Running a Program in Compatibility Mode

Added 6/8/09

If you have a program that doesn't run in native Windows 7, try:

1. Right click on the icon

2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Compatibility tab
4. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for:
5. Select one of the options such as Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
Right now there are ten different options you can choose ranging
from Window95 to Vista (Service Pack 2).

Maximizing, Restoring and Moving Windows

Added 6/7/09

You can quickly maximize a window by simply dragging it to the top of the
screen or double clicking on it's border at the top.

Double clicking on the window will restore it to the original size

To move a window to a different monitor, even if maximized, you can

simply drag it to the other monitor. You don't need to make it smaller first.

Minimizing All But One Window

Added 6/7/09

If you want to minimize all the one particular window, have that be the
active window and just shake it with the mouse. Your other windows will be
minimized. Shake it again and they will return to the size and location they
were before

Using Jump Lists to Access Files and Directories

Added 6/7/09

From the Taskbar, Windows 7 has a quick way to access files you have
recently used in a program. Simply right click on the program's icon in the
taskbar. A list of recently used files will be shown.

You can do the same for web sites you have visted. Right click on the IE
icon and a list of recent sites will be shown.

The Windows Explorer will show recent folders you have accessed

Changing the Explorer from Libraries to Computer View

Added 6/7/09

Normally when you click on a shortcut to the Windows Explorer, the default
view is to show the Libraries view.
If you want to change that to show the Computer view, simply change the
target to:

%windir%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

To change it to open up to My Documents, change the targe to:

%windir%\explorer.exe ::{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}

If you have the Windows Explorer pinned to the Taskbar, and want to
change it's view:

1. Right click on the icon

2. Right click on Windows Explorer
3. Select Properties
4. Paste in whichever target you want to use

Quick Ways to Show the Desktop

Added 6/7/09

There are several ways to quickly show and access the desktop.
1. Press the Win+Spacebar keys. Let up on the spacebar but hold the
Windows key down. When you let up on the Windows key, you will return to
the previous open application

2. Next to where the time and date are shown on the system tray, there is a
small rectangular box. Clicking on this once will show the desktop. Clicking
on it again will return you to your previous open application

External Projector Display

Added 6/7/09

On a laptop, normally you need to remember the special keys necessary to

change your display to an external projector, or to have both the laptop and
projector at the same time.

To make that much easier, with Windows7, simply press the Windows key
+ P.

This will bring up a display where you can select Computer only, Duplicate,
or Projector Only

Turning off Hibernation

Added 6/7/09

1. If you have something like a desktop and don't need hibernation

enabled, you can turn this off
2. Start / CMD
3. This will open a command prompt
4. Type in powercfg -h off

Speed up Boot Time

1. By default, Windows7 waits 30 seconds before it starts to load the

operating system.
2. To decrease this time, Right click on My Computer
3. Click on Advance System Settings
5. Under Startup and Recovery, click on the Settings button
6. Decrease the time from 30 seconds to something like 3
7. You can also change the settings for what happens in case of a System
failure

Turn off Windows Animation

Added 6/7/09

1. Normally I don't really care to have the windows animate when they are
opened or closed. It seems to make things slower.
2. To turn this off, right click on My Computer
3. On the left side, click on Advanced system settings
4. In the performance section, click on the Settings button
5. Uncheck Animate windows when minimizing or maximizing

Changing Power Options

Added 6/7/09

1. By default, Windows7 is configured to turn off the display after 10

minutes and put the computer to sleep after 30 minutes
2. To change that, go to Control Panel / Power Options
3. Click on Change plan settings
4. From here you can change them to whatever you like

Changing the User Account Control

Added 6/7/09

If you want to change the User Account Control setting for when to be
notified about changes to your computer:
1. Go to the Control Panel / Action Center
2. On the left side, click on Change User Account Control settings
3. The default setting for User Account Control is to Notify me only when
programs try to make changes to my computer
4. If you are careful with what you do with your computer in regards to virus
and spyware risks, and want to lower this so you are not prompted so often
when changes are made to the computer, you can disable these warnings
5. Simply slide the bar to the bottom - Never notify
6. Click on the OK button
7. Reboot the computer

Using Check Box to Select Items

Added 6/709

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what files are selected in the

Explorer when you want to copy, move or delete files. To make the
selection more obvious:

1. Open the Control Panel

2. Go to Folder Options
3. Check Scroll doown and check Use check boxes to select items
4. Click Apply and OK

Always Show Menus

Added 6/709

When using programs like the Windows Explorer, the top menu is not
displayed by default. To change that:

1. Open the Control Panel

2. Go to Folder Options
3. Check Always show menus
4. Click Apply and OK
Windows Explorer Single Click

Added 6/709

1. Open the Control Panel

2. Go to Folder Options
3. Check Single-click to open an item
4. Check Underline icon titles only when I point at them
5. Click Apply and OK

Changing the Control Panel Icon Size

Added 6/7/09

1. By default, the icons on the desktop are shown by Category. My

preference is to View by Large or Small icons. This way you can more
easily see all the options
2. Open the Control Panel
3. On the top right, click on View by: Category
4. Change it to Large or Small icons
5. Now all the options show up for you.

Changing the Desktop Icon Size

Added 6/7/09

1. By default, the icons on the desktop are a little large

2. Right click on an open area of the desktop
3. Select View
4. Select Small Icons

Fixing Pin to Taskbar Disabled

Added 6/7/09
If the option to pin to the taskbar does now show up when you right click on
an icon, perhaps you also have the shortcut arrow display turned off. To
enable it again

1. Run Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ lnkfile
3. Createt a new String Value with the name IsShortcut
4. Reboot the computer

Changing the Taskbar

Added 5/6/09

If you want to change some of those options:

1. Right click on an open area of the taskbar

2. Select Properties
3. From here you have options to:

Lock the Taskbar

Auto-hide the taskbar
Use small icons
Whether you want the taskbar on the Bottom, Left, Right or Top of the
screen
Several options for the buttons

Windows Disk Image Burner

Added 5/6/09

With Windows 7, you can now directly burn ISO images

Using the Windows Explorer, double click on the ISO file

If you have another software program that lets you view the contents of an
ISO file (like WinZip), right click on the file and select Open with Windows
Disk Image Burner
Restoring Gadgets After Disabling User Account Control

Added 5/6/09

If you have changed your User Account Control settings to Never notify, by
default Gadgets will not be displayed on the desktop.
Fortunately a simple registry change will solve the problem

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \
CurrentVersion \ Sidebar \ Settings
3. Right-click on the right panel and create a new DWORD (32-Bit)
Value named AllowElevatedProcess.
4. Double click on this and give it a value of 1

New Calculator Functionality

Added 5/6/09

The new Windows Calculator, while it has a much nicer interface, also has
greater functionality.

There are now 4 options for:

 Standard
 Scientific
 Programmer
 Statistics
 Unit Conversions
 Date Calculation
 Mortgage
 Vehicle Leasing
 Fuel Economy

Hide Empty Drives

Added 5/6/09
If you want to have empty drives (like empty multiple-card reader drives),
show up grayed out in the Windows Explorer

1. Go Tools / Folder Options / View tab

2. Check Hide empty drives in the Computer folder
Now you can more easily determine which drives actually have something
on them.

Sticky Notes

Added 5/6/09

You can now leave sticky notes as reminders directly on your desktop.

1. Click on the Start logo

2. Start typing in stick and you will likely see Sticky Notes showing.
3. When it is highlighted, press the Enter key
4. You will now have a sticky note on the desktop and you can type in
whatever you like
5. Right click and you can change the color
6. Click on the + to create a new note
7. Click on the X to delete the note (this won't show again when the
program is restarted)
8. Press Alt-F4 to close a note you want to keep
9. There is no need to save the note. Even after you close it, when you
open the program again, the same note will be there.