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Top 100 tips for windows 10 tim sievers
- 6. A very brief history of Windows
Hello, I’m Tim Sievers. I’ve used every Microsoft Operating System (OS) since the days
of MS-DOS in the 1980’s and over the years I’ve seen huge improvements in usability and
design. I would never have imagined how far PC’s have come since then. However,
looking back there were a few bumps along the road, with Windows Vista and more
recently Windows 8 being some of the least popular versions of the OS.
Windows Vista was a visually stunning OS let down by poor performance on a wide range
of hardware compared to its predecessor, Windows XP. After its release many users
returned the software and were given “downgrades” to XP. Such stories scared most
businesses and many individuals into sticking with XP even when Windows 7 came along,
but Microsoft had worked hard to fix the performance issues and Windows 7 was
definitely a leap forward in performance, stability and security.
Then came Windows 8, the most ambitious and truly radical redesign of Windows since
Windows 95. For 17 years the Start menu and the Windows Desktop had been at the
forefront of the user experience, then suddenly the “Modern User Interface” with its
touch-friendly Start Screen had taken over. The Desktop was still there but the Start menu
was gone and the jarring effect of switching between the Start Screen, Modern Apps and
the Desktop left many traditional Windows Users confused and upset.
Of course, Windows 8 received unfavorable reviews and while the 8.1 update addressed
many of the problems with the OS, the damage had already been done. So much so that
Microsoft decided to skip the “Windows 9” name for its new OS to give it some extra
distance from Windows 8. Microsoft’s mission with Windows 10 is to combine the best
features of Windows 7 and 8 to give the 1.5 billion Windows Users around the world a
reason to upgrade. The return of the Start menu, a new easy to use “Tablet Mode” and a
free upgrade offer for Windows 7 and 8.1 users is a good beginning, but Windows 10
offers so much more.
- 10. Basic Navigation
In the feedback I received for my previous Windows books, I was often asked to include
some more basic navigation instructions for beginners, so I’ve decided to run through
some basics here in the introduction. Experienced users should feel free to skip ahead.
Many of the keyboard shortcuts used in Windows 10 involve a special key on your
keyboard called the Windows Logo Key. On older keyboards it should look like this
or on newer keyboards like this and is located in the bottom left-hand corner
between the Ctrl and Alt keys. Throughout this guide I will use the newer Windows logo
to refer to this key. For example, you can quickly lock your PC with a keyboard
shortcut by pressing the Windows Logo Key and the letter “L” key at the same time. This
shortcut can be showed as: + L
In Windows 10, many of the built-in apps use a Hamburger menu that lets you see a side
menu of options. A hamburger menu is represented by a series of lines stacked on top of
each other like the layers of a hamburger . I don’t know why, but I feel a bit hungry
now!
Many of these same apps also include a Settings button represented by a gear wheel
and a More button represented by a series of dots .
A Long-Press is a touch screen gesture that first appeared on smartphones. In Windows
the long-press gesture is the touch version of right-clicking. To perform a Long-Press, tap
& hold your finger on the screen for a few seconds, then release it. If available, a context
menu will appear.
Ever wondered what these > arrows > are > for? It’s simply a way of condensing
instructions. For example at the beginning of this book or a new topic I will write an
instruction like this, “Select the X button, then go to the Y setting and choose the Z
option”, but after you’re more familiar with a topic I will write the instruction as, “Go to X
> Y > Z”.
A few of the Keyboard Shortcuts shown in this book include some of the Function Keys
- 41. Tip # 17 – Cortana Troubleshooting
What if you setup Cortana and nothing happens? She either doesn’t listen when you talk to
her or she simply won’t talk back, it’s unlikely that she’s giving you the cold shoulder!
Here are the most common reasons why Cortana remains silent:
1. Cortana will respond to you based on how you communicate with her, so if you
typed your question, Cortana thinks you want her to just display the answer and not
speak aloud. Of course, there will be times when this is more appropriate, like when
you’re at work or in a café.
2. Your microphone isn’t working. If the message isn’t getting through you can try
testing your microphone. Go to Start, type “set up mic” and select Set up a
microphone, then follow the instructions.
3. Your speakers aren’t working. First, check that the speakers are turned on or that
the volume is up. Second, go to Start, type “Device Manager” and select it from the
results, then check that your sound card software is installed correctly.
- 81. Chapter 6 – Maps & MSN Apps
The Maps app in Windows 10 provides street maps and satellite photos from all over the
world. You can get directions, view an area from street level, show traffic information and
search for anything from your current location to an address, a business, a landmark, or a
city and get details including reviews, hours of operation, and other information from
Wikipedia.
Windows 10 also comes with a variety of built-in MSN apps, including Weather, Money,
News and Sports. These apps are integrated with the Bing search engine and bring
together the latest data from all over the web.
In this chapter we’ll take a look at some of the best features of the Maps & MSN apps.
- 82. Tip # 42 – Navigate the Maps app
In Maps you can search for anything from an address, a city, a business or a landmark.
You can then easily Zoom, Tilt and Rotate the map to get a good idea of where everything
is.
Touch – To search simply tap in the search box in the top left corner, then enter the
location and select a result. You’ll see a detailed list of information to the left of the
screen. You can explore the map by using some simple touchscreen gestures like Pinch
Zoom (slide two fingers apart or together on the screen), Rotate (put two fingers or a
thumb and finger on the screen and turn clockwise or counter clockwise) and Tilt (put two
fingers at the top of the screen and two at the bottom, then slide them past each other)
Key/Mouse – To search simply click in the search box in the top left corner, then enter the
location and select a result. You’ll see a detailed list of information to the left of the
screen. You can explore the map by using the navigation bar to the right of the screen, use
the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out or use the keyboard shortcuts, Ctrl + Plus
or Ctrl + Minus. Hover the mouse pointer over the Rotate North button to see the
Rotate clockwise and Rotate counterclockwise buttons or use the keyboard shortcuts,
Ctrl + Right arrow or Ctrl + Left arrow. Hover the mouse over the Tilt button to see the
Tilt up and Tilt down buttons or use the keyboard shortcuts, Ctrl + Up arrow or Ctrl +
Down arrow.
- 84. Tip # 43 – Finding Direction
Of course, maps are all about helping you find your way and the Maps app makes it easy
to find directions from your current location, places that you pin on the map or between
any two addresses.
To find your current location just tap or click on the Show my location button or
use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Home. To get directions to or from your current location,
go to the Directions option in the Hamburger menu. If required, you can use the swap
button to switch the “To” and “From” locations around, then type in the other
location and tap or click the search button. You can also switch between Driving
, Public Transport and Walking directions.
To Pin a location on the map, long-press or click & hold on the location. Then select the
Directions option to get directions from your current location. To change the “From”
location tap or click twice on “My Location” in the first address field, then type in another
location and tap or click the search button.
To simply find directions between to addresses, go to Directions in the Hamburger
menu. Type in the “From” and “To” addresses and tap or click the search button.
Note: If you get a “Location services are turned off” message, select the Settings button in
the message or go to Settings > Open location settings via the Hamburger menu, then
scroll down to the Maps app and flick the switch to On.
- 85. Tip # 44 – Add your Favorite Places
You can save the places that matter to you, like your work, home, gym, favorite
restaurants or any place you like, so you can quickly find them later.
To add a favorite, search and choose a location, then select the Add to favorites
button or pin a location by long-pressing or right-clicking on the map and then select
Add to favorites . You can give the place a nickname or set the address as your
home or work location, then select Save.
You can view your Favorites by going to Favorites in the Hamburger menu. Then you
can Long-press or right-click a favorite to edit or delete it.
Note: Saving your favorite places in Maps can also help Cortana to understand and set
location-based reminders, like “Remind me to call Dad when I get home”. In this example
it doesn’t matter what time I get home, when I sign in to my home computer or take my
laptop/tablet or other Windows 10 device to my home, Cortana will detect where I am and
send me a reminder.
- 111. You can also select the Alt key to use the KeyTips shortcuts. For example, when you press
Alt a series of letters will appear near the Ribbon Tabs, select H to show the Home tab
then just select the letters next to the command you’d like to run, like N to create a New
folder.
Note: As well as cut, copy, paste, open, delete, rename etc… the Home tab also includes
some handy shortcuts like “Move to”, “Copy to” and “Copy path” which will save a file
path to the clipboard. Plus a backup command called History, which is covered later in Tip
# 96.
- 120. Tip # 65 – Pins & Playlists
Groove Music lets you quickly create new playlists and Pin your favorite songs, artists,
albums or playlists to the Start menu for quick access.
Touch – There are number of ways to create a playlist, but the quickest way is to tap the
Songs button in the Hamburger menu, tap the Select button and select the songs
you want, then tap the Add to button and select the New Playlist option, give the playlist
a name and select Save. To Pin a song, artist, album or playlist to the Start menu, tap the
Select button and tap to select the item then choose Pin to Start.
Key/Mouse – One of the quickest ways to create a playlist is simply to click & drag a
song to the Add/New Playlist button in the Hamburger menu, give the playlist a name
and select Save, then drag more songs to the playlist. To add a bunch of songs, click the
Select button and select the songs you want, then click on the Add to button and
select your playlist. To Pin a song, artist, album or playlist to the Start menu, click on the
Select button and click to select the item then choose Pin to Start.
- 149. Tip # 85 – Defending Windows
Protecting your computer against malware like viruses, spyware and ransomware, is an
ongoing battle. Malware infections can delete data, steal personal information and take
complete control of your computer. In Windows 10, Microsoft has included built-in Anti-
Malware protection called Windows Defender. Previously just an Anti-spyware program
in Windows 7, Windows Defender has been beefed up to include Anti-virus protection
since Windows 8. Of course, you can still choose to install your preferred security
software, but Windows 10 gives you a basic level of security from the very beginning. To
run a scan with Windows Defender:
Tap or click on the Start button and start typing “Windows Defender”, then select it.
Choose from Quick, Full and Custom scan types then tap or click on the Scan now
button.
Note: Malware infections generally come from email attachments, malicious websites,
downloading “free” software such as screen savers and search toolbars or from music and
file sharing networks.