Windows 10: Top voice commands to use with Cortana

Windows 10 has been released, and along with it users will find a new digital personal assistant application, which has been dubbed “Cortana.”

The application is essentially controlled by voice commands and allows you to check the weather forecast, latest news, traffic as well as perform other tasks.

While Cortana has not been localised for the African market as of yet users can switch there region to either the United States or United Kingdom – by clicking the Start Menu and typing in Region – in order to gain access to Cortana.

In order to activate Cortana users can click on the microphone icon next to the new Start button in Windows 10. To get the most out of Cortana, IT News Africa has listed the top voice commands to use with Cortana below:

Weather Commands

– What’s the weather today?

– What’s the forecast for this weekend?

– What is the weather like in Nigeria?

If you find that the temperature is showing in Fahrenheit you can simply click the microphone button and say “switch temperature to Celsius,” or vice versa.

Music Commands

– Play artist (Ellie Goulding)

– Play song title (Name of Song Title)

– Play genre (Play Jazz, Rock, Pop)

– Play album (Play Name of Album)

– Pause music

– Resume music

– Play next track

– Play previous track

– Shuffle music

Want to know what song you are listening to? You can simply say “What song is playing,” Cortana will then listen to the track and give you the album info. This works well; however, some songs may not be identified when testing out the service.

Question-styled Commands

– Who is the President of South Africa?

– What is the capital of Nigeria?

– How old is Jacob Zuma?

– What is traffic like in Johannesburg?

Mathematical questions can also be answered by Cortana, which was quite surprising to find out when testing out the service.

Cortana Application Commands

– Open Camera (If present)

– Open Calendar

– Turn on Airplane Mode

– Open Microsoft Edge

Opening applications using voice commands may seem a bit counter-productive; however, it is a hidden Windows 10 treasure that allows you to open an application that you cannot find on your desktop or Start menu.

News Commands

– Show me today’s news

– Show me the top headlines

– Show me the local news

– Show me the international news

Other Commands

– What is the Facebook share price?

– What is  the Microsoft share price

– How much is the Facebook stock per share?

Overall, the above mentioned voice commands work smoothly; however, be expected to experience a few glitches in the system as Windows 10 has just launched.