Charms
A new way to navigate Windows

New for Windows 8, Microsoft is introducing a new capability for quickly navigating the things that matter most to you. The Charms will offer the capability to search, share things that are important to you, and access settings important to your device.

 Charms Bar
 

 

ACCESSING THE CHARMS

You can access the charms menu several ways:
 
  • Touch:If you're using a touch-based device, swipe in from the right edge of the screen to the center. This will open the charms menu.

  • Mouse: If you're using a mouse, move the pointer to the top right, or bottom right side of the screen. You won't need to hold the mouse in the corner, you can immediately move to the location of the charm you want, in one fluid motion.

  • Keyboard: If you're using your keyboard, simply press the Windows key, and the C key.


THE CHARMS

There are several charms, each with a different function designed to help you efficiently interact with your computer. Starting with the top right, we have:
 

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SEARCH

This charm will allow you to quickly search your installed applications, files, or settings on your PC. Windows and the F key pressed together from any application will automatically open this charm.


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SHARE

This charm will allow you to quickly share files, documents, and various other types of information. This can include backing up to your sky-drive account, or attaching a document to an email. 


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START

The third charm, start, will allow you to return to the start-screen where you can see your live tiles and shortcuts to launch applications.


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DEVICES

This charm is a quick way to access settings for any device connected to your computer. Here you can find configuration settings for external monitors, bluetooth, or a printer.


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SETTINGS

The final charm, settings, is used to control the various aspects of your current application or the PC. Here you can shutdown and adjust common settings like WiFi.

 

 

The Charms bar is a great way to quickly access everything you need in Windows 8. Get to know it and you'll see increased efficiency across the board!