Windows 10 Features – Continuum

Continuum is Microsoft’s way of serving two masters: desktop users and tablet users. To explain it properly: it is a mode that will allow Windows 10 to switch in between a regular desktop and a full tablet experience for 2-in-1 devices.

But how does it work? Basically if you have a device like the Surface Pro 3 or the Lenovo Yoga that has a keyboard attached, the user interface in Windows 10 will work in desktop mode. If you detach the keyboard, or if it flips around to show just the touchscreen, Windows 10 will pop up an alert asking the you to go into tablet mode. If you click “Yes” the user interface will switch so that the modern apps that were working in a windowed mode now take up the whole screen.

One of the biggest criticisms of Windows 8 was that it was difficult for people who use a mouse and keyboard to navigate the interfaces designed for touch, and touchscreen users had trouble navigating the traditional desktop that works so well with a mouse and keyboard. With Continuum, Microsoft seems to have taken the criticism to heart and it says the new interface design levels those transitions.

Luckily for you, you can manually enable or disable Continuum. In fact you can ever play around with tablet mode on your PC by manually enabling the setting. Here’s how you do it:

       -          Open the PC Settings app and select System.

       -          At the bottom of the listed categories, select Tablet Mode.

       -          Set “Enable tablet mode” to ON.

Once you have enabled it you will notice that your apps are now full screen by default. On top of that the Start menu is now a Start screen. More importantly, the Start menu can also expand to fill the entire screen, in a way that’s similar  to the Start screen in Windows 8 and in Windows Phone. It definitely looks like it will be a solid compromise for users who still want the freedom to use both touchscreen and mouse-keyboard controls.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town