Windows 7 Tips

Windows 7 has a lot of new hidden features that not everyone knows about. Here is a small list of neat tricks that you may find useful. Some may be more common-knowledge than others, but all may find them useful. Please feel free to add things to the list. Without further delay... Windows 7 101.

Shortcuts

  1. The Windows
    • "Shake" - Grab a Window and "shake" it back and forth to minimize all other windows. Shake again to bring the other windows back up.
    • Maximize - Drag a window all the way to the top until your mouse stops, and let go, the window will maximize. Drag the window back down to restore its size.
    • Side-by-side - Drag a Window to the far right or left until your mouse stops and let go. The window will fill that half of the screen. Drag the window away to restore its size.
    • Resize - Move your mouse to the upper or lower edge of a window until you get the resize window cursor (looks like an arrow pointing up and down). double click and the window will expand to the full height of the screen. Double click the edge again to restore to its original size.
  2. Windows Key
    • Windows key+Space Bar - Turn all windows to glass so you can see your desktop.
    • Windows Key+P - Configure dual-screen settings.
    • Windows Key+G - Show your gadgets.


Customization

  1. Windows XP Taskbar
    Miss the XP Taskbar? Fear not, it's not long-lost. Right click the taskbar, and click properties. The dropdown for Taskbar buttons offers several options.
    • Always combine, hide labels - Default Windows 7 look.
    • Combine when taskbar is full - This will get you closer to the Windows XP look (displays text next to the icon), but keeps the large icons. Windows will be stacked similar to XP when you have a full taskbar.
    • Never combine - Windows will never stack
    To complete the Windows XP look, check the Use small icons checkbox.
  2. Notification Area
    Annoying bubbles? Icons extending halfway across your taskbar, or mischievously hiding? Right click the clock (just because this is easiest), and click customize notification area. Here you can set exactly how each icon that has ever appeared behaves.
    • Show icon and notifications - Will always show icon and any bubbles and alerts associated with it.
    • Only show notifications - The icon will only show in the full notification popup (if you click the up arrow next to the notification area), but will still show any balloons and notifications that result from it
    • Hide icon and notifications - Hides the icon and any thing that results in a popup/notification from it.
    Click turn system icons on/off, you can set if volume/clock/network icons are visible.

    You can also click and drag the icons to change the order. If you drag them to the up arrow and move them anywhere into the popup box, it will set the icon to "Only show notifications". If you drag an icon down, it will set it to "Show icon and notifications". Windows will remember the order and settings through reboots.
  3. Themes
    Right click your desktop and select personalize to change how Windows 7 looks.
    • Desktop Backround - Select any number of images and how often it should change the background.
    • Sounds - Choose from 15 different sound themes to escape the typical sounds.

Tips

  1. Problem steps recorder - Press the Windows key and type psr and hit enter. You can then start recording and do show exactly what you do to cause an error. It saves as a zip file that someone else can then open to see what you did.
  2. Resource Monitor - Open the task manager and click the resources tab. Click resource monitor at the bottom. Here you can see exactly what is making your computer slow. Filter by any number of processes to get a more fine-tuned view of what is happening.
    • CPU - Sort by average CPU to see what has been using the the highest amount of your processors resources over time. Click the checkbox next to a process to see files, folders, and registry keys in use.
    • Memory - Get a full breakdown of your RAM usage
    • Disk - See how much each program is using your HDD and what files are being accessed.
    • Network - Find out how much bandwidth each program is using, what it is connecting to, and what programs are listening for external connections, and includes its firewall status.

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