Though Windows 10 is a handy tool, it’s not being optimized for your needs. The software offers various tools with preloaded bloatware and features that are annoying and can intervene with your productivity.
Fortunately, there are ways how to clean up and customize the Start menu in Windows 10 to make it work better for your needs.
Whether your problem is to get rid of the suggested annoying apps or removing unnecessary bloatware, you still want to clean up Windows 10.
Luckily, it’s easy to clear out the Start menu. Here’s how:
You can also clear out the Start menu. Here’s how:
1. Remove annoying suggestions
When you open the Start menu, you’ll notice that there are few suggested links popping up. That’s the feature of the Windows 10 Start menu. Recommended apps appear automatically thinking that you may find them useful.
Though in some cases these suggested apps can be useful, they can also be annoying. If seeing these suggestions makes you tires, you can turn them off, so they are not messing up your Start menu anymore.
Click Start Menu then Go to Settings
Click the Personalization icon
Click Start on the left side of the pane
Toggle the slider off to disable “Show suggestions occasionally in Startup”
2. Simplify the app list
It could be a nuisance seeing the app list that pulls up in the Start menu, especially if there are filed of pre-installed bloatware. But you can clear out that bloatware from your Start Menu quickly or you can disable the “Show app list in Start menu” if the apps are not needed.
To hide the apps list in the Start menu:
Open Settings on your desktop
Click the Personalization icon
Select the Start tab in the left sidebar
You’ll see the Show app list in the Start menu option in the right-side pane. Toggle this option off
If you turn it off, you’ll see only live tiles in the Start Menu
You can still click the All apps button at the top left of the Start Menu to expand the apps list you’ve hidden
If you find there are apps that you no longer need, remove them:
Log in to your computer as an administrator
Type Apps into the Windows 10 search box
Under the search results, select Apps & Features
Select an application you want to remove
Tap Uninstall
Repeat the process for each application you want to remove
Disable unused options
By default, the Windows 10 Start menu shows things like recently added or your most frequently used apps. Viewing new apps you’ve added in the past few weeks can be helpful at first, but this feature may not be particularly useful over time.
To disable the other options in Windows 10:
Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Start
Toggle the “Show most frequently used apps” feature off
You can also toggle off “Show recently added apps” in this section if you don’t want to see all newly installed applications
4. Sort the tiles according to your preference
You can organize the tiles according to your desire. For sure you don’t want to face a ton of square tiles when accessing quickly the Microsoft Store or Calendar when you sign in.
If you’d chose not to use the tiles built into Windows 10, you can turn them off. It’s easy too.
Note: You must be logged in as an administrator to enable or disable the “Show additional tiles on startup” setting.
Navigate to Settings > personalization > Start
Enable “Show more tiles on startup”. off
To rearrange or rearrange the tiles on startup:
Click the Windows button in the lower-left corner
To move a tile, click and drag it to where you want it
5. Pick out which folders to display
By default, three folders fill the Start menu: Documents, Pictures, and Settings.
You can have additional other folders in the mix to the default settings. You might want to add File Explorer, Downloads, Music, Videos, the Network, or even a personal folder.
You must work within the height restrictions of the Start menu screen, but you can customize which folders are shown as often as you want.
To add, edit, or remove folders from the Start menu:
Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Start
Click Choose which folders to show on startup at the bottom of the menu
You will see a list of folder options
From here you toggle them on or off depending on your preferences
Bingo! Now your Start Menu is precisely the way you want it.
20 Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac that you need to know
It may not look like much, but keyboard shortcuts could drastically change the way you work. In fact, Brainscape CEO, Andrew Cohen determined that mastery of such shortcuts could save you up to 64 hours in a year.
If you manage to create a system that lets you work around your tasks efficiently, you could accomplish more. This is true, regardless of what computer operating system you use.
Mastering Mac’s keyboard shortcuts may be a little daunting for Windows users, but it isn’t that different. Many of a Window’s widely used shortcuts can be used on a Mac except for using the cmd(Command) button in place of ctrl(Control).
While great, Apple has made it so you can enjoy an even faster workplace by adding a few special shortcuts of their own. These exclusive keyboard shortcuts may be what you need to cut your workload and hours even shorter.
Cmd–Space bar
This prompts the Spotlight search field to show or hide. As its name suggests this feature can help you find any apps, documents, and files on your Mac. It can also do calculations and conversions. Connected to the internet, Spotlight Search can present the latest news, sports scores, weather conditions, and more.
Cmd-Tab
Switches to the next most recently used app among your open apps.
Cmd-M
By pressing this combination, the windows belonging to the front app will be minimized.
Cmd – Comma (,)
It is very useful though it is one of the least known keyboard commands in Mac.
This opens the application’s preferences when you are working in an app.
Fn – arrow (left, right, down, or up)
Up: Page Up: Scroll up one page.
Down: Page Down: Scroll down one page.
Left : Home: Scroll to the beginning of a document.
Right : End: Scroll to the end of a document.
Ctrl–Cmd–Power button
It forces your Mac to restart, without prompting to save any open and unsaved documents.
Cmd + Ctrl + Q
You can tap immediately to this shortcut to lock your machine.
Shift-Cmd-F
It shows all the files you viewed or changed recently.
Cmd + Shift + T
This is sometimes called the lifesaver. This shortcut will open your last closed tab, which helps a lot if you are doing research and accidentally closes a window without saving the URL.
Option-Shift-Cmd-V
Paste and Match Style: Apply the style of the surrounding content to the item pasted within that content.
Ctrl-T
Swap the character behind the insertion point with the character in front of the insertion point.
Cmd–Ctrl–Up Arrow
Open the folder that contains the current folder in a new window.
Option-Cmd-T
Show or hide the toolbar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
Shift-Cmd-Q
Log out of your macOS user account. You will be asked to confirm. To log out immediately without confirming, press Option-Shift-Command-Q.
Shift-Cmd-N
Allows you to create a new folder in the Finder.
Option-Cmd-V
It transfers the files in the Clipboard from their original location to the current location.
Cmd-Semicolon (;)
Examine the documents and find misspelled words.
Option-Shift-Cmd-Delete
Empty the Trash without confirmation dialog.
Shift-Cmd-H
It opens the Home folder of the current macOS user account.
Cmd-O
Open the selected item, or open a dialog to select a file to open.
For more great ideas you can take a glimpse at Apple’s own extensive collection of keyboard shortcuts.
Convenience and efficiency are the highlights of computer literacy and nothing depicts this better than ‘keyboard shortcuts’. A single Windows keyboard shortcut alone can lessen your workload while saving seconds spent to accomplish certain tasks.
Additionally, keyboard shortcuts can make you a better multitasker and cut down on mouse usage, reducing the risks of Repetitive Syndrome Injury.
Once you get a knack for it, you can create a working system to help you navigate your PC with ease. This will help you navigate swiftly through different tools and make your work a lot easier. If you haven’t yet, you should definitely consider doing so.
With a Windows 10 operating system, you could make use of these keyboard shortcuts to start.
