What does the Action Center contain?

One of the new features in Windows 10 is a notification center that Microsoft calls Action Center. Here’s a look at how to use and configure its features.

One of the new features in Windows 10 is a notification center that Microsoft calls Action Center. It replaces the annoying Charms bar that was part of Windows 8.1. It provides notifications about email, apps like Twitter, and includes quick action tiles for getting to system settings.

Launch Action Center on Windows 10

You can launch Windows 10 Action Center by swiping in from the right edge of the screen on a touch device or tap the Action Center icon. On a traditional PC without touch-capability, click on the Action Center icon on the taskbar next to the clock.

Windows 10 Action Center

The default quick action tiles appear at the bottom and give you on-tap (or click) access to system settings that you might frequently need. Here’s a quick look at what each one does:

• All settings launches the Settings app where you can make system adjustments.
• Airplane mode lets you easily toggle it on or off. Turning it on disables Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wired, and Cellular connections.
• Tablet mode toggles the feature on or off and gives you a full Start screen. It works on touch and non-touch PCs but is disabled if you have a multi-monitor setup.
• Battery Saver lets you turn it on or off. Obviously, you want to use it if you’re on a laptop or tablet running on battery power.
• Location toggles the location service on or off.
• Connect launches the Connect panel to help connect to wireless displays, powered by Miracast, that are nearby
• Note launches the OneNote app so you can create a new one.
• VPN launches the VPN settings in Windows 10.
• Rotation lock stops or allows your screen to flip around its orientation.
• Quiet hours when toggled on will disable notification and system sounds.
• Screen brightness lets you adjust the screen’s brightness by 25% each time you tap or click it.

Note that some of these tiles might be grayed out or not present on some systems. For instance, Battery Saver is disabled while your laptop is plugged in, but when unplugged you can use it. Or, on my tower desktop in my home office, Tablet mode isn’t an option (because I have dual-monitors) and Battery Saver is also not there since it doesn’t use a battery.

A laptop or mobile device will have more Quick Action tiles than a traditional desktop PC

Manage Action Center Buttons

You can expand or collapse the quick action tiles to display only four, which saves space. This is especially handy if you have a low-resolution screen or a mini-tablet type device.

This is where you’ll want to choose which quick action tiles display when the list is collapsed.

To do that, go to Settings > System > Notifications & Actions and you’ll see Quick actions at the top.

Select the one you want to change and then what you want to replace it with from the pop-up menu. You might want to change them around based on what works best in your situation.

For more, check out how to remove buttons and clean up Action Center.

Most of the quick action tiles in the Action Center seem to be aimed more at touch devices, sans All settings, but the notifications are nice on a traditional PC or touch device.

And speaking of notifications, you can control which apps you see notifications from in Action Center by scrolling down in Notification & actions and flipping them on or off.

What’s your take on Action Center in Windows 10? Leave a comment below and let us know. For more discussion about the new OS and your questions, make sure to join our free Windows 10 Forums.

Windows 10 is full of useful features. For example, thanks to the Action Center, you only have to one place to see quick actions and notifications. The Action Center is that icon that looks like a speech bubble. It might look different from time to time. For example, it could be empty, and other times it could be empty, but with an icon at the bottom right. This means that Focus Assist is on.

Whether it has this icon or not, but it’s highlighted in white, that means that there is something for you to see there. Click on it, and a new window will appear with what you need to see.

How to Use Windows 10 Action Center

If you don’t have Focus Assist on, you’re going to see the toast notification at your display’s bottom right. If you ignore the notification, it’ll go away after a few seconds. Just because it goes away, that doesn’t mean that it’s gone for good. The Action Center icon will turn white, reminding you that there are some things for you to look at. You should also see a badge letting you know the number of notifications that need your attention.

When you’re done looking over the notifications, you can click on the Clean all notification options to clean everything up.

All your notifications will be in groups so that you can see all the notifications for a specific app. If you only want to get rid of one or a few, but not all of your notifications, hover the cursor over that notification and an X and a cog-wheel. To erase that one notification, click on the X. To stop receiving notifications for a certain app, click on the cog-wheel.

How to Change the Types and Number of Notifications in Windows 10 Action Center

By going into your computer’s Setting, you can modify the notifications in the Action Center. You can go to Settings by clicking on the Windows icon located at the bottom left. When the options appear, click on the cog-wheel. When the Settings window appears, click on System.

Once you’re in System, click on Notifications and Actions.

You can toggle off the notifications at the top. You can also choose to either disable or enable where you get your notifications. For example, if you want to get notifications on the lock screen, simply check the box to the left of that option. Scroll down a little, and you can also choose from what notifications you get notifications from.

Make sure you don’t disable notifications for important apps such as Security and Maintenance or Windows update. Also, make sure that the notifications for apps you always need to work correctly are always on.

Modify Order of the Actions in Windows 10 Action Center

When you click on the Action Center to open it, the first actions you see are Night Light, Tablet Mode, Location, and Battery Saver. If you want to edit these quick actions, right, click on one of them and choose the Edit quick actions options. To see more actions, click on the Expand option that’s right above the first action on the left.

Conclusion

It’s always best to have things set up your liking since that will help you work faster. By getting to know how the Windows 10 Action Center works, you can adjust it to your liking. Did you change any quick actions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.