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Controlling By Tom Krauser

In this article we will look controlling Windows 10 settings. We will deal primarily with the settings accessible when the Setting (gear) is clicked from the Start .

Windows Setting Icon

When the Settings icon is clicked the Windows Settings is opened.

We will only cover in detail a few of the more frequently used setup options. You can use the and YouTube to get more detailed information on specific settings.

In Windows 10 the older Windows version of is still available for users who prefer the older layout. To access the older Control Panel: Click Start, scroll down to Windows System and click on it, then click on Control Panel. You could also add this to your by right clicking on the Control Panel icon and select Pin to Start.

System The System icon brings up settings related to:

Display: This allows selecting different displays if PC has multiple displays and changing the settings for the selected display. You can identify and detect different monitors in multiple monitor setups. The size of default text can be changed. Screen resolution can be set based on capability of the . The orientation of the screen can be changed from Landscape (default) to Portrait so monitor can be placed with the longest side of the screen up. Screen brightness () can be set to save power.

Notifications & Actions: Sets up notifications from various apps and senders.

Power & Sleep: Settings for turning the screen off if no activity for a pre-selected time if PC is plugged in or on battery. Can also set if the goes into after a pre-selected time if PC plugged in or on battery.

Battery (Laptops): Shows status of battery. Controls setting of when laptop shuts off on low battery. Controls if screen dims when on battery to save power.

Storage: Shows the storage capacity of various drives on the PC. Has setting to automatically free up space by getting rid of temporary files and emptying the waste basket. Can change where apps, documents, music, pictures, videos, and maps are saved by default.

Tablet Mode: Can change the settings for Tablet mode behavior for the device.

Multitasking: Changes the Snap settings when arranging windows on the display. In Snap the open windows are displayed side by side.

Projecting to this PC: Can allow Windows PCs or phone to project to the screen on your PC and use its mouse and keyboard.

Shared Experiences: Lets apps on other devices (including linked phones and tablets) open and message apps on the PC, and vice versa.

Remote Desktop: Lets you connect to and control your PC from a remote device by using Remote Desktop client app. You will be able to work from the device as if you were working directly on your PC. I prefer the free program TeamViewer to remote connect PCs and devices over Remote Desktop.

About: Provides information about virus and firewall protection; Device specifications including renaming the PC; and Windows specifications including changing the product key or upgrading edition of Windows.

Devices The Devices icon brings up settings related to:

Bluetooth & other devices: Allows turning On/Off; adding a Bluetooth device;

Printers & Scanners: Allows adding, managing, deleting a or scanner

Mouse: Allows configuring/switching the mouse buttons; control how the mouse scroll wheel responds. Under “Additional mouse options” control which pointing device you are using, you can switch the primary and secondary buttons; change the double-click speed; change the pointer look and behavior; on laptops with touch pads you can configure it such that when an external pointing device is being used the is deactivated.

Touchpad (Laptops): Controls setting the sensitivity of the touchpad. Under Additional Settings you can disable the touchpad if an external pointing device is installed. Removing the external mouse will automatically enable the touchpad. Users have found that if touchpad is active that the may get accidentally moved when working on documents with hand resting on the touchpad if the touchpad thinks you are clicking on the touchpad.

Typing: Configures how misspelled words are corrected or highlighted; shows text suggestions.

Pen & : Configure (On/Off) writing in the Handwriting Input Panel with your fingertip; Turn On/Off recommended apps in Windows Ink .

AutoPlay: Turn On/Off using for all media and devices; allows choosing default action when a removable drive is connected; allows choosing the default action when a memory card is plugged in.

USB: Allows notification if there are issues connecting to USB devices.

Phone The Phone icon allows you to add so that you can start browsing the web, writing , and using apps on your phone, then continue on your PC instantly. It allows you to add your phone information so your phone and PC can be connected.

Network & Internet The Network & Internet icon brings up settings related to:

Status: Shows network status; allows changing connection properties; shows available networks; change adapter settings; network sharing options; HomeGroup settings including creating a HomeGroup;

Wi-Fi: Turn Wi-Fi On/Off; show available Wi-Fi networks; manage know networks; turn On/Off ability to connect to hot spots.

Ethernet: Shows status; change adapter options

Dial-up: Allows setting up a dial-up connection.

VPN: Allows adding a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and turn On/Off VPN connections.

Airplane mode: Allows turning On/Off Airplane mode; also can turn On/Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Mobile : Allows turning On/Off sharing of internet connection with other devices; sets up a network name and for sharing.

Data usage: Shows data usage over Wi-Fi and Ethernet

Proxy: Configure Proxy settings for Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections if used (normally Off)

Personalization The Personalization icon brings up settings related to display:

Background: Configure the screen background from a picture, solid color, or a slideshow. Choose how the background appears on the screen (Fill, Fit, Stretch, Tile, Center, Span).

Colors: Change the colors used on the screen, Start Menu, , Title bars.

Lock Screen: Select the background and whether that screen is used for login screen. Change when Lock Screen activates when plugged in or on battery.

Themes: Allows selecting a theme for the screen. Can download different themes from the internet. Can change default sounds, colors, mouse cursors.

Start: On Start menu can change from default of 3 tiles across on a row to 4 on a row; can configure shows app list in Start menu; show recently used apps; show most used apps; have the Start menu take up the whole screen; show recently opened items on Start or Taskbar; select which folders appear on the Start menu.

Taskbar: Configure if the Taskbar is locked, hidden, uses smaller icons, location of taskbar on screen, which icons show in notification area, whether system icons show, if taskbar shows on multiple displays when used.

Apps The Apps icon brings up settings related to:

Apps & Features: Controls installing and removing apps from PC. This is the option you would use to uninstall any you no longer wanted on your PC. To uninstall software left click on the software you want to uninstall and then click on Uninstall. Only one program can be uninstalled at a time. You may have to the PC to complete uninstall.

Default Apps: This option allows you to set the default program which opens selected types of applications. For example, normally Edge is the default browser when a program tries to open a . You can change the default browser to any browser you have installed on your computer. At the bottom is the option to “Choose default app by file type”. This allows you to choose the program that opens each file type. Another option is which program will open a PDF file. is the default to open PDF file types in the browser but you may want to change the default PDF file opener to Reader DC. Adobe is a free download that gives you a lot more flexibility with PDF files.

Offline maps: You can download maps for apps to use when you are not connected to the internet. For example, the Maps app can use offline maps when you search for places or directions.

Apps for : Some websites can be opened by an app or a browser. For example Grove Music can be opened with the app or if turned off the browser will open the website.

Video playback: Changes the video settings for apps that use the video playback platform that is built into Windows.

Accounts The Accounts icons brings up settings related to:

Your info: Provides info about your login account. Allows you to switch between a Microsoft login or a local login. Allows you to change your picture using the PC camera or browse for one on the computer.

Email & app accounts: Allows adding an , , and contact account which can be used by other apps.

Sign-in options: Change the sign-in options. Choose if you have to sign back in after PC had gone to sleep mode. Option to change your password. Create a PIN to use in place of a password. Can create a picture password log- in.

Access work or school: Get access to resources like email, apps, and the network on work or school files if allowed by them.

Family & other : Allows you to sign into your to manage other accounts or to add another account as either a Microsoft account or a local account. There is a separate article on accounts and log- ins with more complete information.

Sync your settings: Some Windows features are only available if you are using a Microsoft account. This option allows you to sync your settings with other devices through the Microsoft account.

Time & Language The Time & Language icon brings up setting related to:

Date & time: Lets you set the date and time automatically through the internet. Lets you choose the and adjust for daylight savings time. Lets you change the date and time display formats.

Region & language: Lets you specify your region. Windows and apps may use this setting to give you local content. Lets you choose the default language for the PC.

Speech: Lets you choose which language you will speak when using voice command options. Choose option for Text-To-Speech, adjust the speed of the speech, and adjust the microphone for .

Gaming The Gaming icon brings up settings related to Game bar:

Game Bar: Control how Game bar opens and recognizes your game. Can record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar. Set keyboard shortcuts for using Game bar.

Game DVR: Control how you capture your game through screenshots and game clips, where this information is saved, set background recording, set video record rate and quality.

Broadcasting: Control how your game appears when you broadcast, record you audio while broadcasting, choose broadcast language, choose if cameral is used, and if mouse cursor is captured.

Game mode: With Game mode, Windows 10 ensures you play your games with the best possible experience by making the game the top priority on the PC.

TruePlay: Shares system information with games using TruePlay to ensure everyone is playing fairly.

Xbox Networking: Shows connection status

Ease of Access The icons brings up settings related to:

Narrator: Turns Narrator On/Off and if starts automatically. Choose the voice Narrator uses. Narrator talks to you type or use controls on your computer.

Magnifier: Turn on and set the magnification amount, control when magnification is used, and how it tracks. Can help if visually impaired.

Color & high contrast: Apply color filters to the screen to help you see things more clearly. Can choose different filters, or high contrast.

Closed captions: Change the closed captions font, style, size, effects, and background.

Keyboard: Turn on-screen keyboard on if have touch screen, allow touching on key at a time for multiple key shortcuts, hear a tone when Cap lock, Num lock, or Scroll lock is pressed.

Mouse: Select pointer size, color, allow using numeric keypad arrows to move mouse.

Other options: Options for Play animations in Windows, turn On/Off whether Windows background shows, select how long to show notifications, cursor thickness, visual notification for sound.

Cortana The icon brings up settings related to:

Talk to Cortana: Lets Cortana respond to “Hey Cortana”, turn on Cortana , allow use of Cortana when PC is locked, and choose language Cortana uses.

Permissions & History: Manage what you allow Cortana to do. What information Cortana is allowed to access from the internet. Set SafeSearch settings, cloud search, allow using device history to improve searches.

Notifications: Turn On/Off sending notifications between connected devices.

More details: Information about Cortana and your privacy.

Privacy The Privacy icon brings up settings related to:

General: Settings to make advertising more relevant to your browsing habits and location.

Location: Allow device location to be used by apps.

Camera: Lets apps selected by you use your camera hardware. Turning Off prevents apps from directly using the camera but they can request to open the camera.

Microphone: Lets apps selected by you use the microphone. Turning off prevents that app from using the microphone. Some apps may not work properly if not allowed to use microphone.

Notification: Lets selected apps access your notifications.

Speech, inking, & typing: Allows using your voice to do things like talk to Cortana or Store apps, and use your typing history and handwriting patterns to create a local user dictionary that makes better suggestions for you.

Account info: Lets selected apps access your name, picture, and other account info if turned on.

Contacts: Lets selected apps access your contacts if turned On

Calendar: Lets selected apps access your calendar if turned On.

Call history: Lets selected apps access your call history if turned On.

Email: Lets selected apps access and send email if turned On.

Tasks: Lets selected apps access your task list if turned On.

Messaging: Lets selected apps read or send messages (text or MMS) if turned On.

Radios: Some apps use radios-like Bluetooth- in your devices to send and receive data. Sometimes apps need to turn these radios on or off to work their magic. You can turn On/Off permission to let selected apps control radios.

Other devices: Turn On/Off whether to let your apps automatically share and sync info with wireless devices that don’t explicitly pair with your PC, tablet, or phone.

Feedback & diagnostics: Select how much data is shared with Microsoft to fix problems or perform diagnostics, and set the feedback frequency.

Background Apps: Select whether to let selected apps run in the background. Turning Off only lets them update when they are in use.

App Diagnostics: Turn On/Off whether to let selected apps access diagnostic information from other apps.

Automatic file downloads: Select whether to allow Windows to automatically download online-only files from your online storage provider (such as OneDrive) for apps that request them.

Update & Security The Update & Security icon brings up settings related to:

Windows Update: Checks for Windows updates and installs. You can specify the active hours, restart options, and whether other products receive updates.

Windows Defender: Windows Defender Antivirus protects your computer against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. If you have another antivirus product installed Windows Defender will not run. Uninstalling the other will automatically activate Windows Defender. There is an article on “Viruses and ” with more information on this topic.

Backup: Select whether to automatically back up using file history to back up your files to another drive and restore them if the originals are lost, damaged, or deleted. Selecting “More options” allows you to configure what folders are backed up. There is an article on “Backing Up Your Data” with more information on this topic.

Troubleshoot: Contains various troubleshooting options for your PC for various hardware, software and network options.

Recovery: Provides various recovery options such as Resetting PC, going back to a previous version of Windows, Advanced startup options.

If having problems with Windows, especially after installing software, you should try to use “” to restore the computer to a previous saved restore point prior to resetting the computer . Type “restore” in the search window then select “Create a restore point” to bring up the window to allow using a restore point. Then select “System Restore” to get a list of possible restore points. Choose a date/time where the computer was working properly. Check the box to “Show more restore points” to see older restore points.

Activation: Shows if this copy of Windows has been activated, allows changing the product key, and allows adding a Microsoft account.

Find my device: Allows you to track your device if you think you’ve lost it. Even if you have not lost it, “Find my device” logs your devices’ location periodically on a map to you keep tabs. You can sign in with your Microsoft account to use or change “Find my device”.

For developers: These setting are intended for development use only.

Windows Insider Program: For users.