Does a lot of icons in the taskbar effect performance?

Nope, nothing you would notice above and beyond drawing the desktop.

flycaster said:

I like to keep an entirely clean desktop, so to do this I have all my apps down in the Windows taskbar. None of these items are in my startup, BTW. Anyway, I;d like to know if keeping a little over 2 dozen icons in the TB will effect performance in any manner?

I found this free utility a nice way to organize tons of shortcuts in my taskbar:

StandaloneStack » Chris'n'Soft

it works on both Vista and Windows Seven

As you can see in the screen shot, I also use RocketDock, but the Taskbar section on the left looks pretty clean:




The plethora of shortcuts are ensconced in stacks. Here's a shot of a open stack

another taskbar organiser is bins ,ive been using it for some time now and thoroughly recommend it.
ive just noticed that bins is now for sale and no longer the free beta . the free beta is still working on my computer so thats good news.

Bins, by 1UP Industries

you may want to consider a dock also, i have over ninety folders and shorcuts on my object dock, i have it set to autohide and set to the top of my screen, i have used it for years and again thoroughly reccomend it

Stardock Corporation - Software - ObjectDock

For me, the toolbars is the easiest way to organize a large number of icons - no special program needed.
Toolbars - How to Use in Windows 7 and Vista

I did "folder in folder" toolbars before I got onto RocketDock. They work ok, but I hate having to mouse hover to get the flip out menus to open. I'd rather click a category, then see all the icons in front of me. One more click it's running. But it's all personal preference.

MilesAhead said:

I did "folder in folder" toolbars before I got onto RocketDock. They work ok, but I hate having to mouse hover to get the flip out menus to open. I'd rather click a category, then see all the icons in front of me. One more click it's running. But it's all personal preference.

I put those that I use all the time into the taskbar and the Rocket Dock. But there is only so much space. The other 50 or 60 lesser used programs/tools/folders/websites are in the toolbars. The advantage of the toolbar is that you have quasi no limit as to the number of entries.

whs said:

MilesAhead said:

I did "folder in folder" toolbars before I got onto RocketDock. They work ok, but I hate having to mouse hover to get the flip out menus to open. I'd rather click a category, then see all the icons in front of me. One more click it's running. But it's all personal preference.

I put those that I use all the time into the taskbar and the Rocket Dock. But there is only so much space. The other 50 or 60 lesser used programs/tools/folders/websites are in the toolbars. The advantage of the toolbar is that you have quasi no limit as to the number of entries.

My "folder in folder" effort wasn't wasted. I just moved the containing folder from Desktop to Documents. I dragged each category to RocketDock and made a custom icon for it.

The RocketDock Icons highlighted are folders from the old toolbar.

Yeah, that is certainly an option. Just requires an extra click to open an entry.