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How to Use Windows 10 Timeline

Lost a file? No problem. The April 2018 update to Microsoft's OS allows you to journey back in time

Lance Whitney
By Lance Whitney 

Let's say you need a document, photo, or other file from the past few weeks but can't remember its name or location. Not a problem if you're running the Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

The latest version of Windows includes a new feature known as Timeline. Accessible through Task View, Timeline helps you travel back in time to find, see, and access previous files, windows, and other activities. Timeline keeps track of your Microsoft Office documents and files, the websites you've visited and searched for, your photos and images, and other types of files and windows. You can even access the same Timeline on different computers and devices. And you can tweak your Timeline settings to go back as far as 30 days. Let's check out how to use Timeline.

First, make sure you're running the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. Open Settings > System > About. Scroll to the bottom of the screen. If the Windows version says 1803, then you're set. If not, jump to the Update & Security category in Settings. Install the update called "Feature Update to Windows 10, version 1803." If you don't see it, fire up Microsoft's Windows 10 Download page to manually install the April 2018 Update.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

Getting Started

Click on the Task View icon to the right of the Cortana search field or press Win Key+Tab.

Virtual Desktops

Through Task View, you can create virtual desktops in which to store and switch to different applications and windows. But it's also where you access Timeline; scroll down until you see thumbnails for files from the past few days. Click on the thumbnail for the file you want.

Scroll Through Time

To travel further back in time, click the Turn On button in the section "See more days in Timeline."

Choose Your Time Travel Date

To avoid scrolling, you can move the button on the slider bar at the right to bounce between Now and the earliest displayed date.

Viewing Activities

By default, Timeline shows you thumbnails only for the top activities for each date. To see more files and windows for a specific date, click on the link next to the date to "See all X activities."

Top Activities

Click on the link to "See only top activities" to return to the previous view.

Search for Files

You can also search for specific files by name or location. Click on the Search icon above the date slider bar. Type a name or folder location for the item you want. Timeline displays your search results.

Cleaning Up Your Timeline

You can delete specific items from Timeline or clear everything from a certain date. Removing an item this way doesn't delete the actual item but simply erases it from your Timeline history. Right-click on the thumbnail of an item you want to delete and click on Remove. To get rid of everything from that date, click on the command to "Clear all from [date]."

Use Timeline on Multiple Devices

By default, Windows syncs your Timeline activity data across other devices on which you sign in with the same Microsoft account. Sign into another computer and open Task View. Wait a few moments and you should see the same Timeline windows displayed on your initial computer.

Customization

You can control and customize certain settings for Timeline. Open Settings > System > Multitasking. Windows can display suggested activities that you might want to view in Timeline. To see such notifications, turn on the switch for "Show suggestions occasionally in Timeline."

Disable Windows 10 Timeline

Next, jump to Settings > Privacy > Activity History. To stop Timeline from collecting your activities on this computer, uncheck the box for "Let Windows collect my activities from this PC." To turn off the synchronization of Timeline activities to the cloud, uncheck the box to "Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud." To disable Timeline for a specific account, turn off this option for the account in the section to "Show activities from accounts."

Finally, to remove your current Timeline data as well as other data Microsoft has gathered on your activities, click on the link to "Manage my Microsoft account activity data." At your Microsoft account website, you can review and delete your activity history and other data.

6 Cool Things

For more, check out our roundup of the top new features in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update.
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