A laptop can do a lot more than you imagine, and more importantly, that can mean making your life easier in many ways.
This guide focuses on Windows and macOS laptop operating systems with tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of your machine. From helpful shortcuts to customizations that make life easier, these tips will help.
These are all arranged in sections so you can select one at the top to jump straight to, or scroll through and see which one might be useful to you in your classroom.
If you are looking Chromebook specific guidance, then this guide may best suit your needs.
The best things your laptop can do
Use dark mode
Dark mode is a relatively recent feature that has been added as a way to be easier on the eyes and also save battery. The idea is that by using darker instead of white on the screen, the screen will use much less battery to illuminate the area. That should also mean it's easier on the eyes, allowing you to work for longer without it being as visually intense.
It is now available on both Windows and macOS machines.
windows
To turn on dark mode in Windows, simply navigate to Settings, Personalization, Colors, and then select Dark.
Mac
If you're using macOS, you'll need to navigate to the Apple menu, System Settings, and then Appearance in the sidebar before selecting Dark or Automatic on the right.
Slide to turn off Windows
A very easy-to-use feature, which makes shutting down your Windows machine faster, is the slide to shut down option. This is great, as you can go from working on your machine to shutting it down completely with a swipe of the touchscreen.
This means that it takes a bit of coding, but just follow this guide and it will be relatively easy.
Right click on your desktop and select New and then Shortcut. Copy and paste this code into the text box: %windir%\System32\SlideToShutDown.exe
Select Next, name the file SlideToShutDown, and select Finish.
There should now be an icon on your home screen. Right click here and select Properties and in the shortcut tab select Change Icon and OK. Choose the icon you want to use and select OK, Apply and OK.
Now all you need to do is open that icon and start the swipe shutdown feature.
Use focus mode
A really useful feature that helps you stay productive is the focus mode and its other options. Basically, this limits the number of distracting interruptions that could prevent you from working on whatever you need to do. Maybe you're working on a slideshow and don't need to be bothered by email alerts – this Focus option will keep them hidden until you're down and change the mode again.
windows
For a Windows machine, you'll need to go to Start, Settings, System, and Focus Assist, where you can modify how you're alerted or left alone depending on what you need.
Mac
To activate or configure focus modes in macOS, simply select the crescent moon icon in the top right menu bar and choose the mode you want. This lets you choose how long you want focus to stay on or lets you use other modes like Work or Sleep, which you can customize by selecting Focus Settings at the bottom. Crucially, this will work on all your Apple devices, so your phone, watch and tablet will also be put into that mode.
Pin websites to the taskbar
Did you know that it is possible to pin a website to your taskbar in Windows? And that you can also do it on macOS? In both cases, it allows you to return directly to a website by clicking the icon link from your home screen. This is great if you are compiling research or perhaps want to have a site ready to access quickly when giving a presentation to class.
windows
On a Windows machine, the easiest way to do this is from the Edge browser, where you simply open the browser's main menu using the three dots at the top right, then select More tools and Pin to taskbar.
Mac
On macOS, this can be done in Safari or Chrome by simply dragging down the URL from the address bar to the right side of the Dock.
Edit screenshots
A really quick way to take something from any app or website and make an edit is to annotate a screenshot. Yes, you can take a snapshot of anything on your screen and immediately add an edit. From showing text, surrounding something, or highlighting text, there are many useful options available.
windows
On Windows, use the shortcut Win + Shift + S to capture the image before clicking the thumbnail to add annotations.
Mac
To do this on a macOS machine, use the shortcut keys Command + Shift + 5 to use a floating selection tool before pressing Capture. You can then edit using the pencil icon before hitting Done to save.
Copy and paste between devices
Copy and paste is one of those features that you probably use without even thinking about it or appreciating how useful it is. Now you can use it across devices, making it even more powerful as a time-saving tool. However, this is limited to the same OS devices, so you'll be going between Windows or Apple devices, not both.
windows
On a Windows machine, go to Windows Settings, select System & Clipboard, which then syncs between devices using your Windows ID, also allowing you to have multiple items on the clipboard at any time.
Mac
On an Apple device you simply need to make sure this mode is activated. To do this on macOS, navigate to the Apple menu, System Settings, General, then Airdrop & Handoff, where you'll want to turn on handoff so you can copy to macOS and paste to iOS, for example.
Share with nearby devices
Both macOS machines and Windows laptops make wireless sharing easy. That can mean sharing slideshows, images, videos, links and more, all without the need to send over the Internet or connect via physical hardware. In both cases you can use Bluetooth and direct Wi-Fi to send even larger files quickly.
windows
For a Windows machine, you will need to turn on Nearby Sharing for this to work. Go to the Start menu, select Nearby Sharing Settings, and switch to Content Sharing. Then right click on what you want and select Share to choose another device from the popup list and click on the one you want to send.
Mac
On a Mac, you can do this using AirDrop, which appears in the top right when you select the control center icon and then the right arrow near AirDrop. With this enabled, you can right-click almost any file and have the option to search for nearby contacts to share.
