Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts
Use the below Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts to make the most of
your Windows 7 experience.
Windows key and the arrow keys
Pressing the Windows key and Left
or Right arrow keys will
dock the window your viewing to the left or right-hand side of the screen.
Pressing the Windows key and the Up arrow will maximize a window and pressing
the Windows key and the Down arrow will resize and then minimize the window.
Use Shift: To stretch a window vertically,
press the Windows key + Shift + the Up arrow. If you have multiple monitors use
the Windows key + Shift + the Left or Right arrow keys to move the window to
another monitor.
Windows key and plus and minus keys
If you ever need to zoom in or out of what is being displayed on
your screen press the Windows key and the + (plus) or - (minus) keys. Pressing the
plus zooms in and once zoomed in the minus will zoom out.
Clear all background programs
If you are not viewing a window in full screen and have other
windows open in the background clear all background open windows by pressing
the Windows key + the Home key.
Use the Windows 7 search
Find and run anything in Windows by using the Windows 7 search
box. Click the Start orb or
press then Windows key and type the name of the program you wish to run or file
you wish to edit. Windows 7 will usually do a good job at finding an exact
match and simply pressing enter will execute that program or open that file. If
more than one match is found, use the up and down arrow keys to select the file
you wish to open and then press Enter.
Running as administrator: Some
programs may require administrator mode in order to function properly. You can
run any program as administrator from the search box by typing the name of the
program you want to run and then instead of pressing Enter to run the program
press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to run as administrator. If you want
to click and run a program as administrator hold down the Ctrl+Shift and then
click the icon.
Take full advantage of the Taskbar
Pin programs to the Taskbar
All programs can be pinned to the Taskbar and
allow easy access to your favorite programs without having to use the Start
Menu. To Pin a program to the Taskbar right-click on
the program or shortcut to the program and in the menu choose the Pin
to Taskbar option. Alternatively you can also drag the icon to the
Taskbar.
If you want to remove a pinned program, right-click on the
Taskbar icon and click Unpin this program from the Taskbar.
Alternatively you can also drag the icon off of the task bar and then click
Unpin this program from the Taskbar.
Move the icons and pinned programs
Any pinned or opened program on the Taskbar can be moved and
arranged. Left-click on any icon on the Taskbar and drag it to the location you
want it to remain.
Windows key and a number
Pressing the Windows key and a number on the top row of your
keyboard will open the Window corresponding to the open program on your
Taskbar. For example, in the below picture of the Windows 7 Taskbar, Firefox i
the first icon, Control panel is the second icon, and Adobe Photoshop is the
third icon. If the Windows key + 3 was pressed, Adobe Photoshop would become
the active window. To make it even easier arrange your icons (as mentioned
above) from left to right by most frequently opened.
Pin your favorite folder
If you frequently access the same folder (e.g. your favorites,
my documents, Dropbox,
etc.) pin the folder to the Windows Explorer icon
on the Taskbar. To do this drag your favorite folder to the Taskbar until you
see Pin to Windows Explorer. Once pinned, right-click the Explorer icon to
access that folder under the Pinned section.
Open a second instance
If you want to open a second instance or window of a program
that is already open, press and hold the Shift key and
then click the program icon on the Taskbar.
Get to the Desktop
Click the Desktop button on the far right edge of the Taskbar to
get to the Desktop.
Customize the Notification area
Windows Vista and Windows 7 allow the Windows Notification
area(aka Systray) to be modified. By default, many of the icons
shown in the past are now hidden and give Windows a much cleaner look.
Customize this area to make icons show or not show by clicking on the up arrow
next to the icons and selecting Customize, as shown in the picture
to the right. Once in Customize you can choose what programs show, don't show,
or only show notifications.
Improve the quality of your text
Use the Windows ClearType Text
Tuner to improve the overall quality of all text you read on your screen. To
start the ClearType Text Tuner click the Start Orb and type cttune.exe and
press Enter.
Enable and disable Windows 7 features
Turn on and off Windows features by clicking Start, typing features and
press enter. In the Programs and Features window on the left-hand column
click Turn Windows features on or off and in the Windows
Features box check or uncheck the features you want enabled or disabled.
Use the Reliability and Performance Monitor
View the reliability history of your computer by using the Reliability
Monitor. Click the Start orb and type reliability and
press enter for View Reliability History. In the Reliability Monitor, you'll be
able to view the overall reliability of your computer and be able to identify
any past problems your computer has had.
If you want to view the performance of your computer in real
time use the Performance
Monitor. Click the Start orb and type performance and press enter
for the Performance Monitor. In the Performance Monitor, you can view your
computers performance in real time or view a log of your systems performance.
Re-enable underlined keyboard shortcuts
By default, Windows 7 has the underlines for keyboard shortcuts
like those shown in the picture to the right disabled. To re-enable these
underlines in all Windows programs follow the below steps.
2. In the
Control Panel click Ease of Access
3. In
Ease of Access click Change how your keyboard works
4. Finally, check the Underline
keyboard shortcuts and access keys and then click Ok.
Rename multiple files at once
To change the name of multiple files at once highlight all
the files you wish to rename inWindows Explorer and
press the F2 key.
Type in the new name you wish to use for all files and press enter. Once done
all files will be renamed to the name entered followed by a unique number.
Install Windows Essentials
Install missing Windows software by installing the free Windows
Essentials software package that includes: Windows Live Family Safety, Windows
Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive for Windows, Windows Movie Maker,
Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, and Microsoft Outlook Hotmail
Connector.
