Windows 7 Found things I don't like already....

[tedrecommends]

I've had Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista (32 & later 64bit) and now just installed Windows 7 (64bit). I've also tried Macs, which are overpiced trash.

So far, 7 seems to start up and load various items a bit faster than Vista and I also think the transparent or "glass" visual feature looks better on 7 than Vista. Having said that and the fact that I've only had it for about a week, I have found some preferences and features that I am really angry about in Windows 7 and might even switch back to Vista for.

The quick tabs (now called "pinned" items) are a HUGE problem now. On XP and Vista, I hardly ever went into the start menu or any other menu because I had all of the programs I used on a daily basis right there on the taskbar.


#1) They are spaced WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY too far apart from eachother now. All of my quick tabs on Vista were lined up close to eachother and 6 or 7 of them barely took up an inch and a half on my taskbar. Nice and tidy. NOW on Windows 7, three "pinned" items take up the same amount of space that 6 or 7 used to on Vista. If I had 6 or 7 pinned items on Windows 7, they would take up almost half my taskbar! Seriously, WTF Microsoft????!!!!

#2) You can't place certain items as "pinned" on the taskbar. I used to have games, Adobe software and even internet pages as quick tabs. For example, I listen to the Howard Stern Show online. On Vista, I dragged the Stern Show's site from my favorites bar right onto my taskbar. WINDOWS 7 DOESN'T LET YOU DO THIS. You have to click on the internet icon, then move over to the pinned website. Again, the taskbar is no longer tidy and efficient in Windows 7 for me.

#3) Why can't I switch to the "classic" start menu? In the classic start menu, everything opens up and expands so you can find what you are looking for FAST. In the new start menu, you are confined to a tiny programs list where you have to scroll through it. Why did they get rid of the option to switch to the "classic" start menu?

#4) In Vista, you could click a button to scroll through all of the windows you currently have open. They would pop up in the middle of the screen sideways like book pages and you could use your scroll button to cycle through them. This option is GONE on Windows 7.

#5) If you download a new Windows 7 theme, why can't you delete it? I downloaded one from the Windows site to see what it looks like (you can't even preview it on the website. good job, guys.) and when I didn't like it and decided to delete it, I couldn't. WTF?


Everything else has been fine so far, I just really dislike the things I mentioned above and if they get annoying enough, I might switch back to Vista. Can anyone help me troubleshoot these issues? I really really really want my tidy and efficient quick tabs or the now called "pinned" items bar back. I can't stand the fact that (1) I can't have my internet links on there and (2) I hate how far apart they are spaced. HELP!

 

[fjgold]

Check these links for help with the start menu and a solution to the pinned issue.

Post #325

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Link to Vista Start Menu tool in above post.

Below is screenshot of Vista Classic start menu.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c338/fjgold/Slideshow1.jpg

I use a free tool called Free Launch Bar to create a Quick launch bar like setup in place of the default pinned taskbar.

With Free Launch Bar you can create categorized menus that contain your shortcuts.

Below is a screenshot of my freelaunch bar setup with a menu open showing a bunch of shortcuts (menu is labeled tools).
All the icons with an arrow point to the right is a menu. Others without arrow point are individual shortcuts.
I have over a hundred shortcuts in menus i several different categories.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c338/fjgold/Untitled-22.jpg

As you can see I have menus within the menu.
You can set up things so a mouse over will open menu or a click will open.
Menus are populated by dragging and dropping desktop shortcuts.

Compatible with Win 7.

D\L either 32 bit or 64 bit depending on Win 7 version.

Below is link to Free Launch Bar.

Free Launch Bar - Free replacement for standard Quick Launch

This stuff should take care of many of your complaints.

BTW, I personally really like Win 7 and am looking forward to SP1 later this year.

 

[Super Sarge]

I use Winstep Extreme which includes a couple of programs one of which is Win Start which replaces the start bar entirely. I think there is a 30 day trial version. This is highly modifiable.

 

[fjgold]

Vista Start Menu and Free launch Bar are 100% free and Free Launch Bar is highly customizable.

 

[Mike]

#1) They are spaced WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY too far apart from eachother now. All of my quick tabs on Vista were lined up close to eachother and 6 or 7 of them barely took up an inch and a half on my taskbar. Nice and tidy. NOW on Windows 7, three "pinned" items take up the same amount of space that 6 or 7 used to on Vista. If I had 6 or 7 pinned items on Windows 7, they would take up almost half my taskbar! Seriously, WTF Microsoft????!!!!

It probably need not be said by now, but you can reduce the size of the icons on the taskbar by right-clicking on the taskbar, selecting Properties, and clicking off on "Use Small Icons". There are also many 3rd party tools that will allow you to manipulate the look and feel of the taskbar.

 

[cybercore]

#4) In Vista, you could click a button to scroll through all of the windows you currently have open. They would pop up in the middle of the screen sideways like book pages and you could use your scroll button to cycle through them. This option is GONE on Windows 7.

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[Super Sarge]

Hit alt+tab and all your open programs show up in center of screen just like Vista

 

[cybercore]

Also, while holding down your Win key, hit Tab and you'll get the cool and useful Flip3D overview of all your open windows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Win-Tab and Ctr-Win-Tab => Flip3D
Alt-Tab and Ctr-Alt--Tab => Flip2D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can also get an Expose-like layout :

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And this is how to pin Flip3d "button" to 7 taskbar:


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http://windows7forums.com/tweaks-guides-howtos/8539-custom-taskbar-icons-2.html

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[MayburyMadam]

I installed Windows 7 over Vista and the transition was great. I didn't lose any data. But I agree about some of the features that Vista had were better and I don't understand what they mean by "you can place the windows next to each other" You could do that with Windows 98 LOL I miss the scrolling through windows feature too but fortunately if you press Control and Tab at the same time, you can do it. Pretty cool. My problem is when putting an address in the address bar, the windows disappear and come back and so on. It's frustrating. And the IE stops working, out of no where and has to restart. That is the most frustrating thing of all. Does anyone else have this problem and know what to do about it. Oh just for your information, if you re install Vista over Windows 7, you will lost all of your date. It doesn't return it to factory settings, just reformats it and it just might be worth it.

 

[cybercore]

My problem is when putting an address in the address bar, the windows disappear and come back and so on. It's frustrating. And the IE stops working, out of no where and has to restart.

This is likely an upgrade issue.

Upgrading to 7 is not necessarily wrong, but I personally would do it this way : clean install vista > activate it > do not install any drivers or software > upgrade to 7 > activate it > update it > install drivers and software.

LOL I miss the scrolling through windows feature too ...

Guys, what on Earth does this mean? Super Sarge and I have tried our best to tell about Alt-Esc, Alt-Tab, Flip3D, and other switchers (see our posts above) - but yet in vain, so how did you actually "scroll through windows" in Vista?

 

[MayburyMadam]

How did we scroll in Vista?

In Vista, there is an icon down in the taskbar, and all you do is click on it and the windows fly by. This can also be obtained by using tab+the windows button. It's cool!

 

[cybercore]

You can have the same button in 7:

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[reghakr]

The best Classic Shell replacement is available here:

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To bring back the familiar Quick Launch bar, right-click on the taskbar and choose properties, choose New > Toolbar and navigate to the C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer and select the Quick Launch folder.

Uncheck show text and uncheck Show title.

 

[fjgold]

Reg, you need a new keyboard

 

[reghakr]

Forgot to use spell check figold.

Corrected!

 

[tedrecommends]

I figured out how to solve a bunch of the issues I was having.

To substitute the new "pinned" feature for the good old "quick launch" and
also get smaller icons as a extra benefit, I made a folder somewhere and put
shortcuts to the programs I wanted in the quick launch. I then made a new
toolbar on the taskbar and used that specific folder as the path. I dragged it
all the way over to the left and... what do ya know, I have a bunch of quick
launch icons for all of my programs, I can have favorite websites as individual
links instead of pinned together AND the icons are smaller and closer
together!

I also got the "Flip 3D" thing working again. I included 3 images:

The first image is an example of what I was talking about with the "spinning
windows" thing, aka "Flip 3D". Note the icon for that in my quick launch.

The second is what my desktop looks like with the new quick launch small
icons like vista, as well as the windows 7 pinned items to compare how ugly they
look being spaced that far apart.

The third is what my desktop looked like with the old spaced-too-far-apart
"pinned items".

I'll address the other issues tomorrow, thanks for the help guys!!!

 

[Super Sarge]

The first image is an example of what I was talking about with the "spinning
windows" thing, aka "Flip 3D
You could have got this by hitting windows key and tab at same time, another way of looking at items you have open is using the alt +tab keys.
I personally use Winstep extremes Win Start program to replace the whole start bar.see attached image of my current desktop. All the red Icons are quick launch the black and gold items on the bar open tasks.
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[pcs3657]

All the Solutions in one reply


OPTION ONE
Add Quick Launch

1. Right click on a empty space on the taskbar and click on New Tool. (See screenshot below)

​

2. In the Folder line, type or copy the location below. (See screenshot below)

Code:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

​

3. Click on the Select Folder button. (See screenshot above)

4. You now have a Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: Click on the arrow to see your Quick Launch shortcuts.

​

5. To Expand the Quick Launch Toolbar -

A) Unlock the taskbar.

B) Left click on the dotted lines and hold, then drag it to the left or right to adjust to unhide all of the icons. Release the left click when done. (See screenshot below)

​

C) Lock the taskbar.
​

6. To Remove Quick Launch Toolbar Icon Text or Title -

A) Unlock the taskbar.

B) Right click on the Quick Launch toolbar title name, then uncheck the Show Text and Show Title by clicking on them. (See screenshot below step 5B)

C) Lock the taskbar.
​

7. To Have Small or Large Icons for Quick Launch Toolbar -

A) Unlock the taskbar.

B) Right click on the Quick Launch toolbar title name, then click on View and select to have Large Icons or Small Icons. (See screenshot below step 5B)

C) Lock the taskbar.
​

8. To Have Quick Launch Toolbar on Left Side of Taskbar -

A) Unlock the taskbar.

B) Left click on the dotted lines of the pinned taskbar programs of the left side and hold, then drag it to the right past the Quick Launch toolbar and release. (See screenshot below)

​

C) The Quick Launch toolbar is now on the left side of the taskbar. (See screenshot below)

​

D) Left click on the dotted lines of these and hold and drag them to make any adjustments to how you want them place on the taskbar. (See screenshot above)

E) Lock the taskbar.
​

9. Now that you have Quick Launch on the taskbar, you will need to save your current theme (step 4 at this link).
NOTE: If you make any changes to your theme, you will need to save the theme afterwards, or you will lose Quick Launch the next time you restart the computer.

10. If you have a 32-bit Windows 7, then it has been reported that you may need to turn off UAC if Quick Launch is disappearing on you after every restart.




​

OPTION TWO
Remove Quick Launch

1. Right click on a empty space on the taskbar and click on Toolbars and Quick Launch to uncheck and remove it from the taskbar. (See screenshot below)

while holding down your Win key, hit Tab and you'll get the cool and useful Flip3D overview of all your open windows.


Hit alt+tab and all your open programs show up in center of screen just like Vista


It probably need not be said by now, but you can reduce the size of the icons on the task bar by right-clicking on the task bar, selecting Properties, and clicking off on "Use Small Icons". There are also many 3rd party tools that will allow you to manipulate the look and feel of the task bar.
​

 

[RAK]

With ackowledgements to Brink!

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Give Rocketdock a try. I love it.

Download RocketDock - RocketDock.com

I just put it on the right side of my screen and split my icons between it and the task bar.

I also use this free app to get Windows 7 to use the classic start menu, and a more friendly Window Explorer.

Classic Shell | Get Classic Shell at SourceForge.net

I use both of these all the time.

Mike