Windows 7 Taskforce

Productivity fixes for Coders / Power Users / XP Users

Submitted by xpuser on October 19, 2009 to Annoyance, Legacy, Usability

Problem: Windows Explorer:
1. Give the ability to activate the 'old' tree view, with proper indent and connecting lines, in the navigation pane (see regedit).
2. Give the ability to reduce the vertical distance (gab between lines) of the items listed (see regedit), so that more items can fit the screen.
3. Allow disabling, or at least customizing the toolbar, including it's color, that is.
4. Fix the tools > folder options > view > apply to all folders to actually work for all folders, including Computer and network shares.
5. Restore the tools > folder options > file types tab, for customizing context menu actions.
6. Restore the 'version' tab in 'file properties'. Or, include version information for all files that include such info (not just .dll .ocx and .exe). Or, at least, allow manually registering more extensions for which this info will be shown, if available.
7. Why having an 'up' button is such a bad thing? Personally, I can live with out it, but restore it, for the ones who are used to it.
8. (new) Add the option to start the start menu in "all programs" mode. A kind of "classic menu" optional approach.

Search:
1. Give the ability to use the old 'advanced search' method, so that searching source code (text) files is once again possible.

Sure, third party tools can sone of the above, but i'm already counting three so far (file manager, file search, file extension manager), to do things I could do nativelly with XP.

Overall, I find Win7 to be a great OS. And it would be a pity to allow some 'aesthetic' reasons or vista-inherited poor judgment calls, to render it counter productive.

Solution: Easy fixes, since the code for most of them already exists.
However, as I see it, it is little things like the above that will facilitate the transmission from xp for all those who rejected vista.

Severity: High

Impact: High

Status: Not fixed