The greatest Windows 11 suggestions are those you use—to make you extra environment friendly, to make you extra productive, and to customise your PC to the way you need.
But to combine a tip, you must attempt it out. So that’s what we’d such as you to do: Give every of the following tips a fast whirl, see in the event that they give you the results you want, and in the event that they do, nice! We wish to take what helps us and use it that can assist you.
The checklist beneath contains each suggestions for older options in addition to suggestions for brand spanking new ones. Either means, get pleasure from!
Optimize your startup apps
Everyone hits the health club to begin off the 12 months. So why not use the time to trim a number of the vacation bloat out of your PC? There are probably dozens of apps that may quietly load throughout your PC’s startup, slowing the time throughout which your PC boots and gobbling up reminiscence for when it’s accomplished.
Take a take a look at your startup apps contained in the Windows 11 Settings menu (Settings > Apps> Startup) and start thinking about flipping off apps that you just gained’t instantly want, particularly these which can be marked “high impact.” All it will do is power you to load them whenever you wish to use them, which actually isn’t so dangerous. Just don’t flip off a background antivirus course of or something related to Windows (Edge is ok). If you may have any utilities related along with your PC maker (Dell, HP, and so on.) it could be good to go away these alone.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Set up your PC for a number of shows
Hopefully you use more than one display along with your desktop and/or laptop computer, and you’ll buy great monitors on sale right now. They’re massively productive, and in case you’re apprehensive about desk area, go vertical instead.
With Windows 11, you’ll wish to do two issues: “Arrange” your shows inside Windows, and ensure you have your “primary” show picked out.
At Settings>System>Display you possibly can prepare your screens in order that your cursor naturally and seamlessly strikes from one show to the opposite. Drag the shows subsequent to 1 one other nonetheless you’d like: in case you use one show to the suitable of one other, prepare them aspect by aspect in Windows to be able to mouse from one to the opposite. Also pick which show needs to be the first show — this would be the show the place you possibly can click on on the quantity icon and Notifications.
Mark Hachman / IDG
If you may have a laptop computer, be certain that the choice to protect the show structure is checked (“Remember window locations based on monitor connection”), particularly in case you own a Thunderbolt dock. That means all the pieces will stay organized the identical in case you undock your laptop computer or not.
Understand modify the dimensions of textual content and icons
We’re all getting older — and even when your imaginative and prescient is superb, we’re all nonetheless squinting at screens greater than we should always. In Settings>System>Display, you possibly can modify the Scale of every show. Making the worth bigger will improve the dimensions of each aspect inside Windows: icons, textual content, window sizes, and so on. But Settings>Accessibility>Text measurement will merely scale the textual content measurement up and down — what you’re studying proper now.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Why select one over the opposite? Because you might instinctively know which icon corresponds to which, regardless of in case you put on glasses or not. But adjusting the textual content measurement could can help you keep away from paying for bifocals whereas nonetheless utilizing Windows successfully.
Get the Windows 11 Taskbar the way in which you need it
Windows 11’s taskbar nonetheless stinks — although the superb $4.99 Start11 utility fixes things by permitting you to widen and transfer it. But in case you don’t wish to pay, ensure you’re getting essentially the most out of Windows 11 itself. In Settings>Personalization>Taskbar you possibly can make sure the taskbar is proven on your entire shows (or hidden), together with badges to point obtainable mail.
Mark Hachman / IDG
You may also select to cover numerous Taskbar icons, too by toggling off apps you’ll by no means use. (Bye, Chat.)
Honestly, one of the best ways to make use of your Start menu is to not use it; simply press the Windows key and kind the identify of the app (Win then “word” to open Microsoft Word, for instance). It’s merely quicker than pawing on your mouse and clicking via numerous submenus to search out what you need.
If you need a good quicker technique, merely kind Win plus the variety of the icon on the taskbar to launch that program—so opening the primary taskbar program can be Win + 1, the second can be Win + 2, and so forth. Beware, although, as Microsoft seems to have switched up the way it counts the icons. On my PC, the “first” icon is File Explorer, not the Start, Search or digital desktops icon to its left.
How we use the Start menu isn’t essentially the way you’ll use the Start menu. The Start menu isn’t that nice for looking for apps, nevertheless it’s surprisingly good for choosing up the place you left off on a particular doc.
To configure the Start menu the way in which you need, go to Settings>Personalization>Start. Choose the structure you like: “more pins” reveals extra apps, whereas “more recommendations” reveals more moderen paperwork. If you’d like to show off latest paperwork, toggle them off in “Show recently opened items in Start…” beneath. (Microsoft does an terrible job naming these.) You’ll see your modifications mirrored within the Start structure the subsequent time you open it.
Mark Hachman / IDG
There’s extra that you are able to do right here, resembling including to the icons which can be displayed subsequent to the ability button (Personalization > Start > Folders) however they’re not as environment friendly as utilizing File Explorer.
File Explorer’s new tabs are one of the best ways to repeat recordsdata
It’s no enjoyable to make use of a single File Explorer window to focus on a file, reduce or copy it, then navigate via a complete file tree of drives, recordsdata and folders to search out the goal location. If you’ve put in the Windows 11 2022 Update adopted by its supplementary October Update, File Explorer is now new and improved with a browser-like tab choice. Just open the File Explorer window, click on the “+” button to open one other tab, after which switch recordsdata backwards and forwards at your leisure.
Use File Explorer’s preview pane
Sometimes file names aren’t actually sufficient to search out the file that you just’re in search of. For that, there are two options: File Explorer’s built-in search is one. The different is the preview pane, which “opens” the file so that you can view. This works for textual content recordsdata, photographs, PDFs — a shocking variety of file sorts, truly. Just make sure that the Preview pane is enabled (Click on View on the high, then Show, after which Preview pane) and make it possible for the pane is massive sufficient to comfortably view the doc in query.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Turn on Game Mode
Windows 11 Game Mode prevents Windows from updating when you’re taking part in a sport and shuts off background processes to offer your PC all of the horsepower it might muster. Seems apparent, proper? Go to the Settings>Gaming>Game Mode to flip it on. It will set off whenever you’re taking part in a sport, however gained’t in any other case. Note that it could trigger YouTube movies taking part in in a browser on a second monitor to stutter a bit, nonetheless.
Carve out area for you with Do Not Disturb
Windows’ Focus Mode turns off notifications and may schedule a playlist of Spotify songs that can assist you burn via a process with out exterior distractions. But you probably have a number of screens open to view electronic mail, and if an app icon posts a taskbar badge to warn you…do you really want notifications? In Settings>System>Notifications you possibly can merely flip “Do not Disturb” on, which permits notifications to build up within the Notifications portion of the Action Center, however you gained’t truly be bothered by them.
Mark Hachman / IDG
You may also schedule notifications to be turned off at sure hours with the associated management to “Turn on do not disturb automatically”. Your private time needs to be your personal…particularly after hours throughout a trip.
Want much more? My colleague Michael Crider lists his favorite “hidden” tips for Windows 11. We’ll have much more Windows suggestions sooner or later!