Windows is the most used operating system across the world, but there are many special features and other tips/tricks that most of us have never explored. Although it is already quite easy to use Windows with its friendly user interface, still its other special features and tips can enhance our experience. In this blog, you will get in touch with 20 Windows 10 tips and tricks that you will find very useful.
1.Record Screen with Game Bar
Windows 10 has a built-in tool called “Xbox Game Bar” to record your screen. You can access it by searching “game bar” in the Windows search bar and then clicking the option shown in the “Best match” section. You can also launch the game bar by pressing “Windows logo key” and “G”. Once the game bar opens, click on the “Start recording” button from the “Capture” section. It will start recording your screen. Once you are done with recording, click the “Stop” button. The recorded file will be saved on your computer. If you want to change the settings of the game bar, search “game bar settings” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. From there, you can change settings, such as audio quality, frame rate, video quality, and others based on your needs.
2.Video Editor
Windows 10 has a built-in and free video editor for its users. To access it, search “video editor” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. It will launch the video editor. Click “New video project”, name the project, and then click “OK”. Now you are in the editor section where you can add your video sources and then start editing. You can add text, filters, background music, custom audio, and similar other elements in your videos just like other video editors.
3.Emoji
Our chats today contain frequent use of emojis. That’s why Windows 10 also provides an emoji picker prompt that can be used anytime while using Windows 10. To pop up emoji picker, press the “Windows logo key” + “;”. It will open up the emoji picker containing hundreds of emojis to pick from.
4.Schedule & Delay Windows Update
Windows provides regular updates that need to be installed for efficient performance. But sometimes you might need to stop or delay Windows updates, especially when your PC is involved in some crucial activity. To make this possible, search “Windows update” and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. In the Windows Update section, you can click the “Pause updates for 7 days” option to stop the updates for the next 7 days or you can click “Change active hours” to set up active hours in which Windows will not update your OS.
5.Copy/Paste Multiple Items
Almost everyone knows the shortcut key to copy (“Ctrl” + “c”) and paste (“Ctrl” + “v”), but there is even a better shortcut key to paste multiple items. Press “Windows logo key” + “v” and you will see a small prompt showing you recently copied items. By just clicking any of those items, it will paste that item. You can also “Pin” any item by clicking the horizontal three-dot icon so that it always remained saved in the clipboard even when you restart your PC. But if you using the “Windows logo key” + “v” for the first time, it will ask you to enable it and then it will start saving all the items you copy.
6.Take Screenshots with Snip & Sketch
You can easily take a screenshot in Windows 10 using the Snip & Sketch built-in tool. You can launch it by searching the tool in the Windows search bar or you can press the shortcut key “Windows logo key” + “Shift” + “S”. Once it opens, it allows you to take rectangular snip, freeform snip, window snip, or full-screen snip. For example, if you choose the rectangular snip, then drag your mouse to capture the rectangular area you want to screenshot. Once done, it will show a message that it is saved in the clipboard. Click on that message and it will take you to another window where you can crop, highlight, and do other changes. Afterward, you can save it on your computer.
7.Calculator Advanced Features
Everyone knows about the built-in calculator, but there are many features we often miss in it. First, launch the calculator app. If you click the icon next to “Standard”, it keeps the calculator on top while you are using other apps. It is useful if you want to do quick calculations while using Excel, web browser, etc. If you click on the calculator menu icon, you will see the different types of calculators you can use. In addition, it provides dozens of conversions, such as length, energy, area, speed, etc.
8.Dark Mode
If you are working late night, you can decrease the stress on your eyes by turning on the dark mode. To do that, search “dark mode” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. Under the “Choose your color” drop-down menu, select “Dark”. You will see that Windows 10 quickly turns into dark mode. The dark mode also shows its effect in all the Windows 10 apps you use.
9.WordPad with Spell Checker
Windows 10 also provides a feature-rich built-in text editor called WordPad. To access it, search “wordpad” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. You will notice that it has similar features like Microsoft Word, but the main difference is that it does not has a spell checker. To add a spell checker in WordPad, download the “tinySpell” add-in and it will add a spell checker to WordPad. This way, you can have a free text editor that has all the basic features that you need to do basic text editing.
10.Magnifier and Read Aloud Tool
Windows allow you to magnify the screen using its built-in “Magnifier” tool. To access it, press “Windows logo key” + “+”. It will open the Magnifier app. From there, you can zoom in or out the screen. In addition, it has an option that allows you to let Windows read aloud. Click the mouse-volume shaped icon and then take the mouse from where you want Windows to start reading. You will notice that it will start reading the text loud and clear.
11.Night Light
At night, when you are using your computer, it emits lots of blue light that makes you feel like its day time and let you fall asleep late. But Windows 10 provides an interesting feature called “Night Light” that reduces the blue light emitted from your screen. To access it, search “night light” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. Click the “Turn on now” button to turn the night light on. You can also set its strength and even schedule it.
12.Quick Assist for Remote Assistance
If you want to assist someone in using Windows, Microsoft provides a “Quick Assist” built-in tool that allows you to see the other person’s screen and even remotely control that screen. To access it, search “quick assist” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. If you are one who wants to get access to another person’s screen, then click the “Assist another person” button. It will ask you to enter that person’s email address and it will generate a code that the other person will receive. Afterward, that person will have to enter that code in the Quick Assist tool. Once done, you will have access to the other screen.
13.Enable and Disable Startup Programs
Often users complain that their PC has slowed down with the passage of time. One of the reasons behind it is the startup programs. If there are too many startup programs, then your PC has every right to get slow down. To enable and disable your startup apps, search “startup apps” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. It will open up the startup settings page where you can review all the apps that are enabled and disabled. You can also see how much impact they are having on your system. This way, you can review them and disable the apps that you don’t want to run as startup apps.
14.Shake and Snap
Let’s assume you have opened multiple apps in Windows 10, but you are using only one app currently and want to minimize the rest of them. So, instead of manually clicking the minimize button, you can shake the app you want to keep and all the rest of the apps will minimize. To bring them back, shake the app again and all the apps will appear back. In addition, if you drag an app to the screen left or right edge, it will adjust itself to half of the screen. Similarly, you can drag another app to the other edge of the screen. This way, you can easily organize your screen and be more productive. You can also press “Windows logo key” + “Left arrow key” or “Windows logo key” + “Right arrow key” to drag apps left and right.
15.Cortana
Just like Amazon Alexa and Siri, Windows also provides a virtual assistant called Cortana. To access it, click on the circle icon in your taskbar. It will open the Cortana app where you can type a command or speck and get that task done quickly. For example, you can tell Cortana to “open Word” and it will quickly open Microsoft Word.
16.Open Multiple Desktops
Windows allows you to open multiple desktops that can be useful if you want to separate work and personal tasks. To access multiple desktops, click the “Task View” icon from the taskbar and then click “+ New desktop”. It will open another fresh desktop. You can go between the two desktops easily via the same “Task View” window.
17.Open Taskbar Apps with Shortcut Keys
If you want to quickly open the taskbar apps, you can press the “Windows logo key” + “the number presenting the app position in the taskbar”. For example, if your first app in the taskbar is File Explorer, then you can press “Windows logo key” + “1”.
18.Additional Clocks
By default, there is only one clock showing in your Windows 10 taskbar, but you can add additional clocks as well. To do that, search “date and time” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. Now click “Add clocks for different time zones” and then tick the “Show this clock” checkbox. Set the time and display name, and add additional clocks if you want. Once done, click the “OK” button. Now when you click on the clock from the taskbar, it will show you all the additional clocks you have added.
19.Voice Recorder
Windows 10 also comes with a built-in voice recorder. To access it, search “voice recorder” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. It will open the Voice Recorder app from where you can record new audio by clicking the mic-shaped icon. It will start the recording and you can pause it whenever you want or add flags to highlight that specific portion of the audio. Once you are done recording, you can hear, trim, delete, rename, or share with others.
20.Windows Insider
Windows 10 is continuously getting updated with new features, while the existing ones also get improved gradually. To access those updates before general users, you can join the Windows Insider program. To join it, search “windows insider” in the Windows search bar and click the option shown in the “Best match” section. From there, you can enroll yourself in the Windows Insider program. Once done, you can choose the channel you want to be part of, such as dev channel (best for highly-technical users), beta channel (best for early adopters), and release preview channel (best to access upcoming release earlier than others). You can also toggle on/off to get preview builds.
Wrapping Up
The above special features and tips of Windows 10 show that there are many built-in apps provided by Windows that most of us haven’t heard of or used before. So, it’s better to regularly keep in touch with new Windows 10 features to utilize their full benefit.
Sun IT Solutions is one of Toronto’s leading IT Companies. We offer leading IT solutions including Managed IT Services, Managed Security Services, Cloud Services, Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR), Cyber Security Training and Dark Web Monitoring, IT Support Services, IT Consulting, IT Outsourcing Services and . We have been Toronto’s leading managed IT service and IT support team for over 10 years and counting
