From The Tips Box: Android Volume, Command Prompt Shortcuts

Readers offer their best tips for changing the volume in Android and working with the Windows command prompt.


Keep Your Volume Settings in Android when Toggling Through Silent and Vibrate

Platypus Man shows us how to keep your volume settings saved in Android:

OK, so maybe I'm dumb and everyone else already knew this, but I just came across this completely by accident and I think it's awesome. In Android (or I guess it could be only Sense UI), if you turn the volume all the way down, it goes to silent mode. Down one more and it's in vibrate mode. OK, but let's say you want to keep your volume at a certain level after you come off silent. Go into silent or vibrate through any other means—like swiping the sound icon on the lock screen, or from the power control widget—and the same things work. From vibrate, hit volume up and you're in silent. Hit volume up again and you're at your former volume, not one step above silent.

This makes it easy to switch between silent, vibrate, and a volume without losing your preset volume level. I mean, I still usually use Silent Time Lite, but this is great for unplanned things.

Run a Recent Command in Windows Command Prompt

Armbie shares not one, but two handy Windows command prompt tips:

Here's another two windows command line command searching tips in response to the matching tip recently posted:

1) To re-execute a recently typed command, retype the first few letters of the command and press F8. The command will expand to the latest command in the history that matches those letters. Press F8 again to keep going back in time. Note that the matching is case sensitive.

2) If you want to see a list of commands previously typed, just press F7 in the command window to get a menu of selectable commands.

Use Earbuds as Makeshift Earplugs in a Pinch

Dimensiation shares a quick tip for loud noises around the house:

If you have a really loud vacuum and no earplugs, use earbuds. If they have rubber inserts, they'll work almost as well at absorbing sound.

It's one of those things you'd probably think of in a situation where you know you're going to need earplugs, but probably not the first thing you reach for in your own house when something's too loud.

Photo by Nan Palmero.


    Does the f8 option work in a new instance of command prompt?

    Ooh, I'm going to enjoy F7. In fact it appears the rest of the function keys do stuff too.

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