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USING WINDOWS 7 -
THE SUPERBAR

Brian Grainger

brianATgrainger1.freeserve.co.uk

This time I am going to look at the bar along the bottom of the Windows 7 desktop. This one item of the Windows 7 interface is the one that has seen the most change from Windows XP. For those well versed in Windows XP, particularly the technically minded, the changed functionality causes a lot of irritation. However, it is possible to revert its behaviour almost, but not quite completely, back to how it was on Windows XP.

This bar at the bottom of the screen has been known, since its introduction in Windows 95, as the Taskbar. In fact, in the official documentation on Microsoft web sites it still is known as the Taskbar. However, I have seen some web sources say that internally to Microsoft some techies refer to it as the Superbar. As I no longer regard it as a taskbar I am going to follow that nomenclature.

When Windows 95 was introduced the Taskbar was purely that. It listed the running tasks and enabled users to switch between the running tasks in a simple manner. This was the first time that Windows could easily be seen as and operated as a multitasking system.

Unfortunately, as time went on various functionality was added to the Taskbar. The quick launch toolbar was added that allowed NON-RUNNING tasks to be started easily without having to find them on the Start menu. When you did so then a button appeared on the main taskbar as well to show there was a RUNNING version of the task.

The next item added to the taskbar was what was known as the System Tray. Here, applications that did not need a windows interface and were automatically opened at start-up would have an icon showing. I believe its purpose was to provide information to the user, without the user interacting back. The clock was one such item but it could also be used for notifications that your printing task was complete, that the network was functioning, etc. As time went on the system tray got abused, particularly by third parties. It would be used to display ANY application that was opened at start-up, even those with a windows interface to allow user interaction. Worse, every third party thought their applications should be opened irrespective of whether the user wanted them or not. In this way, for example, Intel would install a graphics application that opened when Windows started so that the user could change display resolution any time they wanted. The fact that the user hardly ever changed the resolution once initially set up seemed to pass Intel by. The result of the abuse was that these constantly running applications were delaying the time for Windows to start and then wasting resources when it did. Admittedly, the effect was negligible when it was one app but as time goes on and the user installs many programs - all of them putting an app in the system tray - the PC gets slower and slower.

Below you will see pictures of the Taskbars from Windows XP and Windows 7. Note - I have doctored them a little to cut the blank space in the middle so that they display easier on this web page.

At first glance these two Taskbars, which are shown without any tasks running, look very similar.

On the left, the XP Taskbar has the Start button, which we discussed last time, followed by 3 items in the Quick Launch Bar: Internet Explorer; Show Desktop; Windows Media Player.

On the left of the Windows 7 Superbar we have the Orb, which was discussed last time, also followed by 3 items. By default 2 of these items are the same as those for Windows XP, i.e. Internet Explorer and Media Player. The 3rd item is now Windows Explorer and represents the first time that Windows Explorer, (rather than My Computer), has been given such prominence.

The first question that springs to mind is what is the equivalent of Show Desktop in Windows 7, i.e. how do we minimise all the running tasks to show the desktop? After a little use of Windows 7 you will get a clue when moving your mouse around the windows all suddenly minimise and the desktop shows up inadvertently! Very disconcerting. They will all come back when you move the mouse again. See that little vertical bar at the right end of the Superbar? When the mouse pointer is over that all windows minimise. If you click that bar they will stay minimised when you move the mouse away. The Show Desktop icon of Windows XP has been replaced by that vertical bar at the opposite side of the screen. You can turn off the disconcerting behaviour of windows minimising when the mouse hovers over the vertical bar. Right click it and deselect 'Peek at desktop'.

Apart from that one icon change the left side of the Superbar looks similar to Windows XP. Here is a simple way to show it is different. Open up two instances of Windows Explorer so that you can drag and drop between them. If you are used to Windows XP you will click the Windows Explorer icon on the Superbar, thinking it is on the quick launch bar, and it will open up Windows Explorer. So far so good but you probably have not noticed that another (task) button hasn't appeared in the middle of the Superbar to show that a task has started. You click the Windows Explorer icon again to get the second instance and ... you don't get it. The first instance minimises instead! So how do you get two instances? This is where my first experience of fist shaking at Windows 7 occurred. Then I remember the keyboard shortcut Windows-E, (press the Windows key and E together), will start Windows Explorer. Press that more than once and you get multiple instances. What about applications that don't have a shortcut key? One way is to click the application icon for the first instance and then right click the icon and select the application name from the context menu for the second instance. How's that for inconsistency!

Unlike Windows XP, the functionality of buttons on the Windows 7 Superbar changes after the first click. Before the first click it acts like an application launcher. After the first click it acts like a task switcher. You know which buttons have turned into a task switcher because they have a hghlighted surround. Did you notice that when Windows Explorer was opened the first time? You will also notice that if you have more than one application instance when the mouse hovers over the highlighted button it shows multiple mini-windows of all the instances and you select which one to bring to the fore by clicking its mini-window.

Now you see why I do not like to call this bar a taskbar in Windows 7. It is not just task buttons but application launcher buttons as well - and you are encouraged to add your own application buttons to the defaults by a process known as 'pinning'. Some people like it apparently. People like me, who like task buttons and application launcher buttons to be separate, hate it. Apparently it is similar in operation to the dock on the Apple operating system.

One final thing to mention about these buttons on the Superbar is that they come with associated jumplists as well. We mentioned jumplists in the previous article on the Orb. So you can pin applications (with jumplists) to the Orb and you can do the same thing on the Superbar. I just question why. Keep the applications on the Orb and keep task buttons on the Taskbar. It is not as if we have got a lot of space to put everything on one bar, especially if you don't have a widescreen format display.

The appearance of the buttons on the Superbar can be customised by right clicking the Superbar and selecting Properties. The Superbar itself can now be customised. You can choose where it appears on the screen, whether it autohides and what size the button icons shall be displayed. The taskbar buttons themselves default to 'Always combine, hide labels'. This means that multiple Windows of the same type are displayed on a single button. If this is changed to 'Combine when taskbar is full' then the Windows XP behaviour of a separate button for each window is given until the space on the taskbar runs out.

Now let's look at the right hand side of the Superbar. We have a clock, a few icons and, to their left, an upward pointing arrrow. This is very similar to the System Tray of Windows XP but Microsoft now like to call this the Notification Area, in keeping with the idea that it is supposed to notify users of events and not be interactive. Nobody has told Intel because they still put their resolution changer software in the Notification Area, you just cannot see it on the Superbar. The big difference between Windows XP and Windows 7 is that with Windows XP ALL items in the System Tray are displayed on the Taskbar. With Windows 7 only selected items are shown on the Superbar. To see the others one clicks that upward pointing arrow and the rest appear in a little window.

There are two types of icons in the Notification Area - System icons and Notification icons. By default, only some of the System icons are shown on the Superbar.

There are also two behaviours - show an icon and show a notification. As an example, consider what happens when you plug in a USB stick. An icon pops up in the Notification Area called 'Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media'. This is the show icon behaviour. When you want to disconnect the USB stick yuou should click on the icon in the Notification Area and select the appropriate action. When the action is completed you should get a notification that it is safe to remove the device. This is the show notification behaviour. As an aside I should note that on my system I used to get a pretty window that said it was safe to remove the device. Now all I get is another icon appear in the Notification Area which disappears when I click it. Not sure why it changed and I would like the old behaviour back. If anybody knows what to do let me know!

Although only a small portion of the notification area is shown by default on the Superbar, what can be shown is fully customisable.

If one clicks Customize... from the Notification Area window one gets the following screen:

If you want to restore the Windows XP behaviour of showing EVERYTHING on the taskbar then simply check 'Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar'.

You can adjust the behaviour of individual notification icons by using the dropdown selection buttons. You can show icons and notifications on the taskbar, show notifications only or hide everything from the taskbar for each notification icon separately.

If you click 'Turn system icons on or off' one sees the following screen:

Here the customisation is limited to turning each icon either on or off.

It can be seen that the Notification Area of Windows 7 replaces exactly the Windows XP System Tray. The greater customisation allowed in Windows 7 means that the Notification Area is certainly an improvement over Windows XP.

One of the big features of Windows since Windows 95 was the ability for users to create their own toolbars. In addition there was a system defined toolbar, called the Quick Launch toolbar, which was permanently available on the taskbar.

As we have seen above, the Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced in Windows 7 by application icons pinned to the Superbar. One would be forgiven for thinking that the Quick Launch toolbar has gone and this is reinforced by the Windows 7 help. Under the heading 'What happened to the Quick Launch toolbar' it says:

Well, to paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli, there are lies, damn lies, and Microsoft FUD. How do you explain this?

If you open up Windows Explorer and look for:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
you will see a couple of shortcuts - the good old 'Show desktop' and 'Switch between windows'. You can add your own as you fancy. The only problem now is how to display the Quick Launch toolbar. To do that we create ...

As with previous versions of Windows you can create your own toolbars by creating a folder full of shortcuts to the programs you want in the toolbar and then telling Windows to use the folder as a toolbar.

This latter step is done by right clicking the Superbar and selecting Toolbars and then New toolbar...

You can now browse for your folder or type its name in the Folder box. For the Quick Launch toolbar you can browse for the path given above or type the following in the folder box:

%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

When the correct folder is in the Folder box click Select Folder. You will now see a right pointing chevron to the left of the notification area and the name of the folder to the left of the chevron.

Click the chevron and you will see the shortcuts from the folder displayed and you can click one to execute the associated program. For a cool experience I suggest setting up the Quick Launch toolbar if only to click 'Switch between windows' when there are multiple windows open!
(Advanced users may have already experienced this coolness by pressing WinKey - Tab a few times).

You can have more than one user defined toolbar BUT they all take up precious space on the Superbar.

If at any time you turn off a user defined toolbar it will have to be created again should you want it back. The tick against the toolbar on the Superbar context menu is NOT a hide/show facility as it is with system toolbars!

One BIG negative of Windows 7 is that you cannot peel a user defined toolbar off the Superbar and put it somewhere more appropriate on the desktop. I have always had my toolbar to the right side of the desktop as this minimised the screen display loss. I no longer have that option with Windows 7. On the plus side it is only a minor detraction and I have found no problem in use. However, it would be a different situation with more than one toolbar.

Another point is that the user defined toolbar appears to the right of the Superbar. Because the Quick Launch toolbar appeared on the left of the taskbar in Windows XP I have seen some web sites which show how to put it on the left in Windows 7. It is quite convoluted so if you require this then I suggest a search of the web may be appropriate!

More important is that the title of the folder can take up quite a bit of space on the Superbar for no useful purpose. Additionally, the icons on the toolbar itself are accompanied by text. All these things are configurable but it is not quite obvious how. Most web sites will tell you to right click the user defined toolbar to change its appearance. By itself this will not display the configuration options.

You must first of all right click the Superbar and deselect 'Lock the taskbar'. When you do this the end of the toolbar space will be defined by 18 dots arranged in a 6 row by 3 column matrix. Right clicking the toolbar now will toggle between the normal toolbar and the context menu which now shows options for 'Show Text', 'Show title' and a view menu where you can choose small or large icons. When you are satisfied with the configuration you can right click the Superbar again and select 'Lock the taskbar'.

You should note that the toolbar takes up a minimum size on the Superbar. Even if you remove the title it will fill the minimum size with the first icon in the toolbar. Rather silly, if you ask me.

I have now described all the features of the Windows 7 Superbar. We are never going to emulate the Windows XP taskbar exactly, because toolbars cannot be displayed anywhere on the desktop. Nevertheless, for those who wish to retain the Windows XP look and functionality as far as possible the following changes will bring it pretty close.

(a) Unpin Internet Explorer, Media Player and Windows Explorer from the Superbar.

(b) Configure the Superbar to use small icons and combine taskbar buttons when taskbar is full.

(c) Configure a Quick Launch toolbar or create a custom toolbar to include what programs you use regularly.

(d) Customize the notification area to always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar.

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