Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

PC and Devices

How generous of Microsoft! It’s given you not one, not two, but as many as ten subcategories of settings to change! Here goes:

Lock Screen

Here’s where you choose a picture for the Lock screen, turn on its slideshow feature, specify which icons appear on it, and add a link for the Camera app; see Camera for details.

Display

These controls are duplicates of the settings in the regular desktop Control Panel: controls for multiple monitors (The Magnifier) and screen resolution (Change the resolution).

Then there’s this intriguing option: “Change the size of apps, text, and other items on the screen.”

When you turn this option on and then adjust the pop-up menu, everything in TileWorld—text and graphics—gets bigger or smaller. Start screen tiles, Charms bar icons, text, and so on.

And now, the fine print: Not all screens offer this feature. This option may be dimmed and unavailable. For example, if your screen’s resolution is lower than 1920 x 1080 pixels, then you can’t make things bigger. Microsoft thinks things are already big enough.

Note, too, that these controls don’t affect the desktop, which has its own size controls in the Control Panel. And you may discover that some layouts, like Web pages, look a little funny.

Bluetooth

Here’s the on/off switch for Bluetooth, the short-range wireless connection for headsets, speakers, and other accessories, and a list of nearby Bluetooth gadgets that your PC has detected. Select one to connect to it.

Devices

This is the master screen ...