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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;
    controlling startup program, figure four, windows ten
    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:

    windows explorer, figure 7, windows ten
  • 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 …

 

 

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