Windows 7 Guides, Tips & Tweaks

How To Resize Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnails

One of the great new features in Windows 7 is Aero Peak ( click here for more on Aero Features ) which allows you to see a preview of a window by hovering over it in the task bar. However, for users with large high resolution monitors, they may find it difficult to make out these [...]

Pin Folders And Files To The Windows 7 Taskbar

The taskbar in Windows 7 offers a feature to pin programs to it so that they are always accessible from there. It uses the same principle that shortcuts use with the difference that the programs are added to the taskbar instead and that they might offer additional functionality depending on the developer’s support of additional [...]

How to Add a Virtual Hard Disk to Windows7

The Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format is a image format specification that creates a virtual hard disk that is placed in a single file; it is capable of hosting a native file system and also supports standard disk and file operations.

How To Add Location Awareness To Your PC

We are seeing location awareness features become more prominent in smartphones in recent times. GPS-enabled smartphones make it easy to get directions, weather, and many more location based services since they automatically know where you are. Well now you can get features like this on your Windows 7 machine thanks to Geosense.
Now normally you would [...]

It’s so easy to lose a file!

“Seek and ye shall find“. This should be the motto of Windows 7 Search as this is what is does very efficiently.
Using Advanced Query Syntax
You can use Advanced Query Syntax. Now that’s a mouthful! What on earth does mean? Putting it simply it means “using certain keywords to refine the search query”.
There is a huge [...]

Free PDF guide to Windows 7 Search

Yesterday I published the article Why Windows 7 search is the way it is, and what lies ahead, in which Dan Plastina, the group manager for the Find and Organise features within the Windows 7 beta explained why the search, organisation and library features in Microsoft’s latest operating system turned out the way they did.
Despite [...]

Address Bar›Breadcrumb Bar›White Pebble Navigation

In the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, the two children leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way out of the forest. Unfortunately, in the story the breadcrumbs were eaten by birds, thus making this a less-than-ideal navigational aid. In their first foray into the forest they used white pebbles, certainly a [...]

Why Windows 7 search is the way it is, and what lies ahead? Microsoft explain

A year ago, before I joined Windows 7 News, I published an article entitled “Windows 7 and the Death of Search” in which I criticised the new search facility in the then forthcoming Windows 7.  There are a great many reasons why this new way of searching came about, and why Microsoft changed it from [...]

Which is the Best Windows 7 Media Player? Part 2 (The Ones I Missed)

Which is the Best Windows 7 Media Player? Part 1
This is sort of like a part two to my previous write-up about the best options for media in Windows 7. Some users took the time to add their favorite choices in the comments, so I decided to give their choices a little justice, download them [...]

Searching in Different Locations

Windows Search provides you with several different ways to find files and folders. The method you can use varies according to the situation.
If you wish to perform a General Search a good place to start is using the Search box in the Start menu. Another place where you can search for more specific files, such [...]

A Few Different Uses for Windows Search

No doubt by now you know how useful Search is for finding files on your computer but did you know you can also use it for other tasks?
Besides searching for missing files, Search also provides you with the quickest way to:

Open an application
Find information
Access Windows 7’s Troubleshooters

Here are just a few additional uses of [...]

Clearing Search’s Index in Windows 7

Each time you search for files in Windows Explorer, Windows 7 stores the individual search query in its history. So, when you open Search, you will find all your previous searches listed.
Now this may not matter for some users, but others may find this a distraction, and would prefer to start “fresh”.
If you’re anything like [...]

Using Search Filters in Windows 7

In Windows 7’s Library there are five folders – Documents, Download, Music, Pictures and Videos. Each hold their own special files. For example, the Pictures folder is normally where all pictures files are saved.
When you click the Search Box in any of these windows, a drop-down menu appears displaying its filters highlighted in blue. The [...]

Run Older Programs With Windows Program Compatibility Wizard

This issue doesn’t seem to be as prominent among users with Windows 7 as it was when Windows Vista was first released. When Windows Vista was released, it was built using a different code structure to that which Windows XP was built. Windows XP had been around for 5 years before Windows Vista was released [...]

Test Drive Windows 7

Microsoft has provided a way to test drive a function version of Windows 7 Professional from a website VLabCenter. By running this version a user who has questions about the operation of Windows 7, and whether it is worth buying or using can have some experience with it to help answer that question.

How To Turn Your PC Into A Wireless Hotspot

The other day, a friend of mine was using a wired internet connection on his Macbook. I had my iPod Touch with me and needed to access some info on the internet but alas there was no wireless network. However, the Mac came to my rescue and with just 2 or 3 clicks my friend [...]