Personalizing the Windows Lock Screen

The Windows 8 Lock screen appears just before the login screen after you boot up your PC. Pressing any key at the Lock screen immediately brings you to the login screen. At first glance, the Lock screen seems unnecessary, especially on a PC. But the screen displays useful information in the foreground, including the date and time, battery charge on a laptop, wireless signal, and notifications. You can personalize the Lock screen by displaying your own image in the background. But more importantly, you can customize the notifications that appear so you know if new e-mail, instant messages, or calendar appointments await you. This task explains how to personalize the Windows Lock screen.

1 Access the Lock screen settings: At the Start screen, type lock. Under the search field, click Settings. In the search results displayed in the left pane, click Customize your lock screen and notifications.

2 Change background image: At the Personalize page for the Lock screen, click on one of the thumbnail images displayed under the current image. That image immediately becomes the new Lock screen background.

3 Browse other images: If none of the existing images excites you, click Browse to choose an image from your Pictures folder.

4 Choose a new image: You can now view any existing pictures stored in your Pictures folder or drill down to any subfolders that may contain additional pictures. You can also click the Files link to view pictures in other locations. Click on an existing picture. From the app bar, click Choose picture.

5 View new picture: The new picture replaces the older picture as your Lock screen image.

6 Choose Lock screen apps: Scroll to the bottom of the Lock screen personalization page until you see the section for Lock screen apps. Here you can choose which apps continue to run when the screen is locked and display a status and notification on the Lock screen.

7 Remove a Lock screen app: The apps already set up for the Lock screen display their icons. To remove that app from the Lock screen, click its icon. In the Choose an app window, click Don't show quick status here.

8 Add a Lock screen app: The apps not set up for the Lock screen display a plus symbol. Click one of the plus symbols. Windows displays a Choose an app window where you can pick the app you want to add. Click that app. To add additional apps, click the other plus symbols and add an app from the list.

9 Change a Lock screen app: You can also change one app to another. Click the icon for an existing Lock screen app. In the Choose an app window, click a different app. The new app replaces the older one.

10 Display detailed information: Click the icon below the line that says Choose an app to display detailed status. Click the app for which you want to see detailed status on the Lock screen.

11 Access Lock screen: After you make your changes, you can view your new Lock screen. Return to the Start screen by pressing the Windows key or clicking on the thumbnail in the lower-left hot corner. Click your account name and picture in the upper-right corner. Choose Lock from the menu.

12 View new Lock screen: At the Lock screen, your new background image and the notifications that you set up are displayed.

tip You first need to add images to your Windows Pictures folder in order to use them as Lock screen images.

Quick Fix

Managing Your Searches

From the Start screen, type the word search. Click Settings. In the search results on the left pane, click the Search setting. From the Search screen, choose whether to show the apps you search the most at the top and let Windows save your searches as future suggestions. You can also choose which apps should be included in searches.