PC World - USA (2019-02)

112 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2019

HERE’S HOW PERSONALIZE YOUR PC

to your search history across the cloud and

various devices, it will be easier to find a

document or other file from the search box.

You can use the File Explorer (the little folder

icon on the taskbar) to hunt down a file. But

you can also search for it from the Search

box, and receive a list of suggestions.

THE MICROSOFT STORE APP

As you may know already, one of the easiest

ways to configure your PC is to download

the apps that you want to use, and an easy

shortcut is the Microsoft Store. While you

can access the Store from the Start menu, an

easy way to do it is to type the app you’re

looking for into the Start menu, and look for

the corresponding Store entry. Try it with

something like “Facebook” or “Spotify.”

Which apps you download are up to

you—and not all apps are available via the

Microsoft Store! But if you’re looking for

suggestions of good free apps to download,

here’s our list (go.pcworld.com/frap).

THE ACTION CENTER

Despite its name, the Action Center, tucked

way down into the bottom right-hand corner of

the screen, can be a quiet corner of your PC’s

operations. The Action Center archives any

notifications you receive (new email, calendar

reminders, etc.) and pops them out from the

left side of the screen. But it’s the Quick Actions

down in the lower third where you can quickly

tweak things to your liking: adjust the

brightness of our screen, turn on Nearby

Sharing (go.pcworld.com/nrby), toggle Wi-Fi

on and off, and more. You can always make

these adjustments in the Settings menu (or

sometimes even

via your laptop

keyboard), but

they’re designed

to be readily

accessible.

In the

October 2018

Update of

Windows 10,

you’ll have the

option to drag

these little icons

around and

From apps to games to videos, the Microsoft Store app is the iTunes of Microsoft. organize them.