FIVE HIDDEN TRICKS IN WINDOWS 10 | BEST ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS 10

Microsoft's Windows operating system isn't a thing; it is an interwoven patchwork of functions built on top of other functions that go back to the beginnings of the tried and tested operating system. With such a complex piece of software, it makes sense that there are little tricks and UI features that most people don't even know about.

Perhaps you haven't snooped around Windows 10 too much, or have stuck to Windows 7 over the years. Now is the time to take the plunge, as Microsoft has ended support for Windows 7.

Whatever your situation, I've compiled a list of useful tips to help you get more out of your Windows 10 experience or at least teach you a few things you may not already know.

Some have been available in Windows for generations, while others come from Windows 10. Microsoft's last update to the operating system came in November, but the May 2019 update added a number of new features and removed a handful of others. So there are plenty of new features and tricks to be used to make the most of the ever-evolving Windows experience.

SECRET START MENU

If you're a fan of this old school (i.e. not tiled) Start Menu experience, you can still have this (so to speak). If you right-click on the Windows icon in the lower-left corner, a textual jump menu with a number of known and popular destinations (Applications and Features, Find, Run) is displayed.

All of these options are available through the standard menu interface, but you can get to them more quickly through this textual interface. The keyboard shortcut for this start menu is Windows key + X.

SHAKE

This feature was actually first introduced in Windows 7, but I've found that a lot of people don't know about it or don't use it.

When you have a screen full of windows, you should remove the clutter by "shaking" the top portion of the window that you like to minimize all of the other windows. Do you suddenly have remorse when you shake? Shake again and the windows will come back.

ENABLE DRAG TO SHUTDOWN

This trick is complicated and probably not worth your while for what it gives you, but it's so cool! Right-click on the desktop and choose New> Shortcut. In the pop-up window that appears, paste the following line of code:

% windir% \ System32 \ SlideToShutDown.exe

This will create a clickable icon on your desktop that you can rename. Then double-click the new icon to reveal a pull-down shadow and use your mouse to drag it to the bottom of the screen. Remember, this is not a hibernation, but a shutdown.

STOP TYPING, START DICTATING

Speech recognition has always been a strength of Microsoft, but with the recent releases of Windows 10, it has almost become a given. You can always use the Windows keyboard shortcut Key-H to bring up a box that will record your voice through your Windows computer's microphone and dictate the language in your current text box. You still have to type in manual punctuation, but you save yourself a lot of typing by dictating emails, messages, and more.

Find the best antivirus software for Windows 10