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members of the Windows Fan Club; we’re not Windows geeks; we don’t want to look under the hood to see what makes Windows run. The rest of us have a job to do—a job that means using a Windows PC—and we just want Windows to help as much as it can and then get out of our way. The rest of us, in short, don’t need a massive, encyclopedic guide to all things Windows. What we Windows users really need is a reference that’s easier to read, more convenient, and doesn’t require a regular weight-training regimen to lift. What we really need is a portable reference that enables us to be more productive and solve problems wherever we and our PCs happen to be.

      A few special elements provide guardrails and inspiration. Notes help you delve a bit deeper into some topics, Cautions give advice and help you steer clear of problems, and Genius boxes convey the pro tips that will make you more efficient, more productive, and more impressive in the results that you crank out from Windows.

      This book is for Windows users who know the basics but want to take their Windows education to a higher level. It’s a book for people who want to be more productive, more efficient, more creative, and more self-sufficient (at least as far as their Windows life goes, anyway). It’s a book for people who use Windows every day but want to incorporate Windows into more of their day-to-day activities. It’s a book for people who pooh-pooh the notion that you have to be a geek, a nerd, or a computer scientist to get the most out of Windows. It’s a book I had a blast writing, so I think it’s a book you’ll enjoy reading.

       Working with Settings

       Customizing the Start Menu

       Customizing the Taskbar

       Customizing the Lock Screen

       Extending Your Desktop with Multiple Monitors

       Setting Up Multiple Desktops

      Most of your Windows customization work involves tweaking settings, which are options—usually in the form of a check box, switch, radio button, or list—that control the look and operation of either Windows itself or of a particular app that’s installed on your PC.

      Opening the Settings app

      When you want to customize Windows, you’ll almost always need to open the aptly named Settings app, which is home to most Windows customization options. The Settings app is so important that Windows gives you a dozen or so ways to open it. Here are the six most useful methods:

       Click Start and then click Settings (the gear icon).

       Press Windows+I. (The Windows key is the one that has the Windows logo on it; you’ll find it on the lowest row of the keyboard, to the left of the spacebar, between the Ctrl and Alt keys.)

       Click the Notifications icon on the far right of the taskbar and then click All Settings.

       In the taskbar’s Search box, type se (which should be enough to display the Settings app in the search results; if not, continue typing settings until you see Settings in the results) and then press Enter.

       If you have Cortana enabled (see Chapter 5), say “Hey Cortana” and then say “Open Settings.”

       Right-click the Start icon and then click Settings.

      1.1 The Home screen of the Settings app.

      

      Use the taskbar’s Search box to quickly search for the setting you want to work with. Click inside the taskbar’s Search box, type settings:, a space, and then begin typing the setting name. For example, to work with the Show More Tiles on Start setting, type settings: show more, then click Show More Tiles on Start from the search results that appear.

      Synchronizing settings between PCs

      If you use the same Microsoft account to sign in to Windows on

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