One thing that caused a great deal of confusion and frustration in Windows 8 was the way in which the shutdown process has changed. The Start > Shutdown route was gone, and this threw many people off kilter. With the release of Windows 8.1 things got a little easier, and there are now a couple of ways to close down Windows.
You can still call up the Charms bar and shutdown from there, but there is also the option of right clicking the new Start button and selecting the Shut down or sign out option from the menu that appears.
But there is another option which is hidden and not many people seem to know about. Just as you are able to log into your account by sliding away the lock screen, it is also possible to use a swipe gesture to shutdown.
You’ll need to create a new shortcut, so right click on an empty section of the desktop and select New followed by Shortcut. Click the Browse button and navigate to C:\Windows\System32
Locate the file called SlideToShutdown, select it and click OK.
Click Next, enter a name for the shortcut and click Finish. Right click the newly create shortcut and select the Pin to Taskbar option.
Now when you want to shut down your compter, click the shortcut and then swipe down the screen with your mouse or finger.
Neat, hey?