7 methods I arrange Home windows 11 for a greater ...

Whenever you decide up a brand new Windows 11 laptop or carry out a recent set up of Home windows 11 on your PC, it is not completely excellent proper out of the field. Whereas Microsoft has packed lots of nice options into Home windows 11, making it work higher for you requires a number of easy changes that, over time, will make utilizing it extra gratifying and productive.

Whether or not it is adjusting the look of Home windows 11 or making a number of modifications to the taskbar and Start Menu, listed below are seven methods I arrange Home windows 11 for the very best consumer expertise. All these changes take lower than a couple of minutes to finish and do not require the set up of any third-party software program, making them fast and straightforward to do to have Home windows 11 working higher for you very quickly.

7

Customise the look of Home windows 11

Allow darkish mode and modify the colours of Home windows

I take advantage of Home windows 11 on each my laptop computer and desktop PC for work, and if I’ve to stare at my PC all day, I need it to look interesting. Luckily, with Home windows 11, Microsoft has included a wealth of customization choices to assist personalize the feel and appear of Home windows to your liking. After all, the traditional choices can be found, comparable to altering your desktop background, however there are additionally a number of distinctive methods to make Home windows extra private.

To customise the looks of Home windows 11, go to Settings > Personalization. From there, you may see an inventory of varied choices, together with altering your background and the colours of Home windows. The primary setting I at all times change is to change Home windows to darkish mode as a substitute of sunshine to avoid wasting my eyes. This may be discovered below Colours > Select your mode > Darkish. In that very same shade menu, you too can disable the translucent impact on Home windows and choose an accent shade of your selection to use to the taskbar and Begin Menu.

I additionally wish to personalize the lock display, which you are able to do below Settings > Personalization > Lock display. There, you’ll be able to set your personal background for it, or go away it as Home windows Highlight, which randomly selects completely different landscapes all over the world to function your lock display once you sign up to your PC.

I like to recommend exploring all of the completely different customization choices below Personalization, as there are quite a few selections to fine-tune Home windows’ look to your desire.

Associated

Microsoft just announced the Xbox handheld I’ve always wanted

After months of rumors, Microsoft and Asus have lastly revealed the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X.

Making urgent the Home windows key value it

Persevering with with the theme of personalizing Home windows to your liking, editing the Start Menu is one other suggestion I like to recommend. Whenever you first arrange Home windows 11, not one of the apps you’ve got put in are pinned to the Begin Menu, and the default look is cluttered with suggestions for information or packages you’ve got lately opened. In the event you open tons of various information a day, as I do, then the suggestions within the Begin Menu aren’t significantly useful.

Luckily, you’ll be able to modify the Begin Menu to show extra pinned apps as a substitute of suggestions. To do that, go to Settings > Personalization > Begin and choose Extra Pins as a substitute of the Default choice. To pin put in packages to your Begin Menu, merely seek for them, right-click them, and choose Pin to Begin. I’ve all of the apps I take advantage of most frequently right here, which I do not essentially want on my taskbar, comparable to Photoshop and sport launchers apart from Steam, like Xbox and Epic Video games. Pinning packages to the Begin Menu is a handy technique to open them rapidly, reasonably than having to seek for them every time or use a desktop icon. It makes urgent the Home windows Key value it.

Associated

5 upcoming Windows 11 additions that I can’t wait for

Home windows 11 stays a piece in progress for Microsoft – listed below are 5 PC options the corporate is engaged on which have me wanting to faucet on Home windows Replace.

5

Repair the taskbar

You modify it again to the way it used to look in earlier Home windows variations

Subsequent, personalizing your taskbar is one other technique to improve your Home windows 11 expertise. By default, Microsoft pins a number of apps to it, such because the Home windows Retailer and Microsoft Edge. In the event you’re like me and by no means use Edge or the Home windows Retailer, unpinning them can unencumber house on your taskbar and make it look much less cluttered.

I like to recommend pinning the apps you utilize most ceaselessly to your taskbar. For me, these embrace File Explorer, Chrome, Steam, Slack, Spotify, and Discord. This ensures that the apps I depend on probably the most are at all times entrance and middle. To pin an app to your taskbar, seek for it or, whereas it is open, right-click on it and choose Pin to taskbar.

In the event you’re coming to Home windows 11 from Windows 10 and have been utilizing Home windows for a very long time, you may discover that the taskbar is now centralized as a substitute of being positioned to the left, because it at all times has been. In the event you do not like Home windows 11’s macOS-like centralized taskbar, you’ll be able to revert its alignment to the left, like in Home windows 10, 7, XP, and earlier variations. To do that, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors, and alter the Alignment to Left as a substitute of Heart. There may be additionally an choice below the Alignment settings to robotically disguise the taskbar in the event you want to cover it when it is not in use.

Associated

Apple finally turned the iPad into a Mac, and I couldn’t be happier

With iPadOS 26, which is on the market now in developer beta kind, Apple is lastly unleashing the iPad’s Mac-like potential.

4

Allow Clipboard historical past

Simply discover any hyperlink or textual content you’ve got copied

Copying and pasting is among the mostly used options on any PC. Nevertheless, retaining monitor of all of the hyperlinks or textual content you’ve got copied can generally develop into overwhelming in the event you’re sending lots of them all through the day. That is why Clipboard historical past is among the finest options you’ll be able to allow on Home windows 11. It is not turned on by default, however once you activate it, it retains monitor of all the pieces you’ve got copied to your PC’s clipboard. In the event you’re looking for a hyperlink you copied earlier or a chunk of textual content, you’ll be able to confer with Clipboard historical past to rapidly find it.

To allow Clipboard historical past, go to Settings > System > Clipboard > Clipboard historical past. As soon as activated, to carry up your Clipboard historical past, merely press the Home windows Key + V. You may then be capable of see all of the hyperlinks you’ve got lately copied. You’ll be able to pin completely different gadgets to your Clipboard historical past for straightforward entry. You’ll be able to clear your Clipboard historical past anytime by merely clicking the Clear all button.

Associated

5 lesser-known Google apps I always install on my Android phone

Google has printed a staggering variety of apps onto the Play Retailer – listed below are 5 of my favorites that do not come pre-installed on Android telephones.

3

Scale back the variety of startup apps

Have Home windows 11 boot smoother

In the event you’ve simply arrange Home windows 11 and put in a wide range of apps, there is a good likelihood that a few of them have robotically determined to start out everytime you boot up your PC. Whereas most Home windows PCs now include speedy stable state drives (SSDs), some older machines nonetheless use exhausting disk drives (HDDs), and having too many apps begin directly can decelerate Home windows throughout startup.

To make Home windows boot quicker and smoother, you’ll be able to scale back the variety of apps that open robotically at startup. To do that, open Job Supervisor by looking for it within the search bar or by concurrently urgent Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Then, choose Startup apps from the menu on the left. You may see all of the apps that begin with Home windows, and you’ll right-click and disable startup for any apps you do not want working when Home windows boots up. I at all times disable Copilot and Xbox, as I do not want them working on a regular basis or at bootup. Even when you have an SSD, I like to recommend doing this, because it frees up your PC’s sources by not having apps run within the background unnecessarily.

Associated

I use this Windows 11 app to make my PC taskbar transparent

For a cleaner and extra minimalistic Home windows 11 desktop setting, contemplate downloading and putting in TranslucentTB from the Microsoft Retailer.

2

Release cupboard space

Clear up your storage gadget for future wants

In the event you’ve simply upgraded to Home windows 11 from Home windows 10, now could be nearly as good a time as ever to think about cleansing up your PC’s cupboard space. In case your Home windows 11 set up is working on an HDD, this step is essential as a result of in case your HDD is almost full, it could possibly expertise slowdowns that negatively influence efficiency.

To view all of the packages you might have put in and uninstall any you do not want, go to Settings > Apps > Put in Apps. In the event you spot any apps you not require, you’ll be able to click on the three dots on the proper to uninstall them. Even when you have an SSD, I feel it is value doing this, as a result of even a virtually full SSD can decelerate, and it is at all times good to have free house obtainable for future wants.

In the event you’re on a brand new Home windows 11 PC, I nonetheless advocate doing this as effectively, because it’s an incredible alternative to take a look at any of the pre-installed apps included with Home windows, and uninstall any you do not want. The primary app I at all times uninstall on any new Home windows 11 PC is Copilot, as a result of I do not need or want any of Microsoft’s AI options.

Associated

I finally found the PC that made me give up console gaming

I’ve gone over to the fidelity-filled darkish facet, and do not assume I can return.

1

Swap your default browser

Sorry not sorry Microsoft Edge

Lastly, the very last thing I like to recommend when organising Home windows 11 to boost your expertise is to vary your default browser, if you have not already. By default, Microsoft units Microsoft Edge because the default browser, and whereas it has made enhancements to Edge over the previous few years, I nonetheless discover it’s inferior to Chrome or Firefox. Within the case of Google Chrome, I like having it synced throughout all my units, whether or not or not it’s my Home windows PC, MacBook, or iPad.

To vary your default browser, guarantee you might have your most popular browser put in. Then, navigate to Apps > Default Apps > Google Chrome (or your chosen browser like Firefox) and click on Set default. As soon as that is finished, any hyperlinks you click on will open within the browser you’ve got chosen as a substitute of Microsoft Edge.

Associated

Nintendo Switch 2 is a rare sequel that’s better than the original

The OG Swap was a sport changer, however the Swap 2 is even higher.