Windows User - Issue One, March 2022

঍঩়লস঺ত঱ষষলযনত঵঱তথলসষছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ॰়লস৅হনদলরনষলষফন঵বপফষ
঳যতদনॲউহন঵়বশশসনলস঵ষনতরল঩ন঻঳ন঵ষশথ঵ব঱পশ়লসষফনথনশষষব঳শ॰ষ঵বদমশ
ত঱ধষসষল঵বতযশ঩ল঵঑বদ঵লশল঩ষ৅শল঳ন঵তষব঱পশ়শষনরॲ
঍঱ষফবশ঩ব঵শষবশশসন঺নশফল঺়লসফল঺ষলস঳প঵তধনছব঱ধল঺শষলষফন
দস঵঵ন঱ষহন঵শবল঱॰ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵॲছনষতমন়লসষফ঵লসপফবষশথতশবদ঩স঱দষবল঱শ
঩ল঵থনপব঱঱ন঵শ॰ত঱ধতযশলষতমনতযললমতষশলরনরল঵নতধহত঱দনধ঩নতষস঵নশ
যবমনঘনতরইফতষত঱ধষফনঅ঳঳গষল঵নॲ
঍঩বষ৅শত঳঳শত঱ধপনত঵়লস৅঵নযললমব঱প঩ল঵॰লস঵ব঱ॱধন঳ষফ঵নহবন঺শফনয঳়লস
঩ব঱ধষফনহন঵়থনশষ়লস঵রল঱ন়দত঱থস়ॲছনদলহন঵তযযষফনহন঵়থনশষল঩
ষনদফতদ঵লশশতযযরতভল঵ল঩঳যতষ঩ল঵রশ॰শল়লস৅঵নথলস঱ধষল঩ব঱ধশলরনষফব঱প
঩ল঵়লসॲ঍ষ৅শতযযব঱ষফবশহন঵়঩ব঵শষবশশসনল঩ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵঙশন঵ॲ
ইল঱ষন঱ষশ
ॵॺ ঘফনউশশন঱ষবতযশ
ॵॼ Windows 11 Start Screen
ॴॺ ঘফনখবপফষগষত঵ষ
ॶॴ How to Use the Start Menu
ॴॼ Updating to Windows 11
ॶॶ Notifications and Quick Settings
ॴॽ Installation Assistant
ॶॷ Quick Settings Panel
ॵॴ Windows 11 - Getting Started
ॶॸ How to Use the Taskbar
ॵॸ Did You Know? ॶॺ Using Task View and Multiple Desktops
ॶॼ Using Snap Layout and Snap Groups
ॷॴ Inside the File Explorer
ॷॶ How to Use File Explorer
ॷॸ Create and Manage Folders
ॷॺ ছল঵যধছবধনছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ
ॷॼ Connecting Your PC to the Internet
ॷॽ Manage Network Settings
ॸॴ Exploring the Windows 11 Settings
ॸॶ Using Widgets in Windows 11
ॸॸ Exploring Microsoft Edge
ॸॹ Edge Settings
4 | www.bdmpublications.com
ॸॺ How to Use the Edge Browser

ॸॼ Personalising the Feed
ॸॽ Personalising Edge
ॹॴ Exploring Windows Mail
ॹॶ How to Use the Mail App
ॹॹ Customise the Mail App
ॹॺ Exploring the Microsoft Store
ॹॼ How to Use the Windows App Store
ॺॴ How to Use Teams Chat
ॺॵ Meet and Chat in Teams
ॺॶ ঑তমব঱প঍ষঝলস঵ও঺঱
ॺॸ Search in Windows 11
ॺॹ Search Settings and Tools
ॺॺ Inside the Calendar App
ॺॼ Dates and Appointments with Calendar
ॺॽ Creating and Managing Events
ॻॴ Did You Know?
ॻॶ Personalising Windows 11
ॻॹ Disable the Lock Screen
ॻॼ Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts
ॼॴ ঘনদফখলস঱ধॱঙ঳
ॵॴॶ ঒ন঻ষ঍শশসন
www.bdmpublications.com | 5
THE RIGHT START
The Right Start
The first time install or upgrade of any

operating system is one of the, if not
the, most important elements that can
make or break your user experience.
With this in mind, our expert team lay
out their install tips.
THE RIGHT START
ঙ঳ধতষব঱পষলছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ
঍঱শষতযযতষবল঱অশশবশষত঱ষ
ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵॱঋনষষব঱পগষত঵ষনধ
ঈবধঝলসএ঱ল঺ঃ
Updating to
Windows 11
Microsoft’s latest version of Windows hit the update servers on October 5th 2021, but it
seemed many computers were still waiting for the go-ahead from their Windows Update
screens, if you are one of them we can help you. Here’s how to step up the process.
If you’re still on Windows 10, and waiting patiently for your update screen to display the exciting ‘Ready to
update Windows 11’ notification, then this is the guide for you. Rather than tweaking with the update
settings, or delving into the murky depths of the command prompt, there’s an easier way to get the ball
rolling and get you on and working with Windows 11.
Before You Leap What you will need to do is drop into your BIOS, this can normally
be done by tapping either the Del or F2 keys when you first power
up your computer (before it starts to boot into Windows). Naturally,
different motherboard manufacturers offer different keypresses, so
you’ll need to check with your manual.
Before we go about running the update process, it’s worth

checking that your system can actually run Windows 11. Many of
us have already been down this route, and have discovered that
we need to apply a few elements prior to installing the newest OS When in the BIOS, look for Settings > Security > Trusted Computing.
from Microsoft. If you’ve got an AMD processor, you may also have to look for AMD
CPU fTPM. Enable both, if available, save the settings and reboot
TPM 2.0 the computer before your prodeed.
These entries will differ from one motherboard to the next, as

TPM stands for Trusted Platform Module, and its task is to protect
previously mentioned. You may need to Google your motherboard
data through authentication, perform platform integrity, utilise disk
make and model number, together with the words ‘enable TPM’, to
encryption, and store passwords and certificates. In short, it’s an
see how to specifically enable it for you.
extra layer of hardware protection to help stop your PC from being
compromised or to stop many forms of malware from infecting the
Once enabled, and rebooted into Windows 10, go to https://www.
core components of your computer.
microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11, and scroll to the
bottom of the page and click on the Download PC Health Check
Now that you know what TPM is, you can begin to understand
App button to start the download process.
Microsoft’s insistence of it being present before even allowing
Windows 11 to be installed. Windows is, by quite a margin, the
most popular operating system in the world, and as such it’s the
main target for malware and many other very unpleasant things
out there in the wild world. By using TPM, Microsoft is under the
opinion that it’s making things a little more difficult for any
hackers and creators of malware. It is, however, totally possible to
bypass the TPM requirements.
Anyway, in general, if your computer is reasonably up to date, or

roughly less than four years old, then there’s a good chance that
you have a TPM present in your system. For some systems, TPM
comes in the form of an actual module that physically plugs into a
socket on your motherboard, for most computers, though, TPM is
offered via the processor.
The Right Start
Once it’s downloaded, double-click to install it. When installed,

run the Health Check App, and look for the Check Now button in
the Introduction Windows 11 section. Click it, and you’ll be
given a report as to whether your computer can run Windows 11
or not. If not, you’re told where it’s failed and you can look up
what to do next and remedy the situation.
If all is well, head on over to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/

software-download/windows11, and locate the Windows 11
Installation Assistant section. Click on the Download Now button,
to save the app to your computer.
Locate the app on your computer, and double-click it to begin the

Windows 11 installation process. If everything is as it should be,
you’ll be presented with an Install Windows 11 window. Click on
the Accept and Install button to continue the process.
Windows 11 Installation Assistant

To force the update to Windows 11, providing your computer can
handle it, you’ll need to run the Windows 11 Installation Assistant.
This is a separate app that enables Windows 10 users, who have a
valid Windows license, to update their computers to the latest
version of Windows 11.
You’ll need to ensure that you have at least version 2004 of

Next, the app will download the necessary file and perform the
Windows 10 before you begin. It’s worth going to the Windows
forced installation of Windows 11. This could be anywhere between
Update section in the Settings and checking for the latest updates.
20 minutes to nearly an hour – depending on the speed of your
computer, connection to the Internet and so on.
It’s a three-step process, and the final step will have you reboot the
computer. You’ll then need to go through a Welcome process, and
once that’s done, the Windows 11 desktop will load; retaining all
your files, desktop settings etc.
Windows 11 -
Getting Started
Microsoft has greatly improved its initial Windows setup routine with intuitive guides.
Where once you were simply delivered onto the desktop and left to your own devices,
now Windows 11 ensures you can comfortably hit the ground running.
Hello Windows 11
One of the first tasks to complete when you boot into Windows 11, is to run through the Getting Started
guide. Here’s how it works.
Step 1 You’ll find the Getting Started guide in the Start Step 3 If you already have a OneDrive, or Microsoft,
menu, when you click the Windows logo button account, then click on the Sign In button to enter
on the taskbar. It’s a welcome to Windows setup wizard, and your details and link your OneDrive with the account on the
makes sure you’re ready to use your files, and get access to your Windows 11 PC you’re currently setting up. If you don’t have a
work quickly and effectively. Once it has opened, click the Get OneDrive account, click the Create Account button and then
Started button to continue to the next step. follow the on-screen instructions.
Step 2 Microsoft’s use of OneDrive for both business and Step 4 When you’ve completed the setup and logged into
personal data has become one of the OneDrive, a special folder within your user account
cornerstones of the company’s services. OneDrive offers a secure on the PC will be setup. This folder allows you to interact in
space to store your data, which will always be available no matter real-time with the OneDrive cloud service, so any files created in the
what happens to your computer. Click on the Open File Explorer folder will be automatically uploaded to OneDrive; and vice versa.
button to begin your OneDrive setup and login.
The Right Start
Step 5 OneDrive will also setup an automated service Step 7 The next step in the Getting Started process has
that will backup any files and folders that you you viewing and selecting any of the popular
store on the Desktop, in your Documents folder, and in your apps that are currently available for Windows 11. Naturally, you
Pictures folder. Click on the ‘Setting up folder back up’ link to add can install these apps via the Windows Store at a later date, but
more folders to backup, or deselect any you don’t want to. having them to begin with can reduce the amount of time you
spend setting up the computer.
Step 6 The service will help reduce the amount of space Step 8 An interesting element to the Getting Started
taken up on the PC, or other Windows 11 devices setup are the informational sections; such as this
you’re using, by utilising Files On Demand. This is an automatic one. It details the new Search app that’s located on the taskbar. It
setup that will let you view and edit files on OneDrive without also highlights the new Start launch taskbar, and shows how easy
downloading them locally. You can, however, opt to makes files it is to use, and pin any Apps to.
and folder Always Available.
Windows 11 - Getting Started continued...
Step 9 The Focus Assist setting is designed to help you Step 11 Widgets are a resurfacing technology from the
choose the notifications you’d like to see and Windows Vista days; only now they work a lot
hear, without the distractions of those you don’t. Any notification better. This panel of the Getting Started setup shows you how
that’s not set in the Priority list of apps, will be added to the to access your Widgets, and how to explore what’s available.
Notification area without disturbing your workflow. Click the The widget window scrolls in from the left of the screen,
Open focus assist settings button for further information. slightly raised above the taskbar.
Step 10 Microsoft Edge has seen some dramatic Step 12 Linking your Android phone with Windows is a
improvements over the years, so much so that function that appeared in the early years of
it’s now regarded as one of the most secure, and fastest browsers Windows 10. Since then it has improved significantly, and you
available. Of course, if you prefer to use Chrome, Firefox or can easily setup and configure the interface from this panel in
another browser, then you’re free to do so. Edge, however, is built the Getting Started guide. Simply click the, Link your Android
on Chrome technologies, so it might be worth giving it a go. button to begin the connection process.
The Right Start
Step 13 The new Chat icon in the taskbar is an element of Step 15 Now would be a good opportunity to check that
Microsoft Teams. Teams has proved its worth in any specific hardware drivers are updated to
gold during lockdown, and has now been included by default in Windows 11. To do this depends greatly on the type of hardware.
Windows 11. It’s cross-platform, and easy to setup and use. Just For example, Nvidia GPUs will use the Nvidia GeForce Experience.
click on the Chat button in the taskbar to begin the setup process. Simply click to open the hardware setup client, and follow the
on-screen instruction to apply the update(s).
Step 14 That’s the Getting Started guide complete. You’ll Step 16 If you have any older software, it’s worth taking
now have a fully setup and working OneDrive a moment to test that it still behaves the way
with active folders, sorted out your notifications, launched and you expect it to under Windows 11. If not, then look the
begun to use the Edge browser, and connected your Android software up online, see if there’s an update to Windows 11, or
phone. Before you do get started, we suggest you try the following. contact the developers directly to ask for guidance relating to
the specific software itself.
ঌত঵ধঈ঵বহব঱প
ঌত঵ধধ঵বহনশফতহনদলরনতযল঱প঺ত়শব঱দনবষ঺তশব঱হন঱ষনধথ়঍আ঑থতদমব঱ॵॽॹॺॲঘফন
঍আ঑঑লধনযॷॹॴঈবশমশষল঵নধভসশষ঩বহন঑আল঩ধতষত॰ল঱ॹॴॶॸॱব঱দফ঳যতষষন঵শॲঌন঵ন৅শত
঳বদষস঵নল঩বষথনব঱পযলতধনধল঱ষলত঱তন঵ল঳যত঱নॲঊতশষ঩ল঵঺ত঵ধষলষলধত়॰঺ফন঵নষফন
যত঵পনশষদত঳তদবষ়ফত঵ধধ঵বহনতহতবযতথযনপবহনশ়লসত঺ফল঳঳ব঱পॵॼঘআল঩শষল঵তপনॲঘফতষ৅শ
লহন঵ষফ঵ননত঱ধতফতয঩রবযযবল঱ষবরনশতশযত঵পনॲঅ঱ধস঱যবমনষফন঍আ঑঑লধনযॷॹॴঈবশম॰
঺ফবদফদলসযধথনযনতশনধতষ२ॷॶॴॴতরল঱ষফ६२ॷॶ॰ॼॴॴব঱ষলধত়৅শরল঱ন়७॰ষফনগনতপতষন
঍঵ল঱ছলয঩ঔ঵লॵॼঘআদলশষশত঵নযতষবহনয়ত঩঩ল঵ধতথযন२ॹॴॴॲ
THE ESSENTIALS
The Essentials
What follows is our pick of the most

important skills you, as a new user of
Windows 11, will need to make the
move to your new OS as seamless as
it can be. We are here to help build
your confidence right from the start.
THE ESSENTIALS
ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵগষত঵ষগদ঵নন঱
ঌল঺ষলঙশনষফনগষত঵ষ঑ন঱স
঒লষব঩বদতষবল঱শত঱ধকসবদমগনষষব঱পশ
কসবদমগনষষব঱পশঔত঱নয
ঌল঺ষলঙশনষফনঘতশমথত঵
ঙশব঱পঘতশমচবন঺ত঱ধ঑সযষব঳যনঈনশমষল঳শ
ঙশব঱পগ঱ত঳ঐত়লসষত঱ধগ঱ত঳ঋ঵লস঳শ
঍঱শবধনষফনঊবযনউ঻঳যল঵ন঵
ঌল঺ষলঙশনঊবযনউ঻঳যল঵ন঵
ই঵নতষনত঱ধ঑ত঱তপনঊলযধন঵শ
Windows 11
Start Screen
The Windows 11 desktop user interface (UI) is a radical change from what we’re used to
with previous versions of Windows. The main differences are the new taskbar,
Notifications and Widgets.
1 Widgets
The Widgets snap in from
the left of the desktop when you
move your mouse over to the edge of
the screen. You’ll notice that the
Widget window is slightly raised, this
is to avoid it clashing with the
taskbar; to help keep the desktop
clutter-free. You can also open them
by pressing the Windows Key + W on
your keyboard.
2 Search
You can use the Search
field to look for more specific Widgets,
and add them to your desktop for a
more personalised desktop
environment. Note that new Widgets
are being added to Windows 11
almost on a daily basis. Keep an eye
out, to see if the one you’ve always
wanted makes an appearance.
3 Taskbar
The new Windows 11
taskbar expands out from the centre
of the desktop now. The Windows
Start button still works in the same
way, displaying installed apps and
offering access to the OS settings.
4 Search
The Search function within
Windows 11 is greatly improved, and
easier to find what you’re looking for.
Whether it’s a document on your
computer, or something online, you
can find it here.
The Essentials
Then and Now

We’ve come a long way since the early
days of Windows version 1.0. Through
ups and downs, Windows has evolved
to become the most used desktop
operating system in the world. Over
35 years have passed since Windows
1.0 has released, let’s see what the
next 35 hold for Microsoft’s OS.
5 Default Display
The default Widgets
display the latest sporting news, the
current weather, entertainment and
the state of Stocks and Shares. These
can be dragged and dropped to
different locations, changed or even
removed completely.
6 Desktop
As with all previous
versions of Windows, the Desktop can
be personalised and configured how
you like. Its new look is brighter, with
cleaner edges and better resolution
than before, to help ease eye-strain
and keep you focused.
7 Profile
Your Microsoft or local
Windows 11 profile image will be
displayed here. By clicking it, you’ll be
able to access further settings relating
to many aspects of the core operating
system, as well as specific settings to
do with the Widgets feature.
8 Notifications
The Notification Centre
and the taskbar are now combined.
Click the set of icons that represent
Wi-Fi, battery and so on, and the
screen will expand upward to reveal
more settings. In here you’ll find
access to the important elements of
the computer. Notifications will be
displayed next to the date; as and
when they’re needed. This allows you
to focus more on what you’re doing
without unnecessary distractions.
How to Use
the Start Menu
The Start menu has been given a big makeover for Windows 11, simplified in some ways
and expanded in others. It may look a bit empty when compared to the Windows 10
Start menu, but it is still the main way to access your installed apps, software and games.
Get to Grips with Start

If you have used Windows 10, the Start menu shouldn’t hold too many surprises for you, but it is still a good
idea to familiarise yourself with its features.
Step 1 The completely redesigned Start menu is opened Step 3 If the app you want to open is shown, click the
by clicking on the Windows icon in the taskbar, or icon to open it. If not, you can click the “All Apps”
by pressing the Windows Key on your keyboard. It opens above button to open the full, scrollable list of apps. You can change the
the taskbar icons, floating in the middle of the screen. It will apps that appear here by right-clicking on the icon and choosing
appear over the top of any open windows. “Unpin/Pin to Start” from the action menu.
Step 2 The Start menu is arranged in four main sections: Step 4 In the app menu, apps are sorted
Search, Pinned Apps, Recent or Recommended alphabetically, except for a Most Used section
Files and Account/Power. Clicking in the Search field will switch to at the top. If you click the title of that section (or any other
the dedicated Search panel, rather than letting you type your section heading), a letter grid will appear, allowing you to
search term directly into the Start menu. quickly skip to a specific section of the apps list.
The Essentials
Step 5 The Recommended section shows files that have Step 8 Use the sliders to enable or disable Start menu
been recently opened, or that have been opened features you want or no longer want. To add
frequently. Click on any icon to open the file in whatever app/ folders to the Start menu, click the folders option in the Start
program it is associated with. Click the “More” button to the right settings and then use the slider switches to add any of the preset
to open a larger list of files. folders you want or need quick access to.
Step 6 The bottom section contains a link to the Step 9 Open the Start menu again to see the newly
Microsoft Account menu. Click this to change added (or removed features). You may not
account settings, lock your computer or sign out of the current initially notice any difference to the apps list if you have not yet
account. At the other end of the section is the power button. Click used any apps repeatedly. The folders you added can be found
this and choose from the available power options. next to the power button in the bottom section.
Step 7 It is also possible to display your most used apps Step 10 It is not possible to resize the Start menu, nor is it
and a selection of folders in the Start menu. To possible to change the style of it. You can change
enable these features, open the main settings menu (you should the overall colour mode (light, dark or custom), which will change
see the icon for this in the pinned apps) and click on the the colour of the Start menu along with other main elements of
Personalisation section. Then choose the Start option. the interface such as the taskbar.
Notifications and
Quick Settings
There have always been pop-up messages in Windows but now there is a centralised way
in which these are viewed and interacted with. In Windows 11, this is called the
Notification Center, it works more like the notifications panel on a smartphone or tablet.
Exploring the Notification Center

The Notification Center is an important and useful element in Windows 11, providing you with access to the
calendar as well as notifications and alerts.
Step 1 New notifications and alerts will pop up at the Step 3 Unlike Windows 10, the Notification Center
bottom-right corner of the screen (by default, but (which was called the Action Center previously)
you can change the notification settings), disappearing after a few only contains notifications and alerts, not quick settings. It does
seconds. After the initial pop-up has disappeared, you can view all include the calendar now, which is expanded by clicking the
current notifications by clicking on the time/date in the taskbar. arrow next to the date at the bottom of the notification panel.
Step 2 You can see if there are new notifications waiting Step 4 Above the calendar section is your notification
to be viewed by the badge that will appear on the panel. Notifications can be from the system
corner of the time/date in the taskbar. You can turn off these (Windows updates for example), from your calendar, from apps and
badges in the settings, but they are a useful and unobtrusive way even from settings that need to be managed. Notifications are sorted
to see, at a glance, if you have something requiring your attention. into sections within the notifications panel; based on their type.
The Essentials
Step 5 At the top of the Notifications panel is a button to Step 6 To manage your notification display settings, go
clear all notifications. You can clear notifications to Settings > System > Notifications. Here you
individually by hovering the pointer over them and clicking the X. You can choose the apps/features which can send you notifications,
can also click the menu button on each notification to see some using the slider switches. Click the name of the app to see further
notification settings, such as setting similar messages as a priority. settings, such as whether a sound is played, and the priority level.
Quick Settings Panel

Unlike in the previous version of Windows, Windows 11 separates the quick settings panel from the
Notification Center.
Step 1 To access the quick settings panel in Windows 11, Step 3 Right-click anywhere on the Quick Settings panel
press Windows Key + a. The panel will appear in the to see a link to “Edit quick settings”. Click this and
same position on screen as the Notification Center. By default the the buttons will be greyed out, and unpin icons will appear on each.
panel contains buttons to quickly enable/disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Click these to remove a button from the panel. You can also click
Flight Mode, Battery Saver (if using a laptop) and Focus Assist. the + button at the bottom to add other quick settings buttons.
Step 2 There are also sliders to control screen brightness Step 4 Some of the quick settings buttons will have an
and system volume. The exact settings that arrow on the button. Clicking these buttons will
appear in the quick settings panel will vary, depending on if you open a new panel, with further options for that particular feature. For
are using a desktop or a laptop computer. At the bottom of the example, the Wi-Fi button will open a list of available networks, and
panel is a button to open the main Windows 11 settings app. Keyboard Layout will open a list of the different layouts available.
How to Use
the Taskbar
If you are moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11, the taskbar will likely be the first and
most obvious change you notice. The taskbar has always been a useful tool, but in Windows
11 it becomes the real focus of the desktop and contains even more features and tools.
Mastering the Windows 11 Taskbar

The taskbar has always been more useful than many users realise. In Windows 11 the emphasis has shifted
much more towards a simplified, but still powerful, selection of pinned tools/apps.
Taskbar Layout The taskbar runs the full length of the Search Tool The embedded search field of Windows 10
bottom of the screen, and is now is gone, replaced by a button (magnifying
divided into two main sections: Start Menu/Pinned App and glass) that opens a new system search panel. This unified search
System Tools. In Windows 11 the taskbar app icons are allows you to not only search for things on your computer, but
arranged in the centre of the taskbar (although this can be also in OneDrive and for results from websites. As you begin
changed), with system tools on the right. typing, search suggestions appear.
Start Menu The first icon in the row of taskbar icons is the Task View The third button in the row of taskbar icons
Start menu button. Clicking this opens the opens Task View. Task View is not a new
Start menu directly above the icons. You can right-click the Start feature to Windows, but it has been slightly changed and
menu button to see a jump menu of additional links and tools. streamlined for this version. Task View allows you to quickly see
These include a shortcut to shut down or sign out of your computer. every app and window you have open, switch between them
and even create new desktops.
The Essentials
Widgets The fourth default button opens the Widget panel, Peek Hovering over any open app icon in the
on the left side of the screen. The widget panel can Taskbar brings up a Peek preview of the
be customised to suit your needs with information such as weather, window. If a movie is playing, for example, you will see it
photos, stock prices, sports results and news stories. As Windows 11 playing here too. If you mouse over the preview, the actual app
develops, it is likely even more functionality will be added. or window will pop up on screen. You will also see an X to close
the window, without actually selecting it.
Microsoft Teams The huge recent rise of remote working System Tools The right-hand side of the taskbar is
and video meetings goes some way to reserved for the system tools, the time
explain why Microsoft have embedded Teams as part of Windows and date (which opens the Notification Center upon a click)
11. Once you are set up and signed into your Teams account, and the Show Desktop button. The system tools will vary
clicking this button will open the start/join meeting interface. depending on your computer, but may include battery status,
Wi-Fi status, Sound and OneDrive.
Pinning Apps A few other apps and other software will Taskbar Settings You have quite a lot of free reign when
be pinned to the taskbar when you first it comes to which apps you have
use your Windows 11 PC. You can add several more as and showing in the taskbar. Open Settings > Personalisation >
when you choose. To pin compatible apps, right-click on the Taskbar. Here you can use the slider switches to enable or disable
app icon anywhere you see it (Start menu for example), and the default apps that appear. You can also change the alignment
then click Pin to Taskbar. of the pinned apps back to the left.
Using Task View and
Multiple Desktops
Task View was introduced properly in Windows 10, as a way to make multi-tasking easier
and allowing the creation of extra desktop areas. In Windows 11 it’s even easier to instantly
check and switch to open windows; and to create and manage multiple desktops.
Using Task View

Task View is a quick way to view and manage all of the windows and apps open on your PC at any given
moment, even those that are minimised.
Step 1 Task View is accessed by clicking the third icon in Step 3 Click on any window or app in Task View to open
the taskbar; the white square on the black square. it at full size on the desktop. It will appear in front
The Task View screen is split into two sections: Open tasks and of any windows you already had open and visible on the desktop.
desktops. Any apps or windows you have open, even if they are You can also close windows or apps directly from the Task view.
currently minimised, will be displayed in the open tasks panel. Just hover the mouse over the window and click the X button.
Step 2 The size and shape of the windows shown in Task Step 4 If you right-click on one of the windows/apps
View depend on the size and shape of the actual shown in Task View, you will see several more
window. For example, if you have Microsoft Edge open at full options. Snap left/right will open the selected window, but
screen, it will be displayed as a wide rectangle in Task View. If you “snapped” or positioned to the left or right of the home screen.
have a lot of windows open, the open tasks panel will be scrollable. You will see that there are also several options for showing/
hiding the window on new desktops.
The Essentials
Using Multiple Desktops

Creating multiple desktops is a great way of separating your activities across multiple defined spaces, and
helps you concentrate and split your workload.
Step 1 One of the great features in Task View is the Step 4 You can right-click the apps in Task View to send
ability to add extra desktops. Virtual desktops are them to another desktop. You can also drag and
essentially extra workspaces, so for example you can have one drop windows/apps from one desktop to another. If you have an app
space with your email and chat windows open and another or window open in one desktop and then try to open it in another,
where you’re working in PowerPoint without email distractions. you will just switch to the desktop where it was already open.
Step 2 Click or tap the New Desktop button at the bottom Step 5 To get around this problem, open the Task View
of the Task View screen and you will see an entirely and right click on an app or window. From the
new and blank desktop. If you had any apps or windows open in the menu, choose either “Show this window on all desktops” or “Show
main desktop, they won’t be open here. Don’t worry, they haven’t windows from this app on all desktops”. You can also use this menu
been closed, they are still open on the other desktop. to move apps or windows between your open desktops.
Step 3 With Task View open, right click on one of the Step 6 If you hover over the apps and windows shown
desktop previews at the bottom and you can in the Open Tasks panel, you will see an X
choose a different background wallpaper (making identifying appear; now you can close superfluous desktops down to save
which desktop you are on currently easier), and also you can resources. Doing this doesn’t close any apps down, so you don’t
choose to move a desktop to the left or right, switching which need to manually move them yourself. It just automatically adds
one is the main desktop. them to the main desktop for you.
Using Snap Layout
and Snap Groups
Snap Layouts and Snap Groups, while similar to Snap Assist in Windows 10, are completely
new features for Windows 11. Each is designed to make your life easier by giving you new
ways to organise and retrieve apps and windows on a busy desktop.
Using Snap Layouts

Snap Layouts are a quick and easy way to organise a busy or cluttered desktop. They are similar to Snap
Assist, but are created in a new and different way.
Step 1 Snap Layouts can be created with just one open Step 3 Your other open windows/apps will appear as
app or window, but really come into their own previews in one of the other layout positions.
when several are open. Move your mouse over the Maximise Click one of them to open it in that layout position. The process
button (top-right corner) of any open app or window, without is then repeated for any other open windows, if you choose a
clicking. After a second, a brand new menu will pop up, showing layout with more than 2 spaces. Windows are automatically
the available layouts you can use. resized to fit in the layout.
Step 2 There are 4 preset layouts available (at present, Step 4 If you now try to move a window or app out of the
although more may be added): 2 equal windows layout, it will switch back to its original dimensions
side-by-side, 2 unequal windows side-by-side, 3 windows and 4 equal when it unsnaps from the grid. You can create multiple Snap Layouts,
windows. Click on whichever you want to use, and the window/app each containing different apps/windows. These remain until the
you used to open the layout will snap into one of the positions. windows are closed or removed from the group.
The Essentials
Step 5 You can change the dimensions of the layout once Step 6 You can snap apps and windows into position using
you have created one. With the layout open, hover a keyboard shortcut as well. Highlight a window
your mouse over the line where the windows meet, either horizontally and then press Windows Key + one of the arrow keys. Depending on
or vertically. A wider bar will appear, which you can click and drag to which direction you press, the window will snap left, right, up or
change the horizontal or vertical dimensions of the layout. down. Combine key presses to snap up and left, for example.
Using Snap Groups

Snap Groups are an extension of Snap Layouts, keeping snapped apps and windows together even when the
layout is minimised.
Step 1 Once you have created a Snap Layout, or multiple Step 3 If you use multiple desktops, you can move Snap
layouts, you can minimise the whole thing (by Groups to any of the additional desktop areas. Just
clicking the Show Desktop button on the right of the Taskbar) or open the Task View, and then right click on each of the apps or
minimise each individual app or window. As long as they are not windows in the group and choose, “Show this window on all desktop”.
closed, the layout persists as a Snap Group. The group will automatically be recreated on the other desktop.
Step 2 If you move your mouse over any of the Taskbar Step 4 You can find a lot of different settings for how
icons of apps or windows in a group, two Peek windows snap in the main settings > System >
windows will pop up. One shows the app on its own, and they other Multi-tasking. Click the Snap windows option and a list of different
shows the app in the group. To re-open the group, just click on the settings will open. You can also, if you wish, completely turn off
group preview. To open the app on its own, click that preview. window snapping here, using the slider switch.
Inside the
File Explorer
Although the File Explorer is much the same as it was in previous versions of Windows,
it’s still worth exploring it further. The File Explorer is one of the most overlooked tools in
Windows, but if you want to be able to find your accumulated photos, music files, word
documents and other files, without having to use Search every time, it’s definitely
something you should be familiar with.
1 File Explorer Toolbar

The simplified Explorer toolbar still
contains all of the tools you need to manage the
different files and folders you can view. Once you
have selected a file or folder in the main pane,
more tools become active. You can also click the
“More menu” button to see additional options
such as Burn to disc and Compress to Zip file.
2 Navigation Pane - Folders

The left-hand sidebar contains a list of
different file folders on your computer. Clicking
on any of the folders shown here will display the
various files and folders inside; in the main pane.
The list is split into sections, including Quick
Access/Recent, OneDrive and This PC. If you
right-click on a blank area, you can choose to
show All Folders here.
3 Info Bar
The thin bar along the bottom of the
File Explorer displays several bits of useful
information. If nothing in the main window is
selected, the info bar shows the total number of
items in the selected folder. Click on a file and
the file size is also shown here. If you select
several files, the number of items selected is
shown, along with the total size of all selected
items combined.
4 Folder Contents Pane

When a folder is selected in the File
Location sidebar, its contents are shown in the
main pane. The contents of any single folder may
vary greatly of course, but Windows uses standard
icons to show Word documents, text files, various
different image formats and shortcuts to apps and
software. As you can see here, images will usually
be displayed as a thumbnail unless view settings
have been changed.
The Essentials
5 Menus 6 Window Controls

You will have noticed by now Almost every window that opens in
that Windows 11 has some fancy new Windows includes these controls. From left to
icons in place of the previous cut, paste, right they are: Minimise, Maximise and Close. In
copy, rename and so on. They may a little Windows 11, moving the mouse over the
getting used to, especially if your muscle maximise button brings up the Snap Layouts
memory mouse finger keeps hitting the panel. Right-clicking on the control bar will show
wrong icon! Don’t worry, though, it won’t you a couple of extra controls, including Restore,
take long to adapt. Move and Size.
7 Search
The familiar Search Bar may look
identical to previous versions of Windows,
however, there’s a lot more going on under the
hood. Windows 11 utilises new search
patterns, making it faster and easier to find
what you’re after.
8 Preview Pane
If the preview pane is enabled,
approximately a third of the File Explorer
window will be reserved for a preview of any
selected files. Normally, only image, html and
text files will display a preview in this pane. The
preview pane can be increased or decreased in
size by clicking and dragging the scroll bar to the
left of it.
9 Folder View
The two buttons here let you choose
between viewing the contents of the folder in a
thumbnail format or alternatively, as a list. When
the folder items are displayed as a list, you can
choose to display a varying amount of
information, including date last modified, file type
and file size. Items shown as a list will still display
a preview in the Preview Pane when selected.
Show Libraries The View Tab

Your Libraries in Windows 11 are preset system The View tab in File Explorer allows you to
folders that are the default locations for your completely change how the window looks, how
Camera Roll, Music, Saved Pictures, Documents, files are displayed and even whether each item
Pictures and Videos. You can easily have these has a permanent check box next to it. One of the
displayed in the File Explorer. Right-click on any most useful tools in the View tab is the Details
free area of the Navigation Pane and from the Pane button. This switches the Preview Pane to
menu, click Show Libraries. You can then expand show a list of file details instead. This is
the list of libraries by clicking the small arrow. particularly useful if you are looking at images.
How to Use
File Explorer
You can just use the powerful and improved search feature to find files and documents;
but the new, simplified File Explorer is often a better choice, especially if you are looking
for groups of files or want to preview several files to find the right one.
What’s New in File Explorer?

File Explorer is a much undervalued part of Windows. And while it hasn’t fundamentally changed for several
versions of the operating system, Windows 11 has made some changes, which we’ll take you through here.
Step 1 The way you browse files in Windows 11 is Step 3 There are new icons across all File Explorer
similar to previous versions of Windows, but views. And there are a lot more file operations
File Explorer has been slightly simplified. The main Quick that you can access on the menu at the top of the window
Access window shows you your most frequently used folders (known as the ‘ribbon’), without the need to use the right-click
(after all, how many of us dip into more than five or ten folders menu. This makes it easier to use on PCs with touch screens.
in a day?) and also recent files.
Step 2 The sidebar also works on the same principle, Step 4 The new icons are all fairly self-explanatory if you
and via a new Quick Access feature you can pin have used any PC in the past. There are icons for
folders or files that you want to stick around. It will also show you Cut, Copy, Delete, Rename and Share, as well as folder control
Frequent folders too. You can pin things permanently onto Quick icons like View and Sort. If you are unsure what any icon does,
Access by right-clicking them and selecting Add to Quick Access. just hover your pointer over one to see a label pop up.
The Essentials
Step 5 The simplification continues on the This PC Step 8 You can access just about every folder on your
screen. All of the controls are still there, you just computer, both system and created folders, from
need to click on the More menu (the three dots) in the top bar. the File Explorer. There are several folders in the sidebar that are
This menu is contextual. For example, select a drive such as C: always shown, including This PC, Network and OneDrive. Right
and then click the menu to see options such as “Map network click on the sidebar to add even more useful folders to this area.
drive” and “Burn to disc”.
Step 6 Sharing files in File Explorer is again similar to Step 9 If you’ve come from an earlier version of
Windows 10. Select one or more files in the Windows, you should be familiar with OneDrive.
window, click the Share button and the share panel will open. It’s Microsoft’s cloud storage application and it’s available to
The sharing options shown here will vary depending on which access directly from File Explorer in Windows 11; so you can view
apps you have installed and which communication features you your cloud-stored files just as if they were on your computer.
have decided to set up.
Step 7 When viewing some files, such as photos, in File Step 10 You can quickly change how you view files in File
Explorer, it can be useful to see a larger preview. Explorer using the folder view buttons in the
This feature if turned off by default, but can be enabled at any time. bottom-right corner (thumbnail view or detail view). There are
In any folder in File Explorer, click the View tab and then click Show. many more folder options, including privacy and view options,
From the new menu you can choose to see a Preview pane. accessed by clicking the More button and then choosing Options.
Create and
Manage Folders
Despite all of the changes to the Window’s OS, folders have remained one of the core
tools for organising your files. Much more than just boxes to keep your photos or music
files in, folders can really help to improve how you use Windows 11 on a day-to-day basis.
Creating New Folders

It may seem too simple if you are a long time Windows user, but here’s a look at how to create new folders
on the desktop and within other folders.
Step 1 On the desktop, right-click and select New folder Step 3 Double-click any folder to open it and view the
from the action menu that appears. The familiar contents. You can move items into a folder by
yellow folder icon will then appear at that position on the selecting, dragging and dropping into an open folder or a closed
desktop (wherever you clicked), with the name automatically set one. If the folder is closed, drag the selected items over the top of
as ‘New folder’ but highlighted ready to change. it until the folder is highlighted, then release.
Step 2 You can leave the name as ‘New folder’ if you Step 4 To delete a folder, right-click on it and select
wish. If you then create a second folder next to Delete from the action menu. You can also click
the first, it will automatically be named ‘New folder (2)’. You can and drag the folder to the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop.
rename a folder at any time by left-clicking on the title once, or Anything in the folder will also be placed in the recycle bin. To
right-clicking and selecting Rename from the menu. move folders around the desktop, just click, drag and drop them.
The Essentials
Managing Your Folders

Once created, folders can be adapted and customised in a number of ways. You can even change the default
icon used whenever a new folder is added.
Step 1 You can manage a folder in a number of ways, Step 4 Most of these options are self-explanatory, such as
without even opening it. Right-click on any folder copy, paste and select all, but some are a little more
and the action menu appears. The exact options that appear will confusing. Most casual computer users won’t need to use 90 per cent
depend on the apps or software you have installed but can of the options in day-to-day use but it is worth understanding them
include: scan for viruses, compress, shred, zip and more. anyway. Add a few files to the folder and experiment.
Step 2 The standard (Windows 11) options in the folder Step 5 If you want to get really deep into managing your
action menu include: Pin to Quick Access, Open, folders, there are even more options to explore.
Share, Pin to Start, Send To, Cut, Copy, Rename and Delete. Some of Open any folder and right-click anywhere inside the main window.
these options are shown as new icons along the top of the action From the action menu that appears, click Properties. Here you can
menu. You can see more folder options by clicking that option. manage all sort of things; from security to icon style.
Step 3 Open the folder and a whole range of further Step 6 To change the icon style (which will change the
options are available along the top of the new style of all folder icons), click the customise tab
window. Again, these are a mix of icons and test options. When you and then click Change Icon at the bottom. Scroll to view all of the
select something in the folder, yet more options will appear, which available icons (downloaded icons can be accessed by browsing),
vary depending on the type of file you selected in the folder. click on your preferred icon and click OK.
WORLD WIDE WINDOWS 11
World Wide
Windows 11
Getting your Windows 11 powered

device online is key to expanding not
only the OS itself but also your entire
user experience. With this guide we
will expain how to get online safely
and securely.
WORLD WIDE WINDOWS 11
ইল঱঱নদষব঱পঝলস঵ঔইষলষফন঍঱ষন঵঱নষ
঑ত঱তপন঒নষ঺ল঵মগনষষব঱পশ
উ঻঳যল঵ব঱পষফনছব঱ধল঺শॵॵগনষষব঱পশ
ঙশব঱পছবধপনষশব঱ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ
উ঻঳যল঵ব঱প঑বদ঵লশল঩ষউধপন
উধপনগনষষব঱পশ
ঌল঺ষলঙশনষফনউধপনআ঵ল঺শন঵
ঔন঵শল঱তযবশব঱পষফনঊননধ
ঔন঵শল঱তযবশব঱পউধপন
উ঻঳যল঵ব঱পছব঱ধল঺শ঑তবয
ঌল঺ষলঙশনষফন঑তবযঅ঳঳
ইসশষলরবশনষফন঑তবযঅ঳঳
উ঻঳যল঵ব঱পষফন঑বদ঵লশল঩ষগষল঵ন
ঌল঺ষলঙশনষফনছব঱ধল঺শঅ঳঳গষল঵ন
ঌল঺ষলঙশনঘনতরশইফতষ
঑ননষত঱ধইফতষব঱ঘনতরশ
Connecting Your
PC to the Internet
Setting an Internet connection is an important step. Windows 11 makes joining and
managing networks easy, bringing all of the relevant settings together in one place,
including VPN and hotspot settings; and even the Wi-Fi adaptor hardware properties.
Connecting to Wi-Fi
A Wi-Fi network connection is now by far the most common way people connect to the Internet. The process
should be fairly familiar to you by now, but if not, here are the exact steps to connect.
Step 1 If your computer is not connected to the Internet, Step 3 Click on the required network name in the list and
Windows will display a small globe icon on the right then click “Connect”. As this is probably the first
side of the taskbar. You can either click this and select Wi-Fi from the time you are connecting, you will then need to enter the password
quick settings, or you can open the main Settings app > Network & (Network security key) for the network. Click “Next” and as long as
Internet > Wi-Fi (the best route with a brand new connection). the network/password is correct, you should be good to go.
Step 2 Use the slider switch to enable Wi-Fi on your Step 4 To disconnect from the Wi-Fi network at any time,
computer. Now click “Show available networks” open Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi again,
to see a list of the networks within range of your computer. This and click on the networks list. Click the Disconnect button. You can
may take a few seconds to scan and find the networks. Hopefully also choose to Forget the network (sometimes useful for
you will see the Wi-Fi network you want to connect to. troubleshooting connections), in the Manage known networks section.
World Wide Windows 11
Manage Network Settings

We’ll show you how to master your Wi-Fi settings and explain what you need to do if you have a problem
connecting to the Internet.
VPN Settings If you need to log in to a home VPN or Usage Stats In a move designed to keep up with more
corporate network, this is where you will mobile-based computing devices, Windows 11
need to enter the appropriate VPN settings. It’s fairly easy to do but includes a data usage page in Settings too. Here it splits your data
you’ll need the configuration details from your IT help desk (they will between wired and wireless. We’d like to see more advanced settings
have to enable your VPN access), plus your username and password. than this too, so you could see how much data you used on a public
wireless hotspot, for example.
Proxy Settings If you use a proxy server, this is where you Disable Adaptors Another thing you can do is to disable
enter any specific settings to do with that. and re-enable your network adapter (like
However, Windows 11 should automatically detect proxy settings. Note the Wi-Fi card in your laptop). View your network connections by clicking
that the settings you configure here won’t apply if you connect via a VPN, Advanced Network Settings in Network Internet and then right-click the
because a VPN essentially skips the need for a proxy. network connection in question. You can disable or re-enable it.
Mobile Hotspot You can turn your Windows 11 PC into a Flight Mode If you are using a laptop, you will also have
mobile hotspot, sharing your Internet access to Flight mode settings (this can also be
connection with other devices over Wi-Fi. You can share Wi-Fi, ethernet accessed through the Quick settings panel from the home screen).
or cellular data connections. Once enabled, other devices will be able Here you can disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth individually, or simply use
to see your computer when they search for networks to connect to. the Flight Mode slider switch to disable all wireless connections.
Exploring the
Windows 11 Settings
The main settings app in Windows 11 has been completely redesigned, making it
much easier to find everything you need to keep your computer working the way you
need it to. You can find the settings app in the Start menu, or open it by pressing the
Windows Key + I.
1 Account & Search

At the top-left of the settings window,
you will see your Microsoft account name and
email address, along with an avatar image (if you
have chosen one). Clicking this will take you to
the settings Accounts page. Below that is a
search field, allowing you to look for specific
settings within the app.
2 Settings Categories
In the left sidebar are all of the main
settings categories, from System settings to
Windows Update settings. This sidebar remains
visible no matter where you are within the
settings app. Clicking each category heading will
open a list of sub categories.
3 Quick Info Panel

Along the top of several settings
categories you will see relevant information
about the current settings. For example, at the
top of the System settings, you will see the name
of the PC, Windows Update status and links to
OneDrive and Office365. At the top of the
Network & Internet category, you will see the
currently connected network, data usage and
network properties.
4 Settings Sub-categories
This is where you’ll find the individual
settings you can change. Some of the settings can
be controlled using slider switches displayed in
the main sub-category, but most will take you to a
more detailed selection of options when clicked.
Certain details about current settings may be
displayed along the top of the sub-category.
Privacy & Security System Settings

The privacy settings contains sections for all of the main These are the core settings for your computer.
areas where your privacy may be compromised, including Things like Display, Sound, Power & Battery and
some which might not be obvious at first. Storage can be found in this settings category.
Bluetooth & Devices

Having trouble with your mouse or printer? This
is where you can access the settings for almost
anything that connects to your computer.
Network & Internet

View, connect to and manage your Wi-Fi,
Network and other Internet settings here. You
can also find a section for adding a VPN, and
setting up a Mobile Hotspot
Personalisation
If you want to change how Windows 11 looks,
this is the settings category you need to explore.
Change everything from the desktop background
to the Start menu styling.
Apps
Every app or piece of software you have installed
can be viewed and managed from here. You can
also set things like the default apps, and the
apps that run on startup.
Accounts
Manage your account settings, from your Microsoft
account to your Family Safety, in this section. You
can also find your PC sign-in options here.
Time & Language

No surprise that you can change your computers
time and language settings here. You will also
find settings for speech, typing, auto-correct and
advanced keyboard setup.
Windows Update Accessibility

It is important to make sure that your Windows computer If you have additional accessibility needs, you can
is up-to-date with all the latest updates and revisions. Here find lots of settings here to make life easier. From
you can check to see which updates are available to a narrator tool and screen magnifier, to closed
download and install. captioning and mouse and keyboard settings.
Using Widgets
in Windows 11
Widgets are desktop app previews, allowing you to see important information from
Windows apps, without needing to actually open those apps. Widgets are not new, but
the way they are managed and displayed in Windows 11 is new.
Wonderful Widgets
If you are not used to using widgets, you could be excused for hardly noticing they are a part of Windows 11.
But once you do start using them, their usefulness becomes obvious.
Step 1 To open the widget panel, click or tap the button Step 3 The exact widgets available to add will vary,
in the Taskbar (the blue and white square icon) depending on which apps you have installed. As
or press Windows key + W on the keyboard. The panel slides out Windows 11 develops, more widgets are likely to be added here,
from the left side of the screen, and will sit over the top of any possibly from third-party developers as well as from Microsoft. To
other apps or windows you currently have open. add new widgets, just click the + button on each.
Step 2 The widget panel is initially split up into three Step 4 After adding widgets, close the account panel
main sections: Search, Widgets and News stories. and you will see the added widgets in the panel.
Scroll down the panel to see more content. At the top-right is an You can move widgets around in the panel by clicking on the top
account icon, which opens a new panel with account information of the widget and dragging it to the required position. Other
and the ability to add new widgets. widgets will rearrange to fit when you do this.
Step 5 To remove a widget, click on the Menu button at Step 8 The news stories further down the Widgets panel
the top-right of the widget and choose “Remove also allow for some customisation. You can click
Widget” from the menu. You will also see the option to change the X to remove a news story, and you can click the More Menu
the size of the widget in this menu. Not all of the widgets will button to choose to see “More/Fewer stories like this”, or to hide
allow all three of the sizing options. all stories from that particular news source.
Step 6 Some Widgets allow content editing within the Step 9 Clicking on a news story will take you to the
widget. A good example of this is the To Do webpage the story is from. At the top of the News
widget. You can create tasks in the widget by clicking the “Add a section is a wide panel containing Top Stories. These are the top 6
task” button, without having to the open the main To Do app. The news headlines. These will change as you like or dislike stories, or
task then displays instantly in the widget. choose different news sources.
Step 7 Some of the Widgets allow customisation Step 10 At the top of the Widgets panel is a clock and a
through the More Menu button. The Weather search bar. You can type directly into the search
widget, for example, lets you set the default location for the bar, with any searches opening in your browser (Edge, by default).
weather forecast that is shown. The Stocks widget lets you The search bar and the clock cannot be removed from the
change which stock prices are displayed, etc. Widgets panel, nor can they be moved.
Exploring
Microsoft Edge
Edge continues to get better and better, and the latest version in Windows 11 is no
different. You should be familiar with it if you are upgrading from Windows 10, as it
is basically the same version; but let’s take a look at the newest and best features
of Microsoft Edge.
1 Browser & Tab Controls

In the top left corner, where you would
probably expect to find them, are the browser
controls. These include the Home button, the Page
refresh button and the Page forward/Page back
buttons. Also in the top corner is the Tab control,
allowing you to set the tabs vertically, or restore
closed tabs. Right-click on the active tab to see
additional options.
2 Search Fields
There are two search fields in Edge, one at
the top (which is also the address field when viewing
a website), and one which floats at the top or middle
of the start page; depending on the layout you
choose. Use either of these and search suggestions
appear as you begin typing.
3 Recently Viewed/Favourites
A group of icons are displayed for the most
recently visited websites/pages. These automatically
update as you browse, but can also be edited to
show your favourite or most-used sites by clicking on
the + symbol at the end of the row of icons.
4 News Feed
The Start screen of Microsoft Edge is also
a news feed. The news feed is provided by MSN and
is made up of news stories based on your
geographical location. Either the feed is displayed
at the top, or you scroll down to it; depending on
the layout you choose. Click “Personalise” to filter
the news types, and click “Content visible” to
choose how stories are displayed.
5 Favourites Menu 6 Launch

The Hub from the old version of Edge, Remember, if you don’t want to use
which contained favourites, history and a reading Microsoft’s launch page to start using the Internet,
list has gone. Instead, you can access Favourites you can change this via the setting to one of your
and Collections here. The star with a + icon in the own choice. Perhaps you prefer the Google
search field is the button to add a new web page to homepage, or maybe you’ve created your own,
your favourites. unique launch page experience.
7 Collections
Collections are groups of tabs/web pages
that you can save and then instantly return to using
this button. To save a Collection, click the Tab
Controls button at the top-left, and choose “Add all
tabs to collections”.
8 Start Page Layout

You can customise the Start screen in
several ways here. There are three preset layouts:
Informational, Inspirational and Focused. You can
also choose a custom layout, which lets you turn on/
off individual elements, such as pic of the day and
the news feed.
9 Notifications
The small alarm/bell icon opens a list of
top news stories. A badge will appear on top of it to
tell you how many new stories are waiting to be read.
As you browse the news feed, Edge will learn what
type of news you like to read and tailor the
notifications accordingly.
Edge Settings
Alongside options to change the style of the Edge
browser, including changing to a dark theme, are
several important settings. You can choose how the
Edge browser opens, showing the Start page or
another specified page for example. The advanced
settings include options to block pop-ups and allow
Flash Player.
How to Use the
Edge Browser
The latest version of Edge, Edge Chromium, is a significant change to the original Edge browser;
and offers a much better experience. Based on the Google Chrome browser, Edge is focused on
modern web standards, privacy and security and has an impressive feature and tool list.
Get Started with Edge

Edge in Windows 11 feels much less clunky than the previous version and already feels more like the most
popular browsers available, such as Chrome or Firefox.
Installing Edge Edge comes pre-installed with Start Page Layout Depending on the layout you chose
Windows 11, and if you have upgraded during setup, the start page will either
from Windows 10 (and were using Edge previously) it should display a news feed or a cleaner page (with the news feed just a
already be set up and working as normal. If you bought a PC with scroll away below it). You can check out the other layouts easily by
Windows 11 installed, or have never used Edge before, it will clicking the Gear icon at the top right and choosing from the menu.
require a bit of setup to begin.
Edge Setup During setup, you have the option to import Search in Edge To search for a website or web page, you
browser data such as bookmarks and can type in the search field at the top
favourites from Google Chrome, choose the initial start page (which is always there), or you can type in the search box floating
layout and set up syncing across devices (other computers, your on the Start page if you prefer. When you type in either box, Edge
phone, etc.) Once installed, Edge opens at the start page. shows a list of suggestions based on what it thinks you require.
The default search engine is Bing.
Browser Controls The browser controls are on the Favourites To access Favourites, or bookmarked sites,
top bar. On the far left is: Back, click the button directly to the right of the
Forwards and Refresh Page (Home button can be added in the address bar (star with three lines). Clicking it opens a fly-out list, at
browser settings). On the right are the zoom control, add to the top of which is the option to “Manage favourites”. This opens
favourites, favourites list and collections buttons. There is also the list in a new page, where you can remove or re-order them.
a More button to open the browser menu.
Edge Tabs Clicking the + opens a new tab and clicking InPrivate Window If you want to browse in private
the small X closes the tab. To the left of the mode when using Edge, you can do
tabs is the Tab actions menu button. You can use this to move so easily. To open a new InPrivate tab, click the browser menu
tabs to the side of the window (vertically), create tab collections button at the top right and select “New InPrivate Window”. You
and restore recently closed tabs. Right-click on any tab to see can also open a new private tab by using the keyboard shortcut
additional tab options. Ctrl + Shift + N while Edge is active.
Quick Links Each Start page layout includes a row of Edge Menu Click the Menu button (three small dots
quick links (website icons) below the Start on the top right) to open the Edge menu.
page search field. These will be auto-populated if you are new From this menu, you’re able to access Settings, print a page and
to Edge, but as you use the browser, these will be replaced by find words or phrases in the open web page. It also contains
your recent/often visited sites. You can add sites by clicking the links to Favourites, Collections, History, Downloads, Apps,
plus symbol (+) button on the right. Extensions and much more.
How to Use the Edge Browser continued...
The Edge News Feed

The news feed in Edge is automatically created. Along the top of the news feed are tabs to different news
categories, and beside these are buttons that allow you to personalise the feed.
Personalising the Feed Click the Content visibility Curating News Stories The more you use Edge, the
button to choose how news more the stories adapt to
stories are displayed (visible, partially visible or headings only). suit your interests. You can help this process by interacting with
The Personalise button lets you choose which categories are stories. Click the X to close stories that don’t interest you, click
displayed, if information cards are included (weather, etc.), and the More menu button on a story to save it, vote for more/fewer
which news types alert you with a notification. stories like this and hide stories from that source.
Edge Collections
A relatively new feature in Edge, Collections are groups of tabs that are saved together, allowing you to
instantly open your most used websites in one click.
Step 1 Open the websites that you want to save in a Step 2 To open a Collection, you’ll need to click the
Collection, in separate tabs. Click the Tab Collections button, and right-click on the
Actions button (top-left) and from the menu, select “Add all collection you want to open. Select “Open all [number]”. You
tabs to Collections”. A notification will appear below the can edit the collections by clicking on them here, and adding
Collections button in the browser tools bar. This confirms that or removing pages. You can also rename the collections by
the Collection was saved. clicking on the date title at the top.
Personalising Edge
Aside from the customisations to the Start page, you can personalise the look of the browser in several
other ways too.
Light or Dark Theme If you have changed the system Add Browser Controls The default browser controls
theme to light or dark, Edge are Back, Forward and Refresh
should automatically be set to the same. You can, however, page. Open the menu > Settings > Appearance and you can scroll
choose the theme for Edge separately to the system theme. Open down to see more buttons to add. These include Home (including
the Edge menu > Settings, and click Appearance. Choose the light, option to set the URL), Extensions, History, Downloads and
dark or system default theme. strangely, a Maths Solver button.
Edge Themes As well as light or dark, Edge lets you choose Extensions Just like the previous version, Edge Chromium
from about 15 other theme colours, from features extensions, which are downloaded
Morning Fog to Mystical Forest. Go to Edge menu > Settings > Appearance from the Microsoft Store. You can view installed extensions in the
and click on the theme colour you want to apply. This will only apply Browser Menu > Extensions. There are fewer extensions available for
colour to the top bar and tabs. It will not override the light/dark setting. the new version, but this situation will improve as it matures.
Edge Privacy You can view sites that you have blocked from tracking you,
and also allow exceptions if there are sites which you want to
Microsoft seems to be taking users’ privacy choices seriously
allow to track you.
with Edge Chromium, and you now have a much easier way to
control your browsing data and history. The biggest
improvement is Tracking Prevention. You can access these
settings in Browser Menu > Settings > Privacy & Services.
You can choose three different levels of tracking prevention:

Basic, Balanced and Strict. These options all block known
harmful trackers, but how personalised content (such as
adverts) is displayed and how well all website features work,
depends on the level you choose. Our advice is to switch to
Strict and then see how it affects your favourite websites. If
you find things are not displayed as they should be, you can
always switch back to Balanced.
Exploring
Windows Mail
Long gone are the days of Microsoft Outlook Express being included with new releases of the
OS, replaced instead by the Microsoft Mail app. This app first appeared in Windows 8, was
vastly improved in Windows 10, and has now been improved yet again for Windows 11.
1 New Mail Button

If you are not replying to an email,
but rather starting a new email, you can do
so in a couple of different ways. You can
either click the New Mail button at the top of
the Mail Menu or you can use the Ctrl-N. Both
methods open a new email in the main
window, with a blank recipient field.
2 Mail Menu
The left-hand menu, which can be
minimised and expanded using the button at
the top of the panel, contains all of your email
accounts (those you have added to Windows
Mail). Click on any of your email account
headers and the individual folders, such as
Inbox and Sent Items, are displayed here also.
3 Calendar View
You can open the Windows
Calendar app directly from within the Mail
app. Click the Mail app icon at the bottom of
the Mail Menu panel and the calendar screen
will open in a second window. If you have
never used the Calendar app before, you will
need to link it to an account.
4 Mail Folder 5 Search

The messages in whichever email The new Windows 11 Mail
folder you have selected are shown in this App incorporates the same
panel. By default, the most recent emails are redeveloped background code that
at the top of the list. You can change how the Windows Explorer uses. What this
emails are viewed, so that only unread or means is that any searches you conduct
flagged emails are displayed, using the will be quicker, and more efficient than
dropdown menu at the top of the inbox. previous versions of the app.
6 Mail Settings 7 Message Format

The settings for the Mail app How messages appear can differ
allow you to easily add accounts, change depending on the type of account you’ve
how emails are displayed when they specified and setup. For example, Google
arrive, whether outgoing emails have a and Gmail emails accounts may look
signature (which can be customised) slightly different to those of iCloud or
added to them, as well as how you are Yahoo!. This is mainly due to the way that
notified of new emails in Windows 11 the different mail providers encode their
messages and delivery systems.
8 Message Options
In a row along the top of the main
message window are the message options.
These include Reply, Reply All, Forward,
Archive and Delete emails; more options can
be seen by clicking the Menu button to the
right. The message options only appear when
viewing a received message.
9 Message Tools
Roll over or click on any of the
messages in your inbox, sent items or drafts
folders and three icons will appear. These let
you quickly Archive, Delete or Flag any
message directly in the folder panel. Archived
messages can be recovered at any time and
returned to the inbox if required.
10 Main Message Window

When you start a new email or
select an email in one of the mail folders, it
will appear in the main message window. As
you would normally, you can scroll down to
view all of the messages shown. You can roll
over the address in the To: field, to see more
contact details.
Customise Mail
You can customise how the Email app looks
in a number of ways, from simple changes
like choosing between a light and dark
theme, to setting the overall colour and
changing the background image for the app.
To personalise the Mail app, click the
Settings button and select “Personalisation”.
How to Use
the Mail App
The Mail app has barely changed in the update, remaining a simple and easy way to have
all of your emails in one place. If you have updated from Windows 10, your email should
already be up and running. But if not, here’s how to set up the Mail app in Windows 11.
Setting Up Email Accounts

The Windows 11 email client can be used to view emails from multiple accounts, from your POP3 Internet
provider account, to Microsoft Exchange, Gmail and even Apple’s iCloud.
Step 1 If opening Mail for the first time, you will be Step 3 Click the email account type you want to set up
greeted by a welcome screen, containing a link to first. We are going to start with the POP, IMAP
“+Add account”. Click this to open the list of available account option. Enter the email address, sender name and password for
types. You will need the server, password and other information your account. You can get this info from your email service
required for each email account you want to add to Mail. provider if you don’t have it to hand. Then click “Sign in”.
Step 2 You can add accounts from many popular providers Step 4 The app will try to look for the server settings
including Google, Yahoo! and Apple’s iCloud. You needed to set this email account up. If it finds
can also set up other more specialist accounts if you have the details. them, you should be finished. If not, you will need to add the
Finally, there’s also an option to add a Microsoft Exchange account, if settings manually. If this is the case, click “Cancel” and then
your workplace uses that (including Office 365). select the “Advanced setup” option in the account list.
Step 5 Choose the relevant option (in our case, this is Step 8 Having more than one email account set up in
“Internet email”), and enter all of the required Mail can be slightly confusing. To help with
information; including the incoming/outgoing mail server addresses. this, the app allows you to Link Inboxes. This puts all of the
With all of the information added, click the Sign in button. If emails from your linked accounts into one inbox. To do this,
everything was entered correctly, that account is now set up. click Settings > Manage accounts > Link inboxes. Select the
accounts that you want to link.
Step 6 To add an additional account after setting up the Step 9 To manage or delete any of the email accounts
first one, simply click the settings button in the you have set up, click Settings > Manage Accounts
bottom-left corner of the Mail app window, select Manage Accounts, and then click on the account you want to manage from the list of
and then +Add account. Select the account type and repeat the accounts. You can then change the password, account name,
steps above to add the second, third or fourth account to Mail. mailbox sync settings, or delete the account from the Mail app.
Step 7 If you’re adding a Google account, click the option in Step 10 Your accounts are shown in the left sidebar of the
the account setup list and you’ll get the familiar mail app. Select them here to view the different
pop-up appearing inviting you to enter your username and password. folders for each account (inbox, sent mail, etc.), if you have not
If you have Google’s two-step authentication enabled, you’ll get a text linked the inboxes. If you don’t see the left sidebar, click the
message to confirm your identity before you can continue. Expand button at the top-left of the Mail app window.
How to Use the Email App continued...
Using the Mail App

With your email accounts set up, you can now start using the app to send and receive emails. You can also
personalise how the app looks, and start using the advanced features.
Reading Emails Emails will appear automatically in your Mail Folders Open the Mail app menu on the left and you will
inbox as and when they arrive. New emails see the Folders section. The inbox is listed here
will be displayed with a highlight in the list. Click any email in the as well, but to see more folders, click “More”. Here you can find the
inbox list to open it in the main panel on the right. You can search for Outbox, Drafts, Sent items, Deleted items and Junk Mail folders. Click
emails using the Mail Search field at the top of the inbox panel. on any of them to see the emails in those folders.
Writing Emails Click the New mail button in the Mail app Email Attachments Adding file attachments to emails in
menu (the + button if the menu is collapsed). the Mail app is easy. Write your email,
The blank email will appear in the main panel. Enter the recipient’s and then click the Insert tab at the top. Here you can find the option for
address, subject and then write your email text. Basic text formatting attaching files. Click the link and browse to the file you want to attach.
options are available at the top of the email. Click “Send” when finished. Click “Open” and a thumbnail of the attachment will appear in the email.
Responding to Emails When viewing any email in the Inserting Images As well as the button to include
Mail app, you will see a number attachments, the Insert tab features a
of options at the top of the main panel. These include Reply, Reply Picture button so you can insert an image into your email; as
All and Forward, etc., (all of the normal email options). Click reply opposed to just sending it as an attached file. Once inserted, you
and you can start typing your reply, with the original email text can select it with your mouse and adjust its size (drag the corners
included below your reply. as you can see in the example shown here).
Customise the Mail App

There are several ways to customise the Mail app to better suit your needs, from changing the background
image and accent colour, to adding a signature and the display font.
Background Image The background of the Mail app is Signature The default signature for the Mail app is
set to an image by default. This is “Sent from Mail for Windows”. The
purely decorative, and can be changed. Open Settings > signature is automatically added to the end of your email
Personalisation in the Mail app, then scroll to the bottom to see the message, but can be changed or turned off completely if not
different backgrounds available. You can also add your own image needed. Go to Settings > Signature, choose an account/all
by clicking the Browse button. accounts and write your signature in the pane.
Mail App Colour The colour tint on the Mail app menu Notifications You can easily control how you are
(on the left) and the colour of the notified of new emails. Go to Settings >
accents such as buttons and highlights, can also be changed in the Notifications, and you can control whether notifications are shown
Personalisation settings. Just click a colour block to change it. You in the Notification center (Action center), if a sound is played and if
can also change the theme of the app from light to dark here, or pinned folders have notifications. As with other settings, you can
use the Windows theme setting. apply to one account or all.
Email Font The default font for your emails (Calibri Body, Message Spacing Depending on the device you are
unless you have changed the system fonts) using (tablet, touchscreen, large
can be changed for any and all of your email accounts. Open the monitor, etc.), you might want to change the spacing between
Settings > Default font option, and either select an account or “Apply to messages and the folders in the Mail app (e.g. to make touch
all accounts”, then choose your font, which is previewed in the pane. easier). To do this, go to Settings > Personalisation, and choose
from Spacious, Medium and Compact.
Exploring the
Microsoft Store
If the Desktop, Widgets, Notifications and new apps weren’t enough of an update for
you, then you’re in luck as Microsoft has also updated and revamped its online Store.
Giving you access to the best apps
and entertainment.
1 New Look
The Microsoft Store has a
new look to it, in-line with the rest of
the Windows 11 theme and desktop.
You’ll find the Store located by
default in the taskbar.
2 Categories
Quick access to the main
categories: Apps, Gaming and Films &
TV are available to the left-side of the
Store window. Click each one to be
taken to specific pages where you
can find the latest content.
3 Library
The Library contains all
the apps you currently have
installed on your system. From
here you can further break them
down into sub-categories such as
Games, Movies & TV, etc. You can
also check their update status, pin
them to the Start or taskbar, and
even open them.
4 Top Apps
Scrolling down through
the Store will reveal the most
popular, Top Free, Essential and New
content available. Simply click on
one of the tiles, and you’ll be taken to
5 Install
the content’s Store front. Once you have found the app or
game you want to install, click on the icon to
open the app info screen. This screen displays
the average app score, user reviews and
similar app suggestions; as well as a list of
features and updates. Click the Free, Buy or
Try button to install the software.
6 Featured Offers
Periodically, the Store will
feature offers for its users. This could
be a free 30 day trial, or other
download offers. Click on the link to
read more about the offer and then
follow the instructions to take
advantage of it.
7 Search
If you’re looking for
something specific, then rather than
trawling through the categories, use
the Search function to find it, and
other apps and content relating to it.
The Windows 11 Store search is much
faster than previous versions.
8 Profile
Clicking your name in the
upper-right of the Store window will
display the profile you’re logged in
as. From here you can setup payment
methods, redeem gift cards and
manage Windows computers under
your Microsoft login.
9 See All
You can click the See All
links throughout the Microsoft Store
to reveal all the apps under a general
category, or simply all the ones
currently available with a special
offer, for example. Drilling down
further can often yield some great
apps and bargains.
10 App Information
Featured apps will also
scroll horizontally across the screen,
depending on what’s currently
trending, or based on apps you’ve
searched for or installed previously.
Some contain videos, so be sure to
click on them for more information
when they appear.
How to use the
Windows App Store
The Windows App Store has been updated, and given a new look fresh for Windows 11.
It’s now designed to be more efficient and easier to get to the apps you want; and those
that are trending or highlighted by Microsoft.
Go Shopping
With more content, and more to explore, there’s a lot to cover in the Windows 11 App Store. Here’s how it
works, and some of the highlights.
Step 1 The Windows App Store is located, by default, Step 3 Every app in the App Store will behave in the
within the new taskbar. It’s easy to identify, it’s same manner: there will be screen shots of the
the carrier bag icon with the Microsoft logo. Click it, and as long app along the top, a short description, rating and reviews from
as you’re signed into a valid Microsoft account, it will launch with other users, and in the left-hand pane you will find a brief
the latest trending and highlighted apps displayed summary of the app. Also, in the left-hand pane, is a Get button.
To install VLC, click on the Get button.
Step 2 Let’s run through locating and installing an app Step 4 The information below the Get button will
from the App Store. In the Search box, located at change, displaying the amount of time left to
the top of the Store window, enter: VLC. In case, you’re download through the number of megabytes (or more) remaining
wondering, VLC is a free, cross-platform media player. In the from the total. When it’s downloaded, there’ll be a brief
Search bar, there will be a number of returned results, click the installation display, and when that’s done the button will change
VLC UWP entry with the traffic cone icon. to read, Open.
Step 5 Click on the Open button and the app will Step 8 The App category simply removes the Gaming
launch. This will work for most, if not all the and Films & TV entries in the Home screen, to
available apps on the App Store. Some may require further steps, help you find what you’re looking for without unnecessary
such as signing into a third-party account – the Twitter app, for content getting in the way. Scrolling down through the Apps
example, requires you to have a Twitter account. section reveals best selling apps, collections, and specific apps
such as productivity, photo and video editing and so on.
Step 6 Sadly, you can’t remove an app via the App Store. Step 9 The Gaming category does the same, but
To remove an App Store installed app, locate it removes the other apps and retains all the apps
within the taskbar Start button, right-click the app, and select relating to games. Again, you can scroll down to reveal top free
Uninstall from the list. This will remove the app, and any associated games, highest rated, top paid, and special deals that may be
elements that were installed by the App Store. Anything you’ve currently running on the App Store. Films & TV is identical in
added outside the App Store may remain, however. behaviour, but displays the latest titles to rent or buy.
Step 7 You’ll notice that down the left-hand panel of the Step 10 The Library section will detail all the apps you
App Store Home screen, are a number of currently have installed on your Windows 11
category icons: Home, Apps, Gaming, Films & TV; and further system. These can be further broken down into Apps, Games
down the screen, Library and Help. The Home button will return and Movies & TV; as well as the apps that are included in
you to the main Home screen, click the Apps button next. Windows 11 by default. You can also check for any app updates,
and Share the app across other devices.
How to Use
Teams Chat
Online meetings have been a big thing recently, so the addition of Microsoft Teams to
Windows 11 makes sense. You’ll need a Microsoft Teams account set up to use the chat
and video meeting tools, but once you have, remote working becomes a whole lot easier.
Setting Up the Teams App

Getting started with Microsoft Teams on Windows 11 is relatively easy if you have a Teams account already
set up, which we assume you do if you are trying to use this app.
Step 1 Click the Teams Chat icon in the taskbar, or open Step 3 Once signed in to your Teams account, the main
the Teams app in the main apps list. If your app window will open. If you automatically
Microsoft account email matches the one you use when setting signed in by clicking the Chat icon (step 1), you can access the
up your Teams account, the app should automatically detect it, Teams app by clicking the “Open Microsoft Teams” link at the
and log you in to the app after a few moments. bottom of the chat pop-up window on the taskbar.
Step 2 If the app doesn’t recognise your email address, it Step 4 You can invite people to Teams using the button on
will open the Teams login screen. Here you can the left sidebar. Clicking this will create a link that
choose an account to sign in to (if any are displayed), or you can you can send to anyone you want to join Teams. You can invite
pick another account. If you have yet to set up an account, you can people to chat by clicking the “Start a chat” button, then entering a
use the link at the bottom and set one up in the browser. name (if in your contacts), email address (anyone) or phone number.
Meet and Chat in Teams

With Teams set up, you can now easily start or join meetings, or chat with others who are also using
Microsoft Teams. Either from the main app or by using the taskbar tool.
Step 1 To begin a chat, click the Teams Chat icon in the Step 4 To start a meeting, click the Meet button. Give your
taskbar. From the pop-up window, click on the Chat meeting a name, and you will then be shown several
button. In the new window that opens, enter a contact name, email ways to invite people. These include a link you can send, via Outlook
address or phone number. Type your message and that person will Calendar, Google calendar or email. Once shared, you can start the
receive a notification telling them you want to start a chat. meeting and wait for others to join.
Step 2 Your messages, and the replies, are shown in the Step 5 Once you are in the meeting you have controls to
conversation window. You can attach and send enable/disable the microphone, enable/disable
files via the chat by clicking the paper clip icon. If you want to switch the camera or set a background blur, etc. To leave a meeting, you
from a text chat to an audio or video call, click either of the buttons just have to click the red Hang up button. If the meeting host ends
at the top-right of the chat window. the meeting, you will automatically be hung up from everyone.
Step 3 If you receive a chat request, you will see a Step 6 You can change the look of the Teams app and
notification in the main Notification center (Action Teams Chat in the app settings. Under Appearance
center), and a badge will appear on the chat icon in the taskbar. & Accessibility, choose from light, dark or high contrast themes. You
You can choose to accept or reject the chat request. If you accept, can also choose to turn off animations, select the app language and
the message will appear and you can start chatting. change how you are notified of new chats and meetings.
MAKING IT YOUR OWN
Making It Your
Own
The aim of this publication is to help

you, our readers, to build your
Windows 11 user skills and
knowledge, with our shared goal of
maximising your Windows 11
experience to the fullist. This feature
focuses on the first stages of
customisations and short cuts which
are the building blocks to becoming an
advanced user.
MAKING IT YOUR OWN
গনত঵দফব঱ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ
গনত঵দফগনষষব঱পশত঱ধঘললযশ
঍঱শবধনষফনইতযন঱ধত঵অ঳঳
ঈতষনশত঱ধঅ঳঳লব঱ষরন঱ষশ঺বষফইতযন঱ধত঵
ই঵নতষব঱পত঱ধ঑ত঱তপব঱পউহন঱ষশ
ঈবধঝলসএ঱ল঺ঃ
ঔন঵শল঱তযবশব঱পছব঱ধল঺শॵॵ
ঈবশতথযনষফনঐলদমগদ঵নন঱
ছব঱ধল঺শॵॵএন়থলত঵ধগফল঵ষদসষশ
Search in
Windows 11
It’s hard to describe just how much better Search is in Windows 11, than in previous
versions. Microsoft have done a lot to try to match the search functions on offer in rival
operating systems, and the results can be seen in the new search feature.
Step 1 If you need to search for anything on your Step 3 Search results are displayed in sections (best
Windows 11 PC, the taskbar search tool is now match, apps, folders, etc.) so that you know what
the place to do it. The search field in the taskbar from Windows you are looking at. Apps will be displayed with their icon next to
10 is no longer there. You can also access search through the Start them. Folders will have a folder icon and images will be shown as
menu, or by pressing Windows key + S on your keyboard. small thumbnails, within the search results panel.
Step 2 In addition to files and folders, you can search for Step 4 You can further filter the results that have
web results and apps. When you first click in the appeared after you search by clicking on the
search box you will see three tabs along the bottom that let you titles of the results section in the panel. This lets you filter various
choose what to search for; but even if you don’t click one of these, results, even music or video. Suggested search results can be
the search function is smart enough to return results from all. previewed by clicking the right-facing arrow next to them.
Making It Your Own
Search Settings and Tools

You have quite a lot of control over exactly how search provides you with search results, and what
information it stores about your search history.
Safe Search Sometimes web search results may show Search History Search History can help to provide better
content that is not suitable for the younger search results. It can also be turned off,
audience, which is the reason Cortana also offers search filters. Go just like the Device History. Head in to Settings > Permissions &
to Settings > Cortana > Permissions and History, and under History and use the toggle to turn it off. If you click Search History
SafeSearch, select the search filter that is most appropriate for you. Settings a browser window opens showing the history.
Cloud Search Cloud search is an option introduced in File Explorer Search You can always search for files and
Windows 10, which allows you to suppress folders in File Explorer as you could
cloud content on search results. Under Cloud Search, you will see a in previous versions of Windows. With the new taskbar search you
toggle that says Windows Cloud Search. This option manages won’t need to use this as often as you did, but it’s still there if you
whether Cortana shows cloud content in Windows Search. need it. We don’t find it as quick as the taskbar search, though.
Device History This setting allows for the improvement of Searching in Settings Windows 11 allows you to
on-device search results, whether you are search for settings from within
using an app, settings or another search from any signed on device. If the Settings app. Open the app and you will see the search box
you prefer that Windows does not record the on-device search history, right at the top, underneath the window title. Possible results are
you can switch this option off in Settings > Permissions & History. displayed as you type, just like a normal search, but the results
will only be from settings, nowhere else.
Inside the
Calendar App
The Windows 11 Calendar app is a fully integrated planning tool that can be linked up to
your email accounts and easily synced to your other Windows devices. You can add new
events manually, or you can simply use it to view national and public holidays; all of
which are automatically added based on your location.
1 Add New Event

There are two main ways
to add a new event to your calendar.
You can either click on the date in the
main window or, if the date you want
is not in view, you can click the New
Event button here. You can then add
an event name, location, and a start
and end date. Give the event a short
description, especially if you plan to
share it with a contact. You can do
that by adding people using the pane
on the right of the Add Event screen.
2 Monthly View
No matter which view you
choose for the main Calendar pane -
day, week, etc. - the month preview
always shows a full month. You can
use the arrows above the mini
calendar to skip to different months
and clicking on a date brings that
date into view on the main Calendar
pane. The current day is highlighted
in the Month Preview.
3 Linked Calendars
Your calendar can be
linked to your email account, which is
shown here. If you are using Gmail for
your email account, and have any
calendars set up in Google Calendar,
these are also shown here. You can
use the checkboxes to select and
deselect calendars from showing in
the main pane; each is colour coded,
so you know from which custom
calendar an event comes.
Making It Your Own
Calendar Updates 4 Calendar Pane

The new Windows 11 Calendar app is one of a The main Calendar pane,
number of apps that Microsoft are actively however you choose to view it with
updating on a regular basis. Features were the View buttons, contains several
removed and added even in the first few months different bits of useful information.
of Windows 11’s launch, and there’s more to Public and national holidays are
come. Whether any of the previous features that automatically added, based on
were removed will return is anyone’s guess, as location. The current day is
Microsoft is remaining silent. But, with each new accentuated in your chosen highlight
update, the Calendar gets better, so keep an eye colour. Weather and temperature
on it and see how it evolves over time. information is shown for the current
day, along with a few days after.
Clicking the weather symbol opens
the Weather app.
5 Add Event
Click on any day in the
main pane, or any hourly slot in day
view, and a mini Add Event pane
opens. You can use this to add an
event to your calendar quickly. The
pane includes event name, time-slots
and location; it also lets you choose
into which custom calendar you want
to add it. If you choose to add more
details, click the More Details button,
if not, click Done to add the event.
6 Calendar
Settings
Alongside various customisation
settings, such as the ability to choose
light and dark themes and change
the default highlight colour, are
settings for adding new email
accounts and changing the default
view. You can also add public or
national holidays manually, in
Calendar Settings, if they have not
been correctly added automatically.
7 Switch to Tabs
The Mail and Calendar
apps are closely linked, and you can
quickly switch between the two using
the buttons here. Receive an email
with an appointment in it, and you
can quickly add it to your calendar
using the tools in the Mail app. You
can also quickly switch to the People
app and the ToDo app using the tabs/
buttons here.
Dates & Appointments
with Calendar
Digital calendars are no longer the preserve of business people scheduling appointments
via email. With mobile phones now our new diaries, digital calendars are being used by
increasing numbers of people to organise their busy lives. Welcome to Calendar.
Setting Up Calendars
The calendar can be a great productivity tool. We’ll show you how to set up your calendar, arrange events
and change settings, so your calendar is exactly the way you want it.
Adding Calendars Like Windows 11’s email app, Allow Location You’ll be asked to enable location access
Calendar also enables you to add for Mail and Calendar. This is
multiple accounts; and from different providers too. So whether predominantly for one simple reason – Calendar shows you the
you use an Outlook calendar at work or have shared Google weather for your location each day. You can always revoke access
calendars, you can join them all together in the Calendar app. via the Settings app. Go to Location and you can turn off
To Start click on Add Accounts. Calendar’s access to Location.
Sign In to Calendars Now add the accounts you want Calendar Settings The calendar settings are fairly
to use in Calendar. You can do basic, boiling down to adding
this at any point you choose via Settings > Accounts. From there accounts, changing the appearance and setting the weather
you can easily add an Outlook.com, Exchange, Google or iCloud region. The only other settings are the controls to how the
calendar; or enter advanced settings for any other calendars you calendars are displayed (First day of week, Days in work week,
may have from other providers. Week numbers on/off, etc.).
Making It Your Own
Creating and Managing Events

In the Calendar app, the appointments and reminders you add manually are called Events. You can add
multiple events to each day, add emojis and set events to repeat.
Step 1 The default view when opening the Calendar is the Step 4 You can also choose to set repeat events – just click
month view. You can switch to the different views the Repeat button in the toolbar when you’re
(Day, Week, Month and Year) using the buttons along the top of the creating a new event. Check the days you want. You can repeat daily,
calendar. There is also a button here to take the view back to the weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on what you need to do. You
current day, if you have been browsing future or past months. can even set a date when the repeated events end.
Step 2 Click the New Event button in the top left. Add the Step 5 You’re also able to assign different colours to
name of the event, a location should you wish to, different calendar accounts. Each calendar
plus start and end dates and times. You’re also able to invite people account you add will automatically be assigned a different colour.
by email using the field on the right-hand side. This will then insert You can then change this assigned colour by clicking the arrow next
the event into their calendar as well. to the calendar name and choosing from the pop out menu.
Step 3 You can also add events by clicking on the Step 6 One of the best things about the Windows 11
relevant date block (or time block in Day view), Calendar app is how admirably it copes with
and then adding the event details in the quick event pop-up box. If multiple calendars. So providing they invite your account (or you
you want to see the full, new event screen at this point, you can invite them), you’re able to easily share events with others. If you do
click the “More details” link in the quick event box. share, you can set certain events as private, so only you see them.
ঘত঳঄ব঱঑ল঵শনইলধন
ঈবধ়লসম঱ল঺়লসদত঱ষ়঳ন়লস঵নরতবযতধধ঵নশশব঱঑ল঵শনদলধনঃও঱ॶॸ঑ত়ॶॴॴॸ॰
ষফনॵॺॴষফত঱঱বহন঵শত঵়ল঩ষফনষ঵ত঱শরবশশবল঱ল঩ষফনহন঵়঩ব঵শষ঑ল঵শনদলধনরনশশতপন॰
ষফনখতধবলদলররস঱বদতষবল঱আস঵নতসল঩ষফন঍঱ষন঵঱তষবল঱তযঘনযনদলররস঱বদতষবল঱ঙ঱বল঱
६঍ঘঙॱখ७তধধনধষফনৄতষ৅শ়রথলয঄ষলষফনল঩঩বদবতয঑ল঵শনদলধনদফত঵তদষন঵শনষॲ
঍঱দবধন঱ষতযয়॰ষফনৄ঄ৄশ়রথলয঳঵নধতষনশথলষফনরতবযত঱ধ঑ল঵শনদলধনॲ঍ষ৅শম঱ল঺঱তশ
ষফনৄদলররতষ৅ল঵ৄতয঳ফতশতষ৅॰ত঱ধফতশ঩ল঵়নত঵শথনন঱সশনধব঱দলররন঵দবতযধলদসরন঱ষশ
ত঱ধযবশষব঱পশতশতশফল঵ষফত঱ধ঩ল঵ৄতষষফনদস঵঵ন঱ষ঵তষনল঩৅ॲঊল঵ন঻তর঳যন॰ষন঱ত঳঳যনশ঄
ॶॹ঳঳ন঵ত঳঳যনঁॶॲॹॴॲআসষষফননত঵যবনশষম঱ল঺঱সশনল঩ৄ঄ৄবশ঩লস঱ধব঱তআসযপত঵বত঱
ষ঵ত঱শযতষবল঱ল঩তঋ঵ননমদফ঵ল঱বদযন঺঵বষষন঱থ়ইল঱শষত঱ষব঱লশ঑ত঱তশশনশব঱ॵॷॸॹॲঘফন
ধলদসরন঱ষ॰঱ল঺঩লস঱ধব঱ষফনচতষবদত঱॰সশনশৄ঄ৄষল঵ন঳যতদনষফনৄঅ৅ব঱ৄঅরন঱৅ॲ
঒লল঱নম঱ল঺শ঺ফ়ॲ
Personalising
Windows 11
As with all recent versions of Windows, you can completely change the look of Windows 11
to suit your own needs or style. From the desktop wallpaper and colour theme, to the
icons, taskbar and lock screen, everything can be customised and personalised.
Change the Desktop Background

The desktop personalisation procedure hasn’t changed much since Windows 10, so if you’ve used that OS
before this will feel very familiar.
Step 1 You can get started with personalising the Step 3 To select your own pictures for the background,
Windows 11 desktop in exactly the same way you click on Browse photos in the Choose a photo
did with Windows 10. For anyone completely new to Windows, that section and navigate to the folder containing the images you
means right-clicking anywhere on the desktop screen and selecting want to use. For best results, use pictures that have the same
Personalise from the action menu that appears. aspect ratio (i.e. widescreen landscape), as your monitor screen.
Step 2 The Background settings will be displayed first by Step 4 To set a picture as your desktop background, simply
default. Click the first drop-down menu to select click on it. It will instantly be set as your new
whether to use the default backgrounds, solid colours or choose to desktop background image (a preview will display). The screen shows
display folders of your own images. Your choices here changes what is you the last five images used or you can click the Browse button to
displayed in the background settings. choose a new one from your folders.
Making It Your Own
Step 5 If you opt for Slideshow, you will see some Step 6 If you choose to set your desktop background as a
additional options to choose from. You can set the solid colour, you will see a grid of about 25 colours
interval for the slide show from the ‘Change picture every’ menu that you can choose from. If you want to use a colour not shown in
and decide how you’d like the images to fit on the screen by the grid, click on the View colours option and use the colour picker to
clicking the ‘Choose a fit’ menu. select the exact colour you want to apply.
Setting Accent Colours

By accent colours we mean the colour of the taskbar, the Start menu and the frames of new windows and so
on, that you open on your computer.
Step 1 Aside from the desktop background, you can also Step 3 To apply a colour other than light or dark to the
change the colour of the taskbar and the Start taskbar, Start menu and other accents, you need to
menu and other system components. Click on the Colours option in first select Dark mode, then select a colour from the grid of colours
the main Settings sidebar. Here you will see several colour control and then select the option below that to “Show accent colour on Start
options, including the option to choose light or dark mode. and Taskbar”. You can also apply it to title bars and borders.
Step 2 Light mode is the default that Windows 11 is set to Step 4 If you need to set the colour scheme to high
when installed. Select Dark mode to see an contrast (if, for example, you have a vision
immediate and obvious change. Dark mode affects most menus like the impairment), you can access several preset colour themes from the
taskbar, Start menu and folders etc. The third option is Custom, which Colours menu. You will see a preview of the different themes, and can
lets you choose light/dark modes separately for system and apps. then apply the one you like from the drop-down menu.
Personalising Windows 11 continued...
Lock Screen Customisation

The lock screen is another simplified feature in Windows 11, but can still feature custom backgrounds with
Spotlight Images, and display detailed app statuses.
Step 1 The lock screen is enabled by default (as it was in Step 4 If you choose to set the lock screen as a slideshow,
Windows 10) and displays an image and can also you will see the option to add a folder of images
display information from one of the built-in Windows apps. To start rather than just one. You can use an existing folder (such as Pictures),
customising the lock screen, open the main settings, click or you can create one. There are several advanced settings for a
Personalisation and then Lock Screen. slideshow, including only using images that fit the screen.
Step 2 The first thing to choose is whether to display one Step 5 You can add an app status to the lock screen
of your own images, a slideshow of images or which will show some information from the app
something from Windows Spotlight. If you choose either of the first you chose. The available apps will vary if you have removed or
two of these, more options will appear to select the images you added some, but should include Weather, Mail, Calendar, Operator
want to use (single or multiple). Messages and more. You can only add one app.
Step 3 If you choose to apply one of your images, some Step 6 Also in the Lock Screen personalisation section is
recently used pictures will appear, along with a link a Related settings section. Here you will find links
to browse your PC for more. When you select an image, it will appear to the screen timeout and screen saver settings. The settings you
in the recently used panel. You can choose to have facts, tips and choose there will depend on your personal preference and also on
tricks displayed over the image, just like with Windows Spotlight. your computer location (for security reasons).
Making It Your Own
Disable the Lock Screen

There is no setting to disable the lock screen completely but it is still possible to do so by delving into the
Registry. This is fairly advanced customisation, so approach with care.
Step 1 To access the Registry, press the Windows key + Step 2 Name this new key “Personalisation” and then
R, enter regedit, and then click OK. With the navigate inside it. Right-click inside the right-hand
Registry open, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it
Policies\Microsoft\Windows\. Right-click the final Windows folder “NoLockScreen”. Then double click this new value and change the
and click New > Key to proceed. Value data to 1. Then click OK and exit the Registry Editor.
Adding New Themes

Themes in Windows 11 have now all been moved to the Microsoft Store, so you no longer have to find them
elsewhere on the Internet.
Step 1 You can find new themes in a couple of ways: Open Step 3 Each theme is displayed with a thumbnail and the
the Microsoft Store app and search for themes, or number of images supplied shown. The Microsoft
open the main settings app, go to Personalisation and then click on Store page also includes information about any other changes the
the themes option. Here you will see a link to “Get more themes…”. theme will make, such as adding transparency effects or adding Lock
Screen images. Download any you like the look of.
Step 2 Both of these actions should bring you to the same Step 4 Each theme applied can be customised further
themes page. All themes have now been moved using the options in the Themes section. You can
into the Windows Store app, rather than on a webpage. Themes are alter the background, colour, sounds and even the mouse cursor of
all listed under Personalisation in the Store, so you can also search any theme, making it completely unique to you. When you have
for that if your themes search doesn’t bring up the expected results. chosen the changes, you will need to click Save Theme.
Personalising Windows 11 continued...
Modifying Themes
There are several themes preset in Windows 11. These can be applied at the click of a button, and then
further customised to suit your needs.
Step 1 You can find the preset themes in Settings > Step 3 Further down the page are five more preset themes
Personalisation > Themes. The current theme is displayed in a panel. Simply click each one to
displayed at the top of the page, with details about background, activate it and apply the changes. Minimise the Settings app to see
colour, sounds and mouse cursor displayed next to it. Each of these the changes to the background, etc. As with the default theme, the
details can be clicked to go to a section where you can edit it. details of the new theme are displayed at the top of the page.
Step 2 Each time you make a change using these links, Step 4 At the bottom of the themes settings page are a
return to the Themes section to see the changes in few more links, taking you directly to desktop icon
the preview window, or minimise the Settings app to see the settings and high/low contrast themes. Desktop icon settings are
desktop. When you are happy with all of the changes, click “Save” separate to the themes, so if you change these, they will remain
and the theme will be set and added to the other themes. even if you then go back and choose a new theme.
Making It Your Own
Change Your Desktop Icons

If you use desktop icons such as This PC, your personal folder or Network connections, you can change those
icons too. You can even download complete icon packs online, giving your desktop a completely different feel.
Step 1 Open the Personalisation screen of the Settings Step 3 If you wish to do so, it is possible to choose
menu and select Themes from the Sidebar menu. different icons for these system tools and you
You now need to look for the Related Settings option. In the Related can even download custom icons online. To change the
Settings section, click on the link to Desktop icon settings. appearance of the desktop icons, click on the icon you want to
change and then click the Change Icon button.
Step 2 The window that now opens lets you choose which Step 4 The icon chooser window that appears will look
default icons appear on your desktop. The Recycle very familiar to veteran Windows users, since it’s
Bin is just about essential but the others, including Computer, Users essentially unchanged from Windows 98. Scroll through the gallery
Files, Network and Control Panel icons are optional. until you find an icon you like or use the Browse button to navigate
to any icon pack you’ve downloaded.
Windows 11
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are a useful way to speed up navigating your way around Windows
11, especially if you are using a laptop with a touchpad. There are literally hundreds to
learn, but here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for everyday use.
Basic Keyboard Shortcuts Windows key + Ctrl + Left Arrow Switch to virtual
________________________________________ desktop on the left
Ctrl+C _______________________________Copy the selected item Windows key + Ctrl + F4 Close the virtual
Ctrl+X ________________________________ Cut the selected item ______________________________________ desktop you’re using
Ctrl+V ______________________________ Paste the selected item Windows key + Home Minimise all but the
Ctrl+Z _____________________________________ Undo an action ____________________________________ active desktop window
Alt+Tab __________________________ Switch between open apps Windows key + Up arrow Stretch the desktop window to the
Alt+F4 _____________________Close an active item, or exit an app _______________________________ top and bottom of the screen
Shift+Delete_________ Delete item without moving to Recycle Bin Windows key + Down arrow Restore desktop windows
Ctrl+Shift+Esc _______________________ Open the Task Manager ________________________________ vertically, maintaining width
Windows key + plus or minus ____ Zoom in or out using Magnifier
Windows Key Shortcuts Windows key + Esc ___________________________ Exit Magnifier
Windows key _____________________________ Open Start menu

Windows Snap Shortcuts
Windows key + A ___________________Open Quick Settings panel
Windows key + S ______________________________ Open Search Windows key + Up Arrow ____________ Maximise current window
Windows key + C __________________________ Open Teams Chat Windows key + Down Arrow _____________ Restores window size
Windows key + Tab __________________________Open Task view Windows key + Left Arrow _____ Snaps current window to the left
Windows key + I __________________ Open Windows 11 Settings Windows key + Right Arrow Snaps current window
Windows key + W _______________________ Open Widgets panel ______________________________________________ to the right
Windows key + E _________________________ Open File Explorer Windows key + 2 Arrow Keys Snaps current window
Windows key + R _________________________ Open the Run app ___________________________________________ into one corner
Windows key + V ________________________ Open the Clipboard
Windows key + G ____________________Open the Xbox Game Bar
Taskbar Shortcuts
Windows key + N ____________________ Open Notifications panel
Windows key + X ________________ Open a system context menu Shift + click a taskbar button Open an app or quickly open
Windows key + U ___________________Open Accessibility settings _________________________________ another instance of an app
Windows key + L ______________ Lock your PC or switch accounts Ctrl + Shift + click a taskbar button Open an app as an
Windows key + H ___________________ Open Voice typing control ____________________________________________ administrator
Windows key + T ____________ Cycle through apps on the Taskbar Shift + right-click a taskbar button Show the window
Windows key + comma __________________ Peek at the desktop _________________________________________ menu for the app
Windows key + D ________________ Display and hide the desktop Shift + right-click a grouped taskbar button Show the window
Windows key + Ctrl + D__________________ Add a virtual desktop _______________________________________ menu for the group
Windows key + Ctrl + Right Arrow Switch to virtual Ctrl + click a grouped taskbar button Cycle through the
_______________________________________desktop on the right _____________________________________ windows of the group
Making It Your Own
Typing Shortcuts Ctrl + Shift + greater than (>) _______________ Increase font size
Ctrl + Shift + less than (<) __________________Decrease font size
Ctrl + C ______________________________Copy the selected item Ctrl + Shift + A _________________________ Change to all capitals
Ctrl + D Delete the selected item and Ctrl + Shift + L ___________________________Change bullet style
__________________________________ move it to the Recycle Bin Ctrl + Home ___________________ Go to the beginning of the doc
Ctrl + R ___________________________Refresh the active window Ctrl + End ___________________________Go to the end of the doc
Ctrl + V _____________________________ Paste the selected item
Ctrl + S ____________________________________Save document
Movies & TV Shortcuts
Ctrl + Y ____________________________________ Redo an action
Ctrl + Z ____________________________________ Undo an action Alt + Enter _________________________________ Play full-screen
Ctrl + Right arrow Move the cursor to the Esc_______________________________________Leave full-screen
_________________________________ beginning of the next word Enter ________________________________ Select what is in focus
Ctrl + Left arrow Move the cursor to the Spacebar ___________________________________ Play or pause
______________________________beginning of the previous word Alt + Left arrow key _______________________________ Go back
Ctrl + Down arrow Move the cursor to the Ctrl + T _______________________________ Turn repeat on or off
_____________________________ beginning of the next paragraph F7 ________________________________________Mute the sound
Ctrl + Up arrow Move the cursor to the beginning F8 _________________________________________ Volume down
__________________________________ of the previous paragraph F9 ____________________________________________Volume up
Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key ____________ Select a block of text
Microsoft Edge Shortcuts
Wordpad Shortcuts
Ctrl + Shift + B ____________________Show/hide the favorites bar
Ctrl + 1 ______________________________ Set single line spacing Ctrl + Shift + D ________Save all open tabs as favourites to a folder
Ctrl + 2 _____________________________ Set double line spacing Alt + D ______________________ Select the URL in the address bar
Ctrl + A _________________________________________ Select all Ctrl + E ________________ Open a search query in the address bar
Ctrl + B _____________________________ Make selected text bold Ctrl + F ______________________________________ Find on page
Ctrl + C ___________________________________ Copy a selection Ctrl + Shift + L ____________________________ Paste and search
Ctrl + E ___________________________________ Align text center Ctrl + N ________________________________Open a new window
Ctrl + F ______________________________Search for text in a doc Ctrl + Shift + N __________________Open a new InPrivate window
Ctrl + H __________________________ Replace text in a document Ctrl + P __________________________ Print the current web page
Ctrl + I ________________________________ Italicise selected text Ctrl + R _____________________________Reload the current page
Ctrl + J _______________________________________ Justify text Ctrl + S ______________________________ Save the current page
Ctrl + L ______________________________________Align text left Ctrl + T ____________________________ Open and use a new tab
Ctrl + N _____________________________Create a new document Ctrl + Shift + U ______________________ Start or stop Read Aloud
Ctrl + O __________________________Open an existing document Ctrl + Shift + V ______________________Paste without formatting
Ctrl + P __________________________________ Print a document Ctrl + W _______________________________ Close the current tab
Ctrl + R _____________________________________Align text right Ctrl + Shift + W_____________________ Close the current window
Ctrl + S _____________________________________ Save changes
Ctrl + U _____________________________ Underline selected text Take the time to learn your keyboard shortcuts for
Windows 11, and you’ll be opening, closing, moving,
Ctrl + V ___________________________________Paste a selection
creating and modifying everything on your desktop with
Ctrl + X ______________________________________Cut selection ease. You don’t have to learn them all, but make yourself
familiar with the basics of each app you use, and you’ll be
Ctrl + Y ______________________________________Redo change
maximising your workflow in no time.
Ctrl + Z _____________________________________ Undo change
TECH ROUND-UP
Tech Round-Up
If you’re looking for something

different for your device, this is the
place to start. Each issue, we take
a look at some of the best and
worst peripherals, gadgets and
apps that have crossed our path.
TECH ROUND-UP
ঌত঵ধ঺ত঵ন
গঘ঑ইফত঵পনঘ঵ননগ঺ব঱প
঍ॵॺॴॵঔঅওইॵॺঐইঈ঑ল঱বষল঵
অব঵ঐবষগরত঵ষঊত঱
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ইসথথবষইনযয
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ঈ঻ওঔফলষলঐতথॹ
ঈ঻ওঊবযরঔতদমॺ
অএচ঍গ঑তপ঱ব঩বন঵অ঍ॵॵ
ঌঙ঑অ঒঍ঘঝত঳঳
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ঋতরনশ
গ঳ল঱পনআলথঔতষষ়ঔস঵শসবষ
ঈলসথযনঈ঵তপল঱ঘ঵বযলপ়
ঔলমনরল঱ঙ঒঍ঘউ
ঞলরথবন঒বপফষঘন঵঵ল঵
©2021 Pokemon. ©1995-2021 Nintendo/Creatures www.bdmpublications.com | 81
Inc./GAME FREAK inc. ©2021 Tencent.

TECH ROUND-UP
STM ChargeTree Swing

Charging station
Charge three, with Qi!
STM Ltd.
www.stmgoods.com
£69.95, $79.95, TBA €
T
his second-generation STM ChargeTree
makes a few minor, but welcome, changes
from the original model. Like the original
ChargeTree it’s available in black or white, and
it once more charges a Qi-compatible iPhone,
AirPods (with a wireless charging case), and an
Apple Watch - all at the same time, using only
one power socket. You just need a USB-C mains
adapter of at least 20W. It’s not supplied, but
they’re not hard to come by.
As before, you charge your iPhone by resting it
on the backward-leaning mat at the front of the
ChargeTree Swing. It’s comfortably cushioned,
and there’s an optional rubber raiser to fit over
the foot if you have a smaller iPhone that needs
the extra height. Also as before, your earbuds
TECH ROUND-UP
Series 2 or later; the first-generation device not

being Qi-compatible.
sit on a charging pad mounted horizontally on
But our favourite change is the way the lights
the stand. As it’s designed with Apple fans in
that indicate your tech is charging work. As
mind, this is intended for wireless-charging
before, there are three LEDs in the foot of the
AirPods, though there’s no reason a third-party
ChargeTree Swing, one for each device.
set of earbuds shouldn’t charge there, as long
When you place your iPhone, Apple Watch and/
as they have a wireless-charging case. Mine, for
or your earbuds on its charger, a corresponding
instance, do.
LED lights up to let you know it’s correctly
seated and charging. But now these lights go
Leading the charge... off after a few seconds. At last, you can use a
The main change from the previous ChargeTree ChargeTree in your bedroom without being kept
is the way it handles the Apple Watch. This is awake by always-on illuminations. The original
now charged on an extending arm, which can ChargeTree was good, but the sleep-destroying
be retracted when not in use. It looks much LEDs and inability to see the watch face from
smarter there, and if you want to know the time, your pillow were serious oversights. The new
you can just nudge your desk or bedside table STM ChargeTree Swing corrects both these
to illuminate the watch face. Like the original faults, and lets you use it however you want,
ChargeTree, this one can charge an Apple Watch including on the bedside table.
TECH ROUND-UP
I1601P AOC 16
LCD Monitor
Is this portable screen a worthy addition to your travel bag?
AOC
https://eu.aoc.com/en
£199, $199, 239 €
T
he problem with working away from home on your notebook is you’ve probably
got no access to a second monitor. Sure, there’s your iPad using the Sidecar
feature, but do you miss the high-definition, 16-inch behemoth you have on your
desk? This portable screen from AOC is designed to fill precisely that gap.
The I1601P (why must monitor manufacturers use such boring names?) is 15.6
inches corner to corner and has a resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p). Not a match
for your 3072-by-1920 16-inch Retina MacBook Pro, but it’s a decent screen in its
own right. One area where it can’t compete with Apple’s screens is the colour gamut.
Whereas the current range of Mac notebooks all support millions, and possibly a billion,
colours, the AOC external screen can only manage 262 thousand. Fine for general
computing, spreadsheets, word processing and other mobile-office tasks, but graphic
designers should use it for notes and tool windows, keeping the actual designs on the
Mac’s screen.
USB, See?
Weighing in at 800g and measuring just 37.5x23.5x0.7cm, the I1601P is very
portable. It has a useful kickstand which attaches to the back of the screen
magnetically, and can hold it in portrait or landscape orientation. When not in
use, the kickstand folds flat and acts as a screen protector, again held in place
magnetically. The screen draws its power from the device to which it’s attached
too, so there’s no bulky power brick to carry around.
This leads us to the screen’s main drawback. It only has one connectivity
method. Basically, this monitor is only for notebooks with USB-C ports that
offer DisplayPort over USB, which includes Thunderbolt Macs, though you
might need a Thunderbolt cable instead of the USB-C cable that came with it.
You can even use it with an iPad Pro (mirrored screen only), but if your gear
is too old for this connectivity, this monitor is not for you.
TECH ROUND-UP
AirLit Smart Fan

Desk Fan
Don’t sweat it – AirLit is here!
GeoSmartPro
www.geosmartpro.
com
£89.99, $119.99,
99.99 €
Compatibility: iOS
10.0 or later
B
ritish start-up GeoSmartPro specialises in up automatic routines to have the fan – and/or
smart-home gadgets. Its latest release is its lights – turn on and off at scheduled times, or
AirLit, a n iPhone app-controlled smart fan when the weather changes. The latter can include
that’s packed with extra features. humidity, temperature, wind speed and more.
As a fan, it’s 44cm high with its telescopic GeoSmartPro AirLit Smart Fan is a great
stand retracted, or 100cm with it extended. The addition to anyone’s bedroom, study or anywhere
fan itself is 45cm wide. An eight-hour battery in else where you need a decent fan or ring light.
the stand means you can use it all day without Our only complaint is while it’s Google and Alexa
mains power, or you can plug it into a mains compatible, it doesn’t play nicely with HomeKit.
adapter using a USB-C cable. You can control the
fan using your iPhone and the GeoSmartPro app.
Use your phone to switch it on (obviously), set its
wind speed to one of four levels and more. On
the lowest setting it’s very quiet, and even when
pumping out as much air as possible, it’s not all
that loud as fans go.
LED of the Rings

There’s a ring of LEDs surrounding the fan, which
you can also switch on using the app. You can also
change the colour temperature, but not the colour
itself; white LEDs only. And there’s a mirror you
can place over the centre of the device. It attaches
magnetically and allows shadow-free make-up
application with the lights on your face, but not
in your eyes. There’s a phone holder thrown in
for good measure too. It clips on the telescopic
stand in portrait or landscape mode, and with
the lights switched on, it makes for a perfectly
illuminated video chat. And if you need a ring light
for photography, you can use it for that too.
Naturally, being a smart device, you can set
TECH ROUND-UP
HaloLock
Adjustable Wireless Charging Stand
One-touch mounting, convenient charging...
ESR Gear
www.esrgear.com
£41.39, $45.99,
41,39 €
T
o no one’s great surprise, third-party USB-C to USB-C cable, but the power adapter is
manufacturers have been quick to release not included. Unfortunately, the cable connects
MagSafe-compatible gear for the newest to the square charger atop the flexible arm rather
smartphones, you’re spoiled for choice when it than the stand’s base, which would be more
comes to chargers, cases and more that fit to convenient and out of the way.
your phone magnetically; for pop-on, pop-off The HaloLock Adjustable Wireless Charging
convenience. This adjustable wireless charging Stand is compatible with a caseless iPhone 12
stand is just such a product. or 13, or with an older Qi-charging iPhone, with
With four pivot joints on a 20cm stand, you can a MagSafe-compatible case. Note that there’s
bend the HaloLock into any position you choose. a discounted iPhone 12 version of the product
It’s ideal for your desk, where you can place that’s not compatible with the iPhone 13, and a
your iPhone, to glance at incoming notifications version that works with both. Make sure you get
as it charges. You can rotate it into portrait or the right one for what you want.
landscape mode, and powerful built-in magnets
securely hold it in place, even when it vibrates. It
connects to your mains power using a bundled
TECH ROUND-UP
Jazz Buds
Bluetooth Earbuds
Can affordable earbuds impress in the audio department?
N
ot everyone wants or needs to spend three figures on a
set of Bluetooth earbuds. Thankfully, the quality of lower-
Groov-e priced buds is improving all the time. This sub-30 pair from
www.groov-e.co.uk Groov-e might not be a match for top of the range models, but
£29.99, $39.99, their performance belies the price.
34.99 € Jazz Buds closely resemble Apple’s own AirPods in
Compatibility: appearance; a speaker unit placed in the ear, with an aerial
Bluetooth audio extending downwards from it. They have a four-hour battery life,
devices which isn’t great, but there’s another 21 hours of power in the
charging capsule. As long as you don’t need to listen to them all
day without a recharge, they should be fine.
They don’t isolate well, so you can’t block ambient sounds
without turning the volume up, but they don’t leak much sound
either. Listening to them in the living room while your family
watch TV shouldn’t be a problem.
And they sound great. Audiophile quality? Of course not, but
for such a low-cost set of earbuds, they’re certainly impressive.
Bass is surprisingly rich without overshadowing the mid section,
and vocals are reproduced with clarity. The sound stage isn’t as
broad as you’d get with expensive earbuds, but it’s by no means
squashed. All in all, they’re a bargain.
HaloLock Kickstand
by ESR Gear
Is this the MagSafe device you’ve been looking for?
T
his disc-shaped MagSafe charger connects
to the mains through USB-C (adapter not
included), and fastens to your iPhone using
ESR the magnets built in to the last two models. It’s
www.esrgear.com
£32.39, $35.99, a small, pocket-sized device that’s pretty handy
32,39 € when you’re out and about, as long as you’ve
Compatibility: access to a USB-C mains adapter. It’s well built,
iPhone 12 or later with an aluminium body and stand, and a black or
white charging surface. With the leg folded away
it can function as a flat charging mat, and when
used as a stand you can prop up your iPhone in
landscape orientation (but not portrait) and watch
a movie or a YouTube video.
As a product, the HaloLock Kickstand falls
between two stools; as a permanent stand,
there are more versatile devices out there, and
for travellers, you might as well just take your
Lightning cable. Even so, we can’t fault the quality
on offer here.
TECH ROUND-UP
Cubbit Cell
Network Storage Drive
A new kind of storage drive; NAS, but not as you know it.
Cubbit Cell
www.cubbit.io
1TB: £303, $419,
349 €
W
here do you keep your computer’s data and you can add up to 3TB by plugging in an
files? You could use an external hard extra hard drive or two. When it’s plugged
drive, but then you can’t access your in and switched on, your Cubbit Cell forms a
files over the Internet, and if you’re burgled and it network with all other Cubbit Cells, keeping them
gets stolen with your computer, you’ve lost your connected on a peer-to-peer basis. Instead of
data. You could use a NAS drive, but these are directly storing your files locally in just one piece
notoriously user-unfriendly, and again, if it gets of hardware like a NAS drive, the Cubbit Cell
stolen with your Mac, you’ve lost your data. What first encrypts them to AES-256 standard, splits
about the cloud? There’s no danger of having your them into chunks, duplicates those chunks so
files stolen with your equipment there, but you there’s more than one of each and spreads them
have to pay a monthly fee for whatever storage across the Cubbit network. Your files are thus
space you need. Or you could use Cubbit Cell, a disaster proof, available for online access and no
new kind of cloud storage. one other than you (including the Cubbit staff)
Cubbit Cell is a storage drive that connects can access them. As they’re stored in several
to your router. A product rather than a service, places and accessed with parallel peer-to-peer
it demands no fees beyond the price of the unit connections, accessing them over the Internet is
itself. It’s available in 1TB, 4TB or 8TB capacities, much faster than with NAS drives too.
TECH ROUND-UP
out. Multiple cloud accounts on a single Cubbit

It’s so easy! Cell are promised, as are mobile apps, including
Another advantage Cubbit Cell has over some one for the iPhone. We’re also told speed will be
other forms of data storage is it’s easy to use. optimised over time too. It’s a little slow at the
All you need to do is plug it in, then sign up for an moment, but perhaps this is inevitable as the
account at the Cubbit website. Download an app device grows in popularity and the huge peer-
for Macs, Windows and Linux, and you’re done; to-peer network establishes itself. Remember,
you can move files into and out of your Cubbit Cubbit Cell is a first; no one has ever attempted
Cell storage, and access them on any device anything like this before. It’s inevitable the
with a web browser. On a Mac, you’re restricted system will grow and improve as it beds in. If
to files of 200MB or lower when using the web you’re after a secure remote storage option that
interface, but this restriction does not apply if you can access over the Internet, it’s definitely
you’re on the desktop app. And like any folder, worth a look.
you can drag your Cubbit storage folder into the
Finder window’s sidebar and access your files
from Finder.
There are a few things the team need to iron
TECH ROUND-UP
DxO PhotoLab 5
Significant improvements, but should you upgrade?
DxO
www.dxo.com
Standard: £129.00, $139.00,
139,00 €
Elite: £199.00, $219.00,
219,00 €
D
xO is back with this year’s annual update of retouching a photo far more intuitive. It’s long
its flagship PhotoLab high-end photo editing been possible to define Control Points, which
suite. Version 5 offers a small but significant mask part of a photograph so you can apply a
update from last year’s release, is available in filter to the rest of it, letting you touch up parts
Standard and Elite versions and there’s a discount of a photo while leaving the rest alone. Now,
if you’ve already bought PhotoLab 3 or 4. There’s with Control Lines, you can give larger areas a
also a launch discount available, so if you buy lift without having to define multiple Control
before 14th November 2021, you get a substantial Points. For example, you could draw a Control
knockdown on the prices listed here. Line along a horizon, and redefine the sky’s
As regular readers know, DxO PhotoLab colour palette to give it a more intense shade
is an image editor designed specifically for of blue. Before, you had to place a number
photographers. It’s a high-end suite of tools that of Control Points along the sky until you’ve
takes a while to master, but can produce excellent covered it completely, but now you can do it
results. During set up you can choose between more efficiently. For an even greater degree of
three levels of difficulty, depending on your skills precision, both Control Lines and Control Points
and experience, and you can switch between have sensitivity settings, which means you can
Standard and Advanced Workspaces at any time. adjust the intensity of their effects.
The easier user settings allow the application to You can now edit EXIF and IPTC metadata
do more for you, while at expert level, you have in PhotoLab, and add keywords to your
full control over the application’s adjustments and photographs, using an interactive tree structure.
corrections. For example, if you took a bunch of pictures
in London, you can label them all ‘London’. If
a portion of these pictures were taken in the
On the line... British Museum, you could add that as a sub-
The new release of PhotoLab gives you more label, so their keywords are ‘London > British
control over your workflow and your tools. A Museum’. You could then label pictures of
brand new tool introduced with PhotoLab 5 individual exhibits as (for example), ‘London >
is Control Lines, which is designed to make British Museum > Rosetta Stone’. This means
TECH ROUND-UP
The new Control Lines feature lets you mask areas of your photograph with more precision and versatility.
Greater sensitivity gives you

The PhotoLab 5 workspace has been polished for ease of use, but there’s still a learning curve more control over Control Lines
involved but you'll soon pick things up and be editing like a Pro. and Control Points.
you can efficiently apply keywords to groups the biggest benefit is for those with Apple
of photos using the folder structure; you don’t Silicon Macs. Testing on a Mac mini with an M1
have to type them out for every single image. processor and 16GB of memory, DeepPRIME
proved 4.5 times faster. That’s a massive leap
in speed.
More speed One of DxO PhotoLab’s major selling points
TDxO’s DeepPRIME technology has also been is it has settings optimised for specific models
improved. DeepPRIME uses artificial intelligence of camera. The new release supports 18 new
to develop RAW files, reducing digital noise camera bodies; from the Fuji-X range.
and demosaicing the image. Trained by deep DxO PhotoLab has a well deserved
learning methods, DeepPRIME is the result of reputation for quality photo processing that can
20 years’ work, using millions of images. The satisfy even the most discerning professional
deep learning approach of DxO PhotoLab, and photographers, and PhotoLab 5 continues the
DeepPRIME in particular, have been optimised trend. Our only reservation is it can prove very
in this fifth release, significantly improving expensive if you upgrade every year, though
processing and export times. On a Windows you’re getting a lot of software for your money.
PC it’s 1.6 times faster than PhotoLab 4, but
TECH ROUND-UP
DxO FilmPack
Give your pics an old-school make over.
W
hile few would like to go back to can choose from a predefined set of filters
analogue film processing, there’s that interpret the picture according to what
DxO no denying old school development it might have looked like in days gone by.
www.dxo.com processes had a style and character of their If you want to see how your photo might
Essential: £75.00, own. FilmPack is designed to bring the look have looked had it been taken by French
$85.00, 85,00 € and feel of photographs from eras gone by, to inventor and photography pioneer Nicéphore
Elite: £129.00, your modern digital pictures. It’s less intense, Niépce back in 1827, or as seen by Japanese
$139.00, 139,00 € less ‘geeky’ than DxO’s flagship PhotoLab photographer Kusakabe Kimbei in 1880 or
application. The sweet science is there, but even on cross processed Fuji Superia 200
it’s more of an everyman’s suite of tools; very in the 1990s, you can. Some, but not all of,
capable, but a good deal less scary. these processes have information panels in
DxO FilmPack reproduces the grain and which you can read about the techniques and
colours of legendary analogue films as closely technologies they recreate. We hope more will
as possible. The software recreates the hues, be added over time.
saturation, contrast and grain of 84 authentic You can install FilmPack as a stand-
analogue films, including the Kodak Tri-X 400, alone application or as a plug-in
Polaroid 690, Ilford HPS, and Fujifilm Superia. for Lightroom, Photoshop
It also uses a decidedly original approach to CS5, CS6 or CC; or
navigating the progression of development Photoshop Elements
and processing technologies through the 12 or above.
different photographic eras. And it’s here the
app is at its most interesting.
After opening a photo in FilmPack, you
Compare the original image with the

processed results using a slider.
Read all about the processes you’re recreating in an interesting side panel.
TECH ROUND-UP
Who says ’size doesn’t matter’?
F
inding the digital image you need can be a get you started too. When you’re ready, just click
frustrating exercise, especially if you come a Play icon (for some reason), to process the file
across a picture that’s perfect for your using the settings you’ve chosen. AKVIS
project, but too small to use. That’s where AKVIS In our tests, the results were good, but https://akvis.com
Magnifier AI 11.0 comes in. Available as a stand- not fantastic. You can take the pictures up a £65.00, $89.00,
alone app or a Photoshop plug-in, Magnifier AI small amount and they still look great, but if 82,00 €
uses trained neural networks for image upscaling you push the application to its limits and blow
to increase the size of digital pictures without them up a few hundred percent, they take on
the annoying pixelation associated with zooming an unnatural feel, with hard edges and details
in too far. New features for version 11.0 include not looking quite right. They’re a lot better than
colour processing improvements, a redesigned enlarged but unprocessed photos, of course,
user interface, support for more RAW files, and but we wouldn’t want to print them as posters,
better program stability. or include them in BDM’s printed magazines.
It’s easy to use. Import a photo or other such If you’re the editor of the church newsletter
image into the app, and use a slider to blow it up in or regularly design fliers, AKVIS Magnifier AI
size; to up to 800%. You can set other parameters 11.0 should prove a useful addition to your
like the image’s final size and DPI, the smooth Applications folder, but maybe not for pro-level
slider and more. There are plenty of presets to print publications.
The interface is clean and intuitive; it’s not a difficult app to use. It’s an improvement, but it’s not pro-level print quality.
TECH ROUND-UP
HUMANITY app
Stay younger for longer.
H Young at heart?
UMANITY is aimed at slowing down
the ageing process and keeping you On launching the app, you must first register
healthier for longer. You can download a for an account and then link HUMANITY with
Humanity limited-function version for free, but to get the your Health app. You then input data, or confirm
Incorporated benefit of the premium app requires an in-app information taken from the Health app, such as
www.humanity. purchase costing £29.99/$29.99/29.99 €. The your height, weight (in kg or lbs, but not stones
health app continuously monitors your actions, rate of and lbs), how much sleep you get, whether
Free: Offers In- ageing and your ‘biological age’ (premium version
App Purchases you smoke, how much you drink and more. It’s
only) using data gleaned from your iPhone and probably nothing you haven’t seen before, but
any health-orientated wearables or accessories collating it in one app and using the information
you might use. This information is analysed, and to give tailored health advice is no bad thing.
the app reports back with advice and guidelines Designed by experts, HUMANITY app has a
personalised specifically for you. According to the laudable goal and does a good job of achieving
developers, benefits of using the HUMANITY app them, but obviously it only works for you if you
include a reduced biological age, a slower rate stick with it. Make sure you enter information
of ageing, staying healthy and happy for many into the app on a regular basis, and you might
more years, managing stress and more. Definitely well find the advice it delivers to be useful in
worth the money in theory, but how does it work keeping you fit and healthy.
in practice?
This is where non-drinkers feel very smug.
TECH ROUND-UP
Wall mount your memories...
R
emember when Apple sold prints, photo device you’re placing your order on, which can be
books, calendars and cards, all made from in portrait or landscape orientation. Choose from a
your own photographs? The printing and few options, then preview your canvas if you wish. RR Donnelley
distribution back in the day was handled by Motif, Doing so shows the picture you’re about to order www.motifphotos.
and although Apple no longer sells printed works, in a living room context, to give you an idea how com
its one-time partner has stepped into the gap and it might look in your home. You then input your From £24.99,
now sells them directly. Just download the app for address and payment details (if you haven’t use $29.99, 24,99 €
your Mac (a plug-in that works with Photos), your Motif before, that is), and order your canvas.
smartphone and/or tablet, and get started. The pictures are sent promptly, and as you’d
Motif has recently added canvas prints to expect from a former Apple partner, they’re of a
its range of products. It’s a simple process. You very high quality. It’s a great way of displaying your
choose a size from 20x25cm (£24.99) to 61x91cm best pictures, and they look lovely on your wall.
(£79.99). Then choose a photograph from the
You can preview the picture you’re about to order.
Exclusive 25% Discount!

BDM Publications has
Motif now offers canvas prints from your photographs. teamed up with Motif
to give our readers an
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TECH ROUND-UP
SpongeBob:Patty Pursuit
Save the Krabby Patty Formula.
I
have to admit, I never saw the appeal of end of the level, and you can opt to re-run it and
SpongeBob SquarePants. I’m probably too old, locate the hidden areas, or continue your quest to
and my kids were never into it either, so it kind the next level.
Nickleodeon of passed me by and as such I never got into it. It’s a tried and tested formula, in true platform
Apple Arcade
I was shocked to discover that SpongeBob first style. You bash through obstacles, jump to
Exclusive
appeared on our screens in 1999, and has made greater heights with certain trampoline-style
over $13 billion in merchandising revenue as of areas and swing from various elements to collect
2019. More fool me, then. more coins. Each area contains a certain number
In this Apple Arcade exclusive, Sheldon J. of levels, and you need to fight a boss at the end
Plankton is trying to steal the secret Krabby Patty of each area. There are bonus levels too.
formula and along the way he has also kidnapped Graphically, the game is excellent. It’s bright,
SpongeBob’s friends. Your task is to steer colourful and enjoyable to play. Sounds and
SpongeBob along a platform, undersea world in music will be familiar to those who watch
order to stop Plankton, get the formula back and SpongeBob, and give the game the same kind
rescue your friends. Not an easy task. of appeal as the cartoon series. Controls, which
You’ll run and jump, collect coins and dash are usually picky on such titles, work really well
through legions of Plankton’s cousins who try to here and are responsive enough to keep the
stop you on your quest. There are also spatulas to frustration levels down to a minimum.
collect to unlock the next level, and if you collect all Overall, it’s a fun game and one the kids (and
the coins, you get a bonus spatula. Make it to the adults alike), will certainly enjoy.
Stop Plankton from

opening the formula, and
rescue your pals.
A good platformer, which

will appeal to many.
TECH ROUND-UP
A knee to the face, then get thrown over the shoulder. Beautiful.
Bluetooth your way through the gang along to
I
blooming love Double Dragon. Back in the
late Eighties, at the local arcade a dingy, the original eight-bit soundtrack, or choose a
dishevelled dive, complete with sticky carpet newer remastered version.
and drenched in eye-watering neon my mate There are different modes, too. Arcade DotEmu
Daz and I would force-feed ten pence pieces plays with a single credit, where you fight to £0.89, $0.99, 0,99 €
into the Double Dragon arcade machine and get highest score, and Story Mode unlocks
settle in for an afternoon of cooperative digital stages and achievements. Mobile, Original and
violence. It was superb. Expert difficulty modes keep you entertained,
Imagine how happy I was to get my hands on and getting your name on the leaderboard
the complete trilogy on the iPad. Sadly, Daz and is just as tantalising. For only 89 pence, the
I have parted ways in the years since 1987, but Double Dragon Trilogy is worth every penny. It’s
these days I have a couple of children who can splendid, and we loved it.
help me take on the bosses and finally rescue
poor old Marian from the clutches of the Black
Warriors gang.
Often, when it comes to arcade conversions
for mobile devices, the end result is far from
what you fondly recall as a youth. However,
developers DotEmu have done a wonderful
job of recreating the style and ambiance of the
original arcade machines.
Graphically, it’s as you remember but with a
slightly more polished sheen to it. There’s still
the clunky arcade graphics, but this time with
smoother edges, and the end result is still the
same. It’s a near-perfect port of the original.
The controls are a little tedious to get to grips
with, but after a few rounds you soon get used
to them. Grab a friend, and the pair of you can
Here we go, the first gang member to

taste your wrath!
A wonderful blast from the past, in all its arcade glory.
TECH ROUND-UP
Pokémon UNITE
Gotta beat ‘em all!
The Pokémon
Company
Free, with in-app
purchases
W
e’ve seen a slew of really quite decent tantalising features on offer. Different wild
multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)- Pokémon, once beaten, offer you boosts of some
style mobile games over the past few description. There are Holowear options, which
years. Each offers its own unique spin on the allow you to dress your Pokémon in a variety
genre, and while some shine throughout the of holographic outfits. There are new Pokémon
various app stores, others let the side down moves, exclusive to UNITE, which can turn the
considerably. It’s like any other gaming genre, tide when in battle. Ranked matches move you
really, but MOBA games tend to get the brunt of either up or down in the global leaderboards.
the negativity from the popular media. There’s an in-game communication setup, using
Taking some of the better aspects of a MOBA signals, quick chat functions and even voice chat
game, Pokemon UNITE lets you engage in so you can better manage your team of trainers.
five-on-five battles on Aeos Island, against NPC Finally, Pokémon UNITE has taken the advanced
trainers and human ones alike. As with the other step of enabling cross-platform play, which
Pokémon titles, you get to tackle the creatures means your Pokémon Trainer Club account can
in the wild, level up and evolve. Then you face off be used on the Nintendo Switch, as well as your
against another trainer and see who can score mobile devices.
the most points within the allotted time.
The game certainly has a number of
Pokémon, Assemble!
TECH ROUND-UP
Holo-dress your Pokémon, and get

ready to battle.
Some favourites are available, with new and unique abilities.
Pika-Pika-Pikachu! some players from continuing with the game.

This is a different aspect to the usual Pokémon Another aspect that may frustrate some is
game, and it’s one that works reasonably well. the surrender function. If you have a selection
True, there is a sense of pay-to-win when of particularly irksome teammates who decide
you dive a little further into the game and let’s to surrender at the slightest thing, you too
face it, there aren’t many MOBA-type games suffer the loss despite doing well yourself. It’s
out there that aren’t but the initial qualities of an annoyance, but one that’s inherent with this
Pokémon UNITE allow you to bypass that feeling type of functionality.
for some time before the grind begins to wear Overall, Pokémon UNITE is a good game. It’s
you down. One element that did bug us a little got its negative points, as with most games
was the 30-second countdown until a game in general, but it’s going to offer fans of the
begins. You wait for 30-seconds for someone Pokemon series many hours of frantic battles.
to tap a button to begin, then you wait another
30-seconds for someone else. Although it’s
not a huge amount of time, we live in a world
where instant gratification is necessary to keep
attention spans alive. The wait could well stop
TECH ROUND-UP
Zombie Night Terror

Braiiiiins…
D
eveloper, Plug In Digital, has taken a classic explode, speed up or leap to otherwise unreachable
Lemmings-like concept and introduced it to areas of the scrolling levels.
Plug In Digital the zombie culture in a gory, blood-soaked Each zombie used up is one less in your horde,
£4.99, $5.99, 2D strategy game. And it all works rather well. so you need to feed off the humans who are
5,99 € Set in a semi-monochromatic, film-noir, scattered throughout the levels. Some humans
16-bit pixel art world, you are the mastermind are easily eaten, cowering in a corner while your
behind this zombie invasion and your goal is zombies approach. Others carry an assortment of
as simple as trying to infect as many people as weapons, which can quickly decimate the number
possible. Doing so, though, is quite tricky. of zombies you have under your control. Too
You have a set number of zombie DNA points much damage from a well-armed human and
in which to infect the on-screen non-zombie you’re reduced to just a few zombies who won’t
population. The more people you infect, and in turn be able to complete the level or the challenge.
which they bite and infect, the more DNA points The trick, therefore, is to carefully plan the
you have available. The DNA points you gain unlock march of your zombie army, taking in as many
zombie mutations, which can then be used to direct, human hot-spots as possible, to increase your
Infect the living and guide the undead to the zombie apocalypse.
TECH ROUND-UP
It can be tough, being an evil mastermind behind the zombies.
numbers and DNA points, while still being able to

reach the end of the level goals. The further you
advance, the more special abilities you unlock
until you’re able to chain certain abilities and
create the ultimate zombie horde.
Raising the dead

The graphics are well produced, with a mixture
of comic instances and cleverly devised of DNA is soon limited, and a badly-timed
sections in each level. The film-noir look works applied ability goes horribly wrong. If you’re
well, especially when mixed with the stark red over halfway through a challenging level when
of your victim’s blood or the luminous green that happens, it’s back to the start again. While
of zombie DNA. Later levels can get tricky that’s part of the game, it can leave you feeling
though, and you find yourself restarting more a little annoyed at the mechanics. However,
often than not, due to a miscalculation or a perseverance is key, and you soon come to learn
particularly nasty human. to take advantage of zooming in and out of the
The environment can be as deadly to your action to pinpoint and target individual zombies
zombies as the humans. A drop that’s too high or areas.
kills off a group of zombies, or if you don’t get Zombie Night Terror is an interesting,
them off the train tracks quick enough, they’re challenging and fun game to play, at a very
mowed down, reducing your army to just one or affordable price. There’s enough to keep coming
two stragglers. back for more, and it’s well presented.
While Zombie Night Terror is an addictive
and fun lurch through the eyes of a zombie
horde, it can become frustrating as your supply
঒ন঻ষ঍শশসন
Come back next issue for even more
fantastic copy from our team of
experienced industry insiders. We will be
covering all the latest software
advancements, consumer tech and expert
tutorials that you can expect from us.
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ॸॺ How to Use the Edge Browser

The Right Start

The first time install or upgrade of any

Before we go about running the update process, it’s worth

These entries will differ from one motherboard to the next, as

Anyway, in general, if your computer is reasonably up to date, or

Once it’s downloaded, double-click to install it. When installed,

If all is well, head on over to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/

Locate the app on your computer, and double-click it to begin the

Windows 11 Installation Assistant

You’ll need to ensure that you have at least version 2004 of

What follows is our pick of the most

Then and Now

Get to Grips with Start

Exploring the Notification Center

Quick Settings Panel

Mastering the Windows 11 Taskbar

Using Task View

Using Multiple Desktops

Using Snap Layouts

Using Snap Groups

1 File Explorer Toolbar

2 Navigation Pane - Folders

4 Folder Contents Pane

5 Menus 6 Window Controls

Show Libraries The View Tab

What’s New in File Explorer?

Creating New Folders

Managing Your Folders

Getting your Windows 11 powered

Manage Network Settings

1 Account & Search

3 Quick Info Panel

Privacy & Security System Settings

Bluetooth & Devices

Network & Internet

Time & Language

Windows Update Accessibility

1 Browser & Tab Controls

5 Favourites Menu 6 Launch

8 Start Page Layout

Get Started with Edge

The Edge News Feed

You can choose three different levels of tracking prevention:

1 New Mail Button

4 Mail Folder 5 Search

6 Mail Settings 7 Message Format

10 Main Message Window

Setting Up Email Accounts

Using the Mail App

Customise the Mail App

Setting Up the Teams App

Meet and Chat in Teams

The aim of this publication is to help

Search Settings and Tools

1 Add New Event

Calendar Updates 4 Calendar Pane

Creating and Managing Events

Change the Desktop Background

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