Windows 7 productivity tips : Mastering the jump lists

Jump lists is one of the new feature introduced in windows 7. It is one of my favourite features as it saves a lot of time once you get used to it. Every destination or application are just few clicks away after you master it.

Display more items on jump list
Before we go into those great shortcut that you able to do with jump list, lets check out some basic customization.

1. Right click the taskbar and click "properties"
2. Head to "Start menu" tab and then click the customize button.
3. At the very bottom of the window, you should be able to select your favourable amount of items in jump list.

Instant access to private browsing or bookmarks
Suddenly have the need to browse in private mode ? You don't need to open up a browser and find the button for private browsing. Jump list gives you instant access to open it up. Just right click the browser icon and click "new incognito window" for google chrome. Internet Explorer has this features as well, too bad firefox does not include this feature yet.

Pin outlook/document templates to taskbar
Good news for outlook users who have to email the same thing thousands times. In windows 7, you can create a template document in outlook/any other application and then drag it to the taskbar icon to pin it to the jump list. Then, whenever you need to use it, you can just right click on the taskbar icon to open it up. It will definitely save your time and boost productivity.

Pin folders and searches to the Taskbar
Ability to pin folders to the windows explorer is the biggest time-saver for me. Simply pin your most frequently use folder on the taskbar and right click to access it every time you need to use it. You will find that you save a lot of clicks. However, many people do not realilize you can actually pin a search result on taskbar.

1. Open up the windows 7 search and put in your keyword and drag the icon from the location bar to pin on windows explorer.

2. Next, you should have something similar to this in your windows explorer.

After reading this tips, explore yourselves to find a way you can adapt to use this short cut for your own benefit.

p/s: If you dislike to right click on taskbar icon to call up jump list every time, you can try to go to the taskbar icon, hold your left click and drag it upwards to call up jump list. This is one of the windows 7 gesture.