Computer tips and tricks
Computer tips and tricks
Top 10 Windows 7 tips
Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts
Use the below Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts to make the most of your
Windows 7 experience.
Windows key and the arrow keys
Pressing the Windows key and Left
or Right arrow keys will dock
the window your viewing to the left or right-hand side of the screen.
Pressing the Windows key and the Up arrow will maximize a window and
pressing the Windows key and the Down arrow will resize and then
minimize the window.
Use Shift: To stretch a
window vertically, press the
Windows key + Shift + the Up arrow. If you have multiple monitors use
the Windows key + Shift + the Left or Right arrow keys to move the
window to another monitor.
Windows key and plus and minus keys
If you ever need to zoom in or out of what is being displayed on your
screen press the Windows key and the + (plus)
or - (minus) keys. Pressing the
plus zooms in and once zoomed in the minus will zoom out.
Clear all background programs
If you are not viewing a window in full screen and have other windows
open in the background clear all background open windows by pressing
the Windows key + the Home key.
Use the Windows 7 search
Find and run anything in Windows by using the Windows 7 search box.
Click the Start orb or press then
Windows key and type the name of the program you wish to run or file
you wish to edit. Windows 7 will usually do a good job at finding an
exact match and simply pressing enter will execute that program or
open that file. If more than one match is found, use the up and down
arrow keys to select the file you wish to open and then press Enter.
Running as administrator: Some programs may
require administrator mode in order to function properly. You can run
any program as administrator from the search box by typing the name of
the program you want to run and then instead of pressing Enter to run
the program press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to run as
administrator. If you want to click
and run a program as administrator hold down the Ctrl+Shift and then
click the icon.
Take full advantage of the Taskbar
Pin programs to the Taskbar
All programs can be pinned to the
Taskbar and allow easy access to
your favorite programs without having to use the Start Menu. To Pin a
program to the Taskbar right-click
on the program or shortcut to the program and in the menu choose the
Pin to Taskbar option. Alternatively you can also drag the icon
to the Taskbar.
If you want to remove a pinned program, right-click on the Taskbar
icon and click Unpin this program from the Taskbar.
Alternatively you can also drag the icon off of the task bar and then
click Unpin this program from the Taskbar.
Move the icons and pinned programs
Any pinned or opened program on the Taskbar can be moved and arranged.
Left-click on any icon on the Taskbar and drag it to the location you
want it to remain.
Windows key and a number
Pressing the Windows key and a number on the top row of your keyboard
will open the Window corresponding to the open program on your
Taskbar. For example, in the below picture of the Windows 7 Taskbar,
Firefox i the first icon, Control panel is the second icon, and Adobe
Photoshop is the third icon. If the Windows key + 3 was pressed, Adobe
Photoshop would become the active window. To make it even easier
arrange your icons (as mentioned above) from left to right by most
frequently opened.
Pin your favorite folder
If you frequently access the same folder (e.g. your favorites, my
documents, Dropbox, etc.) pin
the folder to the Windows Explorer
icon on the Taskbar. To do this drag your favorite folder to the
Taskbar until you see Pin to Windows Explorer. Once pinned,
right-click the Explorer icon to access that folder under the Pinned
section.
Open a second instance
If you want to open a second instance or window of a program that is
already open, press and hold the
Shift key and then click the program icon on the Taskbar.
Get to the Desktop
Click the Desktop button on the far right edge of the Taskbar to get
to the Desktop.
Customize
the Notification area
Windows Vista and Windows 7 allow the Windows
Notification area (aka Systray)
to be modified. By default, many of the icons shown in the past are
now hidden and give Windows a much cleaner look. Customize this area
to make icons show or not show by clicking on the up arrow next to the
icons and selecting Customize, as shown in the picture to the
right. Once in Customize you can choose what programs show, don't
show, or only show notifications.
Improve the quality of your text
Use the Windows ClearType Text
Tuner to improve the overall quality of all text you read on your
screen. To start the ClearType Text Tuner click the Start Orb and type
cttune.exe and press Enter.
Enable and disable Windows 7 features
Turn on and off Windows features by clicking Start, typing features
and press enter. In the Programs and Features window on the left-hand
column click Turn Windows features on or off and in the Windows
Features box check or uncheck the features you want enabled or
disabled.
Use the Reliability and Performance Monitor
View the reliability history of your computer by using the
Reliability Monitor. Click the
Start orb and type reliability and press enter for View
Reliability History. In the Reliability Monitor, you'll be able to
view the overall reliability of your computer and be able to identify
any past problems your computer has had.
If you want to view the performance of your computer in real time use
the Performance Monitor. Click
the Start orb and type performance and press enter for the Performance
Monitor. In the Performance Monitor, you can view your computers
performance in real time or view a log of your systems performance.
Re-enable underlined keyboard shortcuts
By
default, Windows 7 has the underlines for keyboard shortcuts like
those shown in the picture to the right disabled. To re-enable these
underlines in all Windows programs follow the below steps.- Open the Control Panel
- In the Control Panel click Ease of Access
- In Ease of Access click Change how your keyboard works
- Finally, check the Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys and then click Ok.
Rename multiple files at once
To change the name of multiple files at once
highlight all the files you
wish to rename in Windows Explorer
and press the F2 key. Type in
the new name you wish to use for all files and press enter. Once done
all files will be renamed to the name entered followed by a unique
number.
Install Windows Essentials
Install missing Windows software by installing the free Windows
Essentials software package that includes: Windows Live Family Safety,
Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive for Windows,
Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, and
Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector.
