Here’s a list of neat tips and tricks that can possibly help you use your windows computer better. If it doesn’t help you out, at least you know more about your operating system.
- During Installation, Use “Custom Install” options
When you’re setting up Windows 10 on a new PC, make sure you select the Custom install option instead of the default Express install. It’s more involved but lets you modify important aspects of your installation such as the privacy settings, hard drive partitions, etc.
- Remove old (previous) files after installing Windows 10
If you have no intentions of reverting to the previous version of Windows, you can save disk space by getting rid of the old OS files. Head over to Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Disk Clean-up and toggle the ‘Previous Windows installations’ box in the list. This process frees up a lot of space.
- Pin your most used settings
You can pin shortcuts, files and folders to Start Menu. Just right-click on the desired item and select the ‘Pin to Start’ option. This will immediately pin the item to the right-side of Start Menu.
- Customize Quick Access
Quick Access allows you to immediately jump into your favorite folder and most recently used files. To customize its contents, switch to the View tab in Explorer and hit Options. Note that at the bottom of the General tab are further options to show or hide certain bits of information.
- Access files remotely
Under the OneDrive Settings tab, if you toggle the ‘Let me use OneDrive to fetch any of my files on this PC’ option, you can access your files from another computer using the OneDrive website.
- Right-Click on the Taskbar
Here’s a handy menu that will allow you to quickly access several presets for the toolbars, Cortana, and window schemes. There’s a lot there, and it’s just a click away.
- Hidden Games in Cortana
They’re not games in the “fun” sense as much as they’re cool little time-killers that Cortana can help you with. You can type (or say) “Rock Paper Scissors,” “Roll the Die,” or “Flip the Coin” in Cortana for a fun (?) graphic gaming experience.
- Make Cortana recognize your voice
You can simply ask Cortana a question. To do so, you first must enable it to respond to the sound of your voice by saying “Hey Cortana”. It’s like Siri for iPhones. Here are the 4 simple steps to make your life a little less stressful.
- Open Cortana
- Click into Notebook (the icon underneath the Home button in Cortana’s side menu)
- Click Settings
- Scroll to find the “Hey Cortana” toggle switch and turn it on