New productivity features to consider, even if Windows 7 wasn't your idea.

Microsoft officially launched the latest version of its Windows operating system on October 22, 2009.  The media blitz which preceded the launch left the world sufficiently aware of the “Windows 7 was my idea” ad campaign. Much of this campaign focused around improvements that will make Windows users' leisure computing a much more relaxing, fluid experience. This may be a Microsoft nod to the resistance that businesses typically have to Windows upgrades. Historically, adoption of new versions of Windows in the businesses market lags far behind the adoption rate of the general public. This lack of focus on business users in the ad campaign belies the new Windows 7 features that are a boon to businesses.

Libraries without the awkward silence

One such feature is Windows 7's library feature. A library is a way to catalog files stored in different places in a centralized view. Have a customer spec saved in one spot, project files in another and legal documents in a third? Create a library and you'll only need one view on your PC to access all of these files. The files don't actually have to be moved, the library works like a collection of shortcuts. For teams where each member is working on their own set of files, a library is a great collaboration tool, since folders from each member’s hard drive can appear side by side.

Jump Lists help you streamline

Another Windows 7 productivity boosting feature is Jump Lists. Many business functions require frequent review or maintenance of files. For these repetitive tasks, Jump Lists provide quick shortcuts to perform tasks related to a specific application. Constantly checking a vendor’s Web site for pricing updates? In Windows 7, right-clicking the Internet Explorer shortcut will show a list of actions recently taken when the application was opened.  In this case, you'll go right to that site rather than your home page, saving time and clicks. 

A snipping tool that doesn't cut corners

Snipping, or screen capturing, software is a utility employed by many businesses. The king of this market is TechSmith's SnagIt. SnagIt has become nearly synonymous with screen capture and through this dominance has convinced many businesses that they cannot live without it. Microsoft is taking a run at the crown. Windows 7 dons an integrated snipping tool with comparable functions to SnagIt.  TechSmith isn't packing up shop yet, but licenses are going to be a lot tougher to sell when Windows 7 PCs hit businesses and capturing a small portion of the screen to add to a document is natively supported.

Work hard – play hard 

Some of the more forward-looking features Microsoft has introduced in Windows 7 bridge the gap between business and personal computing. Microsoft seems to have keenly observed that the world's business users are increasingly taking their laptops home, telecommuting, or working from remote locations. In order to better enable this new profile of PC use, Windows 7 offers its Domain Join and Location Aware Printing features. Domain Join allows Windows to easily make the swap between a home network and a work network, applying appropriate settings to each. Similarly, Location Aware Printing will change Windows' default printer as your network connection changes. With these features, business users no longer need to reset, reconfigure, or even remember where they are working – Windows 7 has your six.

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