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My latest books, Microsoft Surface For Dummies and Windows 8 Tablets For Dummies, are also available now.

Q: How do I take a screenshot in my Surface RT tablet?

A: Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet comes with a built-in shortcut for taking screenshots — files containing an image of what you currently see on the screen.

The trick is in how you press the Windows key — the silver Windows logo centered beneath your tablet’s screen.

Each time you press and release the Windows key, three things should happen:

• You should feel a slight vibration
• You should hear a little buzz
• Your Surface RT’s screen should switch to either your Start screen or your last-used application.

If all three things aren’t happening, you won’t be able to take a successful screenshot. Keep tapping the Windows key until it starts making the vibrating buzz as it toggles between the Start screen and your last-used application.

If the Windows key still isn’t working, try removing the snap on keyboard and restarting your tablet. Once the Windows key begins to work, you can snap the keyboard back on.

Once the Windows key begins working the way it should, follow these steps to take a screenshot on your Surface RT: Click to read more »

Q: If I put all of my birthday and anniversary dates into Windows 8′s Calendar app, will they automatically reappear a year later?

Or will have to have to remember to enter them all again every year?

A: Windows 8′s Calendar app works well for keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries, and other events.

But there’s a trick: When you enter a birthday or anniversary, you must tell the Calendar app that they’re recurring events. Otherwise the calendar promptly forgets the event next year.

To make sure your birthdays and anniversary entries automatically repeat every year, follow these steps when entering the dates into Windows 8′s Calendar app: Click to read more »

Q: Windows 8 doesn’t seem to offer a way to edit images, as you could in Windows 7.

In particular, I’d like to edit my photos for their exposure, color balance and fix otherwise wonky pictures.

Do I have to buy another program, or am I missing something?

A: Neither Windows 7 nor Windows 8 include photo-editing tools with those particular features.

The program you’re missing was probably Windows Live Photo Essentials, which is now called simply Photo Gallery. It’s a free Microsoft program for editing photos. It comes in especially handy for resizing larger photos, making them easier to e-mail.

You probably downloaded Windows Live Photo Essentials onto your old Windows 7 computer, or the program may have been bundled with that PC when sold.

Either way, that program still works on Windows 8 computers, and you can still download it for free:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/photo-gallery-get-started

I covered that program in Windows 7 For Dummies, so it might be the one you’re familiar with.

Q: I’m trying to find the desktop version of Internet Explorer.

It’s supposed to be on the desktop’s taskbar, but it’s missing.

And I can’t find it on the Start menu, either. This all started when my company installed the Chrome browser.

Help!

A: Windows 8 comes with two versions of Internet Explorer — one for the Start screen, and a desktop version that ignores the Charms bar.

Normally, the icon for Internet Explorer’s desktop version appears on the taskbar’s far left end, as shown above. (In a way, the Internet Explorer icon has replaced the Start button in Windows 8.)

But as soon as you (or your company) install a third-party browser like Chrome or Firefox, the Internet Explorer icon disappears.

That’s no great loss if you prefer to browse the Internet with Chrome or Firefox. But it robs you of the chance to switch between browsers.

To put Internet Explorer’s icon back on the taskbar, follow these steps: Click to read more »