Category: General


Displaying Multiple Clocks for Different Time Zones

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June 5, 2010

If you have colleagues, friends, or family members who work or live in a different time zone, it’s often important to know the correct time in that zone.

For example, you wouldn’t want to call someone at home at 9 a.m. your time if that person lives in a time zone that’s three hours behind you. Similarly, if you know that a business colleague leaves work at 5 p.m. and that person works in a time zone that’s seven hours ahead of you, you know that any calls you place to that person must occur before 10 a.m. your time.

If you need to be sure about the current time in another time zone, you can customize Windows 7’s date and time display to show not only your current time, but also the current time in the other time zone. Follow these steps:

1. Click the Clock icon in the notification area and then click Change Date and Time Settings to display the Date and Time dialog box.

2. Click the Additional Clocks tab. Figure 5.11 shows a completed version of this tab.

3. Activate the first Show This Clock check box.

4. Use the Select Time Zone list to click the time zone you want to display in the additional clock.

5. Use the Enter Display Name text box to type a name for the clock.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the second clock.

7. Click OK.

TIP
After you customize Windows 7 with the extra clocks, you normally click the time in the notification area to see the clocks. However, if you just hover the mouse pointer over the time, Windows 7 displays a banner that shows the current date, your current local time, and the current time in the other time zones.

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Displaying the Built-In Taskbar Toolbars

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June 2, 2010

Windows 7 taskbar comes with four default toolbars:
. Address—This toolbar contains a text box into which you can type a local address (such as a folder or file path), a network address (a UNC path), or an Internet address. When you press Enter or click the Go button, Windows 7 loads the address into Windows Explorer (if you entered a local or network folder address), an application (if you entered a file path), or Internet Explorer (if you entered an Internet address). In other words, this toolbar works just like the address bar used by Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.

. Links—This toolbar contains several buttons that link to predefined Internet sites.This is the same as the links toolbar that appears in Internet Explorer.

. Tablet PC Input Panel—This toolbar contains just a single icon: the Tablet PC Input Panel icon, which, when clicked, displays the Tablet PC Input Panel.

. Desktop—This toolbar contains all the desktop icons, as well as an icon for Internet Explorer and submenus for your user folder and the following folders: Public, Computer, Network, Control Panel, and Recycle Bin.

NOTE
You can adjust the size of a toolbar by clicking and dragging the toolbar’s left edge. However, this won’t work if the taskbar is locked. To unlock the taskbar, right-click an empty section of the taskbar and then click Lock the Taskbar to deactivate it.

To toggle these toolbars on and off, right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and then use either of the following techniques:

. Click Toolbars and then click the toolbar you want to work with.

. Click Properties, click the Toolbars tab, activate the check box of the toolbar you want to work with, and then click OK.

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Modifying the Start Menu and Taskbar with Group Policies

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May 31, 2010

You see throughout this book that the group policies offer unprecedented control over the Windows 7 interface without having to modify the Registry directly. This is particularly true of the Start menu and taskbar, which boast more than 60 policies that do everything from removing Start menu links such as Run and Help to hiding the taskbar’s notification area. To see these policies, launch the Group Policy Editor and select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar.

Most of the policies are straightforward: By enabling them, you remove a feature from the Start menu or taskbar. For example, enabling the Remove Run Menu from Start Menu policy prevents the user from adding the Run command to the Start menu (or hides the Run command if the user has already added it) and disables the Windows Logo+R shortcut key. This is handy if you’re trying to restrict a user to using only those programs and documents that appear on the Start menu.

Here are a few policies that I think are the most useful:
. Clear History of Recently Opened Documents on Exit—Enable this policy to
remove all documents from the current user’s Recent Items list whenever Windows
7 exits.

. Remove Drag-and-Drop Context Menus on the Start Menu—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from rearranging the Start menu using drag-and-drop tech-
niques.

. Do Not Keep History of Recently Opened Documents—Enable this policy to
prevent Windows 7 from tracking the current user’s recently opened documents.

. Prevent Changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from accessing the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
dialog box.

. Remove Access to the Context Menus for the Taskbar—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from seeing the taskbar’s shortcut (also called context) menus by right-clicking the taskbar.

. Do Not Display Any Custom Toolbars in the Taskbar—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from adding custom toolbars to the taskbar.

. Remove User Name from Start Menu—Enable this policy to prevent the current user’s name from appearing at the top of the Start menu. This is a good idea if you need more room on the Start menu for the pinned or favorite programs lists.

. Turn Off All Balloon Notifications—Enable this policy to prevent the current user from seeing the balloon tips that Windows 7 displays when it prompts you about new hardware being detected, downloading automatic updates, and so on.

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