- Essential Keyboard Shortcuts
- Essential Mouse Clicks
- Essential Touch Gestures
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Essential Mouse Clicks
Just as every Windows PC has a keyboard, all Windows PCs also have some sort of pointing device. On a desktop PC this is likely to be a mouse; on a notebook PC, it’s likely a touchpad of some sort.
As you may have heard, Windows 8 is “optimized for touch operation.” That means that the brain trust at Microsoft designed Windows 8 to be used primarily on touchscreen devices. Now, unless you just purchased a new high-end computer, it’s unlikely that your PC has a touchscreen. You might think that would leave you in the lurch; fortunately, Microsoft decreed that almost all the necessary touch gestures should also be accomplished with a mouse or touchpad. Lucky us.
Since Windows 8 introduces a slew of new operations and accompanying touch gestures, this means there are a corresponding number of new mouse operations to learn. As with all things Windows 8 related, these new operations are not necessarily intuitive—or even easy to accomplish.
The following table details what you need to know.
Operation |
Mouse Operation |
|
Close currently running desktop app or window |
Click the X button in top right corner of window |
|
Close currently running Metro app or window |
Drag the top of the app to the bottom of the screen |
|
Display Charms bar |
Mouse over upper or lower right corner of screen |
|
Display context-sensitive options menu |
Right-click |
|
Display Options bar |
On Start screen or in any Metro app, right-click anywhere on the screen |
|
Display two Windows 8 apps side-by-side (snap the apps) |
Mouse over the top left corner of the screen, then move the cursor down to display thumbnails of all open apps; select the app to snap and drag its (large) thumbnail to either the left or right side of the screen, then release the mouse button |
|
Lock computer |
From Start screen, click username, Lock |
|
Move an item to new location |
Click and drag, then release |
|
Open a program or document |
Click (sometimes double-click) |
|
Open All Apps Window |
From Start screen, right-click to display Options bar and then click All Apps |
|
Open Windows Help |
From Charms bar, click Settings, Help |
|
Return to Start screen |
Mouse over lower-left corner of screen, then click Start screen thumbnail; alternatively, display Charms bar then click Start |
|
Scroll down |
Click and drag scrollbar or scroll arrows; alternatively, use mouse scroll wheel |
|
Scroll left |
Click and drag scrollbar or scroll arrows; alternatively, use mouse scroll wheel |
|
Scroll right |
Click and drag scrollbar or scroll arrows; alternatively, use mouse scroll wheel |
|
Scroll up |
Click and drag scrollbar or scroll arrows; alternatively, use mouse scroll wheel |
|
Search |
Display Charms bar and click Search |
|
Shut down Windows |
From Charms bar, click Settings, Power, Shut Down |
|
View or switch to other open apps |
Mouse over top left corner of screen, then move cursor downward to display thumbnails of all open documents; click thumbnail to switch to that item |
|
Zoom in to Start screen (or zoomable apps) |
Click anywhere on zoomed out screen; or press Ctrl key then use mouse scroll wheel |
|
Zoom out of Start screen (or zoomable apps) |
Click – (minus) button in lower right corner of Start screen; or press Ctrl key then use mouse scroll wheel |
Here’s something else. If you have a new-fangled touch mouse (both Logitech and Microsoft sell ‘em), you can also use your mouse to execute many of the touch gestures that we discuss next. That is, you can use a touch mouse just like a regular mouse, or as a kind of low-rent alternative to an expensive touchscreen display.
Same thing with the touchpads on many newer notebook PCs. Many newer touchpads are enabled for touch gesture operation, or at least for use with some touch gestures. Check with your notebook’s manufacturer to see which, if any, touch gestures your touchpad supports.