10. Staying in Touch (and in Sync) with Windows 10
In this chapter, you learn to use Skype, the People app, and the Mail and Calendar apps to keep your connection strong with these tasks:
Calling and messaging with Skype
Managing contacts with the People app
So much of what we do with our computers involves communication. We call or email friends and family members, we schedule appointments and meetings, and we continually check our favorite social media sites to see what’s new in the lives of those we love.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update includes a number of tools to help us keep in touch with our favorite folks. In this chapter, you learn about the new People Hub, which helps you keep the ones you communicate with most often right at your fingertips. You’re also introduced to four apps you can use to stay in touch with others. Skype is the communications app you use to call or message others in real time; you can make a web-based call (for free) or buy minutes to use with international and other toll calls. The People app serves as a hub for all your social media activities. You can bring all those updates together in one spot so you can stay on top of the latest news without opening a lot of programs. And the email and calendar apps make it simple for you to keep up with everyone at work, home, and school and keep your schedule organized and up-to-date.
Calling and Messaging with Skype
When Microsoft acquired Skype, the vision was to build a beautifully integrated communication tool that added video and voice calling, as well as instant messaging, into all sorts of Microsoft products. Skype is included as one of the apps in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, so you never need to be out of reach of family, friends, colleagues, and clients.
Starting Skype
You launch Skype just as you would any other Windows 10 app: by choosing it from the list on your Start menu or by tapping or clicking the app tile.
Click the Start button to display the Start menu.
Drag the scrollbar down until you see the apps that begin with the letter S.
Click or tap Skype.
Signing In to Skype
After you download and launch Skype, the Sign In window appears. You can sign in with your Skype name (if you have one), your Microsoft account, or even your Facebook account. If you would rather use a different Skype account than the one shown on the Sign In screen, click the Sign In with a Different Account link and enter your account information.
Check your sign-in account.
Click or tap Sign In.
If you want to use a different account, click the link and enter the sign-in information you want to use.
Exploring the Skype Window
After you’re signed in, the Skype window is fairly easy to navigate. You’ll see a number of familiar features as you work with the tools in the program:
The title bar at the top of the window shows the app name and your sign-in username, as well as the window controls on the far right.
The Skype tools give you what you need for managing your Skype account, finding and adding to your contacts, reviewing conversations, making calls, organizing the Skype view, setting Skype options, and getting help.
The Call History pane includes your profile information, the Search tool, and a list of recent calls.
The Content area displays the Skype Home page at first, but when you make a call or chat with friends, your interactions happen in this area of the Skype window.
Finding and Adding Contacts
Conversations are the focus and trade of Skype, so you can start, end, and add to conversations—which might be calls, video chats, or text messaging threads—easily. You can add contacts to your list by initiating contact with them or add them to ongoing conversations.
In the Skype window, click Contacts.
Click or tap in the Search box.
Type the name of the person you want to find.
Scroll through the results list.
Click the name of the person you want to add as a contact. The contact is added to the communication window.
Start a conversation with the new contact by sending him or her a text message.
Click to start a video call.
Click to launch a phone call by Skype.
If you want this contact to show up in your list of Favorites, click or tap the star to the left of the contact name.
Communicating with Skype
Communicating with others in Skype is easy. You can choose whether you want to make a video call, make an audio call, or send a text message, all with a simple click.
Click or tap the contact you want to call. The contact screen opens in the right pane.
Click or tap to open a video call.
Click or tap to begin an audio call.
Type to send an instant message to the contact.
Using the New People Hub
One of the fun new features in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is the People Hub. Developers realize that even though social media has gotten wildly popular and we keep up with the happenings of dozens (or maybe hundreds!) of people each day, we really communicate regularly each day with only a handful of friends and family members.
The People Hub is designed to bring those contacts close so you can easily check in with them throughout your normal day. Your favorite contacts are essentially “pinned” to your taskbar so they are always within easy reach.
Getting Ready to Use the People Hub
The People Hub requires a little bit of setup before it is ready to use.
Click or tap the People tool on the taskbar.
Click or tap Get Started. The People Hub shows you which apps are currently connected to the Hub.
Click the icon for any app you want to change or view.
Finding People Hub Contacts
Next, you need to find and add the contacts you want to include in the People Hub.
Click People. The Hub offers a couple of suggestions for contacts you might want to pin to the taskbar.
Click the contact you want to add, and the People Hub pins the contact to the taskbar to the left of the People Hub tool.
If you don’t see the contact you want to add, click in the Search box. A list of contacts appears.
Type the name of the contact in the Search box.
Click the contact from the displayed list. The icon for the contact is added to your taskbar.
Checking In
Now that your contacts are pinned to your taskbar, you can see what’s happening with them and check in through the day easily. When you get an email or a call from a pinned contact, Windows 10 lets you know right away by displaying a small number along the bottom edge of the pinned contact icon.
Click the contact icon when you see a notification.
The People Hub opens, showing the contact you selected.
Click the app that shows the notification icon.
Click to view and reply to the message in the People Hub panel.
Click to open the message and review and respond in the full app.
Managing Contacts with the People App
As you keep up with friends and family through email and instant messaging, do you find yourself always wondering where you saved the contact information you need? The People app in Windows 10 might be able to help by consolidating your various contacts and displaying them all in one alphabetical list, where you can find who you need easily.
Getting Started with the People App
You launch the People app from the Start menu. If you’ve moved your tiles around or you don’t see the People app on your Start menu, you can locate the app in the All Apps list.
Click to display the Start menu.
Click or tap the People app. The People app launches.
If you want to import contacts from another app, click Import Contacts.
Click Ready to Go to start using the People app.
Using the People App
The People app window is a good example of an app that makes effective use of all available space. You can use this one window to do almost everything you need to do related to managing contacts.
Search for contacts by typing a name in the Search box.
Choose a contact by clicking a name.
Review contact information.
Edit contact info if needed.
Share or delete the contact if you like.
Add a new contact.
Review your most recent interactions with the selected contact.
Display and change settings for the People app.
Adding a New Contact
The People app provides you with a one-stop shop for all your contact needs. You can easily add, remove, edit, and delete contacts in the People app. Any contacts you add in the People app are available in your Mail app as well.
In the People app, click the New Contact button at the top of the pane.
Enter the name of the contact. If you want to add more information, such as entering the first and last name separately or providing a nickname, click the Edit tool to display a list of additional items you can add.
Enter the mobile phone, email address, and address information for the contact.
Click or tap Add Photo to display the Photos window.
Click or tap the photo you want to add to the contact.
Tap or click Save to save the new contact to your People app.
Staying in Touch Through Email
The Mail app in Windows 10 has been greatly improved. Not only is the screen clean and easy to navigate, but you can add more than one email account so all your mail comes to one central location.
The Mail app is available in the Start menu. The live tile shows you the title and intro text of your latest email message, and the number of unread messages in your Inbox is displayed on the tile. When you click or tap the app tile, the app opens on the screen, and you can click or tap the types of messages you want to see. You can view your Inbox as usual, or you can choose Social Updates to see what your friends are up to, choose Newsletters to read through your latest newsletters, or choose Flagged to see the messages you’ve flagged for follow-up later.
Launching Mail
You’ll find the Mail app in the Start menu. You can launch the app easily by clicking or tapping the tile.
Click the Start button to display the Start menu.
Click the Mail app tile.
Checking Out the Mail Window
The Mail app presents a streamlined, easy-to-navigate screen that allows you to review your mail quickly, click the message you want to read, organize your mail into folders, and respond easily to the current message.
Click to open a new message.
Click or tap a message to read it.
Respond to the current message.
Delete the current message.
Click Focused to see email from your contacts.
Click Other to see general email from people who are not in your contacts list.
Check for new mail.
Display Mail settings.
Composing an Email Message
Creating a new message is a simple task. Here’s how:
Display a new message by clicking New Mail.
Click to choose the mail account you want to use to send the message.
Click or tap in the To box and begin to type the contact’s name. The names of individuals in your People app appear; you can click to select the name you want to use.
Click in the Subject line and type a message subject.
Click in the message area and type your message. Use the tools in the Format tab to apply the text format you want.
Click the Insert tab if you want to attach a file or add a table, picture, or link to the message.
Click the Options tab for tools to check spelling, change the language, or set the priority of the message.
Click Send to send the message.
Click Discard to delete the message without sending it.
Adding an Email Account
Windows 10 makes it easy to add and switch among email accounts, so you have all your email gathered in one handy place. By default, Windows 10 has likely set up the mail account you use with your Microsoft account, but you can add others as well, including Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and more.
In the Mail app window, click Settings at the bottom of the left pane. The Settings pane appears along the right side of the app window.
Click Manage Accounts. The Settings panel appears.
Click Add Account.
Click the type of account you want to add.
Enter the email address for the account.
Click Next and follow the prompts to complete the process. The Mail app adds the account to your email accounts and displays the accounts in the Accounts pane on the right side of your Mail app window.
Organizing Your Email
You might get dozens or even hundreds of messages each day. Some might be junk mail, but others you need to keep—perhaps notes about upcoming meetings, deadlines, or fun plans. You can organize your mail by filing it away in folders you create, or you can pin a message to your task list so you’ll remember to follow up on it sooner rather than later.
In the Mail app, right-click the message you want to file. A context menu appears.
Click Move. A list of folders appears.
Click the folder where you want to store the message.
Keeping Your Dates Straight with the Calendar App
The Calendar app gives you access to appointments whether you’re working on your desktop, tablet, or phone. Because the Calendar app offers live notifications, you can have Windows display your appointments on the Lock screen of your computer so you don’t even have to log in to see what’s next in your day.
Checking Appointments
The first place you’ll see your calendar information is on the Lock screen of your computer. You’ll also notice the live tile updates on the Calendar app tile on the Start screen. You can tap the Calendar app to display your calendar, which opens by default in Month view.
You can display the Calendar app while you’re working in Mail by clicking the Calendar tool in the lower-left corner of the Mail window. (You can also get to the Calendar from the Start menu.)
Review appointments in the month.
Click to review a specific appointment.
Click a different view.
Click the Collapse button to hide the calendar panel and get more room for calendar display.
Adding a New Appointment
Creating a new appointment takes just a couple clicks and very little typing. Click the New Event tool, and then enter the information relevant to the appointment you’re noting.
In the Calendar app, click the New Event tool.
Type a title for the event.
Enter the location where it will be held.
Enter a description describing the event.
Choose the date and start time for the appointment.
Choose the end day and time for the appointment.
Invite others to the event.
Tap or click Save and Close.
