A Closer Look at: The Windows 7 Taskbar -Part 1

Mustafa | Sep 14, 2009 | Comments

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As we get closer to the Windows 7 launch (22^nd of October), it’s worth considering the fact that users new to Windows 7 might to face some “learning curves”. Mike Halsey had discussed this earlier in an article that focused mainly on the new taskbar and how it can be confusing for new users. Fortunately, I believe that Windows 7 is easy to learn and have seen people getting used to it quickly. After searching on the internet for a guide about how to use the new taskbar, all what I came across were explanations of the changes made to it and a description of the features. However, I didn’t find any tutorials that actually teach users how to use it. And that’s why this guide is here: to show you how to get the most out of the new Windows 7 taskbar.

The taskbar is the access point for programs displayed on the desktop. With the new Windows® 7 taskbar features, users can give commands, access resources, and view program status directly from the taskbar.
MSDN

When first looking at Windows 7, the most noticeable change we can see is the taskbar. It takes up more space on the screen and has bigger icons, yet it can fit more applications as windows’ titles aren’t displayed. One of the reasons for these changes is that Windows 7 supports multi-touch technology. Windows Touch allows users using a touchscreen monitor to work with their fingers instead of a mouse and keyboard. Hence, to make the taskbar touch-friendly, it now has bigger icons.

Windows 7 Desktop

Pinning Commonly Used Applications

The taskbar displays open applications, but it can also show applications that are not running – remember “Quick Launch” bar in Windows XP and Vista? -. By default, Windows 7 comes with three icons that are lying there on the taskbar even when the applications are not open. These are the icons for: Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Windows Explorer.

These applications have been pinned to the taskbar. This means that they are always there regardless of whether they’re running or not. Why? To allow users to open them directly from the taskbar. You can run a pinned application by just clicking on its icon.

Windows 7 Taskbar - Active and Inactive Icons

Windows 7 Taskbar - Active and Inactive (Pinned) Icons

You can tell whether the application is running or not from its icon. If the icon has a border frame around it, then it’s running. Additionally, if you hover over it with the cursor, a glowing effect appears. To sum up, by pinning an application that you frequently use, you can easily access it, since it’s always lying there on the taskbar. Not to mention that you can use keyboard shortcuts to do so. Here’s how:

To open, or switch to, an application on the taskbar, you can either:

Simply click on its icon!
Or press: Windows Key + Number. (The number corresponds to application’s position on the taskbar. For example in the above screenshot, to open “Windows Media Player”, press Windows Key + 2.

To pin an application to the taskbar, you can either:

Right-click on its icon –> Choose “Pin to Taskbar”,
Or drag and drop it into the taskbar

If the application you want to pin is already running:

Right click on its icon
Choose “Pin this program to taskbar”

Pinning a Running Application to the Taskbar

To remove a pinned application from the taskbar:

Right-click on its icon
Choose “Unpin this program from the taskbar”.

Unpinning an Application from the Taskbar

As you can see, interacting with the new taskbar is quite easy. You should now understand how to pin commonly used applications to the taskbar and access them. Nevertheless, if you are still unhappy that “Quick Launch” is no longer available in Windows 7 and would like to restore it, check out this article written by Martin.

Part 2 of this guide discusses: Window grouping and overlay icons. Click here to go to part 2.

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