Windows 10 Hidden Features
You may have been using Windows 10 for a long time but there are some features that you may have never used or noticed. Today I will discuss about 10 such features, some features may become your favorite.
1. Emoji menu
If you love using emojis in texting, chatting, then you might be missing emojis in Windows. But you’ll be happy to know that you can use emojis on Windows too. Win+ to get emoji on Windows. Press together, you will see the emoji menu open. You can scroll through the entire emoji pack. Click on any emoji, the emoji will be inserted into your document.
2. Virtual Desktops
If you want, you can create separate desktops and use them for different tasks. Click the icon on the right side of the search bar or press Windows+Tap together to open the virtual desktop. Press on the New Desktop icon.
If you don’t get this option, you can enable it from Settings > System > Multitasking. Now that you have a new desktop for different tasks, you can switch between the two desktops by clicking on the thumbnails.
3. Add time stamp in notepad
If you are used to using Notepad for various handy writing tasks in Windows then this tip is for you. Press F5 to add a time stamp to the note pad or select Edit > Time/Date from the toolbar. Instantly there will be current time and date.
4. Take screenshots easily
Many people don’t know that Windows has a default screenshot app known as Snip & Sketch. Through this you can take a screenshot of any part of the screen, you can also take a screenshot of the entire website. Press Windows+Shift+S together to open the app, or you can also run the app by typing “Snip & Sketch,” from the Start menu. To take a screenshot, click New at the bottom of the toolbar, select the area with the mouse. Finally click on save bottom.
5. Windows Time Machine Backup
Windows 10 has a built-in feature that allows you to backup files every hour. It can be set at 10 minute intervals if you want. The feature is called File History, and it works like Time Machine on the MacBook. To enable this feature, press Windows+i together, go to Update & Security > Backup and click on “Back Up Using File History,” option. Click on the “Add a Drive” button here and select a drive where the files will be backed up. By clicking on More Options, you can configure it as you wish.
6. Screen recording with the Xbox Game Bar
Xbox Game Bar is one of the hidden features of this operating system. Although it is designed for gamers, any user can take advantage of it. Pressing Windows+G together will open Gamebar in your Windows. You can start video recording by clicking the Capture icon, clicking Stop Recording will end the recording. You will find the video in the Videos folder.
7. Power User Menu
You can open power user menu by pressing Windows+X. Through this you will get access to some important tools like Task Manager, Device Manager, Event Manager, Disk Management, Network Connections, etc. There are also sleep, shut down options, there is a system to open File Explorer with a few clicks. You can also open File Explorer by pressing Windows+E together.
8. Focus Assist
If you want to take a break from annoying notifications for a while, Focus Assist can help you. Keeping it on will not show you notifications from the corner of the screen. To enable it, click on Action Center bottom and press on Focus Assist. If it doesn’t appear the first time, click “Expand”. Or you can enable it by going to Settings > System > Focus Assist. If you want, you can enable it for a specific time or disable it for specific apps.
9. Clipboard History
Suppose you copy something that before pasting something else has been copied. What do you do in that case? Copy the required text again? No it is not needed. Windows has a clipboard history feature. So you can see the last few copied text images. To enable this feature, go to Settings > System > Clipboard and turn on “Clipboard History”. From now on, pressing Windows+V together will show all clipboard history. If you want, you can share this history to another computer. However, both PCs must have the same Microsoft account login. To share, you need to enable the “Sync Across Devices” option.
10. Night Light
If you work on the computer at night then there is a good option for you called Night Light. Turning it on will save your eyes from PC light stress. The screen will look a little warm. It will increase your melatonin levels so you won’t have trouble sleeping.
To activate it, go to the Action Center and click on the “Night Light” button. Moreover, you can also enable it by going to Display from Settings. You can also adjust the light if you want and set a schedule for it to turn on.
Last words:
These features of Windows are unknown to many but very useful. Hopefully the features will make your Windows experience even better. Also read: What is ChatGPT? Why? How?
