Speedy ways to free up PC space

Plus a new Excel AI trick  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Thanks for reading this special early preview edition of Windows Intelligence, brought to you in partnership with [Thurrott.com](=). This design is merely a placeholder for what's to come. Stay tuned! ​ Brought to you by: [BookBub logo](=)​ I hope your PC has so much storage that you never have to think about it! That's the ideal. But, on lots of PCs, you feel the storage crunch. As you install more applications, download lots of data, and generally fill up the drive, you find yourself needing to free up space. When that happens, you don't want to spend time slowly deleting small files and uninstalling tiny programs. You want to find the big things wasting space, get rid of the ones you don't need, and quickly move on with your life. That's what today's tip is about — the fastest ways to free up disk space so you can get back to what really matters. Scroll down to this week's Things to Try for the details. Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 2 minutes ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 30 seconds [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Know This Week 1. Windows 10 will get Copilot — and that's not all ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft is jump-starting development on features for Windows 10. An exclusive report claims Microsoft is planning on bringing the Copilot AI feature to Windows 10 — it'll work just like Copilot does on Windows 11. And that's not all! 🔎 KNOW MORE: While 400 million PCs are now running Windows 11, one billion PCs are still using Windows 10. That's a huge opportunity for Copilot, especially since Microsoft wants developers to create plug-ins for Copilot. - Expect your Windows 10 PC to get an update that adds a Copilot experience to the taskbar soon. It'll work just like it does on Windows 11, opening the same Copilot sidebar. (And yes, you can disable it.) - The person in charge of Windows at Microsoft, Panos Panay, left the company in a surprise departure in September. New people are in charge of Windows at Microsoft — and they apparently want to keep Windows 10 PCs more up-to-date with other new features, too. Expect more to come. - Windows 10 PCs are still due to stop receiving security updates in October 2025, less than two years from now. Microsoft is reportedly discussing extending this date, so your Windows 10 PC might have more life left in it than we think. 📌 READ MORE: Read [the exclusive report about Microsoft's plans for Windows 10 users](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Say goodbye to these built-in apps ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft continues to pare down the selection of apps built into Windows. This month alone, Microsoft has announced three preinstalled apps are being removed from Windows 11. Microsoft is also making it easier to remove other apps you may not want. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Windows 11 has a lot of built-in apps that Microsoft hasn't really been working on. (The latest version of Windows 11 still has a "Cortana" app installed for some reason, even though clicking it just brings up a window telling you Cortana has been discontinued.) Now, more of those stuffy old apps are getting removed. - Microsoft will remove the Tips app, which has some tips for using your PC — and lists new features in the latest Windows updates. The company will also remove the Maps app and the Movies & TV app from Windows - The Maps and Movies & TV apps will still be available in the Store. But the Maps app isn't exactly a modern solution at this point — in fact, it's losing offline map support "by the end of 2023." Windows 11 also has a more modern "Media Player" app you can use to watch videos. - Windows 11 will soon let you uninstall even more built-in apps. In the future, you'll be able to remove Cortana, Photos, People, Remote Desktop, and Camera. (Why Microsoft isn't removing Cortana — which, again, doesn't even work anymore — is one of life's great mysteries.) 📌 READ MORE: Check out these quick reports about [the end of the Tips app]() and [the removal of the Maps and Movies & TV apps](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Office 2024 is on its way ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft apparently plans to release Office 2024 — an upgrade to the last "boxed" version of Office, which was Office 2021. 🔎 KNOW MORE: The main version of Office is now Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365,) a subscription product that gets regular updates with new features. However, Microsoft still produces "traditional," non-subscription versions of Office that don't get new features but only get security updates. - Office 2024 looks like the next version of Office. Don't expect much exciting — think of Office 2024 as a "snapshot" of the current Office apps you'll already have if you subscribe to Office through Microsoft 365. - Many people wondered if Office 2021 was the last traditional release of Office ever, but it looks like many businesses aren't prepared to switch to the subscription version just yet. - In a response to a social media post about a "New Windows Client" coming alongside Office 2024 next year, an official Microsoft account replied "The future is bright indeed." It's yet another sign a new release of Windows is coming next year — whether it's officially called Windows 12 or not. 📌 READ MORE: [This exclusive report shows off Office 2024](, but I don't recommend following the article's instructions to install it yourself. Here's [Microsoft's post about a bright future](=). #top SPONSORED MESSAGE Save big on ebooks 📖 =​ Remember the days when you would go to a bookstore and rifle through the discounted book bin to find a great deal? With ebooks on the rise, those days may seem largely behind us, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some rockin’ savings to be found! ​[BookBub](=) helps you find the same great deals, just on ebooks. Better yet, they take the guesswork out of the equation, and email you deals each day on books handpicked specifically for you. Here's how it works: 📝 Answer a brief questionnaire about what you like to read 📨 Check your inbox for personalized ebook deals 📚 Buy new books at a discount and read on any device To top it all off, you can even save books to your wishlist and BookBub will let you know when they are on sale! ➜ [Ready to start saving up to 95% off of bestselling books?](=)​ [START SAVING TODAY — FOR FREE ➜](=) [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Try This Week 1. Free up lots of space on your PC — as fast as possible Freeing up disk space so you can download or install whatever you want doesn't have to be a long, slow, tedious process. If you need to free up a lot of disk space fast, I've got some time-saving tips that will get you through this chore as quickly as possible. These utilities can often help you free up tens of gigabytes of storage space in just a few minutes. They'll help you target the biggest space-wasters so you can make meaningful decisions that will free up a ton of usable storage space. ⌚ You can free up some serious disk space in as little as 15 seconds of clicking. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. 📌 Read [my speedy new guide to freeing up space]() for all the details. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Pull up the hidden power user menu Windows has a special hidden menu with quick access to frequently used settings. It's often called the "power user menu," but Microsoft now seems to call it the "quick link menu." This menu was originally added with the release of Windows 8. With the Start button and traditional Start menu gone, this menu was a bone Microsoft threw to "power users." But it's still around — and still useful — on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ⌚ You can open the menu in two seconds. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ ​You can open the power user menu in one of two ways: - Right-click the Start button on your taskbar. - Press Windows+X on your keyboard. You'll see a variety of useful options here, including quick links to open File Explorer, Settings, System information, a list of your Installed Apps, a Terminal, and so on. It's often faster than digging for one of these options in the Start menu. [The Windows+X power user menu on Windows 11.] --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Create Excel spreadsheets with AI Microsoft hasn't rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to consumers yet, so you can't take advantage of AI features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps unless you work for a business that pays for a pricey subscription. However, Microsoft did recently release a great new feature that lets you quickly create Excel spreadsheets with AI. Strangely enough, this feature didn't work in Copilot on Windows 11 when I tried it — you'll need to use Bing Chat in a web browser instead. ⌚ You can have AI generate a spreadsheet in just 5 seconds of work. (Plus some more time for Bing Chat to finish generating its response.) 💻 This works in Bing Chat in a web browser in any operating system, including Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ ​Just pull up [Bing Chat]( in a browser and ask any question that results in a table of some sort. For example, here is a sample question that will work: - Make me a table of Windows releases, their release dates, and their end of support dates. You'll see an "Excel" button at the top-right corner of the generated table, and you can click it after Bing Chat is finished running. You'll get a new spreadsheet in the web version of Excel with whatever data you asked for. [A table with an Excel button in Bing Chat.] ​ [] ❱❱ Top Thurrott Thoughts Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Microsoft Details its Roadmap for the New Outlook for Windows]( - Everything coming to the new Outlook. - ​[Google Brings Generative AI in Search to More Than 120 Countries](=) - That's a huge expansion. - ​[HP Spectre Foldable PC Review: The Future of the PC, Today](=) - Here's what using a $5000 foldable PC is like. - ​[Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Review]( - Paul Thurrott reviews Apple's latest top-tier phone. - ​[Microsoft Quietly Improved Authenticator Security to Thwart MFA Fatigue Attacks](=) - An important security improvement. - ​[Google Pixel 8 Pro First Impressions]() - Paul Thurrott gets his hands on Google's latest top-tier Pixel phone. ​ [] ❱❱ And Just for Fun... Did you know Windows has never had a "system tray" — until Windows 11, apparently? That area down there by the clock — the one that gets packed with various utilities — is supposedly called the taskbar's "notification area." Twenty years ago, Microsoft's Raymond Chen wrote [the official explanation of how the error happened](. Early versions of Windows 95 had a "tray" instead of a taskbar on the bottom of the screen. And, on Windows 95, there was a program called "systray.exe" that handled some notification icons down there on the taskbar, like the volume control icon. His blog post highlighted the confusion inside Microsoft itself, with the term "system tray" popping up all over the place within Microsoft and a constant battle to get the phrase corrected. "If you find any documentation that refers to it as the “tray” then you found a bug," he wrote. The anti-system-tray forces inside Microsoft seem like they're losing the battle. On Windows 11, if you head to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, you'll see all sorts of talk about "system tray icons" and "the system tray." So, while I used to tell people Windows has technically never had a system tray, Windows 11 clearly does have a system tray — that's what the Settings app says! The whole thing doesn't really matter, of course, but it's an interesting example of the confusion around naming things inside Microsoft. Still, nearly 30 years after the release of Windows 95, maybe it's good Microsoft is now agreeing it's called the "system tray" — a name many of us have been calling it all along. ​ See you next week! I hope you have an awesome weekend. We've got a big next week ahead of us here at Windows Intelligence — all good news, of course! Stay tuned. Thanks for reading Windows Intelligence and being a part of our early preview phase! We'd love to hear what you think so far. ​[Submit your feedback here]() — or just reply to this email. 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