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Q&A

A Mac-to-iPhone Handoff

Q. I have OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, yet I can’t get my email in progress on the Mac to “hand off” to my iPhone. What should I do?

A. Apple’s Continuity feature allows Macs and iOS devices to share tasks like phone calls, text messages and files from certain applications including Mail, Calendar, Safari and Maps. However, all participating hardware needs to be set up properly for it to work.

For starters, make sure both the Mac and the Phone have Bluetooth turned on in the settings and are on the same Wi-Fi network. They should also be logged into the same iCloud account.

On the iPhone, open the Settings icon, choose General and then Handoff & Suggested Apps to make sure Handoff is switched on. Likewise on the Mac, open the System Preferences icon in the Dock, click General and make sure the Handoff option is checked; if you do not see it, your Mac may not work with Handoff. Apple has further troubleshooting suggestions.

A Windows 10 Checkup

Q. My Windows 7 PC is eligible for Windows 10 and I have signed up for the upgrade later this month. But how do I know if my programs and hardware devices will still work with the new system?

A. Microsoft says Windows 10 is “designed to be compatible with the vast majority of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices,” but this is no guarantee that everything will work. However, you can use the same Get Windows 10 app you used to reserve your copy of the system to get a rough idea of potential compatibility issues.

Click the Get Windows 10 icon in the taskbar’s notifications area, and when the app’s window opens, click the menu icon in the upper-left corner. From the list on the left, select Check Your PC to have the app scan your computer for known potential conflicts or compatibility issues with Windows 10.

Microsoft updates its findings regularly, so you can check again if you have installed new applications or updates to your existing programs. You can also look up hardware and software products in the Windows Compatibility Center to see if the items work with the current Windows 10 Technical Preview.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Want to pick which apps you see and use directly on your phone’s lock screen? In Android 5.1 and later, open the Settings icon and make your selections in the Sounds & Notification area. When a notification from certain types of apps (like mail or a message) pops up on your Android lock screen, you can interact with it. For example, swipe down within the notification box to expand it and see its contents without having to unlock the screen. Double-tap the notification to open its corresponding app, or swipe it off the screen to dismiss it.

In Apple’s iOS 8, tap the Settings icon and select Notifications to set up your alerts. The Notifications feature allows you to respond to messages, calendar invitations and other nudges without unlocking the screen or leaving the program you are using. If you want to reply from the lock screen, put your finger on the alert and swipe to the left to get buttons for responding. When you are already using the device, swipe down on the notification banner at the top of the screen (or tap the alert box) to reply to the notification immediately.

In Windows Phone 8.1, visit Settings and choose Notifications + Actions to get your alerts set up the way you prefer. While in Settings, you can also open the Lock Screen icon to select which apps can send notifications to your screen.

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to QandA@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 8 of the New York edition with the headline: Handing Off Mac to iPhone. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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