Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements in Windows 7

Windows 7 New & Improved Taskbar

The taskbar at the bottom of the Windows desktop provides, just as it does in previous versions of Windows, quick access to your running programs, the clock, and notification messages. But Windows 7 improves on the taskbar by stream-lining it with smaller icons that group your programs together. For example, if you have three different Web pages open in three instances of Internet Explorer, you’ll see a single, small Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar that you can use to quickly access one of those windows. The reduced icon size makes more room available on the taskbar for other program group icons, making it easier for you to work with your programs.

Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements in Windows 7

In addition, Windows 7 now provides preview features to help you move between programs. When you click the mouse on or hover it over a program group icon, Windows displays a preview of each of the program windows in that group, and as you hover the mouse over a preview window, Windows shows you a full-size preview on the desktop of that window’s contents. You can then click the preview to open its associated program window. Windows lets you control the taskbar’s new behavior. You can direct Windows to always combine like programs into a single group icon, combine them only when the taskbar gets full, or never combine them.

Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements in Windows 7

Jump Lists

Windows 7 Jumplists

Jump lists are another new feature in Windows 7. When you right-click a taskbar icon, Windows displays a jump list that contains menu items for commonly-used tasks for the program and quick access to recently-used documents.

Jump lists are a Windows feature, rather than an application feature, so you’ll get a jump list for a program even if it wasn’t written specifically to use the jump list. However, program developers can modify the jump list, so programs that are written specifically to do so will likely provide additional options in the jump list menu.

Windows 7 Jumplists

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• What’s New in Windows 7

• Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements in Windows 7

• New Ways to Work in Windows 7

• Music and Video Sharing in Windows 7

• Better Device Management in Windows 7

• Troubleshooting and Alerts in Windows 7

• Internet Explorer 8 in Windows 7

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