Microsoft rollout process of windows 10 version 1803 started via windows update. This means every Windows 10 user ( with the latest update installed ) connected to Microsoft server will receive the upgrade for free. I am sure you all have upgraded to the latest Windows 10 April 2018 update in case you still didn’t receive it, Here check how to get Windows 10 version 1803. As we discussed before with the windows 10 April 2018 update Microsoft added a number of new features. And one of the Biggest features is Windows Timeline which keeps track of every file you open and every web page you’ve visited (in Edge browser only). You still manage your current tasks and desktops as before, but now With the windows 10 Timeline feature, you can also access previous tasks up to 30 days later — including those on other PCs that have received the Timeline feature.
What is the Windows 10 Timeline?
We already have the Task View feature in Windows 10 where we can check all the running apps, now with the new Timeline, you can check the apps you were working on previously. All your activities will be listed day-wise/ hour-wise, and you can scroll down to check all your earlier activities. It would be a great help for multitaskers and people who use different devices on a daily basis.
How to enable windows Timeline
Windows assumes that you want Timeline turned on. If you don’t, or you’d like to manage how Microsoft uses your information, visit the Settings menu at Settings > Privacy > Activity History. There, you’ll have two options to check or uncheck: Let Windows collect my activities from this PC, and Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud.
- “Let Windows collect my activities from this PC” controls whether or not the Timeline feature is enabled or disabled.
- “Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud” controls whether or not your Activities are accessible from other devices. If you check the first and the second, your activities, and Timeline, will sync across devices.
- Scroll down to Show activities from accounts to toggle which accounts’ Activities show up in your Timeline. This means If you sign in with the same account on another PC, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off no matter which PC you use.
How can you benefit from Timeline?
The ability to swap from one Activity to another is one with a lot of promise, especially if you tend to flip between multiple projects from day today. The timeline also has a syncing option that lets you sync your history to your Microsoft Account, allowing you to view and access your documents from any Windows 10 device as long as you log in using your Microsoft Account. It’s a clean way to “move” your workspace (e.g. from desktop to laptop).
Timeline supports searching through Activities, apps, and documents. The timeline also works particularly well with Microsoft Office and OneDrive, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Not only is the integration tight and in real-time, but Timeline can pull in data for Office and OneDrive documents from even before the feature was enabled.
How to use Windows 10 Timeline feature?
Timeline in Windows 10 PC shares a common home with the virtual desktop feature. To use Timeline, click the Task View button in the taskbar, the activities from various apps and devices will populate in reverse chronological. However, you just installed the April Update, so won’t see much until a couple of days of usage. You can also open the Timeline on Windows 10 using the Windows + Tab keyboard shortcut or by making a three-finger scroll (upwards) on the touchpad.
The thumbnails displayed in the Timeline are called Activities. You can click any one of them to resume stuff. For example, if you watched a YouTube video a couple of days ago, an Activity can take you back to the web page. Similarly, it offers an easy way to get back to your documents and emails you often forget to follow up. You can start writing an article in MS Word on your computer and use your tablet for proofreading.
The Timeline on Windows 10 can show Activities that are up to 30 days old. As you scroll down, you can see the activities from previous dates. The activities are grouped by day, and by an hour if a day has too many of them. To access timeline activities for an hour, click See all <number> activities next to a date. To go back to the main interface, click See only top activities.
If you can’t find the activity you’re looking for in the default view, search for it. There is a search box in the upper-right corner of Timeline which lets you find activities quickly. For instance, if you type the name of an app, all the activities related to the app will be displayed.
How to delete a Timeline Activity?
You can easily remove an activity from the Timeline. Just right-click on the activity you want to delete and click Remove. Similarly, you can remove all the activities from a particular day by clicking Clear all from <date>.
With the April 2018 Update running on your system, Cortana can help you get more out of the Windows 10 Timeline. The digital assistant can suggest the activities that you might want to resume.
How To Disable Windows 10 Timeline
If you would prefer not to have your recent activity show up on the Timeline Go to Settings > Privacy > Activity History. Here, untick the following checkboxes:
- Let Windows collect my activities on this PC.
- Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud.
Next, on the same page, turn off the toggle button for the Microsoft accounts for which you want to hide the Timeline activities.
So, this is how you can use Windows 10 Timeline feature on your computer. Many users will probably like it As you have seen, it can be handy. But some downside we found that we did not manage to find a way to stop it from monitoring a particular app that we choose. That is a negative from a privacy perspective, as some people might not want other people, or Microsoft, to know what videos or photos they were looking at, sometime in the near past.