I have a brand new windows 7 computer sitting beside me. Where is the quick launch bar? I had loved this on my old Vista computer but can’t seem to find it on Windows 7. The Quick Launch bar was a really neat feature because it saved so much time (and clicking). Please don’t tell me that Microsoft has done away with it.
Kaira Hudson
The Quick Launch toolbar which was present to the right of the “Start” button in many previous versions of the Windows has been removed in Windows 7! Don’t despair because the Microsoft has come up with an elegant solution. In fact, it’s so straightforward that you’ll wonder why it wasn’t implemented earlier.
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No Windows 7 Quick Launch bar and you won’t miss it
The Quick Launch toolbar was something that I too had used a lot on XP and Vista. Its main purpose was to keep shortcuts of all frequently used programs a single mouse click away. And the Taskbar on the previous Windows versions would have tabs for all programs that were running. Since users didn’t like to drudge through the program files list, they preferred the Quick Launch bar; it saved them time – a lot of clicking and searching.
Microsoft developers (and designers) realized that in Windows 7 they could ‘marry’ the two toolbars – Quick Launch and the Taskbar. So now the Taskbar displays the shortcuts to programs as well as all the open programs.
On a fresh Windows 7 installation, there are three program shortcuts in the Taskbar – Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. You can also drag and place other shortcuts in this space. Thus, the Taskbar works quite like the absent Windows 7 Quick Launch toolbar!
Making the Windows 7 Taskbar similar to the older Quick Launch toolbar
The shortcut icons on the Windows 7 Taskbar are much larger than the ones you may be used to in the Quick Launch toolbar. I like this new look but for those who think otherwise, there is an easy way to decrease the Taskbar icon size.
Also, in Windows 7, the keen-eyed would quickly notice that icons of programs with one or more open windows have a ‘glassy’ background. And the shortcut icon of the active program (one which you are presently working on) has a lighter background color to make it standout from the rest. Also, placing the mouse cursor over a program icon with an open window pops up a thumbnail version – refer image below; each thumbnail has it’s own close button.
OK! Quick Launch bar is absent in Windows 7 but where is the show desktop?
The “Show Desktop” icon was the first icon in the Quick Launch toolbar on my older Windows XP and Vista computers because I found it extremely helpful – I used to have a lot of stuff on the desktop which could be accessible in a just one click. This feature has been shifted to the extreme right edge of the Taskbar. Don’t worry, show desktop is not missing on Windows 7.
See that Glassy vertical strip? That’s the Windows 7 show desktop! Unless you’ve changed the default settings, placing the mouse cursor over this ‘icon’ lets you take a peek at the desktop. Clicking on it will, however, minimize all windows and show the desktop in all its glory.
