October 2006 - Posts

• Query Composition: Building a search upon another search

  Today, I'd like to share with you a hidden gem inside of Windows Vista's search capabilities. It's a neat little feature that lets you build one saved search on top of another, and we call it Query Composition. Think composition in the mathematical Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 2:26 PM by benbetz | 7 Comments Filed under: Search and Organize, Feature Insight, query composition, search

• The Background on Backgrounds

  There has been a lot of attention in the last few weeks about the discrepancy in the desktop background appearance between the control panel and Windows Photo Gallery. This is something that we have been tracking internally for quite a while, so I thought Read More... Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 12:58 AM by davevr | 18 Comments

• Cracking the Shell: The Interview

  This is my first post (of many?) on the shell revealed blog, and I thought I’d try and offer some insight into what it has been like to be on the Shell Team. I joined Microsoft and the Shell team September 18 th , so I imagine my perspective is Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 24, 2006 5:58 PM by jwcutler | 2 Comments

• Part 3 Dr. Unattend: Sysprep and ImageX or how to capture an image by its toe

  In previous episodes of Dr. Unattend, you learned how Windows Vista's setup can be automated using unattend answer files . You also learned how to create and validate a simple unattend answer file using Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) that pumps Read More... Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006 12:28 PM by baslam | 6 Comments Filed under: Vista, setup, unattend, deployment

• Do things faster with Keyboard Shortcuts

  Keyboard shortcuts help maximize efficiency at common tasks, the lesser known ones are even sometimes passed around as expert tips for Windows. I have to admit that seeing someone in action that knows all the shortcuts and can use them together efficiently Read More... Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 8:23 PM by lyonwong | 23 Comments Filed under: Vista, Windows Vista, Search and Organize, logonui

• Building Your First TaskDialog (Part 3)

  Building Your First TaskDialog (Part 3) Jeff Miller - October 16, 2006 UPDATE: October 17, 2006 -- made a bunch of changes based on guidelines feedback from Everett McKay. Also made source code downloadable by request of Ales Holecek. Thanks to both of Read More... Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 2:51 PM by uisamurai | 11 Comments Filed under: API, Vista, API Vista Developers Coding

• Frequently asked questions about the Aero Basic window frame

  Several people here and elsewhere have been asking why the Aero Basic window frame looks like it does, and why it is different from the Aero frame (especially the caption buttons). I won't give the technical explanation for every single detail here Read More... Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 11:51 PM by lm [MSFT] | 35 Comments Filed under: Aero, Visual Styles, Themes, API, API Vista Developers Coding, Appearance, FnF, Feature Insight, Window frame, Caption, Aero Basic

• A useful tool for setting up autologon

  Have you ever thought to yourself “A simple command line app for setting up my computer to autologon would solve all of the worlds problems”? If so you should probably get help. Some of our beta testers mentioned that they wanted to set up Read More... Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2006 3:21 PM by ajenning | 8 Comments Filed under: deployment, autologon, logonui

• Features that didn't make the cut

  Everyone knows that when we did the reset, a lot of features that were anticipated for Longhorn didn't come back. Furthermore, those who have been in the beta program for a long time know that there are even some features that were in one or more Read More... Posted Monday, October 09, 2006 3:17 PM by davevr | 43 Comments

• By popular demand...

  ...here is a picture showing what the default window colors look like maximized. Note that none of the default colors are particular saturated. If you make a really saturated color, the blackness is even more reduced. A big thank you to Kam on the DWM Read More... Posted Wednesday, October 04, 2006 9:55 PM by davevr | 19 Comments

• Back in Black! Or rather, back OUT black!

  Just a quick blog post to update you on an issue near and dear to the hearts of some people. Well, at least the 1300 or so people so far who have contacted me about this issue. Background In Vista, we are really trying to reduce the amount of high contrast Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 03, 2006 3:01 PM by davevr | 35 Comments