Tips And Tricks - Windows Vista Part 2

Yesterday we started looking at some of the top tips and tricks available for the Vista operating system - today we are going to further our exploration by gathering some more useful tips and tricks to help you find your way around the system.

Gadgets

Do you see that row of fancy gadgets down the side of your screen?� They do indeed serve a purpose from telling you the time to telling you the weather in Brazil…but wait, there’s more.

That’s right - all you have to do is click on the plus symbol at the top of the side bar and the click on the Get More Gadgets Online to view hundreds more gadgets that you can download and use.� They’re all free and available for your use so get roaming for what you want.� You can also drag and drop these gadgets onto the desktop for more space.

Easy Search

You don’t have to know what it is that you’re looking for to find it in Vista - as long as you have some kind of inkling what it is that you want then you can simply open your Documents window, click on Organise then Folder and Search Options.

Then select the Search Tab and select “Use natural language search”.� This means that you can talk to the search engine as if it were your mate and it’ll find what you’re looking for - for example you can type in “email sent from mum” and it’ll do its best to find what you’re looking for!

Back Up

Backing Up is made easy in Vista - to back up simply go to the Backup and Restore Center through the Start Menu and then select Back Up Files.� You can then choose what it is that you want to back up from either photos, music, etc.

Power Off Button

If you thought that a Power Off button in Vista was actually there to turn off the computer then I’m afraid you would be guilty of a bad assumption - the Power Off button actually places your computer into a state close to off but not quite there so that your computer switched on much faster.

However, if you actually want your computer to power down on selection of this button they search for “Power” in the Start menu and then select the Power Options.� Select Change Plan Settings and then Change Advanced Power Settings.

Then expand the Entry for Power Buttons and Lid and then expand the Start Menu and Power Button Entry and select Sleep to choose another option from the drop down.� You can do what you like with the button from now on!

Vista - Time To Change?