Now that Windows 7 has been on the market several months, you have probably already made your upgrades. Now we want to ensure you're getting the maximum benefit from its new features, so the following are some great tips and secrets:

New shortcuts can be found on the Keyboard. (In the following list"Win" refers to the Windows key on your keyboard. It usually has a Windows icon and sometimes the word "Start" as well. To use this key, press and hold while typing the following keystroke, similar to using the Shift key.)

• Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow These dock the window to the left half or right half of the screen.
• Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow maximize and restore/minimize.
• Win+M minimizes everything.
• Alt+Up, Alt+Left Arrow, Alt+Right Arrow navigate to parent folder, or browse Back and Forward through folders in Explorer.
• Win+Home minimizes/restores all open windows except the active window.
• Alt+Win+[Number] accesses the Jump List of a program on the taskbar. (For example, Windows+1 accesses the Jump List of the first application in the taskbar, while Windows+4 will access the Jump List of the fourth.)
• Windows+E automatically opens a new Explorer window to show your Libraries folder.
• Alt+P activates a preview pane of your selected file, be it an image, sound, or video document. This panel is great for previewing images in your photos directory, obviating the need for fancier third-party software.
• Windows+[Number] Programs pinned to your Taskbar can be launched by hitting Windows and the appropriate number key. (For example, Windows+1 launches the first application in the taskbar, while Windows+4 will launch the fourth.)

Jump Lists can be accessed with the Left Mouse Button. Jump Lists usually show up when you right-click on a taskbar icon. However, you can also now access them by holding the left mouse button and dragging upwards. If you're using a laptop touchpad or a touch screen, this is convenient because you do not have to click any button to access a context menu.

Any library or folder can be added to the Favorites section in Windows Explorer.To add a folder, navigate to it in Explorer, right-click Favorites in the left navigation pane, and select Add current location to Favorites.

Frequently Used Folders can be pinned to the Taskbar. Right-click, drag, and pin your favorite folders to Windows Explorer on the taskbar. They will now show up in the Jump List when you right click on Explorer giving you quick access to your favorite folders.

The Control Panel can be pinned to the Taskbar. You cannot pin the Control Panel to the taskbar via the Start Menu or by drag and drop. Open the Control Panel and right-click its taskbar icon to pin it to the taskbar. An advantage of this is that Control Panel's Jump List allows quick access to recently used functions.

Keyboard Shortcuts can be created for Programs. You can create keyboard shortcuts for any program in Windows 7. Right-click the program icon and select Properties. Select the Shortcut tab, click in Shortcut key, to set the keyboard shortcut for that program.

Command Prompt can be opened in Any Folder. Like the command prompt? Miss the 'Open Command Window Here' Windows XP power toy? Press 'Shift' when right-clicking on a folder to get that option in the context menu. This also works on the desktop.

'Send To' Menu can be viewed in expanded form. Press Shift when right-clicking on a folder to get an expanded Send To menu.

Screen Text can be adjusted with Clear Type. Use Clear Type Tuner for the best look on your LCD monitor or laptop screen. Run 'cttune.exe' from the Start Menu search box, or go to the Control Panel Display applet, and select Adjust ClearType Text from the left.

Exact Colors can be seen on yours Screen. Use the Calibrate Color option in the Control Panel Display applet or run dccw.exe from the Start Menu search box. You can adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, and color balance, ensuring that colors are displayed correctly on your screen.

The Power Button can be completely customized. If you restart your computer more often than you shut it down, change the default Shutdown power button to restart. Right-click on Start, select Properties, and choose the Power button action that you use the most.

The number of items in Jump Lists & Start Menu can be easily customized. Right-click Start, select Properties, click Customize and choose the number of recent programs to be shown in the Start Menu and the number of items displayed in Jump Lists from the Start Menu Size section below.

The Internet can be searched from the Start Menu. Enable Internet search from the Start Menu using your default browser. Run GPEDIT.MSC from the Start Menu search box to start the Group Policy Editor. In the left pane, go to User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Start Menu and Taskbar. In the right pane, right-click to Edit and Enable Add Search Internet link to Start Menu.

Videos can be added to the Start Menu. Windows 7 does not place a link to your videos on the Start Menu by default. To add a link to your videos on the Start Menu, right-click Start, select Properties, click on Customize. In the Videos section at the bottom, choose Display as a link.

Fonts can be toggled on and off by the Hide button. In Windows 7, the folder now shows font previews via each font file's icon (visible with Large or Extra Large icon views. Also, fonts from a single set will no longer show up as different fonts; instead they're combined as a single family, which can be expanded by double-clicking the icon. Finally, you can now toggle fonts on and off by right-clicking a font icon and selecting the Hide option. This prevents applications from loading the font (thus saving memory), but still keeps the file retained in the Font folder.