Customizing the taskbar

The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box enables you to customize the settings for the taskbar and the Start menu. To open this dialog box, right-click the Start button or any open area (with no buttons) on the taskbar and then click Properties on the taskbar shortcut menu. Click the Taskbar tab in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box that appears.
The check boxes in the Taskbar Appearance section at the top of the Taskbar tab do the following:

• Lock the Taskbar: Locks all the bars so that you can’t adjust the size of the different areas of the taskbar, such as the Quick Launch toolbar.
• Auto-hide the Taskbar: Hides the taskbar until you roll the mouse pointer somewhere over that position. This way, the taskbar appears only when you need it.
• Keep the Taskbar on Top of Other Windows: Always places the taskbar in front of any window that you move down so far that they overlap it.
• Group Similar Taskbar Buttons: Displays buttons for files opened by the same program in the same area of the taskbar. Moreover, if the taskbar becomes so crowded with buttons that become too small to display, Windows collapses the buttons for a particular program into one button that, when clicked, displays a pop-up menu from which you can select the file you want to display on the desktop.
• Show Quick Launch: Displays the Quick Launch toolbar on the Windows taskbar immediately following the Start button.
• Show Window Previews (Thumbnails): Displays a thumbnail of each open window that’s minimized on the taskbar when you position the mouse over its button.