Secrets of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

Where did the Menu Bars go?

2007-07-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Notice anything missing in your Explorer folders? The menu bar (File, Edit, View…) is missing from those windows. It seems that MS decided to save you a little space for the windows. Though as most things happen to be in Windows Vista you can customize the windows and bring them back!

If you want to bring them back quickly for a single window, here is what to do. First lets look at what we are missing:

Now all you have to do is hit the Alt or F10 key to make them magically appear:

Now the Menu Bar is back where it belongs!

If you want to have all windows display the menu bar permanently do the following:

In the window click on Organize, Layout and Menu Bar:

The menus will now stay in all the windows permanently until you do the same command to remove it.

Network Access Protection in Vista

2007-07-25T00:20:00.001-07:00

Feature Description

Windows Vista includes an agent that can prevent a Windows Vista-based client from connecting to your private network if it lacks current security updates or lacks virus signatures. Network Access Protection can be used to protect your network from remote access clients as well as local area network (LAN) clients. The agent reports Windows Vista client health status, such as having current updates and up-to-date virus signatures installed, to a server-based Network Access Protection enforcement service. A Network Access Protection infrastructure, included with Windows Server Code Name Longhorn, determines whether to grant the client access to your private network or to a restricted network.

Benefits

Network Access Protection can enforce health requirements for mobile computers, remote computers, and computers directly connected to your private network. Often, users who travel with their computers are unable to connect to your private network for weeks at a time. When they do connect, their connections might be so brief that their computers do not have time to download the latest updates, security configuration settings, and virus signatures. Therefore, mobile computers are often in a less-healthy state than other computers. Network Access Protection improves the security of these mobile computers by ensuring that the latest updates are installed before users connect to your private network.

Windows Vista’s “Snipping Tool”

2007-07-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

As in the older versions of Windows, Printscreen button (PrtScr) on the keyboard is mainly used to make screenshots. So, whenever you wanted to make a screenshot, you had to hit that button and then go into a photo editing program (paint) and paste it there, etc., etc. Well, in Windows Vista, you can actually bypass a lot of that work.

Windows Vista Snipping Tool is introduced to you in this TIP! To open the Snipping Tool, go to Start, Accessories, Snipping Tool. (You can also access it by typing the word "snip" into the search box under the Start menu (non-classic Start Menu)).

You can choose which type of shot you'd like to do. The choices are: Free-form snip, rectangular snip, window snip or full-screen snip. When you've decided which one you want to do, focus in on what you want to capture. To snip, just drag your mouse until you've captured what you want. Once you've got it snipped, you can choose from different customizing options to add certain things to your image. For example, you can use a highlighter to highlight certain things in whatever color you'd like to use. You can use the pen tool, eraser tool. When you're done with your screenshot, you can either save it or you can even send it to someone in an e-mail. So, NO need to open Paint separately.

Safeguard your data

2007-07-25T00:16:00.001-07:00

Help keep your system safe from data loss using scheduled and network backup features, available in the Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Automatically scheduled backups and your choice of backup destinations help you to recover your data in the event of hardware failure. It's easy to restore your PC or to bring a new PC to your current state using Complete PC Backup and Restore. Together, these features help safeguard every last bit of your PC settings, programs, and personal data. Complete PC Backup is part of Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption available in Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate provides full-volume encryption and boot-integrity checking to help make sure your data stays confidential, even if your PC is lost or stolen. The system will decrypt data only if the early boot components appear unmolested and if the encrypted drive is in the original computer.

Control Panel in Windows Vista

2007-07-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

Let’s first get aware of new features of Vista.

The Control Panel in Windows Vista offers many new features

Ø Network Center. You can use this feature to view your Network Map and uncover connectivity problems, configure basic security settings, and view network details.

Ø Parental Controls: You can use Parental Controls to enable, configure, and manage the new parental controls in Windows Vista.

Ø Pen and Input Devices:You can use this feature to configure and manage alternate input devices including pens and input panels.

Ø Sidebar Properties: With this feature, you can configure and manage how the Windows Vista sidebar appears on the interface.

Ø Sync Center: You can use Sync Center to manage synched hardware such as PDAs, portable media players, and other devices.

Ø Text to Speech: With Text to Speech, you can set up, train, and run speech recognition, and to configure and run text to speech translation.

Ø Windows Defender: With this functionality, you can check for unwanted or harmful software, scan your computer, view quarantined items, and visit the Windows Defender Web site.

Ø Windows SideShow: You can use the Windows SideShow to connect a secondary display that accesses information like e-mail or media from a mobile phone or other mobile device. And you can use Windows SideShow to check your mail while you are away from your computer.

Windows Media Player 11

2007-07-25T00:02:00.001-07:00

Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a new GUI for the media library, photo display and organization, the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders

How to Automatically Log On To a User Account in Windows Vista

2007-07-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

As long as security isn't a big concern, configuring Windows Vista to log on to your user account automatically can save you some serious time and effort when your computer is starting up. Just follow the easy steps outlined below to make Windows Vista automatically log on to your user account. After completing these steps, Windows Vista will stop prompting you for a user name and password on startup!

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Configuring Windows Vista to log on to a user account automatically takes less than 5 minutes

Here's How:

1. Click on Start, type the following command in the search box, and then hit the Enter key.

netplwiz

This command will load the Advanced User Accounts control panel.

2. In the Users tab, uncheck the box next to Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.

3. Click on the Apply button at the bottom of the User Accounts window.

4. When the Automatically Log On dialog box appears, enter your password in the two fields where it's asked and then click OK.

Click OK on the User Accounts window to complete the process.

From now on, when your PC starts up, Windows Vista will log on automatically.

CPU Meter Gadget

2007-07-24T23:59:00.002-07:00

Windows Vista gadgets can do more than show the weather and news. The Windows Vista Sidebar can also be used to install gadgets that are useful as system utilities that keep track of the resources Windows Vista is using.

The CPU Meter Windows Vista Sidebar gadget displays two dials - one that tracks your system's CPU usage and another that tracks physical memory usage, both in percentage format. This is a pretty basic Windows Vista gadget in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.

The CPU Meter gadget is included with Windows Vista. Just open the Gadgets window from your Windows Sidebar and double-click on CPU Meter. It will instantly be added to your Windows Sidebar.

If you like to keep track of how much memory and CPU is being used at any given time; give the CPU Meter gadget a try.

DriveInfo Gadget

2007-07-24T23:59:00.001-07:00

The DriveInfo Windows Vista Sidebar gadget monitors the free space available on one or more of your PC's hard drives. It displays the free space in both GB and percentage. The DriveInfo gadget is very easy to configure and is an especially attractive addition to your other Vista Sidebar gadgets.

The DriveInfo gadget is available as a free download from the Windows Live Gallery. Just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

If you frequently check the free space available on your hard drives, the DriveInfo gadget will definitely save you some time.

Wireless Network Gadget

2007-07-24T23:58:00.001-07:00

The Wireless Network Windows Vista Sidebar gadget is a very useful gadget if you connect to the world via a wireless network. It monitors both your wireless network's strength and security. The Wireless Network gadget is well designed and will fit well on your Sidebar with your other attractive gadgets.

The Wireless Network gadget is freely available from the Windows Live Gallery. As with the other gadgets available at the Windows Live Gallery, just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

Memory Meter Gadget

2007-07-24T23:57:00.001-07:00

The Memory Meter Windows Vista Sidebar gadget monitors everything about your system memory. It displays the total amount of memory, amount of memory remaining, and the amount and percentage of memory currently being used by Windows Vista.

The Memory Meter gadget is also freely available from the Windows Live Gallery. As with some of the other gadgets mentioned in this list, just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

If your memory usage is something you need (or like) to watch, the Memory Meter Vista Sidebar gadget will really come in handy.

Partitioning in Vista

2007-07-17T00:16:00.001-07:00

No more need of Partition Magic in Windows Vista, Use Shrink volume to create a new partition and Extend partition to merge two partitions.

Microsoft XPS Documents

2007-07-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

An XPS document is a new Microsoft document format that you can use to archive content in a standardized format or publish content in an easily viewable form (i.e WYSIWYG form ). You can also use this format to ensure that no one is able to edit your original work (Like PDF).

With Windows Vista (or Microsoft .NET 3.0 installed on Windows XP), we can easily create XPS documents from virtually any application using the Microsoft XPS Document Writer (So no need for separate PDF writer ).

Creating XPS documents in the 2007 Microsoft Office system

With a free download, you can also "Save as XPS" directly from the following 2007 Microsoft Office system programs: Access, Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and Word. Rather than going through the print menu, you can just use the "File | Save As" option to create an XPS version of your document, presentation, or spreadsheet directly from the authoring application.

.XPS document viewing

The XPS Viewer is installed by default in Windows Vista, so you can quickly and easily open a document created with the XPS document format. The viewer is hosted within Internet Explorer 7. This Internet Explorer-hosted viewer is also available to Windows XP users when they download the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. For Windows XP users who only wish to view or create XPS documents, and thus do not need the full .NET Framework, they can download the smaller XPS Essentials Pack.

High-fidelity onscreen graphics

XPS documents feature support for high-fidelity text and graphics. When the document is magnified, the text always appears smooth, clear, and accurate at any size.

XPS document and non-XPS document magnified.

Aero graphical user interface

2007-07-17T00:10:00.001-07:00

Windows Vista uses the Windows Aero graphical user interface.

Windows Aero

Premium editions of Windows Vista include a redesigned user interface and visual style, named Windows Aero (Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open). Aero is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows versions, including transparencies, window animations and eye candy. Windows Aero also features a new default font (Segoe UI) with a slightly larger size, a streamlined style for wizards, and a change in the tone and phrasing of most of the dialogs and control panels.

In addition to the Windows Aero visual style, Windows Vista includes three other variations: "Standard" which is Windows Aero without the transparencies and glass effects, "Basic" which more closely resembles Windows XP with elements of Aero, and is geared towards lower-end machines that aren't able to use the Desktop Window Manager, and "Classic" which is similar in appearance to Windows 2000.

Windows Sidebar

2007-07-17T00:09:00.001-07:00

Windows Sidebar is a panel for Desktop Gadgets that is anchored to the side of the Windows Vista desktop. Users can add gadgets from gallery.live.com which were made by other users. Sidebar gadgets can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date and showing the CPU usage.

The Sidebar contains mini-applications or Gadgets which may be used to display information such as the system time, Internet-powered features such as RSS feeds, and to control external applications such as Windows Media Player. Desktop Gadgets can also run on the Windows desktop, separate from the Sidebar.

Windows Vista includes eleven Sidebar gadgets: Calendar, Clock, Contacts, CPU Meter, Currency conversion, RSS Feed Headlines, Notes, Picture Puzzle, Slide Show, Stocks, and Weather. Of these, the Clock, Slide Show and Feed Headlines are displayed by default on a new installation of Windows Vista. Microsoft provides a link to a web site called Windows Live Gallery where additional Sidebar gadgets may be downloaded.

Preview Pane in Windows VISTA

2007-07-17T00:07:00.000-07:00

One of the new additions in Windows Vista is the new Preview Pane.

The Preview Pane can be activated in Explorer by navigating to Organize » Layout » Preview Pane.

Using the Preview Pane you can browse readable views of various documents or, with media files, preview a few seconds of content.

This becomes extremely useful if you are searching for one particular document, do not know the name but have some idea about the starting content.

The Preview Pane is available in the Documents Explorer, Music Explorer, Pictures Explorer and Video Explorer.

Windows SideShow

2007-07-17T00:06:00.001-07:00

Windows SideShow is a technology introduced in Windows Vista that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC. These devices can be separate from or integrated into the main PC (e.g., a display embedded on the outside of a laptop lid), enabling access to information and media even when the PC is (mostly) turned off. SideShow can also drive the display of PC data on mobile phones and other devices that are connected via Bluetooth or other wireless network protocols.

SideShow display devices can be updated with a number of different kinds of information, such as contacts, maps, calendar appointments, and e-mail messages. They can then be consulted when the PC is otherwise powered down. Since the underlying platform is so power-efficient, SideShow displays integrated into laptops can run for hundreds of hours without draining the laptop battery, while still providing always-on access to data and multimedia content.

SideShow is coupled to the Windows Vista Sidebar--that is, Microsoft Gadgets can easily be extended to be compatible with SideShow secondary displays. However, hardware and silicon providers can also provide native capabilities to allow for richer multimedia applications such as text, image, audio and video decode/playback. For example, a notebook with an in-lid display could be used as an MP3 player while powered down, with the notebook battery providing hundreds of hours of playback time because of the low power footprint that the SideShow platform maintains.

Windows Flip and Flip 3D

2007-07-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

For all Vista Premium Ready PCs, when using Alt+Tab to switch between open windows, a preview of each open window appears instead of just the program icon. In addition, Windows Flip 3D enables users to flip through a cascading stack of their open windows using the mouse scroll wheel. Windows can be stacked and rotated in 3D to provide views of all of them simultaneously. (The keyboard shortcuts are Win+Tab, which makes Flip 3D disappear after releasing, Ctrl+Win+Tab, which keeps Flip 3D visible after releasing, and Win+Shift+Tab to flip through open windows backward).^[3] The window buttons on the taskbar show a thumbnail image of the window, when the mouse hovers over the button.

Hello

2007-07-11T23:54:00.001-07:00