Back to Top

Tech, Web, Cloud & Cabling Services

Category: Tips & Info

Tips & Info Category

Windows Tip of the week: Reduce clutter with a mouse gesture

Shake the clutter away:

Windows-Macbook

On a modern Windows PC with gobs of memory, it’s easy to have dozens of windows open at one time. But all that multitasking can create a distracting mess of overlapping panes that makes it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand.

The solution is a little gesture that debuted in Windows 7. Bring the app you want to focus on to the foreground, point to its title bar, hold down the left mouse button, and make a gentle left-right-left shaking gesture. It doesn’t need to be violent; just make sure you move the window an inch or so in each direction. Do it right, and every other open window is minimized to the taskbar. Shake again to restore all windows to their previous position.

Want to minimize every window, including the current one? Aim for a narrow strip at the end of the taskbar, just to the right of the system clock, and click once. Click again to restore all windows.

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Keyboard tricks for switching between programs

Keyboard tricks for switching between programs:

windows-switch

Do you know all the program switching techniques for Windows? The more programs you have open, the more you can benefit from these keyboard shortcuts.

Here are three worth memorizing:

  • Alt+Tab: This is the classic shortcut, the one most Windows users are likely to know. Hold down the Alt key and tap Tab to see a list of running programs as thumbnails. If you continue holding down Alt and keep tapping Tab, you’ll cycle through all of them.
  • Alt+Esc: Use this shortcut if you want skip the thumbnails and just cycle through the actual programs. Keep holding down Alt and tapping Esc until you reach the window you want.
  • Ctrl+Alt+Tab: Most people don’t know this one. Press this combination and you get the same thumbnails as with Alt+Tab, with one crucial difference: When you take your hands off the keyboard the thumbnails remain visible. Use the left and right arrow keys to move through thumbnails. To choose one, tap the spacebar or press Enter.

And one last secret: Add Shift to any of these shortcuts to move in reverse.

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Get additional Snap Assist options

Get additional Snap Assist options:

Most users are familiar with the Snap Assist function in Windows 10, where dragging a window to either side will snap that window into one-half of the screen. However, many users are unaware of how the Snap Assist function has been enhanced for Windows 10.

Not only can you drag and snap to one-half screen—now, if you drag a window to one of the four corners of the screen, it will snap to fill one-quarter of it. This means you can easily position four windows to be open at once, as shown in Figure.

Figure

h10quicktips

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Remove Windows.old

Remove Windows.old:

Hard drive storage is not as costly or as limited as it once was, but that doesn’t mean you want to waste space if you don’t have to. If you upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8, you probably have a folder on your hard drive that contains the old version of Windows. On the assumption you are never going to revert back to Windows 7 or 8, you can delete that folder and regain the storage space on your hard drive.

To delete the folder, open File Explorer, navigate to the hard drive where Windows 10 resides (typically this is the C drive), and right-click it. Now, click the Properties menu item to get to a screen similar to the one shown in Figure. Click the Disk Cleanup button to start the scan and then click the Clean Up System Files button.

Figure

g10quicktips

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Create a custom shortcut folder

Create a custom shortcut folder:

If you use the Windows 10 Start Menu to get to your apps, this next advanced tip may be for you. You can create a custom Start Menu folder to contain shortcuts to any apps, documents, etc., that you care to include. You can then pin that folder to the Start Screen or the Taskbar.

Begin by opening File Explorer and navigating to this folder (Figure):

C:\Users\mark.MRKM11X\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Note: AppData is a hidden file, so you will have to select the Show Hidden Files check box on the Ribbon. Of course, your username will be different from mine.

Figure

f10quicktips

In the Programs folder, you can add your own subfolder. In my example I used the folder name A_Custom_Start_Folder so it would display in the “A” section of the Start Menu. You can put any shortcuts to apps in that folder you want.

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Change the location where apps install

Change the location where apps install:

Many computers these days are shipping with a combination of SSD and large capacity mechanical data drives. A great idea, but it does require a bit more management, particularly when it comes to where to install new apps. In most cases, you will want new apps installed on the data drive, not the smaller capacity solid-state boot drive.

To change the default drive for apps, click the Start Button and navigate to All Apps | Settings | System | Storage. You should see a screen similar to the one shown in Figure. From this screen you can change the default locations for apps, documents, music, pictures, and video.

Figure

e10quicktips

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Take advantage of OneDrive Fetch

Take advantage of OneDrive Fetch:

When you create a Microsoft account, one of the best perks is that you also get OneDrive cloud storage at no additional cost. But a little-used feature called Fetch can get you even more than that.
Note: This does not apply to OneDrive for Business.

Right-click the OneDrive icon and navigate to Settings. On the next screen, click the Settings tab to get to the screen shown in Figure. Look for the checkbox called Let Me Use OneDrive To Fetch Any Of My Files On This PC. This will allow you to access any file on that PC from any computer using any browser simply by logging into your online version of OneDrive.

Figure

d10quicktips

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Limit Cortana’s reach

Limit Cortana’s reach:

If you want to change Cortana’s search behavior even more, you can limit the parameters of the search itself. For example, Cortana can be told not to search the internet at all.

Click the Cortana search box in the Taskbar and then navigate to the Cortana settings screen, as shown in Figure. At the bottom should be a setting that says Search Online And Include Web Results. Switch that to Off and Cortana won’t display any more web results no matter which search engine is the default.

Figure

c10quicktips

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Pin File Explorer searches

Pin File Explorer searches:

One of the more powerful features of the Windows 10 File Explorer is the ability to save searches. Figure shows a saved search that identifies all the Word documents in a specific folder. When you have as many .doc files as I do, this is a handy search to have around. However, it would be even more convenient if that search was pinned to the Start Menu, where I can get to it even faster.

Figure

b10quicktips

Open File Explorer and navigate to your Users folder and then to your Searches subfolder. Right-click the saved search and pin it to your Start Menu for easy access.

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

Windows Tip of the week: Get a closer look with the Magnifier tool

Use the Windows Magnifier tool to zoom in:


You don’t have to be myopic to occasionally need a closer look at something on your Windows screen. Maybe you want to see more details in a picture. Maybe the font on the web page is too small to read comfortably.

Whatever the reason, help is a keystroke away. Hold down the Windows key and tap the plus sign (on the top row or on the numeric keypad; it doesn’t matter). That instantly zooms the display to 200% of normal. Keep tapping the plus sign to zoom in further. Moving the mouse to the edges of the screen will pan to areas that aren’t visible.

To zoom back out, hold down the Windows key as you tap the minus sign.

Have questions?

For More Tips & Info from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

CALL US NOW!