One of less than obvious tools Windows offers is the right-click menu within file dialog boxes. Give it a try: open an application and then press Ctrl-O or click the Open icon to display the Open dialog box. Right-click any of the files or folders displayed in that dialog and you’ll see a context menu pop open.
I was sitting around a fire with a bunch of friends on the weekend and one of them was doing some work on her notebook. All of a sudden she cried out – her battery had died and she hadn’t saved her work.
Usually, I advise people to wait a while before installing a service pack, just in case the service pack delivers its own set of problems. But SP1 for Windows 7 is unlike any previous service pack in one significant way: it’s almost a non-event.
Windows file search is a handy feature, but it doesn’t always get you what you need. Here’s a simple tip to help you uncover a file within its context.
Windows 7 lets you download your wallpaper from an RSS feed. That means you can get a stream of wallpapers from any photo blog or website with a feed.
The breadcrumb bar, originally introduced in Vista, has brought an entirely new way of navigating in Windows. It replaces the plodding, sub-folder-based, dig-down method of yore with shortcut jumps.
Backing up your data is preparation for the blow that will strike. With a recent backup in hand, even a distressing event such as a hard disk failure may prove to be no more than a blip in your routine.
It’s easier to change filenames in Vista and Windows 7 than in previous versions of Windows. Unfortunately, the improved file renaming method has one drawback: it makes it harder to change the file extension.
Windows 7 includes all sorts of small improvements that will make your computing life more enjoyable. These tips will help you make the most of your desktop working environment.
With Windows 7, Microsoft has made substantial changes to the way you view and manage files within folders, building upon the dramatic improvements introduced in Vista. Compared to Windows XP, Windows 7’s file management is more powerful, more flexible and far more visually appealing. Find out how to take advantage of these new features.
There’s no need to squint to view the icons on your desktop, you can resize them on the fly: Click an empty space on the desktop then hold down the Ctrl key and roll your mouse wheel forward to increase the icon size, backwards to decrease the size. This doesn’t change the size of the [...]
To quickly copy all the files in a folder in Windows 7 or Vista: Open the folder. Right-click the breadcrumb bar and select Copy Address. Minimise the open folder, right-click within another folder or on the desktop and choose Paste from the pop-up menu. A copy of the folder and all its contents will be [...]
The Send To option has always been one of Windows’ handiest shortcuts. It lets you copy a file – or a folder full of files – to another folder without having to navigate your way to that destination folder. Send To also lets you quickly upload, email or open a document. To use Send To, [...]
The Control Panel centralises access to Windows’ multitudinous settings. From the Control Panel you can adjust and tweak Windows’ appearance, performance, network connections, hardware settings and a whole lot more. While many of the settings in the Control Panel are also accessible in other ways – for instance, you can change the desktop appearance by right-clicking [...]
Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows XP come with a collection of house cleaning tools, including ScanDisk, Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup, to help keep your disk in peak working order. Why should you bother with the housework? A couple of reasons. First, disks are hard working, mechanical devices and, like all mechanical devices, prone [...]
These days, almost every home is a candidate for a network. Most people have at least one older computer hanging around and families with children or two working adults are likely to have multiple desktop and notebook machines. While networking computers used to be something of a black art, Windows 7 makes it a mostly [...]