The Windows 10 game bar is an element of the operating system that can be used to perform very interesting tasks, which we are going to talk about right now, to get the most out of it .
The game bar or ” game bar ” is an extremely interesting addition that we have seen evolve with the passage of Windows updates, until we reach the current point, where we have a more solid interface and many more functions than when it started.
We are not only going to see how to access this bar, but we will see what it offers us and what we can do when we are using it. In addition, it now allows us to use third-party accounts to perform certain tasks, which we will tell you later.
Activate the Windows 10 Game Bar
The way to access the game bar is the same with which we have been entering in recent years, in this sense nothing has changed. We will have to press the Windows key + the letter G at the same time so that the bar appears before us.
To have the latest appearance and the latest functions, you must have Windows 10 fully updated, since since May Update 2019 the change in this element was quite substantial in every way.
Bar options
Until not too long ago, the game bar was a small window that was launched when we pressed Win + G. Currently, it does not have anything that you see, since its appearance has changed a lot , giving a more careful appearance with small windows where we can see important data and perform certain tasks.
At the top we have the typical bar , where we can perform certain actions that we will talk about later. Both on the right and on the left side we have widgets with information, which we can move wherever we want with the mouse, knowing that the next time we start this game system everything will be where we have left it.
If we look at the functions of the main bar, we have those that we have always had, such as being able to record games or broadcast them over the Internet , but managed by the widgets that appear on the sides.
One of the buttons refers to the audio , where we can control, by means of a widget, all the volume of the sound, both from the speakers or headphones chosen for it as well as the system sounds and even the audio from browsers.
In another of the widgets we will see how the performance of our computer is going , showing us the percentage of use of the CPU, the graphics card and the RAM memory. In addition, we will see a very illustrative graph where it tells us how the power of our PC is going.
In the upper bar we have an icon with a cogwheel where we will open the configuration of this entire system. We have everything in different sections:
- General : where we can see the version of the game bar and we can access its configuration in Windows.
- Accounts : here we will manage all the social network accounts that can be synchronized.
- Widget menu : where we will manage the third-party widgets that we want to see. Although we will talk more about this topic later.
- Shortcuts : This is the place to create keyboard shortcuts. We can put functions such as opening the game bar, taking a screenshot, recording the last 30 seconds, starting or ending a recording and activating or deactivating the microphone.
- Personalization : here we can choose between whether we want a light, dark theme or the one that Windows has, in addition to several other things related to the appearance.
- Capturing : options regarding video and audio recording.
- Game features : compatibility of the game that is active.
- Notifications : we will manage everything related to notifications. We can prevent us from receiving any while recording a game or receive a notification when a friend is online, among other options.
- Group chat : from here we will manage everything related to the audio and voice of the chats. We can select the output of the sound and its volume, the input and we can even enable an option so that you have to press to speak.
- Comments : These are just corporate comments.
We can only talk about the Xbox Social widget , where, once we have added our social networks to our friends, we can participate in chats while we play, seeing who is online and starting a conversation with that person.
Add widgets
We can add widgets, a very interesting function, although compatibility with some of the third-party applications is still missing. Even so, we can add Spotify, Twitter, Steam, Facebook, Twitch, Discord or Reddit, either through the XBox Game Bar or through XBox Live.
To do this we must follow the following easy steps, so you will not have the slightest complication:
- We open the game bar by pressing Win + G.
- Next, we will click on the sprocket of the main bar, just on the right side of it.
- Now is the time to enter Accounts , which is in the left column that has just been opened.
- Now you will see that we have the accounts that are in the XBox Game Bar and then we have those that belong to XBox Live .
- If you want to add a Twitter account, for example, we will click on the Login button.
- Then a window will open where we must put the data that they request, which are username and password , all so that said account is linked correctly.
- As soon as we have entered said data, the new widget that we have chosen will appear on the right side of the screen. We will see that it is called like the service that we have linked.
With everything we have said, you will be able to get much more out of the Windows 10 game bar because, as you have read, it offers us many interesting options that we can take advantage of when we play and when we want to record it. In every way the evolution of this system has been really high in recent years and now it is much more functional and usable, if we compare it with what you had not long ago.