Controlling the Toolbar and Taskbar in Vista - Working with the Quick Launch Toolbar

It’s been a favorite way for me to launch programs for some time, and it can certainly be used from the Vista desktop as well: the Quick Launch toolbar. It stores program shortcuts in a little icon, and it allows for single-click launching of the applications you use most frequently.

This taskbar toolbar should be enabled by default at Vista installation time, but you might be inheriting a computer in which it’s been turned off. In that case, you’ll probably need the appropriate click-steps.

Here’s how to display the Quick Launch toolbar:

1. Right-click an empty area on the taskbar and point to Toolbars.

2. To add the Quick Launch toolbar, just make sure there’s a check next to the Quick Launch menu option. To remove the Quick Launch toolbar, remove the checkmark.

By default, you should see three icons in the Quick Launch toolbar: Show Desktop, Switch between Windows, and Internet Explorer. But of course, the idea is to place frequently used programs at your fingertips without even having to open the Start menu, as seen in Figure 4-12.

Figure 4-12.  Using the Quick Launch toolbar 

Adding a program to the Quick Launch toolbar

Of course, users can manipulate the Quick Launch toolbar to contain the programs that are most helpful to them. Fortunately, it’s very easy to add more programs to the taskbar.

Here’s how:

1. Locate the program you want to add on the Start menu or on the desktop.
   
2. Right-click the program icon and drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar. A context menu appears, giving you the option of moving the item or copying it. (A left-click should work as well when dragging to the Quick Launch toolbar, although you won’t get any choices in a context menu.)

You can do this with just about any program shortcut, from just about anywhere on your computer. One alternative method is to let programs install desktop shortcuts (many will if you don’t customize the installation), and then just left-click and drag the shortcut to the Quick Launch toolbar.

Removing the Quick Launch item, then, is a breeze. Just right-click the Quick Launch shortcut and choose Delete from the context menu.

Restoring Show Desktop in the Quick Launch toolbar

If deleting a Quick Launch icon is easy, how about restoring one? If you’re using a shortcut to an application, the procedure is the same as adding a new shortcut: just drag and drop the shortcut from some other location. Easy cheesy.

But what about the Show Desktop button? This is a very useful Quick Launch button, as it minimizes all open windows with a single click, saving users the labor of minimizing and/or resizing windows to access something on the desktop, such as a recently downloaded file. And once the desktop has been shown, the button can be used again to quickly toggle back to the working environment, again saving a bunch of window recalls and/or resizing.

But although this is cool and very functional, the Show Desktop Quick Launch button isn’t really an application, is it? In reality, it’s just a pointer to a script, and although it’s not necessarily easy to re-create the Show Desktop button, you can do it by following a few simple steps. After all, other than looking for a way to enhance your biceps, that’s why you picked up this book.

To restore the Show Desktop button, you will need to re-create a file called Show Desktop.scf and make sure it’s stored in the right location. Here’s what to do:

1. Open Microsoft WordPad (in the Accessories folder) and then enter these lines of text:
   
     [Shell]
     Command=2
     IconFile=explorer.exe,3
     [Taskbar]
     Command=ToggleDesktop 
   
2. Now, save the file in the following location:
   
     %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\InternetExplorer\
     Quick Launch
   
   and name the file Show Desktop.scf.

As discussed previously, %UserProfile%  is a variable designating the user’s profile filesystem location. Usually, the profile is stored under the C:\Users\username  directory. If you’re not sure where the profile is located, you can find out by opening a Command Prompt window and typing set userprofile. The command returns the path for the currently logged-on user.

Next: Controlling the Toolbars >>
 

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