Windows Taskbar
One of the great features of this toolbar is the ability to see a preview of each of the programs you have open. For example, I have three windows open in my file manager:
And nine windows open in my browser:
I can see the open windows simply by hovering my mouse on the File Manager button or Internet Explorer button on the taskbar. The preview feature is very helpful for finding your way through your windows – especially if you’re an incurable multi-tasker like myself.
In addition to the preview features, more information is available to the right on the taskbar. It will show your clock and access buttons to your sound, network, and PC Safety. At the very end of the taskbar is slightly highlighted upright rectangle. Clicking on this rectangle will show your desktop.
I never accessed my desktop much before but now it is very easy to do. You can see that you can add “gadgets” to your desktop just like you could with Windows Vista. To see the Windows Taskbar in action see this video.
Jump Lists
Jump lists are another great feature that expand upon the added productivity you get from the new taskbar. To access a jump list, right click on one of the active programs you have on your taskbar. Doing so will open a new menu which will give you additional options.
Windows Search
Windows 7 has upgraded the old photo gallery in Vista to Windows Live Photo Gallery. As I mentioned earlier in the article, this is one of those programs you will get when you download the Windows Live Essentials package. I use this program a lot. I have not yet pinned it anywhere, so I just search for gallery and Search results show me the program, how I can go online to Windows Live, and any pictures or videos relating to Windows Live gallery.I LOVE this feature – I use it all the time and have successfully found documents and pictures that would have taken me forever to find in Vista or XP.
Aero Shake
Allows you to “shake” the window you’re using so that all the other windows disappear. This is particularly useful if you have a lot of windows open. This is not a feature that I use much, but it’s fun to shake the windows. See the Aero Shake in action in this video.
Aero Snap
Snap is a handy tool that I used every once in a while. Snap makes it easy to compare two open windows at the same time. For example, you can move your Outlook Calendar window by clicking and dragging the top of the window and moving it all the way to the left. It will then “snap” in place. Take an open window e-mail you received with important dates and “snap” it to the right of your screen. You now have an easy way to review and work between the two windows. This is a great tool for many things such as downloading bank data and working in Quicken or working on a PowerPoint presentation in one window while searching the web for pictures or quotes in another window. See the Aero Snap in action in this video.
Aero Peek
Allows you to take a peek at all the minimized windows you have open at one time by hovering your mouse on the horizontal highlighted desktop button I wrote about earlier. I rarely minimize my windows, so this isn’t a feature I use. Watch this video to see the Aero Peek in action.
Snipping Tool
I LOVE this feature. I use this tool all the time when I write my articles for wellconnectedmom.com. The Snipping Tool allows me to snip or cut out just a picture or a portion of anything that is on the screen. I used the Snipping Tool to make many of the pictures in this article. It’s easier than screen print because you snip precisely what you want. You don’t need to crop it like you do with print screen. After you snip the item you want, you can either paste it somewhere or save it as a picture. Watch this video to see the Snipping Tool in action.
Parental Controls
Windows 7 comes with some great tools to help parents to limit the things their children can do while on the computer. Searching for Parental Controls from the Start Search box allows you to easily access this helpful tool. First you set up an account of the computer with your child’s name. In order to use the computer, they will need to log-on using their name and the password you give them. For their account, you can enforce time limits — actual hours of the day that the computer will be accessible for your child. You can limit your child to certain ratings for any games you have on the computer. You can also allow or block other specific programs on your computer.
In addition, as a part of the “Windows Live Essentials” download, you gain additional Parental Controls which will assist you in limiting and monitoring your child’s online activity. To learn more, see Protecting your Kids with Family Safety. Limits include types of websites and social interaction with Microsoft Messenger, Hotmail, etc. See the Parental Controls video.
Libraries
Libraries are a handy way to organize your files. Windows 7 comes set up with four libraries already set up for you, namely Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. Although libraries look and act like folders, they are not folders. They really act more as shortcuts to documents you have specified. For example, if you are doing a scrap booking project on your daughter, Alyssa, you could create a Library called “Alyssa” and add file folders pertaining to Alyssa, such as pictures, videos, documents or files which contain homemade party initiations or cards you’ve made, etc. It will now be easier to comb through all the information you have on Alyssa to work on your scrapbook. Libraries are a great tool for work as well. You can group together all of your relevant docs, pics, and videos for each project in one convenient spot.
But wait, there’s more! Not only can you create Libraries for your own PC, you can also point to folders on other computers on your network. This works great for me because my husbands’ computer has most of our music mp3’s. I have some as well. Now with one click, I can access all of our mp3’s easily. See Libraries in action in this video.
HomeGroups
Is a network sharing function that makes it easier than ever to share documents, music, videos, and pictures amongst different computers in the house. However, there is a catch. Every computer in the house needs to be on the same domain (which was the case even in Vista and previous versions) and every computer must be running Windows 7. If you meet these requirements, review this HomeGroup Guide to help you set it up. If these two requirements aren’t met, you won’t be able to set up a HomeGroup. If you have various versions of Windows on your computers throughout the house, no worries. You can still use the old fashioned way of setting up computers on the network. Using HomeGroup just makes it easier.
Themes
Themes have improved over those found in Vista as well. Now you can have several images set as your wallpaper and set how often you’d like these images rotated. In essence, it becomes a slide show of your pictures. You can choose to customize the Themes and add your own pictures, or you can choose from the stunning pictures Windows 7 has included. Below are two examples – the first theme is Landscapes and the second one shows the Architecture Theme:
You can change your screen saver to a basic selection or you can have it display pictures from your computer, which is a lot more fun. After the amount of time that you set lapses, the screensaver automatically comes on depicting pictures from your computer.
Conclusion
I work a lot on the computer a lot to review and write e-mail’s, send and receive documents, write letters, conduct sign-ups, etc, write articles, upload, organize and send out the kids’ pictures, create digital scrapbooks, surf the Internet and download useful information for later use, etc.. Windows 7 is a welcome change to help manage my “chaos” on the computer. I don’t have hours at a time to spend on my computer. I am constantly being interrupted and to actually finish a task on the computer is pretty amazing. The ease of finding documents, music, pictures, e-mail’s, etc has greatly enhanced my productivity and time spent searching for things.
My favorite features of Windows 7 are yet to come. My last review in the Windows 7 Series on pictures and videos will come out shortly. Stay tuned.
