7 Things You Might Not Know About Windows 7

  • Article
  1. Cut The Clutter.  Working on a document in a window and want to get rid of all the background noise? You can just click, hold down, and give your mouse a shake, and all the other open windows on your desktop will be hidden. Shake again, and they're all back.
  2. Enjoy The Show.  Windows 7 comes with some very attractive new wallpapers, and it's not always easy to decide which one you like the best. So why not let choose a few, and let Windows display them all in a desktop slideshow? Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Desktop Background, then hold down Ctrl as you click on the images you like. Choose how often you'd like the images to be changed (anything from daily to once every 10 seconds), select Shuffle if you'd like the backgrounds to appear in a random order, then click Save Changes and enjoy the show.
  3. Close In A Click.  Hovering your mouse cursor over a Windows taskbar button will display a preview thumbnail of that application window. You don't need that app any more? Then middle-click the thumbnail to close it down.
  4. Snap.  With Aero Snap, you can quickly resize or “snap” an application window to the top, left or right sides of your screen. If you drags an application to the top of your screen, it will maximize that application. If you drag an application to the left or right sides of your screen, it will “snap” to that side of the window (half screen) and will appear side-by-side to another open application if another application is open.
  5. It’s a Drag.  Much play has been made of the Jump Lists feature in Windows 7, allowing applications like Windows Live Messenger to offer an easy task-based entry point. Jump lists replace the default right-click context menu in the new taskbar; another way to access them (particularly useful if you’re running Windows 7 on a one-button MacBook) is by left-clicking and dragging up in a kind of “swooshing” motion. This was designed for touch-enabled devices where the same gesture applies.
  6. Peeking at the Desktop. It’s worth noting a few subtleties on the taskbar. You’ve probably seen the small rectangle in the bottom right hand corner: this is the feature we call “Aero Peek”, which enables you to see any gadgets or icons you’ve got on your desktop. Just got to the bottom right of your screen and hover over that rectangle.
  7. Pin Your Favourite Folders.  If you’re always working in the same four or five folders, you can quickly pin them with the Explorer icon on the taskbar. Hold the right-click button down and drag the folder to the taskbar, and it will be automatically pinned in the Explorer Jump List.