The-Online-Quest: Top 9 Tips and Tricks On Windows Vista Taskbar

The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. Unlike the desktop, which can get obscured by the windows on top of it, the taskbar is visible almost all the time. The taskbar is the area of the desktop that contains the Start menu and buttons for all open programs. By default, the taskbar is located at the bottom of the desktop.

The taskbar is usually located at the bottom of your screen. It looks like this:

Find the taskbar

The taskbar is usually located at the bottom of your screen. If it's not visible, there are several possible reasons why:

The taskbar is unlocked and has been resized so that it's hard to see.

Auto-hide is turned on. If this is the case, you'll only see the taskbar when you point to it.

If you're using multiple monitors, the taskbar will only appear on one monitor.

To resize the taskbar so you can see it again

Point to the area where your taskbar should be. When the pointer changes into a vertical double-headed arrow

, drag the border upward.

To find the taskbar if auto-hide is on

Point to where you last saw the taskbar. If you can't remember where you last saw it, try pointing to the bottom of the screen first, and then to the side or top of the screen, if necessary. You might need to move the pointer almost off the screen to find the taskbar.

To turn off auto-hide

1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button

, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. Clear the Auto-hide the taskbar check box, then click OK.

Show or hide the taskbar

You can hide the taskbar to create more space. If you don't see the taskbar anywhere on the screen, it might be hidden.

To show the taskbar

If the taskbar is hidden, point to where you last saw it to show it again. If you can't remember where you last saw it, try pointing to the bottom of the screen first, and then to the side or top of the screen, if necessary. You might need to move the pointer almost off the screen to show the taskbar.

To hide the taskbar

1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button

, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. Clear the Lock the taskbar check box.

3. Select the Auto-hide the taskbar check box.
The taskbar is hidden from view. You can see it again by pointing to the place where you last saw it.

To turn off auto-hide

1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button

, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. Clear the Lock the taskbar check box.

Lock the taskbar

You can keep the taskbar in one place by locking it, which can prevent accidental moving or resizing. If you unlock it, you can move it to the bottom, side, or top of the desktop.

Right-click an empty space on the taskbar, and if Lock the Taskbar has a check mark next to it, the taskbar is locked. If it does not have a check mark, click Lock the Taskbar

Unlock and move the taskbar

Once you unlock the taskbar, it's ready to move to any horizontal or vertical edge of the desktop.

To unlock the taskbar

Right-click an empty space on the taskbar. If Lock the Taskbar has a check mark next to it, the taskbar is locked. You can unlock it by clicking Lock the Taskbar, which removes the check mark.

Note :To lock the taskbar back into place, right-click an empty space on the taskbar, and then click Lock the Taskbar so that the check mark appears.

To move the taskbar

Click an empty space on the taskbar, and then hold down the mouse button as you drag the taskbar to one of the four edges of the desktop. When the taskbar is where you want it, release the mouse button.

Group similar buttons on the taskbar

Taskbar buttons represent open programs on your computer. When you have several programs open at once, the taskbar might seem crowded with buttons. To help organize the taskbar and save space, you can group similar taskbar buttons so that all of the open files from one program are grouped into one taskbar button, like this:

1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button

, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. Select the Group similar taskbar buttons check box so that it is checked. (To turn off grouping, clear the Group similar taskbar buttons check box.)

Show or hide icons in the taskbar

You can show or hide icons on the Quick Launch toolbar and the notification area (also called the system tray) of the taskbar.

To show and hide icons on the Quick Launch toolbar

1. Point to the Quick Launch toolbar sizing handle.

Note : If the taskbar is locked, you won't see the toolbar sizing handle. To learn how to unlock the taskbar, see Unlock and move the taskbar.

1. When the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow

, click it, and then drag the toolbar sizing handle to show or hide more or less of the toolbar.

If you can't change the toolbar, it's either as small as it gets, or there's not enough room on the taskbar to show more of it.

To show and hide icons in the notification area

Click the arrow next to the notification area to show or hide notification area icons.

Remove icons from the notification area (system tray)

The notification area is located on the taskbar and contains program icons that provide status and notifications about things like incoming e‑mail, updates, and network connectivity. When you install a new program, you can sometimes add an icon for that program to the notification area.

New computers often come with icons already in the notification area, and some programs automatically add an icon to the notification area during installation.

To remove an icon from the notification area

Right-click the icon, and then click Exit.

Notes

Depending on the program, the menu item you need to click to remove the icon might be different (for example, Quit or Close instead of Exit).

If you remove an icon, but then see it again the next time you log on to Windows, you might have to uninstall the program to permanently remove the icon. Uninstalling the program also permanently removes the program from your computer.

Add a toolbar to the taskbar

A toolbar is a row, column, or block of buttons or icons representing tasks you can do within a program. Some toolbars, such as the Quick Launch toolbar, can appear on the taskbar.

1.Toolbars. A list of toolbars appears.

2. The toolbar names with check marks beside them are already on the taskbar. Click any item in the list to add or remove it.

Add or remove the Quick Launch toolbar

Right-click an empty area on the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.

A check mark will appear, indicating that the Quick Launch toolbar is visible on the taskbar.

Add program to the Quick Launch toolbar

1. Locate the program icon for the program you want to add, and click it, and then drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar.

This request is from feorais, thanks for visiting my blog and i hope this tutorials help you a lot.

Step 1

Go to your desktop, double click on Computer, then C: drive, then Program Files.

Step 2

Scroll down the list to Windows Mail, then double click on it.

Step 3

Find WinMail.exe and then drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar.

To remove a program icon from the Quick Launch toolbar

Right-click the program icon, and then click Delete.

Removing an icon from the taskbar doesn't delete its corresponding program from your computer.

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