How To Use the Action Center on Windows

The Action Center available in Windows 10 and 11 can be an extremely useful addition that provides quick access to useful shortcuts, as well as a convenient way to see important notifications. The action center is located in the right corner of the taskbar and can be recognized by the small speech bubble icon. 

The upper section of the Action Center window contains all received notifications, while at the bottom are located all of the shortcuts it provides. These usually lead to the most commonly needed Settings menus. Users can customize the behavior of the Action Center in some ways to align it with their particular needs. 

Stop Annoying Notifications

While seeing every notification that comes up may be important in certain situations; in others, it could prove to be nothing more than an unwanted distraction. To set the priority of Notifications or disable them completely, do the following:

1. Click on the Action Center icon.
2. Click on 'All Settings.'
3. Select 'System.'
4. From the left pane, select 'Notifications & Actions.'
5. You can now select which applications are allowed to show notification by adjusting the slider corresponding to the specific application.

To avoid the Action Center getting cluttered by too many notifications, you can dismiss the unneeded ones by clicking their corresponding 'X' button. 

Quick Actions

The other important aspect of the Action Center is the displayed Quick Actions. If the default ones are not particularly useful to you, you can adjust them by adding new ones. 

1. Open the Action Center.
2. Click on 'All Settings.'
3. Pick 'System.'
4. Select 'Notification & Actions.'
5. Locate and click the 'Edit your quick actions' option.

How to Disable the Windows Action Center

While you cannot disable the Action Center outright, you can still minimize its presence greatly and make it mostly unnoticeable. 

1. Open the Action Center.
2. Click on 'All Settings.'
3. Open 'System.'
4. Select 'Focus assist.'
5. Check the available options and adjust them according to your preferences. For example, enabling 'Alarms only' will stop all notifications, except for alarms, from being displayed.