My Windows Phone 8

Brien Posey is a ten-time Microsoft MVP with two decades of IT experience. Prior to becoming a freelance technical writer, Brien served as CIO for a national chain of hospitals and healthcare facilities. He has also worked as a network administrator for some of the nation’s largest insurance companies and for the Department of Defense at Fort Knox. Since going freelance in 2001, Brien has become a prolific technical author. He has published many thousands of articles and numerous books on a wide variety of topics (primarily focusing on enterprise networking). In addition to his writing, Brien has provided consulting services to clients and speaks at IT events all over the world. When Brien isn’t busy writing, he enjoys traveling to exotic places around the world with his wife Taz. Together they have visited more than sixty different countries. In fact, portions of this book were written while visiting Panama, Guatemala, and Columbia. Some of Brien’s other personal interests include scuba diving, aviation, flying RC helicopters, and shredding waves in his Cigarette boat. Brien’s most recent endeavor has been to pursue his lifelong aspiration of becoming an astronaut.

Chapter 1  Getting Started with Windows Phone 8 3
Minimum Hardware Specifications   3
The Phone’s External Features   4
Getting Started with Your Phone   6
   Configuring the Phone Using the Recommended Settings   6
   Installing the Windows Phone Software   9
   Setting Up the Windows Phone Software   10
Updating the Phone   10
   Accessing the Phone’s Settings   11
   Configuring How Windows Phone Updates   12
The Windows Phone 8 Interface   13
   The Lock Screen   13
   Other Common Indicators   14
   Customizing the Lock Screen   15
   The Start Screen   20
Touch Gestures   24
   Using the Phone’s Hardware Buttons   25
   The Back Button   25
   The Start Button   25
   The Search Button   25
   The Power Button   25
   The Volume Buttons   26
   The Camera Button   26
The Soft Keyboard   26
Resetting Your Phone   29
   Restoring Factory Settings   29

Chapter 2  Configuring Basic Device Settings   31
Accessing the Device Settings Screen   31
   Changing the Device Theme   32
Wi-Fi Networking   33
   Enabling or Disabling Wi-Fi   33
   Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network   34
   Removing Known Networks   35
Passwords and Screen Timeouts   36
   Setting the Screen Timeout   37
   Enabling a Password   38
   Changing Your Password   39
   Disabling a Password   40
Date and Time   40
   Setting the Date and Time   41
   Changing Time Zones   42
   Using Military Time   42
Screen Brightness   43
   Automatically Adjusting the Screen Brightness   43
   Manually Adjusting the Screen Brightness   44
Controlling the Keyboard’s Behavior   44
   Setting the Keyboard Language   45
   Removing a Keyboard Language   46
   Clearing Custom Suggestions   46
   Customizing the Keyboard’s Behavior   47
Configuring Regions and Languages   48
Accessibility   50
   Adjusting the Text Size   50
   Enabling High Contrast   51
   Enabling the Screen Magnifier   51
   Using Speech for Phone Accessibility   52
Find My Phone   53
Finding Your Phone   54
   Other Location Options   55
About Your Phone   56
   Providing Feedback   57
Backing Up Your Phone   58
Backing Up App Lists and Settings   59
   Removing Your Backup   60
   Backing Up Text Messages   61
   Determining Backup Quality for Your Photos and Videos   62
   Restoring Your Backups   63
Battery Saver   64
Phone Storage   65

Chapter 3  Messaging   69
Accessing Email Settings and Configuring Accounts   70
   Connecting Your Microsoft Account   71
   Setting Up Exchange Email   72
   Connecting to Yahoo! Mail   76
   Connecting to Google Mail   77
   Setting Up POP3/IMAP4 Messaging   78
   Removing Mail Accounts   80
Microsoft Outlook Mobile   81
   The Outlook Mobile Interface   82
   The Anatomy of a Message   83
   Opening a Message   84
   Opening an Attachment   85
   Replying to a Message   86
   Forwarding a Message   87
   Viewing New Mail   88
   Viewing Urgent Mail   88
   Viewing Flagged Messages   89
   Deleting a Message   90
   Marking a Message as Read   93
   Marking a Message as Unread   93
   Marking Multiple Messages as Read or Unread   94
   Moving a Message   95
   Performing a Bulk Move   96
   Viewing Folders   97
   Flagging a Message   97
   Clearing a Message Flag   98
   Flagging or Unflagging Multiple Messages   98
   Marking a Message as Complete   99
   Marking Multiple Messages as Complete   100
Composing a New Message   100
   Writing a Message   101
   Canceling a New Message   102
   Adding Message Attachments   103
   Setting Message Priority   106
   Adding Recipients Through CC and Blind CC   106
   Adding Emoticons and Clip Art   107
   Checking for New Mail   108
Configuring Mailbox Settings   108
   Linking Mailboxes   108
   Unlinking Mailboxes   110
   Conversation View   110
   Message Signatures   111
   Blind CCing Yourself   111
   Lightening the Display   112
   Changing the Mailbox Sync Settings   113
   Configuring Automatic Replies   115

Chapter 4  The Multimedia Experience   117
Working with the Windows Phone Software   117
   Adding Photos to Your Phone   119
   Adding Videos to Your Phone   120
   Adding a Song to Your Phone   121
   Adding an Album to Your Phone   121
   Adding a Musical Artist to Your Phone   122
   Adding Content from Nonstandard Locations   123
   Using the Photo Interface   124
   Removing Multimedia Content   125
   Copying Phone Content to Your PC or Tablet   127
Working with File Explorer   127
   Adding Media to Your Phone   128
   Removing Media from Your Phone   130
   Copying Multimedia Content to Your PC   131
Xbox Music Pass   132
   Connecting Your Phone to Xbox Music Pass   132
   Playing Music from the Xbox Music Pass   133
Playing Music Through the Phone   134
   Playing Songs   134
   Using Jump Lists   135
   The Play Screen   135
   Playing an Album   137
   Playing a Music Genre   137
   Playing a Specific Artist   138
   Playing Music in the Background   138
   Sharing Music   140
   Playing Music Using Smart DJ   140
   Accessing Playlists   141
Playing Videos   142
History   144
Displaying New Content   145

Chapter 5  Windows Phone 8 Apps   147
Searching for an App   147
Alarms   148
   Setting an Alarm   149
   Disabling an Alarm   150 
   Deleting an Alarm   150
Calculator   150
   Calendar   152
   Calendar Views   153
   Appointments   157
   Enabling, Organizing, and Disabling Calendars   163
   The To-Do List   164
   Displaying Tasks on Your Calendar   168
Camera   169
   Adjusting Photo Settings   170
   Adjusting the Camera’s Configuration Settings   171
   Controlling the Camera’s Flash   172
   Changing the Camera’s Behavior with Lenses   173
   Using the Front Camera   173
   Activating Video Mode   174
   Adjusting Video Settings   175
   Using the Video Light   176
Photo   176
   Viewing Your Pictures   177
   Adding a Picture to Your Favorites   178
   Viewing Your Favorite Pictures   178
   Deleting a Picture   179
   Uploading a Picture to SkyDrive   179
   Sharing Your Pictures   180
   Editing a Photo   180
   Using a Photo on the Lock Screen   183
   Playing a Video   184
Internet Explorer   185
   Using Custom Settings   186
   Browsing the Web   187
   Zooming a Page   187
   Adding a Page to Your Favorites   188
   Accessing Your Favorites List   189
   Removing a Page from Your Favorites   189
   Accessing Your Browsing History   190
   Tabbed Browsing   190
   Sharing a Web Page   192
   Adding a Page to the Start Screen   193
   Internet Explorer Settings   194
   Finding an Item on a Web Page   197
Store   198
   Downloading App Updates   199
   Finding New Applications   200
   Searching for an App   201
   Viewing an Application   202
   Installing an Application   203
   Removing an App   204
   Xbox Music Downloads   205
   Podcasts   207
Kid’s Corner   208
   Setting Up Kid’s Corner   209
   Launching Kid’s Corner   210
   Modifying Kid’s Corner Permissions   212
Wallet   213
   Adding a Payment Method   214
   Editing a Payment Method   216
   Removing a Payment Method   217
   Pinning Payment Information   218
   The Wallet PIN   218
   Deals   221

Chapter 6  Microsoft Office Mobile   229
Accessing Microsoft Office   230
   The Recent Screen   231
   The Places Screen   232
   Office Mobile Settings   236
Excel   237
   Creating a New Spreadsheet   237
   Working with the Excel Interface   238
   Adding a Comment to a Cell   239
   Changing the Comment Author   240
   Viewing and Navigating Comments   241
   Searching a Spreadsheet   241
   Selecting Multiple Cells   242
   Viewing Cell Text   243
   Freezing a Pane   243
   Applying Formatting Options   244
   Sorting a Column   245
   Filtering   246
   Undo and Redo   247
   Charting   247
   Accessing Charts and Sheets   248
   Saving a Spreadsheet   248
   Sharing a Spreadsheet   249
   Fitting and Hiding Text   249
   Entering Formulas   251
   AutoSum   252
Word   253
   Creating a New Word Document   253
   The Microsoft Word Interface   254
   Copy and Paste   255
   Applying Text Effects   255
   Locating Text Within a Document   256
   Adding a Comment   257
   Viewing and Navigating Comments   257
   Deleting a Comment   258
   Sharing the Document   259
   Saving the Document   259
   Correcting Spelling Errors   260
PowerPoint   261
   Opening a PowerPoint Document   261
   Viewing PowerPoint Slides   262
   Viewing a Specific Slide   263
   Adding Notes to a Slide   264
   Editing a Slide   265
   Moving a Slide   266
   Saving the PowerPoint Presentation   267
   Sharing Your PowerPoint Presentation   268
OneNote   268
   Opening a Note   271
   Searching for Notes   272
   Deleting a Note   272
   Closing Notebooks   273
   Pinning a Document to the Start Screen   273
   Creating a Note   274
   Creating a List   275
   Adding Pictures to a Note   276
   Adding Audio   277
   Adding a To-Do List   277
   Formatting Text   278
   Sharing a Note   279

Chapter 7  Gaming   281
The Games Hub   281
Games Hub   283
   Joining Xbox Live   284
   Installing Xbox Extras   286
   Customizing Your Avatar   286
   Modifying Your Xbox Live Bio   288
   Achievements   290
   Configuring Games Hub Settings   291
   Adjusting Your Privacy Settings   291
Friends   294
   Adding a Friend   297
   Removing a Friend   298
   Sending Messages to Friends   299
Beacons   300
   Setting a Beacon   300
   Removing a Beacon   301
Finding Games   302
   Using the Spotlight   302
   Browsing for New Games   303
   Finding Games by Genre   304
   Searching for a Game   304
   Installing a Game   305
   Playing a Game   306
   Rating and Reviewing a Game   307
   Uninstalling a Game   308
Xbox SmartGlass   308
   Installing Xbox SmartGlass   309
   Interacting with the SmartGlass Interface   310
   Accessing the Xbox Guide   312
   Using Your Phone as an Xbox Controller   313

Chapter 8  The Phone    315
Making and Taking Phone Calls   315
   Making a Phone Call   316
   Calling Your Contacts   317
   Ending a Call   318
   The Speaker Phone   318
   Muting a Call   319
   Accessing the Keypad   319
   Returning a Missed Call   320
   Accessing Voicemail   320
   Configuring Your Voicemail   321
   Conference Calling   322
   Answering a Call   323
   Call Waiting   324
Call Settings   324
   Changing Your Ringtones   325
   Enabling Vibrate   325
   Using Custom Ringtones   326
   Enabling Talking Caller ID   327
   Using International Assist   328
   Enhancing SIM Security   328
   Enabling Airplane Mode   329
   Enabling Bluetooth   330
SMS Text Messaging   331
   Reading a New Text Message   333
   Replying to a Text Message   334
   Sending a Text Message   334
   Sending Long Text Messages   336
   Sending an Attachment with a Text Message   337
   Deleting a Conversation   339
   Deleting a Message   339
   Forwarding a Text Message   340
   Copying a Text Message   340
   Text Messaging Backup   341
   Group Text   341

Chapter 9  Search   343
Bing and the Search Button   343
   Searching with Bing   344
   The Bing Interface   345
   Configuring Bing Settings   346
   Searching by Voice   348
   Searching with Bing Music   350
   Searching with Bing Vision   351
Searching with Internet Explorer   353
   Pinning a Search Engine to the Start Screen   355
   Turning Suggested Sites On and Off   355
Maps   356
   Getting Directions   358
   Clearing a Map   359
   Displaying Aerial View   359
   Showing Traffic Patterns   360
   Searching for a Destination   361
   Finding Locations with Local Scout   362
   Clearing Map History   368
   Downloading Maps   369
   Updating Downloaded Maps   370
More Ways to Search   370
   Call History   370
   Contact Search   372
   Searching for OneNote Notes   372
   Searching for Microsoft Office Documents   373
   Searching Email   373
   Setting the Search Language   374
   Deleting Search History   375

Chapter 10  Working with People   377
The People Hub   377
   Viewing a Profile   379
   Adding a Contact   379
   Editing a Profile   381
   Deleting a Contact   382
   Searching for a Contact   382
   Using Jump Lists to Find a Contact   383
   Pinning a Contact to the Start Screen   384
   Linking Contacts   384
   Configuring Social Network Settings   385
Groups   387
   Creating a New Group   388
   Adding a Contact to a Group   389
   Removing a Group Member   390
   Renaming a Group   391
   Pinning a Group to the Start Screen   391
   Deleting a Group   392
   Sending an Email Message to Group Members   393
   Sending a Text Message to Group Members   394
Rooms   394
   Creating a Room   395
   Accessing a Room   396
   Adding Members to a Room   396
   Deleting a Room Member   397
   Choosing a Room Background   397
   Pinning a Room to the Start Screen   398
   Renaming a Room   399
   Deleting a Room   399
   Using Group Chat   400
   Sharing Photos and Videos   401
   Viewing Shared Photos and Videos   402
   Viewing the Shared Calendar   402
   Adding an Appointment to the Shared Calendar   403
   Creating a New Shared Note   403
   Viewing Shared Notes   404
Facebook Integration   405
   Connecting to Facebook   405
   Viewing a Wall Post   406
   Writing on a Friend’s Facebook Wall   409
   Viewing Facebook Photos   409
The Me Tile   412
   Viewing Your Own Social Networking Wall   412
   Posting Status Updates   413
   Checking In   414
   Uploading a Photo   415
   Chatting with Friends   416
   Setting Your Chat Status   417
   Notifications   417
Twitter   418
   Configuring Your Twitter Account   418
   Sending a Tweet   419
   Checking for Tweets   420
   Responding to a Tweet   420
   Checking Twitter Notifications   420
LinkedIn   421
   Configuring Your LinkedIn Account   421
   Accessing LinkedIn Content   422
   Responding to a LinkedIn Post   423
   Posting a Message   424
   The Feeds Filter   425

Index   426