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15 Simple, Secret Windows Tips and Tricks Designed to Save You Time
Meron palang mga simpleng sekreto ang Windows na mga Tips & Tricks para sa mga users nito...halika at tuklasin natin kung anu-ano ang mga ito...
by Brad Chacos @BradChacos Aug 27, 2014 3:00 AM - PC World
Hidden powers and secret timesavers
Time is money, or so the saying goes. And even if youre plunked down in front of your PC for fun or a hobby project, every unnecessary click and hassle you bump into burns away precious seconds of your life.
Nobody wants to waste time endlessly navigating menus. Fear not! Dr. PCWorld has the cure. Take these 15 secret Windows tricks to streamline your computing experience and eradicate little irritations that trip you up throughout the day. You wont need to call me in the morning.
Launch taskbar programs with your keyboard
Many of us-especially users of the Start Menu-less Windows 8-use the Windows taskbar as a quick launch bar, populating it with our day-to-day programs. Opening those programs is as simple as clicking them, but theres actually a faster way to launch software on your taskbar: Simple keyboard combinations.
Every program to the right of the Start button is assigned its own numerical shortcut, with the first program being "1," the second being "2," and so on, all the way to the 10th taskbar shortcut, which gets "0." Pressing the Windows key, plus the number of the program you want to open, launches it. For example, in the image at left, pressing Win + 3 launches the Chrome browser.
Quickly launch a new instance of a program
Those taskbar icons can also be used to quickly launch a second (or third, or fourth, or...) instance of a program-a fresh browser window alongside an already populated one, for instance, or another Windows Explorer window.
Doing so is easy: Just hold down the Shift button, then open the program as you normally would, either via a left click of the mouse or the aforementioned quick-launch keyboard trick. Boom! A new, clean version of the software appears alongside the one you already have open.
Copy a file path to the Clipboard
Why would you ever want to copy a file path to the Windows Clipboard? Well, you may just want to tell someone how to browse to a common location for a given application. I, however, use it to mark the spot of a local file Ive found using Windows Explorer, so itll be handy later-to upload photos to Facebook or document attachments to Outlook emails, for instance.
To copy a file path to your Clipboard, hold down the Shift key, right-click the file or folder you want, then select the newly revealed "Copy as Path" option. Now you can paste the info wherever youd like-including the "File name" portion of Browse dialog boxes, with no extra browsing required.
More secret right-click options
Secret right-click options revealed by the Shift key dont end with file paths, though.
The basic Send to tool that appears as an option when you right-click on a file or folder is handy enough indeed, allowing you to move the item quickly to a handful of locations on your PC, add it to a .zip archive, or send it off in an email or fax.
But thats just the tip of the iceberg! Holding down the Shift key as you right-click a file or folder will add an absolute ton of new folder locations to the basic Send to menu.
Tweaking the Send To menu
Whats that, you say? None of the stock Send to options offer the ability to shuffle your files to the locations you commonly use? Force the issue!
First, create shortcuts to the folder locations youre like to add to the Send To menu by right-clicking them, then selecting Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). Once thats done, open Windows Explorer, then type shell:sendto in the location bar at the top, followed by Enter. Youll be brought to the location that holds your Send To options; just drag and drop in the shortcuts to the folders you want to add to the tool.
Erase the past
When youre shuffling files around willy-nilly, youre bound to accidentally drop one in the wrong folder-or almost more irritating, errantly make copies of a slew of files rather than simply dragging them to a new location. Arrrrrrrrg.
Rather than trying to track that missing file down or manually delete the legion of copies, whip out the universal Get Out of Jail Free card that, somewhat surprisingly, also works within Windows proper: Crtl + Z. The keyboard shortcut undoes your last action, restoring order when chaos suddenly appears. (Crtl + C and Crtl + V for copying and pasting, respectively, also work properly within Windows.)
Add mouse-friendly checkboxes to icons
For every geek who swears by keyboard shortcuts, there are a dozen casual users who rely on their mice. Activating icon checkboxes lets you select multiple files to manage simultaneously, without having to hold down the Ctrl button as you click each one.
...unless you add checkboxes to Windows icons, that is. In Windows 7, type Folder options into the Start Menus search bar. Next, open the "View" tab in the window that appears and ensure the "Use check boxes to select items" checkbox is checked. In Windows 8, just open Windows Explorer, open the "View" tab, and check the "Item check boxes" box in the Show/Hide pane.
Aero Snap desktop windows
One of the most appealing aspects of Windows 8s touch-friendly side is its ability to "Snap" multiple open apps side-by-side. The feature comes in very handy on the desktop as well if you need to start multitasking. Simply click an open window and drag it to the left or right edge of the screen to automatically resize it to fill that half of the desktop. Dragging a window to the top edge expands it to full screen.
If youre more into keyboard commands, Windows key + left arrow, Windows key + right arrow, and Windows key + up arrow snaps the selected window in the same manner.
Windows powerful, rarely used search tools
Most people search Windows using the Start menu or Windows 8s "start typing to search" Start screen. But for more granular results, try the search box in the upper-right corner of Windows Explorer.
The advanced search tools let you add fancy filters, from date and file type to Boolean operands. This Microsoft page(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/advanced-tips-for-searching-in-windows) offers a full list of such commands in Windows 7. In Windows 8, youll find similar functionality in the Search Tools section of the File Explorers Ribbon UI.
You can create a shortcut to a custom search by simply dragging the magnifying-glass icon in the File Explorer location bar to the desired location. Clicking it will always give you up-to-date results.
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT POST.....
Meron palang mga simpleng sekreto ang Windows na mga Tips & Tricks para sa mga users nito...halika at tuklasin natin kung anu-ano ang mga ito...
by Brad Chacos @BradChacos Aug 27, 2014 3:00 AM - PC World
Hidden powers and secret timesavers
Time is money, or so the saying goes. And even if youre plunked down in front of your PC for fun or a hobby project, every unnecessary click and hassle you bump into burns away precious seconds of your life.
Nobody wants to waste time endlessly navigating menus. Fear not! Dr. PCWorld has the cure. Take these 15 secret Windows tricks to streamline your computing experience and eradicate little irritations that trip you up throughout the day. You wont need to call me in the morning.
Launch taskbar programs with your keyboard
Many of us-especially users of the Start Menu-less Windows 8-use the Windows taskbar as a quick launch bar, populating it with our day-to-day programs. Opening those programs is as simple as clicking them, but theres actually a faster way to launch software on your taskbar: Simple keyboard combinations.
Every program to the right of the Start button is assigned its own numerical shortcut, with the first program being "1," the second being "2," and so on, all the way to the 10th taskbar shortcut, which gets "0." Pressing the Windows key, plus the number of the program you want to open, launches it. For example, in the image at left, pressing Win + 3 launches the Chrome browser.
Quickly launch a new instance of a program
Those taskbar icons can also be used to quickly launch a second (or third, or fourth, or...) instance of a program-a fresh browser window alongside an already populated one, for instance, or another Windows Explorer window.
Doing so is easy: Just hold down the Shift button, then open the program as you normally would, either via a left click of the mouse or the aforementioned quick-launch keyboard trick. Boom! A new, clean version of the software appears alongside the one you already have open.
Copy a file path to the Clipboard
Why would you ever want to copy a file path to the Windows Clipboard? Well, you may just want to tell someone how to browse to a common location for a given application. I, however, use it to mark the spot of a local file Ive found using Windows Explorer, so itll be handy later-to upload photos to Facebook or document attachments to Outlook emails, for instance.
To copy a file path to your Clipboard, hold down the Shift key, right-click the file or folder you want, then select the newly revealed "Copy as Path" option. Now you can paste the info wherever youd like-including the "File name" portion of Browse dialog boxes, with no extra browsing required.
More secret right-click options
Secret right-click options revealed by the Shift key dont end with file paths, though.
The basic Send to tool that appears as an option when you right-click on a file or folder is handy enough indeed, allowing you to move the item quickly to a handful of locations on your PC, add it to a .zip archive, or send it off in an email or fax.
But thats just the tip of the iceberg! Holding down the Shift key as you right-click a file or folder will add an absolute ton of new folder locations to the basic Send to menu.
Tweaking the Send To menu
Whats that, you say? None of the stock Send to options offer the ability to shuffle your files to the locations you commonly use? Force the issue!
First, create shortcuts to the folder locations youre like to add to the Send To menu by right-clicking them, then selecting Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). Once thats done, open Windows Explorer, then type shell:sendto in the location bar at the top, followed by Enter. Youll be brought to the location that holds your Send To options; just drag and drop in the shortcuts to the folders you want to add to the tool.
Erase the past
When youre shuffling files around willy-nilly, youre bound to accidentally drop one in the wrong folder-or almost more irritating, errantly make copies of a slew of files rather than simply dragging them to a new location. Arrrrrrrrg.
Rather than trying to track that missing file down or manually delete the legion of copies, whip out the universal Get Out of Jail Free card that, somewhat surprisingly, also works within Windows proper: Crtl + Z. The keyboard shortcut undoes your last action, restoring order when chaos suddenly appears. (Crtl + C and Crtl + V for copying and pasting, respectively, also work properly within Windows.)
Add mouse-friendly checkboxes to icons
For every geek who swears by keyboard shortcuts, there are a dozen casual users who rely on their mice. Activating icon checkboxes lets you select multiple files to manage simultaneously, without having to hold down the Ctrl button as you click each one.
...unless you add checkboxes to Windows icons, that is. In Windows 7, type Folder options into the Start Menus search bar. Next, open the "View" tab in the window that appears and ensure the "Use check boxes to select items" checkbox is checked. In Windows 8, just open Windows Explorer, open the "View" tab, and check the "Item check boxes" box in the Show/Hide pane.
Aero Snap desktop windows
One of the most appealing aspects of Windows 8s touch-friendly side is its ability to "Snap" multiple open apps side-by-side. The feature comes in very handy on the desktop as well if you need to start multitasking. Simply click an open window and drag it to the left or right edge of the screen to automatically resize it to fill that half of the desktop. Dragging a window to the top edge expands it to full screen.
If youre more into keyboard commands, Windows key + left arrow, Windows key + right arrow, and Windows key + up arrow snaps the selected window in the same manner.
Windows powerful, rarely used search tools
Most people search Windows using the Start menu or Windows 8s "start typing to search" Start screen. But for more granular results, try the search box in the upper-right corner of Windows Explorer.
The advanced search tools let you add fancy filters, from date and file type to Boolean operands. This Microsoft page(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/advanced-tips-for-searching-in-windows) offers a full list of such commands in Windows 7. In Windows 8, youll find similar functionality in the Search Tools section of the File Explorers Ribbon UI.
You can create a shortcut to a custom search by simply dragging the magnifying-glass icon in the File Explorer location bar to the desired location. Clicking it will always give you up-to-date results.
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT POST.....
