Windows 10 represents a major upgrade for Microsoft as well as for the millions of people who use the operating system every day. This new version makes a step back by bringing many of the familiarity of Windows 7 combined with the innovations included in Windows 8. You also get some new features and improvements, and it also prepares the operating system for thefuture.
Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of Windows is the ability to customize virtually anything; users can customize their experience with the available options in the operating system and even through tweaks in the registry and policies.The ability to customize the experience allows you to make Windows 10 more personal and it can even help you to be more productive. As such, today we'll go through some customizations everyone should know to enhance your Windows 10user experience.
Getting the Start menu just the way you like it
The Start menu in Windows 10 is very similar to what you been using in Windows 7. However, it also combines parts of the Start screen from Windows 8.1, and it's one of the first features you want to customize.
There are number of ways you can use theStart menu:You can use the small default version of the menu, which is the menu most people will comfortable using. In this experience, you'll have a menu with Live Tiles on the right with a left side with access to all yourapps, and a list of your most used and recently installed apps.You can also re-size the Start menu horizontally and vertically, but how far the menu can be re-sized will depend on the screen resolution.
For example, on 1366 x 768 screen resolution you'll only get up to 3 columns. While in a Surface Pro 3, you'll be able to grow horizontally up to 4 columns, and up to 5 columns on a 4K display. Re-sizing the Start menu is easy, simply drag the edges to the right or toward the top.
You can also have a Start menu without Live Tiles, which will be the closest to having a Windows 7 Start menu experience.
However, Windows 10 doesn't include an option to hide all the tiles; you'll have to manually, right-click each tile, and click Unpin from Start. Then shrink the menu to the left from the edge.
Now, you can always use the Start menu infull-screen mode. If you prefer this mode, go to Settings > Personalize > Start and enable the "Use Start full screen".In full-screen mode, the Start menu will cover the entire real estate of the display, very similar to the Start screen in Windows8.1. You'll still have access to the desktop and apps will run windowed.
Finally, there is Tablet mode, which Microsoft has designed specifically for 2-in-1 devices. This is a feature that should appear automatically when removing the keyboard and mouse from a touch-enabled device. The major drawback using Tablet mode is that you can't access the desktop, but apps, File Explorer, and everything will appear in full screen.
Tablet mode can be enabled from the Quick Actions button located in Action Center, or by going toSettings > System > Tablet mode and enabling the feature.How to manually enable tablet mode in Windows 10You can also customize what happens when you sign in and if the operating system should prompt you when it needs to switch automatically to Tablet mode. Also, you have the option to hide or show app icons in taskbar when in Tablet mode.
Customizing Live Tiles and groups
Like in Windows 8.1, Windows 10 offers the ability to drag and group Live Tiles anyway you like. If want to name a group, simple click right at the top edge of a group, and name the group anything you like.You can also click and hold a group title with your mouse pointer to drag the group of tiles anywhere you like in the Start menu.Live Tiles display at glance up-to-date information without you needing to open an app. But sometimes, you may not like, or you don't need to see certain information. While you can't disable this feature globally, you can right-click each tile, and select Turn live tiles off.
In the same way, you can re-size each tile to any of the supported sizes (small, medium, wide, and large). Furthermore, from the same menu, you can pin an app to the taskbar, or you can also uninstall any app, including universal Windows apps and desktop applications.How to use Live Tiles in Windows 10Quick Tip:Because desktop app tiles don't generate any live information, you can better utilize the Start menu space by using the small tile size for these applications.
Customizing which folders appear on Start
Windows 10 also allows you to customize the folder locations that appear above "All apps", to do this simply go toSettings > Personalization > Start > Choose which folders appear on Start.How to change which folders appear in the Windows 10 Start Menu There you can remove File Explorer and Settings, but you can also add other folders, such as Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network, and more.
Making the most out of the left side of Start
Microsoft is focused on making the Start menu a very customizable experience, so much that on Settings > Personalization > Start, you can also remove the list of most used and recently added apps. This change will give you more room to add as many folders as you like, as you can see in the image below.
Getting Cortana ready to work for you Perhaps one of the biggest features in Windows 10 is Cortana, Microsoft's personal assistant. After upgrading or doing a clean install of Windows 10, you'll notice a new search box, here is where Cortana lives. If you're launching the feature for the first time, you'll have to go through the initial setup, which is super easy, click Next,Agree to the term, type thename you want it to call you, and that's it.
Now, if you want to customize further the experience, use the Windows + Sto launch Cortana. From the left rail, click the Notebook icon, there you'll find some preferences you can customize. These features include traffic alerts, news, package tracking, meeting, and reminders,weather, and much more.
Then, you can click on Settingsto enable or disable Cortana, you can also enable the "Hey Cortana" feature, which will require for you to have a microphone already setup.Quick Tip:If you want to disable completely Cortana, refer to my previous Windows 10 tutorial.
When you enable the hands-free feature, you can also customize the assistant to respond to anyone or only you. If you prefer to respond only to you, you'll have to click the Learn my voice button to teach Cortana to learn your voice. (Remember that you may have to re-train the feature for better results.)
Do you need help setting your first reminder? Check out this previous Windows 10 tutorial.If you're in a country where the native language isn't your first language, you can go to Settings > Time & language. Now make sure you check the Recognize non-native accents for this language option to have a better experience using the assistant.
Setting up a wallpaper Similar to previous versions, Windows 10 also includes the ability to personalize your desktop using your own wallpaper. How to change your Windows 10 wallpaper How to add wallpaper to the Windows 10 Mail app Simply go to Settings > Personalize > Background, and there you can pick from one of your recent wallpapers, you can browse for a new image, and choose the image fit. (Alternatively, you can access the same settings, by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Personalize.)
Quick Tip:You can find great wallpapers and themes for your desktop at the Microsoft's Personalization page.
Personalizing Start, taskbar, Action Center
The personalization options in Windows 10 are more flexible than in previous releases. In the new version of the operating system, Microsoft is including a new default dark theme for Start, Taskbar, and Action Center. Also, you can pick a custom accent color or you can let Windows pick an accent color for you from the background, and you can enable or disable transparency.
To customize these settings go to Settings > Personalize > Colors and pick your desired preferences.Quick Tip:You can create your own accent color by using "Color and Appearance" settings from Control Panel.
To access these settings open the Run command type control color and hit Enter. Then pick a color, use the color mixer to create your own color, and click Save changes.
Personalizing the Lock Screen
Pretty much unchanged since Windows 8, the new version of Windows offers the ability to customize the Lock screen, which is the first screen you'll se e when you start your computer and before you sign in. Personalizing the Lock screen is pretty straightforward, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. In the settings page, you can choose your own picture or from the "Background" drop-down menu, you can select Slides howto a folder with images to display on the Lock screen.
If you click the Advanced slideshow settings, you can customize various options. For example, you can choose to include Camera Roll folders from your PC and OneDrive, whether the slideshow should play while using battery, for how long the slideshow can run, and more.Those users running Windows 10 Home will notice the Windows Spotlight option, which is a feature that brings Bing images of the day to your Lock screen.
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