There are a number of ways to launch an
application, depending on whether you are on the Start screen or the
Desktop. This section covers the most accessible ones.
Some applications are “pinned” to the Start screen by default when you first install Windows 8.
Most applications are not represented by a
tile on the Start screen. You can still launch an application using a
tile, but you may need to switch to the All Apps screen to do so.
Windows builds the list of programs you see on the All Apps screen from the user programs folder at C:\Users\
\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and from the common programs folder at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. You can get to these folders by entering shell:programs or shell:common programs into the Windows Explorer address bar. Removing or renaming shortcuts, or consolidating items into folders, changes what you see on the All Apps screen.
If there is an application that you use
frequently, you can add it to your Start screen and to the taskbar of
the Desktop, which is a great time saver.
To find an application
1. Display the tile-based interface Start screen (or the Search screen).
2. Start typing the name of the application.
3. When the application appears on the Find screen, click its name 1.
Launching an application from the Search screen
To launch an application from the Start screen
• Find the application tile on the Start screen and tap or click it.
• Click the taskbar icon on the Desktop.
To launch an application from the All Apps screen
1. Swipe from the bottom edge, right-click the Start screen, or press 
+Z.
2. Click the All Apps button in the Apps bar. (The Apps bar appears across the lower portion of your screen.)
3. Click the tile in the All Apps screen for the application you want to launch .
Launching an application from the All Apps screen
To add or remove an application tile or Desktop taskbar icon
1. Display the Start or All Apps screen.
2. Right-click the application tile to select it. The tile shows a check mark in the upper-right corner .
Adding applications to and removing applications from the Start screen or Desktop taskbar
3. Click the Pin To
Start button to add the application’s tile to the Start screen; click
the Unpin From Start button to remove the application’s tile from the
Start screen.
4. Click the Pin To
Taskbar button to add a taskbar icon for that application to the Desktop
taskbar; click the Unpin From Taskbar button to remove that
application’s taskbar icon from the Desktop taskbar.
Tip
You can drag and drop a program icon from the Desktop or Explorer to the Desktop taskbar to pin it there.
