Cortana is the smart assistant in Windows 10. Unfortunately, the function currently only works in English, but that doesn't mean you can't do fun things with it in the Netherlands. If you speak a little English, Cortana is super handy and above all just fun to try out.
Cortana was already a super handy service in Windows Phone 8.1 and now this smart assistant with Windows 10 is finally available for the PC. She can search your documents, keep your calendar, set reminders, display things that seem personally relevant to you, and much more. Cortana works on the basis of Bing and Microsoft's machine learning technology in the cloud. You can control Cortana by typing or through spoken language. Also read: Windows 10: Everything for a smooth transition.
Because everything Cortana learns about you is stored in the cloud, all the devices you use Cortana on contribute to its "intelligence" and she has this collective information available to her on all devices.
For now, Cortana is only available for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10, but it looks like Microsoft is planning to launch a standalone Android and iOS app.
Enable Cortana
To enable Cortana on your PC, you must set your computer's region and language to United Kingdom or United States. As a result, everything in the operating system will be in English from now on.
If you have no problem with that, here's how to enable Cortana:
Go to it Action Center by clicking the speech bubble in the system tray. Select at the bottom of the menu All settings. A . will now appear Institutions window, where you click Time & Language > Region & Language must click. In the selection menu under Country or region the Netherlands has been selected. Click on it and scroll down to United Kingdom or United States. It doesn't matter if you choose United Kingdom or United States.
Next, you need to convert the operating system language to English. This can be done in the same window, below Languages. click on Add a language. Choose English and click Set as Default. Go to the start menu and log out. When you log in again, your operating system will be all in English.
Note: As I said above, it doesn't really matter whether you choose United Kingdom or United States as your region, but once you select the English language, some words that are typically British or typically American will differ based on your chosen region, such as the British term "films" versus the American variant "movies" and the British spelling "colours" versus the American spelling "colors".
There is now a search bar on the left side of the home button. Click on it and select the gear icon to set up Cortana.
Do you not think it is worth having Windows 10 in English afterwards? Then you can easily go back by repeating the steps above and choosing the Netherlands as the region and Dutch as the language. However, you cannot use Cortana in that case.
Configure Cortana
To make the most of Cortana's capabilities, you need to train the digital assistant. The more information you provide, the better the feature works.
When you click on the search bar, Cortana will ask for a number of permissions, such as access to your location, speech recognition, and your desired name. Then you can adjust the information Cortana - and therefore Microsoft - has about you by clicking on the hamburger menu and notebook to select. You will then see a number of categories:
In about me you can set what Cortana should call you. Fortunately, if she mispronounces your name (like I did), you can change this. In addition, you can specify specific favorite locations by searching for an address and giving it a name. You can also mark places as home or work. You can later use the name you choose for a location to give Cortana instructions, such as setting reminders or looking for directions.
In Connected accounts you can integrate Cortana into other services. For the time being, this is only possible with Microsoft Office 365.
In Settings you can disable Cortana, choose what personal information Cortana stores in the cloud, have Cortana activate when you say "Hey Cortana", let Cortana search other Microsoft services for your flight information, hotel reservations and the like, set greetings in your search bar, Bing Safe Set up search and manage other privacy settings.
In eat & drink you can configure restaurant suggestions based on cuisine, price, ambiance, distance, and the like. You can also set notifications.
In Events you can specify what kind of events you are interested in, and whether Cortana should notify you of such events in your area.
In Movies & TV you can let Cortana show the current programs of cinemas in your area or, for example, have the winners of an important award show predict.
In finance you can choose which stocks Cortana should track for you.
In Getting around you can set how Cortana handles traffic information and reminders. Notifications for items in your calendar and traffic conditions near your favorite locations are enabled by default, but if you want Cortana to remind you to leave on time based on traffic conditions, you'll need to set this up separately.
In Meetings & reminders you can choose to display meeting reminders on Cortana's home screen, receive notifications regarding meeting preparation and participants, and more.
In news you can customize what kind of news Cortana will show. You can enter your favorite categories and topics, or Cortana can learn what your interests are over time.
In Sports you can set what upcoming matches, results, and highlights Cortana displays. It is also possible to select your favorite team, but for the time being the offer is still somewhat limited.
In travel you can choose what is shown about your planned trips, such as current flight information, the traffic situation along your route, the weather forecast at your destination and the like.
In Weather you can enable current weather information and forecasts for your home, in specific cities or at your current location. In addition, it is possible to receive warnings in case of extreme weather.
Using Cortana
The categories you've set up will appear in Cortana's map interface, giving you instant access to all the information. By clicking on an item you can see more details or be linked to something.
You can also use Cortana as a search function. It indexes all your local files and system settings, the web, your Microsoft account's OneDrive cloud storage, and the Windows Store. If you only want to search within your own files, you have to click at the bottom left My Stuff click. click on Web to search the web only. Unfortunately, you cannot have these filters applied by default. Cortana can understand and process complex voice commands such as "Find documents about Rome from 2013". But don't forget to give your commands in English!
You can compose an email with a specific recipient directly from Cortana by, for example, issuing the command "send an email to Jon".
You can also use Cortana to open programs, display information, perform calculations, or ask questions with commands such as "open Excel", "what's the weather like", "how much is 10 euros in dollars" and "how much is three percent or fifty". Moreover, you can ask Cortana all kinds of questions to which you will get a funny answer. I will go into more detail about this in a future article.
Cortana is integrated into the new Edge browser. On certain web pages or when you search for certain topics, a blue flashing Cortana icon will appear if Cortana has more information about it. When you click on the icon, the additional information appears in a panel on the right side of the browser window.
Cortana is able to create notifications based on information it gets from various linked accounts, such as Office 365. These notifications appear at the top of Cortana's map interface.
Cortana can also create reminders that are linked to time or location. This is useful if, for example, you cannot forget to buy batteries the next time you are in the store. In that case, as soon as you get close to the store, you will receive a reminder from Cortana with the message that you need to buy batteries. Reminders can be set by clicking the light bulb icon in the left panel or by saying or typing "Remind me to", followed by what you want to be reminded of and where or when. Before the reminder is created, Cortana will ask if she has understood everything correctly, and sometimes you will have to provide some more specific information.
