Here is the ultimate compilation of Windows 10 tips and tricks to enhance your skills using Microsoft Windows. I’ve combined long-established tips and tricks with prominent new tricks that Microsoft added in 2020 and 2021. You’ll find these tips and tricks useful whether you’re using Windows for the first time or just wanting to enhance your Windows 10 skills.
Below is the complete list of contents. Click on any trick if you want to jump to it else, we can go one by one. Let’s get started.
Contents
- Windows + V
- Snip & Sketch
- Aero Shake
- Snap Assist
- Dark Mode
- Night Light
- Dictation
- Focus Assist
- Calculator
- Nearby Sharing
#1 Windows + V
You may be already aware that you can highlight text with Control + C and then use Control + V to paste it. It copies the text to the clipboard and then allows you to paste it in any Windows 10 app. One problem with this feature is it only keeps track of the last item you’ve copied to the clipboard, but Windows + V (Windows logo key + V) makes this even better.
Go down to the “Start Menu” -> Go to “Settings”, into “System” and then choose “Clipboard” among the left-hand side options. Now on the right-hand side, you will see options for enable clipboard history and syncing paste options across devices. Turn these options on to enable the clipboard history and to sync it across different devices if you want. Once that is done, now when you copy any text, it will place those items in the clipboard. And when you will hold down the Windows + V, it will show you multiple items that are in your clipboard. You can select anyone that you would like to paste at your location. Once a text is pasted you can press Windows + V again to select another copied text. Windows V is a great new feature to keep track of multiple copy and paste options in your clipboard.
#2 Snip & Sketch
Snip & Sketch is a replacement for the snipping tool from Windows 10. You can access it by typing “Snip” in the Windows search box and opening up “Snip & Sketch”. Or you can press the Windows logo key + Shift + S as a keyboard shortcut to open it. Snip & Sketch lets you capture screen clippings, edit them and save them as a file. If you create a new snip, it gives you choices at the top whether you want to do a rectangular snip or something else. You can also do a freeform one or you can try to capture an entire window or the full screen.
If you choose the rectangular snip, then you can just mark an area on your screen that you want to capture. And it will load it into Snip & Sketch. Once the screen capture is loaded into Snip & Sketch, you can edit it. You can draw using brushes or shapes, highlight text, or use an eraser to erase your edited stuff. You can crop the image as well. When you’re done you could save the image or copy it and paste it somewhere. You can also share it online or print it to share it offline or use it as paperwork. It also provides the flexibility to open it with another application.
You have one more option down in the notifications area. You can go to the notification area of your desktop and choose “Screen Snip”. It lets you do the same thing, and it loads that snip to the clipboard. Once you open it, it will be on the inside of Snip & Sketch. You can then do your editing there. So, if you need to capture any image on your screen just use the Snip & Sketch trick of Windows.
Also see – How to fix video TDR failure blue screen in Windows?
#3 Aero Shake
Aero Shake gives you the ability to close all the windows except the one that you have selected. If you click on the header portion at the top of a window and then shake it back and forth it closes all the windows behind it. Shake it again and it brings them back. That’s Aero Shake.
#4 Snap Assist
Snap Assist is another awesome addition to Windows 10 tips and tricks, It provides a smart way to manage windows on your screen. If you grab a header of a window and drag it to the top, Snap Assist snaps it into full screen. You can do the same thing by dragging it over to a corner and it brings it up into the corner section of the screen. You can do that to either side or to the top and bottom.
If you drag it all the way to the left, it gives you the choice to select a second window to put on the right. Then it evenly splits them between the two sides of the screen. Snap Assist is controlled by going into the “Start Menu” -> “Settings” -> “System” -> “Multi-tasking” and then turn on the option for “Snap windows” on the right-hand side of the screen. You will also see some other options like “When I snap a window, automatically side it to fill available space”, “When I snap a window show what can I snap next to it” etc. Select the ones you like or check them all (default version) to take maximum advantage.
#5 Dark Mode
Windows 10 has a new dark mode setting. It’s available from the menu under “Start” -> “Settings” -> “Personalization” -> “Colors” among the left-hand panel. And here you have a choice of light, dark, or custom theme. Essentially these settings will decide the default windows mode and the default app mode. So, if you select “Dark” from the menu, it sets both, the default Windows mode and default app mode in dark. And if you choose light from the menu, it sets both to light. I personally prefer the dark windows mode with the light app mode, but you can set them however you like.
#6 Night Light
Normally your display emits a blue light which is what keeps you awake late at night. There is a feature available in Windows 10 to turn on a night light. You can access it by going to “Start Menu” -> “Settings” -> “System” -> “Display” and there you’ll see an option to turn on the night light. When you’ll look at the night light settings, you will see an option to adjust the strength of the night light.
You can also schedule the night light time like from sunset to sunrise or maybe set individual hours. When you turn it on, it dims the emitted blue light which makes it is easier for you to sleep. Night light is a great feature to use if you plan on working on your computer late at night.
Also see – How to fix 0x80080005 error on Windows?
#7 Dictation
Dictation is a brand-new feature in Windows 10 that allows you to record your voice in different apps. You can enable it by going to “Start Menu” -> “Settings” -> “Ease of Access”. Then scroll down to “Speech” on the left-hand side. Now, turn on the “Speech Recognition” to enable the dictation control. You will find this option on the right-hand panel below the heading “Dictate text and control your device using only your voice”.
You can also press the Windows key + Ctrl + S to toggle speech recognition on and off. When it’s enabled you can tell it what to do, maybe something like “open notepad”. And keep on speaking the text you want to write in the notepad. You can also make corrections by saying something like “Select the last paragraph”, “Strike the last word” etc. Once you turn it off you can go back to regular use. Dictation can help you do some really cool Windows tricks, so give it a try.
Also see – How to transfer files from Windows to iPhone without iTunes?
#8 Focus Assist
Focus assist is a utility that lets you get notifications in your Action Center in the bottom right corner of your Windows desktop screen. When you will click on it, you will see that there is a focus assist option among other options in a square box structure.
Focus assist option switches between “Priority only”, “Alarms only” or off. If you right-click on it and go to “Settings”, you can adjust the settings.
- Off mode – When it’s off you get all notifications from your apps.
- Priority only – When you set it to “Priority only”, you can customize your priority list so that it only shows incoming calls and reminder notifications from pinned contacts and specific apps.
- Alarm only – When you set it to “Alarms only”, it hides all the notifications except for major alarm notifications.
Once you scroll down, you’ll see many other options to configure. You can also choose the time of the day when you might want those notifications to be disabled. You can choose to turn notifications on/off when you are duplicating your display. In case you’re doing a presentation or when you’re playing a game or when you’re using an app in full-screen mode. Window’s focus assist provides you variety of options to stay focused. I like to set mine to “Priority only” as I’m working through the day. But you can scroll down and choose to turn it to alarms only you’re really trying to focus on the work.
#9 Calculator
The Windows 10 Calculator has been improved dramatically. Take a look at the options you have now available. You have your standard calculator that you’re used to, and you’ve probably seen the scientific calculator before but now you have options for graphing, programmer, date calculation and a whole bunch of other conversions. If you select graphing put in a function like y = X ^2 – 2. You’ll see what that looks like on a graph. And the date calculation lets you pick from different dates and it’ll tell you what the difference is. You can add and subtract from a date as well.
Currency conversion lets you update to the latest exchange rates. Just put in a dollar amount and you can choose from a whole bunch of different country’s currency to get the conversion rate. You also have conversions for volume, length, weight, mass, temperature, energy, area, speed, time, and power data. It’s amazing how many different options you have available here. With the latest version of Windows 10 you have a whole bunch of new features available in Calculator.
Also see. – How to transfer Windows 10 license to a new computer owner?
#10 Nearby Sharing
Windows 10 allows you to share documents, photos, links to websites, and more with nearby sharing. You can enable it by going to the “Start Menu” -> “Settings” -> “System” -> “Shared Experiences” (among the left-hand side options) and then select the toggle on the right-hand side of the screen to enable “Nearby Sharing”.
Under the enable button you’ll see a configuration “I can share or receive content from” with two options. You can choose to share documents and other items with “Everyone Nearby” rather than just “My devices”. If you choose my devices, it will restrict others around you to connect with your system.
Once that’s set, you’ll be able to see in your notification area on the right-hand corner of your Windows screen, the “Nearby Sharing” option. You can turn it on and off. Once it’s turned on you can go into a link for a web page in the browser and select the share option from the Menu bar to share it.
Once you select “Share”, a new dialog box will pop up which will show you available devices nearby. When you select one of those devices, it will send a notification to receive the document or link on the other device.
You can also share photos. To share pictures, open the picture and you’ll see a share option in the upper right corner of the menu bar. Once you select it, a dialog box will appear again with the available devices to choose from. Select the device with which you want to share the picture and it will send a prompt to accept the photo to the selected device. It is similar to someone receiving a document or link. You get a prompt that someone is trying to send the data to your device, and you can choose to save, open or decline it. “Share Nearby” works great if you have Bluetooth enabled on those devices.
So, these were some cool Windows 10 tips and tricks for 2021. Do let us know if you use these features and add ons for Windows already. And if you have some more cool tips and tricks then do comment down below to let us know and we will add them to this list.
