Windows 7: Always Combine Icons via Registry

I'm using a brand new installation of Windows 7 (in a commercial environment) and for some reason the icons in the taskbar dont combine if I have more than one instance of any application open.

I've found the 'TASKBAR BUTTONS' option under 'TASKBAR APPEARANCE' in PROPERTIES to change this, but it appears to be unavailable.

So two questions:

1) Can anyone suggest why this option may be greyed out for me?



2) Does anyone know where in the registry I can turn on the 'Always Combine' option.

TIA.

Some programs are not compliant with this feature. What apps are not working as expected? Does it work properly for Windows Explorer?

No apps are combining by the looks of it. I've only installed it today, but so far I've not seen anything combine, including:

IE
Google Chrome
Notepad
Explorer
Office Outlook 2007
Office Word 2007
Calculator

Very strange, I thought it might be a group policy. But this being Windows 7, and us not ever having used it before...

1) Can anyone suggest why this option may be greyed out for me?

My apologies for not actually comprehending your lucid post.

I woke up too late ;-) Now the baby is getting up. ZigZag will be by shortly, I am sure.

brb

OI

Hi

Can we gete some info from you while some of us investigate "always combine". We could use the version of win 7 you have (ie 7600) and if its 32bitor 64?

tia

Ken

I'm using build Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1 build 7600) according to DXDIAG.

HTH

Does anyone have an answer to this problem?