online shops. This
app makes it easy to shop
and search for items, make
bids and purchases and
manage your account. The
eye-catching interface helps
you to find exactly what
you want with ease and it
also offers daily deals to
highlight price reductions.
Store9
Developer:
Thunder Software
eBay
Developer:
eBay, Inc
The popularity
of the bulky old-
fashioned Yellow
Pages book may be on
the wane, but there are
still times when we need
to get our hands on the
contact info that the service
provides. The database of
services that this app lists is
easy to navigate to aid you
in finding the information
that you need with as little
effort as possible.
Yellow Pages
Developer:
Avantar
If you use
Amazon then
this app is a fine
accompaniment that tracks
the prices of products on
Amazon and provides alerts
when they are reduced. This
could help shave pounds
off the amount you pay out
for the products you have
been coveting for a while. It
includes email and Twitter
notifications so you’ll never
miss out.
Orchid
Developer:
Orchid Studio
If you’re looking
for a bargain then
the Deals app
lets you browse through
all the best new deals on
Amazon and Newegg. A
simple interface lets you
customise the categories to
suit your needs and you can
get notifications on when
new deals come up in your
areas of interest. Easy to use
and essential for those who
want things for less.
Deals
Developer:
Wild Lion Software
Shopping
It may be the dreaded death knell to the high street stores,
but the fact is that online shopping is quicker, easier and
often a lot more painless than braving the elements and
the queues when shopping for essentials and gifts. Big
hitters such as Amazon and eBay are made to feel right
at home on your PC with staggering apps that make the
shopping experience an absolute breeze, and long forgotten
service directories such as Yellow Pages are also finding a new
lease of life thanks to slick operating systems that bypass the
conventional ‘Google It’ method of sourcing contact details and
information in your local area.
So while we may miss the chirpy banter of actually engaging
with other human beings when buying things, online shopping
is taken to the next level through Windows 10 – and there’s no
way we’re going back!
Shop online and get the best deals

Essentialapps
Social
Social networks are a great way to stay in touch with
friends, relatives or colleagues online and keep you in a
social loop even if you are unable to meet up in person.
Most social networks enable you to post comments, share
images and other assorted media, and chat with your friends
and family for free, so they’re often worth investing time
in. Obviously, a certain degree of care must be taken when
signing up to social networks to configure your settings so
as to protect personal information and privacy, but by and
large, if used correctly, then social networking apps can be
fun places to inhabit.
Here we have outlined the main must-have social
networking apps to install on your PC, including the big
hitters like Facebook, Twitter and Skype – but there are
plenty of free and paid-for alternatives available that may
suit your needs better, so be sure to fully explore what’s out
there before committing.
Get networking with friends
5 essential apps
This is the only
fully-featured
Instagram client
for Windows 10 and
includes all of the features
you would see in Instagram,
such as the option to sign
in or register for the service,
edit (with a range of filters)
and upload images, leave
comments and follow
fellow Instagram users.
By allowing you
to chat face to
face with your
friends and family from the
other side of the planet,
there really is no reason to
be without the Skype app.
Once you sign in, Skype
runs constantly in the
background, ensuring that
you are ready to receive
calls in an instant.
This app provides
a convenient way
to access and
monitor your Facebook
account without having
to go through the web
browser. It boasts the same
layout and features as the
popular tablet versions of
the app and you can also
chat freely with your friends
through the interface.
InstaPic
Developer:
APP LYF
Skype
Developer:
Skype
Facebook
Developer:
Facebook, Inc
IM+ is essentially
a one-stop
messaging app
through which you can
chat to friends on all of your
social networks. It supports
Facebook, Skype, Yahoo!,
Google+, AOL and lots more
and makes it quick and easy
to communicate with all
your friends in one app.
Twitter lets you
follow the rich and
famous, plug your
own projects and more. You
can share pictures, chat, and
post links and comments
through a simple interface.
The latest update supports
multiple accounts, making
it easy to switch between
your personal and work
accounts, for example.
IM+ Instant
Messenger
Developer:
Shape GmbH
Twitter
Developer:
Twitter Inc
Communicate as if the other person’s in the same room Keeping up with your friends is easier than ever…
“Post comments,
share images and
other assorted
media, and chat
with your friends
and family for free”
IM+ makes it easy to message contacts on all your social networks

Sport
Like the news apps, there are a great many
apps available that focus on sports and
beam all of the latest scores and stats
straight to your desktop with the minimum
of fuss. Although the majority of these apps
tend to focus on American sports, a little
searching will throw out must-have apps for
any sport you’d care to mention. And they
aren’t just all about news and scores either.
There are also coaching apps that can help
you improve your golf swing. Then there are
apps that review all of the latest products
in your preferred sport so you can make an
informed decision on what make of football
boots to buy next.
So, for active sports players or armchair fans,
the Store has something for everyone, from
gridiron to golf and basketball to bowls.
Keep up with the scores and more
5 essential apps
With up-to-the-
minute scores,
news and analysis
for all of your favourite
teams, leagues and players,
the ESPN App is packed
with US-centric sport info
and razzmatazz. It also
features video feeds and
news updates, plus links to
various podcasts to extend
your enjoyment further.
This app helps
you keep up to
date with the
world of professional
golf, watch the latest videos
and get plenty of tips and
advice on how to improve
your own swing. It also
provides expert reviews
on the latest equipment
and showcases the best
golfing resorts.
This app provides
all of the tools you
need to get your
point across to your team.
Applicable to a wide range
of sports thanks to the
themed backgrounds, you
can effortlessly draw your
plays onscreen and even
animate the plays so that
your players can see how
things could play out.
The ESPN App
Developer:
ESPN
GolfCentral Free
Developer:
Kyle Smith Software
CoachPro
Developer:
JPlusCorporation
Previously known
as THE Football
App, This excellent
app covers all the major
European leagues and
international competitions.
With videos, tables, squad
lists and detailed player
info, as well as live match
stats and commentary, it’s a
professionally created love
letter to the beautiful game.
Although some
cricket fans may
want to forget
recent scores, this app tugs
back your interest like an
excited child. Its simple
score relay system can sit on
your desktop and provide
ticker-taped scores as they
occur. It lacks pizzazz but
delivers the info you crave.
OneFootball
Developer:
Motain GmbH
Cricket
Live Score
Developer:
Sanka Bulathgama
THE Football App lives up to its cocky name…
Get news, videos, buying advice and more
Get your point across with CoachProThe ESPN App is packed full of insightful content for sports fans to devour

Essentialapps
Tools
Perhaps not so much a toolbox, more
a disorganised drawer in the sideboard
where everything without a natural home is
chucked, the Tools section of the Windows
Store is the place to find all manner of
odds and sods that can serve a purpose
in your life. As you can see from the ones
we’ve selected here, they include note-taking
apps into which you can jot down whatever
you want and pin it to your desktop, voice-
recording apps through which you can record
dictations, and calculators that can perform
even the most complex of tasks in a sniff. Also
featured are apps that help you monitor your
internet connection speed to determine if you
are getting the broadband speeds that you
are paying for or to throw up any undetected
problems on the line.
All manner of useful apps
5 essential apps
Stick as many
notes as you want
and move them
freely around the screen
with this app. You can select
the colour of the note and
even pin it to your Start
screen, lock it, share it with
others and more. Your notes
are also synced with your
OneDrive to ensure that
they are always close at
hand when you need them.
This app serves
as a professional
voice recorder
that is ideal for recording
meetings, lectures and
personal notes. Once it’s set
up, just click on the large
button to start recording
immediately. All your audio
notes are listed on the left
– click one to play it – and
there is no limit on the
duration of recordings.
01 Sticky Notes 8
Developer:
Marco Rinaldi
02 Recorder One
Developer: IPT
International Technologies
This brilliant free
app includes five
calculators: Basic,
Scientific, Programmer,
Currency Converter and
Unit Converter. The large
buttons ensure quick, error-
free input, while scientific
functions, constants,
memory items and more
are contained in lists that
are just one click away. It’s
all very easy to use.
03 Calculator2
Developer:
Richard Walters
If you want to
know exactly how
fast your internet
connection is then this app
will run a test and tell you
just that. This is particularly
useful in determining
whether you’re getting
what you pay for from your
service provider and to
highlight any problems that
may have arisen on the line.
04 Network
Speed Test
Developer:
Microsoft Research This app places
the Google search
engine within
easy reach of your desktop,
allowing you to enter
keywords and make your
internet searches quickly
and effortlessly. It also
supports voice searching
using your PC’s built-in mic
and comes with a Search
charm to make it even
easier to fire up.
05 Google Search
Developer:
Google Inc
Searching the internet is now quicker than ever
Make sure you’re getting the speeds you pay for
Perform simple or highly complex calculations with this essential download
“The Tools section is
the place to find all
manner of odds and
sods that can serve a
purpose in your life”

Travel
Everyone likes to ditch the office in favour
of sun-baked beaches and you will find
plenty of apps in the Travel section of the
Windows Store to help you get there and
get the most out of your time abroad. Apps
such as TripAdvisor help you plan ahead and
get hotel and restaurant recommendations
from your fellow travellers, whereas apps
such as SkyScanner help you compare the
prices of flights to get the best possible deal.
All of the stress associated with organising
holidays is eradicated because after you find
the cheapest tickets and accommodation, you
can then go on and book it all straight from
the respective app. Of course, once you are
away, there are also plenty of apps to help you
converse with the locals and work out how
much money you are going to be spending.
Everything you need for your trip
Translate text or camera feeds with Bing Translator Secure yourself a bargain room in top hotels
“All of the stress associated with organising
holidays is eradicated”
5 essential apps
Simply type in the text you want to
translate, or even point at it using
your PC’s webcam, and let the app
work its magic. It supports 40 languages
and if you take your laptop out and about,
you can translate menus, foreign signs and
newspapers. It even works when you’re offline.
01 Bing Translator
Developer: Microsoft
SkyScanner searches the routes of
over 1,000 airlines to find the lowest
prices. When you find the perfect
deal, you can order the tickets in-app or, if
you’re too busy at the moment, email the
flight details to yourself to book later. A very
useful free app that could save you hundreds!
02 SkyScanner
Developer: SkyScanner
If planning a holiday or a short
stay away, this app is a must-have.
It enables you to scout ahead and
check out the hotels and restaurants and see
how they have fared with fellow users. You
can also compare prices to get the best deals.
03 TripAdvisor Hotels
Flights Restaurants
Developer: TripAdvisor
If you are out and about and need
to Skype a friend or work colleague
urgently then this app helps you get
online by seeking out public Wi-Fi hotspots
that you can access to make your calls. You
can pay for everything through Skype Credit,
so connecting is nice and easy.
04 Skype WiFi
Developer: Skype
This app provides a quick and
easy way to find and book hotels
wherever you are planning on
travelling to and the service is totally secure
so you can book yourself a bargain with
confidence. A great tool for planning your
perfect holiday.
05 Booking.com
Developer: Booking.com
Get the best deals on your flights with the essential SkyScanner app

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