Windows 8 question

December 15, 2012 1:11 PM

My XP computer died this morning and now I have to learn Windows 8 in a hurry.

I don't generally hate change, but...

My burning question right now is: I accidentally designated IE to open .rar files. How do I undo that? What happened to "open with" on the right click menu?

Any other tips for a new Windows 8 user will be appreciated. I avoided Vista and 7, so baby talk is appropriate.

Thanks!

posted by Mr. Yuck to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

I still see Open With on the right click menu. It's just further down than it used to be.
posted by sbutler at 1:38 PM on December 15, 2012

Follow the Open With... sub-menu, it'll bring up a dialog letting you change which app opens files of that type.
posted by wkearney99 at 1:40 PM on December 15, 2012

I think the big thing people miss, and the thing you'll miss the most, is the Start Menu. But I've watched my colleagues use the Start Menu in Windows 7, and 95% of the time they hit the "Windows" key and type the program they want into the search bar.

And in that respect, Windows 8 is no different. If you hit the "Windows" key it brings up the Start Screen. Just start typing and it will search for a program with that name. So launching Chrome is as easy as "Windows" Key -> "Chrome" -> Enter. That's no different than how most people used the Start Menu in Windows 7.

You'll have some adjusting though, because I don't think XP had the search feature.

I, on the other hand, am not like most of my colleagues. I've always kept a very clean and organized Start Menu. After any program install or update I'd religiously re-organize the icons into their proper folders (and delete all the shit no one ever uses).

Now I religiously organize my Start Screen. Programs I used most often are grouped in the far left column. Stuff I regularly use is in the middle. Stuff I might use but rarely do goes in a huge group on the right (that scrolls off the screen). And shit that I'll never use gets removed entirely.

The biggest difference, and I'm still training myself, is to not move the mouse down towards the now-missing Start Button. Instead I'm trying to remember to immediately hit the Windows key. It's a work in progress :)
posted by sbutler at 1:56 PM on December 15, 2012

I set up all my most-used programs with shortcut keys, or associate them with the appropriate file types. I rarely have to deal with the windows key and typing some program name to start some program.
posted by DarkForest at 3:41 PM on December 15, 2012

I pin my most-used programs to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
File Explorer (was Windows Explorer), Word, Calculator, Chrome.
posted by lungtaworld at 4:16 AM on December 16, 2012

Best answer: I recently asked a somewhat similar question, and received a couple of very helpful links to video and an article that gave us a strong start. I think they might help you, too.
posted by vers at 6:10 AM on December 16, 2012

Best answer: Classic Shell (freeware) gives you back a start button and normal looking desktop. You can set it to boot straight to that, if you like. I installed it on Grandma's machine because she had NO idea what to do with Windows 8.

Windows key + d will bring you to the desktop if you get lost.
posted by desjardins at 11:54 AM on December 17, 2012

Response by poster: "Open with" did not appear on the right click menu until I downloaded WinZip and was queried about what types of files I wanted that program to open. Now it only appears when I right click on zip files.

I'm having 1rst world problems trying to reinstall a bunch of software that I own.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:07 PM on December 17, 2012