(Newswire.net — June 13, 2021) — Several years have passed since Windows 10 was released, and most people have successfully upgraded to it. However, some haven’t made the switch or just don’t know how to use Windows 10. This article will provide four hacks that everyone should know to make their experience with Windows 10 more enjoyable.
Turning Off Windows Notifications
Those annoying Windows notifications that pop up in the taskbar can be frustrating. You may not want to turn them off entirely, but you can configure the notifications to be less annoying and more useful for certain applications. Three settings allow Windows notifications:
Do Not Disturb – This setting will only show phone calls or text messages on your taskbar if they’re from contacts in your list of priority callers (defined by Call + SMS filter).
Show Quietly – The notification will pop up briefly in the corner of your screen before disappearing automatically after 30 seconds without any action taken.
Block All – If this is selected, no notifications will appear on the taskbar unless there’s an emergency, such as system updates being installed or a power failure warning.
Customizing Wallpapers With Mixed Reality
Windows Mixed Reality headsets are designed for immersive, 360-degree virtual reality. You can even see your own hands and body inside of a game or virtual world with the right content. The device’s camera captures video in stereoscopic view to show depth with great detail.
You may need to adjust what Windows considers foreground and background objects if they’re not properly represented in mixed reality mode after activating it from within Settings > Update & Security > For Developers > Apps that support AR/VR (right-click on the Start button).
Configure Cortana to answer questions more like Siri by telling her “Hey Cortana” before asking queries instead of just opening up her search box, as is the default behavior when using a voice command.
Position the taskbar anywhere on your monitor. This will make it possible for you to have a nice, clean look at all of your open windows without having them take up space inside the Windows operating system.
Access Your Programs from the Start Menu
For some people, who like to keep a cleaner desktop, the Start button on Windows has been replaced by Settings. To access your programs from the Start menu, though, simply press [Windows] and [x] simultaneously.
Browser Search Suggestions: You can make Internet Explorer or Google Chrome suggest searches based on what you type by going to Settings then search engine selection.
The browser search suggestions also make it easier to find what you are looking for.
Making Windows Searchable by Type: To access the programs on your computer that can only be accessed through a file type, press [Windows] and then [F]. This will allow you to search based on which program is needed or simply start typing in the name of one of them.
Pin Applications for Quick Launch
You can pin any application for quick launch from anywhere on your computer or tablet with just a single left click. Once it’s pinned, you can access the application by right-clicking on its icon.
You can pin a folder to your start menu or taskbar so that you have quick and easy access when you need it most.
Tip: To create a desktop shortcut of the program in Windows Explorer, simply drag and drop one onto the desktop with your left mouse button pressed down.
We hope these four hacks to using Windows make using it a breeze. There are many more hacks out there, and we’ll be writing about more in the future.