To do this, go to the Start menu and find the Settings application there, then open the Update & Security > Windows Update section. If there are updates waiting to be installed, the “Select reboot time” option will be available here and you can set the desired time.
4. Fastening windows
Windows 10 has significantly improved the ability to dock windows to the sides of the screen. Now the screen can be divided not only vertically, but also horizontally. As a result, there can be up to four windows on one screen that are visible at the same time. To do this, just move the window to the edge of the screen (or to a corner), the system itself will show in which place it is possible to place this or that window. This mode now fully works with two screens. If previously it was impossible to use the mouse to position a window on the side of the screen where it meets the second one, now the system processes this action correctly. However, as before, you can use special keyboard shortcuts.
Some new features. Read more in Greg Shultz's article.
Window management, which first appeared in Windows 7, showed good potential, but was relegated to the background in Windows 8. However, in Windows 8.1 it was revived again, with support for “modern” applications, and in Windows 10 it finally became truly useful. You can now dock windows to the four corners of the screen or divide desktop space horizontally between two windows. There are other useful features as well. Let's see which ones exactly.
Introductory part
As you know, Snap allows you to resize windows and position them on the screen by simply dragging them to one of the faces. If you drag a window to the desired location, circles appear around the cursor, and a translucent frame appears on the screen, showing the new boundaries of the window. As soon as it is released, it occupies the space outlined by the frame.
If you click on the title bar of a window and drag it to the top edge of the screen, it will expand to fill the entire screen. To restore the window to its previous size, simply click on the title bar and drag it back to the middle of the screen. To expand a window to half of the desktop, you need to drag it to the right or left edge of the screen (the closer to the right or left edge of the title bar you click, the less you have to drag). And to expand the window located in the center to the full height of the screen, just click on its lower or upper frame and pull it down or up.
In addition, you can use key combinations to manage windows.
+[left arrow] - Dock the window to the left half of the screen
+[right arrow] - Dock the window to the right half of the screen
+[up arrow] - Maximize the window to full screen
+[down arrow] - Reduce or minimize the window
Pinning to the corners of the screen
One of the main new features of Snap in Windows 10 is the ability to split the screen not only in half between two windows, but also into four parts (Figure A). This makes it much more convenient to work with several applications at the same time.
Figure A. Windows can now be docked not only on the right or left half of the screen, but also on four quarters.
To use this feature, you need to drag the window not just to the right or left, but to one of the corners of the screen. When a translucent frame appears, you can release the window and it will automatically take the specified position.
Keyboard shortcuts also work. If the window already occupies the left half of the screen, just press +[up arrow] to dock it in the top quarter or +[down arrow] to dock it in the bottom.
Snap Assist
To make managing windows easier, Windows 10 also includes Snap Assist. After pinning one window, it shows thumbnails of all the other open windows in the adjacent empty space (Figure B). Just click on one of the thumbnails - and the corresponding window will automatically occupy the free part of the screen. Very fast and intuitive.
Figure B: Snap Assist makes it easy to fit additional windows into available screen space.
"Modern" applications
Since "modern" apps in Windows 10 can run in windows, they too can be placed on the desktop using the Snap feature. True, only splitting the screen between two “modern” applications in half is supported - placing them in four quarters will not work.
What do you think?
Are you using the Snap feature in Windows 7 or Windows 8? What do you think of the new Snap features in Windows 10? Share your opinion in the comments!
In Windows 10 with default settings, when you drag an app or File Explorer window to one of the corners or sides of the screen, it automatically resizes and docks. In the remaining free part of the screen you will be shown options for running applications, which can also be pinned to the screen.
The Snap Window feature is very convenient, on a PC with a large screen or when using an external monitor. But if you're working on a small laptop screen, the feature may not be very useful. In fact, Window Snapping can be annoying when you are using a device with a small screen.
Luckily, Windows 10 can be configured to not automatically resize and position windows when you move them to the sides or corners of the screen.
In this guide, we will see how to disable one or more multitasking features in Windows 10.
Disable automatic window resizing in Windows 10.
Step 1. Open the application "Options" and go to the section “System” → “Multitasking”.
Step 2. In the subsection "Attachment" you will see the following options:
- Automatically arrange windows by dragging them to the sides or corners of the screen.
- When you dock a window, automatically resize it to fill the space.
- When docking a window, show what can be docked next to it.
- When resizing a docked window, resize the adjacent docked window at the same time.
If you want Windows 10 to disable Automatic Window Resizing by dragging them to the corners or sides of the screen. Move the first slider to position "Off". When this option is disabled, other options will also be automatically disabled.
As you already know, when you dock a window to one side of your screen, Windows 10 automatically displays multiple windows that you can dock next to it. If you don't want to see this offer, turn off the third option.
Allowing you to easily arrange windows on your desktop. It relieved the user of the need to select the size and location of windows to fit them into a standard layout. In Windows 8, this feature has become even more convenient: for the first time, full-fledged multi-tasking work on tablets was implemented. Now you can resize several nearby applications at the same time with a simple gesture. At the same time, their windows automatically take up all available space on the screen.
When we started working on Windows 10, we stayed true to our original goal: to help you work more efficiently by making it even easier to manage your window layout. Now that Windows Store apps can run on the desktop, we've been able to combine the best features from Windows 7 and 8. We've also taken into account changes in PC technology over the past few years: new large format high-resolution monitors, multi-monitor configurations, touchscreens, transformers. All of this has had a major impact on the way people interact with computers.
Snap Assist function
One of the features of Aero Snap in Windows 7 has gained popularity among users: if you drag windows to the left or right edges of the screen, they will automatically take up half of the screen area. By selecting any two windows, you can easily dock them side by side on the screen. This is very convenient when writing a letter or comparing products.
However, we have noticed that users typically pin one window first and then switch between the others, choosing which one to pin next. And we thought: why not immediately display a list of recent windows, so as not to waste time searching? This idea formed the basis of the new Snap Assist feature in Windows 10.
Now Snap Assist helps you snap two windows side by side much faster, because now you can select them yourself from the list. The Windows Insider Program found that 90% of the time, users use Snap Assist by selecting a second app from a list rather than manually. Snap Assist has other benefits as well. For example, like Task View, this new feature makes it easier to use with touch and is particularly useful as part of Continuum.
Snap Assist makes it easy to snap two windows side by side
Corner snap function
When Windows 7 launched in 2009, 4K displays were just emerging and users were generally happy with the ability to split the screen in half (even on external monitors). Today, monitors with a diagonal of 27” and higher, with a resolution of 2560×1440 and 4K, are becoming increasingly popular. That's why we want to ensure that users can take full advantage of the increased screen real estate in the new version of Windows.
While working on Windows 10, we explored different interaction models to create better window layouts. In the end, we decided that the windows would be fixed in the corners, and came up with new types of touches for this function. To pin a window to a quarter of its area on the screen, simply drag it to a corner and release it. Various configurations are available. For example, you can pin four windows on the screen at once, or you can divide half the screen between two windows, and place the third on the remaining half.
By fixing windows in the corners, you can place three or four windows on the screen at once
We know that many users dock windows using the Windows key + arrow keys. Therefore, now they also work when secured in a corner. Simply press and hold the Windows key and press the LEFT ARROW key and then the UP ARROW key to dock a window in the top left quadrant, for example. That's it, easy and simple!
Snap fill function
Fixing windows by dividing the screen into two or four equal parts is undoubtedly convenient. However, sometimes an asymmetrical arrangement of windows is required. For example, the browser window may remain large, but the windows where social media messages are displayed or videos are played remain small. Typically, in this case, selecting the optimal size of each window takes a lot of time and mouse clicks. In Windows 8, nearby Store apps automatically filled the available screen space, using it as efficiently as possible.
In Windows 10, we want this improvement to be available on the desktop for all apps. When you dock a window and change its size, these actions are recorded in the system. Then, when you try to dock a second window, it will automatically resize to fill all the available space. This seemingly small improvement turns out to be very useful when you dock multiple windows, especially if one of them takes up half of the screen and the others only take up a quarter of the screen.
Improved multi-monitor experience
It has become even more convenient to dock windows on multiple monitors. Let's say on one of them you have a complex configuration of four different windows, and on the other you have another set of docked windows arranged completely differently. Now it will be easier to work with multiple monitors. In previous versions of Windows, you couldn't dock windows along an edge shared by two monitors. Instead, I had to use hotkeys. In Windows 10 this is possible: you can drag a window to a common edge or corner and dock it as usual. Finally, Snap Assist shows all windows on all displays, making it easy to snap a second window by simply selecting it from the list. This means that if you need to dock two windows on completely different screens, you no longer have to drag them across displays.
Continuum and Snap on tablets and transformers
Windows 8 became the first OS where users could fully multi-task on tablets and thereby greatly increase productivity on them. By simply swiping from the top of the screen to the center and pinning an app to one side, you could split the screen to work with another app. In Windows 8.1, this feature has been improved by adding an on-screen app divider in different aspect ratios (50/50, 70/30, 62/38, etc.). While this flexibility was an important advancement, we wanted to make things even simpler. That's why Windows 8.1 introduced an elegant way to automatically organize windows. For example, when you open an email and click on a link or attachment, the screen immediately splits in half. So, without losing sight of the message, you can view the opened content in a new window. In other words, we've found the easiest and most convenient way to organize windows: you don't even need to learn it! If you know how to click a link or open an attachment, assume you know how to position two windows side by side.
According to Windows 8.1 performance data, half the cases were docked automatically (applications launched other applications), and in the remaining cases it was docked manually (the user dragged the window to the edge). This means we've opened up the benefits of pinning to many users - without any effort on their part. So in Windows 10, it was very important to maintain that variety of options so that people could multitask on their tablets in different ways. Now you can dock windows with a simple tap, resize open apps side by side using the on-screen divider, and watch apps automatically open side by side. But we didn't plan to stop there.
First, in addition to Windows Store apps becoming regular windows on the desktop in Windows 10, desktop windows can now also be easily docked in tablet mode. Secondly, when you enter and exit tablet mode, all pinned app locations are saved to the system. So you can always continue working. Finally, in tablet mode, Snap Assist has become even more convenient: pin an application to your tablet, select a window on the other side, and you can start multitasking.
We're very pleased with the new improvements to this feature and encourage you to try them on your devices. You'll find that with the new Snap mode on Windows 10, you'll be more productive with your touch and pen, as well as your mouse and keyboard.
In the original versions of Windows 10 there were no functions that allowed you to change the background or title color of the window (but this could be done using the registry editor), at the current time, in Windows 10 Creators Update such functions are present, but quite limited. Third-party programs have also appeared for working with window colors in the new OS (however, they are also quite limited).
Below you will find details on how to change the window title color and background color of windows in several ways. See also: , .
Another question that is often asked is how to change the background of a window (its background color). In particular, some users find it difficult to work in Word and other office programs on a white background.
There are no convenient built-in tools for changing the background in Windows 10, but if necessary, you can use the following methods.
Change the background color of a window using High Contrast options
The first option is to use the built-in high contrast theme customizers. To access them, you can go to Settings - Accessibility - High Contrast (or click "High Contrast Options" on the color settings page discussed above).
In the High Contrast Theme Options window, by clicking on the "Background" color, you can choose your background color for Windows 10 windows, which will be applied after you click the "Apply" button. An approximate possible result is in the screenshot below.
Unfortunately, this method does not allow you to affect only the background without changing the appearance of other window elements.
Using Classic Color Panel
Another way to change the window background color (and other colors) is the third-party utility Classic Color Panel, available for download on the developer’s website WinTools.info
After starting the program (the first time you launch it, you will be asked to save the current settings, I recommend doing this), change the color in the “Window” item and click Apply in the program menu: you will be logged out, and after the next login, the settings will be applied.
The disadvantage of this method is that the color of not all windows changes (changing other colors in the program also works selectively).
Setting your own color for decoration
Despite the fact that the list of colors available in the settings is quite wide, it does not cover all possible options and it is likely that someone will want to choose their own window color (black, for example, which is not in the list).
This can be done in one and a half ways (since the second one works very strangely). First of all, using the Windows 10 Registry Editor.
Strangely, not all colors work: for example, black, the code for which is 0 (or 000000 ), you have to use something like 010000 . And this is not the only option that I could not get to work.
Moreover, as far as I could understand, the color encoding is BGR rather than RGB - this doesn't matter if you are using black or grayscale, however if it is something "colored" then you will have to swap the two extreme numbers. That is, if the palette program shows you the color code FAA005, then in order to get the orange window color, you will need to enter 05A0FA(I also tried to show this in the picture).
Color changes are applied immediately - just remove focus (click on the desktop, for example) from the window and then return to it again (if it doesn’t work, log out and log in again).
The second method, which changes colors not always predictably and sometimes not for what is needed (for example, black color is applied only to the borders of the window), plus everything causes the computer to slow down, is to use the control panel applet hidden in Windows 10 (apparently its use in not recommended for new OS).
You can launch it by pressing the Win+R keys on your keyboard and entering rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,Advanced,@Advanced then press Enter.
After that, adjust the color the way you want and click “Save Changes.” As I said, the result may be different from what you expected.
Changing the color of an inactive window
By default, inactive windows in Windows 10 remain white, even if you change the colors. However, you can make your own color for them. Go to the registry editor, as described above, to the same section HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ DWM
Right-click on the right side and select “New” - “32-bit DWORD Value”, then give it a name AccentColorInactive and double click on it. In the Value field, specify the color for the inactive window in the same way as was described in the first method of selecting custom colors for Windows 10 windows.
Video instruction
Finally, there is a video that shows all the main points outlined above.
In my opinion, I have described everything that is possible on this topic. I hope some of my readers find the information useful.