When first opened, the Windows 8 desktop contains only three icons: the Recycle Bin lives in the top corner; the taskbar’s left corner offers File Explorer (for browsing your own files) and Internet Explorer (for browsing the world’s offerings on the web).
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Everything else requires a trip to the Start screen. Until you follow these steps, that is:
1Right-click a blank portion of your desktop and choose Personalize.
The Personalization window appears.
2On the Personalization window’s left side, click the Change Desktop Icons link.
The Desktop Icon Settings window appears.
3Put a check mark in the top five boxes: Computer, User’s Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel. Then click Apply.
Binding of isaac noodelcade. Shortcuts for those five icons appear on your desktop for quick and easy access.
4Remove the check mark from the option labeled Allow Themes to Change Desktop Icons.
That ensures that those icons will stay put, even if you drape your desktop with a decorative theme.
After those icons appear on your desktop, feel free to drag and drop them any place you’d like. Chances are good that they’ll save you quite a few trips to the Start screen.
For more information about Windows 8 and its features, explore Windows 8 For Dummies, available online.
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How To Add Icons To DesktopWith the release of Windows Vista, and all the other latest operating systems that were released thereafter, even the My Computer/Computer icon was removed leaving behind only the Recycle Bin on the desktop screen. For many home users, the Network icon has no value as the network computers or the network configuration window can be accessed from several other, comparatively easy options from within the operating system itself. On the other hand, the icon can be quite useful for IT and network professionals who want to gain access to the remote devices without wasting any time that they otherwise consume while going to other options that are not available on the desktop. If you are in such a situation, here is how you can place the Network icon on the desktop screen of your copy of Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer:
■Log on to Windows 8/Windows 8.1 using any account. ■Once logged on, click the Desktop tile from the Start screen. ■On the desktop screen, right-click anywhere. ■Click the Personalize option from the displayed context menu. ■From the Personalization window, in the upper-left pane, click Changedesktopicons. ■On the Desktop Icon Settings window, under the Desktop icons box, check the Network checkbox. ■Once checked, the Network icon will be visible on the desktop screen.
By Avram Piltch, LAPTOP Online Editorial Director |
Because Microsoft really wants you to use its new “Modern” UI, the company removed the Start button from the desktop, forcing users to go back to the tile-based Start screen to launch desktop apps. So, if you’re working in Excel and then need to launch PowerPoint, you need to leave the desktop, go to the Start screen and then click the PowerPoint tile, which will drop you back on the desktop again. And if the PowerPoint tile isn't pinned to the Start screen, you have to either perform a search for it or click another two times to get to the All Apps menu.
Windows 8 Add Icon To Desktop
Not only does switching screens take more time than simply launching a menu, it takes you out of context by pushing your work in the first application off-screen, making it easy to lose track of what you were doing.
Fortunately, there are several ways to avoid going through the Start screen every time you want to launch a new desktop application.
Install a Start Menu Alternative
A number of developers have built their own desktop menu programs which look and feel a lot like Microsoft's old Windows 7. Our favorite of these is Classic Shell, which provides a ton of options and even lets you bypass the Start Screen on boot up, reassign the Windows key to launch it and disable hot corners so you don't accidentally go back to the tiled menu when you hover over the lower left section of the screen.
Pin Applications To the Taskbar
As with Windows 7, you can right click on any shortcut or tile for a desktop app and select Pin to Taskbar.
Windows 8 Add App Shortcut To DesktopCreate Keyboard Shortcuts
Every time you roll your mouse pointer anywhere, you're wasting precious seconds of your life. The fastest way to launch any program is to assign it to a Ctrl + Alt + Key combination. To assign a keyboard shortcut, you must right click on a shortcut, select properties and then fill in the Shortcut key field under the Shortcut tab.If a desktop app doesn't have a shortcut visible on the desktop, you must find it on the Start screen or in search, right click and select Open File Location. You will then see a shortcut icon for it appear in Explorer.
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