7 Windows 7 Features
1. Libraries
My favorite new feature in Windows 7 has to be Libraries. In previous versions of Windows, there were your personal folders: My Documents, My Music, etc. These folders were indexed for quick searching and seemed like a good place to put all your stuff. But, unless you kept a close eye on them, it was very easy to lose track of what was being saved where. Enter Libraries: now you can see the contents of more than one folder at a time! While Libraries aren't traditional folders, they definitely come in handy for keeping your files organized. Each Library has a default save locaoion, that you can set by right-clicking on a Library and selecting Properties from the dialog box. Even better, if your files aren't listed in a Library, you can tell that Library to look into a folder of your choosing, as well!
2. HomeGroup
If you've tried to set up a home network using Windows before, you may be familiar with the complexity involved. For the most part, it was pretty simple just sharing one printer or folder. But for different users to access shared folders, multiple identical user accounts had to be created for each machine to ensure that everything was interoperable. Now, you will need at least two computers running Windows 7 to make use of this. You may have already seen HomeGroup during Windows 7's initial setup, but sharing documents, photos, music, videos, and printers has never been easier. Simply find the HomeGroup Control Panel by typing homegroup into Search, from the Control Panel, or in the Network and Sharing center, and start the wizard. The wizard will guide you through selecting the types of objects you would like to share and will present you with a cryptic password, suggesting you write it down. You don't have to do that. You can change the password once the homegroup is set up, just navigate to the Advanced Sharing Settings menu from the Network and Sharing Center or from the HomeGroup menu itself in the Control Panel. Now file and printer sharing is as easy as typing a password.
3. Paint
Yes, that's right, Paint is new and improved in Windows 7. It's gone from that very basic program that was so comically inferior that it spawned its own art style, to a downright decent image editing application. It's been upgraded with more features and tools like new brushes and now features the Scenic Ribbon, the new UI design that was first featured in Microsoft Office 2007. Now it's functional, easy to use, and makes a perfect tool to use for taking quick screen shots or cropping and resizing images.
4. Wordpad
Just like it's artsy-fartsy friend Paint,Wordpad has received an upgrade as well. You've probably long-since replaced past versions of Wordpad for better, more robust word processing applications, but to keep pace, Microsoft has added a few new features as well as the Scenic Ribbon UI. Now it looks like a slimmed-down version of Microsoft Word and makes a perfectly acceptable tool for offline document creation or editing. It also now supports Open Document and Open XML file formats for opening newer files and saving them in formats that work with older version of Office.
5. Calculator
Previous versions of the Windows Calculator had all the basic functions just about every user would need. There was the standard look and the Scientific view, and this was largely unchanged since the very first version of Windows. The Standard and Scientific views are still there, but now Microsoft has added Programmer and Statistics views as well as new functions in the form of Unit Conversion, Date Calculation, and Worksheets that pop out to the right of the Calculator itself. The Programmer view gives you data type and number format conversion options and the Statistics view gives you, of course, common statistics functions. The new Unit Conversion function converts just about anything you can think of, from angles and areas to temperatures and weights. Date Calculation makes it easy to do exactly what the name implies and Worksheets give you a way to calculate a mortgage, vehicle lease, and fuel economy in both miles and kilometers.
6. Windows Key
The Windows Key has been sitting on our keyboards since Windows 95 and now it's actually functional. Use the Windows Key plus the Up Arrow to maximize a window, the Down Arrow to minimize, and Left and Right Arrows to snap a window to the left or right. The Windows Key plus the G key will bring your Gadgets to the front, and using it in combination with Tab will let you cycle through opened windows in 3D. That's not all, pressing the Windows Key in combination with any number on the keyboard will launch an the application in that slot on the taskbar. For instance, if Internet Explorer is the first icon next to your start button, pressing Windows Key + 1 will launch Internet Explorer. It's now easier than ever to accomplish common tasks without taking your hands off the keyboard.
7. Taskbar Jump Menu Properties
Last time we covered the new taskbar, but what if you'd like to customize it beyond just pinning application shortcuts to it and sliding them around? What if the shortcut needs special instructions or needs to be Run As Administrator? Now, when you right-click a taskbar item, you're presented with the Jump List, which is handy, but not what we're looking for. If you navigate up the Jump List to the Application Name and right-click that as well, you're presented with another context menu that gives you the Properties, Run as Administrator, Pin to Taskbar, and Open options. This gives you fairly quick access to everything you need from the taskbar.
In Conclusion
All these features combine to enhance your experience, giving you new ways to be more organized and productive. The best part is, these features are just a scratch on the surface of all the new improvements and capabilities just waiting for you to discover in Windows 7.
7 More Windows Tips
1. Task Bar
One of the most obvious things that is different about Windows 7 is what Microsoft did with the Task Bar. With larger pinned icons that quickly and easily navigate through the various tasks being done, Windows 7 makes the old Quick Launch a distant memory. If you are hit with a bit of nostalgia, then just Bing “quick launch windows 7” for directions on how to get it back – but believe me, you won’t miss it. With this improved Task Bar, you can switch around how the programs are ordered, get full screen previews and even pin more of your favorite programs directly to it. Right- click on any of the icons, and you get a “Jump List” that shows the recent files (or web pages) used by that program – and yes, you can pin your favorites there too. Windows 7 makes navigating downright fun and fast.
2. Networking
With Windows 7, setting up a home network turns literally into a no-brainer. Setting up a home network that actually worked well in older versions of Windows sometimes was not something that the feint of heart would want to attempt, but the Windows 7 HomeGroup feature makes it a down right sin NOT to set up all your PCs with a home network. Not only do you get the essential files shared (photos, music, videos, documents), but you can literally make one of your PCs a multimedia hub feeding streaming entertainment to the other PCs on the network (you can even access your media remotely with “remote media streaming”). For HomeGroup functionality as well as remote media streaming, you do need the PCs to all be running Windows 7 – but really, you’d want to because it IS that slick and easy!
3. Better, Bigger, Faster, Stronger
One of the big gripes about Windows Vista was that it needed A LOT of horsepower behind it to really run effectively. With Windows 7, you not only get vastly improved boot up times, but you get snappier program response, better recover from sleep time and faster shut down time. All around Windows 7 is leaner, meaner and just that much better than all other versions of Windows before it. It basically does more with what you have (there’s even a version of Windows 7 for cheaper netbooks). With laptops, because of Windows 7's better power management and its very cool location aware printing features (it switched default printers between the home and office), Windows 7 will quickly become your operating system of choice. Believe me, if you’re a Windows XP holdout, Windows 7 will quickly make you a convert!
4. Handling Devices and Printers
Microsoft looked for a way to improve its handling of devices and in Windows 7 it has hit a home run. Cell phones, digital cameras, music players, printers old and new, even your PC - Windows 7 has made one easy place to manage all your device
5. Improved Search
One of the really nice features that Windows Vista introduced to the Windows family was the Search Box in the Start Menu. Honestly, it is like regressing going from that back to Windows XP and having to root around with its search functions. With Windows 7 you get that search box on steroids. It is now faster, more inclusive and easier to use than before. Want to find out what’s new in Windows 7, just click on Start and type in the search box: “what’s new with Windows 7”; or perhaps you are looking for ways to get started with windows 7, then simply type in “getting started”; or perhaps you’re thinking or getting started with HomeGroup, then type in, you guessed it: “HomeGroup”. It works great with searching your documents, photos and music too (down to a word or phrase included a document). Basically, you find the things you are looking for faster and easier than ever before.
6. Snap, rattle and peek
Windows 7 has taken actually using your open windows on the desktop and whipping them into shape to a whole ‘nother level with Snap. With the snap feature, you simply “snap” the windows against the side of the screen to resize and arrange them. For example, you can take a window, drag it by its top border to the top of the screen and it “snaps” into maximized size. Do it again to that window and it returns to its previous size. You can even snap two windows side by side for easy comparison. The similar “shake” feature lets you grab the top border of an open windows and with a quick “shake” of the mouse, make all the other windows minimize. The Peek feature is kind of like the old “show desktop” from the quick launch bar – but with a twist. This handy little button on the far right of the task bar (right next to the clock) will minimize all the windows when clicked on once, and bring them back again with another click – but if you hover over it with out clicking you can “peek” at your windows desktop (including any gadgets you have).
7. Windows Live Essentials, Security and more Flexibility
As we have seen, Windows 7 is quite a robust operating system in itself. Microsoft had the forethought to also add what they call “Live Essentials” to the mix. This is a set of free programs that you can pick and choose from in one convenient package. They are downloaded, so you will need internet access (which if you’re reading this Tech Tip – you more than likely already have). With Live Essentials for Windows 7, (which is a little different than the Windows Live Essentials package for other versions of Windows) , you get a bunch of free basic programs such as a photo editor, an e-mail program, instant messenger, etc. Not to be overlooked is Microsoft’s newly released “Security Essentials” package that provides virus, malware and spyware protection for your PC. And not to be overlooked is the greatest flexibility ever offered with a Windows package. With Windows 7, you can quickly and easily turn on and off Windows features to suit your needs (such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player).
So, give Windows 7 a go and we’re sure you’ll find that it is simply the best operating system that Microsoft has ever put out.