Tonight’s post is the first in a series on moving in and getting comfortable with Windows 7. In this post I’ll be looking at one of the biggest user-interface changes over previous versions of Windows: The Taskbar.
Windows users were first introduced to the layout we currently recognize as the Windows Desktop back in Windows 95. The concept of a Desktop, a Taskbar and the Start Button has been around since. The only major changes came with Windows XP when the Start Menu was redesigned with it’s two-panel layout and “All Programs” menu and the taskbar was given a new feature for grouping common application windows on a crowded taskbar. When Windows Vista finally came along nearly six years later, the taskbar remained for the most part functionally unchanged, however the start menu got revamped with a “menu-less” folder-like structure with built in search functionality.
Finally Windows 7 gives us the next major transformation. First, the taskbar is now thicker by default. To me this makes perfect sense with today’s high resolution screens (a good example is the 15.4” 1920×1200 display of my Dell Precision Notebook). Secondly, the taskbar now acts more like the MacOS Dock, in that the Icons serve a dual purpose as application launcher AND taskbar button eliminating the need for the quick launcher. This new behavior is nice, and like any new feature some will love it, others will loathe it. For those who fall in the latter category, thankfully Windows 7 is probably the most customizable Windows version out of the box ever.
In the past, I’ve always tried to get used to the new way of doing things – for example, I embraced Windows XP’s “new” start menu from the very beginning while many were still switching to the “Classic” start menu even in Vista. I did however, have to make a change in regards to Windows 7’s taskbar. I can’t quite get used to the default behavior…at least not yet.
By default, this is how my taskbar would look right now:
You’ll notice that there are no labels on any of the buttons – just icons. While this might be fine for familiar programs, what about new programs with unfamiliar icons? I remember the first version of RoyalTS I used had a Hamburger Icon – that would have hardly been intuitive here. Also, I find it a little hard sometimes at a quick glance (especially on the previously mentioned high-resolution Laptop screen) to tell what applications are running and what aren’t.
Luckily, you can just right-click on a blank area of the taskbar to bring up the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window, and change the default setting of “Always combine, hide labels” to “Combine when taskbar is full”.
This will give you something a little more like the old default, and my preferred setting:
Notice the open applications now have a fully expanded taskbar button with a label, while the applications that aren’t running simply have an icon. I find this to be excellent from an UI standpoint, and prefer it over both the “old” and “new” taskbar defautls. Also, I’m thankful that Windows now allows me to move the buttons (of both active and closed applications) around on the taskbar.
Play around with the settings to find what works best for you – thankfully we do have several choices. I also turn off the hiding of notification icons as well – I like to see all of my System Tray icons so that I can see when they are getting out of hand, and also have quick access to any I might use frequently.
EDIT 09-17-2009:
Just FYI after a few days of fiddling around w/ settings and even moving the entire taskbar around playing “musical corners” on my screen, I ended up settling on the default “Always Combine, Hide Lables” – it really does seem intuitive once you take the time to get used to it.
