Jason Faulkner is the man who brings you our daily tips. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia.For the most part, most Windows users keep their taskbar at the default location which is the bottom of the screen. Of course you can change this in several ways.
- If you want to hide the taskbar when you are not using it, right click on the taskbar, select Properties and then check the box to auto-hide. This will make the taskbar “disappear” until you hover your mouse over the spot where the taskbar “should” be.
- To change the docking position, simply right click the taskbar and make sure the option to lock is not selected. Then click and drag the taskbar to either the top, right or left edge of the screen.
- To resize the height of the taskbar (or width if you have it docked on the side), again make sure the taskbar is not locked and then click on the outer edge (the cursor will change to a double arrow) and drag to the desired size.
- Combine any of the above.
It’s all about personal preference, so find something you like and go with it.
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Rich Menga, a native New Englander residing in Tampa Bay Florida, 
2/2/2008 2:05 pm
I always liked the taskbar at the top of the screen. I found that I was doing things faster, because my cursor was usually at the top of the screen because that’s where the minimize, close buttons and menus, etc. are.
The only annoyance I have with moving it to the top, is that some things in the system tray don’t detect the taskbar having been moved to the top, so notification windows show up at the bottom instead of the top.
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4/6/2008 5:43 pm
What can you do if your taskbar (at the bottom) spontaneously decides to make itself into two rows, then will not return to the size you want it (one row)? I can drag it higher and I can drag it down into nothing, but I can’t make it its original size. What’s up here?
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4/7/2008 7:19 pm
Have you tried setting it to one row and then locking it right away? Or is it locked when this happens?
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4/7/2008 8:20 pm
Thanks, Alisha. Couldn’t set taskbar to one row at all (so couldn’t lock it there) when I posted my problem, but I’ve figured it out since then. Maybe. Reduced size of Quick Launch toolbar (deleted icons I never intentionally put there in the first place), then deselected Quick Launch toolbar in Toolbars; when single row came back, reactivated Quick Launch. Works for now, anyway.
I just can’t figure out why I don’t have that slider/partition thing on the task bar anymore that shortens quick launch bar, hiding icons as needed for space. No sign of it. Never had this problem before. Also, I turned on new scanner and scanned a couple of things today; taskbar disappeared completely until I pressed the Windows keyboard key. Related?
This is not anything urgent! At all. Annoying, though. Would appreciate any insights you have –
Deborah
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