There are many Windows 10 tips, hidden features, and tricks to learn that will make using your laptop every day faster and smoother. Learning how to be faster and more productive on your laptop can be especially appealing as many of us still work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, or just spend more time on our laptops in general. Finding the secret Start menu and saving battery power with a simple trick are great ways to get more out of your machine.
Microsoft doesn’t often disclose its hidden features like Apple does, which can make it harder to figure out how to get the most out of the machine you use day after day. So no matter what Microsoft, Dell, HP, or other Windows 10 team you have, these smart tips will help you stay organized and get more done. Plus, here’s everything you need to know about the Windows 10 October 2020 Update and how to use the top three new features in Windows 10.
1. Minimize all windows except the active one
If your desktop screen has become too cluttered with open windows, you can quickly minimize all of them except the one you are currently working on. Just click the title bar of the window you want to keep open to select it. Then, hold down the mouse and move the window back and forth rapidly, shaking it, essentially. After a couple of quick shakes, all other open windows will be minimized, leaving only the one you’ve shaken open. Clean, huh?
You know that to access the Start menu, you press the Windows icon at the bottom left of the screen or on your keyboard. But Windows 10 includes a second, lesser-known start menu that makes it easy to access important features like the command prompt, control panel, and task manager. You can access it in two different ways, either by pressing Windows key + X, or by right-clicking the Windows icon / Start button.
3. Create an event without opening the Calendar application
The latest Windows 10 update lets you quickly add events to your Microsoft calendar right from your taskbar, without having to open the calendar at all. Here’s how to do it:
- On the taskbar, click the box with the time and date in the right corner.
- Click on the date you want to schedule an event.
- Enter the name, time, and location of the event. (If you have multiple calendars, click the down arrow next to the event name field to choose the one you want to add.)
- Click save. The event should appear in your Calendar app on all your devices.
4. Take a screenshot
I know, it’s basic, but it’s surprising how easy it is to forget how to take a screenshot on your laptop or desktop when you don’t do it often. There are at least eight different ways to take a screenshot with Windows 10. If you want to capture and save an image of your entire screen, the easiest way is to press the Windows key + Print screen key, and that image will be saved in the folder Pictures> Screenshots. To capture only part of your screen, press Windows Key + Shift + S to open a tool called Snip & Sketch, which allows you to click and drag to create a screenshot, which is saved to your Clipboard.
5. Open items on your taskbar with keyboard shortcuts
If you’ve pinned programs to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen to create a shortcut, you don’t have to click the icons to open them. Instead, use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + [number key], with the number key corresponding to the program’s position on the taskbar. For example, Windows key + 2 will open the second item on the taskbar. This is especially useful if you are typing furiously and don’t want to lift your fingers from the keyboard. It may seem more natural to reach for the Windows key.
6. Calculate how much space the applications are occupying
Computers start to slow down as they run short of space. A quick way to speed them up can be to get rid of apps that take up more space than they should, especially if you don’t use them regularly. To see how much space an app uses, go to Settings> System> Storage. Click on the drive you want to find (probably local storage, “This PC”) and click on Applications and Games to see a list of the applications installed on your machine and how much space they take up. You probably won’t ditch your browser, but you may find that a game you haven’t played in years is a good deadweight.
When you run Windows 10 with default settings, you can sometimes see apps on the right side of your Start menu. Microsoft calls them “tips,” but they’re actually ads for Windows Store apps that you can buy. To get rid of the ads on the Windows 10 Start menu, go to Settings> Personalization> Start. Change the setting called Show Suggestions Occasionally on Start to the off position.
8. Close background applications
Apps that run in the background can receive information, send notifications, and stay up-to-date, even when you’re not using them, which can be useful, but can also drain your battery and data, if connected via mobile phone. .
To control which apps are running in the background and save some power and battery data, go to Settings> Privacy> Background apps. To prevent all apps from running in the background, change Let apps run in the background to Off. Or you can choose which apps to run in the background individually by going down the list on the same page.
9. Use background scrolling
With Windows 10, you can scroll up and down in any window, even if it’s not the one you’re working on directly. This is a useful tool when you have many windows open that you want to look through at the same time. For example, if you want to open new submenu options in new windows to save time, click back and forward on the same page.
Try opening two programs, for example, an Internet browser page and a notepad or Word document. Arrange both on the screen so that you can see at least some of the text for each. While in one window, hover over or use the trackpad to move to the second window and scroll. Although it is not active in that window, it should allow you to move up and down the page.
The feature should be on by default, but if it isn’t, go to Settings> Devices> Mouse and switch Scroll through inactive windows when hovering over them to On. Then you can hover your mouse over a window in the background and use the scroll wheel to scroll.
10. Show file extensions in File Explorer
Microsoft hides file extensions by default, making life difficult for people who need to search for specific types of files, such as JPEG and JPG. To view the file extensions in File Explorer, do the following:
- Go to the search bar at the bottom of the screen, type File Explorer Options and click on it. (There are also several other ways to get here, but that seems the fastest.)
- In the pop-up window, click the View tab.
- Uncheck the box that says Hide extensions for known file types. Click Apply and OK. You should now see the file extensions for all files in File Explorer.
You can also use the File Explorer Options menu to choose to show empty drives, hidden files and folders, and more.
11. Reduce distractions with Focus Assist
It’s frustrating trying to work when you’re constantly interrupted with notifications. You can determine how many you get with Focus Assist, a tool that Windows 10 added in the April 2018 update. Set it up by going to Settings> System> Focus Assist. Choose from three options: Off (get all notifications from your apps and contacts), Priority (see only selected notifications from a priority list that you customize and send the rest to your action center), and Alarms only (hide all notifications, except for alarms). You can also choose to activate this feature automatically during certain hours or when you are playing a game.