Windows 7 and beyond: Useful Features

Categories: Information

It is very easy to get caught up in the hype of new operating systems about to be released, like Microsoft Windows 10. Sometimes it is so easy to look forward at some of the new features that we forget about some of the great features that are included in Windows 7. Here are five useful features of Windows 7. All of these should be available in Windows 8 and 10.

1. Sticky Notes is a great tool that allows you to leave notes on your desktop for a later date. You can resize the notes, change their color and create as many as you need. The notes will not be removed, even if you restart your computer, until you manually choose to delete the individual notes. Sticky Notes are located in the start menu under accessories (if they are not listed, simply type Sticky Notes into the search bar.)
   
2. Snipping Tool can be very handy when you are working on a presentation and need to include an image of an open program or a picture that is open in a browser. When you select the Snipping Tool, it will grey out the screen and change your cursor into a plus cursor. You can then click and drag the cursor over the area you would like to capture. It will then open the Snipping Tool window with the new image in it. If you need to, you can write on or highlight something on the image. When you are finished with the image, you can choose to copy the image and paste it into any other program, email the image, or save the image to your computer.
   

3. Search programs and files. This program is fairly self-explanatory, however it can be very powerful if used correctly. As the title says, this tool searches for both files and programs. If you do not see the specific file or program that you are looking for in the initial results, you can select the header to show more of those similar items. For instance, if you are looking for a document and it does not show in the list, you can click the Documents heading to view a search window looking for a document of the name you provided (in the image to the right, the window open is searching for anything with Outlook in the name.)
   

4. Windows Snapping. If you need to work with two items open at the same time and only have one monitor, Microsoft has come up with a solution that will help. If you select the first window, press and hold the windows key, and then press the arrow keys to the right or left, it will snap that specific window to that half of the screen. Do the same process with the second monitor and choose the opposite arrow key and you will then have two windows open each sharing the monitor.
   

5. Pin to Taskbar is a great option for programs that you use very frequently. As there is limited space on the task bar, this is best reserved for programs that you use most frequently. To pin a program to the taskbar, find the program in your start menu, right click on it, and choose Pin to Taskbar. After the program is pinned, you can then right click on any pinned program and see your most recent opened items. This makes it very easy to access a document that you use frequently.
   

By Levi Arnold
DASNR IT