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Eleven Ways to Get More Out of Windows 10

Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 11, has high requirements many users cannot meet with their current PCs. Consequently, many users might stick with Windows 10, which will receive Microsoft’s official support until 2025. Tips and tricks, some old and some specific to Windows 10, can enhance the user experience.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
February 27, 2024

This is for devices running Windows 10. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Windows 11 is the latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft, but it will be a few years before it surpasses Windows 10 as the most popular desktop OS in the world. Despite the company’s desire to get us all to upgrade, Microsoft has made it difficult with high requirements many users can not meet with their current PCs.

If you are sticking with Windows 10 instead of buying a new computer, you have until 2025 before Microsoft begins to wind down official support. So there’s still plenty to learn to get the most out of your aging operating system. Personally, we do not like Windows 11. We will wait for Windows 12 before upgrading from Windows 10.

Whether you do not consider yourself a power user or made the jump from macOS, these tips will help you get more out of your Windows 10 experience. Some of these tricks originated from an older generation of Windows, while others are new to this iteration.

The Secret Start Menu

If you are a fan of that old-school (i.e. non-tiled) Start menu experience, you can still (sort of) have it. Right-click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner to prompt a textual jump menu with several familiar destinations, including Apps and Features, Search, and Run. All these options are available through the standard menu interface, but you can access them quickly here.

Note! In this post your can access Settings from the Start menu as noted below or in the Sortana type “Settings”, then click on the Settings app in the Search results.

Refer to the below image:

View Your Desktop Quickly

You do not have to minimize all your open windows just to look at the desktop. There’s a secret button in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar. If you do not see it, look all the way to the bottom and right, beyond the date and time. There, you will find a small sliver of an invisible button. Click it to minimize all your open windows at once; click it again to bring everything back. See the below image:

Accessing View Your Desktop

There’s also the option to minimize windows when you hover over the small silver button versus clicking. Select your preference in:

Settings > Personalization > Taskbar

then flip the switch to ON under Use Peek to preview the desktop… See the following image:

Win 10 Tricks 3 — View your Desktop option

Change Windows Search Settings

If your PC searches are taking too long in Windows, narrow things down under:

Settings > Search > Searching Windows

Set search to Classic, which only applies searches to your libraries and desktop. The Enhanced option indexes your whole computer, which can take longer and uses more power. You can further narrow your search by marking certain folders as excluded. Refer to the below image:

Enable God Mode

This may be a little too niche for most users, but if you are a power user or IT professional who wants access to all of Windows’ control panels from one folder, God Mode is for you. Right-click on the desktop and select:

New > Folder

.Re-name the new folder with this bit of code:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

To enter God Mode or the Windows Master Control Panel shortcut, as it is officially called, simply double-click the folder. See the below image:

Customize the Command Prompt

If you like to dig into the innards of Windows with the Command Prompt, you will be happy to know you can customize the tool. Open the Command Prompt from the Cortana search box, right-click on the window’s top bar, and select Properties to personalize your experience.

The Properties window allows you to change the controls, font, layout, colors, and cursor within the Command Prompt. You can also turn the window transparent by opening the Colors tab and moving the Opacity slider. This lets you code while simultaneously observing the desktop. See the following image for the color setting:

Dark and Light Mode

Windows 10 gives you a significant amount of control over color themes. Open:

Settings > Personalization > Colors

and you can set the operating system to either Dark mode or Light mode. These themes change the color of the Start menu, Taskbar, Action Center, File Explorer, Settings menus, and any other compatible programs. There is also a custom option that will let you set one theme for Windows menus and another for apps. Want a little more color? There are swatches of color themes available to choose from that can help your menus and taskbars really pop Refer to the below image:

We all use the Windows Clipboard to cut and paste, but did you know you can save multiple items at once and paste across devices? Use the command Win + V to view the last 25 clippings saved to the Clipboard. Go to:

Bulk Copy and Past

Settings > System > Clipboard

to control this feature and to sign into your Microsoft Account for cross-device usage. See the below image:

Use Sandbox to Test Files and Apps

Windows 10 Pro users have an extra asset to protect them against dangerous apps and files. If you enable Windows Sandbox inside the Control Panel, it will create a virtual instance of Windows inside Windows. In the Cortana search box, type in Control Panel then click the Control Panel app in the Search results. Now, click:

Programs > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off link. > Windows Sandbox in the popup > Select a program

Note! If you receive a message about Sandbox virtualization support is disabled in the firmware, then click here on how to enable.

You can then safely open anything you are unsure about before introducing it to your Windows installation. Once you close out of Sandbox, everything inside it goes away without hurting your computer. See the following image:

Quickly Open Task Manager

Back in the day, Ctrl + Alt + Delete was the go-to command if your PC was acting up. If you are sick of having to select Task Manager from the menu that appears, there’s a quicker option. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc to immediately open the Task Manager and make things a little easier. Refer to the below image:

View File Extensions

By default, Windows hides file extensions in File Explorer, requiring you to dig into the file’s properties to see if it’s a .jpg or .png file. But you can set it so Windows shows you the file extension automatically. Open:

File Explorer >View > Options > View

Scroll down to the option for Hide extension for known file types and uncheck the box. Click Apply, and now file types will be listed at the end of all file names inside File Explorer. See the below image:

Win 10 Tricks 11 — Do not hide the File Extensions option

Set New Start Menu Shortcuts

Have you ever noticed the shortcut options that Windows offers when you open the Start menu? Just above the power button, you should have links to Settings, Documents, and Pictures. However, if you do not find those options useful, Windows lets you change them.

Head to:

Settings > Personalization > Start > Choose which folders appear on Start link

You can then add a shortcut for File Explorer, Downloads, and a few others. See the following image:

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is there static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

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How to Add a Google Apps Bookmark on Desktop and iPhone

You can start Google Chrome to open a specific page, a new tab, or continue where you left off from the On starup option. We will show you how to set this option to load your Google Apps. You can use the same procedure to load any website at startup or create a bookmark.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
February 20, 2024

This is for the Desktop and iPhone. Screenshots are from Windows 10 and iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 17+

You can start Google Chrome to open a specific page, a new tab, or continue where you left off from the On startup option. We will show you how to set this option to load your Google Apps. You can use the same procedure to load any website at startup or create a bookmark.

Setup the On Startup Option

Your Google Apps can be displayed using the On startup option. First, to set this option, open Chrome and click the Menu (the 3 dots) in the upper right corner, then navigate to:

Settings > On startup

Next, under the Open a specific page or set of pages option, enter the following:

chrome://apps/

Refer to the below image:

Apps 1 — Setting On startup option to your Google Apps

Now whenever you start Chrome, your Google Apps page will be displayed.

By doing the above, you can just click the Home button next to the address bar to display your Google Apps anytime. See the below image:

Apps 5 — Accessing the Home button to view your Google Apps page

Clicking the Home button next to the address bar will display the page you have set as the On startup page.

Setup the Google Apps Bookmark on Desktop

If you do not have the On startup option set to Google Apps, why not create a bookmark for it. Following are the steps to do this.

First, open the Google Apps page you want to bookmark in Chrome. See the following image:

Apps 2 — Setting your Google Apps page to bookmark

Next, click the Star icon in the address bar. Refer to the below image:

Apps 6 — Adding your Google Apps page as a bookmark

Now, choose a name and location for your bookmark then hit Done. See the below image:

Apps 3 — Editing your Google Apps bookmark

Next, head to your saved bookmark to see your Google Apps entry. See the following image:

Apps 4 — Your saved Google Apps bookmark

Setup the Google Apps Bookmark on iPhone

First, open the Google Apps page you want to bookmark in Chrome then tap the Share button. Refer to the below image:

Next, tap the Add to Bookmarks option. See the below image:

Apps 12 — Adding your Google Apps bookmark

Edit the Google Apps Bookmark on iPhone

First, tap the Menu (the 3 dots) at the bottom right corner. See the following image:

Next, tap the Edit Bookmark option. Refer to the below image:

Apps 10 — Choosing to edit your Google Apps bookmark

Now, change as necessary, then tap Done. See the below image:

Apps 11 — Editing your Google Apps bookmark

Not only do bookmarks save you time as you do not need to type in a URL or search for your most frequently visited sites on Google every time you visit, but they are also great for keeping track of articles and videos you plan to head back to later. If you do not have Google Apps set as your startup page, creating a bookmark allows you to easily display the page.