For many years Windows has included a set of productivity applications for basic task such as word processing, graphics and number crunching. These applications I speak of are WordPad, Paint and Calculator. In addition to these stalwarts there are a couple others users might miss out on, they include Sticky Notes and the dedicated XPS Viewer application. WordPad and Paint in particular have embraced significant changes to their interfaces. Scenic Ribbon similar to the Office Fluent UI first introduced in Office 2007 is now a core part of their functionality. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but after comparing the user experience to Paint and WordPad in previous versions of Windows with the new improvements in Windows 7, I wholeheartedly understood why even these fundamental programs needed the graphical boost.

Aero Effects are more intuitive and productive in Windows 7, providing better interaction with your applications and the Desktop. Jump List provides quick access to your recent activities in supported applications.

The Scenic Ribbon in Windows 7 exposes frequently used features for more intuitive access, increasing your productivity by reducing the need to hunt through menus. It’s similar to the ribbon in Microsoft Office 2007, with a user interface that consists of an application menu, a quick-access toolbar, a ribbon control of contextual tabs, mini-toolbars (or chunks), and style galleries.

Paint also inherits Office Fluent UI, featuring a gorgeous presentation. Some new features include media paint brushes and the ability to easily pick/edit colours and shapes. There are some additional options that make working with illustrations easier such as options for transparency and opacity. Measurement options have been improved with the ability to zoom in and out, display a ruler, grid lines and full screen mode. The default file format Paint now saves in is .PNG (Portable Network Graphics) which provides better quality for your images – although I wish I could change this default .JPEG personally. Controls in Paint are touch-ready, so you can even use your finger to paint and choose colors or shapes.

With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft developed the XPS Document format, (XML Paper Specification) for viewing, saving, sharing, digitally signing and protection of fixed document content. In Vista, XPS documents could only be viewed through Internet Explorer. Windows 7 provides a dedicated application just for XPS documents supporting all of the same functionality found in the previous version such as signing a document, adding permissions, search and viewing the document at different zoom rates. Windows 7 allows you to create XPS documents in any program you can print from, but viewing, signing and setting permissions can only be done through the XPS viewer. One of the nice features of XPS is it takes advantage of the graphics subsystem first introduced in Vista which allows high quality output when documents are viewed at high zoom rates maintaining full fidelity. In Windows 7 XPS Documents can be viewed in full-screen mode along with an interactive Thumbnail mode which dynamically creates a set of page ranges when you zoom over the thumbnails; this makes navigation and searching through long documents easier. You can also preview XPS documents within Windows Explorer or Microsoft Office Outlook preview panes.

Searching is a key aspect of the information management experience in Windows 7, Windows Vista presented a great opportunity for users to make access their data easier by integrating Search heavily throughout the interface and giving users tools that make results more accurate. In Windows 7, Search is much smarter, by presenting input recommendations based on previous searches and dynamic filter suggestions, to help you narrow down results. Because of the tight integration with Libraries, you can search beyond the PC right at the Start menu which grouped for easier visualization. When Searching across multiple PC’s in a corporate setting, Administrators can fine tune how a search is executed, be defining up to five search destinations. All of the search processing is handled on a remote server and results presented you within your comfort zone. This sounds complex and it is, but Windows 7 is subtracting complexity of it all and presenting you only with ease of use part of the equation.