In the latest Windows 7, the overall size of the windows can be vastly changing with the use of mouse. The freeware AeroSnap enables control of open Windows even in the past Windows versions like in Windows 7. This is one of the small tools in the beta version, but it runs very reliably. You will need the .NET Framework 2.0 installed for the program to work.
Before using this program, you should modify a few options. For that right click on aero snap symbol in the taskbar and choose ‘Options’. On the left, choose the category ‘General’. There, deactivate the option ‘Show splash screen on startup’ and activate ‘Auto start AeroSnap with Windows’. The option ‘Remove AeroSnap from tray area’ should not be activated or the set up dialog can only be activated using the key combination [Windows]+[ A].
If you can assign a hot key in the ‘Snapping’ category, which must be pressed for the AeroSnap function. All the settings are confirmed means press ‘OK’. To customize a window, hence forth its title line and drag it with the mouse to the screen border. When you let go of the mouse, the window automatically snaps to the borders of the screen.
The old size adjustment remains saved and can be restored by single clicking on the title bar. However, this is possible only if the window was not maximized before.
The button width of running programs in the taskbar is restricted. Incase if one program is open, its full name is not visible. When many symbols have to share taskbar space, Windows automatically minimize the size of the individual objects. With enough space however, a specific minimum value is used for these icons. You can modify the size of the buttons in the registry.
For that, open the command ‘Run’ in Windows start menu, enter ‘regedit’ and click ‘OK’. In the editor, navigate to the key ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control panel\Desktop\Window Metrics’. Search for the character string ‘MinWidth’ towards the right of the window. If the entry does not exist, create it with the command ‘Edit| New| Character String’. To edit, double click on the new entry.
The Windows always minimize the actual size to the suitable size of the free space in the taskbar. The set value is used only if free space is more than or equal to this value. For ex, enter ‘1000’ and confirm with ‘OK’. This Windows displays the buttons in as big a size as possible, space permitting. Finally, close the Registry Editor and restart the computer, so that the changes take effect.
The Restoration Console mainly helps to easily access to removable media and it allows only access to the Windows Directory. To match the best solution is USB-Stick and drives for removable are blocked. In Windows XP Home, an intervention in the registry is required, and then the restriction can be switched off using the SET command.
XP Home:
First Open the Registry Editor and Open ‘Start| Run’, enter-> Regedit and Click “OK”.
Then navigate to the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ Current Version\ Setup\ Recovery console’ and create the ‘Set Command’ entry of the data type ‘REG_DWORD’ using ‘Edit| New| DWORD value’.
Open it by double clicking and set its value to ‘1’ and the value ‘0’ switch off the function if required later. Close the Registry Editor.
If you start your system with the restoration console, you can grant the required rights using the command ‘SET’:
SET AllowAllPaths – True
SET AllowWildCards – True
SET AllowRemovableMedia – True
SET NoCopyPrompt – True.
These commands allow access to all paths, using Wild Cards, access to removable media and Copying Without a prompt.
XP Professional:
To open the process ‘Start and Run’ -> Enter ‘gpedit.msc’ and Click “OK”.
With the use of Group policy editors starting the following, ‘ Local Computer Policy -> Computer configuration -> Windows Settings- >Security Settings-> Local Policy -> Security Options’ -> Double click ‘Recovery console’.
To modify the options to ‘Enabled’ and fixed the changes with ‘Accept’ and ‘ OK’.
This method consider about complicated directories access in a quick way. In continuously used data in the same folder structure on the hard disk. Vista mainly uses the hard links to re-route folder at times. You will re-route consecutively used virtual directories in Vista. Some special folders can be recognized in Explorer with the additional link arrow as a symbol and this is simple. Programs which use the old folder must function correctly in Vista. With the use of the tool ‘mklink.exe’, the principles of hard links used by the system create a symbolic link, which can later open in Explorer.
You must run the command form a command prompt with administrator rights. For that, Enter-> cmd in the search field of the start menu, right click on the displayed program ‘cmd.exe’ and choose the context command ‘ Run as administrator’.
mklink /d C:\photos C:\users\folder name\documents\photos.
With the above command, you can get direct access to the image folder of the user related folder name.
The process of access to the folder is blocked you will want to modify the authorization settings of the folder. It can be easily checking on the folder concerned and chose ‘Properties’ context command. Switch to the “Security” tab and click on “Advanced”. You will notice that the group ‘Permission’ denies the authorization ‘Read & Execute’. In few programs like Antivirus program and System tools cannot handle hard links properly. They consider the re-routed folder as a separate directory and execute the task twice which takes up unnecessary time.
Vista includes a more improved search tool than past version of Windows. But, the new tool used for quickly searching any type of information on your computer. Windows Search Engine Service is constant and this sections all the data on your hard drive, creating an index of files and metadata. Meta data are data points collected by the data files associated with a particular application.
The Windows Search Engine field not only indexes file names and message readers, it also indexes text within metadata file and text documents. Instant Search Optimizes its results based on your current activities. You find files on the Start menu in the Control Panel; in many applications such as Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Gallery and Internet Explorer. Further more detailed search with in any Explorer, click the down arrow next to the Instant Search box and check the Search Pane Option.
This search pane placed at the top of the Windows Explorer, which lets you design complicated search. You can select to filter your search by Location, Keyword, Document type and Date ranges. To create a search folder, conduct on Instant Search and then click the Save Search button. The current virtual folder contains the current results of a given search query.
A Folder within Windows refers to a particular location, as well as to all the subfolders and files stored in that location. It includes location-based folders, but also adds the ability to create virtual folders. The Virtual folder does not contain any physical files, when you delete a virtual folder. You only delete the pointers to phase files. In this folder is created from a collection of criteria that either you or the operating system assembles.
It can include file size, file type or various metadata. You can easily identify a virtual folder icons are blue, instead of the normal yellow color with in Vista. Virtual folders are called search folders and it based on your stated Search Criteria. Files are pointed to from within a Search Folders are always updated based on the recent files stored on your system that match your Past Instant Search.
Vista also includes a different type of preconfigured virtual folders as part of the OS. It is stored within the Search Folder find in the Navigation Pane of all explorer Windows, and include Recent E-mail, Recent Music, Recent Pictures, Recent Documents and Videos. Each of these preconfigured the Recent Virtual folder is based on specific search criteria.
If you are a parent, you know it is not always possible to personally supervise each minute of your system usage, when you first configure Windows Vista; it is a good idea to create separate user accounts for each of your children. Vista’s parental controls are monitored and configured from the Parental Control Panel. You access the parental control panel by selecting Start->Control Panel->User Account and Family Safety->Parental controls.
When you decide to track your children’s system usage, Vista records all the process provided by each user, including which web sites they visit, who they instant message, which games and applications they launch and what files they download. You don’t want your children spending longer time in front of the PC. Vista offers time limits you can use to restrict computer usage. When your child is using the PC and nearing the end of an approved time period, he will receive a 10-minute and 1-minute notification that his allowed time is just about up. If he fails to log off before his time is up, Windows will suspend his current session and display the login screen so that another user can use the computer.
You can configure Windows vista to allow or block access to games based on their age ratings windows tracks the type of game by to content flags embedded in the game itself, and only allows that access you permit of end user. You may not need your child to have access to each application installed on your computer. To use Vista Block specific programs feature to display a list of all installed programs. It includes a built-in web content filter, which can block access to specific web pages, based on page content. When your child tries to access a blocked page, he sees a screen that explains why the site is unavailable to them.
In Windows Vista, windows let you easily switch from one user to another, using Fast User Switching. All the open documents and programs and settings for the first user are automatically stored when you switch to other user. When you switch black, the first user’s documents, programs and settings reappear just as they were before the switch.
Each user can select your own account name, password and picture, whatever interface, desktop and file personalization one users makes sticks with that user. It consists of two primary levels of user accounts. In Administrator state account has permission to perform installing programs and modifying or deleting files. The User level account does not have permission to install programs and delete key files; all users were already assigned Administrator status in Windows XP.
To install malicious software and spyware on their system for security process, control the PC, using the original uses Administrator privileges. Vista used user account control with all users is automatically assigned user level access with increase system security. User Account Control presents a dialog box that asks for authentication for the task at the hand.
File Compression techniques are based on the fact that most computer files are fairly redundant. It simply takes up too much hard disk space, you can use file compression to reduce its size. Windows Vista lets you reduce the size of your archived files through its compressed folders feature. The compressed folders are actually .ZIP format files compressed with the LZW algorithm. LZW is an adaptive, dictionary based on algorithm. This redundant letter patterns are identified as the file is processed; as the process continues, it adapts to find more redundant letter patterns.
Redundant letter patterns are removed from the original text and placed in a dictionary. Each pointer refers to a distinct letter pattern in the dictionary and compressed file contains only non redundant patterns. When the file is uncompressed, the pointers are replaced by the original letter pattern. This process of restore the file to its original condition, with no data loss is also called as Lossless compression.
If you are using your personal computer at home, then many chances are others using your system keys, screen. This makes your PC a multiple user machine. Older Windows versions were not built with multiple users in mind. But now fully integrated into Windows Vista is quite common. While you could let many people use your system under a single user name, the problem with this approach is that all your data’s would be accessible to everybody else using your PC, Which probably is not a better thing.
In generally, take the trouble to reconfigure things back to the way you like then. In best way is to let the user configure windows to your own personal process, as part of their own individual user accounts. When every user logs in, Windows display the settings particular to that user. This type of multiple user steps is better for both privacy and personalization. Windows Vista new User Account Control, each user is limited to the types of changes that can make to your system. It is no longer easy for users to changes system settings malicious software. In addition, you can use vista’s parental controls to monitor and manage usage of the user accounts you assign to others.
