How-To

How To Use the Windows 8 Share Feature

By Brian Burgess

Updated June 26, 2019

Windows 8 includes a new Share feature that allows you to share information between other apps, social networks and with other Windows 8 users.

Windows 8 includes a new Share feature that allows you to share information between other apps, social networks and with other Windows 8 users.

You can share data between other apps on your system, and with other Windows 8 who have the same app installed. This isn’t a problem for the built-in Windows apps, but not all apps share the same way. You also have the ability to share links to data via social networks and email. Here’s a look at how the feature works.

Sharing with Other Windows 8 Users

Here I’m in the Windows 8 Weather app and want to share the San Francisco forecast with a friend. Use the keyboard shortcut WinKey + C to display the charms, and select Share.

A list of apps you can use to share the data is displayed. The way you’re able to share is determined by which apps you have installed and the type of data you’re sharing. I’ll use Mail.

When you share app-specific data via email, the recipient gets a link to open it in the app it was shared from. In this case Weather.

Then the Weather app opens to view the shared forecast.

Not All App Sharing is the Same

Not all apps in the Windows 8 Store share data the same way. For example, here I’m sharing a web article to Facebook through the People app.

This allows friends to read this on my wall, without the need for Windows 8 or IE 10. It’s simply a link to the article.

Here I’m emailing a specific location in Maps with Aerial view enabled.

This will allow the person to open it in the Maps app in Windows 8. Or in Bing Maps via their browser, including mobile devices, like the iPad.

The Share feature lets you share data between apps on your own system too. Here I’m sharing an article from IE 10 to OneNote. Or you can use the Evernote app as well – provided it’s installed.

Or here I’m sharing an article via email. The recipient will be able to open it on any OS in its default browser.

Start playing with the Share feature for yourself in different Windows 8 apps. You’ll get a better understanding of how each one shares data. Sharing app data with other Windows 8 users works well in built-in apps like Weather, Sports, Maps, and News.

The features aren’t unified by any means yet, but it has a lot of potential. As the new OS continues to evolve, and developers create new metro style apps, I expect the share feature to be used in innovative ways.