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Category: Features of Windows 7

  • Disabling system tray: Windows 7

                 In this article we are going to see how to disable the system tray completely  If you are the type of person that never uses any applications in the system tray, you might be interested in this registry tweak to turn it off entirely. I can’t imagine using my own system this way, but we’re all about providing information.


    Note: that you could also use this in reverse… if your system tray is disabled and you don’t know why, you should check this registry key.

    You can even remove the clock if you’d like, by right-clicking on the taskbar and choosing Properties. It’s on the Notification Area tab.
    Manual Registry tweak:
    Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then navigate down to the following key (Create if it doesn’t exist):
        “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer”

    Create a new 32-bit DWORD value in the right hand pane with these values:
        * Name: NoTrayItemsDisplay
        * Value: 1
    You will have to logoff and back on for this to take effect. To remove the hack, just delete the key, or change the value to 0.
    Note that disabling the system tray doesn’t actually prevent system tray apps from running, it just hides them. You should still disable any applications that aren’t needed.
    Update: Note that the same registry key may exist in more than one location, so if you are trying to reverse this hack, you should search the registry for NoTrayItemsDisplay.
    Note that this tip should work in all versions of Windows like windows XP and Windows 7 or vista.

  • Positioning Dual monitors : Windows 7

     

                If you have a dual monitor setup and each monitor is a different size or height, it can be annoying trying to move the mouse pointer between them. Here is a quick tip that will help make the process easier.

    Align Monitors
    In our example, we’re using Windows 7, but the process is essentially the same in all versions, but getting to Display Settings is different. In Windows 7 open the Start menu and type display settings into the search box and hit Enter.


    In Vista right-click the desktop and click Personalize. Then from the Personalize appearance and sounds menu click on Display Settings.

    In XP right-click on the desktop and select Properties then in Display Properties click the Settings tab.

    Now here is where you can change the appearance of your monitors. In this example we have a larger 22” LCD and a smaller 19” and it can be annoying getting the mouse pointer from one to another depending where you are on each monitor.

    So what you want to do is simply move each display around to a particular height so it’s easier to get the pointer over. For example with this setting we know we’ll have no problem moving the pointer to the other screen at the top of each display.

    Of course here you can flip your monitors around, change the display resolution, orientation, etc.

    If you have dual monitors where one might be larger or set up higher than the other, then this is a great way to get them finely tuned. You will have to play around with the settings a bit to settle on what works best for you.

  • Windows 7 : Disabling Mobility center

                     Windows Mobility Center is a fairly useful tool for those of us using Windows 7 on a laptop computer, but might not be for everybody, especially since it takes over the Win+X keyboard shortcut.


    If you would rather disable Windows Mobility Center, all it takes is a single registry tweak.



    Manual Registry Tweak

    Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box and then navigate to the following key, creating it if it doesn’t exist:

    Go to following  registry key:
    “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\MobilityCenter”



    Now create a new 32-bit DWORD entry in the right-hand pane called NoMobilityCenter and give it a value of 1.

  • Features of Windows 7

    Select a Window Just by Hovering Over it
    Switch the focus from one window to another in Windows 7 just by hovering over it with the mouse pointer.
    To select an application or other window in Windows 7 you must click on the window with the mouse. However, in some computing environments you can select windows just by hovering over them with the mouse pointer. If you find this convenient you can enable this in Windows 7 by doing the following:
    1. Click the “Start” menu, choosing “All Programs“, “Accessories“, “Ease of Access“, “Ease of Access Center“.
    2. When the “Ease of Access Center” window appears, scroll down and click on “Make the mouse easier to use“.
    3. On the following screen, underneath “Make it easier to manage windows“, check “Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse“.