Hi Folks,

Q:
I just made the switch over to Windows Vista and one of the new features that really intrigued me was the Flip 3D. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about it though. Can you please tell me all you know? Thanks so much for your help!

A:
Well, I must say, if you're going to choose a Windows Vista feature to be intrigued with, Flip 3D is an excellent choice. Now, to be technically correct about this, there are actually two features kind of doubled into one with this. One is called Windows Flip and the other is Windows Flip 3D. They both work together to do pretty much the same thing, but there are a few differences and I will go over those with you in a few seconds.

Both of these features are part of the Aero interface that comes with the new operating system of Windows Vista. Also, both the Windows Flip and Flip 3D are available in the Vista Home Premium, Business and Ultimate editions. So, if you have a version other than those, neither of these will work for you. That's unfortunate, I know, but there are tons of other great features you can enjoy with the other editions, so be sure to focus your attention on those. As for the rest of you, let's check out what Windows Flip and Flip 3D can do for you!

First of all, both of these features were designed to give you thumbnail images of all the windows you have open on your computer at any given time. The thumbnails show you the exact content of each window, which makes it a lot easier for you to find what you're looking for. For example, maybe you have a couple Web browser windows open, you have your e-mail program up, the Control Panel is open, you're working on a Word document and you have your media player program open in the background. With all of those windows open at the same time, it can be difficult to find the exact one you want to bring up on your main screen. But with the Flip features, that doesn't have to be the case any longer!

I'm sure you've used the Alt + Tab feature before, right? As you know, that is one option you can use to go back and forth between the programs you have open. Well, lucky for all of us, that is taken one step further with these two features. Windows Flip improves the Alt + Tab option by making it much easier to navigate from window to window and Flip 3D adds to that by giving you a three-dimensional view of all your open windows. Cool, huh?!

Windows Flip

With Windows Flip, you don't have to rely on the Alt + Tab feature anymore. Instead, you can bring up thumbnail images of all your open windows, rather than the generic icons you usually see. That way, you can easily identify which program you want to open and with a quick click, it's right there in front of you. For example, I use the Alt + Tab feature quite often, but sometimes I don't know which icon goes with which program. Do you ever have that problem too? Well, now that I'm using Windows Vista, I just pull up the Windows Flip option and I'm able to see exactly what each of my programs look like.

Also, what if you have a couple windows up on your screen, but there are a few more left in your taskbar? When that happens, all you have to do is hover your mouse pointer over the items in your taskbar and the contents of those windows will pop up for you as well. That way, you can see what's left without ever having to bring them up for a full view. It's so convenient and it obviously saves you a lot of time! Windows Flip just makes it so much easier to find exactly what you're looking for without having to browse through each program you have open. Yes!

Windows Flip 3D

So, along with all that Windows Flip gives you, wouldn't it be nice to be able to see your windows with a new visual depth too? Well, you can do just that with Flip 3D. It gives you a more comprehensive view of your open programs so that you don't have to juggle anything you're working with. Just a couple clicks and you're looking at a 3D view of everything you have open on your computer. To activate the Flip 3D feature, just hit Start + Tab and you can begin to flip through all of your programs with either the arrow keys on your keyboard or with the scroll wheel on your mouse. It's so cool!

Welcome to a new way of navigation with your Windows Vista computer. Give the Flips a try today!

More Next Friday,
Chuckstr
----My Web Site----

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