Similar to the transition from Windows XP to Windows Vista, certain capabilities and programs that are present in Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

 are no longer present in Windows 7 or have changed. The following is a list of features that originated in earlier versions of Windows and included up to Windows Vista.

Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer

This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...

• Control Panel
  Control panel
  Control panel may refer to:* Control panel , a flat, often vertical, area where control instrumentation is mounted.* Control panel , the tool in the operating system which allows most or all of the settings to be changed through a user interface** Control panel ** Control Panel ** Web hosting...
  
   views are limited to Small icons and Large icons (which is actually Tiles view). List view, Details view, Extra large icons view, Large icons view and Medium icons view with text at the bottom are not available.
• Some Control Panel settings, such as Add Hardware, Bluetooth, Game Controllers, Pen and Touch, People Near Me, Tablet PC Settings, Offline Files, and Scanners and Cameras, are not listed, even under All Control Panel Items. The 32-bit Speech applet is no longer accessible through the Control Panel. While some of these settings are accessible only from Category view, or by searching, they can be made accessible via All Control Panel Items with modification to the registry
  Windows registry
  The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...
  
  .
• The slide show button from Windows Explorer starts the Windows Photo Viewer, which unlike Windows Live Photo Gallery, does not support viewing slide shows with themes and rich transitions.
• It is not possible to run the 32-bit version of Windows Explorer as a file manager or as the shell in 64-bit editions of Windows 7. 64-bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows XP allowed executing the 32-bit shell/Windows Explorer and making it the default for compatibility with shell extensions. As a result, all 32-bit shell extensions are incompatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 7.
• Because of the Software Explorer being removed from Windows Defender
  Windows Defender
  Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, is a software product from Microsoft to prevent, remove, and quarantine spyware in Microsoft Windows...
  
  , there is no user notification any more if UAC
  User Account Control
  User Account Control is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, with a more relaxed version also present in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2...
  
   blocks a startup program which needs administrator privileges. Users were notified about blocked startup programs set to run as administrator in Windows Vista
  Windows Vista
  Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
  
  .
• An undocumented incompatible Items view control replaces the List view control used in Windows Explorer and Start Menu breaking applications that customized the Explorer list view control. The Item view also does not support custom positioning, custom ordering, or hyperlinks, which were supported in the Windows Vista list view. Because the control is undocumented, it is not possible for developers to disable auto arrange or customize views. Because ItemsView is not considered part of the Win32 common controls reusable by developers, the sound for the Select system event no longer plays in Explorer in Windows 7.
• The new items view control also ignores certain desktop.ini parameters like IconArea_Image and IconArea_Text preventing users from setting a background picture for folders. In Windows Vista, this feature was not built-in, however the list view control supported this if shell extensions or folder customization utilities which set the correct desktop.ini parameters and attributes were installed.
• Each toolbar or desk band is forced to be on its own row in Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer forces the RBBS_BREAK style for every band.
• When items are grouped by any criteria, multiple selection of groups by clicking the group header while holding down Ctrl is not possible as could be done in Windows Vista.
• The entire folder tree view in the navigation pane cannot be collapsed as could be done in Windows Explorer on Windows Vista.
• Full row selection cannot be turned off for details view as was possible in Windows Vista.
• The Share overlay icon for shared items in Explorer has been removed.
• When navigating to a folder from a library, it is not possible to view the folder's contents in the view the user has set or customized. The folder uses the library's view.
• It is not possible to set Windows Explorer to remember individual folder window sizes and positions. Each folder window shares the same size, and their position cascades as more windows are opened.
• Dotted lines that connect folders and subfolders do not appear as the option to turn off simple folder view is missing.
• The size of any selected item(s) is not shown on the status bar but is shown in the details pane just above the status bar. Free disk space is not shown on the status bar and the status bar is not visible by default. The details pane only shows the size of 15 selected items by default and viewing the total size of more than 15 selected items requires clicking "Show more details" each time the selection changes.
• When no items are selected in a folder, neither the details pane nor the status bar show the total size of files in the folder.
• Icons on the command bar in Windows Explorer and common application dialogs for Open/Save.
• Disabling Auto Arrange and Align to Grid is not available in Windows Explorer windows. As a result, users can no longer manually arrange items via drag and drop within a folder; this feature is only available on the desktop.
• The bar with column headers for sorting, grouping, filtering and stacking that appears for any view in Windows Vista Explorer only appears for Details view. Even in details view, the column headers only allow sorting and filtering; they no longer allow grouping and stacking. As a result, grouping must be done from the context menu in all views and sorting must also be done from the context menu in all other views except Details view. Filtering by columns can only be done in Details view.
• Automatic horizontal scrolling in the left pane and the horizontal scrollbar have been removed.
• The Arrange By option (called Stack By in Windows Vista) is only available for libraries and folders included in libraries. In addition, users can only Stack By predefined categories depending on the library type. For example, users can only Stack by Folder, Album, Artist, Song, Genre, and Rating for the Music library, whereas in Vista, users could Stack By any properties that exist for a file (common examples would be bit rate, year, composer, play count, etc. for audio files).
• Changing the sort criteria when multiple items are selected causes all items to be de-selected.
• Selection of multiple items is not retained across back and forward navigation.

Taskbar

Taskbar

In computing, a taskbar is a bar displayed on a full edge of a GUI desktop that is used to launch and monitor running applications. Microsoft incorporated a taskbar in Windows 95 and it has been a defining aspect of Microsoft Windows's graphical user interface ever since. Some desktop environments,...

• Quick Launch was removed in favor of 'pinned' applications. It is possible to revert to Quick Launch by manually adding it as a custom toolbar. It should be noted that the Quick Launch toolbar has compatibility issues with the language toolbar in Windows 7 and if both are enabled, the Quick Launch toolbar will disappear upon restart.
• Clicking a grouped application's taskbar button or thumbnail when it is active (in the foreground) does not minimize it. Only ungrouped application buttons minimize upon being clicked again.
• Icons have been removed from the tooltips for the notification area system icons such as Volume, Network, Power and the taskbar date and time.
• Floating Deskbands are no longer available. The feature was previously deprecated in Windows Vista; all deskbands can be only pinned to taskbar.
• The ability to disable grouping (placing next to each other) similar taskbar buttons (for example, Explorer windows) is removed; users can still disable combining multiple taskbar buttons of the same type into one button.
• The configurable registry option TaskbarGroupSize, which allowed fine-grained control over taskbar grouping under previous Windows versions is not supported. In Windows 7, users can only configure to either combine buttons, not combine or combine when the taskbar is full.
• The number of combined taskbar windows is not calculated and shown next to the combined buttons.
• Network activity animation on Network Connections icon in the notification area cannot be turned on. The Network icon only indicates the type of network (wired or wireless) and internet connectivity.
• The ability to turn off taskbar window previews (thumbnails) while still using Aero
  Windows Aero
  Windows Aero is the graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, operating systems released by Microsoft. It is also available in Windows Server 2008, but is not enabled by default. Its name is a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and...
  
  , as was configurable in Windows Vista. It is possible to turn off taskbar thumbnails when two or more windows are combined by setting a registry value, though.
• The ability to disable the taskbar's "always on top" setting is removed.
• When grouping is disabled, the ability to manage multiple taskbar items using multiselect (Ctrl+click) to tile, cascade, minimize or close the selected group of windows has been removed.
• Only two power plans, one of them always being Balanced, are available to choose from the taskbar. The "High Performance" power plan is hidden by default in the Control Panel.
• When the taskbar is vertical, there cannot be multiple columns of icons.

Start menu

Start menu

The Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...

• Classic Start menu
  Start menu
  The Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...
  
  . Certain features that were present only in the Classic Start menu are not available, such as expanding the menu columns instead of scrolling, expanding folders by hovering instead of clicking, opening folders by double clicking, and launching multiple programs by holding down Shift key while clicking.
• Dynamically pinning default Internet browser and e-mail client software programs on Start menu is no longer possible. Programs can still be, however, manually pinned to the Start menu in Windows 7.

Windows Search

Windows Search

Windows Search is an indexed desktop search platform released by Microsoft for the Windows operating system....

 features

• Advanced search builder UI (Search Pane).
• The option to always search only file names has been removed from Folder Options, Search tab.
• The Windows Search
  Windows Search
  Windows Search is an indexed desktop search platform released by Microsoft for the Windows operating system....
  
   protocol handler addin to index network paths is incompatible with Windows 7. The Windows Search service needs to be installed and running on the remote computers to search them.

Other shell

Windows Shell

The Windows shell is the main graphical user interface in Microsoft Windows, and since Windows 95 hosted by Windows Explorer. The Windows shell includes well-known Windows components such as the Taskbar and the Start menu...

 features

• ClearType
  ClearType
  ClearType is a trademark for Microsoft's implementation of subpixel rendering technology. ClearType attempts to improve the appearance of text on certain types of computer display screens by sacrificing color fidelity for additional intensity variation. This trade-off is asserted to work well on...
  
   cannot be turned off entirely in order for the user interface font, Segoe UI, to maintain optimal design for certain shell components and Windows Explorer
  Windows Explorer
  This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
  
  . Parts of the user interface (such as the start menu and Explorer) still use ClearType regardless of setting.
• For security reasons AutoPlay
  AutoPlay
  AutoPlay, a feature introduced in Windows XP, examines newly discovered removable media and devices and, based on content such as pictures, music or video files, launches an appropriate application to play or display the content. It is closely related to the AutoRun operating system feature...
  
   will support AutoRun
  Autorun
  AutoRun and the companion feature AutoPlay are components of the Microsoft Windows operating system that dictate what actions the system takes when a drive is mounted....
  
   only on optical media, such as CDs and DVDs. (Later Microsoft released KB971029 for earlier OSes to make AutoPlay Windows 7-like.)
• Detection of the discontinued HD DVD
  HD DVD
  HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
  
   format in AutoPlay.
• Properties such as target command line with switches, start in path, icon and compatibility mode cannot be changed for game shortcuts in Games Explorer.
• In the Personalization control panel, it is not possible to save changes to an existing theme. Changes made after choosing a theme must be saved again and the original theme deleted to prevent duplication. In previous versions of Windows, a theme file could be overwritten with the modified theme.

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...

 features

• The ability to lock the player while in full-screen mode using a 4-digit PIN has been removed.
• The option to adjust the bit rate when burning data CDs has been removed.
• Windows Media Player
  Windows Media Player
  Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
  
  's taskbar-integrated Mini-player has been removed. The thumbnail preview which replaces this lacks volume control and a progress bar. The ability to start the miniplayer only for certain files based on specific text in their file names was also removed.
• Enhancements are only accessible from Now Playing view in a floating window. They do not dock to the Now Playing window, and do not get restored when Windows Media Player is restarted. Even when manually restored, their position does not get saved.
• Several player preferences are not saved and restored upon restarting the player. The playlist pane in Now Playing view is not shown automatically. Enhancements do not get restored when Windows Media Player is restarted. Even when manually restored, the previous position of the Now Playing window and enhancements is not retained.
• The context menu entry "Find In Library" which allowed locating the Now Playing song in the library was removed.
• Advanced Tag Editor, Color Chooser, Media Link for E-mail, and Party Mode features have been removed.
• The ability to add and show static lyrics and synchronized lyrics has been removed.
• Recently added Auto playlist is not included by default.
• Total time for CDs and playlists is rounded up to the nearest minute - i.e seconds are no longer shown.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer

Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...

 features

• In Internet Explorer 8
  Internet Explorer 8
  Windows Internet Explorer 8 is a web browser developed by Microsoft in the Internet Explorer browser series. The browser was released on March 19, 2009 for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit builds are available...
  
  , the previous session can no longer be automatically restored the next time. The user must remember to and manually open the session the next time.
• Internet Explorer 8
  Internet Explorer 8
  Windows Internet Explorer 8 is a web browser developed by Microsoft in the Internet Explorer browser series. The browser was released on March 19, 2009 for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit builds are available...
  
   on any Windows version does not support inline AutoComplete in its address bar.

Other Windows applications and features

• Windows Remote Assistance does not support file transfer and clipboard sharing in Windows 7.
• The Offline Files cache can be relocated, however, an existing cache with previously cached files cannot be moved without resetting it as was possible in Windows Vista using Windows Easy Transfer
  Windows Easy Transfer
  Windows Easy Transfer is a file transferring program included in newer versions of Microsoft Windows operating system which allows the switching files and settings between two PCs. The program aides migration of Windows XP or earlier to a new computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7. It...
  
   or in Windows XP/2000 using Cachemov.exe
• Windows Photo Gallery
  Windows Photo Gallery
  Windows Photo Gallery is a photo management, tagging, and editing tool developed by Microsoft, and is included with all editions of Windows Vista...
  
  , Windows Movie Maker
  Windows Movie Maker
  Windows Movie Maker is a video creating/editing software application, included in Microsoft Windows Me, XP, and Vista. It contains features such as effects, transitions, titles/credits, audio track, timeline narration, and Auto Movie. New effects and transitions can be made and existing ones can be...
  
  , and Windows Mail
  Windows Mail
  Windows Mail is an email and newsgroup client included in Windows Vista, that was superseded by Windows Live Mail. It is the successor to Outlook Express. Microsoft previewed Windows Mail on Channel 9 on October 10, 2005....
  
   has been removed, in favor of downloading respective Windows Live
  Windows Live
  Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
  
   counterparts. However, Windows Live Mail
  Windows Live Mail
  Windows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
  
   and Windows Live Movie Maker
  Windows Live Movie Maker
  Windows Live Movie Maker is a video creating/editing software that is a part of Microsoft's Windows Live initiative. It is intended to replace Windows Movie Maker that is currently included in Windows Vista...
  
   do not include all of the features of Windows Mail and Windows Movie Maker respectively. Specifically, Windows Live Mail does not support HTML source editing, scripted stationery and the ability to disable the splash screen. The integrated calendar supports events but not tasks, does not support subscribing, publishing, importing and exporting iCalendar
  ICalendar
  iCalendar is a computer file format which allows Internet users to send meeting requests and tasks to other Internet users, via email, or sharing files with an extension of .ics...
  
   files. The Windows Mail gadget for Windows SideShow
  Windows SideShow
  Windows SideShow is a technology introduced in Windows Vista that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC. These devices can be separate from or integrated into the main PC , enabling access to information and media even when the PC is turned off...
  
   does not ship with Windows 7. Windows Live Movie Maker does not include a proper timeline with audio edits and narration, title overlays, filter compatibility settings and other advanced options, cannot export to DV-AVI, and drops the transitions and effects from Windows Movie Maker.
• The web filtering and activity reporting functionality from the in-box parental controls feature. Windows Live Family Safety replaces the web filtering functionality but its user interface for filtering and activity reporting is web-based instead of the native UI used by Windows Vista's parental controls and requires logging in to a Windows Live ID
  Windows Live ID
  Windows Live ID is a single sign-on web service developed and provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account...
  
  .
• The DFS Replication Service included in Windows Vista for peer-to-peer DFS Replication service groups, has also been removed.
• The Aurora, Windows Energy and Windows Logo screensavers and most of the wallpapers
  Computer wallpaper
  Wallpaper is an image used as a background of a graphical user interface on a computer screen or mobile communications device. On a computer it is usually for the desktop, while for a mobile phone it is usually the background for the 'home' or 'idle' screen...
  
   that shipped with Windows Vista
  Windows Vista
  Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
  
   were removed.
• Software Explorer feature of Windows Defender
  Windows Defender
  Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, is a software product from Microsoft to prevent, remove, and quarantine spyware in Microsoft Windows...
  
  
• Removable Storage Manager (RSM) has been removed, so applications that depend on it - such as NTBackup
  NTBackup
  NTBackup is the built-in backup application introduced in Windows NT around 1997 and part of all subsequent versions up to and including Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. It uses a proprietary backup format to back up files. Files can be backed up to tape, ZIP drives, floppy...
  
   or the NTBackup Restore Tool - cannot back up to physical or virtual tape drives.
• Windows Meeting Space
  Windows Meeting Space
  Windows Meeting Space is the name of a peer-to-peer collaboration program in Windows Vista that supports 2–10 users. Meeting Space does not exist in any version of Windows 7...
  
  , and the InkBall
  InkBall
  InkBall is a computer game that is included with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and the Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. It employs the use of a stylus or mouse to draw lines to direct balls into holes of corresponding colors...
  
   game have been removed.
• Windows Ultimate Extras
  Windows Ultimate Extras
  Windows Ultimate Extras are optional features offered to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition. They are accessible with Windows Update. Ultimate Extras replace the market role of Microsoft Plus!, a product sold for prior consumer releases of Microsoft Windows...
  
   for the Ultimate edition which included Windows DreamScene
  Windows DreamScene
  Windows DreamScene is a utility that allows videos and other optimized animations to be used as desktop wallpapers. It is one of the Windows Ultimate Extras. Prior to its official announcement, DreamScene was rumored to be in creation under the names Motion Desktop and Borealis...
  
  , Microsoft Tinker
  Microsoft Tinker
  Microsoft Tinker is a puzzle video game in which the player controls a robot through various mazes and obstacle courses. It was originally released on September 23, 2008 as part of Windows Ultimate Extras, and contained 60 levels including a 20-level tutorial...
  
  , and the Hold' Em
  Hold 'Em (Windows)
  Hold 'Em is a card game developed by Mobicore that is available through Windows Ultimate Extras. Hold 'Em is a version of Texas hold 'em. It, along with Microsoft Tinker, will be re-released through Games for Windows as a free download....
  
   poker game among others, was removed. Microsoft had initially announced that they will re-offer Tinker and Hold 'Em in the near future. On December 15, only Tinker was made available for free as a Games for Windows - LIVE downloadable game which requires signing in to Windows Live ID
  Windows Live ID
  Windows Live ID is a single sign-on web service developed and provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account...
  
  .
• Microsoft Agent
  Microsoft Agent
  Microsoft Agent is a technology developed by Microsoft which employs animated characters, text-to-speech engines, and speech recognition software to enhance interaction with computer users. Thus it is an example of an embodied agent. It comes preinstalled as part of Microsoft Windows 2000 through...
  
   2.0 technology was removed, breaking compatibility with Microsoft Agent applications. A separate installation package has been provided by Microsoft "due to customer feedback."
• Windows Calendar
  Windows Calendar
  Windows Calendar is a calendar application that is included with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. It natively supports the iCalendar file format, and has the ability to publish and subscribe to web-based calendars by using HTTP and WebDAV...
  
   has also been removed.
• The sidebar for Desktop Gadgets
  Windows Desktop Gadgets
  The Windows Desktop Gadgets is a widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets, with program name sidebar.exe. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features a sidebar anchored to the side of the desktop. Its widgets, called Gadgets, can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and...
  
   was removed, although gadgets can align to any side of the screen.
• The Contacts, Notes and Stocks Desktop Gadgets have been removed. The Notes gadget has been replaced by Sticky Notes, allowing for both text and ink-based notes. An upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 retains the user's notes from the gadget and transfers them to the Sticky Notes program.
• The import, export, drag and drop and voice note features in earlier versions of Sticky Notes have been removed.
• The Windows Firewall Control Panel does not allow configuring port-based filtering although the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security MMC
  Microsoft Management Console
  Microsoft Management Console is a component of Windows 2000 and its successors that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system.- Snap-ins and consoles :...
  
  -based snap-in allows this.
• Filtering policies in Group Policy
  Group Policy
  Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules that control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group Policy provides the centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and...
  
   to show only a specific operating system or application is no longer available.
• Software Restriction Policies no longer support multiple levels of trust such as "basic user
  Principle of least privilege
  In information security, computer science, and other fields, the principle of least privilege, also known as the principle of minimal privilege or just least privilege, requires that in a particular abstraction layer of a computing environment, every module must be able to access only the...
  
  " (only block or allow are still supported); this functionality has been superseded by User Account Control
  User Account Control
  User Account Control is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, with a more relaxed version also present in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2...
  
   and AppLocker.
• The common font selector dialog box does not show the type of font (OpenType, TrueType, Symbol font etc.)
• Windows Registry Reflection for x64
  X86-64
  x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
  
   editions replaced with merged 32/64-bit keys.
• The 3D-Bronze, 3D-White, Conductor, Dinosaur, Hands 1, Hands 2, Variations and Windows Animated cursor schemes are no longer available.
• File backup to a network share (non system image backup) is only available in Windows 7 Professional and above whereas it was included in Windows Vista Home Premium.