Windows 11 For Seniors For Dummies

IN THIS PART …

Find and purchase apps at the Microsoft Store.

Take and edit photos and videos.

Play music and watch videos.

Chapter 10 Exploring the Microsoft Store

IN THIS CHAPTER

Shopping at the Microsoft Store

Installing an app from the Microsoft Store

Seeing which apps and games you have

Making sure your billing information is up to date

You can do many things with Windows 11, such as send email, browse the web, play games, and look at photos and videos. You can read the news and chat with family and friends. All these functions and more involve computer programs. Back in the day, such programs were called applications. Now, we call them apps.

Windows 11 comes with a few apps installed, such as the Weather and Maps apps. (See Chapter 2 for information on using these two apps and apps in general.) To obtain other apps — free or otherwise — you use the Microsoft Store.

To install an app from the Microsoft Store, you need a Microsoft Account. See Chapter 4 for information on setting up a Microsoft Account.

Microsoft tests and approves all apps in the Microsoft Store. For quality and security purposes, you can install Windows 11 apps only from the Microsoft Store.

In this chapter, you peruse the apps and games in the Microsoft Store, including those already installed on a new machine. You install a new game, discover how to manage the apps and games you own, and see how to rate and review an app or game. Finally, you find out how to make sure that the Microsoft Store can receive payments in case you want to buy an app or game.

Explore Apps and Games by Category

Select the Microsoft Store icon on the taskbar. It looks like a shopping bag with the Windows 11 logo on it.

Look over the Store home screen, shown in Figure 10-1. The home screen shows top-rated apps and games, as well as apps and games that Microsoft thinks you will be interested in based on your previous purchases, if you made any. Notice the navigation bar along the left side of the screen (see Figure 10-1). It offers six choices: Home, Apps, Gaming, Movies & TV, Library, and Help. Wherever your travels take you in the Store, the navigation bar appears along the left side of the screen so that you can return to the home screen or redirect your search for apps, games, entertainment, and whatnot.

The Microsoft Store is, well … a store! Occasionally stores reorganize, and this is true for online stores as well. The good news is that you can typically figure out how to navigate and access different categories, even if Microsoft changes the look of things from time to time.

Select Apps on the navigation bar to go to the Apps screen.

If you scroll down this window, you see different app categories, such as Apps Specials, Best Selling, Productivity apps, and so forth. Select the See All button next to the Top Free Apps heading, as shown in Figure 10-2. Select the See All button when you want to investigate all the items listed under a particular heading. After you select this button, you see a Filters button option. You can select Filters to refine your search, as shown in Figure 10-3.

FIGURE 10-1

In the Top Free drop-down menu, select Top Free to see apps that you can install for free (see Figure 10-3). On the All Categories drop-down menu, select Education to see educational apps. Try using the Best Selling so you can see what’s most popular.

Select Gaming on the navigation bar and scroll to the bottom of the Games screen. You pass the familiar Best Selling and Favorite headings. You can select the See All button next to a heading to investigate all games in a heading. The Gaming screen works just like the Apps screen.

Return to the Store home screen by selecting the Home button on the navigation bar.

FIGURE 10-2

Did you see an app or game you want to acquire as you completed these steps? If so, skip to “Install a New App or Game,” later in this chapter.

FIGURE 10-3

Search for an App or Game by Name

On any Store screen, click in the Search box. This box is at the top of the App Store window, as shown in Figure 10-4.

Type chess in the Search box and press Enter. As shown in Figure 10-4, games and apps with the word chess in their names appear in the Results screen. The Results screen tells you how many games and apps match your search. After this initial search, you can use the Filters feature to refine it if you like.

FIGURE 10-4

Select the Games button to see games with chess in their titles, as shown in Figure 10-5. After you select Games, you can select Filters to further refine your search if you like.

Proceed to the next section, “Install a New App or Game,” or return to the home screen.

FIGURE 10-5

Install a New App or Game

In the Store, search for the Chess Free game. (See the section “Search for an App or Game by Name” for details.) You’ll see several free chess games in the search results, so just choose one and select it.

The screen shown in Figure 10-6 appears. This (and any) game or app screen offers lots of information.

The Back button (left-pointing arrow) on the top left side of the screen takes you back to the previously viewed screen.

Notice that you see a description of the game as well as information about the number of ratings and the average. If you scroll down the page, you see more information about the game and ratings as well as a Get button.

FIGURE 10-6

If you scroll down the page, note the section titled System Requirements. The Microsoft Store will automatically check your system to make sure that anything you download will work on your particular computer system (most of them should).

Select the Get button to download and install the free chess game.

If you’re not already signed in, enter your Microsoft Account email address and password on the screen that pops up. Then select Sign In.

Many apps are free. Before you buy an app, see the section “Add Billing Information to the Microsoft Store,” later in this chapter.

If you purchase an app, you are buying a license to install that app on up to five machines using the same Microsoft Account. The Microsoft Store will track how many times and on which machine the app is installed.

The download indicator appears and a progress bar shows the game being downloaded and installed.

Installing an app may take a few seconds or a few minutes. You can do anything while an app installs — except use the app.

To play the chess game or to use any game or app after you install it, select the Search icon on the taskbar; then just type the name of the app to find it, as shown in Figure 10-7. Also note that you may see the newly installed app appear on the Start screen.

FIGURE 10-7

You can pin the chess game icon to the Start screen. See Chapter 3 for information on rearranging icons on the Start screen.

Examine Your Apps and Games

The Microsoft Store keeps track of which apps are installed on your Windows 11 computer. To see which apps and games you have, open the Microsoft Store and then select the Library icon on the navigation bar, as shown in Figure 10-8. On this screen, you can see all apps that you have downloaded, and you see button options next to each, such as Launch, Manage, Open, and so forth.

FIGURE 10-8

Notice the category buttons available. By default, All is selected, but you can choose to see only Apps, Games, and Movies & TV (see Figure 10-8). Just select the button option you want.

Rate and Review an App or Game

On the Library screen in the Microsoft Store (refer to Figure 10-8), select the free chess game you downloaded. If you don’t have this game, see the section “Install a New App or Game,” earlier in this chapter, or substitute any app or game you have installed.

In the Chess Free window, scroll down and in the Ratings and Reviews category, select the Rate and Review button, shown in Figure 10-9. The review screen appears (refer to Figure 10-10). Every app and game has a Rate and Review button.

FIGURE 10-9

You can rate or review only apps and games that you've installed, and you must be signed in with your Microsoft Account.

In the review screen, choose the number of stars you want to give this game. (Select one star for the lowest rating; select five for the highest rating.) Select the Add a Review button.

FIGURE 10-10

In the Write Your Review screen, say what you will, up to 500 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

In the Headline box, type a summary or overview of your comments, such as Great app or Needs work.

Your comments may help another person decide whether to install an app. In addition, the app's developer may use customer feedback to fix problems or add features.

Your Microsoft Account name and picture, if you have one — but not your email address — appear with your review.

Select the Submit button when you’re done with your review.

Uninstalling an App

You may download an app, such as a game, and later decide you don’t like or want the game any longer. You can easily uninstall anything you download from the Microsoft Store. First, search for the app you want to uninstall by using the Search icon on the taskbar.

Select the app in the search results.

In the right pane of the search results, you see the option to Uninstall the app. Select the Uninstall option, as shown in Figure 10-11.

A dialog box appears, asking you to confirm. Select Uninstall again, and the app is uninstalled from your computer.

FIGURE 10-11

Available apps change often on the Microsoft Store. If you uninstall an app, there’s no guarantee it will be available for download later. So, make sure you have no plans to use the app in the future before you uninstall.

Add Billing Information to the Microsoft Store

To add the billing information necessary to buy apps and games, select the Profile button next to the Search box. A pop-up menu appears with the option to select Payment Methods, as shown in Figure 10-12. Select this option, and a web page opens in Microsoft Edge.

See Chapter 4 for information on creating a Microsoft Account.

FIGURE 10-12

For security purposes, Microsoft asks you to enter your email address and password on the next screen. Enter your password and select the Sign In button.

Scroll through the screen to make sure that the information here is accurate. If you are not being billed to the correct credit card or you want to change the credit card to which you are billed, select Payment & Billing on the toolbar and choose Payment Options on the drop-down menu that appears.

Select a payment method (or select Payment Options if Microsoft already has credit card information on you) and do the following:

Select your credit card type.

You must fill out all parts of this form except for Address Line 2.

Enter your credit card number in the box provided. Don’t enter dashes or spaces.

Under Expiration Date, select the month (MM) and year (YYYY) your card expires.

Enter your name as it appears on your credit card.

Under CVV, enter the three- or four-digit verification code from your credit card. (Select What’s This? for an illustration of the location of this code on your card.)

In the Billing Address section, do the following:

Enter your street address, city, state, and ZIP code.

Select your Country/region.

Under Phone Number, enter your area code in the first box and the remainder of your number in the second box.

When you’re ready to continue, select Save.

If any of your data is incomplete or invalid, the form remains onscreen. Look for indications of a problem. Review each entry before selecting Submit.

If your information was accepted, you return to the Your Account screen. Under Payment and billing info, note your credit card type, the last four digits of your number, and the expiration date.

Chapter 11 Taking Photos and More

IN THIS CHAPTER

Shooting photos and video

Loading photos from a digital camera

Viewing, editing, and organizing photos with the Photos app

Scanning documents and photos

Windows 11 makes enjoying digital photos easy. You can pick and choose photos to look at or display a group of photos in a slide show. You set a favorite photo to be your Lock screen background so that you see it every time you start Windows 11.

If you have a printer, you can print photos for yourself or to send them to someone. Even black-and-white prints of color photos may be nice. If you have a scanner, you can even scan photos to make digital copies of photographs that as yet exist only in paper form.

Of course, if you want to take your own photos, nothing beats having a digital camera. Copy photos from your camera to your Pictures folder for viewing and sharing. Or use the Camera app with the built-in camera found in many laptops and tablets.

In this chapter, you use the tools that come with Windows 11 for working with, printing, scanning, and editing photos.

Take Photos (and Videos) with Your Computer

Select the Search button on the taskbar and type camera. Windows 11 will locate the Camera app for you. If you don’t have a webcam, the app screen displays We can’t find your camera. If you don’t have a built-in webcam, or the resolution of the one you have is too low, you can easily add a webcam. Simply plug the camera into your computer — it’s that easy.

You can choose from many good webcam models. Generally, get the highest video resolution you can afford, because you’ll probably use the camera for video chats. Consider the size of the camera, its attachment to your computer, and whether it has a microphone (you definitely need a microphone).

For instructions about opening apps such as the Camera app, visit Chapter 2.

The first time you use the Camera app, you may see a screen that says Let Windows camera access your location? Select Yes to continue.

The Camera app opens, and there’s a good chance you recognize the face staring back at you, such as the example in Figure 11-1. To take a photo, smile and then click or tap the Take Photo button (it’s on the right side of the screen). You may notice a blue box dancing around your face as you get ready to take the photo (see Figure 11-1). This is a focusing box that the camera uses, but it won’t actually show up in your photo. You may hear a shutter click when you take the shot. Your photo is placed automatically in a folder called Camera Roll in the Pictures folder.

Select the Camera Roll icon in the lower-right corner of the Camera app to view the photo you most recently took. After that, you can select See All Photos to open the Photos App and view photos there. (Select the Back button in the upper-left corner of the screen to resume taking photos.)

To take a time-lapse photo, use the Photo Timer button on the left side of the screen. Select this button one, two, or three times to tell the Camera app to wait 2, 5, or 10 seconds before taking the photo. Then click or tap the Camera button and wait 2, 5, or 10 seconds for the photo to be taken.

FIGURE 11-1

Select the Video button (shown in Figure 11-1). Nothing happens until you click or tap the Video button a second time, at which point you’re in moving pictures. A counter indicates the length of the video. Short is sweet in video. You can speak, too. Click or tap the Video button to stop the video. As with photos you take with the Camera app, videos are saved initially in the Camera Roll subfolder of the Pictures folder. Select the Camera button to turn off the video function and return to taking still photos (with the next click or tap).

Leave the Camera app open to explore the Camera settings, which we explain next.

Choose Camera Settings

If the Camera app isn’t open, open it now. Then select the Settings button located in the upper-left corner of the Camera window (refer to Figure 11-1). The Settings panel opens, as shown in Figure 11-2 and Figure 11-3. From here, you can tell the Camera app how to take photos and videos.

FIGURE 11-2

Depending on the size of your screen, you may need to scroll down to see all of the Settings panel. Just move your mouse over the panel, and a scroll bar appears on the right side.

FIGURE 11-3

Turn Pro Mode on if you want to choose a brightness setting for your photos. After you turn on Pro Mode, a Brightness icon appears on the left side of the Camera app screen. Selecting this icon makes a slider appear so that you can adjust the brightness of photos from 100 percent (very bright) to 0 percent (very dark).

Choose a Framing Grid option to help aim the camera. For example, the Crosshairs option places crossing lines in the center of the screen so that you know where the center of your photos will be.

Under Photos, decide how you want to take photos:

Photo quality: These options determine the aspect ratio and size of photos in pixels. For example, you can shoot narrow (the 4:3 options) or widescreen (the 16:9 options) photos.

Time lapse: Choose this option when you want to take a series of time-lapse photos (the previous topic in this chapter explains how to take a time-lapse photo). For example, with this option selected and the Photo Timer set to 2 seconds, the Camera app takes a time-lapse photo every 2 seconds until you click or tap the Camera button a second time, which tells the app to stop taking photos.

Under Videos, decide how you want to take videos:

Video quality: These options determine the aspect ratio and the number of pixels that appear in video frames. Notice that the fps (frames per second) setting in each option is the same, 30. Aspect ratio refers to the proportional relationship between a video’s width and height. The most common aspect ratios are 16:9 (widescreen) and 4:3 (old-fashioned TV). A pixel is one point of color. Suffice it to say, the more pixels in the setting, the clearer the video is.

Flicker reduction: These options reduce the flickering that can occur when video is taken under fluorescent light. The 50 Hz (hertz) setting applies to the U.S. and Canada, where the AC (alternating electrical current) runs at 50 Hz; the 60 Hz setting applies to the rest of the world.

Return to the Camera app by clicking or tapping the Camera app screen.

Return to the Start screen. See the section “View Photos with the Photos App” to see and maybe edit the photos you just took.

Copy Photos from Your Camera

If your digital camera came with a cable, connect that cable to the camera, connect the other end of the cable to a USB port on your computer, and turn your camera on. If your laptop or tablet has a built-in card slot, you can take the memory card out of the camera and insert it in that slot.

If your computer doesn’t have a built-in card slot, consider buying a small memory card reader that plugs into your computer and works with your camera’s memory card. You don’t need a multicard reader, just a reader with a single slot the size of your camera card. We consider a card reader to be more convenient than using a cable.

The techniques described here for importing photos from a camera also apply to videos. Follow these steps as well to copy videos from your digital camera to your computer.

Windows 11 detects your camera and may briefly display a notification indicating Select to choose what happens with this device. If you’re quick enough to tap or click this notification, Windows 11 displays your choices, as shown in Figure 11-4. Select Open Device to View Files, if that option is available, to open File Explorer to the photos on your camera, as shown in Figure 11-5. Then skip to Step 4. If you didn’t catch the notification in time or you didn’t see the notification, continue to Step 4 to import photos another way.

See Chapter 3 for information on increasing the time a notification remains onscreen.

FIGURE 11-4

Select the File Explorer icon on the taskbar to start File Explorer. Then look for and select your camera in the navigation pane on the left side of the screen (refer to Figure 11-5). Your camera is located under This PC in the Navigation pane.

See Chapter 15 for detailed information about using File Explorer.

In File Explorer, select the photos you want to copy from your camera to your computer. Depending on your camera setup, the photos may be in a subfolder (refer to Figure 11-5). Use these techniques to select the photos:

FIGURE 11-5

Hold down the Ctrl button and click or tap photos to select them individually.

Press Ctrl+A to select all the photos in a folder.

Copy the photos you selected so that you can paste them into a folder on your computer. Use one of these techniques to copy the photos:

Press Ctrl+C.

On the toolbar in File Explorer, select the Copy button.

In File Explorer, select the folder where you want to copy your photos.

If you want to be able to view and edit your photos with the Photos app, select the Pictures folder or one of its subfolders and copy the photos there.

Organizing photos can be a challenge. If you dump more than a few dozen photos into the Pictures folder without using folders, finding a specific photo later will be difficult. Using folders with unintelligible names doesn’t help, either. Most of our folder names are based on the year and month (such as 2021–06) or the subject or location where we took the photos. You can name your folders whatever you want, but choose names that are meaningful to you and will help you find specific photos later.

Paste the photos into the folder you selected in Step 7. Use one of these techniques:

Press Ctrl+V.

On the toolbar in File Explorer, select the Paste button.

If you often import photos from a digital camera or memory card, you can speed the process by telling Windows to open File Explorer immediately when you attach your camera or memory card to your computer. Select the Search icon on the taskbar and type autoplay settings; and then select that option when it appears in your search. The AutoPlay window opens, as shown in Figure 11-6. In the Memory Card and Camera sections, choose Open Folder (or Open Device) to View Files (File Explorer).

FIGURE 11-6

View Photos with the Photos App

To see photos on your computer, select the Search icon on the taskbar and type photos in the Search box; then select the Photos app in the search results. The Photos screen opens to the Collection window, as shown in Figure 11-7. It shows the contents of the Pictures folder (and its subfolders) on your computer. Your screen will look different.

If you don’t see any pictures, go to one of these earlier sections:

If you have a digital camera, see “Copy Photos from Your Camera.”

If your computer has a built-in camera or a webcam, see “Take Photos (and Videos) with Your Computer.”

If you see pictures, either scroll down or drag the timeline on the right side of the screen to see more photos. Photos are presented by the dates on which they were taken.

FIGURE 11-7

You can take a screenshot — a picture of the current screen — by pressing   +Print Screen. (A touchscreen or mouse equivalent is not available.) The screen dims slightly to indicate the capture, which is stored automatically in the Screenshots folder in your Pictures folder. Use this technique to create your own documentation of problems or something you want to see again later.

Select the View Large, View Medium, and View Small button. These buttons are located in the upper-right corner of the screen (refer to Figure 11-7). Use them to examine and locate photos.

Select any photo to display it full size in the Photos app window, as shown in Figure 11-8. When looking at a single photo, you can scroll from photo to photo by selecting the Previous or Next button or by clicking or tapping the right edge or left edge of the screen. You can also press the PageDown key (forward) or PageUp key (back). Note that the Previous and Next buttons don’t appear until you hover or touch right or left sides of the window.

FIGURE 11-8

Select the See More button (the three dots on the right side of the toolbar; refer to Figure 11-8) and select Slideshow on the menu that appears. The photos appear in succession. Stop the slide show by clicking or tapping a photo.

Zoom in and out on a photo using one of these methods (repeat to zoom in or out more):

Mouse: Click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons on the toolbar to zoom in or out on your photo.

Touchscreen: Touch two fingers on the screen. Move your fingers apart to zoom in. Pinch your fingers closer together to zoom out.

Keyboard: Press Ctrl+plus sign (actually, press the equal sign — no need to press the Shift key) to zoom in. Press Ctrl+minus sign to zoom out.

Zoom in to see part of a photo made larger.

Use the Delete button in the toolbar to delete a photo. (See Chapter 15 for information on undeleting files.)

Select the arrow on the left side of the toolbar to return to your photo collection. In this view, you can see more than one photo.

The Photos app offers many options for editing photos. See “Edit Photos Using the Photos App,” later in this chapter.

Organizing Photos Using the Photos App

In the Photos app, photos are organized by date in the Collection window (refer to Figure 11-7), but you can organize photos other ways as well, starting in the Albums, People, or Folders window. Organize photos so that you can find and view them easily. Select the Albums tab to open the Albums window. If you’ve already spent some time with the Photos app, the app may have created albums for you (each album comprises photos taken on the same day). If you asked for some photos to be “favorites” (you learn how to shortly), the Photos app creates a Favorites album so that you can view these photos. If you’ve never used the Photos app, you won’t see anything in the Albums window except the option to create a new album.

Select New Album to create a new album for storing photos. The Create New Album window opens (see Figure 11-9). Scroll through and select photos you want for your album by selecting the check boxes on photos. Then select the Create button. The Album window opens, and you see a slide-show presentation of the photos you selected for the album. Select the Back button to return to the Albums window.

To remove an album from the Albums window, click or tap to select it. Then select the Remove button. To change an album’s cover photo, right-click or tap and hold the album, choose Change Your Photo on the pop-up menu, select a photo in the Choose a Cover Photo window, and select the Done button.

Select the People tab to open the People window, as shown in Figure 11-10. It may interest you to know that Windows 11 facial recognition software is capable of recognizing faces in photos. If you store a number of photos in the Photos app, the People window shows the faces of people that Windows 11 recognizes. By attaching names to the faces that are recognized, you can identify photo subjects by name and in so doing search for photos of people in the Photos app. To attach a name to photos that Windows 11 recognizes, select Add Name below a face (refer to Figure 11-10). Then type a name or choose one from the Contacts list that appears, and press Enter.

FIGURE 11-9

To find photos of someone who is recognized, click or tap in the Search box. A drop-down menu with names appears (refer to Figure 11-10). Select a name to see all the person’s photos.

If you object to Windows 11 butting into your private life with its facial recognition software, select the See More button in the upper-right corner of the screen and choose Settings on the drop-down menu. Then, in the Settings window, scroll to the People setting and turn the People setting off.

Locate and select a photo you particularly like to display it full size. Then select the Add to Favorites button (the heart-shaped button along the top of the screen). Selecting Add to Favorites places a link to the photo in the Favorites album. Select the Back button, visit the Albums tab, and select the Favorites album. You see photos you deemed “favorites.” Add a photo to the Favorites folder so that you can find it quickly.

FIGURE 11-10

Select the Folders tab to open the Folders window. By default, the Photos app keeps track of photos found in the Pictures folder (and its subfolders) on your computer. Suppose you want to manage photos in other folders with the Photos app. Select Add a Folder. The Select Folder dialog box appears. Select a Folder and then select the Add Folder to Pictures button. Photos in the folder you select are now available for viewing in the Photos app.

Edit Photos Using the Photos App

You can use the Photos app to change a photo’s size or appearance. In the Photos app, click or tap the photo you want to edit so that it fills the screen; then select the Edit & Create button, and choose Edit on the drop-down menu. The Editing window opens, as shown in Figure 11-11. This window offers many tools for touching up photos. To edit a photo, select a retouching method along the top of the screen (Crop & Rotate, Filters, or Adjustments) and then choose editing options.

FIGURE 11-11

Using the Filters method, you can take advantage of preset edits to photographs. After you select Filters, filter presets appear on the right side of the screen (refer to Figure 11-11). They offer the chance to change the light and color of a photograph in one fell swoop. Drag the Filter Intensity slider at the top of the screen to further change the look of a photograph.

If you make mincemeat of a photograph and you want the original version back, select the Undo button. Selecting this button restores a photograph to its original, pristine state.

Choose the Adjustments method to alter the brightness and color of your photograph (refer to Figure 11-12). By dragging sliders on the right side of the screen, you can do much to change the appearance of a photo.

Many photos can be improved by cropping, which involves cutting out distracting elements and keeping just part of the photo. You might crop a photo to concentrate on its most important part. To crop, select the Crop & Rotate method at the top of the screen. Then either select an aspect ratio or choose the Custom aspect ratio and drag the size or corners of the picture box until the photo is to your liking. The box tells you which parts will remain after cropping, as shown in Figure 11-13.

FIGURE 11-12

FIGURE 11-13

Sometimes when you import photos from a digital camera or scanner, they arrive askew because the photographer turned the camera the wrong way when shooting. You can correct this error by selecting Crop & Rotate and then selecting the Rotate button until the photo turns right-side-up.

Select Save a Copy when you finish doctoring your photograph to keep the original photograph as well as the edited version.

Print Photos Using the Photos App

If necessary, connect the cable from your printer to the USB port on your computer and make sure that your printer is turned on.

In the Photos app, select the photo you want to print using a click or tap to display the photo at full screen.

Select the Print button on the right side of the toolbar (it looks like a printer; refer to Figure 11-8). The Print window appears, as shown in Figure 11-14.

Here’s a handy keyboard shortcut that works in any app: Press Ctrl+P to open the Print window straightaway.

Select a printer. Note the preview. Select the Print button.

Chapter 14 explains printing in detail.

FIGURE 11-14

Scan Photos and Documents

Scan photos and documents to preserve them in digital form. Old family photos and heirloom documents such as birth certificates are candidates for scanning. Scanning means to render a paper photograph or document as a computer file so that you can post it on the Internet or send it by email. To scan photos and documents, you must have a scanner or a printer that is capable of scanning (most printers have a scanning capability). To start, connect the cable from your scanner or printer to the USB port on your computer. Make sure that your scanner or printer is turned on. If you’re using a printer, put it in Scan mode (you’ll need to check your printer documentation for instructions and details).

Put the item you want to scan in your scanner or printer.

Select the Search icon on the taskbar and type scan in the Search box. In the search results, select Windows Fax and Scan. The Windows Fax and Scan app opens.

In the navigation window, select the New Scan button on the toolbar. The New Scan dialog box appears (see Figure 11-15). Starting here, you can tell Windows whether you want a high-quality or low-quality scan. On the Color Format menu, for example, choose Grayscale or Black and White instead of Color if you’re scanning a black-and-white document. Choose a Resolution (DPI) higher than 300 to render your photo or document in greater detail.

FIGURE 11-15

Unless you’re scanning more than one item, deselect the Preview or Scan Images as Separate Files option. This option creates a separate digital file for each item in your scanner.

Select the Preview button. The preview window shows what your photo or document will look like when it is scanned. If you don’t like what you see, play with the settings in the New Scan dialog and select the Preview button again.

Select the Scan button when you’re ready to scan your document. Your scanned photo or document appears in the Windows Fax and Scan window with the generic filename “Image.”

Select your newly scanned image and then select the Save As button. The Save As dialog box appears. Enter a descriptive name for the item, choose a folder to store it in, and select the Save button.

Chapter 15 explains how to save files.

Chapter 12 Enjoying Music and Videos

IN THIS CHAPTER

Listening to music and burning it to CDs

Playing music on the Groove Music app

Enjoying videos

Recording a voice narration

The term media on computers refers to something other than text. Audio and video are examples of media. Audio is a catchall term for music and other sound files, such as books on CD. Video includes files that you can shoot with your digital camera as well as Hollywood blockbusters.

The delivery of music has come a long way from Edison's wax cylinder or even vinyl LPs. Nowadays, music is almost entirely digital (although vinyl has been making a comeback in some circles). The Groove Music app lets you play your music collection and makes it easy to explore new music. Use Windows Media Player to play audio CDs, to copy audio files to your computer, and to burn songs onto a CD.

The Movies & TV app is similar to the Groove Music app, but it's for video instead of music. You can use it to play your homemade videos.

In this chapter, you play a music CD, copy CDs to your computer for easier access, and burn a CD. You also explore the Groove Music and Movies & TV apps. Finally, you discover how to make a voice recording.

You’ll need a different app to play DVDs. Search Microsoft Store for Media Center or for a DVD player app. See Chapter 9 for more information on Microsoft Store.

Popular alternatives for music or videos include Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube. All of these are accessible through the web browser. Search Microsoft Store for related apps.

Play and Copy Music from a CD

If you have a CD or DVD disc drive or slot on your computer, insert a music CD, label side up for horizontal drives. (Vertical drives are less predictable.)

Windows 11 detects your CD and may briefly display this notification: Choose what to do with audio CDs. Windows 11 displays your choices, as shown in Figure 12-1. Select Windows Media Player and then skip to Step 5.

FIGURE 12-1

If you see the Welcome to Windows Media Player screen, select Recommended Settings and then select Finish. The Windows Media Player plays your music.

For access to more options, select Switch to Library, the small button under the X in Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 12-2.

Note the following controls at the bottom of the Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 12-3:

FIGURE 12-2

FIGURE 12-3

Shuffle: Select this button to turn on shuffle, which randomly mixes the tracks you play. Select again to turn off shuffle, and the tracks play in the order in which they appear onscreen.

Repeat: Select this button to play all the tracks again after all have played. Select again to turn off the repeat function.

Stop: Select to stop playing.

Previous: Select this button to skip to the previous track. Select and hold to rewind to an earlier point in the track.

Play/Pause: Select the button with two vertical lines to pause play mid-track. Select the same button (now with a triangle pointing to the right) to resume playing from the point you paused.

Next: Select this button to skip to the next track. Select and hold to fast-forward through the track.

Mute/Unmute: Select this button to silence the player. Although the track continues to play, you won't hear it. When Mute is on, a red circle with a slash appears next to the speaker icon. Select the button again to hear the track.

Volume: Drag the slider to the left to decrease or to the right to increase the volume of the track. Your speakers may also have a manual volume control. Windows 11 has a separate volume control in the taskbar, as well.

Switch to Now Playing: You select this button, which is located in the lower-right corner of the window, to reduce the player to a small size (refer to Figure 12-2).

To copy the CD tracks to your Music library, select Rip CD. This button is located on the toolbar along the top of the screen, as shown in Figure 12-3. Ripping a song on a CD takes about a minute. As each song is ripped, the words Ripped to Library appear in the Rip Status column of the Windows Media Player.

If you plan to rip a lot of CDs, select Rip Settings ⇒   Rip CD Automatically and Rip Settings ⇒   Eject CD After Ripping. Just inserting the CD will copy files to your Music library as it plays the CD. Audiophiles should choose Rip Settings ⇒   Audio Quality ⇒   320 Kbps (Best Quality). As well, audiophiles may consider choosing Format  ⇒   WAV, ALAC, or FLAC. These lossless formats are superior to the MP3 format, although fewer devices play files in lossless formats.

When the copying process finishes, remove your CD. To play this music in the future, start Windows Media Player, choose Artist, Album, or Genre under Music, select the CD you ripped, select a song title, and select the Play button.

Songs you rip from a CD are kept on your computer in a subfolder of the Music folder. To copy or move music that you ripped from a CD, open the Music folder, open the subfolder named after the CD you ripped, and copy or move the files.

You can play anything in the Music library by using the Groove Music app. See the next section, “Listen to the Groove Music App.”

Pin the Windows Media Player to the taskbar for easy access: Click the right mouse button over the icon in the taskbar, or tap and hold until a box appears, and then release. On the menu that pops up, select Pin to Taskbar. You can also search for Windows Media Player using the Search icon on the taskbar. See Chapter 2 for information on pinning apps.

If your music CD doesn’t play automatically the next time you insert one, you can tell Windows 11 how to handle audio CDs. On the taskbar, select the Search icon and then type autoplay in the Search box. In the search results, select AutoPlay Settings. The Settings screen opens to the AutoPlay settings. Turn on the Use AutoPlay for All Media and Devices option to make CDs play automatically.

Listen to the Groove Music App

Select the Search icon on the taskbar and type groove in the Search box. Select Groove Music in the search results. The Groove Music app home screen appears, as shown in Figure 12-4. The Groove Music app enables you to play songs that you ripped (copied) from CDs, songs that you purchased from iTunes and other music purveyors, and playlists that you created from songs you own.

If you see Can’t sign in, you’re not connected through a Microsoft Account. You’ll still be able to do the steps in this section, though. You need to sign in only to buy music.

FIGURE 12-4

Initially, the Groove Music app recognizes music files kept in these folders on your computer: C:\Users\Your Name\OneDrive\Music and C:\Users\Your Name\Music. Maybe you keep your music files in other folders. To tell the Groove Music app where your music files are, tap or click the Settings button (see Figure 12-5). In the Settings screen, select the Choose Where We Look for Music link. The Build Your Collection dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 12-6. Select the Add Folder button, choose a folder in the Select Folder dialog box, and tap or click the Add This Folder to Music button. Then select Done. Repeat these instructions to add all the folders where you store music files.

FIGURE 12-5

FIGURE 12-6

To find the song you want to hear, choose an option in the navigation pane and get to it:

Search: Type the name of an artist, album, or song in the Search box. As you type, suggested matches appear below the Search box. For now, ignore these suggestions (but take advantage of them in the future to save typing). Instead, select the magnifying glass or press Enter. Search results appear.

My Music: After you make this choice, select Songs, Artists, or Albums (refer to Figure 12-4) to search from a song list, a list of artists, or a list of albums.

Recent Plays: A list of albums you played recently appears. Scroll to find an album.

If the search results list is a long one, you can narrow your search with the Sort By and Genre options (refer to Figure 12-4). Sorting opens a pop-up list whereby you can arrange the results in alphabetical order, date-added order, or by artist or album. Choosing Genre opens a pop-up list on which you can choose a particular genre of music.

Select a song or album in the search results. Note the following options (not all of which may appear on the current screen):

Play: Plays the song. Notice the controls at the bottom of the screen for pausing the song and controlling the volume (refer to Figure 12-7).

Play All: Plays the songs on the album, starting with song 1.

Add To: Opens a pop-up menu with playlists, and you can add the song to one of those playlists (see “Create and Manage Playlists,” the next topic in this chapter).

You can listen to music as you conduct a search. To return to the song or album that is currently playing, select the Now Playing button.

FIGURE 12-7

To control the volume level on your speakers, use either the volume controls in Groove Music or the Windows 11 volume controls. Select the Speakers icon in the lower-right corner of the Groove Music screen or the Windows 11 screen. A volume slider appears. Slide the control to adjust the volume. Select the speaker icon on the right side of the slider to mute or unmute all sounds.

Switch back to the Start screen. The Groove Music app continues to play. The Groove Music icon on the Start screen displays the album art and title of the current song. Select the Groove Music tile to return to the app.

Leave the Groove Music app open if you care to discover how to create a playlist, the next topic in this chapter.

Create and Manage Playlists

Create a playlist with the Groove Music app to play your favorite songs — songs from different artists — one after the other. After you create the list, you select it in the Groove Music app to play it. To create a playlist in the Groove Music app, select the Create New Playlist button (a plus sign) in the left navigation pane. You see the Name This Playlist dialog box, shown in Figure 12-8. Enter a descriptive name for your playlist, and select Create Playlist.

FIGURE 12-8

The Groove Music App has buttons to add songs to a playlist. Next time you're listening to a song or album and you think, “I like that song; it should be on a playlist,” do one of the following to add the song to a playlist, as shown in Figure 12-9:

Add a song: Select a song's Add To button and select a playlist on the pop-up menu that appears.

Add all the songs on an album: Select the Add To button on the album name and select a playlist on the pop-up menu.

FIGURE 12-9

See “Listen to the Groove Music App,” earlier in this chapter, if you need help finding and listening to music on your computer.

To play the songs on a playlist, select the Playlist button on the left side of the screen; then choose the playlist you want to play. The playlist opens, as shown in Figure 12-10. Select the Play All button to play the songs in order from first to last. Of course, you can select any song on the list and select its Play button to play it.

To change the order of songs on a playlist or remove a song, follow these instructions:

Change the order of songs: Drag a song higher or lower on the list with your mouse or finger.

Remove a song: Select the song in the playlist and then select the Delete from Playlist button.

To delete a playlist, open it. Then select the Delete button.

FIGURE 12-10

Watch Videos

Select the Search icon on the taskbar and type movies in the Search box. Select the Movies & TV app that appears. Microsoft designed this app for watching movies from the Microsoft Store and for watching homemade videos. To watch homemade videos, select the Personal tab on the menu bar. The Videos screen appears, as shown in Figure 12-11. Use the Video screen to watch videos.

Unless you store your videos in the C:\Users\Your Name\Videos folder, you don’t see any videos. To tell the Video app where you store your videos, select the Add Folders button. You come to the Build Your Collection screen. Select the Add button (the plus sign), and in the Select Folder dialog box, select the folder where videos are stored and then select the Add This Folder to Video button. Repeat these instructions to add all the folders where you store videos.

FIGURE 12-11

To play a video, select it on the home screen. The video appears in the video player screen, as shown in Figure 12-12. Along the bottom of this screen are controls for pausing, playing, and changing the volume level. Drag the slider below the video screen to rewind and fast-forward.

Select the Back button (located in the upper-left corner of the screen) to return to the Movies & TV home screen.

FIGURE 12-12

Burn a CD

Burning a CD means to copy songs from a computer to a CD. Burn a CD so that you can play the songs on your car’s CD player or pass along your favorite songs to a friend. To burn a CD, start by opening Windows Media Player, as shown in Figure 12-13.

Earlier in this chapter, “Play and Copy Music from a CD” explains Windows Media Player in detail.

To burn a CD, your computer needs an optical disk drive, a hardware device for playing and recording to CDs and DVDs. If your computer doesn’t have one and you want to burn CDs, you can buy optical disk drives that plug into your computer.

FIGURE 12-13

Create a playlist so that Windows Media Player knows which songs to burn to the CD. To create a playlist, select the Create Playlist button and enter a name for the playlist where the words Untitled Playlist appear. The name you enter then appears under Playlists on the left side of the screen.

Locate songs for your playlist and drag and drop their titles one by one onto your playlist name. The words Add to [Playlist Name] appear when you drag a song title onto your list. Use these techniques to locate songs so that you can drag them in the playlist:

Browse for songs: Under Music, select Artist, Album, or Genre on the left side of the screen (refer to Figure 12-13). A list of artists, albums, or genres appears.

Change views: Open the Change Views drop-down menu and choose Icon, Title, or Details to make finding a song title easier.

Search for songs: Enter a search term in the Search box.

Select your playlist on the left side of the screen. The songs you selected for the list appear, as shown in Figure 12-13. To listen to the songs on a playlist, select its name and click or tap the Play button at the bottom of the screen.

You can edit a playlist. While the list is playing, place more songs on the list (follow Step 3) or remove songs from the list by right-clicking and choosing Remove from List.

After you create a playlist, you can burn it to a CD. With Windows Media Player open, insert a blank CD in your computer’s CD or DVD drive or an optical drive plugged into your computer. Then select the Burn tab (refer to Figure 12-14) and drag a playlist from the left side of the screen to Burn List on the right.

FIGURE 12-14

You can change the order of the songs before you burn them onto a CD. Drag song titles up or down the list to change the song order.

Note the Audio CD bar on the right side of the screen. It tells you whether there is enough disc space to burn all the songs on the list. If there is enough space, select the Start Burn button. It can take a few minutes to burn a CD. When the job is complete, your computer ejects the CD. We suggest playing it to see whether the songs copied correctly to the CD. While you’re at it, label the CD by writing on it with a felt-tip (not a ballpoint) pen. Label the top of the CD, not the bottom.

Make a Voice Recording

Open the Voice Recorder app to record your voice. As shown in Figure 12-15, Voice Recorder lists recordings you already made (if you made any recordings).

It goes without saying, but your computer needs a built-in microphone or microphone jack for plugging in a microphone if you want to make voice recordings.

FIGURE 12-15

The first time you run Voice Recorder, a dialog box asks, “Let Voice Recorder access your documents library?” Select Yes. To change this later, go to the Settings app.

Select the Record button (or press Ctrl+R) to begin a recording. A timer tells you how long your recording is. You can select the Pause/Resume Recording button to temporarily stop a recording. Select the Pause/Resume Recording button again to continue recording.

Select the Stop Recording button (located in the middle of the screen) to end a recording. The name of your recording appears in the list under the generic name Recording. To give it a more descriptive name, right-click or tap to display the recording’s context menu (refer to Figure 12-15), choose Rename, enter a name, and select the Rename button.

To delete a recording, display its context menu and choose Delete.

To access a Sound Recorder file, perhaps to copy or move it, display its context menu (refer to Figure 12-15) and choose Open File Location. The Sound Recordings folder opens. From here, you can copy or move the file. See Chapter 15 if you need instructions for handling files.