Note: This is for Windows 7 users only.

In Windows XP and Vista, when you use the Windows Live Mail client, you can right-click the icon at the bottom so that it only appears as such when the app is minimized:

When using the Windows Live Messenger, by default it will also have a small icon:

However the problem is that these Windows Live applications do not do this by default in Windows 7. Instead they show as large icons to the left.

The way to get them to minimize to small taskbar icons is to set the compatibility mode to Windows Vista for each. This is easy, and once done they will act as they did in XP/Vista concerning how they look in the taskbar.

See video below for details.

One really useful feature of Windows which I notice a lot of people do not take advantage of is the Quick Launch bar. This is the area in your taskbar which has the icons you can use to open programs.

For many people I can see why they would not use it because between the programs they have open on the taskbar and the system tray, there really isn’t too much available room. However, if you increase the size of your taskbar you will find it becomes much more feasible.

I have my taskbar set to 3 levels high and have 15 shortcuts in my Quick Launch. This saves me both time in not having to go to the start menu for programs and desktop space for not having to keep shortcuts there.

If you find yourself using the Windows Calculator or Excel often to do simple math operations, a tool you might be interested in is Taskbar Calculator. This free tool does just what you would expect: adds a small calculator to your Windows taskbar.

If you look at the reviews, you can see some users complain that the tool only performs basic functions (add, subtract, multiply and divide) and others complain it takes up too much space. So bear that in mind if you decide to give this tool a try.

Personally, I just have a the shortcut key combination of Ctrl+Alt+C assigned to the calculator and I have found this works for me.

By default, the Windows taskbar is only a ’single line’ high. For lightweight users, this is typically ok, but if you have lots of items in your System Tray or you like to make use of Quick Launch, then you will find yourself with not much room for open programs. A simple solution is to increase the height of your taskbar.

By increasing the height, not only do you gain more room for open programs, but you will find the System Tray and Quick Launch icons now take up only half the space (because they can now be stacked). This gives you more room to either add more items to Quick Launch or use that extra space for more open programs. Additionally, if you have the clock displayed, you will be able to see the date and/or the day of the week (depending) as well. Overall for the small amount of space you ‘lose’ on your desktop, this adjustment is well worth it.

Here is how to make the change:

1. Right-click on some empty space in your System Tray and if the ‘Lock the Taskbar’ option is checked, uncheck it.
2. Hover your mouse over the top of the taskbar and when the cursor changes to a double arrow, click and drag it until the height is where you would like it.
3. If you use Quick Launch, adjust the amount of space you allow, or add more items to it.
4. When finished, simply repeat step one except make sure you check the option to lock the taskbar.

Although I’m 99% sure the ATI manager software has this ability also, with the nView software by nVidia you can easily make your Windows XP taskbar transparent.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Download and install the latest nVidia driver set.

2. Go to the Control Panel and double-click the NVIDIA nView Desktop Manager icon. See below for example.

3. Click the Effects tab, check Enable taskbar transparency, set the level desired, click Apply. See below for example.

..and that’s all there is to it. Ta-da.. transparent taskbar. For best effect, make sure to have a wallpaper that is an image of some kind (a pattern, photo, etc.) and not just a solid color.

To show the date in the Windows XP taskbar all the time (without the use of any additional sofware) you can extend it “two tiers” high and it will display the date.

The default taskbar looks like this.

Right-click an empty area and make sure “Lock the Taskbar” is not checked.

A small border will appear above the taskbar. Place your mouse cursor on that border and your cursor will change to an up/down arrow. Left click, hold and drag up.

When finished your taskbar will be “two tiers” high and display the day and date.

You’re done!

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.