Wiley Windows 7 For Dummies Quick Reference
Contents
1. The Windows 7 User Experience When fully utilized the Windows 7 desktop as shown in the following figure offers an extremely rich visual user experience However as you find out in this part the Windows 7 desktop is much more than just a pretty face Indeed Windows 7 is also Microsoft s most powerful and usable personal computer interface to date and this statement is coming from someone who really liked Windows XP and Vista not so much In this part iw ASA A Getting Acquainted with the Windows 7 Desktop Adding Gadgets to Your Desktop Using the Getting Started Option and Windows Help and Support Personalizing the Windows 7 Desktop Using the Windows 7 Taskbar 2 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience Desktop The Windows 7 desktop see Figure 1 1 consists of the taskbar see Taskbar later in this part that normally appears along the bottom of the screen a back ground image or color that fills the rest of the screen See Personalize later in this part any gadgets you display on the screen see Gadgets later in this part and whatever desktop icons and desktop shortcuts you then choose to place on this background Recycle Bin desktop icon Desktop background image Gadgets Figure 1 1 Rapti Taskbar Displaying additional desktop icons The Windows 7 desktop starts with just a single Recycle Bin desktop icon where you drop any files folders and desktop s2. The Windows Help and Support window contains three main links in the Not Sure Where to Start section How to Get Started with Your Computer displays a list of links to topics ranging from Protecting Your Computer to Installing Programs Learn About Windows Basics displays a list of links to basic topics divided into the following six main categories Learn about Your Computer 12 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience Desktop Fundamentals Programs Files and Folders Internet E Mail and Networking Pictures and Games and Help and Support Browse Help Topics displays a Contents page with links to topics ranging from Getting Started to Hardware Devices and Drivers Windows Help and Support lolak Figure 1 7 amp gt a Fy GB Ask Options v ch Help ch Help P 2 Find an answer quickly Enter a few words in the search box above a How to get started with your computer a Leam about Windows Basics Browse Help topics website which will soon F Check out the new Windo b have more informaj and ideas for getting the most out of your e More support options e Online Help In addition to these links the Windows Help and Support window contains a Search Help text box that you can use to search for particular topics This text box works just like any other Search text box in Windows 7 Simply type the name of the feature you need help on such as printing or searching files and
3. Customizing the taskbar Customizing the Start menu and Adding other toolbars to the taskbar later in this part for details Ease of Access Center Use this option to open the Ease of Access Center window where you can turn on and adjust a wide range of accessibility settings designed to make the personal computer easier to use for those with different visual and auditory physical impairments Change the Visuals and Sounds on Your Computer Use this pane of the Personalization window to select a new predefined theme for your Windows 7 desktop or to save the changes you ve made to the desktop background color scheme sound effects and screen saver as described in the following bullets as a new theme to reuse To select a Windows XP color scheme click Windows Classic or one of the high contrast themes in the Basic and High Contrast area of the theme list box Desktop Background Click here to open the Desktop Background window see Figure 1 9 where you can select new ready made wallpaper images select your own photo images as the wallpaper with the Browse button change how the wallpaper image is displayed on the desktop Fill Fit Stretch Tile or Center or select a new solid color for the background by selecting Solid Colors from the Picture Location drop down list Window Color Using this option opens the Window Color and Appearance window see Figure 1 10 where you can select a new color and the amount of
4. 2006 Sales Running End Task Switch To New Task Processes 37 CPU Usage 0 Physical Memory 27 To end a process or program that has frozen up on you click it in the list box on the Applications tab and then click the End Task command button Note that you ll probably get an alert dialog box indicating that the program has stopped responding Click the End command button in this dialog box as many times as you have to to get Windows 7 to kill the process The status bar of Windows Task Manager shows you statistics on the number of processes running under the program the percentage of the CPU Central Processing Unit the big chip at the heart of the computer and the memory usage of the program If you like to look at schematics click the Performance tab in this window to see a dynamic charting of the total CPU and memory usage on your computer and to find really useful stuff like the number of handles threads and processes that are being run 28 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience
5. The options in the Taskbar Appearance section at the top of the Taskbar tab do the following Lock the Taskbar Locks all the bars so that you can t adjust the size of the different toolbar areas of the taskbar vy Auto Hide the Taskbar Hides the taskbar until you roll the mouse pointer somewhere over that position This way the taskbar appears only when you need it v Use Small Icons Reduces the height of the taskbar and accordingly the size of all the buttons and toolbars displayed on it 20 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience Taskbar Location on Screen Enables you to select the position of the taskbar Bottom the default Left Right or Top vy Taskbar Buttons Enables you to determine how the buttons for minimized documents open in the various Windows components and applications are displayed and whether or not they re combined so that one type of Quick Launch button appears with individual thumbnails above or each appears in individual buttons on the taskbar Your options here are Always Combine Hide Labels the default Combine When Taskbar Is Full or Never Combine Figure T Taskbar and Start Menu Propertles Wet 1 1 3 Taskbar Start Menu Toolbars Taskbar appearance Lock the taskbar Auto hide the taskbar Use small icons Taskbar location on screen Bottom z Taskbar buttons Always combine hide labels Notfication area Customize which icons and notifications appear in the cust
6. When you finish adding gadgets click the Close button in the Gadget Gallery window To download more gadgets from the Internet open the Gadgets Gallery window as described in Step 1 and then click the Get More Gadgets Online link Windows 7 then opens the Personalize Your PC Web page in the Internet Explorer This page offers not only gadget news and instructions on how to download new gadgets but also information on how to build your own gadgets if you re so inclined To remove a gadget from the desktop position the mouse pointer in the upper right corner of the gadget you want to remove and then click the X that appears Note that removing a gadget from the desktop doesn t delete it from your computer to do that you need to open the Gadgets Gallery window right click the gadget s thumbnail and then choose Uninstall from its shortcut menu To restore a gadget that you ve removed from the desktop just repeat the pre ceding steps for adding a new gadget Customizing the contents of a gadget Many of the gadgets you add to the desktop are generic and need to be custom ized For example you can customize the Clock gadget by selecting a new clock face giving it a name and selecting a time zone other than your own By default this analog clock automatically displays the same time as the digital time display in the notification area of the Windows 7 taskbar You also need to customize the Feed Headlines gadget so that it di
7. X Show color mixer Advanced appearance settings Gees Cee Taskbar The taskbar is your almost constant companion in Windows 7 No matter where you go or what you do the taskbar and the buttons of the various toolbars 16 Part1 The Windows 7 User Experience continue to be displayed along the bottom of the screen unless you re using your computer to play a full screen video or game That way you have access to all the neat features contained therein no matter whether you re writing a letter in your favorite word processor surfing the Web with Internet Explorer 8 or perusing your favorite graphic images in the Windows Photo Viewer or Media Center The taskbar forms the base of the Windows desktop Running along the bottom of the complete width of the screen the Windows 7 taskbar as shown in Figure 1 11 is divided into four sections vy The Start button with the accompanying Start menu at the far left Quick Launch buttons for the Internet Explorer Windows Explorer and Media Player to the immediate right of the Start button Click the Internet Explorer button to launch the Internet Explorer and display your Home page click the Window Explorer button to open an Explorer window show ing the Documents Music Picture and Video libraries on your computer and click the Media Player button to launch the Windows Media Player See Windows Media Player in Part 6 Buttons for open toolbars and minimized ap
8. box through the Control Panel steps to do the same thing The options for customizing Windows 7 in the Personalization window include 1 Change Desktop Icons Choosing this option opens the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box where you can specify which desktop icons to display on your desktop vy Change Mouse Pointers Clicking here opens the Mouse Properties dialog box with the Pointers tab selected where you can select a new mouse pointer scheme very helpful if you suffer a vision impairment that makes it difficult to track the normal mouse pointer as well as custom ize what icons are used in various pointing situations vy Change Your Account Picture Using this option opens the Change Your Picture window where you can select a new photo to represent you on the Windows 7 Start menu 14 Part1 The Windows 7 User Experience Display Click here to open the Display window where you can adjust all sorts of display settings for the monitor or monitors connected to your computer including the screen s brightness text and icon size screen res olution and color depth Note that the range of the resolution and color settings you have to choose from depends on the capabilities of your mon itor or monitors vy Taskbar and Start Menu Click here to open the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box where you can make changes to the appearance of the Windows taskbar Start menu and toolbars that appear on the taskbar See
9. fixed and never change Note that your user picture and name are included as part of these fixed items appearing at the top of the right column As for the left column only the All Programs button the Search Programs and Files text button at the bottom and the Internet Explorer options at the top are fixed The other icons that appear in this column change over time to represent the applications that you launch most frequently To ensure that a particular item remains on the Start menu open the menu right click the item you want added and then choose Pin to Start Menu from its shortcut menu q Getting Started il Calculator mj Documents 2SE Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Pictures Windows Media Center Music Sticky Notes Games E Desktop Gadget Gallery Computer S Microsoft Office Word 2007 at J Paint S Snipping Tool Control Panel Devices and Printers Default Programs Magnifier Help and Support All Programs Taskbar 19 To run one of the recently used programs simply click that icon in the left column of the Start menu To open a Windows Explorer window for a particular Windows component Documents for example or Computer or Network or Control Panel click the component s button in the right column of the Start menu To launch an application program or open a Windows Explorer window or the Control Panel that does not appear on the Start menu type the first few charac t
10. screen To maximize a window on the desktop drag it to the very top of the screen To get a particular window ready to be displayed side by side drag it to the left or right edge of the screen until its window is resized to fit half the screen Then repeat this resizing process with the second window using the opposite side of the screen Using the Task Manager Windows Task Manager keeps tabs on your system and how it s running You can use Task Manager to get an overview of what programs and processes are running on your computer You can also use it to switch to programs and to end programs that have stopped responding in other words programs that have frozen up on you To open Windows Task Manager right click the taskbar at a place where there are no buttons and then choose Start Task Manager from the shortcut menu that appears Figure 1 15 shows you Windows Task Manager when running three different applications To switch to another program or window from Windows Task Manager click it in the list box on the Applications tab and then click the Switch To button Windows then minimizes Task Manager and displays the selected window on the desktop Figure 1 15 TIP Taskbar 27 J Windows Task Manager kala File Options View Windows Help Appications Processes Services Performance Networking Users Task s Status Calculator Running E Document Microsoft Word Running i Microsoft Excel CG Media
11. then click the Search Help button the one with the magnifying glass icon to display links to all related topics in the Windows Help and Support windoPersonalize Windows 7 makes it easy for you to personalize your computer by selecting a new desktop background image a color scheme for the various Windows Help and Support 13 elements a screen saver to use when the computer has been idle for a certain period as well as the sound effects to play when different events take place The easiest way to open the Personalization window see Figure 1 8 for chang ing these settings is by right clicking anywhere on the desktop background and then choosing Personalize at the bottom of the shortcut menu that appears a Sier Figure 1 8 Jig T Appearance and Personalization gt Personalization v p Seaver Contras Pane p Sonto Pana a Change the visuals and sounds on your computer Change desktop icons Click a theme to change the desktop background window color sounds and screen saver all at once Change mouse peinters Aero Th Change your account picture Windows 7 Architecture Characters ee F An cI es aa aN Landscapes Nature Scenes EP 2 Del s askbar and Start Menu Ease of Access Center Start Control Panel by first clicking the Appearance and Personalization link followed by the Personalization link but this method requires a whole lot more D Note that you can also open this dialog
12. ay the buttons at the beginning of the taskbar Adding other toolbars to the taskbar When you first start using Windows 7 none of its built in toolbars are added to the taskbar You can however add any of the following toolbars vy Address toolbar Here you can directly enter pathnames for folders and files you want to open or URL addresses for Web pages you want to visit Links toolbar Enables you to add links to Web pages you visit regularly by dragging the Web page icon located to the immediate left of the page s URL address to a place on the toolbar v Tablet PC Input Panel toolbar This toolbar a button actually opens the Input Panel on the Windows 7 desktop where you can write rather than type your entries assuming that you re running Windows 7 on a Tablet PC laptop computer 1 Desktop toolbar Gives you access to all the desktop items on your computer To add any or all of these toolbars to your taskbar right click the bar at a place where there isn t already a toolbar and then choose Toolbars from the pop up menu that appears followed by the name of the toolbar to add 24 Part1 The Windows 7 User Experience RZ Creating new toolbars You can add your own custom toolbars to the Windows 7 taskbar from the fold ers that you keep on your computer When you create a custom toolbar from an existing folder Windows creates buttons for each of the subfolders that the folder may contain To crea
13. ayed at 100 percent opacity making it as opaque and non see through as possible You can however lighten up any of your gadgets making them more see through by changing the gadget s opacity To modify the opacity of a gadget right click the gadget and then highlight the Opacity item on its shortcut menu Windows then displays a submenu where you can click the new opacity percentage item you want to use 20 40 60 or 80 The lower the percentage the more transparent the gadget is Resizing gadgets and repositioning them on the desktop Some gadgets have a Larger Size option that you can use to increase its display size on the desktop To use this option position the mouse pointer somewhere on the gadget and then click the Larger Size button with an arrow pointing diag onally up to the right that appears between the Close and Options buttons on the right size of the gadget when the gadget offers this resizing option Immediately after you increase the display size of a gadget the Larger Size button changes into a Smaller Size button that you can click whenever you want to return the gadget to its original display size on the desktop Windows 7 also enables you to reposition any gadget on the desktop by moving it out of its original position on the far right of the desktop To relocate a gadget position the mouse pointer on its Drag Gadget button the one whose icon sports a grid of dots that appears immediately beneat
14. ber of recent items to display in Jump Lists Use Default Settings 22 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience MBER N TIP Display As a Menu Select this option when you want Windows 7 to dis play the item folders and files as menu items on a continuation menu that you can select and open from the Start menu Don t Display This Item Select this option to remove the display of the fixed item such as Network Places After changing items in the Customize Start Menu dialog box click its OK button and then click the Apply button on the Start Menu tab in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box This enables you to open the Start menu to check that the modifications you want on the Start menu have been put into place before you click OK in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box to close it Beneath the Customize button on the Start Menu tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box you find a Power Button Action drop down list You can use this drop down list to change the function of the button that appears to the immediate right of the Search Programs and Files button at the bottom of the Start menu from Shut Down to any of the other options found on the associ ated pop up menu Switch User Log Off Lock Restart Sleep or Hibernate After you select a new function for the Power Button the name of its option appears on the button and the previously defined function then appears on the assoc
15. button in the upper right corner of the Personalization window After adding a desktop icon to the desktop you can open its window by double clicking the icon or right clicking it and then choosing Open from its shortcut menu Creating desktop shortcuts You can create desktop shortcuts to launch applications you ve installed as well as to open drives folders documents on your computer system and Web pages on the Internet To create a desktop shortcut you need to do just two things 1 Locate the icon for the program drive folder or document for which you want to create the shortcut on the Start menu or in the Computer Network or Documents window To create a shortcut to a Web page right click the page in the Internet Explorer click the Create Shortcut option on its shortcut menu and click OK in the alert dialog box that asks whether you want the shortcut on your desktop Right click the program folder or document icon and then choose Send To Desktop Create Shortcut on the icon s shortcut menu 4 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience TIP In the case of a Web page choose File Send Shortcut to Desktop in Internet Explorer when the Classic pull down menus are displayed gore Note that to create a desktop shortcut to a drive on your computer system you x must right click the drive and choose the Create Shortcut item from its shortcut menu there is no Send To item Windows 7 then displays an alert
16. cation area for more information Customizing the notification area You can also customize the settings for the notification area of the taskbar by altering the settings in the Notification Area Icons window opened by clicking the Customize button in the Notification Area of the Taskbar tab in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box which in turn is opened by right clicking the taskbar and then choosing Properties from the shortcut menu that appears In the Notification Area Icons window you can change the circumstances under which particular notification icons are displayed in the notification area and also turn the display of system icons on and off The list box in this window is divided into two columns Icons and Behaviors You can then change the way a particular icon is displayed in the notification area by selecting any of the following behaviors on its Behaviors drop down button Show Icon and Notification Displays the particular process s icon in your notification area as well as any notifications above the icon Hide Icon and Notification Displays neither the process s icon nor notifi cation in your notification area v Only Show Notifications Displays a process s notification above the notifi cation area without also displaying its icon If you want all icons on your notification area displayed along with their notifica tions you can turn on the Show Icon and Notification setting for all the
17. dialog box indicating that it can t create a shortcut in the same window and asking whether SRNA you want the shortcut placed on the desktop instead Click the Yes button CA D You can also use a wizard to create a desktop shortcut by following these few steps 1 Right click anywhere on the desktop but not on an existing desktop item and then choose New Shortcut from the shortcut menu that appears 2 Enter the location of the item to which you want to create the shortcut either by entering its path and filename or URL Web address or by click ing the Browse button and locating the item in the Browse for Files or Folders dialog box before you click OK 3 Click the Next button and then if you want edit the name for the shortcut in the Type a Name for This Shortcut text box Wrap up by clicking Finish After you create a desktop shortcut you can open the program drive folder document or Web page associated with it by double clicking the shortcut icon or by right clicking it and then choosing Open from its shortcut menu TIP To change the size of all desktop icons to disable the automatic arrangement of the icons and alignment to an invisible grid or even to temporarily remove the display of all icons right click any open space on the desktop choose View from the shortcut menu that appears and then choose the appropriate option To change the order in which your desktop shortcuts appear in columns across the desktop us
18. e key with pic ture of a waving flag divided into four parts and then press the Tab key Windows 7 then displays all open windows in 3 D cascading arrangement see Figure 1 3 You can then flip through the cascading thumbnails by continuing to the press the Tab key until the thumbnail of the window you want displayed is at the front of the stack If your mouse has a center wheel you can then flip through the 3 D stack by turning the wheel Turn the wheel forward to flip back ward through the stack and backward to flip forward As soon as you ve brought the thumbnail of the window you want displayed on the desktop to the front of the 3 D stack release the Windows logo key Windows 7 then closes the cascading 3 D stack while at the same time display ing the selected window on the desktop RL If you hold the Ctrl key down while you press the Windows logo key and the Tab key Windows 7 opens a 3 D stack of all open windows that remains displayed on your desktop even after you release these three keys You can then flip through the 3 D stack by pressing the gt or lt to move forward and backward When the thumbnail of the window you want to access is at the front of the stack you can press Enter to close the stack and display its window on top of the desktop TIP When all the open windows in Windows 7 are minimized as Quick Launch but tons see Taskbar later in this part on the taskbar which happens after you click the Show
19. e the options Name Size Item Type and Date Modified on the Sort By shortcut menu which you can access by right clicking any open space on the desktop Flip and Flip 3 D When you have many windows open in Windows 7 the Flip and Flip 3 D also known as the Window Switcher features provide you with two quick methods for activating the window you want to work by displaying it on the top of the others To use the Flip feature see Figure 1 2 hold down Alt Tab Windows 7 displays a panel in the middle of the desktop showing thumbnails of each open window in the order in which they were opened with the name of the window that s cur rently selected To activate a new window in the panel press Tab as you hold Flip and Flip 3 D 5 down the Alt key until the thumbnail of that window is highlighted and its name appears Then release the Alt key along with Tab to hide the panel display Network Figure 1 2 RLU If you hold the Ctrl key down while you press the Alt and Tab key Windows 7 opens a panel with thumbnails of all open windows and this panel remains dis D played even after you release these three keys You can then flip through the panel by pressing the gt or lt to move forward or backward When the thumb nail of the window you want to access is highlighted in the panel press Enter to close the panel and display the selected window on the desktop To use the Flip 3D feature hold down the Windows logo key th
20. eed you select See Internet Explorer 8 in Part 4 for details on RSS feeds and how to subscribe to them Figure 1 4 Gadgets Larger size Close Close w E ee GP Once CPU Meter Comerey Fez hescines LX Show details 8 Gat mom gadgets onlin Drag Gadget Options Adding new gadgets to your desktop You can easily add gadgets to your Windows desktop Not only can you select new gadgets from among those that are automatically shipped with the Windows 7 operating system but you can always download gadgets from an ever expanding online library When you add new gadgets Windows automatically displays them sequentially down a single column on the far right of your desktop although you can then move them anywhere you want on the desktop see Resizing gadgets and repositioning them on the desktop later in this part To add gadgets to the desktop from among those that are included with Windows 7 follow these few steps 1 Right click the desktop and then choose Gadgets from the shortcut menu Windows 7 opens the Gadget Gallery window that displays all the gadgets on your computer similar to the one shown in Figure 1 4 8 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience TIP 2 Double click the icon of the gadget you want to add to the desktop or right click it and then click the Add option on the shortcut menu Windows adds the gadget to the right side of the Windows desktop 3
21. ers of its name in the Search Programs and Files text box and then click the link for the sought for program that appears in the Search Results on the Start menu to launch or open it To display a list of all the application programs installed on your computer click the All Programs option on the Start menu You can then launch the appli cation by clicking its folder if the program uses one and then clicking its pro gram icon and name on the Start menu To shut down your computer at the end of the workday press your computer s Power button or click the Shut Down button that appears to the immediate right of the Search Programs and Files button Windows then prompts you to save any unsaved changes before closing down open application programs logging you off and powering down your system See Restart Sleep Hibernate Lock Log Off and Shut Down in Part 2 for details about the other Power button options See Customizing the Start menu later in this part for details on how you can change the look and contents of the Start menu Customizing the taskbar The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box enables you to customize the settings for the taskbar and the Start menu To open this dialog box right click the Start button or any open area with no buttons on the taskbar and then choose Properties from the shortcut menu that appears After the dialog box makes its appearance click the Taskbar tab See Figure 1 13
22. h the Options button the one with the wrench icon on the right side of the gadget Then drag and drop the gadget in its new position on the Windows desktop just as you would any other desktop icon or the title bar of any open window 10 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience Getting Started The Windows 7 comes with a Getting Started window shown in Figure 1 6 that you can open by clicking the Start button followed by the Getting Started option The Getting Started window has links to an overview of the new Windows 7 operating system as well as help in dealing with common tasks associated with setting up your Windows 7 PC Discover Windows 7 Opens the Windows 7 Home page on the Microsoft Web site in the Internet Explorer where you can get the latest information about this latest and greatest version of the PC s favorite operating system Personalize Windows Enables you to select a new desktop background image window colors sounds and screen saver as part of your personal Windows 7 settings See Personalize later in this part for details vy Transfer Your Files Enables you to transfer your files folders e mail and other personal settings from another older computer running an earlier version of Windows to the current computer running Windows 7 vy Share with a Homegroup Enables you to set up a new homegroup or join your computer to an existing one so that you can easily share files and resources such as printers and
23. hortcuts you want deleted from the system In addition to the Recycle Bin icon you can add the following icons to your Windows 7 desktop 1 Computer To open your Computer window same as choosing Start Computer from the taskbar which shows all the drives and compo nents connected to your computer including drives that you ve mapped onto a drive letter Desktop 3 1 User s Files To open your Documents window same as choosing Start Documents from the taskbar which shows all the document files on your computer See Windows Explorer in Part 2 1 Network To open the Network window same as choosing Start Network which shows all the computers on your local area network See Part 3 Control Panel To open the Control Panel same as Start Control Panel which enables you to customize all sorts of computer settings See Control Panel in Part 5 To add any or all of these desktop icons follow these steps 1 Right click somewhere on the desktop background not on any icon and then choose Personalize from the shortcut menu that appears In the Personalization window that appears click the Change Desktop Icons link in the Navigation pane to open the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box Click the check boxes for all the desktop icons Computer through Control Panel you want to appear on the Windows 7 desktop Click OK to close the Desktop Icons Settings dialog box and then click the Close
24. iated pop up menu If you don t want Windows 7 to add the names of the programs you recently worked in or the names of files you recently opened to the Start menu you can prevent this addition Simply deselect the Store and Display Recently Opened Programs in the Start Menu check box and the Store and Display Recently Opened Items in the Start Menu and the Taskbar check box which appear at the bottom of the Start Menu tab in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box The Windows 7 Start menu adds jump lists to the application icons such as Microsoft Office Word or Excel that appear on it Jump lists show the docu ments you recently opened with the particular program and you can use their items to quickly launch the application while at the same time reopening the document for more editing If you have a document that you regularly edit you can even pin it to the program s jump list by clicking the Pin to This List button that appears when you position the mouse pointer over the document s file name That way the document doesn t disappear from the program s jump list as you continue editing other files with the program Pinning icons to the taskbar The Windows 7 taskbar contains three standard Quick Launch buttons that you can use to start commonly used programs Internet Explorer Opens Internet Explorer 8 for browsing Web pages See Internet Explorer 8 in Part 4 MBER we amp Taskbar 23 Windows Exp
25. icons in one step Simply click the Always Show All Icons and Notifications on the Taskbar check box at the bottom of the Notification Area Icons window and then click OK Arranging windows on the desktop Normally when you open multiple windows on the desktop they overlap one another with only the most recently opened window fully displayed on top As you open more windows it becomes increasingly difficult to arrange them so 26 Part1 The Windows 7 User Experience TIP that the information you need is displayed onscreen The arrangement is espe cially difficult to manage when copying or moving files and folders between open windows To help you organize the windows you have open Windows 7 offers several arrangement options To rearrange the open windows with one of these options right click the taskbar at a place that isn t occupied by a window button and then choose one of the following options from the shortcut menu that appears 1 Cascade Windows to overlap the open windows so that the title bars are all displayed one above the other in a cascade 1 Show Windows Stacked to place the windows vertically one on top of the other 1 Show Windows Side by Side to place the windows horizontally side by side Show the Desktop to reduce all the windows open on the desktop to mini mized buttons on the taskbar In Windows 7 you can now resize windows open on the desktop simply by drag ging them to particular positions on the
26. lorer Opens the Libraries window in the Windows Explorer so that you can access documents stored on your computer See File Folder and Library Management in Part 2 1 Windows Media Player Opens Windows Media Player so that you can view photos or play music or video stored on your computer See Windows Media Player in Part 6 In addition to these three standard Quick Launch buttons you can add your own custom buttons by dragging a desktop shortcut to the desired position on the taskbar and then releasing the mouse button when the Pin to Taskbar ScreenTip appears above the shortcut icon The mouse pointer indicates where the new button will be inserted with a dark I beam cursor at the tip of the pointer A button for the shortcut then appears at the position of the beam on the taskbar You can delete any of these custom Quick Launch buttons from the taskbar by right clicking the button and then choosing Unpin from Taskbar from the short cut menu that appears As you continue to add new Quick Launch buttons to the taskbar some of the existing buttons at the end of the bar become hidden from view when the Lock the Taskbar option is selected as it is by default Windows 7 then adds a con tinuation button with triangles pointing up and down to the taskbar Click the triangle pointing downward on this continuation button to display hidden but tons at the end of the taskbar and click the triangle pointing upward to redis pl
27. nter queue to name a few examples In addition the notification area displays icons repre senting various programs or processes that run in the background such as the Windows Sidebar for hiding and redisplaying the Sidebar the Language Bar for using Voice Recognition and Handwriting Recognition in Microsoft Office programs the Windows Clipboard when it contains multiple items and Windows Messenger This is also the place from which the Windows Update feature displays its Update Reminder message telling you that new updates for the system are avail able See Windows Update in Part 5 To identify an icon that appears in the status area position the mouse pointer over it until the ScreenTip appears To change the status of an icon right click it TIP TIP Taskbar 25 to display the pop up menu and then click the appropriate menu option For example to open the Volume Control dialog box to adjust the volume of your speakers right click the speaker icon in the notification area and then choose Open Volume Mixer from the pop up menu that appears To temporarily expand the notification area so that all of its icons are displayed click the Show Hidden Icons button the one to the left of the first displayed icon in this area sporting a triangle pointing upward Note that you can also customize the notification area as part of customizing the taskbar and Start menu properties See the next section Customizing the notifi
28. of the options displayed in the Getting Started window directly from the Windows Start menu Simply click Start and then position the mouse pointer on the Getting Started option rather than clicking it at the top of the Start menu Windows then displays a submenu with each of the nine get ting started options on it Figure 1 6 Go J gt Control Panel All Control Panelllems Getting Started se Go online to find out what s new in Windows 7 Discover new features that can help you be productive stey safer and have Fon Go online to learn more Find out everything you need to know about setting up your computer a A A m ICH i w i NAJ Go online to find out what s new in E AREY S Traster files and settings from le Windows 7 m Personalize Window A another computer Use a homegroup to share with Choose when to be notified about A Go online to get Windows Live other computers in your home changes to your computer A Essentials Change the size of the text on your PPS back up your tiles SP Add new users to your computer lE areen z 4 Help and Support Windows 7 has an extensive help system that you can use not only to get gen eral and detailed information on how to use Windows but also to get answers from Microsoft on specific problems that you re experiencing To open the Windows Help and Support window see Figure 1 7 choose Start Help and Support
29. omize notification area Preview desktop with Aero Peek Temporarily view the desktop when you move your mouse to the Show desktop button at end of the taskbar Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop x Cancel MBER Near the bottom of the Taskbar tab you can find the Use Aero Peek to Preview x the Desktop check box When this check box is selected as it is by default keep in mind that you can temporarily hide all but the outlines of the windows that are currently open on the Windows desktop simply by positioning the mouse pointer over the Show Desktop button located at the far right end of the taskbar The contents of the open windows are then instantly redisplayed on the desktop the moment you move the mouse pointer off of the Show Desktop button See Customizing the Notification area later in this part for information about using the Customize button under Notification Area on the Taskbar tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box to modify the appearance of this part of the Windows taskbar Figure 1 14 Customizing the Start menu To customize the appearance of the Start menu you need to click the Start Taskbar 21 Menu tab in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box To modify what items automatically appear on the Start menu and how they re displayed you then click the Customize button to open the Customize Start Menu dialog box See Figure 1 14 Use
30. plication windows in the center area to the right of the Quick Launch buttons y The notification area at the far right sometimes called the system tray with current time and icons showing the current status of computer com ponents and programs as well as processes that are running in the background Whenever you minimize an open window by clicking its Minimize button in the upper right corner Windows 7 reduces the window to the appropriate Quick Launch or application button on the taskbar Then when you position the mouse pointer over a particular Quick Launch button Windows displays thumbnail images of each of its open files above the button Individual Web pages on different Web tabs are displayed above the Internet Explorer Quick Launch button specific Windows 7 folders above the Windows Explorer button the Media Player with playback controls above the Media Player button and document files created with the particular program above the application buttons To display the document represented in a thumbnail position the mouse pointer somewhere on the thumbnail image To then reopen the document on the Windows desktop simply click the thumbnail image TIP Taskbar 17 i AARRRRRRE EE Woedtnesttay Z2 Mty 2009 Application Notification button buttons area Internet Media Show Desktop button Explorer Player button button Windows Explorer button To minimize all open windows and clear the de
31. reflectiveness called glassiness by Microsoft for the title bars of windows the Start menu and taskbar Sounds Click here to open the Sounds tab in the Sound dialog box where you can assign new sounds to different program events and save your new choices as a custom sound scheme to reuse Screen Saver Use this option to open the Screen Saver Settings dialog box where you can select a new screen saver to use customize the amount of idle time before the screen saver kicks in and adjust your monitor and hard drive power settings by clicking the Change Power Settings link Taskbar 15 co jeta Figure 1 9 CION E Personalization Desktop Background seareh Contrat Panes P Choose your desktop background Click a picture to make it your desktop background or select more than one picture to creste s slide show Picture location Windows Desktop Backgrounds x Browse Select all Clear ait Fi r Fj a a E 4 Architecture 6 a A 4 Characters 6 Li Vee lt 7 Picture position Change picture every 30 minutes Dshutfie When using battery power pause the slide show to save power Geeta tens Figure CION E Personalization Window Color and Appearance 9 Soren Controt sane 1 10 Change the color of your window borders Start menu and taskbar Current color Sky 7 Enable transparency Color intensity
32. scanners See Connect to a Network in Part 3 for more on homegroups w Change UAC Settings Enables you to change the User Account Control settings that determine when you re notified about changes that programs are about to make to your computer See Modifying User Account set tings in Part 5 for more Get Windows Live Essentials Opens the Windows Live Essentials page in the Internet Explorer On this page you can get more information about the various Windows Live application programs including Messenger Mail Writer and Photo Gallery The page also provides a convenient link for downloading the entire Live Essentials package Back Up Your Files Enables you to back up the files on your PC as well as restore files saved in a previous backup See Backup and Restore in Part 5 for details vy Add New Users Enables you to make changes to your own user account as well as add new users to your computer See Modifying User Account settings in Part 5 for details w Change Text Size Enables you to increase the size of the text and icons displayed on the Windows 7 desktop To display information about the function of a particular option in the top sec tion of the Getting Started window click its icon and text description To open lt eRNA Uy Help and Support 77 the dialog box or window associated with a particular option double click its icon in the Getting Started window You can also access any
33. sktop click the Show Desktop button the rectangle at the very end of the taskbar to the immediate right of the notification area press D or right click the taskbar and then choose Show the Desktop from the shortcut menu that appears To once redisplay all the open windows on the desktop in their original order click the Show Desktop button or press D again or right click the taskbar and this time click Show Open Windows on its shortcut menu To temporarily hide the contents of all open windows displaying only their outlines on the desktop with the new Aero Peek feature simply position the mouse pointer on the Show Desktop button instead of clicking it 18 Part1 The Windows 7 User Experience MBER we TIP Figure 1 12 Remember that when you have multiple windows open at the same time on the desktop you can use the Flip or Flip 3 D feature to bring a particular window to the top of the stack See Flip and Flip 3 D earlier in this part The Start menu The Start button that opens the Start menu see Figure 1 12 always appears as the first button on the taskbar The Start menu is the most basic menu in Windows giving you access to all the stuff on your computer To open the Start menu simply click the Start button icon in the lower left corner of the taskbar press the button or press Ctrl Esc on your keyboard The Start menu is divided into two columns The options in the right column of the Start menu are
34. splays news headlines for a particular RSS feed to which you ve subscribed See Internet Explorer 8 in Part 4 for details on how to subscribe to an RSS feed To customize the contents of a gadget position the mouse pointer in the upper right corner of the gadget and then click the wrench icon that appears immedi ately beneath the X Alternatively you can also right click its icon and then choose Options from the shortcut menu Windows 7 then opens a dialog box specific to the gadget that enables you to customize its display For example if you open the settings dialog box for the Clock gadget see Figure 1 5 you can then select a new clock face by clicking either the Next or Previous button the ones with the triangles pointing right and left respectively and entering a clock name such as London or Beijing in the Clock Name text box Next select the appropriate time zone for the clock from the Time Zone drop down list In addition this dialog box contains a Show the Second Hand check box that you can select if you want the Clock gadget to display a moving red second hand Gadgets 9 ques a MBER we amp Gk ty Cancel Changing the opacity of a gadget In addition to customizing what information appears in a gadget as in the RSS feed headlines shown in the Feed Headlines gadget you can also customize the overall opacity of a gadget Any gadget you add to the Windows 7 desktop is automatically displ
35. te a custom toolbar from a folder follow these steps 1 Right click the taskbar without clicking any of the buttons or icons it con tains and then choose Toolbars New Toolbar from the shortcut menu that appears Windows opens the New Toolbar Choose a Folder dialog box where you select the folder to be used in creating the new toolbar 2 Use the Navigation pane in the Choose a Folder dialog box to select the folder whose contents are to be used in creating the new toolbar by click ing the folder icon in the navigation list box 3 Click the OK button to close the New Toolbar dialog box As soon as you close the New Toolbar dialog box Windows adds the new toolbar indicated by the folder s name followed by a continuation button gt gt When you click this continuation button Windows 7 displays a pop up menu showing all the subfolders and documents contained in that folder All custom toolbars that you create are automatically deleted the moment you remove their display from the Windows 7 taskbar by right clicking the taskbar and then choosing Toolbars followed by the name of the custom toolbar The notification area The notification area displays the current time as well as icons that indicate the active status of various components the status of your network connection Active Sync connection to your hand held device hot pluggable cards such as PC cards or ExpressCards inserted into a laptop computer or the pri
36. the Desktop icon on the taskbar s shortcut menu or you press D remember that you can position the mouse pointer over each minimized button to display a thumbnail of its window Then when you see the image of the window you want to activate you can position the mouse pointer on the thumbnail to temporarily display its window on the Windows 7 desktop either full screen or in its previous position and size You can then click its Quick Launch button on the taskbar or displayed thumbnail to keep the window open on the desktop 6 Part 1 The Windows 7 User Experience Figure 1 3 pep Tra tara S f lt ES Gadgets Gadgets are mini applications applets for the Windows 7 desktop that give you access to frequently changing information such as the current time weather stock quotes news feeds computer usage and the like Figure 1 4 shows you my desktop with the Gadgets Gallery window displayed See Adding new gadgets to your desktop later in this part My desktop currently holds the following items Clock which shows an analog clock with the current time for any time zone you select Slide Show which displays a continuous slide show of the images that are stored in your Pictures library Calendar which shows the current day and date Weather which shows the current temperature and when enlarged weather conditions for a selected town or city v Feed Headlines which shows you news headlines for the RSS f
37. the check boxes in the list box of the Customize Start Menu dialog box to control which items appear on the Start menu For example to add a Network item that opens the Network window where you can see all the devices con nected on your network select the Network check box Likewise to remove the Default Programs item that opens the Default Programs dialog box where you can configure what default programs to use for tasks such as Web browsing and reading e mail deselect the Default Programs check box To change the way fixed icons such as Computer Control Panel Documents and the like are displayed in the right hand column of the Start menu click one of the following option buttons under Computer at the top of the Customize Start Menu dialog box Display As a Link This option is the default setting for all fixed items It causes Windows to open a separate folder window showing the item fold ers and files pa Customize Start Menu Ex You can customize how links icons and menus look and behave on the Start menu Display as a link Display as a menu Don t display this item Connect To J Control Panel Display as a link Display as a menu Don t display this item V Default Programs W Devices and Printers Documents Display as a link Display as a menu Don t display this item ip Downloads Display as a link Start menu size Number of recent programs to display Num
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