Windows 8 Charms Bar Search, Sharing, Settings & Basic Actions

Introduction

In this article we explain the Windows 8 Charms Bar that provides system-wide access to searching, sharing, settings & basic actions.

Procedure for Charms Bar searching, sharing, settings & basic actions

Step 1

First of all we have to move to the Start screen window of Windows 8.

Step 2

Then move the cursor to the bottom-right of the windows screen to reveal the Charms Bar. We see a bar with the 5 buttons Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings.

Note It can also be accessed by using the "Win+C" hotkey.

 

Step 3

In the Charms Bar the "Search" function searches in the computer. The "Share" button allows you to view the share options for the running application. The "Start" button takes you to the Start Screen of Windows 8. "Device" allows you to access and change the settings of devices connected to your computer.

Step 4

Other than the "Setting" button, access the 6 basic system preferences with an option to access more PC settings. The six basic settings are WiFi, Audio, Brightness, Notifications, Power, and Language.

 

Context-Sensitive Charms Bar

Step 5

The Charms Bar is context-sensitive, which means that it shows the current application-related settings and options. For instance, when we access the Charms Bar from the Start Screen, it lets us set the type of tiles we want to view on Start Screen.

 

Step 6

Then we click "Tiles" from the Settings bar to toggle the showing of the administrative tools On/Off, and clear Personal Information from the Tiles.

 

Step 7

Likewise, it offers you Metro application specific options.

For example, the default Metro Mail app allows you to view existing accounts & add a new account and set Mail app-related Permissions such as privacy, notification and show the lock screen status message.

 

The significance of the Charms Bar is easily on par with that of the Start Screen. It is essentially the new Start Menu in Windows 8.