START+x means hold the Windows START key down while pressing
the second key.
Show Desktop {toggle}
+D
Minimize all Windows
+M
Run File Explorer+E
Find a File
+F
Run a Program
+R
System Information
+PAUSE
Display Settings
+U
Toggle Desktop & Windows
+D
Switch between running applications ALT+TAB keys
CTRL+[mouse wheel] changes text size up/down on most
browsers
Create your own keyboard shortcut
It's easy to set your own keyboard shortcuts to start applications quickly
without having to search for icons on your desktop or the START menu.
Right-click on the shortcut
and select Properties.
In the "Shortcut Key" box, type
a key.
Now when you type CTRL+ALT+[key] you will activate
that shortcut.
Quick View of your Desktop
As listed in the keyboard shortcuts above, to see the desktop view without exiting all your programs and windows, just press the Windows key + D. Repeat to toggle them back into view.
Mouse method: Right click on the taskbar (bottom icons if visible) and select "Show the Desktop" from the pop-up menu. To restore your windows, right click and select "Show Open Windows".
Create Your Own Toolbar
In Windows, you can run many applications at the same time and simply switch between them - no need to exit one to run another. New users put all their program icons on the desktop. You can also use the START Menu (Windows icon at bottom left) to find programs. A third options is to create a custom Toolbar to the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen that contains shortcuts to your favorite programs.
Right click on an empty space in your Taskbar and select Toolbars from the popup menu, then New Toolbar.
In the selection box, type the text below and replace LOGINNAME with
your real Windows login name (or click on My Computer and navigate
to its location): C:\Users\LOGINNAME\Desktop
As soon as you select the location, Desktop >> appears in your
Taskbar. To display and select from a list of Desktop applications,
just click on the two chevrons to the right of Desktop.
You may need to use "All Users" or "Administrator" for LOGINNAME depending on how you logged in to create the Desktop:
C:\Users\All Users\Desktop C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop
Exploring using detailed display
Click the Windows key and select Settings,
then Folder Options. In the file manager (Exploring),
you can select "Details" from the view menu to display file size, date
created, file type, etc. To display files ordered by date, click on the
date heading; click again for reverse date order; click on the name heading
to order by file name. To quickly change a column width, point your mouse
to any column heading border until the pointer turns into a cross. Double
click on the heading divider to reset the width to the widest entry.
Style Your Folders
In Windows 7 "Windows Explorer", right click a folder and select Properties. Select the Customize tab. The first item allows you to select the type of files in the folder. Each type will display different information for each file in the folder. You will probably want to "apply the template to subfolders". Click OK to change the format.
In the Windows XP file manager "Exploring", select the View menu,
then Folder options, then the View tab,
then Like current Folder. Next time you run this program
all folders will look like the current folder.
Changing Screen Resolution in Windows 95/98
Older Windows computers were set for a 640 x 480 display screen in 256 colour mode. Most people never bothered to change to a higher resolution and missed out on all the
thousands of colours as well as some really beautiful Web sites.
Most Internet sites are optimized for an 800 x 600 display in either
Hi Color or True Color. If you own a computer running Windows 95 with
a 14 inch monitor, your display should be set to at least 65,000 colours
and as high as your display will support. The resolution and speed you
select will depends on the capabilities of
the graphics board (check your computer manual).
If you have Windows 95/98 it is easy to change to these resolutions.
[If you have Windows 3, you should locate the instructions for salvaging your
Windows Setup if it doesn't work! You will need to reset the display settings
by running the Windows SETUP program from a DOS command prompt.]
Go to your START button, choose SETTINGS, choose CONTROL PANEL, then
choose DISPLAY to bring up the Display Panel (or point
your mouse to your desktop, click the right mouse button and choose
PROPERTIES).
Choose the SETTINGS tab. Now look at your settings. If the color
palette setting is set to 256 colours and the desktop is set to 640
x 480 you are not getting the most out of your display with a Web browser.
Choose the color palette setting and choose either Hi Color (all
systems) or True Colour (Pentium 133+).
Now go to the Desktop Area setting, and slide it over to 800 x 600
with your mouse. It is recommended that you do not try a higher desktop
resolution than this until you have read your monitor manual to see
what maximum resolution it supports.
Choose a font size that you feel comfortable with (those with poor
eyesight may wish to try out a larger font size).
Now click the OK button. You must re-boot your system before these
changes will take effect.
When your desktop appears again, it will be in a higher resolution
with more colours. You may wish to try both Hi Color and True Color
to see which looks better (True Color may be slower).