Hot Take Neowin Tips and Tricks thread

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Windows key + H

On Windows 10 and Windows 11, pressing Windows key + H on your keyboard, allows you to dictate a message with your voice on any text box.

I use this feature all the time. It really does a great job of transcribing what you say. I also use it when I'm trying to type a word but doing such a horrible job that even the spell checker has no idea what I am trying to type.

It looks a little different between Windows 10 and Windows 11 but the functionality is the same.

How to dictate a message with your voice using Windows key + H

Not everyone is a computer expert, and in this vein, in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday, we take a look at a very useful keyboard shortcut that enables you to use the power of your voice!

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Disable "open on hover" on Windows 10 taskbar weather icon

Is anyone else annoyed with the weather icon on the bottom right of Windows 10? By simply moving your mouse over it, Microsoft News pops up!

If that annoys you too, here is how you can stop that from happening.

Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar (located at the bottom of the screen) and left-click “News and Interests” and select "Open on Hover".

That’s it! Now when you hover your mouse over the weather, Microsoft news won’t open.

If you want to remove that icon entirely, simply go through the same steps as before, but this time instead of selecting "Open on Hover", select "Turn off".

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Disable "open on hover" on Windows 10 taskbar weather icon

The weather icon on the bottom right of Windows 10 is nice to have but having the news appear simply by moving your mouse over it can be super annoying! Here's how to turn that off.

www.neowin.net

 

[oldschool]

Is anyone else annoyed with the weather icon on the bottom right of Windows 10?

@oldschool tip: disable Widgets entirely in taskbar settings. Just another piece of Windows trash to the bin.

 

[vtqhtr413]

I like that widget but if I didn't like it, I would right click on the taskbar (you can right click nearly anything in windows and get a menu) hover over news and interests and left click turn off, I believe the same applies in windows 11.

 

[show-Zi]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Windows key + H

Voice input is not supported depending on the language used. Even so, the shortcut key itself is assigned, so notifications will be piled up endlessly with win + h.
In other words, for Windows in a language that is not supported, win + h is a shortcut for checking the operation of notifications.

Spoiler

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Windows key + V

Windows 10 and 11 include an app called “Clipboard History”, allowing you to store multiple things on the clipboard by highlighting each item and pressing ctrl+c.

To access Clipboard History, hold down the Windows key and press V (Win + V). You can then choose which copied item on the clipboard you wish to paste into an application.

Keep in mind that with this feature enabled, you will be able to keep only 10 of the most recent copied items on your clipboard. And at any time, you can open the clipboard (Windows key +V) and tell it to "clear all".

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Windows key + V

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't just have to copy one thing at a time, but could store multiple things on your clipboard? Join us in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how!

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: How to change the Microsoft Edge homepage

Built into Windows 10 and 11 is a web browser called “Microsoft Edge” (The program you open up to go to a web page).

The browser is made by Microsoft, so the home page (The first page that loads when you open a web browser) is the Microsoft start page, but it doesn’t have to be. You can change the home page to whatever you want (for Example Google or Yahoo).

Here is how you can set your own home page in Microsoft Edge.

1. Open Microsoft Edge (looks like a blue rolling wave on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen)
2. Click the 3 horizontal dots in the top right of Edge
3. Click settings
4. On the left-hand side click “Start, home, and new tabs”
5. On the right put a dot in “Open these pages”
6. Click “Add a new page”

Now type the website you wish to use, for example, if you want yahoo.com you would type www.yahoo.com

Now close Edge by clicking the X in the top right. The next time you open Microsoft Edge it should load the page you set as your home page.

Happy Computing!

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: How to change the Microsoft Edge homepage

Microsoft Edge comes preconfigured to open the Microsoft start page every time you open Edge, Join us in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how to set your own home page.

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: How to pin a window to the side of your screen!

Tech Tip Tuesday: Pinning Windows to the side of the screen.

Have you ever been on a website and thought “I wish I could see this webpage, and another application at the same time on the same screen?”

While in an application you can hold down the Win key (The key with the 4 flags, on the bottom left of your keyboard) and then press an arrow key corresponding to where you want to put it.

Want to put it along the left-hand side of your screen? Press the Win+Left arrow.

It will then move the application to the left-hand side of the screen. If you press the Win+Left arrow twice (in Windows 11 you only have to do it once), it will bring up a selection on the right, of which application you want to put next to it.

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: How to pin a window to the side of your screen!

Have you ever been on a website and thought “I wish I could see this webpage, and another application at the same time on the same screen?” Join us in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how!

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: A quick way to open Apple Pay

If you have an iPhone and use Apple Pay, did you know that there is a quick way to open your Apple Wallet when you walk up to a register and want to use it?

Simply take your phone out of your pocket and with your phone locked either press twice on the home button, or for phones without a home button, double-press the side button.

This will instantly open your Apple Wallet. This is much easier than having to unlock your phone when you want to use it or having to open it ahead of time.

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: A quick way to open Apple Pay

Did you know that there is a quick way to open your Apple Wallet when you walk up to a register and want to pay for something? Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how!

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Checking Paypal for old "Active" payments.

Here is how to check which companies have a status of "Active" on your PayPal account.

Every once and a while it’s a good idea to go through the list of sites that have access to your PayPal accounts and turn off the ones you don’t need anymore.

1) First log into your PayPal account by going to www.paypal.com

2) Now click the settings gear at the top right of the page right next to the words “Log out”

3) Next click on the tab labeled “Payments”

4) On the next screen click “Manage Automatic Payments”

5) Along the left-hand side you will see a list of companies whose status in your PayPal account is “Active”.

6) To make a company inactive, first, click one of the companies in the left-hand list you wish to make inactive.

7) On the Right side of the screen you’ll see “status”. To make it inactive click the “Cancel” button next to it.

Note: Make sure you really don’t need any of the ones you are making inactive, as it will also turn off any auto-renewals or monthly payments that use PayPal.

In my case, I just noticed Flickr was still active. I canceled that, as I haven't used Flickr since 2018.

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Checking Paypal for old "Active" payments.

If you have a PayPal account, over time you've probably authorized a lot of payments. Some of those may stay "active" even after you cancel the service or no longer use the company.

www.neowin.net

 

[roger_m]

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Checking Paypal for old "Active" payments.

I do that as soon I purchase a subscription that I know I won't want to renew when it expires, or if I purchase a subscription with a discount and I don't want it to renew at the full price.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

How to print to PDF on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday

Did you know that Windows 10 and 11 has a built-in PDF printer? This allows you to save things directly to a PDF file. Simply go about printing like you normally would, but when it comes time to select a printer, select the “Microsoft to PDF" printer option.

Once you tell it to print, a save dialog will appear asking you where you wish to save the PDF to.

This feature is useful because it lets you create PDF files for emailing or just save them for your own records. Nobody likes dealing with paper, and it's environmentally responsible too!

How to print to PDF in Windows 10 and 11

Sometimes you don't want to make a physical copy of something but instead, you want a digital copy. Join us in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to learn how to save anything you want to a PDF file.

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Locating a desktop icon on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday

If you have so many icons on your desktop that you are unable to find what you are looking for, here is an easy way to locate stuff.

1. Left-click once on any one of the icons to highlight it.
2. Then start pressing the letter on the keyboard that the file you are looking for starts with.
3. Every time you press that letter it will highlight an item on your desktop starting with that letter.
4. Just keep pressing that letter until you find the item on the desktop you are looking for.

Of course, if your computer is indexed you could search for what you are looking for but I find this method nice and simple.

Locating a desktop icon on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday

If you have so many icons on your desktop that you are unable to find what you are looking for here is an easy way to locate stuff. Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how.

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

How to use Google to search inside specific websites on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday!

Did you know, when doing a Google search, that you can use the Site: option to perform a Google search inside a particular website? For instance, if you wanted to do a Google search on Neowin.net for Windows 11 you would type site:neowin.net Windows 11.

Now all the search results are for Neowin.net

If you want to read the official Google page on the subject, you can find it here.

How to use Google to search inside specific websites on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday!

Have you ever wanted to search inside a specific website using Google? Getting only results from inside that website? Join us today in this week's tech tips Tuesday to find out how.

www.neowin.net

 

[CyberTech]

Did you know that Windows 10 and 11 let you easily back up all the device drivers on your system?

First, you need to decide where you want to put a copy of your drivers and go create a new folder in that location. A folder with the name “Driver Backup” should work nicely.

Backing up your drivers on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday

Sometimes it's nice to have a local copy of your Windows drivers. If you need a driver, you don't have to go out and look for it. Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how.

www.neowin.net

 

[CyberTech]

Do you have a laptop laying around with a broken screen that you didn’t want to spend the money to get fixed?

Did you know that you can still use the laptop over HDMI if it has HDMI out on the side of the laptop?

Simply plug it into a TV or a monitor with an HDMI port. You should now see the laptop on the other screen.

Now we should tell the computer not to go to sleep when you shut the lid.

How to take a laptop with a broken screen and make it a usable computer

Do you have a laptop laying around with a broken screen, that you just didn't want to fix? What if you could still use it as a computer? Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how.

www.neowin.net

Also must read the comments box

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

How to make your mouse cursor larger and easier to find

Have you ever had trouble finding your cursor? Sometimes on a large screen or a computer with multiple monitors, locating your mouse pointer can be a struggle. You may even start shaking your mouse back and forth, so you can find the cursor again.

The best solution to this issue is just to make your mouse pointer bigger, so it's easier to find.

Windows 11​

• Click Start
• Type Mouse
• Click Mouse settings
• Click Mouse Pointers

Now you can select the type of mouse pointer you want, personally, I like "Inverted" because then your mouse cursor is white when on something black, and black when it's on something white.

Under "Size", drag the bar to the right to make your mouse bigger, or drag it to the left to make it smaller.

Once done, just close the box by hitting the X in the top right.

Windows 10​

• Click Start
• Type Mouse
• Click Change the mouse pointer display or speed
• Click Pointers

Now you can drop down Schemes and select the mouse pointer you wish to use. Once again, I personally like "Windows inverted (Extra-large)".

Once you choose the mouse cursor you like, click OK

Microsoft Power Toys​

Microsoft offers a free program called "Microsoft PowerToys", which gives your system a little extra functionality. One feature it give you is "Find my mouse".

It should already be enabled by default upon installation but here is how to turn it on and off.

• Click start and type in "Powertoys" and press enter.
• Click "Mouse Utilities"
• Click the switch next to "Enable Find my mouse" to turn it on or off.

To use it press the CTRL (Control) key twice on your keyboard. A circle will appear showing you the location of your mouse.

The feature is nice but it can also be highly annoying as you may find yourself setting it off a lot by accident.

How to make your mouse cursor larger and easier to find

Have you ever had trouble finding the cursor on your computer screen? Ever wiggled it back and forth trying to find it? Join us today to find out how to make your mouse cursor easier to find.

www.neowin.net

 

[CyberTech]

Did you know that Windows 10 and 11 have an app called “Sticky Notes”?

It’s just what it sounds like. It’s the software version of the little yellow notes you stick onto your computer.

I recently started using them. I don’t use them for anything mission-critical, but I do use them for different information I want quick access to.

To open sticky notes, click start and type “Sticky Notes” and then click “Sticky Notes”.\

How to easily keep notes on your computer

Sometimes you just want to take some notes, but you don't want to stick notes all over the front of your computer. Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday for a better solution.

www.neowin.net

 

[CyberTech]

Did you know that you can pin your favorite websites to the taskbar?

Here is how to do it.

How to pin a website to the taskbar

Did you know that you can put your favorite websites on the taskbar? This makes it quick and easy to go to your favorite websites. Join us on today's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how.

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

How to enable the delete confirmation dialog box in Windows

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft turned off the delete confirmation dialog box by default. What does that mean? It means that if a person was browsing their files and had a single file selected or a folder full of 100's of photos and accidently pressed delete on their keyboard or their cat walked across the keyboard and pressed it for them, there would be no prompt, the file would go straight to the recycle bin.

You might think, well it's in the recycle bin, I can just restore it? Yes, that's true, if you know it's there.

What if you were to run an app such as CCleaner (just to name one) which during part of it's cleaning routine empties the recycle bin? Now its gone unless you notice it soon enough and run some data recovery software to get it back.

Luckily that option is easy enough to turn back on. Here's how to do it.

• Right click the Recycle Bin
• Left click Properties
• Put a check mark in "Display confirmation dialog box"
• Click OK

That's it! Now when you press the delete key you will be prompted if you wish to delete the file.

How to enable the delete confirmation dialog box in Windows

Have you ever accidentally pressed delete and had a file just disappear? That's the default behavior in windows 8/10/11. Join us today to find out how to have windows prompt you when deleting a file.

www.neowin.net