As we have said several times, Windows 8 has two distinct and separate environments: the part designed to work well on tablets and touch screens, with full-screen applications and the traditional desktop part, which is identical to that of Windows 7, except for a different Start button at the bottom left. If you install the programs already used on previous versions of Windows (XP, Vista or 7), they open in the desktop environment while the applications open only in full screen "metro" mode and only work on computers with Windows 8 and 8.1 .
With the Windows 8.1 update, Microsoft, which received much criticism for the first version of Windows 8, slightly reduced the predominance that the brand new Metro screen had on the desktop and finally gave users the possibility to use Windows 8 as it was done with Windows 7, only with the desktop part.
In this article, we see how to start and use the Windows 8.1 PC only on the desktop, almost completely ignoring the Start screen of the applications, which hides itself almost automatically and becomes invisible unless deliberately recalled
1) To start the Windows 8.1 PC in Desktop mode
In the Start screen, open the Desktop, then right click on the taskbar at the bottom and click Properties .
Then go to the Navigation tab and put a cross where it says: " Show the desktop instead of the Start screen when accessing or closing all the apps in one screen " and then press OK.
Now, when you start Windows or when you close an application also of those Metro, the PC will show the desktop and not the Start screen.
2) Stay on the Desktop
Even with this setting, the PC may still open the Windows 8 App environment in some circumstances.
Most of the time this will happen because the default program for opening a file (photos, PDF documents, etc.) is an application and not a desktop program.
In addition, some programs, such as Internet Explorer, work in both environments and may open in app mode.
To prevent an application from opening, you need to change the default settings of the program and those of opening files.
For example, if Windows 8 opens PDF files in the default application, to change this behavior, find a PDF file, right click on it, choose Open with -> Choose default program .> Adobe Reader (or another). Also make sure that the " Use this app with all PDF files " option is checked.
Google Chrome has both desktop mode and Windows 8 mode and will load in this version if the option is chosen in the settings menu.
3) Personalize the desktop and the start menu
The Windows 8 desktop works the same way as the Windows 7 desktop so you can place the program icons anywhere, you can fix your favorite programs on the taskbar and change the background (see all the new theme and wallpaper galleries for Windows 8.1 )
The only different thing is the start menu button that did not exist in Windows 8 and that is back, in a different form, with Windows 8.1.
This menu button opens the Start screen when pressed with the left mouse button and opens a menu of tools if pressed with the right button.
In the tools menu, which can also be called by pressing the Windows-X keys, there are no programs but links to the Windows configuration screens and internal tools such as the Control Panel, the Prompt Dos, the Run box, Disk Management, network connections etc.
In two other articles, however, we have seen two different tricks, (without downloading anything) to change what appears by pressing the button with the Windows logo on the bottom left in Windows 8.1 and, precisely:
- Change the Start Menu Win-X of Windows 8.1 to add programs and shortcuts, that is the list of tools that appears by pressing the right mouse button.
- Open the list of all programs with the Start button in Windows 8.1, to search for programs as quickly as you did with Windows 7, displaying them in a list of names, without tiles.
4) Keyboard shortcuts
Windows 8.1 is an operating system oriented towards touch screens.
On traditional computers, however, WIndows 8.1 works wonderfully when used with the keyboard and its quick shortcuts (which no one ever uses).
Among the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts there are four types that can really save us time in using the computer.
Windows Logo key + C to open the right menu of buttons called "Charms bar".
Windows Logo key + H to open the Share menu which, if pressed from the desktop, captures the screen and allows you to send it to an app such as Facebook, Twitter or other.
Windows Logo key + F to search for files.
Windows Logo key + W to search for settings.
Windows Logo key + S to search everywhere.
Alt + Tab alternates between the two open applications and programs (including desktop programs).
Windows Logo key + M to minimize windows on the desktop.
Windows Logo key + D to show or hide the desktop.
Windows Logo + key, to take a look at the desktop without selecting it.
Alt + Left arrow to go back.
Alt + Right arrow to move forward.
