Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

Recommended Book

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

Learn More Buy

Recommended Book

Recommended Book 

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

Learn More Buy

Customizing the Taskbar

The taskbar serves as a program launcher and an application switching platform. Open applications are represented by buttons on the taskbar. Click a program button to make that program your active window. The taskbar also displays a set of icons that are indicators for utility programs and hardware such as PC cards, so you can check the current status of items or change control settings. The clock appears next to these icons. Toolbars also appear on the toolbar, such as the Quick Launch toolbar that gives you shortcuts to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, the desktop, or the channels.

By default, the taskbar appears at the bottom of your screen. You can change its position so that it appears at the top, left, or right of the screen. In Figure 20.6, the taskbar is on the left side of the screen.

Figure 20.6 The taskbar has been moved to the left side of the screen.

To move the taskbar:

1. Point to a spot in the middle of the taskbar where there are no buttons.
2. Hold down your left mouse button.
3. Drag to the side of the screen where you want to position the taskbar.
4. The taskbar jumps to that side of the screen. Keep dragging the taskbar if it doesn't jump to the side you want right away.
5. Release the mouse button when it appears in the desired position.

Sizing the Taskbar

For those of us who work with several windows open or minimized at the same time, the taskbar can become crowded. To accommodate the number of buttons on the taskbar, the buttons become smaller and smaller as the number of buttons increases. To make more room for the buttons, you can make the taskbar thicker so that buttons appear stacked and larger than if they were in a single row. Later, when you no longer need the room, you can make the taskbar thinner again.

To change the size of the taskbar:

1. Point to the border on the edge of the taskbar (your mouse pointer will become a two-headed arrow, as in Figure 20.7).
   

   Figure 20.7 The mouse pointer becomes a two-headed arrow as you drag the Taskbar border.

2. Drag in one of the directions shown by the two-headed arrow to make the taskbar thinner or thicker. The border of the taskbar will jump in increments as you drag.
3. Release the mouse button when the border is where you want it.

To readjust the size of the taskbar after you have closed all your application or folder windows, repeat steps 1 through 3, but drag in the opposite direction to narrow the taskbar.

Hiding the Taskbar

You can hide the taskbar to maximize the display of a program. This is useful when you are working in programs such as graphics or desktop publishing programs. To hide your taskbar:

1. Choose Settings, Taskbar, Start menu from the Start menu, or right-click a gray area of the taskbar and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box appears (see Figure 20.8).
   

   Figure 20.8 Check Auto hide to have the taskbar disappear when you aren't using it.

2. Click the Taskbar Options tab, if it's not already selected.
3. Enable Auto hide.
4. Click OK.

The taskbar will automatically reduce to a double-line thickness when an application is open and will reappear when you point to the double line.

There are five options in the properties box:

• Always on top: Enable this to be able to see the taskbar even when an application is running fully maximized. Otherwise, the application window will cover the taskbar.
• Auto hide: When enabled, the Taskbar reduces to a double-line once you activate an application. Just point to the taskbar to have it reappear. This feature allows you to see an application fully maximized and to make maximum use of your screen space, while still having the taskbar available to you.
• Show small icons in Start menu: Check this to reduce the size of the Start menu icons (see the sample picture in the properties box to see the difference). The bar along the side of the Start menu that says "Windows 2000 Professional" disappears when you enable this option.
• Show clock: Check this to have the time show on the taskbar.
• Use Personalized Menus: Personalized menus keep the programs that you use most often visible on your pop-up menus on the start menu. Clicking the down arrow located at the bottom of personalized menus expands the menu and shows you all available programs in that category. Disabling this option means that all menu options are visible when you click on a menu from the Start button.