Video summary

50 Windows Tips in 18 Minutes.

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Overview

This video is a rapid “tips roundup” covering many built-in (stock) Windows features and keyboard/mouse shortcuts, framed in a style like “50 Windows Tips in 18 Minutes.” The host explicitly avoids PowerToys and other extra “secret” functionality, focusing on what Windows already provides.

Key Windows 11 / Windows Feature Tips & Tutorials

UI, navigation, and window management

  • Right-click Start menu / Windows icon: Right-click the Start button to reveal menu items with letter hotkeys (also accessible via Win + X).
  • Task View virtual desktops: Rename desktops and assign separate wallpapers per virtual desktop via right-click.
  • Launch Task Manager quickly: Ctrl + Shift + Esc
  • Minimize windows quickly: Shake a window’s title bar to minimize all others (focused window stays).
  • Alt + Tab alternatives / switching
    • Alt + Tab (configurable multitasking behavior)
    • Alt + Esc switches to the most recently used app instantly
  • Taskbar / task switching power shortcuts
    • Win + number opens the taskbar app at that position
    • Win + T cycles taskbar thumbnails
    • Win + M minimizes all; Win + Shift + M restores minimized windows
    • Arrow keys move the active window around (and can minimize)
    • Alt + F4 closes the active app/window
    • Win + Home minimizes all except the focused app
  • Window snapping interface
    • Hover the maximize button to see snap options
    • Use Win + Z for a numbered split layout
  • Create new taskbar windows / close tabs
    • Middle-click a taskbar icon to open a new instance
    • Middle-click a browser/app tab area to close tabs

Desktop, time, and system tray

  • Show seconds in system tray: Toggle in date/time settings.
  • Add extra time zones: Settings → date/time adjustments → add two additional clocks (shown on hover and in the calendar panel).
  • Desktop quick controls
    • Hide desktop icons/clutter via right-click options
    • Hide Recycle Bin via Settings → Personalization → Themes → Desktop icons

Keyboard shortcuts (workflow efficiency)

  • Home/End navigation
    • In documents/web pages: Home to top, End to bottom
    • In text fields: Ctrl + Home/End jumps to start/end of the text area; Shift variants select text by cursor movement
  • Win + R “Run” power commands
    • Typing . in Run opens your user folder (double dot opens the parent)
    • Common commands mentioned:
      • control printers
      • perfmon
      • control
      • cleanmgr
      • mrt (Malicious Software Removal Tool / disc cleanup-related usage)
  • Restart into Advanced Startup: Hold Shift while restarting.
  • Open as administrator: Hold Shift + Ctrl + Win while launching an app.
  • Multi-desktop management
    • Win + Ctrl + D: create a new desktop
    • Win + Ctrl + F4: close the current desktop
    • Win + Ctrl + Arrow keys: move between desktops

File Explorer power features

  • Icon size and “old menu” behavior
    • Ctrl + scroll: adjust icon size
    • Shift-click on folders/files: show the old right-click menu
  • Tabs
    • Ctrl + T: new tab
    • Ctrl + W: close tab
  • File/Explorer navigation
    • Ctrl + Shift + N: new folder
    • Ctrl + L: focus the address bar (browser-like)
    • Ctrl + Shift + (1..8): jump to views/icons quickly
    • Alt + Up arrow: go up one folder
    • Alt + Enter: open properties
  • Selection and viewing
    • In Details view: click column headings to add attributes as columns
    • In some selection UIs: invert selection via a three-dots options menu
    • F11: full screen in File Explorer (hides UI)
  • Group view control: Right-click “Group” view options to group items in Explorer.
  • Search tuning
    • Excluded folders: keep Windows Search from crawling unwanted locations
    • Indexing options: adjust indexing locations to improve search behavior (useful across drives)
  • “Secret” Applications folder (as described)
    • A Win + R command mentioned in subtitles opens a hidden-style apps list in a unified view (similar conceptually to Mac Launchpad)

Windows Search capabilities (and practical workflow)

The host notes Windows Search is weaker than alternatives (PowerToys / Everything Search), but highlights:

  • Finding deeply buried settings reasonably well
  • Handling calculations/conversions via an interactive calculator-style UI
  • Using categories and command-like search terms
  • Semicolon refinement such as:
    • file; / folder; to filter results quickly
  • Quick access to search/index settings through the three-dot menu

Snipping Tool and screenshots

  • Snip mini shortcut: Win + Shift + S (subtitles indicate “shift S”)
    • Select full screen or a region
    • Mark up with tools, including a color picker
    • Extract text from the selected area (OCR-style)
  • Full Snipping Tool app
    • Delay timer
    • Import an external image to annotate
  • After taking a screenshot, Windows opens a markup interface with additional tools.

PowerShell/Terminal/Command Prompt conveniences

  • Folder “tree map” visualization
    • In Command Prompt/Terminal: run tree inside a folder to map the structure graphically
  • Command Prompt color customization
    • Use a color + two-digit number scheme for background/text
    • Color/help guidance via /? (slash and question mark mentioned)
  • Generate QR codes
    • Use a command in Command Prompt to generate a QR code for a website URL

Reliability, performance, and energy/power reports

  • Reliability Monitor
    • Crash/failure log timeline, sortable by day/week
  • Battery health & energy usage reports
    • Command Prompt can generate battery health data
    • A similar command can be used for energy consumption
  • Power plans / lid behavior
    • Search for “lid” to configure sleep behavior and what happens when closing the lid (battery vs plugged-in)

Task Manager enhancements

  • Open file location
    • Task Manager: right-click a process → Open location
  • Priority control
    • Details tab: right-click a process → adjust resource priority
  • Task Manager settings
    • Starting page, refresh intervals, and keep-in-foreground behavior

Network / device sharing

  • Nearby Sharing
    • Enable via quick settings
    • Share via right-click → Share with nearby devices
  • Wi‑Fi sharing
    • In Wi‑Fi settings: show password and provide a QR code for others to scan

Device/GPU/storage customization

  • GPU per app selection
    • Choose which graphics card each application uses
  • Storage settings
    • Storage Sense: automatic free space (recycle bin emptying, cache/system cleanup, specific folders)
    • Storage recommendations and advanced options, including where content is saved by drive and per-drive breakdowns
  • Recycle Bin controls
    • Set the “too big to recycle” threshold via Recycle Bin properties (max size in MB)
    • Behavior linked to Storage Sense settings

Additional built-in tools

  • Character Map: select characters by font and view Unicode information
  • Device Manager hidden devices: View → Show hidden to reveal hidden/faded devices
  • Pomodoro timer: built into the Clock app
  • Click-to-remote access (Click Assist): native tool for controlling another Windows 11 PC
  • Utilities roundup (third-party apps) (not stock tips, but recommended):
    • Everything, KeyPass, TeraCopy, Nora, File Pilot, Image Glass, LocalSend, Fluent Weather, DaVinci Resolve, Obsidian, Hardware Info, plus mention of more apps via playlists

Main Speakers / Sources

  • Main speaker: Unidentified host/presenter (single creator narrating the tips)
  • Primary source: Auto-generated subtitles from the YouTube video “50 Windows Tips in 18 Minutes.”

Original video