Use Your Own Graphic for Your User Account in Windows 8
You’re not stuck with Windows 8’s choices of picture for your user account.
Here’s a way to use any picture you desire.
The Windows graphic for your user account on the Start menu may not be to your
taste. Worry not. You can put any picture there you want, as long as it’s in the
gif, .jpg, .png, or .bmp format. (Keep in mind, though, that .bmp files may cause your
system to load more slowly because .bmp files tend to be very large.)
On the Windows Start screen, click your user account name and select “Change account
picture” from the drop-down menu (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
The first step in changing your account picture
You’re sent to the Personalize section of the PC settings area; specifically, to the “Account
picture” setting screen (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Command Central for changing your account picture
If you’re using a device with a camera, at the bottom of the screen under “Create an
account picture,” you’ll see a camera icon. Click the camera, and the Windows 8 Camera
app launches. Look at the camera, smile, say “cheese”, and click your mouse. A
square appears on your screen (Figure 2-33). Reposition the square and resize it, and
if you’ve got the picture you want, click OK. If you’re not happy with it, click Retake.
Figure 2-33.
Smile and say “cheese!”
When you click OK, you’re sent back to the PC Settings screen for setting your account
picture. The photo shows up as your new account picture, and your old picture shows
up below it (Figure 4). If you’d like to revert to your old account picture (not a bad
idea if you’ve taken a photo like I did), click it. Otherwise, keep it (Figure 5).
Figure 4.
The new account picture in the Settings area
Figure 5.
The new account picture onscreen
Your photo now shows up as your account picture. It is also used on the Login screen,
the Start screen, and indeed any place that consumes Microsoft Account information.
Maybe you’re not feeling particularly photogenic, or you have some pictures you’d
prefer to use for your account. You can instead use a picture or photo on your computer,
on SkyDrive, or on your network. On the “Account picture setting” screen, click
Browse; your local Pictures folder opens. You can choose a picture from there, or keep
browsing for more. Click “Go up” to navigate to the folder above that folder, which is
the Libraries folder. From here, you can navigate to other folders.
Instead of choosing “Go up,” you can click Files to see even more folders to navigate
to. If you’re looking for photos in SkyDrive, scroll down and click the SkyDrive icon.
You can even navigate to folders on other computers on your network by using these
navigational tools. Your best bet for finding pictures is in the Photos folder
(Figure 2-36), because this shows photos from multiple locations—on your PC, on
SkyDrive, on other devices on your network, and on Facebook.
Figure 6.
Browsing through your network for pictures to use for your account picture
Click the image you want to use as an account picture, then select “Choose image.”
You’ll be back on the Account Picture setting screen, and that photo will be your new
account picture. Below it, you’ll see other account pictures you’ve used (Figure 7).
Click any of those images to use it instead.
Figure 7.
Browsing through your network for pictures to use for your account picture
If you want to get rid of all the pictures other than your current account picture, rightclick
any picture just above the Browse button and select Clear History. All of the
pictures in this window will go away, along with their cropping settings. (They won’t
be deleted from wherever you grabbed them, just cleared from this screen.)
