Datasheet

16 Part 1: The Windows 7 User Experience
continue to be displayed along the bottom of the screen (unless you’re using
your computer to play a full-screen video or game). That way, you have access
to all the neat features contained therein no matter whether you’re writing a
letter in your favorite word processor, surfing the Web with Internet Explorer 8,
or perusing your favorite graphic images in the Windows Photo Viewer or Media
Center.
The taskbar forms the base of the Windows desktop. Running along the bottom
of the complete width of the screen, the Windows 7 taskbar, as shown in
Figure 1-11, is divided into four sections:
✓ The Start button, with the accompanying Start menu at the far left.
✓ Quick Launch buttons for the Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and
Media Player to the immediate right of the Start button. Click the Internet
Explorer button to launch the Internet Explorer and display your Home
page, click the Window Explorer button to open an Explorer window show-
ing the Documents, Music, Picture, and Video libraries on your computer,
and click the Media Player button to launch the Windows Media Player.
(See “Windows Media Player” in Part 6.)
✓ Buttons for open toolbars and minimized application windows in the
center area to the right of the Quick Launch buttons.
✓ The notification area (at the far right; sometimes called the system tray),
with current time and icons showing the current status of computer com-
ponents and programs as well as processes that are running in the
background.
Whenever you minimize an open window by clicking its Minimize button in
the upper-right corner, Windows 7 reduces the window to the appropriate
Quick Launch or application button on the taskbar. Then, when you position
the mouse pointer over a particular Quick Launch button, Windows displays
thumbnail images of each of its open files above the button: Individual Web
pages on different Web tabs are displayed above the Internet Explorer Quick
Launch button, specific Windows 7 folders above the Windows Explorer button,
the Media Player with playback controls above the Media Player button, and
document files created with the particular program above the application
buttons.
To display the document represented in a thumbnail, position the mouse
pointer somewhere on the thumbnail image. To then reopen the document on
the Windows desktop, simply click the thumbnail image.
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