A considerable number of users work on computers with tricks in Windows 10. Still, at the same time, most users do not know about many exciting features of this operating system. Also, Windows 10 has all sorts of hidden features that very few people know about, but which can be very useful.

Therefore, I decided to write this article, in which I will tell you about various tricks when working with Windows 10, as well as about all its non-obvious possibilities.

I often had to meet various people complaining about the Internet that, they say, Windows did something very crookedly. It sounded rather strange because what they wrote about is calmly configured in Windows and can work that way, as you need.

So let’s go.

Copy-paste

Surely everyone knows that copy-paste in Windows is done using the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + C (Ctrl + Insert), and pasting is done using the combination Ctrl + V (Shift + Insert). In this case, the text is copied and pasted with all the design, hyperlinks and so on. But sometimes you need to paste the copied fragment without any formatting and hyperlinks – just like ordinary text. This can be done by a combination of keys Ctrl + Shift + V.

Taskbar

I have come across complaints that the taskbar groups buttons of the same applications and this is inconvenient because to access a specific application you need to make an extra click.

This can be disabled. Control Panel – Taskbar. There, firstly, you can choose the position of the taskbar, and secondly, there you can remove the grouping altogether.

In the same settings window, there are another useful option “Select icons displayed in the taskbar”. Some icons are displayed continuously, while others can be called up by clicking on the arrow. So, if you need to see the icons of some applications all the time, turn it on in the settings. Also, there you can set the constant display of all icons.

Search in the taskbar. After some Windows update, instead of the search icon on the taskbar, they displayed a whole line, which annoys many.

Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar (or Win + X combination ). There in the menu – Search. You can disable it altogether , you can switch it back to the search icon.

Windows Control Panel and Settings

In Windows 10, there are actually two different applications with system settings . This is the traditional Control Panel and a separate section of Windows Settings. Somewhere their functions are duplicated , somewhere not: for example, there is no longer the “Windows Update” item in the control panel. This confuses users.Usefull tricks in windows 10

The control panel is present as a separate application and is usually displayed as an icon on the desktop.

Useful tricks Windows 10

The “Windows Settings” section is called through the Start button – Settings, through the notification area “All Settings”, it makes sense to remember the Win + I key combination, which also displays this section.ination , which also displays this section.

Useful tricks Windows 10

Emoticons (emoji) from Windows

The keyboard shortcut Win +. causes a window with Windows emoticons to appear, which can be used almost anywhere .(this is especially convenient for some services with correspondence, where emoticons are not provided at all). There are a lot of emoticons. They are divided into six groups.

Also, in this plate on top, you can switch to text emoticons and special characters – they are also often needed.

Sharing with nearby devices

Windows has the ability to quickly share files with nearby devices .(those on the same local network or the same Wi-Fi network). This is enabled in Windows Settings – System – General Features. 

Usefull tricks in windows 10

On the second device, this must also be enabled, then in Windows Explorer, select the files you want to send, right-click, select “Send” there and select the recipient that appears in the list.

Usefull tricks in windows 10

A request will come to his computer whether .He allows receiving files and if he does, then everything will be sent. 

Taking screenshots

It is often necessary to take a screenshot (snapshot) of the entire screen or part of it. Windows has a built-in tool for this called the Snipping Tool. This function is called the keyboard shortcut Win + the Shift + S. In this case, such a panel appears at the top of the screen.

The first icon is a rectangular selection of a part of the screen, the second is an arbitrary shape, the third is the active window, and the fourth is the full screen. The screenshot is placed on the clipboard and can be pasted, for example, into a graphics editor.

Moreover, when copying to the clipboard, a thumbnail screenshot appears with a link at the bottom right of the screen. When pressed, the screenshot can be loaded into the Sketch on a Screen Fragment application, where the picture can be edited, saved as a file, printed and sent somewhere.

Useful tricks Windows 10

Also, using the Win + W combination. you can immediately call the “Sketch on a screen fragment” editor with a full-screen screenshot.

For most cases, this is sufficient. And if you need noticeably more advanced screenshot capabilities . then it’s better to use the FastStone Capture application, which I myself have been using for many years.

Working with windows

This is Useful keyboard shortcuts for working with windows.

Win + D – hide all windows, open the desktop, return all windows.   

Win + up and Win + down – respectively, up: open the window from the minimized state in windowed mode, expand it to full screen; down – from full screen to window, minimize.

Win + Right / Left – Snap the window to the right/left edge of the screen. The same happens if you move the window of the left or right border of the screen with the mouse.

Win +, – temporarily make all windows invisible and show the desktop.

With the mouse cursor on the window title, press the left key and shake the window-all other open windows will be minimized. Repeat – the rest of the windows will be opened again. The Win + Home combination does the same.

Well, do not forget about the ability to arrange windows in a cascade, stack or next to using the menu items, which we have already discussed a little above – right-clicking on an empty space of the taskbar.

It should be remembered that only those applications that are not minimized will be placed. Therefore, if, for example, you need to place a text editor next to it and, for example, a browser, then first minimize all windows (Win + D), then open the necessary ones and call the item “Arrange windows side by side”.

Hotspot Wi-Fi on PC

Let’s say you have a wired PC. And it has a Wi-Fi adapter – either built-in or as a USB dongle. Can I connect other devices to the Internet via its Wi-Fi without an additional access point? Can! 

Section Windows Settings – Network and Internet – Mobile Hotspot. There you configure the parameters of the access point. 

After that, the computer becomes a hotspot: devices can connect to it as to an access point. Works perfectly fine, I’ve tested it.

Virtual desktops

In addition to the main desktop, Windows can have several other desktops. The combination of icons there will always be the same as on the main desktop, but the program windows can be different, which is quite convenient.

For example, on the first virtual table, you have a text editor and a browser, on the second – Photoshop and Lightroom, and on the third – a YouTube video that you plan to watch.

New virtual tables are very easy to create. Press Win + Tab: there are previews of running applications, and on top is a panel of virtual desktops, where you can create, close, rename them. Another option to create a new desktop – Win + the Ctrl + D.

Usefull tricks in windows 10

Moving between desktops – or hereby Win + Tab (click on the desired desktop), even more convenient – Ctrl + Win + left-right arrows: move between desktops.

Automatic disk cleanup

During operation, a whole mountain of all unnecessary file garbage usually accumulates on the disk: temporary files, files in the basket or in the download folder, and so on. All this can be cleaned using special utilities (Windows also has a system disk cleanup utility). However, you can configure the system so that this happens automatically.

Call the system parameters using Win + I, there select “Device memory”.

Usefull tricks in windows 10

Turn on the memory monitoring function and call “Configure memory monitoring or start it”.

Here you can configure the frequency of running Memory Sense, deleting temporary files and files in the Downloads folder.

Windows Updates

Many users are terribly annoyed that at the most inconvenient moment, Windows suddenly starts installing the next update, and this process can be quite long. However, you can customize how the updates will take place – so that this is not done without your knowledge.

Win + I – Windows Settings. 

Usefull tricks in windows 10

There, in the “Change the active period” section, you can set the period during which Windows will not automatically reboot, but will ask you if this can be done, and if not, then you can set the reboot time.

In the “Advanced Options” section, you need to enable “Update Notifications”.

Usefull tricks in windows 10

Well, that’s it, now the updates will not take you by surprise.

Clipboard

Windows 10 has a history clipboard. It is off by default. They are called combination Win + V. In the buffer window that appears; you will be asked to enable it, after which the copied texts and images will be stored in this buffer and can be arbitrarily inserted from there. 

Usefull tricks in windows 10

This buffer is not as convenient as, for example, the ClipDiary program, which I have been using for many years for these purposes, but if there are no third-party programs, then this buffer will be very useful. 

In addition, from it, you can go to the settings and there you can set the buffer synchronization for some other devices – for example, smartphones on Android or iOS. 

Fingerprint login and dynamic lock

You are tired of typing your password every time to log into your computer.

But there are a couple of ways to simplify this procedure. Firstly, now, in addition to the password, you can also set a PIN code, which is easier to enter. (On the locked screen, click the Login Options link.) 

Secondly, in Windows, you can use a fingerprint scanner – including on a PC. You can purchase an inexpensive USB stick with a fingerprint reader, after which it very easily connects to Windows Hello ( here I have outlined the procedure ), after which you can log in by fingerprint, also this type of identification can be used in some other programs. 

Now about locking your computer to prevent unauthorized access. 

First, in the screen saver settings ( Personalization – Lock screen – Screen saver settings ), be sure to check the “Start from the login screen” option – the computer will be locked after the screen saver is turned on. 

Second, do not forget about manually locking your computer using the Win + L combination. 

Third, you can use such an interesting feature as dynamic locking. What is it? 

Windows Settings – Devices – Add a Bluetooth device. There you select the topmost item and wait for your phone to appear in the list, which, of course, must have BT enabled. 

As soon as it appears, pair it. 

Now Windows Settings – Credentials – Login Options. We enable dynamic blocking there.

And now, a minute after the tethered smartphone loses connection with the computer; the system will be locked.

Well, if you want to remove the password altogether so that Windows does not ask for it, then for this you can configure an automatic login – auto-login.

Press Win + R, in the Run box, type in this line – netplwiz. A window like this will appear.

There, uncheck the box “Require username and password”, then click “Apply”.

A window will appear in which you need to enter your username and password (twice). After clicking “OK”, the computer will restart, after which the login will be performed automatically.

File history

Few people know that in Windows there has been a mechanism called “File History” for quite some time .This is an analogue of Apple’s Time Machine. By default, file history is turned off, but if you turn it on, the system will store different versions of documents, spreadsheets, contacts, favourites, and so on for you.

It is configured in the Control Panel – File History. There you need to select the drive where the versions of the files will be stored. If there is only one disk on the computer, then it means there are two, or if you use some local file storage, then select the appropriate disk.

Usefull tricks in windows 10

In the Advanced options, you can choose how often to save copies of files and how much to keep them. Even if you usually save and store for a long time, then for any personal documents, the space consumption, given the current volumes of disks, will be minimal.

Useful tricks Windows 10

Further, if you suddenly have something wrong with an important document, open the “Previous versions” tab in its properties (right-click on the file), and then restore what you need – even if all changes are made every ten minutes. It is very comfortable.

How to disable the startup of some programs

Have you installed a new application, it was registered in a startup. but you absolutely do not need this application in a constantly loaded form?

Ctrl + Shift-Esc , “Task Manager”. There is the “Startup” tab. Select the appropriate application, click the “Disable” button below. If necessary, the autostart is switched back on with the same button.

Running a suspicious file in the Sandbox

It so happens that you find some program you need on a site that is not credible. The program is needed, but it’s scary to run it: what if there are all sorts of Trojan viruses?

For this case, there is one interesting feature in Windows that a negligible number of users know about. This is the so-called “Windows Sandbox” – a virtual machine with a light version of Windows 10 that allows you to run suspicious programs in a completely isolated environment.

By default, “Windows Sandbox” is not installed, you can install it through Control Panel – Programs and Features, there on the left is “Turn Windows features on and off.”

Turn on Windows Sandbox, click on OK, the system will require a reboot. After rebooting, Windows Sandbox will appear among the applications.

Useful tricks Windows 10

Launch it – you get a completely isolated virtual machine with Windows 10 (in English). If you need to check some program received from a suspicious place, just copy it to the “Sandbox” via Copy-Paste and launch it there calmly. Even if it plants viruses in this virtual machine, they will not break into the main system in any way, and when you close the Sandbox, all its contents are destroyed, so that the next time you start the system, the system will be completely clean. 

You can configure the “Sandbox” using a file with the web extension (this is a regular XML file), but it’s easier to download the official Sandbox Editor and configure the virtual machine with it – it’s much more convenient.

How to get your old Start button back

A new touchscreen-oriented Start button was introduced in Windows 8. And it is terribly annoying for PC users who find it much more convenient to work with the old Start button – without these panels.

An easy way to bring back the old Start button is the free Open-Shell-Menu program that you can find on the developer’s site. Download the program, install it. After that, press the “Start” button – the Open-Shell-Menu settings menu appears. There you can leave everything by default and confirm (well, or customize it to your preferences).

After that, when you click on the “Start” button, you will have the same convenient old system.

Useful tricks Windows 10