Absolute Beginners Guide to Tablet PCs

Art tool for Tablet PC (not covered)

Use this coloring book and your imagination to create awesome pictures. A variety of templates are included, and you can also load your own pictures to color.

Calculator for Tablet PC (Chapter 13)

Use the Calculator for Tablet PC in place of your handheld calculator. Simply use your pen to write the numbers for calculations.

Dictionary tool for Tablet PC (Chapter 13)

To improve your handwriting-recognition results, you can customize the dictionary your Tablet PC uses to interpret your handwriting. You can add your own words or import them from a text file or the Microsoft Office dictionary. You can also use the Dictionary tool to remove words from the dictionary.

Drawing Animator Toy for Tablet PC (not covered)

Free your imagination and enjoy creating colorful animated images. The Drawing Animator Toy for Tablet PC lets you draw your own doodles and animate them, including picture rotation, bounce, and more.

Extended Desktop for Tablet PC (not covered)

This PowerToy creates a window on your Tablet PC that shows a duplicate image of the desktop on the external monitor. You can then manipulate the objects on the extended desktop within this window.

Hoop Strategy Game for Tablet PC (Chapter 14)

If you enjoy unconventional games, you'll want to download the Hoop Strategy Game for Tablet PC. In this game, you build your own strategy to get the ball in the hoop. Draw a path and be creative but keep in mind that gravity, velocity, and trajectory play a big part in your success.

Hold tool for Tablet PC (Chapter 13)

Annoyed by the press-and-hold functionality of your tablet pen? Download the Hold tool for Tablet PC and disable this functionality for certain controls. Scroll bars, push buttons, check boxes, option buttons, spinner controls, slider controls, and tab controls will respond immediately when the pen tip touches them.

Maze Game for Tablet PC (Chapter 14)

Try a classic maze game Tablet PC style. Try to escape this maze as fast as you can by using your pen to draw a line from start to finish.

New York Times Crossword Puzzle for the Tablet PC on MSNBC.com (Chapter 14)

A must for fans of crossword puzzles and the Tablet PC, this challenging game lets you use the tablet pen instead of a keyboard to solve puzzles. Get the latest crossword puzzle from MSNBC.com and take it with you on the go. Save puzzles in progress, and then continue them at your leisure. This PowerToy features two levels of difficulty; get clues and reaffirmation at the regular level, or play the old-fashioned way.

Pool for Tablet PC (Chapter 14)

Download the pool game that is optimized for Tablet PCs. Using your tablet pen, compete against the computer or another person. You can even play another Tablet PC user in real-time across a wired or wireless network.

Puzzle Game (Chapter 14)

Like jigsaw puzzles? Puzzle Game lets you drag and click pieces together using the tablet pen. You can choose from the default pictures, or use your own pictures to create a customized puzzle. Different levels of difficulty make this game as challenging as you want it to be.

Snipping tool for Tablet PC (Chapter 13)

Snipping tool for Tablet PC enables you to easily "snip" anything onscreen and share it with other people. The whole screen becomes an inkable surface to which you can add comments, and which you can mark up however you like. You can then save the annotated image to use later, or send it to someone else in an email message.

Tablet PC Music Composition tool (not covered)

With this music-composing tool, you can create and play your own music files. Use your pen to write notes on the staff and then play your tune.

Thumbnail view (Chapter 13)

View your Journal files in a new light. Use the Windows Explorer Thumbnail view to preview your Journal files. Navigate to your notes with quick visual recognition for JNT and JTP files.

Tic Tac Toe (Chapter 14)

How about a game of tic tac toe? Put a twist on this classic game as you play against the computer. Just use your tablet pen to write your selection instead of typing it.

Writing Recognition Game (Chapter 14)

Have fun practicing and improving your writing recognition. To score points, write the letters before they hit the ground. The higher your score goes, the faster the letters drop, making this game even more challenging and fun.

The Absolute Minimum

Here are the key points to take away from this chapter:

• Go to the PowerToys site to download various helper applications called PowerToys.

• The Dictionary tool helps you manage your Tablet PC Dictionary for better handwriting recognition. You can also use it to manage your Office Dictionary.

• To make pen usage easier with scrollbars, sliders, and other controls, use the Hold tool for Tablet PC. After running it, the delay usually seen when using these controls is eliminated, allowing for a more natural experience.

• The Snipping tool is useful for capturing portions or all of a screen for inclusion in another application, such as capturing part of a Web page for inclusion in an email message. You can add ink to the captured region as well.

• The Thumbnail tool is helpful for viewing smaller (thumbnail) versions of your Windows Journal files. Put the tool in your Startup folder so that it starts automatically when you start Windows.

• There are numerous other PowerToys available from the PowerToys site. You may want to look at some of the applications that I have not covered in this chapter or the next chapter.