1. Use Problem Steps Recorder to Record Problems
In windows 7 there is an awesome feature called Problem Steps Recorder to record your onscreen activities. Click on start button and write psr on the search box and it will open problem steps recorder. Just click on the record button and show the steps that was causing a problem on your windows PC.
If you ever encounter any problem and want to share the screenshots of the problems and what you were exactly trying to do, you can easily do this using PSR. PSR will record your open windows, clicks and comments and will save it as a mht format and will create a zip folder. Then you can share this zip folder with anyone who can help you to solve the problem. Note that, it will not record anything that you type so it is safe to use. If you want to write something that you think will help to solve your problem, you can add comments by clicking the comment button. If you want to know more; read the Microsoft page about Problem steps recorder on windows.
2.Set Taskbar on Different Positions
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| My taskbar on the right side of my desktop |
You can set the taskbar to different positions on Windows 7. You can set it on left,right, top and bottom of your desktop. To set the position of the taskbar, right click on any empty space on the taskbar and click properties. Choose the position of the taskbar location from the drop menu and click apply.
3. Create and Share Windows Themes
Windows 7 lets your desktop, color scheme, sounds and other customizations save as a theme and you can share it with anyone. The theme that you create on your Windows 7 PC, will work on any other PC running on Windows 7. So , let's be creative and make some really cool Windows 7 themes to share with friends and family.
4. Use Preview Pan to View Images
On Windows 7 you do not have to open your images. You can see the images on the preview pan when you select any image. Go to windows explorer and select any image on your hard drive. Then click on icon (upper right corner) to show the preview of selected image. You can adjust the preview size by dragging the separator line between files and the preview pan.
5. Tune Text on Your Monitor
Windows 7 offers a built in app called ClearType Text Tuner to adjust the text in order to improve readability of texts on LCDs. If you are using an LCD monitor, you can use this tool to adjust the texts and fonts for better viewing experience. Think of it as an screen calibrator tool for texts. To open this tool, click on start button and type ClearType on the box and then click on Adjust ClearType Text listed under control panel items. And then follow the on screen instructions to adjust the text on your screen. Use this tool carefully, because if you misuse it and don’t configure it properly, the texts on your screen may become blurry or unreadable.
6. Create and Customize Sticky Notes
Windows 7 lets you create an show sticky notes on your desktop. To add a sticky note, click on start button and type sticky on the search box. Click on Sticky Notes that is listed under Programs. You can add many sticky notes as you wish. However adding many notes on your desktop is may be not a very good idea, at least for me. Just keep 2 or 3 important notes and use different colors for each. You can write your favorite inspirational quote that will inspire you every time you look at your desktop.
7. Use Improved Paint
The classic paint application improved a lot on Windows 7. With added features and improvements, you can now do lot more with this built in paint and image processing program on windows. To open paint open the start menu, click on All programs > Accessories > Paint.
8. Search Your PC
Now a days, it is the most used feature among the Windows users. You can search anything on your PC without knowing much details about it. You can use the start menu search box or the windows explorer search box to find out anything, including programs, files, folders and texts. For example, if you search with the word Security, it will show the results including all the security features, programs and control panel items related to the security of the PC, not necessarily with the word Security.
9. Pin Favorite Programs on Taskbar
This is the feature on Windows 7 that everybody know. However, a similar feature was on MAC since long ago, but Windows users were not much familiar about taskbar icons that will quickly navigate to an app on your PC. You can right click on any program and select Pin to taskbar to create a taskbar icon.
10. Continuously Change Wallpapers
You can create a folder for your desktop wallpapers and set all of them as desktop background. Then you can set the time to determine when to change the image. With this Windows 7 feature you will never get bored with the same desktop over and over again and you can get a new desktop in every 10 seconds.
11. Hide and Show Desktop Icons
If you have many desktop shortcuts and icons, you can easily hide those when you don’t want to see the icons. To hide the desktop icons, just right click on an empty space on the desktop and navigate to View and them remove the check mark from Show desktop icons.
12. Disable and Enable Desktop Gadgets
Desktop gadgets like the clock, calendar and others are annoying to many Windows users and can easily disabled and removed from the right click menu. Sometimes gadgets may be useful also. There are many third party gadgets for Windows 7 which can help you with daily tasks.
13. Adjust Power Management
Windows 7 comes with an advanced power management system which is very much useful for laptop users as well as desktops. You can customize the power settings and minimize the power usage the way you want. You can also create your own power plan and manage every aspect of power usage on your PC. To use and optimize power options on Windows 7, go to Control Panel and click Power Options.
14. Switch Between Windows with Shortcuts
Windows 7 makes it easy to switch between multiple windows with several shortcuts. You can press Alt+Tab to see all your open windows and easily switch to any window. Or you can see all your open programs with the cool flip 3D effect. To view the flip 3D effect, press and hold Win key and press Tab.
15. Use the Enhanced Calculator
The calculator is more advanced now. With the new calculator you can now perform scientific, programming and statistical calculations besides simple mathematical calculations. Know more about the Windows 7 calculator if you want to do more with it.
16. Improve Battery Usage on Laptops
With the advanced power management options described above, you can significantly improve the battery usage on your laptop PC. Decide when to sleep and when to hibernate and save every minute of your battery life easily without using any other third party software.
17. Use Screen Calibrator
You can improve the color on your display by using Display color calibration to make sure that colors appear accurately. Just simply run the tool and follow the instructions and guides on your screen. To open display calibrator, click on the start button and type Calibrate. Then select Calibrate display color which is listed under Control panel.
18. Search and Fix Your System
Windows 7 can automatically detect common problems on your PC and find available solutions. If you are having any problems with your PC and cannot find the reason of that problem, you can use the problem search feature to find the problem and available solutions also. To do this, click on the start button and type fix on the search box. Now click Find and fix problems.
19. Drag and Drop Files to the Command Line
You do not have to type the path of any file when using command line. Just locate the file and drag n drop it on the command line window to automatically type the path of that file.
20. Send Files Fast
When you click on any file and then choose Send, you will see only few options. But if you press and hold shift and then right click on any file you will see lot more options as destination and send the file with a single click.
21. Close Apps Fast
We often view a running window from the taskbar hover effect. If you view an window and don’t want it anymore just put your cursor on the preview and click on the middle/scroll button of your mouse to close that window.
22. Use Jump Lists
Jump list is a good feature on Windows 7 which gathers your recently used files on the taskbar and start menu programs. Just right click on any pinned item on the taskbar and see the recent files. Know more about jump lists.
23. Built-in Snipping Tool
Windows 7 has a built in snipping tool and it can be used to capture any part of your screen. Type Snip on the start menu search box and choose Snipping tool.
24. Create Password Reset Disk
You can create a password reset disk on Windows 7 and use it to reset your password if you ever forget it. The password reset disk don't depends on your current password. So, if you change your password and then forget it, you can use the same disk that you created earlier. This is a good idea to create a password reset disk on Windows 7 and store it on a safe place before your forget your password.
There are many other tips and tricks available on windows 7 on this blog which will make you a Windows 7 power user. So don’t miss any posts by subscribing using the form below and get all the tips on your inbox.
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