Table of contents for October 2017 in Windows Help & Advice

The Autumn Creators Update may well be winging its way to your PC by the time you read this – and to make sure you’re ready for the inevitable changes it will bring, we’ve assembled some brilliant tips, tricks and tweaks to help you make the most of it. Starting on page 11 , our ‘Speed Up Your PC’ feature explains how you can breathe new life into any computer by reducing clutter, optimising system processes and adding hardware tweaks to make sure your PC is the best it can be. And on page 60 we’ll also explain the secret to creating flawless backups, so all of your most important files are kept safe when it comes to upgrade time. On page 52 , you’ll also discover some…

What is it? Massdrop (www.massdrop.com) is a website which harnesses people power to work out deals. Potential buyers register their interest in a product and, if a certain threshold is reached, manufacturers agree to produce that product for a reduced price – a ‘drop’ – or, perhaps, to produce the product in the first place. So it’s like Kickstarter? Not really. Kickstarter, Indiegogo and the like are usually focused on funding products which are in the development stage. Massdrop, on the other hand, is designed for stuff that’s completely ready to go – its products typically just need funding and interest to justify a small-scale manufacturing run. What kinds of things, then? As you might expect, Massdrop excels at niche items. It divides its drops into a number of different…

dictation.io Don’t fancy typing? Fancy speaking to your PC instead? Google Chrome includes a complete speech recognition engine, and you can make the most of it with dictation.io, a simple site that uses your PC’s built-in microphone to turn your speech into words on a page. It really is easy. Just jump to the site using Chrome, click ‘start dictation’, and speak naturally. The dictation.io site is built to recognise not just single words, but sentences as well, and you can add punctuation as you go. It’s not absolutely perfect, of course, but the resulting output is easy to clean up once you’re done. Just click copy, and paste it into your favourite word processor. If you are a hunt-and-peck typist, this will save tons of time; even if you…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Discover new…

Your guide Alex Blake says… “Over time your PC will accumulate all sorts of cruft that will slow it down. Unclog your computer and get it running smoothly again with our handy guide!” At a glance Skill level…  a Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 ALEX’S BEST TIP! Another option? WinDirStat is a free program that shows you what files are taking up the most space on your PC. You’ll be amazed by how much rubbish there is bunging up your computer under the surface. Thankfully, there’s a free program that can sweep away the cobwebs, get your PC back up to speed, and restore order to the universe (maybe not that last bit). That program is CCleaner –…

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 DEVICE PROPERTIES The Properties page lists details for your sound card make and driver. UPDATE DRIVER You can update the driver for your card using this button. PLAYBACK DEVICE The Sound control pane lets you set the default audio device. DEVICE MANAGER Find your audio device under ‘Sound, video and game controllers’. ENHANCEMENTS TAB Disable any audio enhancements to see if that resolves issues. ADVANCED TAB Here you can test different audio formats to fix issues. TIM’S BEST TIP! As with most issues, don’t underestimate the power of a simple restart. That’s often all it takes to resolve a problem. Jargon buster! Device Manager A native Windows utility that…

Your guide Matt Hanson says… “The Dictate add-on for Microsoft Office lets you write documents and emails using your voice alone. Best of all, this feature is free!” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 MATT ’S BEST TIP! Control Windows with your voice . Type ‘Windows Speech Recognition’ into the Start menu search box for options. Voice-to-text software has become ever more powerful and accurate, and Microsoft has created a free add-on for its Office apps that enables you to use state-of-the-art speech recognition technology to type what you say. It’s a great way to compose emails or write Word documents if you’re a slow typer – or if you find using a keyboard…

Just starting your Windows journey? Confused by the changes Microsoft has made to the Creators Update? Maybe you just want to learn something new about Windows 10. Well, this is the section for you! There’s not enough space to tell you absolutely everything you need to know here, but Windows Help & Advice always has your back. In our essential Basics section, we’ll show you how to: master the desktop and make it work for you; customise the Start menu and quickly access favourite items using tiles; and how to get the best from Windows 10’s virtual personal assistant, Cortana. www.facebook.com/windowsmag…

You can trust our reviews Our reviewers are 100 per cent independent, with years of experience in the world of computing. Our rigorous testing procedures mean that only genuine, high-quality products are awarded high star ratings. If you see an item of hardware bearing a high score, you can be confident that it is an excellent product. We choose the best products Thousands of new PC products are released every year and choosing between them can be an impossible task. Our experts select only the best hardware and software to feature in this magazine. Even better, our star rating system makes it simple to find the best products, giving you a fast, trustworthy guide. How we review Our expert reviewers guarantee to test every piece of hardware rigorously and thoroughly,…

1 LibreOffice Portable www.libreoffice.org/download/portable-versions/ LibreOffice Portable is the largest portable app here, but it’s still amazingly compact considering it’s a full MS Office substitute. You’ll need an external hard drive if you want to carry it, but you can easily keep it in the cloud (the free version of OneDrive, for example, gives you 5GB to play with, while DropBox gives you 2GB). LibreOffice Portable includes almost all the programs from the installable version: Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector drawing), Math (formulae), and Base (databases). The only thing missing is Charts – although you can create graphs and other visualisations using Calc. Like many portable apps, LibreOffice Portable is made using open source code. This takes some time, so it’s a few versions behind the installable…

We all have to use passwords every day, and it’s very tempting to use passwords which are easy to remember. Perhaps they’re based on dictionary words, maybe with a number replacing a letter or a little bit of punctuation peppered in. But the easier your passwords are to remember, the easier they are to crack. Actually perhaps this isn’t true. One of the most secure ways of setting a password is to select more than one dictionary word. For instance, look around you right now and select four objects, then stitch them together into a password: KeyboardCoffeeWalletScreen, perhaps. Those four words will be easy to remember, particularly if you can set a story around them. And while a single word can be cracked in a few hours, it may take…

Your guide Gary Marshall says… “The Photos app is packed with features to fix photos, and filters can make them look even better” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 MAIN IMAGE This is where you see the effects of filters: changes will appear instantly, without altering the original photo. CROP AND ROTATE Takes you to the Crop and Rotate tools, which enable you to change the shape or angle of your picture. ENHANCE OR ADJUST The Enhance tool offers filters and effects, while Adjust enables you to change attributes. AUTOMATIC ENHANCEMENT The white line is a slider: drag it left or right to use Photos’ enhancer for instant improvements. PHOTO FILTERS One-click access to…

Your guide Ian Evenden says… “Make your Windows computer feel really yours by changing its pictures and colours” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 PERSONALISATION Choose which part of Windows you want to personalise here. Most of the changes you make are applied instantly. YOUR THEMES Any custom themes you have saved are listed here, so you can easily click on one to see how it will look. CHANGES Click here to change individual items, from backgrounds to sounds to colours and even the shape and size of cursors. STORE THEMES Some of the best themes for Windows 10 are available on the Windows Store, many of which are completely free. ICONS Click her…

Your guide Ed Ricketts says… “The new Windows Defender Security Centre make it even easier to keep your PC safe from viruses and malware, plus provides plenty of other benefits” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 ED’S BEST TIP! The options on the Family Settings web page only appear in Internet Explorer and Edge, not other browsers. Windows Defender was always an essential part of Windows 10, checking and protecting against malware, but with the latest Creators Update, it has become even more useful. Now renamed Windows Defender Security Centre, it provides a one-stop-shop for ensuring your computer is protected against viruses and malware, enabling you to manage the firewall, providing controls for restricting…

Your guide Tim Hardwick says… “Control what your kids can and can’t see and do in Windows 10 with child accounts” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 TIM’S BEST TIP! Websites can only be blocked in Edge . Block other browsers in the Apps & games’ screen on your child’s account page . The internet is an amazing information resource that brings convenience to our everyday lives. But with such freedom come drawbacks, particularly when it comes to child safety. Few would deny their children access to the web, but how do you ensure they are protected from unsuitable content? Happily, Windows 10 offers a solution in the form of child user accounts. If…

Extend your application Jump Lists with Jumplist Extender (http://bit.ly/2wxVcdZr) – despite its age, this open-source tool works perfectly with Windows 10. Simply select your program, then create app-related tasks you can add to the list of options that appear in the program’s Jump List. The best news? Jumplist Extender edits the Registry to create and edit your Jump Lists – it doesn’t need to run for them to work. For example, launch the program and choose ‘Start a new jump list’. Type ‘snipping’ into the Search Programs bar, and select the Snipping Tool. Click ‘Open’ followed by Run Snipping Tool to launch it. When it loads, click the Snipping Tool window to select it, then click OK in the Jumplist Extender window. Type ‘Rectangular snip’ into the Name box in…

Like many smartphones and tablets, Windows 10 includes notifications or alerts (banners and sounds) to help you stay up to date with what’s going on in your world. If you find you receive too many notifications, or that you get them from apps and services you’re not interested in, you can change this. Head to Settings > System > ‘Notifications & actions’ to start. To customise individual alerts, click them to reveal more options.…

Microsoft’s Surface Pro might be the top dog in Windows tablets right now, but it’s far from being the only pup in the race. Acer’s brand new Switch 3 and 5 tablets are remarkable tablets that pull off most of the Surface’s tricks for a fraction of the price. The Switch 3, based on a Pentium processor, costs around £450 – half that of the Surface – while the more powerful Switch 5, using an Intel Core i5 or i7 chip, still manages to undercut its rival by a good £200.…

1 What was the name of Microsoft Office’s annoying assistant? A Clippy B Clippit C Clappy 2 Which purple desktop assistant sneakily collected personal information? A Bonzi Buddy B Barney Buddy C Boots Buddy 3 What was the name of the short-lived replacement desktop for Windows from 1995? A Steve B Bill C Bob 4 Which key would you normally press to access Windows help? A F1 B Tilde C Question mark 5 From which popular PC game does Cortana get her name? A Banjo-Kazooie B Halo C Super Mario World 6 Which assistive technology is activated by pressing [Shift] five times? A Sticky keys B Yucky keys C Slimy keys…

“Start-up programs aren’t the only things that slow down Windows” Over time, you’ll notice how much longer it takes Windows to start up. Optimising Startup times isn’t simply about getting your PC to boot faster, it also has a beneficial effect on general performance. That’s because as you install programs on your machine, several will configure themselves to load at Startup. The process of loading these start-up apps naturally lengthens boot times, but they also consume additional resources, producing a drag on your computer’s overall performance too. Some Startup processes – your security software for one – are essential and shouldn’t be touched. Others, such as your cloud sync app, are best left running too, but you’ll find many apps and programs aren’t used often enough to justify allowing them…

This month’s Explore section is packed with tips and tricks to help you make the most of your PC – from fast fixes for common Wi-Fi problems ( page 36 ), to some clever ways to get creative with your favourite photos ( page 24 ). You’ll also discover how you can use SimpleNote to sync all your notes and documents across all your devices (page 44); and even how you can use Windows’ built-in dictation features to create documents and emails without living a typing finger (page 46). We’ll also show you how to make your PC safer too (page 42).…

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 KEY COLOUR Use the eyedropper to select the green or blue background in your video and reveal the image that lies below. HUE, CHROMA AND INTENSITY These sliders let you define the range of hues that will be filtered from the video you’re making. VIDEO TRACKS You need to create two tracks in the timeline: one for the video, and another for the background image you’re using. FILTERS All the tools you’ll need for editing video, including colour adjustment, chroma keying and much more. PREVIEW WINDOW Here you can see what your finished video will look like once both video video tracks have been composited. JOBS Exporting long projects…

Your guide Ian Evenden says… “Networking not working? Try our tips for re-establishing contact and getting back online” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 STATUS Tells you whether you’re connected or not. Makes it easy by declaring ‘You’re connected to the internet’. Or not. WIFI Gives you a toggle to turn your Wi-Fi on and off, and cocks a snook at the Wi-Fi Alliance by omitting the hyphen. FLIGHT MODE Switches your computer’s wireless communications off, either in their entirety or on an individual basis. SHOW AVAILABLE NETWORKS Scans for Wi-Fi connections in the vicinity, and enables you to choose which one to connect to. WIFI SERVICES Suggested open hotspots for free internet access.…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Keep text-based notes in sync across all your devices with Simplenote. It’s fast, easy and free” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 FILTER VIEW Click the Tag icon to filter the notes list by keyword tags, view the Trash to retrieve deleted notes, or view ‘All notes’. MENU BAR You can export your notes in plain text from the File menu. Use the View menu to change fonts, styles and more. SEARCH Type here to search both notes and tags for matching keywords – the notes list will filter itself accordingly. SWITCH VIEW When Markdown is enabled, you can use the Preview tab to see what your text looks…

Your guide Cat Ellis says… “It’s now easier than ever to share your hobbies, interests and passions with these brilliant free blogging tools” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 CAT ’S BEST TIP! It ’s good to post regularly, so consider writing several posts at once and then schedule when to publish them. The internet is packed with passionate people sharing tips, advice and much more about their favourite pastimes. And thanks to free blogging tools, you can also become part of that vibrant community of enthusiasts with just a few clicks of your mouse. We’re going to look at three of the best blogging platforms – WordPress, Blogger and Weebly – all of…

While many apps pepper your PC with support files dropped in all kinds of places, portable apps are made to be self-contained. You can simply add them to a USB flash drive or external drive and use them at work, home or anywhere else and they’re light on PC resources too. You’ll find four of our favourite – and free – portable apps on page 88. We also take a look at Lenovo’s brilliant Yoga 720 2-in-1 (page 80); PC Specialist’s highly capable Lafite III laptop (page 82) and the Nest Cam IQ – the latest in smart security cameras (page 84).…