Windows 10 At Work For Dummies
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Windows 10 comes jam-packed with features. Here are shortcuts and tips for using the keyboard, mouse, and Ribbon to get fast access to the most commonly used commands. You'll be commanding Windows 10 in no time!

5 big changes in Windows 10

Windows 10 brings many changes to the Windows world. Basically, it takes the best parts of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and combines them into one operating system. And there are new features as well, which you’ll want to find out how to use. Here are some of the biggest changes and improvements in Windows 10.

Feature Description
Start Menu The Start Menu is back in a form that mixes the Start Menu from
Windows 7 with the Start screen from Windows 8.1. You can pin both
shortcuts and live tiles to the Start Menu.
Cortana Microsoft’s digital assistant from Windows Phone makes the jump
to PCs with Windows 10. Cortana can help you find all sorts of
online information via natural language questions you ask using
text or voice commands.
Notifications Center Notifications with pop-ups reminding you of all sorts of
things. They are centralized into a very useful Notifications
Center.
Virtual desktops In Windows 10 you can work with as many desktops as you wish,
switch apps between them with ease, and so on.
Continuum If you use a hybrid or 2-in-1 device like the Microsoft Surface
Pro 3, you can dynamically switch the interface between the
PC-friendly desktop environment and a full-screen tablet mode
that’s suited for touch.

Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts

Windows 10 provides hundreds of commands, but you’ll likely use only a handful of those commands on a regular basis. To save time, use these Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts. With little effort, you can open files, find content, edit that content, and more!

Function Keystroke
Start Menu Windows
Search Windows+S
Select All Ctrl+A
Copy Ctrl+C
Cut Ctrl+X
Paste Ctrl+V
Undo Ctrl+Z
Redo Ctrl+Y
Help F1
Open Ctrl+O
Print Ctrl+P
Save Ctrl+S
Delete Del
Start File Explorer Windows+E
Open Run Windows+R
Open the WinX menu Windows+X
Project to another screen Windows+P
Switch between opened apps Alt+Tab

Windows 10 mouse button functions

You can control Windows 10 with your mouse or your keyboard. It’s the traditional tool for positioning and clicking the cursor on the screen without using touch-sensitive devices.

Mouse Button Used Action Purpose
Left mouse button Click Moves the cursor, selects an object, pulls down a menu, or
chooses a menu command.
Left mouse button Double-click Runs or opens a file.
Left mouse button Drag Moves an object, resizes an object, highlights text, and
highlights multiple objects.
Wheel mouse button Roll Scrolls up and down a window.
Right mouse button Right-click Displays a shortcut pop-up menu.

Windows 10 touch commands

On tablets and 2-in-1 devices with touchscreens, you have fingertip control of Windows 10 using touch gestures. The following actions control your device with touch commands.

Action Purpose
Tap Tap once on an item to open, select, or activate it. This is
similar to left-clicking with a mouse.
Press and hold Press and hold your finger on an item for a second, and Windows
shows information to help you find out more about the item or opens
a menu specific to what you’re doing. This is similar to
right-clicking with a mouse.
Pinch or stretch Touch the screen or an item with two or more fingers and then
move the fingers toward each other (pinch) or away from each other
(stretch) to make Windows visually zoom in and out,
respectively.
Slide You can drag your finger on the screen to the left, right, top,
or bottom to scroll and move through a screen.
Drag To move an item, press and briefly drag it in the direction
opposite the way the page scrolls; then move the item wherever you
want. Release the item after you move it to the new location.
Swipe When you swipe an item with a short, quick movement in the
direction opposite the way the page scrolls, you select it, and
depending on the app, app commands may appear.
Swipe from the edge When you swipe your finger quickly, without lifting it, from
the right side of the screen to the left, the Notifications Center
opens. If you swipe your finger quickly, without lifting it, from
the left side of the screen to the right, a list with all the
desktops and apps that are open appear.
Rotate When you put two or more fingers on an item and then turn your
hand, you rotate the item in the direction you turn your hand.

PC requirements for Windows 10

Windows 10 doesn’t require powerful hardware from the PC it runs on. However, just like any other operating system, it does require a minimum of hardware to run well. Here’s what a PC needs to run Windows 10 well.

Part Requirements
Processor (CPU) 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
Memory (RAM) 1 gigabyte (GB) for the 32-bit version of Windows 10 and 2GB
for the 64-bit version
Hard drive free space 16GB for the 32-bit version of Windows 10 and 20GB for the
64-bit version
Graphics card With support for DirectX 9 or later

File Explorer Ribbon tabs in Windows 10

File Explorer in Windows 10 displays commands in a series of icons stored on different tabs. This combination of icons and tabs is known as the Ribbon interface. The following table shows the commands grouped under each Ribbon tab for File Explorer.

These tabs are displayed based on context. For example, you always see the File tab on the Ribbon interface, but you see the Network tab only when you access other computers on the network.

Ribbon Tab Name Command Groups
File Opens the File menu with options for opening a new window,
opening the Command Prompt and PowerShell, changing folder and
search options, accessing Help, and closing File Explorer.
Home You find the Clipboard, Organize, New, Open, and Select
lists.
Share You find the Send and Share With list.
Computer You find the Location, Network, and System lists.
Network You find the Location, Network, Network and Sharing Center
lists.
Homegroup You find the Manage list.
View You find the Panes, Layouts, Current View, Show/Hide, and
Options lists.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Ciprian Adrian Rusen is a Microsoft MVP and Windows expert. His 7tutorials.com blog has more than 1.3 million monthly readers who look to him for insight into technology in general and Windows in particular.

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