7 methods I arrange Home windows 11 for a greater expertise

While you choose up a brand new Windows 11 laptop or carry out a contemporary set up of Home windows 11 on your PC, it is not completely good proper out of the field. Whereas Microsoft has packed numerous nice options into Home windows 11, making it work higher for you requires just a few easy changes that, over time, will make utilizing it extra pleasant and productive.

Whether or not it is adjusting the look of Home windows 11 or making just a few modifications to the taskbar and Start Menu, listed here are seven methods I arrange Home windows 11 for the absolute best person 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 simple 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 exploit 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 would like it to look interesting. Happily, with Home windows 11, Microsoft has included a wealth of customization choices to assist personalize the appear and feel of Home windows to your liking. After all, the basic choices can be found, akin to altering your desktop background, however there are additionally just a few 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 assorted choices, together with altering your background and the colours of Home windows. The primary setting I all the time change is to modify Home windows to darkish mode as a substitute of sunshine to save lots of my eyes. This may be discovered underneath Colours > Select your mode > Darkish. In that very same coloration menu, it’s also possible to disable the translucent impact on Home windows and choose an accent coloration of your alternative to use to the taskbar and Begin Menu.

I additionally prefer to personalize the lock display, which you are able to do underneath Settings > Personalization > Lock display. There, you’ll be able to set your individual background for it, or depart it as Home windows Highlight, which randomly selects completely different landscapes world wide to function your lock display once you register to your PC.

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

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Making urgent the Home windows key price 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. While 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 recordsdata or applications you’ve got not too long ago opened. For those who open tons of various recordsdata a day, as I do, then the suggestions within the Begin Menu aren’t significantly useful.

Happily, 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 applications to your Begin Menu, merely seek for them, right-click them, and choose Pin to Begin. I’ve all of the apps I exploit most frequently right here, which I do not essentially want on my taskbar, akin to Photoshop and recreation launchers apart from Steam, like Xbox and Epic Video games. Pinning applications to the Begin Menu is a handy solution to open them rapidly, relatively than having to seek for them every time or use a desktop icon. It makes urgent the Home windows Key price it.

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5

Repair the taskbar

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

Subsequent, personalizing your taskbar is one other solution to improve your Home windows 11 expertise. By default, Microsoft pins just a few apps to it, such because the Home windows Retailer and Microsoft Edge. For those who’re like me and by no means use Edge or the Home windows Retailer, unpinning them can release area on your taskbar and make it look much less cluttered.

I like to recommend pinning the apps you utilize most regularly to your taskbar. For me, these embrace File Explorer, Chrome, Steam, Slack, Spotify, and Discord. This ensures that the apps I depend on essentially the most are all the time 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.

For those who’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 all the time has been. For those who 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 underneath the Alignment settings to mechanically conceal the taskbar when you want to cover it when it is not in use.

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4

Allow Clipboard historical past

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

Copying and pasting is likely one of the mostly used options on any PC. Nonetheless, protecting observe of all of the hyperlinks or textual content you’ve got copied can generally turn out to be overwhelming when you’re sending a lot of them all through the day. That is why Clipboard historical past is likely one of the greatest 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 observe of all the things you’ve got copied to your PC’s clipboard. For those who’re looking for a hyperlink you copied earlier or a chunk of textual content, you’ll be able to discuss 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 convey up your Clipboard historical past, merely press the Home windows Key + V. You will then be capable to see all of the hyperlinks you’ve got not too long ago copied. You’ll be able to pin completely different objects 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.

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3

Scale back the variety of startup apps

Have Home windows 11 boot smoother

For those who’ve simply arrange Home windows 11 and put in a wide range of apps, there is a good probability that a few of them have mechanically 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 onerous disk drives (HDDs), and having too many apps begin without delay can decelerate Home windows throughout startup.

To make Home windows boot sooner and smoother, you’ll be able to cut back the variety of apps that open mechanically at startup. To do that, open Job Supervisor by trying to find it within the search bar or by concurrently urgent Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Then, choose Startup apps from the menu on the left. You will 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 all the time disable Copilot and Xbox, as I do not want them working on a regular basis or at bootup. Even in case you have an SSD, I like to recommend doing this, because it frees up your PC’s assets by not having apps run within the background unnecessarily.

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2

Unencumber space for storing

Clear up your storage gadget for future wants

For those who’ve simply upgraded to Home windows 11 from Home windows 10, now’s pretty much as good a time as ever to think about cleansing up your PC’s space for storing. 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 sort of full, it will probably expertise slowdowns that negatively affect efficiency.

To view all of the applications you have got put in and uninstall any you do not want, go to Settings > Apps > Put in Apps. For those who spot any apps you not require, you’ll be able to click on the three dots on the correct to uninstall them. Even in case you have an SSD, I feel it is price doing this, as a result of even a virtually full SSD can decelerate, and it is all the time good to have free area out there for future wants.

For those who’re on a brand new Home windows 11 PC, I nonetheless suggest doing this as nicely, because it’s a terrific 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 all the time 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.

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1

Swap your default browser

Sorry not sorry Microsoft Edge

Lastly, the very last thing I like to recommend when establishing Home windows 11 to boost your expertise is to alter 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 not so good as Chrome or Firefox. Within the case of Google Chrome, I like having it synced throughout all my gadgets, whether or not or not it’s my Home windows PC, MacBook, or iPad.

To vary your default browser, guarantee you have got your most well-liked 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 carried out, any hyperlinks you click on will open within the browser you’ve got chosen as a substitute of Microsoft Edge.

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