Do not disturb! New ways to block notifications in Windows 10

Microsoft plans to make it easier to block annoying notifications in Windows 10 by revamping the Quiet Hours feature, which works like a ‘Do not disturb’ tool for the operating system.

At the moment you can set Quiet Hours to block notifications only between 12 midnight and 6am (see Microsoft’s instructions at www.snipca.com/26763). But a recent preview version of Windows 10 lets you choose your own hours on a schedule (see screenshot).

The improved Quiet Hours also lets you choose to receive notifications from selected people and programs during these hours. This helps you prioritise the kind of messages you want to see instantly.

You can also set it to switch on automatically during a presentation on a second screen, or when you’re playing certain games in full-screen mode. The new features appear in Build 17074 of Windows 10, released on 11 January to people signed up to the Insider Program.

Also new in this version are, links to your Documents and Pictures folders in the Start menu. Microsoft says this has been added in response to user feedback, and will make it “easier to navigate to the things you care about”. Right-clicking an item in the menu now lets you change its settings.

Most of the changes in Build 17074 are likely to appear in the next major Windows 10 update, codenamed Redstone 4, due in March.

For more on what’s new, including improved support for the EPUB ebook format in Edge, read Microsoft’s blog: www.snipca.com/26764.