Finding programs quickly on Windows 8.1 & 10

I would like to start this Blog by welcoming everybody who is reading this because they have joined the new Churchdown Computers Facebook Group. If you have found this Blog by other means and would like to join the Facebook Group then I will quickly summarise the benefits here. Members of the Group will see my latest Blogs which will either comprise of Hints and Tips or news stories on Computer related subjects. However, there are two major benefits on top of this. Firstly you will be able to raise questions that you would like answered and secondly if you join the group during March you will be granted access to the FREE telephone support line which covers minor faults that don't require a home visit. This service is normally only available to existing customers. A link to the group is below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760436304008404

In the Blog I will be covering topics that group members would like covered and also some topics that I come across regularly when visiting customers homes. Some topics will be straightforward and simple but others maybe more technical if that is what members would like to see.

The first topic is how to find your installed programs quickly on Windows 8.1 and 10. This is an area that some customers have struggled with since switching from Windows XP and Windows 7. The problem arises due to the change in the interface and even when customers have found their programs they are always wondering if there is a faster way. On previous operating systems everybody was familiar with clicking the Start button and then programs but that all changed with Windows 8 and 8.1. It has improved again with Windows 10 but it is still much simpler to use search rather than click on the Start button and hunt for your programs.

My recommendation is to click on Cortana or the search field (as per the photograph that accompanies this article) and type what you are looking for. It doesn't need to be the exact name but should be fairly similar. You will see in the picture I have just typed Word rather than Microsoft Word and the program has been found. Having found it you can just click it to open the program. However, to avoid having to search for it again the next time I recommend clicking the right mouse button on the highlighted program and choosing "pin to taskbar". This will add the program to the bar at the bottom of the screen. Many people like to have a shortcut on the desktop and while this can also be done I recommend having regularly used programs on the taskbar. There are two main advantages of this:

1. If you have six or seven windows open you don't need to minimise them all to find your desktop shortcut.
2. If it's on the taskbar you only need a single click rather than a double click to open the program.

The single click option may seem a minor point but it's interesting to note that many Business customers are heavily focused on carrying out their job function with the minimum number of clicks and some Home customers struggle with the click speed when double clicking and need several attempts to get the right speed to open the program.

Hopefully the above has been useful to some group members but as previously mentioned just let me know the topics you would like covered in the future.