When using your computer, whether for work or for leisure, you should end up connecting the same device as a mobile or external HD to it to perform some specific task. In these situations, a good idea is to automate a task, that is when connecting one of these devices already leave an action like opening the file explorer automatically, back up or import photos and videos automatically.
Thinking in this case, Windows 10 brings a feature made just to monitor what has been or is being connected to the computer and take some simple actions. Here’s how to configure Windows to open the file explorer or take action when connecting a device.
Important
The feature shown below is part of Windows 10 itself, so it does not pose any risk to the system as it will not make changes to the registry or something similar. In addition, the process is reversible by entering the same place where it was set up to challenge a change.
How to configure the feature
As is done for other system configurations, you must have administrator privileges to access the function explained below.
- Press the “Win + I” keys together to open the “Windows Settings” screen and enter “Devices”;
- From the menu on the left side of the screen, enter “Auto Play”;
- In the list that appears on the right, select one of the devices to change the action to be taken, such as “Import photos and videos (photos)”;
- Restart the computer.
Note that in the list of devices, all mobile phones that have already been connected will have their names. Meanwhile, USB drives and external hard drives are in a single option, which is called “Removable Device”, and they offer different options. After performing this setup, when a device that is on this list is connected, you will no longer see that Windows pop-up from which a device was connected and what should be done with it.
Ready! Now, you already know how to make Windows 10 automate some simple actions when having a device connected to it.