Not the usual ada ada tricks for Windows 7 features, here we present 20 most useful Windows 7 hacks – hacks for better tuning of your machine.
More Windows Computing tips and tricks available from our Category: Tips & Tricks, Windows7
1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
Using the mouse, you can drag-‘n-dock windows to either side of the screen, or drag it to the top to maximize it. These keyboard shortcuts are even faster:
- Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow dock the window to the left and right side of the screen
- Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow maximize and restore/minimize
- Win+M minimizes everything
- Alt+Up, Alt+Left Arrow, Alt+Right Arrow navigate to parent folder, or browse Back and Forward through folders in Explorer
- Win+Home minimizes/restores all open windows except the active window
- Alt+Win+# accesses the Jump List of program number ‘#’ on the taskbar
2.Rearrange System Tray Icons
You can rearrange icons on the taskbar as you wish and start new (or switch to running) instances of the first ten taskbar programs using Win+1, Win+2, and so on. The cool thing is you can also rearrange system tray icons. Reorder them on the tray or move them outside or back in the tray. Take control of what you want to always keep an eye on, and from which apps you’ll require notifications.
3. Add Any Folder to Favorites
You can add any library or folder to the Favorites section in Windows Explorer. To add a folder, navigate to it in Explorer, right-click Favorites in the left navigation pane, and select Add current location to Favorites. Now you get quick access to your favorite folders in all File->Save As dialogs!
4. Pin Frequently Used Folders to the Taskbar
Right-click, drag, and pin your favorite folders to Windows Explorer on the taskbar. They will now show up in the Jump List when you right click on Explorer giving you quick access to your favorite folders.
5. View Expanded ‘Send To’ Menu
Press Shift when right-clicking on a folder to get an expanded Send To menu.
6. Get Exact Colors On Your Screen
If you are an artist or you work with colors, use the Calibrate Color option in the Control Panel Display applet or run dccw.exe from the Start Menu search box. You can adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, and color balance, ensuring that colors are displayed correctly on your screen.
7. Customize the Power Button
If you restart your computer more often than you shut it down, change the default Shutdown power button to Restart. Right-click on Start, select Properties, and choose the Power button action that you use the most.
8. Customize Number of Items in Jump Lists & Start Menu
Right-click Start, select Properties, click Customize and choose the number of recent programs to be shown in the Start Menu and the number of items displayed in Jump Lists from the Start Menu Size section below.
9. Adjust Screen Text with Clear Type
Use Clear Type Tuner for the best look on your LCD monitor or laptop screen. Run ‘cttune.exe’ from the Start Menu search box, or go to the Control Panel Display applet, and select Adjust ClearType Text from the left.
10. Open Command Prompt in Any Folder
Like the command prompt? Miss the ‘Open Command Window Here’ Windows XP power toy? Press ‘Shift’ when right-clicking on a folder to get that option in the context menu. This also works on the desktop. No power toy required!
11. Background Photo Slideshow
If you are like me, lazy and bored, then you will want to change the background from time to time, wasting a lot of time. Now you don’t have to do this anymore, because you can set up a slideshow.
Right click on the desktop then go to Personalize -> Desktop Background and hold the CTRL key while choosing the images. Then you can choose the time intervals between images and opt to display them randomly or in a row.
12. Make The Taskbar Smaller
If you feel like the taskbar is using too much of your screen space, you can choose to make the icons smaller. To do this, right-click on the Start button, then go to Properties -> Taskbar and set it to “Use small icons”
13. Preview Photos In Windows Explorer
While in Windows Explorer, Press ALT + P and a preview should appear on the right.
14. Shift The Window From One Monitor To Another
If you are using two or more monitors, then you might want to move the Windows from one to another. There is a very simple way to do it.
All you have to do is press the Windows Key + Shift Key + Left or Right Key, depending on what monitor you want to move it to.
15. Create A New Instance Of The First Icon In The Taskbar
Press Windows + 1 Keys to open a new instance of the first icon in the taskbar. This could prove really useful in some circumstances.
16. Cycle Through The Open Programs Via The Taskbar’s Peek Menu
This works just like Alt + Tab, but opens the menu just above the sidebar, doesn’t seem very useful. Give it a try by pressing The Windows Key + T. It is Valid up to 0 to 9.
17. Auto Arrange Desktop Icons
You can now forget about the Right Click -> Auto arrange. All you have to do is hold F5 pressed for a bit and the icons will auto arrange.
18. How To Make Internet Explorer 8 Load Faster
If you want Internet Explorer 8 to load faster, you need to disable the add-ons that slow it down, so go to Tools -> Manage Add-ons and check the load time for each one. You can choose for yourself the ones you can live without and ones that would increase the load speed.
19. Lock The Screen
There is no Lock Screen button in the Start Menu anymore, so you have to press the Windows Key + L to lock it.
20. Make The System Tray Clock Show The AM / PM Symbols
By default Windows 7 does show the time in 24 hour format, so if you want to get the AM / PM symbols, press the Windows Key, type “intl.cpl” to open Regional and Language Options, go to Additional Settings -> Time where Long Time is set to HH:mm and change it to HH:mm tt, for example, where tt is the AM or PM symbol ( 21:12 PM ). To change it to the 12 hour format, you need to type it like this hh::mm tt ( 9:12 PM ).
Recovered Article, original link: 20 Most useful tips and tricks for Windows 7 @ http://techsansar.com/tricks/20-most-useful-tips-and-tricks-for-windows-7-2095/
