Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

Editing an Account

Although the process of creating a new account is swift and simple, it doesn’t offer you much in the way of flexibility. You don’t even have a chance to specify the new person’s account picture (rubber ducky, flower, or whatever).

That’s why the next step in creating an account is usually editing the one you just set up. As it turns out, the options are scattered across three different places.

Changing the Account Type

If you’re logged in with an Administrator account, you have the power to change other people’s account types (your choices: Administrator, Standard, Child). To do that, open PC Settings. Select Accounts→“Other accounts.” Select the account name, hit Edit, and use the pop-up menu to change the account type. Hit OK.

POWER USERS’ CLINIC: Sync Settings

It’s one of the best parts of the Microsoft account system: Whenever you log into a Windows 8 computer, all your settings are in place. Your desktop picture, your color scheme, your Web bookmarks—the works. If you have a desktop PC at home and a laptop on the road, well, you’re all set; everything is consistent as you move from computer to computer.

There are two reasons you may not love this idea, however. Maybe there’s some reason that you don’t want a certain setting synced. Maybe you use your laptop exclusively when you’re in France and don’t want your English-language preference synced. Maybe you want independent bookmarks on each machine.

Or maybe the privacy implications just freak you out. Maybe you ...