Windows 10 tips stemming from questions asked by beginners.
If you’re a complete beginner to Windows, or you’re just getting started with Windows 10, here are some Windows 10 tips to help you. These tips stem from questions received from people using a Windows device for the first time. If you’re looking for something specific, try pressing Ctrl F or F3 on your keyboard, and search for words on the page. There will be more Windows 10 tips for beginners to come.
1. Hover the mouse to read what it says
When learning your way around Windows 10 for the first time, be sure to hover your mouse over buttons and icons to learn what they are. Often a tooltip or label will appear to help guide you.
2. How to open the Start Menu
Many apps, functions, and shortcuts are available via the Windows Start Menu. To open the Start Menu do one of the following:
Click or press the Start button on the bottom left of your screen, or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
3. Tips app
You can learn more about Windows 10 with the included and easy-to-use Tips app. So, for more tips open the Start Menu and search for or type Tips.
4. How to Update Windows
Windows 10 will keep itself updated automatically, but to check that it is up to date, and therefore safe and secure, do the following:
a. Press the Windows key, keep your finger on it and then press the I key (I for Information). This opens the Settings screen.
Windows + I – Settings
b. Then click on Update & security:
c. Then click on Check for updates:
Windows will download and install any important or available updates. These include security updates, too.
Another way to find the Update & security option is to simply open the Start Menu by pressing the Windows key, and then type update. Then press Enter on the keyboard or click the first option which is highlighted at the top of the list.
5. How to switch off your PC (or device)
a. Click on the Start button:
b. Click on the Power button:
c. And the Power options are right there:
6. Notification icons
What do these icons in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen mean?
This area near the clock, at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, is called the notification area. Here you will see various notification icons.
To learn more about these icons, hover your mouse over each one and a tooltip or label will appear.
To access the programs or functions associated with them, you can single-click or double-click them (depending on the icon) and you can right-click each one for other options, too.
You will notice that some notification area icons change depending on their status:
If this icon 
changes to this 
it means you have a new notification or notifications. If you click on it – the Action Centre panel will open up, and you can see any messages or actions awaiting your attention.
7. Text is too small to read
If the text and icons on your device are too small to read, you can increase their sizes.
If you want to do this for the long term, then use the following method:
a. Press the Windows key, keep your finger on it and then press the I key (I for Information). This opens the Settings screen.
Windows + I – Settings
b. Then click on System:
c. Then adjust the slider:
d. Or if you have installed Windows 10 Creators Update, select a scale from the Scale and layout menu:
Option 2
If you want to do this on the fly instead, then press Ctrl on the keyboard and scroll the mouse wheel up or down.
Ctrl + Mouse wheel – Zoom in/out on the fly
Note. To get Desktop icon sizes back to normal (if using this on-the-fly method), right-click the desktop and choose View – Large, Medium, or Small icons.
8. How do I find apps and things on my PC?
Windows 10 has a few ways for you to find apps and things.
If you know the name of the app you want, open the Start Menu by pressing the Start button or Windows key and simply type in the name of the app you are looking for. Then if it shows up in the menu list, you can click it to open it.
Another way to look for apps is to:
a. Open the Start Menu – by pressing the Start button on the screen or Windows key on the keyboard:
b. Then click on All apps:
c. Then you can see a list of the apps on your PC:
Don’t worry if the apps on your PC are different from the ones shown here.
9. Pointy arrows
You can click on pointy arrows to open a drop-down menu to see items within folders. Clicking again will close the drop-down menu.
10. Scrollbars
Scrollbars are there to help you scroll up and down in vertical menus or windows.
You can click on the top or bottom arrows to go up and down in very small increments, or better yet – click and drag the handle. You can also use the scroll wheel on your mouse.
11. Arrow keys
You can also use the arrow keys to move around inside menus, or scroll up and down on a web page.
12. Right mouse button – and context menus
We usually use the left mouse button to start apps and make things work. But if you press the right mouse button with different things (right-clicking), you will notice that context menus pop up – giving you more options, or shortcuts to different actions.
For example:
Right-clicking on the desktop brings up this menu where you can quickly create a new folder or text document, etc.: (Your menu might look a little different.)
If you right-click on text within a document or some apps, you will see options to Copy and Paste, too.
13. Settings / Options
Many apps, including Windows, have an option called ‘Settings’ or ‘Options’. You can access an app’s settings or options to change different settings within that app.
In some apps, this option is called ‘Preferences’ and can be found within the ‘Edit’ menu.
14. On-Screen Keyboard
If you need an on-screen keyboard, open the Start Menu and type onscreen. Then click on the On-Screen Keyboard Desktop app shown in the list:
This will open the on-screen keyboard, which you can use with other apps like a regular keyboard.
15. Resize windows
To resize a window and make it larger or smaller, hover over a side or corner of a window until the mouse pointer changes into a double-ended arrow. Then click and drag the window to change its size.
16. Cortana
Cortana is the name of the interactive personal assistant in Windows 10.
To learn how to use Cortana, see the Windows 10’s Cortana page.
17. Keyboard Shortcuts
To make life easier, there are many keyboard shortcuts you can use in Windows 10.
To learn some of them, see the Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts page.
18. Character Map (£$¥¢©)
If you need to type special characters which you can’t find on the keyboard, such as £, $, ¥, ©, ½, etc., then press Start and type Character Map. Then hit enter to open the Character Map. From there you can find the character you are looking for, choose a font, learn the keystroke to type that character, or more simply, double-click the character to select it, then copy and paste the character into your document or app you are using.
Note: You can also access special characters via the emoji panel now.
19. Emoji (❤😱💩⚽)
Do you want to use emoji in Windows 10? Since the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Windows 10 comes with an easy-to-access emoji panel. To access the emoji panel, simply press the Windows key on your keyboard plus the semicolon or the period.
Windows + ; – Open emoji quick access panel
or
Windows + . – Open emoji quick access panel
To find out more about accessing emoji in Windows 10, see the Windows 10 tips – Emoji page.
20. Quick Assist
Quick Assist is Windows 10’s easy and safe way to help someone with their computer over the internet. Hit the Windows key and search for Quick Assist.
21. How to check your Windows version
If you’re not sure whether you have the latest Windows 10 update, you can do the following to check your Windows version:
Click the Start button, type winver, and press Enter. You should then see a Window like this one:
Check the Windows Version. At the time of updating this page, I had Version 1909.
Now you can visit the Windows 10 Update History page to check for the latest Windows 10 update history.
As you can see above, my PC was showing that I had Version 1909 and at the time of updating this page, the latest version showing on Microsoft’s Windows 10 update history page was Version 1909.
Help and How To
For more Windows 10 tips, help and how-to information, visit the popular sites below.
Microsoft
Windows Sites
Windows 10 Forums
Final thoughts
This page covers some of the first questions that Windows newcomers ask when using their Windows 10 devices, and especially Windows, for the first time.