Windows 8 In Depth

The App Bar

You can hunt around all you like, but you won’t find menu bars, toolbars, or taskbars anywhere in Windows 8’s new interface. The only “bar” you’ll (eventually) see is a new interface element called the app bar (or sometimes application bar), which contains app-related commands, features, controls, and settings. In any new Windows 8 screen—the Start screen, the Apps screen, a Windows 8 app screen, and so on—you display the app bar by using one of the following techniques:

• Right-click the screen.

• Press Windows Logo+Z.

• If you’re using a touchscreen, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen (or swipe down from the top edge).

App bars are context sensitive, meaning that what you see when the app bar slides into view depends on ...