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Faithe Wempen
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Published:
October 23, 2017

Laptops For Seniors For Dummies

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Overview

The basics you need to get more comfortable with laptops, without any of the fluff

Laptops For Seniors For Dummies is just for you. We help readers in the 55+ club get the most out of their laptops. You’ll discover how to choose the best laptop for your needs and how to use Microsoft Windows, to share photos, surf the web, use e-mail, and much more. With large text, clear graphics, and easy-to-follow instructions, this For Seniors For Dummies guide will get you up to speed on your new device in no time. Even if you’re upgrading from a typewriter, we can help you choose the right laptop to buy, understand your operating system, use files and folders, download and install software, and stay safe online. It’s all the stuff you need to know to make your laptop work for you.

  • Choose and purchase the right laptop for your needs
  • Navigate your Windows 10 or 11 operating system with confidence and discover useful programs
  • Connect to Wi-Fi, go online, send e-mails, and get started with social media
  • Protect and secure your laptop and your personal data

Whether you’re purchasing your first laptop or upgrading from older technology, this Dummies guide will take you step by step through everything you need to know to get laptop savvy.

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About The Author

Faithe Wempen, M.A., CompTIA A+, is a computer information technology instructor at Purdue University. She also writes and designs online technology courses for corporate clients and is the author of over 150 books, including Office For Seniors For Dummies and Computers For Seniors For Dummies.

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laptops for seniors for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

Laptops offer a world of convenience for seniors, but they can be a little intimidating, too. To get started off right, see this checklist for what to look for before buying your laptop. After you’ve purchased your laptop, follow these care and maintenance tips to prolong its life.To round out your experience, here are some handy keyboard shortcuts for getting things done fast in Windows.
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Your Windows 10 laptop comes with the Mail app. With this app, you can add multiple email accounts and manage them all from one place. Each account that you set up in Mail has its own settings. Click the Mail tile on the Start menu. From within Mail click the Settings icon in the lower-left corner, and then click Manage Accounts in the Settings pane.
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In today’s collaborative world, it is often necessary to share data you have stored on your laptop with others. There are a few ways you can do this, but OneDrive is an option which allows you to manage all shared content in one place.You can keep your shared files in order by placing them in folders on OneDrive.
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Your Windows 10 laptop lets you control pretty much everything, even the Power button. You can control what happens when you press the Power button, close the computer lid, or press the Sleep button (if your laptop offers one). In the Start menu, click Settings → System → Power & Sleep → Additional Power Settings.
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If you find yourself needing to use the Internet in a sticky situation and there is no Wi-Fi available, it’s possible to use a smartphone’s 3G or 4G connection to connect your laptop to the Internet. You may have to pay your phone service provider a monthly fee for this service, called tethering or personal hotspot.
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Your Windows 10 laptop will come with some apps already installed and you’ll likely acquire more quickly. Apps are often designed to allow you to move or copy content from one to the other. For example, you might copy an image on a PowerPoint slide and paste it into a Word document. Click the Start button, click the All Apps button, and open two apps.
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Whereas refreshing a laptop resets system files to factory defaults and retains all your files and some apps, resetting not only resets system files, it gets rid of all your personal files and apps you installed. Resetting is for those times when nothing else has gotten your laptop working again. Make sure that you have exhausted other troubleshooting before resetting your computer, as it could result in lost data.
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Despite your best efforts at using safe practices, you may find yourself with a virus or malware on your laptop. These are not fun and often slow the functionality of your computer. You can take a few proactive steps to make sure your laptop is safe by running a scan with Window Defender. To do so, just follow these easy steps.
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The two tricks to downloading files while staying safe from malware are to only download from sites you trust and to never download file attachments to emails that you aren’t completely sure are safe. The most dangerous files to download are executable files that sport an .exe extension at the end of the filename.
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If you’re like most users, you will perform a multitude of tasks on your Windows 10 laptop and it will house a ton of important information. You can make life simpler by setting app defaults. To make working with files easier, you may want to control which apps are used to open files of different types by default.
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If you have a printer connected to your Windows 10 laptop, it’s a good idea to set your preferences. Your printer might have capabilities, such as being able to print in color or black and white or print in draft quality (which uses less ink) or high quality (which produces a darker, crisper image). To modify these settings for all documents you print, in the Start menu click Settings  → Devices → Printers & Scanners, and then scroll down and click the Devices and Printers link.
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The OneDrive service lets you share files from your laptop with others. Sharing files and folders online can be easier than sending them as attachments because email apps typically limit the size of attachments that you can send at one time. You can share a file or folder that you’ve already stored or created by sharing a link to the file on OneDrive.
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As in the offline world, the Internet has a criminal element. These cybercriminals use Internet tools to commit the same crimes they’ve always committed, from robbing you to misusing your good name and financial information. Know how to spot the types of scams that occur online and you’ll go a long way toward steering clear of Internet crime.
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You can use the Sync feature to share your PC settings among Windows 10 devices so you don’t have to redo the settings on each device. If you have multiple devices, this little trick can help simplify your life. Turn on the Sync feature To sync, the Sync feature has to be turned on in settings, which it is by default.
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Your Windows 10 laptop will make it easy for you to participate in discussions on the internet. A discussion board is a place where you can post written messages, pictures, and videos on a topic such as home improvement. Others can reply to you, and you can respond to their postings. In a variation on discussion boards, you’ll find blogs (web logs) everywhere you turn.
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Modern laptops are all about the apps and Windows 10 gives you everyone you’ll need to manage yours. Task View and the Snap Feature have what you need to keep things organized. Use Task View to see open apps Task View allows you to move among open apps easily and create multiple desktops. Click the Task View button to open Task View.
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Because you put so much effort into acquiring your laptop, you probably want to keep it in the best condition possible. Here's some advice to keep your laptop secure and performing optimally: Windows Firewall: Turn on the Windows Firewall feature to stop people and programs from downloading malicious code and viruses to your computer from the Internet.
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Laptops offer a world of convenience for seniors, but they can be a little intimidating, too. To get started off right, see this checklist for what to look for before buying your laptop. After you’ve purchased your laptop, follow these care and maintenance tips to prolong its life.To round out your experience, here are some handy keyboard shortcuts for getting things done fast in Windows.
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Shopping for a laptop can seem a little overwhelming. Not to worry. This list will help you know what to look for. When you're purchasing your laptop, check for the following features: Portability: The size and weight of your laptop may be important if you plan to take it with you when you travel or work away from home.
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You can set up Windows 10 to use higher screen contrast to make things easier to see, speak descriptions to you rather than make you read text, and more. To begin, in the Start menu click Settings; in the Settings window click Ease of Access. In the Ease of Access window, click any of the first three categories on the left to make any of the following settings: Narrator: The Narrator reads onscreen text and words you type, as well as announcing actions you take, such as changing the Narrator speed slider.
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It’s important to understand the potential security threats that could impact your laptop. Every day you carry around a wallet full of cash and credit cards, and you take certain measures to protect its contents. Your laptop also contains valuable items in the form of data, and it’s just as important that you protect it from thieves and damage.
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When a new operating system such as Windows 10 is released, it has been tested for many months; however, when the product is made available for general use, the manufacturer begins to get feedback about a few problems or security gaps that it couldn’t have anticipated. For that reason, companies such as Microsoft release updates to their software, both to fix those problems and deal with new threats to computers that appear after the software release.
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Use these Windows keystroke shortcuts to handle common activities in applications, such as cutting and pasting text, as well as actions in Windows such as displaying the Action Center, quickly and easily. Key or Keystroke Combination Effect Ctrl+X Cuts the selected text or object Ctrl+C Copies the selected te
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If you have a touchscreen device, either a laptop or tablet, you’ll be glad to hear that Windows 10 is designed to be used with a touchscreen. The table below lists several of the ways you can interact with your touchscreen computing device. Touchscreen Gestures for Windows 10 Gesture Result Swipe up or down Move up or down on a web page Swipe left or right Move to the right or left to reveal additional content that extends beyond the screen in Windows or an app Swipe the right edge of the screen Display the Action Center Pinch to zoom in or out Zoom in or out on a page Tap Select an item Right-click Hold the screen until a small pop-up appears and then lift your finger to reveal the context-specific menu Swipe the left edge of the screen Open Task View If you are using a 2-in-1 laptop that allows you to remove the monitor from the keyboard, a pop-up message will ask if you want to enter Tablet mode.
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The desktop is your home base in Windows; from there you can get to everything Windows 10 has to offer, as well as installed applications and the Internet. Here are some of the elements you’ll find on the desktop: The taskbar displays frequently used applications, such as Microsoft Edge (a web browser) and File Explorer (an app used to browse files and folders on your computer).
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