Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts

Use the below Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts to make the most of your Windows 7 ex
perience.
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 a
nd 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 U
p 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 pre
ss the Windows key and the + (plus) or - (minus) keys. Pressing the plus zooms i
n 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 th
e background clear all background open windows by pressing the Windows key + the
Home key.
Full listing of computer shortcuts
Use the Windows 7 search
Find and run anything in Windows by using the Windows 7 search box. Click the St
art orb or press then Windows key and type the name of the program you want to r
un or file you want to edit. Windows 7 does a good job at finding an exact match
and press enter to execute that program or open that file. If more than one mat
ch is found, use the up and down arrow keys to select the file you want to open
and then press Enter.
Windows 7 search box
Running as administrator: Some programs may require administrator mode to functi
on properly. If you'd like, you can run any program as administrator from the se
arch box. To do this, type the name of the program you want to run into the sear
ch box, but do not press enter. Instead, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter. This shortcut r
uns the program as administrator. If you want to click and run a program as admi
nistrator 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
programs without having to use the Start
right-click on the program or shortcut to
Pin to Taskbar option. Alternatively you

and allow easy access to your favorite

Menu. To Pin a program to the Taskbar
the program and in the menu choose the
can also drag the icon to the Taskbar.

If you want to remove a pinned program, right-click on the Taskbar icon and clic
k 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-clic
k 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 open the w
indow corresponding to the open program on your Taskbar. For example, in the pic
ture below 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 w
as pressed, Adobe Photoshop would become the active window. To make it even easi
er arrange your icons (as mentioned above) from left to right by most frequently
opened.
Windows 7 Taskbar
Pin your favorite folder
If you frequently access the same folder (e.g. your favorites, my documents, Dro
pbox, etc.) pin the folder to the Windows Explorer icon on the Taskbar. To do th
is drag your favorite folder to the Taskbar until you see Pin to Windows Explore
r. Once pinned, right-click the Explorer icon to access that folder under the Pi
nned section.
Open a second instance
If you want to open a second instance or window of a program that is already ope
n, 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 Desk
top.
Windows 7 notification area aka systrayCustomize 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. 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 a
nd 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 en
ter. In the Programs and Features window on the left-hand column click Turn Wind
ows features on or off and in the Windows Features box check or uncheck the feat
ures 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 Hi
story. In the Reliability Monitor, you'll be able to view the overall reliabilit
y of your computer and be able to identify any past problems your computer has h
ad.

If you want to view the performance of your computer in real time use the Perfor
mance Monitor. Click the Start orb and type performance and press enter for the
Performance Monitor. In the Performance Monitor, you can view your computers per
formance in real time or view a log of your systems performance.
Re-enable underlined keyboard shortcuts
File menu underlined shortcutsBy default, Windows 7 has the underlines for keybo
ard shortcuts like those shown in the picture. To re-enable these underlines in
all Windows programs follow the steps below.
Open the Control Panel
In the Control Panel click Ease of Access
In Ease of Access click Change how your keyboard works
Finally, check the Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys and then cli
ck Ok.
Rename multiple files at once
To change the name of multiple files at once highlight all the files you want to
rename in Windows Explorer and press the F2 key. Type in the new name you want
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 softw
are package. Windows Essentials includes: Windows Live Family Safety, Windows Li
ve Mail, SkyDrive for Windows, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery, Windo
ws Live Writer, and other programs.