5 lesser-known Home windows 11 options I am unable to reside with out

Windows 11
boasts a wide range of

useful tools and tricks
that customers can simply entry with no need to put in extra apps or software program. In the event you’re new to Home windows 11 or desperate to discover recent methods to make the most of Microsoft’s newest working system, you are in the best place.

In the event you’re trying to work together seamlessly together with your

phone on your PC
, seize screenshots or recordings, and handle a number of home windows extra effectively, Home windows 11 gives a variety of instruments designed to perform all that and extra. Beneath are 5 lesser-known (and underrated) instruments that I depend on every day to reinforce my Home windows 11 expertise and workflow.

5

Cellphone Hyperlink

Ship texts and make calls out of your PC

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

In the event you’re coming from macOS, the Home windows Cellphone Hyperlink device is an identical expertise to utilizing iMessage in your Mac. If you wish to entry your cellphone’s messages and notifications in your PC, make calls, or share information,

Windows 11 Phone Link
can do this and way more.

To start utilizing Cellphone Hyperlink, merely seek for it within the Home windows search bar. From there, open the app and begin the setup course of with both an Android machine or an iPhone. Then, scan the QR code on the app and observe the setup directions. You’ll be able to then join your smartphone to your PC through Bluetooth and customise the notification settings accordingly.

Cellphone Hyperlink mechanically connects to your smartphone everytime you boot up your Home windows PC. I discover Cellphone Hyperlink handy for making cellphone calls on my PC and responding to textual content messages on the fly with out pulling my cellphone out of my pocket.

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Take the right screenshot

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

Subsequent up is a device I depend on most whereas utilizing Home windows 11: the Snipping Tool. In the event you’re unfamiliar with it, it is primarily used for taking screenshots. I exploit it every day to rapidly seize the screenshots I would like for work, because it permits me to pick which a part of my display to seize. You can even use the Snipping Device to take display recordings, which I continuously do at any time when I have to doc one thing taking place on my pc, equivalent to when troubleshooting a problem.

To open the Snipping Device, press the Print Display screen (PrtSc) key in your keyboard. Alternatively, you’ll find it utilizing Home windows search. As soon as it is open, within the prime bar, you’ll be able to select to take both screenshots or recordings. There are additionally 4 completely different modes you’ll be able to select from: rectangle, window, full display, or free kind. I exploit rectangle mode after I have to seize a particular a part of my display, and I exploit full display after I wish to take a screenshot of my whole display, equivalent to when taking part in a recreation.

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3

Digital Desktops

Nice for separating work and leisure

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

One among my favourite Home windows 11 instruments flies below the radar for a lot of customers, despite the fact that it is accessible on the taskbar from the second you boot up Home windows 11 for the primary time. That function is Virtual Desktops, which lets you create separate desktop environments in your PC. In the event you continuously use your PC for work and leisure, it is a nice option to separate the 2.

I at all times have two digital desktops working: one with all my work purposes open, equivalent to Slack, Photoshop, and Chrome, and one other with all of the apps I exploit in my downtime, equivalent to Steam, Discord, and Spotify. This function not solely retains me targeted but in addition helps me declutter my desktop by displaying solely the apps I would like at that second.

To entry Digital Desktops your self, you’ll be able to click on the overlapping rectangles within the taskbar after which choose New Desktop. On the Digital Desktops display, you’ll be able to handle all of the apps you will have opened on a selected desktop and transfer apps between your completely different desktop environments. You can even rename them to make them simpler to maintain monitor of. If you wish to swap between completely different desktop environments rapidly, hit Win+Ctrl +Left/Proper Arrow to navigate between them.

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2

Snap Layouts

Multitask like a professional

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

In the event you multitask continuously in your Home windows PC, Snap Layouts will change into your finest good friend for managing a number of home windows successfully on one display. Whereas the Snap function has been out there since Home windows 7, it acquired a big improve in Home windows 11 with the introduction of Snap Layouts, which lets you select from numerous format choices to arrange your home windows.

To make use of Snap Layouts, hover over the Maximize button on an app to see completely different format choices. Alternatively, while you seize a window, you’ll be able to drag it to the highest of your display to view numerous Snap Format decisions. The format I typically use divides two apps evenly on my display, which I discover particularly useful whereas researching, as I can break up my display between the doc I am analyzing and my notes.

I additionally make the most of Snap Layouts on my second monitor to evenly divide apps, like Spotify and Slack, whereas engaged on my predominant monitor. The variety of format decisions out there depends upon the dimensions of your show. I exploit two 27-inch displays, and Home windows gives me with 9 completely different Snap Format choices on every. Nevertheless, on my 16-inch Asus Zenbook laptop computer, I solely get 5.

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1

Dynamic Lock

Preserve your PC protected

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

You probably have a behavior of strolling away out of your pc with out locking it, this device might help shield your PC from prying eyes. It is referred to as Dynamic Lock, and it really works by mechanically locking your PC while you distance your self from it by detecting the Bluetooth connection out of your cellphone. In the event you work in an workplace constructing, this function will be particularly useful in case you overlook to lock your PC.

To allow Dynamic Lock, navigate to Settings > Accounts > Signal-in choices > Dynamic Lock. Whenever you flip it on, Home windows will immediate you to pick a Bluetooth machine for the function to operate. Dynamic Lock is separate from Cellphone Hyperlink, so you will want to pick your cellphone as a Bluetooth machine once more for it to work.

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