Windows 10 For Dummies
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Windows 10 works well on touchscreens, whether they're built into tablets, laptops, or even desktop monitors. When faced with a touchscreen device, these commands will help you maneuver through Windows 10. (The term swipe simply means to slide your finger along the screen.)
  • Swipe from the right edge to see the Action center: Swiping from the right side of the screen reveals the Action center. The Action center lists all of your notifications: subjects from incoming mail, upcoming appointments, and notices from other programs. Along the bottom, the pane shows buttons for four commonly used Settings. (Tap the Tablet mode button, for example, to toggle Tablet mode on and off.)

Mouse equivalent: Click the taskbar’s Action center icon, which resembles a thought balloon used by cartoon characters.

  • Swipe from the left edge: Swiping from the left shows all of your open windows, letting you return to one with a quick tap. Any virtual desktops you’ve created appear as thumbnails along the screen’s bottom edge; a quick tap summons one of them to the forefront, as well. (You can also create a new virtual desktop by tapping the plus sign icon in the screen’s lower-right corner.)

Keyboard equivalent: Press Win+Tab.

  • Press and hold: You can see detailed information without having to commit to an action. In some cases, pressing and holding opens a menu with more options.

Mouse equivalent: Hover over an item to see more options; if that doesn't work, click the mouse's right button.

  • Tap to perform an action: Tapping something causes an action, such as launching an app, following a link, or performing a command.

Mouse equivalent: Click an item to perform an action.

  • Slide to drag: Your fingertip can drag items across a tablet’s screen just like sliding a piece of paper across your desktop. Sliding is mostly used to pan or scroll through lists and pages, but you can use it for other interactions, too, such as moving an object or for drawing and writing.

Mouse equivalent: Click, hold, and drag the item. A scroll bar often appears at a screen's edge, letting you shift your view by dragging the box embedded in the scroll bar.

  • Pinch or stretch: Place two fingers on the screen and then move them as if you were pinching or stretching a sheet of paper. The onscreen image expands or shrinks accordingly.

Mouse and keyboard equivalent: Hold down the control key on the keyboard while using the mouse wheel to grow or shrink an item on the screen.

  • Rotate to turn: Hold down two fingers onscreen and rotate them, just as if you were moving a sheet of paper on your desktop. As your fingers move, so does the onscreen object.

Mouse equivalent: None.

  • Swipe from the bottom or top edge for app commands: App commands are revealed by swiping inward about an inch from the bottom or top edge. Swiping from the very top to the very bottom of the screen lets you close the current app.

Mouse equivalent: Right-click a blank portion of the app to see the apps commands.

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Andy Rathbone's computer books, which include Windows? 2000 Professional For Dummies? and Upgrading and Fixing PCs For Dummies?, have sold more than 11 million copies.

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