Whether you love it or hate it, Windows 10 is here to stay. Unlike previous versions of Windows, there are fewer readily apparent differences between versions. In other words, the Professional version looks a lot like the Home version and it can take some digging to figure out how to leverage the advanced features of Pro.
Not to worry. With these 10 tips, we take the guesswork out of turning Windows 10 Professional into a lean, mean productivity machine. (Some of these tips refer to features that are unavailable in the Windows 10 Home Edition.)
1. Enable the hidden administrator account
When Windows 10 is installed, you’re prompted to create a user account. This automatically becomes an account with administrator privileges, but this isn’t the same as an “elevated” administrator account. What this means is that you may get what is known as a User Account Control (UAC) prompt every time you attempt to perform certain tasks, and won’t have enough privileges for others. To fix this problem you need to enable the “hidden” administrator account.
Depending on which version of Windows 10 you’re using, you can do this from a command prompt or from the administrator tools. From the start menu type ‘cmd’ and right-click the ‘Command Prompt’ shortcut and select ‘Run as Administrator’. Then type the following command: net user administrator /active:yes. The administrator account does not have a password by default, so add a password by typing the following at the prompt: net user administrator *, which allows you to set a password for the account.
For Windows 10 Professional and above you can accomplish the same thing from the Control Panel -> Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups section. Expand the ‘users’ folder and right-click the administrator account and select ‘Properties’, uncheck the ‘Account is disabled’ box and click OK. Next, right-click the administrator account a second time and select the ‘Set Password’ option to set a password. You are now ready to log in with your new administrator powers.
2. Manage Windows updates (and more) with GPEdit
The Group Policy Editor (GPEdit.msc) is a powerful Windows feature (Pro and above) that can be used to highly customize a Windows 10 installation. Just about the first item we usually tweak with any new Windows 10 install is the policy for how updates are downloaded and applied. To launch GPEdit, simply type gpedit.msc into the run dialog. This opens the Local Group Policy Editor. In order to manage how Windows updates are applied, select Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update. We typically select the ‘Auto Download/Notify to Install’ option as this allows the user to decide when updates are applied.
Also, we’re not big fans of the “feature” of allowing third-parties to use your computer and your bandwidth as an extension of the Windows update infrastructure. The theory behind this was not all bad, download once and share with other computers on your local network. If this is enabled, you can select whether to share only with computers on your local network or with everyone.
The question we have is what constitutes a ‘local network’? If you’re connected directly to the internet, is your ‘local network’ defined as all computers connected to your ISP? To avoid unintended bandwidth usage, with possible slowdowns, we recommend disabling peer updates. You can turn this feature off by clicking Start -> Settings -> Updates & Security. Then select Advanced Options -> Choose how updates are delivered, from here you can turn the update off and you will only receive updates from Windows update servers.
There are scores, if not hundreds, of other settings you can manage with GPEdit to highly customize your Windows environment.
3. Prevent startup bottlenecks with MSConfig
MSConfig is a system configuration tool that has been around since Windows 98. It is mainly used to view/configure which processes are launched when Windows starts up. As applications are installed and updated, new background processes may be added to Windows start up. These can eventually slow Windows to a crawl. Keeping on top of what’s loading, and disabling non-essential apps can prevent those creeping bottlenecks from gumming up the works.
In addition to managing which processes are starting upon Windows launch, MSConfig provides tools to accomplish various tasks, from displaying system information and events to monitoring tools to viewing CPU, memory, disk and network usage.
MSConfig is launched by typing ‘msconfig’ into the run dialog (Cortana).
4. Manage Windows versions and licenses with DISM
This might not be a feature needed by the casual Windows 10 user, but as an administration tool it’s a lifesaver. Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe) is a powerful built-in feature of Windows 10 that allows administrators to mount a virtual disk or Windows image for servicing. DISM can also be used with offline Windows images to install, configure, uninstall and update features and packages.
So, what exactly can it be used for? Well, for starters we’ve used it to update a running Windows 10 operating system license to match the currently installed version. This is helpful if you installed Windows initially using the “free” upgrade, but later bought a license. With DISM you don’t have to reinstall to get the license and version to match. DISM also has great logging capabilities that will show all details about a Windows image. With DISM you can create and maintain a repair source that can be used to restore or repair a corrupted Windows 10 installation.
DISM can be used from the command line or by using Windows PowerShell.
5. Streamline workflow with Windows Explorer improvements
Microsoft continues to make improvements to what is now known as the File Explorer. For instance, the Share tab speeds up the way you share files, especially via email. Once you have your email account(s) configured, you can simply click the Share button and email a file directly from the File Explorer, no need to open the email client and start browsing for the file first. The Share tab also provides handy shortcuts to print, zip, fax or burn files to disc.
The new Quick Access provides a way to pin folders that are frequently used into a shortcut panel. We find this particularly useful in an environment with multiple mapped network drives, as it saves a lot of time scrolling and drilling down to find what you’re looking for. The Quick Access area can also be used to display frequently accessed files, not just folders. The File Explorer ribbon has become smarter overall as it knows that you’re working with a certain file type. If you highlight an image file, it gives you a set of picture tools, similarly if you highlight an EXE file it provides a list of application tools.
6. Navigate quicker with keyboard shortcuts
In addition to some of the shortcuts mentioned elsewhere in this article, Windows 10 provides multiple other handy keyboard shortcuts. Here are our top 10 picks:
WinKey + I to open the Settings panel WinKey + A to display the Alert panel WinKey + E to open Windows Explorer WinKey + R to open a Run dialog WinKey + Enter to open the Narrator WinKey + M to minimize all open windows WinKey + S to open search WinKey + Number, open an application pinned to the task bar by its ordinal position from the left
Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V are new Command prompt shortcuts to copy and paste text at the cursor WinKey + X to open the ‘bare bones’ Start Menu and of course, everyone’s favorite, the WinKey all by itself to open the regular Start Menu.
7. Multi-task with virtual desktops
The virtual desktop is one of our favorite features in Windows 10. As the title suggests, this allows users to create multiple ‘virtual’ desktops that you can easily switch between. We find this particularly helpful when working on multiple unrelated tasks. For instance, one desktop can be used for multiple network monitoring tools, another can have other business productivity tools such as email and CRM while yet another can be used for personal stuff such as social media and your fantasy football league.
Launching a new virtual desktop is easy. Simply click the ‘task view’ icon located next to the Windows and Cortana icons, or you can use the WinKey + Tab key to switch to task view. You will now see all active applications on your main desktop organized into smaller thumbnails. Along the bottom of the screen there will be a list of existing desktops (Desktop 1, Desktop 2 and so on). There will also be an icon with a plus sign to create a new desktop. When clicked, this will bring up a new clean virtual desktop with no running applications.
If you wish to move an open application from one desktop to another, you can just drag and drop it into the destination desktop. The start menu is shared between the open desktops, so for instance if your email client is open in Desktop 3 and you attempt to open a new instance in Desktop 2, it will automatically take you to Desktop 3 and display the already open application. To switch between open desktops you can use the Ctrl+WinKey along with either the left or right arrow.
8. Use Aero Snap to arrange Windows
The Aero Snap feature lets you arrange desktop windows exactly the way you want them. For example, you can have one window taking up the right half of the screen and two other windows using a quarter each on the left side. The possibilities are nearly endless as you don’t need to use just halves and quarters. For instance, you can have a weather app or social media feed snapped into a small window at the bottom left, then the remaining apps can be snapped into the remaining desktop space in an efficient manner.
Depending on the type of device, you can snap application windows using the mouse to drag to the left/right and top/bottom, or we found using the WinKey and the left/right/top/bottom keys to work well on a desktop computer. On a tablet you just use your fingertips or a stylus to move windows around.
9. Cut through web clutter with Edge reader mode
Tired of the clutter often found on most Web pages these days? Ads and videos can slow your browsing session to a crawl. The Edge browser has the answer, at least when visiting some sites. By invoking the “reader mode” you can read an online article without the ads and most of the distracting navigation that encourages you to click somewhere else. Just like with Firefox’s version of the same feature, there are some caveats.
First, the article has to be loaded with all of the trappings before you can switch to reader mode. Second, the website must offer a ‘reader mode’ option of the page in question (many do). We like it for reading longer feature articles and it is also great for clutter-free printing. An added bonus with the Edge browser is that it is a quite serviceable Adobe PDF reader.
10. Create a super settings folder
Whether you call it ‘God mode’ or something else, this “Easter Egg” feature allows users to create a folder with shortcuts to most Windows 10 settings from one folder. Although the ‘God mode’ folder has been around at least since Windows 7, many users have never heard of it. It can be created from the desktop or from Windows Explorer by simply creating a new folder named ‘GodMode. {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}’.
After the folder is saved it is named ‘GodMode’ and it contains essentially all of the items from the Control Panel with each sub item expanded for each category. Although the folders are organized with the same names as the Control Panel, such as Administrative tools, Power Options and Windows Firewall, the items within each category are not identical for many of them so this difference may send some users back to the more familiar Control Panel settings.
Perschke is a web and database developer with 15+ years of industry experience. You can reach her at susan@arcseven.com.
