Every day, I learn more about Windows 7 and it’s sometimes hidden features. Since I skipped Vista, a great deal of the options and settings are new to me.

There are dozens of utilities and settings applets built into Windows 7 and Vista. Often the easiest way to find them is to search for them by name in the Start menu.

The problem is that there are far more settings and utilities available than any average user would find on his own. What if you don’t know the name of the app or control you are looking for? What if you didn’t know it existed?

Some people at “The Windows Club” have tried to make it easier to find all the applets and controls with their new “Windows Access Panel“.

Here’s what they say about it:

“Windows Access Panel v 1.0 is meant to minimize your trouble in accessing such programs. It has been tested on  Windows 7 & Windows Vista. It can simply be downloaded and used as a portable application. Place it in your Programs Files and Pin its shortcut to your Start menu and you are all set to a faster way of accessing  the ‘hidden’ Windows system utilities.”

I tried it and it’s simply great, but I do have a couple of recommendations for it’s improvement.

I was not able to resize the Windows Access Panel (WAP)  in any way. It was very large and disappeared from my screen on the sides. I think they need to make this window re-sizable and perhaps add more tabs to better organize the tools into smaller groups.

In the future it might also be nice to be able to add your own shortcuts or commands into WAP.

Techie Buzz Verdict:

It’s safe, it’s useful and will save you time. I especially like the fact that it’s portable. However, I look forward to improvements that will make it a “must have” application.

Techie Buzz Rating: 3/5

Do you have any questions about Windows 7? Do you have any ideas you’d like to share? Be sure to add a comment below or email me. I’d love to hear from you.