Many of you asking yourselves if it is worth upgrading to Windows 7. At work, I have desktop computers running different versions of Windows including Windows Vista and Windows 7. As I use Windows 7 more and more, whenever I switch back to Windows Vista, I started pondering on Windows 7 features that I could not live without. I figured that it would be one of the topics that I could use for my first blog.
1. Shake it like you mean it
I tend to have multiple applications and windows running simultaneously all the time and one of the things that anyone who has come across this scenario find out is that you start cluttering your desktop. Would it be nice to minimize all the Windows except for the one you are currently working one.
If you click the Title bar of the window of the current application you are working on and then while holding the left mouse button and quickly move your mouse left and right motion multiple times, it will minimize all the other Windows except for the current one you have selected. You can also do thing using an up and down motion while click holding the Title bar of the window.
Repeating the shaking gesture will bring back the windows that were minimize.
2. Oh snap
Most of the time, I switch between to applications or 2 documents. Wouldn't it be nice to easily do this without having to meticulously resize the windows so that they do not overlap? If you have Windows 7, there is a way.
First, find the 2 windows that you want to see side by side. While selecting the title bar of the first window and drag it so that your mouse is over the left edge of your screen and then let go. Do the same thing for the second window and drag it to the right edge of your screen.
Now you should be able to see both Windows up at the same time.
For keyboard users, you can also do this by pressing the left or right arrow while holding the Windows key.
3. Supersize it
Want a quick way to maximize a Window? Click the title bar of the Window and drag it to the top of the screen.
Want a quicker way to do this? While holding the Windows key, press the up arrow key.
4. Pin the donkey's tail
There are a few applications that I use all the time. Would it be nice to have it available in one click. In Windows 7, they now allow us to pin an application for easy access.
If the application is already, you can right click the application you want to pin and select Pin this program to the taskbar.
You can also drag a shortcut of an application into the task bar to accomplish the same thing.
5. Everyone hide!
I tend to work with lots of confidential data but I also tend to have visitors that loves to drop by desk unannounced. I could either turn off the monitor but having 2 monitors, I need a quicker way to do this.
If you drag your mouse to the bottom right corner of the screen, it will mask out all your Windows and only show the outlines. Once your guests leave, move your mouse away from that corner and you can resume what your are doing.
6. Let's take a peek, shall we?
If you are like me, I tend to have lots of windows open that most of the time, it is hard to find where the window that I want to view.
In Windows 7, it allows you to see all the related Windows or application documents. If you hold the Windows key and then press T, it will cycle through and preview the windows that you have running.
7. The sum of all fears
As a programmer, one of the most handy tool that comes with Windows is the humble Calculator. Over the years, it has pretty much stayed the same with each successive version of Windows. Well it has been updated in Windows 7 and they have added 2 new modes, Programmer and Statistics.
Not only were each mode had been expanded, they even added conversions (metric-english), mortgage calculation, more.
Well have fun with Windows 7. Play with it. I'm sure you'll find a lot of cool things too. Feel free to share what you find.