Tips on using Windows 10

With more gadgets, widgets and programs included than any other version of Microsoft’s operating system before, there are a tranche of lesser-known hacks which can save you time and increase productivity while in the office.

With this in mind, Penta has rounded up its six favourite shortcuts and time-saving hacks.

Minimise all windows instantly

This feature originally appeared with the Windows 7 operating system, but was not well publicised. If you look to the far bottom right-hand corner of your taskbar next to the date and time, you’ll see a small silver strip. Click or tap this and all windows will be minimised instantly – handy if you need to find something on the desktop while you have several windows open at the same time.

Pressing it again from the desktop will then return you back to the most recent window you were working on.

Set up and use voice recognition

In previous years voice recognition software on computers, mobile device and vehicles has been hit-and-miss. However, this software has improved greatly, thanks to a lot of investment, and it is now so reliable you may feel confident enough to dictate a text message without a fear of your mobile sending gobbledegook to your intended recipient.

To install it on Windows 10, go to your settings and then Time & Language > Speech > Related settings and click ‘Speech, inking and typing privacy settings’ to enable speech services and typing suggestions.

Once enabled, use the Windows Key + H in any text field to pop up a Cortana box which records your voice through your microphone. You will still need to type punctuation marks, but dictating text should save some time.

Customise notifications

Fed up of having your PC constantly pinging you with notifications? You can choose which notifications you want to receive by going to Settings > System > Focus Assist.

Rotate your screen

For those with rotating screen stands, this is a great feature allowing you to quickly switch between views – ideal when you want to get a quick overview of an A4 document for example. Pressing Ctrl + Alt + D and the left or right arrow button will rotate the display 90 degrees, allowing you to quickly switch between landscape and portrait presentation. Pressing the same combination with the down button will flip your screen upside down, ideal when using a detachable screen to present to someone sat facing you.

Sign out of Windows from the Start menu

You can sign out of Windows from the start menu by clicking on your name/icon at the top, above the ‘documents’ icon, and pressing ‘sign out’. This is a key security feature, allowing you to keep your machine running any software while you quickly leave your desk, but preventing anyone else accessing it while you’re away.

Alternatively, you can switch users by choosing the relevant option after pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del.

Uninstall apps from your Start menu

If you would like to clean up your Start menu, you can do this easily by right clicking on any program you do not want to see and pressing ‘Uninstall’.

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