Toolbars | Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Toolbars

Toolbars are used to provide quick access to frequently used functions in a program. Windows comes with several toolbars, including those found in Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, Wordpad (and other applications), and the Quick Launch toolbars on the Taskbar (see Figure 3-32).

Figure 3-34. Wordpad's toolbar provides access to eleven of the most commonly used functions, such as Open , Save, Print, and Find

Usually, the buttons in a toolbar don't provide any functionality that isn't otherwise accessible through the menus or via a keystroke or two. Toolbars are almost exclusively mouse oriented, so a toolbar that works with the keyboard is a rare occurrence.

The toolbars in most modern applications are configurable; that is, you can rearrange the tools to your liking, add new items, and remove the ones you don't use. It's definitely worth taking a few minutes to configure the toolbar with the features that you use the most, especially since the default toolbars in most applications are set up to showcase the most marketable features of the product rather than to make the program easier to use.

The configuration and features of a particular toolbar is typically the responsibility of the application that owns it, although most modern applications use Microsoft's toolbar controls, which afford a good degree of consistency.

You can often right-click on an empty portion of a toolbar to change its properties or to add or remove buttons. Toolbars can usually be " docked " to the top, bottom, or sides of an application, or they can float. Play around with toolbars to get a feel for how they respond to being dragged and resized; there's no substitute for 30 seconds of fooling around. Some newer toolbars can be "locked" so that they can't be accidentally moved, resized, or closed. I can't tell you how many phone calls I've gotten from frantic friends and relatives telling me that they've lost their toolbars! Locking is a welcome feature, indeed.

Many larger applications, such as WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, support multiple toolbars, including custom toolbars you can create as needed. These toolbars can typically be rearranged by dragging them around, although you may not get any visual feedback until you let go. To hide a toolbar, try right-clicking on it, or just drag it (if it's docked) so that it floats and then click the close button in the toolbar's titlebar.

A quick way to customize the buttons on toolbars is to hold the Alt key while dragging or right-clicking (to move a button or changes its properties, respectively). Pressing the Alt key puts the toolbar into "edit" mode temporarily; in fact, you can even drag buttons from one toolbar to another with this method. Note that Taskbar toolbars (see below) are always in edit mode, so the Alt key is not needed.

Toolbars on the Taskbar

In addition to the Desktop and Start menu, shortcuts to frequently used programs can also be placed in configurable toolbars that are either docked on the Taskbar (discussed earlier in this chapter) or are allowed to float.

By default, there are four Taskbar toolbars. Right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and select Toolbars to show or hide any of them. The four toolbars are as follows :

Address

The Address Bar on the Taskbar is the same as the one in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer and works very much like Start Run. See "Address Bar, earlier in this chapter, for details.

Links

The Links toolbar is designed to hold your favorite Favorites or, more specifically , links (Internet shortcuts) to your favorite web sites. This is the same toolbar as the Links toolbar in Internet Explorer (see "Internet Explorer" in Chapter 4). Shortcuts displayed on this toolbar are stored in \Documents and Settings\{username}\Favorites\Links .

Quick Launch

The Quick Launch toolbar works very much like the Programs menu in the Start menu: it shows any number of shortcuts to your most frequently used programs.

The Quick Launch toolbar, as well as any other custom toolbars you create (except Desktop, discussed below) are mirrors of folders on your hard disk. For example, the contents of the Quick Launch toolbar are stored in \Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch . You can get there quickly by right-clicking on an empty portion of the Quick Launch toolbar and selecting Open Folder (see below for other items on this menu).

One of the niftiest icons on the Quick Launch Toolbar is the Show Desktop icon: . Don't delete this oneit's not a shortcut, but rather a Windows Explorer Command ( .scf ) file. It has the same effect as right-clicking on the Taskbar and selecting Show Desktop (see "Taskbar", earlier in this chapter, for details); it pops the Desktop on top of all other windows, allowing access to Desktop icons without having to minimize anything. I find this icon far superior to displaying the Desktop Toolbar.

You can create your own custom toolbars by right-clicking on the Taskbar and selecting Toolbars New Toolbar. Simply specify an existing folder whose contents you want made into a toolbar (such as Control Panel, Dial-Up Networking, or one of the folders in your Start menu), or click Make New Folder if you want to start with a blank toolbar.

One of the limitations of custom toolbars is that if they're ever closed, Windows won't display them on the list of available toolbars, as with the preconfigured toolbars discussed here. If you ever close a custom toolbar, you'll have to start over and go through the New Toolbar process to get it back (though all your shortcuts will still be there). For a more sophisticated toolbar launcher, go to http://www.creativelement.com/software/route1.html

Desktop

The Desktop Toolbar was intended as a handy way to get at the contents of your Desktop when it's covered with open windows. It's really just another custom toolbar (like Quick Launch, discussed above), except that it mirrors the contents of your Desktop folder. Of course, if you have a lot of things on your Desktop, this toolbar can itself get pretty unwieldy, so I don't find it too useful. Your mileage may vary. You'll probably prefer to just use Show Desktop (either the button in the Quick Launch toolbar or the entry on the Taskbar's context menu) for quick access to items on your Desktop.

Once a toolbar is enabled, you can right-click on an empty portion to display a context menu with several options. (Right-clicking one of the toolbar buttons is the same as right-clicking the corresponding shortcut in Explorer.) In addition to the standard entries on the Taskbar context menu (see "Taskbar", earlier in this chapter), you'll find the following:

View Large Icons, View Small Icons: Allows you to display either large (32 32) or small (16 16) icons. Neither choice is perfect; small icons can be very difficult to see and distinguish and large icons take up too much space and offer little advantage over Desktop icons. Choose whichever icons best suit your needs.
Open Folder: Opens the folder to which the toolbar is linked. When customizing a toolbar, it's often easier to deal with the actual shortcuts in a real folder than it is to mess with the buttons on the Toolbar.
Show Text: Displays a text label next to each icon. This is useful if you have a toolbar containing icons of the same type, and if you've got room on your Taskbar to spare. It's the default setting for the Links toolbar, but not for the Quick Launch toolbar.
Show Title: Shows the name of the toolbar when it is docked on the Taskbar; this option has no effect when the toolbar is floating. It's really a waste of space for the standard toolbars, but perhaps it is useful if you set up a lot of custom toolbars. The title can also be used as a handle.
Close Toolbar: Closes the Toolbar. You can also drag the toolbar off the Taskbar and then click the close button to get rid of it. As stated above, closed custom toolbars do not remain on the Toolbars list.

Notes

Taskbar toolbars can be docked on the Taskbar simply by dragging them there. You can also dock these toolbars along the sides or top of your Desktop, regardless of the position of the Taskbar.
If a Taskbar toolbar doesn't seem to allow dragging or resizing, right-click on an empty portion of the Taskbar and turn off the " Lock the Taskbar" option.