How to Use the Settings Charm in Windows 8 — Video Guide (Historical)

The quickest route to the Windows 8 Settings charm is Win + I. Open the app whose settings you want first: the upper part of the pane changes with that app. The common controls below it serve Windows itself.

This guide brings together the original Settings, Search, Share, Start/Devices and quick app-launch video tips. You can use the written instructions independently of the videos. The important question throughout is: am I trying to change the current app, find something, or control Windows?

Documentation review: 4 November 2026. Checked against contemporary Microsoft documentation. The five original video identities were checked through YouTube metadata; full playback and operation on a Windows 8 device were not tested.

Open Settings and choose the right level

1. Bring the relevant app to the foreground. To inspect desktop-related options instead, go to the desktop.
2. Press Win + I. With touch, swipe inward from the screen’s right edge and choose Settings. With a mouse, point to either right-hand corner, move along the edge toward the charms, then click Settings.
3. Inspect the upper options. For example, Mail could offer account settings here, while the desktop exposed Control Panel and personalization links. A different list after switching apps is expected.
4. For system controls, inspect the lower area: network, volume, brightness where supported, notifications, power and keyboard/input options. Change PC settings opens the broader configuration interface.

Check the result: an app-specific choice should belong to the app you intended to configure. If it does not, dismiss the pane, activate that app and open Settings again. Opening the pane itself does not require changing a setting. Save any work before using a power action.

Which charm fits the task?

Press Win + C to reveal the whole bar, or use the right-edge gesture described above.

Find and open an app without hunting for its tile

Press the Windows key to reach Start, then type the program’s name. You do not need to select a search box first. Check the highlighted result before pressing Enter, or select the intended result directly.

In the original Windows 8 release, Start search defaults to Apps. Switch to Settings for a control or Files for a document. The shortcuts are Win + Q for app search, Win + W for settings, and Win + F for files. A participating app could also supply its own search results through the charm.

For example, finding an installed mail program and finding a message inside it are different tasks. Open the program for the latter, then use its search context. If a result is missing, check the selected scope before treating it as an installation fault. A Settings result cannot be expected to appear in an Apps-only list.

Share content from a compatible app

1. Open the particular page, photo or other item inside an app that supports sharing. Select the item if the app requires a selection.
2. Open the Charms bar and choose Share.
3. Choose an offered target app. The available targets depend on what the source provides and what the receiving app accepts.
4. Inspect the resulting content and destination before completing the action. For a message, check the recipient and attachment or link; cancel if either is wrong.

A visible Share charm does not mean every app can share. Microsoft’s original Surface RT guide explicitly excludes sharing from the desktop through this charm. A desktop program may instead have its own copy, export or send command. A browser-style app can offer a link while a photo app can offer an image; those need not produce identical target lists.

Historical demonstrations of Mail, People or social-network integration are not evidence that those services still connect today. Do not change account security settings to make an obsolete integration work.

Use Start and Devices without confusing their roles

The Start charm takes you to Start; from Start it returns to the previous app or desktop view. The Windows key provides the same basic toggle. Use it when you want to launch something else without closing what is already open.

The Devices charm exposes supported actions, rather than an inventory of everything attached to the PC. For printing, open the intended document or item in a participating app before opening Devices, then inspect the offered printer and print options. Desktop applications normally provide their own print command. For a connected display, the original interface offers Second screen, with choices such as duplicating or extending the display.

Device setup is a separate task. The original Change PC settings → Devices page and Control Panel’s Devices and Printers serve that purpose. An empty action list alone does not establish a missing driver or failed device. Also, the Surface RT guide’s hardware and driver restrictions are specific to Windows RT, not general rules for Windows 8 PCs.

When the expected option is missing

For broader navigation, see the historical Windows 8 keyboard and Start reference.

Windows 8.1 and later versions

Windows 8.1 retained Charms but changed the search experience, including broader search through Win + S. Do not interpret a different search layout as a broken original Windows 8 configuration. Windows 10 and Windows 11 do not use this Charms interface; similar shortcut names are not a promise of identical behavior.

Original video series

These are the five original TroubleShoot Windows videos retained with this combined reference. Dates below are the original article publication dates, not new test dates. External video availability can change.

Primary references

Microsoft — Surface RT User Guide (PDF)Original interface: printed pages 12–16, sharing and settings on 26–27, printers/devices on 58–60, second screen on 62. RT-specific hardware limits do not apply to every Windows 8 PC.

Microsoft Press — Introducing Windows 8 (PDF)Start navigation, app search and context-sensitive settings in the original Windows 8 release.

Microsoft — Getting around in Windows 8Contemporary preview-era explanation of Search and Settings; read alongside the released-product guides.

Microsoft Press — Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals (PDF)Version boundary: the revised Windows 8.1 search experience.

Microsoft Support — Windows 8.1 end of supportSupport and app-availability limits for this historical platform.