Windows 10's constantly evolving nature means fresh features usually arrive twice per year, most recently via the May 2022 "21H1" Update that recently discharged (though depending along when you read this, you may need to actively look for it taboo). With all the new goodies amount a legion of new tweaks and tricks—some of which unlock regnant functionality hidden to routine users. Others bu let you mold the Windows 10 experience into the shape you control appropriate. Here are some of the most useful tweaks, tricks, and tips we've recovered over Windows 10's many iterations.
Represent warned: Some of these may break as the OS evolves granted Microsoft's new "Windows as a service" mentality. The Cortana digital assistant served as a cornerstone for the OS since Windows 10's inception, for example, but relegated to lowly app status in 2022. We've updated this article over time to reflect the OS's current status.
The leveled-up Game Bar
Image by Microsoft
If you're into playing around on your PC, Windows 10's Game Bar—summoned away pressing Windows + G in-game—holds all sorts of nifty extras. It's always been able-bodied to take screenshots or videos of gameplay clips, but it also offers easy-peasy Beam game streaming and the intriguing Game Mode. Better notwithstandin, the May 2022 Update transformed information technology into a full blown cover that does stuff none rivals offer. The now-customizable interface packs a execution widget, an audio widget with system-wide and per-app controls, a Strife-like interface for Xbox Live friends, a photo gallery, and even filled Spotify integration. It's great, and the May 2022 Update added more assistive features in the descriptor of a frame rate counter and GPU temperature monitoring.
The Game Bar's handy even if you don't actually play, as it can be accustomed record video of any app—non just games. Windows 10 also has a devoted Gaming section in its Starting signal fare Settings to Army of the Righteou you tinker with options, including Xbox networking and parental controls.
Windows Timeline
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Timeline helps you pick risen where you left off. Clicking the Task Purview push in the taskbar or pressing Windows Key + Tab bidding the feature, which displays a—you guessed it—time line of your activity in supported apps, stretching back terminated the past. Even many handily, Microsoft lets you group related apps together into "Activities" in Timeline, so that when you open that week-old budget document, for example, the presentations and websites you documented at the fourth dimension can personify easily summoned American Samoa healthy. This even syncs across devices so it could be especially useful if you use duplex PCs, though Microsoft sadly plans to kill Timeline's cross-device syncing presently.
The alert in the ointment: Only a limited number of apps work with Timeline, though Microsoft offers tools for developers to bake in sustain. That includes Office, Adobe's Productive Swarm, and indigenous Windows 10 apps like Tidings and Maps, as well as Microsoft Inch and Google's Chrome web browser (later on you install a Microsoft denotation). You can deactivate Timeline by heading to Settings > Privacy > Activity History.
Your Phone ties Windows to your telephone
Figure of speech away Microsoft
Want to tie your phone and PC closer together? With the right combination of earphone and PC, the Your Speech sound app on Windows can now show up recent photos shot with the phone, view and send SMS messages, be alerted with the phone's notifications, see the phone's stamp battery lifetime, aspect and interact with the call up screen and apps, and symmetric make calls.
You'll need the Your Phone app for Android likewise, course. There's also an iPhone app but information technology's much more special. Go over our Your Phone tutorial for everything you pauperization to screw.
Cloud clipboard
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Windows 10's copy and paste functionality has been hit and girl for long time, but now you can deploy that bugginess crossways multiple PCs with corrupt clipboard—a truly useful feature introduced in the October 2022 Update. Psyche to Start > Settings > Organisation > Clipboard and enable "Sync across devices" to start copying data on one PC and pasting it on some other PC.
While you're in this menu, enabling "Clipboard history" lets you save quaternary items to the clipboard so you potty use them over again later. Nifty stuff.
Linux in Windows
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It started with the simple Whap shell, but concluded the years, Microsoft's built ascending its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) into a astonishingly robust feature for developers. The latest iteration, dubbed WSL2, in real time runs Linux on its own kernel in what's essentially a virtual machine, improving performance. You can even store files within the Linux root file away system, past access them via Windows File Explorer inside the Linux virtual hard disk. You'll need to enable the optional Linux compatibility and download a Linux distro from the Microsoft Shop to use it, though. Several distros are available, including Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, and Kali.
Microsoft is building a graphical interface for Linux apps into WSL2, but the feature industrial plant uncomparable As a command line-style interface for now. It pairs very fountainhead with Microsoft's awesome Terminal text edition editor, delineate preceding, which lets you cope Linux, PowerShell, and command line tools simultaneously.
Windows Sandpile
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Introduced in the Windows 10 May 2022 Update, Windows Sandbox makes it easy to test unbeknownst software and websites in a safe environment. The feature au fon creates a virtualized arcsecond copy of Windows within Windows where you can run untrusted tasks, firewalled from your of import installation. If things go Pyrus communis-molded, just atomise the realistic PC and start anew. Easy-peasy! And if a filing cabinet checks out, you can move information technology proscribed of quarantine and written matter it all over to Windows 10 proper. The May 2022 Update adds the power to enable networking and your PC's GPU inside Sandpile, and even a common brochure betwixt Sandbox and your PC's desktop, if you don't mind the increased threat risk.
The incomparable downside to Windows Sandpile: It's only available in Windows 10 In favor of. Our Windows Sandpile lead explains everything you need to know.
Adjust your ride herd on's refresh rate
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It's stolen uninterrupted iterations and dozens of years, but As of the October 2022 Update, Windows 10's display settings finally let you adjust your monitor's refresh charge per unit. Hallelujah. In front at present, you needed to line up your frame rate by diving into the Device Manager's arcane settings, Oregon using software provided by Nvidia operating theater AMD if you had a compatible graphics card.
Now, you can pick off your monitor's review rate in Windows 10's Settings hub (System of rules > Display > Advanced Display Settings). This tip mostly applies to gamers who corrupt monitors with above-average refresh rates. Often, high freshen up rate monitors auto-configure to render images at a standard 60Hz, kinda than the high, smoother options uncommitted with such displays. Now it's easy to check and kettle of fish.
If you have an especially fast monitor and worry about exponent usage, this fres Display Settings ability likewise makes it abundant to cranky your refresh rate quickly when you wishing to game, and dial it back mastered for canonical background use. Most people will want to run their maximum refresh rate universally.
Emoji and kaomoji keyboard
Image by Microsoft
You may non know it, but Windows 10 matches the capabilities of mobile operating systems via a handy-dandy integrated virtual emoji keyboard, and one-ups phones by including support of American Standard Code for Information Interchange-made kaomoji, excessively! (⌐■_■)
To cite information technology, simply press the Windows key and ; at the same time on your keyboard while you're inputting text. The selection is only getting better too, Eastern Samoa Microsoft has been adding more emoji and kaomoji with each major Windows 10 feature update.
Nip & Sketch
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The firmly entrenched Snipping Tool inside Windows is at last getting replaced and upgraded. Clip &adenylic acid; Sketch is a new tool that lets you select a portion of the screen to copy when you press Windows + Transmutation + S. Subsequently doing so, the selected screenshot will be copied to your clipboard, soh you hind end paste it into whatever image editing software—including the standalone Snip & Resume app, which lets you gloss and partake your foul images.
Image by Microsoft
Near Share makes it user-friendly to share files and URLs with local anaesthetic PCs over the air, negating the need for flash drives or chat apps to pass something along. If you open the Dea port in Microsoft Margin or File IE, you'll see PCs with Close Sharing enabled come out As an option. Recipients experience a pop-up notification when something is sent. Believe of it as an alternative to Orchard apple tree's Airdrop, albeit one without any changeful patronise.
To use Near Share, your computer necessarily both Bluetooth and Wisconsin-Fi working, and you'll have to enable the Close Sharing selection in Settings earlier you can start using it. Transfer speeds were jolly slow and Bluetooth-like in our tests, so you whitethorn still want to resort to alternative means to fall especially large files around. Microsoft says the feature automatically chooses to use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth depending on what's getable, and what's quicker.
Ransomware protection
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Ransomware is a growing (and damned nasty) problem. It infects PCs, encrypts your files, and holds everything hostage until you pay a ransom—hence the name. The best defense against ransomware is predominant backups and well-knit security system software, only Windows 10 nowadays includes basic tribute mighty in your in operation system.
Controlled Pamphlet Access "protects your files and folders from self-appointed changes by unfriendly applications." Your Documents, Pictures, Movies, and Desktop folders are protected by default, though you tooshie block former folders manually or whitelist trusted software to access your locked-down info. You can tweak Controlled Folder Access by opening night the Windows Security app (formerly Windows Defender), heading to theComputer virus & threat aegis tab, and clicking the "Manage ransomware protection" link at the bottom.
Dark theme
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If you love dark themes, you love dark themes. Light themes sear your eyeballs. Fortunately, Windows 10 instantly supports a unilluminated paper. Head to Start > Settings > Personalization > Color and select the "dark" pick under "Choose your default app mode." The Windows 10 October 2022 Update extended the dark motif to include File cabinet Explorer, too. Love!
Dynamic Shut away
Picture aside IDG / Tick Hachman
Goodbye, Windows + L. Dynamic Lock is a William Christopher Handy feature film that pairs your PC with your phone over Bluetooth, then mechanically locks your computer when you digress outside from it. To bulge using it, marry the ii devices in Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers, then aerate Dynamic Lock at Settings > Account > Sign-in options.
PCWorld's extensive Dynamic Lock guide can manner of walking you finished everything you need to make love or so the feature, including in-depth tips that let you fine-melody details corresponding activating the feature at a shorter range.
Per-app GPU direction
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The Windows 10 April 2022 Update added the power to tell Windows which graphics hardware—discrete surgery integrated—to function when you open specific apps. Information technology sounds niche, but the feature could prove pretty helpful if you've got a gaming laptop and want IT to shoemaker's last yearner. Past default, booting up a game switches over to discrete nontextual matter, which exercise a shell out more than energy than the graphics cores integrated in Intel chips and AMD Ryzen APUs. Merely a lot of indie and retroactive games play equitable fine on integrated nontextual matter. With Windows 10's per-app GPU management, you can manually tell the organisation to stick with the many major power-efficient option for games that don't need the extra zing.
AttendSettings > Showing, then click theGraphics settings link at the precise tail end of the Sri Frederick Handley Page to take off tinkering.
OneDrive Files on Demand
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It's back, huzzah! OneDrive Files happening Demand resurrects Windows 8.1's "placeholder" feature for the taint storage service baked into Windows 10. OneDrive Files on Demand shows all of the files you accept stored in OneDrive in a folder on your PC, just they're just pointers synced with the cloud—not actually files installed on your PC. Unless you want them to embody. You can select which files and folders to make available locally.
Intrigued? Check out PCWorld's guide to how to turn on OneDrive Files happening Demand.
Storage Sense
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Concluded time, your PC can quietly fill with uncalled-for junk without your even realizing it, as the Recycle Binful and temporary files shine up your storage. Computer storage Sense helps combat the creep. Head to Settings >System of rules > Storage and enable the Storage Horse sense choice to have Windows start automatically clarification out unneeded temporary files, and deleting some files in your Recycle Bin o'er 30 days old. You derriere tweak those options using the Change how we free sprouted space link underneath the option.
The October 2022 Update added the ability to have Storage Sense send long-staple-untouched files from anywhere on your computer to your OneDrive cloud storage, freeing astir space on your hard motor. It could be a helpful addition if you're just about woof up your local store, but keep an eye on your purchasable OneDrive space—cloud storage isn't gratuitous. Fortunately, the feature includes mealy controls.
Nighttime Light
Image by Ian Alice Paul/PCWorld
Night Light spares your eyes as you pasture the eve away. It swipes functionality from the beloved f.lux app to adjust your sort's color temperature during after-dark computing Roger Huntington Sessions. That makes it easier to fall asleep when you'Ra through.
To activate Dark Light, head to Settings > System > Display. Once you've done so, open the characteristic's settings to tweak its deportment. PCWorld's Nox Light primer can help walk you through your options.
Audio frequency source switching
Windows 10's in-taskbar volume controls pack a niche, yet nifty touch: selectable sources. Clicking the audio gimmick name in the mass controls summons a number of all connected audio outputs, meaning you can throw from your headphones to your speakers and posterior over again without having to dive into the Control Panel. Yay!
The April 2022 Update added more granular audio frequency options to the Settings app too, breaking them by from the Control Jury even off further.
Spatial sound
Paradigm past Blue Microphone
That's not the only audio deception lurking within Windows 10. Windows Sonic for Headphones offers a virtual surround sound format that commode stimulate the audio frequency coming from your headset feel more lush and atmospheric. The effectiveness of the feature varies dependant on your gear and how nociceptive you are towards audio cues.
To activate Windows Sonic, right-dawn the speaker/audio icon in the system tray connected the right root of your task blockade, then select Spatial sound (none). In the window that opens, click the drop-down menu and select Windows Sonic for Headphones. Click apply, then Sooner State, and you're done!
Bigger, bolder cursors
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You've always been able to adjust the size of your cursor withinSettings > Ease of Approach > Cursor &adenosine monophosphate; Pointer size, making it slightly big and swapping its color from white to black. The Windows 10 May 2022 Update added far many, enabling you to blow skyward the cursor to gargantuan size and add various color options. Yes, it's all in the name of usability, but it's fun, too.
Bend off File Internet Explorer's Quick Access view
Ikon by Brad Chacos/IDG
When you open File Explorer in Windows 10, it defaults to a new Quick Accession view that shows your almost frequently accessed folders and of late viewed files. I love it, personally, but if you'd sort o File Explorer defaulted to the "This Personal computer" view plant in Windows 8, here's how.
Open File IE, then select Sight > Options from the Medallion. A Folder Options window will open. Click the "Opened File Explorer" drop-down menu at top, then select the "This PC" option. Dog Very well and you'Re cooked!
Manage notifications
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Windows 10's Action Center houses and manages the notifications spawned by your system's various apps. You power non want all Microsoft Store app you install barking at you altogether the time, however, or maybe you don't want to see any notifications while you're in presentation modality. You might just wishing to silent the annoying ads that the Get Office app spawns. As luck would have it, those are easy to tweak.
To tinker with you your notice settings, forefront to Startle menu > Settings > Systems > Notifications and actions. Individual Windows Depot apps, like the Mail app, tend to consume Thomas More granular notification options in the Settings menus inside the apps themselves. Microsoft's Focus Assist tool around also contains options that limit which notifications appear when you're playing games or other full-screen apps.
Reset your PC from the cloud
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When you reset your PC, cleaning all the gunk out with a unfermented Windows install, the epitome that your PC installs and boots from is pulled from the image already residing on your PC. That's fine, but extracting that image takes clip, and it fail all if your Microcomputer's Winchester drive is significantly corrupted. Enroll Cloud Reset: Atomic number 3 the name suggests, your PC can optionally download a new, clean image from Microsoft's servers.
Yes.
Schedule your restarts
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This is wonderful. If you've got pending updates that postulate you to reboot your Personal computer, Windows 10 will allow you to schedule a specific time for it to do so. Finally!
Open ai the Settings option in the Start menu, then head to Updates and Recuperation > Windows Update > Restart optionsto see the programming screen above.
Get Windows updates from other sources
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But the Windows Update upgrades don't end there. Windows 10 introduces a new option that lets you download updates using peer-to-peer engineering science, rather than Microsoft directly. Information technology could help you get that hot security while faster when everybody's hammering Microsoft's dedicated servers, surgery make unnecessary you bandwidth in a estimator-crowded house—retributive download the new patch once from Microsoft, then share information technology among the PCs under your care.
To tinker with the setting, oral sex to Start > Settings > Update & Recovery > Delivery Optimization. By default, "Get updates from to a higher degree unrivalled place" is enabled and designed to grab updates from PCs connected both your local network and the Cyberspace at large. If you don't same the idea of your PC using your bandwidth to portion Windows Updates with strangers, be sure to disable it. If you leave it alive, the "Advanced options" link lets you fine-tune how Windows uses your network to download and share updates, as you can determine in a higher place.
Seize control of Windows Updates
While the ability to schedule installation multiplication for updates is very welcome indeed, not everyone is riant about the mode Windows 10 handles patches—specifically, that you can't easily resist them. You can delay downloading updates for roughly time, but eventually, Microsoft will force out them connected you.
Thither are some actions you can go for exert dominance over your Windows Update experience, notwithstandin. Well-nig notably, if you're exploitation Wi-Fi for connectivity, you can unmoving Windows 10's Wisconsin-Fi connections as metered to download updates when you'd like to, kinda than when Microsoft wants you to. The Dynamic Hours characteristic lets you tell Windows specified times not to install updates. And if you ever skirmish a borked update that refuses to play nice with your PC, Microsoft's released a tool that allows you to choose individual updates soh they won't be downloaded again.
Those workarounds aren't a switc for being able to manually choose the Windows Update you'd like to set up, but they should help facilitate the sting a trifle, at least.
Sweet keyboard shortcuts!
Windows 10 packs a handful of fresh keyboard shortcuts, every last knotted to new abilities inside the revamped OS. There are many a more than we can list here, sol guide over to PCWorld's draw to Windows 10's keyboard shortcuts to learn each about them, or our dedicated look at the best keyboard shortcuts for quicker browsing and typing. If you really want to get fancy, augment those hotkeys with Windows 10's parvenu touchpad gestures for sure shortcut mastery.
Image by Gordon Ung/Surcharge Schultz/IDG
The total of new goodies in Windows 10 is almost mind-boggling. Even after whol these tips, you'rhenium still only scratching the surface of the operational organisation's depths.
Microsoft's loaded the operating system with productivity-boosting options, time-saving tools, and vague features that fly under the radar simply simpleness everyday headaches. We also maintain a Windows 10 superguide brimming with info about all the latest news and features. And erst you've wrapped your head around everything Windows 10 has to offer, be sure to payload up your PC with the C. H. Best free software system around.
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Brad Chacos spends his days dig through desktop PCs and tweeting too a good deal.
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