Pinned icons missing after upgrade to Windows 7

Upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 Home. Had a bunch of icons in the taskbar in Vista and now they're not showing up in the taskbar of windows 7.

Also, I used to be able to drag the icon next to the url in IE, and drag it down to make a shortcut in my taskbar. But in Windows 7, that same url, when dragging down to pin to the taskbar, Windows 7 does not let me. I see "pin to taskbar" but I can't click on it...it's weird.

What else is weird is when I do drag that url shortcut and try to click pin, I see a pop-up dialog to the left...way to the left by the start menu (next to the google box) that shows a list of pinned icons and that icon IS showing in that list. But it's NOT in my taskbar so wtf? Did the upgrade f up my taskbar that had icons from Vista prior? It shows they're there in that pop-up (seems like the pop-up is misaligned and out of place...broken) but I see none of them in my taskbar.

I can drag other icons to the taskbar.

The method used for pinning items to the taskbar is to right click them when they're opened. Then, once you've pinned a program to the taskbar you can right click it to see subsets of recent items that you can also pin to that item. I

In other words, files are pinned to the context menu of whatever APP opens them.

In the picture below you can see that I have three items pinned to the explorer program and the explorer program pinned to the taskbar.



When you drag down a url, it will still pin the item, but it will pin it to the context menu of the program that opens it.



If you want to see a normal right click menu for the pinned program, simply Shift+Right Click

So why can we no longer pin IE url shortcuts by dragging down the icon next to the URL like you could in Vista?

As for your pinned. Are you seeing those pinned in your taskbar? Because I'm not. I'm only seeing the default pinned items (Media player, IE, etc.) that MS pins for you out of the box in Windows 7.

where did you get that menu to pop-up that you scraped in your last reply?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9305-taskbar-pin-unpin-folder.html

maybe can help you.

CoffeeAddict said:

So why can we no longer pin IE url shortcuts by dragging down the icon next to the URL like you could in Vista?

As for your pinned. Are you seeing those pinned in your taskbar? Because I'm not. I'm only seeing the default pinned items (Media player, IE, etc.) that MS pins for you out of the box in Windows 7.

where did you get that menu to pop-up that you scraped in your last reply?

Click to expand...

The first two screenshots are accessed by right clicking any open program in the taskbar.

To pin a program:

Open the program
Right Click it in the taskbar
Click Pin this program...

For urls:

Drag highlighted url from address bar to pinned program icon

For folder/files, etc:

Right Click on pinned program icon, find the applicable item in recent and click the pin on the right.

How stupid is this. Ok, this is what Windows 7 does. So I had a few url shortcuts to lets say yahoo finance in my Vista taskbar prior to upgrading to Windows 7.

Those icons are now in the right click context menu when you right-click the IE icon in the taskbar. Then they show up under the Pinned list.

For a user who is used to pinning it straight to the taskbar (such as my parents...which is really why I'm posting this because I too was like wtf), THIS IS NOT INTUITIVE.

And what the hell. Why can I no longer drag that icon in Internet Explorer next to the url down to the taskbar and fricking pin it anymore?

I love how MS takes away functionality...we're talking about simple pinning here folks. That's all. I like the new taksbar in Windows 7 but for God sakes, I can't pin a shortcut to a url anymore? That's ridiculous.

"When you drag down a url, it will still pin the item, but it will pin it to the context menu of the program that opens it."

yea, this is gay if I can't do the alternative. Maybe on some I still want them to exist in the taskbar. This is not intuitive for someone like a parent who is used to dragging this to the taskbar and seeing it there. They're not going to think oh, right-click the context menu of the program that opens it". I can guarantee you this is HUGE usability flaw...MS assumes just everyone is gonna infer this. No, not everyone, maybe us techs but definitely not your normal basic user.

This is unbelievable. If I tell my parents "you can drag and pin things to the program that opens it" they're not going to have a clue wtf I'm talking about no matter how many times I try to explain that to them. And then they are to know to go and RIGHT click on the program icon in the taskbar just to see the related pinned items? Seriously, what is MS smoking? Yea, it's great for the techies but totally brings people who are not tech savvy to a total loss and total confusion. Even if they did not use Vista before this...my god, we can't even pin a freaking url shortcut anymore to the taskbar? Ridiculous.

Windows 7 is great...but this part is totally unusable to the non-tech savvy.

Microsoft still hasn't got it right. It should be my decision whether to pin it to the taskbar itself or the program that opens it. It should be flexible both ways so that existing users don't have to infer crap that they're never gonna understand.

This is a huge usability joke. I cannot believe we can't pin a simple url shortcut to the main taskbar. And I can't believe we can't pin other things that are now restricted in Windows 7. Why? what's the point. Force the user one way? Is that the MS way to do everything? I'm sorry but I have to say that Apple really allows things to be flexible. No hacks to do one thing 3 different ways.

Windows 7 is a hack nightmare to get simple things that most people want to see work such as dragging the recycle bin to it, url shortcuts to it, etc. . I don't care how slick the new taskbar is, you can't do simple things that people wouldn't even think they'd have to second guess. (yes I like it but I'm a techie and I know to right-click on IE to see its related pinned items...but that's not intutive to everyone).

Hack this registry to get the recycle bin to adhere to the taskbar. Hack something else to get this other type of icon to adhere to the taskbar. Make sure not to drag root folders to the taskbar...you can't

wtf...this is definitely still a developer's OS, and obviously this has not been tested well with true usability trials because I guarantee you this would have come up many times...all of these things.

I'm a software Engineer who is loving Windows 7, but when I'm trying to help basic users understand why the f they can no longer do x SIMPLISTIC INTUITIVE things in Windows 7 anymore (I don't care that the taskbar works differently, why can't I drag a freakin icon like this and others like the recycle bin without a fing hack?), one's got to say wtf Microsoft???

Ok I'm not going to respond to most of that...

If you want to be able to access files, links, folders, etc without using the new system you can create toolbars to do this.

I.E. Quick Launch (Just a familiar name for a toolbar)

To re-enable it in Windows 7:

Right Click Taskbar > Toolbars > New Toolbar
Now place this line in the field:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Now hit Enter, You'll have quick launch again.

You can drag anything to a quick launch, shortcuts, documents, links, etc. You may not be able to drag a link directly from the url bar, but you can create a shorcut to that url fairly easily.

If you want a super user friendly operating system, go Mac. Windows 7 really isn't that difficult once you get used to the new features but if you really just want to point and click and drag and drool then switch to OS X.

Fail...Toolbars.

Thanks for the tips and replies.

Now my rant.

And you're not going to reply to my thread because you know every single word I speak is true and has been experienced by many who are bitching on the net as we speak about this very issue...not being able to drag certain shortcuts anymore to the taskbar...or even things that we haven't tried that should not be prohibited.

But once again another hack...exactly what I'm talking about. It's not even ok for us techies. I think it's ridiculous I have to create such a work around hack just to drag and pin to the taskbar in the way I desire.

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Do you think my parents are going to think to even look for a hack? To even know where the hell to put that? It's ridiculous. We are talking about simple functions that you could do on the bar..ones that still could live in the scope and workflow even live happily with the way the new toolbar works in 7.

again why would I or anyone else for that matter...need to go to the hassle just to be able to drag certain icons like url shortcuts to the taskbar?

And why would I want my taskbar to look and work like Vista! After all the improvement to the taskbar (outside the crap you can no longer do that I stated here) is excellent.

So why would me or anyone who may not be technical want to have to hassle to go create this new toolbar...it's a hack.

I should be able to simply move a shortcut down like I want or still somehow have the option to stack..or even a hybrid. It could be an option on the context menu when you let go to create the shortcut to pin on the taskbar or pin to the program.

Creating Toolbars? no, waste of my time and no I do not want to lose the functionality of Windows 7 on top of that...just so I can drag some simple icons to the taskbar once again.

Users don't want to go creating toolbars for something they were able to do..something very simple which could live happily in the existing new toolbar workflow.

I am a windows fan...but I'm staring to ask, why is it that Microsoft can't keep no brainers in the next OS such as the ability to drag certain icons down and pin to the taskbar instead of the new way...pinning to the program itself? Because it's a usability issue. MS did not care to keep some of that existing functionality I have seen posts all over the net talking about how we can't pin this or that or in a way we wish.

Why is it that in a Mac OS (which I hate) we can drag virtually pretty much anything in teh way we wish without having to create new toolbars, edit the regitstry, do this and that...hacks? Why is it that Microsoft thinks that for these simple things that we could do in XP and Vista that could live happily with the new way the toolbar works, and that you can do these simple things in the Mac OS that any user (technical or not) would assume you could do and can in the Mac OS?

why is it that we still have a developer based windows. Windows 7 is nice, it's improved...but it's still designed for a tech savvy person. It's not ok. It's still not there. Why? because they failed to keep things and do usability testing to see if users will complain about those things you can no longer do..things that would not interrupt the workflow of the new Windows 7 taskbar workflow.

I'm done with this conversation. If you took this to an end user they're going to ask wtf, why, what?? I have to do what and what and what just to drag a freakin icon to the taskbar that now Windows 7 will not allow?

Or maybe I just wasn't smart enough to find the "easter egg" that would allow me to do basic x, y, and z that I was able to do before.

How does MS miss something like this when there are a ton of posts on the net all over about this specific problem? How? because they did no true usability testing..that's why. Or some Developer Lead or Project Manager at MS figured nobody would want to drag a url anymore to the taskbar the old way and still have the option to do it the new way (like myself). I think the problem is rather no usability testing rather than the later.

no, it's not ok. Windows 7 is nice, but it's not that great because of these usability issues and still designed blindly. Designed by developers, not designed based on product feedback.

Maybe Microsoft should slow down and be less anxious to release an OS until they get this stuff right...hmm that's a thought. Do we really need a new OS every year that contains these very simplistic obvious usability issues? If they are doing usability, they surely are not doing it long enough..for a good period of time. Beta...what non-technical user is going to install a Beta version on their PCs at home? Nobody, so how can you say Beta is thoroughly being tested by non-technical end users before going to RC or Release? Because it's not. It's not being tested by non techies enough before release.

And why still can't a window stay the same size that I had it, when I dragged it bigger the next time around when I open that window again? You can on a Mac. But no to this day I STILL have to hold down Alt on my keyboard then click the x to close the window just to get the damn thing to stay as it was...the same size next time. How does Microsoft MISS something like this annoyance for 10 years! You know why? because it's designed based off developer feedback. Because developers and other tech users are ok with the hack. They're ok with holding down the Alt.

But why should we have to hold down anything just to keep a window open at the same size next time? Why do I as a user have to go and research this...in order to find out how to get this to work when it should be automatic? Why hasn't this simple thing been fixed in now what..the 4th, 5th, 6th, and so on OS version? I can tell you I even know other developers who thanked me for telling them about holding down Alt, because they've been so annoyed at this problem for the last decade.

Why should we have to do hacks, for things you can do in a Mac OS or not even that, just things that should be automatic or certain features that should be retained that the human mind expects naturally even without usability testing?

Why did it take x years for Microsoft to finally upgrade the paint program while the Mac OS has a much better newer, usable, and more complex paint program out of the box?

Man, I'm starting to sound like my fellow graphic designer (and no he had no influence on this post..in fact I sent it to him to show him these problems are now getting to me - C# Software Engineer, my family members who struggle with these same issues, and other end users that is just ridiculous!). I'm really starting to see this after x years now...things that MS skips and obviously doesn't care about or just did not do usability testing to find out...and I'm here with new troubles I did not have before (dragging a simple url shortcut or even certain other icons that are prohibited), and I'm here with old troubles (window won't stay the same size as last time I opened it; Paint program took 5 years for an upgrade..yada yada).

This new stuff is all great. But there are so many usability issues outside that scope, I don't even know how they can be missed and ignored during development of any new OS MS decides to come out with now or in the future.

While I am here to get help, now I have decided to let it all out and turn this into a Rant session because I spent so much time trying to figure out why I can't do x,y,z which really irritates me and wasted much of my own time as well as helping other end users try to figure out why they can no longer do x,y,z or why their window won't stay the same size!!...then after all this wasted time, then learning this all takes yet more hacks!

I thank you for your responses and help and I know you are not MS and therefore can't control this. This is not a rant toward you but frustration toward continual waste of time trying to figure out how to do what I cannot in Microsoft OS's when these very things are so obvious and easy to fix and obviously a huge usability flaw...these stick out like a soar thumb!

I probably repeated myself 10 times in this reply...but maybe that's what it is going to take...complaints from end users still instead of them covering this stuff during usability testing.

I am not an MS basher....I am a MS based Software Engineer. I do not do Java, Linux, Mac OS, etc. I'm just really amazed that my family members and even fellow developers as well as multiple posts all over the Internet having these same very simple complaints even in Windows 7 still to this day, amongst all the new great stuff MS HAS done in Windows 7 which I love.

So then....Lets hope someone from Microsoft stumbles across this thread some day (yea I know prob won't happen)....but I would definitely love to see their response to this. A response from a project manager of windows team itself. It boggles my mind how a company with obviously so many smart techies can come up with an OS that still has these issues. Well...it's obvious. Usability testing or ignorance.

Well...I'll end the rant here. It's time to do something more constructive with my time since I've wasted plenty already trying to look up hacks, and simply do what I or others should be able to do that are common to all users out there.

Adios.

The times of dragging are over. No need to get all wound up about it.