Unofficial User Guide for Windows 7

more images

Have you ever thought why Windows 7 is selling better than Vista. Well, Microsoft’s latest operating system is faster, more compatible and less buggy than Vista. Still what makes Windows 7 the best operating system Microsoft ever produced is the number of powerful features that it includes. These features increases the productivity and performance of the OS by a large margin.  By now all you must have heard about a lot Windows features, but still waiting to use it. Without a proper understanding of Windows 7 features you can’t use them. We decided to provide you a comprehensive Windows 7 users guide.

1. Problem Steps Recorder

This is most interesting piece of feature I find in Windows 7. More often than not your family members, relatives or friends come to you asking to sort out problems on their PC. Now without actually viewing the problem, it tough to troubleshoot it. Especially, Windows 7 is new to everyone and hitches are expected.

Using the Problem Steps Recorder you might locate exactly what’s going on in their Windows 7  PC.

To launch the program, go to the start menu and in the search field type psr.exe.

After launching the application hit the record button and application that will start tracking your mouse and keyboard activities taking the corresponding screenshots for each step. The sessions are stored in HTML slide show and can be played to recreate the steps. What’s more, you can add comments and annotations.

Next time somebody comes with a problem, just launch the Problem Steps Recorder.

2. Previewing Fonts

While working with fonts its disappointing to not being able to see what they look like. Windows 7 includes a new feature that allows you to preview fonts easily. There is a new Fonts applet in Control Panel that gives you the preview of each font on your system. You might see all your fonts at a glance.  Windows 7  groups together with font families and it might see different fonts within the families. Window makes things simple with just a single entry for each family.

Interestingly, did you know Windows 7 also introduces a new open type script font called Gabriola.

3. Reducing Sound While making a call

Top features in Windows include the smart volume-adjusting technology. Reducing your PC’s volume while attending a call over a service like Skype or Windows Live could be difficult job. With this new feature on Windows 7 your computer will automatically reduce the volume of your PC when you receive a call to your computer over any VoIP service.  It allows you to reduce the volume to 80 percent, 50 percent or even mute the sound. In case you were listening to music you might mute the volume.

In order to change the settings just right click on your speaker icon in the taskbar. Alternately you can go to the sound and click on the communications tab. You might also disable the feature, if you don’t receive a call.

4. Lock down the apps

Windows 7 comes with an handy Applocker that enables you to lock down particular applications that you specify. Using rules and properties it controls access to applications. The feature can surely fit a businessman’s needs and is available with Windows 7 Professional.

there are numerous and you can configure them according to the need. The rules include restricting applications being used by specific publishers. For instance, you might just restrict certain games or simple applications that you use for work. AppLocker is hidden away in the Local Group Policy Editor.

In order to launch the application

Step 1: run the GPEDIT.MSC
Step 2: Go to Computer Configuration >Windows Settings
Step 3: Highlight the Security Settings and go to the Application Control Policies

AppLocker is present in this group.

5. Adjusting screen brightness

Do you know Windows 7 automatically reduces screen brightness after a period of inactivity.  This feature actually imitates mobile phones. Windows 7 adapts the brightness according to your activity. In case the screen dims after 30 seconds you brighten up the display by moving the mouse. WIndows 7 would wait 60 seconds before dimming the display again. This is a great feature for watching videos.

6. Shake the mouse to clear desktop

This is a handy piece of feature for Windows 7 that does a lot with little effort. When your desktop is cluttered with open Windows, it takes time to close or minimize each Window. In Windows 7 you can minimize all the non-used windows with a mouse shake.

Just grab hold of the title bar of the window you still want to use with your mouse, and shake it around a little. The windows will minimise to the taskbar, except the one you were using. isn’t it cool.

7. Openning multiple instances of the same program

At times you need to open multiple instances of the same program. Suppose you wanna work on two command prompt windows, you would have to open the program again. WIndows 7 introduces a new shortcut to open multiple instances of the same program. In a usual way you can simply press SHIFT key and left click on the first instance in the Windows Taskbar to open a second one.

8. Windows 7 GodMOde

Windows 7 Godmode is a feature that allows you to access all of the operating system control panels within the single folder.

Create a new folder in Windows 7 and rename it as certain text string at the end, you will have a single place carry out everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.

To use GodMode you could create new folder and rename the folder to the following

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once it is done the folder icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options.

9. Content View

In Windows 7 you can find the files by allowing different ways to browse in Windows Explorer or in file open and save dialog boxes.  In addition to the “details” view and “icon” view, WIndows 7 offers Content View that makes it easy to visually identify the file.

You can turn on the Content View by opening the Windows Explorer and navigate to a folder of choice. To find the folder right-click inside the folder and select View and finally Content from the pop-up menu. Immediately the files in the folder will display additional information. The information would include album cover, album title, and genre apart from song and the size of the file

Other types of content are treated with similar details. For image files you might switch the view to Large Icons that makes it easier to identify images visually.

10. Sticky notes

Windows 7  sticky notes are handy little feature that geeks would love to have. You must have seen geeks pasting sticky notes all over the computer monitor. Now that Windows 7 offers you electronic sticky notes, you can throw the paper ones.

To use the Sticky notes Just open the Windows 7 Start menu, and type “sticky” to call up the shortcut that launches Sticky Notes. Now you hardly have any learning required to begin using them. Just type your notes onto the yellow sticky notes that appears. Like the paper note, they will stick to your monitor until you specifically close the application. In case you end up with loads of sticky notes, you can easily distinguish them by giving them different colours by right-clicking a =sticky and choosing a colour other than yellow. That a great “to do” list with so much fun.

We had already done with Windows 7 hacks