To change this, click the Menu icon (three horizontal lines in upper right corner) and select Relaunch Chrome on the desktop. Google Chrome has both a Desktop and a Windows 8 mode and will load in the latter environment if it’s the default browser. This will work with any file type just download the Desktop app you want to use first. To change this, find a PDF file in the File Explorer, right-click, then choose Open With > Choose Default Program… > Adobe Reader. To avoid this, change file and program defaults.Īs an example, the Reader app in Windows 8 opens PDF files by default, even if you download Adobe Reader XI. Also, some programs work in both environments and might open in touch mode at first. Most of the time, this will happen because the default program for opening a file (photos, PDF documents, etc.) is a Windows 8 app. Staying in the DesktopĮven with this setting on, your PC might still enter the Windows Store App environment under some circumstances. Now when you boot Windows or when you close a program, the PC will default to the Desktop and not the Start screen. Under Start screen, check the “When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start” option, then OK.

Right-click the taskbar at the bottom (or tap and hold there for a second to bring up the menu), and click Properties > Navigation. On the Start screen, find the Desktop icon and tap it to switch. If you end up spending most of your time using Desktop apps, you’ll want to take some steps to remain in Desktop mode as you work and even bypass the Start screen, starting up directly into Desktop. So once you’ve set up your computer, spend some time using both types of apps.

You can split the window to see two apps side by side, but you can’t tile four or five apps the way you can in Desktop.īoth Desktop and Windows Store apps can be launched from the Start screen. Also, in Desktop mode each program operates in a distinct window that can be moved around, resized and minimized (again, like Windows 7). The biggest difference between Desktop apps and Windows Store apps is that the latter tend to be more touch-friendly, while Desktop apps have smaller menus and icons, so it’s more comfortable to use a mouse. With Windows 8.1, you can skip seeing the Start screen altogether.

If you prefer this mode to Metro, it’s possible to work only or mainly in the Desktop. If you install programs you used on previous versions of Windows ( XP, Vista or 7), they will open in the Desktop environment. Follow 8 has two environments: the full screen, touch-centric Windows Store App interface (also called Metro) and the Desktop interface, which looks and acts like Windows 7.

How to go full screen on windows 8