Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons in VB.NET

Painting PDF 417 in VB.NET Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons

As a DST, you will work with users of all levels. Some users are just learning how to use e-mail, some work with a single program and one or two files most of the day, and others work with multiple programs and have multiple open files. Users who multitask among multiple programs and have several open files probably have a crowded taskbar and might ask you about their options for organizing the files and programs shown on the taskbar. Figure 4-6 shows a crowded taskbar, and Figure 4-7 shows the same taskbar with the grouping option enabled. Both taskbars include Microsoft Outlook Express, three open Windows Explorer folders, three open Microsoft Excel worksheets, two open graphics in Microsoft Paint, and three open Word documents. In Figure 4-6, you cannot see some of these open files without using the arrow on the taskbar.

Figure 4-6

Figure 4-7

If the user wants you to configure his or her computer to use these grouping options, open the Taskbar And Start Menu Properties dialog box, as discussed earlier. On the Taskbar tab, select the Group Similar Taskbar Buttons check box and click OK.

Quick Launch is the area of the taskbar directly to the right of the Start menu that con tains icons for programs that a user needs to launch frequently. If you enable Quick Launch right after installing Windows XP, three icons are available by default: e-mail, launch Internet Explorer browser, and show desktop, as shown in Figure 4-8. Clicking the respective icons opens these programs. You can also customize the Quick Launch area to include whichever programs you access most often, and you can even resize the toolbar if the taskbar is unlocked. (Figure 4-9 shows a customized Quick Launch area.) Some programs also add icons to the Quick Launch area automatically during the program s installation, so what you see when you first enable Quick Launch can vary.

Figure 4-8

If a user contacts you and wants to use Quick Launch, or asks you to add or remove program icons from it, follow these steps: 1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties. 2. In the Taskbar And Start Menu dialog box, click the Taskbar tab. 3. Select the Show Quick Launch check box, and then click OK. 4. To remove any item from the Quick Launch area, right-click the icon and select Delete. Click Yes in the Confirm File Delete dialog box. (You are not deleting the program; you are removing only the shortcut from the Quick Launch area.) 5. To add a shortcut for any item to the Quick Launch area, locate the program (or folder or file) in Windows Explorer, the Start menu, or the All Programs list; rightclick it; drag the program to the Quick Launch area; and then choose Create Shortcuts Here. If this option is not available, choose Copy Here. A new icon will be added to the Quick Launch area.

The quickest way to get things onto your Quick Launch toolbar is to drag them there. Use your right mouse button to drag any shortcut from the Start menu (or the desktop or any folder) to the Quick Launch area. When you let go of the mouse button, a menu pops up ask ing whether you want to copy or move the shortcut. Choose Copy to add the item to Quick Launch and also leave a copy in its original location. You might move items to the Quick Launch bar if, for example, you are cleaning shortcuts off of a cluttered desktop.

4-10

4

Figure 4-9 shows a personalized Quick Launch area with icons (from left to right) for Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Photo Editor, MSN Messenger 6.1, Help And Support, Backup, and Control Panel. Depending on the user s needs and preferences, you might be called on to create a Quick Launch area like this one.