New Taskbar...I just don't get it

[bamma]

Maybe I can get some help. I am really trying to learn the new OS approach. I kept fighting Vista, but decided to accept 7. But...I don't get the taskbar.

- After pinning an application to the taskbar, it's position is not fixed. It can float around as I am opening and closing windows. One time it is on the left, one time on the right. I just don't understand how this is better than the old quick launch approach where the application was always in one location.
For example, I want to open a new instance of an application. I have to first find it along the toolbar, then right click, then say "open". Before, I would just click the darn icon (knowing exactly where it is), and then be done.

- Does it ever misinterpret the intent? For example, I had a firefox download window open, but the program itself was closed. Forgetting that this was the case, I clicked the icon and I get the dl manager instead of the program itself. I then had to go through the whole right click open process. Normally, I would just have clicked the quick launch to open another instance and be on my way. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, its a pain for me to right click on my virtual trackpad since I have to look at it (iphone running air mouse on my HTPC).

I keep hearing that this new scheme is supposed to replace the quick launch bar and I am keeping an open mind, but are there some instances where it just makes sense to have the quick launch bar? I certainly don't seem to be more efficient with this new scheme, but would like some insight as to what I am doing wrong or where my thought process may be breaking down.

 

[Frostmourne]

Right-click the taskbar and select lock. Then right-click the taskbar and choose properties. Choose your options. Right-clicking the taskbar activates jump lists.

 

[Roddy]

I didn't like it, or get it, when using RC.

But now that I have used it quite extensively in daily use, with a locked Taskbar set to how I want (small icons, pinned Word and Excel and Outlook icons) it's dead set easy.

Icons that are representing programs that are open are slightly glowing. Icon for IE has a slight 'tabbed' effect showing how many TABS are open. If a download is in process, the IE icon glows green as a representative status bar - it moves l-r the furher the download is processing.

Right-clicking on Word icon for example brings up the Jump List ( I really appreciate this - saves going through Start/Documents/Recent).

Hovering over any icon instantly shows (via Aero peek - is that what it's called?) any items that are opened in the background by that icon's program.

I recommend you whack a Firefox icon in the Taskbar, and lock it down. Not using Firefox I am not sure, but this would then possibly show (when hovering over the Firefox icon) via Aero peek, the Download Manager's open dialog box?

Rgds
Rod

 

[pparks1]

When I pin applications to the taskbar, they don't move around. They are always right where I left them. So, for example, firefox is always the 4th icon from the left and calculator is the 6th. This is important to me as I use the Winkey # to launch apps... And I don't have my taskbar locked.

 

[garysgold]

There are things I like about the taskbar. Jumplists and previews to name a couple, but there are also some things I don't like. Your supposed to be able to open files by dropping them on the icons while holding down the shift key, but it only works with a few programs. Doesn't work with Office 2007 here and you can only open one file at a time. I often drop 5 or more files on my paint program icon and so I am still using the Quick Launch bar for some things. Sad but true.

 

[Day24]

also holding down shift plus clicking that firefox icon will mean it opens up a new instance of firefox, regardless of whether that download box is still open. shift+click has become my friend. I don't like jump lists for everything, certainly not for mundane things like opening a second instance of a program.... this is the easy fix....

besides.... if you really want it, the quick launch bar is still there.... go look in the tutorial section....

 

[BCXtreme]

also holding down shift plus clicking that firefox icon will mean it opens up a new instance of firefox, regardless of whether that download box is still open. shift+click has become my friend. I don't like jump lists for everything, certainly not for mundane things like opening a second instance of a program.... this is the easy fix....

besides.... if you really want it, the quick launch bar is still there.... go look in the tutorial section....

Might interest you to know that a middle-click (with the mouse scroll wheel) will do the same thing as shift+click.

 

[harpua]

For people new to W7, I always recommend trying to use the new features for a while even though you may not fully understand them at first. I believe that for those who give themselves some time to adapt and get used to some of these new features, many will come to appreciate them as genuine improvements over the older ways of doing things.

Of course not everyone will feel this way but you'll never know unless you give it some time.

 

[Frostmourne]

Better than Vista's anyway. Seems cleaner somehow.

 

[MacGyvr]

I don't understand the OPs icons moving around. Mine don't do that...they are right where I put them. The only caveat to that is certain applications that don't seem to understand the new task bar (like Thunderbird Portable) will create an additional icon at the far right of the others when they are running.

 

[Neural]

I thought the same thing to begin with, I used a double size taskbar with a lot of quicklaunch icons for years, I have since adapted and pin my most commonly used programs on the taskbar.
Lesser used icons, like games etc go into a gadget called quicklaunch, pretty much the same thing as quicklaunch only better as can create groups and sperate them with dividers which I really like.

 

[bamma]

I think the main difference here is that I choose the "never combine" option while it appears most are using the "always combine" option. I have never felt comfortable combining the windows and over the last decade or so have found that my brain is able to remember where the windows are. Now if I combine them, it is a new approach that renders my old approach useless, but I am willing to try that out.

While I saw how to add the quick launch bar into the tutorials, I have resisted this because I am trying to work down the path of learning new things. It seems that while many even in the XP world may have gotten used to combining the tasks, I never did...so in that respect I was far behind. But aero peek makes it much different than before since combining in XP always confused me more than in helped.

So this being said, is anyone using the "never combine" option and seeing this type of behavior? Come to think about it, I remember someone mentioning something similar and how it was annoying.

But again, I don't like any key combination things because this is for my HTPC and the objective is to be functional with one hand and a limited user input toolset (iphone).

 

[gregrocker]

It's a static rocketdock.

If you pin your app there, it stays put and then you have access to full history jumplist (rightclick), open new, or hover to see open windows thumbnails.