Useful Tips, Tricks, and Hacks to Master Windows 10 .1

Resize the Start Menu

Source: wonderhowto.com, Image: flickr.com, Photo by Delwin Steven Campbell

The Start Menu itself has many features, the ability to resize it being a very new one. Thanks to the Windows 10 interface this is done in a very simple way and it can make using the operating system a much friendlier experience. To resize the Start Menu horizontally, move your mouse to its right edge until the cursor becomes a double-headed arrow. Now click or tap and drag it to the left to shrink the Start Menu. To increase the horizontal size of the Start Menu, click or tap on the edge and drag it to the right.

Remove Live Tiles from the Start Menu

Source: wonderhowto.com, Image: en.wikipedia.org

If you used Windows 7 and never got around to 8, then not only are Live Tiles new for you, but they also may not be that useful. Luckily, it’s a simple process; the bad news is that you’ll have to right-click on each tile in your Start Menu and select unpin. Once that’s done, you’ll be left with an empty space where the tiles used to be. Just click and hold on the top-right corner of the Start Menu, and drag it all the way to the left so that only the “Places” and “Most used” section is showing. Voila…You just got rid of them!

Pin Folders in File Explorer

Source: wonderhowto.com, Image: deviantart.com

If there are any folders or libraries that you’d like to pin to your Quick Access menu, simply right-click them in File Explorer, then select “Pin to Quick Access” and they’ll be easily available in the left pane.

New Search Feature in File Explorer

Source: wonderhowto.com, Image: en.wikipedia.org

The search box isn’t new, but now it’ll only look for files and folders within the folder or drive you’ve currently selected, helping to narrow things down quite a bit. Once search results have populated, click the Search tab near the top of the screen to expose more options in a ribbon menu.

New Ribbon Menu in File Explorer

Source: wonderhowto.com, Image: en.wikipedia.org

Much like recent versions of Microsoft Office, the new File Explorer uses what is called a Ribbon menu. When you click one of the menu options near the top of the screen (File, Home, Share, or View), this new menu will appear.