Tag: Windows

Here’s a quick post on how I organize shortcuts to my applications in the Windows 10 Start menu.

To start, I uninstall any default Microsoft default applications (e.g., Internet Explorer), as well as any applications that the vendor (e.g., Dell, Lenovo, etc.) has installed that I’m not likely to use. Then I unpin any application tiles that may exist in the Start menu, and reduce the menu window by grabbing the right edge and sliding it left (See Figure 1).

Next, I navigate to Settings -> Personalization -> Start and shut off several Start menu options (See Figure 2).

While in this menu I select “Choose which folders appear on Start” and shut off several more options (See Figure 3).

When applications are installed under Windows 10 their Start menu shortcuts are contained in one or both of the following locations: %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. I move everything contained in the former into the latter, and do some clean up (i.e., remove extraneous folders, links to web sites, etc.).

I move all Windows 10 system applications (e.g., Narrator, Paint) to the “Windows System” folder; and all shortcuts to Windows 10 administrative applications (e.g., “Component Services”, “Computer Management”) to the folder “Windows Administrative Tools”. Both folders will appear under Start menu, where the applications contained within can be accessed.

For portable applications that are standalone binary executable files (e.g., PuTTY) I place all of those into a folder under C:\, create shortcuts to those files, and then move those shortcuts to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs, where they will appear in the Start menu.

Much as been written about the Windows 10 Start menu and its departure from Windows 7. And while I’ll probably never really warm to it at least I can keep my application shortcuts a little more organized.

Have I forgotten anything? Probably. But you get the idea.

When using the keyboard shortcut Win + arrow key to position an active window to various positions on the screen (e.g, top left, right side, full screen, etc.), Windows 10 will display other active windows next to it. To stop this behavior, navigate to Settings -> System -> Multitasking and turn off “When I snap a window, show what I can snap next to it”. Next time you use this keyboard shortcut to position an active window it will immediately go where you want without showing any other active windows.

When you perform a commit in TortoiseSVN an authentication box pops up prompting you for a Username and Password. The “Save authentication” option is enabled by default (See Figure 1). When this option is disabled, TortoiseSVN will not save your credentials and you’ll be prompted again for your credentials next time you perform a commit. Once again though, the Save authentication option will be enabled automatically.

If you don’t want TortoiseSVN to retain your credentials, and you don’t want to have to remember to disable the save authentication option every commit, navigate to TortoiseSVN -> Settings -> Advanced and change the value of AllowAuthSave to “false” (See Figure 2). The save authentication option will then be permanently disabled.

If you forgot to disable the save authentication option when you made a commit, you can clear the locally cached Username and Password by navigating to TortoiseSVN -> Settings -> Authentication data. If you want to clear authentication data for one particular server only, select “Clear…”, else select “Clear all” (See Figure 3). TortoiseSVN stores the credentials in Subversion’s default directory %APPDATA%\Subversion\auth

References

https://tortoisesvn.net/docs/release/TortoiseSVN_en/index.html

When running Windows 10-based machines within my home network I typically ensure that the network interface profile is set to “Private” because those machines reside behind a dedicated firewall I operate on a network I trust. In this case I don’t need the firewall built into Windows 10 so I disable it. Unfortunately when this occurs Windows 10 repeatedly notifies me that its firewall is off.

Here’s a brief post on how to change the network profile, turn off the Windows 10 firewall associated with the private network profile, and suppress the firewall messages that occur after the Windows 10 firewall is disabled.

To change the network interface profile to Private, open the Start menu and select the Settings shortcut, on the left (it looks like a cogwheel). From there select Network & Internet, then Status from among the menu choices on the left. Now select “Change connection properties” and then select “Private”. Pro tip: an even quicker way to get to this setting is to left-click the network icon in the system tray at the bottom-right, near the clock, then click on “Properties”.

Okay, to turn off firewall associated with the private networks, again from the Settings menu, select Update & Security, then Windows Security from among the menu choices on the left. Now select “Firewall & network protection” and then select “Private network”. Move the slider under “Windows Defender Firewall” from On to Off.

Finally, to suppress those firewall messages, open the Start menu and search for and select Control Panel. Once there select Security and Maintenance, then Change Security and Maintenance settings from among the menu choices on the left. Under the “Security messages” category uncheck “Network firewall”.

That’s it. Your network connection continues to be secure behind your firwall without the repeated notifications concerning the Windows 10 firewall.

I’m often in other time zones for business or pleasure. It’s convenient to have a clock showing the local time on my Windows 10 Pro based laptop, while at the same time having a separate clock showing the time back home. Adding a second clock Windows 10 is not as intuitive as one would hope. Here’s a brief post on how to do it.

To add additional clock in Windows 10 right-click on the time displayed in the lower left corner of the task bar and select “Adjust date/time”. Now chose “Add clocks for different time zones”. Another window will appear allowing you to change the date and time settings. Select the “Additional Clocks” tab. Check the box next to “Show this clock”, then select a time zone from the drop list. Finally, enter a name that will be displayed adjacent to this additional clock. In this example we’ll use the name “Home”. When complete select “OK” (See Figure 1).

That’s it. Now hover your mouse pointer over the time displayed on the task bar and it will show two clocks: one showing the local time, the other showing the time associated with the time zone and name you’ve chosen.