Windows 7 tips and tricks

Easy to use keyboard shortcuts and tips for getting the most out of Windows 7

Personalize your workspace

You can change your monitor display to take advantage of the inbuilt themes for backgrounds as well as the size of the text and icons on the screen.

Built in Themes

Windows 7 has built in themes for your desktop background, icons and mouse pointer styles. With the new Aero interface, these new backgrounds are photorealistic. To change your set Theme, right-click on a blank area of the screen and choose PERSONALISE from the popup menu. Select THEMES from the list and a display will appear with thumbnails of the different images contained in each theme. To use that theme, simply click on APPLY button. To close the Window, click on OK.

Adjust the icon & text size

Windows 7 will also allow you to make adjustments to the size of your icons and standard text size. If you are finding it hard to read the information, you can adjust the DPI (dots per inch) to make them appear larger. While in the PERSONALIZATION panel, select ADJUST FONT SIZE (DPI) from the panel on the left hand side of the screen. You can now select between standard (96DPI) or larger (120 DPI), or you can choose a custom setting.

Change the screen resolution

Changing your screen resolution will allow you to either increase the amount of “space on your desktop” to allow for more icons, or it will increase the font size, making things easier to read. To change your screen resolution, select DISPLAY SETTINGS while in the PERSONALISATION panel and use the slider bar to adjust as required. Remember the HIGHER the resolution, the smaller the font will be.