Ok, so you’ve gotten used to using Windows 7 a little but to make things easy on yourself, you’ve put all the programs you use regularly on your desktop. I mean everything is there and now your newly created Sticky Notes are covering things up. Add to that a bunch of Word Documents and Spreadsheets and now your entire desktop is a mess. Well there are a few solutions to help fix that.
Solution #1: Add things to the taskbar
For the programs that you use the most, why not add them to your taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Here’s a shot of my taskbar.
As you can see, I’ve put my most used programs down there. I’ve got Outlook, Chrome (my web browser of choice), Firefox, Windows Explorer to get to folders, Sticky Notes, and the Snipping Tool. These are what I access most and now I don’t have to search for them.
How do you get them there? There are two options for this. The first is to open the program and right click the icon in the taskbar. And select “Pin this program to taskbar”. Like if I wanted to add Word to my taskbar, it would look something like this.
The other option is even easier. If the program is already on your desktop, just drag the icon to the taskbar. This won’t remove it from your desktop but you can delete that later.
Once they’re there, you can move them around to order them any way you want.
Solution #2: Pin programs to the Start Menu
Great, now the problem is that your taskbar is getting too full. You can do the same thing with your Start Menu. The Start Menu will keep a list of frequently used programs but if you want to make sure they stay there, right click on them and select “Pin to Start Menu” or you can drag the icon from your desktop, hover over the Windows Button, and drag the icon to the top of the list until it says “Pin to Start Menu”.
Solution #3: Add your most accessed folders to your favorites
So I’m sure you have tons of files and folders sitting in your N: drive but there are some that you use more than others. Well, if you open Windows Explorer (opening Computer, My Documents, or any folder will open it) you’ll see a little spot off to the left that says favorites. Just drag that folder over to the favorites and a shortcut will be created. Now you don’t have to search for your Downloads, Lesson Plans, or Curriculum Information.
Note: This only creates a link to the existing folder and does not create a copy of the contents. Do not delete the existing folder after this or you will lose everything in it. You can, however, safely move the folder or remove it from favorites.
Solution #4: Add the folder to your Taskbar
For the folders you access very frequently, perhaps you want even quicker access. Well, how about putting it right on the taskbar? To do this, right-click on the taskbar, go up to Toolbars, and select New Toolbar
Now navigate to the folder you want to add and click Select Folder. That’s it! Click on the little arrows beside the folder name and its contents will be listed.
Hopefully this helps make things a little easier to find and faster to get to.