The taskbar
 
On the foot of your Windows desktop, you will notice a long bar. This is the Windows Taskbar (Fig 22).

Fig. 22

Programs, files, or folders you open, will appear on the taskbar. For example, on the taskbar represented in fig. 22, Windows Media Player and the “tutorial” folder are opened. Windows can also be minimized, which means that they are running in background. To display a window that is running in background, you can just click it from the taskbar.
Windows is a multitasking operating system, which means that more applications can be run in the same time. In MS DOS, you could only run one application at a time.
Multitasking is a really great advantage, because you can easily switch between applications and transfer data from one application to another. So the taskbar can also help you to easily switch between applications. If you want a window to run in background just click minimize. The window will not be closed, and you can always bring it back on the screen, by clicking it on the taskbar.

The Quick Launch
Near the Start Button on the taskbar, we can see the Quick Launch (Fig. 23). It is a small place for applications you use most frequently.

The Windows default applications for the Quick launch are: the “Show Desktop” application (it is used to show the Windows Desktop); Windows
Fig 23
Explorer (Internet Browser). You can always add and remove icons from the Quick Launch.

The System Tray

The System Tray (Fig. 24) is the right place of the taskbar, where you can see the clock, and also see active or inactive connections, or some applications that are running. In the system tray represented in fig. 24, there are 2 active network connections. From the system tray you can configure other options for the connections
Fig. 24
or applications.
In Windows XP, inactive items can also be hidden (if this feature is enabled), and you can see them by clicking the round button on the left side of the system tray.

The language bar

The language bar (Fig. 25, 26) is used for switching between the languages that are installed on the system. You can use the hotkeys defined for switching languages, or click on the icon and select a language from the ones available (Fig. 26).

Fig. 25
Fig. 26

You can also use the language bar to select and manage other language options that are installed on your computer.
You can add and remove languages available on the language bar from Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options.

Configuring the taskbar

To configure the Windows taskbar, right click it and select Proprieties. A window like in Fig 27 will appear. From the taskbar tab you can configure the following options:

• Lock the taskbar – will delimit the Quick launch and other bars from the main taskbar;
• Auto-hide taskbar – will hide the taskbar. To display the taskbar it is just necessary to put the mouse over the place it is located (hidden). After the mouse leaves the certain area, the taskbar will disappear.
• Keep the taskbar on top of other Windows – it will always display the taskbar on the screen. It does not matter what windows are open, the taskbar will always be displayed on the screen. If this option is disabled, the taskbar can be only seen when you see the Windows Desktop. If other Windows are opened, and they are maximized, you will not be able to see the taskbar, only if you minimize all the windows, and thus returning to the desktop.
Fig. 27
 
• Group similar taskbar buttons – enables the new option in Windows XP. Sometimes your taskbar might be full of icons. To manage the opened windows better, this new option groups the similar taskbar icons into a single one. If you have 10 Internet Explorer windows open, they will all be grouped into a single taskbar icon. When you want to chose a certain internet explorer window from the group, you will just click on the main taskbar icon, and then a list with all the windows in the group will be shown. Just click the one you want to display!
• Show Quick Launch – It will show or hide the Quick Launch (Fig. 23).
• Show the clock – shows or hides the clock from the right side of the taskbar.
• Hide inactive icons – it enables or disables a new feature made available in Windows XP; hiding the icons from the System Tray (Fig. 25) when they become inactive. For instance, if you have an opened program that has an icon in the System Tray, the icon will be hidden when the program is inactive. To display the hidden icons you just have to click the round button on the left side of the System Tray.
You can also customize the hiding and showing of the icons in the system tray, but only if the “Hide inactive icons” setting is enabled. When you click the Customize button, a window like the one represented in Fig. 28 will appear.

 
You can choose an item that is or was in the System Tray, and apply the following options to it:
• Hide when inactive – hides the icon when it is not active (default);
• Always hide – hides the icon no matter if it is active or inactive;
• Always show – always shows the icon, no matter if it is active or inactive.
Fig. 28