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Sharing with Others
When you're working with an app that you want to share with others, the Share charm lets you share it easily. Note that the share capability must be supported by the app; not all programs you use will have the same features available. For example, some apps, like the built-in Weather app, let you know that sharing isn't enabled, but offer you the option of sharing a screenshot of the app. If you click that option, Windows presents a list of apps in which you can share the screenshot.
If apps have sharing capability, such as in the Photos app shown in Figure 3, you can share the selected data. In Figure 3, Windows is telling me that I can share the image with Socialite (the Windows 8 social media app) or Tweet@rama by tapping or clicking my choice.
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Figure 3 When you tap or click Share, Windows 8 displays sharing options.
Customizing Sharing
Right now, the apps that can share are fairly limited—Socialize and Tweet@rama are the two main choices. But developers are already at work creating new Windows 8 apps, so we're sure to see new apps with sharing capabilities being introduced over the coming weeks and months.
You can choose the apps that show up when you choose Share in Windows 8 charms; perhaps you have a few favorites that you share with most often. To make that change, you need to access the Windows 8 Control Panel. Here's how to do that:
- On the Windows 8 Start screen, tap or click Control Panel.
- Scroll down and click or tap Share.
- In the Share settings on the right side of the screen (see Figure 4), you can change whether you want other users to see the apps you use when you share information. To turn off the History feature, drag the slider from On to Off.
- To change the number of items shown in your sharing history, click the down arrow and click or tap a different number in the drop-down list that appears.
- Turn the display of apps off or on by changing the slider in the Apps area for each app you want to change.
- When you're finished, no need to save—simply swipe the next screen in from the left, or press the Windows key to redisplay the Start screen.
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Figure 4 You can customize your Share settings by adjusting the information displayed and the apps that are used to share information.
We're still at the beginning of what's sure to be a huge wave of development for Windows 8 apps, but the potential of the sharing capability already included in the Windows 8 developer preview is exciting. By sharing the data you create, the pictures you take, and the stories you care about, you can keep friends, family, and colleagues up to date and make life easier on yourself at the same time.
Katherine Murray is the author of My Microsoft Windows 7 PC as well as many other books related to digital lifestyle, green tech, and Microsoft products. She writes regularly for CNET's TechRepublic, PC World Business Center, and Windows Secrets, and you can get in touch with Katherine through her blogs, Connect & Coblogerate and BlogOffice. You can also follow Katherine on Twitter @kmurray230.