Datasheet

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CHAPTER 3
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MANAGING THE WINDOWS DESKTOP
You add items to all toolbars but the Address toolbar by dragging and
dropping an icon onto them. The easiest way is to open the toolbar, click
Start, browse to the icon you want to add, and then drag the icon onto the
appropriate toolbar. Left-clicking and dragging automatically creates a short-
cut; if you right-click and drag, a menu appears, giving you the option to
move the icon to the toolbar rather than just copying it.
Drag-and-drop is also used to
re-order items in a toolbar. Left-
click and drag the icons to new
locations. Windows displays a black
vertical bar showing you where the
icon will land when you release the
mouse button.
If you get tired of any of these
toolbars, you can get rid of them by
right-clicking the toolbar and then
clicking Close Toolbar (see Figure
3.24), or you can right-click the
taskbar, click Toolbars, and then
deselect the specific toolbar. If you
have the toolbar visible as a window,
just click the Close button.
All systems are go: The
notification area
The notification area is at the far
right of the taskbar (see Figure 3.25). This area is
also known as the system tray, because it is where many
system-related icons appear. Microsoft calls it the noti-
fication area on the theory that when something hap-
pens with your system that you should know about, a
widget will notify you about it.
The reality is that many applications, system-related or user-related, put
icons here. Many of them are spawned by applets loaded at startup; others
are here instead of minimizing to the taskbar, which helps save real estate.
Whether you prefer lots of notification icons or few, there are two basic set-
tings you can control regarding overall appearance. You can manage the
settings by right-clicking the taskbar and then clicking Properties. The two set-
tings are to display the clock (or not), and to hide inactive icons.
Figure 3.24. To get rid of a toolbar, right-click it
and then click Close.
Figure 3.25. The
Notification Area can
contain many icons, only
some of which actually
notify you of important
events.
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