8 Windows Tips and Tricks You Didn't Know You Needed

Whether you’re using Windows 7, 8, or 10, there are plenty of handy features hiding in the corners of your operating system that you may not have discovered yet. From built-in apps and features to browser extensions and more, we’ve compiled 8 Windows tips and tricks you didn’t know you needed right here in this article. Here’s what we have so far


1) Free up space with Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is an oldie, but a goodie: It’s one of those little-known utilities that can make your computer feel brand new. Press Windows + R to open up your Run dialogue box, type cleanmgr, and then press Enter to launch Disk Cleanup. This utility not only provides you with information about how much space you can potentially reclaim on your hard drive, but it also gives you detailed instructions on how to do so.


2) Customize your taskbar with hidden icons

It's obvious that you can add icons to your taskbar—they're right there in plain sight. But did you know that you can also hide icons? That's right, Windows lets you store any number of icons on your taskbar; they just aren't visible unless you choose to display them.


3) Choose your folder view style

Whether you prefer to work with a large or small number of icons on your desktop, Windows 10 offers up two different options. Navigate to Settings> Personalization> Taskbar and Start Menu, then click Choose which folders appear on Start under Folder Options. From there, you can either select Show All Folders or choose a specific icon view by tapping Customize under Show these folders on Start. Be sure to return here whenever you want to change things up!


4) Use OneDrive to sync files across multiple computers

Whether you use Windows or Mac, OneDrive will save you time by syncing your files across all of your devices. If you’re a heavy user of Microsoft Office, OneDrive is an incredibly convenient way to get access to files on any device.


5) Search from the desktop

Do you ever find yourself looking for an app, but can’t remember its name? Instead of searching through your Start menu to find it, just hit your keyboard shortcut (usually Ctrl + F), type in a few keywords, and Windows will show you all matching apps. There are also advanced search operators like regular expressions; learn about them here.


6) Print using less ink

Paper isn’t cheap, but it can be frustrating to see your ink cartridge print a page with an inch of blank space on all sides. Luckily, there are plenty of settings you can tweak in your printer software to use less ink without sacrificing quality. In Windows 10, click on Start and type printing into search—there should be an icon for Windows printing preferences; click that. Go through the tabs until you find the one labelled Paper/Quality. The default setting is called Best quality, which is designed to conserve ink by only printing text and graphics. If you want more white space around your printed documents, select Good Quality instead. For even higher-quality prints, choose Best Quality. 

If you're printing photos, go to the Paper tab and switch from Letter Size (8.5 x 11 inches) to A4 Size (210 x 297 mm). And finally, if you have an inkjet printer or scanner hooked up wirelessly via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable, make sure it's set up correctly so that any images sent from your computer will appear as quickly as possible.


7) Open file location

Most of us use Microsoft Word on a daily basis. But have you ever wondered where those files are actually stored? Navigate to C:\Users\ (without quotes) in your computer file explorer, then double-click on AppData. This will take you to your user profile folder, which contains all of your settings for programs like Word, Excel, OneNote and more. The best part is that these folders are only accessible by the account holder. No one else can access or edit them!


8) Enable Dark Mode in Windows 10

In what has to be one of Microsoft’s best ideas ever, it just released a dark mode for its desktop operating system. (Still in preview, but rolling out soon.) Enabling dark mode is surprisingly easy: Click Start > Settings > Personalization > Colors. Under Choose your app mode, select Dark. Done! Now everything will be black instead of stark white. 🕸👹💀🎃

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