If you are upgrading your PC to Windows 8 (which will not have the familiar “Start” button), here are some helpful hints from LitSoft on how to find Across Lite on your computer, as well as information on whether or not you need to download Across Lite again. Please note that Across Lite has been fully tested in the new Windows 8 environment, and we have been assured that it works.
If you are upgrading an existing installation of Windows 7, it may or may not be necessary to download and install Across Lite again depending on how you upgrade. If you do not see Across Lite in the Home Screen, download and install again. The free download can be found here.
From LitSoft:
As you might already know, Windows 8 has changed its user interface somewhat and may create some confusion as to where to find the Across Lite program after installation (Windows 8 does not have the Start menu in the desktop view). The following might help in answering any questions you may have.
1. Across Lite v2.x for Windows as currently distributed is completely compatible with Windows 8. Across Lite is NOT available for Windows 8 on tablets yet, only on desktops and laptops. Use of a mouse is recommended rather than a touch screen on desktops and laptops that do come with a touch screen.
2. The installation process is the same as before. Simply download the installation program currently being distributed and run it to install Across Lite.
3. Windows 8 has two different usage modes. The first is a tiled screen where applications are seen as square/rectangular tiles. This is the screen Windows 8 boots to and is called the Home/Start Screen. There are apps that run in this screen and designed for it. Regular apps like Across Lite run in a desktop screen that looks like the Windows 7 screen.
When Across Lite is installed, a tile is created on the Home screen with the Across Lite icon in it. One may have to scroll this screen to the right to see it depending on how many programs you have installed. Clicking on this tile will launch Across Lite in the desktop mode which will look identical to Windows 7 screen (except for no Start button – you can think of the Home Screen as the Start menu for Windows 8). Clicking the Windows key in the keyboard in the desktop mode brings up the Home Screen with the tiles.
One of the tiles in the Home screen is to get to the desktop/laptop mode. The tile will display the wall paper that is used to identify it. This tile and the Windows button on the keyboard is used to switch back and forth between the two modes.
So the most likely question while you get used to the Windows 8 interface will be “Where is my Across Lite that I installed on my PC”?
First, please make sure that you have installed Across Lite by running the downloaded installation file. The process for this is the same as in earlier Windows downloading via the web browser.
If you have run the installation program, go to the Home screen (the tiled screen) if not already there and look for a tile with the Across Lite icon in it. Click it to start Across Lite. Once again, think of the tiled Home screen as the equivalent of Start->Programs in earlier versions.
Downloading a crossword after installing Across Lite will automatically start Across Lite with the puzzle loaded just as before. No further configuration is necessary.
“But Deb, if I am upgrading to Windows 8 from Windows 7, do I really need to re-download and re-install Across Lite?”
The safest answer is YES, although for a few people the upgrade will have moved the programs as well. However, we’ve been told that a re-install will not hurt. For new Windows 8 PCs, of course, please download and install Across Lite the same way as in Windows 7.