Windows Vista Secrets for Tablet PC?
Tim Sneath has been posting a wonderful series of "Windows Vista Secrets". (The ability to start Quick Launch items with the [Win+<n>] keys has changed my life -- thanks Tim!)
I have my own set of tips for Windows Vista -- some secret, some not -- that apply mainly to laptop and Tablet PCs, so I thought I'd share.
#1: Windows Mobility Center
Windows Mobility Center is a great one-stop portal for managing a LOT of settings on your laptop or tablet -- power scheme, audio volume, screen brightness, projection, rotation, as well as one-click access to myriad other Control Panel applets for stylus input and handwriting recognition.
It's definitely not meant to be a "secret", but for some reason we really did bury it in the Start / Programs / Accessories menu... Place a shortcut to MblCtr.exe on your Quick Launch bar, or pin it to your Start Menu, for easier access.
Update: Reader benwatt reminds me that [Win+X] will launch the Mobility Center -- for laptops and Tablet PCs with keyboards!
#2: Snipping Tool
The big "secret" here is that Snipping Tool is no longer just for Tablet PCs! Use it from your laptop or desktop, to snip a rectangular region of your screen -- and use the mouse to highlight.
As above: Snipping Tool is buried in the Start / Programs menu -- so, place a shortcut to SnippingTool.exe on your Quick Launch bar, or pin it to your Start Menu, for easier access.
#3: DPI scaling via DWM
A screen resolution of 1400x1050 on a 12" diagonal display is about 144dpi, measured horizontally (or vertically). That's about 50% higher resolution than the 96dpi which Windows assumes of your display, by default! This has the effect of making small fonts difficult to read and small user interface elements hard target, with a stylus or touch-screen.
Many users address this by turning down the resolution on their displays to something like 1024x768, but that's suboptimal -- it makes user interface elements larger, but blurrier. And hey, you paid for all those pixels, you should get to use them... Windows Vista offers a better way. Enter DWM -- the Desktop Window Manager -- the new graphics plumbing in Vista which enables the Aero Glass theme and effects, as well as the "Flip 3D" and "Taskbar Thumbnail" experiences, for switching windows.
DWM is not just good looking; it's also functional -- it facilitates the smooth rescaling of your desktop and applications, at resolutions higher than 96dpi. On systems which support the Aero Glass theme, you should take full advantage of the DWM and configure your display resolution properly -- the DWM will enlarge text and other user interface elements, but without sacrificing the smoothness and readability of fonts, or the detail in high-resolution images.
So, if you're tired of squinting, set your DPI properly instead of scaling down your resolution. You should find that applications work more reliably on Vista, than they did on XP, when the DPI is set greater than 96.
#4: Enlarge the caret (text insertion point)
Consider making the caret (text insertion point) easier to see in bright / daylight conditions, by increasing its thickness slightly. I don't know if this setting is available anywhere in the Control Panel, but you can increase the caret width with this straightforward registry key:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"CaretWidth"=dword:00000003
This trick can be especially helpful on Tablet PCs, for visually identifying which field on a form has the input focus (ie, the field which will receive results from the Tablet PC Input Panel).
Update: This setting, plus a few more, are available in the new Ease of Access Center under "Make the computer easier to see". (I also really like "Make the focus rectangle thicker", on my desktop systems.)
#5: Get the most out of your battery
Battery not lasting as long as you'd like? Give your system less work to do, by turning off some nonessential features and services.
Everyone's definition of "nonessential" is different, of course, but I like to start by reducing the frequency of scheduled tasks (like defragmentation). Start Task Scheduler, and you'll be presented with an array of tasks which Windows Vista runs, in the background. Many of these tasks can be configured to wait until the system is plugged into A/C power (and likewise, pause when switched to battery power).
Here's an oldie but a goodie, for reducing hard disk access: the NTFS file system tracks (by default) when files and directories were last read from. This is a cool feature, but it effectively turns every read operation into a potential write operation -- and really, how often do you use this feature?
Run FSUtil.exe behavior set DisableLastAccess 1 from an elevated command prompt (and reboot) to turn off this feature.
Update: This is a little embarassing, but in a good way -- reader Kurt Geisel (aka my boss) tells me that Windows Vista is actually configured to disable last-access tracking, by default! I've been doing this tweak for so long, I guess I never noticed the change. So, nevermind the above -- although it's something interesting to keep in mind, when browsing file properties on Vista. Thanks, Kurt!
The graphics processors in laptops consume a lot of watts -- the Aero Glass theme is great, but do you really need the transparency / blur effect? Making your glass opaque can reduce the load on your GPU, while otherwise maintaining the full functionality of the DWM (Flip3D, Taskbar thumbnails, high-DPI support, rotation, etc).
Similarly: the new little round "start" button is cool, but it forces the GPU to perform a non-rectangular clipping operation, when it overlaps a maximized window. This has been seen to cause performance problems in some lower-end graphics hardware (the kind found in some older laptops and tablets). If you notice an application responding more slowly when it's maximized, try this simple remedy: resize your taskbar so it's at least 2 rows tall (or dock it vertically to the right or left edge) so that it joins flushly to the working area of your desktop.
That's all for now... any other good tips to share? Leave us a comment, or a trackback!
