This week's top tips

10 unusually useful shortcuts  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) If you buy a new Windows laptop, there's a good chance it will have a Copilot key on its keyboard for launching Microsoft's AI chatbot. But before the Copilot key, there were some other new keyboard keys Microsoft was trying to push. One was an emoji key, and the other was an Office key. These keys never spread widely beyond Microsoft's own hardware keyboards. But the Office key resulted in some new keyboard shortcuts that are still buried in Windows today. ⌚ 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 ⌨️ At one point, Microsoft had a vision of an Office key-enabled future. You'd press the Office key to see an Office dashboard, or you could press Office+W to open Word, Office+O to open Outlook, and so on. But Microsoft lost interest in the Office key. Now, these shortcuts live on as unusually strange shortcuts you have to press Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift to access. So we forget about them. But wait just a minute... 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ This tip comes from Windows Intelligence reader Mathias, who mentioned to me that these Office keys shortcuts are actually super useful. He said it's not that hard to press all these keys at once — and he's right. If you're working with a lot of Office applications, you might just find them useful, too. Here's the list: - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift: Open the Microsoft 365 (Office) window. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+W: Launch Word. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X: Launch Excel. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P: Launch PowerPoint. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O: Launch Outlook. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T: Launch Microsoft Teams. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D: Launch OneDrive. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N: Launch OneNote. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L: Open LinkedIn. - Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y: Open Viva Engage (formerly Yammer.) When people share these shortcuts, they usually laugh about how Windows has a built-in five-key shortcut that opens LinkedIn. And it is funny! But these other shortcuts can be really useful, too. 👀 If you find them really useful, you could [use Microsoft PowerToys to remap one of your keys](=) to an Office key. In other words, you could make a particular key send a Windows+Ctrl+Alt+Shift signal when you press it, transforming it into your own Office key. 😀 While PC keyboards don't have an emoji key, the emoji menu is easy to find. Just press Windows+. or Windows+; — that's the Windows key along with either the , (comma) or ; (semicolon) key. 📲 Looking for this week's Android Intelligence reader tip? It's all about the Photo Stacks feature you may already be using — and the problem it may be causing. [Read it here](! ​ 💡 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! 🎧 Pair your Bluetooth earbuds to your PC — seriously: The Bluetooth earbuds you use with your smartphone can work great with both your laptop or desktop and your phone — whether they're Google Pixel Buds, Apple AirPods, or nearly anything else. Here's [how to pair your smartphone's wireless earbuds with your PC](=) — and how to switch back and forth. 🔍 Use Google Lens in Chrome on your PC: Google's visual search tool is now available in the Chrome browser on PCs, too. In Chrome, click the menu button and select "[Search with Google Lens]()" or right-click a page and select "Search with Google Lens" to try it. 💾 Check if your PC's storage is securely encrypted: Want to see if your PC's storage is encrypted? Just open File Explorer, select "This PC," and check whether the drives have lock icons. Here's [everything you need to know about encrypting your PC's storage]( — and the difference between "Device Encryption" and "BitLocker," too. 📨 Do you get a lot of email? If you battle a daily deluge of emails — or love savvy productivity tools — you need to [check out MailToDoList](=). It lets you rearrange your emails in order of priority​, group and hide related emails, and unify your tasks, notes, and emails. Ready to increase your productivity and decrease your stress? [Start your FREE TRIAL of MailToDoList in just 5 minutes!](=) [SPONSORED] 🤖 Use Google's AI image (and music!) generator on any device: Google has a little-known "[AI Test Kitchen](=)" where you can use its new AI image generator along with a music generator and even a poetry generator. [Take a look at how it works](=). It's the same AI image generator that new Pixel 9 phones have — but it works on any device, including your PC. 🔴 Record and summarize calls on any Android device: Google's Pixel 9 boasts a handy new way to record, transcribe, and summarize calls from your phone — but you can actually accomplish something similar on any Android device, if you know how. Start with [JR's guide to setting up call recording](=), then move from there to [the steps for instantly transcribing and summarizing those recordings](. 🎨 Color-code your Chrome tabs for easy spotting: The Chrome Android app has a nifty new way to improve your tab organization via custom-colored tab groups. Just swipe down on the Chrome address bar, then press and hold your finger onto any tab and drag it on top of another tab to create a group. Now, tap that group to open it and look for the newly present circle next to the group's name to assign it any color you like. 🗳️ Do you use Microsoft's PowerToys on your PC? [Cast your vote in this week's Windows Intelligence poll!](=) I'll share the results on Friday. 💰 Companies will pay to meet your most talented friends: Why should company employees have all the fun with referral bonuses? Meet [Draftboard](, the platform that opens up referral bonuses to everyone. Share job opportunities from companies like SeatGeek, Via, Formlabs, and more with your network, and earn money when your friends get hired. Just copy and share your unique referral link to start earning today. [Join the Draftboard community for free and unlock your earning potential.]([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