12 amazing things that Windows Vista can do

jjones | Guides | 15/02/2008 14:41pm
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1. Program launches

You’re probably aware that the row of icons by the Start button is the Quick Launch tray, and each icon is a shortcut to your favourite programs. You can drag and drop them to re-arrange their order or add new programs in.

For even faster access, simply hold down the Windows key and press a number key to start a favourite up – reading left to right the icons are numbered 1-10, so Internet Explorer can be started by pressing Windows and 3.

2. Create gaming shortcuts

If you’re a fan of DirectX 10 graphics, you’ve probably played Crysis. There’s an excellent guide at Tweak Guides
(www.tweakguides.com) to configuring the game so it runs more smoothly on your system. You can right-click on an icon in your game browser and choose Customise to add special start-up commands for games that let you alter more settings than you will find in the option screens. You can then save this new shortcut as another option when you right-click the game icon again.

3. Defeat spyware and save resources, too

Windows Defender is a great example of the way Windows works to protect your PC. And, as it operates in the background, you never need to touch it to stay secure. However, if you type ‘Defender’ into Start Search, and start up Windows Defender, you can choose a variety of options from the Tools section. Here, you can schedule scans, or select ‘Software Explorer’ for a menu screen that lets you turn off start-up programs to save system resources.

4. Cut out and keep your desktop

One Windows Vista hidden gem is the Snipping Tool (Start > All Programs > Accessories – or you could drop it to a Quick Launch keyboard shortcut). This powerful little image grabber will copy any desktop area to the clipboard and save it as a graphic. You can snip rectangles, windows, the entire desktop or a freeform shape by simply moving the cursor around. Even better, once you’ve snipped, you can write notes on the screen grab in the same tool – and then email the final image from within that screen. Great for adding a diagram to a presentation, for example.

5. Access a host of extra menu options

When you right-click on an icon in Windows, it brings up a contextual menu with extra options beyond just opening a folder or starting a program. When you hold down Shift and rightclick on an icon, it brings up even more
options. With these bonus menus you can pin documents to the Start menu, add to the Quick Launch area, start
Command Prompts and more.

6. Moderate your kids’ PC playtime

One of the many reasons you upgraded to Windows Vista was for all the extras ecurity features. But are you actually using them? With Parental Controls, you can set up special User Accounts for your children and restrict access to games, web sites, documents or even the whole PC depending on content or simply the time of day.

7. Customise individual folder types

Eyes getting a bit tired reading all that text on screen? Windows Vista lets you sort your folders using visual cues based around fi le types or icons for programs within. Right-click on a folder, choose Properties > Customize to bring up a range of choices for changing the way that folder is displayed in Explorer.

8. Zoom in on an area of the desktop

While we’re on the subject of making things easier to see, here’s one of the best tricks Windows Vista has up its
sleeve: desktop zooming. You probably know that you can close in on text and graphics in Internet Explorer 7 by
holding down Ctrl and moving the mouse wheel, but we bet you didn’t know you could do the same to the
Windows desktop. Giant recycle bins, here we come.

9. Find stuff easily with Search Folders

It’s easy to become reliant on Desktop Search as a better way of navigating your PC and mail folders than old-
fashioned disc trees. If you often find yourself looking for similar things, like emails ‘From Mum’, why not create a
Search Folder – it’ll be regularly updated with links to new content that fi ts the
same search terms.

After you’ve performed a search, simply right-click in the Explorer window and Save Search – your search term will appear under Searches next time you open Windows Explorer.

10. Download movies to Media Center

Most of us never use Windows Media Center – we’re too busy getting on with using our PCs for everyday things like surfing the net and working. If you’ve kept Windows up to date, though, you should keep an eye on the Online
Media tab in Media Center. There are loads of new movies and TV shows constantly being added to the download libraries, including BBC, ITV and Channel 4 content.

11. Drag gadgets to the desktop

Want to see more than the first three words of your news headlines in the Windows Sidebar RSS reader? You can
drag open gadgets to the desktop where they’ll run in a larger, maximised mode. To move them back to the Sidebar simply drag and drop or right-click on the open gadget.

12. Find photos quickly and easily

The Windows Vista killer application has to be Windows Photo Gallery. With it you can quickly synch your camera with your My Pictures folder, and tag and sort photos by time taken, name or keywords. Photo names and keywords can be added in large batches simply by selecting all the photos you want to change and editing the details in the right-hand panel. This makes subsequent searches far easier.

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