What to do when you don't
know what to do:
Call Accent on Computers! 203-625-7575.
July 20, 2007
Docking Your Program Icons
Dear Larry,
I prefer to always have my program icons (Word, Internet,
Documents, etc.) one click away. So I’ve followed your advice and added them to
my Windows taskbar. The problem is, little room is left behind for other taskbar
necessities. Is there a solution to this overcrowding?
V. B.
Dear V. B.,
The Windows taskbar and Start button first saw the light of
day when Windows 95 was released back in August of 1995. Three years later, the
Quick Launch taskbar was introduced to provide easy access to programs when the
Windows desktop was covered up. The system tray, or notification area as it’s
sometimes called, is located near the time on the far right of the taskbar and
came along when Windows XP hit the scene. So with all this activity down there,
it’s not surprising your taskbar is filled to capacity.
Perhaps the obvious solution to this dilemma is to make the
taskbar bigger. Right-click a blank portion of the taskbar and if there’s a
checkmark next to Lock the Taskbar, click it to unlock it. Next, position your
mouse so that the tip of your mouse pointer is aligned with the top edge of the
taskbar. At that point, your mouse pointer should turn into a double-headed
arrow, and you can click and drag upwards slightly to add an extra row of space
to your taskbar.
Of course, you may not think this is a viable solution since
adding space to the taskbar takes space away from the Windows desktop. You can
always auto-hide the taskbar (by right-clicking it, choosing Properties, and
turning on the auto-hide feature), but many people—myself included—find this
less than optimal. So now what?
Fortunately, Stardock has made their award-winning ObjectDock
program available as a free download. With ObjectDock, Stardock borrowed a page
from the Mac playbook, giving Windows XP and Vista users a way to organize their
shortcuts into a fun, animated dock. It works so well, you owe it to yourself to
try it out.
To download ObjectDock, go to
www.objectdock.com, and click the Download link on the right side of the
screen. Scroll down and click the green, free download button at the bottom of
the screen. Click the Run button and follow along to install the program. When
the installation is finished, click the ObjectDock icon on your desktop to get
it started.
Start by checking out all the icons included in the dock by
default. Right-click and delete those you don’t want, and drag onto the dock
from the desktop those you do want. When the dock gets covered up by another
window, simply move your mouse to the bottom of the screen to call it back
temporarily. Right-click a dock icon and click Dock Entry Properties to change
its name or icon. Right-click a blank portion of the dock and click Dock
Settings to adjust its size, positioning, and other settings. For the full
treatment, consider the $20 ObjectDock Plus and use the program to replace your
Windows taskbar altogether.
What’s up, Dock?
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
