You might have used the Windows 10 OS for some time now, and you are already used to the new features for your daily use. What you may not know is that Windows 10 also have some hidden features that you cannot easily find without expert assistance. This is because Microsoft does not publicize the hidden features, unlike Apple.
Our team has been reviewing Windows 10 for some weeks, and we can now reveal to you the best of the hidden features in Windows 10. below are the best hidden Windows 10 features that you can use for your daily use.
1. Minimize all of the other Windows and leave one.
Sometimes, using more than three to four windows can cause your PC to heat up or slow down. This is why you should always work on minimizing other Windows and remaining with one. Also, doing this can take some time, or you can end up minimizing all the Windows, and then you have to look for the one Window you will be using.
If you are using Windows 10 as your OS, you can minimize your Windows with a single move.
What to do: to minimize the rest of the Windows and remain with the one you are using is easy. Click on the Windows you are using and double click or right on it. While shaking, move back and forth, and the Windows will automatically minimize, leaving you with the one you will be using.
2. The ‘secret menu’ and how to open it.
Yes, there is another menu that you probably do not know of which is a secret menu to most people. While newbies are not aware of such a menu, the insiders are quite aware of this menu and have been using it. You know very well that to get the start menu, you are supposed to click on the left side of your PC the Windows tab on your Keyboard. With Windows 10, however, you can have the secret menu.
What to do: hold both the Windows icon on your Keyboard and the X tab. This lesser-known start menu leads you to features like the control panel, the command prompt, and the task manager.
3. Create your events without opening your PC’s calendar.
If you are used to adding events to your PC after opening your Microsoft calendar, you can now change how you do it with Windows 10. you would have thought that to do that, you must open your Google calendar, but that is not the case.
What to do: click date and time on your taskbar and click on the date that you want to add the event. Add the event and the time that you wish the event to take place and click save, and the event will be saved on your calendar.
4. Take a screenshot.
You might think that this is just a primary feature, but if you do not always take a screenshot, it is easy for you to forget how to take a PC screenshot. Taking a screenshot with Windows 10 is an easy task.
What to do: if you want to take a screenshot from a part of your screen, you should hold the Windows key+shift+s to open the snip and sketch tool. Click and drag where you would want to take the screenshot, and once you let go of the cursor, the screenshot will be automatically copied on your clipboard. If, however you want to take the screenshot of the whole screen, you can click on Windows key+printscreen, and the screenshot will be saved on your computer.
5. Open programs from your Keyboard.
If you have pinned some programs on your toolbar on your Windows 10 PC, you do not have to open them from your toolbar. You might think that this is the only way, but it is not.
What to do: on your Windows 10 keyboard press the Windows button and the number of the program from the start key. Once you do this, the right program will automatically open up. For instance, if your Chrome browser is number three from the start key, you will hold the Windows key+3, and your chrome browser will open up.
6. How much space are your apps taking?
Are you wondering why your computer is running slower? It might be because you are running out of space. But how are you supposed to get rid of some programs or apps if you can’t see which one is taking a lot of space? Well, to know which apps are taking a lot of space with Windows 10 is easy.
What to do: navigate to your settings, then to the system, and then to storage. Now click on the drive you want to check and then go to apps and games. Here, you will see the apps and games installed on your device. Look for the apps and games that you have not used in ages and then delete them. For example, you cannot delete your browser, but you might find an app or a game that you haven’t opened in a long time, it will be a good idea to delete such an app.
7. Close some background apps.
Some of the apps on your computer run in the background. This means that they can send you notifications or even update themselves even when you are not using them.
It might be a good thing, but it can suck your battery and your data dry. This is why you should always try to shut down some of these apps to prolong your battery life and your data.
What to do: with Windows 10, there is an easier way of shutting down these apps. You will navigate to settings, then to privacy, and then to background settings. Here you can choose which apps you want to run in the background. If you want to stop all the apps from running in the background, you can easily toggle ‘let apps run in the background’ to off. You can also choose which apps to run in the background by going down the list.
8. Stop any ads on your start menu.
Sometimes you may see some apps popping up near your start menu. Microsoft calls them suggestions, but in the real sense, these are app ads. Having to view ads every time can become very annoying.
What to do: on your Windows OS, you need to go to settings and then to personalization then to start. Up to this point, you need to toggle the setting ‘show suggestion in start occasionally’ to off, and the ads on your start menu will be stopped.
9. See file extensions.
By default, Microsoft hides file extensions, which makes it very difficult who wish to see files in specific formats like JPEG or JPG. However, Windows 10 will allow you to see these file extensions.
What to do: to fix this, you need to go to the search box and find the file explorer options and click on them. A window will pop up, and you will click on the ‘view tab.’ at this point, you will see a checked box of ‘hide extensions for known file types’ uncheck it, and apply the settings. Now you can view the extensions of your files.
10. Stay focused with focus assist.
It may be very frustrating when you are trying to get work done, but you get distracted by notifications on your Windows 10 PC. If you are using a Windows 10 computer, you should not be distracted in any way by notifications on your PC. Windows 10 has a focus assist tool that was launched in 2018, which helps users stay focused by limiting any distractions from specific notifications.
What to do: to use focus assist, you need to go to settings, system, and then to focus assist. From here, you will be able to choose from three options which are off, priority, and alarms only. Off means that you will continue getting all of these notifications; priority means that you can choose to see notifications from the apps you choose. In contrast, the alarm only means that you only get notifications from alarms while all the other notifications are blocked.
11. Use the new trackpad features.
If you have ever used Mac OS PC, then you know the trackpad features that most users enjoy. Fortunately, these trackpad features are also available on Windows 10. if you have never tried these new trackpad features follow the steps below:
What to do: you can pinch your trackpad to zoom in on anything from your screen. You can also use your two fingers to scroll up and down your screen. Use three fingers to swipe up and view the task view. If you tap your three fingers, Windows will bring up Cortana, and if you tap with your four fingers, Windows will bring up the action center.
Those are some of the features that you will not see if you are not keen on your Windows 10 device. Some of these features will be sometimes used only by a Windows 10 insider, however, as you can see, we have outlined to you all of these features so that you can enjoy all of these Windows 10 hidden features to the fullest.
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