Quick Launch - Enable or Disable

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  1. Posts : 71,977
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #270

    Ah, that would make more sense Kari. Thank you. :)
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  2. Posts : 529
    windows 8.1 Pro x64
       #271

    damn feel sorry for you guys with reboot issues. On all systems I have used this guide on the icons stay and they also stay in the right order on reboots just fine.

    all my systems are clean installed win7 64 ultimate retail.

    another theory.

    I am using the default account created at install time, do those with the problem also use this account? the one where it asks you to create on the first bootup.
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  3. Posts : 17,545
    Windows 10 Pro x64 EN-GB
       #272

    An update.

    It seems I've finally found a fix for this disappearing Quick Launch shortcuts issue that has bothered me since the day one of installing Windows 7.

    Until now I have always put the shortcuts back by dragging them with mouse to Quick Launch, trying all alternatives there is when using left mouse button drag or right mouse button drag.

    A few weeks ago I decided to try "the official" method. I went to the Quick Launch folder (C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch), right clicked to get a context menu, and chose New > Shortcut. Using the dialog that opens, I added some shortcuts, among them the really annoying Snipping Tool which always disappeared when rebooting, and since that all the shortcuts have stayed there.

    I can not understand why this happens. Dragging with the right mouse button allows you to choose if you want to copy or move the the app to the Quick Launch, or create a shortcut. If you choose Create a shortcut, it should be the same, acting like the shortcut added as I described above, but no. There seems to be a difference in these two methods to create a shortcut; what that difference is, I have no idea.

    Anyway, it seems this works.

    Kari
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  4. Posts : 41
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate English + language kits
       #273

    That's exactly how I populate my Quick Launch toolbar, right-click a Start menu item, drag to the QL toolbar, and "Create shortcuts here" (not "Create a shortcut"), and the links persist after reboot.

    I had my whole QL toolbar disappear once for no reason, though. I had to add the QL folder again and all was fine, my previous shortcuts reappeared.

    I can't understand for the sake of me why Microsoft killed the QL toolbar: The Start menu keeps track of only a few of the most commonly used apps, and the Taskbar does not offer 1-click launch of multiple session apps such as Notepad. For some reason, I can't get myself to clutter my Taskbar with all the apps I need, so I end up with the most common apps on my Taskbar, the less common ones in the QL toolbar, and the rest in the Start menu.

    I find the new Windows 7 layout extremely messy and unsatisfactory: Between the Taskbar, the QL toolbar, and the notification area, there is lots of duplication, and the lack of separation between these areas make things even more confusing.

    I would prefer a "smarter" dynamic management of all these shortcuts, not having to populate manually any of them, and with no duplication. For instance, if I kill a task from the notification area, I would expect its shortcut to appear automatically in the QL toolbar so I can launch it again.

    The Taskbar design is a huge usability regression compared to Vista for multiple session apps: To open a second Windows Explorer, Command Prompt or Notepad session, I now need to right-click on the Taskbar icon, select the app and left-click, instead of the previous single click for either the first or next instances. Microsoft should restore the one-click feature, maybe by offering shortcut buttons with 2 different sensitive zones, so you can open a new session of Notepad if you left-click on the graphical icon of the shortcut, and you open or minimize the window if you left-click on the text part of the shortcut (like "Untitled - Notepad"). That would allow the best of both worlds. Microsoft is saying that it wants to unify the Taskbar, I am fine with that, and don't regret losing exceptions such as the WMP mini-player, but the one-click feature is too important to lose it, it should have been part of the new design.
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  5. Posts : 620
    7264x64/7260x86
       #274

    Chimel said:
    That's exactly how I populate my Quick Launch toolbar, right-click a Start menu item, drag to the QL toolbar, and "Create shortcuts here" (not "Create a shortcut"), and the links persist after reboot.

    I had my whole QL toolbar disappear once for no reason, though. I had to add the QL folder again and all was fine, my previous shortcuts reappeared.

    I can't understand for the sake of me why Microsoft killed the QL toolbar: The Start menu keeps track of only a few of the most commonly used apps, and the Taskbar does not offer 1-click launch of multiple session apps such as Notepad. For some reason, I can't get myself to clutter my Taskbar with all the apps I need, so I end up with the most common apps on my Taskbar, the less common ones in the QL toolbar, and the rest in the Start menu.

    I find the new Windows 7 layout extremely messy and unsatisfactory: Between the Taskbar, the QL toolbar, and the notification area, there is lots of duplication, and the lack of separation between these areas make things even more confusing.

    I would prefer a "smarter" dynamic management of all these shortcuts, not having to populate manually any of them, and with no duplication. For instance, if I kill a task from the notification area, I would expect its shortcut to appear automatically in the QL toolbar so I can launch it again.

    The Taskbar design is a huge usability regression compared to Vista for multiple session apps: To open a second Windows Explorer, Command Prompt or Notepad session, I now need to right-click on the Taskbar icon, select the app and left-click, instead of the previous single click for either the first or next instances. Microsoft should restore the one-click feature, maybe by offering shortcut buttons with 2 different sensitive zones, so you can open a new session of Notepad if you left-click on the graphical icon of the shortcut, and you open or minimize the window if you left-click on the text part of the shortcut (like "Untitled - Notepad"). That would allow the best of both worlds. Microsoft is saying that it wants to unify the Taskbar, I am fine with that, and don't regret losing exceptions such as the WMP mini-player, but the one-click feature is too important to lose it, it should have been part of the new design.


    Shift + click or middle mouse button click will open a new instance of any application.

    Quick launch is redudant, that's why they killed it off.

    Use the the ability to pin to start menu as a replacement for quick launch. Not only do you get quick access to your apps, but you also get more functionality (the right arrow button next to the app can show options).

    I think what they have done with the new taskbar is fantastic. The piloshophy behind it makes much more sense than vista/xp solutions. You're contradicting yourself when you talk about duplication. You want a quick launch, but you don't want duplication? That's the precise reason the quick launch area was removed.

    Developers of programs are to blame for the messy solutions. Things like hiding and application in the system tray does that. It's a system tray, not mini taskbar.
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  6. Posts : 41
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate English + language kits
       #275

    Thanks for the tip on Shift+Click!
    Keyboard+mouse actions are too cumbersome for me for constant usage, and it's still much less efficient than the single Quick Launch click. Middle-button does not work for me, I'll investigate.

    I used Start menu pinned shortcuts already, but again, it's 3 steps vs 1. I actually removed them all, my frequent shortcuts are all in the QL, the less frequent ones are already in the dynamical Start menu.

    I actually don't want "quick" launch, I just want fast and efficient 1-click launch instead of the current 2 or 3-step processes.

    As a developer and demanding usability person, I am sure that there are ways to combine the best of both worlds, an efficient single-click launch action and a unified simpler taskbar design. No doubt Windows 7 default taskbar works wonders for many users, and I am grateful I could customize it with the QL area.
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  7. Posts : 7
    Win 7
       #276

    copernicus said:
    ...
    Quick launch is redudant, that's why they killed it off.
    Just because you don't need QL doesn't mean others don't. I and many others have described in detail how the characteristics of quick lauch have not been replaced. I too am a developer and I have 50 or more applications I want to be quickly available. The standard tools in Win7 simply do not handle a large number of apps like that. I have had to use 7stacks as the best replacement I have found, but it has a lot of flaws and requires a lot of manual set up.
    Last edited by Brink; 31 Jul 2010 at 18:30. Reason: Removed unneeded comments
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  8. Posts : 83
    Windows 7 Pro 64
       #277

    This is a great thread. Saw an appropriate sig a while back, "On the road to the future, tradition stations armies to guard the past." I like the comfortable old past, but I want to give the future a chance.

    With my fairly new upgrade to W7, I started a second account, mostly a security experiment, to check out the functionality of the Standard user account (it is working pretty well) and decided that this other account, the one I use most often, I would go with the new styles and features, and avoid the old and familiar.

    I have had mixed success. There is a lot to like about the apps pinned to the taskbar. I like them more now that I realized that the buttons would shrink to allow more to fit on the bar. And it is cool how when you have a lengthy copy running in the background, the pinned button gets a progress bar and reflects how long to go.

    As a simple app launcher/switcher, I am getting fond of the "Terrific Bar" or what ever its new name is. But several things I have not figured out, like how to make it do a ~20 document Work-in-progress launcher. With QuickLaunch, I did this--Created my quick launch folder, then placed in this folder a shortcut to itself. Then when adding it to the Taskbar, I leave room for this shortcut to show. As long as I keep this shortcut at the top, this gives me a "drag target" to quickly add to this QL folder. See attach.

    So, now, just like in XP and 2K, I can save a document, where-ever it goes, then immediately "save-as", and drag a shortcut to my quick launch. Now when ever I get an idea about one of these projects, I can get the document open before I forget the idea. I could pin the document, but I like the feeling of separation of these documents from apps.

    Also, on the other end of the taskbar, I have another launcher showing shortcuts to various editors, and I can, e.g., drag a graphic directly from a web page into GIMP or Paint for editing. I could not get pinned apps to act as drag targets.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Quick Launch - Enable or Disable-mwsnap-2010-08-06-12_52_38a.jpg  
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  9. Posts : 117
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
       #278

    copernicus said:
    Shift + click or middle mouse button click will open a new instance of any application.

    Quick launch is redudant, that's why they killed it off.

    Use the the ability to pin to start menu as a replacement for quick launch. Not only do you get quick access to your apps, but you also get more functionality (the right arrow button next to the app can show options).

    I think what they have done with the new taskbar is fantastic.
    I'm glad you like the new taskbar, but I (and many others) hate it. The shift + click to open a new instance is not a good solution for me, because I have a large wide screen and sit about three feet back, and I am rarely positioned to easily use the mouse and keyboard together... so I prefer to just be able to click the icon without having to grab my keyboard, which sits out of the way until I need it.

    Brink, thank you for another awesome tutorial! I have been using the new taskbar with pinned programs since May and it's been driving me crazy. The biggest annoyance for me is not being able to tell by looking at the icons which programs are running.

    I actually stumbled upon this tutorial accidentally because I was searching for a solution to the Firefox icon having the exact same taskbar icon when it was closed and when it had just one window open. I wanted to be able to set it so that it would look like an additional stacked page when only one window of Firefox was opened... so that it would be obvious at a glance if it was running.

    The QuickLaunch toolbar is a much better solution all around. Now I can have all my most used programs right there and I'm able to open additional instances with just one click. I previously had most of them pinned to the start menu which looked visually more cluttered and was not as quick to access.

    Having some pinned task launch buttons, which may or may not have been open, mixed in with the un-pinned running programs was very disorganized and frustrating. Instead, with the QL bar, the launch icons and running task icons are all separated, and I can easily see every program that is actually running. That is a huge functional improvement for me.

    I do think Microsoft should add the QuickLaunch back as an option, so that people don't have to search the internet to find out how to do it manually. I also hope this is not a sign of things to come. It does remind me of Mac's OSX dock, which I absolutely hated when I tried it out last year... for all the reasons that I hate this dysfunctional new taskbar. If I wanted an annoying Dock, I would buy a Mac. If MS tries to be a Mac clone, I will have to switch to Ubuntu... and I'd rather not because I've always like Windows very much.
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  10. Posts : 620
    7264x64/7260x86
       #279

    rjcarlson49 said:
    copernicus said:
    ...
    Quick launch is redudant, that's why they killed it off.
    Just because you don't need QL doesn't mean others don't. I and many others have described in detail how the characteristics of quick lauch have not been replaced. I too am a developer and I have 50 or more applications I want to be quickly available. The standard tools in Win7 simply do not handle a large number of apps like that. I have had to use 7stacks as the best replacement I have found, but it has a lot of flaws and requires a lot of manual set up.
    It wasn't my personal opinion. The windows 7 UI team behind the new taskbar stated themselves they got rid of the quick launch because it was redundant.
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