10 Free Tips and Tricks to Try in Windows 10

Join us June 16 for a free, special rebroadcasted webinar on managing your Social Security benefits online. Find out more. But just because you have it installed on your laptop or desktop PC doesn’t mean you’re taking advantage of all the features it offers. If you’re like most Windows users, you probably stick with the few things you know well and venture little outside your comfort zone. This operating system has many features designed to save you time.

Try these, including step-by-step instructions on how enable them. And don’t worry, you can’t break anything! Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life. Windows Hello is a faster and more secure way to log on to your Windows 10 device and access any password-protected apps or online services. It uses something unique about you, such as a fingerprint or your face. Or you can use a secure personal identification number PIN if you don’t have a camera or fingerprint reader.

Go to the Start menu, which looks like an angled four-paned window, at bottom left of your screen. Under Manage how you sign into your device , select a Windows Hello item to add, change or remove. Not all Windows 10 devices are compatible. See which ones work with Windows Hello here. Windows 10 makes it easy to open multiple windows on your screen, so you can browse the web on one half while playing videos on the other half. Drag it left or right to one of the edges of your screen.

An outline indicates the location and shape of the window once you drop it. Let go and it will be snapped in place. Now click one of the other open windows, which you’ll see as thumbnails, and it will fill the other half of the screen. You also can snap windows into quarters. To get out of that mode, minimize a window by clicking on the minus icon – in the upper right corner of three icons, make it full screen by clicking on the square maximize icon or close the program entirely by clicking on the X.

To snap with a keyboard, select the window you want to snap and press the Windows logo key and left arrow simultaneously or the Windows logo key and right arrow to snap the window to your preferred side of the screen. Use the slider under Make text bigger to make the text on your screen larger. Or select an option from the drop-down menu under Make everything bigger to change the size of all the elements on your screen.

If you don’t see enough contrast among the elements on your screen, try using a high contrast theme. Select the Start button, then Settings Ease of Access High contrast , and click on the toggle under Turn on high contrast. To make the apps in your Start menu appear larger, right click or tap and hold the app tile you want to resize, select Resize , and choose the size you want. To see the mouse pointer better, select the Start button, then Settings Ease of Access Mouse pointer , and choose the options that work best for you.

Windows 10 also lets you magnify your screen to see words and images better. To close Magnifier, press Windows logo key and Esc. Cortana is Microsoft’s digital assistant that helps you with various tasks.

You likely were asked if you wanted to enable Cortana when you set up Windows 10 for the first time. If not, here’s how to get started:. Select Use Cortana. Click Yes if you want speech, inking support for a digital pen and typing personalization turned on.

This helps Cortana get to know you better and can help her complete various tasks. You also can choose No thanks if you don’t want this feature turned on.

Cortana now sits on your task bar at the bottom of your screen. Cortana can help manage your calendar and keep your schedule up to date, join a meeting in Microsoft Teams or find out who your next meeting is with, create and manage lists, set reminders and alarms, and find facts, definitions and other information. Be aware: Cortana asks for permissions to track your activity so it can be useful, and Microsoft makes it difficult to totally disable Cortana once you’ve enabled it.

So be sure you don’t mind that tracking. Instead of jotting down a note or writing a paper, you can talk to your PC. You also can control your computer by speaking to it, such as starting programs, opening menus and clicking buttons. Type Speech in the search window beside the Start icon.

Choose the type of microphone you’re using, such as a headset, desktop microphone or perhaps one that’s built into the computer itself. Click Next. Walk through the prompts, conduct a short audio test, then make sure the toggle is set to On beside Dictate text and control your device using your voice. Place your cursor in any text field, either directly within Windows 10 or in an app such as Microsoft Word.

Press the Windows logo key and H and start speaking into your computer’s microphone. With Windows 10’s Timeline, you can quickly go back in time to access files and media you previously worked on. Whether you started writing a document yesterday or you want to call up a video from up to 30 days ago, Timeline makes it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Click the Task view icon in the task bar at the bottom of your screen, to the right of the search window, to see all your recent activities.

Or open Task view by pressing the Windows logo key and Tab. See snapshots of the most relevant activities as small windows you can tap or click on in the default view. Plus you can slide the scrollbar on the right to get back to past activities. Can’t find the exact activity you’re looking for in the default view? Search using relevant keywords in the upper right corner.

To close the feature, tap the Escape esc key at the upper left on your keyboard until you’ve backed out and have returned to your previous screen.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud service, an online vault of sorts, to store files offsite. That keeps them from disappearing if your computer’s hard drive has problems or your computer is harmed in a fire or other disaster. Plus, you can access files and often run them in the cloud. And you can collaborate with others elsewhere in real time. Microsoft gives you 5 gigabytes GB of free storage. You can buy more online storage.

Windows 10 integrates OneDrive, so you can drag and drop between local and OneDrive folders in Windows Explorer, as if all of it were stored on your computer. An Internet connection is required. You may be prompted to sign into your OneDrive account with a valid Microsoft or Hotmail ID, but that’s required only once. Now, when you’re in File Explorer, you can click OneDrive on the left side to see the contents of your online storage.

Or right-click on a file with your mouse and select Move to OneDrive. You can also go to OneDrive. You can instantly share files such as documents, photos, videos and websites with other nearby Windows 10 devices via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. To enable the Nearby sharing feature:. Now choose to share or receive content from Everyone nearby or My devices only from the drop-down menu. By default, shared files you receive will be dropped into the Downloads folder, but you can change the destination.

Share content when you’re in a supported app such as File Explorer, Microsoft Edge or Photos by right-clicking on a file and choosing Share. You’ll see a list of devices in Bluetooth range with the Nearby Sharing feature enabled. The recipient will be notified in the Action Center and prompted to accept or decline.

Focus Assist helps you easily block notifications, sounds and alerts to create a distraction-free environment. This can help when you’re trying to concentrate on a work project for an hour or two. From there, you can set some automatic rules, such as Focus Assist turning itself on and off at certain times or you can toggle Focus Assist on and off manually. Be aware you also can prioritize notifications, so select people and important apps always break through when Focus Assist is turned on.

As soon as Focus Assist turns off, you’ll receive summary of all the notifications and alerts you missed. To ensure this is enabled, check the box next to Show me a summary of what I missed while focus assist was on at the bottom of the Focus Assist menu.

If you’re running out of storage or find your PC a little slower these days, Windows 10 makes it easy to see what apps are installed — and delete them, if desired. Click the Start button, then Settings System Storage. Or type Storage in the search window at the bottom of your screen. Click on the drive you want to search.

The hard drive inside your computer is likely your C: drive. Tap it to see what’s being used. Maybe select a game you haven’t played since and choose to uninstall it. Other sections include Mail , Documents and Temporary files. You can also click to toggle on Storage Sense , which will regularly clear your Recycle Bin and temporary files and lets you know if you’re running low on storage.

Marc Saltzman is a contributing writer who covers personal technology. His work also appears in USA Today and other national publications. CareLinx In-Home Care. Savings on in-home caregiving services. Members save on shipping and other services. Savi Student Loan Repayment Tool.

Windows 11 Tips, Tricks & Features | Microsoft

Северная Дакота – призрак, сказала она. Сплошная мистификация. Блестящий замысел. Выходит, Стратмор был зрителем теннисного матча, следящим за мячом лишь на одной половине корта.

Windows 10 tips and tricks free

More than one billion devices are still using Windows 10 in Since it’s release in , there have been major updates and even a couple of new operating systems from Microsoft, but the pre-installed champ remains at the top of the mountain for now. Windows 11 was released last year as a free upgrade for many, but with it’s small cosmetic differences and worry of compatibility issues for proprietary software, most people stuck with “the devil they know” in Windows Also in , Windows was unveiled to the world.

This is a whole new way of looking at desktop computing, with the cloud-based operating system, and will likely become the standard in the next decade or so. But, with guaranteed updates and support through , pairing Windows 10 with Microsoft which used to be called Office is still a real winning situation for most businesses!

Even after all these years, we are still teaching clients new things in Windows 10 every day. There are still plenty of tips and tricks to learn! Keep in mind that Microsoft updates their software a few times throughout the year with new applications, settings, and customization options, so be sure to check that your PC is up to date with the latest Windows 10 release!

The first thing you probably noticed with Windows 10 was the colorful and vibrant Start menu. You can choose which system folders you want to see on the left hand side, show recently added apps, rearrange and resize the tiles, and much more. Here’s a good article that can give you all the nitty gritty details on customizing the Windows Start menu! The search feature in Windows 10 is absolutely the most useful tool on the entire OS.

No longer just meant to help you find a misplaced file, the search is integrated into systems menus as well. Click the search icon at the bottom left of your screen to get started. By default, the search window shows the top apps you use, as well as recent activities, so you can easily click on the programs and files you use most.

Simply start typing in the taskbar at the bottom of the search window, and Windows will get you what you need. If you want to quickly narrow down the search by category, choose one of the 3 icons that appear on the top left of the window, as seen below. Notifications pop up at random intervals to pull our attention away from what we really need to be doing. Focus Assist is here to keep you on track.

If you only have a single monitor, having multiple virtual desktops is a very handy feature! Even if you have multiple monitors, juggling a whole bunch of different projects on the same computer can be a challenge. The Task View pane in Windows 10 allows you to add an unlimited number of virtual desktops quickly and easily. You can manage the view of your virtual desktop, and move applications to different desktops, show windows on all desktops or close pages on a selected desktop.

To switch between virtual desktops, open the Task View pane and click on the desktop you want to switch to. Now you can quickly move from desktop to desktop to find all of your different projects and associated tasks! Here’s another feature that very few people take advantage of. It’s called Cloud Clipboard, and it let’s you seamlessly copy and paste text, links, and pictures across multiple devices.

This will cause the cloud clipboard to appear, showing the content previously clipped and copied – including text, HTML and images less than 1MB in size. Copied text in this clipboard history can also be shared across all devices that are signed into the same Microsoft account, providing that text is less than kb in size.

To select a piece of content from the clipboard history, left click on it. Do you work late at night or early in the morning? A too-bright monitor can cause headaches and eye strain. We would be remiss if we didn’t include include basic security tips for Windows Here are just a few tips that every user should know, but keep in mind cyber security protection has become much more complex and goes far beyond making sure your individual PC has the right settings turned on.

Always consult with a qualified cyber security consultant to learn how to properly protect your business or home office! If you need additional help on Windows, Microsoft or any other IT needs, reach out to us to learn how we can help your organization use technology to optimize your business and most importantly, stay secure. Tags: Microsoft. Topics: Microsoft. The 7 Best Ways to Secure Microsoft Subscribe to The Ntiva Blog.

Subscribe to our blog to stay informed! Copyright Ntiva All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.