Your Top Tips
Ourpick ofth ebe stadvicefromour
readers.Pleasese ndqu estionsandanswers
70 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019
GENERAL PC
Rearrange items onthe
taskbar
Here’s a quick tip: didyou know that
you canrearrange the order of the icons
on the taskbarby clicking and dragging
themto the left and right? Itworks on
both the left-hand and right-hand sides
of the taskbar.
Dave Robinson, via email
MAPS
Plan aroundroadworks
and traffic incidents
I tend to use Google Mapsfor everything,
but when I opened theWindows 10 Maps
app recently, Ifound that it’s much better
than it usedto be. For example, ifyou
click Road at the top andswitch on
Traffic, Incidents and Cameras, the map
shows roadworks and traffic incidents,
such as accidents. Clicking the map
symbols shows when theroadwork or
incident is likelyto be cleared. It’s a
usefultool for checkingyour route
beforeyou set off on a journey.
Rebecca Lee, via emailGENERAL PC
Slideto shut down
I’ve found an odd and, I think,
relatively unknownWindows feature
called ‘Slideto shut down’. Right-click
the desktop and select New, Shortcut.
Type%windir%\System32\
SlideToShutDown.exe, then click
Next. Name the shortcut Shut Down and
click Finish.When you click this shortcut,
the lock screen photocomes halfway
down the screen with a message that
says ‘Slideto shut downyour PC’. Click
the arrow (or tap the icon andswipe
down ifyou ha ve a touch screen)to shut
downyour computer.
Roger Stott, via emailGENERAL PC
Cut back on notifications
If you ha ve too manyWindows
notifications popping up in thecorner of
your screen, use ‘Focus assist’ to reduce
the number.This tool is in theWindows
10 Settings app, so pressWindows+i,
click System, then choose ‘Focus assist’.
Select ‘Priority only’ and then click
‘Customise your priority list’. No wyou can choose which apps show
notifications.For example,you can
add the Mail appto show new email
notifications or hide itto stop them.
Cutting out unnecessary notifications
makesWindows less distracting, and
you canstill see them inAction Centre
if you really want to.
Jason Quinn, via emailWEBSITES
Toss acoin onthe go
If you’re as indecisive as I am,you’ve
probablyresortedto to ssing acoin to
help you make a choice now and then.
The trouble is, no one seemsto carry
small change any more, and flippinga
contactless debit card isn’t quite the
same. Luckily, Irecently stumbled on
justflipacoin.com. Visit the siteto start a
virtualcoin spinning, beforerandomly
landing on heads or tails. Don’t like the
result? Just click ‘Flip again?’.
Scott Dreyfuss, via emailOFFICE
ShrinkWord’s onlinetoolbars
I use the onlineversion of Microsoft
Word to write letters and documents. It’s
not brilliant but it’s good enough, and
means I don’t have to pay for the full
version of Office. One irritation is that
there’s so much unnecessary clutterat
the top of the screen: a browser bar, the
address bar, a thick blue bar, a menu bar
and atoolbar, then the document.The
cursor is already halfway down theTOP TIPHas anyone else tried the Picture-
in-Picture Extensionby Google
(bit.ly/pip482)? I’d been lookingfor
a way to watch YouTube and Netflix
videos while browsing, and this fits
the bill perfectly. Simplystart playing
your video, then press Alt+P and the
video is transportedto the corner
of the screen. Itstays on top of
everything,even other programs.
You can move the PiP anywhere
on the screen, and adjust its size
just by dragging thecorners. JustWatch films while browsing in ChromeBROWSERSdon’t close the video tab!
RJ Leigh, via emailKeep watching your favourite videos,
no matter what else you’re doingBack
Issues
disc
winnerSee traffi c information in the Windows 10
Maps app beforeyou set off on a road trip
If you can’t make a decisi on, leave it to
chance– or a randomising algo rithm