Booting to the windows 8 desktop. To turn off the computer
This can be achieved using technologies built right into the operating system, without the use of third-party utilities. It is enough to simply create a special task that should be performed at login. In this article, I'll show you how to do it.
Getting Started
First you need to launch the Task Scheduler. To do this, press the key, enter “schedule” (Schedule, without quotes), select the “Settings” filter and click the “Schedule tasks” link in the results (Fig. A). The Task Scheduler will start.
Figure A Starting Task Scheduler from the Start screen is very easy.
Create a task
Figure B In Task Scheduler, click the Create Task link.
In the Create Task dialog box, the first step is to enter a name for the task in the Name field. As you can see, I named my task "Show Desktop @ Start". At the bottom of the page, select "Windows 8" from the "Configure for" drop-down menu (Figure C). In the "Security options" section, you can leave the option "Run only when user is logged on".
Figure C Be sure to select Windows 8 from the Customize for drop-down menu.
Figure D On the Triggers tab, click the New button.
In the "New Trigger" dialog box, select "At log on item" from the "Begin the task" drop-down menu (Figure E). This will refresh the page and display the appropriate configuration options (Figure F).
Figure E From the Start Task drop-down menu, select At Logon.
By default, the options "Any user" in the "Settings" section and "Enabled" in the "Advanced Settings" section are selected. Leave everything as it is and click "OK" to continue. Back in the Create Task dialog box, go to the Actions tab (Figure G) and click the New button at the bottom of the page.
Figure G Click the New button on the Actions tab.
In the New Action dialog box, the Start a Program option is selected by default. In the "Settings" section, enter "c:\Windows\explorer.exe" (without quotes) in the "Program or script" field (Program/script, Figure H). Or click the Browse button, find and select the explorer.exe file. Then click OK to return to the Create Task window.
Figure H You can enter a name executable file and the path to it in the "Program or script" field, or you can find it using the "Browse" button.
If Windows 8 is installed on a laptop, go to the "Conditions" tab and uncheck "Start the task on if the computer is on AC power" in the Power section (Fig. I).
Figure I This setting only needs to be changed if Windows 8 is installed on the laptop.
You don't need to change anything on the Settings tab, so just click OK to create the task. Back in the back of the Scheduler window, you'll see a new task under the Task Scheduler Library (Figure J). The Scheduler can now be closed.
Figure J After creating a task, you will see it in the Task Scheduler library.
After creating a task, you can test it. To do this, restart the computer using the "Wizard" button "Shutdown" (Power, fig. K) or log out and log in again.
The logout option used to be in the same place as the other shutdown commands, but in Windows 8 it has moved to home screen and is now called “Sign out”. On the home screen, right-click on your avatar in the upper right corner and select the “Logout” option from the menu that appears (Fig. L).
Figure K The Restart option is invoked using the Shutdown charm.
Figure L Right-click on your avatar to see the Sign Out option.
When re Windows boot 8 the Desktop will immediately appear with an Explorer window open on Libraries (Fig. M). You won't see the home screen at all.
Keep in mind that the icons of the Documents, Music, Pictures, and Video libraries may still move around for a while because the operating system continues to load in the background. mode.
Figure M When Windows 8 restarts, the Desktop will immediately appear with an Explorer window open on Libraries.
If you launch applications from the taskbar or desktop, you can get started right away.
What do you think?
Do you want the Desktop to open immediately when you boot Windows 8? Will you use the described technique? Share your opinion in the comments!
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Windows 8 makes it easy to customize the look of your desktop. In this tutorial, you will learn how to access the personalization panel, which allows you to change the theme, background, and color scheme of your desktop. You will also learn how to customize the font size and display text.
Changes related to appearance desktop will not affect the home screen in any way. Recommended for study.
1) Themes
Windows 8 offers several pre-installed themes that change the look of your desktop.
2) Other topics on the Internet
You can download additional themes online from Microsoft.
3) Desktop background
The desktop background image can be easily changed. You can choose one of the free Microsoft images or take your own image from the library.
4) Color
You can choose the color of your windows and desktop taskbar.
5) Sounds
If necessary, you can change the default sounds for Windows 8.
6) Screensaver
Windows 8 offers several different screensavers that you can install.
Font size and text display settings on the screen
In the personalization panel, you can also adjust the font size and text on the screen. Once again, we note that these changes will only affect the desktop, and will not affect the home screen in any way.
To change the font size:
If you can't see the text on your desktop, you can increase the font size. Increasing the font size will also increase the size of icons and other desktop elements.
To change the ClearType text settings:
ClearType improves the readability of text on LCD monitors and screens.
I will say right away that compared to its predecessor, Windows 8 offers significantly improved options for configuring multi-monitor installations. Although these features may be of great interest to desktop users, they will not be discussed in this article.
Windows 7 (and Vista) offered Aero effects that provided transparency and color variations to Explorer windows and other desktop interfaces. There are no Aero effects in Windows 8 (they were removed in order to save mobile device batteries), they were replaced by a new opaque interface (strange, but for some reason the taskbar retained transparency effects). Therefore, some of the customization options you are familiar with have also disappeared.
But Windows 8 allows you to change your desktop wallpaper, and you can still change the color of the borders of now-opaque File Explorer windows. As before, you can also save combinations of these settings as themes. However, if earlier, in Windows 7, you configured these themes manually (for example, if you had a green wallpaper with a view of Ireland and you wanted to make the windows green, you had to do it yourself), then in Windows 8 this can be done automatically.
To see how it works, launch the personalization control panel. The easiest way to do this is to right-click on the desktop and select Personalize from the menu that appears.
Then, at the bottom of the window, click on the Color icon. As a result, you will see the Color and Appearance Control Panel, which is a bit simpler than it was in Windows 7. However, it has a new option - Automatic color(first in a selection list of 16 window border colors).
By selecting this option (it is set by default), the border colors of Explorer windows and the taskbar will automatically change to match the desktop wallpaper.
With the transition to the Aero interface in Windows Vista, Microsoft has added screen scaling capability to the OS to make it easier to view on-screen elements on larger screens with high resolutions(as screen size and resolution increase, on-screen elements like icons and menus become smaller; as a result, they become unreadable).
Windows 8 retains this ability, but also provides us with a new, unique interface that allows us to independently control the size of certain screen elements.
This interface, called the Screen control panel, is not at all easy to find, especially if you do not know where it is. However, there are two quite fast way its detection: by searching for the initial screen (we wrote about setting it up) and using the Personalization control panel, which we used in the previous part. At the bottom left of this control panel, there is a link to the Display panel.
The top half of this window works as before, allowing you to customize the new screen scale if you wish. But at the bottom of this window there is a new option. There you can separately resize some elements of the desktop interface, such as title bars, menus, message boxes, icons, context windows, and so on.
Instead of resizing everything on the desktop, you can only resize the text of a single element. This can be very useful, especially for those who can't see small elements well.
If you want to change anything in this window, do not forget to write down the original values of the options being changed. After all, there is no return button to the original version.
When you sign in to Windows 8 with a Microsoft account - which is what I use and recommend to you - you can take advantage of syncing settings from computer to computer. All this works through SkyDrive. Synchronization also includes synchronization of desktop settings.
You can set up synchronization using the "Settings Sync" interface in "PC Settings". The easiest way to call it is to use the key combination WINKEY + I, then select change computer settings, and then select sync settings.
This interface says that synchronization of desktop settings includes “themes, taskbar, contrast, etc.”, which is not very clear, and indeed not accurate at all. For example, Windows 8 does not sync pinned taskbar items. What actually syncs is the desktop theme (including background, explorer window color, sounds, and screensaver), taskbar settings, and photo slideshow options.
Moreover, the desktop sync switch is not the only element that affects the desktop. For example, synchronization also includes information about which application or applications you use to open certain types of files. Therefore, if instead of Windows applications Reader for Metro you prefer to use the desktop app Adobe Reader, then it will also sync from computer to computer.
The password switch enables web passwords (via IE10). The app settings switcher includes some app settings and files purchased through apps. Yes and others Windows settings are also important for desktop users. These include File Explorer and mouse settings.
Even though the SkyDrive app - which adds SkyDrive storage to Windows 8 - doesn't ship with Windows 8, it's actually a required part of Windows 8. That's why it's included in the free Windows Essentials 2012 addon, which also provides other useful desktop apps like Windows Mail and Photo Gallery. You can download the SkyDrive app and the rest of Windows Essentials 2012 from the Essentials website.
By installing SkyDrive, in addition to settings, you can also synchronize documents, pictures and other content between computers. This will allow you to always see all your data, regardless of which computer or even mobile device Do you work today.
Already, with the help of SkyDrive, some people are trying to synchronize small collections of music. It is possible that synchronization of video files will be added over time. Although, given the size of the latter, not all people will immediately be able to use it.
That's all for today! Good luck to you!
It is unlikely that among Windows users there are many who do not change the design of the interface in any way. operating system- at least everyone changes the wallpaper on the desktop. In Windows 8.1, Microsoft developers did not change traditions and provided several tools for personalizing the interface at once: those that serve for design and the classic desktop.
Home screenFor the home screen, you can choose one of several background images or “tattoo”, as they are also called, a background color, as well as a color scheme (moreover, tattoos and colors can be combined in different ways). These changes affect all other panels of the new interface. The settings we need are on the wonder panel in the section Options → Personalization.
If desired, you can set the same image that is used for the desktop as the background of the home screen. This, among other things, can make frequent switching between the desktop and the home screen more comfortable. To use this option, just select the current wallpaper in the list of background images (lower right corner).
At its discretion, the Windows 8.1 user can also place the tiles of the Start screen, this is done by simple drag and drop. Tiles can be grouped: just drag and hold the tile on the free space of the home screen(groups of tiles can be given their own names), resize them to one of four possible sizes: right click (long tap) → Resize.
The lock screen in Windows 8.1 can use your own images, images that come with the package, and display slideshows. The user himself can choose the folder from which images for the slide show will be loaded, configure other display parameters. These options are found in the PC Settings panel: Charms → Settings → Change PC settings, chapter Computer and devices → Lock screen.
To customize the desktop design, a Windows 8.1 user is invited to use the classic, well-known tool from other versions of the operating system - the Personalization panel: right click on desktop → Personalize or miracle panel→ Options → Personalization. With it, you can choose a different theme, which can include wallpaper, splash screen, sounds, color scheme.
You can set the desired desktop background or select several images for a slide show at once (you can specify the period for replacing images, as well as configure wallpaper display settings) in the section Personalization → Desktop background.
Settings used on the desktop color scheme available in section: Personalization → Color, in automatic mode window decoration colors are selected based on the main color of the wallpaper.
Panel Personalization → Sounds serves to select sound scheme, used for various events, notifications, and interface actions. Sounds can be selected from the default set or use own melody(the file must be in WAV format).
You can install and configure the screensaver (screensaver, screensaver) in the panel Personalization → Screensaver. The user is given the opportunity to set the screensaver activation interval, configure the display settings (if any).
You can disable unused system desktop icons, as well as select other icons for them, by following the link Personalization → Change desktop icons.
To change the scheme of cursors, set your own pointers, you need to use the link Personalization → Change mouse pointers.
Although Microsoft has thrown its main forces into the development of its next brainchild of Windows 9, but also about improvements previous versions operating systems, too, does not forget. In particular, the current novelty Windows 8.1 received its spring Update, which brings some features to the design and functionality of the system. Although such features cannot be called global or significantly change certain parameters, it is worth paying attention to some details.
Boot to desktop - now default
The first feature of Update 2014 is the ability to display the desktop after loading the operating system instead of the Metro interface. This feature could be implemented in the previous version of the OS after a number of settings, but Last update differs by the presence of this function by default.
Everyone remembers the "hostility" of previous versions of the OS, in particular Windows 8, to users of standard PCs with a mouse and keyboard. The focus of the operating system on tablets with touch control has led to a lot of negative feedback from consumers and, probably, this factor has become a key factor in the development issue. new version. Now the system adapts itself to new environment depending on several parameters:
Working platform (computer, laptop or tablet).
Control (mouse or screen sensor).
At Windows installation 8.1 Update on a tablet device, the system will automatically boot into the home screen (Metro-interface), and when installed on a desktop computer or laptop, into the familiar desktop. Of course, this parameter can be changed independently by setting the desired system behavior, which was implemented back in OS version 8.1. It is worth noting complaints about some problems with device identification by the operating system, but such problems do not occur very often and are mostly associated with the presence of information about the device in its firmware.
File Association
Using desktop mode is now completely “friendly” to applications that run under it. In the previous "eight", opening, for example, a file in gif or mp3 format, entailed the launch of the Metro application assigned to this type of file, which was often not only inconvenient, but also rather annoying for some users. The developers decided to return to many familiar functions and now opening files on the desktop will be accompanied by the launch of desktop applications. According to numerous reviews, this innovation (although it would be more accurate to say a step back) has become very useful, because now the most convenient applications will run for each device (tablet or PC).
Penetration of "tiles" on the desktop
It is worth noting that not only familiar programs, but also applications from the Metro environment can be pinned to the desktop taskbar. This made it possible to use the necessary products from the "tiled" interface in desktop mode, which is much more convenient than switching to the standards of previous versions of the eighth series operating system. By the way, the developers fixed the Windows Store tile to the taskbar by default, and users joke that such a move was the only way for someone to click on it :).
How about the start menu?
Everyone remembers the main slogan of users after the transition to the first OS of the eighth series - "Return the Start button!". Most likely, Microsoft realized its mistake in that system and tried to please consumers by including in Windows version 8.1 missing button. But the matter was limited solely to the name, since clicking on Start did not cause the usual menu, but a “tiled” interface and a new wave of user indignation. Windows 8.1 Update, unfortunately, did not bring a solution to this issue, but Microsoft promises to release a new update soon, in which the Start button functionality will be performed in the classic standard, however, with a set of additional “tiles”.
In general, the Windows 8.1 desktop after the Spring Update is not much different from previous versions. Several cosmetic improvements and a set of innovations described above did not make fundamental changes to the desktop interface. But at the same time, it is worth praising the developers - users of desktop computers or laptops got a more comfortable opportunity to work in a familiar desktop environment.
What are other news?
A number of innovations can also be noted, which affected software supplied with Windows 8.1 Update and first of all, let's pay attention to the updated Internet Explorer. The revision of the eleventh series of the browser was made primarily for the convenience of tablet users than desktop PCs and the desktop interface of the system, but in general parameters the browser still received some innovations in terms of interface. Separately, it is worth noting a special Enterprise Mode - a business-oriented feature that allows you to combine updated Microsoft products with older versions of software.
Other programs have also changed slightly. built-in cloud service SkyDrive was named OneDrive, but this is not a consequence of an update, but of a rebranding procedure. Among the useful innovations of the service, it is possible to note the possibility forced start or stop sync. Rest of the set standard programs for Windows remained without significant changes, except, perhaps, for some cosmetic improvements.
Windows 8.1 Update is not a major update. Its main goal is to create more convenient conditions for users desktop computers or laptops that have lost comfort with the release of the previous "eights". As seen from latest version improvements in the operating system, developers are trying to introduce a “tiled” interface not as crudely as in Windows 8, but paying attention to the interests of consumers of desktop versions. Update brought with it, of course, a number of updates in terms of OS security, but it is expected that new versions will be even friendlier in terms of interface.
