Windows 11 All-in-One For Dummies. Ciprian Adrian Rusen

with a list of notifications on top.

      2 Click or tap the downward-pointing arrow to the right of the current date.You now see only the notification center, as shown in Figure 3-2.FIGURE 3-2: The notification center in Windows 11.

      3 Hover the mouse cursor over a notification to see additional options for interacting with it.For example, in Figure 3-3, the three dots icon (Settings) and the X appear to the right of the notification.FIGURE 3-3: These options appear when you hover your cursor over a notification.

      4 To remove a notification, hover over it with the mouse, and click or tap the X to its right.

      5 To expand a notification, click or tap the downward-pointing arrow below the name of the app displaying the notification.Note the additional information (and buttons) displayed for the expanded notification, as shown in Figure 3-4.

      6 When you no longer want to see the notifications, click or tap the Clear All button in the top right of the notification center.This action clears all notifications from Windows 11, and leaves room for new ones. Also, the notification center closes because it has nothing left to display. If you click the time and date instead of Clear All, the notifications are kept but the notification center closes.

FIGURE 3-4: An expanded notification offers more information and interaction options.

Disabling Notifications

      If a particular program is generating notifications that you don’t want to see, you can stop it from doing so. And if you consider all notifications annoying, you can disable them all easily.

      Here’s how to disable notifications from a specific app or all notifications:

      1 Right-click (or press and hold down on) the time and date on the taskbar.The menu shown in Figure 3-5 appears.

      2 Choose Notifications Settings.The Notifications section of the Settings app appears, as shown in Figure 3-6.

      3 To silence just one app, scroll down, find the app, and move its switch to off. To turn off all notifications from all apps, including Windows 11, click or tap the Notifications switch on the top off.You’re finished. You can close Settings or minimize it and do something else.

      FIGURE 3-5: Accessing the Notifications settings.

      FIGURE 3-6: Silence notifications from individual apps.

In Step 3, if you click or tap the name of an app instead of moving its switch, you get access to options for controlling how its notifications are displayed. For example, you can disable the sound played for each notification, change the number of notifications for that app visible in the notification center, set its priority, and more.

Enabling Focus Assist

Focus assist is a Windows 11 feature that helps you remain focused by censoring the display of notifications based on rules you set. For example, you can enable focus assist automatically each time you duplicate your screen because you want to deliver a presentation, when you're playing a game, or when you're using an app in full-screen mode (such as PowerPoint). Last but not least, you can enable focus assist during a specific interval each day, such as when you are writing a book and don’t want to be bothered by pesky notifications.

      Here’s how to configure focus assist in Windows 11:

      1 Right-click (or press and hold down on) the time and date on the taskbar and choose Notifications Settings.The Notifications section of the Settings app appears (refer to Figure 3-5).

      2 Click or tap Focus Assist.The Focus Assist settings appears, as shown in Figure 3-7.FIGURE 3-7: Focus Assist settings.

      3 In the Focus Assist section, choose Alarms Only.While focus assist is active, Windows 11 will hide all notifications and only display alarms (if any have been set).

      4 In the Automatic Rules section, click or tap During These Times. Then click or tap the switch to turn it on.Several settings are now displayed below the switch, as shown in Figure 3-8.FIGURE 3-8: Choose when you want Focus Assist to turn on.

      5 Set the start and end times.It's a good idea to choose an interval when you tend to do most of your work.

      6 Click or tap Repeats and choose Daily, Weekends, or Weekdays.

      7 Click or tap Focus Level and choose Alarms Only.You will now see only alarms, not notifications.

      8 Close the Settings window.Focus assist is now enabled during the days and times you chose, limiting your exposure to annoying notifications.

Using Quick Actions

If you click or tap the volume, battery, or network icon in the bottom-right corner of the Windows 11 desktop, you'll see a readily accessible pane with quick actions, as shown in Figure 3-9. You can think of a quick action as a handy shortcut to a frequently adjusted setting, such as the screen’s brightness, the sound volume, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. Quick actions mimic what you would find on a smartphone — airplane mode is an obvious example. In some cases, a quick action displays a Settings page or a pane with more options or toggles a specific setting.

      FIGURE 3-9: Quick actions are handy shortcuts to frequently adjusted settings.

The quick actions available vary on whether you're using a desktop PC, laptop, tablet, or 2-in-1, the device's hardware configuration, and the apps installed. For example, if Spotify is installed, you may also see some controls for the music you play, allowing you to pause the current song or skip to the next one.

      Unfortunately, you can’t add your own quick actions, but you can control which quick actions are displayed. Here’s how to exert as much influence as possible:

      1 Click or tap the network, volume, or battery icon.Clicking any of them does the same thing, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose. The quick actions appear on the right side of the screen.

      2 Click or tap the edit icon (pencil).All quick actions become editable, as shown in Figure 3-10.

      3 To move an icon for a quick action, just click and drag it where you want (or tap and hold down on the icon while dragging).You can’t drag a quick action off the grid.

      4 To add quick action icons, click or tap the Add+ button, and make a selection from the list that appears.

      5 To remove a quick action icon, click or tap its pin in the top right.

      6 When you've set things the way you want them, click or tap Done.