Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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How to Mute a Tab in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox

July 10th, 2020 by Admin

When you’re surfing the web with multiple tabs open, an ad may pop up suddenly on another tab and it starts playing sound automatically. This could put yourself into embarrassing situation if you’re in public. In this tutorial we’ll show you easy ways to mute a tab in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox.

Mute a Tab in Chrome

To mute a website in Chrome, right-click on a tab that is playing sound, and then select “Mute site” from the drop-down menu.

That tab will get muted immediately.

Mute a Tab in Microsoft Edge and Firefox

Just like Chrome, both Microsoft Edge and Firefox also offer a similar method to mute tabs individually. If you wish to mute a tab, right-click it and select the “Mute tab” option from the popup menu.

The easiest way of muting a tab is to click the small speaker icon that appears on a tab that is playing audio. Clicking the speaker icon once again will unmute the tab.

Conclusion

If you have tons of tabs opened in your Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox browser, just look for the speaker icon on every tab and you can easily find which tab is playing background audio.

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Posted in Free Software, Others, Tips & Tricks

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How to Block Video Autoplay on the New Microsoft Edge Browser

July 7th, 2020 by Admin

Is there any way to stop Microsoft Edge from automatically playing videos after page loaded? Luckily, the new Microsoft Edge browser comes with a setting called Media Autoplay, which lets users control video autoplay on websites. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to block video autoplay on the new Microsoft Edge in Windows 10.

How to Block Video Autoplay on the New Microsoft Edge

  1. Open Microsoft Edge. Type edge://flags/ into the address bar and hit Enter.

    Next, search for “Show block option in autoplay settings” and select the “Enabled” option from the drop-down menu next to the flag. Click the Restart button to relaunch Microsoft Edge.

  2. When Microsoft Edge opens up again, type the following in the address bar and press Enter.
    edge://settings/content/mediaAutoplay

    Click the drop-down list next to “Control if audio and video play automatically on sites” and you will be presented with the following options:

    • Allow: This is the default setting and a site will play videos in the foreground.
    • Limit: Restricts autoplay to only work when videos are muted, so you’re never surprised by sound. Once you click anywhere on the page, autoplay is re-enabled and will continue to be allowed within that site.
    • Block: This prevents autoplay on all sites until you interact with the media content (you need to click the play button).

    Just choose the Block option and Microsoft Edge will prevent all websites from automatically playing videos without your consent.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

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3 Steps to Change Currency Format in Windows 10

July 1st, 2020 by Admin

Incorrect currency showing on a website or an app? How can I change the default currency in Excel? The currency format displayed may be based on the region and currency settings in Windows. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change the default currency format in Windows 10.

How to Change Currency Format in Windows 10

  1. Open the Settings app and type currency in the Search box, then click “Change the way currency is displayed” from the result. This will open the Region window.

    Or press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Type intl.cpl and hit Enter.

  2. Under the Formats tab, click on the Additional settings button at the bottom.

  3. When the “Customize Format” dialog box appears, select the Currency tab. Pick up your desired currency format from the “Currency symbol” drop-down list and click OK.

    If your desired currency is not shown in the list, you can open the built-in Character Map app. Look for your currency symbol and then copy & paste it into the “Currency symbol” drop-down list.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

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2 Ways to Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu in Windows 10

June 30th, 2020 by Admin

When you right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, you can choose the “Properties” option to customize Recycle Bin size or change the action of file deletion.

If you don’t allow others to access the Properties menu, you can hide or remove it. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to remove Properties from Recycle Bin context menu in Windows 10.

Method 1: Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu via Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: User Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Desktop. On the right pane, double-click on a policy called “Remove Properties from the Recycle Bin context menu“.

  2. Select the Enabled option and click OK.

  3. After restarting Windows, you’ll find the “Properties” option is missing from the context menu when you right-click the Recycle Bin desktop shortcut.

Method 2: Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Right-click the Explorer key and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  2. Rename the DWORD to NoPropertiesRecycleBin, and then double-click it. Change its value data to 1.

  3. Reboot your computer. When you right-click the Recycle Bin desktop icon, you’ll see the Properties option is gone. If you want to restore the Properties option later, just change the value data of NoPropertiesRecycleBin to 0 and you’re done.

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Fix: Windows 10 Stuck at Spinning Circle During Restart or Shutdown

June 29th, 2020 by Admin

When you restart or shut down Windows 10, it may be stuck on a blue screen for a long time with a spinning circle.

Actually, Windows 10 is waiting for running applications to exit. If they don’t respond within 30 seconds, you’ll get the following screen and you can proceed with a forced shutdown.

To speed up the shutdown or rebooting process, you can reduce the timeout for unresponsive applications so Windows 10 doesn’t stuck at spinning circle for a long time.

How to Change Timeout for Unresponsive Applications in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and hit Enter to launch Registry Editor.

  2. In the left pane, navigate to the following key. Right-click on the Desktop key and select New -> String Value.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

  3. Name the new string “HungAppTimeout“, and then double-click it to modify. Enter a number between 1000 and 20000 in milliseconds and click OK. A low number means the app will be considered as unresponsive shortly.

  4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control and create a new string named WaitToKillServiceTimeout, which works the same as “HungAppTimeout”, but it applies to services instead of applications. Don’t set this value below 2000 milliseconds.
  5. Close Registry Editor when you’re done. You’ll have to restart Windows for the change to take effect.

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How to Change Storage Capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

June 24th, 2020 by Admin

Recycle Bin is a hidden folder in Windows which can store deleted files. Once the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin is reached, Windows will automatically delete the oldest files permanently to make space for newly deleted files. If your Recycle Bin’s storage capacity is too small to hold a large file, you’ll get the following warning.

“This file is too big to recycle. Do you want to permanently delete it?”

To get rid of this warning, you need to increase the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to change storage capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

How to Change Storage Capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows

  1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and then select “Properties” from the context menu.

  2. In the Recycle Bin Properties window, select a drive listed in the box and click the Custom size option, then specify the maximum size that it can hold deleted files. Each drive has its own Recycle Bin folder so you can set the storage capacity differently.

    The default maximum storage size of a Recycle Bin location is about 5% of its space available.

  3. Click OK to save your changes.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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Use Nearby Sharing to Transfer Files between Windows 10 PCs

June 23rd, 2020 by Admin

Is there a simple way to share files with my roommates or colleagues? Nearby Sharing makes it super easy to send files over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to nearby Windows 10 PCs. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to use Nearby Sharing to transfer files between two Windows 10 computers.

How to Transfer Files Easily Using Nearby Sharing

  1. Before getting started, you need to connect two Windows 10 PCs via Bluetooth or make sure they are on the same Wi-Fi network. Next, turn on the Nearby Sharing feature on both computers.

  2. In order to share a file, open File Explorer and locate the file you need to transfer. Right-click it and select the Share option from the context menu.

  3. The Share window will pop up and search for all nearby Windows 10 PCs. Select the computer that you want to send your file to and wait for the recipient to accept the share request.

  4. On the receiving computer, a notification will appear in the lower-right corner of the taskbar. You can click “Save” or “Save & open” to save the file immediately, or click “Decline” to decline the transfer.

Besides File Explorer, both Microsoft Edge and the Photos app also have a Share button, so you can share a photo or a link to any web page using the Nearby Sharing feature.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

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How to connect two Windows 10 PCs with Bluetooth only

June 22nd, 2020 by Admin

Bluetooth is a convenient way which lets you connect to nearby device for sharing files wirelessly. This is really useful if you have neither Ethernet nor wireless network. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to connect two Windows 10 computers with Bluetooth only.

How to connect two Windows 10 PCs with Bluetooth only

First of all, you need to turn on Bluetooth on both computers. On the right end of the taskbar, click the Action Center icon. Look for the Bluetooth option and toggle it on.

On either computer, open the Settings app and head to Devices -> Bluetooth & other devices. On the right side, click the “Add Bluetooth or other device” button.

Once the “Add a device” window opens, select the Bluetooth option.

It will start searching for the device. When your second Windows 10 computer appears in the list, click it and a PIN code will show up on both computers. If the PIN matches, click on Connect.

On your second Windows 10 PC, you’ll see the “Pair Device” window. Click Yes to accept the pairing.

Now the pairing is completed. You can transfer files between your Windows 10 computers, by right-clicking the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and selecting “Receive a File” or “Send a File“. But I recommend you use the Nearby Sharing feature to send or receive files and it’s much easier.

That’s it!

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3 Ways to Enable Nearby Sharing in Windows 10

June 19th, 2020 by Admin

Nearby Sharing is a new feature in Windows 10 that lets you effortlessly transfer files to nearby devices using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, without having to use network file sharing or even a USB drive. It works much similar to Apple’s AirDrop. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 simple ways to turn on or enable Nearby Sharing in Windows 10.

Method 1: Turn on Nearby Sharing via Action Center

Click the Action Center icon in the right corner of your taskbar, and you can then click the “Nearby sharing” tile to toggle it on. If you don’t see this tile, click the Expand option to show the entire quick actions.

Method 2: Turn on Nearby Sharing via Settings App

Use the keyboard shortcut Windows + I to open the Settings app, and then click on the System category and select Shared experiences. On the right side, you can turn on the “Nearby sharing” toggle.

Method 3: Turn on Nearby Sharing via File Explorer’s Context Menu

In File Explorer, right-click any file and select the Share option from the pop-up context menu.

When the Share dialog box pops up, click the “Select to turn on nearby sharing” option to enable Nearby Sharing and it will show all the nearby PCs.

That’s it!

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How to Uninstall or Reinstall Cortana in Windows 10 Version 2004

June 18th, 2020 by Admin

Is there a way to uninstall Cortana permanently? We’ve previously shared a method to uninstall Cortana from Windows 10 but it’s a bit tricky. Starting with Windows 10 version 2004 (also known as Windows 10 May 2020 Update), Cortana is no longer integrated with the Search feature and it becomes a standalone app. You can now uninstall, remove or reinstall Cortana with ease.

Part 1: Uninstall Cortana from Windows 10

Press the Windows logo key + X to open Quick Link menu and then select “Windows PowerShell (Admin).

Copy and paste the following command into PowerShell and press Enter:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage

This will uninstall Cortana completely for all user accounts on your system, but the Cortana button is still sitting there, do nothing when clicked. To hide the Cortana button, simply right-click the taskbar and uncheck the “Show Cortana button” option.

Part 2: Reinstall Cortana from Windows Store

Open the Microsoft Store app. Click the Search button in the top-right corner and type “cortana“. Choose the Cortana app from the search results.

Click on the Get button and Cortana will install on your Windows 10 PC.

If the Cortana buttion is hidden from the taskbar, just right-click the taskbar and check the “Show Cortana button” option to make it visible.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

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