Cortana on Windows 10: Tips and tricks for Microsoft's personal digital assistant

One of the key features of Windows 10 is Cortana personal digital assistant that helps users get their work done quickly and easily. By learning individual preferences, Cortana provides fast access to information and important reminders through talking or typing,

It can perform several tasks such as manage your calendar, track packages, find files, chat with you and even tell jokes. To get started with Cortana, type a question in the search box of the taskbar. Alternatively, use the microphone icon to talk to Cortana. Following is the list of tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of Cortana.

You can use Cortana to set reminder and you would see it would appear on the exact time you have set it for.

Hey Coratana

Set Hey Cortana, if you want Cortana to listen to you anytime you want. Select the search box on the taskbar to open Cortana home. Then select Notebook… Settings and turn on Let Cortana respond when you say Hey Cortana.

Make Cortana more responsive

If you want Cortana to respond to your queries quickly, use Cortana's Notebook to tell it about your interests, favourite places and other things. You can consider including several categories such as weather, news and travel to put your interests in Cortana's Notebook.

The Notebook can be found under Cortana home (select the search box on the taskbar to open Cortana home), then select Notebook. You can set Cortana on or off altogether by going to Notebook… Settings. Note that turning Cortana off will not delete anything from the Notebook.

Coratan tips and tricks

Cortana can manage your calendar quite well. When you say Hey Cortana to check what's your schedule for the day, Cortana details you all the events you have for the day in a timely manner. In case you have forgotten to add something else, you might ask Cortana to add any other appointments if you have for the day.

It also helps you quickly get in touch with a business. Just type Hey Cortana in the search box of the taskbar and ask her to call any of your contact you want to connect with immediately.

Cortana can convert everything for you such as weight, measurement and currencies. For example, you may ask Cortana to convert how many dollars is ¥100 or what to convert 110lb into kilos.

You would be surprised to know that Cortana has serious math skill. Want to know what is the square root of 625 or 62% of 99 million, Cortana can quickly provide you with the answers.

Cortana can remind you of things when any of your contact calls you. For instance, you can ask Cortana to remind you to wish someone when that person calls you next time.

It can even send reminders based on your location. You can set the reminder on your PC directly. It can even remind you about things based on time. You might ask Cortana to check the oven in another five minutes, and Cortana will set the reminder and alert you accordingly. It can even play your music; play songs randomly or any specific song you want to listen to.

You can set Cortana to not disturb you during Quiet Hours. Open Cortana then go to Notebook and select Quiet Hours then set your time. Cortana will make sure not to interrupt you during that time. You can even set Cortana to allow certain people to contact you during the Quiet Hours. Just open Cortana, go to Notebook, select Quiet Hours and turn it on, then edit your Breakthrough list to choose contacts that can reach you during the Quire Hours.

Apart from these, Cortana can be used to track flight and provide you with traffic information. It can even translate languages for you.