What is Task Manager for computers? And why is it important?

Task Manager (alternatively known as Activity Monitor for macOS systems) can show you what programs and applications are currently running on your computer right now, as of this moment.

If your computer is lagging in speed or overall performance, or maybe a program is needing some troubleshooting, you can use the Task Manager to review what’s happening in the background and even stop an app that has not been responding, without having to restart your computer!

For Windows operating systems, you can follow this shortcut to access the Windows Task Manager:

• Ctrl + Shift + Esc
  

For macOS operating systems, you can follow this shortcut to access the Activity Monitor application:

• CMD + ALT + ESC

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Do you often feel frustrated with having to scroll back through your browser history to find your favourite tab? Or even accidentally closing the tab and not being able to remember the website?

With DigiTip 22, you can now pin your favourite internet tabs and have it ready for you when you open your browser next.

For internet browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, you can follow these steps:

• Open your internet browser and type in your chosen URL
• Right-click on your URL tab and choose the option “Pin”

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Do you want to be able to save time using Outlook by running multiple tasks efficiently?

With DigiTip 19, we will be having a look at how to set up your Quick Step recipe. When an email comes through to your inbox, with just one click you can mark it as read, move it to a specific folder, automatically send a reply and many other options.

Watch the video below for a brief demonstration:

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Do you often find yourself having tired eyes after looking at your device for too long? In DigiTip 16, we will be having a look at how to use a blue light filter setting, to reduce the amount of blue light emitted from your device’s screen.

On Windows devices, follow the system settings below to activate “Night light”:

• Select Start on your windows taskbar and type in Settings in the search box
• From Settings, then choose System before finding the Display option
• Once you have chosen the Display option, select Night light
• With “Night light” switched on, warmer colours will be used on your screen to help block out blue light
• To personalise when “Night light” will be in use on your device, choose the Schedule night light option where you can either select Sunset to sunrise or select Set hours to choose your own custom times for it to begin and end before closing the window

On MacOS devices, follow the system settings below to activate “Night Shift”:

• Go to the Apple menu to open the option System Preferences
• Through System Preferences, select the Displays icon
• On the top of the window, click on the Night Shift tab
• Select the Schedule drop-down list before choosing Custom
• To personalise when “Night Shift” will be in use on your device, you can either select Sunset to sunrise or select Custom to choose your own set times for it to begin and end, before clicking Done

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Welcome to the start of 2024 and we hope you all had a fantastic Christmas holiday break!

From September 2023, the Digital Skills Team have been publishing short and sweet DigiTips that we think will help you make the most of technology – ranging from taking care of your mental wellbeing with the self-care Finch App to being able to brainstorm new ideas with the whiteboard in MS Teams!

Starting from Tuesday 9^th January, we will continue to be posting weekly tips about all things digital and if you want to explore any of our previous DigiTips, you can access them from this webpage.

Follow these steps to pin your priority chats to the top of your list: 

• On the left-hand side of your Teams window, place your cursor over the chat you would like to pin 
• Right-click once on the chat and click on Pin 
• Your priority chat will be pinned to the top of your recent chat list 

Follow these steps to mute notifications from your chosen chat: 

• On the left-hand side of your Teams window, place your cursor over the chat you would like to mute 
• Right-click once on the chat and click on Mute 
• Incoming notifications will be muted for this specific chat 

Watch the video below or follow these instructions for saving messages to access them later: 

• Open the chat you would like to save a message(s) from 
• Right-click once on the message and click on Save this message 
• Place your cursor your Teams icon and click on it 
• Select the Saved option on the menu 

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Depending on who you would like to communicate with, sometimes it is more convenient to schedule and delay your emails for another time. This gives you more time to re-edit the content of your email again if necessary and you can plan for less stress in the future if you can prepare your emails in advance! 

Watch the video below or follow these instructions: 

• Open a blank new email message in Outlook 
• Compose the email and ensure you have included a recipient and a subject line 
• Click on the File tab that can be found on the top left corner of the email window 
• Select Properties  
• Ensure the Do not deliver before option is checked  
• Select the time and date you would like to schedule the email to send out for 
• Click Close followed by Send 

It’s worth noting that Outlook must be open for a delayed email to be sent out. Ensure you have chosen a sending time when you know your Outlook will be running. 

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Do you want to learn or develop your digital skills but not sure where to start? With our LinkedIn Learning digital skills collections, you can now develop your digital skills further with easily digestible courses and videos that are tailored more specifically to what you are looking for. With a variety of content to choose from in LinkedIn Learning, we have developed 30 new collections (15 for students and 15 for staff) to support you all at Aberystwyth University to find the most appropriate content suited for what you want to learn most. Each collection contains 9 resources, and these resources can range from short 3-minute videos to more in-depth courses. 

If you have any questions about these LinkedIn Learning collections, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk).  

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week!