How To Change Background On Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1

When you first begin using Windows eight.1, yous are given the pick of picking your colors during the initial fix up. Once the user'southward account boots for the first time, their Kickoff screen volition be decked out in those colors. Of course you may want to change them, in fact, you may not want the Get-go screen to look that way at all.

You tin can't get rid of the Start screen (though you can bypass it, equally we mentioned in the previous lesson), but you can customize it in virtually unlimited ways, especially if y'all brand your groundwork transparent and so the desktop wallpaper tin can exist seen underneath. There are reports that the Start screen volition exist giving mode to a reimagined Kickoff menu, simply you lot'll have to learn to live with it in its current form for the time being, and that'south exactly what this lesson sets out to practise.

Today, we're going to cover the ways Microsoft lets you personalize and tailor the Start screen to suit your changing tastes. We'll besides cover backgrounds, which come in two flavors: a traditional static design and animated backgrounds that move as yous coil. The Start screen has a number of absurd ways to brand it come to life and, remember, there's the aforementioned transparent groundwork pick every bit well.

Then nosotros'll move on to tiles. While we covered tiles to some extent in the last department, we desire to dig in a bit deeper and explain how to better command their appearance and behavior then you lot're not overwhelmed by it all. There'due south really a lot going on with Start tiles but we'll go through each aspect of them stride by step so you gain mastery over them in no time.

Finally, nosotros'll become through how to personalize your Start screen from the PC settings, which actually pack a neat bargain of customization options in a lilliputian space.

Don't recall of this so much as a new subject delving into new territory, rather just a continuation of the last lesson with more of an emphasis of turning the Get-go screen into something you ultimately can use and hopefully live with.

Animated Backgrounds and a Splash of Color

We'll start by talking nigh all those backgrounds and colors you can employ. Backgrounds can be applied in two styles, there are static backgrounds and blithe backgrounds, which move as you roll. The ability to change your Kickoff screen's appearance, including its colors, means that you have virtually unlimited combinations!

To begin, open the Settings pane (WIN+I) from the charms while in the Outset screen. If y'all are new to the charms, we suggest y'all bank check out yesterday's lesson.

With the Settings open (brand sure yous're in the Start screen), you will see the following options.

We first turn our attending to "Personalize." The Personalize pane is comprised of three sections, which should be pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to empathize. In the screenshot below, we see these backgrounds, some of which are static and some, which are animated. Below the backgrounds are colors and accents.

The following groundwork gives you an thought. This background is animated (though nosotros can't prove you how), so it moves as you lot ringlet horizontally giving the impression of a something like a dragon's tail. Go alee and endeavour it yourself, in that location are several other animated backgrounds to choose from as well. Note, you lot'll have to brand certain you have plenty tiles stretched across the First screen horizontally to accomplish these scrolling effects.

There'south quite a few other choices and you tin easily modify them out and run into what y'all like best. Notation also, the second-to-concluding background choice is actually a solid color.

Thus, if you want to but assign a single colour to your groundwork, there's an selection for that as well!

For many new Windows 8.one users, the switch between the desktop and the Start screen tin can be a bit disorienting.

I'll Run into Your Background and Heighten You a Wallpaper

Luckily, when Microsoft released Windows viii.1, they also fabricated it possible to minimize that disorientation by allowing you to prepare your current desktop wallpaper. This gives your Kickoff screen a transparent await.

So equally you lot can see in the following side-past-side comparison what the effect looks similar. This lets users meliorate tie the desktop to the Commencement screen, making the transition between them less jarring.

Nosotros have to admit, this was a adept decision by Microsoft and nosotros actually use this option most of the time on our systems.

Color Your World

Don't forget now that you can also mess well-nigh and alter your Get-go screen'south colors and accents giving you most unlimited ways to spruce things up and really express yourself. Here in the following screenshot, we set the Starting time screen'southward background in total contrast to give you a clear idea of the deviation betwixt colors and accents.

Notice how the groundwork is a rather drab greyness while the blithe scales are bright orangish/red. This hopefully gives you lot an exact thought as to what to expect from these settings. We urge you to play effectually and see what y'all tin can come up with. We remember you're unlikely to run out of combinations!

Fit to be Tiled

Let's return to tiles, which we mentioned briefly in Lesson 2. There'southward a lot you can do with tiles and information technology's important to know what they do, how to customize them, or but tone things down a flake. Let'south first touch upon how to manipulate them using right-click menus.

When you want to select a tile on the Start screen, yous can hold your finger on a tile until the checkmark appears and the options bar shows at the bottom. To select more than one, simply tap each tile y'all want and they will all have checkmarks.

Using a mouse and keyboard, right-click each tile. To select more than i tile, hold the CTRL key and click each one you lot want.

The context menu options are applicable to all the tiles yous select though whether you lot tin can bear upon all tiles equally depends on each tile'southward individual capabilities. For example, you lot can plow a "live tile off" but in the screenshot higher up, the "Desktop" is non a live tile so it wouldn't exist afflicted.

Of note, is the power to resize tiles to one of four possible sizes: small, medium, wide, and large. In the following screenshot, nosotros see all four sizes represented. Again, if you choose more than i tile when you resize, each tile will default to its largest size. So if a tile tin can only resize to medium, but you select large for the group, that tile will evidently only aggrandize to medium size while the others that can resize to big will do so.

Finally, to move your tiles around, y'all tin can simply click or bear on, hold, and drag them nigh. You can also expand your screen to a wide type of bird's heart view, from which you can drag unabridged app groups from one identify to another.

To activate this view, pinch two fingers, touch and agree, and spread them apart, or click the small minus (-) sign in the lower-right corner of the Start screen.

Motion your app groups well-nigh as you lot see fit and so when you're done, just click any blank department of the Starting time screen or hold and pinch your fingers together, and it will revert to normal.

As y'all can see, y'all can also proper name particular app groups such as "Productivity" or "Fun" or annihilation else you can recollect upward. To do this, either correct-click anywhere on the Start screen exterior of a tile group.

Or using your touchscreen prowess, swipe upward from the lesser edge and choose "Customize."

Then you can rename your groups to something appropriate if yous, say, have all your productivity apps lumped together or a bunch of games on your Outset screen.

These customization options give you virtually unlimited style in terms of how your tiles look, where they are placed, and equally we'll see in the next section, whether they flash and brandish information.

Turning Off Alive Tiles

Live tiles tin be slap-up for certain things like showing the weather at a quick glance, or headlines, or sport scores, merely they can as well be a distraction, fifty-fifty downright bothersome if there are too many live tiles going at once.

Luckily, live tiles are easy to disable and all-time of all you can do so to each individually significant that if you actually like the way one tile reports information, y'all tin leave that one on while turning others off. To turn off a live tile, select i and and so choose "turn live tile off."

As yous can see in the above screenshot, tiles then revert to a static paradigm making them much less flashy and distracting.

Tiles Options

In that location are farther options that you can employ to impact change on the Showtime screen's tiles. Reopen the Settings pane and this time choose "tiles." You will then come across iii options.

Allow'southward focus outset on the bottom choice, "clear personal info from my tiles." When y'all click "clear," any info that the live tile displays, such equally e-mails, friend notifications, or other potential personal info, will be wiped from the live tiles and you'll have nothing just static tiles, for a fourth dimension.

This doesn't prevent the live tiles from repopulating with information once they refresh. If you want to completely prevent them from showing personal data, we suggest turning them off, as described in the previous section.

Seeing More (and Fewer) Apps

The other two tile options are relevant to the Apps view. The first one allows you lot to encounter more apps in a smaller area. You lot see the default view below.

Hither in the following screenshot, you tin see what turning on the choice does.

There are clearly more apps compared to the previous apps view, and you can too see that the "administrative tools" are also shown, which note, must be activated from the tiles options shown higher up.

Pinning and Unpinning Apps to the Start Screen

What you install on your system won't appear on your Starting time screen considering if everything were to exercise so, you'd speedily become overwhelmed with tiles. Windows 8.1 instead allows you lot to be specific and make up one's mind yourself what goes on the Start screen. Additionally, with Windows eight.ane, update 1, you can now also pivot apps to the taskbar besides!

To pin an app or apps, open the Apps view and select the items you lot desire to pivot.

Think, if y'all want to select multiple items, yous first need to printing and hold with your finger (on a touchscreen) and so tap each tile you want to select, or correct-click and and then hold CTRL to then click and select further tiles.

Similarly, if you had called to pin the items to the taskbar, they would now appear there.

You tin can also pivot items to the taskbar from the Outset screen rather than having to render to the Apps view.

From there, if you desire to afterward unpin something, y'all simply follow the process.

You can "unpin from the taskbar" function from the taskbar as well.

Customizing Your Lock Screen and Profile Picture

There's but a few other things nosotros should note earlier moving on to tomorrow's lesson. We want to very briefly embrace the lock screen and your profile picture, and this is a good as time equally any to scratch the surface of the "PC settings" (which we'll start covering in Lesson 5).

Again, actuate the "Settings" charm (WIN+I) and look at the bottom of the pane for the "Alter PC settings" option.

Y'all're then whisked to PC settings where yous tin administer your device in a wide variety of ways. For our purposes, we want to choose "PC and devices" and then "Lock screen." Changing the lock screen's picture is super easy.

Microsoft gives you lot a number of built-in options (what you see in the screenshot will not match your device) or you tin browse for a specific picture, and employ that as your lock screen. Y'all can also accept the lock screen display a slide evidence.

Turning on the slide show we see y'all can utilize pictures from your device's Pictures binder, your OneDrive, or you can specify a location. Below are a number of other options to further customize your lock screen's slide bear witness.

The lock screen also allows apps to brandish information such as atmospheric condition, unread e-post counts, alarms, and other useful stuff.

Finally, Windows 8.1 lets yous to utilise your device'southward photographic camera without first having to unlock it. You just swipe down on the lock screen (swipe up to unlock) and the photographic camera volition activate so you tin can snap away and so you don't miss that 1 movie in a lifetime considering you're busy unlocking your device!

Note too, that you can accept and change your accounts picture. The easiest mode to do this is to simply click on your business relationship moving-picture show on the Start screen and and so select "change account picture."

This will open the PC settings to "Accounts -> Your Account" where you lot tin can select from a moving-picture show in a specific location, or create a new 1 with your device's photographic camera.

If your user business relationship is a Microsoft business relationship, so your new contour movie and lock screen settings will populate to your other devices, unless you turn syncing off, which we'll embrace in a later lesson.

Conclusion

This concludes today's lesson, we hope you feel more confident now using the First screen and personalizing it to better adapt your mood and personal tastes. Your homework and then, is to practise merely that, transform your Kickoff screens into your own. We look forward to seeing what you lot come upwardly with!

In tomorrow's lesson, we're going to take you through a thorough exploration of the Windows Store and Windows Store Apps. While the Windows Shop may not exist a part of your everyday computing experience, you will need to know well-nigh it so you can better manage Start screen content, so nosotros'll get it out of the way before plunging headlong into the PC settings.

Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/school/windows-8-guide/lesson3/

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