Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts (Windows 10)

October 2017

Caveat!

The material in this presentation is aimed at Windows 10.
Most things described here will work in earlier versions of Windows.
The earlier your version of Windows (e.g., Windows XP), the more differences you may notice.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are an important skill to master in Microsoft Windows.
Some shortcuts are product specific. For example, in MS Word and Powerpoint:
- Ctrl+apostrophe, E → é
- Ctrl+grave accent, E → è
- Ctrl+shift+colon, U → ü
However, a lot of the keyboard shortcuts can be used in most Windows programs:
- Ctrl+S → save
- Ctrl+C → copy
- Ctrl+X → cut
- Ctrl+V → paste
- Ctrl+A → select all
Some keyboard shortcuts are useful for controlling Windows itself:
- Alt+tab → cycle through open programs
- Alt+F4 → close active program (use with caution!)
You can find a more complete list here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keyboardshortcuts

Control panel

On a freshly-installed version of Windows, the control panel looks something like this:

control pane, figure one, windows ten

I find it much more useful to change the view by value to small icons or large icons:

control panel, figure two, windows ten

Uninstalling programs

Whenever you want to uninstall a program:

1. Open the control panel;

2. Select programs and features; this will display a list of all installed programs;

3. Select the program you want to uninstall; and

4. Right-click on the program, and select “Uninstall”.

Forcing a program to close

Sometimes, a program just refuses to close.
You can force the program to close by using the Task Manager.
- Open the Task Manager by:
  - Typing its name into the Windows search box (in the lower-left corner of the Windows desktop), or
  - Press Ctrl-Alt-Del, then select Task Manager.
You should see a window something like this:

forcing program to close, figure three, windows ten

1. Select the program you want to terminate; the End Task button becomes active;

2. Click on the End Task button; and the selected program will terminate.

Controlling startup programs

From time-to-time, you may wish to see what programs automatically start up when Windows starts.
- Sometimes, when you install a program, it may install other programs (e.g., a program that checks for updates).
- You may or may not want to disable some of these so that they are not taking up time and other resources.
- If you see a startup program you don’t recognize, Google it.
To check your startup programs:

1. Open the task manager;

2. If it looks like the one we saw earlier, click on the More details button at the bottom of the Task Manager;

3. The Task Manager window will expand to include a number of tabs across the top;
4. Select the Startup tab; the window will look something like this;

5. Select the program you want to disable or enable, then right-click on it; and
6. On the menu, select disable (if the program currently is enabled) or enable (if currently disabled).

Windows Explorer

In a freshly-installed version of Windows, the Windows Explorer does not display file name extensions. For example:

windows explorer, figure 5, windows ten

The file “grandkidsPhoto.jpg” on the desktop actually is a file named “grandkidsPhoto.jpg.exe”.
If you double-click on the file to open it, you will be in for a surprise.
You can instruct the Windows Explorer to show file name extensions – and set other properties – from the View menu.

windows explorer, figure 6, windows ten

You also can change the way files are displayed: icons (for photos), a list, or a detailed list.
By default, files are organized alphabetically, by name, in ascending order, as we see in this image:
The symbol (either ∧ or ∨) next to Name tells us that Name is the current column and whether the column is sorted in ascending or descending order, respectively.
Clicking on the current sorting column name will toggle between ascending and descending order.
Clicking on a different column name (e.g., Date modified or Type) will make that column the current one and sort the files based on that column, in ascending order.
To change the name of a file:

1. Click once on the file name, pause for a brief moment, and click again;

2. A box will appear around the file name and the background of the box becomes blue (but not the extension);

3. You now can type in a new name and then press the Return key.

4. To change the whole name (including the extension), double-click on the file name after step 2, then type in the name you want.
If you add, delete, or modify files and don’t see the changes appear in the Windows Explorer, select its window and then press F5 to refresh its contents.
To change the name of a file:

1. Click once on the file name, pause for a brief moment, and click again;

2. A box will appear around the file name and the background of the box becomes blue (but not the extension);

3. You now can type in a new name and then press the Return key.

4. To change the whole name (including the extension), double-click on the file name after step 2, then type in the name you want.

Aero Snap

If you are like me, you generally have more than one program open at a time.
Aero snap can make it easier to arrange these windows on your desktop.
Aero Snap
Grab a window by its title bar and drag it to the:
- Display top to fill the whole screen with the window.
- Display (left or right) side to fill that half of the display with the window.
  - Further, you will be offered a choice of other windows to fill the other half of the display. (If you don’t want to choose one, just click on the desktop or in the first window.)
  - If you choose two windows to fill the display, you can move the border between them to the left or right by dragging that border with your mouse.
- Display side, near the top or bottom to fill that quarter of the display with the window.
Or, grab the bottom of a window and drag it to the bottom of the display. Its height now will fill the display from top to bottom, but its width will remain the same.
And, of course, there are some keyboard shortcuts:
- Windows + Left → Snap current window to the left (from right to original to left).
- Windows + Right → Snap current window the the right.
- Windows + Up → Maximize current window (from minimized to original to maximized)
- Windows + Down → Minimize current window.

Screen capture

You may know already that pressing the print screen key on the keyboard captures the current display contents to the clipboard.
But, did you know that you can capture just the currently-selected window by pressing Alt-print screen?

Typing shortcuts

When you select text and its background color changes to blue (e.g., when you click on the Web address at the top of a browser), you do not have to erase the text by pressing backspace or delete.
- You simply can begin typing, and the new text will replace the highlighted text.

typing shortcuts, figure 8, windows ten

If you are filling out sequence of text boxes (say, a form on a Web page), you can press the tab key to move from field to field.
- You don’t have to click the mouse in the next text box.

The spoken word

The Windows search box (lower-left corner) has a microphone icon at its right edge.
- Tap on this icon, and (if you have a microphone), you will be able to use Cortana.
- Cortana is sister to Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon), and Bixby (Samsung).
- You can use your voice to make inquiries and execute programs.
On your mobile devices, such technology comes in handy for searching, sending texts, and making calls.

Accessibility

Windows has a good collection of accessibility tools for folks with physical challenges. These include:
- The narrator and audio descriptions– a screen reader.
- The magnifier – make the desktop larger than the display, and the contents larger as well; it includes the ability to scroll around on the larger desktop.
- Increase cursor and pointer sizes - to make them easier to find.
- Change mouse pointer speed, double-click speed, etc.
- Cortana – as mentioned earlier.
For more information, check out this website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows

Active hours

Sometimes, Windows tries to update while you are busy on the computer.
To remedy this, you can set your active hours, and Windows will apply updates outside of those hours (assuming the computer is turned on).

1. Press the Windows button;

2. Select Settings (⚙) > Update & security > Windows Update;

3. Select Change active hours.

4. Choose the start time and end time for active hours, and then select Save.

Oh, and one more thing …

One of my rules is, “you can never have enough Windows desktop space.”
If you are interested in creating customized, expanded work layouts, take a look at the website https://www.howtogeek.com/197625/how-to-usevirtual-desktops-in-windows-10/