5 helpful Home windows 11 options I remorse not utilizing sooner

I’ve used Windows 11 for years, but I am nonetheless shocked by how usually 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 simple 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 not too long ago began using have considerably boosted my productiveness and improved how I handle my PC, and so they may do the identical for you, too. These options are constructed into Home windows 11 and can be found free of charge, so that you needn’t set up any extra software program to begin utilizing them. My solely want is that I might discovered them earlier.

Clipboard historical past

Hold monitor of every little thing you’ve got copied to your clipboard

The primary function I need to spotlight is named Clipboard historical past. For those who do a variety of copying and pasting every day — whether or not for messaging apps, emails, spreadsheets, or picture enhancing — that is a straightforward solution to hold monitor of every little thing you’ve got copied so you’ll be able to entry it later. I am unable to rely what number of instances I’ve copied a picture or hyperlink to incorporate in my notes or ship to somebody, solely to overlook to truly do it after which lose it. So, Clipboard historical past has been a lifesaver and a useful productiveness software for copying a number of gadgets without delay with out dropping 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’ve got copied up 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 machine’s storage

Subsequent up is Storage Sense, a built-in Home windows 11 software that mechanically frees up disk area in your system drive (the C: drive) with out deleting any necessary information. Storage Sense deletes gadgets comparable to short-term system information, information in your Recycle Bin, and outdated Home windows set up information. 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 hold your PC freed from pointless information.

Relying in your PC setup, Storage Sense would possibly already be enabled however not configured. To show it on and modify the settings, go to Settings > Storage and toggle on Storage Sense. While you click on on Storage Sense, a menu with numerous 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 area, however you’ll be able to change this to run weekly, every 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 information to justify every day or weekly runs.

Moreover, you’ll be able to configure it to mechanically delete information out of your Recycle Bin. Once I checked mine, I nonetheless discovered information from 2024, so I set it to delete information from the bin after 60 days. It’s also possible to set Storage Sense to mechanically delete information out of your Downloads folder as properly, which is beneficial for clearing out setup information you’ve got in all probability downloaded for putting in apps and not want.

Shake to reduce

Tidy your desktop in seconds

This function is a nifty one, and if in case you have a behavior like mine of preserving a number of Chrome situations open without delay and working a number of totally different packages concurrently, that is a straightforward solution to decrease all of them immediately to clear up your display screen. The function is named “Title bar home windows shake,” and it lets you shake your at the moment energetic window to reduce every little thing behind it.

This function has been obtainable 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 is not 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 deal with, shake it, and all of the home windows behind will probably be minimized, saving you the difficulty of minimizing every one 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 enjoying a recreation. This lesser-known function lets you modify the amount in your PC even quicker, while not having to press a button in your keyboard or open the short settings menu.

All it’s important to do is solely hover your mouse cursor over the amount icon in your system tray and scroll up or down to boost or decrease your PC’s quantity. That is it. It is easy, but I’ve discovered it to be the quickest solution to modify my system quantity on the fly. It is saved my eardrums a couple of instances when a video or music is immediately performed at an especially loud quantity. This function ought to work by default with out enabling any settings. Nonetheless, in the event you encounter points with it, or it is not working, the issue can probably 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 a variety of time by serving to me discover information on my PC a lot quicker. By default, the Home windows Search index is about to Basic, which implies Home windows Search solely seems for information in your Paperwork, Footage, and Music folders, in addition to your Desktop. So, in the event you retailer information elsewhere in your PC, like on a secondary drive, Home windows Search will not discover them, which may 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 information in your PC, making the search function truly helpful. To do that in your PC, go to Settings > Privateness & Safety > Search > Discover my Information. From there, swap the search index from Basic to Enhanced. While you allow Enhanced, it’ll take a while for Home windows to index all of the information in your PC, particularly if in case you have hundreds of information, so it’s good to be affected person because it does this. For those who’re on a laptop computer, I like to recommend plugging it in, as a result of it may well drain the battery whereas indexing.