T 'n' T: Rock the Taskbar Make the Most of Windows' Switcher/Launcher Gregg Keizer
Mon 4/8/02 -- The Windows taskbar isn't just a line on the screen for me. No, sir. It's an integral element of Windows, the location I click to launch most programs, the place I go to switch from Outlook to Word or from Internet Explorer to Quicken. Managing the taskbar is so important that I've dedicated this week's Windows T'n'T to the -- you guessed it -- task.
Quick, launch it. I love the taskbar's Quick Launch section, the set of mini-icons normally just to the right of the Start button. It's the perfect place to hold icons or launch buttons for the applications I use all the time (it beats the pants off hunting for a desktop icon or digging through the Start menu). Quick Launch is a part of Windows 98 and later taskbars; if you don't see it, turn it on by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting (putting a checkmark next to) Toolbars/Quick Launch.
To populate this part of the taskbar, simply drag program or document icons from the desktop, the Start menu, or even Windows Explorer and drop them onto the Quick Launch section. You can rearrange items by dragging and dropping as well. To remove an icon from Quick Launch, right-click it and choose Delete.
Now you see it... Making the taskbar slide out of the way is a breeze, and a space-saving feature when I'm working on smaller-sized screens, especially those of portable PCs. Right-click the taskbar and pick Properties. Select "Auto hide" (in Win XP, it's named "Autohide the taskbar") and click OK. The taskbar disappears. To make it reappear, simply move the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen (or whichever other edge you've chosen; keep reading).
Tasks on top (or along the side). I prefer Windows to show its taskbar at the top rather than bottom of the screen (must be because I had a Mac way back in 1984). That's easy to do, as is docking the taskbar at either side: Grab the taskbar by clicking on a blank spot, then drag and drop it to the top, left, or right of the display.
Park your mouse. Mouse down for the count? Or do you just love the keyboard more? No matter; you can navigate the taskbar without a mouse if necessary. Press Ctrl-Esc (or the Windows key on most current keyboards) to bring up the Start menu -- then press Esc again to enter the taskbar.
The first icon in the Quick Launch area (if you have it active) will be is highlighted. To switch from the Quick Launch part of the taskbar to the buttons representing open applications or documents, press the Tab key. Use the left and right arrow keys to maneuver from one button to the next; press Enter to select one of the documents or programs.
It's even easier if all you want to do is navigate the current buttons in the taskbar (and not the icons in the Quick Launch area), thanks to this clever cousin of Windows' familiar Alt-Tab to cycle through active programs: Press the Windows and Tab key to cycle through the taskbar buttons. When the desired button is highlighted, press Enter.
Gaga over grouping. Windows XP offers a new taskbar feature called grouping: In an attempt to reduce taskbar confusion, XP keeps windows or documents created by the same application near one another on the taskbar (instead of, say, allowing a Word button between two Internet Explorer buttons). But when that number reaches a default of three -- as in three Word documents open at once -- XP combines them into one taskbar button with a pop-up menu. To pull one of these documents to the forefront, you must click the small triangle on the button to summon the menu.
That's all well and good, if you like Windows XP's default number. To change it, edit the Registry -- select Start/Run, then type regedit.exe and hit Enter -- by looking for this key:
by double-clicking on it and replacing the default 3 with a new number. Want XP to group only when there are five instances of Internet Explorer? Simply enter 5.
If the TaskbarGroupSize item isn't there, create it by choosing Edit/New/DWORD Value; name the new value TaskbarGroupSize and double-click it. Enter the desired value. Close the Registry Editor and you're good to go.
