In learning the basics of navigating Windows 8 with the mouse and keyboard (part 1) , we looked at the new lock screen, the new “Start button” and how to use the Start screen; also how to switch through running apps, and the Charms to move around the new Windows 8 user interface. Continuing with Windows 8 navigation in part 2, I got many other navigation tips, so let’s get right to them:
Launching Apps
To start an app, you just tap or click the live tile from the Windows 8 Start screen. As you do this, you’ll see the loading splash-screen, and as all Windows 8 apps are chromeless, the app will fill the screen. Quitting and going back to Start screen is simple too, just tap the , and you can also tap the WinKey again to return to the app.
App Commands
To access properties of an individual tile, just right-click on it and the App Commands will appear. Depending on the app ability, you’ll be presented with different options such as Smaller or Lager, this will make either the tile a large rectangle or a small square. If you notice many tile will flash new content or images — this is what we now call “live tile” –, from the App Commands it is also possible to click Turn live tile off if this cause any distractions. Other options are the Uninstall or Unpin from Start .
With Windows 8 apps taking all the screen space, application’s menu are one thing of the past. To bring options and settings for a specific Metro style app, right-click from the current app and the App Commands will pop-up at the top and/or bottom.
Snap View
In Windows 8 you can have two Metro style apps on the screen (or one Metro style and the Windows desktop environment) with the Split Screen functionality. One will be partly full-screen and the other one will use the slim version of the app.
Try this: Move the cursor to the top-left corner and bring the task switcher, click & drag one of the apps and drop it on the left or right side of the screen. If you want to switch and make slimmer app wider and vise versa, just drag and drop the divider to the left or right side of the screen.
How to close a Windows 8 app
Windows 8 apps aren’t the same as the everyday applications that you’re so used to. These are specially designed to work in the same way as mobile phone apps works. Once you stop using them the get suspended, that way they don’t waste any of the system resources, which also means that you don’t have the need to close them. But in the case you do want to close one of them, you can use the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) , or you can move the mouse cursor to the top edge of the screen, when you notice a little hand, make a left click, hold and pull down the app.
To view all the applications installed in your system, go to the Start screen, right-click an empty space and click All apps .
Windows 8 Power User Menu
In some aspects Microsoft didn’t totally ditch the Start menu, now in Windows 8 you can right-click the left-bottom corner of the screen, and it will display a new contextual menu where you can get access to many common places in Windows such as: Desktop, Run, Search, Windows Explorer, Control Panel, Task Manager, Command Prompt; Computer and Disk management, Device Manager, System, Event Viewer, Power Options, Network Connections, and Programs and Features.
Windows 8 new keyboard shortcuts
Windows 8 not only brings an easier to use GUI, but also tons of new keyboard shortcuts, that will help you to get task done faster. Check out Windows 8: Keyboard shortcuts and mouse tips and tricks to learn them all.
Continue in part 1
- How to navigate Windows 8 with the mouse and keyboard [Part 1]
Fix wireless printer connectivity problems by finding your wireless printer in the network that won’t print, choosing the correct IP address, configuring a static IP address, and reconfiguring the printer installation in Windows.
You bought a brand new wireless printer (e.g., HP, Epson, Lexmark, Brother, Samsung, etc.), and how many times has it happened that you try to print and it won’t work because of network connectivity problems? Many times, right?
This is because most of the time, when people install a new wireless printer, they fail to configure the network settings in the printer itself. Yes, it is going to work the first few times, but what you don’t know is that you are configuring Windows with a dynamic IP address that could change at any time, and when it does, Windows will not get informed about the change, causing connection problems the next time you want to print.
How do you solve the printer’s wireless communication problem? It is actually pretty simple, it is all based on the principal that a computer server should always be configured with a static IP address (an address that will not change, it will always stay the same), and because the printer is providing you with the ability to print without you having to have the printer physically attached to your computer, and other computers in the network can also attach to the printer, you can say that this printer is a print-server , so what it needed is for you to change the dynamic IP address configuration to a static one.
Step #1 Selecting a valid IP address for the printer
One of the first things you need to do is to log in to your router by opening your web browser and typing the corresponding IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1) in the address bar.
Once you are logged in, look for the DHCP setting on the router (the image below is an example of the DHCP setting on a Linsys router with DD-WRT). You’re going to look for the Start IP address , then look at the Maximum DHCP Users . Add the last number from the Start IP address field with the Maximum DHCP Users number, and whatever the answer is, add 2 to it, and that will become the static IP address for your wireless printer. For example, if my Start IP address is 192.168.1. 50 , the Maximum DHCP Users is 20 , then 50+20+2=72 , so I can use the 192.168.1.72 as my static IP address for the wireless printer. We do this because we don’t want to assign a static IP address to the printer that the DHCP service on the router may assign to another device later on, and this could cause an IP conflict in the network.
Refer to your router manufacturer’s website to find out where the DHCP settings are located.
Step #2 Configuring the wireless printer with a static IP address
If you are reading this article, chances are that you are already having wireless connectivity problems. Your mission now is to find out the current IP address for the wireless printer. To do this, you need to go to the printer’s display and from the screen menu, find the network settings and check the wired or wireless network settings respectively, and note the current IP address — the path should be something like: Setup>Network>View Network Settings>Display Wireless Summary .
Next, open a web browser and in the address bar type the current IP address for the printer (e.g,. 192.168.1.4) and press Enter (because there are so many brands and models the configuration page for your printer may look different as the one in the example below, but all wireless printer will have networking section or a place where it says: wired and wireless connections). Then you will arrive at the printer web server page.
Note that network connectivity problems could happen on either wireless or wired connections. For this example, I am going to be configuring the wireless (802.11) connections, but the process should be similar in both situations. From the wireless section setting, click on IP Configuration , and do the following:
Check Manual IP setting . In the Manual IP Address , type the static IP address that you generated for the wireless printer (e.g., 192.168.1.72). Then in the Manual Subnet mask , type 255.255.255.0, and finally in the Manual Default Gateway , type the router’s IP address, for example 192.168.1.1.
Check Manual DNS Server . In the Manual Preferred DNS Server , type 4.4.4.4 and in the Manual Alternative DNS Server , type 8.8.4.4 (note that these DNS server addresses are Google’s public DNS server addresses that anyone can use for free, if you preferred to use the ones from your ISP, start once again the Command Prompt and type ipconfig/all and look for the DNS Servers field, there you’ll find your current DNS IP addresses). If your printer doesn’t receive firmware updates when it is connected online, you can just ignore this step and leave the Automatic DNS Server setting checked instead.
Save your settings, and now you are 75% complete fixing your printer.
Step #3 Configuring the wireless printer with a static IP address in Windows
You have already generated a static IP address that will not conflict in the network and configured the wireless printer with it. Now there is one last step, and that is correcting the wireless printer IP address configuration in Windows. To do this, do the following:
Go to Start , type Devices and Printers, and press Enter .
Right-click the printer and select Printer Properties .
- Navigate to the Ports tab, check and select the Standard TCP/IP Port with the name of the printer you intend to fix, and then click Configure Port .
- In Port Settings , change the Printer Name or IP Address with the address you have configured the wireless printer (e.g. 192.168.1.72).
Click OK , Apply , then OK again.
After completing the steps, send a test print to see if it is working, and restart the computer if necessary. Happy printing!
Tip: Always try to install only the printer’s driver and not the whole software suite, as this will not only save computer resources from being wasted, making your computer slower, but it will also avoid other possible problems. If you feel confident, uninstall the printer software and only install the printer drivers; if not, I’ll teach you how to do this in a later article.
Network connectivity is a common problem on most devices that serve functionality through the network, like printers. The network connectivity problem that you learned how to fix today happens because, by default, most manufacturers choose to set up wireless printers with a dynamic IP address, just because it is easier for them, when they should walk you through the steps to configure the device with a static IP address. But now you already know, and hopefully you won’t have the same problems anymore.
