Windows 8和Windows 8.1中最重要的功能之一是 Charms。“魅力(Charms)”……在Windows中？听起来很奇怪！正确的？实际上，它们并不难理解。为了帮助您，我们将分享如何访问它们、它们的作用以及如何使用它们。
如何访问魅力
简而言之，Charms是一组常见任务的快捷方式，可在系统中的任何位置使用。在Windows 8和Windows 8.1中有几种方法可以访问Charms。您可以使用键盘、鼠标或触摸(mouse or touch)：
无论您是在“开始(Start)”屏幕上还是在桌面(Desktop)上，都可以在任何地方使用Charms。您无法访问它们的唯一情况是运行全屏桌面应用程序（例如游戏）时。
Charms是 5个按钮：搜索、共享、开始、设备(Search, Share, Start, Devices)和设置(Settings)。当您访问它们时，通知面板(notification panel)也会显示在屏幕的左下方。
这显示了使用笔记本电脑或平板电脑(laptop or tablet)时的时间、日期、日期、互联网连接(Internet connection)状态和电池。人们可能期望单击通知面板(notification panel)是可能的。好吧，它不是......通知面板(notification panel)无法触摸:)。
关于Charms(Charms)要记住的第一条规则是它们是上下文相关的。根据您正在运行的应用程序以及您在Windows 8(Windows 8)和Windows 8.1中的位置，您可以对它们执行不同的操作。让我们一个一个地拿出每个护身符，看看它是如何使用的。
如何使用搜索魅力
这种魅力完全符合人们的预期：搜索东西。直接从“开始(Start)”屏幕使用时，您可以搜索已安装的应用程序、设置和文件。在Windows 8.1中，您还可以使用(Windows 8.1)Bing搜索来自 Web 的内容。
在Windows 8中，如果您从任何应用程序访问它，它将返回与该应用程序相关的上下文结果。
例如，如果您在音乐(Music)应用程序中使用它，您得到的结果是歌曲、专辑或艺术家。
使用Internet Explorer中的(Internet Explorer)搜索(Search)超级按钮将使用默认搜索引擎(default search engine)- 必应启动 Web 搜索。
在Windows 8.1中，搜索不再是上下文的。无论您是在使用Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)中的应用程序时进行搜索，还是从“开始(Start)”屏幕执行搜索，都没有关系。它总是显示相同的结果。但是，您不再需要像在Windows 8中那样过滤结果。所有结果都会自动显示。
如果过滤结果对您有用，您可以使用一些过滤器。它们与Windows 8不同。
要了解有关Windows 8.1中搜索如何工作的更多信息，我建议您阅读这篇文章：Windows 8.1简介：搜索如何工作以及如何(Search Work & How)使用它？。
要在“开始”屏幕上开始搜索（(Start)在Windows 8和Windows 8.1中），只需键入要使用的搜索词。(search term)默认情况下，搜索(Search)超级按钮将显示结果。然后，您可以通过单击或键入Windows(Windows)显示的过滤器来过滤结果。
键盘快捷键：(Keyboard shortcuts:) 当您想要搜索应用程序（在Windows 8中）或任何东西（在Windows 8.1中）时，Windows Windows + QWindows + W搜索设置，Windows + F搜索文件。
如何使用分享魅力
此魅力仅在与Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)中的应用程序一起使用并且用于使用其他应用程序共享项目时才有效。这些项目可以是网址（链接）、多媒体文件（照片、视频、音乐等）、来自SkyDrive的文件等。项目可以通过电子邮件或通过您的人(People)脉应用程序与人共享。在Windows 8.1中，您还可以使用此功能截取屏幕截图并使用Windows 应用程序(Windows app)共享它们。
在 Windows 8 中，尝试在桌面上或从桌面应用程序中使用“(Desktop)共享(Share)”超级按钮会让您一事无成，因为它只会说“无法从桌面共享任何内容”。("Nothing can be shared from the desktop".)
但是，在Windows 8.1中，您可以使用桌面(Desktop)上的共享(Share)超级按钮，但只能截取屏幕截图并使用Windows 应用程序(Windows apps)共享它们。
在浏览网页或使用SkyDrive应用程序时，此功能特别有用。例如，您可以使用它来快速分享链接：您在7 Tutorials上找到了您喜欢的文章并想与您的朋友分享。调出分享(Share)魅力并选择您想要分享的方式：通过邮件(Mail)或人(People)脉应用程序，在您连接的社交网络（Facebook、Twitter 等(Twitter etc)）上。
在 Windows 8.1 中，共享(Share)超级按钮的工作方式相同，但它会给您一个额外的选项：如果您单击或点击要共享的项目附近显示的箭头，您将访问一个菜单，其中包含截取内容的选项你想分享。
键盘快捷键：(Keyboard shortcut:) Windows + H。
如何使用开始魅力
此超级按钮会打开“开始(Start)”屏幕，或者，如果您已经在“开始(Start)”屏幕上，它将打开您上次访问的应用程序（它仅适用于Windows 应用程序(Windows apps)，不适用于桌面应用程序）。
键盘快捷键：(Keyboard shortcut:) Windows 键。
如何使用设备魅力
此魅力可让您使用连接到计算机的设备，并从您正在使用的应用程序向它们发送数据。与其他魅力一样，设备在与(Devices)Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)中的应用程序一起使用时很有用。
要了解它的工作原理，让我们分享一个示例：您使用的是Windows 8，并且您想从我们的网站打印一篇文章。使用“设备(Devices)”超级按钮查看可用于交互的设备，包括您的打印机。
单击(Click)或点击打印机，设置您想要的打印方式，然后单击或点击打印(Print)。
在 Windows 8.1 中，设备(Devices)魅力得到了改进，它提供了更多与您的设备交互的方式：
- 您可以在连接到网络或 Windows 8.1 设备的媒体设备上播放您选择的项目（.mp3 文件或视频）。(.mp3 file)
- 您可以将内容打印到任何已安装的打印机。
- 您可以将应用程序中显示的内容投影到第二个屏幕或投影仪。
键盘快捷键：(Keyboard shortcut:) Windows + K。
如何使用设置魅力
此魅力显示可用于您正在使用的应用程序的设置的上下文快捷方式以及一些系统范围内的可用设置，例如：网络、声音、屏幕亮度、通知、电源和语言(power and language)，以及指向PC 设置(PC Settings)的链接。上下文设置显示在顶部，系统范围的设置显示在底部。
在运行桌面(Desktop)应用程序时，您会为每个应用程序获得相同的设置集，但是，如果您运行Windows 应用程序(Windows apps)，这些设置会因每个应用程序而改变。
这种魅力是访问Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)应用程序可用的所有设置的唯一方法。在这个魅力中，您将找到访问帮助(Help)和关于(About)信息、设置权限(Permissions)和配置应用程序可用的不同参数的必要链接。
键盘快捷键：(Keyboard shortcut:) Windows + I。
结论
事实证明， Windows 8(Windows 8)和Windows 8.1中的Charms在与应用程序和操作系统(operating system)交互时非常有用。不要犹豫，按照我们的示例进行一些自己的实验，让您熟悉 Charms并在使用应用程序时提高效率。
Introducing Windows 8.1: What are the Charms & How to Use them
Оne of the most important fеatures in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are the Charms. "Charms"... in Windows? It sounds strange! Right? Actually, they are not that hard to understand. To help you out, we will share how to access them, what they do and how to use them.
How to Access the Charms
Simply put, Charms are a set of shortcuts to common tasks, available anywhere in the system. There are several ways to access the Charms in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. You can use the keyboard, the mouse or touch:
-
Keyboard: press the Windows key + C.
-
Mouse: go to the bottom or top right corner of your screen, and then move your cursor up or down to access the charms.
-
Touch: swipe from the right edge of the screen towards center.
The Charms are available from anywhere, no matter if you are on the Start screen or on the Desktop. The only scenario when you cannot access them is when running full-screen desktop applications such as games.
The Charms are 5 buttons: Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings. When you access them, a notification panel also shows up in the lower left side of the screen.
This shows the time, day, date, the status the Internet connection and the battery, when using a laptop or tablet. One might expect that clicking the notification panel is possible. Well, it's not... the notification panel cannot be touched :).
The first rule to remember about Charms is that they are contextual. You can do different things with them depending on the apps you are running and where you are in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Let's take each charm, one by one and see how it can be used.
How to Use the Search Charm
This charm does exactly what one would expect: searches for stuff. When using it directly from the Start screen, you can search for installed applications, settings and files. In Windows 8.1 you can also search for content from the web, using Bing.
In Windows 8, if you access it from any app, it will return contextual results, relevant to that app.
For example, if you use it while in the Music app, the results you get are songs, albums or artists.
Using the Search charm in Internet Explorer will start a web search using the default search engine - Bing.
In Windows 8.1, search is no longer contextual. It doesn't matter if you search while using an app from the Windows Store or you perform a search from the Start screen. It always displays the same results. However, you no longer need to filter the results, like in Windows 8. All results are displayed automatically.
If filtering the results is useful to you, there are some filters that you can use. They are different than in Windows 8 though.
To learn more about how search works in Windows 8.1, I recommend that you read this article: Introducing Windows 8.1: How Does Search Work & How to Use It?.
To start searching while on the Start screen (both in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1), simply type the search term you want to use. By default, the Search charm will display the results. You can then filter the results by clicking or typing on the filters displayed by the Windows.
Keyboard shortcuts: Windows + Q when you want to search for apps (in Windows 8) or anything (in Windows 8.1), Windows + W to search for settings and Windows + F for to search for files.
How to Use the Share Charm
This charm works only when used with apps from the Windows Store and it used to share items using other apps. These items can be web addresses (links), multimedia files (photos, video, music, etc), files from the SkyDrive, etc. Items can be shared via e-mail or with people from your People app. In Windows 8.1 you can also use this charm to take screenshots and share them using a Windows app.
In Windows 8, trying to use the Share charm on the Desktop or from desktop applications will get you to nowhere, as it will only say that "Nothing can be shared from the desktop".
However, in Windows 8.1 you can use the Share charm on the Desktop, but only to take screenshots and share them using Windows apps.
This charm is especially useful when browsing the web, or when using the SkyDrive app. For example, you can use it to quickly share links: you found an article you like on 7 Tutorials and you want to share it with your friends. Bring up the Share charm and choose how you would like to share it: by Mail or with the People app, on the social networks you are connected to (Facebook, Twitter etc).
In Windows 8.1, the Share charm works the same way but it will give you an additional option: if you click or tap the arrow displayed near the item you want shared, you will access a menu that includes the option to take a screenshot of what you want to share.
Keyboard shortcut: Windows + H.
How to Use the Start Charm
This charm opens the Start screen or, if you are already on the Start screen, it will open your last accessed app (it works only with Windows apps and not with desktop applications).
Keyboard shortcut: The Windows key.
How to Use the Devices Charm
This charm lets you use devices attached to your computer and send data to them from the app you are using. As with other charms, Devices is useful when used with apps from the Windows Store.
To learn how it works, let's share an example: you are using Windows 8 and you want to print an article from our website. Use the Devices charm to see the devices available for interaction, including your printer.
Click or tap on the printer, set how you want things printed and click or tap Print.
In Windows 8.1 the Devices charm has been improved and it offers more ways of interaction with your devices:
- You can play the item you selected (an .mp3 file or a video) on a media device that's connected to your network or your Windows 8.1 device.
- You can print content to any of your installed printers.
- You can project the content displayed in your app to a second screen or a projector.
Keyboard shortcut: Windows + K.
How to Use the Settings Charm
This charm shows contextual shortcuts to settings available for the apps you are using and some system-wide available settings, like: network, sound, screen brightness, notifications, power and language, plus a link to the PC Settings. The contextual settings are shown at the top and the system-wide settings at the bottom.
While running Desktop applications, you get the same set of settings for every one of them but, if you run Windows apps, these settings change for each app.
This charm is the only way to access all the settings available for Windows Store apps. In this charm you will find the necessary links to to access Help and About information, set Permissions and configure the different parameters available for an app.
Keyboard shortcut: Windows + I.
Conclusions
The Charms in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 can prove to be very useful when interacting with apps and the operating system. Don't hesitate to follow our examples and make some experiments of your own, to get you familiarized with the Charms and be productive when using apps.
