In the Windows user interface, the combined Start screen and Start menu are often referred to simply as Start. The partial-screen configuration is the default.
Configure the Start screen and Start menuĪs mentioned in Chapter 1, “Get started using Windows 10,” the Start screen that debuted in Windows 8 and the Start menu that was in Windows 7 and previous versions of Windows have been combined and are both available, all the time, in Windows 10.
This chapter guides you through procedures related to modifying the Start screen and Start menu, managing Start screen tiles, setting the desktop background and system colors, configuring the taskbar, and applying and managing themes. One of the things people like to do with their Windows computers is personalize the user interface to reflect things they like and want to see rather than things that other people have decided they should see. Some of the Windows user interface elements might look different on your computer from the ones we show in this book, because the colors and images might have been set by the computer manufacturer to something other than the defaults. (The other place you’ll probably spend a lot of time is in File Explorer, which we discuss at length in Chapter 3, “Manage folders and files.”) In Chapter 1, “Get started using Windows 10,” we looked at the Windows user interface elements that you encounter in every Windows session-the Lock screen, the Welcome screen, the desktop, the taskbar, the Start screen, and the Start menu. For practice file download instructions, see the introduction. For this chapter, use the practice files from the Win10SBS\Ch02 folder.