Windows Mobility Center is a recently introduced application in Windows Vista, with the help of which you may easily access all the settings related to your mobile PC (laptop, notebook, Tablet PC). By using these settings you can improve the battery lifetime or system performance while working, without being connected to a power supply. In this article I will show you how to access this tool and how to work with it.

NOTE: the Mobility Center is installed by Windows Vista only on laptops, notebooks, tablet PCs and other 'mobile' devices. You will not find it on a normal desktop.

How to start Windows Mobility Center

The Windows Mobility Center can be found using several methods. The easiest way is to press 'Windows logo key + X' keys on your keyboard. Also, if you go to the Control Panel you will find an applet called Mobile PC. Click on it.

Next, you will see the Windows Mobility Center applet with several links below. Click on it and Windows Mobility Center will start.

Another method is to click on the small battery that is usually being displayed in the taskbar.

Then click on the Windows Mobility Center link.

How to use the Windows Mobility Center

Depending on your system, the Windows Mobility Center window will look like in the screenshot below.

You have several options and settings which you can customize:

• Brightness - allows you to adjust the brightness of your display. Moving the slider to left will lower the brightness of your display and help you win additional battery life.
• Volume - you can customize it by moving the slider from left or right. Also, you can set the volume on Mute.
• Battery Status - here you will see how much battery time you have left. Also, you can select different power plans from the list, so to help you save even more battery power. This will increase the amount of time during which you can work on your laptop.



• Wireless Network - you can see if your wireless adapter is turned on or off. Also, if turned on, the coverage of the wireless connection will be displayed and continuoulsy updated. If you want to save some battery power and you do not use a wireless connection, it is advisable to turn off the wireless adapter by clicking on the 'Turn wireless off' button. NOTE: if the 'Turn Wireless On' button is unavailable, you may need to use the hardware switch on your laptop to turn the wireless adapter back on.
• External Display - helps you manage external displays attached to your laptop. When clicking on the Connect display button a wizard will pop-up helping you manage the desktop on your displays.



• Sync Center - is basically a shortcut towards the Sync Center. It allows you to see the status of any in-progress file sync, define new sync partnerships, etc.
• Presentation Settings - allows you to turn on or off the presentation mode. However, in order to adjust presentation settings, you need to go back to the Windows Mobility Center applet in Control Panel and click on the 'Adjust settings before giving a presentation' link.

  

  In the Presentation Settings window you can turn off the screen saver, set the volume to a specific level, change the background, etc.

  

  Once you turn on the presentation mode, all these settings will be applied automatically.

NOTE: In our screenshots, the Screen Rotation settings are missing. This is due to the fact that they show up only on Tablet PCs where you can change the rotation of the screen from portrait to landscape or reverse.

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