5 Hidden Windows 10 Features & Settings You Aren’t Using!

In this blog-post, I share with you 5 hidden Windows 10 features and settings that you are probably not using, but really should be! These tips will help you to greatly improve your efficiency and productivity when using a Windows 10 computer.

1. Change Windows Sounds

This one is a must-do on pretty much any new Windows 10 install: changing the default Windows notification, alert, warning, and user account control sounds

• Click on the start menu
• Go to change system sounds
• Change the sound of the following program events to Windows Start-up.wav
  • Asterisk
  • Critical Battery Alarm
  • Critical Stop
  • Default Beep
  • System Notification
  • Exclamation
  • Notification
  • Windows User Account Control

2. Disable Windows Login Screen

Having to enter your password each time you log-in to your computer can be quite annoying. Here is how to disable to login screen for good – but be warned that your roommate can now login to your Windows machine when you’re not home!

• Click on the start menu
• Go to netplwiz
• Disable Users must enter a username and password to use this computer for the administrator account
• Click on apply
• Enter your password

3. Use Windows Subsystem for Linux

This is one for the geeks: You can now officially use Linux on top of your Windows 10 installation, no need for a virtual-box or other complicated shenanigans. First, enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

• Click on the start menu
• Go to Turn Windows features on or off
• Enable Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Reboot your computer

Next, install Ubuntu:

• Click on the start menu
• Go to Microsoft Store
• Search for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
• Install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
• Launch Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

That’s it, you can now use Linux on top of your Windows 10 install! However, I would also recommend you to use a different terminal than CMD which is generally used with the Linux subsystem. To get a better terminal, do the following:

• Click on the start menu
• Go to Microsoft Store
• Search for Windows Terminal (Preview)
• Install and Launch the Windows Terminal

4. New Windows Snipping Tool

The snipping tool is a great tool to create screenshots of entire programs or parts thereof. However, the old snipping tool hasn’t aged too well and thus a new and improved snipping tool is now available on Windows 10.

You can access it by pressing SHIFT + WINDOWS + S

It has 4 modes

• Cut rectangle of your screen
• Free cut some part of your screen
• Snip specific program
• Snip entire screen

This new snipping tool is great as it immedately saves any new snips to the clipboard and allows you to make annotations on top of your snips. It allows to save snips as .jpg files, or if you want transparency as .png or .gif

5. Essential Windows Shortcuts

Finally, here is a list of invaluable windows shortcut you must know of you are working with a Windows 10 computer:

• WINDOWS + LEFT put currently selected program in left half your screen
• WINDOWS + RIGHT put currently selected program in right half your screen
• WINDOWS + UP maximize windows
• WINDOWS + DOWN minimize window
• WINDOWS + 1 open first pinned program
• WINDOWS + 2 open second pinned program
• WINDOWS + 3 to 0 open the third to tenth program, either as opened or however many you have pinned to the taskbar
• WINDOWS + . open Emoji’s
• ALT + TAB quickly tab between programs
• CTRL + SHIFT + TAB switch to the next tab to the left in Chrome
• CTRL + TAB switch to the next tab to the right in Chrome

And that’s it! Tell me if you know of some other hidden Windows 10 features or settings that I have missed!