This week's top tips

A bright idea for your Windows PC  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) Hello! This week's tip is one of my favorite types. It's an excellent third-party Windows tool a reader shared with me. This free download is something I've been hearing about, but I hadn't gotten around to checking it out yet. It's a completely free, open-source, useful utility that does its job well, and a lot of PC users will benefit from it. You might say this tool should be built into Windows itself. 🙏 Before we continue: Thanks again to everyone who submitted a useful tip for your fellow readers. And congratulations to Walter W., who won the drawing! And remember: Even with drawing behind us, it's never too late to [share an awesome Windows PC tip]() with your fellow readers. Now, let's get to this week's tip. ⌚ This entire email will take you two minutes to read. Remember: If you'd rather not receive these Monday tip roundups, [you can easily opt out of them](=) without affecting the rest of your subscription. ☑ [Got it — don't show this again](=)​ This week's reader suggestion 💡 The awesome download in question is called [Twinkle Tray](. It's a convenient little system tray utility for controlling the brightness levels of multiple monitors on your PC. If you use multiple displays on your PC, this is a big upgrade. Plus, you can set customize keyboard shortcuts to adjust the brightness of an individual monitor, automatically change brightness levels depending on the time of day, and change other settings. 💻 This tool works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ Windows Intelligence reader Ionut-Alexandru P. recommended [Twinkle Tray]( to me, saying it's an especially useful tool for him to adjusting the brightness levels of his multiple monitors throughout each day. I've seen many other people recommend this tool, too. To get Twinkle Tray, you can either download it from [the Microsoft Store](=) or grab an installer from [the project's official website](. Once it's installed and running, you'll get a convenient little system tray icon you can click to change the brightness levels of all your connected displays — right from a taskbar popup. [Twinkle Tray on Windows 11.] You can also click the gear and dig into the application's settings window to find more options. Features like custom hotkeys and automatic brightness adjustments at times of the day may be particularly useful for some PC setups! 🛏️ Looking for this week's Android Intelligence reader tip? It's all about [a better way to set up bedtime mode on your Android phone](=). Check it out! ​ 💡 Got a useful tip you'd like to share with other Windows enthusiasts? [Submit it here](=) — or just reply to this email and share it with me! I'd love to feature your useful advice in a future newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------- Some tips you don't want to miss Now, a rapid-fire summary of the best useful tips from our most recent issues — just in case you overlooked something or haven't explored it yet! 👉 Discover all your laptop's touchscreen tricks: A touchscreen is extremely useful on a Windows PC! I've got a lot of ideas for upgrading your productivity with a touchscreen, including a collection of useful swipe gestures that are easy to miss. Check them out in [my latest Computerworld column](). 🖱️ Use a middle-click to close windows and tabs: You can close browser tabs by clicking them with the middle-mouse button — that may be your mouse's scroll wheel. But this trick works for windows, too. After pressing Alt+Tab, Windows+Tab, or hovering over a taskbar application icon, you can middle-click a window thumbnail to quickly close it. 🔋 Choose the best Power Mode for your PC: Your PC is always making a tradeoff between energy consumption and performance. You can choose which you prefer by changing your PC's power mode. The right power mode for your PC depends on how you use it — for example, a more efficient power mode will get you longer battery life from a laptop. On Windows 11, head to Settings > System > Power & battery and use the "Power mode" dropdown box to change your PC's power mode. On Windows 10, click the battery icon in your system tray and drag the slider. 🕶️ Check out these seriously stylish deals: Back-to-school shopping used to mean hours spent trying on outfits, with only utilitarian clothes and uncool sneakers to show for it. No more! With [Nike’s Back to School Sale](, you can Gear up your kids for a successful school year with stylish athletic wear and durable backpacks they’ll actually want to wear. Enjoy an extra 25% off Nike’s high-quality sportswear and accessories until August 10th [with code SPORT25](. [SPONSORED] 🔬 Add a scientific twist to your next search: A search service called [Consensus](=) lets you [ask for answers from 200 million scientific research papers]( — with clear context, citations, and even a simple "consensus meter" to show you how much the results vary. It won't be the right resource for every query, but when it comes to a certain sort of fact-driven question — anything where extensive research could help provide a reliable answer — it's one heck of a helpful resource to keep around. ⚡ Supercharge your Android status bar: With a teensy bit of barely-there effort, you can transform that thin little bar at the top of your phone into a custom command center for all sorts of useful info and shortcuts. Here are [three easy and effective instant upgrades]( well worth your while to consider. 🪄 Give your photos a pinch of Magic: The excellent Google Photos Magic Editor tool is now freely available for anyone to use — no specific device type or paid subscription required. Just open any image within [the Google Photos app](=) on your phone, tap the "Edit" option, then look for the glowing circular button with a photo icon and a little starburst shape in the lower-left corner of the screen to get started. 🗳️ [Do you use your PC's touchscreen?](=) Vote in this week's Windows Intelligence poll! I'll share the final results on Friday. 🪩 Who says news can't be entertaining? You clearly like staying informed and appreciate an interesting, fun, and maybe just slightly lighthearted approach to the news. Morning Brew gets you. Find out why over 4 million lifelong learners read [Morning Brew](=), the free daily email that covers all the news affecting your life and career. [Upgrade your daily news slate — stay informed with Morning Brew.](=) [SPONSORED] --------------------------------------------------------------- What did you think? Was this email worth your time? Did you enjoy reading it? [Thumbs Up]() [Thumbs Down](=) Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down above to let me know what you think. Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you have an awesome week! Too much email? No worries: You can [opt out of receiving these roundups or unsubscribe entirely here](=). Hungry for even more? [Learn about becoming an Intelligence Insider]( to gain access to our one-of-a-kind community, power-packed advanced resources, our on-demand help desk, and tons of free apps and services. Finally, if you enjoyed this issue, please consider supporting my work directly with [one-time contribution](=), or make a contribution via [PayPal]( or [Venmo](=)! Published by The Intelligence • 2733 E. Battlefield Rd. #255 • Springfield, MO 65804