虽然旧的和熟悉的桌面快捷方式仍然可靠，但Windows 10 开始菜单(Start Menu)包括一种不同的启动和组织方式，使用称为 Windows磁贴(tiles)的概念。每个人对 Windows 磁贴都有自己的看法(tiles)。尽管Windows 10是迄今为止最可定制的操作系统之一，Team Tiles和Team Tiles Suck（也被称为 Windows 7 铁杆粉丝）之间的争论依然激烈。爱他们或恨他们，磁贴(tiles)将留在Windows 10 开始菜单(Start Menu)中，所以让我们了解更多关于Windows 磁贴的信息(tiles)他们可以为我们做什么：
Windows 磁贴的简史
Windows 8的到来是微软(Microsoft)第一次平均使用磁贴(tiles)功能，毫无防备的计算机用户。考虑到开始菜单(Start Menu)一直是Windows 操作系统(Windows operating)的重要组成部分，绝大多数用户看到操作系统的这一支柱功能在(operating system)Windows 8和Windows 8.1中被(Windows 8.1)磁贴(tiles)和开始(Start)屏幕所取代感到沮丧。有一个巨大的屏幕，而不是开始菜单(Start Menu)，里面充满了一个他们不熟悉的概念：瓷砖(tiles)。
在最初的震惊消退之后，随着磁贴(tiles)变得越来越流行（也感谢Windows Phones，第一批引入磁贴的设备）(tiles)，一些用户意识到了它们必须提供的优势。与其前身形成鲜明对比的是，Windows 10 开始菜单(Start Menu)似乎已经演变为经典 Windows 7开始菜单和(Start Menu)Windows 8信息磁贴(tiles)之间的折衷方案，从而为台式机和平板电脑用户提供了更有用的东西。下图显示了这种演变。
仍然存在争议的是，Windows 10的(Windows 10)磁贴比(tiles)Windows 8更受欢迎，因为更多的用户熟悉这个概念，并认识到它们为“开始”菜单(Start Menu)带来的改进。对于那些不知道它们是什么以及为什么它们比传统快捷方式有所改进的人，请继续阅读。
Windows 中的磁贴是什么？
磁贴是一种快捷方式，您只能在 Windows 10(tile)开始菜单(Start Menu)右侧的网格中找到。彩色(Colorful)的，有时是动画的，并且比用于桌面快捷方式的常规大小的图标更大，Windows磁贴(tiles)有四种不同的大小。您可以了解如何在Windows 10中调整磁贴大小并管理磁贴组，根据您的需要和偏好组织“开始”菜单。(Start Menu)根据它们的大小，Windows 磁贴(tiles)可以显示来自它们所代表的应用程序的大量信息，或者它们可以小到一个简单的中等大小的图标。在下面的屏幕截图中，您可以看到瓷砖(tiles)可以具有的所有尺寸Windows 10：大、宽、中、小。
简而言之，Windows磁贴是(tiles)开始菜单(Start Menu)快捷方式演变的下一步。
如何在 Windows 10 中创建磁贴
在 Windows 10中创建磁贴(tile)很容易。首先，通过按键盘上的Windows按钮或单击或点击开始来打开(Start)开始菜单(Start Menu)。默认情况下，“开始”菜单会显示(Start Menu)Windows 10计算机或设备(computer or device)上所有应用程序的快捷方式，按字母顺序显示。滚动(Scroll)直到找到要添加为Windows磁贴(tile)的应用程序，然后右键单击或按住它 - 我们正在使用“闹钟和时钟”(Alarms & Clock)应用程序。从上下文菜单中，单击或点击(click or tap)“固定到开始("Pin to Start)”。
您还可以单击或点击应用程序的“开始”菜单(Start Menu)快捷方式来抓取它，然后在将应用程序拖入磁贴(tile)部分的同时继续按住鼠标按钮。(mouse button)将磁贴放到“(tile)开始”菜单(Start Menu)网格中的方便位置。
创建磁贴(tile)的另一种方法是使用任务栏的搜索字段(search field)。输入您的应用程序的名称。然后，从浮出控件右侧的选项中，单击或点击(click or tap)“固定到开始("Pin to Start)”。
您的新磁贴(tile)已添加。您可以密切关注它以在“开始”菜单(Start Menu)中查看即将到来的闹钟，或者您可以使用它来访问“闹钟和时钟”(Alarms & Clock)应用程序。
提示：(TIP:) 闹钟和时钟(Alarms & Clock)是我们最喜欢的内置应用程序之一。您可以使用它在 Windows 10计算机或设备(computer or device)上创建警报和设置计时器。
瓷砖在 Windows 中的作用是什么？
磁贴是(Tiles)Microsoft Store中提供的(Microsoft Store)Windows 10应用程序的快捷方式。如果您单击或点击Windows磁贴(tile)，则会启动相应的应用程序。例如，如果您想打开天气(Weather)应用程序，您只需单击或点击其磁贴(tile)，即可获得详细的天气预报(weather forecast)。Windows磁贴(tiles)可以设计为实时显示来自它们指向的应用程序的信息。这就是它们与传统快捷方式不同且更有用的原因，因为它们可以帮助用户查看相关信息和内容(information and content)，而无需打开他们指向的应用程序。天气(Weather)应用程序和 日历(Calendar)应用程序就是很好的例子。看看下面的Windows 10 开始菜单(Start Menu)，您可以看到（令人失望的）天气预报(weather forecast)和我的（复杂而忙碌的）日程安排，而无需实际打开任何应用程序，仅从其磁贴显示的信息中即可(tiles)。
磁贴(tiles)显示的信息可以以各种形式呈现，具体取决于Windows 磁贴(tile)的设计方式，从简单的文本到图像，甚至是一组图像。例如，邮件(Mail)应用程序会按顺序显示您最新的电子邮件，并在右下角显示收件箱(Inbox)中未读邮件的数量。另一个例子是Sports应用程序（在下面突出显示），它向您显示最新体育新闻的标题，以及与其 Windows磁贴上显示的每个故事(tile)相关的图片(picture relevant)。
您决定使用哪些 Windows磁贴(tiles)（如果有）以及它们显示的信息量。因为动态磁贴(tiles)可以为用户提供实时更新，所以在许多情况下，它们的持续通知状态(notification state)会创建一种动画效果(animation effect)，在不同的信息集之间切换，导致一些用户觉得它们过于浮华和分散注意力。这就解释了为什么有些人想要一个实用的、简单的开始菜单(Start Menu)。Windows 10 允许您关闭动态磁贴(tiles)，将它们转换为静态磁贴(tiles)，仅显示应用程序的名称和徽标(name and logo)。
另一方面，如果您无法在Start Menu中获得足够的(Start Menu)磁贴(tiles)，请考虑研究如何在Windows 10中的(Windows 10)Start上显示更多磁贴。
还在迷茫吗？磁贴和快捷方式之间的区别
尽管 Windows磁贴(tiles)是一种快捷方式，但不应将它们与Firefox、Google Chrome、Adobe Reader等桌面应用程序的常规开始菜单(Start Menu)快捷方式混淆。以下是Windows 10中的(Windows 10)磁贴(tiles)与传统快捷方式之间的区别：
让我们更详细地讨论这些差异：
- 如果应用程序不是通过Microsoft Store分发的，则该应用程序的 Windows磁贴(tile)不可用，只有传统的快捷方式。这是因为只有传统的桌面应用程序(desktop apps)，如Windows 7中的应用程序，才能在Microsoft Store之外分发。是的，您可以将桌面应用程序(desktop apps)的快捷方式固定到您的开始菜单(Start Menu)，但必须承认，尽管这些快捷方式显示在看起来就像 Windows磁贴的方块(tiles)内，但它们不是磁贴(tiles)。更令人困惑的是，Microsoft Store包含一些桌面应用程序，例如 iTunes，它们不使用瓷砖(tiles)，但传统的捷径。因此，磁贴只能指向 Microsoft Store 中的 Windows 10 应用程序(tiles can only point to Windows 10 apps from the Microsoft Store)，而不能指向也在旧Windows版本（如Windows 7 ）上运行的桌面应用程序。
- 磁贴可以显示来自其应用程序的实时数据。(Tiles can display live data from their apps.)然而，并不是所有的 Windows磁贴(tiles)都一直是动画的。用户可以根据需要关闭实时数据的显示。
- 瓷砖可以比快捷方式大很多(Tiles can be a lot larger than shortcuts)。您可以使用四种可用尺寸调整它们的大小，而传统的快捷方式仅支持两种尺寸。
- 当您右键单击（或按住）Windows 磁贴时，您可以访问不可用于快捷方式的选项：(When you right-click (or press and hold) a Windows tile, you get access to options that are not available for shortcuts:)您可以打开或关闭实时数据显示，您可以直接进入应用程序的设置、评分和评论Microsoft Store中的应用程序，并与他人共享。与Windows磁贴不同，(Windows)快捷方式(Shortcuts)为您提供了以管理员身份运行其应用程序的选项。磁(Tiles)贴不会，因为具有磁贴的(tiles)Windows应用程序受Microsoft限制，因此不能以管理员权限运行它们。
为了说明这一点，我们让Mozilla Firefox “扮演”快捷方式(shortcut and Skype)的角色，而 Skype 扮演静态图块(tile)的角色。虽然应用程序磁贴(tiles)通常可以是Small、 Medium、Wide和Large，但快捷方式只有Small和Medium。要查看可用尺寸，请右键单击磁贴(tile)，或点击并按住(tap and hold)（如果您有触摸屏），然后访问“调整大小(Resize)”菜单。
更多(More)菜单也是从快捷方式中区分Windows 磁贴(tiles)的可靠方法。磁(Tiles)贴通常提供“关闭动态磁贴”、("Turn Live Tile off,") “评分和评论”("Rate and review,")和共享(Share)选项，还允许用户访问应用程序设置(App settings)。如您所见，Mozilla Firefox作为具有传统快捷方式的桌面应用程序(desktop app)，不提供这些选项。但是，您确实可以选择“以管理员身份运行”("Run as administrator,") ，这对于带有磁贴的(tiles)Windows 应用程序(Windows apps)不可用。
您对Windows磁贴的未来有何看法？
我们希望本指南可以帮助您更好地了解 Windows磁贴(tiles)以及它们如何帮助您创建平衡且高效的开始菜单(Start Menu)。我们相信这并不是Windows 磁贴(tiles)之路的尽头，我们将在未来看到更多这样的磁贴。也许我们将能够将它们拖到整个屏幕上并将它们用作桌面上的动态磁贴，或者我们将进一步自定义它们显示的内容。在您关闭本文之前，请在下方的评论中告诉我们您希望这些磁贴(tiles)如何在Windows 10中发展。你会如何让他们变得更好？
Windows tiles: What are they? What do they do?
While the old and familiar desktop shortcuts continue to be reliable, the Windоws 10 Start Menu includes a different way of launching and organizing things, using a concept called Windows tiles. Everyone has an opinion about Windows tiles. In spite of Windows 10 being one of the most customizable operating systems to date, the debate rages on between Team Tiles and Team Tiles Suck (also known as hardcore Windows 7 fans). Love them or hate them, tiles are here to stay in the Windows 10 Start Menu, so let's learn more about what Windows tiles are and what they can do for us:
A brief history of Windows tiles
The arrival of Windows 8 was the first time Microsoft inflicted the tiles feature on average, unsuspecting computer users. Considering that the Start Menu has always been a vital part of the Windows operating system, a vast majority of users were dismayed to see this pillar-feature of the operating system being replaced by tiles and by the Start screen in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. There was a huge screen instead of a Start Menu, and it was filled with a concept that they weren't familiar with: tiles.
After the initial shock wore off and as tiles became more popular (also thanks to Windows Phones, the first devices introducing tiles), some users recognized the advantages they had to offer. In direct contrast with its predecessor, the Windows 10 Start Menu appears to have evolved as a compromise between the classic Windows 7 Start Menu and the informative tiles of Windows 8, resulting in something more useful to desktop and tablet users alike. The picture below shows this evolution.
Still controversial, the tiles of Windows 10 are better received than they were in Windows 8, because more users are familiar with the concept, and recognize the improvement they bring to the Start Menu. For those of you who do not know what they are, and why they are an improvement over traditional shortcuts, read on.
What are tiles in Windows?
A tile is a type of shortcut you can only find in a grid, on the right side of your Windows 10 Start Menu. Colorful, sometimes animated, and larger than the regular sized icons used for desktop shortcuts, Windows tiles come in four different sizes. You can learn how to resize tiles in Windows 10 and manage groups of tiles, organizing the Start Menu according to your needs and preferences. Depending on their size, Windows tiles can display plenty of information from the apps they represent, or they can be as small as a simple medium-sized icon. In the screenshot below, you see all the sizes that tiles can have in Windows 10: large, wide, medium, and small.
Simply put, Windows tiles are the next step in the evolution of the Start Menu shortcuts.
How to create a tile in Windows 10
It's easy to create a tile in Windows 10. First, open the Start Menu either by pressing the Windows button on your keyboard or by clicking or tapping Start. By default, the Start Menu shows shortcuts for all the apps on your Windows 10 computer or device, displayed in alphabetical order. Scroll until you find the app you want to add as a Windows tile and right-click or press-and-hold on it - we are using the Alarms & Clock app. From the contextual menu, click or tap on "Pin to Start."
You can also click or tap on the Start Menu shortcut of an app to grab it, and then continue holding down the mouse button while dragging the app into the tile section. Drop the tile to a convenient position in the Start Menu grid.
Another way to create a tile is by using your taskbar's search field. Type in the name of your app. Then, from the options on the right-hand side of the flyout, click or tap on "Pin to Start."
Your new tile is added. You can keep an eye on it to see your upcoming alarms in the Start Menu, or you can use it to access the Alarms & Clock app.
TIP: Alarms & Clock is one of our favorite built-in apps. You can use it to create alarms and set timers on your Windows 10 computer or device.
What do tiles do in Windows?
Tiles are shortcuts for Windows 10 apps available in the Microsoft Store. If you click or tap on a Windows tile, the respective app is launched. If you want to open the Weather app, for instance, all you have to do is click or tap on its tile, and you get a detailed weather forecast. Windows tiles can be designed to display information in real time, from the app they point to. This is what makes them different and more useful than traditional shortcuts, as they help users see relevant information and content without having to open the apps they point to. The Weather app and the Calendar app are perfect examples of this. One look at the Windows 10 Start Menu below and you can see the (disappointing) weather forecast and my (intricate and busy) schedule, without actually opening any app, just from the information displayed by their tiles.
The information that tiles display can be presented in various forms, depending on how the Windows tile is designed, ranging from simple text to an image or even a set of images. The Mail app, for instance, sequentially displays your newest emails, and, in the bottom right corner, it shows the number of unread messages in your Inbox. Another example is the Sports app (highlighted below) that shows you the title of the latest sports news, and a picture relevant to each story shown on its Windows tile.
You decide which Windows tiles to use, if any, and the amount of information they display. Because live tiles can provide live updates to the user, in many cases, their ongoing notification state creates an animation effect that toggles between different sets of information, causing some users to find them too flashy and distracting. This explains why some desire a functional, simple Start Menu. Windows 10 allows you to turn live tiles off, converting them into static tiles, which only display the name and logo of the app.
On the other hand, if you can't get enough tiles in your Start Menu, consider looking into how to show more tiles on Start, in Windows 10.
Still confused? The differences between a tile and a shortcut
Although Windows tiles are a type of shortcuts, they should not be confused with regular Start Menu shortcuts for desktop apps like Firefox, Google Chrome, Adobe Reader, and others. Here are the differences between tiles in Windows 10, and traditional shortcuts:
Let's discuss these differences in more detail:
- If an app is not distributed through the Microsoft Store, then a Windows tile for that app is not available, only a traditional shortcut. That's because only traditional desktop apps, like those from Windows 7, can be distributed outside of the Microsoft Store. Yes, you can pin shortcuts for desktop apps to your Start Menu, but it is essential to acknowledge that, although these shortcuts are shown inside squares that look just like Windows tiles, they are not tiles. To make things even more confusing, the Microsoft Store contains some desktop apps like iTunes, that do not use tiles, but traditional shortcuts. Therefore, tiles can only point to Windows 10 apps from the Microsoft Store, and not to desktop apps that also run on older Windows versions such as Windows 7.
- Tiles can display live data from their apps. However, not all Windows tiles are animated all the time. Users can turn off the display of live data if they want to.
- Tiles can be a lot larger than shortcuts. You can resize them using the four available sizes, while traditional shortcuts only support two sizes.
- When you right-click (or press and hold) a Windows tile, you get access to options that are not available for shortcuts: you can turn the live data display on or off, you can go directly to the app's settings, rate and review the app in the Microsoft Store, and share it with others. Shortcuts, unlike Windows tiles, offer you the option to run their apps as administrator. Tiles do not, because Windows apps that have tiles are limited by Microsoft, so running them with administrator permissions is not an option.
To illustrate, we have Mozilla Firefox "playing the part" of the shortcut and Skype in the role of the static tile. While the app tiles can usually be Small, Medium, Wide and Large, shortcuts only come in Small and Medium. To see the available sizes, right-click the tile, or tap and hold (if you have a touchscreen) and then access the Resize menu.
The More menu is also a reliable way to tell Windows tiles from shortcuts. Tiles usually offer the options to "Turn Live Tile off," "Rate and review," and Share, also allowing the user to access App settings. As you can see, Mozilla Firefox, being a desktop app with a traditional shortcut, does not offer these options. However, you do get the option to "Run as administrator," which is not available for Windows apps with tiles.
What do you see in the future of Windows tiles?
We hope this guide helps you get a better perspective of Windows tiles and how they can help you create a balanced and efficient Start Menu. We believe this is not the end of the road for Windows tiles and we are going to see more of them in the future. Maybe we will be able to drag them all around the screen and use them as live tiles on the desktop, or perhaps we will get to further customize the content they display. Before you close this article, let us know in a comment below how you would like the tiles to evolve in Windows 10. How would you make them better?
