Indeed, I much prefer clicking the buttons in the toolbar, which spring to life with a single click.

So, is it that much harder to double-click rather than single-click? Well … no, not really.

But here’s the thing: if you really want to open any item on your desktop with a single click, it’s easy to do.

Open the Control Panel (it’s under the Start Menu in Windows 7, or just type “Control Panel” from the Windows 8 Start screen), click Appearance and Personalization, then click “Specify single- or double-click to open” under the Folder Options heading. (Update: Don’t see the “Appearance and Personalization” heading? As a reader pointed out in the comments, you need to make sure “View by” is set to “Category” rather than “Small icons” or “Large icons.”)

Just head for the Control Panel to set your desktop items to open with a single click.

You should now be looking at the Folder Options window; look for the “Click items as follows” section, click the “Single-click to open an item” option, and click the “Apply” button.

Now, hover your mouse over any item, click once, and voilà! The document or folder should open instantly. You may also notice that the labels under the icons on your desktop are now underlined, just like links in a web page, and that individual desktop items are “selected” whenever your mouse hovers over them. Don’t like the underlining? Just go back to the Folder Options window and click the “Underline icon titles only when I point at them” option.

Have a change of heart about the whole single-clicking thing? Just retrace the steps above, then select “Double-click top open an item” rather than single-click.

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You can set the PC Power button to put your computer into a gentle “sleep” mode, a deeper “hibernation” slumber, or even to do nothing at all.

Let’s get started

• Open the Control Panel (either from the Windows 7 Start menu, or just type “Control Panel” from the Windows 8 Search screen)
• Click System and Security
• Click the “Change what the power buttons do’ under the “Power Options” heading
• You’ll come to a window that lets you tweak the settings for the main Power button and the Sleep button (typically a key stamped with a half-moon icon). You’ll even be able to change what happens when you close the lid of your laptop.

You can set the Power button to put your computer into a gentle “sleep” mode, a deeper “hiernation” slumber, or even to do nothing at all.

So, now what?

You have a few choices – they are:

• Do nothing: Pretty self-explanatory—and potentially quite handy, especially for anyone who’s even hit the PC Power button by accident.
• Sleep: A mode that dims your screen but (for the most part) leaves your PC and its hard drive humming. You can wake your system instantly from sleep, but keep in mind that its hard drive is still spinning and its battery is still draining.
• Hibernate: A deeper version of Sleep that saves the “state” of your system—including any open windows and programs—before shutting down your system and its hard drive. Once your system is “hibernated,” it’s safe to tote around, and the battery won’t drain nearly as fast as it would in “sleep” mode. However, it may take a minute or so to rouse your hibernating system.
• Shut down: Completely powers down your system, closing any open windows and programs in the process.

Just select the settings for the PC’s Power button, the Sleep key, and closing your laptop lid from the various pull-down menus, then click the “Save changes” button. Done!

Also, if you’re using a laptop, note that you can pick different behaviors depending on whether your system is plugged in or running off its battery.

Click here for more Windows tips!

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Read on for 25 keyboard shortcuts that every Windows user should have at their fingertips, from the classic ALT + TAB and CONTROL + C to the more esoteric CONTROL + SHIFT + ESC and Windows + Z.

Related: 20 must-know Mac keyboard shortcuts

1. CTRL + ALT + DELETE

The last resort (well, besides the power button) for many a Windows user after a program freezes on the desktop, this essential three-key combo call up the Windows Task Manager, which lets you pinpoint and close a misbehaving application.

Note: on Windows 7 and 8 systems, CTRL+ALT+DELETE calls up a screen with other options besides launching the Task Manager, including locking the computer, switching the current user, and logging off altogether.

2. CONTROL + SHIFT + ESC

In Windows 7 and 8, jumps you straight to the Task Manager, skipping the intermediate “lock” and “switch user” screen.

3. ALT + TAB

Press ALT+TAB to call up a rectangular window with icons representing your currently running programs; just “tab” over to the app you want, then hit Enter to make the switch. A classic, must-know shortcut.

4. Windows key + TAB (Windows 7 only)

Essentially the same as ALT + TAB, a keyboard combo that lets you cycle through all your running applications, but with an eye-popping difference: your open apps will appear in a nifty 3-D carousel instead of a basic pop-up window.

5. Windows key + Z (Windows 8 only)

Open the pane of so-called “app commands” at the bottom of a Windows 8 app.

6. Windows key + C (Windows 8 only)

Open the “charms” pane on the right side of the screen—you know, the one with the Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings buttons.

7. F1

Need a little help? Tap the F1 key at the top of your keyboard to launch a Help window for the application you’re currently using, or for Windows in general.

8. CTRL + ESC, or the Windows key

In Windows 7, gives you instant access to the Start Menu; just use the arrow keys to navigate to the program, directory, or option you want, then hit Enter to select.

Using Windows 8? If so, the CTRL + ESC keyboard combo and/or the Windows key calls up the new Start screen—and yes, you can use the arrow keys to navigate the Start screen tiles.

9. ALT + F4

Closes the active window you have open, such as an open Internet Explorer window. Also, if the window you’re closing is the only one that’s open for a given program, the app in question will go ahead and quit.

10. Windows key + the “E” key

Launches Windows Explorer (or File Explorer, as it’s now known in Windows 8), the essential desktop browser for all the applications, directories (like your personal Windows user directory), documents, and other system files on your PC.

11. Windows key + “M” key

Need to see your desktop this instant? Use this keyboard combo to minimize every open window at once, thus revealing the Windows desktop.

12. Windows key + SHIFT + “M” key

So, you found that missing file on your desktop, and you’re ready to dive back into that Excel chart. Now what? Strike this trio of keys to restore all the windows you just minimized.

13. Windows key + “L”

Sends you instantly to the Windows lock screen, perfect for hiding your work (or your Facebook timeline) during a quick trip to the restroom.

14. Windows key + arrow key

Snaps the active window to the top, left, and right sides of the desktop, depending on which arrow button you press. Tap Windows key + down arrow to return the window to its original spot, or tap the keys again to minimize the window.

15. F2

Lets you rename the selected file or folder.

16 – 21. CONTROL + C, V, X, Z, and Y

The basic text-editing commands, including…

• CONTROL + A: selects all text in a document or form
• CONTROL + C: copies the selected text to the Windows clipboard
• CONTROL + X: cuts the selected text and saves it to the clipboard
• CONTROL + V: pastes your copied text
• CONTROL + Z: undo your last action
• CONTROL + Y: redo the last action you “undid”

22. ALT + left or right arrow key

In your favorite web browser, sends you back to the previous web page (left arrow) or forward (right arrow).

23. CONTROL + F

For web browsers and many other applications, lets you search the open web page or document.

24. ALT + space bar

Opens a system menu in the top-left corner of the active window. From this menu, you can select Move (to move the window around the screen using just the arrow keys), Size (to resize the window with the arrow keys), Minimize, Maximize, or Close.

25. CONTROL + T and SHIFT + CONTROL + T

In a web browser, tap CONTROL + T to open a new browser tab, or SHIFT + CONTROL + T to re-open the last browser tab you closed.

Got more Windows keyboard shortcuts you’d like to share? Post ’em below.

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Luckily, help is at hand, all thanks to the humble little clock on your Windows desktop.

As it turns out, you can add one or two additional clocks to the main Windows clock—you know, the one that sits in the toolbar.

Once you’ve added the new world clocks, you can reveal the current time for each clock in a small window by hovering your mouse over the taskbar clock.

You can add one or two more clocks to the standard Windows clock; just pick a time zone and a label.

Want larger clocks with ticking hands, all in a row—you know, just like those time-zone clocks that hang on a wall? Just click the taskbar clock rather than merely hovering your mouse over it.

Sound good? If so, here’s how to customize your new clocks…

• Right-click the clock in the taskbar, then select “Change date and time settings.”
• Click the “Additional Click” tab, then check the box next to the first “Show this clock” section.
• Under “Select time zone,” pick the time zone that you’d like displayed.
• Label your clock in the “Enter display name” feature—say, “Mountain Time” or “Chicago.”
• Rinse and repeat for the second clock.
• Click the OK button at the bottom of the window.

Now, click the clock, and a window will appear with three clock faces: one with your time, and two more with the clocks you just customized. And no, unfortunately, you can’t add more than two additional clocks.

Click here for more Windows tips!

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Read on for five ways to tidy up—and spruce up—your old Windows desktop, starting with…

1. Rearrange your desktop icons automatically

Here’s the easiest way—by far—to declutter your Windows desktop. (Just to be clear, I’m taking about the “classic” desktop, not the Windows 8 Start screen. Click here for tips on customizing the Start screen.)

You’re just a right-click away from getting your desktop icons in order.

You can set Windows to automatically sort all your desktop items by name, size, type, or date modified.

Just right-click the desktop, select “Sort by,” then pick an option.

Also, try this: right-click the desktop again, select “View,” then “Align icons to grid” to keep all your desktop items in nice, neat rows and columns.

2. Change the size of your icons

Just like on the Mac, you can resize the icons that sit on your Windows 7 desktop.

Unlike the Mac, though (which boasts a slider that lets you customize your icon size down to the pixel), Windows gives you only three choices: Large, Medium, and Small.

Want to make your desktop items bigger—or smaller? No problem.

To get started, right-click on the desktop, select “View” from the menu that appears, and then make your selection.

3. Change the look of the mouse pointer

You spend all day staring at your mouse pointer, so why not give it a fresh coat of digital paint?

Tired of looking at the same-old mouse pointer? You can give it a new look in the Mouse Properties window.

Right-click the desktop yet again, select “Personalize,” then click the “Change mouse pointers” link in the upper-left corner of the Personalization window.

You can change the appearance of more than a dozen mouse pointer “states” (from “Normal Select” to the spinny “Working in Background” animation) in the “Customize” section, and you can choose from a dozen different cursor themes in the “Scheme” pull-down menu.

4. Move—or hide—the taskbar

You know the familiar Windows taskbar—you know, the one that sits at the bottom of the screen? It doesn’t really have to be there.

You can move the taskbar to either side of the screen or even at the top, and you can even set it to hide itself until you really need it.

Just right-click the taskbar, then make sure the “Lock the taskbar” option is unchecked.

You can drag the Windows taskbar to the right or left side of the screen—or even to the top, if you wish.

Now, click and hold the taskbar, and drag it to the left side of the screen, the right side, or up to the top, and it’ll snap into place.

To keep the taskbar hidden until you need it, right-click the taskbar, select Properties, click the Taskbar tab, check the “Auto-hide the taskbar” option, then click the “Apply” button. When you do, the taskbar will disappear from the desktop.

Need the taskbar again? Just move your mouse to the side of the screen where the taskbar lives, and it’ll slide back into view.

5. Change your desktop theme

OK, you’ve made a few cosmetic tweaks to your Windows desktop—now how about something a little more radical?

If you’re really in the mood for change, you can pick an all-new desktop theme, complete with custom wallpaper (or even background slideshows), plus matching color schemes and system sounds.

Right-click the desktop, select “Personalize,” then go ahead and choose a new theme (from the new-age Architecture to the old-school Windows Classic and “High Contrast” themes), or create your own my mixing and matching different backgrounds, colors, and sounds.

You can also download additional themes from Microsoft right here.

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What you may not know, however, is that you can save even more time by right-clicking (rather than left-clicking) the taskbar button for a “pinned” program.

Why? Because doing so will spawn what Microsoft calls a “jump list”—a list of shortcuts that’ll give you a running start as you’re firing up an app.

You can set your Windows “Jump Lists” to display up to 99 recently opened items—or none at all, if you wish.

For example, if you’ve got the Control Panel pinned to the taskbar, right-clicking its taskbar button will give you a list of the most recent Control Panel settings you’ve accessed—handy if you’re, say, continually tweaking your display options.

Right-click the Internet Explorer taskbar button, and you’ll see a list of frequently-visited webpages, as well as shortcuts for features like opening a new browser tab or switching on “InPrivate” browsing.

Right-clicking the File Explorer button lets you jump to recent folders you’ve opened, while the “jump list” for Word brings up recently edited documents.

You can set your jump lists to display up to 99 “recent items”—or none at all, if you’d rather not have your activity on display to anyone who right-clicks the taskbar.

To change your jump list settings, just right-click the taskbar, select Properties, then click the “Jump Lists” tab.

Bonus tip

Not sure how to pin a program to the taskbar? Just launch a Windows program, right-click its button in the taskbar, and select “Pin this program to the taskbar.”

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The good news, though, is that Windows makes it relatively easy to zoom your display—either just a portion or the whole thing.

Related: How to zoom the display on a Mac

Just click the magnifying glass to make the Windows “Magnifier” controls appear.

Let’s get started…

• Go to the Control Panel from the Windows Start Menu (or, if you’re using Windows 8, right-click the Start button and select Control Panel), then click “Optimize visual display” under the “Ease of Access” section.
• Next, under the heading that reads “Make things on the screen larger,” check the box next to “Turn on Magnifier,” then click the Apply button.
• You should now see a medium-size magnifying glass icon floating on your desktop. Click it to reveal the magnification controls, then try clicking the “+” button.
• And … zoom! Your entire Windows desktop should double in size, to a magnification of 200 percent. Click the “+” button again to increase the magnification, or click “-” to return the zoom to normal.
• Open the “Views” menu to the right of the blue “+” and “-” buttons to cycle through three magnification modes: full screen, which we just tried; “lens,” which lets you drag a square magnification lens across the screen; and “docked,” which opens a slim magnification window that’s docked at the top of the desktop.

Looking for more Windows tips? Click here!

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Hi Lilyan! Unfortunately, because there are so many makes and models of Windows PCs, there’s no easy, one-size-fits-all way to disable the Caps Lock key.

That said, it’s a snap to make your PC “beep” whenever the Caps Lock key is pressed—not a perfect solution, mind you, but it’s better than nothing.

The “Toggle Keys” setting will make your Windows PC beep whenever you strike the Caps Lock key.

Let’s give it a try…

• Open the Control Panel (it’s in the Start Menu under Windows 7, or you can search for it from the Windows 8 Start screen), then click the Ease of Access heading.
• Click the “Change how your keyboard works” link under the “Ease of Access Center” section.
• Under the “Make it easier to type” heading, check the box next to “Turn on Toggle Keys,” then click the Apply button at the bottom of the window.
• All done? Hit the Caps Lock key, and you’ll hear a beep.

Hope that helps!

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Try this: just slide your mouse pointer to the very end of the Windows taskbar (for most users, that means the bottom-right corner of the screen, unless you’ve moved the taskbar elsewhere), then let it sit there for a second.

“Peek” not working for you? Right-click the taskbar, select Properties, and make sure Peek is enabled under the Taskbar tab.

When you do, all the open windows on your desktop will turn transparent as glass, exposing your bare Windows desktop.

All done? Just move your mouse away from the end of the taskbar, and your open windows will return to normal. Neat.

Now, what if you actually do want to minimize all your open windows? No problem: just right-click the taskbar and select “Show the desktop,” or press the WINDOWS key + M.

Note: If the Aero Peek feature isn’t working for you, it might not be activated. Right-click the Windows taskbar, select “Properties,” and make sure that the “Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop” setting is checked.

Click here for more Windows tips!

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Want to make folders on your Mac open in a new windows? Just change a key Finder setting.

In recent years, though, folder windows have started acting like browser windows—meaning that if you open a folder within a folder, the contents of the folder you opened will appear in the same folder window, and you’ll need to click a “Back” button to return to the previous, “parent” folder.

Sure, the new method does a better job of keeping your desktop neat and tidy, but what if you want to go back to the old way of opening folders—you know, with a window for every folder, perfect for dragging files from one folder to another?

Here’s how…

For Mac:

• Click the desktop, open the Finder menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select Preferences.
• Under the General tab, check the box next to “Always open folders in a new window.”

Update [10/25/13]: As a (very irate) reader has pointed out, “Mavericks,” the just-released version of Mac OS X, has changed this setting; the checkbox now only lets you determine whether new folders open as tabs or within the same window. If there’s another way to open a folder as a brand-new window under Mavericks, let us know.

You’ll need to dig into the Windows Control Panel to make folders open in their own windows.

For Windows 7 and 8:

• Open the Control Panel (from the Start menu in Windows 7, or just type Control Panel from the Windows 8 Start screen to find it using search), click the Appearance and Personalization heading, then click Folder Options.
• Make sure the General tab is selected in the Folder Options window, then click the circular “radio” button next to “Open each folder in its own window.”
• Click the Apply button.

Click here for more Windows tips, or click here for more help with your Mac.

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