Windows 11 Tips, Tricks, and Hidden Features

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Computer & tech specialist Luigi Oppido shares how to get the most out of Windows 11

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Screen Snapping

2 Clipboard History

3 Scrolling Volume

4 Virtual Desktops

5 Emoji and GIF Keyboard

6 File Explorer Tabs

7 Live Captions

8 Focus Mode

9 Xbox Game Bar

10 HDR and Dolby Vision

11 Copilot

12 Quick Settings

13 Widgets

14 Privacy Settings

15 Right Click Menu

16 Dark Mode

17 Phone Link

18 TPM & UEFI

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Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Eric McClure

Last Updated: January 28, 2026 Fact Checked

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Windows 11 may look and feel a lot like its predecessor, Windows 10, and to a large extent, that’s true. It’s still the streamlined and customizable operating system PC users everywhere love. But there are a few new features and tools that everyone could benefit from using, and it’s not like Microsoft walks new users through the process of finding any of these features or tools. We talked to computer and tech specialist Luigi Oppido to find out everything you need to know about this OS!

The Best Hidden Features in Windows 11

Tech specialist Luigi Oppido says that Windows 11 is in many ways similar to Windows 10, but that it does offer improved TPM (Trusted Platform Module) activation for encryption of drives and more UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) features. Here are a few tips for using it:

• Screen snapping is perfect for setting up custom screen layouts.
• Running out of monitor space? Set up virtual desktops.
• Clipboard history allows you to store multiple copied or cut items at a time.
• Audio volume is easy to change with the scroll wheel.
• The Xbox Game Bar contains useful gaming features and a screen recording tool.

Steps

1

Screen Snapping

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1. 
   This cool feature lets you quickly pull up different screen layouts. Say you want two windows up for your work, one window for YouTube videos in the background, and one window for Slack, Teams, or Discord. Just hit ⊞ Win + Z to pull up the different potential layouts. Then, click the panel you want to change and select the window. It’s much faster than manually dragging your windows around.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Luigi Oppido is a computer and tech specialist with over 25 years of experience. He’s also the owner of Pleasure Point Computers and the host of the Computer Man Show! On KSQD.
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2

Clipboard History

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1. The Clipboard History makes copying and pasting easier than ever. Press ⊞ Win + V and select Turn On to enable this time-saving feature, which keeps a log of what you copy so you can paste it again easily when you need it.

3

Scrolling Volume

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1. Hold your cursor over the volume button and scroll to change volume. This is a neat little quality-of-life upgrade that may save you time in the long run. Instead of turning any speaker knobs or using your keyboard’s volume keys, you can just hover the mouse over the volume logo on the taskbar and scroll up or down with the mouse wheel to adjust the volume.
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4

Virtual Desktops

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1. Create multiple desktops to help divide your workflow up productively. The feature has been around since Windows 10, but it feels a lot more streamlined and snappy in Windows 11, so it’s worth giving it another shot. Press ⊞ Win + D to create a new Desktop. Then, use ⊞ Win + ← or → to swap between the different desktops.

   • Use ⊞ Win + Ctrl + F4 to shut down whatever virtual desktop you’re on.
   • What happens to my tabs and apps if I close a virtual desktop? You won’t lose anything! Whatever you have open will just be transferred to the next active desktop.
   • Can I swap between desktops from the taskbar? Yes! Go to Settings > Personalization and then turn Task View on. You’ll see two windows appear in a button next to the search bar. Hover over that icon to see all of the available desktops.

5

Emoji and GIF Keyboard

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1. Spice up messages and emails with easily-accessed emojis and GIFS. Whenever you can enter text, press ⊞ Win + . to access the “Emoji & More” menu, which contains several emoji, symbols, and even GIFs you can add to your documents and messages (so long as the platform is compatible with them).
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6

File Explorer Tabs

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1. You might have missed this very tiny (and very helpful) change. Open File Explorer on your PC and look at the top of your window. Click on the + to open a brand new Explorer tab. If it hasn’t dawned on you yet, this is huge! You can now open multiple drives or folders in one window instead of opening multiple different windows for each drive, which makes transferring and organizing your files much easier.

   • You can also drag individual files from tab to tab just by clicking a file and holding it over the tab you want to move it to.

7

Live Captions

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1. If you’re a subtitle person, you’re in luck. To turn on automatic subtitles for videos you play, go to Settings > Accessibility > Captions. The subtitles should appear automatically whenever you start playing a video.

   • The subtitles are occasionally wrong, so don’t rely on the subtitles for anything super important work-wise.
   • You can drag the subtitles around to put them wherever you want on the screen.
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8

Focus Mode

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1. 
   Get work done without distractions using this new feature. Go to Settings > System > and then select Focus. Enter the amount of time you want to focus for and then turn the mode on. For the duration, you won’t get any notifications, badges, flashing apps, or other Windows “interruptions.” You’ll also automatically turn on Do Not Disturb mode in Teams and other Microsoft apps.

   • This will not help you block out distraction-heavy websites, unfortunately, but we’ve got you covered on that one!

9

Xbox Game Bar

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1. Even if you don’t do any Xbox gaming, it’s still a helpful tool. The Xbox Game Bar, which should really just be called “the game bar,” contains tons of helpful tools for gamers. To open it, press ⊞ Win + G. In a game, Game Bar will display key info (like your FPS). Outside of a game, it will pull up your friends list on Xbox, game and PC settings, the gaming Copilot widget, and even several screen capture tools. In fact, Windows' most robust screen recording tool for gameplay is built right into Game Bar. No more need to fidget with capture cards!
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10

HDR and Dolby Vision

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1. Adjust these “hidden” vision settings to get the best picture possible. In the search bar, enter System and open the menu. Then, select Display. Scroll down to HDR and toggle the option to “On” to see how it changes your screen. Look at a video or play a game. If you like the setting, keep it! If not, turn it off. If your monitor has an option to turn on Dolby Vision, it will appear in the menu below the HDR option or in a pop-up when you turn it on. Give it a shot to see how you like it.

   • What is HDR? HDR is short for “high dynamic range.” It basically extends the range for contrast and color so that you get a more expressive, vibrant viewing experience.
   • What is Dolby Vision? Dolby Vision is a type of HDR that uses Dolby Lab technology to optimize contrast and color. It’s basically just a fancy, company-specific variation of HDR.

11

Copilot

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1. 
   Try out the new Windows AI helper to perform simple tasks. There’s a lot of buzz lately about AI being forced on consumers, but Copilot really is worth checking out. Either click the little ribbon symbol next to the

   

   button or enter “Copilot” in your search bar to find the app and open it. It helps draft simple emails, solve Windows problems, answer questions, or generate images.

   • You do need to sign in to your Microsoft account to access Copilot, and some features may be disabled depending on your computer’s specs.
   • If you’re not planning to use Copilot, Oppido says you can disable it.
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12

Quick Settings

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1. Don’t ignore the ease of access with the quick settings menu. Click any of the buttons in the bottom right of the taskbar. This will open the Quick Settings menu. While you can’t customize the features that appear here, unfortunately, you can make a lot of quick and easy changes to your OS settings without running through multiple menus.

   • Scroll to the hidden settings with the button on the right. In the Quick Settings menu, there is a very small, vertical arrow menu on the right side of the screen. Use that to flip to the different pages of the Quick Settings menu.

13

Widgets

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1. Widgets are back, and they’re better than ever. Anyone lucky enough to remember the magic of Windows Vista likely remembers Widgets—little customizable tools that you could pin to your homescreen. They’re back in Windows 11! Just hit ⊞ Win + W and then hit the Widgets option in the top left. You can add or remove the Widgets you see in this menu.

   • Can you pin widgets to the desktop? Unfortunately, not by default. You can download the Widget Launcher App in the Microsoft Store to get that option, though!
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14

Privacy Settings

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1. You now have greater control over your privacy settings. Unless you actively enjoy slowing your computer down and sharing your personal info with Microsoft, we’re going to recommend a tip: change the default privacy settings. Here’s how to do it:

   • Go to Settings.
   • Select Privacy & Security.
   • Select General.
   • Deny every option on the screen. Tap each toggle bar and flip it to the “off” setting.

15

Right Click Menu

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1. If you miss the old right-click menu, we’ve got you covered. You used to have a lot of options when you’d right-click on the desktop in Windows 10. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to “streamline” the options. Oppido says you can change the right-click menu back to the full version if you prefer it to the truncated one. Here’s how to fix it:

   • Right-click the
     
     button.
   • Select Terminal (admin).
   • Enter the following text: reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve.
   • Hit enter and close the terminal.
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16

Dark Mode

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1. Save your eyes by flipping the color scheme in Windows. Go to Settings > Personalization > and Colors. Then, under Choose your mode, select the dark theme. This will keep all of Windows’ default elements dark so that your eyes don’t get irritated over time.

17

Phone Link

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1. 
   Set this up if you want to manage your phone from your PC. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to respond to text messages, open phone apps, and check notifications from the comfort of your desktop? Now you can! Type “Phone Link” in the search bar and open the app. Select Android and scan the QR code to begin the pairing process.

   • You can connect an iPhone to Phone Link, but only if your PC has Bluetooth capabilities that work with Apple products.
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18

TPM & UEFI

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1. Enjoy the added features that run behind the scenes in Windows 11. Oppido says that Windows 11 “allows TPM (Trusted Platform Module) for encryption of drives.” He says it also has more UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). This is a faster version of the traditional BIOS, which allows Windows 11 to start faster and support larger drives than previous operating systems.

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Tips

• Windows 11 isn’t much different from Windows 10: Oppido says that Windows 11 is largely a “lateral move based on capitalism.” He says, “Windows 11 is almost a Windows 10 shell with some rounded corners, repositioned start menu,” and added AI.
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• What to change to make Windows 11 feel more like Windows 10: Oppido says if you want your computer to feel like Windows 10, move the start menu from the center to the left of the taskbar. You can also go through your Edge settings, since Windows 11 makes that the default for many other programs. Oppido adds to remove any bloatware your machine might have come with.
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