There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts in Windows, but perhaps one of the most useful is using Windows+Tab to switch between different windows you have open. To try it out just hold down the Windows key, then press Tab a few times.
You should see something that looks like the image below. Each time you press Tab (while still holding down the Windows key) it will cycle through to the next window. When you find the one you are looking for, just release all of the keys and it will display the window you selected.
Most people typically have a few programs open at once, and when you sum up the total amount of time we spend navigating between those windows it can add up quick. That is why we have an IT policy to give people a dual monitor setup if they think they would use both of them, and also why I wanted to share this quick tip with you. Try to remember to use it over the next week, and I bet you will be hooked.
We recently upgraded everyone's browser to Internet Explorer v9, and I thought I would quickly run through some of the things that changed in the new version, as well as some of the new features. Some of the most significant improvements are that many of the core pieces that run the web browser have been re-written and are now blazing fast. This means just about everything you do on the web should be at least slightly faster, which should make it worth working through the learning curve and getting use to the new layout and features.
You can watch this short 2 minute video to see what has changed:
Who moved my cheese? Using the new browser controls
The first thing you'll notice when you open Internet Explorer 9 is the simplified design. You can find most command bar functions, like Print or Zoom, when you click the Tools button
, and your favorites and feeds appear in Favorites Center when you click the Favorites button
.
Tabs automatically appear to the right of the Address bar, but you can move them so they appear below the Address bar, as they did in previous versions of Internet Explorer. You can always show the Favorites, Command, Status, and Menu bars by right-clicking the Tools button
, and then selecting them on a menu.
From what we have seen, most people prefer to display the Command Bar and sometimes the Favorites Bar as well.
You can access websites that you visit regularly by pinning them to the taskbar on your Windows 7 desktop.
Pinning a site is simple: just drag its tab to the taskbar—the website's icon will stay there until you remove it. When you click the icon later, the website will open in Internet Explorer.
Whenever you open a pinned site, the website icon appears at the top of the browser, so you have easy access to original webpage that you pinned. The Back and Forward buttons change color to match the color of the icon.
You can now search directly from the Address bar. If you enter a website's address, you'll go directly to the website. If you enter a search term or incomplete address, you'll launch a search using the currently selected search engine. Click the address bar to select your search engine from the listed icons or to add new ones.
When you search from the Address bar, you'll have the option of opening a search results page or the top search result (if your chosen search provider supports the feature). You can also turn on optional search suggestions in the Address bar.
Notifications that don't slow you down ... but aren't obvious either
The new Notification bar that appears at the bottom of Internet Explorer gives you important status information when you need it, but it won't force you to click a series of messages to continue browsing.
, and your favorites and feeds appear in Favorites Center when you click the Favorites button
.
