Windows 7 Tips & tricks... that don't appear on some scabby ad

[0iD]

As title, any handy win 7 tips & tricks people have found/know about & worth telling others about.

Zak33's sleep mode for Vistax64 also works in Win7x64 http://forums.hexus.net/operating-sy...ista-64-a.html

Below are some posted on pcmag.com to get the ball rolling.

Handy Keyboard shortcuts
Windows 7 includes many new keyboard shortcuts that put frequently used actions at your fingertips. Learn these keystroke combinations and you'll soon be saving a few seconds of mousing time here and there throughout the day. It adds up. Note: For those who don't know, "Windows Logo" refers to the key with the Windows flag on it, generally located between the Ctrl and Alt keys, to the left of the space bar.

Display or hide the Explorer preview pane: Alt-P
Display gadgets in front of other windows: Windows Logo-G
Zoom in: Windows Logo-+[plus sign]
Zoom out: Windows Logo- –[minus sign]
Maximize window: Windows Logo-Up Arrow
Minimize window: Windows Logo-Down Arrow
Snap to the left-hand side of the screen: Windows Logo-Left Arrow
Snap to the right-hand side of the screen: Windows Logo-Right Arrow

Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Programs
In addition to using Windows 7's default shortcuts, you can also create your own shortcuts to launch your favorite programs. First, right-click on the program icon, choose Properties to open the Properties dialog. Click on the dialog's Shortcut tab, click in the Shortcut key text box, and press the key you want to use for that program. Your shortcut will use Alt-Ctrl plus your key—you can't overrule standard system shortcuts. Also, you can't use the Esc, Enter, Tab, Spacebar, PrtScn, Shift, or Backspace keys for obvious reasons.

Jump Lists
Windows 7's new Jump Lists appear in the Start menu and Taskbar buttons for programs that support the feature. They give you instant access to frequently used commands such as opening recent files or performing program actions. To access Jump Lists you can either click on the right arrow in program's Start menu entry, or right-click an icon in the task bar or left-click and drag the list open. If there's a document you want always accessible from the jump list, you can just click on the pushpin icon in the right of the document's entry.

Clean Up Your Screen
Focusing on one window when you have multiple windows open can be distracting. But instead of having to minimize every window one-by-one you can quickly unclutter your screen using Aero Shake. Simply click and hold the title bar of the window you want to leave open, give it a quick shake, and your screen will be cleared of all windows except the one you're working in.

Aero Peek
Another option for navigating a screen cluttered with windows is Aero Peek. Hover the mouse over the lower-right corner of the screen. Click the button if you want to keep this view, showing only the desktop. This takes the place of previous Windows versions' Show Desktop icon in the vanished Quick Launch toolbar. If you've moved your Taskbar to the top or sides of the screen, this button will be at the top right or bottom of the taskbar, respectively.

Search the Web from Your Desktop
You can use Windows 7's built-in search as an online search tool without having to launch a Web browser, by using search connectors. For instance, if you wanted to search YouTube videos from your desktop, just download and install the YouTube search connector. This adds a "YouTube Search" option to your Searches folder, which lets you browse YouTube from your desktop.

Note the searches won't be added to the Start menu's search box. If you search on something in there first, and then click Enter, you'll get to an Explorer window that now includes, for example, a YouTube search entry under Favorites. Click on this to get results at YouTube right in the Explorer window. Drag the icon with the right mouse button to create a desktop icon for the search provider.You can find search connectors at sevenforums.com, which also teaches you how to create your own.

Make Internet Explorer 8 Load Faster
You can make IE8 load faster by disabling add-ons that slow it down. To find which add-ons you need to eliminate go to Tools > Manage Add-ons, check the load time listed here for each, and delete accordingly.

Combine Taskbar Icons
When you have a ton of windows or apps opened at once, it can be hard to navigate among them all. Luckily, Windows 7 let you combine icons to keep your taskbar neat and organized. To combine taskbar icons, right-click the Start button, go to Properties > Taskbar, and under Taskbar Buttons and choose "Always Combine, Hide Labels" or "Combine when taskbar is full." Alternatively, if you want to see everything with labels, you can choose Never combine.

Troubleshoot and Document System Problems
Windows 7's new Problem Steps Recorder comes in handy when you're looking to troubleshoot and document problems with your system. Typing psr into the Instant Search launches a recorder that can document what shows up on your screen as you recreate the problem step by step. You can even add comments. When you're done, the recorder compiles the footage into a zip file you can then e-mail to a tech expert.

Add Videos to Your Start Menu
You can make your video library easy to access by adding it to your Start Menu. To do so, right-click the Start button, go to Properties > Start Menu > Customize and set the Videos to "Display as a link." There are plenty more options for what you want displayed in the Start menu here, so browse through the list to see what would work for you. Choosing "Display as a Link" puts a text choice on the right side of the Start menu, and choosing "Display as a menu" will add a flyout menu to the link with subchoices. One particularly useful entry here is Recent Items, to help you quickly get to documents you've been working on.

Nothing earth shattering I know, but it's a start.

Linux users, Mac users & general nay-sayers... keep out

[Blastuk]

The shake and program launch shortcuts were new to me, thanks for this.

[Paul Adams]

I tend to play with Windows Server a lot more than Aero-enabled systems, so users often know a lot more than me about the new features with each release, but there are a couple of additions I have related to the shell/desktop... I must admit the Aero Shake feature I found accidentally whilst playing with a window pondering where to place it

Clean Up Your Screen
Focusing on one window when you have multiple windows open can be distracting. But instead of having to minimize every window one-by-one you can quickly unclutter your screen using Aero Shake. Simply click and hold the title bar of the window you want to leave open, give it a quick shake, and your screen will be cleared of all windows except the one you're working in. This minimizes all other open windows, to restore them you release the window you shook, then re-shake it.

Aero Peek
Another option for navigating a screen cluttered with windows is Aero Peek. Hover the mouse over the lower-right corner of the screen. Click the button if you want to keep this view, showing only the desktop. This takes the place of previous Windows versions' Show Desktop icon in the vanished Quick Launch toolbar. If you've moved your Taskbar to the top or sides of the screen, this button will be at the top right or bottom of the taskbar, respectively.
Also, hover over an icon in the task bar to pop out the window previews for that application, then hover over a preview to peek at this single window with all the others turned into transparent frames.

Aero Snap
Drag a window to the top of a screen to maximize it, or to the left or right edges to make it fill 50% of the screen (useful for comparing 2 views side-by-side).

Open command window here
With an explorer window open, browsing a folder structure (not libraries), hold down shift and right-click in a blank area of the main window - on the context menu is "Open command window here" which will start a cmd.exe process with that as the current working directory.
Also works for network paths (e.g. \\myserver\myshare) - a drive letter is automagically mapped for you, as cmd doesn't "do" UNCs for "start in" or "current working directory".

Pinned folders
Drag a folder to the yellow Windows Explorer folder on the taskbar and collect all your shortcuts in one location, accessible by right-clicking the icon to view the jump list.

[jimbo90210us]

Open command window here
With an explorer window open, browsing a folder structure (not libraries), hold down shift and right-click in a blank area of the main window - on the context menu is "Open command window here" which will start a cmd.exe process withe that as the current working directory.

Excellent that's a good one.

[trumpington101]

Thanks for the tips, will give the shake a go tonight

[Flash477]

Here are a few of the windows shortcuts I use most often:

Windows Key + E - Opens windows explorer
Windows Key + R - Opens the run window
Windows Key + Space - Shows the desktop until the windows key is released
Windows Key + 1-9 - Opens the Nth program you have pinned to your taskbar
Windows Key + M - Mimimises all open windows

[directhex]

Shake and Snap *ARE* in the scabby ads.

[CaptainCrash]

Excellent that's a good one.

Sorry for the slight OT, but you might also want to take a look at Open Command Prompt Shell Extension - I find it a bit handier than having to hold down shift, and it also adds an "Open Elevated Command Prompt" context menu item which can be very useful in some circumstances.

[Phage]

Minimise all windows to see the desktop is that button to the right of the system tray.

[f110]

thank for the tips

[spoon_]

Minimise all windows to see the desktop is that button to the right of the system tray.

Also known as Win + D

[Perfectionist]

Anyone know if there's a trick to making the Windows key actually do anything on a G15 keyboard with windows 7 64-bit? I've tried with two different G15s now.

[GoNz0]

Anyone know if there's a trick to making the Windows key actually do anything on a G15 keyboard with windows 7 64-bit? I've tried with two different G15s now.

you do have it turned on don't you ?

game mode disables it

[Colossous]

Thanks for the tips guys - none to add i'm affraid !

[Singh400]

By far the most useful feature (and most used here) is Aero Snap. I am ALWAYS comparing windows, and having one of each taking up 50% is perfect. Not to mention drag to top, and maximize. I find myself doing it on XP systems and then swearing loudly when nothing happens.

I love you Aero Snap <3

[magneticman]

Same here, windows + left/right is so goddamn convenient.