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  1. Select and Focus Taskbar Applications

  To select and focus applications in the taskbar, hold down the Windows key, press T, and use the arrow keys or type T repeatedly. This lets you scroll through the pinned applications without ever touching your mouse.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  2. Copy, Paste or Undo a File Move

  Most people know that the key commands Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+Z are handy for copying, pasting and deleting text, but did you know that you can use these commands for files as well?

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  3. Tile Windows

  With Windows 7 came Aero Snap, or the ability to maximize a window by dragging it to the side of the screen. But what if you want to easily tile your windows?

  SCREENSHOT: Windows
  Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), select the applications you wish to tile (Ctrl+Click), right click, and select Tile Horizontally or Tile Vertically.

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  4. Open an Application

  To start an application that is pinned to the taskbar, hold the Windows key and press the number that corresponds with its location (Win+number from one to nine).

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  5. Manage Your Applications

  To open a new window of the same application (for example, to open a new Chrome window or a second Desktop folder), hold the Shift key, the Window key and then a number from one to nine. If you want to page through the open windows, press Control, Window, and a number, from one to nine.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  6. Pin Any Item to the Taskbar

  By default, Windows 7 only lets you pin applications to the taskbar. But if you want to pin a different item like a file or folder, follow these easy steps.
  1) Drag and drop the file onto your desktop (If the item is in the Favorites folder, follow these extra steps)
  2) Right click > New > Shortcut
  3) Type in: explorer "C:shortcutsFavorites - ShortcutName.lnk"
  4) Name the shortcut
  5) The Shortcut will now appear as a folder, which you can right click to pin to the taskbar

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  7. Open a Command Prompt

  To access the open a command option, hold down the Shift key and right-click a folder.

  This tip only works for Windows 7 or Vista. To do this on Windows XP, you must use a registry hack.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  8. Access the Secret "Send To" Menu

  Did you know that there is a secret "Send To" menu that you can access with the Shift key? Hold down Shift, right-click the folder and select the "Send To" menu. This lets you access a whole new set of file locations, so you can quickly re-locate a folder without the hassle.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  9. Modify the Default "Send To" Menu

  If you want to change the options that appear in your default "Send To menu," type "shell:sendto" into the location bar of a folder. You can then drag and drop new folder locations to the Send To folder.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  10. Open Any File or Webpage

  The Run Command is an easy way to open any file, application or website. Use the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. From here, type in the name of any application and hit Enter. You can also enter a URL directly into this field to open up any webpage.

  SCREENSHOT: Windows

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  11. Create a Zip Folder

  A zip folder is the quickest way to transport a large selection of files. To create a zip folder, right click a regular file folder and select the "Send To" option. The "Compressed (zipped) Folder" option will compress your folder and make it easier to upload the files in one fell swoop.

1. Surpass basic math

Calculator has several dynamic new features—click the View menu to check them out. Unit conversion translates Celsius to Fahrenheit, kilometers to miles, meters to feet, grams to ounces, joules to BTUs, and more. You can use the new calculation worksheets to quickly compute everyday stuff like fuel economy and auto lease payments. The Programmer and Statistics modes handle the geekier tasks.

2. Send information to tech support

The next time you find yourself trying to describe a complicated computer problem to a friend or tech support, give Problem Steps Recorder a try. You can record a series of screen shots, add notes, and email them directly to whoever is helping you. For tips on using Problem Steps Recorder, read this article.

3. Move your taskbar

Did you know that you can move the taskbar to the top, right, or left sides of your screen? Watch a quick video demo.

4. Customize your clocks

Have friends, family, and colleagues in different time zones across the world? Add clocks to your taskbar to keep track of the time in their area. Or add a clock gadget to your desktop. You can even choose from eight different clock designs. Here's how to add and personalize gadgets.

5. Create and share themes

Like a little variety? With Windows 7, you can design, save, and quickly change your computer's themes (desktop background, window border color, sounds, and screen saver). You can even create a new theme, like one that showcases a slide show of your favorite photos as your desktop background, and easily share that with friends and family. Learn more and watch a video about how to create a theme.

6. Drag files from Jump Lists

With Jump Lists, you get a quick-access list of your most frequently or recently used files. Just look for the right-pointing arrow next to programs on your Start menu or left-click a program on the taskbar. You can use Jump Lists to open files and programs in just a few clicks. Even better, you can drag items from Jump Lists into open folders or email.

7. Preview your files

Another great time saver is the file preview pane within a folder or library. Use it to see a file's contents without opening the file in a program. You can open the preview pane in a window by pressing Alt+P. Items such as photos and PDF files will be previewed in this area when you click them. Learn more about using files and folders, including the preview pane.

8. Help reduce eye strain with ClearType

ClearType is a tool that improves the readability of the text on your LCD screen. So if you feel the text isn't displaying sharply, use ClearType. The tool will take you through a series of screens, much like an eye exam, to help you achieve the sharpest text possible. 

9. Easily customize your Sticky Notes

Now you can make the Sticky Notes you keep on your desktop even handier. You can format the text and change its color, as well as resize, collapse, and flip through several Sticky Notes. If you have a Tablet PC or touchscreen, you can use multiple input (pen and touch) methods within a single note. Learn how.

10. Get to know the new Paint

This classic Windows software has been improved in Windows 7 with new brush effects such as watercolor, crayon, and calligraphy. Paint now comes with an easy-to-use ribbon for all the cool features that you use the most. And with a touchscreen you can finger-paint, including using two fingers to create separate brush strokes simultaneously.

11. Quickly find anything on your computer

Windows Search is the fastest way to locate and open any file on your PC, including documents, email messages, music, photos, and more. To use Windows Search, click the Start button , type one or two keywords, and see search results appear almost instantly.

Top 10 computer mouse tips everyone should know

Most computer users don't take full advantage of the computer Mouse. Below are computer mouse tips and secrets that help you get the full potential of your computer mouse and increase your overall productivity while on the computer.

Shift key and mouse click

Many text editors and programs allow you tohighlight all or portions of text using the Shift key and the mouse. For example, click at the beginning of a text in the below text box, hold down the Shift key, scroll to the bottom, and click at the end of the text to highlight all of the text.

Bonus tip: Holding down the Alt key while dragging and highlighting text in a text editor allows you to selectively highlight text. This can be useful if your paragraph or other text is in a column.

Take full advantage of the scroll wheel

Today, everyone is familiar with a mouse wheels ability to scroll up and down on a page. However, this wheel can also do so much more, below are just a few examples.

• The mouse wheel is not just a wheel, it can also be used as a button. Pressing down on the wheel will act like a third mouse button. This can be used to open a web page in a tab by clicking the wheel on any link and can also be used to close a tab by clicking the wheel on any open tab.
• Zoom in and Out on a web page, word document, excel spreadsheet, etc. by holding down the Ctrl key and scrolling up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
• Holding down the Shift key while scrolling up or down in most Internet browsers to go back and forward between web pages.
• Some mouse wheels can be pushed left or right to also move back and forward on a web page.

Select with double and triple click

Any word can be selected by double-clicking the word. If you want to highlight the whole paragraph or sentence, click the mouse button three times on any word. Try it now on this paragraph by clicking three times fast on any word in the paragraph.

Bonus Tip: If you double-click and then drag your mouse it will highlight one word at a time.

Use the right-click

Take full advantage of the right-click any time you highlight text or want to view the properties of an object. For example, if you highlight a file or text, you can right-click that highlighted item copy it and then right-click anywhere else to paste it.

Bonus Tip: If you highlight or select any file or text and then click and drag it while hold the right button, when you let go the option to move or copy that file or text. This saves you the extra step of having to right-click where you want to paste the item.

Bonus Tip: While in a browser pressing and holding Ctrl while clicking on any link opens a menu with options for that link.

Ctrl key and mouse click or highlight

While holding down the Ctrl key you can left-click to select multiple objects or highlight multiple sections of text. For example, in the below selection box if you wanted to highlight more than on eof the itmes listed you could hold down Ctrl and select each item you want highlighted.

             Mouse             Example             Tips             Tricks             Buttons             Clicking             Wheel             Highlight           

Bonus Tip: Mozilla Firefox users can also hold down the Ctrl key and individually click on each cell in a table they want to copy or drag their mouse down a row to select just that row or text without selecting any of the other text in that table.

Use the mouse side buttons

Many new computer mice also have buttons on the side of the mouse. These buttons can be programmed to do anything, however, by default the left-thumb button can be used to go back on a web page. This makes browsing the Internet more enjoyable since you do not need to move the mouse cursor to the browser back arrow button in order to go back a page.

Use the Windows Snap To feature

Take full advantage of the Windows mouse Snap To feature, which will automatically move your mouse to buttons that appear in a dialog box. For example, if you delete a file or close a window you may get a prompt asking you if you are sure you want to perform the task. With the Snap To feature enabled, the mouse cursor automatically moves to the Ok button, so all you have to do is click the mouse button if you agree. This saves you the time of having to move the mouse cursor over to the Ok button and then click Ok.

To enable this feature open the Mouse properties under the Windows Control Paneland check the Snap To check box under the Pointer Options tab.

Bonus Tip: While changing this feature we also suggest looking at other available options in the Mouse settings. For example, increasing the Motion speed can also help increase your productivity while using the mouse.

Manage the open window with the mouse

Double-click the top title bar of any window to maximize a window or if it is already maximized resize it to a window. You can also double-click the icon for the window in the top-left corner of the window to close that window.

Move the mouse with your keyboard

Instead of using the mouse that came with your computer you can also enable Windows to use the number pad as a mouse.

Customize your mouse

Finally, if you have a mouse with more than two buttons, installing the included mouse software allows you to customize the mouse even more. For example, if you don't use the side buttons to move back and forth in a web page change it to something you do more often, such as switching between open windows or opening the calculator.