LESSON 2
INTRODUCING APPS
In this lesson, you’ll unlock the true power of your computer by learning to use apps!
The Microsoft Solitaire Collection App
What Is an App?
An app (short for application) is a tool on your computer that helps you do a specific job, like play a game or check the weather. You might also have heard it referred to as a program. Apps make it easier and faster to do the things you want to do on your computer. Your computer already has a lot of great apps on it that you can use to do the following:
* Play music
* Play movies
* Manage your photos
* Chat with friends and family
* Keep track of your appointments
* Play games
* Read the latest news
* And much, much more
You already met the Calculator app in Lesson 1. Now we’ll explore some other popular and useful apps on your computer. First, you’ll use the Microsoft Solitaire Collection app to play different types of solitaire games. Then you’ll use the Weather app to check the weather forecast and the Calendar app to help you track appointments and events. By the end of this lesson, you should feel confident to explore the other apps on your computer at your leisure.
* NOTE: Some of the apps we’ll be exploring, such as the Weather app, require you to be connected to the internet. If you’re not yet online, flip back to “Setting Up an Internet Connection” on page 17 to see more about getting connected.
The Microsoft Solitaire Collection App
Solitaire is one of the most popular free game apps and can provide hours of fun. Your Windows 10 computer comes with a range of solitaire games in the Microsoft Solitaire Collection app. If you’re not a solitaire fan, don’t worry: we’ll explore how to add more games in Lesson 8. But first, to get you used to using apps, let’s explore the Solitaire Collection.
Click the start button in the bottom-left corner of the screen, highlighted here.
The Start menu will appear. Click the tile that says Microsoft Solitaire Collection, highlighted next.
If you don’t see this tile in the Start menu, use the search feature to find it. Click in the search box next to the start button and then type solitaire. Click Microsoft Solitaire Collection from the list that appears.
The app will then open on your screen! It should look something like this: Now, let’s play the game!
Now, let’s play the game!
PLAYING A GAME
The Microsoft Solitaire Collection includes five different versions of solitaire to choose from:
* Klondike (also known as Classic Solitaire)
* Spider
* FreeCell
* Pyramid
* TriPeaks
Let’s start by playing everybody’s favorite … Klondike!
Click the Klondike button.
A small help screen will appear, offering to tell you how to play.
If you’re not familiar with Klondike, you can read the “How to play” guide by clicking the Next button. Once you’ve finished reading this guide, click Play the game to jump in! If you know the game well, check the Do not show again box and then click Close, and you’ll be taken straight to the game.
The aim of Klondike is to stack all the cards in their individual suits, from ace to king, in the empty slots at the top right. To move a card to a stack, move your mouse cursor over a card, click and hold down your left mouse button, move your mouse over the appropriate pile, and then release the mouse button. You start a stack by moving an ace to any of the empty slots.
You can also move cards between the columns at the bottom to reveal new cards. You do this in the same way, by holding down your left mouse button on a card and dragging it to a new pile. In the lower columns, cards must be placed in descending order, alternating red and black cards. For example, in the image above, the black 10 can be moved onto the red jack, but cannot be placed on top of the black jack.
Click once on the deck in the top-left corner to reveal three fresh cards from the deck. You can move only the top card of these three, by clicking the card and dragging it to a column or stack.
Click the double-headed arrow in the top-right corner to make the game take up the entire screen. When the game takes up the entire screen, you can click the button again to make it smaller.
If you get stuck and want to start a new game, click the New Game button in the bottom-left corner to start again with a fresh deck of cards.
CLOSING A GAME
You can close Microsoft Solitaire Collection in the same way you closed the Calculator app in Lesson 1. Click the close button in the top-right corner, as shown here. This will take you back to the Desktop.
If you close this app after starting but not completing a game, your session will be automatically saved. That way, when you open the app again, the game will pick up at the same place as your last session. This allows you to finish the game the next time you open the app!
If you’d like to try a different version of solitaire, simply click the Back button in the top-left corner of the screen and choose a different game.
OPENING SOLITAIRE AGAIN
The first time you open Microsoft Solitaire Collection, you’ll be able to play the game right away. When you open the app for a second time, however, you might be asked to create an Xbox profile, as shown next. This lets you track your scores and share your progress with friends online.
If this appeals to you, click Next and follow the prompts. However, if you just want to play the game, click Not now. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection app will ask you if you’re really sure about this, so check the box that says Don’t show this again and click Play as a Guest.
Now you can choose your favorite type of solitaire just as before and begin playing.
The Weather App
Now let’s have a look at the Weather app. The Weather app tells you the current weather for any location you choose. It also shows you a forecast for the next few days so that you can plan accordingly. Remember that you need to be connected to the internet to use the Weather app. Let’s start by opening the Weather app:
Click the start button in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
The Start menu will open, and you should see a tile with a white sun that’s labeled Weather, as shown next. (Your Weather tile might show the current temperature instead of a white sun.) Click this tile to open the Weather app.
If you don’t see the Weather app in the Start menu, use the search feature. Click in the search box next to the start button and type weather. Click Weather from the list that appears.
If this is the first time you’ve opened the Weather app, you’ll see a screen like the one shown here.
Click either Fahrenheit or Celsius, whichever is your preference.
The Weather app will also ask you to set your default city. When you open the Weather app in the future, it will automatically give you the weather for your default city, so it’s often best to use your own location for this. You can do this by either letting Windows detect your location or selecting a location yourself.
To let Windows detect your location, click Detect my location. You’ll then be asked to give the Weather app permission to access your location. Click Yes.
If you prefer not to let the app access your location information, you can instead click in the Search box below the “Detect my location” button and type the name of your city.
Click Start to save this information.
The Weather app should now open, showing you the weather forecast for your current city, set out like the following figure.
The Weather app will tell you the current temperature along with some key facts, such as the wind speed and humidity. This information is shown above the forecast for the next few days. Below the daily forecasts, you’ll see a breakdown of the hourly temperature for the rest of the day, with a line showing how the temperature will change. You can even scroll down further to see more details, such as when the sun will rise and set!
The Calendar App
Another handy app on your computer is the Calendar app. The Calendar app helps you keep track of appointments, birthdays, vacations, and other important events. It’s like having a daily planner on your computer. Better still, the Calendar app can display a small notification to remind you that your event or appointment is about to start. Now that’s an assistant worth having!
SETTING UP THE CALENDAR APP
To open the Calendar app, follow these steps:
Click the start button in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
The Start menu will open, and you should see the Calendar app tile. It might show the word “Calendar” or the current date. Click the Calendar tile.
If you don’t see the Calendar app in the Start menu, use the search feature. Click in the search box next to the start button and type calendar. Click Calendar from the list that appears.
Click Get started.
If this is the first time you’ve used the Calendar app, you’ll be prompted to add an account or use your existing account. The Calendar app uses your account to attribute appointments and events to you. You’ll use the same Microsoft account you set up in “Creating a Microsoft Account” on page 20. This account should appear at the top of the Accounts list, so just click Ready to go.
If you don’t see your account here, you are probably using a local account instead of a Microsoft account. Consult “Switching to a Microsoft Account” on page 297 to learn how to create a Microsoft account.
This will open your personal calendar!
MEETING THE CALENDAR APP
Now that the Calendar app is set up, it’s time to start organizing your days. Let’s take a look at the main Calendar screen.
Today’s date will be shaded in blue. On the left side you’ll see a mini calendar that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the month. You can use this to peek at future or past months while still keeping your main calendar on today.
Your calendar isn’t restricted to the current month; you can move back and forth through the months to see future and past appointments and events.
To move through the calendar, use these buttons:
* Monthly view arrows: Click the up arrow to go back a month and the down arrow to go forward a month.
* Today: Click this button to quickly get back to the current date.
* Bird’s-eye calendar view arrows: Click these arrows to scroll through the bird’s-eye calendar view by using the arrows highlighted in the following figure.
Once you’re comfortable moving through the calendar to different dates, it’s time to move on to adding events.
ADDING AN EVENT
The Calendar app is an excellent place to store information about important events and appointments you want to keep track of. You’ll be able to easily view all of your upcoming events, add new events, and even receive reminders before an event starts. That beats a wall calendar! Here’s how to add an event:
Click the New event button, highlighted here.
The Calendar app will open a form that asks for some information about the event, with boxes for the event name, location, start and end times, and any extra details. You don’t have to fill out all this information, but it is a good idea to have at least an event name and a start date and time.
* Event name: Click in the box that contains the words “Event name” (these words will disappear once you begin to type). Type a name for the event (for example, “Doctor’s Appointment”). Make it something short but recognizable, because this will appear in the little box for the appropriate day in your main calendar!
* Location: You can store the location of the event so it can remind you where you need to be. Click in the Location box and type the event’s location. This could be a full address or simply a helpful reminder, such as “Mary’s House.”
* Start date and time: Select the date of the event or, if your event is longer than one day, the date the event starts. You can type in the date or click the small calendar symbol next to the date (highlighted next) to choose from a list. Remember to click the up or down arrow to cycle through the months if necessary.
Select a start time for the event by clicking the down arrow next to the time and choosing from the list of times. You might need to scroll down a little to find the appropriate time. If your event starts at a specific time that isn’t shown, you can type it in, but make sure to type in whether it’s AM or PM. Otherwise, it might appear at the wrong time! You can also check the All day box if the event will take up the entire day or if you would prefer not to specify an exact time.
* End date and time: Choose the date and time your event finishes. If you don’t choose an end date or time, the calendar will automatically make the event half an hour long from the start date and time.
* Event description: If there are any more details you want to add, you can type them in this field.
Adding a Reminder
The Calendar app can remind you of an event with a small box that pops up in the corner of your computer screen just before your event begins and gives you a summary of the event details. This box will appear regardless of whether you have the Calendar app open at that particular time. This way, you won’t forget appointments during your busy day.
Here’s how to add a reminder:
Click in the Reminder box, as shown here.
Choose when you want to be reminded about the event. For example, a 30-minute reminder will let you know 30 minutes in advance of the start time of the event.
* NOTE: When the reminder box pops up, you can close it by clicking the Dismiss button. Alternatively, you can click the Snooze button to be reminded about the event again in a few minutes’ time.
Saving Your event
After you’ve set your event details, it’s time to save the event. Simply click the Save and close button to save your details and your reminder.
You’ll now be returned to the main calendar screen. Your event should appear in a shaded blue strip on the appropriate date, like in the following figure. This shaded strip will show only a snippet of the information. To see the full details of any event, just click it once with your mouse.
* TIP: You can also create an event by clicking the appropriate box for the date of your event; this will bring up a mini version of the “New event” form, like in the figure shown next. Either add a few details here or click More details to bring up the full form.
DELETING AN EVENT
If an event has been canceled or if you no longer need it on your calendar, you can remove it. Here’s how to delete an event:
Find the event in your calendar and right-click the shaded blue strip.
Click the Delete button, shown next.
The event will now disappear from your calendar.
More Apps, More Fun
We’ve looked at a few of the most popular apps, but many more come with your computer. Therefore, your next challenge is to go exploring! Scroll through the full apps list of the apps on the left side of the Start menu and check out a few of these apps:
* News: Keep up-to-date with the latest news in your region.
* People: This is a digital address book to help you keep track of people you know and their contact details.
* Sports: Find out the latest sports news and scores.
* Voice Recorder: Record yourself talking using your microphone. This app is great for taking quick notes or recording messages to send to someone.
Don’t be afraid to try out any of the other apps you find. As mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, you won’t be able to accidentally spend any money, so there’s no risk. Do keep in mind, though, that some apps (such as News and Sports) require you to be connected to the internet to work properly.
Phew, We Did It!
In this lesson, we looked at using some of the free, built-in apps that come with your computer. You learned to do the following:
* Play card games using the Microsoft Solitaire Collection
* Check the weather using the Weather app
* Add events to your calendar
In the next lesson, you’ll start looking at putting photos on your computer.