Windows 7 users are generally a satisfied lot — relieved, no doubt, that Microsoft chose to concentrate on making its new operating system faster and less intrusive than Vista. But that doesn’t mean Windows 7 is without its flaws. The good news is that most of the features that people find annoying about Windows 7 can either be turned off or “fixed” with add-on software. Read on for details.
Q: I don’t like the new Windows 7 “snap” feature. How can I disable it?
A: Windows 7’s Aero Snap feature may take new users by surprise. To see what Snap does, grab an open application’s title bar and move it to the left, right, or top of your screen until your mouse cursor touches the edge. Snap will then kick into action, showing you a large translucent rectangle, indicating that if you release the mouse button, the application will “snap” to fill the space occupied by the translucent rectangle.
The main purpose of Snap is to make it easy for you to situate two open applications side-by-side on your screen so that they perfectly fill all available screen space. Move an application to the top of the screen, and Snap will maximize the application — achieving the same result as double-clicking the title bar.
The trouble with Snap, as you’ve no doubt discovered, is that it can interfere with efforts to move application around on your monitor. If you inadvertently “snap” one to the side or top, you have to go to the trouble of unsnapping it.
Luckily, it’s easy to turn off Snap. Just open the Windows 7 Start menu, type “snap” or “arrange,” and then click the search result labeled “Turn off automatic window arrangement.” In the resulting dialog box, select the check box labeled “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved…