Windows 8 touch interface guide

Displays any application specific charms the developer created on the top or bottom of the screen. Displays a preview of the previously launched app and allows you to snap it to the left quarter of the screen on release. Optically zooms in or out on an element or exposes a different level of abstraction in applications that support Semantic Zoom.

While looking at 12 month calendar, pinch zoom will change the view to a single month or day. Single tap Initiates the primary action of an element, such as launching an app from the Start Screen. Tap and hold Identify what the element is or what you can do to it. Swipe down Selects the element. You can usually double-tap or double-click the downloaded file to install the driver on your PC.

If the driver you got from a disc or downloaded from a website doesn't install itself, you might need to install manually. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search. Enter Device Manager in the search box, and tap or click Device Manager. In the list of hardware categories, double-tap or double-click the category your device is in and then double-tap or double-click the device you want.

For example, to see your video card, tap or click Display adapters , and then double-tap or double-click the video card name. Tap or click the Driver tab, tap or click Update Driver , and then follow the instructions. You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice. Occasionally, you might see a notification that a driver is unsigned, has been changed since it was signed, or can't be installed by Windows. We recommend that you don't install unsigned or changed drivers.

A digitally signed driver includes a digital signature, which is an electronic security mark that indicates the publisher of software and whether someone has tampered with it since it was signed. If a driver has been signed by a publisher that has verified its identity with a certification authority, you can be confident that the driver comes from that publisher and hasn't been changed. If you see any of the following notifications when you're installing a driver, you should stop the installation and go to your device manufacturer's website to get a digitally signed driver for your device.

The driver doesn't have a digital signature or has been signed with a digital signature that wasn't verified by a certification authority. You should only install this driver if you got it from the manufacturer's disc or from your system administrator.

The driver hasn't been digitally signed by a verified publisher. The driver might have been changed to include malware that could harm your PC or steal info. In rare cases, legitimate publishers do change drivers after they've been digitally signed, but you should only install an unsigned driver if you got it from a device manufacturer's disc.

Unfortunately, there's no trustworthy source of info that indicates who has published an unsigned driver. Anyone can change the contents of an unsigned driver, and there's no way to know why it was changed.

Most manufacturers now digitally sign the drivers they create before releasing them to the public. Take a piano app, for example. On a five-finger touch interface, the user would be able to play everything from melodies to chords, with up to five fingers in use at any one time — just like a real piano.

On a system which has only two-finger support, the app will not function correctly. This will inevitably result in a lower user experience for the person using the OS. There are many people who still feel that a touch-based Windows OS is a step in the wrong direction. The assumption then has to be that Windows 8 is simply attempting to keep up with consumer trends.

The Metro UI benefits most those with touch-enabled PCs, but those like me how use a desktop computer still have plenty of interesting new ways of working. Pinches, Zooms, and Swipes At the core of the Windows 8 touch experience is the tap. Ensuring That All Apps Are Supported There is another reason that Microsoft are making five-finger support the bare minimum for touchscreens on Windows 8, and that is to make app development much more streamlined for developers.

About The Author Guy Thomas.