Quick Tips
Here we list some of our favourite Windows 10 and Windows 11 quick tips.
Calculator from search
Did you know you can do quick calculations right from the search bar without having to open calculator first? Just start typing your calculation into the search bar and the result will appear!
Organise the start menu
The start menu is there for quick access to the programs you use most frequently. You can organise your start menu easily so it suits your use of the computer.
- Start by removing tiles on the start menu that you do not use. Simply right-click on a tile and click Unpin from start. The item will still be available on the start menu if needed.
- You can remove all the tiles from the start menu and then drag the right side of the menu toward the left if you want the original style menu.
- Drag the remaining tiles around so they are arranged into groups of programs of a similar type.
- Rename the groups as necessary by hovering over the two lines to the right of the group name and clicking once then type an appropriate name.
- Resize tiles as necessary by right-clicking on the tile and clicking Resize.
- You can group multiple tiles together by dragging one on top of another, keep dragging more tiles onto the group as needed.
Use virtual desktops
With an ever-increasing number of people working from home, it is a good idea to separate the work, office or school tasks being carried out on your computer from other tasks. Windows has a tool to help you keep these tasks separate known as Virtual desktops. With virtual desktops you can easily manage your desktop into virtual workspaces keeping different desktops for each broad category of task you are currently working on.
To work with these:
- Click the Task View icon next to the search box in the toolbar.
- To add a new desktop, click the + icon at the top of the screen. To add additional desktops after the first one has been added, click the New desktop icon at the top of the screen.
- To work on the new desktop you just created, click the Desktop 2 icon at the top of the screen. You will be presented with a Windows desktop with no open windows showing and no icons cluttering your taskbar but your start menu and all desktop icons intact.
- If you have multiple desktops open, you can view the open programs on any individual desktop by hovering your mouse over the desktop icons at the top of the page one by one and the open programs will be displayed under the desktop icons.
- To close a desktop, place your mouse over the desktop you want to close then click the close button that appears above it next to its name. If there are any open windows remaining on that desktop, they will be moved to another desktop.
Predictive text on your PC
Do you like getting text predictions on your phone and wish you could have them while typing on your PC too?
- Click
(the start button).
- Click the Settings menu item.
- Click Devices.
- Click Typing.
- Scroll down and under Hardware keyboard, click the switch under Show text suggestions as I type.
- Optionally, you can turn on Autocorrect misspelt words I type here.
Windows 11 Classic Start Menu
You can use the classic start menu on Windows 11
If you are using Windows 11 and do not like the new start menu, you can re-enable the classic (Windows 10) start menu.
In the current leaked build, you can revert to the old Start Menu by creating a new DWord value using Registry Editor:
- Open Regedit (Registry Editor).
- Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
- Right-Click on the Advanced key (folder).
- Click “New”
- Click “DWORD (32-bit) Value”
- Name it “Start_ShowClassicMode”
- Double-Click on the DWord entry you just made and set its value to 1.
- Close the Registry Editor
- Restart Windows Explorer using Task Manager.
