Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with taskbar

Windows utility to cause all movable windows to be represented in the taskbar?

odinsdream — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:02:44 -0800

Is there a Windows utility that will add buttons to the taskbar for windows that normally don't get represented there? The problem:

Open a folder. You see the taskbar button representing that folder in the taskbar. Right-click the folder and choose Properties. The properties window does not get added to the taskbar, so you can lose it behind other windows and the only way to get it back is to shuffle until you can see it.

Is there a utility that will globally cause any movable windows to be represented on the taskbar?

Mac noob not liking the Dock

fx3000 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:12:26 -0800

Long time Windows user just got a 13" MacBook. I'm not liking the Dock that much. Can I modify it or replace it with something else? What alternatives can I consider? I know to keep an open mind when you are trying something new and used to something else (the Windows taskbar and Windows Key + R in this case), but after a day of using my new MacBook I don't think I am going to like the Dock. For one, it seems like it's very pretty but a waste of space (even after I made it a little smaller). A 13" Macbook already has little enough screen space. Perhaps if I had some gigantoid monitor I wouldn't mind as much. Also I have trouble assessing what I have open when I glance at it. It feels weird to have launch icons mixed with things I have open. On Windows I lanch most apps by hitting Win+R with just a few launch icons on the desktop. So far I've been trying to use Spotlight the same way. It would probably help if the icons in the Dock had some labels. The criticisms listed here pretty much sum up the other things I have been noticing.

I almost always want function over form when I am computing. Fortunately I am not replacing my Windows desktop - I just got the MacBook to replace my old PC laptop which I used part-time. I would like to become a lot more efficient using a Mac and simply enjoy using it though.

Button be gone

aerotive — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:28:37 -0800

Anyone know of a program that can hide Taskbar buttons in Vista? I'm looking for a utility that can hide taskbar buttons, but leave the window unaffected. Something that can move a button to the tray would work too.

I've Googled around and tried a few freeware and shareware apps but they either don't work at all or as advertised. I'd prefer free but I'm willing to pay for an app that works really well.

Thanks!

How to organize the buttons on the XP taskbar?

jakubsnm — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:09:02 -0800

Does anyone know of a modification for windows XP that allows you shuffle/organize the buttons on the taskbar, like the tabs on Internet Explorer or Firefox? I sometimes work with 20 windows open or more at once with many different programs and sometimes i get confused with which one is for what because many of them are similar, I know in XP you can group similar taskbar buttons but this wouldn't work for me.

Weird XP taskbar misclick behavior?

Riki tiki — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:00:13 -0800

Clicking on my Windows XP taskbar exhibits funky behavior, raising both the window I clicked on and a second unrelated window. Why? I run Windows XP at work, fully patched, on a dual-monitor desktop with my taskbar stretched to three rows. When I first start it up, everything's fine, but after a few hours of use it starts to develop an odd behavior.

When I click on a task button to switch to it, a second unrelated task button will do the click animation at the same time, and that second button's window will be brought to the "front" in addition to the window I meant to switch to. The second task button changes each time... I can click from Outlook to Firefox and back six times and six different unrelated windows will be falsely activated.

This is obviously annoying, sometimes awkward (such as when I'm switching between eclipse windows with my boss looking over my shoulder and suddenly OH HI METAFILTER), but mostly it's just confusing. I'm a savvy computer guy and I've never seen this behavior on other systems.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what might be causing it?

My icons are lined up nice & purty. To bad I can't click them.

dogmom — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:04:43 -0800

Windows fliter: My taskbar is locked. And not in the always-on-top kinda way. It's more like the taskbar is just decorative and not something that's supposed to be click-able. I can alt-tab my way through my open programs, but if I want to open something new, I can't (the start key will not unlock the taskbar so I can't get to my program menus and such). My desktop icons work just fine, all of my other keyboard shortcuts work fine too. I'm running XP Pro. I regularly check for adware and spyware, and my system is supposedly clean. This has happened before, and it's generally when I've got too many programs open and my sad little machine can't take it. I click a taskbar icon to open one more, and that's it. The newest program doesn't open, and the taskbar freezes. I can restart the system to fix it, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a fix that won't require restart. Is there a taskbar process that I can stop? I've heard that fire will rain down on me and my computer for all eternity if I stop a process, but is it really that bad?

Thank you for any help/ideas you have. I like to pretend I knhow what I'm doing, but really I'm just a typing monkey.

Please. Go. Away.

theantikitty — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:23:26 -0800

How can I completely remove the Windows taskbar from view? This is for Windows Vista. To be clear, I do not want to autohide the taskbar. I would like it to go away. Completely. I use Rocketdock and some other programs that make the taskbar totally obsolete, but I haven't found any way to hide it permanently. I don't even want it to load up with Windows, but if there's a one time hide command I can do on startup I guess that would suffice. I've searched and searched to no avail. Is there a program out there (or a Windows setting somewhere) that will do this for me? This seems like it should be simple! Am I missing something obvious here? Thank you thank you.

Windows Taskbar: Multiple row management madness!

colecovizion — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:20:46 -0800

Windows Taskbar: Multiple row management madness! I've gotten this to work once, but never again (on XP) and it is driving me mad!

Here is the layout I want on my double-row taskbar.

Quickview______________|______Tasks_____|System tray
My computer | net folder_|______Tasks_____|System tray

As you can see, I want to put one toolbar over another while maintaining the double rows of tasks. I'm on Vista now, but it is acting similar enough to XP that I think it would be the same method. From what I remember, I had to actually expand the taskbar to 3 rows and then size it down to 2 rows to make this work.

Any guidance would cure my insanity! A video would even better!

Rude taskbar

jak68 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:15:39 -0800

winXP filter: Taskbar takes focus away from applications; Setting 'dont steal focus' in powertoys has not helped; What tools can I use to help me find out why/what is doing this? I'll be working on an application (browser or Word or whatever) and occasionally the focus goes away (ie, my typing stops registering because the window has lost focus).

I believe the focus was taken by the taskbar or system tray. The reason I believe that is because, for instance, if I'm using a "full screen" application, the taskbar pops to the front.

I've tried using powertoys with the setting for 'dont steal focus away', it has not helped one iota. I've tried a few other fixes for 'not taking focus' (including a system tray application that runs in the background thats supposed to prevent that, and a startup batch script), neither is helping.

I'd like to find out once and for all what is going on at the moment that the taskbar/tray takes focus.

How can I diagnose this - with what tools? I've gone into Event Viewer right after it happens to see if anything is listed there, but no events are listed for the moment that it happened.

How can I find out why thats happening? Any ideas? thanks!

Do you own an HP Pavilion?

megatherium — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:53:09 -0800

On an HP Pavilion laptop, how can I get rid of the Yahoo! Search box that sits in the taskbar, taking up valuable real estate?

Why does my desktop keep crashing?

ZaneJ. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:48:37 -0800

Why (and how do I fix it) does my Windows desktop keep crashing? I recently had an issue with some adware, Vundo, and other nefarious computer programs. After resolving that issue, my computer's desktop keeps disappearing. All the icons disappear, the taskbar becomes unusable; the clock even stops updating. When I drag my mouse across the taskbar it gives me the little 'working' icon, for me the hourglass. Windows Task Manager still works fine, and gives me some control. I'm leery about using the System Restore option, in fear of re-introducing the malicious programs I've removed back onto my machine. I'm also cheap, and don't want to take my comp into the repair shop if it's something I can easily do myself.

Sit, Firefox! Stay.... good boy.

like_neon — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:24:33 -0800

Firefox keeps disappearing from my task bar. When I minimize Firefox the application disappears from the task bar. It only happens sometimes and it's only when I minimize the window. However, if I run Task manager I see that it's still running and I can select it to bring the browser back (and it reappears in the task bar). Anyone know what's going on here? It's only Firefox (v 2.0.0.5, it's done this in a previous version as well) and this is on an XP machine.

iTunes annoyance

Aloysius Bear — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:38:46 -0800

When I right-click the iTunes icon in the Windows system tray, often the taskbar context menu will pop up at the same time and interfere with the iTunes menu, like this. How can I fix this? The iTunes taskbar toolbar works, but it takes up much more space than the system tray icon. The problem seems to happen mostly when an application has focus, rather than the taskbar. TIA!

Outlook Taskbar Icon Go Bye Bye?

antifuse — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:09:45 -0800

Where has my Outlook New Mail notification on the taskbar gone? Ok - I'm using Outlook 2003 SP2 on my XP machine here at work. It *used* to be the case that whenever a new mail message arrived, a little envelope icon would show up in my taskbar. This was great, because if I left my desk for 20 minutes and a new mail arrived, I wouldn't have to switch to Outlook to see if I had any new mail. However, at some point in the last 6 months or so, this icon just stopped appearing! I still get the "New Mail Desktop Notification" that pops up a little message summary, but that fades and disappears after a couple seconds (and sometimes just doesn't show up at all). I've scoured the settings, and can't seem to find what causes the little icon to show up in the taskbar! Anybody have any ideas?

Why does my volume control Icon keeps removing itself?

Unregistered User — Sun, 14 May 2006 12:01:14 -0800

Long time listener First Time caller, can someone please explain to me why my volume control Icon on my task bar keeps removing itself. (More inside). I'm running XP professonal everything is up to date. And I am irritated that my volume control Icon keeps removing itself. I literally have to go into the control panel (sound amd audio properties) unclick and then reclick and apply the place the "Place the volume icon in the taskbar" option over and over. I have searched several forums and not found and answer and was excited to use ask mefi.
Thanks.

Mirror, mirror

disillusioned — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 03:45:08 -0800

TaskbarFilter: Can I clone/mirror my Windows XP taskbar onto my secondary monitor, completely? I used to use my crap secondary monitor for Trillian and watching video. I just picked up a gorgeous 20.1" Widescreen Dell LCD, and now have two monitors suitable for use as a "primary" display.

I'd love to be able to have my entire taskbar cloned on both monitors.

I'm currently using Ultramon, which creates a secondary taskbar on my secondary display, sans Start menu and System Tray. (Though the publisher says it's a planned feature for version 3 of the software, release date TBD.)

Does anyone know of any other applications that allow this? I've looked at Oscar's Taskbar thing, and it's not too keep on using the XP style and also doesn't replicate the Start menu. I'm beginning to think my only option here is to wait until the next version of UltraMon comes out, but I'm hoping someone's heard of another solution.

drag & drop windows taskbar buttons?

masymas — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 20:00:12 -0800

Is there a program that allows me to drag and drop (reorder) the buttons in the XP taskbar? Something similar to the Firefox drag and drop for tabs?

XP taskbar wierdness

monkey closet — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 01:06:21 -0800

I have a problem with XP... Extensive Googling reveals people with the same problem (on pro as well, so I don't think it's an XP home issue), but no answers...

Various spyware checkers/virus stuff fails to pick up anything. All seems to be related - happened at the same time.

Symptoms:

svchost.exe using 98-100% cpu all the time. I can end process, cancel the shutdown and carry on - after about 3 goes this kills this problem for the session.

Programs don't show up on the taskbar anymore. When windows are minimised, they minimise to the desktop, leaving a small title bar with restore, maximise and close buttons (like when you minimised windows in 3.1)

system tray also a bit weird - only shows selective things, and has stopped responding to right-click

copy and paste functionality is limited - generally I can use it within an application, but not into dialogs. I can copy from dialogs, but only paste into other dialogs

My dial-up connection doesn't appear in network connections or the system tray - I can still get to it through internet properties and it works

changes in style to my taskbar are reflected in my wife's profile on the same machine

the case of the disappearing taskbar

me3dia — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 11:58:42 -0800

So, every so often, when I boot up my work computer (a Dell Dimension running Win98) the taskbar doesn't register any applications. It's not that it doesn't show up at all -- it does. But when I open a program, it doesn't appear in the taskbar. Instead they minimize to the bottom of the screen, hidden behind the taskbar. I have to shut down and restart the computer once or twice to get it to function again. Any ideas on what's going on and how this might be fixed?

Annoying Icons

Zosia Blue — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:17:54 -0800

Hi. How the hell do I fix this annoying thing on my taskbar? [mi] I have no idea how this happened, but somehow three instances of my Network Connections have magically appeared to the right of my task bar. (screenshot). When I right-click, the option to delete is grayed out. I've searched everywhere, but I can't figure out how to get this off my bar. It causes a problem because any windows I have open go into scrunch mode. I have a feeling there is a deceptively simple answer to this, but I'm clueless.

My Windows 2000 Taskbar Sometimes Goes Light/Dark Gray -- Why?

notsnot — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 23:39:02 -0800

This may be a forehead-slapper, but occasionally my taskbar (Win2k) will go dim (dark grey, all icons shaded), as though I've selected it. It'll sometime revert to light grey when I'm not looking. What the heck causes this, and how do I make it go away?

What Applications Do You Keep in Your Taskbar/Dock?

Jaybo — Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:24:47 -0800

Inspired by a screenshot of Crunchland's desktop, I'm curious what programs you keep on your taskbar? (Mo'side) I've got the standards:
Internet Explorer/Windows Explorer
WinAmp
Mozilla/Mozilla Mail

Plus a couple semi-unique ones:
Dave's Desktop Search Bar
Flowers Find Plus - for doing quick searches of my MP3 collection
Wall Changer - for rotating my desktop wallpaper on a regular basis

Sorry if this question is too "what's your favourite sandwich?" but I'm always looking for cool new programs to try on my machine.

I am looking for a substitute for the Windows Desktop (explorer.exe) for a Terminal Server machine, with a few special requirements.

seanyboy — Mon, 29 Dec 2003 02:59:28 -0800

I am looking for a substitute for the Windows Desktop (explorer.exe) for a Terminal Server machine. I need an optional taskbar, the ability to log off, and a set of icons which are allocated to users on a user by user basis. I do not want Right Clicking, drag and dropping, access to the control panel or anything other than what I've mentioned above. I understand that I could use profiles to do this, but wish to use a slimline explorer substitute. Google offers no help. Can anybody help?