The Six Windows Tips & Tricks We Use Most Often
Here are a few Windows tips we use almost every day. These tips save time and are super easy, and we’re going to share them with you. These tips work in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
1: Bring up the Lock Screen
Pressing the Windows key plus L brings up the lock screen in Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you use a password, Windows Key + L will “lock” your Windows PC until you enter your password or PIN.
2: Make any word or phrase a hyperlink
If you want to create a hyperlink out of a word or a phrase, like “Visit our InfoAve Website“, it’s super easy to do. Highlight the word or words you want to make into a hyperlink and press CTRL+K. A dialog will appear. In the dialog type or paste the URL (website address) and press Enter. If you did that correctly, the word or words you highlighted will now be a clickable hyperlink. This works with most word processors and email programs. It also works in Gmail. Try it!
3: Open a new instance of a program with just the click of your mouse
Did you know that on most computer mice, you can click the scroll wheel? You can, and we call it the “middle mouse button”. If you middle-click on the taskbar icon of an open program, a new instance of that program opens. Try it. This works with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Edge Dev, Notepad, File Explorer, Thunderbird, and many other programs. This will work with any program that allows multiple instances to run.
4: Open the Task Manager with a keyboard shortcut
Just press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC, and Task Manager will open.
5: Hide all open windows in a hurry
If you want to hide all open windows on your desktop quickly, press the Windows Key plus the M key. To reopen them again, press Windows Key+SHIFT+ M.
6: Get the full right-click menu on Windows 11
By default, Windows 11’s right-click context menu is truncated; you have to click “Show more options” to see the entire menu. If you want to see the full context menu without clicking “Show more options”, just hold down the CTRL key while you right-click a file or folder.