It is possible that, as a user, you have ever heard of the Windows Power Menu, also known as the Windows advanced menu. This is a feature of the Microsoft operating system that makes it easier for us to access important parts of it. In this post we explain how to access it and what its main uses are.
This peculiar Windows advanced user menu (that's another name by which it is known), is actually a large access directory that any Windows user with a minimum of curiosity will be able to take advantage of a lot.
What is the Windows Power Menu?
Before explaining how to access it, let's try to explain what exactly the Windows Power Menu is. To put it in basic terms, the power menu is a context menu that provides A list of some of the most frequently accessed Windows 10 features.
This "expanded menu" has been present in the Microsoft operating system since Windows 8. However, There are many users who almost never use it. We hope that after reading our article, those who have not done so yet will find reasons to start doing so: there is everything (or almost everything) we need to manage our daily life in Windows.
Important: although its name sounds similar, the Windows Power Menu should not be confused with the Windows power options menu, which is a totally different page. The purpose of this is to configure the power management mode of our PC. An interesting option, but it has nothing to do with the menu at hand.
How to open the Windows Power Menu
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Let's see then how to access this menu. There is two quick ways to do it, two practical shortcuts that we can use interchangeably, since both have the same function:
- Use the key combination Win+X.
- Doing right-click on the Start menu icon on the taskbar.
If we use the first method, a window with the menu will open in the lower left corner of the screen. On the other hand, if we choose to open this menu with the right mouse button, the menu will open from the place where the Start icon is located. That easy.
Features included in the Windows Power Menu
The truth is that most of the functions in the Windows Power Menu have fairly descriptive titles, so no explanation is necessary to understand their usefulness. In any case, we have prepared a list of available functionss. Along with each of them we have added the shortcut key corresponding, if any, to use each function immediately:
- Applications and features (F)- Open the Apps & Features menu within the Settings app.
- Mobility center- Displays charging information, volume, screen brightness, etc.
- Power Options (O)- Opens the power management menu, which we referred to earlier (and which can sometimes cause confusion).
- Event Viewer (V): This option helps us open the Event Viewer and shows us the system logs.
- System (Y): with this function we access the quick view of our system information from the Configuration menu.
- Device Manager (M)- To do just that: open Device Manager.
- Network connections (W)- Shortcut to the Network Status screen.
- Disk Management (K): to open the homonymous function.
- Disk Management: Shows all storage drives connected to the PC.
- Team management: We find access to the task scheduler, event viewer, shared folders, services and device or disk manager, etc.
- Windows PowerShell (I)- Opens a new PowerShell window.
- Windows PowerShell Administrator (A)- does the same as the previous function, but with administrator privileges.
- Task Manager (T)- Open Task Manager.
- Configuration (N)- This option directly accesses the Settings application.
- File Explorer (E)- Open File Explorer.
- Search (S): to launch the Windows search bar.
- Run (R)- Opens a new Run window.
- Shut down or log out (U): The different options to turn off the system are displayed.
- Desk (D)- Minimizes all open applications and windows to the bar to show the clean desktop. You can press it again to recover what was open.
In general terms, this list is also valid for Windows 11, with only a few minor differences. As you can see, the Windows Power Menu is an extremely useful menu that allows quick and easy access to all the main Windows functions. For any user, it is really useful to learn how to access it and handle it with some fluidity, because in this way we will be able to improve the efficiency of our work in Windows.