How to Use Charms in Windows 8

Introduction

This article introduces Charms in Windows 8: what they are & how to use them. In Windows 8, Charms are a very important feature for Windows 8, but many Charms are context-sensitive and many Charms are not.

Accessing the Charms

We can pull up the Charms with the keyboard or mouse.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcut "WinKey+C"

When we can press a shortcut key then move our mouse to the top or bottom-right corner of the screen, then move the cursor up or down towards the transparent Charm icons that appear in the middle of your screen. We'll see five Charms: Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings.

First we click "Search" Charm in Windows 8. When we use Search Charm, we will access the system-wide search functionality. In search Charm, we can search our installed apps and files. 

In a Windows 8 Metro application, the search Charm can also be context-sensitive.

For example, when we use search for a Charm in the Windows 8 store, then we access the Windows Store search functionality.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcut "WinKey+Q"

We click "Share" Charm in Windows 8. The Share Charm only functions within Metro apps. We can't use it from the Desktop or Start screen.

Windows 8 Metro apps programmed to take advantage of "Share Contracts" can share content with each other using the Share Charm.

For example, we can open a web page in Internet Explorer and use the Share Charm to send it to the Mail app, which can email the link to others.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcut "WinKey+H"

We click "Start" Charm in Windows 8. The Start Charm does the same work as the Windows key. Use it and we'll go to the Start screen.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcut "WinKey"

We click the "Devices" Charm in Windows 8. The Devices Charm offers a streamlined interface for interacting with the devices connected to your computer. For example, we can easily manage how Windows deals with additional monitors.

In Windows 8 the screen feature works from the Desktop. If we want to interact with a device from a Metro app, then we'll find the device in the Devices Charm.

For example, by printing from a Metro app to a connected printer.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcut "WinKey+K". We click "Setting" Charm in Windows 8. Under the Settings pane, we'll find a grid of important, system-wide settings. The Shutdown option is here, as are options for controlling our sound volume, network, screen brightness, language, and notifications. These system-wide settings appear every time we invoke the Settings Charm, even if we invoke it from within an app.

The options at the top of the Settings pane are context-sensitive. Invoke it from the Desktop and we'll see Desktop-wide settings, including a link to the Control Panel. The Control Panel link at the top of the pane takes you to the Desktop Control Panel, while the More PC settings link at the bottom opens the Metro-style settings app.

Invoke the Settings Charm from within a Metro app to access the app's settings.

For example, select the Settings Charm in Internet Explorer and we'll see links to Internet Explorer's various settings panes.