Stone Studio

Get Quick Launch back

I liked the new Windows 7 taskbar a lot — but something was missing. Yes, you can pin programs to the Start menu now, and I do. But I also liked the Quick Launch bar, where I could put icons for programs I use a little less frequently but often enough that I don’t want to have to open the Start menu to get to them. Quick Launch is missing in Windows 7, but there is a way to bring it back. You’ll find step by step instructions with screenshots in this tutorial.

Problem Steps Recorder

One of the coolest new tools in Windows 7 is the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) — especially for those of us who provide tech support to Windows users. No matter how hard they try, users often have problems accurately describing the problem they’re experiencing or the steps they took before or after experiencing it. Sure, Remote Assistance can be a godsend in those situations. But you can’t always connect to the user’s computer in real time. That’s when the PSR comes in handy.

I’m actually using it as a screen recording tool for tutorials etc., it is free

Format the text in sticky notes

Another new feature in Windows 7 is the built-in Sticky Notes application. You’ll find it on the Start menu. You’ve probably already discovered that you can change the color of notes by right-clicking and selecting a new color. You may also have figured out that you can use the Ctrl + B and Ctrl + I shortcuts to format the text as bold or italic. But did you know that you can make bulleted and numbered lists in your sticky notes, and increase or decrease the text size? Here are some more handy keyboard shortcuts that work within sticky notes:

• Ctrl + Shift + L (once): Bulleted list
• Ctrl + Shift + L (twice): Numbered list
• Ctrl + Shift + >: Increase text size
• Ctrl + Shift + <: Decrease text size
• Ctrl + U: Underline
• Ctrl + T: Strikethrough

Mastering Windows 7 Hotkeys

General

Explorer

Taskbar modifiers