Five Time-Saving Windows 10 Productivity Tweaks

Five Time-Saving Windows 10 Productivity Tweaks

Tweaking is a way to fine-tune something, and Windows 10 gives us plenty of capabilities to fine-tune the OS to our particular work methods and thus optimize our productivity.  I’m sharing some of the tweaks which I have come to rely on, mined from the inner workings of Windows 10, to feed my need for speed.

Turn Off Windows Visual Effects, Turn On CPU Speed

You can speed up your CPU by turning off CPU-hungry visual effects. Sure, animations and shadows make the user interface look great, but they can consume significant CPU power and eat memory. Follow these steps to turn off different visual effects.

1. Open File Explorer and from the left column, right-click This PC.
2. From the drop-down menu, click Properties.
3. Click Advanced system settings in the left column.
4. Now click the Settings box under Performance.
5. The Visual Effects tab reveals all the visual features Windows loads by default. Click the Custom button and proceed to uncheck the ones you can live without (most of them, actually).

I left on only Enable Peek and Save taskbar thumbnail previews but you can adjust accordingly to see how CPU speed and memory improves on your systems.

Use Built-in Windows 10 URIs to Zip to Specific OS Functions

First off, what is a URI? URI stands for Universal Resource Identifier and URL stands for Universal Resource Locator. Just as URLs take us to specific Internet addresses, built-in Windows 10 URIs can zip us to specific operating system functions and tasks which would otherwise require digging into Settings and clicking through layers of menus. While using URIs does involve some typing in the Start search bar, it eliminates the need to wade through menus and submenus to where the particular function icon is located.

To launch a URI, use the Run command (Windows key+R or right-click the Start icon and select Run. From the ensuing window, type ms-setting: followed by the function you want to zip to. For example, ms-setting:bluetooth will immediately open the Bluetooth page in settings.

For a list of all the functions you can add to ms-settings go to Microsoft’s listing. If you decide there is too much typing to use this tip, at least you now know what a URI is.

How to Skip Password Login and Go Directly to the Desktop

If your PC never leaves home and you are the sole user there is probably no need for a password login. Sure, password logins are vital for the security of the contents of your PC but they inherently stop you in your tracks to get to work. So why not just deactivate the login when you boot up or when you return after the system is idle? Follow these steps:

1. In the Start search bar type netplwiz. This will open the User Accounts permissions window.
2. Uncheck the box next to Users must enter a username and password to use the computer.
3. Highlight the username in the box below for which you want to deactivate the login password. You will be asked to type in the password you previously set, just to prove it is you.
4. When you reboot the PC again, Windows will open directly on the Desktop, no login required.

Disable Windows 10 Store App Updates

When Windows 10 upgrades take over our systems, we have few choices but to let Microsoft continue the process. But when the Apps we install from the Microsoft Store want to automatically update, we do have a choice to prevent this. While the update is usually in the background, it still can cause issues if another CPU demanding process in underway like, say, a high-definition video playing.

Fortunately, as Windows 10 has matured, so has the ability to switch off Store auto-updates, which then allows you to update individual apps selectively. Follow these steps to customize when and how updates get downloaded:

1. Open Microsoft Store and click the three dots on the top right.
2. From the drop-down menu click Settings. Slide the off/on switch below App updates to the left.
3. Updates will now load only when you proactively request them. If there are updates to install you will see a down arrow with the number of available updates in the upper right (next to the three dots). Click on that arrow icon to see what is ready to update. You can cherry-pick the app updates you want.

Automatically Save Files and Photos As They Are Created

Auto-saving files to specific folders would not only save time but many repeated keystrokes as well. But for this Windows feature there is good news and bad news: The bad news is that auto-saving to specific folders is limited on an app by app basis. The good news is that Windows 10 can be set up to auto-save any file to OneDrive.

There is no universal auto-save function in Windows. There are auto save features on some individual apps like Office and Internet browsers. There are also third party freeware apps such as Door2Windows.com’s AutoSaver which can be configured to automatically save any file to your selected location.

Microsoft’s cloud storage, OneDrive, is easily configurable to sync your Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders. Not only can they then be accessed from other devices but are an excellent off-site backup to boot. There are separate convenient configurations for auto-saves of photos and video whenever you connect cameras and phones to your PC. When you capture screenshots on your PC, they too can be simultaneously captured on OneDrive, too.

Setting up OneDrive Auto Save is a right-click away:

1. From the OneDrive icon on your Desktop, System Tray or Taskbar, right-click and select Settings.
2. From the Auto Save tab, click the Update Folders box.
3. Now select one by one the three boxes, Desktop, Pictures, and Documents to sync (and protect) files on your PC to OneDrive.
4. After selecting each box, click Start protection.

Now files in each category will be automatically synced in the background to OneDrive.

Keep on Top of Future Windows 10 Iterations as an Insider

We just wrapped up our multi-week walkthrough of features in the April 2018 Update for Windows 10, so naturally, it’s already time for the next feature update to arrive. This semi-annual Windows as a Service (WaaS) release cycle is relentless: As one cycle wraps up another begins, and you are at the next public update before you know it.

This is exactly why, just last week, Microsoft extended the lifecycle support period from 18 months to 30 months for the feature updates they release moving from September forward. However, this change is only for Enterprise and Education customers.

Consumers running Windows 10 Home or Pro — i.e. most of you reading this — will still be expected to adopt each new feature update shortly after they’re generally available.

That means it is better to be prepared and aware of what is coming rather than just be surprised on the day your system installs the latest feature update.

The best way to stay up to speed on what is coming in each new feature update for Windows 10 is through the Windows Insider Program. This early-access process allows you to install development builds of the next feature update for Windows 10, experience the new features in their early stages, and report any issues you come across.

Of course, installing pre-release software is not for the fainthearted and I am sure many of our readers have the requisite skills to deal with the buggy nature of these early builds.

My recommendation is that you do not install Insider builds if you only have one device – this program is perfect for a second device you use for playing around. That allows you to keep one stable system up and running for your everyday tasks and the other for testing the Insider builds.

If installing pre-release software is not your thing, then it is still possible to stay up to date on what is being worked on in these early builds. You can do that by keeping your eye on the official Windows Blog and watching the string of release notes that are made available for each new Insider build during the development cycle. These blog posts usually highlight any new features or enhancements added to that build plus list any fixes and known issues users should be aware of in them.

By following these release notes, you will be able to stay updated on what is happening within the development cycle without needing to install the early builds on your daily driver.

Of course, we can also help you in tracking some of the enhancements that are being worked on in each feature update. The final build is expected to be sorted out in the next few weeks and will be generally available sometime in October. Microsoft confirmed a couple of weeks ago that this sixth feature update for Windows 10 will be known as the October 2018 Update. Microsoft locked down the feature set for this update a few weeks ago, so we have a good idea of what is coming in this release.

One last note before I list some of the new enhancements in this October 2018 Update. The days of a new update/release of Windows being a dramatic change or shift in what we are used to are long gone. Under the WaaS update process, these feature updates are much more incremental so the general way you use Windows 10 does not change between feature updates.

However, there will be tweaks and enhancements to add smaller capabilities to the operating system and that is what we are looking at now for the October 2018 Update. Here is a quick rundown of some of those highlighted additions you are going to see next month when it is released.

Cloud Clipboard

If you use and move between multiple devices, this is going to allow you easy access to text/image items you place in the clipboard from one device to another. The first reaction to this new feature is a concern about synching passwords that are copied between password managers and login dialogs since they are text-based.

Microsoft has thought of this by adding an option in the new Clipboard Settings page to not automatically sync copied text. You will be able to manually sync those items from the new Cloud Clipboard dialog that is accessible using the WINDOWS + V keyboard shortcut.

Snip & Sketch

Another new addition will eventually replace the popular Snipping Tool in Windows 10 and it is going to be a combination of a new app and snipping interface/toolbar.

You will be able to continue using the WINDOWS + PRINT SCREEN keyboard shortcut to grab the entire desktop and save that screenshot to your local storage. An additional setting will be added to Windows Settings that let you switch to a one button shortcut to open the new Snipping Toolbar interface. From this toolbar, you will be able to grab a snip from your screen using familiar options such as rectangular, freeform and fullscreen snips. These snips are saved to the clipboard and you will see a notification about them in the Action Center, but they are not saved to local storage until you open them in the Snip & Sketch app and save them.

Snip & Sketch and the Snipping Tool will both be present in the October 2018 Update during this transition. Microsoft’s goal is feature parity between the two methods before they deprecate the Snipping Tool.

Microsoft Edge

As in past feature updates, this upcoming update for Windows 10 will include many enhancements to Microsoft’s Windows 10 web browser. The reason we only get Edge updates during the feature update cycle is because it is part of that process.

There have been some recent indicators that Microsoft may be preparing to separate Edge from the feature updates so that it can be updated more often. This will be a big move for Edge and allow it to more readily compete with browsers such as Chrome and Firefox.

Until then, the new features and enhancements will trickle out every six months. IN this upcoming release of Edge some of the things you will see are:

• Control of auto-play media with options to allow, limit or block them. This can be an overall setting or applied on a per-site basis.
• PDF files viewed in Edge will now appear in Timeline for easy recall/access after the fact.
• Learning Tools update for Books and Reading Views. This includes new themes, grammar tools to highlight different parts of speech and a dictionary function for highlighting and defining words in books and PDF files.
• Jump List added to the context menu for pinned Edge icons on the Start Screen and Taskbar.
• New consent dialog when Edge wants to save data you have entered in any web forms.

Of course, the EdgeHTML rendering engine is being updated to support more web standards and capabilities including growing PWA enhancements that were released with the April 2018 Update earlier this year.

Windows Security

Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) is now coming to consumers running Windows 10 Pro on systems which have supported virtualization hardware capabilities. In the past, this was only available to enterprise/business customers.

WDAG works in Edge and gives you a secure browser workspace that is separate and protected from the rest of your system. If your job requires browsing questionable websites for research, etc. then you will want to use this security enhancement.

Finally…

There are many smaller changes that are also coming to Windows 10 through the October 2018 Update including a dark themed File Explorer, a new Game Bar and Game Mode implementation and more fluent design additions throughout the OS user interface.

As mentioned earlier, once the update is out and available we will once again work our way through these updates for you here at Windows Secrets.