5 helpful Home windows 11 options I remorse not utilizing sooner

I’ve used Windows 11 for years, but I am nonetheless stunned by how typically I discover new features I did not learn about earlier than. To be truthful, Home windows 11 is kind of a complete desktop working system with many customization options and settings, so it is easy to miss some useful instruments and options hidden in its menus.

Whether or not you are new to Home windows 11 or have been utilizing it for some time, these options I’ve just lately began using have considerably boosted my productiveness and improved how I handle my PC, and so they might do the identical for you, too. These options are constructed into Home windows 11 and can be found totally free, so that you need not set up any extra software program to begin utilizing them. My solely want is that I might discovered them earlier.

Clipboard historical past

Preserve observe of all the things you have copied to your clipboard

The primary function I need to spotlight is known as Clipboard historical past. Should you do loads of copying and pasting day by day — whether or not for messaging apps, emails, spreadsheets, or picture modifying — that is a simple solution to preserve observe of all the things you have copied so you may entry it later. I can not depend what number of instances I’ve copied a picture or hyperlink to incorporate in my notes or ship to somebody, solely to neglect to truly do it after which lose it. So, Clipboard historical past has been a lifesaver and a precious productiveness software for copying a number of gadgets directly with out shedding any of them.

Clipboard historical past is not enabled by default in Home windows 11, so to activate it, go to Settings > Clipboard and toggle on Clipboard historical past. After doing that, press Win + V (win is the Home windows key), and your Clipboard historical past will seem, permitting you to click on on something you have copied prior to now to recopy it. To clear your Clipboard historical past at any time, merely click on the Clear all button. If you wish to save a copied merchandise, click on the pin icon on it to pin it.

Storage sense

Routinely keep your gadget’s storage

Subsequent up is Storage Sense, a built-in Home windows 11 software that robotically frees up disk house in your system drive (the C: drive) with out deleting any essential recordsdata. Storage Sense deletes gadgets corresponding to momentary system recordsdata, recordsdata in your Recycle Bin, and outdated Home windows set up recordsdata. What I like about Storage Sense is that it automates all these duties for you, eliminating the necessity to ever run Disk Cleanup manually. It is good, easy, and it helps preserve your PC freed from pointless recordsdata.

Relying in your PC setup, Storage Sense may already be enabled however not configured. To show it on and alter the settings, go to Settings > Storage and toggle on Storage Sense. While you click on on Storage Sense, a menu with varied choices will seem, permitting you to customise when it runs and what it clears. By default, Storage Sense prompts solely when your system drive is low on house, however you may change this to run weekly, day by day, or month-to-month. I set mine to run as soon as a month as a result of I do not suppose I am accumulating sufficient pointless recordsdata to justify day by day or weekly runs.

Moreover, you may configure it to robotically delete recordsdata out of your Recycle Bin. After I checked mine, I nonetheless discovered recordsdata from 2024, so I set it to delete recordsdata from the bin after 60 days. You may as well set Storage Sense to robotically delete recordsdata out of your Downloads folder as effectively, which is helpful for clearing out setup recordsdata you have in all probability downloaded for putting in apps and now not want.

Shake to attenuate

Tidy your desktop in seconds

This function is a nifty one, and in case you have a behavior like mine of retaining a number of Chrome situations open directly and working a number of completely different applications concurrently, that is a simple solution to reduce all of them immediately to clear up your display screen. The function is known as “Title bar home windows shake,” and it means that you can shake your at the moment energetic window to attenuate all the things behind it.

This function has been accessible on Home windows since Home windows 7, when it was first launched as Aero Shake. I’ve discovered it to be a useful solution to tidy up my desktop and have some enjoyable. Sadly, it isn’t enabled by default in Home windows 11. To activate it, go to Settings > Multitasking and toggle on Title bar window shake. Then, simply seize any window you need to concentrate on, shake it, and all of the home windows behind it will likely be minimized, saving you the difficulty of minimizing each individually. It is each a time-saver and enjoyable to make use of; what’s to not love?

You may want a mouse linked to your laptop computer for this to work

If there’s one factor I always do on my PC, it is adjusting the system quantity, whether or not I am in a gathering, listening to music, watching a video, or taking part in a recreation. This lesser-known function means that you can alter the quantity in your PC even quicker, with no need to press a button in your keyboard or open the fast settings menu.

All it’s a must to do is solely hover your mouse cursor over the quantity icon in your system tray and scroll up or down to lift or decrease your PC’s quantity. That is it. It is easy, but I’ve discovered it to be the quickest solution to alter my system quantity on the fly. It is saved my eardrums a number of instances when a video or music is abruptly performed at an especially loud quantity. This function ought to work by default with out enabling any settings. Nevertheless, for those who encounter points with it, or it isn’t working, the issue can seemingly be resolved by going to Settings > Bluetooth & units > Mouse and enabling Scroll Inactive Home windows When Hovering Over Them.

Enhanced Home windows Search

Discover any file in your PC quicker

Lastly, the final function I like to recommend enabling is Enhanced Home windows Search. It has saved me loads of time by serving to me discover recordsdata on my PC a lot quicker. By default, the Home windows Search index is ready to Traditional, which suggests Home windows Search solely seems for recordsdata in your Paperwork, Footage, and Music folders, in addition to your Desktop. So, for those who retailer recordsdata elsewhere in your PC, like on a secondary drive, Home windows Search will not discover them, which could be fairly irritating.

Fortunately, Enhanced Home windows Search fixes this downside as a result of enabling it permits Home windows Search to index all of the recordsdata in your PC, making the search function really helpful. To do that in your PC, go to Settings > Privateness & Safety > Search > Discover my Information. From there, change the search index from Traditional to Enhanced. While you allow Enhanced, it can take a while for Home windows to index all of the recordsdata in your PC, particularly in case you have hundreds of recordsdata, so it’s worthwhile to be affected person because it does this. Should you’re on a laptop computer, I like to recommend plugging it in, as a result of it will probably drain the battery whereas indexing.