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Welcome to Windows 11
EFSC college-wide devices are being upgraded to Windows 11, and while the experience is mostly the same as Windows 10, there are several features worth showcasing and differences to highlight with the new operating system. The purpose of this article is to quickly review the commonly used areas of the UI (user interface), settings, and other helpful information that can assist with making the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 easier.
Helpful Info
This article along with other support pages are located in the Helpful Info folder that can be found on your Windows 11 desktop. Not only are these How To articles located there, but you can find shortcuts to frequently accessed applications such as the Microsoft 365 suite as well as web pages such as the Employee Directory and the location for opening an IT ticket. This folder will be updated with new articles and shortcuts to check out.
To create a shortcut from the Helpful Info folder, please visit the Creating Shortcuts from the Helpful Info Folder article for details.
Table of Contents
Log In, Sign Out, and Power Options - Although the process hasn't changed significantly, this section reviews the log in procedure, how to set a password directly on your Windows 11 computer, where to sign out, and how to use the power options available.
Accessibility - Windows 11 has made Accessibility easier to setup than previous operating systems, with many options found in the System Tray. The section will also show where to find more options in the Settings.
Personalization - Want to add your personal style to the desktop? Here you'll find the basic settings to make some changes to areas such as your desktop background, colors, and more.
Programs - If you are having trouble locating programs on your device, visit this section to learn how to use the Search features. This section will also highlight how to create shortcuts, set Default apps, and the new features to manage multiple windows for the various applications you use.
System Tray - This will still be found in the bottom right corner of a standard Windows 11 desktop and its functionality is as important as ever with managing sound, checking your OneDrive, and more. Settings for display can also be found here as well as a slightly updated way of accessing the desktop calendar.
Taskbar - Visually speaking, the Taskbar found in the bottom center of a standard Windows 11 desktop is what stands out the most compared to other iterations of Windows. This section of the article will point out the differences with the Taskbar icons. Other features such as the Task View and File Explorer are also easily accessible from the Taskbar.
IT Support - If you are experiencing technical issues with accessing programs or using features, please do not hesitate to contact IT for assistance.
Support Articles
Dispersed throughout this article are Microsoft Support pages that provide a quick overview of many Windows 11 features. These are recommended to check out and revisit as Microsoft brings more updates and upgrades to the operating system. These support pages are also available in the Helpful Info folder found on your desktop within the How To subfolder.
Starting with the basics, the log in process will utilize the same network credentials. The initial Windows log in screen will indicate which network you are signing into, so keep in mind if you log into computers on different networks such as in a classroom.
Along with the web-based options of managing your password, the network password can still be changed by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del and choosing the Change a password option. As a reminder, this will change the password for accessing any application that utilizes the network account such as Microsoft 365 programs including Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams.
To sign out of your Windows 11 computer, follow these steps.
1. Click on the Windows icon, now found near the bottom center of the screen.
2. A new panel will appear. Click on your name found in the bottom left, found almost directly above the Windows icon and Search box.
3. Finally, click on the Sign out button.
Note: You will also find the Lock option which is recommended to use anytime you leave your computer unattended for any period of time.
To locate the power options on a Windows 11 computer, follow these steps:
1. Click on the Windows icon, now found near the bottom center of the screen.
2. A new panel will appear. Click on the power symbol found in the bottom right.
3. Choose and click on the appropriate power option such as Restart or Shut down.
Notes: In general, use the Restart option when needed. A full shut down can be used in special circumstances but the computer should be rebooted shortly after.
As a reminder, important Windows and security updates are routinely processed, therefore a computer should not remain in a powered off state. Also, while restarts normally are permissible in offices, they should not be used in some areas such as multimedia rooms unless approved.
To quickly find some of the standard Accessibility options available, follow these steps:
1. Click the Network and Sound icon found in the System Tray (bottom right of screen).
2. Locate and click the Accessibility button on the new panel that appears.
3. To the right of each option is a toggle that can enable and disable features. Click on the toggle for the Accessibility options you want to enable. The toggle will turn blue (On). In the image below, the options are disabled (Off / gray).
To locate more Accessibility options, follow the steps in the previous section, and on the Accessibility panel you will see a More Accessibility settings link found in the bottom left. This will open up the Accessibility options found in the Settings. These can also be accessed by searching for Settings and then by clicking the Accessibility option in the left navigation. For assistance on how to search these settings, please visit the Programs section of this article.
Support Articles
Please visit the following Microsoft Support articles for additional resources on Accessibility.
Note: While the majority of Accessibility options will be available by simply enabling them, some may require additional setup.
Meet Windows 11: Accessibility
Discover Windows accessibility features
Settings
Setting up a desktop background image and customizing colors can be accomplished similar to in previous Windows operating systems.
In general, you can find these options by visiting the Personalization section in the Settings. This can be accessed by searching for Settings and then by clicking the Personalization option in the left navigation. For assistance on how to search these settings, please visit the Programs section of this article.
Additionally, you can also reach these options by right clicking the Desktop in any empty area and then selecting the Personalize option in the dropdown.
Support Articles
Please visit the following Microsoft Support articles for additional resources on Personalization.
Change your desktop background image
Personalize Windows colors
To quickly find a program, follow these steps:
1. Locate the Search box in the bottom center of the screen and type in the name of a program.
2. This should populate the best results and you can click on the correct program to open it.
Note: This can also work for locating various files and other items saved as well.
Similar to the steps above, you can click on the Windows icon near the bottom center of the screen and begin typing the name of the program to access.
As in previous iterations of Windows, you can proceed to locate applications following a similar route:
1. After clicking the Windows icon, you may see the program listed in your pinned applications right away. If not, you can click the All apps button located in the top right corner to search further.
2. From here, you will have a list in alphabetical order of all the installed applications that can be accessed. Click on the correct program to open it.
To check your installed applications, search and open Settings and click Apps in the left navigation. Then, choose the Installed apps option which will then bring up the list of programs. You can also search "installed apps" directly in the Search box. For assistance on how to search these settings, please see the Using the Search Box section above.
Note: Managing installed programs, such as installing or uninstalling requires a technician to perform those actions (approval required).
Support Article for Searching Programs
Please visit the following Microsoft Support article for additional resources on how to find programs on a Windows 11 computer.
Find all your apps and programs
In this section, two methods will be reviewed on how to create shortcuts. For more information and other methods to create shortcuts, please visit the Knowledge Base article: Creating Shortcuts in Windows 11.
First, to create a shortcut from a network folder to your desktop:
1. Open the folder that contains the item you want to create a shortcut to.
2. Locate the item you want to create a shortcut to within the folder.
3. Then, left click (hold) and drag that item from that folder to an empty space on your desktop. Once you find a spot to place the shortcut on the desktop, release the left click and the shortcut will be created.
Notes:
- You may need to adjust the window you are creating a shortcut from so you can see both that and the desktop (not maximized).
- Before releasing the left click, near the item's icon you will see where it says either "Create link in Desktop" or "Copy to Desktop". Dragging the item from the network folder should not move it (ex. cut and paste) out of that folder. You should still see the item in both the folder and the desktop.
- As a reminder, if you try to follow these steps from a folder saved locally on your computer, it will usually say "Move to Desktop". In these cases, it is best to right click the item in the folder, click Show more options, then choose the Create shortcut option so that the item will not be moved from the folder. You may receive a prompt asking if you would like to create a shortcut on the desktop. If you do, click Yes.
Second, to create a shortcut from the desktop (ex. directing to a website URL or network folder):
1. To begin creating a shortcut, right click on an empty area of the Desktop, click New in the dropdown, then select Shortcut.
2. A new window will appear that allows you to enter in the location of the shortcut in the Type the location of the item field. For example, you can type in a shared folder location (ex. \\sharename\sharefolder) or enter in a full URL address. In the image below, we will create a shortcut to the EFSC Home Page. After entering in the full URL address (https://www.easternflorida.edu/), click Next.
Note: You can also use the Browse... button to the right of this field to search the computer for a specific folder for example.
3. When creating a web shortcut, you will be prompted to enter in a name for the shortcut in the Type a name for this shortcut field. After typing in a name, click Finish. You will now have a shortcut to the web page that will open in your default web browser.
If you would like to pin an app instead, right click a program after locating the results after using Search (instead of left click).
Then, click on one of the options such as Pin to Start. You can also right click a shortcut found on the desktop and then click an option like Pin to Taskbar.
- Pin to Start will add the program as an option under the Pinned section, found by clicking the Windows icon near the bottom center of the screen. (See the Windows Icon Search subsection for an image).
- Pin to Taskbar will add a shortcut on the bottom of the screen in the Taskbar, starting to the right of the Search box. For more information about these icons, visit the Taskbar section of this article.
Support Article for Shortcuts and Pinning Apps
Please visit the following Microsoft Support article for additional resources on how to create shortcuts and pin apps on a Windows 11 computer.
Pin apps and folders to the desktop or taskbar
To check the default applications, such as which browser is set as your default, there are two ways to reach those options.
1. Click into the Search box and type in "default apps" then select the Default Apps option that should appear as the Best Result.
2. Click into the Search to access Settings, click Apps in the left navigation, then choose Default apps.
For assistance on how to search these settings, please see the Using the Search Box section above.
As like previous Windows versions, Windows 11 allows you to snap different windows to different locations of the screen. For instance, you can move one window to snap it to the left side of the screen and another window to the right side so they are both occupying 50% each.
An additional option in Windows 11 allows more setups by moving the window towards the top of the screen where you will see a long white tab appear. Moving the window all the way to the top will bring up presets to select where multiple windows can be arranged. See the image below as an example.
Support Article for Multitasking
Please visit the following Microsoft Support article for additional resources on how to multitask on a Windows 11 computer.
Get more done with multitasking in Windows
When you need to close a program or want to verify a program is not running, follow these steps.
1. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del then select Task Manager.
2. A window will appear as seen in the image below. To close a program, click on the correct name and then click the End Task button. You can also right click on the name of the program and then select End Task as well.
The date and time is still the most identifiable feature in the bottom right of the screen, located in the System Tray.
Clicking on the date and time icon will bring up the date, but you may not see the Calendar immediately. By default, the Calendar is collapsed and you can view it by clicking on the arrow to the right of the date.
After clicking the arrow, the Calendar will be viewable. Clicking the arrow again to the right of the date will collapse the Calendar.
Note: Windows 11 now has desktop notifications accessible by clicking on the date and time. These will appear above the date and/or Calendar.
To access Display settings via the System Tray, click on the Network and Sound icon found in the bottom right, next to the date and time. A new panel should display in the bottom right of screen as seen in the image below.
The first option to review is the Night light button. When you enable this icon, the full screen will add a yellow tint, which is used to combat blue light and reduce eye strain. If you do not want to use this option, click the icon again to disable.
Another option available, and a great place to access additional display options, is the Project button. After clicking the Project button, you will find different options such as PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend, and Second screen only. For most users that have a single monitor, the display should be set to PC screen only.
If multiple displays are available, Duplicate shows the same image on both screens, Extend allows the full use of both displays for more work space, and Second screen only will show only the secondary display while the primary device will become unavailable. These options might need to be checked if one of the mentioned Project options appears to be enabled.
Note: Multimedia rooms will generally already be setup on the correct configuration and should not be changed unless approved.
If you would like to access other Display settings, there is also a More Display settings link found on the bottom left of the Project options screen. This will direct you to a new window with a variety of settings to manage including Scale, Display Resolution, Display orientation, and Multiple displays.
These options are also available by using the Search box by typing in Settings, then click the System option in the left navigation of the window, and finally the option for Display. You can also Search for "display settings" to go directly to these Display Settings. For assistance on how to Search, please visit the Programs section of this article.
Support Article for Display Settings
Please visit the following Microsoft Support article for additional resources for Display Settings on a Windows 11 computer.
View display settings in Windows
To access the general sound settings, click on the Network and Sound icon found in the bottom right of the screen, next to the date and time.
As like other Windows operating systems, you will immediately see a familiar horizontal bar where you can manage the volume. The main difference is in order to see where the current volume is at on the standard 0-100 scale, you will need to click on the circle you can move left and right to adjust the volume to see the exact number.
To mute the sound on your device, or check to see if mute is enabled, the Sound icon to the left of the volume bar will be the best indicator. If the Sound icon has an X on the icon, this means mute is enabled. To enable or disable mute, click on the Sound icon. The image below shows how the icon appears if mute is enabled.
Sometimes you may need to check which output device is currently active. Click on the icon to the right of the volume bar.
Here you can select which device is active such as the standard desktop speakers or a headset. In addition, after checking if the sound is muted, this is the next area to check to ensure the correct device is active. Other options are available here as well, including a More volume settings button in the bottom left. In most cases, the settings reviewed here will be all that's needed to get started besides ensuring that a device is physically connected.
As a quick note, OneDrive will generally be setup to automatically sync all your files on a Windows 11 computer. For example, if you check the folders and files that are on your desktop, you will see a green check mark on the bottom left of the icons that indicates it is backed up on OneDrive.
In the System Tray, a blue OneDrive icon should appear at all times. If the OneDrive icon is not blue and if clicking the icon shows that OneDrive is not syncing or signed in, please sign in with your full EFSC email address and password to ensure OneDrive will start syncing again.
Support Article for OneDrive Icons
Please visit the following Microsoft Support article for more information about the various OneDrive icons.
What do the OneDrive icons mean?
You may notice several icons that appear in the System Tray to the left of the date and time icon besides the ones mentioned previously in this section. These will normally indicate different programs that are currently running. The furthest icon to the left is an up arrow that can be clicked to expand and show more items that are running. Check this area out if you are unsure if a program is running, or to see if an application is encountering an error. Some programs can be closed by right clicking the icon and selecting an option like Exit or Close.
An easy way to identify if you are on a Windows 11 computer is the Taskbar and its default position. For Windows 11 computers, the Taskbar icons have shifted towards the bottom center of the screen (Windows icon and Search included).
A noticeable difference is how to tell if a program is open and if the window is active as well. For programs that are running, but the window is not active, a small gray dot will appear below the icon. If the program is running and the window is active, that dot will expand to a blue line beneath the icon.
In the image below, both the File Explorer and Microsoft Edge are running, but their windows are not opened, indicated by the small gray dot. Clicking on these icons in the Taskbar will open the window.
Also in the same image, you can see that Google Chrome is both running and the windows are opened, indicated by the blue line. At the same time, the Google Chrome icon has a slightly different colored background as well as what appears that there are more than one icons stacked on top of each other. This stacked visual indicates that there are more than one windows of the same program opened. Clicking the icon will allow you to choose which specific window to open.
As mentioned in the Programs section, you can pin shortcuts for programs to the Taskbar. For more information, visit the Pinned Apps subsection of this article. You can also remove a Taskbar shortcut by right clicking the icon and selecting the Unpin from taskbar option.
Clicking the black and white squares icon will open the Task View. This has been a feature previously, but the icon has changed in appearance. Task View allows you to quickly manage the different windows you have opened and allows the creation of desktops if you need more space to work on multiple projects. Keep in mind to check the Task View if you had opened a window or a new desktop as you may be able to quickly find the program or file you are looking for.
The File Explorer is also still accessible via the Taskbar by clicking the folder icon like in previous Windows versions. The main upgrade to Windows 11's File Explorer is that it allows you to open different tabs, similar to a web browser, so that you can more efficiently manage and jump between different areas in the File Explorer without creating multiple windows. In the image below, you can see that both the Desktop and Documents are open in their own tab in the top left.
If you are experiencing any technical issues with Windows 11 features, please contact EFSC Information Technology. For assistance, questions or concerns, please either create a ticket or call the IT Support Desk at 321-433-7600, open 7am to midnight, 7 days a week. As a reminder, you can locate this contact information by logging into myEFSC and scrolling to the IT Support section.
When creating a ticket, select the Desktop, Laptop & Printer Support category, followed by the Desktop Support service to submit a ticket. Include details, error messages, and provide screenshots if possible of the steps you have taken so we may further assist you.
