The Windows 7 taskbar consists exclusively of icons, even for programs that are currently running. While at first it may appear to be inconvenient to identify the tabs with just the icons, you quickly get used to it and importantly it frees up lots of extra space on the taskbar.
However, in Windows Xp or Vista, there is no option to show only the icons. Fortunately, with a little tweak to the Registry you can instruct XP’s or Vista’s taskbar to show only icons.
Note: Be sure to back up your registry before proceeding.
Once you are ready, proceed with the following steps.
- Click Start, type regedit, and press Enter.
- Locate the value listed at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics and click on it.
- In the right pane, right-click in an open space and select New>String Value.
- Name the new string value MinWidth, and set its value to –255.
- Exit the Registry Editor, and restart your system.
Henceforth, only icons will appear in your taskbar. If you decide later that you don’t like the new look, you can return to the Registry and delete the entry that you created above.
You May Also Be Interested In...
- Positioning desktop wallpaper exactly where you want
- How to display File Attributes in Tooltips
- How to implement Fast User Switching in Windows XP
- How to pin a folder to the task bar in Windows 7
- The five hives in the Windows Registry
- How to simultaneously log into Yahoo Messenger with multiple usernames
- How to remove a user from the Windows XP welcome screen
- Rearrange your taskbar with Taskbar Shuffle
Subscribe Now
If you enjoyed this post, you will definitely enjoy our others. Subscribe to the feed to get future posts delivered right to your mailbox or feedreader.
Powered by Thesis
An amazing WordPress Theme, nothing beats the versatility and SEO friendliness of the Thesis framework.
From beginners, to the most advanced WordPress developers, Thesis makes it easy for anyone to customize it.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Wonderful, it looked as if I am using a Windows 7 taskbar. But one thing that I don’t like about it that it is very uneasy at the time of working with various office documents, you want to see a short file name visible in the taskbar all the time. I am curious how will Windows 7 handle it. It is for this reason also I don’t use Rocket Dock.