In a previous article here on Be Your Own IT, we talked about some of the changes Windows 7 has made to its Start menu and System Tray designs. These changes are offered in an effort to correct and improve upon some of the design flaws and features that users ran into rather frequently when they upgraded from XP to Windows Vista. While it still remains to be seen whether or not these changes actually are beneficial in actual practice or use, if you are considering upgrading to Windows 7, you naturally want to have as much information about what's new and what's different so you can make an inf
The Taskbar changes we already discussed are not the only new things Windows 7 has to offer. There are many more changes – both large and small – to be found when you install Windows 7 and begin to use it. So let's take a look at another one of the Windows 7 changes that are in effect in this brand new operating system.
One of the more intriguing and useful changes you will find in Windows 7 is the ability to control and manipulate windows on your Desktop for easier viewing. This is extremely useful for people that use their PCs for work, but will come in handy for even casual PC users, as well. Windows 7 gives you the ability to easily manipulate windows by literally pushing them around. Push a window to the right or to the left and the window will automatically move over that way and expand to fill that half of the Desktop. If you push another window in the opposite direction, it will then expand to fill that side of the screen. In essence, you will be able to look at two windows at once on your Desktop without having to minimize and maximize repeatedly. You can then compare the content of those windows against each other. And when you find yourself ready to view one of those windows (or another one, for that matter) at full size, then all you have to do is simply push the window towards the top of the screen. It will automatically expand to cover the entire space of your Desktop.
We can think of a ton of different ways this could be very useful. For example, if you are a graphic designer and you want to compare changes made to an image against the original, you can do it quickly and easily. If you are an editor, you can compare two different versions of the same text for accuracy. If you are a web designer, you can use it to keep track of changes in real time or compare the view in two different browsers at once. The list is really endless.
Add this capability to Windows 7's Jump Lists feature, which allows you to bring up a menu of quick but important tasks you can perform even if you are not actively using the program in question, and the ability to get thumbnail views of all of the open windows for a particular program or application just by hovering over the icon in the Taskbar, and you have some crazy accessibility potential. The more proficient you become at using these features, the faster you will be able to get your work done - even if that work is just hopping online to do some price comparisons on that new TV you have had your eye on.
Since it is common sense that your operating system should work for you rather than against you, this new feature makes a lot of sense. It puts you in more control of your user experience than you have ever had before with previous Microsoft operating systems, and if it works as well as Microsoft says it does, then it is going to make your life a whole lot more efficient.
