41. TASKBAR. (Contains Start Button, Quick Launch, System Tray, etc)

The Taskbar is the bar at the bottom of the desktop. Its purpose is to make switching among multiple applications simple.

The taskbar has five sections:
1. The Start button.
2. Quick Launch.
3. A button for each application you have open.
4. An empty space.
5. The sound volume, anti-virus icon, digital clock, etc. (system tray)

The Taskbar allows you to choose the way in which the windows are displayed.

To do this Right click the vacant area of the Taskbar.
There are 4 options for displaying windows:

1. Cascade Windows: arranges the windows on top of each other, leaving the top and left-hand side of each window visible.
2. Tile Windows Horizontally: Displays the windows in horizontal lines.
3. Tile Windows Vertically: allows you to arrange the windows next to each other in vertical lines.
4. Minimize All Windows: Clears all the windows from the desktop and places them on the taskbar.

If you select the Undo Minimize All option, all the windows will reappear on the desktop.

You can reverse any window arrangement by selecting the Undo option.
You can change the way the taskbar if displayed to suit your needs.

To do this Right click the vacant area of the Taskbar.
Select Properties from the taskbar shortcut menu to display the Taskbar Properties dialog box.


1. The Always on top option on the Taskbar Options makes the taskbar visible at all times and places it on top of any open window.
2. The Auto hide option allows you to hide the taskbar. The taskbar will then disappear when you move away from it, and only appear when the Cursor moves over it.
3. If you select the Show small icons in Start menu checkbox, the size of the Start menu is reduced.
4. The Show clock option displays the digital clock.

You can choose where you want to position the taskbar. You can display it along the bottom, top, or on either side of the screen. You do this by clicking a vacant area(or the digital clock) and dragging the bar to a new location.

You can change the size of the taskbar by moving the cursor to the top edge of the bar until the double arrow appears.

Then you drag it to a larger or smaller size and then release the mouse button.

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Sometimes your Taskbar may wind up at the top of your Monitor or on the left or right side.

To move the Taskbar, put your cursor on an empty space on the Taskbar
Left Click and drag it back to the bottom of your Monitor.

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To place the volume control icon in the taskbar, follow these steps:
1.Single-click the Start menu.
2.Single-click Control Panel.
3.Single-click Sound, Speech, and Audio Devices.
4.Single-click Sounds and Audio Devices to launch the Sound and Audio Devices properties.
5.On the Volume tab, locate the text labeled Device Volume, and place a check mark next to the text labeled "Place volume icon in the taskbar."
6.Single-click OK.

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