Windows 10 Bible. Shapiro Jeffrey R.

Figure 3.1 The Windows logon screen.

If the user account isn't password protected, the Windows desktop appears automatically. If the user account you clicked is password protected, a rectangular box appears instead. You have to type the correct password for the account to get to the Windows Start screen. The letters you type don't show in the box by default. Instead, you see a dot for each letter you type, as in Figure 3.2. This prevents others from learning your password by looking over your shoulder as you type it on the screen. To temporarily see the characters you enter, press and hold the eye icon on the right side of the password box. This toggles on the characters so you can see that what you typed is what you intended to type.

Figure 3.2 Typing a password.

      After you type the password, press Enter or click the arrow to the right of the password box.

      Pressing Windows+L on the keyboard locks the computer and displays the Lock screen, which is similar in look and function to the logon screen. The Lock screen displays the name of the currently logged on user, along with a password box. Enter the password to unlock the device.

      After you've successfully logged in, the Windows desktop appears. Before we dive into the desktop, let's cover the Start menu.

      Windows Start Menu

After you log on, you see the Windows 10 desktop. Clicking or tapping the Start menu button in the lower-left corner of the display (at the left of the taskbar) opens the Start menu, shown in Figure 3.3. The Start menu serves much the same function as the Start menu in previous versions of Windows, but it melds the look and feel of the Windows 8 Start screen with the familiar Start menu. Square or rectangular tiles give you quick access to apps, external resources such as OneDrive, folders, and settings.

Figure 3.3 The Windows Start menu.

      At the upper left of the Start menu is your user name. You can click or tap on your account name to lock the device, sign out, or change account settings. The left portion of the Start menu gives you access to most used apps, File Explorer, Settings, power options, and access to All Apps (including those not shown on the Start menu).

      The right portion of the Start menu contains tiles for various apps, gathered into groups. To open an app from the Start menu, just click or tap its tile. The left side of the Start menu provides quick access to frequently-used apps, and you can open those apps just by clicking or tapping on them. If you don't see the app you need, click or tap All Apps to display an alphabetical list of all of the apps on the device.

      Using the Windows Desktop

      The Windows desktop is the electronic equivalent of a real desktop. It's the place where you keep stuff you're working on right now. Every program that's currently open is usually contained within some program window. When no programs are open, the desktop and all your desktop icons are plainly visible on the screen.

What's on the desktop

      Users upgrading from previous Windows versions are familiar with the Windows desktop, the primary place for users to start their work in earlier versions of Windows. You work with programs on the Windows desktop in much the same way you work with paper on an office desktop. With Windows 8.x, the Start screen was intended to replace the desktop as the primary work environment. In Windows 10, however, the Windows desktop is still very much a part of Windows, and it's the environment in which you run legacy Windows applications and modern Windows apps – you no longer need to switch between the Start screen and the desktop to switch between legacy apps and modern apps.

      The desktop may get covered by program windows and other items, but the desktop is still under there no matter how much you clutter the screen. It's the same as a real desk in that sense. Although your real desktop may be completely covered by random junk, your desktop is still under there somewhere.

Below the desktop is the taskbar. The desktop is where everything that you open piles up. The taskbar's main role is to make it easy to switch from one open item to another. Everything you'll ever see on your screen has a name and a purpose. Virtually nothing on the screen is there purely for decoration (except the wallpaper). Figure 3.4 shows the main components of the Windows desktop and other items. Your desktop may not look exactly like the picture and may not show all the components. Don't worry about that. Right now, focus on learning the names of the most frequently used elements.

Figure 3.4 The desktop, taskbar, and other items.

      Here's a quick overview of what each component represents.

      TIP

      You learn to personalize your desktop in Chapter 10. But here's a quick hint: Virtually everything you'll ever see on your screen, including the desktop, is an object that has properties (characteristics of the object that you can specify, such as color). To customize any object, right-click that object and choose Properties.

      ● Desktop: The desktop itself is everything above the taskbar. Most programs you open appear in a window on the desktop.

      ● Desktop icons: Icons on the desktop provide quick access to frequently used programs, folders, and documents. You can add and remove desktop icons as you see fit.

      ● Quick Link menu: The Quick Link menu provides access to commonly used Windows programs and apps. To see it, right-click the Start button at the bottom-left side of the screen, or press Windows+X.

      ● Taskbar: A task is an open program. The taskbar makes switching among all your open programs easy. Right-clicking the clock in the taskbar provides easy access to options for customizing the taskbar and organizing open program windows.

      ● Notification area: This area displays icons for programs running in the background, which are often referred to as processes and services. Messages coming from those programs appear in speech balloons just above the notification area.

      ● Clock: The clock shows the current time and date.

      That's the quick tour of items on and around the Windows 10 desktop. The sections that follow examine some of these items in detail.

About desktop icons

      The desktop can have any number of icons on it. Most desktop icons are shortcuts to files and folders. They're shortcuts in the sense that they duplicate icons that are available elsewhere, such as on the Start menu. You can open the item associated with a desktop icon by double-clicking or double-tapping on it.

      Rules always have exceptions. When it comes to desktop icons, the Recycle Bin is the exception. The Recycle Bin icon exists only on the desktop, and you won't find it anywhere else. The role of the Recycle Bin is that of a safety net. Whenever you delete a file or folder, the item is just moved to the Recycle Bin. You can restore an accidentally deleted item from the Recycle Bin back to its original location.

      TIP

      To learn more about the Recycle Bin and how to use it, see Chapter 21.

      In addition to the Recycle Bin, you have other built-in desktop icons from which to choose. If you want to take a shot at adding icons, right-click the desktop and choose Personalize. In the resulting Personalization page of the Settings app, click Themes, then click Desktop Icon Settings.

      NOTE

      If