Saying Good-Bye to Windows 7

July 22, 2019 | Leave a Comment

by David Flament

Tags: Assistive Technology, upgrading to Windows 10, Windows 10, Windows 7

It is time to say goodbye. Yes, it is time to say goodbye to Windows 7. Many of you may be saying, “No I love my Windows 7! I don’t want to switch to Windows 10.”

So, why do you have to upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft has been saying support for Windows 7 will end in January of 2020. This may sound far off, but it is really just around the corner. In reality, Windows 10 is not that different from Windows 7. Yes, there has been lots of talk about all the new things Windows 10 has to offer, and it does. But, you can accomplish many tasks in Windows 10 the same way you did them in Windows 7.

 

Starting a Program

Just as in Windows 7, you can start a program in Windows 10 by pressing the WINDOWS key and typing the name of the program you want in the Search/Cortana edit box. When the name of the program comes up, press ENTER.

 

Cycling through Programs

Switching through open programs is also the same in windows 10. Hold down the ALT key and press TAB to cycle through the open programs. Yes, Windows 10 does have another way to do this, but this keystroke still works fine.

 

File Explorer

You may have heard about this new thing called File Explorer that manages your files and folders. File Explorer is just a new name for an improved version of Windows Explorer. The screen is still split into 2 panes. The left pane is a treeview containing all the locations that have files and folders like Documents, USB drives and Pictures, etc. The right pane is an items list containing all the files and folders in the location you selected in the left pane. Here’s how to navigate:

• Press WINDOWS key plus the letter E to start File Explorer (same as Windows Explorer).
• Press SHIFT+TAB to move from the right pane to the left pane.
• Choose your location and press ENTER.
• Press TAB to move back to the right pane that contains the list of all the files and folders in that location and choose the file you need.

 

Getting to the Desktop

Just as in Windows 7, pressing WINDOWS key plus the letter M or D will take you to the desktop.

 

New Helpful Keystrokes

A couple of new keystrokes in Windows 10 that can be very useful include:

• Pressing the WINDOWS key plus X brings up a menu with most of the Windows tasks you may need like Settings and Shutting Down.
• Pressing the WINDOWS Key plus A brings up the Action Center. The Action Center is where all those pop up balloons are stored. These were the notifications you heard in Windows 7 that would disappear and you could never find. These notifications could be for a new email, system updates to your device or security and maintenance issues. They are stored in the Action Center until you take care of them.

I hope these tips start you on the path to feeling about Windows 10 the way you do about Windows 7. If you would like individual training on using Windows 10, give us a call at 312-236-8569 or send an email to info@second-sense.org.

 

David was the Manager of Assistive Technology at Second Sense until his retirement in March of 2019.   Before David retired, he left us with some additional thoughts he wanted to share.