1. GUI: To Tweak or Not to Tweak
Tweaking
the GUI doesn’t mean anything lascivious.
As
you know, the GUI is the translator that interprets human input into
commands the computer can interpret. It’s also responsible for
displaying output from computer programs and the OS so you can
understand the results. The Windows 7 GUI is set up with factory
defaults that 90 percent of users will never touch, despite its being
highly programmable and easily modifiable through the Control Panel,
Folder Options, Properties dialog boxes, and so on. If you’re a GUI
hacker (you know who you are) and all you want to do is get your work
done, well, more power to you because you’re the one who’s going to get
the pay raise. But playing with the GUI can be fun.
Most
folks won’t modify their GUIs, but it’s a shame they don’t. Often, not
even knowing there is recourse, users develop headaches from screen
flicker, come down with eyestrain from tiny screen fonts, or live with
color schemes they detest. They can usually rectify these problems with
little effort, and have some fun choosing from hundreds of desktop
themes, screen savers, wallpaper images, and so on. Likewise, means for
managing zip archives, altering the right-click Send To options, and
handling numerous other functions users have to deal with every day
often take just a few clicks, a quick download, a Registry hack, or a
setting change.
There
are a couple of ways to fix screen fonts that are too small to read
easily. The most common one is to decrease the screen resolution.
However, on LCD monitors, as explained earlier, this is not the optimum
solution. Leave the screen resolution on an LCD (including laptops) at
the native resolution for the screen (check the manual); then tell
Windows 7 to use a larger font. To increase the font size (up to 200%)
of icons, the taskbar, menus, and other common Windows elements, do the
following:
1. | Right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize.
| 2. | Click Display.
| 3. | Select the Medium or Larger setting in the main pane, or click Set Custom Text Size (DPI) in the Tasks list.
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2. Start Menu Pizzazz!
The
default Start menu of Windows 7 is similar to the Windows Vista
version, and much improved over Windows XP and the old Windows 2000
style. For those of you who prefer the Windows 2000 menu—called the
Classic Start menu—and want to keep using it, you’re out of luck.
Microsoft didn’t include the option to switch to the Classic Start menu
style in Windows 7 like it did in Vista and XP. But, if you’re willing
to give the new look and feel a solid go, there are many nifty
improvements you can take advantage of and even customize.
Tweaking the Start Menu
Tweaking
the Start menu involves a right-click over the Start button (orb) to
select the Properties command from the pop-up menu. This reveals the
Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. The Start Menu tab is
selected by default rather than the first tab—Taskbar—because you’re
checking the Start menu’s properties.
Click the Customize button to open the Customize Start Menu dialog box, which displays more than 50 options. The Customize Start Menu dialog
box essentially lets you control how links, menus, and icons look and
behave on the Start menu. Some of the options are
Include
items on the Start menu: Computer (enabled by default), Connect To,
Control Panel (enabled by default), Default Programs (enabled by
default), Devices and Printers (enabled by default), Documents (enabled
by default), Downloads, Favorites Menu, Games (enabled by default),
Help (enabled by default), Homegroup, Music (enabled by default),
Network, Personal Folder (enabled by default), Pictures (enabled by
default), Recent Items, Recorded TV, Run Command, Videos.
Enable context menus and dragging and dropping.
Highlight newly installed programs (enabled by default).
Enable
flyout menus for items such as Computer, Control Panel, Documents,
Music, and Pictures when you click (or hover) on them, or treat those
items as links and open a separate window showing the item’s contents.
Search
other files and libraries, selecting to search with (default) or
without public folders. When entering as-you-type searches from the
Start menu, Windows 7 will include public folders rather than just the
files for the currently logged-in user.
Search for programs and the Control Panel when performing as-you-type searches.
Sort the All Programs menu by name automatically, which keeps the menu organized alphabetically.
Display Administrative Tools, such as Event Viewer and Task Scheduler, on the Start menu.
Choose between large (default) and small icons.
Set the number of recently accessed applications to be displayed (the default is 10).
Set the number of recent items to display in jump lists (the default is 10).
Back
on the Start Menu tab, you can select which action to take when the
Power button is clicked. Your options are Switch User, Log Off, Lock,
Restart, Sleep, Hibernate, and Shut Down (default).
Tip
If
you want to return your Start menu settings to the factory defaults,
there’s a shortcut. Just open the Customize Start Menu dialog box as
previously described and click Use Default Settings. |
Finally, you have two Privacy choices:
Store and Display Recently Opened Programs in the Start Menu— Turn this off if you don’t want prying eyes to see which programs you worked with in the recent past.
Store and Display Recently Opened Items in the Start Menu and the Taskbar—
Turn this off if you don’t want others to see which items you worked
with recently. These items are associated with jump lists on the Start
menu.
Tip
Technically, almost everything on your Start menu can be found in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. What doesn’t appear in this location is in the folder under Users, for example: C:\Users\Eve\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
You
can modify those locations if you want to add shortcuts to or remove
shortcuts from your Start menu. Remember, the Start menu is just a
collection of shortcuts to programs and documents, not the actual files
themselves. |
With
a bit of experimentation, you’ll find the combination of features that
best suits your preferred Start menu population and function.
Tweaking the Taskbar
The
taskbar itself has configurable options; these are contained on the
Taskbar tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. You
can lock the taskbar so that stray mouse actions won’t alter its
placement or configuration, auto-hide it to maximize the desktop area,
use small icons as the default, set it to appear along any edge of the
screen, and combine buttons by default or only when the taskbar is full.
You’ll
probably recall many of these controls from previous Windows OSs. In
addition, there is automatic grouping of similar taskbar items as in
Vista and XP. And if you have Aero turned on, you will see thumbnails
of apps and docs when you mouse over a taskbar button.
Note
Auto-Hide
is inherited from previous Windows versions and gives you more
available screen real estate by causing the taskbar to appear only if
you mouse down to the bottom of the screen. |
As you probably know, task buttons on the taskbar are listed from left to right in their
order of launch, up to a point. The default setting is to group buttons
by similarity, which creates a stacked button representing similar
programs. For example, if three Word documents are open, they appear as
a single stacked button. The same applies if Windows Explorer and the
Computer window are both open, or if Control Panel, Devices and
Printers, and Default Programs are open simultaneously. Just hover your
mouse pointer over the stacked button to display a pop-list of
applications or documents it represents, and then choose one you want
to jump to.
Hide Notification Area Icons and Notifications
If
you’re experienced with previous Windows OSs you might be familiar with
how quickly the notification area (called the system tray in XP,
immediately to the left of the digital clock at the bottom of the
screen) can fill up with icons. Some systems have had more than a
dozen. Windows 7 manages its notification area intelligently by
allowing inactive icons to be hidden. Plus, instead of displaying a
long stream of active icons, only three or so are displayed along with
an up arrow, which you can click to access the hidden icons. By
clicking the Customize button in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
dialog box, you can customize which icons and notifications are hidden
or displayed.
Reposition the Taskbar
As
with previous versions of Windows, you can still drag the taskbar to
any edge of your desktop: top, bottom, or sides. You can also still
expand the thickness of the taskbar to allow multiple rows of task
buttons. Just hover the mouse pointer near the edge of the taskbar so
that it turns into a double arrow, and drag it up, down, or sideways.
Tip
If
you can’t get the taskbar to resize or move, it’s locked. Right-click
an empty part of the bar (not on a button or Quick Launch shortcut) and
select Lock the Taskbar to uncheck it. |
