January 2, 2009 at 18:38Benefits of Windows 7 UI
Those who have already tried Se7en say:
It’s hard to believe that Windows 7 was made to be easier than Vista - everything that has been improved has become much more difficult to navigate, especially if you switch to the Seven immediately with XP, like many future users.
But I believe that fast-paced people who need a few minutes to learn new PIs (user interfaces) will be able to get hold of Windows 7 quickly. The secret is to get rid of old habits and develop new ones. Let's discuss some examples.
The Run item is no longer available directly from the Start menu. It can only be reached through a search.
Where to start? The search box at the bottom of the Start menu does everything that the Run utility can do, or even more. As soon as you start typing a command, it appears in the Start menu, where you can click on it or press the “Enter” key to start. In the Run utility, I had to write the name of the command in full, including the path. If I miss a symbol, then apart from the error, I will not see anything else. Want to play Solitaire? With the search field, I just need to start typing “sol” and the first thing I will see is the Soliter, ready to be launched by pressing the “Enter” key:
But the worst part of the Run utility is that I need to know application file names for memory. In XP, if I write solitaire in the Run utility and press Enter, an error message pops up. You need to know that the application file name is sol.exe. Want to go to Minesweeper? And the application file name is called Winmine.exe. In Vista / Se7en, the search field works with both file names and their names.
Still not convincing? Want an old Run utility? Well then press the Win + R combination. This shortcut has been working since the mid-90s until today.
Not enough? Okay. Customize the Start menu in Vista / Win7 by adding the Run utility to it and you can enjoy 1998. Right-click on the Start button, select Properties, click Settings and check the box:
Another thing that misleads me in a freshly installed Windows 7 is the empty desktop with the usual shortcuts like “Computer”, “Network”, “Control Panel” and “Documents” removed, which makes me go to these places through the Start menu.
I do not agree with this. Speaking with designers and usability testers of Windows UI, I can confidently say that removing these things from the Desktop they made a huge leap towards convenient use of the shell for both beginners and experts. Previously, to get to these shortcuts on the Desktop, you had to minimize all the windows, and only then find and click on the icon. These unnecessary steps to the icons and even more steps to go back to the windows really slowed down the work on the PC. Now all you need to do is click the Start button or the Windows button on the keyboard and find yourself in just one click from the right place. Or you can press Win + E, find yourself in the explorer window, and there are already all the shortcuts to the right places.
Windows 7 users say pushing icons back is “not intuitive.” Well, if you open the Start menu and write “desktop icons” in the search field, the first result will be “Show or hide desktop icons”. There is another way to do this. Each Windows user can easily learn by pressing the right button on the desktop and entering the Personalization menu to change the background image (formerly called wallpaper). There you can see the option "Change desktop shortcuts" in the upper left corner. And she leads here:
Also, the Control Panel in Windows 7 has become less intuitive than in XP. Another additional click is required to see all the elements of the Control Panel - which are twice as many as in XP. It was possible to make fewer elements with convenient navigation than to search for the desired one in a long list of different options.
Is Windows XP Control Panel Intuitive? A folder full of icons, most of which have technical names, does not look intuitive. Wanted “fewer elements with easy navigation”? So there it is. See the search bar at the top? This is a big improvement over the old shortcut folder called Control Panel. Do not believe me, try changing the screensaver (screensaver) from the Control Panel in XP. Does it have a sense to click on the Screen icon, select the Screensaver tab there? You know these steps, because you have been walking like this for 14 years now, but this is not intuitive, for example, for beginners.
But in Vista and Seven, for this, write the word Screensaver in the search field and the list will automatically filter out the unnecessary. It seems to me that the result has become very useful:
For a better example, try finding the option to change the display of hidden files in Windows Explorer. In XP, you need to open the Control Panel, double-click on the folder Properties, there open the View tab. Well, can an ordinary person be able to know that the file settings are in the folder Properties? Not too intuitive.
Now write Hidden in the search field in the Control Panel and see the result:
The first option leads to the desired tab in the dialog box in just one click. This is a huge superiority over the solution in XP. Actually, nothing can be done in the XP Control Panel except to bind obscure icons in a compartment.
The main problem for all XP users who upgrade to Windows 7 is that they will need to forget the old navigation model. The longer you use the PC, the more you develop a reflex on opening a menu or double-clicking on an icon. This technique worked fine in the 90s, but today, with a search everywhere available in the Windows interface, it has outlived its own.
If you're a XP veteran, take some time to learn why the new interface is designed exactly the way it is. Believe me, designers and usability experts did it for a reason. As soon as you learn a new technique for using the interface, I guarantee that the productivity of your work on the PC will greatly increase.
PS In the Russian version of Windows 7, all actions are identical to those shown in the screenshots.
It’s hard to believe that Windows 7 was made to be easier than Vista - everything that has been improved has become much more difficult to navigate, especially if you switch to the Seven immediately with XP, like many future users.
But I believe that fast-paced people who need a few minutes to learn new PIs (user interfaces) will be able to get hold of Windows 7 quickly. The secret is to get rid of old habits and develop new ones. Let's discuss some examples.
The Run item is no longer available directly from the Start menu. It can only be reached through a search.
Where to start? The search box at the bottom of the Start menu does everything that the Run utility can do, or even more. As soon as you start typing a command, it appears in the Start menu, where you can click on it or press the “Enter” key to start. In the Run utility, I had to write the name of the command in full, including the path. If I miss a symbol, then apart from the error, I will not see anything else. Want to play Solitaire? With the search field, I just need to start typing “sol” and the first thing I will see is the Soliter, ready to be launched by pressing the “Enter” key:
But the worst part of the Run utility is that I need to know application file names for memory. In XP, if I write solitaire in the Run utility and press Enter, an error message pops up. You need to know that the application file name is sol.exe. Want to go to Minesweeper? And the application file name is called Winmine.exe. In Vista / Se7en, the search field works with both file names and their names.
Still not convincing? Want an old Run utility? Well then press the Win + R combination. This shortcut has been working since the mid-90s until today.
Not enough? Okay. Customize the Start menu in Vista / Win7 by adding the Run utility to it and you can enjoy 1998. Right-click on the Start button, select Properties, click Settings and check the box:
Another thing that misleads me in a freshly installed Windows 7 is the empty desktop with the usual shortcuts like “Computer”, “Network”, “Control Panel” and “Documents” removed, which makes me go to these places through the Start menu.
I do not agree with this. Speaking with designers and usability testers of Windows UI, I can confidently say that removing these things from the Desktop they made a huge leap towards convenient use of the shell for both beginners and experts. Previously, to get to these shortcuts on the Desktop, you had to minimize all the windows, and only then find and click on the icon. These unnecessary steps to the icons and even more steps to go back to the windows really slowed down the work on the PC. Now all you need to do is click the Start button or the Windows button on the keyboard and find yourself in just one click from the right place. Or you can press Win + E, find yourself in the explorer window, and there are already all the shortcuts to the right places.
Windows 7 users say pushing icons back is “not intuitive.” Well, if you open the Start menu and write “desktop icons” in the search field, the first result will be “Show or hide desktop icons”. There is another way to do this. Each Windows user can easily learn by pressing the right button on the desktop and entering the Personalization menu to change the background image (formerly called wallpaper). There you can see the option "Change desktop shortcuts" in the upper left corner. And she leads here:
Also, the Control Panel in Windows 7 has become less intuitive than in XP. Another additional click is required to see all the elements of the Control Panel - which are twice as many as in XP. It was possible to make fewer elements with convenient navigation than to search for the desired one in a long list of different options.
Is Windows XP Control Panel Intuitive? A folder full of icons, most of which have technical names, does not look intuitive. Wanted “fewer elements with easy navigation”? So there it is. See the search bar at the top? This is a big improvement over the old shortcut folder called Control Panel. Do not believe me, try changing the screensaver (screensaver) from the Control Panel in XP. Does it have a sense to click on the Screen icon, select the Screensaver tab there? You know these steps, because you have been walking like this for 14 years now, but this is not intuitive, for example, for beginners.
But in Vista and Seven, for this, write the word Screensaver in the search field and the list will automatically filter out the unnecessary. It seems to me that the result has become very useful:
For a better example, try finding the option to change the display of hidden files in Windows Explorer. In XP, you need to open the Control Panel, double-click on the folder Properties, there open the View tab. Well, can an ordinary person be able to know that the file settings are in the folder Properties? Not too intuitive.
Now write Hidden in the search field in the Control Panel and see the result:
The first option leads to the desired tab in the dialog box in just one click. This is a huge superiority over the solution in XP. Actually, nothing can be done in the XP Control Panel except to bind obscure icons in a compartment.
The main problem for all XP users who upgrade to Windows 7 is that they will need to forget the old navigation model. The longer you use the PC, the more you develop a reflex on opening a menu or double-clicking on an icon. This technique worked fine in the 90s, but today, with a search everywhere available in the Windows interface, it has outlived its own.
If you're a XP veteran, take some time to learn why the new interface is designed exactly the way it is. Believe me, designers and usability experts did it for a reason. As soon as you learn a new technique for using the interface, I guarantee that the productivity of your work on the PC will greatly increase.
PS In the Russian version of Windows 7, all actions are identical to those shown in the screenshots.