You know that feeling you get when your friends or family see you do something on your computer that they've never seen before? If you’ve had this experience, you know that “world's coolest power-user” feeling. But if you haven’t, start here. Knowledge is power!

Read these six tips for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP that will keep you schoolin' your friends and family.

1. Don't just maximize your windows—go full screen

When you need a really big window for viewing photos and videos, don't just maximize it: go full screen! This tip works great for viewing photos and videos at maximum size in Windows Explorer or Windows Media Player, utilizing screen space usually occupied by the header at the top of the screen and the taskbar at the bottom. Here’s how:

Open any photo in Windows Explorer, or open a photo or video clip in Windows Media Player. Do one of the following:

• In Windows 7 and Windows XP, click the F11 key at the top of your keyboard.

The photo or video image enlarges to its maximum size and the title bar and taskbar are hidden.

Viewing a photo in Windows Explorer standard view

To undo full-screen mode and restore the window to its normal view, press the Esc (Escape) key at the top of your keyboard

2. Customize the Navigation pane

You can use the navigation pane (the left pane) to find files and folders and display links to frequently used folders and other items. You can also move or copy items to a destination in the navigation pane.

If you don't see the navigation pane on the left side of an open folder window, click Organize, point to Layout, and then click Navigation pane to display it.

To customize the navigation pane in Windows 7

1. In an open folder or library window, click Organize, and then click Folder and search options.

2. In the Folder Options dialog box, click the General tab, and then do one or both of the following:

   • To show all the folders on your computer in the navigation pane, including your personal folder, select the Show all folders check box, click Apply to see the change, and then click OK.

   • To automatically expand the navigation pane to the folder that's selected in the folder window, select the Automatically expand to current folder check box, and then click OK.

Customizing the navigation pane in Windows 7

More ways to customize your favorites in Windows 7

• To add a folder, a saved search, a library, or even a drive as a favorite, drag it to the Favorites section in the navigation pane. Note: You can’t add individual file to Favorites, but you can add them to any folder in Favorites.

• To change the order of favorites, drag a favorite to a new position in the list.

• To restore the default favorites in the navigation pane, right-click Favorites, and then click Restore Favorite Links.

• To view the folder where your favorites are stored, click Favorites in the navigation pane. Favorites are stored as shortcuts.

• To remove a favorite, right-click the favorite, and then click Remove. This removes the favorite from the navigation pane—it doesn't delete the files or folders that the shortcut points to.

The Favorites area of the navigation pane in Windows 7

Add folders and files in Windows Vista

In Windows Vista, you can add folders to Favorite Links in the navigation pane so that you can open them from any folder window at any time. To do this, first open the folder that contains the subfolder you want to add. Then simply drag its icon from the original folder to where you want it in the navigation pane. You can also click Folders at the bottom of the pane and drag a folder from the folder list up into the Favorite Links section of the pane. Note: You can’t add individual files to Favorite Links, but you can add them to any folder in Favorite Links.

Pictures folder in Windows

3. Pin a program or items to the Windows 7 taskbar

You know what would make a great taskbar? One where you could pin your favorite applications or files so that you could open them quickly from any window at any time. Guess what? You can.

In Windows 7, you can also pin shortcuts for favorite or frequently used files, folders, and websites to the Jump Lists for each of those programs to the taskbar. Learn more about Jump Lists.

Pin a program to the taskbar

To pin a program shortcut to the taskbar, do one of the following:

• If the program is already running, right-click the program's button on the taskbar (or drag the button toward the desktop) to open the program’s Jump List, and then click Pin this program to taskbar.

• Or if the program isn't running, click Start, find the program’s icon, right-click the icon, and then click Pin to Taskbar.

• You can also pin a program by dragging the program's shortcut from the desktop or Start menu to the taskbar.

Pinning a program to the taskbar