Your Top Tips
Ourpick ofth ebe stadvicefromour
readers.Pleasese ndqu estionsandanswers
70 7 - 20August 2019
GENERAL PC
Search for files by date
Enter a search into File Explorer’s search
box, wait for the results to appear, then
click Search in the menu barto show
the Search tab. Click ‘Date modified’ and
you can then filteryour results to show
only files thatwere crea ted today,
yesterda y, last week, last month or last
year. If you knowroughly when a filewas
crea ted, you can find it more easilyby
showing files from around that date.
Brian Grant, via email
GENERAL PC
Manage multiple desktops
with the keyboard
Multiple desktops areextremely useful
whenyou want to keep track of separate
tasks. I use them all the time, because
they let me runmy hobby apps in one
space andmy work apps in another.I
always knewyou could switch between
these on the login screen, but I only
recently discovered keyboard shortcuts
for toggling between desktops. To open
a new desktop, press Ctrl+Win+D.To
close it, press Ctrl+Win+F4.You can also
switch between desktops by pressing
Ctrl+Win+Left and Right cursorkeys.
Finally,to see all the desktops that are
open, pressWin+Tab. I find that these
shortcuts make managing multiple
desktops much quicker and easier.
F McNulty, via emailANDROID
Use your phone even when
the screen breaks
Here’s a good tipfor clumsyfolks. Have
you ever wondered howyou’d access
important files onyour Android phone if
the touchscreen smashed? It’s easy
enoughto buy a new phone andrecover
any files and apps that are saved in the
cloud, but thatwon’t helpyou retrieve
important information saved on the
device itself. In this situation,you need
an OTG adapter.This letsyou control
your phoneby connecting a USB mouse,
so you can get the datayou need
without usingyour brokentouchscreen.
It’s easy to set up. Plug one end of thecable intoyour phone andattach a
mouseto the other end. Provided your
phone supports USBOTG, you can use
the mouseto open Settings,‘About
phone’. Select Software, find the build
number and click this seven timesto
unlock Android’s ‘Developer options’.
From here, switch on USB Debugging.
Now you canconnectyour phoneto a
computer via USBto transfer files and
media from the phone.
If your screen is not only shattered but
completely blank, try a freerecovery tool
such as MiniTool MobileRecovery (bit.ly/
recovery481). Be warned, though: it’s a
bit limited.
JohnOxford , via emailEMAIL
Silence Gmail messages
When you right-click a message in Gmail,
the menu offers a Mute option.This has
nothingto do with audio – instead, it
stops Gmail showingyou anyrelated
messages.For example, ifyou’ve had
enough of a particularconversation (a
sequence of emails andreplies),you can
use the mute optionto hide it. It’s still
there, but you ha ve to go to the sidebar
and click More, All Mailto see it.
Dianne Bewley, via emailGENERAL PC
Turn ebooks into audiobooks
I findEdge particularly usefulfor reading
PDF files. As long asyou ha ven’t
changed the default settings, PDFTOP TIPDid you know thatyou can activate a
hiddenfeature in Chrome that letsyou
send tabsto your other devices? I find
this particularly useful when I’m
browsing theweb on my computer
and want to co ntinue onmy Android
phone. In the address bar type:
chrome://flags/#enable-send-
tab-to-self-show-sending-ui
Alternatively, searchfor ‘send tabs’,
enable it, thenrelaunch the browser.
Now whenyou right-click a tab,
you’ll see the optionto ‘Sendto your
devices’. Press this, thenwait forSend tabs to your linked devicesBROWSERSChrometo send the tab’scontentsto
any devices that are signed intoyour
Google account.
Karl P Phillips, via emailSend a website toChrome on other
devicesBack
Issues
disc
winnerFilter your search results by date tomake
file s easier to find in File Explorer
Load PDF ebooks into Edgeand have
them read to you