Using and Modifying the Taskbar

The taskbar that appears across the bottom of your screen (your primary display, if you have more than one) is your link to current information about what is happening on your Windows Vista computer. In addition to the Start button, the taskbar displays the Quick Launch toolbar, taskbar buttons, and notifications. You can hide the Quick Launch toolbar and the notifications, but not the Start button and taskbar buttons.

The Quick Launch toolbar displays single-click links to programs and commands. Windows Vista installs links to Windows Internet Explorer and to the Show Desktop and Switch Between Windows commands on the Quick Launch toolbar. You can add more program links at any time by dragging a program icon or shortcut icon onto the toolbar. You can also adjust its width or remove it from the taskbar entirely. When the toolbar contains more links than can be shown in the space allocated to the toolbar, chevrons appear at its right end. Clicking the chevrons displays a list of the hidden links, in which you can click the one you want.

A taskbar button represents each open window, file, or program (but not dialog boxes, message boxes, warnings, or the Windows Sidebar). When more than one file is open in a program, Windows might group the taskbar buttons by program to avoid taking up space on the taskbar with a button for each window. When windows are grouped, a number following the program icon on the button indicates the number of open windows represented by the button.

Pointing to a taskbar button displays a thumbnail of the window (or windows) it represents. Clicking the button activates the window. When multiple windows are grouped under one taskbar button, you can:

• Display one window by clicking the taskbar button and then in the list, clicking the window you want to display.

• Display all the windows in the group by right-clicking the taskbar button and then clicking the arrangement you want:

• Cascade displays the windows on top of each other, with the title bar of each window visible and the contents of only the top window visible.

• Show Windows Stacked displays the content of all the windows arranged in a grid, with more windows stacked vertically than horizontally. For example, eight windows are arranged in two columns of four.

• Show Windows Side By Side displays the content of all the windows arranged in a grid, with more windows stacked horizontally than vertically. For example, eight windows are arranged in four columns of two.

In every arrangement, the open windows are the same or similarly sized, regardless of their size before you minimized them.

• Minimize all the windows in the group by right-clicking the taskbar button and then clicking Minimize Group.

• Close all the windows in the group by right-clicking the taskbar button and then clicking Close Group. Windows Vista will prompt you to save or discard any unsaved changes.

Taskbar buttons change size so that they fit on the taskbar as you open and close programs. The maximum number of buttons that can fit on the taskbar varies depending on your monitor and display settings. When you exceed the maximum, Windows either tiles the buttons or displays a scroll bar, depending on the current taskbar configuration.

The notification area displays information about the status of programs, including those running in the background (programs you don't need to interact with), as well as links to certain system commands. Some notification icons are hidden by default, and you can choose to hide others that you don't actively want to monitor.

When the Show Hidden Icons button appears at the left end of the notification area, you can click it to temporarily display all the notifications. Icons appear temporarily in the notification area when activities such as the following take place:

• The printer icon appears when you send a document to the printer.

• A message icon appears when you receive a new e-mail message.

• The Windows Security icon appears if you need to install an update, or if an element of your security system (such as antivirus software) is missing or fails.

• Network connections and Windows Live Messenger icons appear when those features are in use. (Inactive connections are indicated by the presence of a red X on the icon.)

A digital clock at the right end of the notification area displays the current system time. You can display more date and time information by pointing to the clock or by increasing the space available.

The taskbar displays one row of buttons and is docked at the bottom of the desktop, but you can control its size and position:

• You can dock the taskbar at the top, bottom, or on either side of the desktop by dragging it to the edge of the screen against which you want to dock it.

• When the taskbar is docked at the top or bottom, you can expand it to be up to half the height of your screen by dragging its border down or up.

• When the taskbar is docked on the left or right, you can expand it to be up to half the width of your screen by dragging its border right or left.

• You can stipulate that the taskbar should be hidden when you're not using it, or that it should always stay on top of other windows so that its tools are always available.

In this exercise, you will display, hide, and move between multiple windows by using the taskbar. You will then change the taskbar appearance and the links that appear on it.

1.	On the Quick Launch toolbar, click the Launch Internet Explorer Browser button. Launch Internet Explorer Browser Internet Explorer starts, and a button appears on the taskbar. The button label is preceded by an Internet Explorer icon to indicate what type of window it represents. [View full size image]
2.	Repeat Step 1 nine times so that ten browser windows are open. Troubleshooting If your screen resolution is so high that opening ten windows doesn't cause their taskbar buttons to group, continue opening browser windows until they do. The number to the left of the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar button indicates the number of windows represented by that button.
3.	Click the Games taskbar button, and then the Calculator taskbar button. The Games and Calculator windows open on top of the browser windows.
4.	Click the Internet Explorer taskbar button, and then in the list, click the first (from the bottom) Windows Internet Explorer link. The first browser window you opened comes to the top of the stack.
5.	On the Quick Launch toolbar, click the Switch between windows button. Switch between windows A visual representation of the open windows appears. [View full size image] What you see at this point will vary depending on the video card installed in your computer and your display settings. Each window might be represented by a three-dimensional version displaying its exact content, with all the windows stacked on top of each other. Or it might be represented by its program icon in a box on top of the current display.
6.	Press the and keys to move through the display of windows. Then click the representation of any browser window. The selected window comes to the front and the display returns to normal.
7.	On the Quick Launch toolbar, click the Show desktop button. Show desktop All the open windows minimize.
8.	Right-click the Internet Explorer taskbar button, and then click Show Windows Stacked. The ten Internet Explorer windows appear, arranged in a grid. [View full size image]
9.	Click the Close buttons of any three of the visible Internet Explorer windows. Then repeat Step 8 to display the windows first stacked, and then side by side.
10.	Investigate other arrangements, and then click the Show desktop button to minimize all the open windows.
11.	Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and then, if a check mark appears to the left of Lock the Taskbar, click it. Three columns of dotted lines appear at each end of the Quick Launch toolbar to indicate that the taskbar is unlocked. You can now change the size and location of the taskbar, and the size of the Quick Launch toolbar.
12.	Point to the top border of the taskbar. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the border up until the taskbar is three rows high. Notice that although there is enough space for all the buttons to display individually, they remain grouped.
13.	Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and then click Properties. The Taskbar And Start Menu Properties dialog box opens, displaying the Taskbar tab.
14.	Review the options for customizing the appearance of the taskbar. Then clear the Group similar taskbar buttons and Show Quick Launch check boxes. The taskbar preview above the list of options reflects your change.
15.	Click the Notification Area tab.
16.	Review the options for modifying the notification area. Then in the System icons area, clear the Clock check box, and click Apply. The taskbar reflects your changes, and the dialog box remains open. You can individually hide or display notification icons by clicking the Customize button, clicking the behavior for the icon you want to change, and then selecting the behavior you want (Hide When Inactive, Hide, or Show) from the list.
17.	In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click the Toolbars tab. You can display the Quick Launch toolbar from this tab, as well as from the Taskbar tab and from the context menu that appears when you right-click the taskbar. You can also display a number of useful toolbars that might help streamline your computing activities.
18.	Select the Address check box, and then click OK. The Address bar appears on the taskbar, and the dialog box closes. [View full size image] You can type a folder path or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the Address bar and then press Enter to open the target destination in a new window.