Two Windows 7 Tips

Throughout the course of the day today, I came across the need to perform two tasks on Windows 7 that were not exactly straight-forward. Actually, I needed to undo two things I had done earlier.

Undo AutoPlay

This morning, I started ripping some CDs and accidentally indicated that I wanted Windows to use Zune to rip audio CDs every time I insert one in my computer. Of course, that’s not really what I want Windows to do each time I put a CD in my computer, so I had to figure out how to stop it from doing so.

To change your autoplay settings, simply open the Control Panel and search for “AutoPlay.” You can then open the AutoPlay settings and adjust any settings you need to.

Libraries

Earlier this week, I got tired of constantly browsing through multiple folder levels to get to a specific directory I use fairly regularly. To avoid having to browse to it all the time, I decided to add the directory to my “Documents” library (which can be done by simply right-clicking on the directory and choosing “Include in Library” from the context menu).

However, when I did so, I didn’t realize that it would actually include all of the folders and files inside of that directory in my Documents library, rather than including the directory (in other words, I thought I would open the Documents library and see the folder I had just added, allowing me then to navigate inside. Instead, as I said, it simply added all of the inner folders and files, causing my Documents library to get cluttered.

So, I decided that I needed to remove the folder from my Documents library and then go back and add its parent directory to my Documents library. Removing a folder from a library, however, is not quite as intuitive as adding one.

To remove a folder from a library, you need to right-click on the root of the library itself and then choose “Properties.” Within the properties dialog, you will see the list of folders included in that library. You can then select the folder you want to remove and then click the “Remove” button to exclude it from your library.

Both tasks are extremely simple once you realize where you’re supposed to look.

2 Responses

  • My favorite feature so far of windows 7 has to be the windows docking. I use 3 monitors, and the ability to drag a window to the top of the screen to go “Full Screen” (on just that monitor) is great. Also the keyword shortcuts for moving windows around (Windows+[Left,Right,Up,Down]) are just amazing.