Aero Snap
Aligning Windows Side by Side
The very common example: Let’s assume you want to compare or work on two documents at the same time. With Aero snap, you can simply click on and drag the first window to the right side and the other one to the left. Windows 7 will automatically resize each window to fill exactly half of your screen. For the shortcut gurus (I’m one myself): Windows Key + Left Arrow to snap the window to the left or Windows Key + Right Arrow to snap it to the right.
Yes, you can do this from the taskbar (by holding the Shift while right-clicking grouped windows and then choosing “Show windows side by side”), but it’s easier and more fun when using Aero snap. Plus, this only works with windows of the same application.
Maximizing/Restoring Windows
This also works with maximizing and restoring. Click on the window’s title and it to the top to maximize or drag it to the bottom to restore it. Shortcuts you can use: Windows Key + Up Arrow to maximize a window and Windows Key + Down Arrow to either restore or minimize it (depending on its current state).
Maximizing a Window to its Full Height
Lastly, Aero snap makes it possible to maximize a window to its full height while retaining its width. To do so, simply resize the window to touch either the top or bottom of the screen. Even faster: just double-click when the pointer changes shape to the “Vertical Resize” once it placed around the window’s upper or lower border. You can then slide the window horizontally from its title bar. Any keyboard shortcut? Personally I didn’t know one. Luckily, Michael Pitkin (one of our readers) has shared it with us: Simply press Windows Key + Shift + Up Arrow. Thanks again for sharing.
How do you return the window to its original state? Drag it downwards just the same way you restore a window with aero snap or press Windows Key + Down Arrow.
Aero Shake
Whether you’re frustrated from having too many open windows, or just want to see only a specific one, Aero shake is here to help. In previous versions of Windows you had to minimize the ones you didn’t want and leave the one you’re working on. In Windows 7 you can achieve the same thing by just shaking the window. Yes you read it right, by SHAKING the window.
To restore the windows back to how they were, just shake it again. Personally, I wouldn’t use a keyboard shortcut for this. But if you don’t have any time to waste, you can always press Windows Key + Home.
Aero Flip
Aero flip was kicked off with Windows Vista. It basically allows you to ”flip” through windows by pressing the Windows Key + Tab. The only difference in Windows 7 is that the quick launch icon that used to appear on the taskbar in Vista is no longer there. You can learn how to add a shortcut for it by reading this guide written by Jason.
Wait! One more feature: Color Hot-Tracks
This feature is just useless. Nonetheless, I can’t deny that it definitely makes the taskbar look more pleasant. When moving the pointer along running applications on the taskbar, you’ll notice that a light source (from the bottom) is tracking it. The color of this light depends on the application’s icon as it takes its most dominant RGB color.
All in all, I find that Windows Aero and the new taskbar make Windows 7 a pleasure to use. By this, we’ve come to the end of this long guide. I hope benefited from, and enjoyed, reading it.
