name is highlighted as shown in Figure 4-28. If you start typing now, you will replace the current name with whatever you type.
Figure 4-28: When a file is in rename mode, its name appears highlighted.
This renaming trick works with folders, too, not just files.
Normally, you hit Enter when you’re done renaming a file. But if you want to move to the next file and rename that, tap Tab instead. This will put the next file in rename mode, allowing you to instantly rename it next. You can keep tapping Tab, instead of Enter, to rename subsequent files in the current folder.
In Windows 7, Microsoft allowed us to pin application shortcuts to the taskbar for the first time, providing a new way to launch applications. (Previously, you could only pin applications to the Start menu.) And starting with Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft provided this same capability to web apps, letting sites like Hotmail, SkyDrive, Amazon.com,
This is very useful because most Windows users don’t spend all day using just Windows applications. They also use a lot of popular web apps and services. And by mixing and matching shortcuts for all of these things side by side on the taskbar, as shown in Figure 4-29, users can organize their workspace in a way that mimics what they’re really doing all day long.
Figure 4-29: You can mix desktop application and web app shortcuts on the taskbar in Windows 7 and 8.
These capabilities carry forward in Windows 8, and you can pin applications and web apps (via Internet Explorer 10, now) to the taskbar just as you did before, using exactly the same methods. But as you know, Microsoft is also replacing the Start menu with the new Start screen in Windows 8, and that interface is the primary place for you to manage and launch the apps you use most frequently. As discussed in Chapter 3, you can easily pin new Metro-style apps to the Windows 8 Start screen. Can you do the same for classic, Windows desktop applications like Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, and the like?
Yes, you can.
There are two basic interfaces for accomplishing this. You can use the new system-wide search functionality that is available in Windows 8, as described later in this chapter. Or you can do so directly from File Explorer.
Here’s the best part. This functionality works for applications, as you’d expect. But it also works for libraries and folders. And you can pin favorite web apps and sites via Internet Explorer 10, though we cover that in Chapter 7.
To pin a folder or library to the Start screen, navigate to the location’s container in File Explorer, right-click it, and choose Pin to Start as shown in Figure 4-30.
Figure 4-30: You can pin applications to the Metro-style Start screen from the desktop environment.
You can also Pin to Start from the new Explorer ribbon. Just select the folder or library and then choose Easy Access and then Pin to Start from the Home tab of the ribbon.
As with anything else that’s pinned to the Start screen, the folder or library is placed at the end of the Start screen. From there, you can position it as needed. (This functionality is discussed in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5.)
Using External Storage
Windows 8 works with external storage devices, such as USB-based hard drives and memory sticks, in a manner that is very similar to Windows 7. That said, the user experience that appears the first time you plug such a device into your computer has changed in Windows 8, and is now a Metro-based notification rather than a dialog box or pop-up window as before.
The first time you plug in a USB storage device, you will see the Metro-style notification toast shown in Figure 4-31.
Figure 4-31: A Metro-style notification toast appears the first time you plug in a USB storage device.
Don’t see an option for ReadyBoost? It’s a technology that requires both the USB device and the PC’s USB hardware to meet certain performance characteristics. So it won’t always appear as a choice.
Tap the notification to choose what to do with these types of devices going forward. As you can see in Figure 4-32, the available choices can include using the device to speed up the PC with ReadyBoost, to back up File History (which is described in Chapter 11), to view the files with File Explorer, or to take no action. Choose wisely because this interface will never appear again, at least not automatically.
Figure 4-32: The choices you see here will vary according to the performance characteristics of your PC and the USB storage device.
You can also configure AutoPlay options at any time, and reset them to their default values. To do so, use Start Search to query auto play, Settings.
Okay, you don’t have to get it right the first time. If you want to change your choice later, you can. Just navigate to the Computer view in File Explorer, right-click the icon for an attached USB-based storage device and choose Open AutoPlay from the context menu that appears. You’ll be provided with the same Metro-style experience shown earlier.
Using Disk Images
In Windows 8, Microsoft has added support for two very popular disc (and disk) image formats, ISO and VHD, allowing users to browse within these special files as if they were physical discs (or disks) connected to the PC.
If you’re not familiar with these formats, a quick overview should get you up to speed. ISO is a disc image format in which the contents of an optical disc (CD, DVD, and the like) are packaged into a single archive file, generally with an .iso extension, which is similar to a ZIP file. You can then later burn this ISO file to disc, creating a copy of the original.
VHD, or virtual hard disk, files are created for Microsoft’s virtualization solutions, including Hyper-V and Windows Virtual PC. These files represent a hard disk drive, and as you’ll discover in Chapter 14, they are useful in a number of scenarios, such as testing operating systems and other software, for help desk support, and for software developers.
While Microsoft has used both ISO and VHD file formats to distribute evaluation and even final versions of Windows and other software in the past, it’s never really formally supported these formats in Windows to any major degree. The one exception is ISO burning support: Starting with Windows 7, you can burn ISO files to disc natively
