The Windows 10 operating system version is widely available as Microsoft announced that it is now working on more than 900 million devices and has helped drive laptop sales growth in the third quarter of this year.
If you're using Windows 10, you know its many advantages: easy sharing, Bluetooth pairing speed, Cortana voice assistant, and OneDrive features.
But there are other powerful features included in Windows 10 that you may not know, which can help you navigate directly to a document or web page you have accessed in the past, organize open applications, take notes that you can view and edit on your smartphone, and much more.
Here are 5 hidden features in Windows 10 that help you work smarter:
1. Schedule feature:
One of the most productive features of Windows 10 is the Timeline feature that lets you get started where you left off, and is located under the Task View button in the taskbar.
Once you press the View Tasks button, you'll see the timeline is a series of thumbnails that show many of the things you've done on your computer recently, such as: opening documents in apps and visiting websites.
This comprehensive history is organized by date, from now until 30 days ago, and you can scroll back through thumbnails to find a document or photo you were working on, or a webpage you visited, and open it again.
To access any item all you have to do is click on its thumbnail and it will be loaded into the appropriate app or browser.
In addition to recording your activity on your computer that you are currently using, the schedule also tracks your activity history across all devices you are signed in to using the same account, if you agree to send your Microsoft activity log.
For example, if you open a document in the Microsoft Word app on your iOS or Android phone, you'll see that document listed in the schedule on a Windows 10 computer if the two devices are signed in with the same Microsoft user account. Your schedule is also synchronized across all Windows 10 devices you access with the same account.
Using this feature on Android requires installing the Microsoft Launcher app, and then signing in to the app using your Microsoft account.
2. Virtual desktop feature:
Virtual desktops let you organize apps running in separate groups for multiple purposes, and when you're on the virtual desktop, you'll only see the apps you're running in, which helps reduce distractions.
For example, you can create a virtual desktop for the apps you use at work, and a second virtual desktop to run the apps you use for personal reasons. Or create a third for tasks associated with other projects.
To create a new default desktop, follow these steps:
- Press the Task View button on the taskbar.
- Press the New desktop button at the top of the screen.
- The current desktop on your computer will be set as (Desktop # 1) Click on the thumbnail named Desktop 2 on the right, where you will move to a new desktop for Windows 10 that does not contain any applications, hence you can run certain applications to run on Second desktop.
Another way to move between multiple desktop windows is keyboard shortcuts:
- Press the Windows key + Ctrl + Left arrow to navigate to a desktop on the left.
- Press the Windows key + Ctrl + Right arrow to navigate to a desktop on the right.
3- Sticky Notes:
Windows 10 introduces OneNote for note taking, which is great for creating and organizing long or complex notes, but sometimes you just want to take something quickly and save it later, and that's where Sticky Notes comes in.
By its name, this app lets you create short notes that resemble old Post-It notes, but you can sync those notes so they are available on any Windows 10 device you use.
To use it, type Sticky Notes in the Windows Search box and select the application. The first time you start Sticky Notes you will be prompted to sign in with your Microsoft account. You can skip this step but in this case you won't be able to sync notes across your devices.
4- Snip & Sketch:
In the October 10, 2018 update, Microsoft introduced an improved app called Snip & Sketch to capture and edit an image from the screen.You can run it at any time from the Start menu, but for more ease you can set it to work when you press the Print Screen key, known as PrtSc on a panel. Keys. Here's how:
- Go to Settings.
- Click on the icon (Ease of Access).
- Scroll down the left column until you reach the Interaction section, and click Keyboard.
- Under Keyboard Settings, scroll down to Print Screen Shortcut and click Switch to On.
5- Clipboard feature for easy copy and paste:
You can copy images and text from one device to another using the cloud-based Clipboard, and you can not only paste from the clipboard history, but you can also install items that you use frequently.To access the Clipboard history at any time, press the Windows + V key, and you can also paste and install items you use most frequently by choosing an individual item from the Clipboard menu.
To share clipboard items across different Windows 10 devices, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings.
- Click the System option.
- Click on the Clipboard option, and from the “Sync across devices” section, enable “Sync text that I can copy automatically”.
