Disabling Windows lock screen weather app

After a Windows update earlier this year, I suddenly noticed a weather app showing updates on the lock screen. I personally loathe this type of app, finding it intrusive and annoying - largely because Microsoft doesn't ask if we want these apps. They just impose. And, let's face it, if most of us want to check the weather, we can look outside.

It took me several goes to turn the damn thing off. I ended up going with one fix, but had to apply it several times, as the flaming thing kept coming back - like the Terminator. But thanks to the Windows 11 Forum (2021) the first fix eventually proved sticky enough to last.

What I found most useful was as follows to turn off lock screen notifications for the current user (Windows 11 Forum, 2021): 

• Open Settings using the Windows and the "I" key 
• Select System in the left-hand sidebar, then Notifications & Actions on the right
• Toggle to expand the Notifications settings​
• Uncheck "Show notifications on the lock screen" to turn these off (in fact, I turn most of these annoyances off)
• Close Settings.

If the weather app keeps coming back, try doing the following, then repeat the process above:

• Open Settings using the Windows and the "I" key 
• Search for "Lock Screen" in the search field
• Check that no apps are listed for the lock screen. If there are any listed, remove them.

Hopefully that will continue to work with future updates!

Sam

References:

Windows 11 Forum. (2021, August 2). Enable or Disable Notifications on Lock Screen in Windows 11. https://www.elevenforum.com/t/enable-or-disable-notifications-on-lock-screen-in-windows-11.823/

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File Explorer crashes

I have a repeated problem on my PC where Windows file explorer crashes. I have not been able to track down exactly why that is... which is annoying. We cannot repair when we do not know what causes the fault. 

However, I am not alone in having this problem: Shraonir22 has the same thing going on in 2019, and I found that the third fix down for Shraonir22 (2019) tended to prevent the File Manager crashing for the remainder of each day. 

The fix is simple, and as follows:

1. Open Task Manager (hot keys: Crtl, Alt & Delete)
2. In the Task manager, go to the processes tab
3. Reopen file explorer, then look for "Windows Explorer" in the Apps list and highlight it (if we don't reopen it, it won't show in Apps)
4. Click the Restart bottom at the bottom right corner.

This should restart file explorer and - hopefully - will end the crashes until we restart our PC.

Sam

References:

Shraonir22. (2019, February 15). File Explorer Keeps Crashing. Microsoft Community. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/file-explorer-keeps-crashing/e40199aa-45ce-4d5c-9611-27e5fe352671

read more "File Explorer crashes"

Changing jump list link names

There are some helpful Windows shortcuts which help us to find files or software we use often: and one that I find particularly useful is jump links (read previous posts here). 

We can create jump links when we open a file, right click, then pin to the Task Bar. I begin by pinning software shortcuts to my taskbar, then when I add files I use regularly with that software, they appear in the jump list of links (shortcuts) which is accessed via a right-click on the task bar icon.

The image accompanying this post shows a list of Adobe pdf files. At the top are pinned files which I use irregularly, so pinning them makes them much easier to find when needed. I can simply click on the pinned item and it opens. The shortcuts below the pinned files are the twenty-ish most recently accessed items. With some software apps - such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint - I pin those files which I use all the time to each app Jump List. 

One trick is working out how to rename a file, or a browser link. We want to do that in a way that does not cause the jump link to break. And how we do it depends on the type: a file or a link. 

• Link. If we are renaming a browser link, we can right-click and select "Properties" from the pop up menu. We can change the name of the link there, and that should then, next time we access the Jump List, have updated the name. 
• Files are a different story. Rename the file in Internet Explorer. Then try clicking on what will still be the ORIGINAL and unchanged file name in the Jump List.  The renamed file should open, and the next time we open the Jump List, the link file name will have updated to the new file name.

Confusing to have two methods, but at least they each work. 

Further, if we are ever wanting to review all our jump links, we can find them by pasting the following link into the "search" box on the task bar:

%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

Thanks to Singh and Singh (2016) for that last tip!

Sam

References:

Singh, B., & Singh, U. (2016). A forensic insight into windows 10 jump lists. Digital Investigation, 17(6), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diin.2016.02.001

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Extracting images from iPhone emails

I am a Windows user. And an Android user. My husband has had an iPhone from time to time, and while he got quite conversant working cross-IOS, I found the Apple IOS drove me bat-shit crazy. I know it is probably just what I am used to, but is a bit like the story I tell about the Russian verb dostat (read more here): the degree of difficulty for completing even the simplest of tasks - like saving a photo - goes from possible to impossible for me.

So a friend - also an iPhone user - sent me some photos in an email. No problem, right? Simply save the attachments... right?

Except there are no attachments. The photos are embedded inline, within the email. I can't click on anything, or right-click on anything. There is no helpful pop-up menu to be found. There appears to be no attachments of any kind in the email.  

After a web search, I found a work-around. What I have to do is: 

• (a) save the email as an .html file to my PC. 
• Then (b) I open the .html file in Google Chrome. 
• Then (c) I can right-click on each image in turn, selecting "Open image in new tab", and 
• (d) right-click on each image in their separate tabs, and select "Save image as", wherever I want to save the image to, with the appropriate name. 

What a palaver. 

Why on earth isn't there a "covert email to Windows format" button? It really can't be that this is not a known problem after all these years!

Sam 

read more "Extracting images from iPhone emails"

Turn Off News and Interests

If you get a surprising new feature popping up in your taskbar from a Windows update, such as suddenly appearing weather reports or news items, it is a new 'feature' from Windows... read 'annoyance' from Windows.

However, this 'feature' has the great advantage of being able to be turned off, with - for Windows - relative ease.

Simply right click on the task bar, and select "News and Interests" from the pop-up menu. Go out go to "Turn off".

Job done.

Sam

read more "Turn Off News and Interests"

Hiding Zeros in Excel

Sometimes when working with Excel, we want to hide zeroes; particularly when working across multiple spreadsheets, with formulae.

It is surprisingly difficult to find out how to do this!

However, there is a wee number code which we can enter as a custom number type in Excel:

0;-0;;@

That format details what we have to specify in Excel as a custom format structure: what the format should do with positive numbers (as a number); then with negative numbers (as a minus number); then what it should do with zeros (ignore them); then, lastly, what it should do with text (show it as written).

So easy when we know how!

Sam

read more "Hiding Zeros in Excel"

Need the Windows product key?

This has got to be the best way of finding our Windows product key ever. Simply hit the Windows key, and enter "Product key" in the search box. Then click the link which appears, "View your product ID" (drsklds, 6 August 2021, in reply to Kaelin, 2 August 2021).

This is by far the easiest way I have ever found to get this information out of a Windows system.

How did I find this? I read an article which promised to show us where our product ID was. None of the three methods supplied actually worked as delivered (though the last one helped me to find where in the system my product key was likely to be buried by following a few other options). However, it was a comment underneath the article which provided this golden tip (drsklds, 6 August 2021, in reply to Kaelin, 2 August 2021).

I am still gobsmacked about the ease of this.

Sam

• Reference: Kaelin, M. (2 August 2021). 3 simple ways to find your Windows 10 product key. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/3-simple-ways-to-find-your-windows-10-product-key/?ftag=TREe331754&bhid=40778246&mid=13460717&cid=712410359#postComments

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Adding undo to File Explorer

Have you ever had that ghastly sinking feeling when you have gone to rename one file and realised that you have inadvertently selected every file in the folder? The Argh moment where you realise that in Windows, File Explorer has no "Undo? button? And you can't remember the shortcut keys to undo?

Then this is the post for you!

I have two quick reminders. Firstly, the undo command is:

Ctrl & Z

Emblazon it on your memory! (though I must admit, in that brain-freeze moment when we do something like this, it is probably not going to stick. A post-it note on the bottom of our screens might help though!).

The next tip is to add an undo command icon to the Quick Access Toolbar in File Explorer. Click the dropdown beside the small arrow on the top left-hand corner of File Explorer, and simply add Undo and Redo from the customisation menu. Too easy.

Sam

read more "Adding undo to File Explorer"

Windows spotlight image local location

I recently posted about the location of Windows spotlight images, formerly known as the Windows splash screen images, have always been hard to 'locate' globally. However, they are also hard to locate on our devices, which is to be the topic of this post.

All we need to do is to open File Explorer, and navigate to C:\Windows\Web (or enter "C:\Windows\Web" in the Windows search bar). When the File Explorer window opens, underneath the Web folder we find three subfolders, including one called Wallpaper, and one called Screen. Under Wallpaper are a number of subfolders. There are 27 images - both *.jpg and *.png in my Web subfolders.

If you are wanting to get copies of the images themselves, explore all the images to find the ones you are looking for, and save them to where you want them. If you are wanting to use your own images instead of the MS ones, have a go at replacing the existing images with the images you would like to see, using images of the same dimensions, and using the Microsoft names.

Have fun!

Sam

References

• 1cashew (11 May 2016). info relating to splash screen photos in windows 10. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings-winpc/info-relating-to-splash-screen-photos-in-windows/73aee212-a8c3-468f-a543-579fa0d87bfa
• de Costa, A. (31 January 2019). How to Save Windows 10 Spotlight Lock Screen Pictures. https://www.groovypost.com/howto/save-windows-10-spotlight-lock-screen-pictures

read more "Windows spotlight image local location"

Windows spotlight image global location

The Windows spotlight images, formerly known as the Windows splash screen images, have always been hard to 'locate'. Despite multiple requests of Microsoft, by multiple frustrated users over time (1cashew, 11 May 2016; GLH&, 2 November 2015; Jass A, 27 August 2015; mesteele101, 3 April 2015; Odin, 10 December 2018), it is still difficult to find out (a) where in the world the images were taken, and (b) who took them, and (c) the image location on our devices. So a few dedicated individuals have done some of that work for us.

For the global location, we used to have the ability to click on the splash screen image that arrived at logon, the "Like what you see?" link which supposedly allowed us to find the location, and to request more of the same. Except clicking the link never worked. For example, the image of the Archway Islands from a cave on Wharariki Beach accompanying this post was taken near where I live in Tasman, at the top of the South Island in New Zealand, but clicking the link provided (a) no pop-up information, and (b) nothing else happened when it was clicked... it was a dead hyperlink.

However, there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to the Windows Spotlight images. It lists a number of images, divided into Microsoft regions (20 December 2020) which allows us to click through to information about each place. However, the Microsoft images listed are not linked within Wikipedia: instead the linked Wikipedia entries use creative commons images.

Further, there are a few image details listed in the answers for some of the Microsoft support posts, such as Jass A's post (27 August 2015). However, we have to do an awful lot of reading to get to info about a few of the images.

Luckily, finding out where images were taken is a lot easier, thanks to the creators of the Windows 10 Spotlight website (3 November 2016; 9 February 2021). Simply go to the site's home page (9 February 2021), and scroll through the images you find. Click on the image to go to the detail page, and we find the image title, and some coding information from Microsoft. Each week Windows 10 Spotlight tweets the most recent images (here).

However, trying to find out WHO took the image remains difficult. One possibility is to upload the image into Google image finder (instructions here) and see if we can find the owner that way. Other than that, this information appears to remain lost to us.

But at least we know where in the world :-)

Next comes to trick of finding the images on our devices, which will be the topic of a later post.

Sam

References

• 1cashew (11 May 2016). info relating to splash screen photos in windows 10.
• de Costa, A. (31 January 2019). How to Save Windows 10 Spotlight Lock Screen Pictures. https://www.groovypost.com/howto/save-windows-10-spotlight-lock-screen-pictures/
• GLH& (2 November 2015). Windows Spotlight Images - Description Where the Photos Were Taken? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start-winpc/windows-spotlight-images-description-where-the/ec2c9f89-bc99-4699-b85b-72a1b873a0a1?page=1
• Jass A (27 August 2015). Where are the Windows 10 lock screen photos from? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start-winpc/where-are-the-windows-10-lock-screen-photos-from/51bf927f-8781-4bca-bb17-79b197351346
• mesteele101 (3 April 2015). Windows 10041 - Windows Spotlight Lock screen Picture location. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_wintp-insider_personal/windows-10041-windows-spotlight-lock-screen/5b1cddaf-7057-443b-99b6-8c3486a75262?page=1
• Odin, W. (10 December 2018). Splash Screen Pictures. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/splash-screen-pictures/788b5d57-9474-4f3c-b398-fafb58a6f523
• Wikipedia (9 December 2020). Windows Spotlight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Spotlight
• Windows 10 Spotlight (9 February 2021). Windows 10 Spotlight Images. https://windows10spotlight.com/category/images/page/100
• Windows 10 Spotlight (3 November 2016). Wharariki Beach Cave, Archway Islands, South Island of New Zealand. https://windows10spotlight.com/images/9fa80fd805562a6bc817f01f48b8b93e
• Windows 10 Spotlight (2021). Windows 10 Spotlight Images [Tweet]. https://twitter.com/win10spotlight?lang=en

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Problem with uploads

For the last two weeks I have been having problems with uploading files to the cloud on my Windows 10 PC. Where once I would upload a student interview video and it would upload in 15 minutes, now the upload time would slowly tick out to an hour, or two, and then the upload would fail.

This was very frustrating, and caused a number of delays in working with my students. Files up to 50Mb would upload, but files greater than that would not. I ended up converting my Zoom recordings to sound files in the meantime, as they were smaller than 50Mb, until a solution to the problem was found.

I initially thought it was our internet connection, but after the technicians came out and investigated, we found it was not that. We tried many things, including three different browsers, and several different types of cloud storage. After much experimenting, we realised that it was only my PC which was affected. Other phones, tablets and laptops performed OK. The technicians gave up, as it was no longer their area.

Turning to my PC, we realised that the problem appeared to arise after a Windows update was auto-installed so may have been a changed setting related to one of Security updates for Microsoft Windows KB4598242; KB4586876; or KB4598481. My husband ended up finding a setting within the Ethernet settings which seemed to solve the problem, despite not really appearing to have anything to do with the security updates, or the internet settings.

The solution? Unticking the connection option "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)" in the Ethernet properties allowed me to upload again. This is not normally a problem. It is usually ticked. However, it may be that something behind this setting may have been changed with one of the Windows 10 updates (KB4598242, KB4586876, or KB4598481) which has had a knock on effect in throttling my upload speeds, or in limiting the size of upload files, or in timing out an upload.

I still have no idea why this unticking has restored my uploads: I am only grateful to have the facility back! However, I thought I would post this here in case anyone else has had a similar problem. The instructions to reset are shown in the attached image.

Sam

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Seeing the file tree in File Explorer

After a recent Microsoft upgrade, I lost my File Explorer view, showing the file tree. Grr: as usual, an upgrade overwrites our own preferences sand settings, in that "Mother knows best" way which Microsoft still seems to exhibit.

I was at a loss, briefly, to remember how to get it back! Then I remembered that all I needed to do was to go the the View tab, select the Navigation pane button at the start of the ribbon, and tick the "Navigation pane" option from the drop down list. Too easy once your brain starts working again, but I still had that sinking feeling when having just been through a forced upgrade that the recovery may not be that simple!

I figured that I would not be alone in finding this reset annoying, so figured I should create a post in case any of you have got stuck with this too.

Sam

read more "Seeing the file tree in File Explorer"

How to save xesc files to mp4 using VLC player

I use a screen capture tool called Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture to record my screen when I am illustrating "how tos" for my students. I find it a very easy piece of kit to use. Unfortunately, being a Microsoft product, the output file is a .wmv file: reasonably useless for sharing, as the most common file type is .mp4.

What I usually use to transform the files is a piece of kit called Syncios - freeware which works well - but I loose a lot of quality (read more about this piece of kit here).

(and I really don't know why Microsoft takes such a betamax approach to some things: they would do better to go with the flow. But hey: they are who they are)

Recently, by accident, I found another way to change the file type, using VLC player. There is an intermediary file created when screen capture takes place, called an .xesc file (a codec file). If we double-click on that file - as I accidentally did - we can open codecs in Windows using VLC player, then convert them straight to .mp4 using the built in conversion process within VLC player. I find this provides a higher quality result than Syncios.

The trouble is that the VLC conversion process is pretty esoteric. I needed to find a set of instructions to work out how to do it, so thought that others too would find this less than obvious. So, to convert, we:

• Open VLC player
• In the Media menu, select Convert/Save. This will open the dialogue box (image accompanying this post)
• Click the + Add button and navigate to where your .xesc files are stored. Select as many files as you want to convert. Click OK
• Now click the Convert/Save button.

The files will convert and save in the same directory, with the same name as the original .xesc files. We can open one of the codec files we are wanting to convert, and it will still convert to .mp4 in the background, while remaining open.

I hope that makes life a bit easier!

Sam

read more "How to save xesc files to mp4 using VLC player"

Finding hidden Windows folders

For all of us who have been driven batty by: hidden Windows folders; by circuitous, arcane routes to installing software; or by hidden folders where we need to store a piece of kit to make an add-on work and stymied by not being able to find it; then this little shortcut should help!

Simply go to the Windows search box (beside the start button, as per the illustration accompanying this post), and key in:

%APPDATA%

Those pesky hidden personalised folder options will appear. Keying return will open the Windows Explorer folder.

That enables us to find whatever the software folder it is we are looking for. So easy, yet so hard to find when you need to.

Not any more though: we have it right here :-)

Sam

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Changing desktop icon size in Windows 10

OK, hands up all those who know how to change the icon size in Windows 10?

I so fondly thought that I did, until I tried, and realised that I didn't. So I went hunting, and - as usual with Google - I found a great link to the perfect 'how to' answer for doing this. The BEST thing is that, in Windows 10, it is now even easier to change icon size, because it is now on a menu.

Simply:

• Right-click on some empty desktop space
• Click View in the right-click menu
• Slide out and select your desired icon size (i.e. Large icons, Medium icons, or Small icons).

And that is it.

Have a play :-)


Sam

• Reference: Pinola, M. (29 Apr 2019). How to Change the Icon Size in Windows 10. Laptop Mag. https://www.laptopmag.com/au/articles/change-icon-size-windows-10

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When Ctrl, Alt & Delete don't work

Every now and again something locks up on my PC, and, despite holding down the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys, the Task Manager window does not appear. We know it is a major problem when we can't even use Ctrl, Alt & Delete to shut down whatever has gone pear-shaped!

What I usually do is to do a full reboot by holding down the power switch until the machine turns off. Then I restart, and if the restart appears to go normally, I then do a 'normal' shut down via the start button, then do a cold reboot (i.e.,, a full restart using the power on button) again, just in case there are any Windows glitches that need a clean restart to reset.

However, recently I had a problem with a PowerPoint file which I could see, but for some reason would not select, and therefore probably had not saved. It was like it had become wallpaper. Everything else was working normally.

So I keyed Ctrl, Alt & Delete... and nothing happened. This time, as I had heaps of things open, I decided to look further, to see if there was something else I could do to force the Task Manager to appear.

Alongside a whole host of other checks (such as ensuring that your keyboard is working) I found a solution that sometimes works from Samson (1 August 2018):

• Key Windows & I to open the Windows Settings dialogue box
• Go to Time & Language
• If you are only using one language, add another language at Preferred Languages | ‘Add a language’ option. Do not select ‘Set as my Windows display language’
• If you are already using multiple languages, select your primary language (should be the first listed). Click the down arrow, then the up arrow to take it back to the top of the list.

Now try keying Ctrl, Alt and Del again. Chances are it will be. Cancel whatever was hanging your PC, then shut down, and restart.

If shutdown went normally, do another cold reboot.


Sam

• Reference: Samson, E. (1 August 2018). How to fix Ctrl + Alt + Del sequence not working on Windows 10?https://www.auslogics.com/en/articles/ctrl-alt-del-sequence-not-working/

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Speed up your Windows wallpaper slideshow

Some of us like to personalise our devices; some of us stay with the manufacturers start up. For those of us who like to personalise, Microsoft offer a wallpaper slideshow that changes in our background. In the past I have loaded my latest holiday shots, paintings that move me, etc; I like some kind of emotional connection.

However, the fastest you can have a wallpaper slideshow deck tick over is every minute. That time is cumulative: I have three screens, so this means I will be staring at the same background image for three minutes until it rolls over on that screen. I thought it must be easy to change the image timing. but having tried the Control Panel, God Mode (read more on that here), and the Desktop right-click menu, I had to give up. Windows 10 doesn't seem to think there is any time smaller than a minute.

However, a Google search did provide a few answers, with the best one - that is, one that works - coming from SuperUser (8 September 2015). Apparently there used to be an easy way to go in behind and to change the timing, but with a Windows 10 update that option has gone. Users on the SuperUser thread have collectively provided an alternative:

• Key Win & R to open the Run dialogue box
• Copy & paste all the blue text following into the Run box

shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

• The personalisation | Desktop background dialogue box will open. In the "Change picture every:" drop down list, change the timing to either 10 seconds, or 30 seconds.

There are no other short timing presets. If you want different lengths of time, then you will need to do a registry hack. The SuperUser (8 September 2015) thread responses also detail how you can do this.

Enjoy!


Sam

• Reference: SuperUser (8 September 2015). Windows 10 slide show shorter than 1 minute. https://superuser.com/questions/951677/windows-10-slide-show-shorter-than-1-minute

* And yes, if anyone has noticed the wallpaper images, I do indeed have a Fluevog obsession!

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Windows 10 metered network setting

Over twelve months ago I had a laptop problem where an over-sized Windows update was trying to download, and was choking my system (here). As I have still not installed that ridiculously large 87Gb file, whenever I change networks, the problem returns.

I had a simple fix for the problem when it recurred: I would set the new network as a metered connection. This involved changing a fairly simple setting at: Taskbar | Notification Icon | Network | Network and Internet Settings | Change connection properties | Metered connection | Set as metered connection; and set the toggle to "On" (as you can see from the illustration for this post, shown as a green toggle switch).

However, I recently ran across the situation where I was unable to change this setting because the "Set as a metered connection" option was greyed out. I could not click on it at all. Clicking on the link immediately below it - How can I change this setting - provided no answers. Tricky.

I did a lot of googling, but, while Microsoft mentioned ensuring that the user had administrator rights - I do - there were no fixes which worked. I tried a registry edit where we need to change the value of the Networks from 1 to 2 (ie, unlimited to limited), but that did not work at all, and for most entries, I was unable to change the registry values at all.

After reading many posts, and a half day search, I finally ran across a single post which offered another way in. And thanks to Network Bees (17 July 2019), I can share that 'how to' with you. Just below the Metered connection area at Taskbar | Notification Icon | Network | Network and Internet Settings | Metered connection, click on the help link "Change data limit settings". From there, set your data limit to whatever the data limit is you require (I set mine as 1Gb for a month), then in the background data section, set this to "Always".

We should be no longer plagued by Microsoft trying to gobble up our harddrives.

Sam

• Reference: Network Bees (17 July 2019). Windows 10 Metered Connection Greyed Out. Retrieved from https://networkbees.com/windows-10-metered-connection-greyed-out/

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Printing a folder's contents

If we want to export file names within a Windows 10 file folder, along with their creation dates, it is easy to do so. And while I have posted on this topic before here, Windows 10 does not work in the same way as Windows 8.1 (see the Windows 8.1 article here), so I have updated the instructions.

Simply open File Explorer and navigate to the desired export folder. Click into the File Explorer address bar, and key "cmd".

Doing so opens a command window at the address of the folder you want to export from. Straight after our folder name, key dir > printit.txt, then key Enter (don't leave any spaces in the command line, by the way).

dir > printit.txt

A file named printit.txt will appear in the folder that we wanted to export the file names from. We can export this MS Excel if required, by copying the data from the text file (however, I usually stage the list into Word and change out all the spaces for tabs so that items copy into separate cells in Excel.

I hope this works for you.

Sam

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Windows 10 master settings

Since the release of Windows 8, I have been increasingly frustrated by Windows settings being stashed in all sorts of strange places, and having to trawl in the deeps of Microsoft's labyrinthine thinking. Going looking for power settings, for example, can take us to four different places, through four different access points. Confusing. Annoying. A huge time waster.

However, there is a way to get all your Windows 10 settings all together, and that is by using "God" mode. And - even better - it is very simple to set up a folder on our desktop so we can access all the MS settings from this one location. While it looks budget, search enables us to find whatever it is that we seek. Bliss.

First we need to check that we have administrator rights on our account (here for details). Once we have done that, then all we need to do is to simply right click on an empty space on our desktop. From the pop-up menu, select "New", then Folder. We then rename the folder as follows:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

We can now see that the folder icon is replaced by a settings icon (like the accompanying image), and - when we click on the folder - we get a list of all the things that we can now access, grouped into helpful sections.

... and that's all there is to it.


Sam

• Reference: TechRepublic (2019). How to use God Mode in Windows 10. Retrieved from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-use-god-mode-in-windows-10/

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