Task bar (computing) . It is the name of the bar that is found by default at the bottom, top and exterior of the desktop and is used to find what you are looking for and control applications in Microsoft Windows and other operating systems .
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Position
- 2 elements
- 3 Personalization
- 4 Sources
Position
In Windows, the default position of the taskbar is the bottom of the screen, from left to right it contains by default the Start menu, the quick launch bar, the buttons of the taskbar and the “Notification area ”
Elements
- The Start Menu is an element of great importance for working with Windows, it is shown when we click on the Start button, it contains commands to access programs, documents or settings. These commands include Programs, Documents, Control Panel, Search, Help, Run, log off and shutdown computer.
The Start menu is the main Windows menu, and it is of great importance, since it is the starting point of most operations to be carried out with the computer. It is the gateway to a large number of possibilities offered by our computer.
- The Quick Launch Bar, introduced with Internet Explorer4, contains shortcuts to applications. Windows defaults, like Internet Explorer, and the user or third-party software can add more later. A single click on an icon in the area launches the application. This section is not always present: for example, it is absent by default in Windows XP , but it can be activated.
- Windows creates a button on the taskbar when an application creates a window that does not have another main window: for example, a window that does not have a “parent” and that is created according to the guidelines of the Windows user interface.
- Windows XPintroduced the grouping of the taskbar, with which you can group several windows in the same button on the taskbar. This button appears as a menu with all the windows grouped when you click on it. This prevents the taskbar from being overloaded with buttons of the same type of program or application.
- Windows Vistaintroduced the preview of windows which displayed a real-time view of the application in thumbnails. This enhancement is provided by the Window Manager.
- Windows 7introduced jumplists. Jumplists are menus that provide shortcuts to recently opened documents, or different options with which to interact with a specific program. They are displayed when the user right-clicks the icon on the taskbar, or when dragging the icon up with the left mouse button.
- The last part of the bar is called the notification area or system tray. It contains status notifications, although some programs (such as Winamp, use it to minimize windows. The clock appears here by default, and applications can put icons to warn the user of something. For example, an application can put an icon of Printer in the status area to indicate that a print job is running, or a display driver can give quick access to various resolutions.
Other toolbars can be added to the taskbar, and it can also be placed on top or on the sides.
Personalization
The Windows taskbar can be modified by users in different ways. The position of the taskbar can be changed to put it on either side of the primary screen, the taskbar is restricted to a single screen, despite the fact that other manufacturers develop utilities such as UltraMon , which allows covering multiple screens .
When the taskbar is displayed vertically in versions prior to Windows Vista, the Start button only displays the text “Start” or the translated equivalent if the width of the taskbar is wide enough to display all of the text. However, the edge of the taskbar (in any position) can be dragged to control its height (width if vertical); this is especially useful for the vertical taskbar and for displaying the window title next to its icon.
Users can resize the height (or width vertically) to half the screen area. To avoid resizing or repositioning the taskbar, Windows XP and later versions lock the taskbar by default. When unlocked, “dots” are displayed next to the moveable items, which allow you to resize and move the icons or components on the taskbar. The taskbar has the option to automatically hide itself, until the mouse pointer moves to where it is positioned.
Windows is not the only operating system with a taskbar: there are similar bars in many Linux desktop environments . The Mac OS X Dock is also a taskbar.
