{"id":216,"date":"2009-11-11T23:01:41","date_gmt":"2009-11-12T06:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=216"},"modified":"2009-11-11T23:01:41","modified_gmt":"2009-11-12T06:01:41","slug":"windows-7-review-useful-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/windows-7-review-useful-features\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 7 Review: Useful Features"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/h6>\n

\u00a0\"Windows<\/p>\n

This article is part two of a three part series reviewing Windows 7.\u00a0 The first article, “Windows 7 Review:\u00a0 Media Center<\/a>,” reviews the benefits of Media Center and it’s potential to share pictures, movies, TV shows, and videos on computers and TVs throughout the house.\u00a0 This article will further explain\u00a0 why Windows 7 is a valuable upgrade from Windows Vista or XP\u00a0as it contains plenty of features that make it much more efficient to find things and get things done more effectively.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The last article explains the ease of use and possibilities of storing and using your photos and videos<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding things is now a breeze with the Start Menu Search box.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The new taskbar<\/span> helps me keep track of all of my open windows and it’s easier than ever to go directly to the window I am looking for.\u00a0\u00a0 The Jump Lists I use extensively.\u00a0 And the Snipping Tool – well, that’s the bomb!\u00a0 To find out what these features are, you can find them easily below.\u00a0 For those of you who want a more thorough review, I have briefly discussed many of the larger new features of Windows 7 here.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the fun doesn’t stop here.\u00a0 In the next article of my Windows 7 Review series, I will show you how Windows 7 handles Photos and\u00a0 Videos which are very important families.\u00a0\u00a0 For those of you who are photo and video enthusiasts, you’ll be very pleased with some of the new features Microsoft has included in Windows 7.<\/p>\n

Windows 7 is actually tighter and lighter than its operating system predecessors.\u00a0 This is an amazing feat for Microsoft<\/a>.\u00a0 This was accomplished by unbundling<\/span> some of the programs that were bundled with Windows Vista, such as Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Contacts, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Microsoft Agent, and a few more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people did not use these programs, so Microsoft simply removed them from Windows 7.\u00a0 However, for those people who did like these programs, Microsoft has made them available through a simple install called “Windows Live Essentials<\/a>.”\u00a0 I highly recommend this install, for the Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker are “essentials” for those of you who love digital photography and videography<\/span>.\u00a0 Photos and videos are the subject of Part 3 of my Windows Review series, which will come out shortly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Windows 7 is chockfull of useful features, you’ll never go back to a previous operating system. OK, hold onto to your seats, here we go on our tour of Windows 7!<\/p>\n

Windows Taskbar<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Windows 7 has a new taskbar<\/span> that is very useful and productive.\u00a0 It contains the traditional Windows logo for the “Start” (the main way to access your programs.)\u00a0 It also shows you all of the active programs you are using. If you have favorite programs you use often, you can “pin” them to the taskbar<\/span> so they will always show.\u00a0 For example, I pinned my file manager (the first button) to the taskbar<\/span> so I can easily access my file folders.\u00a0 I also pinned Outlook, so I can check my calendar and e-mail quickly, and Microsoft One Note, where I keep all my info for different projects I’m working on.\u00a0 These three buttons will always be there.\u00a0 If the buttons are highlighted with light, that means they are open and I am using them.\u00a0 If there is no highlight, such as in the case of the second Outlook button below, it means the program is not open.\u00a0 You can pin as many of your favorite or frequently used programs as you’d like.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of the great features of this toolbar is the ability to see a preview of each of the programs you have open.\u00a0 For example, I have three windows open in my file manager:<\/p>\n

\"Taskbar\u00a0<\/p>\n

And nine windows open in my browser:\"Taskbar<\/p>\n

I can see the open windows simply by hovering my mouse on the File Manager button or Internet Explorer button on the taskbar<\/span>.\u00a0 The preview feature is very helpful for finding your way through your windows – especially if you’re an incurable\u00a0 multi-tasker<\/span> like myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to\"Taskbarthe preview features, more information is available to the right on the taskbar<\/span>.\u00a0 It will show your clock and access buttons to your sound, network, and PC Safety.\u00a0\u00a0At the very end of the taskbar<\/span> is slightly highlighted upright rectangle.\u00a0 Clicking on this rectangle will show your desktop.<\/span><\/p>\n

I never accessed my desktop much before but now it is very easy to do.\u00a0 You can see that you can add “gadgets” to your desktop just like you could with Windows Vista.<\/p>\n

To see the Windows taskbar<\/span> in action while picking up a few more tips, watch this video:<\/span>
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Jump Lists<\/span><\/h2>\n

Jump lists are ano\"Taskbarther great feature that expand upon the added productivity you get from the new taskbar<\/span>.\u00a0 To access a jump list, right click on one of the active programs you have on your taskbar<\/span>.\u00a0 Doing so will\u00a0open a new menu which will give you additional options.<\/span>\"Taskbar<\/p>\n

\u00a0For example, right clicking on the File Manager tab\u00a0will pop up the menu on the left.\u00a0 The Jump List shows the folder I pinned as well as the frequent folders I use.\u00a0 If I were to right click on the PowerPoint task bar icon, it would show me the most recent documents I opened as well as any currently opened docs.\u00a0 Right clicking on the Internet Explorer button gives me the Jump List pictured on the right above.\u00a0 I use Jump Lists all the time to quickly get to where I need to go.\u00a0 Here’s a video to show Jump Lists in action:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Windows Search<\/span><\/h2>\n

Windows Search is another feature I can’t live without.\u00a0 You can find it by clicking on the Windows Start button.\u00a0 Search is at the bottom off the menu.\u00a0 Search anything you are looking for on your computer.\u00a0 Perhaps you uploaded a great picture of your son and you can’t remember what location it uploaded to<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 If you tagged his name to the picture when you uploaded your pictures (Be sure to see my upcoming Windows 7 Review:\u00a0 Pictures and Videos to show you how to do this), just type in his name and your search results will show you all the pictures tagged or titled with his name in it, starting from most recent to oldest.\u00a0 Any other files or documents will also show up in your search if his name is in them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Windows 7 has upgraded the old photo gallery in Vista to Windows Live Photo Gallery.\u00a0 As I mentioned earlier in the article, this is one of those programs you will get when you download the Windows Live Essentials package.\u00a0 I use this program a lot.\u00a0 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.\"Start\"Start<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Here’s a short video that expands on Window Search:
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Windows Search is an amazing tool.\u00a0 It also searches your Outlook e-mails – new and archived highlighting your searched word in every pertinent e-mail.\u00a0\u00a0 Search even uses a filter for .tiff files where Windows 7 performs an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scan on .tiff files to show you images with the word you are searching.\u00a0 Furthermore, you can customize your search to find the search word on other computers connected through your network and even the Internet!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To obtain these additional results, just click on “See more results.” Now that’s powerful!<\/p>\n

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Aer<\/span><\/span><\/span>o<\/span> Shake<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Allows you to “shake” the window you’re using so that all the other windows disappear.\u00a0 This is particularly useful if you have a lot of windows open.\u00a0 This is not a feature that I use much, but it’s fun to shake the windows.\u00a0 To get a better understanding of how to use Aero<\/span> Shake, watch this video:<\/span>
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Aero<\/span> Snap<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Snap is a handy tool that I used every once in a while.\u00a0 Snap makes it easy to compare two open windows at the same time.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It will then “snap” in place.\u00a0 Take an open window\u00a0 e-mail you received with important dates and “snap” it to the right of your screen.\u00a0 You now have an easy way to review and work between the two windows.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 To see Snap in action, watch this video:
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Aero<\/span> Peek<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

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.\u00a0 I rarely minimize my windows, so this isn’t a feature I use.\u00a0 Here’s Aero<\/span> Peek in action:<\/span>
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Snipping Tool<\/span><\/h2>\n

I LOVE this feature.<\/strong>\u00a0 I use this tool all the time when I write my articles for wellconnectedmom<\/span>.com<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 The\u00a0 Snipping Tool allows me to snip or cut out just a picture or a portion of anything that is on the screen.\u00a0 I used the Snipping Tool to make many of the pictures in this article.\u00a0 It’s easier than screen print because you snip precisely what you want.\u00a0 You don’t need to crop it like you do with print screen.\u00a0 After you snip the item you want, you can either paste it somewhere or save it as a picture.\u00a0\u00a0The Snipping Tool in action:
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Parental Controls\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Windows 7 comes with some great tools to help parents to limit the things their children can do while on the computer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Searching for Parental Controls from the Start Search box allows you to easily access this helpful tool.\u00a0 First you set up an account of the computer with your child’s name.\u00a0 In order to use the computer, they will need to log-on using their name and the password you give them.\u00a0 For their account, you can enforce time limits — actual hours of the day that the computer will be accessible for your child.\u00a0 You can limit your child to certain ratings for any games you have on the computer.\u00a0 You can also allow or block other specific programs on your computer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 To learn more, see\u00a0 Protecting your Kids with Family Safety. Limits include types of websites and social interaction with Microsoft Messenger, Hotmail<\/span>, etc.\u00a0 Here’s how Parental Controls work:<\/span>
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Libraries<\/span><\/h2>\n

Libraries are\u00a0a handy way to organize your files.\u00a0 Windows 7 comes set up with four libraries already set up for you, namely Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos.\u00a0 Although libraries look and act like folders, they are not folders.\u00a0 They really act more as shortcuts to documents you have specified.\u00a0 For example, if you are doing a scrap booking project on your daughter<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, 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.\u00a0 It will now be easier to comb through all the information you have on Alyssa to work on your scrapbook.\u00a0 Libraries are a great tool for work as well.\u00a0 You can group together all of your relevant docs, pics, and videos for each project in one convenient spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0But wait, there’s more!\u00a0 Not only can you create Libraries for your own PC, you can also point to folders on other computers on your network.\u00a0 This works great for me because my husbands’ computer has most of our music mp3’s.\u00a0 I have some as well.\u00a0 Now with one click, I can access all of our mp3’s easily.\u00a0 Watch Libraries in action:
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HomeGroups<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Is a network sharing function that makes it easier than ever to share documents, music, videos, and pictures amongst different computers in the house.\u00a0 However, there is a catch.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0 If you meet these requirements, review this HomeGroup<\/span> Guide<\/span><\/a>to help you set it up.\u00a0\u00a0 If these two requirements aren’t met, you won’t be able to set up a HomeGroup<\/span>.\u00a0 If you have various versions of Windows on your computers throughout the house, no worries.\u00a0 You can still use the old fashioned way of setting up computers on the network.\u00a0 Using HomeGroup<\/span> just makes it easier.\u00a0 I searched for video examples of HomeGroup<\/span> and could only find an Australian commercial that shows the\u00a0 benefits once you set one up:<\/span>
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Themes<\/span><\/h2>\n

Themes have improved over those found in Vista as well.\u00a0 Now you can have several images set as your wallpaper and set how often you’d like these images rotated.\u00a0 In essence, it becomes a slide show of your pictures.\u00a0 You can choose to customize the Themes and add your own pictures, or you can choose from the stunning pictures Windows 7 has included.\u00a0 Below are two examples – the first theme is Landscapes and the second one shows the Architecture Theme:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\"Themes\"Themes<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 After the amount of time that you set lapses, the screensaver automatically comes on depicting pictures from your computer.<\/p>\n

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A Mom’s Perspective<\/span><\/h2>\n

I am a mom\u00a0who works on the computer a lot to review and write e-mail’s, send and receive documents for sports schedules, letters, 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.. \u00a0Windows 7 is a welcome change to help manage my “chaos” on the computer.\u00a0 I don’t have hours at a time to spend on my computer.\u00a0 I am constantly being interrupted and to actually finish a task on the computer is pretty amazing.\u00a0 The ease of finding documents, music, pictures, e-mail’s, etc has greatly enhanced my productivity and time spent searching for things.<\/span><\/p>\n

My favorite features of Windows 7 are yet to come.\u00a0 Be sure to check out my last review in the Windows 7 Series on pictures and videos <\/a>as well.\u00a0 If you missed the first article in the Windows 7 review, you can find it in the Windows 7 Review:\u00a0 Media Center <\/a>post.<\/p>\n

Please leave comments to tell your thoughts on this article or Windows 7.\u00a0\u00a0 WellConnectedMom’s<\/span> <\/span><\/a>mission is to review gadgets, technology, and websites relevant to you, Moms.\u00a0 Feel free to make suggestions for future articles.<\/span><\/p>\n

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