52 |^ |^ November 2019
TASKBAR & NOTIFICATIONS
16
Make better use of
the Taskbar
The Taskbar is the best location for any, and
all, shortcuts that you need. Right-click your
existing desktop or Start menu shortcuts, and
choose Pin to Taskbar to add them. You can
then drag and drop icons within the bar to
order them logically.17
Minimise, or hide, the
search box
Does the new search bar take up too much
room on your Taskbar? Right-click an empty
part of the Taskbar, and choose Cortana >
Show Cortana Icon to replace it with a clickable
icon; or choose Cortana > Hidden if you never
use it.18
Resize the Taskbar
Running out of space for shortcut
icons? Make them smaller by right-clicking
th e Task b ar, ch o osin g Task b ar S e t tin gs ,
and flicking the Use Small Taskbar Buttons
switch to On. Or right-click the Taskbar and
uncheck Lock the Taskbar. Click the top
edge of the Taskbar and drag up to add space
for an extra row.19
Move the Taskbar
While it’s unlocked, you can also
click and drag the Taskbar to a different
edge of the screen – pin it left or right for a
vertical list, or at the top if it suits your way of
working better.20
Show labels
If you only have a handful of icons
on the Taskbar, open Taskbar settings, scroll
down, and change Combine Taskbar Buttonsto When the Taskbar is Full or Never to view
a label, which helps you to easily view – and
switch between – open documents within the
same application.21
Add toolbars
Right-click the Taskbar and you’ll
see a Toolbars menu, enabling you to add
extra features to it – you can select Address
to add a URL bar for opening websites in your
default web browser, for example. To add easy
access to your entire PC, choose Toolbars >
New Toolbar. Select This PC and click Select
Folder. From here, click the ‘>>’ next to This
PC to access any folder or drive with just a
few clicks.22
Increase the size of
Taskbar Peek thumbnails
When you roll your mouse over an
open program’s Taskbar icon, you get a pop-
up thumbnail of open document(s) – it’s a bit
small, so open Ultimate Windows Tweaker,
navigate to Customisation > Taskbar, and
try setting the minimum and maximum
thumbnail size sliders to 400. Click Apply
Tweaks, and after File Explorer restarts, you
should instantly see an improvement.23
Tweak t he
1RWLÀFDWLRQ$UHD
You don’t need to delve deep into
Taskbar settings to change the behavior of
the Taskbar’s notification icons. Simply drag
icons between the notification area and its
holding area (click ‘^’ to reveal it). To remove
icons permanently without closing the
parent application, check out the program’s
own settings.24
Clear system icons
Windows places several icons of
its own in the Taskbar notification area- some elements, such as the touchpad or
touch keyboard, can be shown or hidden
via the Taskbar’s right-click menu; others,
including the clock and the Action Center
button, can be removed under Taskbar
settings (click Turn System Icons On or Off
under Notification Area).
25
Adjust nRWLÀFDWLRQ
pop-ups
While you can tweak many aspects of
the Action Center on your PC via Settings
> System > Notifications & Actions, one thing
you can’t do from here is adjust how long – five
seconds – individual notifications appear on
screen. To change this setting, open Universal
Windows Tweaker to the Customisation
> Universal UI tab. The slider enables you toIncrease the size of Taskbar Peek thumbnails to make them easier to read on screen.WinStep Nexus is a
visually slick –
and practical- Taskbar alternative.