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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
October 25, 2009
Q.
Can you explain the "Aero" features that are
new in Windows 7, and how to activate them?
A.
Windows 7 introduces a set of new features
called "Aero Effects". These are not only
easy and natural to use, they also are very
useful and really help increase the
productivity of the OS.
By
default, Windows 7 automatically adjust the
Aero effects based on your systems windows
experience index rating. After installing
Windows 7 and after you have all the
hardware properly installed on your computer
you will have to determine your index
rating. To do this, Open the Control Panel,
and if you have category view set click on
System and Security, and then on
System. An easier way is to just hold down
the Windows key and press the Pause key.
In the
second group from the top is the System
section. The second item in it is labeled
Rating. Next to it is a number and next to
it the wording "Windows Experience Index"
and it will probably be unrated. Click on
this and your system index will be
determined. This can take several minutes to
complete.
Depending
on this Index setting, you may
only have some of the Aero effects active.
Windows may not think your machine is
powerful enough to run all these effects
without affecting performance.
You can
see for yourself if you all are active and
find out how much, if any, your computer's
performance is affected. Here's how to
activate them all.
1. Go
back to the Control Panel, System and
Security then System, and this time click on
advanced system settings on the left, then
the Settings tab. In the Performance section
click on the Settings button.
2. Under
the visual effects tab you should see that
the option “Let windows choose what’s best
for my computer” is by default checked.
3. Below
it you should see a list of visual effects,
some of which may be unchecked if you are
not experiencing the full range of Aero
features. NOTE: If all are already checked,
then you are set to use all the Aero
features.
4. If
they are not all checked, check the custom
option and then select all the effects from
the list below it. Hit apply and ok and you
should have all the Aero effects enabled.
There are
four main Aero effects.
Aero
Peek:
This gives you a preview of the open
application windows in a thumbnail without
actually opening them. Moving your mouse
pointer to the icon opens a small thumbnail
of all the windows in that application that
are opened. By simply hovering over
one of these the window is opened to full
screen allowing you to view it. Clicking on
it will make that window active and take you
to it.
In the
lower right corner of the screen is a small
box. If you have one or more window open,
hovering your cursor over it will display a
preview of the desktop. Clicking on it will
minimize all windows and take you to your
desktop. Clicking on it again will reverse
this action.
Aero peek
is supposed to work on Internet Explore tabs
also, but in my pre-release version of
Windows 7 and IE-8, this feature is not
currently active.
Aero
Snap:
If you ever have the need to copy files
from one folder to another, this feature is
a real blessing. If you click and drag a
window up to the top of the screen it will
automatically maximize itself. If you have
two windows open, and want to view them side
by side, click on the bar at the top of the
window and drag it to the left side of the
screen. It will automatically resize to fill
the left side of the screen. Dragging the
other window to the right will automatically
resize to fill the right side of the screen.
Dragging
the bottom of a window to the bottom of the
screen will resize it vertically to the full
screen while leaving the width unchanged.
Aero
Flip:
This Aero effect was partially in
Windows Vista but not in XP. It is enhanced
in Windows 7. Activate it by pressing the
windows key and tab at the same time. It
will give you a 3D effect that will allow
you to “Flip”ť between the different
windows.
If you
press the the ALT key and Tab at the same
time to switch between open windows, then
the selected windows will preview while the
other ones become transparent. To me, this
is preferred to the Windows+Tab way.
Aero
Shake:
If you have several windows open on
your desktop and you want to look at only
one, click and hold on the bar at the top of
its window and "shake" it by rapidly moving
the mouse back and forth. All the other
windows that are open will minimize. Shake
the window again and all the other windows
will be restored. |
